Penny & Squirt: A Love Story

by T. M. Haught

  “What?”

  “I said, I love you for that,” Penny replied.

  Jonah smiled. “Just the first part.”

  Now it was Penny’s turn to catch on. She smiled sweetly. “I love you.”

  “Again...?”

  “I love you, Squirt.” A trace of the smirky smile returned briefly. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

  “I love you, too, Penny.”

  They simply cuddled for the next ten minutes. Then Jonah glanced over his shoulder at the votive candles he could see from his position. They were still burning bright, but they had melted partway down in their small glass holders.

  “How did you get all those candles?” he asked her. “There wasn’t any time after school.”

  “I brought them with me from the house I used to live in before we moved to Palmvista. I had a summer job at a candle shop last year and they had a great employee discount. I had to sneak them home in my backpack so there wouldn’t be any awkward questions at home. I always thought they might come in handy someday. Just didn’t know it would be you I’d be sharing them with. Didn’t even know you back then.”

  “You know me now,” he said.

  “Yeah,” she said with a chuckle. “In every sense of the word.”

  Jonah laughed, then glanced back at the candles. He looked up at the small round device on the wall of her room, up near the ceiling, thinking about it for the first time.

  “That’s funny,” he said.

  “What is?”

  “It’s a wonder all those candles burning didn’t set off the smoke detector tonight.”

  “Yeah, the candles or anything else,” Penny said meaningfully. “But the night isn’t over yet...”

  She kissed him passionately once more, holding him tighter within her embrace. Jonah returned that kiss, feeling its power, and knowing that she was probably right....

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Moonlight becomes Eew!

  By two in the morning the candles were out and moonlight was streaming into her room, since Penny had opened the curtains when she had gotten out of bed briefly. Now she lay there in bed, side by side with Jonah, her shoulders nestled within the sheltering curve of his arm and her head snuggled against his head.

  “Are you happy?” Jonah asked her.

  “I can’t begin to tell you how much,” Penny said. “How about you...?”

  “Ditto. And to think I used to complain about you being here. Now I can’t imagine life without you. I’d... I’d still be miserable and lonely if you hadn’t come into my life.”

  She said nothing in reply, which seemed strange, and after a long moment of silence Jonah turned to her with concern in his voice. It was in his eyes, too.

  “Penny...? Is everything all right?”

  There was a brief pause, as if she was lost in thought, then she quickly turned her face toward his. The look in her eyes and the tone in her voice clearly were meant to reassure him.

  “Yes! Yes, nothing’s wrong. We’re okay... better than okay. Sorry I wasn’t paying attention. I was just thinking.”

  “Thinking about what?” Jonah asked.

  “About when my dad and I moved in here,” she said. “I didn’t think so much about it before, but now I’m wondering. I mean, I like my room. No... make that, I love my room, especially now. But why am I here?”

  Jonah frowned a bit in thought. “Is this some kind of cosmic, metaphysical question?”

  “No!” She grinned. “I’m not questioning the reason for my existence or anything, or even wondering if fate brought us together for a purpose... I mean, I’m pretty sure we were brought together for a purpose... but...”

  “So what is it? I’m starting to lose the train of thought here.”

  “It’s just, well think about it,” replied Penny. “Why did your mom and my dad put me in this room, next to yours?”

  “You complaining?”

  “No silly,” she said, touching his face gently. “This is perfect. But you know how parents are... how they think. We had just moved in here. Why would they think it was okay to have two teenagers... two horny teenagers... in virtually adjoining rooms on the same floor, up here?”

  “Why would they assume we’re horny?”

  Penny gave him the smirky look big time.

  “Okay, you’re right, it’s a given,” agreed Jonah. “Raging hormones and all that. But where else would you be to have a room of your own?”

  “Well... what about that room on the second floor? The one you said was maybe going to be a nursery. Was it ever a bedroom?”

  “Yeah. Doesn’t have any furniture in it, but it did used to be a bedroom, back when the original owners had this place.”

  “Does it have a bathroom?” Penny asked.

