We will discuss a starting salary and arrange an immediate corporate advance to clear your family’s debts. ”
Sophie’s breath caught. The hospital bill in her pocket suddenly felt weightless. “Mr.
Laurent,” she choked out, “I don’t know what to say. Thank you. ”
“Do not thank me. Thank your father.
He raised a fierce, brilliant daughter. ”
Jean-Pierre bowed slightly and returned to his table. Sophie stood by table seven for one final moment. Julian had collapsed into his seat, head in his hands.
Penelope was already gathering her purse. Slowly, deliberately, Sophie reached behind her back. She untied her apron, pulled it over her head, and dropped it directly onto the center of the table, on top of Julian’s silverware and crystal goblet. She did not say a word.
She turned and walked through the hushed dining room, her head held high. For the first time in five years, she was not walking toward the kitchen. She pushed through the brass-trimmed doors into the cool Manhattan air, leaving the ghosts of her past behind.
Ready to reclaim the life that had always belonged to her.