Chapter 58
SOPHIA
Mrs. Gathers ushered them into the spacious hotel room.
“Wow, this is bigger than my apartment.” Jutta whistled. “Thanks again for putting us up.”
“Certainly, how did it go?” Mrs. Gathers wore a satin pajama set, and her face was scrubbed clean.
“I met my father, Osbourne Philips,” Sophia said.
Mrs. Gathers raised her hands in the air. “Praise God!”
“He was so happy to see me. The whole family was ecstatic. I’m still overwhelmed, to be honest.”
“It was a lot to take in at once,” Jutta admitted. “But I was really glad to be there.”
Sophia was exhausted and needed a moment to herself. “Where’s the restroom? I’m going to take a shower.”
“Right down the hall, dear.”
As Sophia headed toward the bathroom, Jutta kept up a steady stream of chatter with Mrs. Gathers, but the only voice that Sophia heard was Ozzie’s. I’ve searched for you. I never meant to leave you behind.
Her father was alive, and he had tried to find her.
But why had he left her in the first place?
There had been too much commotion in the house, Nettie peppering her with questions, introducing her to aunts and uncles while stuffing her belly with the flakiest fried fish that she had ever tasted, to get any answers.
When she had asked Jutta, she’d said she didn’t know.
The heat and steam from the shower felt good. After slipping into her only nightgown, she found Jutta and Mrs. Gathers sipping tea on the settee.
“Are you okay, love?” Jutta asked.
“It’s been a really long day.” Sophia wrapped her arms around her waist.
Mrs. Gathers said, “Why don’t you get some rest. You and Jutta can sleep in the room to the left of the bathroom. I heard you were having breakfast with your father tomorrow.”
Sophia grinned. “He invited me to his home. I can’t believe this is all happening.”
“I knew God would provide.”
Jutta lifted her mug to her lips. “Sleep well.”
The bedroom had a full-size bed, two nightstands, and a chest of drawers.
Under the covers, Sophia tossed and turned but couldn’t fall asleep.
It was too late to phone Max or Willa, and the high of her day had made it impossible for her mind to settle down.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and then tiptoed across the floor and reached inside her satchel.
Tucked between two books was a crossword puzzle that she had scavenged from the Saturday newspaper at school.
The grating of her pencil on the page scratched a part of her brain that she couldn’t otherwise reach.
After filling in half the puzzle, she was relaxed enough to doze off.
Sleep took her to the place that, no matter how much she willed it, she couldn’t avoid.
She was in the kitchen, and the heat from the flames started moving toward her.
But just as she felt the flames shoot over her, a woman pulled her away from the fire and into her arms. The embrace felt familiar in her bones.
“Schatz.” The woman kissed both her cheeks, and when Sophia looked up, she was gone.
When Sophia opened her eyes, it was daylight, and Jutta was sitting up in the bed they shared. “Are you all right? You were trembling like a leaf.”
As bad as it seemed, there was some good news. Despite not taking the pills, Sophia hadn’t screamed or ripped the flesh from her arms with her nails. That was a first. She searched her memory. “What does Schatz mean?”
“It’s a term of endearment. It means ‘darling,’ ‘honey,’ ‘sweetie.’ Something like that. Why? Are you dreaming in German now?” Jutta gave her a sloppy smile.
Sophia hugged her knees to her chest and told Jutta the recent iteration of her recurring nightmare.
Moving to the window, Jutta opened the curtains until full sunlight bled into the room. “Maybe it was Jelka. She called me Schatzi sometimes. Maybe it was how she called to you too.”
A longing curled up in Sophia’s gut.
Jutta peered out the window. “I talked to my ex, Danny. He wants to meet for coffee while I’m in town. I hope it’s okay for Mrs. Gathers to drive you to your father’s house. I promised him that you’d be there by ten.”
Mrs. Gathers parked in front of a house with a lime-green awning. “I know you were expecting Jutta to bring you. I hope I’m not intruding.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re responsible for all of this. Getting me to America, helping me find my parents. It’s only appropriate for my father to meet our Brown Fairy.” Sophia smiled.
On the porch sat two railing planters filled with purple and white pansies stretching their petals toward the sun.
Before Sophia reached the top landing, Ozzie pushed open the screen door.
He was dressed in a green and yellow dashiki paired with dark Levi’s, his short Afro glistened, and he smiled showing all his teeth.
“Katja. I’m so glad you came.” He held the door open as he looked from Sophia to Mrs. Gathers.
