Sophia's Plan

Chapter 5

Claire
Sophia has been in a great mood ever since she went to my sister's house the other day. She said she made a bunch of new friends and that Charlie's boss was super nice and he let her play with his dog. Now, she is obsessed with wolves. I have always been fond of them, so maybe it isn't such a surprise. My cell rings and see it's Juniper calling, "Hey June, What's up?" I ask her while I am switching the laundry around. "Charlie's boss is throwing a big barbecue and we were wondering if you and Soph could come. I mean he really took a shine to her the other day, and you need to get out more." I snorted, "Real subtle there, June. When is it?" I could hear her grin, "Saturday." I almost dropped the phone, "Tomorrow is Saturday!" She laughed, "Don't worry about it, it's nothing fancy, just a barbecue." I groaned, "I own almost nothing that isn't stained, I have a four-year-old, June. If I am going to be around adults, I need something that doesn't have paint or god knows what else splattered all over it." She sighed, "Fine, I will go shopping with you. I will be there in about an hour." 

"SOPHIA!" I yelled from the basement as I was running up the stairs. She popped her head out of the living room, "Yeah, mommy?"  I walked into the living room to see her watching a documentary on arctic wolves. I shook my head, "Sophia, Charlie's boss invited us to a barbecue tomorrow, do you want to go?" She nodded rapidly, "Yes!" I laughed, "OK, Aunt June will be here in about an hour to take us shopping so we have something decent to wear, so get your shoes on and whatever that is in your hair out." She huffs as she climbs the stairs, "Some people have no taste in fashion." 

Soon, we are all bound for the mall and Sophia is going on about how she can't wait to see Dallas again. "Don't forget his dog." I added and she froze, "Um, his dog is not good around a lot of people. One or two is ok, so we probably won't see him tomorrow." June added. I nodded, "I have read that some dogs just don't like crowds." The conversation dropped as we entered the mall. It took us forever to get an outfit that was both June and Sophia approved. You would think it was a date the way they were picking at everything. "Let's grab some lunch, huh?" I said, making both girls sigh in relief. They were much more pleasant after lunch and the drive home was much quieter. 

The next morning, Sophia was up bright and early, "Mommy, get up. We have to get ready for the barbecue!" She jumped on my bed as she yelled at me. "Fine, fine, I'm up." I looked at the clock, seven in the morning. "Sophia, it doesn't start until twelve." She huffed at me, "I know that but we are going to need breakfast and time to get ready, so move it, Mommy." I rolled my eyes but got up because I knew she wouldn't let me sleep anymore. After waffles and bacon, we showered and got dressed. Sophia was wearing a light pink sundress with little shorts that matched so her undies didn't show while she was playing, she wanted her hair in a French braid, and wore her sandals. 

I put on the outfit we picked out yesterday, a mint green halter top, dark blue jean shorts that were a bit on the shorter side than I usually wore, and a pair of dark brown sandals. I was going to braid my hair, but Sophia said no. She said it looked better down and curly. I put on a light layer of makeup and we were good to go. It was about ten minutes later when June and Charlie called and we were out the door. The whole ride there, Sophia was bouncing in her seat, she was so excited. She said Charlie's brother, Zeke would be there and he was super nice, his boyfriend Jordan, she wasn't sure about yet. 

We parked at June and Charlie's house and walked over to the community area where the barbecue was. I was overwhelmed, so many people here. Most were families and couples, I felt very out of place. Sophia squealed, "Dallas!" And took off running towards the tallest man I have ever seen. He had to be close to seven foot tall, very muscular, short brown hair, deep hazel eyes, and a killer smile, complete with dimples. I followed behind her to make sure she wasn't going to get hurt or cause trouble. The man bent down and caught her in his massive arms, twirling her around, "Hey there, Soph." She giggled, "I missed you, Dallas." She hugged his neck and his face was pure joy, "I missed you too, kid." He turned and his eyes met mine. I felt like I was walking in quicksand. I felt like it was hard for me to move.

"Sophia, is this your mom?" He asked, his voice was smooth and deep. She giggled, "Of course, I told you, she looks just like me only bigger." He stepped closer and held out his hand, the one that wasn't holding Sophia, "Nice to meet you, I'm Dallas." Swoon, right there, the first man to talk to me in forever that wasn't selling me something and he was perfect. "Hi, I'm Claire. It's nice to meet you as well." I grabbed his hand, it was rough and very warm, it seemed to swallow mine whole. I felt a shock and jumped, "Stupid static." I mumbled as I released his hand.He grins and Sophia wiggles free, "I am going to go play with some of the other kids while you two get to know each other." With that, she was gone. My eyes met Dallas's and we both laughed.