3 - 3. Interlude III
It took a little longer for Sophie to find her phone in her unfamiliar purse, but she retrieved it before the ringing stopped.
"What are you wearing?"
"Fuck you," she said, then winced as her companion gave her a startled look. "It's Ben," she said.
Her friend's face transformed instantly from shock to amusement. She was wearing a green dress, much like the one she wore when Sophie first met her, except that the skirt was maybe an inch or two longer, and the neckline showing only a half inch or so of her breasts. A tasteful gold cross still adorned the outside of the dress, just below the neckline. She was still going to turn heads. "Tell him I say hi," she said.
"Heather says hi," Sophie said.
"Oh, really? What are you doing?"
"See, that's so much better than "what are you wearing." But I'll tell you anyway. I'm wearing a yellow dress and heels. I even have a new purse."
"So what are you doing?" he insisted.
"You're not going to believe this, but I'm going to church."
Ben spluttered.
"You remember Lily?"
"Older sister Lily? I haven't seen her in years," Ben said.
"I sometimes go out for a drink with her," Sophie said. "She visits the area every year or two, on business. I remembered her telling me about this woman at work. She was a widow, and she married a woman at her church who had a kid. I thought a church like that would be something Heather might like to try, so I had Lily put me in touch with her.
"She wants to meet us. Well, she wants to meet Heather, really. She says the church is very welcoming. She's been out of activities with morning sickness for a few weeks, and now she's getting reconnected she's in a good place to look after Heather for a time."
"So are you going to be a regular churchgoer?"
Sophie snorted, drawing a curious glance from her companion.
"As if," Sophie replied. "Heather assures me I won't burst into flame when I cross the threshold, but I'm not yet convinced. No, I'll stay for this service and make sure she's okay with them. Then I'm hoping Faye will introduce her to a nice girl."
"Someone not like you, you mean," Ben said.
"Exactly." She caught Heather's eye. "Someone totally not like me."
Heather gave her a comfortably amused smile.