CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
-:- PENNY -:-
This is a busy week, and I’m going shopping with Eden, Nyx, Carrie, Gemmy and Paisley.
Mia and Jo are babysitting Harrison, Arabella and of course she has Summer.
I’m actually looking forward to doing this because I’ve not had friends or family for such a long time that I love every minute I’m with the women of the club.
Walking through Target, my eyes are on stalks.
There is so much to see and so much to get.
Eden must see the look on my face, which portrays the total …
.of what is needed. “Okay, I’ll go with Nyx.
Carrie, you shop with Gemmy, and Paisley you go with Penny.
Nyx and I will get kitchen stuff. Carrie, you and Gemmy get the utility, bathroom and any odd stuff you see.
Paisley, you and Penny get bedroom stuff.
Nobody wants to pick your bedroom stuff, Penny, so that’s your domain. ”
I give a nod to Eden because thankfully she seems to have taken charge. “Thank you, everyone,” I mumble as I grab a cart.
Eden claps her hands together. “Okay, ladies, we’ll meet back here in an hour. Penny can go through the carts and say what she wants to keep and what goes back. Then we’ll get through the cashier and haul it to the truck. You all ready?”
Everyone quickly gives a ‘Yes’ and moves away. I step forward with Paisley, and she grins. “Come on, Penny, let’s get moving.”
Oh, we move alright…We get to the bedding area and we throw in sets of this, that and the other.
Some knickknacks that took my eye, and will look lovely in Arabella’s room too.
We find all kinds of princess bedding, towels and even stuffed toys.
They all go into the cart, which has become cart three.
Paisley and I are about done here, but I will need to shop at Walmart for things I’ve seen there that I would like. Looking at my watch, I see we are due back at our meeting point. What I didn’t expect to see was Carrie and Gemmy arguing with a woman.
“Get your hands off my shit. I put that in my cart before you could touch it, so it’s now mine, not yours.” Gemmy is nearly nose-to-nose with the woman.
“I need that for my bathroom.” The woman who looks like she is about to combust retorts.
I look at Paisley, and she shrugs because we do not know what they are arguing over.
Gemmy steps forward at this point and takes out her phone, keeping her eye on the woman.
“I’m going to contact the sheriff. I work for the department so I can pull strings.
You are not having anything that is in our cart.
Now you move along or I’ll involve Sheriff Forest and his deputies. ”
Huffing, stamping her foot and then storming away. I blink because honestly, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. Nyx laughs, grabbing my attention. “Well, that sorted that issue, so Penny quickly go through the carts and let us know what you don’t want to keep.”
For the next half an hour, I take out things I don’t like, tell them why and they run off with it, change it for something else then come back. By the time we’ve finished going through all the carts, and have paid for it all, packed the truck and locked it down we are all exhausted.
“Come on, let’s go get coffee and panini. I love their breakfast ones,” Paisley says as she pushes me into the back seat of the truck. We all six piled inside with Eden driving. I’ll say this, Eden does not hang around…we are parking outside the Coffee House before you can draw breath.
Taking a seat, I lean back and rest a moment. Gemmy laughs at my exhausted expression. “It’ll be good, Penny. We’ll unload this lot and then, from tomorrow we can keep popping around to help you unpack and put stuff out. I’m sure the Stooges will want to help.”
That comment brings a mix of snarky comments, some having me giggling because honestly they are spot on with their observation of what will happen.
By the time we’ve eaten, driven to the compound, and emptied the truck it’s nearly time Ruger said we’d do furniture shopping.
But I’m not doing it today. I’ve had enough of walking around shops.
That will have to be a tomorrow thing. I also want to speak with Stitch and have a checkup before the wedding.
Ruger walks into the house and sees all the boxes, bags and toys. “Gee, you really did shop, babe.”
“Yeah, we did. But we have a lot that I can get opened and set up. I’m going to find the silverware and dinnerware so I can get them opened and into the dishwasher.
There are pots, pans, and all kinds of baking stuff.
I’ll get them lined up on the counter so they can go through the dishwasher, too.
” I look around at the bags and am not sure where to start.
Ruger picks a bag up and looks inside. “Okay, this is for upstairs. I’ll take stuff up, and into the bathrooms. You concentrate on finding the kitchen stuff.”
“But you are at work later, Ruger. You’ll be tired.” I sound whiny, but I do not want anything to happen to him because he is tired before he starts his shift.
We work for three hours and clear most of the packages downstairs.
The kitchen is almost set up. I have towels, tea towels, and other linens in the washing machine.
The dishwasher is still working, and I have a list of detergents and things I want to get at some point.
Eden and Nyx did well with the kitchen things and even included dishwashing soap and a hand soap dispenser.
Carrie and Gemmy had everything that I think I’ll need for the utility and mudroom. All the detergents I will need, and they included a mop, bucket and gloves.
I’ll get to unpacking upstairs tomorrow. I need to get all this finished through the washing machine and dried before I start on bedding, drapes and bath towels.
Eventually, Ruger heads to work, and I go into the clubhouse to eat and find Arabella. She’s more than likely going to be with Jo now because poor Mia will have the twins at this time.
