Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Bowie had been in school for a week, and thankfully, she still loved every second of being with children her age. She was also picking up braille incredibly quickly. Penny spoke with the aide who’d been working with her, and he claimed she was one of the smartest children he’d ever taught.
Penny was proud, but it was more important to her that Bowie was enjoying her new social life.
She’d never been able to play with kids her own age, had always hung out with her mom or other adults.
So hearing her daughter enthusiastically recount all the fun things she and her classmates had done during the day was enough to make Penny want to cry.
Yes, education was important, but it was just as important to be able to make friends.
Which was what Penny was trying to do as well. She’d been on her own for so long, it was surprisingly difficult to put herself out there and do things that made her uncomfortable.
Like go to Anchor Point with Zita for lunch to celebrate, after learning she’d gotten the virtual health assistant job.
Or agreeing to go to the dog park with Mandy, Jen, and Laryn, when they called to see if she and Bowie wanted to come along.
It was a new experience for her to have girlfriends, and Penny was both sad that it had taken her thirty-five years to find true friends, and excited that she seemed to have a tribe now.
So when Zita proposed they have a girls’ night in with the others, Penny was nervous but enthusiastically agreed. Bowie was having dinner at Pyro’s apartment, then they were going to make cookies, listen to cartoons, and maybe read a book or two.
Bowie loved Pyro so much, talked about him constantly, and didn’t seem to have any qualms about spending the evening with him without her mom being there too, which was a relief.
Penny had been afraid her father’s abusive tendencies might have scarred the little girl, but she learned on the aircraft carrier, after Bowie spent so much time with the Night Stalkers, that it didn’t seem that was the case.
So tonight, her and Zita’s apartment would be full.
Laryn, Mandy, and Jen were all coming over, and bringing their dogs as well.
Waffles, Rain, and Fred all got along well, which was a relief.
All three were fairly mellow, and after greeting each other, they usually just found their own spaces to settle down and nap.
They had beer, wine, tea, coffee, water, and Zita had the ingredients to make a selection of cocktails, including lemon drop martinis, which their guests apparently enjoyed.
Zita also had a ton of fuzzy blankets—seriously, the woman was obsessed with them, and Penny had laughed when she’d unpacked four boxes full the week before.
Bowie had already made a couple blanket forts with them, and they both giggled when Zita had brought home a new one from the store just the other day.
Currently, several blankets were folded and scattered around the living area for the women to use.
There were pillows as well, and Zita had bought a big bouquet of flowers from the grocery store.
Penny couldn’t wait until her first pay day, so she could contribute to the small touches like Zita had done.
As soon as the other women began to arrive, Penny forgot all about her nerves.
She clicked with the others as if she’d known them forever and didn’t feel out of place.
As much as she loved her daughter, it was nice not to have to be a mom tonight.
She’d received a text from Pyro saying they were fine.
Bowie had eaten a million and one chicken fingers, and he’d read twenty-seven books so far.
He was hilarious, and every text from him made her smile.
But knowing her child was in good hands was the best part of the night.
She could relax and have fun without worrying about Bowie.
The dogs weren’t left out of the festivities of the evening.
Each got their own Kong that Penny had stored in the freezer during the day.
She’d seen a few posts on social media about how to fill them with peanut butter, kibble, and treats, then freeze them, and they’d keep dogs busy for a good long time.
She’d contacted Laryn, Mandy, and Jen to ask which kibble and dog bones they usually gave their dogs, so nothing she put inside would upset their bellies, and made the special treats for the four-legged fur babies.
Penny had never laughed so much as she and Zita worked on making drinks for everyone. As her roommate predicted, they were making lemon drops, and while they seemed simple, there was a lot of measuring. Not to mention the sugar rims for the glasses.
Laryn was the only one not imbibing, since she was pregnant, but the other four women each had a lemon drop in their hand as they settled into various spots around the living room.
Laryn sat on one end of the couch, Waffles at her feet as the beagle enthusiastically licked his Kong treat, while Mandy was on the floor with Rain at her side.
He had one paw over his Kong, but was snoring loud enough to make everyone laugh.
Zita was in the beanbag she’d brought from LA, and Jen was on the other end of the couch.
