Sophie awoke and stared at her surroundings: a cardboard box for a room, a worn-out fleece jacket for a pillow, and a bath towel for a blanket. Well, today was the end of her adventure. She had five dollars left. Sue’s baby still needed formula and Carrie’s son was sick. She stood, stretched, yawned, and began to make her way through the rubble. Sensing someone behind her she turned and looked into the face of a stern policeman.
“Are you Sophie Maddock?” he asked, glaring at her.
“Yes,” she answered, looking down. She saw Sue and Carry watching her with question marks in their eyes.
“Come with me,” he said.
“Am I in trouble?”
“I don’t know. Your husband has reported you missing, and a lot of people have been looking for you. So far as I know, you haven’t broken any laws, so you’re not being arrested at this time.”
“Good,” said Sophie. “I didn’t realize anyone was looking for me.”
The officer looked startled. “If my wife had been gone two weeks, I’d certainly be out looking for her. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, so you’d better come along with me to the station. Your husband is waiting there.”
