Shoe Strings

jolted her out of her stupor.  
    “Oh my God,” Sophie said as she bounded out the door.   “You’re back!   I was starting to think you were never
coming back.”   Lita held her hug
longer than normal and when Sophie pulled back she must have seen the tears in
her eyes.   “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing, I just missed you.”  
    Sophie cocked her head, her straight blond ponytail swinging
like a pendulum against her back.   “You’re the worst liar.   Come
in,” she said when a group of women bustled past them on the sidewalk.   “I’m dying to hear about your trip.”
    It looked the same inside, or nearly the same, with the new
merchandise out and the fall shoes on the sale rack in the back.   How could it all look the same when she
felt so different?   “I’ve got a
fresh pot of coffee.   Let me tell
Christina.”   She hurried to the
college student who worked a few mornings a week and then dragged Lita to the
office in the back of the store.  
    “So,” Sophie said when the door closed behind her.   “Tell me everything.”
    Where to start.   “Well, I had a really great time.   It’s a beautiful part of the country.”   She wandered the room, fingered the
leather and fabric, picked up some beaded thread.   Anything but look Sophie in the
eye.   “We should go sometime and
hike or raft.”
    “Wait a minute.” Sophie turned around, the cup of coffee
she’d poured forgotten.   “Since when
do you hike?   And raft?   Are you kidding me?”
    “I tried some new things.”   What she really wanted to say was that
she’d changed.   In two weeks, her
whole life had changed.   But she had
bigger, more pressing issues to deal with.   “Listen, Sophie, I need to talk to you about something.”
    “Oh, God.”   She
clutched the side of her floral silk blouse.   Sophie always wore solid colors and the
fact that Lita had only just noticed the print meant she had changed too.   “You’re quitting and moving to the
mountains.”
    “No,” Lita chuckled, and yet the thought of it, not of
quitting, but of living amongst the nature, the fresh air, Jesse, struck a
chord in her heart.   “It’s about my
father.”
    She explained what little he’d told her and Sophie listened
while nervously tapping a shoehorn against her skirt.   “Shit.   What does this mean?   We have to do business with him?”
    “I think so.   God, Sophie, I’m so sorry about this.   I would never, ever consider it if he
hadn’t made those threats.   And if
it were just me he’d alluded to, it wouldn’t have mattered, but as soon as he
threw you in the mix…”
    “Lita, what does he even want from you?   I’m not quite sure I understand.”
    “He wants us to order all our supplies from Brazil and he
seems to think we have to expand.   I
tried to tell him how little income our supplies would generate, but he’s
adamant.”
    “Is there anything we can do?   Can we go to the police?”
    “With what?   Believe me, I’ve thought of this from every angle, but he’s made it
sound like that’s the kind of move that would set these people off and get us
all killed.”
    “Jesus,” Sophie dropped the shoe horn on the desk and stood
up.   “Steve is going to freak.”
    “I’m so sorry.”
    Sophie waved her hand in front of her face.   “He’s a little freaked out these days
anyway.”   She walked to where Lita
leaned against a small counter.   “I’m not sure how to tell you this, but…”   She took a deep breath.   “I’m pregnant.”
    “Oh…”   Lita felt
the waterworks about to start again.   “Sophie, I’m so thrilled for you and Steve.”   She grabbed her friend in a fierce
hug.   She’d done the right thing,
coming back, dealing with her father.   There was no way she’d let him touch a hair on Sophie’s head, especially
now.
    “I wasn’t sure how you’d take the news.”
    “What?   I’m so
excited for you.   You had to know
I’d be happy.”
    “Yeah, I knew you’d be happy for me, but I didn’t want it to
make you sad, you know, because of what happened to you.”
    “Sophie, what happened to me was a long time ago and…” She
felt her throat closing and turned away to get her voice back.   “That’s not going to happen to
you.”   She turned around,
smiled.   “Please don’t worry about
me.   I’m thrilled and even more
determined to do what Davi wants and be done with him.”
    “Do you think it’ll be that simple?