Chapter 33
Penelope
I spent the night with Theo so I’d be there if he needed anything. Not that he did. He slept, and my contribution was mostly to move the ice pack off the bed when it slipped off his forehead.
But I also stayed because it felt good to be close to him.
I woke first and got up quietly in case he still needed to sleep. A little while later, I heard him moving around, and he came out dressed and ready for work. The migraine was gone.
He thanked me for staying with him. I wanted to slip into his embrace and feel his arms around me. But I didn’t. We needed to get to school, and I needed to stop myself from making things complicated.
I wasn’t Theo Haven’s girlfriend, so I shouldn’t act like I was.
School turned out to be more chaotic than usual.
The fire alarm went off halfway through third period and we had to evacuate.
We stood out in the cold while the fire department investigated.
Rumors flew through the student body that someone had pulled the alarm on purpose, but it turned out to be a malfunction.
We were given the all clear and slowly filed back into the building.
The rest of the day was an exercise in futility as my fellow faculty and I did our best to move on with our usual schedule. The students’ focus, however, was mostly nonexistent. By the last period of the day, I was ready to give them all crayons and construction paper, as if they were toddlers.
The final bell rang, and I sank into the chair at my desk while the students scurried out of the art room. I took a moment to do nothing but stare at the wall.
Some days are like that when you’re a teacher.
My hesitation meant I wouldn’t catch Theo before he went to practice. But that was probably for the best. Sleeping next to him the night before hadn’t been a sexual thing, but somehow that gave me even bigger feelings.
Not his girlfriend, I told myself again. So don’t act like you are.
Fishing my phone out of my purse to check my messages, I smiled when I saw a text from Melanie. She’d reached out the other day to see if I wanted to get together for coffee, and was confirming that we were still on for that afternoon. I replied that I was looking forward to it.
I had a bit of time to kill, so I got caught up on some prep work and grading. Despite the tiring day, I felt a renewed burst of energy as I packed up to leave my classroom. Regardless of what was going on—or not going on—with Theo, I had a new friend.
It’s possible I was a little bit too excited about that. Being on the shy side made new friendships challenging for me, but it actually felt like Melanie was someone I could hang out with—even once Theo was gone.
The faint sound of the football team practicing filtered over the parking lot as I walked to my car.
My heart decided to treat me to a tug of longing, and I let out a sigh.
As often as I kept telling myself I could be intimate with Theo without the rest of it—without my heart getting involved—deep down, I knew I couldn’t.
Despite my best efforts, I was falling for him.
But I wasn’t going to let that ruin my friend-date with Melanie. So I headed into town and found parking outside the Steaming Mug.
Tilikum’s coffee shop had a great vibe, with the scent of coffee in the air and soft music in the background. I didn’t see Melanie, so I found an open table and took a seat.
I only had to wait a few minutes before she came in. She greeted me with a warm hug, and we went to the front counter to order. I decided on a matcha latte, and she ordered a decaf mocha. Once our drinks came out, we took them back to the table and sat.
“Sorry if I made you wait,” Melanie said. “I lost track of time.”
“I was only here for a few minutes.”
“Good. How are you? What’s new? What’s going on in your life?”
I’m sleeping with your soon-to-be brother-in-law and probably can’t handle it.
Thankfully, I didn’t say that.
“Well, the fire alarm malfunctioned at school, so I had to wrangle a bunch of squirrelly high schoolers who decided one interruption was enough to throw off an entire day.”
“Oof. That’s not great. I’m telling you, teachers are saints. I don’t know how you do it.”
“It has its challenges, but I really love it.”
“Why? I’m not asking because I don’t believe that you love it. I just mean, what it is about teaching that you love?”
I adjusted my glasses. “There are a lot of things. It’s so satisfying when I can help bring out their creativity, whether they have innate talent or not.
But mostly I love being able to show them that beauty exists in the world, and hopefully impress on them why it’s important.
There’s so much ugliness out there, I feel like beauty—in art or anywhere—gives us hope. ”
“Well, that’s amazing.” She smiled. “I love that.”
“What about you? What’s going on in your life?”
She tapped her chin. “Let’s see. I started recording the new season of Enchanted Hollow.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a cartoon. I’m a voice actor and I play the evil queen on the show.”
“Do you really? What a cool job.”
“I’m not going to lie, it really is. That’s keeping me busy. Plus, despite my insistence I’d never get married again, I’m planning a wedding. Leave it to Luke Haven to prove me wrong.” She rolled her eyes.
A wedding. I tried not to let the topic weigh on me, but I couldn’t help feeling a dip of sadness. I wanted to be married. To have a partner. Someone to share my life with.
To be my best friend and so much more.
“Do you have a date set and everything?” I asked, trying very hard to keep my tangled emotions out of my voice.
“We’re working on an exact date, but it’ll be next spring. We’ll have it at Salishan Cellars, the winery down in Echo Creek.”
“That’s a beautiful location.”
“It really is. Luke’s brothers and his sister got married there, so at this point it’s basically tradition. And it’s where he took me for our second first date, so that makes it even more special.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“Thanks. Amazingly enough, I’m excited. I don’t mean to sound cynical, but I made the mistake of marrying an idiot the first time around. I’m still getting used to the idea that I got it right this time.”
“No judgment here. I got all too close to marrying an idiot.”
“What stopped you?” She tilted her head. “I know that’s a personal question, but I’m really nosy. And I think I’ve told you I have no filter.”
I took a sip of my drink. “That’s okay, it’s a good question. I guess I finally realized how wrong we were for each other. I’d been ignoring the signs for so long, but I couldn’t anymore. I still don’t know why he thought he wanted to marry me.”
