Falmouth Echoes (A Cape Cod Series Book 2)

Chapter 12

“What is that?”

“Bubble gum pink,” Zoe replied with a flourish. “I think it’ll look really good on you, Mom.”

Sophia peered at the bottle of nail polish in her daughter’s hand. “That might be a little too much for me.”

Zoe collapsed into the chair next to her and groaned. “Come on, Mom. You said you’d try something new today. You can’t use clear nail polish forever.”

“What’s wrong with clear nail polish?” Sophia wriggled her toes and admired the sheen gloss on her nails. “It’s practical, and it goes with everything.”

Zoe pushed the chair across the floor with a screech, earning a few dirty looks from the other customers. “There’s nothing wrong with being practical, but now and again, it’s good to change things up. I’m sure you used to do it a lot when you were younger.”

Sophia shrugged. “Not really.”

Zoe placed a hand over Sophia’s arm. “Come on. Everyone has a rebel phase. I’m old enough for you to tell me the truth.”

Sophia raised an eyebrow. “What truth is that?”

“That you had your rebel phase,” Zoe whispered with a wag of her eyebrows. “No secret tattoos Grandpa doesn’t know about? No sneaking out after curfew?”

Sophia shook her head. “Nope.”

Zoe waved her comment away. “There’s a rebel in there somewhere. We just need to help her find a way out.”

Except Zoe was going to find out the hard way that her mom wasn’t that interesting.

As far back as she could remember, Sophia had always colored between the lines and kept to herself. Even as a child, she rarely needed to be told what to do or how to behave, and the only time she’d ever surprised anyone was when she announced that she and Darren were separating.

Since then, she’d been trying to keep her head down and navigate the labyrinth of unfamiliarity. Unfortunately, it wasn’t proving to be as easy as she thought it would. While a part of her had assumed she’d slip back into old habits and find her way to her twenty-year-old self again, a part of her knew how ridiculous it all was.

She was a forty-four-year-old mother of two who had made the decision to end her marriage and was now struggling to reconnect with her children. To top it off, she wasn’t even sure what she was doing in her personal or professional life other than trying to find a way to get from one day to the next.

Even that felt exhausting.

Finding little moments of happiness here and there was all Sophia could do until she figured out what she wanted to do next, if she ever figured it out.

When Zoe looped her arm through Sophia’s and led her out of the brightly colored and loud nail salon, the two of them fell into an easy rhythm, wandering around the three-floor mall, with a glass ceiling offering a clear view of the sky, and the latest hits playing through loudspeakers scattered throughout.

“Mom, can I ask you a question?”

Sophia squeezed Zoe’s hand and smiled. “Of course, sweetheart. What is it?”

“This guy I like…the one I asked out…he hasn’t called me back, and I’m not sure if I scared him off or what happened.”

“Hold on. This calls for some frozen yogurt. Let’s sit.”

Together, the two of them sat down at an empty table in the middle of the food court. Sophia disappeared and returned with two cups of strawberry-flavored yogurt. She set Zoe’s down in front of her, and her daughter picked up the spoon and pushed the desert around.

“I think that you need to talk to him and be honest. That’s about all you can do, anyways.”

“What if I did come on too strong?”

“Then you’ll try and dial it back, or you’ll find someone who can appreciate the kind of woman you are,” Sophia replied, pausing to reach across the table and pat Zoe’s hand. “Either way, it’s going to be okay.”

Zoe lifted tear-filled eyes up to her mother’s. “How do you know?”

“Because moms know these things,” Sophia murmured, her eyes never leaving Zoe’s face. “It comes with the territory.”

“Does the Mom handbook also tell you how to handle your last semester of college?”

Sophia’s lips lifted into a half smile. “I could tell you, but what do I get in exchange for passing down trade secrets?”

Zoe blew out her breath and leaned back against her chair. “What happened to telling me things because you’re my mom?”

“Honey, if I tell you everything, how are you ever going to learn?”

Zoe offered her mother a bright smile. “I’m going to learn to appreciate you a lot more. That’s got to count for something, right?”

Sophia reached across the table and patted Zoe’s hand. “Nice try, sweetheart, but that’s not how this works.”

Zoe widened her eyes, and her lower lip jutted out. “Not even if I give you the Zoe puppy dog eyes?”

Sophia threw her head back and laughed. “You know how hard it is to resist them, but I stand by what I said. The only way you learn is by making mistakes.”

Zoe muttered something under her breath.

Sophia licked her spoon and cleared her throat. “So, other than this mysterious guy you keep telling me about, how is everything else? You ready for your last semester?”

Zoe glanced around the semi-full food court, a thoughtful expression on her face. “I thought it would feel different. I thought I would have all this experience and all these plans, but I only feel slightly less clueless than when I first started college.”

Sophia gave her daughter a comforting smile. “That’s normal. I felt that way too. College doesn’t prepare you as much as you think it will. It’s rare to find someone who actually feels ready when it’s over, and even then, it’s not a one-size-fits-all.”

Zoe swung her gaze back to her mom’s and sat up straighter. “You figured everything out, though, and you’re doing pretty well for yourself.”

Sophia set her spoon down and shrugged. “Honey, I’m nowhere close to figuring things out. Even then, I wasn’t. You just kind of muddle through and do your best. Do you know what the most important thing is?”

