Sophie boarded the small plane, distractedly replying to the hostess' overly cheerful hello. When in her seat, Sophie looked out the window as the plane prepared to take off. She wasn't the excited, happy Sophie that had boarded a plane for Florence to be with Robert. Robert. She smiled as she thought of the day that her grandmother had called her almost bursting with the effort to calm down enough to call Sophie.
"Allo?"
"Sophie darling! Sophie guess what!"
"What, what grandmere?"
"He can still speak!"
"Oh, grandmere that's wonderful!"
"And not only that, but he said your name,"
"He-he did? What did he say?"
"He said, 'Sauniere…. albino…save Sophie.'"
Sophie started to cry with happiness…
Throughout the flight, Sophie thought about what would've happened if Robert hadn't, hadn't…just if Robert was here. They would have been living in America by now, and Sophie would have celebrated her first Thanksgiving. That would have been a month ago to the day, for it was December 23, snowing, and it was about four o'clock. As Sophie left the gate with her luggage, a smiling Leo came to give her a hug, saying,
"Hello, Sophie,"
"Hi, Leo, how's it going?"
"Fine, fine. Grandmere is bouncing off the walls like a child. She can't wait to see you,"
"I can't wait to see her either,"
The Next Day
A young, pretty nurse with red hair was busy rearranging the flowers in Robert Langdon's room. As soon as the news bulletin leaked out a few months ago, flowers had come pouring in. Today, they were poinsettias-red and white. As the nurse tried to figure out a place to put them, her thoughts turned to the man lying in the bed. Such a brave man, and handsome, too! I feel so bad for him; he's all alone on Christmas and in a foreign country. He doesn't even have family to visit him! She was just about to turn around and donate some poinsettias to the geriatrics wing when a hoarse, but steady voice almost made her code.
"Are those from Sophie?" The nurse spun around,
"You-you're-OH MY GOD! DOCTOR, HE'S ALIVE! HE'S ALIVE!"
Robert chuckled, and winced slightly. A few minutes later, a team of very puzzled doctors entered the room. After questioning Robert about various things, a few tests were run, and the results proved that there was no point in keeping him any longer. After donating all of the flowers to the children's wing except two poinsettia plants, Robert was given some clothes from the shop around the corner free of charge with a smile from a surgical intern. As he walked out of the hospital, with a slight limp that might be present for the rest of his life, Robert smiled and decided to find a cab. Robert tried many times to get a cab, but they all ignored him. Finally, frustrated that he wasn't going to be able to make it to the Chauvels in time for dinner. Sitting down on a park bench, Robert put down the poinsettias and yelled, "Damn it!" A nearby sanitation worker was cleaning the bus stop. He looked over at Robert and said, good-naturedly,
"Had a rough day, sir?" Robert jerked up, saw the man was being genuinely friendly, and replied with a smile,
"Yes, it has,"
"May I inquire as to why?"
"I can't get a cab and I wanted to go visit my fiancée,"
"That's nice, are those flowers for her?"
"Yes, and her grandmother. I haven't seen either of them for six months,"
"Six months! Where have you been?"
"In the hospital. My name is Robert Langdon by the way,"
"You're, you're…awake?"
"Yes, today. May I ask your name?"
"Stan. Anything you need, sir?"
"Yes, a cab would be great, in fact,"
"Coming right up!"
Stan successfully waived over a cab and helped Robert get the poinsettias in. As the cab drove off, Robert leaned back in the seat, butterflies of excitement fluttering in his stomach. The drive to the Chauvel's was a long one, and the driver prattled on to Robert about the Chauvel's.
"It's a mighty nice thing you're doing, sir, going to visit Marie and her grandchildren. They've had a rough year," Robert, keeping his identity hidden, played along,
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. Marie's granddaughter is Sophie Neveu. The Sophie Neveu,"
"Really? Wasn't she the one that was-oh dear,"
"Yeah, I'll say. Her fiancée lying in a hospital. They say he took the bullet for her,"
"Extraordinary,"
"Yes, he was that Harvard professor guy. Robert Langdon. I've read his books. Their amazing! I wanted to maybe visit him in the hospital, but I thought that might be weird," Robert decided to end the game. While they were at a red light, Robert said,
"Well, my name is Robert Langdon. I'm the Harvard symbologist guy. You liked my books?" The taxi driver almost had a heart attack.
"Sir! I mean, oh my God, I've wanted to meet you for a really long time,"
"Well, I am very pleased to meet you,"
"George, George Livingstone,"
"George, now, I am afraid I don't have any cash on me, but," here Robert reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card that had miraculously survived in his wallet, "if you contact me, I will get you however many tickets you want and accommodations at any of my next year's lectures. You name the lecture. I'll be in Paris, Rome, Florence, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Montreal, and Moscow. And since you liked my books so much, I will give you autographed copies at the lecture. Will that do?"
"Goodness gracious, Professor. Your fair is free!"
"Why thank you, but take the card and call me anyway. You deserve a vacation if you have to work on Christmas Eve,"
"Why thank you so much! Merry Christmas," for they had arrived at the Chauvels. Gripping the poinsettias in each arm, Robert slowly trudged his way up the snow-covered driveway.
Sophie was very sad. Immediately after dinner, she had gone upstairs to her room. Marie's house was big and stately, but not in an overbearing way. A fire crackled merrily in the fireplace and Sophie had a mug of tea waiting for her in her chair. Sophie changed into her flannel pajamas when the doorbell rang. Sophie swore under her breath, thinking it was more company and she had just changed. Merry laughter and screams of joy were heard and Sophie thought she'd better go downstairs and meet this visitor. When she came into the living room, her grandmother was hugging someone whose back faced Sophie. Leo then gave the man a hug, the man's face still obscured. Marie ran over to Sophie and whispered,
"Jacques did watch out for us, Sophie. Oh, Sophie," Sophie was still puzzled until the figure turned around.
"Merry Christmas, Sophie," Robert Langdon said.
The last thing Sophie knew before everything going black was a pair of strong arms catching her as she fell.
I am SO sorry about how long it took to update. My computer crashed and I lost everything, so I had to start over with where the story was going! Please review!
