«Mom, why do you have flowers?» she asked, putting her music notebook in her backpack. «A friend gave them,» Mary replied, feeling herself blush again like a schoolgirl. «A friend?» Sophie drawled suspiciously.
«What kind of friend?» «I’ll tell you everything, but not here,» Mary smiled, hugging her daughter by the shoulders. «Let’s go home, I’ll make your favorite pancakes, and then we’ll talk.» At home, mixing the batter for pancakes, Mary retold her daughter the story with the gloves, trying not to embellish but also not downplay her interest in the new acquaintance.
«So, you like him?» Sophie asked directly, sitting at the kitchen table and watching her mother. «He seemed.» «Interesting,» Mary replied cautiously.
«But it was just one meeting, and I don’t know him at all yet. And you’ll go to the theater with him?» «Yes, next Saturday. If you don’t mind, of course.»
Sophie thought, biting her lower lip. «Just like Alex when solving a tough problem.» «I don’t mind,» she finally said…
«But let him come to our house first, I want to see him.» Mary couldn’t help laughing at such seriousness. «Okay, dear.
I’ll invite him over for tea before the theater, and you can meet him.» Sophie nodded as if sealing an important deal, and Mary suddenly thought that perhaps something new, unusual, but maybe good, was entering their life. And this thought, instead of scaring her, warmed her from inside, like a sip of hot tea on a cold winter day.
«And where did you live before, Victor?» Sophie looked at the guest with a direct, scrutinizing gaze, holding a teacup like a shield. Mary inwardly winced at such interrogation, but Victor seemed not at all embarrassed. In Miami. Then moved to New York for work, and then here when I was invited to lead the construction of a new residential complex.
And why do you move all the time?» Sophie persisted. «Sophie.» Mary gave her daughter a warning look.
«It’s fine,» Victor raised his hand conciliatorily. «Good question. You see, Sophie, there’s a saying.
A bad workman always blames his tools. So I didn’t want to be a bad workman and kept looking for a place where I could fully realize myself. In Miami the market for specialists was too big, in New York.
Too tough competition, and here. Here I found the golden mean.» Besides, he glanced at Mary, sometimes fate brings unexpected gifts.
Sophie frowned but asked no more questions, silently finishing her tea. Victor shifted the conversation to the girl’s school matters, asked about the music she was studying, and to Mary’s surprise, the ice soon melted completely. When it was time to get ready for the theater, Sophie even looked slightly disappointed…
Daniel Carter is a senior staff writer at InspireChronicle, specializing in legal conflicts, family disputes, and real-life justice stories. His work focuses on high-stakes situations involving inheritance, betrayal, and complex moral decisions. Through detailed storytelling, he explores how ordinary people navigate extraordinary challenges and the long-term consequences that follow.
His articles have gained significant traction online for their emotional depth and realism, resonating with readers across the United States.
He writes extensively about justice, personal responsibility, and the hidden dynamics within families.