13. Penny
THIRTEEN
Penny
I t was hard to stay focused on work. Especially when my desire to think of Spencer and what he had planned for us tonight seemed more determined to invade my thoughts than I was to keep it at bay.
So, when Victoria came in at noon on the dot and asked if I wanted to join her for lunch, I quickly agreed.
Things were moving along beautifully at the paper. We’d finally gotten everything clean and organized. I was in my office, and Victoria was at her desk. We were expecting Lucy to return later in the month. Her mother had had surgery, so she’d asked for the transition time off so she could take care of her. Since I’d wanted the office to myself to make changes to it, I’d agreed.
Now, everything was in order and just waiting for her return.
I climbed into Victoria’s car, and she took off down the road. I settled back as she rattled off different places we could visit. I wasn’t in the mood for anything fancy, so we settled on the diner.
She pulled into the parking lot, and we both climbed out. The walk to the front door was quiet, and when we got inside, a teenage boy I didn’t recognize sat us at a vacant table. After he handed us the menus, he took our drink order and left us be.
I sighed as I glanced out the large picture windows that faced the ocean. I could see the water lap the shore, and it made me want to slip off my shoes and let the cool water rush over me. It’d been so long since I touched the sand or salty water, and I was missing it.
Especially since it was fall and the water would soon be too cold to touch. Not to mention the chilly winds that were too violent to brave heading out in.
The sight of summer slowly slipping into the coolness of fall made me sad. I was a beaches and warm weather kind of girl.
“I’ve never seen someone look so forlorn when they stared out those windows as you do right now.”
Victoria’s words pulled me from my reverie. I turned to see her sip from the mug of coffee the waiter must have brought her. I glanced down to see the strawberry lemonade he’d left for me. I removed the straw from its wrapper and slipped it into the light-pink drink.
The sweetness of the strawberries mixed with the tang of the lemons made my tastebuds cringe. But it tasted like summer, and I was fairly certain that I was going to drink the entire glass before our food was brought out .
“I was thinking about how fall is just around the corner.” I sighed and sat back, folding my arms across my chest.
“And?” Victoria asked after she took another sip of her steaming hot coffee.
“And it’s sad.”
Victoria shook her head as she set her mug down. Her gaze drifted to the ocean. “It’s not sad. I love this time of year. Pumpkin spice. Crisp air. The fall festival.”
I straightened in my seat. “The fall festival? They still do that?”
Victoria glanced over at me. “You know about it?”
I nodded. “Dorthy—er, my mother and I pitched the idea to the city council.” I blew out my breath as I tried to remember. “That must have been forty-odd years ago.” A sense of nostalgia washed over me at the memories I’d made walking around the beach we’d cordoned off for the fair. The kisses I shared on the Ferris wheel and how competitive my father got during the fishing tournament. The fair here in Magnolia defined my childhood in a way I would never forget.
Victoria looked amused when I returned my gaze to her. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and there was a smile tugging at her lips.
“What?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’ve never seen you look so excited about something before.”
I scoffed and stirred my drink with my straw, the ice making clinking noises on the side of the glass. “I get excited.”
“Yeah, mm-hmm.”
“I’m excited about the newspaper.”
She squinted for a moment as if she were mulling over my words before she shook her head. “Not in the same way.”
Realizing that I was going to have to go deeper in this conversation, I decided to settle on the simplest answer. “It’s something I used to do growing up. I have a lot of good memories wrapped up in it.”
Victoria paused and studied me. I could tell that she was mulling over what I said. Then she nodded. “I get that. Growing up, I enjoyed the fall festival as well.” She stretched out her arms, rubbing her skin as she did. “There’s a lot more to Magnolia than I think people realize. Sure, they stabbed me in the back when they didn’t reelect me.” She shrugged. “But I’m over it.”
I snorted. “Clearly.”
Our waiter returned to take our orders. I ordered the roast beef on rye sandwich while Victoria ordered the turkey burger. He nodded and gathered up our menus, tucking them against his chest.
Victoria and I returned to talking, but this time, it revolved around the first edition run of the paper. She’d already collected interviews from most of the people on her list. She even got others that weren’t on there but were of interest. I was certain that most residents in Magnolia wanted to learn about Colten, the town’s new sheriff .
I came to the table with just Maggie’s interview. I was definitely struggling to keep up my end of the bargain.
“I think I have enough to get started on some stories,” Victoria said as she slipped the last bit of her burger into her mouth. She chewed as she looked thoughtfully down at her notes. “I do think we should get more though.” Her pointed stare in my direction had me nodding.
“I know, I know. I’m working on it.” Spencer was definitely a hard nut to crack. But maybe our meeting tonight would help me with the first move.
