Playing at Forever

by Michelle Brewer

  “I haven’t seen him—or Gina, for that matter.” Penny looked around once more, frowning as she once again came up empty handed.

  “Well, I guess our talk will have to wait.” She decided. Upon the return of their dates, Penny excused herself so that she could mingle with her guests and check on the status of the kitchen—pleased when she discovered that everything was right on time.

  It wasn’t until halfway through dinner that Penny finally spotted Kevin. He was sitting beside Gina, who—instead of wine, had a glass full of water in front of her. Strange, Penny noted, considering how much Gina normally enjoyed wine.

  When the other woman rose from her seat, walking toward the bathroom, Penny felt her breath catch in her throat, her eyes watering. “Pen? You okay?” Amy’s voice sounded very far away.

  “Excuse me—I just have to…” She didn’t even bother coming up with an excuse as she backed away from the table and made her way to the bathroom. Gina was just coming out of the stall, wiping at her mouth with a paper towel as Penny entered.

  “You know how they call it morning sickness?” Gina tossed the paper towel in the trash and stepped to the sink, washing her hands. “They should just call it pregnancy sickness or something. I swear, I can’t keep anything down.”

  Penny forced a smile as the younger girl excused herself, but the moment she found herself alone, she had to fight against the tears.

  Gina was pregnant?

  It was as if they had reopened the wound their initial betrayal had caused. The wound that had, lately, almost seemed to be healing.

  So Kevin had been ready to start a family—just not with her.

  She closed her eyes as she braced herself against the sink for a moment, her heart aching.

  “Pen?” Amy’s voice startled her and she looked up to find her friend standing at the door. “They’re ready for you to give your speech.”

  Right, her speech. She was supposed to stand up in front of everyone and deliver a persuasive and passionate appeal to the wealthiest of the town.

  “I’ll be right there.” She only took a moment longer to take a few deep breaths before returning to her table. Tommy’s expression was one of concern, but Penny said nothing to anyone, her thoughts distracted.

  When the bandleader introduced her, applause sounded around the room. She rose to her feet and crossed the room to take her place on the stage.

  “First, I’d like to thank all of you for joining us tonight for our fifth annual benefit dinner. I see many familiar faces and a few new ones—to those of you who are joining us for the first time, welcome. I…”

  But as she stared out at the crowd before her, she couldn’t remember what it was she was supposed to say. Her eyes fell back to Kevin and Gina, the room swaying a little bit.

  And then Tommy was there, standing beside her, his hand on the small of her back. When she met his eyes, she knew right away what he was doing.

  “I wanted to do something a little different this year,” she improvised. “Most of you have had the pleasure of knowing Tommy Davidson from his high school years. But for those of you who know him only as Thomson Davis, I’d like to introduce an old friend—and a product of the arts.”

  “How about I start with a round of applause for our beautiful hostess?” Penny blushed, smiling at the floor—not only embarrassed by his compliment, but by her behavior.

  His speech was good, she thought, especially for having come up with the entire thing without any thought or preparation. He talked about working on the stage—how those days had been some of the best of his life, providing him with memories to last a lifetime. They had influenced him in many ways, he said, least of which being his chosen career path.

  They had helped him understand friendship. They had helped him to realize the value of hard work. But most of all, he said, they had helped him to realize that really anything was possible in life.

  The room erupted into applause the moment he finished, Penny included. When her very handsome date turned around, Penny reached up to place a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear.

  “All you owe me is the last dance of the evening.”

  “I owe you a lot more than that.” He took her hand as she descended the stairs.

  “And with that, Miss Lang, I believe it is tradition for you to open up the floor.” Ernie, the older gentleman who led the band, smiled at Penny.

  She’d forgotten about this part.

  Traditionally, it had always been she and Kevin who danced the first dance.

  “Well, I guess that’s my cue.” Tommy came to her rescue once again. Penny’s smile was sad as he offered her his hand. He pulled her close, the entire room watching. “You’re the belle of the ball, Penny Lane.”

  “I’m supposed to be, right? That’s what everyone expects. They want to see the show—to be entertained.”

  “You get used to it, after awhile.”

  “I don’t know that I want to.” She knew that she was hurting, and her sudden anger was completely misplaced. But she couldn’t help it.

  “What’s wrong, Pen?”

  “Nothing,” she shook her head, sighing. “I just want to go home. I want to get out of this stupid dress and just…go to bed.”

  “I don’t think your dress is stupid.” He touched his lips to the top of her head.

  “Can you take me home, Tommy?” She knew it wasn’t right—she was supposed to stay the rest of the night, until the last person left.

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “I just need to grab something from my office.” The song came to a close and everyone in the room clapped, including Tommy as he stepped back, his eyes full of adoration. She forced a smile, not knowing how much longer she would last.

  “I’ll be right back,” she told him after just a moment. Her guests took their turn on the dance floor as Penny hurried back to her office, looking through some papers.

  “You look beautiful tonight.” Kevin’s voice startled her and she looked up, her eyes already filling with tears. “I hope he’s told you that.”

  “I’m buying you out, Kevin.” Her voice was strained.

