“I couldn’t do that, Sophie. And anyway, I’m no lawyer, but I think it belongs to the estate and has to go through probate. There was a pair of earrings I liked, though.”
“Then when it’s all said and done, they’re yours,” Sophie said happily. “What’s in the bag, Sophie? And, I hate to bring this up, but what’s for dinner? Do you think we could order a loaded pizza? I have been dying for pizza. And an ice-cold root beer. Did you guys go and buy me a present? Is that the surprise that’s in the shopping bag?”
Nick had his cell phone in hand to call to order the pizza. He looked at Patty, and Patty looked at him. They both shrugged at the same time.
“It… it’s not a gift but it… it’s going to be a surprise,” Patty said in a choked voice.
Sophie grew so still, Sula got up and walked over to her, sensing something the others couldn’t define. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s in the bag? Is it Audrey’s last journal, the one you all couldn’t find?”
Nick looked so stricken, Patty had a hard time coming up with the words she was looking for. She finally blurted out, “Why would you think that?”
Sophie threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t know. You said a surprise. That’s the only surprise I can think of. You all said you couldn’t find it. The last piece of the puzzle, so to speak. If that isn’t it, then what is it? Don’t tell me it’s Sister Julie’s famous seven-layer chocolate cake. That’s it, right? Listen, I’m sensing something here, and I don’t know what it is. It feels to me like we’re all trying too hard to… to regain what we once had. We’re different people today. Ten years is a long time. I guess you two think I’m different, or now that I’m suddenly rich, I’m going to turn into someone else. That’s what I’m seeing here. Am I wrong? So, will one of you tell me what’s in the damn bag already so we can get past this… awkward moment.”
“It’s Jon’s ashes. Jon died several years after you went to prison. He got some kind of jungle bug, and with his weak immune system, he couldn’t fight it off. We had him cremated. Patty and I take turns keeping his ashes. It was Patty’s turn this week. She brought the urn to show you.”
Sophie’s face went totally blank. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because,” Patty said, bitterness ringing in her voice, “you cut off all visitation and the mail that we sent you was returned. We did try, Sophie.” Patty swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. Nick looked away before he knuckled his own eyes.
“I wonder why I didn’t sense something. We were all so close. I am so sorry. When I first got off the plane and saw the only person missing was Jon, I was going to ask you both if you thought he would be able to come back if I sent him a ticket. I thought… I thought… I could fly you all to Hawaii, and we could have an island reunion. But in the excitement, I forgot, and that’s not a good thing. I can’t believe… Let me see the urn, Patty.”
Patty bent over and removed the urn from the shopping bag. She held it close to her heart for a moment before she set it on the table. Sophie didn’t touch it, but she stared at it for a long time. “Was there a service?”
“Of course there was a service. Why would you even ask that question, Sophie?” Patty snapped.
“We took the urn to St. Gabe’s and had a service in the chapel. Father Latham officiated. It was sad but beautiful. Everyone cried. Why aren’t you crying, Sophie?” Nick asked coolly.
“I guess I’m in shock and still trying to absorb that Jon is gone. In prison you learn not to show emotion. If you do, you’re considered weak, and you become a target.”
Neither Nick nor Patty asked Sophie what she meant by that.
“Listen, would you guys mind if I turn in? I didn’t sleep at all last night because I was so excited about coming back. I’m really tired, and I can’t remember ever drinking two full glasses of champagne in my life. If it’s okay with you guys, we can do the pizza tomorrow. Plus, I just had the shock of my life.”
“No problem, Sophie. Go on upstairs. Your room is the first door on the left. It has its own bathroom,” Patty said.
There were no hugs, no kisses as Sophie left the kitchen. It was silent as she walked out to the living room, then to the foyer and up the staircase to the second floor. No one even said good night.
“Who was that person?” Nick asked in a strangled voice.
Patty flopped down on the kitchen chair. “I don’t know, Nick. Certainly not the Sophie I knew and loved. What happened here?” The tears started to flow again.
Nick lowered himself to the chair and reached for Patty’s hands. He squeezed them. “Prison does strange things to people. It changes them. You read about it all the time, and it’s always on the news.”
“But Sophie-I didn’t think anything could change her. She was happy to see us, yes, but… I don’t know how to put it, Nick. It’s like she was going through the motions. She didn’t shed a tear over Jon.”
“She said you could have all the jewelry. That’s Sophie, generous as always. And she was wearing the locket.” Nick realized how lame his defense was when Patty made a very unladylike snort of sound.
“All of a sudden she has to go to all these meetings. She has to take care of that empire she inherited. She’s rich now. She was going to fly us all to Hawaii for this grand reunion. The old Sophie would never have said things like that.”
“I thought that was generous of her. How else could she have said it, Patty?”
“I don’t know, Nick. All I’m saying is, this is not the old Sophie I knew and loved like a sister. If you think so, then you are just fooling yourself.”
“I will admit I was disappointed. But like I said, we all changed. Why should we think Sophie wouldn’t change? To her, we’re probably different, too. Maybe she was disappointed in us and kept it to herself. Ten years is a long time… I’m going home. Do you want to keep Jon or should I take him?”
“Go ahead, take him. I’ll pick him up next week after Sophie leaves. I’m sorry, Nick. I know you were expecting things to be different. I wish… dammit, I just wish things were different.”
“Good night, Patty. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Call me after the press conference, okay?”
“Sure.” She walked Nick to the door, let him kiss her cheek, and accepted the brief hug they always shared. Nick was real. Sophie didn’t feel real.
Chapter 27
KALA SLID HER EMPTY DINNER PLATE TO THE CENTER OF THE table. “The tuna was excellent, Ben. As always.”
Ben knew it was worth his life if he didn’t respond in kind. “And your salad was delicious even if you did just dump it out of a bag and smear some dressing all over it.”
“Everyone is a critic,” Kala laughed. “This is my favorite time of day. The sun is on the way down, the oppressive humidity doesn’t seem as bad, and before you know it, the stars will be out, and we can make our first wish of the night. I think it’s a full moon tonight, too. You know what they say about a full moon, don’t you, Ben?”
Ben laughed. “That all the lunatics in the world come out from hiding, and the emergency rooms at the hospitals are so full the hospitals add extra staff when there’s a full moon.”
Kala nodded. Her fingers drummed on the glass-top table.
“You’re not yourself tonight, Kala. You should be happy. Do you want to talk about whatever it is that’s bothering you?”
“Well, for one thing, those stupid petunias in the pots are almost dead. I hate looking at dead flowers.”
Ben blinked when he saw Kala reach up and rip the lei from her neck and toss it toward one of the petunia pots. “There, now there’s some color!”
Ben chewed down on his lower lip as he got up to clear the table. He was done in five seconds. Hard plastic plates, plastic glasses. Silverware went into the dishwasher. Done. He turned the grill on high to burn off the residue. When it cooled down, three good strokes with the wire brush, and the grill would be good to go the next time Kala wanted grilled something or other.
“Time to get to the mail bags. I’ve got to leave as soon as I find the package my buddy sent me. What are you going to do this evening?”
Kala shrugged. “Maybe I’ll soak in the hot tub with a couple of glasses of wine while I shop on the shopping channel, then I’ll go to bed.”
“Sounds deadly to me,” Ben said.
“To me, too, so I’ll probably watch a rerun of something on TV. Let’s get to those damn mail bags and get it
