Sunday was ... different for Sophia. As soon as church was dismissed, it was inadvertently decided that Sophia would ride with the Woods. How did that come about? It was quite simple really. Sophia's father left mid-service due to a work-crisis. Just because her father went to church every week did not mean that he stayed for the whole sermon every time.
Once, when she was only eight, she had come out of Sunday school only to find her father's car nowhere in sight. Luckily, she had some allowance on her and she paid for a cab ride home. Even though her father acted like she was a ghost, it did not make the disappointment of his abrupt departures any easier for her - no matter how old she was. She at least had the car rides to spend time with him. As ugly as it sounded, they were the only reminder that she wasn't an orphan, because that was what she felt like most of the time.
Now, due to her way of life, Sophia had become quite a closed-off girl, preferring the quiet as it was what she was used to. As they say, circumstances are what build a person's personality. But even if Sophia had read every single book in the world on noise, it would not have, by any means, prepared her poor eardrums for the Woods twins.
"Mom, Mary shoved me!" Olivia screamed.
"I didn't!" Mary shot back.
"Yes, you did!"
"Nah-uh!"
"I want to sit on Luke's lap now!"
"No way!"
Through this whole episode Luke and Sophia sat quietly as they listened to the twin's dispute. Mary was seated on Luke's lap due to the lack of space that was created by six bodies in a normal-sized car. Although Luke didn't seem bothered in the least by how cramped it all was, the same could not be said for Sophia.
Because she had grown up alone most of her life, there was one thing she never lacked - space. And only now, being cramped in a vehicle, did she realise that she didn't like the feeling of someone being pushed up against her and invading her personal bubble.
Thankfully, they had given her the window seat so she had the view to keep her mind occupied and the warm summer breeze blowing her hair, made her feel a little less claustrophobic. It wasn't a long drive before the car pulled up in front of a moderate single-level house made of stone, much like the rest of the buildings in Ridgeview, with a stone wall and hedges surrounding it.
Luke was surprising Sophia more and more. She had expected him to be inexplicably rich. He appeared so ordinary when out of school and away from his fan-girls.
As soon as the car came to a stop, Sophia tried to be calm in her haste to get out of the car and gain her personal space once more. She noticed that Luke's motorbike was leaning against the wall of the opened garage and Sophia suddenly wished for her own. She definitely preferred it to a car.
"Luke, why don't you take Sophia inside and offer her a drink?" Mrs Woods called to her son as she walked up the front porch steps, twins stampeding after her. "Sophia, honey, lunch will be ready in a few minutes."
Sophia nodded her head and followed Luke silently as he lead her up the steps and through the door that the rest of the family disappeared into.
"Is lemonade fine with you?" Sophia turned to see Luke giving her a smile as warm as the summer sun.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Sure," she said and watched Luke disappear into the house.
As soon as Sophia stepped foot in the hallway, her mind couldn't help, but immediately point out the differences between her house and Luke's. Her house consisted of modern furniture and grey paints paired with white tiles. A view which alone gave the feeling of a place to live and not a place to call home. Luke's, on the other hand, had cream walls and deep wooden floors with thick white carpets draped over them.
But what shocked Sophia the most was not the warm, welcoming feel of the house, but all the photos. Photos that lined every wall and had at least one frame on every piece of table furniture. She glanced over a few. She noticed some were taken of Luke when he was little and others of his first football practise. There were plenty of the twins and many photos with people that she didn't recognise. Probably relatives.
An empty feeling started to grow in her chest as she stared at one of their family portraits. All five of them wore big smiles as they posed for the camera and it tugged at Sophia's heart. What would it feel like to have such a happy family? To have a mom that would line every wall with embarrassing baby pictures? Her father never so much as held a camera, never mind buy frames for pictures. The walls in her own house were completely and utterly bare.
Sophia moved down the hall and noticed two entrances, one on either side of her. The one entrance fanned out into a snug living-room, while the other moved into the dining-room. It was the way she had seen Luke go.