“Hello, Mr. Philips, I’m Ethel Gathers, the one who organized the adoptions of the war babies out of Germany.” She held out her hand.
“It is an honor to meet you.”
“Mrs. Gathers has been a godsend in helping me find you.” Sophia fidgeted with the sleeve of her sweater.
“Words can’t thank you enough. Please, come on in.”
They followed Ozzie into the living room.
The walls were covered in African art, and the matching sofas were burnt orange with striped throw pillows.
A curvy brown-skinned woman dressed in a floral pantsuit stood in the archway that separated the living room from the dining room.
A boy about the same age as the twins leaned into her, squirming in a button-down shirt that clearly was not his outfit of choice.
“Katja?” The woman stepped forward. “I’m Rita. It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. You are absolutely beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She blushed.
“Sorry we missed you last night. I got caught up at work. Can I give you a hug?” Rita opened her arms and flattened Sophia against her bosom.
“Your dad and I have been scouring the earth for you. He told me the story, and I’m amazed that you found us first.” Then she turned to Mrs. Gathers. “Pleased to meet you too, ma’am.”
“Ethel Gathers.” They shook hands.
“I’m Maceo.” The boy waved in a way that said, Remember me?
Sophia bent down until they were eye to eye. Here was another brother, and Maceo was the spitting image of her father. Deep mahogany skin, white teeth, and kind eyes. “Nice to meet you.”
“Why don’t we all sit down for a few minutes.” Rita gestured to the sofas.
After a bit of polite small talk among the grown-ups, Sophia reached into her satchel and pulled out the tin canister with the German cottage painted on the front. “This box provided the final clue.”
“Oz, don’t you have the same box up in your closet?” Rita touched Ozzie’s thigh.
He said to Sophia, “We bought them from a street vendor shortly after you were born at a little stall in the central square in Mannheim.”
Rita glanced over at the table clock and exhaled. “Goodness gracious, I hate that we can’t spend more time getting to know you, Katja, but Maceo and I are off to a fall cotillion interest meeting.”
“We can skip it,” Maceo piped up.
“You know better than that. I’m one of the organizers.” Rita stood. “Mrs. Gathers, thanks again for bringing Katja to us.” Her eyes sparkling, she said to Sophia, “Sweetheart, I am looking forward to getting to know you. Come back real soon.”
Rita picked up her leather pocketbook and motioned for Maceo to give Sophia a hug goodbye, which he did. Then Sophia watched the tenderness among the three as Ozzie kissed Rita’s cheek and exchanged a fist bump with Maceo. This was what she had been missing: genuine love.
“Why don’t we go into the kitchen. Do you two like pancakes?”
“I do,” Sophia said.
“Rita left us a batch in the oven, along with some bacon.”
Mrs. Gathers stood. “Mr. Philips, I’m in the middle of writing an article for The Philadelphia Tribune. Do you mind if I use your desk in that corner to work on it? I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on.”
“Absolutely,” he said, and then moved a few books around and pulled out her chair.
The kitchen was painted a bright yellow, and every surface was immaculate, not a dish in the sink or a crumb to be found.
“Do you drink coffee?”
“No, just water or milk if you have it.” Sophia slipped into the wooden chair adjacent to the refrigerator. The round table was covered with a checkered tablecloth, and two places had been set.
Ozzie sat the platter between them and then served the food. “I didn’t sleep a wink last night. Kept thinking about you coming back. Hoping that you wouldn’t change your mind.”
“Why would I do that?”
Ozzie shrugged, and a few silent moments passed between them.
“This is a really nice house,” Sophia said, thinking about how dilapidated the farmhouse was in comparison.
“Thanks. It took a lot to get us here, but it’s home. You’re always welcome.” Ozzie slipped a slice of pancake into his mouth, then put down his fork. “I placed ads in the local papers in Mannheim, and I never heard anything back. How in the world did you find us?”
Sophia told him about meeting Max, the German words flying from her mouth, and then about tracking down Mrs. Gathers through the white pages.
He said, “I had read about her in Ebony magazine years ago. But it never dawned on me that you could be one of the children she brought to America. I had always assumed that you were with Jelka in Mannheim. That’s why my trail always went cold.”
“That makes sense.” Sophia chewed. She went on to tell Ozzie how Mrs. Gathers had retrieved Jelka’s information from the St. Hildegard’s children’s orphanage and learned that she had moved to America.
He choked. “You lived in an orphanage?”