Stepping into the kitchen, I see Gemmy and Stitch at one of the tables. Walking over, I give Stitch a smile. “Hi, Stitch. Can I make an appointment to have a checkup before the wedding, please?”
“Of course you can. I can do it now if you have the time. We are just wasting time before we go home.” Stitch looks at Gemmy, and she nods that she’s okay with that.
“Okay, thank you.” I follow Stitch through to his medical room and give Jo a wave after blowing a kiss to Arabella.
“So, let’s see if you are fit and healthy, Penny,” Stitch says as he closes the door behind us.
I get a thorough checkup, blood taken, blood pressure checked, heart rate and temperature. “I’ll be checking cholesterol and diabetes. Have you had any screening done for cancer at all, Penny?”
“I did, and everything was clear. I showed a little high on the sugar levels, but I think it was all the soda I was drinking when pregnant. I just could not stop drinking Gatorade or Powerade.” I dip my head a little when Stitch cringes at the thought.
“Okay, I’ll get the bloods through quickly and then call you to see me. I have your digits on record.”
“Oh!” I say in surprise.
“I have everyone who is part of the MC. That way, if I need to contact you I can, and you need to keep me updated if you change your number. I keep full medical records on everyone because honestly you never know what can happen. I also did all the training so I can help the ladies with their pregnancies.” Stitch looks proud of himself, and I give him a huge smile because honestly, that is awesome that he has included the women in his welfare checks.
Once I’ve finished with Stitch, I collect Arabella and head to the house. I want to walk around with her so she will not see a strange place once we move into our home. As I’m walking, I hear my name called from Star’s house, and spinning around I see Star’s father, Richard, rushing towards me.
“Hi, Penny. Hi Arabella,” Richard coos at Arabella as he greets her, and of course, she holds her arms out for him to carry her. I grunt, but not sure it’s the right one because Richard looks at me with a frown.
“Can I help you, Richard?” I ask as I keep walking toward the house.
“I thought maybe I could help you?” Richard hedges a little, then looks like he’s got his bravery back. “I wondered if you had anyone to walk you down the aisle at your wedding. If not, I would like to offer you my arm.”
I stop walking and look at Richard, because honestly, that is such a lovely thing to offer me. Something I’d not even considered. “Richard, that is a lovely offer, and I would be honored to have you walk me to Ruger.”
Richard smiles, showing all his teeth, bouncing Arabella in his arms, and follows me to the house. He carries Arabella around, and we talk about the house as we do the walk-through. He gives me some ideas of where furniture could be placed and offers to help at any time.
We both look at Arabella when she grabs Richard's shirt in her fists, and clearly and loudly states, ‘Gramps.’ Richard gasps with delight, and I smile with a few tears in my eyes I admit.
“Well, it looks like you are officially Arabella’s Gramps, Richard.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Richard responds with a sense of awe in his voice.
The next morning, I again take time off work and head to the Bridal Shop along with Nyx and her four old ladies.
Now, I didn’t know they were coming today.
But, even more of a shock was when we walked into the bridal shop.
There was hardly room to move because it was wall-to-wall covered with the ladies from the MC.
Even the Three Stooges, as they are called, are lining up for wedding attire.
It's noisy, fun, and chaotic, but somehow we all get fitted with the dresses we will wear. I have mine in off-white, and everyone else chose a pastel shade. I can’t wait for the wedding. It’s going to be awesome!
“I want that color,” Joan snaps at Bitty.
Bitty juts her chin out and stands nearly on tiptoes to be as intimidating as she can. But I think she forgot, or doesn’t know, that Joan is a serviceman's widow and is not easily intimidated.
“Didn’t your mother teach you I want never gets? You know throwing a tantrum is not endearing,” Bitty replies, Joan smirks, and I can see this is going to escalate into something nasty if it isn’t nipped in the bud.
“Stop this right now, Bitty. There are a lot of colors to choose from, and that color would look disgusting with your color tone, so jack the attitude and choose something blue.” Amelia is standing at her full height, giving Bitty a look that says, back down or else.
I grin behind my hand when Bitty huffs. “Okay,” she meekly states and walks away to look at the multitude of pastel blue shades of material.
“Well, that was a near miss,” Tilly whispers from where she’s standing next to me. All I can do is nod, because honestly I thought we were going to end up in a physical fight for a minute.
The next morning, Ruger is carrying Arabella around the furniture store saying, ‘Yeah, babe,’ ‘Okay, babe,’ ‘That’s good, babe.’ Now, if he says babe to me one more time, I’m liable to snap. He’s about as useful as taking a dog shopping.
He tries out all the beds, along with his Punkin…
geez give me strength! Sits on all the sofas, dining chairs, and places Punkin in all the highchairs.
Just to get the feel of course. This is taking far longer than I wanted it to, so I call over an assistant and point out what I want, where I want it delivered and as quickly as possible.
Oh, and no, I’m spending enough money they can deliver free of charge or we’ll take our multiple purchase, thousands of dollars somewhere else. That did the trick I can tell you.
By the time we are done and home I’m exhausted and fall asleep in the chair in our bedroom at the clubhouse still wearing my coat and shoes.