“I’m not talking about A Fresh Day. There seems to be more than that on your mind. Is everything okay with Charlene?” Dylan asked.
She smiled. It was nice that he didn’t put business before all else. “Yes, she’s better. We spoke on the phone during my drive here. She swears she’ll never do anything that stupid again. I’m not so sure about that, but at least she knows she was lucky, and might not be next time.”
“We all choose our own paths.”
Sofia let out a sigh. “Or our parents choose them for us. I know what I want, I just need to do it.”
“What do you want Sofia?”
She looked down at the notepad and knew this was now part of her plan — well, if you could call it that. The wants in her mind were jumbled up, and she needed to sort them out, prioritize them.
“It’s easier to say what I don’t. Now I just need to go home and tell my parents. Dylan, I’m not sure I would be able to do this if it weren’t for you.”
“Me? I have a feeling you can do anything you set your mind to.”
“Thanks. I try, but my mother—”
“Loves you and wants you to be happy. That’s what every mother wants for their child. All you need to do, is show her what makes you happy.”
Sofia laughed. “You make it seem so easy. Maybe you should go and talk to her for me,” she teased.
He didn’t even crack a smile. “Sofia, if I thought that was answer, I’d do it. If you need me there as support, that’s fine. But in my opinion, you’ll do better on your own.”
“Now I just need to find the time to do it. I have to study, then I have rehearsal tonight. By the time I get home, it’ll be too late.”
“Can you read in a moving vehicle without getting sick?” Dylan asked.
“Don’t know. Haven’t tried it. Why?”
“If we leave right now, you have time to make it to Mama’s Place, and back.”
She put the notepad down on her lap and said, “You’re serious, aren’t you? You want me to do this right now.”
“No. You want to do this; I’m only providing the means to make it happen. Do you want the ride or not? I’m not pushing you Sofia, this has to be your decision,” Dylan said with his elbow resting on his desk. “I support you, whatever you choose to do.”
That was so foreign to her. Everyone had a strong opinion, and if you didn’t listen to them, you were wrong. She wished she had time to think more about this. Then again, she’d been thinking about it for years, she just hadn’t done anything about it. Getting up, Sofia slammed the notepad on his desk and said firmly, “Let’s get going. I’m ready.”
Dylan eyed her for a second before rising himself. “Watch out world, here she comes.”
Sofia wrinkled her nose and said, “It’s not the world that scares me.”
He walked around the desk and took her hand. “Don’t worry, Mama loves me.”
“Yeah, but I have a feeling Sal doesn’t. Maybe you can enlighten me on what happened on the way to the restaurant.”
“And maybe you should just study your lines. Don’t worry about Sal. He’s just a big brother watching out for his sister.”
“But he likes the Lawson family,” she added.
“That doesn’t mean he wants any of us sleeping with you.”
“But we’re not.” Yet.
“You’ll never convince him of that. He knows our reputation. It hasn’t always been good.” Dylan turned to his assistant, Liz, and said, “Call my cell phone if there is anything urgent. Otherwise, I’m gone for the day.”
“And if Rosslyn calls, what should I tell her?” Liz asked.
“The truth,” Dylan said as they walked towards the elevator.