Sophia Wood's surprise and confusion were directly conveyed over the phone, but this time Alice Turner didn't plan to explain herself. She simply replied, "You'll understand when the time comes."
Right now, she didn't know exactly what was going on there, whether his parents had managed to call him, or what they said to him. She was completely in the dark about these things.
"Can't you just tell me, dear?" Sophia was anxious to find out what was going on, but she didn't realize that Alice wasn't unwilling to tell her—Alice herself didn't understand the situation. If Sophia knew that, she would be even more anxious.
Alice picked up on Sophia's anxiety, but she was truly helpless. "Mom! I need to get ready now, or else I'll be late getting back."
She couldn't continue the conversation with her mom; otherwise, she truly wouldn't know how to dodge her mom's inquiries.
