The Price of Penny

by T. C. Rybicki

  He got carried away easily. I told him to mind his own business. I made the excuse I was busy and hadn’t been to see him since.

  After discussing Penny’s garden, she relaxed back against the bench some and I was sure she felt my arm. We weren’t cuddling, but it felt natural. She yelled at Pepper often to stop digging holes. We started talking about various subjects. She chatted about a new student. I noticed she planned quite a bit, like she needed a plan for all daily activities. I kept a schedule when I worked, but any other time, I played it by ear. Penny continued to explain her summer agenda three months in advance.

  “So you and that lawyer, do you still talk?”

  For a second, she acted like I spoke with a foreign tongue. We had just discussed him half an hour ago at dinner. I didn’t mean to bring him up, but I felt like he could be an issue and I didn’t need more of those. She built barriers around herself. I knew why. She didn’t want to get hurt again, but what was with this genius lawyer that looked amazing and dressed so great? Mags called him hot several times. Was he actual competition despite his boring nature?

  “Um, what? Oh, you mean, Simon? Gee, weren’t you listening? I have nothing in common with him. They asked me to meet them for dinner. No one said he was tagging along. I’d only briefly met him in passing once before. I guess I’ll see him again, since he’s the best man, but I’m pretty sure he wants to move overseas eventually, if I remember correctly. We weren’t exaggerating. Maggie had to kick me a few times under the table to keep me awake.”

  “Oh yeah, well sure that’s understandable, the wedding and he’s Keats’s best friend. I guess your sister thought it would be fun if you two dated buddies.”

  “You’ve figured her out fairly quickly in a short amount of time. I think she said something exactly along those lines. Mags is pretty much one dimensional. I don’t mean that in a derogatory fashion. What you see is what you get. I’m . . .”

  “So different and hard to understand.”

  Penny looked directly at me. We were pretty close, I felt my heart race. Maybe I felt that rush of blood all over. “Yes,” she said softly.

  “And what I’ve figured out about you is that I can’t decipher you completely. I don’t think anyone ever has.”

  “Why, thank you, Chet. That might be the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  Maggie was ready an hour ahead of me. Were we teleported to an alternate universe? She grabbed me by the shoulders. I hated how she was a good four inches taller than me. She got all the best attributes: longer legs, thinner waist, fuller lips, boobs and flawless golden hair that wasn’t the least bit schizophrenic like mine. She still admitted she was jealous of my eyes and my butt. That was something I guess.

  “Stop, you’re making it worse.”

  “Dammit, this trick eye of mine won’t stop watering. I ruined my entire left side.”

  She suspected I was sensitive to the new mascara she brought home. I never hesitated to use anything from our elaborate makeup stash; Maggie only used the best cosmetics. She told me she wanted to start over, but I argued we didn’t have time.

  “It’s Mum and Daddy, nothing official. They expect me to be late, so no problem.”

  It was a problem. I told Chet to meet us at the restaurant. Keats would be here any minute. I hated being late. Mags might say no problem, but it made me super irritated to wait on anyone.

  She told me if I’d go natural with my hair, she could repair my face. “Trust me. This is my job.”

  I thought Chet liked my hair curly. Did he say that or was it my imagination? I didn’t think friends were supposed to get so obsessive about these details. I sat down on the bench we had in the bathroom while my sister washed my face and used a sensitive makeup remover on my eyes. She told me to relax since my nerves made my eye twitch which stimulated more tears. She could talk and work without any hesitation. She carried on conversations with all kinds for her job. She was right; it only took her ten minutes to correct every bit of it. My makeup was perfect, so my hair would have to do.

  She hugged me from behind. “Our guys are lucky. We look flawless tonight.”

  “Chet’s not my guy, so please don’t mislead Mum and Daddy. Especially Mum.”

  “Yeah, sure whatever. Why can’t you both admit you’re seeing each other? I don’t get it. I certainly don’t get why you haven’t kissed him. Seriously, babe. Guys like him expect action in their relationships. I know about the problems from the past, but you’ve matured. This is Chet Parker we’re dealing with. You really need to give him a taste.”

