Sweet Misfortune: A Novel (11 page)

Chapter 16

If you thought things were looking up, you were upside down.

T
HE NEXT EVENING GARRETT CALLED SOPHIE AFTER
work and explained that he needed to put in extra hours at the office so that he would be fully prepared to take time off for the honeymoon. Sophie understood completely, since she was in a similar situation with things at Chocolat’ de Soph. With only two weeks to go, there were still a whole litany of things that needed to be set in order before she would feel comfortable leaving everything in Randy’s hands for an entire week.

Due to one emergency or another, Garrett and Sophie hardly saw each other that entire week. Sophie missed him, but she reminded herself that in the very near future she would get to see him every day for the rest of her life, and that made the few days without him more tolerable. Besides, they still talked every night on the phone before going to bed, and that, for now, was enough to get her by.

After going to bed early on Saturday night, Sophie was confused when her phone rang at one thirty in the morning. It took several moments before she was alert enough to recognize that it was Garrett’s ringtone that she was hearing, and not a dream.

“Garrett?”

“We need to talk, Soph,” he said. Sophie thought his voice sounded strangely distant, and it sent a warning chill down her spine.

“Now?”

“It can’t wait.”

“Umm. Okay. I’m listening. Are you all right?”

There was a brief silence on the phone before Garrett said, “I’m in my car out front. Can you come down?”

“Garrett… what’s going on?”

“Just come down, Soph.”

For Sophie, panic was already setting in. And dread. Whatever it was that Garrett wanted to talk about, she knew in her gut that it wasn’t good. “I’ll be right there,” she whispered.

Getting out of her bed, Sophie peeked through the curtain at the driveway below. From her angle on the second floor she couldn’t see Garrett’s face, but she was able to make out both of his hands gripping the steering wheel. Although it was cold and drizzling outside, she didn’t think to put on a robe or shoes; in her rush to find out what was going on she went downstairs in her satin pajamas and marched out to his car barefoot.

As she walked, Sophie tried to imagine all the different reasons why Garrett might wake her up in the middle of the night and call her down to his car for a chat. But for every external reason that she came up with, the voice in her head kept saying,
No
…
it’s something about me.

She was shivering when she slid into the front seat of his car, but she forced an optimistic smile. “This is a pleasant surprise. Good morning, handsome.”

Garrett’s hands remained riveted to the steering wheel. His face wasn’t without emotion, but neither was it the look of someone who was happy to see her. As he turned his head, the light from Sophie’s porch illuminated his face enough for her to see that he’d been crying. “Two hours,” he said numbly. “That’s how long I’ve been sitting here deciding what I should do.”

Sophie retracted her arm swiftly, as though the tone of his voice had stung her. “What on earth is going on, Garrett? So help me… if you’re even thinking about…”

Her words hung in the air.

“Garrett,” she pleaded, “whatever it is, just put it out there so we can talk it through.”

He turned away and whispered, “I’m sorry, Soph…”

“Sorry? Why are you sorry, Garrett? Talk to me!”

He dropped his gaze. “It’s over.”

Sophie wanted to vomit. She cupped her hand over her mouth just in case something was about to come spewing out. “What?” she finally managed once the gag reflex subsided. “What are you talking about?
Us?
We’re over, just like that? Garrett, whatever it is, I’m sure we can work it out.”

As she spoke, the rain and wind outside picked up, pelting the car in heavy waves.

“I’m sorry, Sophie,” he said again, pulling his eyes from the steering wheel to look at her. His voice was much more sympathetic now. “If there were a way to avoid this, I would, but… some misfortunes just can’t be fixed.”

“You care to elaborate? At least tell me why,” she demanded.

He shook his head once, slowly. “Does it matter? It’s over, Soph. You told me a long time ago that good things don’t last. Maybe you were right.”

She didn’t want to cry, but the impact of what he was saying—
the reminder that everything she’d ever loved had ended badly
—moved her to tears. “You lied to me!” she wailed. “You said you’d love me forever! You said that I could trust you!
I trusted you!
”

“Don’t worry about the wedding arrangements,” he said, as Sophie continued to sob. “I’ll make sure everyone is notified. You don’t have to do anything.”

She heard him, but refused to look at him or respond in any way.

There were plenty of things he wanted to say to comfort her, but he knew if he said too much it would just lead to more questions. Questions that he wasn’t willing to answer. “I need to go.”

“So that’s it? You’re calling it quits and leaving, just like that?”

He tipped his head in response.

