Jules jumps with joy. "Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t mean it," she says lightly as she bounces around wildly, but neither Sophie nor I pay her any attention.
"Okay," Sophie returns softly, not backing down from my glare.
We stare at each other for a while until I turn away, shaking my head. "That’s the second dumbest thing I’ve ever done."
Sophie’s soft voice makes me pause. "What was the first dumbest?"
I can feel her gaze on the back of my neck but don’t turn around as I answer. "You don’t want to know."
"Yes, I do." She almost sounds challenging, and I close my eyes for a second. Where’s Jules’s big mouth when I really need it?
Slowly, I turn around and lock eyes with Sophie. She looks at me with her chin lifted, and I don’t know whether I’m angry or surprised.
"You need something to wear." I change the subject. "So come on. We’re going shopping."
How could I have let myself be talked into this?
Even during the drive, I’m on the verge of throwing Jules out of my truck because she’s in such a disgustingly good mood and shows and explains all sorts of things to Sophie. She’s already making crazy plans when Sophie tells her all the things she hasn’t done and experienced yet. And that seems to be quite a lot.
How can a mother do that to her child and cut them off from the outside world? Either she had a really valid reason for it, or she’s just sick. It’s probably a mix of both.
I can’t stop my gaze from gliding to the rearview mirror repeatedly as I drive. Sophie sits up straight behind Jules, looking out the window with huge eyes. Here and there, she asks what we’re driving past, but most of the time, she just seems to soak up the impressions like a sponge.
When we reach the Walmart Supercenter, her eyes get even bigger.
"It’s nothing special," Jules says with a shrug after we get out. "But you can get everything you need here."
"Everything?" Sophie looks up at the one-story, yet imposing, building in amazement.
"Well… noteverythingeverything, but quite a lot," Jules corrects herself before taking Sophie’s hand.
"Go without me. I’m going to wait here." I try to pull my head out of the noose because a shopping marathon with Jules is the last thing I need right now. I went through that once and still haven’t fully recovered from it. And that was years ago.
"No way." Jules grabs my wrist with her other hand. "You’re coming with us. We need your mental support. And your wallet."
Goddamn… I won’t survive this.
Mental supportmy ass. I’m the damn pack mule while Jules drags Sophie from one aisle to the next, showing her absolutelyeverything. I don’t even want to know what’s hanging over my forearms and on the hangers dangling from my fingers, but it’s clear Jules is escalating.
Sophie was reserved at first, but with each passing minute, she became more and more relaxed, until she even dared to express her own wishes. She sniffed every single soap bar until she decided on one. She’s also getting bolder with her clothes and purposefully chooses a few pieces, but has Jules sign off on all of them. The latter is so in her element that I call her to meafter what feels like hours because I’m afraid that we won’t get out of here before closing time otherwise.
"Are you guys going to be done soon? I still need to go to the vet clinic."
"Yes. We just need to pick out a hair dye," Jules replies and hurries away to drag Sophie to the hair care products, looking over her shoulder at me. "You stay here! I want the color to be a surprise."
Seriously?
"You have five minutes. If you’re not back by then, I’ll drop everything and leave."
"I love you too, Cole," she croons before they disappear between the shelves.
When we finally reach the checkout and I’ve unloaded everything onto the conveyor belt, Jules holds out a hand and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. While doing so, she hides the hair dye behind her back as if it were a state secret.
"What?"
"Your wallet," she demands. "Give it to me."
I just look at her in silence while the corners of Sophie’s mouth twitch.
