We don’t say much as we make our stops. I’m happy to play the part of the pack mule while she picks up a surprisingly long list of things. I do pick up a few things about the woman Sophie has become in the past years as we go from place to place.
For one, she’s become an entrepreneur. She calls it being a freelancer, but from where I’m sitting, she’s basically her own boss. That sounds like entrepreneurship.
Two, she’s a homeowner. She says the place isn’t much, but based on the way her eyes light up when she talks about it, I can see how proud she is to have done it.
And third, she’s a really good person. That becomes obvious as we make our sixth stop on behalf of my sister.
We pull into the parking lot of a grocery store, and she reads off the list of everything we need to pick up. With every item she adds, I shake my head.
“What?” She stares at me, her deep blue eyes piercing through some sort of layer I didn’t realize I had. “Do you think that’s too much?”
“That’s not it.” I clear my throat, suddenly feeling awkward being on the spot. Even though it’s just Sophie.
Just Sophie. There’s no just about her.
I clear my throat and shift in my seat uncomfortably. “I was thinking it’s really good of you to do all this for Winter.”
“Oh, this. It’s nothing. I’d do way more for her. Just like I know she’d do anything for me. She’s like a sister.”
A flicker of guilt shoots through me. Winter is my sister, and I dragged my feet about coming for the wedding. Not because I didn’t want to be there for her. I’m just… more comfortable in the home and life I’ve made for myself.
“You two were a lot closer than my college roommate and I were.” I grimace. “He used to leave his dirty underwear all over the floor.”
“You lived with Winter long enough to know she’s not a neat freak by any means. But she never did anything like that.” Sophie wrinkles her nose. “But, she adopted me. Do you remember that first Thanksgiving?”
“I do.” Winter had been so excited to get Sophie involved in our family’s holiday festivities, she’d forgotten to tell any of us that she was bringing a guest until I accidentally walked in on her getting ready to take a shower.
I’m not sure which of us was more embarrassed.
But after we got past that, everything was good. She became a regular fixture in all of our holidays. Up until a few years ago.
“She made me feel like family.” Sophie smiles sadly. “All of you did. I’ll never be able to thank your mom enough for everything she did to include me. I… I wish I would’ve told your dad how much I appreciated him, too.”
A heaviness settles on my chest at the memory of my dad. He was a good man. The kind who didn’t say “I love you” much, but showed you in a thousand ways.
I wish I would have told him how grateful I was for him too. But he passed so suddenly, none of us had the chance.
“Winter really appreciated your support when he died.”
“Like I said, she’s my family. I’d do anything for her.” Sophie gives a sad little smile. “Besides, unfortunately, I know what it’s like.”
She does. She knows more about loss than any person should. Orphaned at five, she was raised by her only grandma. A grandma who passed away a few weeks before her freshman year of college.
And my sister, being the good person she is, made sure Sophie always felt like she was included and part of our family from the start.
I should say something to Winter while I’m here. Like our dad, I’ve never been good at words. But unlike our dad, I haven’t been around to show her that I care about her much either.
Sophie and I barely say more than a few words as we make our way through the grocery store.
As she bends over to pick up a pineapple, I find myself admiring more than the way Sophie fills out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.
There’s an efficiency about her that’s admirable. A sense of confidence I didn’t see all those years ago when my sister brought her home for the first time.
Sophie has grown into an intriguing little package.
“Where should I put these?” I ask, holding up the bags as we exit the store.
She winces as she looks at her car. “The trunk might be too full after that last stop. The backseat?”