Fred was lying between the main room and the door, thoroughly enjoying his own frozen Kong.
Penny made a seating area on the floor near Mandy and Rain, more than comfortable with all the blankets and pillows around her.
When they were all settled, Mandy raised her glass and said, “I want to make a toast!”
Everyone hoisted their glasses.
“To girlfriends. To nights off. To men who aren’t threatened by their women wanting to get together without them to laugh, chill, and gossip!”
“Hear, hear!”
“I’ll drink to that!”
“Agree!”
“When you find me a man like that, let me know!”
The last came from Jen, and everyone laughed as they sipped their drinks.
“I mean…Chaos and Edge are both single,” Laryn teased.
“As if either of them would take a second glance at me,” Jen scoffed. “Or any man, for that matter.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Zita asked.
Jen took another large swallow of her drink, then put it down.
She ticked off each finger as she recited what she considered her flaws.
“One, I’m devoted to my job. Two, I have a dog, which you’d think wouldn’t matter, but I’ve talked to four guys online who said they weren’t interested in pets at all.
Three, I’m still a virgin. Four, I have no life, and basically go to my job, the grocery store, and home.
Where would I meet a man at all, much less one like we just toasted to?
And five—and this is the biggest one, and the reason for a couple of the other things I just mentioned—I have alopecia.
Which I’ve found out the hard way is a huge turn-off for men. ”
“Alopecia?” Zita frowned.
“Yeah. It’s an autoimmune disease, causes hair loss.
And it’s not as if I advertise it. This is a wig,” Jen said, pointing to her head.
“I’ve got some hair, but it’s super patchy and hideous.
I keep it shaved mostly, just in case my wig comes off.
I learned a long time ago that being bald seems to be less shocking than half a head of hair. ”
“I’m new here but…I’ve seen the way Edge looks at you, Jen. And he definitely seems interested,” Penny said quietly.
“What? He does not.”
“He does,” Laryn agreed. “He’s even asked Obi-Wan if Zita has run into you much at the apartment.”
It was fascinating to see the pink flush make its way into Jen’s cheeks.
“And Edge doesn’t seem like the kind of man to care about something like you wearing a wig,” Zita added.
“It’s not just my head. It’s all of my body hair. Eyelashes, eyebrows, even nose hairs. I’ve learned to be very skilled at using makeup to try to hide it, but it still doesn’t look natural.”
“Whatever,” Mandy said. “Any man worth anything won’t care about that kind of thing.”
“Agreed,” Zita said. “And some men would probably prefer their women not to have any hair…if you know what I mean.”
Everyone chuckled, but Jen didn’t look convinced. “The one man who I’d thought accepted me for who I was, and who I almost lost my virginity to, was so disgusted by my bald head—and the patches of hair that I hadn’t shaved recently—that he’d disagree with you.”
“Fuck him,” Laryn spat. “Don’t let one asshole stop you from trying to find the good ones.”
“Like Edge,” Mandy said with a nod.
“Don’t get all excited about hooking me up with him, you guys.
Just because you’re all madly in love with your pilots doesn’t mean he’s looking for a relationship.
Especially not with someone whose schedule is just as unpredictable as his.
Fred and I get called out at all hours of the day and night.
When someone goes missing, time has no meaning.
We could work for twelve hours straight, or find the person within an hour. ”
“So?” Zita challenged. “I work twenty-two or twenty-four-hour shifts. And if I take a job on a movie set, I could be gone for a month or more. When you love someone, when you click, you figure shit out. Relationships aren’t linear.
They’re full of ups and downs. They’re hard.
But also worth the hardships that occur from time to time, because the good times outweigh the bad ten to one. ”
“So true,” Laryn agreed.
“Yup,” Mandy said with a nod. “Nash was by my side every minute of the day when I was in the hospital. He was exhausted all the time but he refused to go home to sleep. That’s love.
Not flowers. Not extravagant gestures. I’m still getting to know Edge, but I have no doubt he wouldn’t care that you have alopecia.
Actually, that’s not true—he’d care, but only if it causes you pain.
I’m guessing he’s also the kind of man who’d research the hell out of the condition just so he could understand it, and thus understand you. ”