Sophie walked to the car, opened the door and got in.
"What happened, Sophie? You were so happy and smiley earlier today and now you're so sad," said Olivia, worried about her.
"It's nothing, Mommy," she said, lying.
"Sophie"
"What?"
"I'm your mother, you can tell me everything, you can always trust me. right?"
She shook her head yes, but then fell silent.
"How was school?" she asked.
"Well, aren't you going to start the car?"
"No, not until you tell me what happened"
"There's this girl, she started laughing at my hair and the other girls laughed with her. Is my hair ugly, Mommy?" she asked with tearful eyes.
Olivia knew this time would come, she was sure it would, but she didn't want this day to come, to see her daughter begin to experience racism at an early age. she took a deep breath and held back the urge to cry in front of her "Your hair is beautiful, you're beautiful" she said.
"She said that her hair is nice and straight, said that my color is different, that I'm not as white as snow" Sophie started saying confused things trying to explain and Olivia understood well.
While she was talking, the little blonde girl was getting into her mother's car, Sophie looked at her through the car window with a strange look, Olivia asked if it was that girl and she shook her head saying yes.
Olivia knows who her mother is...
"You're beautiful, your hair is beautiful, your color is beautiful... your daddy is as white as snow, but your mommy isn't, so you're exactly the perfect mix between the two of us. right?"
"Yes," she finally smiled.
"Would you like some strawberry ice cream?"
She smiled and said yes... Olivia took her for strawberry ice cream, bought her a new toy, anything to put a smile back on her face.
Everything Sophie said made her so sad and so angry, she was sure to defend her daughter with her life at that school.
She didn't go back to work and spent the rest of the day with Sophie.
Later...
Sophie was already asleep when Fitz came home from work. He went into her room and kissed her on the forehead, as he has done since she was a little baby.
Fitz opened the bedroom door, Olivia was sitting in the armchair facing the window, she was in her robe and reflective.
"What happened, baby? I was waiting for you and Sophie at the company," he said as he walked towards her and opened the buttons of his shirt.
Fitz gave her a kiss on the lips and then she began to speak... "What I knew would happen one day happened, when I chose to have a mixed-race daughter with you"
"What happened to her?" he asked worriedly.
"Today she left school sad, so I asked her what had happened, she didn't want to talk, she tried to run away and then she talked... a girl talked about her curly hair, she talked about her skin not being white like most of the girls at her school" said Olivia.
Fitz closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said "I didn't want her to have to go through that"
"Unfortunately she will go through it all her life, especially during her teenage years. but I, I... I thought I was prepared to deal with it, only to hear her say it, it broke my heart into a thousand pieces" she said as a tear ran down her cheek.
Fitz took her hand, pulled her close to him, she got up from the armchair and hugged him... "I'm sorry you and Sophie had to go through this"
She remained silent, Fitz dried the tear on her cheek. "We'll get her out of that school" he said.
"No, baby... it's one of the best schools in this country. the problem isn't the school and tomorrow I'm going to go there, I'm going to talk to the principal, I'm going to talk to that girl's mother"
"It's okay, I just want her to have good memories of her childhood"
They made love before going to sleep.
The next day, Olivia slept a little longer and Fitz got up early to play with Sophie before going to work, he just wanted to see her smile.
Fitz opened Sophie's bedroom door and she was still in bed, while the nanny was tidying up her toys.
"Sophie? Are you sick?" he asked.
"No, Daddy"
"Then why aren't you running around the house and making a mess?"
"I don't want to"
"What? just today when I planned for us to draw in the garden together? we just can't draw on the sofa or your mother will get very angry and ground your father" he laughed and she laughed, that little smile being the most important thing to him right now.
She got out of bed, Fitz picked her up and took her into the garden... they sat together and drew lots of pictures.
Olivia woke up, got up, went to the bedroom window and saw the most beautiful scene she could witness that morning, Fitz drawing with Sophie and doing his fatherly role very well.
Her cell phone rang and it was Maya... "Good morning, Mom. I miss you"
"Good morning, Liv... How's my beautiful little granddaughter?"
"You and my father now only call me to find out about Sophie? I don't exist for you two anymore," she joked.
