Alexander Hayes got out of his black SUV as the sun lit up the city streets. He was accustomed to high-end boardrooms, luxury hotels, and private airports as Hayes Innovations’ CEO, but today was different. Something drew him back to his childhood neighborhood today.
For illustration only.
He headed to the local bakery after adjusting his fitted coat sleeves. Only this remained from his boyhood. A warm cinnamon aroma brought back memories of her he hadn’t touched in years.
Sophie.
Name rang in his chest, stopping his heart. He hadn’t seen her since sixteen. She was his closest friend, secret love, and the girl who pinned an encouraging letter on his locker before a science competition. He recalled her sweet giggle, sunflower clips in her hair, and her early faith in him.
Something stopped him when his phone rang with a notification while walking.
Small voice.
“I’m cold, Mommy…”
Alexander turned to the caller and saw a young mother on the pavement holding two similar girls. The twins appeared three years old, their faces flushed with cold and their matching jackets too thin for winter.
To illustrate, he might have continued going until he saw the woman’s face.
It grabbed his breath.
“Sophie?”
Startled, she glanced up. Her eyes widened in shock.
“Alex…?” she whispered.
A moment of time compression. Her grin, their stream hikes, and her study group readings brought back memories.
He kneeled beside her. Sophie, what happened? Where have you been?
Her automatically pulling the girls closer brought tears. “I never expected to see you again. Not like this.”
Curious and hesitant, the girls stared up at him.
“I lost everything, Alex,” she said. “I was married. My spouse lost tragically in an accident shortly after the girls were born. He was uninsured. No savings. We were evicted two months later. No relatives remained. Trying to survive since.”
He heard her humiliation and tiredness in her words.
“How long have you lived like this?” he inquired softly.
“Almost two years,” she said, lowering her eyes. “I work odd jobs when possible, but managing twins is challenging. Sometimes sleeping in the shelter is safer. On other evenings…
Her phrase was incomplete, but he watched her shudder.
For illustration only.
He stared down at twins. One grabbed his sleeve. You a doctor?
His grin was kind. No, sweetie. “I’m just an old friend of your mommy.”
The girl nodded earnestly. You seem wealthy. Like movie characters.”
“Sophie,” Alex replied, earnest, “Come with me. Please. You and girls. Right now. I can’t leave you.”
Her eyes widened in terror. “Alex, I’m not your responsibility.”
He sprang up, saying, “You’re not.
I’m not responsible for you. I care about you. Someone I always wondered about.”
Hand outstretched.
Sophie gazed at the twins, then him.
She grabbed it for the first time in a while.
For illustration only.
In an hour, Sophie and the girls were toasty in Alex’s penthouse’s guest wing overlooking the metropolis. A mug of hot cocoa went undisturbed on the table while the girls explored the strange environment, admiring the TV and plush carpets.
Sophie sat on the sofa edge, wondering where to place her hands. She was clean, nourished, and comfortable, yet apprehensive that it might all end.
She remarked, “I feel like I’m dreaming,” eventually.
Soft-faced Alex sat across from her. “You’re not. I apologize for taking so long to locate you.”
She regarded him. “Alex, why are you?”
A moment of silence.
“Because you made me feel important when I was nobody. You believed in me and gave me confidence when I lacked it. That science fair project? I only did it for you.”
Sophie smiled sadly. “I always knew you would do big things.”
He said, “And now I want to do something good—with everything I’ve been given.”
She blinked back tears. I’m afraid. I don’t want charity.”
“You’re not,” he replied clearly. You’re Sophie. That strong, caring girl I know remains. You encountered a storm. I want to assist you.”
Sophie and the twins moved into Alex’s guest home for a few weeks.
He hired a teacher and enrolled the girls in a nearby preschool to catch up. He remembered Sophie sketching clothes during high school lunch breaks and recommended her to a community design studio buddy.
Sophie took it up immediately, surprising him. Her thoughts sparkled and were exquisite.
“I can’t believe this,” she said one afternoon, giving him her portfolio. “I used to dream of this when I was younger.”
“Then let’s make that dream real,” Alex added. Start your own brand.”
She watched him. “Alex, I don’t know anything about running a business.”
“Lucky for you,” he smiled, “I do.”
Sophie founded Sunflower & Stitch, a boutique fashion company inspired by her childhood doodles and motherhood, with Alex’s aid but her own passion. Sophie had numerous local shelter women sew each garment.
For illustration only.
A homeless mother turned designer helping other women climb was featured by local media.
No one understood that behind the limelight was a guy who never took credit and just watched her shine.
Kindergarten girls dubbed him “Uncle Alex.” He assisted with schoolwork, took them to class when Sophie had meetings, and taught them how to make cookies on Sundays.
While observing from the kitchen doorway one evening, Sophie felt tears.
“You okay?” he inquired, looking at her.
She nods. “Better than okay.”
Alex asked Sophie to supper on his penthouse rooftop garden over a year after they reconciled. The room was lighted by delicate gold lanterns. His sister downstairs cared for the twins, who slept.
Sophie came in her basic blue self-designed outfit.
“You look beautiful,” Alex replied.
She grinned. “You say that always.”
Since it’s always true.
They spoke for hours on the past, present, and future.
Alex quieted.
“Sophie… Never stopped loving you. Not when you vanished. Not after you returned. I want to be there—not only for females. For you. Will you allow me?”
The earnestness in his words left her speechless.
“Alex, I’m a different girl. I mother. I’ve been through enough.”
“And I’m not the same boy,” he continued. One thing that hasn’t changed is how I feel when I see you.
Illustration only. Tears sprang in her eyes.
“I was so afraid I’d lost everything,” she whimpered.
“You didn’t,” he said, grabbing her hand. “You hadn’t found your way back.”
Sunflower & Stitch added another shop two years later. Sophie gave over 20 shelter women employment, skills, and dignity.
Her children Grace and Lily flourished. They visited parks, painted in the backyard, and ruined the kitchen attempting to make Alex’s lasagna on weekends.
Sophie and Alex married in a simple ceremony among sunflowers on a sunny afternoon. The girls tossed petals down the aisle and held hands as they walked with their mother.
They had returned—not for money, but for love, faith, and charity.
Because a guy didn’t merely pass a lady on the sidewalk…
He knew her heart.
And revived her.