Victoria looked skeptical. “Do you want me to do it?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I think I can handle it.”
She shrugged as she pushed her plate to the middle of the table and then stuck her notepad into her purse. “If it’s too much, just let me know. I can be out to the hardware store in two minutes flat. I’ll get the interview done, and we can move on to formatting the first edition.”
I sighed as I wiped my fingers off on my napkin and slipped out a twenty-dollar bill. Victoria was a hard worker, but she was also stubborn. She wasn’t saying that I couldn’t do this, but she was saying that she could do it better.
“I’ll be fine,” I said as I gathered my things.
The waiter waved to us as we walked out of the diner. The ride back to Magnolia Daily was quiet—which I appreciated. I needed to get myself in the right headspace to approach Spencer about the past that he seemed so determined to keep hidden.
I’d seen the picture in his bathroom, and he had yet to bring it up. I wanted to know who she was, but I also didn’t want to become homeless in the process.
To top it off, our conversation last night had me feeling hope that we could possibly be friends. And deep down—deep, deep down—there was a part of me that wondered if we could be more.
That was a part of me that I was determined to keep hidden. The last thing I needed was to overstep and assume that things were progressing when Spencer had no intention of going that far.
Five o’clock came around faster than I expected. I yawned and leaned back in my black desk chair, rocking a few times as I stared at the spreadsheets I’d been working on. Georgette didn’t tell me that the Daily’s books were a mess, and I was desperately trying to get them sorted out before we started back up again.
“I’m going to head out now,” Victoria said as she appeared in my doorway.
I slipped off my glasses and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Sounds good. See you tomorrow?”
She nodded. “Yep. I’ll be here bright and early.”
“Perfect.”
She turned, but just before her back was to me, she paused and raised her hand. “Get that interview, so I can start formatting tomorrow?”
I sighed. I knew that she wanted to move forward, and I was keeping us from doing that. I wasn’t sure that this was something I could guarantee. Not wanting to get into it, I just nodded. “Yep. ”
She snapped the fingers of the hand she had pointed at me. “Wonderful.” Then she smiled. “We’re going to make something amazing.”
I smiled as she turned and disappeared. When I heard the sound of the front door shutting, I collapsed back into my chair once more. I was fully committed now.
I lingered around my office for about ten more minutes before I powered down my computer and stuffed the things I wanted to work on into my purse. Gelato sounded amazing, so I made a quick stop and ordered a pint from Scarlett on my way home.
The house was dark when I pulled in, and from the looks of it, Spencer’s car wasn’t around. I was alone, and for a moment, I wondered if he’d forgotten about our bet.
I turned the engine off and gathered my purse and gelato in my arms as I stepped out. Once inside, I set my purse down in my room and found some space in the freezer for the gelato. Just as I shut the freezer door, I glanced around.
What was the plan for the night?
I was hungry, but I wasn’t sure if what Spencer had planned involved dinner. I didn’t want to ruin my appetite by eating.
Determined to make this evening successful, I decided it was best to get out of the kitchen. I settled down in the living room and turned on the TV. They were showing reruns of Murder Mysteries , so I left the channel where it was. Time ticked by and Spencer was still MIA.
I glanced at the clock on the wall.
6:4 5
Was I wrong? I could have sworn he’d said tonight. He was going to plan something for us. Had he forgotten?
I clicked on my phone to see that I’d only missed a text from Maggie. A wine rep had stopped by today and left her with some bottles. She was wondering if I wanted to come over and try them with her.
Even though my evening was beginning to sour, I couldn’t help but smile at my daughter’s offer. I sent off a quick reply that I would love to, and that tomorrow night would be best.
She responded with a thumbs-up, and then my phone went quiet.
I sighed as I stared at the lit screen for a few more seconds before clicking it off. I set it on the side table next to me and rested my hands on my lap as I stared at the TV. The show was on break, and there was a chicken dancing across the screen. It was a commercial for something—I really wasn’t paying attention to what it was trying to sell me.
At 7:30, my eyes grew heavy. I startled myself awake a few times, feeling more and more deflated each time I did. I’d been completely wrong about Spencer. He had never intended on taking me anywhere. I’d been a fool to wait around for nothing.
Fate was never going to let me find happiness with the opposite sex again. I was destined to be alone.
Forever.
By eight o’clock, my body was stiff, and my stomach was rumbling. I was no longer going to just lie around, waiting for Spencer to return. I was going to heat up some soup and eat it in my bed while watching Hallmark reruns on my computer.
Whatever Spencer and I would have had was never going to be fulfilled. I might as well throw in the towel now.
The microwave was humming as I leaned against the counter. I watched the red bowl turn as the canned chicken noodle soup that I’d dumped in there started to bubble at the sides.