  “I was hoping you would.” He entered the room, taking a few steps closer to her. “This place was always your dream.”

  “You’ll have the papers with the rest of the divorce documents. I’ve already signed everything.”

  “So it’ll all be over soon, then, won’t it?” Penny nodded, a few tears rolling down her cheek as she blinked. “I never meant to hurt you, Pen. I hope you know that.”

  “I know you didn’t.”

  “And I hope you find happiness with him. I think, deep down, he’s always been the one you’ve wanted. I was just a poor substitute.” Penny crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly feeling very exposed.

  “We’re leaving for L.A. in a week or so. I’m going to hire on a few people to manage the place. You and Gina can stay on until we get back, if you’d like.”

  “I’ll stay on for a bit longer, to make sure the new guys are working out. Gina and I are moving in a few weeks anyway. We thought it’d be a good idea to start fresh somewhere.” Penny nodded. Of course, she couldn’t blame them for wanting to leave town. “I really am sorry, Penny. If I could go back and do it all differently…”

  “Well, you can’t.” She shrugged her shoulders. “No use thinking about it.”

  “I’ll be seeing you, I guess.” She nodded, finally wiping at the tears.

  As soon as he’d left the room, Penny rushed through the kitchen, pushing open the back door and breathing in the cool night air.

  “Hey, you still want to go?” Of course he’d know where to find her. She sighed, shaking her head.

  “No, we can stay.” Without even asking, she felt the warmth of his jacket suddenly fall around her shoulders.

  “Want to talk about it?” She shrugged, the tears still fresh in her eyes.

  “I told him.” Tommy nodded. “Gina’s pregnant.”
>
  “Well, congratulations to them.” This time, Penny nodded. “You okay?”

  “I just…it feels like I’ve wasted so much time, you know? That was supposed to be me. I was supposed to be happily married and starting a family.”

  “You’ll be happy again, Pen.” She thought back to what Kevin had said. What if he was right? What if Tommy really was the one she’d always wanted?

  “I’d better get back inside,” her voice was hardly more than a whisper.

  She made it through the rest of the evening with a fake smile and forced enthusiasm. The moment the last of her guests stepped through the door, Penny sat in an empty chair, exhausted.

  “Excuse me, Miss, but I believe you owe me a dance.” Tommy smiled his most dazzling smile and she felt her heart flutter in her chest. Well, he was quite the charmer, that was for sure.

  “But nobody’s even here—”

  “Well then, this one is just for us I guess.” A smile formed on her lips before she could help it, her hand slipping into his as he guided her toward the dance floor. She laughed when, just a few moments later, the band struck up a song.

  “This one goes out to the young lovers out there.”

  And Penny let herself believe for a just a moment that that was exactly what she and Tommy were.

  Tommy had gone to New York for a few days, leaving Penny all alone at the house. It was much too big and much too quiet, she realized, for just one person. The first night had been horrible. Every time she heard a noise, she would jump.

  “Too many scary movies for you. I’m cutting you off.” She laughed at his text message, tossing her phone aside early the next morning. He was up early, making his rounds with all of the talk shows. Penny, having the day off, lay sprawled along the couch, remote in hand. She stopped when she came to one of the live shows, seeing Tommy’s handsome face smiling at her.

  “So, Tom—who is this new mystery girl you’ve been spotted all over with?” She smiled as Tommy chuckled, shaking his head.

  “Her name is Penny.”

  “And?” the woman probed. “You know I’m not letting you go without at least a few juicy details.”

  “And…she makes me happy.” Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “Simple as that.”

  “How serious would you say the relationship is?” Tommy chuckled again and Penny couldn’t help but notice how adorable he looked, sitting there with his perfectly maintained five o’clock shadow and deep blue eyes.

  “Honestly?” Tommy looked away for a moment, staring down at something on the table between them. He stroked his chin for a moment, as if seriously considering the question. “I can see us settling down together.”

  “Is that commitment I hear?” His eyes glimmered with happiness.

  “I don’t know, Lucy. It might be.” He laughed again and Penny felt her expression sadden. Of course, he was acting. Graham had probably even written his lines for him. She shut the tv off and sighed, rolling on to her back.

  A few minutes later—or so it seemed to Penny—she was startled by the ringing of her phone. “You’re a real charmer, Mr. Davis—”

  “He most certainly is.” It was indeed a male voice that greeted her, but not that of Tommy.

  “Oh—hey, Dad!” Penny sat up quickly. “Sorry, I thought you were Tommy.”

  “You’re not in New York with him?”

  “No, I didn’t want to take the time off work. We’re heading to L.A. as soon as he gets back.”

  “So, you two are serious then.” Penny sighed. She hated having to lie to her parents.

  “No—I mean, I don’t know, Dad.”

  “Penny, you know that we love Tommy. You don’t have to lie to us.” This time it was her mother’s voice.

  “Hi, Mom,” she rose from the couch and began pacing around the living room.

  “We just watched his interview on tv. He’s just such a cutie, isn’t he?” She imagined her parents sitting in their living room, talking all about the days when Tommy had practically lived at their house.

  “Why don’t you two come on down for Thanksgiving?” Her father proposed.

