“You’re sure it’s not my sparking wit?”
Nora laughed. “That was a bonus.”
Sophia tilted her head in the direction of the notebook. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t you usually work less if you’re about to retire? What happened to delegating?”
“I’m learning how to delegate,” Nora replied, pausing to glance around the kitchen, a shadow falling over her face. “But it’s strange to think of myself not being here. I guess I’m still wrapping my head around it.”
“Change can be difficult,” Sophia agreed. “I never thought I’d be starting over in my forties, but here I am.”
Nora pulled a chair out and sat down. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re handling it well. I don’t think you should listen to anybody else when it comes to your own life.”
Sophia stepped out from behind the counter and picked up the tray of cookies. “Yeah, I don’t know how you do that. I feel like I’m always looking for people’s approval.”
Nora picked up a cookie and smiled. “You learn how to get better at tuning it out, or you find the right kind of people to please.”
Sophia sat down opposite Nora and picked up one of her own cookies. “Is that what you’re doing with your kids?”
Nora bit into the cookie and nodded. “In part, but they’re also right. I’m not getting any younger, and I do want to slow down, enjoy the sun on my face and all that.”
“How do you know it’s the right time to walk away?”
“It feels right,” Nora responded after a lengthy silence. “But what do I know? I had my money on leaving you in charge of Nora’s, and I turned out to be wrong about that.”
Sophia choked on a piece of her food. “What did you just say?”
“Months after I hired you, I knew you would be the right fit, but don’t worry. It didn’t take me long to figure out you weren’t interested.”
Sophia thumped her fist against her chest. “I’m not?”
“Management isn’t for everyone. It’s okay if you’d much rather be a pastry chef. You don’t always have to reach for the stars to be happy, you know.”
Sophia swallowed and gave Nora a weak smile. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Nora brushed off the crumbs and dabbed at her mouth with a tissue. “Anyway, I’m glad we got the chance to talk, but I’ve got to get back to these books. Finances aren’t going to do themselves, you know. No matter how much I wish they would.”
Sophia cleared her throat. “Is there anything I can help with?”
Nora pushed her chair back with a screech and patted Sophia’s shoulders on the way past. “Thank you, dear. I’ll be fine. Make sure everything is in order before you leave.”
“Of course.”
Sophia waited till Nora retreated into her office before she sagged back against the chair. Over the next few hours, she turned Nora’s words round and around in her head until there was a small niggling in the back of her skull. On the drive home, she still couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact that she’dbeen in the running at all, much less that she only had herself to blame for being passed over.
Sophia greeted her dad, who was half-asleep on the couch, and made a beeline for her own apartment, Teddy happily trotting after her. After changing out of her clothes and brushing her teeth, she curled up against Teddy, who spun in a few circles before settling on the bed next to her.
As she scratched behind Teddy’s ears, Sophia couldn’t help but wonder if she really was to blame for not being considered Nora’s successor.
What was stopping her from telling Nora she wanted to throw her hat in the ring?
Was she actually allowing her fear to cloud her judgment and make her get in her own way?
Chapter Thirteen
“Mom, I hate to be the one to point this out, but yoga doesn’t work if you’re sweating buckets and muttering to yourself the whole time. The point is to empty your mind.”
Sophia’s eyes flew open, and she pinned her daughter with a meaningful look. “I’m trying, but you need to stop looking at me.”
Zoe threw her hands up in the air. “I’m just trying to help. What if you do one of those do-it-yourself projects? You love those.”