The timer beeped at the same time my phone chimed.
I picked it up and pressed it to my ear as I searched through the drawers for the oven mitts. “Hello?”
“Penny?” Spencer’s soft, slightly slurred voice caused me to pause.
“Spencer?”
“See, I have someone,” Spencer said, his voice growing fainter as if he were speaking to someone else.
There were some scraping noises, and a moment later, a man I didn’t recognize asked, “Are you friends with Spencer Orion?”
“Yes.” That felt like a lie. I mean, were we friends? I thought we were, but apparently, Spencer did not. At least, in my experience, friends didn’t make plans and then completely ditch them without letting you know.
“Great. I’m going to need you to come get him.”
I cleared my throat, feeling completely confused. “What’s going on?”
“He’s at the Irish Pub. He’s drunk. ”
Ah. I should have picked that up by the slur of his voice. “Irish Pub?” I asked as I found a pen and a scratch piece of paper on the counter.
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there.”
The bartender wasn't in a chatty mood. He thanked me and then hung up. I took a moment to search on my phone for where Irish Pub was. It was a bar located across the bridge.
Leaving my soup in the microwave, I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my purse. I was out the door in a flash.
The drive was faster than I’d anticipated. I pulled into the parking lot and got out. There were a few inebriated men hovering around the patio out front. Music blared from inside. When I pulled open the door, it only got louder, and I was met with the smell of sweat and alcohol.
What was Spencer even doing here?
I squinted as a strobe light flashed. There was a mosh pit going on in the center of the dance floor. Most of the people were falling all over themselves as they tried to stay upright. I kept to the edge of the wall as I made my way to the bar.
I stood at the end, and a man stepped up to greet me. He narrowed his eyes.
“Penny?” he asked as he pointed his finger in my direction.
I recognized him. “Brett?”
He nodded. “What are you doing here? I didn’t figure that this would be your kind of place. ”
I shook my head. “It’s not. I got a call to come get Spencer.”
He looked confused.
“He works at the hardware store.”
Before Brett could respond, a larger man with a white t-shirt and slicked back hair approached. “You here to give him a ride?” He jutted his thumb behind him.
Brett and I both turned. My heart picked up speed when I saw the full head of grey hair that belonged to Spencer. His head was down, and he looked as if he were sleeping.
“Is he okay?” I had to shout over the music as I pushed away from the bar and made my way to Spencer.
The bartender just shrugged. Brett was hot on his heels as he followed us. When I got to him, I wasn’t sure what to do. I paused before I reached out and tapped his shoulder. “Spencer,” I whispered.
He didn’t respond. Fear that he might be in some sort of alcohol-induced coma raced through me, and I gripped his shoulder harder and shook him.
“Spencer?” I asked again, raising my voice in case he couldn’t hear me over the blaring music.
He snorted and startled. His eyes were bloodshot but opened wider when he saw me. “Rosalie?” he asked, his expression softening as he leaned into me.
I glanced over at the bartender and Brett as if they held the answer to my question. Who was Rosalie, and why did he think I was her?
Suddenly, his arms were wrapped around me, and he was pulling me to him. He sobbed as he buried his face in my neck. I could feel his warm breath on my skin as he kept muttering for Rosalie to forgive him.
It wasn’t until he was holding onto me that I realized how much he weighed. I had no idea how I was going to get him into my car by myself. Thankfully, Brett seemed to pick up on my predicament. He had rounded the bar and was draping Spencer’s other arm over his shoulders before I had a chance to ask.
“Come on, man. Let’s get you to the car.”
Spencer didn’t fight him as Brett helped him to his feet. Thankfully, his arm slipped from around me as Brett half walked, half dragged Spencer out the front door. I threw a couple hundreds to the bartender and then hurried after them.
Once we got Spencer in the front seat, Brett shut the door and turned to face me. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure what to say, so all I could do was nod.
Brett rested both hands on my shoulders. “Are you sure?”
I nodded again—almost in an effort to convince myself. “I think so,” I whispered.
Brett paused and then pulled away. “Call me if you have any issues,” he said as he pulled a business card from his wallet.
I took it, my hands feeling numb as I clutched it between my fingers. We said our goodbyes, and I climbed into my car. Spencer was out, his head tipped back, and his lips parted. He was softly snoring.
The drive back to Magnolia was uneventful. I kept glancing over at Spencer, fearing that any minute he would stop breathing.
I pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. I sat there in the silence, Spencer’s soft breathing filling the air. I took in a deep breath as I glanced over at him.
Even if this was a strange thing for me to do—picking up my landlord because he was drunk—it didn’t change the fact that he was going through something.
Despite my better judgment, I wanted to know what that something was.
I was determined to make him tell me.