Sophie opened the door and stepped out into the pouring rain. By the time she shut the car door behind her she was completely soaked. But instead of running inside, she just stood there, barefoot in the rain, and watched as Garrett pulled out of her driveway and drove out of her life.

Once his taillights were out of view, she walked back inside. Dripping puddles across the floor as she went, she marched straight for the couch in the living room and, without bothering to dry off, flopped down, curled up in a ball, and cried until dawn.

Chapter 17

The world may be your oyster, but your oyster lacks the pearl.

O
PEN THIS DOOR, SOPHIE!” YELLED EVALYNN FOR AT
least the tenth time.

“Go away!”

“Like hell! I’m just going to keep knocking, yelling, and ringing the doorbell until you let me in!” Evalynn pushed the doorbell five times in quick succession, then started pounding again. “The neighbors are watching! You’d better open before they call the cops!”

Thirty seconds later Sophie gave in and opened the front door. She stood there looking very pale, with fresh saline trails down her cheeks. Her eyes were puffy, her hair was a rat’s nest, and it appeared as though she’d been wearing the same pajamas for days.

“Hi Sophie,” Evalynn said softly.

“I just want to be left alone. Why is that so hard to understand?”

“I know. But you’ve already sequestered yourself for what—three days now? Enough is enough. Can I come in?”

Frowning dramatically, Sophie muttered, “Fine.”

Evalynn stepped forward, opening up her arms to give Sophie a hug. “I won’t lie to you. You look awful.”

“Shut—”

“
Phew
… you don’t smell so hot either. Have you showered?”

“Not since Sunday.”

“Well then, it’s time you did.”

It took some nudging, but an hour later Sophie looked and smelled presentable. Not long thereafter, Ellen showed up in her squad car.

“You should have called me, Sophie,” Ellen told her while they hugged. “I shouldn’t have had to hear about this mess three days after the fact from Garrett’s mom.”

Sophie pulled back. “I know. I just… didn’t want to face the reality of it.”

Ellen hugged her again. “I know, Sweets. I know.”

Halfway through her shift downtown, Ellen had gotten a direct call from the police dispatcher, Garrett’s mother, telling her she was needed at the station immediately. Once she arrived, Olivia DeMattio explained how Garrett had just called with some terrible news. “He broke it off with her three days ago,” she said hysterically, “but he didn’t bother telling anyone else until today!” Olivia was mortified, especially because Garrett wouldn’t provide any concrete reasons for what he’d done, only saying that Sophie had nothing to do with it and that it was his own fault.

As soon as Olivia stopped talking, Ellen started calling Sophie’s cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail. Then she tried calling Chocolat’ de Soph, but nobody answered there either. As a final resort, she called Evalynn, who was just getting off work in Tacoma. Ellen filled her in on what she knew, and told her to go straight to Sophie’s house as quickly as possible.

With the whole foster family there, Sophie related the details of how she was officially dumped by Dr. Garrett Black. She was done telling them everything within a few minutes, which, as she explained to them, was about how long it took Garrett to call everything off and leave.

“And he wouldn’t say why?”

“Nope. He said he had his reasons, but that it was better for both of us if he didn’t elaborate.”

“
Pfft
,” Evalynn snorted. “Maybe better for
him
.”

Sophie sighed. “Yeah. That’s the thing that’s been eating me up. I mean, sure, the whole thing sucks. And yes, I wish I wasn’t going through this. But not understanding
why
? It’s just unfair. I’ve been trying to call him ever since, but he won’t answer.”

“We should go to his house,” said Ellen, as she stood up. “Right now. I’ll drive, Soph. You deserve better than to be left in the lurch like this.”

Initially, Sophie balked at the idea, but ten minutes later they were on the road, and fifteen minutes after that the squad car pulled up in front of Garrett’s house. It was already dark outside, making it easy to tell that all the lights were off, but Sophie got out and walked to the door anyway. Nobody answered. She peeked through the window near the door, but there wasn’t enough light to see anything, so she ran back to the car.

“Can you shine the floodlight on the front of the house?” Sophie asked Ellen.

“Of course, Sweets. You see something inside?”

“No. I just want to be sure about what I’m not seeing.”

Sophie scuttled back up to the door and peeked through the window again. This time she could see everything perfectly. Only, there still wasn’t anything to see. With the same urge to vomit that she’d felt three nights earlier, Sophie walked slowly back to the car and climbed in.

Ellen read the shock on her face. “Soph… what’s wrong?”

“It’s definitely over,” she said, though the words were barely audible. “Everything… he’s… there’s…
nothing
.”

