Chapter 51
SOPHIA
On the afternoon before their trip to Williamsburg, Sophia found Walter with his feet dangling from beneath the Ford Six.
“I can’t stop picturing the look on my mother’s face when I ring the doorbell. Do you think she’ll be there? We haven’t considered that she might have a job,” she whispered as he rolled from underneath the car.
His overalls were covered in grease and soot. “Rusty, we have a problem.”
Sophia froze.
“I don’t trust this old gal on the road for such a long haul. I looked at the Old Man’s map, and Williamsburg’s more than two and a half hours away.”
“So.”
“The furthest I’ve driven her is over to Dares Beach.”
“No, please don’t back out now, Walt,” she whined.
“I’m sorry, but it’s an old car, and I can’t put that much pressure on her. It’s not safe.”
Sophia slouched down on the grass next to him, picking at a hole in her overalls.
Every time she took a step forward, she was hit with two giant steps back.
If she didn’t get to Williamsburg over spring break, then she’d have to wait until the summer.
The knowledge that she could be so close to solving her life’s puzzle was killing her.
“Isn’t there someone you could call? Maybe Mrs. Brown at Brooks.”
“My old school counselor?”
“She got you into West Oak Forest, maybe she’d help you with this too.”
Then it hit her, and Sophia stood up and dusted grass from her backside. “Not Mrs. Brown, but I have another idea.” She made her way back toward the house.
“Fingers crossed,” Walter called after her.
The sky was still purple as Sophia lay awake in her bed, listening to Ma Deary hum along to “Precious Lord” by Aretha Franklin as she bumped around in the kitchen.
It was a song that Sophia had always loved.
Aretha crooning, along with the rumble of the bass and the rich fingering of the piano, brought her a semblance of hope.
Today she would embark on a life-changing moment, and she needed courage.
“That uppity school done made you lazy.” Ma Deary poked her head into Sophia’s dugout bedroom, breaking the sweet spell that Aretha Franklin had spun. “Get on up, girl. The hens waiting on you to get those eggs.”
Sophia pushed herself up. “Coming, Ma Deary.” After shrugging into her West Oak Forest Academy sweatshirt, she made her way into the kitchen, fragranced with the aroma of coffee.
Ma Deary wore her white uniform that stopped below the knee. “Pile of laundry out back for you to wash.” She scowled, then slipped into her blazer and let the screen door slam behind her.
Once Sophia heard Ma back the Rambler down the road from the house, she returned to her bedroom and changed into the khaki A-line skirt with attached suspenders that she had picked out of the lost-and-found bin, and her school blouse. Then she brushed her hair back into a ponytail.
Walter was waiting for her on the back porch in a rusted chair next to the broken icebox. “Ready?”
Yesterday Sophia had phoned Mrs. Gathers, and she had agreed to take Sophia to Williamsburg to reunite with her mother.
Given the circumstances, Sophia couldn’t meet Mrs. Gathers at the farm and chance a run-in with Ma Deary or the Old Man.
That would put a stop to this whole expedition, not to mention Sophia’s continuing shame over their poor living conditions.
Instead, Sophia had given Mrs. Gathers the address of Brooks High School, with instructions to meet in the parking lot.
Walter had agreed to drop Sophia off on his way to purchase feed for the animals. As she slid across the cracked leather seat, she asked, “Will you double back and give the twins a ride to school?”
“They’re used to walking. Quit babying them.” Walter backed up the Ford Six and then turned the nose toward the road.
“I promised to bring them back cherry sours and Bazooka bubble gum.” She passed Walter a boiled egg, peeled and salted.
Walter gobbled his down in two bites while Sophia ate hers slowly. Once it was in her belly, she worried that she’d smell like hard-boiled egg when she met Mrs. Gathers. She put her hand in front of her mouth and blew out her breath to smell it.
“There’s a handful of peppermints in the glove box,” Walter said.
Sophia wrenched it open. “I hope all this candy isn’t an indication that you’re still fooling with Mary Ellen at the General Store?” She popped a piece into her mouth.
His cheeks blushed. “We’ve been spending time together when she can get away.”
“Have you lost your mind? Sneaking around in the woods with a white girl.”
Walter grinned. “We’re going steady.”
Sophia turned in her seat. “You can’t be serious.”
“As a heart attack.”
