Chapter 49 Sophie
S OPHIE
Sophie smiles as she sends Bec a photo taken in the restaurant last night of George Clooney with his arm around her.
HOLY SHIT!
They came! Did Signora Bianchi close the restaurant for them after all?
Nope! They came anyway. Sat at a table in the corner.
When I saw them I legit nearly wet my pants.
Ha! What’s he like?
Old. She’s a goddess though!
Both super lovely people.
You get to have all the fun! Meanwhile I had to WFH today neck deep in toddler vomit.
That bloody day care centre is a cesspit of disease.
Hey, did you see the red water in the Grand Canal? Looked freakish on TV!
By the time I got there after the shopping spree, it had washed away.
Totally worth it for that jumpsuit.
When the conversation with Bec ends, Sophie stays in bed with the phone in her hand and pulls a piece of loose skin from her lip until it bleeds. With a tissue pressed against the cut, she clicks on her mother’s name and presses ‘call’.
The phone rings.
Don’t pick up. Don’t pick up. Don’t pick up.
‘Hullo, darling!’
Fuck. ‘Hey, Mum. How are things over there?’
‘Well, it hasn’t been too hot today so that’s a start. It was thirty-eight yesterday, had the aircon on non-stop. Have you been following the news about the fires?’
‘I have. It’s awful.’
‘I thought you might have wanted to check in with me and make sure I was okay. I can see the smoke in the sky, you know, that’s how close the fires are.’
‘Sorry.’ In true form, it’s only taken a few seconds for her mother to make Sophie feel like a terrible person, even though Penelope lives in central Melbourne, nowhere near where the bushfires have been.
‘Never mind, dear,’ Penelope says. ‘It’s good of you to finally call me. I haven’t had the chance to wish you a Merry Christmas yet, Fee. It’s been terribly hard to pin you down. I was just telling Lois next door, it’d be easier to arrange a private audience with the Pope than it is to speak to my own daughter on the telephone.’
‘Sorry, I’ve been busy working.’
‘Not to worry, darling, we’re chatting now, aren’t we? Is it nice there in Venice? Not too smelly with all that sewage?’
‘What sewage?’
‘You know what they say.’
‘I don’t, actually. Anyway, yes, Venice is beautiful. You should visit one day.’
‘Oh, gosh, no, not for me. Italians are so ... how do I put it? Well, Italian .’ Penelope laughs.
Sophie’s been on the phone to Penelope for just under a minute. Surely that’s enough to count? ‘Mum, I need to go, I have to help with breakfast service.’
‘Oh, okay, darling, but just quickly before you go, are you being careful with what you eat over there? It’s all carbs, carbs, carbs in Italy, isn’t it? It’s like a big carb truck coming straight at you!’
‘Mum, for Christ’s sake, I don’t need you policing what I eat! I’m not a five-year-old.’
‘Don’t take the name of the Lord in vain.’ Penelope’s voice hardens.
Sophie stays silent.
‘Come on, Fee, let’s not be cross with each other. I’m only trying to help you, sweetheart. Did you have a chance to read the information I emailed you last week about the gastric sleeve surgery?’
‘Yes, I got the email.’
‘Oh, well, I didn’t know whether you had or not, because you never replied. Anyway, it’s supposed to be very good.’
‘I’m not interested in surgery.’
The seconds tick by before Penelope replies. ‘You’re not prepared to even consider it? That’s rather disappointing, to be honest.’
Sophie gulps down the hurt. ‘I know you wish I was thin like you. I know I’m a disappointment. I’m sorry I got the fat genes. Sorry I turned out like Dad.’
‘Don’t you ever say that again. You’re nothing like him.’ Penelope spits out her words like cannons.
‘Whatever,’ Sophie says under her breath.
‘I don’t know why you have to take such a nasty tone.’ Penelope sniffs. ‘When I saw your number, I thought to myself, how lovely, I can have a good chat with my daughter. Now look what you’ve done. You can be very cruel, you know.’
‘ I’m being cruel?’ Sophie lets out a laugh.
‘And I don’t know what you find so amusing either. You’ve ruined my day, Sophie Louise. I hope you feel better now.’
‘Mum, let me make something very clear. I never feel better when I speak to you.’
Sophie ends the call and sobs into her hands.