Finding Sophie

Introduction

The first day of my winter break, my parents sat me down on a couch in our living room to "talk" to me. I guess for some people, family meetings were a decently usual happening. Not us. Our family never had "discussions" or "meetings". If my parents wanted to ask or tell me something, it was normally plopped into conversation over yogurt in the morning a few minutes after they found out whatever it wanted to hear my side on. They didn't analyze, plan, and prepare for days or weeks or months, like some parents. When they talked they served it straight up with a side of casual. Which was how I could instantly tell this was going to be major.

"Sophie," my mom started, glancing at my dad. He smiled encouragingly. "There's something that you definitely need to know."

"And since you need to know, we're going to tell you," my dad said unnecessarily.

"And we're going to tell you right now." My mom beamed, looking proud of herself and my dad.

I sighed. This could go on for hours. "Okay, I get it. There aren't that many topics that could get you guys this nervous to tell me, so this should be easy. Are you pregnant?" My mother rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Did Dad lose his job?"

My dad snorted. "Very far from it."

"Did you get a promotion?"

"In a way, but that's not the main reason we're talking to you."

I thought for a second, glancing at how my mom was cuddled up next to my dad. No way were they getting divorced. So, all that was left was... "Where are we moving?"

"New York!" my mom cried, beaming.

"New York," I repeated, a little less beamingly. New York was literally on the other side of the country from our average-sized town in Oregon. "Why?"

My dad leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. "Well, you know Eleanor, my friend from Yale? Who comes over for dinners once a year? Well, she called me the other day with some news. Good news. Her new law firm is booming with business, and she offered me a position as co-owner and partner. And as you've probably realized, Mom has a huge clientele up in New York and the surrounding states, and she's flying up there more and more for her business lately. The move is best for the whole family. We've already enrolled you in an amazing school, and our apartment is being build for us as we speak."

My mother is an aspiring fashion designer, and her business has slowly grown over the past few years and now includes a few names that I've seen in US Weekly and Vogue which is pretty fun, while my dad is a lawyer, which is pretty not-so-fun.

"When do we leave?" I asked.

My mom smiled. "You and me are going to fly out a few days after school ends for the summer, and your dad is going to stay here and wrap up any loose ends with his clients."

"And we're going to live in our... apartment when we get there?"

"You'll be in a hotel for the first few weeks, but I promise it'll be nice. And our place isn't really an apartment, Soph..." My dad checked my face nervously. "It's kind of more of a three floor penthouse?"

"What?!" I shrieked. I glanced at first my mom, then my dad. "Please say you're kidding. You are, right?"

My parents both were smiling. "Not kidding," my mother responded giddily. "We've got a decent amount saved up, and our businesses are both booming, so we thought we'd splurge a little." I rolled my eyes at her and raised a single brow. "Okay, a more than a little."

I had no words. My parents could keep on thinking that this was amazing, but I wasn't changing my mind. "Since our heart to heart sesh is done, can I be excused?"

"Sure. Go let your friends know."

Oh. Right. My friends. Great, they're going to be pissed, I thought. With a deep breath, I snatched up my phone from the our coffee table and headed to my bedroom to face the music.