Sophie and Ariel
by Kaley Lam
“You’re not walking home today, Sophie?”
“No, Ms. Adams, I’m waiting for Ariel.”
“Oh! It’s been a while since I last saw her. I heard she recently got a job at Accenture. Good for her. Must've been hard balancing all those part-time jobs. I assume you two are spending your summer holidays together?”
“Only the weekend.”
“How exciting! Here she comes. You two have lots of fun! Remember to practise long division over the break!”
“Yes, Ms. Adams, have a good break.”
Sophie quickly walked towards Ariel’s open arms. Her usual expressionless face formed the slightest hint of a smile. The two embraced each other tightly. Sophie let go first, but Ariel reached out her arm once again. Hand in hand they made their way to the parking lot.
“I bought a perfume for my car. What do you think, Sophie?”
“It smells like flowers.”
“Mhm! It reminds me of the daisies we saw last summer in the garden.”
Sophie remembered the garden, the pretty flowers, and buzzing bees. Sophie had mentioned she had never seen daisies before, but did not expect Ariel to take her to a large flower garden the next time they saw each other. Sophie felt the happiest when she was with Ariel, even if it was only a couple of times a year.
The school grew smaller and smaller as they drove down the street. Sophie stared out the window as the houses passed by. Children from her school were walking home together, laughing. Those who made it home quickly were already playing ball on the green, sunny field. Sophie watched as her street passed by, the car turning onto the main road.
“My bag’s still at home.”
“I picked it up before I came to get you.
The green one by the door? It’s in the trunk.”
Sophie frowned and turned to look at Ariel. “Mother let you in?”
Ariel's smile tightened. “Father opened the door.” She glanced at the rear-view mirror. “Also, don’t call her Mother. Her name’s Betty.”
Sophie averted her eyes and stared at the passing cars.
“I got my own apartment now; I think you’ll like it. It’s nothing big, but it’s cozy. You can see the Pacific Ocean from the window.”
“What about your roommate?”
“She moved in with her new boyfriend. We can visit her tomorrow if you’d like.”
“No, it’s ok.”
“Sophie wants to spend all her time with me, huh?” teased Ariel, wiggling her eyebrows. “Well, you’re in luck. You’re stuck with me for the rest of the day. We’re going to have lots of fun! I got us tickets to the aquarium; there’s a dolphin show today!”
Sophie smiled slightly. She had only ever seen dolphins in books before.
Ariel parked her Civic on the side of the road, a couple of streets down from the aquarium. Sophie held Ariel’s hand as they made their way to the aquarium. Sophie was amazed by the busy city. The buildings downtown seemed to reach as high as the clouds. The windows reflected the colour of the sky; a rich, deep blue. The streets were crowded with women dressed in spaghetti-strapped tops and short skirts, and men in t-shirts and shorts. If Sophie dressed like that, Betty would scold her to change. She was not allowed to wear anything above the knees or expose her shoulders, no matter how hot the weather was. Feeling out of place, she looked down at her shoes, carefully dodging the passing people. Sophie only looked up as they crossed the intersection. The roads were filled with cars, traffic everywhere. It was much louder than what Sophie was used to, but she didn’t mind. It was a good kind of loudness.
Sophie tilted her head back and around as they entered the aquarium. Her eyes widened as she looked up to see blue and green spinning decorations of sea creatures. She was surprised at how big the aquarium was, and all the different types of fish that existed. Astonished, Sophie walked through glass tunnels, with Ariel trailing behind, as fish and sharks swam above and around. With her face inches away from the glass, she watched with amazement as tiny glow-in-the-dark creatures crawled on the sand. Her fascination for aquatic animals grew as they explored deeper into the aquarium. Her excitement expanded with every new species, and by halfway through, she began pulling Ariel around.
After petting the stingrays in the outdoor tank, the two sat down waiting for the dolphin show. Sophie looked around the stage, a giant glass pool illumined with underwater lights. She settled down in her seat, calming down from her excitement, and returning to her quiet and reserved state. As the crowd settled down, the plastic curtains to the stage were pulled back.
In the pool swam two sleek dolphins, and a funny-looking man wearing a tight, shiny black suit. The dolphins swam tiny circles around the man as he waved to the cheering crowd. Sophie sat quietly in her seat, watching in amazement as the dolphins swam elegantly through the water.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” greeted the man. “My name is Dave, and these two beauties are Doris and Lana. As you can tell, these two are very playful and love each other's company. They’ve been inseparable ever since they met. Some say they are married, soulmates even! One time, we introduced a male dolphin to these two, but they did not give in to his charms. Instead, they left him on the other side of the pool all by himself!” Dave chuckled. “They took one look at him and went ‘Nope, bye!’.”
The crowd sparked up with laughter and cheer. Sophie glanced over at Ariel, who was happily clapping and smiling. She allowed herself a small smile, tightly clasping her hands together in her lap.
Sophie watched as the dolphins danced and played with Dave. Unconsciously, her smile grew as the show went on. The two dolphins jumped and flipped in the air, performing beautifully. Occasionally, the dolphins would spit water at Dave and swim away, resulting in Dave chasing the dolphins around the pool with his water bucket. He never caught the laughing dolphins, running in slow motion, as he struggled through the water. By the end of the show, Sophie’s cheeks hurt from the laughter. Sophie clapped and laughed along with the crowd as Dave and the dolphins waved goodbye.