"We love you, daughter... but now we have a little princess who has stolen all our hearts"
Olivia didn't want to tell her mother what had happened over the phone "She's fine, she's now drawing with her father in the garden"
"He's become a great father," said Maya.
"Yes, he's become a great father, he does everything for her, I have to fight him to stop doing her every whim" she laughed.
They talked some more and Maya said goodbye to her daughter.
Olivia went downstairs and prepared breakfast for Sophie and Fitz.
They had breakfast together, then the nanny got Sophie ready for school.
Olivia and Fitz got ready together... "You want me to do this with you, baby?" he said.
"No, I want to do this alone," she said.
"All right, I'll wait for you at our company later" he kissed her on the lips, then said goodbye to Sophie and left in his car.
Olivia drove Sophie to school... when they arrived, Sophie was getting out of the car on her own and Olivia told her she was going in with her. "Mommy, are you going in?"
"Yes, you're going into your classroom with your friends and I'm going to talk to the principal, okay?"
She nodded and went to her classroom.
Before talking to the school principal, Olivia waited for the girl's mother to stop the car, she went to her car window and said "I need to talk to you, now... can you get out of the car?" she said so angry and defending her daughter like a lioness.
That arrogant blonde woman got out of the car, realizing that Olivia wasn't willing to give up on the conversation.
"What do you want?"
"I want to tell you that I can't blame your daughter for being a little racist... no child is born racist, children just reproduce things they hear from their parents. I bet you spew your racism daily in your house, so she hears these things and then comes to school to teach them to the other children," she said fearlessly.
"Are you saying that I'm racist? Are you saying that my daughter is racist?"
"I'm not.. I'm stating... look, I've had to deal with so many racists, you have no idea. but with my daughter, with Sophie no one will do that, I won't allow it"
"If you married a white man, you have to be prepared for it" Olivia didn't let her finish and interrupted...
"I'll say it again, I'm used to dealing with racists like you, but no one is going to hurt my daughter's feelings. I hope you'll talk to your daughter and tell her that she can't bully children who have different features to her"
"You can't tell me what to do with my daughter"
"If my daughter leaves school crying one more time because of the things your daughter says to her... you'll get to know a side of me that you won't like" Olivia finished speaking, turned her back and walked towards the principal's office.
The principal received Olivia very well and quickly, knowing that Olivia and Fitz are very wealthy and own one of the largest companies in the country, all she doesn't need is for the school to lose such a wealthy and influential student.
"Mrs. Grant, it's a pleasure to welcome you to our school. How can I help you? Sophie Grant is so intelligent, you and your husband have done a great job with her..." the principal was complimenting her, but Olivia was so angry.
"I'm very happy for the compliments about my daughter, but I came here to make a complaint. my husband and I spend a lot of money to keep my daughter in this school, this is one of the best schools in this country and I don't want to have to take my daughter out of this school. but for that, I need you to guarantee that she will never be bullied here again... okay?"
The woman began to stutter... "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Grant. I had no idea that Sophie had been bullied here at school, I really didn't."
"Racism, bullying... all of this is unacceptable. my daughter left this school sad yesterday, trying to hold back the tears, I don't want this to ever happen again"
Olivia gave the principal the name of the girl who led the bullying against Sophie and the principal immediately called her in for a chat as soon as Olivia left.
She got into her car and drove to the company, she arrived relieved to have defended her daughter, she arrived smiling and Fitz liked it... "How was it, baby?"
"I ran over that arrogant blonde with fake hair like a truck and she didn't have time to breathe" she started laughing.
Fitz held her by the waist "I wonder how she got on, she's not prepared to deal with Mrs. Grant's strong personality" he joked.
"Am I that angry?"
"You are, very..."
She laughed and Fitz was pleased to see that she was smiling.
"I have a surprise for you... shall we?" he said, pulling her by the hand.
"Fitz, where are you taking me? I bet it's somewhere erotic," she said, getting into the car with him.
"It doesn't involve sex now, but it does involve a place where we're going to have a lot of sex in the future" he laughed and drove off.
They pulled up in front of a huge house, with as much nature for Sophie as he had planned.