The da Vinci Project:

Chapter 4

       

Sophia's eyes shot open. On the bedside table the alarm clock was buzzing loudly. Sitting up, Sophia felt tired and sore. Her head ached and her eyes stung. If anything, she felt hungover...or at least what she assumed a hangover felt like.

In the kitchen Sophia could hear her father. Like always he was on his phone. She could smell the scent of freshly brewed coffee on the air, mixed with a sweetness that she slowly recognized as syrup. This was strange enough to summon her from her bed.

It was only after she'd wrapped herself in her robe that Sophia crept out of her room and on to the kitchen where she found her father, of all things, trying very hard to prepare breakfast.

The sight was odd to her. He stood at the stove, his head tilted as he talked on the phone balanced between his ear and his shoulder. His hands busily tried to keep the eggs from spilling from the pan into the floor. From the looks of things, he had been at least 94% successful. The whole sight caused Sophia to smile softly. So rare were these sights that she didn't dare move or breathe out of fear that it would come to an abrupt end.

She only managed to stand and watch for a few moments before, in a glance, her father caught sight of her. To her shock he simply smiled and nodded toward the table. This was her cue to sit and as she did so, she was amazed to find him hanging up his call.

"Good morning, Sophia."

It was formal and awkward as always, but Sophia spared her father another smile. "Morning." She chewed at her lower lip a second before she spoke again. "Is today special?" She couldn't remember the last time she saw him prepare a meal. To her surprise, he laughed.

"No, nothing like that. I felt guilty that I've been so busy.  I wanted to at least steal a moment of my morning to try and be a parent."

Sophia could tell he was worried. Worried about impressing her. For once her father was seeking her approval and to her shock she wasn't sure she knew what to do with that.

Lucius continued. "I made eggs and pancakes. I even went out and got the syrup you like. It's not much but its baby steps, right?"

Baby steps was a great way to describe the moment, and though everything in her that was bitter wanted to ruin this, a small part if Sophia gushed. She felt...comforted. It was as if her father woke up and knew she'd spent her night tossing, turning and exploring underground lairs of super powered teens.  That she needed comfort and distraction from the memories and the exhaustion.

The two enjoyed their meal in much more comfort than those before. They were silent still, with only the occasional pleasantry tossed in, all small talk and rather irrelevant to the moment. After a while, in Sophia's second round of pancakes, she'd finally mustered up the courage.

"I was thinking," she began carefully, "that I may go into the city today. I really need to buy a postcard for Emi and I was hoping that I could shop for a dress. For your award."

Sophia watched her father closely as he listened. She saw the way his brow wrinkled and his jaw tightened as her father worked to not let his emotions slip to the surface. Those few seconds felt like hours as Lucius considered his answer. Finally he nodded. "I guess it was silly of me to think you'd be happy cooped up in here like a bird, wasn't it?" His words were soft, but Sophia was certain there was something strained about them.

"And I did ask you to come with me. It's only fitting that you buy a dress." Again, he paused. "Fine. I'll have Bernard drive you."

She nodded, but Sophia wasn't done yet. "I had thought about seeing if one of the other kids wanted to go with me. That would be okay, wouldn't it?"