Read Online Something About Sophie by Mary Kay McComas - Free Book Online

purr-fect.” Jesse was, Sophie sensed, an undemanding critic who would have said the same thing had she descended in the garment bag she’d brought the dress home in. Still, it was a terrific dress and she felt good in it, which all the real authorities said was, in the end, the important thing. “Tell her, Mike.”
    He looked away from the flat screen, gave her a hard once-over, a nod, and a grin. “Oh, yeah. Purr-fect.”
    â€œSmart aleck.” He chuckled and went back to his program. “You look lovely, Sophie. You certainly know how to work with that beautiful hair of yours.”
    She smiled her gratitude but had to admit, “That’s all my mom’s doing. She had great taste and she considered me her greatest challenge. One of my first memories is of walking behind her through the kids’ department at Penney’s and her draping clothes over one side of my face to compare both my hair and my skin with a specific color. We did the same thing in fabric stores. She didn’t know how to sew but she’d ask for swatches of this color and that color; and by the time I was insisting on shopping alone, she’d put eyelets in all those little pieces of material and strung them on a key chain for me to carry around in my purse.” She laughed softly. “She sounds like a complete control freak, doesn’t she?”
    â€œNo, no,” Jesse protested facetiously. “Not at all.” They laughed.
    â€œI guess she was. But I’ll always think of her more as a perfectionist. A perfectionist who wanted everything to be perfect for me.”
    â€œWas it hard living up to her expectations?”
    â€œNo, not really. You see, I already was perfect—to my parents anyway. Even when I screwed up, which I did fairly frequently, they always made the best of it or found something good about it. Even if they couldn’t think of anything spectacular, it was at the very least a learning experience for me. . . .” She gave a soft laugh as she went thoughtful. “It isn’t often you find people who believe in you so blindly.”
    â€œI think, when your time comes, you’ll find that most parents believe in their children. Maybe not blindly but faithfully. By blood or not, the bond between a parent and a child is an amazing thing.” She glanced lovingly toward Mike in the TV room, who, with a smirk on his face, was pretending not to hear them. “Or I’d have sold him to a circus long ago.”
    â€œThey buy all those clowns? No wonder they all dress badly.”
    â€œYep. Smart-alecky boys, all of them. Little ones, big ones. Jugglers, basketball players, all kinds. I’ve checked it out. Several times.”
    Mike’s grin got bigger and he shook his head but still refused to look their way—until the doorbell rang. He flew to answer it, muttering, “Ya’ll ’er scary crazy,” as he passed.
    â€œHey, Mike. How ya doin’?”
    â€œLet me put it this way: You’re saving my life.”
    Drew stepped inside, his palms up as in ta-da . . . “Saving lives is my job, man.” He caught sight of Sophie, and after a slow head-to-toe stroke of a look that made her squirm with delight inside, he frowned and looked back at Mike. “What? You need saving from two beautiful women? Maybe you need a different kind of doctor.”
    â€œDude. One of ’em is my mom.”
    The man gave the boy a commiserating bob of his head. “Right. In that case, I can certainly feel your pain. Unfortunately—”
    â€œOh, pooh.” Jesse broke in with a laugh. “You two have the nicest mothers in town. Give us gratitude, not grief. Now, where are you taking our girl here? Someplace nice?”
    â€œBurger King,” he told Jesse without hesitation. “McDonald’s has better fries, of course, but King implies a more elegant dinning experience, don’t you