  “Yes,” Jonah replied. “In fact, it’s even got a bathtub, instead of the little shower stalls that we have in our own bathrooms up here. One of those big old-fashioned free standing tubs, with feet and everything.”

  “So why didn’t it occur to them to put me in there, on the same floor as my dad and your mom, so they could sorta keep an eye on me?”

  Jonah shrugged. “Lapse of judgement? Besides, they both knew we were introduced to each other even before you moved in here. They knew we didn’t get along. Maybe they figured it was safe enough.”

  Penny considered it. “Yeah... maybe that’s it. And maybe your mom just didn’t want anyone being in that room, because of the emotional baggage it has, that whole baby nursery thing that she planned with your dad.”

  “Yeah.” Jonah sighed reflectively. “There’s that, too.”

  Penny was silent for a long moment, still nestled next to Jonah. Then she frowned a bit.

  “Unless... unless...” she started, then stopped. Then she gasped suddenly, and sat bolt upright in the bed. “OMG! OMG!”

  Jonah’s eyes widened in alarm and he raised up on one arm. “What’s wrong?!”

  She hesitated. “Maybe I’m wrong, but... you know how you and I have been worried that they would hear us and what we’re doing up here?”

  “Yeah. I still am,” said Jonah, glancing around nervously now. “You’re not saying that they wanted us to get together... I mean... this kind of together... are you?”

  “No, I’m not saying that at all. But what if, the same way we were worried about being discovered by them, what if they were worried we would hear what they’re doing at night?”

  Jonah frowned mightily as the blood drained from his face. He sat up fully straight now, next to her.

  “No... noooo,” he said faintly. “Don’t say that. Don’t even think it!”

  “I know,” said Penny. “It kinda creeps me out, too. I’m not saying anything bad about your mom, mind you. She’s really nice and even kind of a hotty, as far as forty year old gals go.”

  “And your dad’s okay, too, and sort of handsome, I guess,” said Jonah. “But... but... them? Hooking up?”

  Penny shrugged. “They did know each other awhile before we moved in here, from that single parent support group they belong to. Maybe...?”

  Jonah still looked dismayed. “Maybe. But you could be wrong.”

  “I could be,” said Penny.

  They both sat there side by side in bed for a long moment, without saying a word. Penny had turned the music off earlier and the house was completely silent now. The two of them sat there in the semi-darkness, listening, waiting, listening some more, cocking their ears first toward the hall outside their rooms, and then toward the floor below.

  “I don’t hear anything,” said Penny at last. “Do you?”

  “No. Nothing.”

  “’Course, it’s pretty late,” she said. “They’re not as young as we are. If they had been doing anything they probably conked out hours ago and went to sleep.”

  Jonah cringed and sighed. “Dunno. Don’t want to think about it.”

  “Yeah. Me either.”

  They sat there a moment more, then they both lay back against the bed and p
illows. Penny resumed her snuggle position against Jonah’s shoulder and head. The moonlight lent a ghostly aura to everything in the room, including them.

  “Jonah...” Penny said then. “Would you mind if we didn’t... you know... do it again tonight?”

  “No. It’s okay,” he said. “Really. The mood’s kinda gone now anyway.”

  “Sorry,” she said weakly. She glanced at her nightstand. “I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m., just to be on the safe side. Is that okay?”

  “Sure. Can I stay with you until then?”

  “Of course! You’d better.”

  Jonah pulled her a little closer to him, then reached over to brush a few strands of hair away from her eyes. “Just so you know, Penny,” he said. “It was special. Everything you did. The candles, the flowers, the way you looked. Everything. It was amazing. You were amazing.”

  “You too,” she told him, with a light kiss on his cheek. “You too, Squirt....”

