another man before. Freedom, freedom to not have to pretend to be someone else, to not care that she was herself. And that freedom had turned to love somewhere along the line.
“Phil, I’m so happy for you.” Sophia was drawn out of her thoughts with the appearance of Phil’s ex-girlfriend, Linda, approaching the table smiling brightly, tears in her eyes. “I always knew you and Alec would be successful. How have you been?” She inched in and hugged him, never giving him a chance to stand up, then placed a kiss on his lips.
“Linda,” Phil said, sounding rather terse. “I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”
“Once I saw that you were getting the award I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” She stopped to look around the table at Phil’s parents and Kaitlin, her smile never faltering, then her eyes landed on Sophia next to Phil, and a look of contempt crossed her face. “Sophia,” she said pleasantly, through a mask of hatred. “Are you visiting?”
“It’s nice to see you again, Linda. No, I relocated to the area last month for work.” Sophia could be nice…when she wanted to be. She really didn’t want to be right now, but this wasn’t about her.
“That’s wonderful,” Linda said politely, if rather coolly, then turned her attention to Kaitlin. “Kaitlin,” she all but screeched in excitement. “Congratulations on your pregnancy. I was so surprised when I heard. You must be thrilled.” She stretched forward and ran a hand over Kaitlin’s belly and Sophia fought back the urge to chuckle over Kaitlin’s cringe and forced look of happiness.
“Thank you. Ryan and I are thrilled to be parents,” Kaitlin said nicely, then turned her gaze to her mother who was watching with her own fake smile.
“Isabel,” Linda said next. “You must be so happy to finally become a grandmother. I know how much you wanted Phil and me to have children.” She waved her hand away before anyone had a chance to comment, but Sophia didn’t miss the red flush that came to Phil’s face. “I’ve missed everyone so much.” She blinked back a few more tears. “You have been like a second mother to me over the years.”
Isabel patted her hand, and said, “We’ve been good.” Sophia noticed how Isabel refused to say she had missed Linda, or acknowledge the grandchildren comment. Saying they’ve been good was more likely a double meaning, if the look Isabel was sending Phil was any indication.
Linda seemed clueless to the tension around the table and turned her eyes back to Phil. “I’ve missed you so much, honey. I know you’ve been busy lately and that’s why you haven’t returned my calls.”
Sophia’s eyebrow rose over that information. Phil caught her look but ignored her and addressed Linda instead. “I’ve been busy. But we’ve talked about this, Linda. Now isn’t the time either.”
More tears gathered and she grabbed his hand. “Is there somewhere we can go and talk, please?” she begged him.
“No. We’ve already talked enough, Linda. And now isn’t the time or the place,” he said more firmly. Sophia saw he was holding on to his frustration by a thread. Frankly, she couldn’t blame him either.
“Please, Phil.” More tears gathered, a few started to fall, causing a scene that everyone wanted to avoid. “I really need to talk to you.”
With his face set in stone, he stood up and threw his napkin down. “Excuse me. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He grabbed Linda’s arm and ushered her into the hall.
Sophia looked around the table at the mixture of reactions, her own heart pounding. Embarrassment for Phil and for the scene that Linda was causing. And regret, mixed with dread. Looked like she was going to be holding out longer than she suspected.
More Than You Think
Phil returned to the table less than two minutes later. Whatever he had to say had been short. His face was set, but he forced a smile, then addressed everyone at the table. “I’m
Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Thomas Peckett Prest