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Maybe they were going to spill the details of her present early!
The corners of Sophie s bow-shaped lips turned up in a smile
as she pictured a silver Ferrari, a bright pink ribbon wound
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around its shining metallic hood parked out in front of The
Bram and the look of envy clouding Madison s face as
Sophie slid into the driver s seat . . .
. . . that s why we waited to tell you. . . adoption. . .
biological mother.
Sophie s head came up like a hunting dog, and she stared at
her mother uncomprehendingly. Phyllis smoothed down her
Carolina Herrera beige linen pants, the thick gold Chanel cuffs
on both wrists sparkling in the late-afternoon sunlight. Sophie
noticed that all of a sudden it felt like she was breathing way
too fast, and she put one hand on her heart to make sure it
was still there, knocking around wildly in her chest.
Tell me what? Sophie said, feeling the tight muscle of her
heart racing beneath her palm. Adoption? What are you guys
talking about?
Sophie, her father said, his three-button silk suit looking
just as crisp as when he d put it on at five that morning, his
dark beard neatly trimmed. We adopted you when you were
just six months old. Your mother and I didn t think . . . Alis-
tair broke off, looking helplessly at her mother, his mouth
opening and closing. Phyllis immediately rushed to fill in the
gap, her voice hurried and nervous.
What your father s trying to say, Sophie, honey, is that we
didn t think I could get pregnant again after Jared we tried
and tried and. . . nothing. Her mother looked at the floor,
and cleared her throat delicately. So we adopted you. There
was a woman in my acting class we became friends and then
she got pregnant . . . Her mother s voice trailed off and she
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stared down at the carpet, a pensive expression darkening her
features.
Since when were you an actress, Mom? Sophie wondered
aloud, feeling like her entire world had just messily imploded
all over the living room rug.
It was something I tried out before you were born, her
mother said. I was never very serious nor very good. Phyl-
lis looked up at Sophie pleadingly, her pain contorting her
expression. But your . . . Melissa well, she was very good
I think she knew even then that she was going to have a big
career.
So she just . . . gave me to you? Sophie asked slowly,
like a fucking sweater?
Watch your language, young lady, her father snapped,
crossing his arms over his chest, clearly uncomfortable with
the trajectory of the conversation. Yes, he continued, she
allowed us to adopt you but there were . . . conditions.
What conditions? Sophie demanded. She felt like the
whole world had suddenly been tilted on its side, and everything
in her once-normal life was now flipped completely upside
down. Things were moving way too fast and her stomach
turned over like a Russian gymnast on crank. She felt scarily
nauseated.
We promised your birth mother that, when you turned
sixteen, we d tell you that you were adopted and that we d al-
low her to meet you, if you wanted to, Phyllis added nervously,
twisting the Fred Leighton diamond-and-emerald white-gold
eternity ring Sophie s father had surprised her with as a fortieth
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birthday present last month so relentlessly that her finger would
probably come popping off at any minute, blood spurting out
all over the carpet, which was worth more than most people s
New York apartments. You certainly don t have to meet her,
she added, smiling hopefully.
Why didn t she want to keep in touch with me or you?
Sophie demanded, trying desperately to make sense of the
thoughts flooding her brain like a monsoon. Her body felt
at once both tingly and numb, and she had that pukey, sweaty
feeling like she d drank one too many cappuccinos at lunch.
She stared uncomprehendingly at the TV as Jay-Z moved
around a preening Beyoncé, throwing his hands in the air.
She got busy with her career, her mother said quietly.
And we all agreed it would be best for you to have a . . . fresh
start.
You agreed, Sophie said woodenly, without even asking
me. It was a statement, not a question, and as she sat there
trying desperately to focus on what her parents were telling
her, despite her obvious confusion, Sophie was aware of the
fact that suddenly, all her past feelings of incompleteness made
perfect sense. Her life was exactly like one of those stupid opti-
cal illusion paintings they sold in mall in the suburbs not that
Sophie had ever been to the suburbs, much less walked the
hideous confines of a mall where a series of squiggly lines
suddenly became a glowing silver dolphin if you looked at it
the right way. And once you knew the hidden image was there,
it was impossible to view the picture the same way ever again.
Sophie stood up, her body shaking with rage, her fists
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clenched at her sides. Her whole life up until now had been
nothing more than one enormous lie.
With his usual impeccable timing, Jared sauntered into the
room bare-chested, shoving the last of her personal stash of
chocolate-chocolate chip Häagen-Dazs she d hidden in the
back of the freezer last week into his open mouth.
What s going on? Jared scraped the bottom of the carton
with a spoon, and flopped down on the couch, grabbing the
remote.
We re talking to Sophie, dear, Phyllis said, standing up
and running a hand through her dark, chin- length bob. And
shouldn t you be working on your college applications?
Uh, yeah, Jared said, his mouth full. That s a great idea,
Mom. You know considering I just got kicked out of Exeter
and everything. I m sure Ivy League schools will be lining
up to admit me.
Jared, her father began, his voice like steel, you have got
to get serious. You can t go surfing through life as if there
aren t any consequences. When I was your age . . .
From somewhere far away, Sophie could hear her father
droning on about responsibility and choices, as she
watched her brother put his dirty feet up on the couch and lean
back, scraping the last dregs of chocolate ice cream from the
now-empty carton while she just stood there, being totally
ignored. Couldn t this moment be about her for once? She d
just received the most potentially life-changing information in
all of her almost-sixteen years and now all anyone wanted to
talk about was Jared s dumbass college applications, as if any
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university in its right mind would ever accept him anyway.
Sophie tightened her fists, digging her nails into her palms and
wondered how long she could stand there, feeling invisible. If
she didn t say something soon, smoke would start pouring out
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