Sophia touched her brother’s arm. “You know those brothers of hers smoke pot and are always up to no good. Not to mention that it’s illegal.”
“We’re cautious,” he said, pulling into the school’s parking lot. “Don’t worry about me. You just focus on finding your mother.”
There was a blue Chevy parked over by a tree, away from the other cars and still running.
“That must be her,” said Sophia.
Walter sidled up alongside the Chevy, and Sophia hopped out before he could kill the engine. “Mrs. Gathers,” she rushed to say, “I can’t thank you enough for coming.”
Mrs. Gathers stepped out of her car wearing a plaid skirt, a button-down blouse, and flats. “It’s my pleasure, dear.” She opened her arms, and Sophia fell into her friendly embrace. “Is this your brother?”
“Yes, Walter, meet Mrs. Gathers.”
He shook her hand.
“It’s nice to see you, Walter.” She squinted. “I sort of remember your face. I think you were the boy who was most well behaved on our flight to America.”
Walter beamed. “Thank you for everything and especially for what you are doing right now for my sister. It means a lot that she knows who she is.”
“I couldn’t agree more. That’s why we had better get a move on.” Mrs. Gathers tapped her watch.
Walter grabbed Sophia’s wrist and whispered, “Be careful. And no matter what or who you find, I will always be your big bro.”
Squeezing his fingers, she thanked him and then climbed into the passenger seat beside Mrs. Gathers.
It wasn’t until they had found I-64 heading east that Mrs. Gathers asked Sophia about her semester at school.
“It’s going well. I have all A’s.”
“That’s amazing, at an institution as prestigious as West Oak Forest. Have you given any thought to college?”
Sophia fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. “Not more than knowing that I want to go. I can’t end up back at the farm.”
“Well, there are guidance counselors at your school who will point you in the right direction when the time comes.”
Sophia thought about the teachers at Forest. Most hadn’t had the decency to pair her face with her name.
At least twice a week, one of them confused her with Willa.
In the beginning, Sophia had worried about her missing birth certificate, but after a month, it became apparent that no one in the office would cast another glance at her file.
She looked out the window as the trees passed by.
It was a beautiful sunny day, but the anticipation of what was to come planted a knot in her stomach.
Rubbing it, she turned toward Mrs. Gathers, still a bit stunned that the woman had agreed to chaperone her on this harebrained trip.
“What made you get involved in this adoption thing to begin with? It seems like a huge undertaking.”
As she signaled and changed lanes, Mrs. Gathers responded, “It’s a very long story, but the crux of it is…
” Then she paused for so long that Sophia thought she had changed her mind about answering.
“I couldn’t have children of my own, and I so desperately wanted to become a mother,” she said finally, both hands gripping the wheel.
“I fell into a bit of depression, but discovering those sweet children living in the orphanage brought me out of it. When I saw them, it felt like God was speaking to me. Telling me that I had been placed right there in Germany to be of service. They gave me purpose.”
Sophia felt a burst of reverence for Mrs. Gathers. “But you have children now, right? I saw the family photographs around your home.”
Mrs. Gathers smiled. “And they have been the joy of my life. To help children like you find loving homes, and women like me who couldn’t conceive, have the chance to become mothers has been my life’s calling.”
“That’s really admirable.”
“Thanks.” She chewed her bottom lip. “Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s next for me. The adoption agency has slowed down to a halt, and my own children have grown faster than you can say ‘Mississippi.’ Half of them have already left the nest.”
“Is that why you are helping me?”
Mrs. Gathers fell quiet again. “I can admit when I’ve made a mistake, and your determination is unlike any I have ever seen in a young person. I started you on this journey, and I’m duty-bound to help you finish it.”
They stopped once to use the restroom and then drove into Williamsburg shortly before eleven. Once they exited the highway, Mrs. Gathers stopped at the gas station to get directions.
“We’re just five miles away.” She slid behind the wheel and tossed Sophia a banana.
Mrs. Gathers dropped her speed as she eased down Little John Road. The street was quiet, and all the houses had manicured bushes with identical spacious front lawns. When Mrs. Gathers put the Chevy in park and turned off the engine, Sophia reached for her hand.
“Thank you for coming this far with me, Mrs. Gathers. But this part I have to do alone. Don’t drive off without me.”
“No matter what you find on the other side of that door, know that I’ll be right here waiting for you.”