Zoe tossed her hair back and gave her mom a winning smile. “Looking great while you muddle through?”

Sophia’s lips twitched. “If it makes you feel better about yourself. You do whatever you have to do in order to get up in the morning and face the day. In time, everything else just falls into place.”

Zoe’s expression turned serious. “Is that what’s happening with you and Nora’s Delights? I overheard Grandma Jen talking about it the other day.”

“Your mom isn’t as put together as you think,” Sophia teased with a shake of her head. “But I’ll figure it out; don’t worry.”

Zoe drummed her fingers against the table. “I know you will, and in the meantime, just give Zac some space. He’ll come around.”

Sophia frowned. “Is he really that mad at me?”

“He’ll get over it,” Zoe assured her with a smile. “You know how Zac gets all in his feelings and stuff. Give it a few days, and it’ll blow over.”

“I wish I had waited to call in those favors.” Sophia reached for her purse and rummaged through it. When she pulled out her phone and saw the messages from her boss, her brows furrowed together. She sent a few responses before tucking her phone away. “So, you wanted to show me a cute outfit. Lead the way.”

A few hours later, when their feet ached and Sophia’s stomach hurt from laughing, the two of them made their way to Zoe’s car. After dropping her off at Nora’s, Zoe drove off, and Sophia watched her until the car turned into a speck in the distance. Then she pushed her hair out of her eyes and fished the keys out of her pocket. Once she stepped in through the back door, the smell of cinnamon and cloves hit her first. She kicked off her shoes, left them by the backdoor, and set her purse down on the empty table.

Sophia was muttering to herself as she put the finishing touches on some of the wedding cupcakes when Nora arrived, hair piled on top of her head and a pair of glasses perched on her nose. Nora smiled when she saw Sophia and lowered the notebook in her hand.

“I had no idea you were coming in today. It’s the weekend.”

Sophia gathered her hair up into a ponytail and gave Nora a small smile. “I thought I’d make sure everything was in order before the wedding. I hope it’s okay.”

Nora waved her comment away. “It’s more than okay. Your dedication and hard work are one of the many reasons I hired you for the job.”

“You’re sure it’s not my sparking wit?”

Nora laughed. “That was a bonus.”

Sophia tilted her head in the direction of the notebook. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t you usually work less if you’re about to retire? What happened to delegating?”

“I’m learning how to delegate,” Nora replied, pausing to glance around the kitchen, a shadow falling over her face. “But it’s strange to think of myself not being here. I guess I’m still wrapping my head around it.”

“Change can be difficult,” Sophia agreed. “I never thought I’d be starting over in my forties, but here I am.”

Nora pulled a chair out and sat down. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re handling it well. I don’t think you should listen to anybody else when it comes to your own life.”

Sophia stepped out from behind the counter and picked up the tray of cookies. “Yeah, I don’t know how you do that. I feel like I’m always looking for people’s approval.”

Nora picked up a cookie and smiled. “You learn how to get better at tuning it out, or you find the right kind of people to please.”

Sophia sat down opposite Nora and picked up one of her own cookies. “Is that what you’re doing with your kids?”

Nora bit into the cookie and nodded. “In part, but they’re also right. I’m not getting any younger, and I do want to slow down, enjoy the sun on my face and all that.”

“How do you know it’s the right time to walk away?”

“It feels right,” Nora responded after a lengthy silence. “But what do I know? I had my money on leaving you in charge of Nora’s, and I turned out to be wrong about that.”

Sophia choked on a piece of her food. “What did you just say?”

“Months after I hired you, I knew you would be the right fit, but don’t worry. It didn’t take me long to figure out you weren’t interested.”

Sophia thumped her fist against her chest. “I’m not?”

“Management isn’t for everyone. It’s okay if you’d much rather be a pastry chef. You don’t always have to reach for the stars to be happy, you know.”

Sophia swallowed and gave Nora a weak smile. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Nora brushed off the crumbs and dabbed at her mouth with a tissue. “Anyway, I’m glad we got the chance to talk, but I’ve got to get back to these books. Finances aren’t going to do themselves, you know. No matter how much I wish they would.”

Sophia cleared her throat. “Is there anything I can help with?”

Nora pushed her chair back with a screech and patted Sophia’s shoulders on the way past. “Thank you, dear. I’ll be fine. Make sure everything is in order before you leave.”

“Of course.”

Sophia waited till Nora retreated into her office before she sagged back against the chair. Over the next few hours, she turned Nora’s words round and around in her head until there was a small niggling in the back of her skull. On the drive home, she still couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact that she’d been in the running at all, much less that she only had herself to blame for being passed over.

Sophia greeted her dad, who was half-asleep on the couch, and made a beeline for her own apartment, Teddy happily trotting after her. After changing out of her clothes and brushing her teeth, she curled up against Teddy, who spun in a few circles before settling on the bed next to her.

As she scratched behind Teddy’s ears, Sophia couldn’t help but wonder if she really was to blame for not being considered Nora’s successor.

What was stopping her from telling Nora she wanted to throw her hat in the ring?

Was she actually allowing her fear to cloud her judgment and make her get in her own way?