“Comfort, maybe? If you were together for a while, he probably figured that’s just what you do.”
“I think that’s exactly what it was. And being comfortable is okay, but when that’s all you have, it isn’t enough. Especially when one of you is a huge jerk.”
“You should want more. Even if you’re not a drama queen like me, and I suspect that you aren’t, a good relationship should have at least a little heat.”
My cheeks warmed and I glanced down at my mug. I knew she didn’t mean that type of heat, but memories flashed through my mind—Theo, and me, and the couch…
“Uh-oh,” she said. “Pen. Can I call you Pen? Something happened with Theo, didn’t it?”
“Is it that obvious?”
She sighed with a slight shake of her head. “What is it about those Haven brothers?”
“I don’t know, but I’m worried I made a big mistake. Theo’s moving. Not only that, he made it clear he doesn’t want a relationship. I shouldn’t have…but I did…and it was…but now…”
“But now you caught feelings.”
“Big ones.”
She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Does he know?”
“That I have feelings?” I sat up straighter in my chair and adjusted my glasses again. “No. Oh my goodness, no. I hope not. I’ve been trying very hard to make sure he doesn’t.”
“And you don’t think you should tell him?”
“No.” I glanced down again. “I knew what I was getting into. We both did. It’s not like he ever claimed he could give me something he can’t. I know where he stands. We’re friends, and we…you know… But it can’t ever be more than that.”
“This is heartbreaking.” She pressed her hand to her chest, then started gesturing as she talked.
“You’re so sweet, and Theo is such a great guy.
Except when he’s doing that guy thing he’s doing right now, which is being an idiot.
How can he not see that everything he needs is right in front of him.
Literally. You live in his house. You’re right there. ”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe I’m not what he needs. Maybe he needs to move to South Carolina and be a college football coach.”
She waved that off. “Not a chance.”
I laughed again, but there wasn’t much authenticity in it. I wanted what she was saying to be true. But I couldn’t afford to get my hopes up.
“Well, right now it is what it is.” And I really needed to change the subject. “Tell me more about the cartoon you’re in.”
I had a feeling Melanie knew what I was doing—redirecting the conversation away from anything me and Theo—but she went along with it.
She talked about her role, and her acting career in general, plus what it had been like to move back to Tilikum.
I had to laugh as she described her relationship with Luke.
They’d gotten off to a rocky start. But they’d been through a lot together, and she was obviously happy.
So happy. I wondered what that would feel like.
It started getting late, and she had to get going, so we hugged and said goodbye. Even with my complicated feelings for Theo lingering on my mind, I left with a little spring in my step. I’d had such a nice time, and it seemed like Melanie and I had started an actual friendship—one that would last.
There was something to make me happy.
I went out to my car and checked my phone. I had a missed call, but didn’t recognize the number. They’d left a voicemail, so I tapped to check.
“Hi, Ms. Fallbrook,” a man’s voice said. “My name is Curt Redfern and I’m a friend of the Morris family. If you could give me a call back when you have a minute, I would appreciate it.”
That was odd. I remembered Curt from the celebration of life. He’d been with Gina Morris. I also remembered almost getting caught by him at the gallery when Theo and I had been sleuthing. But why would he call me?
Oh, no. Had he found out we’d been in the gallery and taken one of Edwin’s notes? But that was a month ago. How could he know?
Taking a deep breath, I decided not to procrastinate out of worry, brought up the number, and hit Send.
“This is Curt,” he answered.
“Hi, this is Penelope Fallbrook. I’m returning your call.”
“Of course, Ms. Fallbrook. Thank you. Sorry to call you out of the blue, but I’m helping Mrs. Morris with some of her late husband’s affairs.
In going through the storage area in the gallery, I discovered one of your paintings from a class you took with Mr. Morris.
I’m assuming you’d like to have it. It’s quite beautiful. ”
I let out a relieved breath. He didn’t know. “Thank you. I don’t even remember what it would have been.”
“It looks like a vineyard.”
“Oh. I did take the class where we painted at a vineyard. I didn’t realize I’d left one of my paintings. Or that he would have kept it.”
“There are quite a few paintings from students, actually. He was the type to never throw things away. I’m just going through them and reaching out if I can decipher the name, and if we have contact info.”
“I see. Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“Are you local? Would it be possible to swing by the gallery?”
“Sure, I can do that. When is the gallery open?”
“It’s closed, I’m afraid. Permanently. But I can meet you when it’s convenient. I’m there now, or we can arrange another time.”
“Now would be fine. I’m out and about anyway.”
“Great. I appreciate that. Do you know where it is?”
“Yes, I do. I’m not far from there, so I’ll see you shortly.” “
Thanks again, Ms. Fallbrook.”
I ended the call, disappointed to hear the gallery was closing. But it made sense. Running an art gallery had to be a lot of work. And Gina Morris was probably just trying to put the pieces of her life together after the loss of her husband.
Theo would be at practice a little longer, but since it was unofficially my night to cook, I decided to leave him a message in case he beat me home.
I brought up his number and hit Send, not surprised that it went straight to voicemail.
He usually kept his phone off during the day, as well as during practice.
“Hey, it’s me,” I said after his greeting. “I’m stopping by the gallery for a few minutes before I go home. They have one of my paintings and want to return it to me. I was thinking of making soup for dinner if that sounds good to you. I—”
I hesitated. Oh gosh, I’d almost said I love you.
“See you later.”
I ended the call and let out a breath. Friend disaster averted. I couldn’t just blurt out “I love you” to Theo. Where had that even come from?
With a shake of my head, I turned on my car and headed for the gallery.