Understandable.
The aunts hopped back on the phone for a quick good night, and they were gone. The silence when they hung up accentuated the loneliness of her house.
She roused from her lounging position on the couch and slogged into the kitchen. Not hungry at all but needing comfort, she spied her reward in the back of the freezer—a carton of cappuccino chocolate chip ice cream.
Ice cream left over from a study session break last week. About a third of the carton remained. Perfect. She grabbed a soup spoon from the drawer and padded back to the den, ready for some mindless television.
Living alone had definite advantages. Number one—no one groused about eating ice cream for dinner. Number two—no one minded if it came straight out of the carton.
She licked the spoon and pressed the button on the remote.
23
Penn checked her phone after every class Monday afternoon, expecting to hear news of the surgery. The call came early in the evening. Startled by the ring, she dropped the crust of her chicken salad sandwich.
“We’ve just been in to see Graham.”
She tumbled out the questions that had been crowding her mind all day. “How is he? It took forever. How are you? I thought you’d have called hours ago.”
“Take it easy. We’re exhausted. He’s still in ICU and still groggy from anesthesia.” Jancie sighed. “He had a hard time, Penny.”
Penn clutched the phone with both hands. Although she didn’t know her grandfather very well, she loved him. “What do you mean?”
“The surgeon was closing about, I don’t know, one o’clock or so, when he found bleeding he couldn’t stop. They had to go back in and find the cause. Five hours later, the doctor stabilized him, and they let us in to see him.” Jancie exhaled a deep breath. “It’s been a long day, honey. He’ll be in ICU for a few days and then move to a regular room. We’ll stay down here a little longer than planned.”
Penn made a noise, but Jancie cut her off. “Do not even think about coming down here. There’s nothing you can do. You’ve got students to worry about. Graham’s in good hands.” Fatigued dripped from Jancie’s words.
“But—”
“But nothing. Clara needs you, too. You are not a person who shrugs off responsibilities. Help her this week.”
“But—”
“While he’s in ICU, he can receive two visitors for about ten minutes every other hour. I’m not sure how much he’ll remember of this time anyway. You need to be where you are.”
Penn’s stubborn streak flared. “You know I don’t need your permission to go down there.”
Jancie’s big-sister voice kicked in gear, large and in charge. “I do know that, but it sounds as if you need me to give you good advice. I’m doing that. Stay there and do your work. We’ll keep you in the loop. If anything changes, we’ll call immediately. OK?”
Penn didn’t like surrendering, but she recognized the truth in Jancie’s words. “OK.”
“That’s all I’ve got tonight, honey. Poke us with a fork ‘cause we’re done. We’re going back to the house and come up here to Wake Med tomorrow morning. Love you, sweetie.”
Again, the homesick feeling swelled inside her as she pressed the off button. Why? She gathered her dinner dishes from her table, in her house.
Her home. The only home she’d ever known.
It just didn’t feel like home without the aunts in it with her.
~*~
They called twice a day with updates. On Thursday, her grandfather moved into a regular room.
Penn capped her marking pen and pushed the quizzes aside. “So, I guess that means you can start home tomorrow?”
The shine from living by herself had tarnished days ago. She was ready to see her aunts, ready for something besides the chicken salad they’d left her in the refrigerator, ready for conversation around the table while she ate something she hadn’t warmed up from a can.
“Honey, no. We’re staying her a few more days.”
“A few more days?” Penn clenched her teeth. “You’ll miss the festival.”
“Penny, we figured we’d miss it this year when we found out about your grandfather’s surgery. We hate to, but we’ve been to the other ones.”
Jancie added her two cents from the background. “All the other ones.”
“The doctor won’t talk about going home any time soon. With what amounts to a double surgery on Monday and all that time in ICU...well, we’ll just have to wait and see. He’s supposed to walk down the hall and back maybe tomorrow. Can you believe it? He had open heart surgery Monday, and they want him walking already.” Winnie tsked into the phone. “Anyway, we’ll get him settled back at the house and then maybe drive up sometime next week. We’ll just see how everything goes.”
