Sophitz: A Week to Find Love

Chapter 41

Tam's P.O.V.

Maybe I should've been nicer to Linh... My sister had been missing for an hour now and I was starting to get worried. Was this an act of rebellion because I wasn't "supportive" enough? Wait, no, Linh would never rebel. She was too sweet and forgiving... So why had she suddenly disappeared, along with Marella and Sophie?

"Hey, where's Marella?" Keefe asked, walking up to me. "Isn't this supposed to start in a few minutes?" 

I rolled my eyes. "It took you this long to realize the girls were missing?" 

"The girls are missing?" Dex asked, moving closer to hear the conversation. "Why? Where are they?" 

"I don't know!" I exclaimed. "I've been trying to tell you guys for the past hour!" 

"When?" Dex asked. "I don't remember that." 

"Yeah, because after some thinking, I decided against it," I retorted. Keefe rolled his eyes. 

"Now why would you do that? We're supposed to get married in 5 minutes!" 

"Well, I figured - why should I help you?" I shrugged. "After all, I do sort of despise you." 

"Well, I REALLY despise you," Keefe responded, crossing his arms in frustration. "Now what are we going to do!" 

"I think I have a solution..." Dex held his phone up so we could see the new text in the group chat. 

"Sorry to disappear - we're trying to find Sophie's true lobe!" Keefe read aloud. 

"That might be the weirdest thing Linh has ever said," I murmured. "And she's said some pretty weird things. There was this one conversation about a... puppy tail warmer?" 

"Ohh!" Keefe exclaimed. "I've heard of those!" 

"How about we get back to the bigger question at hand?" Dex suggested. "Linh and Marella and Sophie are currently missing and all we have for a clue is this encoded message." 

"I think you've watched one too many detective movies," I told him. "Now, obviously, lobe could be the shortened version of earlobe. After all, Linh does love abbreviating." 

"No," Keefe objected. "The obvious answer is lobster." 

"A LOBSTER?" I repeated. "Now that's just the stupidest thing I've ever heard." 

"Yes, but Sophie likes food!" Keefe insisted. "And lobe could be the new way of saying lobster!" I wasn't sure if a person could be more idiotic than Keefe at that moment. If it was a 'lob' I might consider lobster, but 'lobe' was definitely not the abbreviation of lobster. 

"It's not lobster!" I exclaimed. "Why would it even be lobster?" 

"Uh... guys?" Dex asked, intervening. "I think I may have solved the mystery. Check your phones."

I didn't know how checking our phones would solve anything, but as I pulled mine out and saw the notification, I felt like my heart stopped. 

It was right there in capitalized letters: 

SORRY, SHE MEANT LOVE! SOPHIE'S TRUE LOVE! AKA MY BROTHER FITZ! 

My phone dinged again and a new message came through:

Oops, caps lock! Sorry my brother and I disappeared for a month - you wouldn't have believed all the crazy things that have been happening recently! We're now on the way to my house to stop his wedding so Sophie isn't lonely foreveriosjfoiwejfpwojecmwepofmvre. Oops, sorry again! I dropped my phone. I would erase it, but that would take too much time. Anyway, the bottom line is, Linh and Marella basically volunteered to do this whole thing and said you guys would understand. So hopefully you will. And if all goes according to plan, I'll be seeing you all soon! 

- Biana (Now, I don't have the heart emoji on this phone, but just imagine it's there!) 

"Huh..." Keefe squinted at his phone as if it would suddenly make the text understandable. "That's odd... Fitz is getting married? To who? And why is he suddenly Sophie's true love?" 

"Apparently, Linh told me they were 'deeply in love' but were 'too shy to admit it' until the 'kiss'," Dex recapped. "So I guess they're reuniting now...? It's all kind of confusing." 

"I guess Sophie did seem a little sad these past few days," Keefe noted. I rolled my eyes, yet again.

"Wow. Would you like an award for the most obvious observation ever? " 

"Sarcasm isn't going to help anyone, Tam," Dex informed me. "Now, I guess we have to tell the guests the wedding's canceled." 

"Not it!" Keefe exclaimed. "I do not want to be here when you tell all those guests that they got all dressed up for no reason." 

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Dex assured, but he sounded a little unsure himself. 

We walked out of the tent Linh had set up as the 'grooms and groomsmen' room and Dex stepped onto the platform. He tapped the microphone a few times and cleared his throat before announcing what was going on.

"Um, sorry for the delay," he apologized. "But as it turns out - it's actually not a delay. More like a cancelation." 

The guests started talking all at once but then Sir Lampton - yes, Linh had actually invited him - stood up and shushed everyone. 

"Quiet!" he shouted. "I know nobody likes it when weddings are canceled. But I for one am just glad I was invited. I was a lonely fellow once, but then a young girl decided to help me for some reason - even though I had never met her before. She invited me to this wedding and told me it was because everyone needed a little love in their lives." He smiled and reached his hand down, helping a lady stand up. I wondered which of the strangers she was and it took me a moment to realize it was Dorothy. Without her police uniform and stern face, she looked extremely different. 

"And because of that young girl, I was able to meet this beautiful woman." Sir Lampton sighed happily. "Can you believe it? An ordinary joe like me... Everyone told me it'd be impossible for me to find someone who loved me. But then I met Dorothy and everything changed." 

"Yes, Linh really is the most caring a person could possibly be," Dorothy agreed. "And I'm sure she would never cancel this wedding unless it was for an important reason. So instead of whining about it, let's all agree on one thing - you're here because someone invited you because they cared about you. And I don't think it's fair that we treat that person with such disrespect." 

"Yeah!" Lyssie exclaimed. "I know my speech problem won't be as thoughtful and meaningful as those two, but I just wanna say that James is a cool guy." James stood up and waved. 

"Yup, that's me!" he confirmed with a big grin. 

"You know, I thought it was odd that Linh would invite so many people she didn't know," Dex said truthfully, his voice amplified by the microphone. "But now I get it. You aren't strangers - to Linh, you were all family from the moment she saw you." 

"Yes, so I don't care how long it takes for them to return!" Sir Lampton declared. "I will wait because she would've done the same for us." 

All the guests were now nodding along and no longer shouting complaints. In fact, one person even started applauding and everyone joined in. Dex grinned proudly from the stage and walked down the steps towards me and Keefe. 

"Well, I would say that was pretty successful," he remarked. 

"Even gone, Linh is still helping us out," I agreed, almost smiling. Keefe looked at us with raised eyebrows. 

"Guys, you know exactly what Linh would say if she was here." 

"Uh, I really don't think hugging is necessary," I said quickly. 

"But Linh would've wanted us to!" he replied. "And it's the least we could do." 

"Ugh. Fine," I gave in. Keefe beamed brightly and pulled us both in for a hug. 

And although I would've never expected myself to, I smiled this time.