The Ecstatic Life Of Sofia

Chapter Seventeen: The Storm

The snow fell for two days straight.

The third night Sofia walked out to the porch. The snow had stopped, but she had to wonder why they'd build a house below sea level when it was so easy for the snow to group up right there. Then it occurred to her that she wasn't alone. She glanced at the swing that was moving back and forth.

"Anthony?" She took a seat next to him. Anthony stared off into space.

"My parents want to know your plans for Christmas."

"I don't have any."

"And your parents?"

Sofia stiffened. "I don't have any plans. If you'll excuse me."

Anthony caught her hand. "Don't go, sit for awhile."

Sofia looked at his hand, then sat down. She stared off into space.

"So, why don't you want to talk about your parents?"

Sofia shot a glare at him. "Why don't you tell me why you don't like spending time with your parents?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't like the answer."

"Amuse me."

"Fine. My dad didn't like my choice in careers. He thought I should have learned to be an engineer or a farmer. He said I needed a mans job. Happy? Your turn."

Sofia sighed. "Look, my parents weren't great with me. They didn't hit me or anything, what they did was much worse. They always pushed me to be the best. If I dropped below an A I was yelled at! My mother never had time for me, she was off drinking, partying, cheating on my dad while he took care of us and worked to support her. And I, got all the responsibility that should've been hers shoved onto me. I took care of the house and my brother, even though I was only three years older than him. I couldn't cry, that was forbidden by my father. I had to be strong for my brother. Then, she would come home and apologize and say she'd never do it again and we'd all forgive her. She'd stay sober for about a week maybe two, long enough to make us think she had really changed. Then she'd do it again. And the cycle repeated over and over again. Then, one day, it finally clicked and I distanced myself from my family. I lost weight, I cared only for my brothers, and when I got accepted to Meadow View I left and never looked back. Why would I?"

Anthony looked at her. He took her hand. "I'm sorry. I know what it feels like to be pushed, to be treated like an adult before you want to be. But, you must have good memories of your family, despite everything my parents made holidays the best they could to make up for everything."

Sofia laughed. "I wish. On holidays my mom would go on a drunken binge. Then she'd sneak into our house while we were out. She'd leave some stupid small gift and a card apologizing for being gone. I'd treasure the gift and card, but eventually that happiness would turn to resentment. Because she was there, in the house, and she left all over again." Sofia was sobbing at this point.

Anthony brought her into his arms. He stroked her hair and consoled her.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be doing this." Sofia pulled back. "It's not right to play victim. My childhood wasn't terrible, I was lucky to have my dad. He made me stronger."

Anthony stared at her. "How are you so perfect?" He asked, almost like he was in a trance. He pushed her black waves behind her ear. He leaned in closer to her.

Sofia watched as his lips slowly touched hers. They kissed, it was slow and passionate.

When they pulled away Anthony held her close and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. That was a mistake." He got up and left. Leaving Sofia there to stare at where he had been sitting and think of what had happened.

Sofia walked into the house hoping to find Anthony, but was sidetracked by the radio Mr. and Mrs. Sala were listening to. The snow wasn't going to melt enough to drive for a few days. It would be sooner, but the weather was going to stay cool and they were expecting more winter weather which could result in an even longer wait for roads to open. Basically everyone was told to stay inside and stay warm. This included cancelling classes at all of the schools around the area.

"Looks like we'll be here awhile." Sofia said.

"Yes, dear, it's usually like this when it snows around here most of winter is spent inside." Mrs. Sala said.

"I'm going to bed." Sofia said. "Goodnight." She kissed Mr. and Mrs. Sala on the cheek then moved to her room. When she passed Anthony's, the door was closed, so she walked by.

The next morning Sofia slept in a little later than usual. She walked into the hallway and heard a pretty big amount of noise, she followed it to the kitchen. In the kitchen, Anthony was messing around with dishes and pans trying to apparently make breakfast.

"What are you doing?" Sofia asked.

Anthony jumped. "My god, maybe you should get a bell."

Sofia choose to ignore the rude comment and instead asked again. "What are you doing?"

"Cooking breakfast." He answered. "If you'll excuse me, I'll get to it."

"Oh, no, I'd rather watch if that's okay"

He glared. "Fine."

Sofia sat on a small table and watched Anthony struggle to make breakfast, after a few minutes she said. "Would you like some help?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

He turned and glared at her. "If you want to do it so bad. Do it yourself!" He began to walk out.

Sofia grabbed his arm. "Hold on. Come over here." She went to the counter and began to pull things out.

"What!" He snapped.

"I think everyone should know how to cook. So why don't you stay and observe."

He scoffed. "I know how to cook."

"Really? Are you sure?" Sofia began to mix up a waffle batter. "Waffles are a lot simpler to cook than pancakes, as long as you have one of these." She pulled out a waffle iron.

"This isn't a cooking class!"

"So after you mix the batter, just pour it on here close it, type something in and let it cook." She pulled a package of bacon out of the fridge. "Let that sit out while you make the eggs. For some reason most people like scrambled eggs for breakfast, personally, I don't like eggs. Anyway, you just mix the eggs in a cup or bowl. Now to go with the eggs I'm cooking potatoes." She quickly diced up two potatoes and put them in the pan to fry.

"This is not a cooking class!"

Sofia taught Anthony the rest of the makings of an all American breakfast, although she was interrupted every three minutes with "This isn't a cooking class!"

"Sure." Sofia had finally laughed.

During the following week they had spent at the inn, Sofia and Anthony grew closer. From the anger and almost hatred they had, came a sweet friendship. They spent a good amount of time together the couple of weeks they were there. Then, came the day life resumed, the snow had melted enough to drive and everything was opening once again. However, there was only one week left of school, then all of them, including the university, closed for Christmas and New Years.