A slight growl escaped Penn’s throat. Turmoil churned her insides. She wanted her recuperating grandfather to be cared for, but she wanted someone else to do it. She missed her aunts.
A click indicated Jancie had joined the conversation on an extension. “You have fun on Saturday. Don’t worry about us.”
“Ask her if she’s seen John.” Winnie whispered but not low enough for Penn.
Penn pressed her hand against her galloping heart. “I heard that.”
“Well, have you?”
“No. He missed the meeting on Tuesday.” A disappointing, boring meeting without John. “If he’s working,” also known as flying, but she avoided saying the word out loud, “he might not be back for Saturday.”
“Pish posh, Penny. John’s not the kind to renege on a promise.”
“And neither are you.”
“He’ll be there.”
“And so will you. With bells on. Make it the best festival yet. Take lots of pictures so you can show us when you tell us all the stories.”
“Uh huh.” Tears blurred the quizzes waiting for her.
“Sweetie, you sound kind of blue. Are you OK?”
Penn uncapped the pen, recapped it. “Sure.”
Silence over the phone lines. Were they eyeing each other? Deciding which course of action to take with her? Be positive. Be kind. Be an adult. “So. Grandfather’s going to be fine?”
“Yes, honey,” Jancie’s voice soothed her. “And so are you.”
True. And they’d be home soon.
And things would get back to normal.
~*~
From the beginning, Clara insisted the committee meet downtown in the park the Friday night before the festival to attend to any last minute details or problems.
Penn arrived late after a long student conference. As she joined the group, a movement caught her eye.
John approached the group with Missy.
So...he wasn’t out of town on a flight. Looked as if he’d make the Apple Fest after all.
Clara gestured to the volunteers. “Hello, everybody. Thanks so much for coming tonight. The Sub Shop has generously donated sandwiches and chips for our dinner, so dig in. I’ve got your assignments right here.”
She waved a stack of pages. “Your name and job are highlighted, so pick up a sandwich and a sheet. Oh, and don’t forget to grab a volunteer t-shirt to wear tomorrow. We’ll be visible to anyone with a question. By the way, thank you to Design & Print for the shirts. Any questions?” Clara scanned the huddled group with a quick sweep of her eyes. “Good. Let’s finish up, and I’ll see you here bright and early in the morning. Thanks, people.”
While Penn waited for the rush on the sandwiches to subside, she snagged her assignment sheet. Highlighted, her name coupled with Jacob Doran’s. Partners. Their assignment—chalk off booth locations for vendor placement. Buckets of sidewalk chalk lined the curb.
She found Jacob in the memorial section of the park beside a ship’s bell. The bell was donated to the town when the USS Mars, part of the US Pacific Fleet, had been decommissioned in 1998. He gestured to the bell as he conversed with Al Martin. A Korean veteran chatting with an Afghanistan veteran. The small-town vision warmed her heart.
“Think so. We better be, I guess.” She glanced at John.
He acknowledged her with a half-hearted smile. “How’s your grandfather doing? Are your aunts home yet?”
“Better. He may leave the hospital tomorrow. They said they’d come back maybe early next week.”
“Good.” He folded his assignment sheet and stuffed it in his back pocket.
Missy swished her blonde ponytail behind her back. “Abby said she enjoyed her lunch with you. She’s hoping you two can get together again soon.”
Penn shuffled her foot. “Me, too.”
Missy tugged on John’s sleeve. “Well, come on, John. Grab a bucket. Let’s start dividing up Grand Avenue. See you, Penn.”
John waved and followed Missy. A breeze stirred and ruffled Missy’s ponytail. Several strands of blonde hair fluttered against John’s arm as they strolled together toward Grand Avenue.
Penn winced, and hugged the chalk bucket against her chest.
Missy and John. Penn and Jacob. The luck of the draw? A sign? A statement?
