"You need her, do you? Fine, that's fine."
David nodded his head in gratitude and then winced, his whole face momentarily contorting in pain. It was just a brief thing, but all of us saw it. Even his mother's tone softened slightly. And I mean very slightly.
"What is it, David? Is it your leg? Is it bothering you again?"
I looked from one of them to the other with poorly disguised curiosity. This might be something. This might tell me what that little bottle of pills was for, why he carried it around in his pocket.
"It's nothing, it only hurt for a moment. I was in a car accident, Kayla. I injured my leg pretty badly and it still pains me from time to time."
"That's what the medication is for, David. Why don't you just take one, for god's sake? That's why you have them."
"I don't like them. You know I don't. I won't take them until it's impossible not to."
That was it. That's what the pills were for. They were pain medication for an old injury. So then Dr. Johnson had been right, David was taking some kind of heavy duty pills. The question was, how often did he actually take them? Was he telling the truth when he said he almost never used them, or were the little tabs in that bottle the reason my sister was dead? I felt a little bit like I was going to throw up but I fought to keep my face a bland mask of mild concern. It wouldn't make a whole lot of sense if I got terribly upset out of nowhere.
"Sophie! Just what exactly do you think you are doing over there?!"
Dr. Elizabeth's appalled face and raised voice seemed to come out of nowhere, totally out of left field. David and I both jumped and I whipped my head around to see what Sophie had done. She was sitting in the chair right beside me and I couldn't imagine what could have been so offensive. If she had done something awful enough to warrant that kind of response I was pretty sure I would have noticed.
Sophie looked up at me with a mournful face, her big expressive eyes already brimming with tears. She had been playing with her food. There were peas and potatoes all around her plate, some of which looked like they had been smashed down with a little thumb. Her chocolate milk was still leaking over the sides of her cup from the excessive bubble blowing she had been doing. Yes, it was a mess, but that was it. Messes could be cleaned up. They weren't worth breaking a little girl's heart over.
"I'm sorry," she said in a small, wavering voice.
"Sorry doesn't clean that table young lady. What did you think you were doing? Why would you behave in such an atrocious manner?"
"I, I don't know."
"You're going to have to do a lot better than that. And what do you intend to do about this situation, Kayla?"
I didn't answer her, but instead looked down at Sophie, wiping the tears falling down her poor, sweet face.
"Do you know that what you did wasn't okay?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Why did you do it?"
"I was making pretend. I didn't like your voices. You guys sounded scary."
"I know we did, I'm sorry. What do you think might be a better way to do things if something like that happens again?"
"Tell you?"
"Sure, that's a great plan! Now let's get this cleaned up, okay?"
"Yuppers."
The two of us started to clean the mess Sophie had made, me trying to make sure she knew I wasn't mad and this wasn't the end of the world. From the end of the table I heard David's mother let out a sound of disbelief.
"Is that it? That's her only consequence? David, aren't you going to intervene? This isn't some kind of hippie compound, or at least I hope it isn't. Children need discipline, David. That is not what I call this."
I couldn't take it anymore. What exactly did this lady want? It seemed like she wouldn't be satisfied until Sophie was a distraught mess curled up in a little ball on the floor. That was just too bad because there was no way in hell I was going to let that happen.
"Dr. Wyatt, she's only four years old. The conversation we were having was much too adult for her and she acted out because of it. You're right, she shouldn't have acted that way, but she clearly understands that. There doesn't need to be more of a consequence that that. Why would we want to make her feel really bad about herself?"
She looked just as surprised as if I had walked straight up to her and slapped her in the face. This was not a woman who was used to being challenged or talked back to, especially by someone who was just one of the help. She didn't seem to know what to say, just sat there and looked at me for what felt like a year before turning to David.
"Do you have anything to say about that?"
David just shook his head slowly, his eyes never moving off of me. His eyes were veiled, impossible for me to read. Oh god, was he angry at me? It was totally out of line to talk to his mother that way and he would have every right to be. I just appreciated him not chastising me right then and there. It would be easier not to have the two of them gang up on me and I knew that something like that would only upset Sophie further.
"Right. Then it would seem that my help and wisdom are not wanted here. You be very careful, young lady. My son may not have anything to say at the moment, but make no mistake. You are not a part of this family, and if you become too intrusive you can be dealt with. David, take care of my granddaughter. Try not to completely ruin her before she reaches puberty."
With that she stood abruptly and walked towards the front door. She didn't even bother to complain about the lack of a butler and she did not make any kind of formal goodbye. Neither David, Sophie nor myself said a word, just waited to hear the sound of that front door slamming shut.
"Ding dong," David said with laughter in his voice, "the evil witch is dead."
Chapter Six
David
"Well! I think we've all earned a little bit of ice cream, don't you? What do you say, Sophie?"
"But I was bad, Daddy. I was a bad girl."
"No, no you weren't. The things Kayla said were exactly right, okay, honey? She's a smart lady so I know she's right."
Sophie looked skeptical, first cocking her head to the side and staring at David and then turning to analyze me.
"Well, I don't know. She knows a lot of things. Right?"
"Exactly." David grinned, glancing at me just long enough for me to blush from the combination of the look and the compliment.
"Okay. Then ice cream!"
"Yes! We'll have an ice cream feast! Kayla, do you mind taking her into the living room? I'll be right in."
"Don't you want me to do it? It's really no trouble."
"Nonsense. You sent away the wild beast. You deserve a parade, as far as I'm concerned. But since I can't give you that, the least I can do is bring you something sweet."
I shrugged my shoulders and smiled sheepishly. Honestly, I had no idea what I was supposed to say. This behavior was something I had never seen from David, totally uncharacteristic of the man I had slowly been finding him to be. I liked it, probably more than I should have.
"Daddy's being funny now, isn't he?"
Sophie had a case of the giggles, her face flushed with laughter and excitement. She had a completely different energy than she had when her grandmother had been staring her down across the table. She seemed to be genuinely happy, and for the first time in a long time, my heart felt very close to full.
"Yes he is. And now we get ice cream! Now let's go, we want to make it to the couch before he gets in there. That way we get the best seats!"
She squealed and took off running. I grinned and followed behind her, curious to see how the rest of this night would go. There had already been so many ups and downs that I had no idea what else was in store for me. What I did know was that I was enjoying David immensely. Not only was he ridiculously good looking, now he was more than the big, bad doctor. Now he was human, and I couldn't help but want to be around him.
"What's that, Kayla? What's that noise?"
I arrived in the great room where Sophie had made herself good and comfortable and heard what she was talking about. It made my skin break out into goosebumps, made me feel like crying and laughing all at the same time.
"It's music, sweetie. It's a man called Frank Sinatra."
"Is he good?"
"Oh yes, he's more than good. He's one of the very best. He was one of my sister's most favorite singers in the entire world."