  “A taste of what? What the hell do you mean? It’s not like that. He respects that I’m not in a place in my life for dating and we’re just friends.”

  “Poppy, you have a degree, you own a vehicle that you responsibly make the payments for. On time, I might add. You also have a career; you save money like a fiend. You’re steps ahead of me in life and you won’t date, but I’m getting married. What else do you need to have ready? Didn’t that shrink of yours tell you to try again? It’s the only way you can move forward.” She brought up my therapist when she knew I didn’t want to discuss that.

  “Well, you know I might go to England, eventually. It doesn’t make much sense getting tied down. I’m just not ready.”

  “So you want to marry an Englishman?”

  “Um, well no. I doubt I want to marry at all. I don’t know. We haven’t lived there since we were adolescents. I don’t even know what English guys are like except for Pops, but he’s pretty great to Nan.”

  “Exactly, we’re Americanized to the Nth degree. You need to start dating men in LA, preferably Chet. He’s actually quite amazing. Keats was taken with him too.”

  “Well good, if you two break up, then Keats can date him. Chet and I are just friends, for the hundredth time.”

  I pulled at my hemline. “You don’t think this is too short, do you?”

  “No way, that dress fits you perfect. You look stunning in that shade of blue. Your eyes pop against the darker color and I’m glad you kept your curls.” I stared at myself again. Maggie had a clothing designer friend through her job. She gave us the best deals from time to time. There were always extra, discarded garments for whatever reason: wrong sizes, hidden imperfections, or overstock. I would never pay full price for a special dress like this, I was far too frugal.

  I looked at my sister next. Of course, she could pull off any look. Her dress was a simple white button down which resembled a man’s dress shirt, but it had a shimmery overlay, a decorative collar with a rhinestone embellished belt at the waist. “You look really pretty, Mags. You’re going to steal the show on your wedding day. I can hardly wait.”

  “Me either, time is flying so fast. Thank you. I’m so happy to have you by my side in everything, but we totally needed to brush up on our dance routines.” Maggie and I both took years of dance as children and during our teen years because of Mum. We had some of our best times choreographing our own routines in front of a big mirror our father installed for us in his garage. She had this idea we were going to do a sister dance at her wedding, but I’d never agreed to it which meant I was definitely doing a sister dance.

  Keats interrupted us. “Sorry, do I need to go outside again and let this sister moment continue?”

  Maggie moved toward him and he leaned over to give her a kiss at the tip of her nose. He knew better than to mess up her lips before the night started. I heard him tell her she was beautiful. Maggie told him we were officially ready, but she cleared her throat to prompt an extra compliment.

  “And, of course, you too, Penny. Chet’s eyes are in for a treat. You look fabulous.”

  I wasn’t intending to treat his eyes, but the anticipation of seeing him again excited me and it hadn’t even been 24 hours. We were texting now. I hardly cared he acquired my phone number in such a secretive manner. Actually, I was flattered, no one had ever gone to such lengths to make my acquaintance. I was a little miffed he’d waited all those w
eeks to use it. I had been a bit moody thinking I’d scared him away with emotional downward spiral when I barely knew him. Maggie had to endure my moods, and now I was getting a lecture from Mum. I’d been short with her a few times over the phone. I sincerely hoped she didn’t make too big a deal about tonight. Hopefully, Chet at our dinner table would be a welcome distraction for all of us.

  Chet texted just as Keats was speaking with the valet. Mags linked her arm with mine. Mummy and Daddy were already waiting inside. Keats opened the door for us, but I paused. “You two go on, Chet’s almost here. I’ll wait for him so he doesn’t have to make an appearance alone with all eyes glued to him.” That was such a stupid excuse. Did Chet go anywhere that all eyes weren’t on him? I was surprised no one noticed him at our dining spot the night before. The waitress did a double take when she first walked up, but she didn’t comment. We ate in privacy under the cover of a corner, high-back booth. It was a good thing, too, since Maggie and Keats were more salacious than normal. I’d given her a piece of my mind this morning after Keats slipped out at the crack of dawn. They could’ve easily gone to his place like usual. I was embarrassed by the whole act, but it was nice sitting out back with Chet. We had a good talk as we were ignoring the awkward situation that forced us out of the house.