Slowly, the crowd left the stadium. Walking through the doors, Ariel checked her phone, her smile fading.
“Sophie, why don’t you go have a look at the gift shop? I have to take this call. I’ll be right outside the shop.”
Sophie hesitated, and slowly walked into the gift shop, looking at all the different souvenirs. Occasionally, she peeked over at Ariel through the shelves. Ariel’s smile was gone, replaced with tired eyes and a tight lip. Sophie averted her gaze, occupying herself with the stuffed animals. She looked around at the different coloured sea creatures. The shelves displayed dark blue with gold striped fish, light grey dolphins, black and white penguins, and many more. However, Sophie’s attention was caught by the purple sparkly octopus. She reached up to touch the tentacles, pulling it off the shelf.
“Do you want this one?”
Sophie turned to see Ariel standing beside her. “I was just looking.”
“It’s pretty.” Ariel touched the other stuffed octopus, looking around. “Do you like it?”
Sophie shrugged. “Katherine likes purple.”
“Katherine? Your friend with the purple nail polish?”
Sophie nodded, and slowly reached to place the octopus back on the shelf.
Ariel stopped Sophie's arm. “Isn’t her birthday in the summer? Maybe you could buy it as a gift for her.”
Sophie paused, taking back her arm. “She would like that.”
Ariel smiled. “I’m sure she would. Afterall, you’re the one gifting it to her.”
Sophie blushed, looking down at the floor as she followed Ariel to the checkout counter.
They made their way back to Ariel’s car, and drove to a local small ice cream shop by the seawall. Ariel ordered a Rocky Road and Sophie a Mango Sorbet. They walked along the water's edge, enjoying their cool treat in the summer heat.
“What did Betty say?”
“What do you mean, Sophie?”
“In the phone call.”
Ariel sighed. “It was nothing really. She just wanted you back for Sunday. I told her that if you wanted to go to church, I would drive you there myself. Do you want to go, Sophie?”
“Will you stay with me?”
“At church?”
Sophie nodded.
“I haven’t been since I was still in high school. How long has it been? Ten years?” Ariel sighed. “I don’t feel like I belong there anymore.”
“You won’t go in?”
“I don’t think Betty will be very happy to see me.” Ariel chuckled.
Sophie paused and looked down at her sorbet. “I want to stay with you all weekend.”
“Okay.” Ariel smiled. “Me, too.”
They walked along the shoreline, quietly eating their ice cream. Sailboats floated gently in the distance, as the sun set, casting a soft orange glow across the city.
“Are you excited to give Katherine the octopus?”
Sophie nodded.
“I’ve only seen you two together once. I didn’t know you two were such good friends already.”
Sophie shrugged. “She’s really nice.”
“Maybe you guys will become best friends. How exciting!”
“Maybe.” Sophie stared out at the water, reminded of the dolphins. Maybe we’ll be like Doris and Lana.
As the day became dark, and their ice cream gone, the two found a bench to rest by the shore. Ariel patted her shoulder, and Sophie rested her head on the side of Ariel’s arm. They looked out at the open water, sailboats sailing back to shore, as the last of the sun faded into the horizon.
“What do you think about living with me? My new apartment is big enough for the two of us, and there’s a nice school in this area. I can drive you anywhere you’d like and cook yummy foods.”
“What will Betty say?”
“You don’t have to worry about that; I’ll figure something out. I always do.”
Sophie fumbled her fingers. “I don’t want you to fight with Betty anymore,” she whispered, remembering the loud arguments over the phone. She only ever heard the muffled yelling through the walls, but she knew it was about her.
“It’s not your fault, love. Just think about it; my offer’s always here.”
Sophie sat in silence, watching the waves.
“What’s it like to be in love?” whispered Sophie.
“Why, do you like someone Sophie?”
“Ms. Adams said when you’re in love, you feel really happy and all your problems disappear.”
“I think she means you feel like your problems disappear, but they’re still there. However, the person who loves you can help you fix those problems.”
Sophie paused. “Have you ever been in love?”
“Once, when I was young,” Ariel let out a soft chuckle. “He said he would stay with me forever.”
Sophie closed her eyes, her body tired from all the walking. “Where did he go?”
Ariel looked up at the city lights. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “He wanted me to give up something I didn’t. He told me to choose, and when I chose to keep what I had, he left.”
“Do you miss him?” Sophie mumbled.
Ariel gazed down at Sophie. She softly tucked Sophie’s hair behind her ear, her fingers lingering on Sophie’s cheek.
Ariel remembered the boy. She remembered when she excitedly showed him the two thin red lines, only to receive a look of anger and disappointment. She remembered Betty slapping her face, telling her she was not her daughter anymore. She remembered taking the bus to the clinic, seeing her ultrasounds alone. She remembered calling a cab, to take her to the hospital when she was in labour. But most of all, she remembered the first time she held the baby, naming her Sophie, and how beautiful she looked. All her stress and doubt melted away, replaced with joy and determination. Even when her baby was taken away, and Ariel was kicked out of the house with nothing but the shoes on her feet, she promised that she would come back for Sophie, when she was able to give Sophie a proper home, when she could be someone Sophie was proud of.
Sophie’s head became heavier, and her breath evened. Ariel smiled to herself, watching Sophie’s peaceful face.
“No,” Ariel whispered into the night. “I’d always choose you over him.