The Price of Penny

by T. C. Rybicki

  We walked into a large laundry room and then into the kitchen. From there I could see a great deal of the house because of the open concept. I absolutely loved this home. When I first met Chet, this wasn’t what I would’ve expected for such a big star, but now it seemed perfectly fitting. He drove an ostentatious car and had a condo that faced the ocean that I imagined bloody well cost him a million dollars, but this was just a family home. He might illicit head turns every place he went, cause screaming fangirl stampedes that stopped traffic, but the more time we spent together, he was merely Chet to me. I thought about the movie star stuff less and less.

  “Mom!” I nudged him. We came out fairly early for a Saturday. What if they were all still sleeping? He said they wouldn’t be. “Teddy most definitely better not be. Here. You sit tight. I’m going to his room to make sure he’s almost ready.”

  I sat on a barstool. Chet walked down a hallway out of sight. It gave me time to look around a little more. I could see the corner fireplace and above the mantle was a gold framed family photo. I wanted to take a closer look because no doubt it was years old and I really wanted to see what Chet looked like as a teenager, but I heard a door open, so I prepared to meet Teddy for the first time. I assumed it was Chet and his brother, but a lady in a robe headed my way instead. She slowed her steps and looked curiously at me.

  I waved which was so silly. No telling what Mrs. Parker thought seeing a stranger sitting in her kitchen all alone.

  I stuttered out an explanation. “Hi, I’m a friend of Chet’s.”

  She started walking again and then laughed. “Good thing. I thought I was still asleep and dreaming or maybe in a stranger’s house, but then I recognized everything except the pretty girl sitting at our bar. I’m so sorry I wasn’t up to let you in. I slept late and I don’t even have coffee ready. I’m Sheila by the way.”

  I held out my hand to make her acquaintance. “Penelope Kopernik, but you can call me Penny. You have a lovely home, Mrs. Parker. I’m really sorry to surprise you like this. Chet is so frustrating sometimes. He didn’t tell me until we were well on our way here that he never mentioned I was tagging along today. I’m really embarrassed and didn’t mean to intrude on your Saturday.” Why was I rambling? Where was Chet?

  She continued to shake my hand when her mouth spread into a wide grin. “Sheila’s fine, Penny, and I love your accent. Don’t you worry about it. My son should’ve told you, I love company. How do you take your coffee?” She released my fingers and acted like it was perfectly fine that I was there even though Chet was still MIA. She hit a button on the coffee maker and came back to talk to me some more.

  “You picked a good day to visit. My daughter’s coming over as well. We have a shopping day planned, plus I’m picking up my mother and we’re having lunch at our favorite spot. You’re welcome to tag along or did you have other plans? Isn’t Chet taking Teddy to a gym? Surely, you weren’t planning on going with them.” She talked almost as fast as I did, one question right after the next.

  Chet finally emerged from the abyss of Teddy’s room. I still didn’t see a little brother, but Chet informed me he was brushing his teeth. “Oh, so I guess you two met?”

  “Yes, Penny and I are enjoying getting acquainted. Coffee? Eggs or just toast?”

  “No way, not with what Fergus has planned for us. I’ll puke my guts out if I don’t keep my stomach empty. Can you put Penny’s in a travel mug, please?”

  “No, I cannot because she’s not going with you. Honestly, Chet. If you brought a lady home, I’m thinking you must like her since this is a first. Why on earth would you subject her to your and Teddy’s training day? That doesn’t sound the least bit fun.”

  “Well, she was just going to hang out and then we were going to do something else later, I guess.”

  He frowned at me and seemed confused with what was going on. I was amused because Chet got all stuttery and boyish in his mother’s presence. Finally, not so confident; I liked it.

  A slightly shorter, fuller and baby-faced version of Chet tentatively approached. He resembled his older brother a great deal but with a lighter shade of brown hair, much like his mother’s. Sheila was in great shape with tanned skin. I realized, she not only owned a landscaping business, but she worked the business, hands on. She had a certain muscle tone overall, and strong hands with nails that were clipped short. I knew that was a sign she got her hands dirty because my Nan loved gardening as well as looking her best, but hated dirty fingernails. That was the first thing she’d do in the summer when we’d visit and Maggie would run for the hills, refusing to chop off her pretty pink nails, but I never had any qualms about it.

