Missing

Life at the Castro farm settled down for Sophie. She fell into a pattern with the family and learned how to stay out of the way between the sometimes bickering sister in laws. Her little room was tiny but it was hers and that gave her a lot of solace. The family was kind and welcoming to her and she got hours of time to be with her good friend. They visited Kathryn often who lived nearby and occasionally they would go into town and visit Joanne at the tavern. Every time they visited Joanne she looked happier and more comfortable in her new surroundings. She laughed and joked with the rowdy crowd and even appeared to be happy with her new husband. All in all, things were becoming quite delightful.

Sophie had chores, many chores. She woke up early and worked all day collapsing on her little bed at night. She didn't go into town often. She didn't like it. She didn't like the stairs she received from everyone in the community. She was the oddity. Everyone watched her like they were waiting for something. Waiting for her to do something. Waiting for her to announce something. It made her feel endlessly uneasy. She felt an obligation to "do" something. She didn't know what she was supposed to do but the town was waiting for her to do it.

So, to avoid all these weird complex expectations, she just didn't go to town very often. She stayed on the farm. Maddox stayed with her, but as promised, anytime Thomas needed him she would bring him to town or Thomas came out to get him. Thomas and her fell into an amiable friendship as well. It was comfortable and easy.

Sophie met him behind the Castro stalls that day. He needed Maddox to move some iron across town.

"Good morning!" she chirped cheerfully.

"Good morning Soph," he said with a grin.

She helped him hook Maddox up to the cart and patted him down, telling him he was such a good boy.

"You're not wearing your widow's tweeds," Thomas remarked as he cinched the saddle down.

"Yeah," she said casually looking down at her yellow cotton dress, "I think three weeks is long enough. Don't you?" she looked at him expectantly, a wave of worry crossing her face. "Do you think I could get away with wearing it longer?" she asked curiously.

"No," he chuckled. "No I think you pushed your mourning for a man you've never met as long as you possibly can."

"You know it was more than that!" she said defensively.

"I know," he sighed, with an odd sincerity. She smiled back at him. He was the only one who understood at all what she had experienced in regards to Jeremiah.

"Come to town with me," Thomas said in an uncharacteristic invitation.

"Town?" she wrinkled her nose as she thought. Thomas loved her confused face. "Why what's going on in town?" she was shaking her head like she was already saying no.

"A new ship made port. They unload supplies and stuff," he said with a shrug. "It's interesting to watch. Kind of exciting."

"Oh, okay then!" she said cheerfully.

She cozied up next to Thomas on the hard unforgiving bench and they bounced into town on the rickety wagon. Thomas held the reins loosely in his hands and they rode in companionable silence. Sophie was the only woman he could sit with comfortably in any situation. Most women made him uncomfortable. They talked too much, they talked about things he wasn't interested in. Sophie was comfortable.

After delivering the iron they sat by the dock and watched the ship be unloaded. Sophie and Thomas sat on the back of the wagon, her feet swinging beneath her as she watched on. Thomas offered her some jerky and she chewed on it while they watched.

Pallets and endless burlap sacks of provisions were unloaded onto the dock. The ship Sophie came in did not have a lot of supplies. It was a passenger ship. Today's delivery was all supplies.

Thomas noticed the looks they got. At first Sophie's black dress was what got attention but now the absence of it drew attention. The townsfolk had gotten used to her mourning. Jerry and his brother walked by, as they did they took off their hats and nodded at her then shot Thomas a questioning look.

"I'm going to go get some water that jerky was dry," she said and scooted off the wagon.

"Do you need some help?" he offered.

"No, I will be right back." He watched her walk away, hypnotised by her swaying hip and her hair that hung down to almost her waist. She was beautiful, stunningly so. That was probably his biggest objection to her. Sitting next to her, he looked like nothing, an afterthought. He was not her equal. She was so far out of his league that it physically pained him.

He watched the boat more and all the men working in synchronized motion as they unloaded the ship. It was soothing to watch, almost therapeutic to watch them work.

Sophie was taking an inordinate amount of time to return and he decided he needed to head out in search of her. When he reached the well she wasn't there though. He scanned the buildings and small streets looking for any sign of where she would have gone. He walked into the tavern but she wasn't there.

"Joanne," he said walking up to the woman scrubbing the table in front of her. "Have you seen Sophie?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, she just poked her head in a few minutes ago, she said she was going back to the dock," she said with a smile.

"Thank you so much," he said and marched back towards the dock with more determination and speed.

She wasn't in the wagon. He puzzled, looking around with his hands on his hips scanning the water's edge and the path back into town. She could have taken the long way back and skirted the river. She loved the river, he knew that. He took off towards the path the skirted the river towards the dock. He didn't see any sign of her and his gate broke into a jog. His chest started to well in a peculiar unfamiliar fear he had never felt before. The fear of losing someone.

And then the fear became tangibly real as her scream pierced the silence of the forest. He ran in a full out sprint towards the sound of her terrified cry.