Chapter 18 Laura's POV

At the salon I sent Soph off to be waxed. I had noticed hair on her arms and legs, which didn't suit the image we were portraying. She looked at me with big puppy dog eyes, but I just sent her off with a smile. As she had agreed, Soph didn't verbally argue with me. Her expressions gave away her feelings easily, she was definitely a wear your heart on your sleeve girl.

It had helped me to know when I was pushing her boundaries. I was then able to give her the reasons for my suggestions or to back off if I was pushing her too far. That had only really happened once, which was when I tried to buy her a necklace. She immediately acted very unhappy and took it off as soon as she could. I don't think it was about money. I was a bit worried when I suggested this shopping trip that she would have been pushing my hand to try and get me to spend money on her. In fact, she had a wonderful attitude. She wasn't trying to make me spend or stop me spending. I don't even think she has any idea exactly what I have bought her. Whenever I went up to pay and organise delivery, she was conspicuous by her absence. Leaving no pressure on me in any direction. Conversely, that encouraged me to spend more. I love treating people who appreciate it, but don't demand it. So often I had been hurt by people either expecting me to pay for everything or getting upset because I have paid for something. It was not as if I didn't have enough of it.

I knew she wouldn't enjoy the waxing experience, I haven't heard of anyone who does. The rest of the experiences we would do together, but I had laser treatments to remove my hair previously, so it gave me a chance to call Eve without her being present.

“Hi gorgeous.” Eve answered.

“Hi honey. Are you free for a chat?”

“Yup, all good. So how is it going with Soph?” Eve asked me.

“Great. If we hear any screams that would probably be Soph being waxed for, I would guess, the first time.” I replied with a chuckle.

“She hasn't upset you, has she?” Eve asked with a worried tone.

“Not at all. Being waxed is a right of passage every girl has to go through at least once. If she likes the look, we can organise some laser treatment for a more permanent, less painful method.”

“Are we keeping her then?” There was a hopeful excited edge to Eve's question.

“Definitely. I thought we can go with your plans and tell them at dinner tonight.”

“I know you are being cautious after how you have been treated, but I like Soph and Gem. They are not going to betray us in any way.” Eve said, being careful with some of my emotional triggers.

“I know. I think I have let go of my issues about my entourage and my family, and then you ask me to introduce someone new into our lives and it rears its ugly head again. I shouldn't need to test people, especially after you have already spent time with them. I trust your judgement, I really do, for some reason, I just need to be sure. And I am sure. Soph is not after our money or our fame. I have spent a fortune, but I have enjoyed spending it and Soph does not even know what I have bought.”

“That is great darling. We still need to hire some people for our house, especially if Soph and Gem are going to be living in the other part of the house, or were you thinking of them staying in our private section?” I couldn't tell from Eve's voice if she was for or against the idea. Again she was leaving it in my court.

“We have five bedrooms in our private area and they all have their own bathrooms. I don't mind them staying in our section. After we come back from our honeymoon, or before if it is not working out, they can move into the main areas. I don't really want to hire anyone new before the wedding. Maria can cope with two extra mouths to feed.” I replied.

“OK. If you are sure.”

I did pause to see if there were any lingering doubts and when I couldn't find any I replied. “I am sure. Oh and I think I have also figured out why she is a great muse for you.”

“Tell me, tell me.” Eve said eagerly.

“I'll admit I wanted to push her a little bit. See how she would react if I stressed her out, so before we left I wanted to encourage her to wear a wig and makeup.”

“How did that go?” Eve asked me.

“I could see it accomplished my goal, she was totally out of her comfort zone. I asked her what was worrying her. I was expecting her to say the idea of wearing makeup or some other superficial answer. Instead, Soph dug deep to get to the heart of the matter and then tried to express her feelings about it. I had a feeling that if you heard her answer it would give you an idea for a song, so I excused myself and wrote it down as best I could.”

“What did she say?” Eve asked eagerly.

“Have you got a pen and paper?” I said, fiddling with my phone and pulling up the text I had typed in to remember.

“Shit! Wait a second.” I could hear Eve rushing about. “OK hit me with it.”

“She said that if she looked in the mirror and saw someone she didn't recognise, she was worried that it would create a disconnect. She said she was already confused about the way she looked. She desperately wanted to see herself, but didn't know what that would look like.”

“You're right. It is like poetry. There is a song in there somewhere about self esteem issues and teenagers going through puberty and finding themselves. How does she do it?” Eve asked in wonder.

“I think you mentioned her girlfriend studied psychology or was going to. I wondered if the reason they hit it off so well was because Soph seems to self analyse. I can almost imagine the self talk. Why am I anxious? I am anxious because Laura is going to want me to wear makeup. Now most people would stop there, but Soph doesn't. She goes on. Why would that make me anxious? So she automatically goes a bit deeper into her feelings and because she has done that for so long, she is quite good at expressing how she is feeling. And that is what a good song does to you, it sees the deeper stuff that you connect to but struggle to express yourself.”

“Wow. That means she is going to keep doing it. Saying these one liners that have me grabbing my notebook?” Eve asked.

“Probably. I am no expert. I think it will happen more often if Soph has more experiences and is asked how she feels. Which will happen automatically if you like her, because you will keep her around you and be interested in how she feels.”

“Getting her sorted has to come first. If they agree to stay with us, Soph should be able to start school.” Eve said adamantly. She felt very strongly about children getting educated.

“That is true. What about the singing lessons you have organised?” I asked.

“I still want her to continue them. I will organise with Danica to come another time. The good news on that front is that Danica is quite impressed with her. She does her best to follow instructions without argument. I'm not sure this will work out but one of the songs Soph has inspired related to someone growing up in the song. I thought she could pretend to be a mini me and help me sing the song. Maybe even coming on tour with us, since it will be summer holidays anyway, and helping me with that number. It would only be one song, and I don't know if her voice or the song will be good enough. I think it has potential, but only time will tell.”