Page 33 of Keeping Penny

“Which is a great attitude to have. Come on, maybe we can get an ice cream for ourselves.”

Penny’s mouth watered at the thought. It had been a very long time since she’d splurged on something so frivolous. Even though she was consuming more calories every day than she had in years, and had the thought that she should be careful, otherwise she’d end up gaining a ton of weight, ice cream sounded perfect right about now.

Life had certainly been tough in the last several years, but now it was looking up. Though, it had a way of turning on a dime, so she had to be prepared for whatever might be waiting in her future.

Pyro’s warning about Colvin was in the back of her mind. And even though he said she and Bowie would be safe in Zita’s apartment complex, they couldn’t stay behind a locked door every hour of the day. Penny wanted to believe she’d seen the end of Colvin Jackson…but she had a bad feeling he wasn’t done with her yet.

Shaking off the feeling of dread she got just by thinking of her tormentor, Penny forced herself to concentrate on the here and now. And her new friend Laryn. Who was telling her more about Mandy and Zita, the two women she’d meet when they got to Norfolk. Penny had never had any close girlfriends, and she sincerely hoped she clicked with the other women as much as she had with Laryn and Pyro’s friends.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Penny watched as Bowie wrapped Mandy and Zita around her little finger from the first moment she greeted them with a smile. The two women had been waiting for their boyfriends when the ship arrived at port in Norfolk. Apparently, they didn’t usually get to greet them when they returned from a mission, but since they’d gotten a ride back to the US on the aircraft carrier, they were able to join the thousands of other families who’d come to welcome their sailors back from the long deployment.

Penny and Pyro stood off to the side and smiled as the couples were reunited. But of course, Bowie had wanted to know what was going on, asking her mom to describe everything she saw.

Pyro had picked up the little girl as if he’d been doing it all his life and began to describe the reunions going on all around them. Mandy and Zita both seemed surprised to see him with a little girl on his hip, and they immediately rushed over to be introduced.

Bowie, as usual, won them over simply by being herself. Mostly by talking about how much she loved Buck and Obi-Wan, and how she particularly loved when Obi-Wan entertained her by using his “Darth Vader” voice.

“You must be Penny. Buck told me about you via email. I’m so glad you’re all right. I’m Mandy.”

“Thanks,” Penny said shyly. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’ve heard such great things.”

“Probably all exaggerated,” Mandy said with a laugh.

“And I’m Zita. I’m so excited that you and Bowie will be moving in with me! I’m still getting things set up, as I just started moving in while the guys were gone, but I was dreading having to search for a roommate so this is perfect!”

Penny was a little surprised she seemed so genuine. Surprised, but relieved. “Bowie’s well-behaved. I promise we won’t be a nuisance.”

“Of course you won’t! We’re going to have a lot of fun. My hours can be weird with my shifts at the ambulance company, but we’ll figure things out.”

Penny nodded. “I don’t have a job yet, but I’m going to get one as soon as I can. I’ll pay my half of the rent on time. I promise.”

Zita waved her concerns off. “Don’t worry about that right now. You’ve had a hard time of things. Let’s get you back on your feet before we get all nitpicky about who pays for what. I’m just grateful to have your company.”

Penny’s eyes unexpectedly filled with tears at how sweet this woman was being to a stranger. She had no idea how much her words meant. How a weight seemed to lift from her shoulders.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I could really use a burger from Anchor Point. And fried pickles. It feels so stereotypical for a pregnant woman to be craving pickles, but whatever. Who’s in?” Laryn asked. Casper had his arm around her shoulders, and she was snuggled into his side.

Everyone enthusiastically agreed, and Penny just stood there awkwardly, saying nothing, wondering what her and Bowie’s next steps should be.

Before she could ask anyone, she saw out of the corner of her eye a group of men walking toward them. They were all older, probably in their sixties or so. They looked nothing like military men. Not even close. Most had beer bellies, and they were wearing baseball caps and either jeans and T-shirts, or overalls. One was even holding a leash with an older-looking beagle on the end.

Just as she’d looked to Pyro to see if he knew the men, Laryn let out a surprised squeak. Which quickly turned into a screech.

Tensing, and looking around for whatever had scared the other woman, Penny was surprised when she broke out of Casper’s hold and ran toward the group of men. Since no one else seemed alarmed, Penny relaxed a little.

“Henry! Muhammad! Charlie! What the hell are you guys doing here?” she yelled, throwing herself at the tallest of the men.

He caught her with a huge smile and spun her around in a circle. She was immediately surrounded by the other two, and they had a four-way huddle in the middle of the huge parking lot, which had been cleared so all the families could gather and greet their returning servicemen and women.

Laryn was crying and laughing at the same time as she jubilantly greeted the older men. Then she grabbed two of the men’s hands and began to drag them back toward where everyone was waiting.

“Oh my gosh, you guys! These are some of my father’s oldest and dearest friends! They helped teach me everything I know about cars. I mean, I was always bothering them to show me stuff and always underfoot, since my dad hung out with them all the time. Sorry, this is Henry Freeman, Muhammad Bari, and Charlie McCrea. Oh, I’m so flustered. This is such a surprise! I haven’t seen you guys in years and years. How the hell are you? Wait—what the heck are you doing here? How did you know I’d be here?”

Henry gestured with his head, indicating that Laryn should turn around.

Penny audibly gasped—along with everyone else—as they watched Casper go to one knee right there in the parking lot. She vaguely heard Pyro explaining everything that was happening to Bowie in a low voice. Penny herself was too transfixed, focused on what was about to happen.