  I tried to stand to greet Teddy, but Chet held me down by the shoulders. “Teddy. Penny. Penny. Teddy.”

  I held out my hand, “So nice to meet you, Teddy. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Sheila chimed in, “Funny, how we haven’t heard of Penny, isn’t it, son?”

  Teddy seemed shy, total opposite of his brother. I don’t think he even said anything in return. He had a goofy look on his face and then turned in the other direction. Chet bent over and whispered in my ear. “He means hello, but you’re a girl and he’s too nervous to say so. Forgive his poor eye control. I’ll tell him to keep them eye level for the rest of the day. I knew that top would cause issues.”

  My top was perfectly modest. I hadn’t noticed Teddy’s eyes. He better not embarrass that poor boy anymore than he already was. I elbowed him and gritted my teeth, “Leave him alone.”

  Chet spun the barstool around and stepped in between my legs. Now I was the one feeling especially self-conscious. We looked too familiar. What would his mother think? “Are you sure about staying?” He tucked a curl behind my left ear and the whole while I was trying to communicate to him with my eyes to dial it back.

  “Of course she’s sure, now get lost. Heather and I are picking up Mimi, we’re having a girls’ day. Penny will have a much better time with us. I left your father a list. He’s going to the store after his golf game. We’ll fire up the barbecue later this evening. Now beat it, I thought you had an appointment. Don’t keep Fergus waiting.”

  Chet was right, his mom was bossy and I already adored her.

  “Do you mind, Mom? I’m trying to talk to Penny in private.” He lowered his voice, “Seriously, you can tell her no. Not many people do, but you have options.”

  “I think shopping and lunch sounds fun.”

  He smiled and tapped the tip of my nose. “Okay, as long as you’re happy, I’m happy.” He even reached in his back pocket. “Do you need some money?”

  “What? No, of course not. Put that away.”

  Chet ignored me. I saw cash in between his fingers, but then he reached for a black credit card. He attempted to give that to me. “Put it away, I said. I can’t use your card. I don’t want it.”

  “I’ll give you my PIN, you won’t even be asked for your ID.”

  “Stop it, Chet.” Ugh, he was deliberately creating a scene in front of his mother and brother to make it seem like we were serious. She clanged dishes on the counter and opened the fridge like she was preoccupied, but I knew she was listening.

  He grabbed my head and planted a kiss on my forehead. “Call me if you need me.”

  “I won’t, so stop being a lunatic.”

  Sheila laughed from behind the refrigerator door. I was seconds from telling him to get lost like she had if he didn’t leave right then.

  When we were finally alone, she offered to toast me a bagel. I told her a half would be plenty and I complimented her on her delicious coffee. She made her own breakfast and stood at the bar on the opposite side directly in front of me. I felt like she was seriously sizing me up. It had to be strange for her that her son never brought women around and then all of a sudden, here I was.

  “I like you, Penny. I was starting to worry about that boy. Well, that’s not true. I always worry about my kids, but I worried more with regards to Chet. It’s funny to see him
so smitten. You both seem so comfortable together. It’s almost like you’ve known each other a long time.”

  “Oh, Chet’s not smitten. We’re actually just friends and we haven’t known each other that long at all.” I rambled again and she looked confused at my contradictions to what she’d just said. She asked how we met and I told her about the bakery and the dress shop and she seemed to recall the exact day.

  “So you’ve been seeing each other since then? That was weeks ago.”

  It was almost six weeks ago, but I wasn’t counting. “No, not seeing, just hanging out here and there. He’s really a nice person. You raised a good man.”

  She asked what I did for a living and we made small talk about my job and I told her about my family and a little about our moves and what area of England we were from. I was about to ask her about her business when Chet’s father made an appearance.

