Page 67 of Mission: Possible

"Good idea," I told her. "I'm sure she'll appreciate whatever you send her."

"Hmph," snorted Lily but I knew better than to answer. Lily's parents were never hands-on. Since we became friends, she probably spent more time with my parents than her own. Lily’s parents traveled incessantly and often forgot they had a daughter. "What did you find out?" she asked as we left the gift shop.

"Only that Sophie and Brian were friendly and he liked her and Austen, but not Zach. Also, Austen is super romantic," I added, retelling Brian's Broadway story as we left the gift shop.

"I like Austen," said Lily. "Any man who does that is a keeper, so long as he's actually normal."

"Weird that you needed to qualify that."

"Have you met any people lately? Awful people can do wonderful things."

"I think Austen might just be one of the nice ones," I replied, wishing I was that sure about Sophie. If it weren't for all the odd things Austen suspected, and the pile of cash, I'd have a hard time imagining her as anyone who did anything out of the ordinary. She seemed to live a very quiet life as a stay-at-home wife. As we approached the front desk, I thought most people would have been pleased to have their skills recognized in the workplace. Especially when offered the chance to use them in a more active way and with some kind of accolade. Yet Sophie shunned any recognition for sharing her knowledge at all. Could it be that she simply didn't want to work harder? It wasn't inconceivable. Perhaps she just wanted a simple life and a job she could leave behind at the end of the day. Unlike me, her job did not have to occupy most of her waking hours.

"Hi, are you Melinda?" I asked the woman we bought our tickets from.

The woman moved her collar and tapped her name badge. "I am. How may I help you?"

"I'm Lexi, this is Lily. Brian referred us to you. We're friends of Sophie Takahashi. She's in the hospital after having an accident and we thought she would appreciate a get well card from all of her friends."

Melinda sat a little straighter, smiling. "And you thought of me? I'm happy to sign it, although I haven't seen Sophie for a couple months. We all miss her around here."

"Brian was just talking about how knowledgeable Sophie was on the subject of art. I never knew!" I handed Melinda the card and she opened it, laying it on the desk as she scanned Brian's message.

"Oh, yes. We were all so impressed by her unlimited scope in the field of art appreciation. I told her once she could have been an art professor. It's a shame she didn't stay on."

"I don't remember why she left..." I prompted.

"I can't say I know either but it was right after she got married. You must know Austen? Such a nice guy and their wedding was beautiful. I thought they'd have a big, fancy affair but it turned out to be modest, pretty and intimate. Now I think about it, I guess that's more Sophie's style anyway."

"How so?"

"She was never flashy and even though Austen is very rich, she's still not like that." Melinda put her hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry. That sounded so crass. I really like Austen."

"I understand," I told her. "It must be strange to marry someone with a lot of money. I think it has the ability to change a lot of people."

"The only thing that changed about Sophie when she met Austen was her burst of confidence. She was kind of meek before, but of course, you probably already know that. Or maybe it was just at work. Regardless, we really miss her very much but not that brother of... oh! I'm sorry. I was being crass again."

"You mean Zach?" I asked.

Lily leaned in. "He’s a jerk if you ask me," she said quietly with a knowing nod.

Melinda nodded along. "Isn't he? How the two of them could come from the same gene pool boggles the mind. He was always so domineering and crude. I told Sophie she shouldn't let him speak to her like that. Laeticia said she didn't want him coming around. He gave her the heebie-jeebies."

I feigned conspiratorial shock. To be fair, it wasn’t difficult since my first impression of Zach was not very flattering. "What about?" I asked.

"I don't know but she got really rattled one time right before Sophie quit. She wouldn't say anymore about it." Melinda ducked her head down as she wrote a note in the card. Glancing up, she asked, "Should I promise to visit soon? I'd like to do that. Do you know what kind of flowers she prefers?"

"Flowers?" I asked, momentarily confused.

"To take when I visit Sophie in the hospital."

"Oh, yes. I'm sure she would appreciate anything that blooms. She's not conscious yet but her doctors are hopeful she'll come around very soon," I added as Melinda folded the card and returned it to me.

Melinda raised her eyebrows. "Goodness, that must have been a terrible accident! Perhaps I could bake something for Austen?"

"I'm sure he'd appreciate the gesture. Do you know where I can find Laeticia?" I asked.

"You're in luck. That's her right over there." Melinda pointed behind us. "The lady in the white suit."