  “Oh, I don’t know—I don’t know what he has going on. His movie opens that Wednesday, so we might have some promotional thing to do…” She thought quickly, trying to use whatever excuse possible. The last thing she wanted to do was spend Thanksgiving with Tommy and her parents.

  “I was just watching one of your old plays the other day, thinking to myself, who would have thought after all these years—”

  “Wait, you were watching one of the old plays?” Penny suddenly had a very good idea. Why hadn’t she remembered that her father had recordings of every play she and Tommy had been in throughout high school? “Hey Dad, do you think you could send me a copy of our last one?”

  “Romeo and Juliet?”

  “Yeah, that’s the one.” She leaned against the kitchen counter, ideas spinning to life.

  “Sure, kiddo, I’ll get a copy in the mail today.”

  “Thanks,”

  “Hey, you let us know if plans change for Thanksgiving, Penelope. It’s been too long since we’ve seen you!” Her mom sounded so sincere. Penny felt her chest fill with guilt.

  “Okay, Mom, I will. Listen, I’ve got to go—Amy should be here any minute now.”

  “Alright, you give everyone our love!”

  “Bye, guys. Love you!” She smiled as she hung up the phone, suddenly very excited. After all Tommy had done to help Penny—maybe, at last, there was some way she could return the favor.

  Amy arrived a few minutes later, right on time. “I brought in the mail for you. Figured it was easier for me to get it than for you to.”

  Because even just walking down to the mailbox, Penny had to make sure she looked her best. “Thanks,” she took the small stack and flipped through it. “Oh look, what’s the latest rumor about me?”

  Penny had subscribed to a few of the gossip magazines only to keep tabs on Tommy when he’d started showing up in them. But now that she was included in the gossip…

  Her attention focused on the cover of the magazine. Rebound! It claimed in big, bold letters. Latest Davis girl left by husband for pregnant mistress. The picture was one of the ones the paparazzi had taken when they’d first arrived. Her eyes were red from a bad combination of tears and whiskey, her expression a mixture of sadness and fear.

  She sighed loudly, tossing the magazine into the trash. Amy peeked at the headline before shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it, Pen. Nobody takes this trash seriously.”

  “Sure,” Penny nodded her head, though she most definitely didn’t agree. Hadn’t it only been a couple of months ago that she and Amy had been staring at the cover of some magazine, talking about Tommy’s life?

  “Besides, who cares what they think anyway? You’re the one living this fairytale. Don’t let them get to you.”

  If only it were that easy.

  Chapter Ten

  It was probably one of the most hectic days of her life. They had arrived in L.A. early that morning—the sun hanging low in the morning sky. She couldn’t help thinking back to the last sunrise she’d watched, laying there with Tommy.

  That had probably been one of the most romantic nights of her life.

  Such a shame it hadn’t meant anything.

  They had gone back to Tommy’s house and eaten a quick breakfast, Penny catching a quick catnap before a very persistent knock sounded at the bedroom door.

  She had barely even turned the knob when Diego blew into the room, impossibly more fervent now than he had been last time. “What on earth are you doing?”

  “Sleeping?” She responded, suddenly very confused.

  “This is no time for sleep, sweetheart. We’ve only got eight hours to get you ready—”

  “Only?” She was now very, very confused. How could it possibly take her eight hours to get ready for one evening?

  “You—get in that shower right now.” He ordered, pointing her toward the bathroom. Pe
nny felt her brow furrow as she began to dread whatever was to follow.

  In the end, though, she found it was entirely worth it. He had brought over several different gowns—the first decision to be made, he said, although he hadn’t really given her much choice before waving them all away and settling on a strapless one of deep purple that hugged her curves just the right way. Diego knew best, and there was no questioning him, she realized.

  Next had come the parade of stylists. First the hair, then the nails and makeup.

  She had no idea any one of those could take so long.

  Then had come the shoes. She had never tried on so many shoes in her life—one pair after the other. It seemed like a lot of effort to waste on something nobody was even going to see.

  Finally, the jewelry.

  Diego chose each piece after careful consideration, as if it were the most important task of his day.

  By the time she was all finished, Penny felt like a princess.

  When Tommy came into the room, he let out a low whistle. “Wow.” She turned around to give him the full effect.

  “What do you think?” She smiled hopefully as his eyes roamed over her.

  “That is quite a dress.”

  “Diego picked it out. He said the color would bring out your eyes.”

  “My eyes?” Penny shrugged, laughing it off. “I thought it was supposed to make you look amazing.”

  “Yes, but you are the focal point of the evening, so I suppose everything should cater to you Mr. Davis.” She looked him over, noticing that the top and bottom few buttons of his shirt weren’t yet buttoned. “Aren’t you ready yet?”

  “Hey, I’m working on it.” She rolled her eyes. Like he had such a long process to go through. “The limo will be here soon.”

  “Limo?”

  “Of course. It’s a big night.” He ducked into the bathroom. “Just give me five minutes—I’ll go ahead and meet you downstairs, okay?”

  Five minutes. She was so jealous she could hardly stand it.

  “Alright, Miss Lang—are you ready for this?” He asked no more than ten minutes later.