  He was dressed for the golf course, but nothing too flamboyant like I imagined older men might wear for the country club. I had it in my mind he’d be wearing plaid pants and a yellow polo, but he was in sporty gray trousers, with a teal dri-Fit polo shirt. Chet’s father, Don was not exactly what I pictured. He was handsome but not in the obvious way his son was. He seemed a little softer and I didn’t mean that in a derogatory way but Chet described him a science nerd and I thought his look fit that description to a tee. He was tall, maybe a little taller than Chet, a heavy sprinkling of gray at his temples but still rather youthful looking around the eyes. Those were Chet’s eyes. He had a bit of a middle age thickness around his waist but still appeared in fairly good shape.

  He looked at me curiously and then turned his attention to his wife.

  “This is Penny, a friend of Chet’s.”

  “Oh, hello.” He walked over and offered his hand. “Nice to meet you, Penny. Don Parker.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Parker.”

  “Call him Don, Penny. Mr. Parker is an old man in Arizona.”

  I laughed. Chet mentioned his grandfather was retired in Arizona, but Don’s mother died from cancer a decade ago. He remarried in his late sixties to a much younger woman and it was quite the family scandal.

  Don pointed. “English girl, huh? Where’d our son meet you?” I gave him a quick synopsis, even quicker than the one I gave Sheila and he said, “Interesting. Chet and Teddy are gone?”

  Sheila told him they’d just left and she was off for a shower. That meant I would be alone with Chet’s father and I felt nervous again. He was a quiet man according to Chet. Did that mean I had to carry the conversation or it would get awkward? His mother did the bulk of the talking earlier.

  I did my best. I asked him about his job and he said he worked for the same hospital complex Heather did. “Oh that’s nice. Do you ever run into each other?”

  “No, not exactly I’m a lab rat and she’s all over the place taking care of patients, but occasionally we make the time to eat in the food court at the same time. So are you in the business?”

  I was about to answer when the door opened and a woman walked inside interrupting us. I knew immediately it was Heather. She was strikingly beautiful. Jeez, this was a gorgeous family.

  She hugged her father from the side and looked at me next. “Oh, hi.”

  “This is Chet’s friend, Penny. This is our daughter, Heather.” I was tired of sitting like a bump on a log. I stood up to meet Heather in the middle of the kitchen. I expected another handshake but Chet’s sister was a hugger. She wrapped me in a full hug.

  “This is huge. I can’t believe I’m standing her with my little brother’s girlfriend.”

  “Oh I’m not . . .”

  She broke in again. “An accent, oh my God. I love a British accent. You’re adorable. Wait, were you guys in a movie together? I can’t place your face.”

  Now, I had the chance to fill them both in about what I did for a living, but I needed to clue them in I wasn’t Chet’s girlfriend either.

  “Me? No way, I could never act. I’m a speech therapist. I do clinical work and private tutoring.”

  “Wow, in the medical field like us, huh, Dad? I love that, but where in the heck did you cross paths with my brother?”

  Sheila came back about that time and told them a little bit of the story.

  “Chet met you in a bridal dress shop. That’s different. Who’s getting married?”

  “My younger sister, Margaret in July.” I added he thought it was me at first and then told them all about my sister’s phobia of trying on the wrong dresses.

  All three of them got really quiet and stared so intently, I swear I started to sweat.

  “This is amazing. You two already have a great story.” I still hadn’t cleared the air and I almost didn’t want to. We sorta had a unique meeting. It was a tale we could retell to our kids. What the hell? Where did that come from?

  “Calm down honey, you’re making our guest nervous.” Shoot, she could tell. “I think Chet and Penny are just friends right now, they’re getting to know each other and that’s always wise, especially in this day and age and with your brother’s busy career.”

  Now I was thinking way too hard about Sheila’s statement. Maybe she didn’t want me to get involved with her son. I’m sure they were leary of a woman that came out of nowhere. What if she thought I was a fame whore or a gold digger?

  Damn you, Chet. Why did you invite me here? I wasn’t ready for any of this.

