Chapter 86: The Bike

Jude raised a hand to signal down the block.

30 yards away, Sophie turned the rose-gold bicycle around and glided back to the curb.

"How are the gears?" Jude asked as she stopped beside him.

"Smooth," Sophie smiled, her cheeks pink from the ride. "Shifts without any drag."

Standing 2 feet away, Pearl Zhu watched them, her expression tightening.

Sophie wore no heavy makeup or designer clothes, yet her clean features and straightforward presence drew looks from people walking past. It was an effortless youth Pearl couldn’t buy with an assistant manager’s salary.

"She’s your girlfriend?" Pearl asked, her voice skeptical.

"We haven’t finalized anything on paper," Jude said, turning toward Sophie with a quiet smile. "What do you think, Sophie? Want to be my girlfriend?"

Pearl folded her arms, waiting for the girl to laugh in his face.

Sophie paused, color rushing up her neck. Looking down at the handlebars, she answered quietly:

"I’d like that."

She knew Jude was setting up a clean exit from an awkward blind date. But as she said it, there was no hesitation in her voice.

Jude took Sophie’s hand, then looked back at Pearl with a calm expression. "Looks like the spot is taken, Miss Zhu. We can tell Aunt Martha this wrapped up cleanly."

Pearl stood frozen for a second, caught off guard.

Her embarrassment quickly turned into a sharp sneer. "Enjoy it while it lasts. She’s a college student who doesn’t know how rent works yet. Wait until you’re splitting 50-cent ramen in a basement studio. You have no apartment, no car, no savings, and no job. Look at her riding a bicycle... her family is obviously broke too. Give it 3 months, and she’ll walk away."

"It won’t come to that," Jude said evenly.

"Don’t talk about him like that," Sophie cut in, her voice rising. "Even if things were difficult, I wouldn’t care. I wouldn’t regret it."

Realizing how serious she sounded, Sophie looked down, her face burning.

Pearl scoffed. "Don’t be naive, girl. Are you going to work double shifts to support someone who doesn’t work? Find someone who actually has money while you can."

"That’s enough advice, Pearl," Jude said, cutting her off. "If you’re worried about our budget, take a look at the curb."

He reached into his pocket and pressed the key fob.

A short double chirp sounded down the block.

50 feet away, the daytime running lights of the black Koenigsegg Jesko flared on.

Pearl stopped dead, staring at the car. "That belongs to her?"

"Of course," Jude said, keeping a straight face. "If an unemployed guy is going to let someone handle the bills, Miss Zhu, standards still apply. Why take a $20,000 salary with a mortgage in Queens when an heiress is an option? Looks like your offer didn’t clear the bar."

"Nobody wanted to hire you anyway," Pearl snapped, her voice cracking.

Outmaneuvered on every front, Pearl turned on her heel, hurried back to her white Audi Q3, slammed the door, and pulled into traffic without looking back.

Watching the SUV turn the corner, Jude let out a breath. "Rule one of city life, Sophie: don’t engage with bitter people."

Sophie laughed. "You really didn’t like her, did you, Mr. Lawson? Was it her appearance?"

"Looks are part of how people judge things, sure," Jude said plainly. "But the real problem was how she sees people. Someone who treats a partner like an opponent or an employee will turn any house into a headache."

"Do people usually grow out of that?" she asked.

"Not often," Jude said. "Resentment feeds on itself. Some people get burned once and blame everyone else; others stay angry because they feel overlooked. Arguing with them just wastes time. Keep things in perspective, Sophie. There are decent people and difficult people everywhere. Don’t let a bad encounter turn you cynical."

Sophie nodded, taking in his words. "Keep an open mind?"

"Pretty much," Jude said.

He checked his watch and noticed the late afternoon light. He still had dinner scheduled at Lieutenant Lola Grant’s family home.

"It’s getting late. Ride carefully heading home, Sophie. I have an appointment this evening."

"Thank you for everything today, Mr. Lawson. Safe travels."

Jude gave a brief nod, walked down the sidewalk, and got into the Koenigsegg.

Sophie stood by her bike, watching the car pull away down Columbus Avenue until it blended into traffic. Remembering the way he had taken her hand, she let out a quiet breath.

Even if it was just for the act...

She shook off the thought, mounted the bike, and started heading east across town.

30 minutes later, the high-rises of the Upper West Side faded into a worn, working-class neighborhood on the Queens border, lined with brick walk-ups and rusted fire escapes.

"Sophie! Over here!"

A tired voice called out through the smoke of a sidewalk grill cart near the corner.

"Mom," Sophie said, pulling the bike up to the curb.

Standing behind the food cart in a stained canvas apron was her mother, Helen Reed. Since the local garment workshop closed a year ago, Helen had spent 12 hours a day running the street grill, lines of fatigue clear across her forehead.

Before Sophie could ask about the shift, Helen’s eyes dropped straight to the rose-gold frame.

"Didn’t your review finish an hour ago?" Helen asked, wiping her hands on her apron. "Why are you just getting back... and where did you get a brand-new bike?"

"Picked it up on the way home," Sophie said quietly.

Helen frowned. "Brand-new? With what money? What happened to your old one?"

"A car clipped my front wheel at a crosswalk this morning," Sophie explained. "The driver paid cash for the damage, so I went to a shop after class to replace it."

Helen looked over the scuffs on the hem of Sophie’s coat, seeing the fall had been real.

"How much did she give you," Helen asked immediately, "and how much did that bike cost?"

A familiar knot formed in Sophie’s stomach.

Her mother had just heard she was hit by a car, yet there was no question about whether she was hurt or needed a doctor. The only focus was the money.

When every bill was overdue, numbers swallowed everything else.

"She gave me $500," Sophie said, leaving Jude out of it. "And the bike was $400."

Helen threw her hands up, her face tight with frustration. "Are you out of your mind, Sophie? $400 on a bicycle? Couldn’t you have gone to the repair shop down the street and found an old frame for $80? That would have left $420 for the house! Your brother’s prescription copay is due on the 1st... do you think money grows on trees?!"