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Breakfast was at the oval table in the kitchen this time, with the four of them gathered there in their usual configuration, with Rebecca Nash and Robert Mathews on opposite ends and Jonah and Penny closer across from each other on the remaining sides. Blueberry pancakes and syrup were on plates before each of them and everyone was eating in silence. Penny was sneaking quick glances at her dad and at Mrs. Nash whenever she thought they weren’t looking. Jonah was doing the same, and occasionally sharing a glance with Penny, as if silently comparing notes. If there was anything out of the ordinary going on between the adults, it was impossible to tell from their behavior this morning.

  Mr. Mathews was wearing his usual business attire and Mrs. Nash was wearing the slacks and blouse she often wore when working at an office. Penny had a clean pair of jeans on and a long-sleeved blouse that had a pastel flower pattern on it, with the collar unbuttoned just far enough that her short necklace of white beads showed. Jonah had his usual gray slacks on but teamed with a pale yellow shirt this time, and instead of the “nerd badge” pocket protector jammed with pens and things he had just a single pen clipped in his shirt pocket. The other pens he had stuck in his backpack, just in case he needed them.

  Robert finally looked up from his food and surveyed the other faces at the table. “Everyone’s being very quiet this morning,” he observed. “Maybe we’re all just enjoying these excellent pancakes Rebecca made too much to talk.”

  “Thank you, Robert,” said Mrs. Nash. “I guess I was just lost in thought.”

  “Me too,” said Penny.

  “Yeah,” agreed Jonah.

  His mother looked at him benignly. “So dear, did you give any more thought to a good science fair topic? I hope you weren’t up all night doing research.”

  “Research? No,” said Jonah. He felt a light kick on his shin and saw Penny flash him a be careful look. “I mean, I think I’ve narrowed it down to two possible choices. One about how fires in the Everglades might affect atmospheric oxygen, and the other about how to build a booster gadget for cell phone signals. You know how people’s cell phones never seem to work as well when they’re home, inside.”

  “Those both sound good,” Rebecca replied.

  “You know, Jonah,” said Robert suddenly, looking him squarely in the eye, “I might be able to help you with that second idea, with some data and maybe even some electronics parts. The company I work for is heavily into cell phone technology.”

  “Really?” said Jonah, smiling but uncertain. “Cool.”

  “I’ll look into it after I get to work,” Robert said, taking another sip of coffee. “Remind me tonight and I’ll give you a flash drive with all the data I can find on it.”

  “Okay.”

  They finished their breakfast and Rebecca got up to clear the dishes. Penny helped her with the plates and glasses before reaching for her backpack where she’d left it in the corner of the kitchen. Jonah went for his own backpack, where he had placed it on the opposite side of the kitchen, not because he wanted it to be apart from Penny’s, but because they had both agreed to maintain the illusion of a barrier or rift between them as protective cover.

  As Rebecca sat the last cups and saucers in the sink she turned to ask, “I was thinking of fixing a beef roast tonight, with potatoes and carrots, maybe in the crock-pot, since I have a temp typing job today. Does that suit everyone?”

  “Sure,” said Robert Mathews.

  “Sounds yummy,” Penny said.

  Jonah nodded, pausing to give his mom a kiss, then said as he followed Penny out the door of the kitchen, “Fine with me.”

  “Good,” said Rebecca. “That’s the plan, then! Have a good day, everyone.”

  Jonah was just a few steps behind Penny as she reached the sidewalk a little before 7:00 a.m. He sat his backpack down on the gray cement, this time right next to Penny’s.

  Penny looked at him inquisitively. “How are those legs today?” she said softly.

  “Better than I thought they’d be,” Jonah replied. “I took an aspirin.”

  She laughed lightly. “We’ll get those muscles in shape yet. Oh, and that science fair project idea about fires in the Everglades affecting atmospheric oxygen? Wherever did you get that idea? My candles, maybe...?”

  Jonah smiled back at her. “You inspire me, Penny. In more ways than that, too.”

  Now she frowned a bit. “Just one thing about the cell phone booster project—I hope you’re not gonna be spending time with my dad working on that instead of spending time with me...?”

  “Don’t worry about that!” said Jonah. “I appreciate his help, but I’ll tell him that I need to do the work on it myself, which is true, and I have regular homework, too.”