  I saw him pull up and immediately started rethinking my decision to wait outside. Did I look a bit desperate? Maybe I should’ve waited just inside the door or I could’ve gone to the ladies’ room, walked out and pretended to bump into him. Forget giving him a friendship manual, I needed one. I didn’t know what constituted casual and what looked like I was wishing for a little more than we agreed upon. Too late. I knew he saw me so I stayed put while he turned his car over to the valet.

  My heart quickened as he sauntered over. I didn’t know Chet had glasses. He should most definitely wear them more often. For some reason I thought he resembled a young James Dean tonight. His lips spread out, exposing his perfect smile. I wore braces for years and my teeth didn’t look that great. Now I felt self-conscious about toothy grins in his presence.

  He asked ahead of time how formal our family dinners were. I told him normally they were super simple, but it had been a long time since we’d seen Dad and he wanted to have a special night. I told Chet that Maggie and I were wearing dresses, Mum would probably have on dressy pants knowing her, but the night was somewhere between casual to semi-dressy. Actually, anything he wanted to wear was fine. We weren’t going to a place with a dress code by any means.

  He wore a crisp white oxford with the sleeves rolled to three-quarter length and he had one extra button undone than he should at that top because I’m sure he knew he was sexy as hell and did that on purpose. He completed the look with navy trousers, a caramel belt and dress shoes in a similar shade of brown. His dark hair was slicked back and more styled than I’d seen it. All the other times, it was a bit disheveled like he ran his hands through it after stepping out of the shower. He shaved as well. The stubble he normally sported was history. Daddy would appreciate a neat and tidy look. That was still important to him, no matter how long he’d been away from the military.

  I mentally reminded myself how far out of my league this man was when he wrapped his arm around my waist. His other hand grazed the top of my bare arm and his full lips placed a friendly kiss at my temple. It was the first contact I had with his mouth and non-friendly impulses swept over me. “You look amazing.”

  “Thanks. You clean up nice, yourself.” I reached up like I was going to touch his glasses, but I stopped short. “These are a nice touch. Did you plan on being extra smart looking for my parents?”

  He laughed. “Not exactly, my eyes were bothering me.” He lowered his voice. “Don’t tell my secret, but I have an imperfection . . . a terrible astigmatism.”

  I shoved him. “Get out.”

  “What? It’s just glasses, Penny.”

  “No, I just meant, my eyes were bothering me the whole time I was getting ready. Well, actually just the left one and Maggie had to redo my makeup.”

  “Interesting. I’m sensing we are connected on a whole new metaphysical level. Damn, this is like life imitating art. I do jump dimensions in my movies.”

  I thought he was being silly and I loved how easily he made me smile. I wasn’t much on smiling normally. It was then that Chet backed away and exhibited a little more seriousness. He looked me over head to toe once more. His eyes lingered over the sheer fabric that connected the bodice to my neckline. I was wearing a strapless, push-up bra. Maybe it was false advertising, but it seemed to have the desired affect. He looked down once more. This time, he noticed my shoes. He should because I paid full price for this particular pair and my feet were already going numb, but they were so worth it.

  “You have the cutest little toes I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen my share of women’s feet.” Other women. There went that rush of heat up and down my back until it spread around my neck and up to the tops of my ears. He actually might like my toes, but I knew they looked special because of the strappy, gold heels that were at least an inch too high for my comfort. He offered me his arm since he said we were fashionably late. I felt even shakier in his presence, so I was glad for the assistance.

  Chet initiated a polished greeting to everyone at the table. He kissed the top of Mummy’s hand which elicited a schoolgirl giggle.

  “Nice to see you again, Katherine.”

  “You look dashing, Chet. This is quite the surprise, I might say.” I pulled him away from Mum because I really didn’t want to hear what other things she might say if he kept engaging her in conversation.

