Louis glanced over Sophia, pleasantly surprised and taken aback. "You? It's you?"
Last time at the hospital, he had nearly taken a tumble, and Sophia had been his knight in shining armor.
Back then, he had wanted to get her name and contact info to thank her properly, but Sophia had left without leaving a trace.
He'd been bummed about it for a while, never expecting to bump into her again.
The joy of reuniting with his lifesaver completely overshadowed Renata's calling him "Yoli," and he just grinned at Sophia, "Well, look who it is! We meet again, kiddo."
He had a habit of calling young people "kiddo".
Sophia hadn't expected to run into a family member of the elderly either and replied with a polite smile, "Hello."
Gerald stepped forward with a puzzled look, "Dad, you two know each other?"
Gerald's wife, Rachel, who was supporting Louis, also cast a puzzled glance at Sophia, her expression betraying a hint of confusion upon seeing her face.
Sophia caught that look and instinctively turned her gaze towards her.
Their eyes met and Sophia too paused, feeling that same sense of bewilderment and confusion.
Rachel saw Sophia's startled look and cracked a small smile at her.
Sophia snapped back to reality and returned the smile politely.
Louis was already explaining with a chuckle.
"Last time I was hospitalized for high blood pressure, I was so bored of lying in bed all day. Seeing that Leo wasn't around, I thought I'd sneak out for a little walk, get some fresh air. Didn't expect to get dizzy as soon as I hit the hospital garden's corridor. I was about to hit the deck when this young lady here caught me. Saved my old bones, she did."
Worry flickered across his face as he turned to Sophia, "Speaking of which, you didn't hurt yourself last time, did you? You alright?"
Then he looked up and added for everyone else's benefit, "It was a bit of an emergency situation. This kiddo here cushioned my fall with her own body, those tile floors don't forgive easily."
"Dad, seriously, how many times have we told you not to go wandering off when Leo isn't around? What if you had really hurt yourself?" Gerald chided him gently, then turned to Sophia with a grateful expression, "Kiddo, thank you so much."
Sophia felt a tad embarrassed being called "kiddo."
"Just call me Sophia," she replied courteously.
Louis was still hung up on his earlier concern, "You sure you didn't hurt yourself last time? You okay now?"
Sophia nodded, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Feeling left out, Renata interjected with dissatisfaction, "Yoli, Yoli's back."
While saying this, she grabbed Sophia's hand and pushed her towards everyone.
Sophia guessed that the "Yoli" she was talking about must be Yolanda and felt a bit awkward.
"I just ran into this lady at the park, she seems to have mistaken me for someone else, kept holding onto my hand."
Louis glanced at an excited Renata, a flicker of sympathy crossing his face, then turned to Sophia with an apologetic look.
"She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years back, and in the last two or three years, she can't recognize people anymore. She often mistakes the kids for me, or me for the kids. Don't take it to heart."
Sophia nodded understandingly, "I get it."
Then she glanced at her watch and said, "Well, I've got to run. I'll leave her in your hands. I've got things to do."
As she tried to pull away, the old lady clung to her hand tighter, clasping it to her chest like a treasure.
"Can't go, need to go home."
Rachel also smiled at Sophia, "You saved Louis and now Renata too. Our whole family doesn't even know how to thank you. How about joining us for a meal first?"
"No need, I just ate," Sophia declined with a smile.
"Then maybe you could leave me your contact info?" Rachel suggested, pulling out her phone, "When you're free, we can go out for a meal."
"Thank you, but really, there's no need," Sophia insisted, "I just happened to be there, and I only helped take her to the police station, that's all. You don't have to be so formal."
After saying this, Sophia turned to Renata, who was still gripping her hand, and said patiently, "Madam, your family is here to pick you up. Why don't you go home with them first?"
To her surprise, the old lady shook her head, "Must go together."
She then turned to the others, pleadingly, "Yoli, we must go home together."
Seeing that Renata seemed stubborn, Gerald quickly tried to comfort her, "Mom, Yoli's at home, you forgot."
Louis also coaxed gently, "Right, darling, Yoli's at home. This lady's family is waiting for her, can you let go of her hand, please?"
"Nonsense, she is my Yoli."
After saying this defiantly, Renata grabbed Sophia's hand and turned to leave. Sophia and everyone else fell silent.
Once they snapped back to reality, the family hurried over, trying to cajole the old lady with sweet talk. But Renata was like a kid who couldn't get her candy, refusing to let go of Sophia or go with anyone else.
If they pushed too hard, she'd throw a tantrum and start crying.
Her tears sent them into a panic, as they clumsily tried to soothe her while pleadingly looking at Sophia, hoping she'd go the extra mile and help bring the old lady home.
Sophia didn't know what to say.
"Our house is just up ahead in the villa district, it's not far," Gerald said softly, sounding a bit embarrassed, "I'll arrange for someone to take you home afterwards."
Louis, also feeling awkward, said, "Miss, what do you say to this..."
He gestured toward Renata, who was throwing a fit, "Maybe you could help us out, come back with us, and later I'll have someone take you home, okay?"
Then, worried she might be apprehensive, he quickly introduced himself. "Don't worry, I'm not a bad guy. My name's Louis, a retired military man. This is my wife Renata, my son Gerald, and my daughter-in-law Rachel. We're all honest business folks. The Frost Group in the West district, that's ours. If you're not sure, you could have the police check our personal information for you."
"I didn't mean it like that."
Sophia totally got that Yolanda's parents weren't the bad guys, she just didn't wanna mix it up with her fam, that's all.
And with Theresa and Brandon having just left, she really had no clue how they were doing now.
"Is there something bugging you, miss?"
Louis, seeing her hesitating expression, couldn't help but ask with concern.
Sophia shook her head and, after a hesitant glance at Renata, who was giving her the puppy dog eyes, and the longing looks from the others, she just couldn't bear to let them down.
"I can walk you guys to your doorstep, but I'm not coming in, okay?" she whispered. "There's really something I've gotta take care of at home."
"Of course!"
Louis was over the moon with her nod of approval and didn't forget to stoop down
to tell Renata, "Darling, Yoli's agreed to walk us back. Let's head home together, shall we?"
The elderly lady, previously all teary-eyed, suddenly lit up like a kid on Christmas, nodding her head frantically before grabbing Sophia and heading towards the door, "Let's hit the road, we're heading home!"