Samantha
SAMANTHA
I called Penny as soon as the plane landed. She agreed to pick me up from the airport. The flight wasn’t so bad, thanks to the magic medicine Chandler so thoughtfully got for me. I smile to myself at the thought of him and how much I got to know him on the trip. How, in such a short amount of time, everything changed. There’s still a heaviness in my chest when I think about Chandler and his family. The awful reality is that his grandfather is still in a coma. I take out my phone. There are no new messages from him with any updates yet.
Penny arrives at the airport and gets out of her car, squealing like a schoolgirl. She pulls me into a hug and squeezes me so tight that I can hardly breathe. I hug her back tightly, and she somehow manages to squeeze me tighter. “I’ve missed you so much!”
I pull away and pry her off me. She smiles at me excitedly and turns to open her trunk for me to put my things in her car.
I put my bags in, get into the passenger seat, and buckle up. As soon as I shut the door, she turned to me, still beaming from ear to ear. “Okay. Tell me everything!”
I shake my head. “I need some more caffeine fuel before I get into all of it.”
“You read my mind," she says. “Coffee and bagels!” I smile and shake my head as she pulls off to drive into the city to our favorite cafe.
We order iced coffees and everything bagels and take a seat at our usual spot outside.
“So,” Penny starts. “You finally got some dick?”
“As a matter of fact, I did," I say and sip my coffee.
“I knew it! You’re glowing!”
“Calm down, Penny," I say, laughing. “I had sex. I didn’t get pregnant.”
“Not with a baby! You have that after-dick glow.”
“You made that up.”
“Maybe, but it’s a real thing.” I shake my head and take a bite of my bagel. I’ missed Penny. “So, what happened? Instead of deciding to commit murder, you decided to have sex with him?”
“Well, not in those words, no. It just kind of happened. A few times.” I feel myself blush when I say it.
“A few times? Wow, must have been pretty great.”
“It was," I say, wiping my mouth with a napkin. “I actually met his family, too. And I helped him clean up his grandfather's house.”
Penny’s eyes go wide. “Whoa.”
“What?”
“That’s relationship status. Like serious relationship stuff.”
“I’m not sure if that’s what we are. ”
“Did you guys talk about it?”
I shrug. “Kind of. He said he wanted to try it out with me. Being in a relationship. I told him we can take it one day at a time.”
“What are you worried about?”
I think for a moment. “I was worried that he’d regret it. I don’t think he’s ever been in a committed relationship before. But I don’t think I’m so worried anymore.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I really got to know him while we were there. I learned a lot about him. I even told him about my mom.”
“You did?” Penny looks serious now. She’s never serious.
“Yes. I did," I say, furrowing my brows at her. “What's wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. You just don’t talk about your mom. Took you like 2 years to tell me about her. You must really trust him.”
“I do.”
“And you got to meet his family? Tell me, are they all as beautiful as he is?”
“They all look like models. It’s fascinating, to be honest. He really cares about them.”
“Well, obviously, if he stayed behind to take care of his grandpa. If he didn’t, then I’d think he was a psychopath.”
“I just hope his grandpa will be okay. He looked really torn up about it.”
“I hope so, too, "Penny says. “I’m sure it will be okay, Sam.”
“Yeah," I say.
I think back to how terrified Chandler looked, how he sped to the hospital, only to push aside his worry to stay strong for his sister. From what he told me, it’s obvious that it’s something he’s had to do from a very young age. There’s a knot in my stomach at the thought of him returning to his grandfather’s old house alone. The gnawing grows when I think about his grandpa in the hospital again, remembering the look on Cheyenne's face when she cried in his arms about the man who raised them both. They’ve already lost so much. I hope Chandler will call me with news soon. We should change the subject, I’m sure he’ll call.
“I’m glad the showing went well, Pen," I say.
She flashes me one of her dazzling smiles.
“Thanks to you! They loved the sunroom. They said it looked like it was out of a fairytale. I already made the sale.”
“That’s awesome, Penny!”
“Yep. And I might have another one coming up if you’re interested.”
“Seriously?”
“Completely serious.”
“Of course!”
“I’ll know more in a few days," she adds. “I haven’t checked it out yet, but if I take it, you’ll be the first one I call. You’ve got the magic touch.”
I smile, and a rush of pride goes through me at her words. “Oh! I took photos of Chandler's grandfather’s place. Before and after photos. Want to see it?”
I pull out my phone and open up the photos before handing it over to Penny. She scrolls through, her eyes lighting up as she does.
“You turned that place around quick! How long did it take?”
“Only about a day's work.”
Penny’s jaw drops. “All of that in one day? It looks like a completely different place! I’m telling you, you can make this work, Sam. You just have to believe in yourself, and everything will fall into place," she says, and her encouragement makes me believe that I can .
“Thanks, Penny," I say, giving her a grateful smile. “That means a lot to me.”
She hands me my phone, and I slip it back into my purse.
“So, have you figured out what you’re going to wear for the summer party?”
“Not yet," I say. “It isn’t until Friday, so I have some time to figure it out.”
“Well, why don’t we go shopping tomorrow after work? We can find something that’ll knock Chandler’s socks off.”