You had your chance, Penny girl.
Be happy, John.
“Hey, Jacob. You ready to chalk off the other end of Pittsburgh Street?”
~*~
Her clock peeled at five thirty Saturday morning, interrupting a dream featuring a motorcycle. What an annoying buzz. She slammed down the alarm button and buried her face deep into her pillow.
John’s bike?
Probably.
Who else had stalked her mind over the last few weeks?
No matter how much she tried, he seemed to push to front and center of her thoughts.
She shoved back the sheet and threw her legs over the side of the bed. Five thirty?
Clara had extracted promises from the whole committee to report downtown at no later than six fifteen. What more could they possibly do in the final two hours before the opening festivities?
Her grandfather improved every day. The aunts would be home soon. She expected the exam results soon. Just survive today, and no more volunteering with John again.
And maybe he and his motorcycle would stop visiting her dreams.
From the edge of the bed, she rolled her shoulders. Waking up was never the easiest part of her day, and lately without the aunts, beginning the day was worse than usual. No muted giggling tripped up the stairs. No robust coffee aroma wafted under her door to tease her awake. No good morning song. Just her and silence. Not exactly satisfying.
Forty-five minutes later, she sipped on a cup of coffee at the information table.
The committee circled around Clara, armed with a whistle, clipboard, and two-way radio.
Clara raised the clipboard. “Here we are, people. Our Apple Fest. Aren’t you excited?” She waited for several seconds until a few people realized the question wasn’t rhetorical. A smattering of yeahs and a few hand claps skittered through the group.
Penn adjusted the lid of her cardboard cup.
John chatted with Missy at the edge of the circle.
Her heart tightened.
You pushed John away, remember? To Missy?
She swallowed some coffee, but the sweet liquid didn’t fill the emptiness swelling inside her.
Be happy, John.
She wanted to be happy, too. She thought moving to her own place after she passed the CPA exam and working at a fabulous new job would make her happy, but after this week, questions pricked and challenged those thoughts. Maybe she could work downtown and still live with the aunts. Plenty of Butler County people commuted.
Her students’ faces floated in front of her. Just this week, three students had already caught her after school for individual tutoring that turned into more of a counseling session. So many problems and the school year barely started. The thought of leaving them, of not being able to help struggling students made the coffee taste bitter in her mouth.
Penn forced the daydreams aside and listened to Clara’s instructions.
“So we’ll keep rotating from my schedule. If you don’t remember where you start, I have the master list here.” Clara waved the clipboard over her head.
John glanced up and caught her staring. He offered a quick smile, waved, and resumed his conversation with Missy. Somehow, he succeeded in looking cute in the stupid yellow volunteer t-shirts mandatory for everyone on the committee.
Missy rocked it, too, of course, with white denim shorts.
A burning sensation spiraled from her stomach through her chest. Pretending to take another sip of coffee, she offered her back to that scene and contemplated the long day stretching out in front of her.
Three hours later, the festival was well under way. Puffy white clouds floated in a lazy cornflower blue sky. Perfect weather. The temperature huddled around seventy-five degrees. A beautiful day to be outside.
Penn hoped the aunts were having a good day.
At noon, Clara invited the volunteers over her two-way radio to eat the pizza located in the information tent.
Hunger knocked in Penn’s stomach at the mention of pizza, and she ambled toward the tent, checking on booth vendors as she passed. She arrived at the tent as John appeared from the opposite side of the street. Without Missy. She grabbed a slice with mushrooms and bit the tip. He phone jingled in her pocket. Aunt Winnie’s name flashed across the screen. Grandfather update at lunch. Perfect timing.
“Hi, Aunt Winnie. How’s everything this morning? We’ve got a great day here.” Penn took another bite and chewed as she waited for the response.
“Oh, Penny...” Winnie dissolved into tears.
Fear gripped Penn and roiled the pizza in her stomach. “Winnie, what is it? What happened with Grandfather?”
