“Ava emailed me.”
“Ah,” says Sophia, giving a knowing nod. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“So which pieces are yours?” I ask.
Sophia points to four paintings hanging together on the wall. They’re dark and striking. Emotion surges in me as soon as I see them.
“Wow,” I tell her. “Those are…I don’t even know how to describe them. They’re wonderful, Sophia.”
She smiles. “Thank you.”
I look at her again and take a breath. “I hope it’s okay that we came.”
“Of course it is,” she says. Her voice grows a bit softer. “I missed you. Both of you.”
“Sophia,” says Penelope, tugging on Sophia’s shirt. “Look. I lost a tooth.”
“You did!” Sophia says. “Did the Tooth Fairy leave you anything?”
“Uh huh. Two dollars.”
“Wow. That’s more than I ever got.”
“Will you come to dinner with us?”
Sophia looks at me questioningly. “Um…”
“We’d love to take you out,” I say. “To celebrate. No pressure, though. I know you might have other plans.”
Sophia smiles at me again. She’s such a beautiful sight. “I’d love to have dinner with you two. I only need to stick around for another ten minutes or so, and then we can go. That okay?”
“That’s perfect,” I say.
* * *
Penelopeand I catch up with Sophia over steaming bowls of ramen. Mostly, it’s Penelope telling Sophia all the stuff she’s been doing, as well as telling her about how the new nanny has been.
“Don’t worry, though,” says Penelope, lowering her voice and leaning over her bowl of ramen, “I still like you more.”
Sophia laughs. She asks Penelope about the rest of her summer plans, and whether she’s excited for school to start in the fall. I love seeing how happy Penelope is around Sophia. And I get it. Being around Sophia makes me really happy, too.
It’s also bittersweet, though. Because this is what we’re missing out on. But I think I’ve finally found a way that the three of us can have this—that is, if Sophia still wants it.
“Do you want to tell Sophia our big news, Penelope?” I say. “You’ve been so good at keeping the secret.”
“Big news?” says Sophia. Oh, shit. She looks concerned. Maybe this isn’t going to go over like I thought.
“We bought a new house,” announces Penelope.
Sophia’s brows lift. “You did? Where?”
“Not too far from here, actually,” I say. “It’s a good neighborhood. Quiet. Good schools. And the commute’s not bad.”
“That’s exciting,” says Sophia. “Congrats.” She’s looking at me with curiosity in her face, though. I think she can tell that there’s more I want to tell her. But now’s not quite the right time. Soon, though.
Our waitress approaches the table, bringing us a fresh pot of tea.
“Thank you,” I say. I can still feel Sophia’s eyes on me, but I turn to my daughter and say, “Why don’t you tell Sophia about all the fun stuff in our new neighborhood, Pen?”