Sweet Misfortune: A Novel Read Online Free

hand and then clenched her fingers tightly.
    “You got something in there you want to show me?” Ellen motioned to Sophie’s tight fist.
    “I don’t want you to see it.”
    “Okay,” she replied casually. “That’s cool. So, did you have fun at the restaurant?”
    “Yes.” She paused. “They cook it on the table. The chef made a burning volcano out of onions. That was my favorite part.”
    “Wow, Sophie. That sounds like a great time. So after dinner, then what?”
    “Dad said we had to go, because of school tomorrow.”
    Dang! That must’ve been her dad under the sheet.
“Just you, your mom, and your dad?”
    “And Grams. She lives with us, ever since Grandpa died.”
    Her grandmother, too!
“I see. So you all headed home together?”
    “Yes.” Sophie clenched her hand tighter.
    “And then… did you stop anywhere else?”
C’mon, Sophie, what happened? Help me understand what you’ve been through tonight so I can help you.
    Sophie looked up and down the street, her eyes finally settling on a point a few hundred yards away. “I wanted to. But Dad… he was in a hurry to get home, I guess. I told him the wish of my heart was to get a piece of chocolate at that candy store up there.” She pointed. “They have the best chocolate in town. At least Mom says they do.”
    “I’ll be sure to try it sometime. What happened then?”
    “Dad said no.”
    “No chocolate?”
    “Yes. Not tonight, because we already had dessert at the restaurant. But I told him it was the wish of my heart.”
    Ellen raised her eyebrows at the use of that phrase again. “What did he say to that?”
    Sophie looked down at her clenched fist, then at the policewoman, and then back up the street to the chocolate store. “He… he must’ve forgotten.”
    “How do you mean?”
    “Well, the wish of my heart was to get some chocolate. But he must have forgotten, so I showed him—” Sophie raised her white-knuckled hand. “I showed him that we
would
stop.”
    “You showed him your hand?”
    Sophie shook her head. “I showed him what’s in my hand. He told me at the restaurant that it would come true, so I wanted him to remember. And then…”
    Ellen rubbed the young girl’s shoulder softly. “It’s okay, sweetie. What happened next?”
    “He turned around to see it. Then a horn honked. He didn’t have time to turn back around.” The last words were barely audible. Sophie’s head sagged between her shoulders. “It’s all my fault,” she said, crying once more.
    Just then the other officer returned. “They’re on their way,” he said quietly, trying not to intrude.
    “Thanks, Pete. Hey, Sophie’s grandmother was in the car, too. Can you—?”
    Pete cut her off midsentence with a look that said,
Don’t ask. You won’t like the answer.
    Ellen rubbed Sophie’s shoulder and arm a little harder. “It’s all gonna be okay, Sophie Jones. I promise you that. One way or another, it’s going to be okay. And it’s
not
your fault.”
    Sophie wrapped herself tighter in the blanket and looked down once more at her clenched fist.
    “You care to show me now what you’re hiding there in your hand?”
    Nodding, Sophie slowly peeled open her fingers. Cradled inside her shivering hand was a crumpled slip of paper from a fortune cookie. Ellen leaned in closer so she could read the message, and then she understood.
    Happiness is a gift that shines within you.

The wish of your heart will soon come true.
    “It’s not true, is it?” Sophie asked. “None of it. Fortune cookies aren’t real, are they? My dad lied.”
    Ellen didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t further ruin the girl, if that were even possible. “Well, they do come true,” she fibbed. “Eventually.”
    Sophie’s eyes opened a bit wider, but her expression was one of doubt. “Really?”
    “Sure.” Ellen shrugged. “Your dad wouldn’t lie to you, now would he? And I wouldn’t, either. It
will
come true.”
    Sophie took a moment to weigh