Ms. Eleanor hugged Willa and kissed her cheek. Then she reached for Sophia and squeezed her too. “How are you, darling?”
“Very well, Ms. Eleanor. It’s good to see you.”
Ms. Eleanor pushed a loose strand of hair from her eyes. “What are you doing for the summer?”
“My aunt is picking me up.” Sophia couldn’t keep the smile off her face, liking the way “aunt” sounded from her lips. She was so excited to see Jutta again. “We are taking a little road trip to Philadelphia.”
“Mom, Sophia found out that she was adopted,” Willa cut in. “Her mom sent her over to America from Germany because she couldn’t keep her. She’s just discovered a whole other family. Isn’t that amazing?”
Sophia’s smile slid from her face as she watched Ms. Eleanor’s skin pale as if she’d seen a ghost. Did she feel sorry for Sophia? She had always been kind, unlike Mrs. Pride, Willa’s grandmother.
“Congratulations, Sophia,” Ms. Eleanor said. She urged Willa into the backseat of the car. “Baby, we had better go. You know how traffic is this time of day.” To Sophia she offered “Good luck, and have a good summer” before slipping into the car.
“Thank you.”
The big Cadillac pulled out of the circle just as Max came up with a duffel bag hanging down his side.
“Hey you,” he said, letting his fingers graze hers. “Are you ready for this?”
“Yeah, I just wish that Willa hadn’t blurted all my business to her mother. Now she’s looking at me like some poor little orphan child.”
“Don’t be silly.” He draped his arm around her waist, making her warm all over. “You are going to meet your father for the first time. Let that be your only concern.” He gave her the sweetest smile.
“Hopefully,” she said as the cars continued to move through the line, not wanting to give voice to all the things that could go wrong again. Sophia touched his chin. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, but we’ll write, and you can call me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. “Here’s thenumber to the house in Martha’s Vineyard. Reverse the charges if you need to.”
“Your parents won’t mind?”
“I’ll worry about them.” He kissed her temple.
A two-toned Dodge La Femme pulled up, and Jutta waved to Sophia as she got out of the car, wearing a bright yellow headband that matched her pedal pushers.
“Impressive school. I almost thought you gave me the wrong address,” she said, sweeping Sophia into her arms. They had met only the one time, and spoken by telephone, but Jutta’s embrace comforted Sophia in a way that said they belonged together.
“Jutta, this is Max. The one I told you about.”
“Hello, handsome,” Jutta said, taking him in.
Max replied,“Guten Tag!”
Jutta ribbed Sophia as she and Max exchanged pleasantries in German. “Wow. I’m impressed.”
“I told you he speaks well.”
“It’s a passion of mine.” Max beamed.
“Come on, we had better get a move on.” Jutta walked to the driver’s side.
Max grabbed Sophia’s hand and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Call me. Soon as you can. Promise?”
She nodded, not wanting to let go of his hand.
On the highway, Jutta popped in an eight-track, and as the car roared up I-95, Sophia removed the letter she had received from Mrs. Gathers in her satchel.
“What’s that?” Jutta asked, glancing at her sideways.
“The confirmation for our hotel in Philly, courtesy of Mrs. Gathers.”