  He hugged Mags from behind and kissed her cheek. Darn it. She and I were now tied with the number of times Chet’s lips had touched us. He clapped Keats on the back and told him how good it was to see him again. He walked over to Daddy last and gave him a firm handshake as he formally introduced himself as Chester Parker. I watched my father mentally rate that handshake and I knew Chet got at least an 8.5 on the Frank Kopernik scale. First impressions were extremely important to him and my new friend had just made a fine one.

  I made the rounds behind him, I knew Mum expected a hug from me, she whispered I looked lovely in my ear. I almost expected an extra comment, perhaps my hair was untame or my dress washed me out, but that was all she said. I probably learned to hate my hair partly because of Mum when I was a child. She’d sit for what seemed like hours brushing it out each day. I’m sure it was never more than ten minutes now that I understood time better. She’d gripe how I inherited this uncontrollable mess from my father and his Polish ancestors. She and Maggie had fine, silky straight hair. My big brother had a giant mop of dark curly hair as well. I didn’t remember the similarity on my own, but I’d studied him in old photographs plenty of times. I wondered if I was a constant reminder of what Mum lost and that’s why she was always trying to get it straight and smoothed out.

  Chet helped me with my chair which was a nice touch. I saw my parents glance at each other like they just experienced great relief. Our Poppy has finally healed and is moving on. It was a chair maneuver. He didn’t drop to one knee. I’m not sure what they thought, but they were all over-thinking the situation. I realize I’d never brought another man to a family meal ever since I was a teen. Jordan ate so often at our house, Dad threatened to place a tin cup in his spot once to solicit a donation toward the grocery bill.

  “Chet, let me say how lovely it is to see you again and how much we appreciate your kindness. I mean, it’s just so thoughtful. I’m speechless.” My mum speechless? Never. That’s like saying Maggie could be speechless. She seriously dabbed her eyes with her linen napkin. “Margaret is over the moon. The cake is going to be tremendous.”

  My father patted her hand. “Yes, Mr. Parker. I’m not sure how this came about, but we are all appreciative. My baby is happy, so I’m happy.”

  “Thank you, Daddy.” Maggie beamed at our father. We sort of all lived to see her happy.

  Chet poli
tely told everyone to call him “Chet.” I swear my mum slipped in dear a few too many times. It was a bit much, but Chet didn’t seem bothered. The fact was he appeared completely relaxed and at ease with my family the entire night. It actually turned out to be one of the nicest nights we’d all had together in a long while. No one griped or fussed or asked obtrusive questions, except when Mum asked him why he wasn’t having wine. I noticed it was the second night in a row he stuck with water only. I assumed it had to do with his fitness regimen and left it at that, but then Dad told Mum not to nag on his drinking habits. That struck a nerve with me. Was he already the stereotypical star and forced on the wagon by his management? I’d shamefully Googled his name, Twitter and Facebook stalked him, including every possible method of social media. The worst thing I found was he seemed to be a serial dater, no one woman held his attention very long, but of course how would I know the degree of seriousness between Chet and the women he kept company with?

  Chet blurted out the answer as if he’d just read my mind. “Don’t worry, I don’t have problem habits. To tell you the truth, I’ve been tossing back a few too many with my buddies for a few weeks. I was gone so long for the shoot, we had to make up for the lost months. I am trying to get back to normal and I prefer being stone-cold sober around Penny. She can be a handful.”

  They all soundly agreed and laughed like mad at his comment. He made it sound like he had to protect himself, that I might take advantage of him or something.

  He mumbled out of the side of his mouth, “I’m not an alcoholic or drug addict and I’ve never been to rehab.” He whispered one more thing, “or a sex addict just in case you heard that rumor.” I hadn’t, but now I was blushing like an idiot.

  “I know.”

  He winked at me, and that familiar warm feeling I got around Chet filled me. I glanced up. Daddy saw. I quickly shifted my attention to the other side of the table. Keats wanted to know what area of town Chet lived in and he said he had a condo in Santa Monica.