Page 54 of Wrapped in You

"A house!" Sophie gaped at him. She remembered, again, how thrilled she and Jeremy had been when they'd discovered the little blue house. Our future. We'll bring our babies home here. Instead, it was just Sophie who went to bed there every night. Alone.

"Good luck," Sophie said to Randy as he removed his apron and wire hairnet. "I hope it's the perfect one!"

Sophie drove the catering van back to headquarters and walked to the coffee shop down the road. A soft snow billowedfrom thick gray clouds above, and the air was wet and heavy. They’d probably have another big snowfall later that day.

Sophie stepped into the coffee shop. The bell jangled overhead, and nine crew members hollered out in greeting, "It's the Christmas Fairy!"

Sophie blushed. She felt entirely un-fairy-like right now. She considered telling them she'd forgotten to decorate her own place for Christmas, but then she'd have to tell them about Derek Brownlee, and she didn't feel up to explaining that, ever. Like everyone else, she ordered a pastrami sandwich. But Marcia behind the counter told her, "We just ran out of pastrami! These Hollywood types are hungrier than they look. It's my goal to put some meat on their bones."

Sophie laughed and ordered a grilled cheese with ham and a large coffee.

"Should we call the hospital?" Mike was saying when she sat down.

"Maybe we can just get hold of Natalie," the assistant costumer suggested.

"She'll make it seem way more dramatic than it is," another crew member said.

Sophie's phone buzzed. She pulled it out to read a message from Randy.

RANDY: You won't believe this. We got another TWO inquiries from out-of-towners. People really want us to cater for them!

RANDY: I think we can swing it.

RANDY: We got this!

RANDY: Wish me luck on the house! Without Culinary Tastings (and this new promotion), I never would have been able to afford it.

Although Sophie was pleased for Randy, her heart sank with panic. She couldn't breathe properly.

"What's up, Sophie?" Isaac asked, interrupting her reverie. "You've been quiet today!"

Sophie offered a fake smile. "I have a lot on my mind. I just promoted Randy, and we're expanding the catering business together."

If I talk about it enough, the fear will fade away.

It will become my new reality.

Mike clapped his hands joyously. "That's fantastic! The catering company deserves to be world-renowned. I told my mother about your bacon, pancakes, chili, and baked goods, and she wants to fly out east just to taste everything."

Sophie blushed and took a sip of coffee.

"You could even open, like, a chain of restaurants," another crew member suggested.

"You could oversee everything!" the assistant costumer chimed in. "That's what my aunt does. She lives in Los Angeles—"

"Because why would you ever live anywhere else?" another crew member teased.

"Right!" The assistant costumer didn't sense the joke. "My aunt handles the logistics of like twenty-five restaurants and five catering branches. She has a bigger house than most Hollywood producers I know. And a pool and an at-home movie theater," the assistant costumer said. "If things go south with my film career, I'm going to call her up for a job."

Everyone looked at Sophie happily, curiously.

It was clear they wanted wealth and prosperity for her. They wanted her to go the distance.

It felt bizarre. Only recently, Sophie's company had nearly gone under. She'd struggled to stay afloat. She'd struggled to pull together enough cash to host her father's retirement party.

Suddenly, the door opened. In walked the assistant director.

"You know about the sandwich place?" Mike called out happily.

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