Sophia was about to follow after him, but paused when she caught sight of a prominent feature in the living room: a fireplace.
A distant feeling came over Sophia as she stared at the black swirls on the walls of the empty pit. The feeling slowly began to grow within her as she stood rooted to the spot, staring at the place where she knew flames frequently danced.
She felt as though she was in a trance. She couldn't look away, something keeping her locked in place.
"Sophia?"
Sophia broke out of her daze, and turned to look at Luke who held two glasses filled with lemonade and a look of concern. "You okay?" he asked.
Sophia swallowed the lump in her throat and straightened her posture. "I'm fine."
-
Sophia watched silently as everyone sat down at the table. Mrs Woods placed the last dish down and, although Sophia's face was schooled into a masked expression, her mouth was watering at the aromas wafting around her. You couldn't really blame her though. Sophia couldn't even remember the last time she had a home-cooked meal. She had actually forgotten what she was missing.
It took a moment to get the twins to settle and then the family did something that Sophia wasn't expecting. She blinked as she watched them all hold hands. Sophia looked to her own as she felt Luke grab her right hand and Mrs Woods her left.
"Dear, would you mind saying grace, please?" Mrs Woods asked her husband and they all bowed their heads, Sophia hesitantly so. While Mr Woods began, Sophia found herself not being able to concentrate on his words. All she could focus on was the fact that Luke was holding her hand and it was sending chills up her right arm.
She realised that it had been a long time since anyone had actually touched her. Sure, she was crammed in a car only a few minutes ago, but that was different. This was skin-on-skin contact. Something that rarely happened to her. But what confused her the most was how the chills were running up her right arm but not her left. What was up with that?
"Amen," Mr Woods finished and Sophia let go of Luke's hand quickly.
Those chills were starting to unsettle her. The family began to dish up and chatter filled the air as Sophia discretely tried to make as much space between her and the boy sitting next to her as possible.
-
"Thank you for inviting me, Mrs Woods," Sophia said politely as she stood to leave two hours later.
Mrs Woods waved her hand. "No need for the formalities, dear. Aunt Claire is fine and it's a pleasure. You're welcome anytime."
Sophia had to admit, although the family was a bit boisterous at times, it felt nice to be around light-hearted people for a change and listen to their pointless chatter. It was better than being cooped up on her own anyway.
A few times they had tried to bring her into the conversation and she had answered them politely. What was nice about the Woods was that they didn't bring up the topic of her father's absence or her father in general. They asked the usual 'What are you going to study next year?' and so forth. It was a good distraction. Something Sophia realised was long overdue.
She nodded her head after a moment. "I may take you up on that," she said and Mrs Woods smiled.
"Well, then I'll see you next week. Luke, are you ready yet?"
"Yes, Mom," Luke replied as he grabbed a set of car keys.
Over lunch it was decided that Luke would drive Sophia home. The Woods had completely ignored Sophia when she said she would gladly pay for a cab. After what happened to earlier, she didn't quite want to be alone with Luke.
Luke turned to her and gave her a smile. "Come on."
-
Soon they were on their way to Sophia's house. It was about a twenty minute drive between the two households. For the first few minutes it was quiet before Luke decided to break the silence. "So ... what does your dad do?"
Sophia had a feeling he already knew but was just trying to make conversation on what he guessed was a safe topic. "He's a General in the Army," she replied shortly.
"So, you travel a lot?" Luke pressed.
"I guess," Sophia knew he was trying to find out more about her, something she was not comfortable with. Luke seemed to pick up on her tone.
"Well, it must be a lot more interesting than my life. I have two teachers as parents and my dad's also a part-time minister."
"A part-time minister?" Sophia asked as she turned to look at him. No wonder he was so well behaved and considerate.
"Yeah, he fills in for Pastor Thomas from time to time," Luke explained. "My life's so ordinary compared to yours."
Yet little did Luke know just how much Sophia was wishing, yearning even, to have an ordinary life like his.