Right Number, Wrong Girl

Mum looked at her. “You don’t care?”

“I don’t care, Anna,” Grandma repeated. “Her name does not define who she is as a person. As far as I’m concerned, she was kind, understanding, and thoughtful. She couldn’t do enough for the people she loved, and she was determined to make this godforsaken party a success, even if it hurt her in the end. Which it did.” She glanced towards me. “And she risked everything she was doing because her heart told her to.”

I looked away.

I would never say the words to my mother, but Grandma knew.

Grandma knew everything.

“I don’t care if her name is Sophie or Camilla or Veronica or Emma. What matters is who she is inside. In here,” Grandma continued, touching her fingers to her chest. “You cannot fake kindness. The smiles she wore during our time together were not fake. Her laughter was not fake. Her determination that the party be flawless was not fake. You cannot fake a kindness as pure as the one she showed.”

A ball of emotion stronger than anything I’d ever felt consumed me. There was a lump in my throat and the backs of my eyes burned with tears I never thought I’d cry, and the chill that made the hairs on the back of my arms stand up was the most intense thing I’d ever experienced.

“Her name was fake, but her heart was true. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all that matters.” Grandma took hold of her walking stick and pushed to her feet. “You can change your name whenever you’d like. You cannot change your heart.”

Mum looked at me, but I studiously avoided meeting her gaze.

“Now, I can only speak for myself,” Grandma said, hobbling towards the door, where she paused and turned back to us. “But I believe someone’s heart is the most important thing. And if they make decisions you disagree with, it’s important to understand the reason why they made those decisions. You don’t always have to agree with someone’s choice, but it’s good form to respect it. Chances are, it wasn’t made for no reason.”

She opened the door and trotted out, leaving us alone.

My mother had never looked as ashamed as she did in this moment. Maybe the passage of time overnight had given her enough time to think about what had happened yesterday, but I wasn’t hopeful.

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t meet her eyes.

I couldn’t.

“She’s a good person,” Camilla said hesitantly from the doorway. “She never meant for this to happen.”

I looked up. “You’ve spoken to her?”

“Kind of,” she replied. “She texted me to let me know she was home safe, but she wouldn’t answer my calls.” Camilla turned to my mother. “I spent the night looking over everything Sophie had worked on. She told you the truth. I’ve known her since we were kids, and I owe her a huge apology. She was only supposed to be here for three days, and I really should have done a lot more to ensure you all knew she was coming in my place while I was stuck in Norway. I didn’t confirm it, and that’s on me.”

Mum gazed up at her.

“I had no idea what was going on, but it lines up to everything I know about Sophie. The missing information makes sense when you put it together. I think Nancy took advantage of the change in circumstance for her own benefit.”

“She threatened your business,” I told her.

Camilla nodded. “She did. Believe it or not, Sophie wrote down a whole list of all the things that didn’t add up, and I found it in my Dropbox this morning. I think she was keeping track so she had a point of reference in case anything went wrong, and it said in there that Nancy had threatened my business if Sophie came clean. It matches up with everything she claimed last night, too.”

Mum’s jaw twitched.

“I wasn’t supposed to come back yesterday. Sophie told me to stay with my family in Norway, but I couldn’t change my flight. She really had no idea I was still arriving yesterday afternoon.”

That made sense.

“I drove down as soon as I arrived home. She was doing what she thought was best.” Camilla turned back to Mum. “Please don’t think badly of her. She’s the kindest, most wonderful person in my life. She might not always make good choices, but they always come from the best place.”

Mum took a deep breath. “Do you have all of her plans?”

“I do.”

“I would like to see all the evidence that Nancy was conspiring against the plans.”

“I can provide that.”