  “Good!” Penny flashed him a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. “Kinda hoping to see you tonight, Squirt.”

  Jonah glanced around to be sure no one was near, then said softly, “Last night was awesome, Penny. What you did with your room and all. Your hair and what you wore. But you don’t have to go to that much trouble every time.”

  “It was no trouble,” she said demurely.

  “So...” said Jonah “...whose room tonight? Yours or mine?”

  Penny shrugged. “Dunno yet. We’ll improvise.”

  She turned then and glanced back at the house behind them. Mr. Mathews was just coming out of the front door and heading for his SUV, pausing only to wave cheerily at them. Penny waved back to him then she turned again to Jonah with a speculative look.

  “Have you noticed that even though we all get up from the table at the same time, it seems to take my dad longer than us to get out the door?”

  Jonah was watching, too. “Maybe he had to make a pit stop?”

  “Not quite long enough to do that,” said Penny. “But maybe just long enough to give your mom a goodbye kiss before he goes, without us seeing him?”

  Jonah frowned. “Yeah... maybe so. But let’s just put that whole notion out of our heads for awhile, okay? I’m a little uncomfortable with it, and besides, it makes it hard to focus on the two of us.”

  “Deal,” Penny said. “I won’t spoil the mood anymore, I promise….”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Trouble is where you find it

  Lunchtime in the cafeteria at Palmvista High. The usual numbers of students were present this time, since the schedule was back to normal, so it wasn’t quite as crowded as the day before. Jonah and Penny were sitting at the end of one of the long tables populated by mostly nerdy kids, but they were separated from the others by several empty seats. The meal of the day was spaghetti and meatballs, with a small salad and the cafeteria ladies’ somewhat pathetic version of garlic toast. Both of them had a glass of chocolate milk on their tray, with a square of sheet cake for dessert.

  Penny couldn’t help glancing over to the spot several tables away where Tiffany Jeskavech held court with her clique of mean girls, with Tiffany in her cheerleader outfit since it was practice day and she was the captain of the cheer squad as well a member of it. The gr
oup was chatting away in an animated fashion as they usually did, then suddenly Tiffany’s head jerked around and her eyes met Penny’s for a moment in a mutual glare. The daggers in the air were almost visible. Then Tiffany whispered something to one of her gal pals and laughed before going back to her cell phone and almost constant texting.

  Jonah noticed the angle of Penny’s gaze, then caught her eye when her head straightened. “Checking out the Wicked Witch of the West?” he said.

  “Yeah... guilty,” said Penny. “You know, if looks could kill, you and I would both be dead right now.”

  “I don’t get it. She always treated me like dirt before. Why should she be holding a grudge now? I didn’t bump her that hard yesterday.”

  Penny shook her head knowingly. “It wasn’t the bump, Jonah. It was when you told her that you hadn’t noticed her. That was the unforgivable insult, that and when we walked off together, kinda acting like we were making fun of her. Which we were.”

  Now it was Jonah’s turn to shake his head, marveling at his own previous blindness. “What in the world did I ever see in her?”

  “You saw what most boys do—she’s cute and sexy, and she’s a cheerleader.”

  “She’s got nothing on you,” said Jonah seriously. “And if there actually is a heart inside of her, it’s probably all black and shriveled, like something in a horror movie.”

  Penny gave a light and musical laugh. “Thanks, Jonah. I appreciate the compliment, and I totally agree about her. I also love that visual.” She took a drink of her chocolate milk.

  “Uh-oh... here comes trouble,” Jonah said, with a guarded glance to his right.

  Penny sat her glass down and followed his gaze. She saw Jock Boy #1, also known as Travis, the football team’s quarterback, tall and muscular, heading their way with his usual athletic and cocky strut. Jock Boys #2 and #3 were close behind him, and they were all moving in the general direction of Tiffany’s table. Yet they were all staring at Penny with their habitual suggestive leer, as if they were undressing her with their eyes. Penny was really getting tired of it and not in the mood to simply ignore it.