Crooked House

I  first  met  Sophia  Leonites  in  Egypt  towards  the  end  of  World  War  II.  She  had  quite  an  important  job  working  for  the  government,  and  when  I  worked  with  her,  I  soon  realized  how  good  at  her  job  she  was,  though  she  was  only  22.  As  well  as  being  very  good  looking,  sophia  had  a  clear  mind  and  a  delightful  sense  of  humor.  We  became  friends.  She  was  easy  to  talk  to,  and  we  enjoyed  our  dinners  and  dances  together  very  much.

But  it  wasn't  until  I  was  ordered  to  go  to  East  Asia  at  the  end  of  the  war  in  Europe  that  I  realized  I  love  Sophia  and  wanted  to  marry  her.  We  were  having  dinner  together  when  I  realized  this.  It  wasn't  a  surprise.  I  think  I'd  known  for  a  long  time  that  I  loved  her.  I  looked  at  Sophia  and  liked  everything  I  saw.

She  had  dark  hair  and  bright  blue  eyes,  a  small  chin  and  a  straight  nose.  She  looked  very  English.  Then  suddenly  I  wondered  if  she  really  was  as  English  as  she  looked.  After  all,  her  surname  didn't  sound  English.  Although  we  talked  about  many  things,  sophia  had  never  mentioned  her  home  or  her  family.

I  didn't  know  anything  about  her  background.  Sophia  asked  me  what  I  was  thinking  about  you.  I  replied  truthfully.  I  may  not  see  you  for  a  few  years,  Sophia,  but  when  I  get  back  to  England,  I'm  going  to  ask  you  to  marry  me.  She  sat  there  calmly.

I'm  not  going  to  ask  you  now,  I  continued,  because  you  might  say  no,  and  I'd  be  very  unhappy.  And  if  you  say  yes,  I  don't  want  to  be  engaged  for  years  or  get  married  now  and  then  leave  you  straight  away.  I  want  you  to  go  home  free  and  independent  and  decide  what  you  really  want.  But  I  wanted  to  let  you  know  how  I  well,  how  I  feel.  But  you  don't  want  to  be  too  romantic,  murmured  Sophia.

Darling.  Don't  you  saya  darling.  Don't  you  understand?  I've  tried  not  to  say  I  love  you.  She  stopped  me.

I  do  understand,  Charles,  and  I  like  your  funny  way  of  doing  things.  You  can  come  and  see  me  when  you  get  back,  if  you  still  want  to.  Of  course  I'll  want  to,  I  interrupted.  You  don't  know  that,  said  Sophia.  You  don't  know  much  about  me,  do  you?

No,  I  admitted.  I  don't  even  know  where  in  England  you  live.  I  live  just  outside  London,  at  a  place  called  Swindley  Dean,  she  said,  in  a  little  crooked  house.  I  must  have  looked  surprised  because  she  explained  why  she  had  used  the  last  line  of  a  nursery  rhyme.  My  family,  she  said,  and  they  all  live  together  in  a  little  crooked  house.

That's  us.  And  though  the  house  isn't  really  little,  it's  definitely  crooked.  So  do  you  have  a  large  family?  I  asked.  One  brother,  one  sister,  a  mother,  a  father,  an  uncle,  an  aunt  by  marriage,  a  grandfather,  a  great  aunt  and  a  step  grandmother.

My  goodness.  I  exclaimed  in  surprise.  Of  course,  we  don't  normally  all  live  together.  Sophia  laughed.  It  was  because  of  the  war.

With  the  bombing,  it  was  too  dangerous  to  stay  in  London.  But  my  grandfather  takes  care  of  us.  He's  over  80  and  very  small,  but  he's  so  alive  that  compared  to  him,  everybody  else  seems  rather  boring.  He  sounds  interesting,  I  said.  He  is  interesting.

He's  from  Greece  and  his  name  is  Aristidelia  needs,  she  added  with  a  smile.  And  he's  extremely  rich.  I  wonder  if  you'll  like  him.  Do  you?  I  asked.

More  than  anyone  in  the  world,  said  Sophia.