“Yeah, that’s fine,” I say. “You don’t mind dropping her off?”
“Of course not.”
“Great. Thanks.”
We hang up and I get back to work. I manage to get through most of the emails before I have to run off to my other meeting. The rest of the day is full of the usual chaos of last minute changes to projects and more meetings and more emails.
Finally, it’s time to head home. On my way out, I remember Sophia’s phone call and decide to pick up some takeout on my way home, since I’ll be eating by myself tonight. An evening of vegging out sounds perfect right now.
When I get back to the house, though, I’m surprised to see Sophia’s car parked out front. My first thought is that she had car trouble again and wasn’t able to drive Penelope to her friend’s house.
I walk into the house and hear footsteps on the stairs.
“Oh,” says Sophia, seeing me as she comes down. “Hi. I just had to come back to grab Penelope’s pajamas for her. She forgot to pack them.”
“Gotcha,” I say, it all making sense now. It’s not the first time Penelope has forgotten to pack something when she goes over to a friend’s house for the night.
“Well, have a good evening,” Sophia says.
I don’t want her to go, though. Even though I know it’s dangerous for us to be alone, I really don’t want her to go.
“Wait,” I say. “Do you want some dinner first?”
Sophia smiles, amused. “For the third night in a row?”
I shrug. “I got takeout. It’s too much for just me.”
“So you’ll have leftovers.”
“I won’t eat them.”
“That’s wasteful of you.”
“Exactly,” I say. “Which is why you should have dinner with me.”
She hesitates. But then she nods. “Okay. I guess the pajama delivery can wait.”
“Good.”
We get plates out and divvy up the food. We eat at the kitchen bar this time instead of the dining table. While we eat, I ask how things have been going with Penelope, and she tells me about the adventures they had today.
“How was work?” she asks.
“Busy,” I say. “That’s nothing new, though.”
“Penelope said there was a ‘bring your kid to work day’ a few months ago. She seemed in awe of your office.”
“Yeah. That was a fun day.”
“She said she wants to do what you do someday.”
Lucas laughs. “That’s sweet. If she’d had the chance to see what her mom did, though, I’m guessing she’d find that even more appealing. Her mom was a modern dancer. And she was incredible at it.”
“I didn’t know that,” says Sophia.
I nod. “I don’t know if Penelope has mentioned it yet, but her mom passed away.”
“She told me.” Sophia puts her fork down. “I’m so sorry.”