  Shopping was in full swing. Sheila and Heather were way more into it than I was. They’d fit right in with Mum and Maggie. However, I had to say they went out of their way to make me feel at ease and part of the group. Chet’s Mimi was a pistol too. She made me miss Nan. I hadn’t seen her in almost three years. I definitely needed to plan a trip to England.

  I really didn’t need to add to my wardrobe. I told them I wore scrub tops and tees the majority of the time.

  “Sweetie, take it from me, I know how that is. I work 3 to 4 twelve-hour shifts a week at the hospital, but you need to treat yourself or you’ll get lost in a sea of baggie, baby blue drawstring pants. What are you wearing tonight?”

  “Um, this I guess.” I had on stylish jeans and a pretty top. Maggie wouldn’t let me out the door otherwise.

  “And you look great. I thought you might change and I saw something I think you should try on. Mom says you’re spending the night which is great. Did you bring a suit? The pool’s heated.”

  “I didn’t bring one, Chet never mentioned we might swim.” When did he tell his mother I was spending the night? He was the king of putting me on the spot.

  Heather said she probably had extra ones somewhere. I hardly doubted I could fill her tops out and it might be a challenge to squeeze my booty into anything that actually fit her slim waist. She and Sheila were both a bit direct which I was completely used to with my family, but it was new to be spoken to in a such a way by almost complete strangers. I thought Teddy and Don were the calm, quiet types. I kinda liked how Chet didn’t fit either description. He was his own person, a lot like me. We were classic middle child counterparts. Frankie passed so young but I never felt like the oldest, older than Mags, of course just not the oldest. It was interesting to watch the dynamics of another family.

  In the end, I was out voted 3 to 1, I let them talk me into a sundress. I insisted on paying for my own purchase, but Sheila stepped in at the register and made the clerk run her card instead of mine. Now I knew where Chet inherited his generosity from. I really like these people and that old familiar feeling of trepidation creeped inside my psyche.

  Training was a bitch. I scheduled the session to challenge Teddy, but Fergus pushed me to the limits. We weren’t due back on set for months, but he pulled me aside and said I should set a good example for my brother.

  I showered and promptly crashed on the couch when I got back to Mom’s. No word from Penny all damn day either. I didn’t know Mom would kidnap her.

  Mom woke me up after a two-hour nap by suggesting I pick up Wayne.

>   “Has he met Penny?”

  “No.”

  “Well, we haven’t seen him in ages. I think it would be nice to have him over.”

  I asked where Penny was and Mom said she was in the dressing room. Now I was thinking about Penny undressed while my mother nagged me. It was not a good situation to be in. I didn’t feel like driving over to pick up Wayne. The idiot drove. He had a job so that meant he got himself there somehow, but I knew he hated driving, one of his many phobias. I invited Wayne per Mom’s request.

  He found a reason not to drive himself. I knew that would happen.

  “I’ll be there in less than 30 minutes, be ready or I’m leaving you.” I wanted to spend time with Penny after worrying all morning about her. She might have thought I pawned her off on the women of my family as a weird initiation thing, but I would never do that to her. They could be pushy so I prayed they hadn’t scared her away. I wanted her to enjoy herself and agree to stay all night. I wouldn’t be surprised if Penny was out on the front porch waiting for me to take her home right away with some invented excuse. I had my work cut out for me just to get her to agree to spend one night.

  Mom stopped Wayne to ask about his well-being, job and life. I needed Penny, so I asked about her straight away. Mom guessed she was hanging out with Heather.

  What? That was the last thing I expected. Dad caught my attention as he cleaned the grill, to ask about the training session, but I didn’t have time to get into all that. Teddy surprised me and worked harder than I expected he would. I had to make sure Heather didn’t have Penny pushed against a corner somewhere grilling her for information. I left the rest of them and promised we’d be right out.

  I heard loud laughter coming from Heather’s old room. Did my ears deceive me or was that Penny cackling? I’d never made her laugh that hard. I walked inside and caught both of them on the bed among a sea of Mom’s special memory books.