John’s head snapped toward her. She lowered her voice and stepped farther away from the tent.
“Aunt Winnie, calm down. Tell me what happened.”
“P-P-Penny. Not-not Graham.”
“Not Grandfather? Put Jancie on. Let me talk to her.” Penn clutched the phone in a death grip.
Winnie wailed into the phone.
“Please, Aunt Winnie. Tell me what’s wrong. I can’t help if you don’t tell me.” Blood pounded in her ears. Trembling racked her legs.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Footsteps signaled John. With his hands in his pockets, he waited at her elbow, concern marking his face. He didn’t touch her, but his presence calmed her, helped her slow her breathing.
She dropped her voice and forced the panic from it. “Aunt Winnie. What’s happened?”
Winnie drew in a shaky breath. “Jancie.”
Penn waited and listened to few more sniffles. Jancie? Icy chills tiptoed up the back of her neck.
“She had a heart attack.” Fresh sobs poured out of Winnie.
The pizza fell from her hand. “Aunt Jancie had a heart attack?”
But her aunt Jancie was healthy. She complained about little aches and pains when it suited her, but she hardly ever needed a doctor.
Penn brushed her temple. She felt lightheaded with the scrambled thoughts in her brain. She pressed her free hand against her other ear, concentrating on every word. “Aunt Winnie, how is she?”
John stepped closer and laid his hand on her back. The warmth seeped through all the way to her heart. She raised rounded eyes to his. His mouth flattened to a determined line.
Penn gripped the phone with aching fingers. Panic drummed a frightening beat in her chest. “Where is she? Tell me something.”
“In Wake Med. The doctor’s operating right now. Everything happened so fast...” Sobs strangled the remaining words.
“I’m coming. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Call you later. I’ll see you soon. I love you, Aunt Winnie.” Penn covered her face with her hands, the cellphone hot on her cheek.
John gathered her into his arms and stroked her hair. “I’m so sorry, Penn. What do you want to do?”
“I’m going to them.” A whimper escaped, smothered against his chest. He hugged her tighter.
“Penn, listen to me.” John spoke against her ear, his breath warm and comforting. “I can get you there fast. Let me take you.”
She stilled. “On your motorcycle?”
“No, Penn. I can fly you. Let me do that.”
She shoved his chest. The pizza worked in her stomach threatening to rise again.
He held his arms around her but loosened his hold so that he could meet her gaze. “Hear me out. It’s what? Eight, nine hours by car? I can get you to your aunts in under three.”
“Have you lost your mind?” She strained against him to no avail. “Have you forgotten—?”
His muscular arms felt powerful around her, exactly the opposite of her wobbling insides.
“I haven’t forgotten anything. Listen to me. I know what a monumental thing it’d be for you to fly—”
“Let me go. I’ve got to get started.”
He lifted her chin with gentle fingers, concern and determination ruling his gaze. “Penn, think about it. By the time you pack, get gas, and get on the road, it’ll be ten o’clock tonight before you get there, and you’ll be exhausted. Three hours, Penn. I can get you there this afternoon.”
She dropped her head onto his chest, strong, solid. How could she consider flying in a plane? How could she not consider this gift? She remembered Winnie’s sobs. “I want to get there fast. I just don’t think—”
“Let me help you. I can help you, Penn.”
She nodded against his chest.
That signal set John in motion. He called to Clara, hovering by the pizza boxes and scanning her clipboard. “Clara, Penn’s had an emergency. We’ve got to go. Sorry about leaving, but her aunt’s in the hospital in North Carolina.”
Penn didn’t hear Clara’s response.
John hadn’t waited for one.
She held onto him like a piece of lint on a black suit. She focused on the sweet feeling of letting him take charge and ignored the chorus chanting in her brain. Flying? No way. Flying? No way.
John led her away from the pizza and the crowd and her responsibilities, but he couldn’t lead her away from the memory of her aunt’s sobs.
Mars with Venus Rising Page 20