Chapter 2 Sophia
Sophia
Iheard the stairs creak and expected a knock from Henry. Instead, my bedroom door flew open, nearly causing me to ruin my mascara.
“The men in this town only care about fishing and beer,” Emma said as she barged into my room.
“They care about more than that. You just have to get to know them,” I counted off with my fingers as I finished my eyelashes. “They also like sitting on their ass all day, doing the bare minimum to get through life, Hmm, what else?” I tapped my lip as if thinking of more desirable qualities.
Rolling her eyes, Emma handed me a box. “Henry gave this to me downstairs.”
Excitement washed over me. “It's finally here!”
Light spilled in through the small circular window above my bed.
The room was always filled with dust, but just before noon, on days like today, the dust would catch the light, casting a golden pillar across my room.
It would be more beautiful if my room was clean, but working three jobs meant some sacrifices had to be made.
“Will you open it for me?” I asked, showing Emma my freshly painted nails. She sat on my bed, her blond hair glowing in the radiance as she tore the box open and dumped its contents on my bed.
I had ordered paints and a few other supplies I needed, but what I was excited for was a set of high-quality paintbrushes, which, unsurprisingly, weren’t in the box.
“Just when I thought today couldn’t get any worse.”
“What’s wrong?” Emma asked, concern etched in her blue eyes.
I sat next to her on the bed. “I saved up and ordered paintbrushes as a gift to myself, but they aren’t here.”
“Maybe they shipped separately? I'm sure Henry would be thrilled to give you some of his brushes in the meantime.”
“He would, but I don't want to use his dirty old shitty brushes.”
“Maybe it was accidentally delivered to him. It wouldn’t be the first time he's mistakenly opened one of your packages, right? You should go see.”
I sighed. “I hope you’re right.”
I trudged down the wood stairs from the loft, which was really a renovated attic.
The bottom of the stairs met a dark, narrow hallway, which opened up into Henry's art gallery.
I made my way through the aisles, quietly muttering his name from each shipping label as I examined the boxes scattered across the floor. "
“Sophia, is that you? Do you need me?” In the aisle across from me, Henry was arranging pottery on a shelf from the highest point of his step stool.
“No,” I said a little too sharply. “Well, I mean yes. Sorry, I'm just frustrated.”
He peered down at me from over the display rack. “What’s up?” he asked.
“Part of my order isn’t here. Have you seen any other packages for me?”
Henry rubbed his chin then climbed down his step stool. “No, I haven’t. Maybe it’s by the door. Let’s go see.”
He motioned to the front door and followed behind me. Reaching the entryway, I searched the area, then checked outside on the patio, then behind the welcome desk before accepting the loss with a groan.
“You got your other stuff today, right?” Henry asked curiously.
“Yeah, but it was supposed to all be shipped in one package.”
Henry leaned against the doorway with a little smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. “You were waiting on those new paintbrushes. I remember now. Well, since you got your other package, I’m sure it’s here. Look closer.”
He sounded a little too sure of himself.
I squinted, looking more intently at my surroundings.
A small box poking out from behind the planter in the corner caught my eye.
I clasped my hands together as disappointment turned to joy.
I rushed over to retrieve the box wedged between the heavy potted plant and the wall.
Bending over at my waist, I carefully pulled the heavy planter aside, freeing my package.
I quickly turned around, holding up my prize.
Henry smiled wide, his eyes darting up from the plant to meet my gaze.
“Told you so. Now, let's see what's in this little box of yours.”
“Let’s go upstairs first. Emma’s waiting.”
“Right behind you,” he said.
Henry followed me to the hallway, then up the stairs and into my small room.
“So, he did have your package?” Emma said, shaking her head, barely glancing up from her phone.
“No. The delivery man put it behind a plant by the front door for some reason.”
Henry entered the room behind me.
“Speak of the devil,” Emma said.
Henry looked like he didn’t understand the saying, but I was too focused on my package to explain it to him.
I set the box down and ripped it open, forgetting my still-drying nail polish.
I reached through the foam peanuts and pulled out a black velvet case.
I unclasped the latch and opened it, revealing a handmade set of intricately designed, silver paintbrushes.
I took one in my hand, gently gliding my finger along its shaft, admiring its texture and beauty.
My fingers traced their way to the delicate tip, and as I pressed, the firm bristles gave way to silky strands.
Emma reached for one of the brushes with wide eyes. “These are beautiful,” she said before tickling the brush against the softness of her inner arm.
“I know, I usually don’t—” I began to say.
Henry took the brush out of my hand and examined it closer.
“This—this is an oil paintbrush?” He scoffed. “Sophia, the fumes would build up in here. You’ve just got one small window.”
I took the brush back. “I know that. I'm not going to paint in here.”
Henry's eyes lit up. “Oh, you finally plan on painting downstairs?”