“What?” asked Evalynn from the backseat.

Sophie felt numb. She turned her head slightly and with a hoarse voice said, “The house is completely empty. He’s moved.”

“Well, what about his office?” Ellen said. “We could go by there if you want. Either now or in the morning. He’ll have to show up at work sooner or later.”

“What’s the point?” Sophie shot back. “Most people, when they’re ready to move on, they just move on. He actually moved! If that doesn’t send a message that he doesn’t want to talk to me, then I don’t know what would. No, if he doesn’t want to see me, I’ll leave him be.”

“But Soph, what if—?”

“No! Ellen, it doesn’t matter. I knew from the start that it would end this way. It’s the story of my life. Let’s just go. It’s over.”

Chapter 18

Your greatest success is your aptitude for failure.

T
AKE ME TO THE STORE,” SOPHIE SAID FLATLY FROM
the front seat of Ellen’s police cruiser. They’d been driving aimlessly around town for twenty minutes, using the time to mentally sort out where things had gone wrong with Garrett. But now that her fears of losing him had come true, Sophie wanted to find some other way to vent besides driving around in the dark and crying, and she had an idea that she thought might just do the trick.

“Huh?” replied Ellen

“Chocolat’ de Soph. I need to go there to get ready for tomorrow.”

Evalynn protested from the back. “Soph, you’re smack-dab in the middle of a full-blown personal crisis. Work can wait.”

She shook her head adamantly. “I can’t let it stay closed another day. Besides, I think it’ll be therapeutic.”

“Making chocolates is anything but therapeutic,” countered Evalynn with a chuckle. “If you were
eating
chocolates, then maybe I’d agree.”

“Just get me there. I have a new recipe I want to try, in honor of Garrett.”

Ellen put the car into gear. “You’re going to make something sweet, in honor of
him
?”

“Not exactly,” replied Sophie quietly, the wheels already turning in her head about what ingredients to use for her new “treat.”

When they arrived at the store, Evalynn volunteered to stay and help Sophie with preparations.

Ellen stayed just long enough to remind Sophie that everything was going to work out just fine. “God is at the helm,” she insisted, “even when you think your ship is sinking. Just keep trusting that the Captain knows more about where you’re heading than you do, and eventually you’ll get where you need to be.”

It was the first thing anyone had said all evening that made Sophie laugh. “If God’s steering this boat, then I’m jumping ship,” she’d responded. “Either that or outright mutiny. But God didn’t break my heart. Garrett did.”

“Give it time, Sweets,” Ellen counseled softly. “Give it time.”

After Ellen was gone, Sophie put Evalynn to work on fresh batches of fudge, along with a whole slew of hand-dipped items, while she embarked on her new creation. An hour later, just after 11:00
PM
, Sophie had her first full batch of fortune cookies. The only things missing were the fortunes.

For that, she sat down at her desk in her office and pulled out a paper, which she cut into narrow slips with a pair of scissors. Then one by one she started filling the tiny papers with whatever words came to mind. The first one, she thought, was a gem.
Some people are lucky in love. You aren’t one of them
. The second one made her smile, too.
Your life will fall apart in the blink of an eye. Don’t blink!

After that, the words just kept flowing until every paper had a unique misfortune. She slid the papers into the cookies and took them on a tray to show Evalynn, whose mouth was full of peanut-butter dough.

“Care to try?”

Evalynn swallowed. “Chocolate-covered fortune cookies? That’s your new idea? I hate to break this to you, but I’m pretty sure that’s been done before.”

“Not like this,” she said, smiling. “They aren’t fortune cookies. They are Misfortune Cookies. I think you’ll notice the difference.”

Evalynn shrugged and picked up one. Watching her friend’s expression as she bit into it, Sophie knew the recipe was a success. An instant later Evalynn was spitting and spewing the cookie out of her mouth. “It’s horrible!”

“Like I said before… in honor of Garrett. Which message did you get?”

Evalynn reached into the crumbling mess and pulled out its paper. “
Like the cookie in your hand, your love life will eventually crumble and leave a very bad taste in your mouth.
” After reading it, Evalynn looked up and frowned. “It’s… depressing.”

“Yep.”

“Makes me wonder a little bit about Justin.”

“See,” Sophie said, grinning again. “Therapeutic. Regular fortune cookies are too over the top with optimism. But these? A healthy dose of reality for those of us who’ve been around the block enough times to know that happiness is just an illusion.”

“I don’t know that I’d go that far,” protested Evalynn.

Sophie just shrugged. “I would.”