Chương 14
“We’re getting rid of this refrigerator,” she said.
“Probably.”
“I hate it.”
“You selected it.”
“I was twelve.”
“You argued for the screen.”
“It shows weather we can see through a window.”
Claire smiled.
Sophie leaned against the counter. “My audition is Thursday.”
“I know.”
“What if I don’t get the award?”
“Then you don’t.”
“That’s helpful.”
“You asked what happens.”
“I asked what if.”
“Those are often the same question wearing different shoes.”
Sophie stared at her. “Was that a joke?”
“Possibly.”
When they returned to the dining room, Eric had entered the Harrison guarantee under contingent liabilities.
It was the first time he had placed the number on a document where Vanessa could see it.
She read it and sat back.
“Seven hundred fifty thousand?”
“It is not all immediately due.”
She turned toward him. “You guaranteed seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
“Conditionally.”
Claire set down the water glasses.
Vanessa laughed, but no humor came with it. “There’s your trapdoor.”
Eric’s face reddened. “We are not doing this in front of Sophie.”
“We have done everything in front of Sophie except tell the truth.”
Sophie looked at the figure.
“Can they take the house?” she asked.
Eric answered slowly. “The house is not directly pledged to Harrison. But if the guarantee is enforced and I cannot pay, creditors could pursue assets, subject to legal protections and other debts.”
Claire said nothing. The explanation was accurate enough.
Sophie looked at her father. “So yes.”
“So possibly.”
“Is possibly your version of yes?”
“Sometimes.”
They submitted the preliminary aid application at 11:42 p.m.
Afterward, no one celebrated.
Vanessa folded the printed confirmation and placed it beneath the empty fruit bowl.
Eric walked Claire to the front door.
“I may lose everything,” he said quietly.
Claire put on her coat. “Not everything.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the dining room, where Sophie was gathering papers and Vanessa was wiping an already clean table.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
“About the sponsorship?”
“Yes.”
“I offered first.”
“That was three years ago.”
“You said no.”
“You could have asked again.”
“You could have.”
He rubbed his forehead. “I would have treated you differently.”
“I know.”
“That bothers you?”
“It should bother you.”
He nodded.
Claire opened the door.
“Thank you for coming,” he said.
She looked back at him. “You did the work.”
“Because you made us.”
“No. Because the deadline did.”
He almost smiled.
On Thursday, Sophie’s merit audition began at 4:10 in a recital room that smelled faintly of dust and floor polish.
Claire sat in the rear row. Eric and Vanessa arrived separately and took seats near the aisle. They did not ask Claire to join them, and she did not offer.
Sophie entered wearing a simple dark dress she had owned for two years. Her hair was pinned back. She looked toward the judges, not the audience.
The first piece began too fast.
Claire heard it in the opening measure. Sophie heard it too. Her shoulders tightened, and for several seconds she chased the tempo she had chosen.
Then she did something she had not done at thirteen.
She let a phrase breathe.
The music slowed without collapsing. Her bow settled. The room changed around her.
Claire watched Eric lean forward.
Vanessa clasped both hands in her lap.
The second piece was not perfect. Sophie missed a harmonic and pressed one shift hard enough to make the note speak roughly. She did not make a face. She continued.
During the sight-reading portion, she paused before beginning, studying the page longer than Claire had ever seen her tolerate silence.
When the audition ended, the judges thanked her.
Sophie walked offstage.
Eric stood immediately. Vanessa remained seated for half a second longer, perhaps afraid they would both reach the aisle at once.
They met Sophie in the hallway.
“How was it?” Sophie asked.
Eric said, “Beautiful.”
Vanessa said, “The blue section was extraordinary.”
“It wasn’t blue.”
“The second piece.”
“That was Bartók.”
“I know.”
Sophie looked at Claire.
“I liked the pause before the sight-reading,” Claire said.
“That’s all?”
“You want the list?”
“No.”
“Yes, you do.”
Sophie sighed. “Later.”
Mr. Bennett appeared at the end of the hall carrying a paper cup.
“You survived,” he said.
“Barely.”
“You missed one harmonic.”
Sophie looked offended.
He sipped his coffee. “You wanted honesty.”
“I didn’t ask you yet.”
“I’m efficient.”
Eric laughed unexpectedly.
The sound made all four of them turn toward him.
For a moment, they stood together in the hallway like a family who had arrived for ordinary reasons.
Then Vanessa’s phone rang.
The real estate agent wanted to schedule photographs of the house.
The moment ended.
Calloway’s aid committee awarded Sophie twenty-eight thousand dollars in need-based assistance and the full twenty-thousand-dollar merit award.
Eight thousand remained, plus fees and transportation.
Eric read the email at the kitchen counter of a house already stripped of family photographs for listing pictures.
“We can cover eight,” he said.
Vanessa looked at him. “With what?”
“The car sale.”
“The car sale pays the overdue line.”
“Part of it.”
“The attorney said—”
“I know what the attorney said.”
Sophie stood near the sink, holding the printed award letter.
“Can I defer the New York residency?” she asked.
Eric looked at her.
“It costs extra,” she continued. “If I don’t go, that covers almost three.”
“You were selected,” Vanessa said.
“I can do it next year.”
“You may not be selected next year.”
“Then I won’t go next year.”
Vanessa shook her head. “You are giving up opportunities because adults failed.”
“I’m choosing something.”
“You should not have to.”
“But I do.”
The doorbell rang.
Claire stood outside carrying the repaired bracelet in a small gray case.
Mr. Salazar had finished early after locating a specialist in St. Louis who rebuilt the hinge. Under normal light, the repair was nearly invisible. Under magnification, one link sat a fraction higher, just as promised.
May you like
They gathered at the kitchen island.
Claire opened the case.