“I was actually planning on painting at the beach.”
He nodded slowly, rubbed his chin, and asked, “What will you be painting out there?” His voice trailed off into a mumble as Emma squealed and wrapped her arms around me.
“This is such a great idea. I want to come paint with you.”
“I would love that,” I said, returning her hug.
Henry cleared his throat and picked at a fingernail. “Hey, you know, that’s kind of a long way to walk. I could drive you out there if you’d like, if Emma's busy.”
“Thanks, Henry. That's very nice of you,” I said.
“And I was thinking—”
The chime from the front door downstairs cut him off.
He chuckled and pointed over his shoulder. “I better go see who’s visiting the gallery.”
Before committing to closing the door behind him, he leaned back into the room.
“I'll tell you what, Sophia—finish whatever oil painting you have planned by the end of the month, and we will count it as rent.”
Henry closed my door with a satisfied smile. The shoddy wall he constructed to justify calling this attic a loft rattled with each of his hurried steps back to the gallery. His muffled voice traveled through the floor, echoing in my room as he greeted the visitor.
Emma lay down on my bed and exhaled through pressed lips, still playing with the tip of the paintbrush. “Why do you live here again?”
I looked at her, confused. “What do you mean?”
She shook her head, disbelief creasing in thin lines across her face. “You live in the same house as a bald, middle-aged, creepy, short man who’s in love with you.”
“Emma! Don’t be mean, it’s not like that. Henry is just... Henry. Besides, the rent he charges is cheaper than anywhere else in town. Plus, I can tell people I live in a loft in an art gallery,” I said, forcing a smile.
“That’s true, I guess,” Emma said while carefully putting my brush back into its case.
I sat at my desk and looked in the mirror for any imperfections in my makeup.
“He can’t see that he has no chance with you, and you can’t see that he’s desperate for you.”
I stared at her reflection with an unamused look.
“Now you are just being ridiculous. He has his quirks, but it’s not like that. I've known him for, like, five years, ever since I graduated from high school.”
She held up a hand in surrender. “Look, I’m just telling you what I see.”
I rolled my eyes and went back to putting on makeup.
She walked over and sat by me in the mirror. “So, what are you getting ready for? I haven’t seen you in full glam in, I don’t even know how long.”
“I have a new boss starting today.”
“At the marine biology center?” she asked.
“Mmhmm,” I said while circling my lips with a clear gloss.
“What do you know about him? Is he hot?”
“Nothing, I don’t know. He has zero online presence, but I heard they rushed the hiring process because he has amazing credentials. I need to impress him, especially since we will be working so closely together. I want him to see how valuable I can be."
“He’s also going to see how pretty you are.” She pressed her lips together. “It might be a huge red flag that he’s not online though, but I can’t wait to hear how it goes today.”
“Hopefully, it goes better than my morning,” I said while wiping off my nail polish.
“What happened? Wait, let me guess—Henry tried to kiss you.”
I looked at her incredulously. “No.”
“Sorry, I can’t help it. I’ll just listen.”
“This morning at Cabana Cup, a hot guy came in.”
She perked up. “I like where this is going.”
“He was checking me out, but he couldn't pay for his coffee.”
“Okay, never mind.”
“Anyway, I was about to sit with him—”
“Wait, what did he look like?”
I groaned. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does. Tell me.”
I sighed but relented. “He was tall and strong, with messy dark hair that he pushed back, and he had piercing blue eyes.”
“What else?” she demanded.
“His face was chiseled like a goddamn Greek statue, okay? I gave him free coffee and pastries and was about to sit with him, but then I found out he was the one who commissioned the painting I’ve spent weeks on because he canceled it right in front of me, then started treating me like shit.”
“What the hell? Who is this guy?”
“I don’t know. I was going to check the gallery's email to find out more about him, but then I realized there’s no point.”
“Why is every man in this world an asshole?” Emma asked.
“All I know is, I just lost a thousand dollars and desperately need a raise.”
Emma's eyes widened, and she pressed my cheeks, forcing my lips to pucker. “You little schemer,” she said.
I pulled away. “Can you not ruin my plan? It barely has a chance of working as it is,” I said, checking myself out in the mirror to make sure my makeup wasn’t smudged.
“You are beautiful, Sophia. The only thing that could ruin this plan is him not being straight. Wait—what if your new boss is like Henry? You know nothing about him.”
“I’m just going to look good and do my job well. It doesn’t really matter what he looks like.”
Emma put her hands on my shoulders. “Oh, no, Sophia. Money isn’t that tight, is it?” she teased.
I pulled her hands off my shoulders. “Emma, you are disgusting. I’m not going to actually do anything. Like I said, I’m just going to do my job well and look good.”
“Of course.” she said.
I stood and presented myself to her. “So, what do you think?”
Emma bit her lip. “I think you are going to get a raise.”