Playing at Forever - By Michelle Brewer Page 0,10
a point of telling him that.
The door opened once more and Penny turned, this time her eyes coming to rest on Gina and Kevin, returning from lunch. She clenched her jaw as the younger woman met her eyes from across the room, her arm wrapped around Penny’s soon-to-be ex-husband. Staking her claim.
Penny turned her eyes away and crossed the room, pasting a faux smile on her face as she struck up a conversation with two of her regulars who had just finished their meal and were about to leave. She made sure to inquire about their grandkids, as they had recently left to return home from their summer vacation.
When they finally left, Penny turned to clearing the table to keep herself busy.
“I know working is a foreign concept to me and all, but isn’t there someone else who should be doing this?” Penny nearly jumped out of her skin, so surprised by his voice. She brought her hand to her chest, as if to try and calm her heart down—a futile attempt, she realized, as she turned to find Tommy standing there with his perfect smile and her heart fluttered rapidly once more.
“I believe in extending a hand to the little people, Tommy. A concept you could use a little bit of familiarization with, I say.” She raised an eyebrow at him as she turned to make her way toward the kitchen. Tommy followed closely behind.
“Hey, I donate to charity—”
“Oh right, it’s remembering the little people that you seem to have a problem with. My mistake.” She knew she shouldn’t be so harsh, but she really couldn’t help herself from taking a few digs here and there. She had to remind him that things between them were not okay, even if she felt the opposite.
“I came back, Pen,” his voice was very quiet and as she set the dishes on the counter, she risked a glance over her shoulder. His expression was solemn, his forehead creased with sadness. And, like so many times before, her heart went out to him.
“Well, we might as well eat then, don’t you think?” Tommy looked up, meeting her eyes, and Penny smiled.
Maybe she had been wrong last night, when she said that they would never be friends again.
Because there, in that moment, Penny couldn’t think of anything she would like more.
Tommy sat across from Penny, the ocean to their right, the meal between them freshly delivered, the clouds above them threatening rain. He had been to hundreds of restaurants over the last several years, a majority of them run by gourmet chefs and situated in the most breathtaking setting possible. He’d sat across from Hollywood starlets and supermodels.
Yet he’d never once felt as calm, relaxed, or even happy as he did sitting right there.
Strange, the effect returning home could have on a person.
This last thought surprised him, as Tommy had never really considered Ravenside home. Actually, he’d never really considered any of the cities or towns he’d lived in as ‘home’. But now that he thought about it, it was the closest thing he’d ever had to such a dream.
“So tell me about everything I’ve missed,” he asked of her, really only to hear her voice. “How are your parents? And Amy—what is she up to?”
“My parents are good. They retired to Florida. Sold the business.” Penny shrugged her shoulders and Tommy thought about the people who had raised the girl sitting across from him. He had always thought the Langs were the perfect family. They always seemed so happy.
“They sold the movie store?” Tommy thought back to the many memories that had been created there in that tiny little rental store. He and Penny had spent countless amounts of hours there, arguing over what movie to take home for the evening. Sometimes, he would even spend her shift with her, the two of them watching movies in between customers.
“Yeah, with internet rentals being so popular these days, and the bigger chains moving closer to town…” Penny shrugged her shoulders again and he could tell it bothered her to think about it. He wondered if she was thinking about the same thing as he was—remembering all of the memories they had made there, sitting on that couch toward the back of the store, passing time. “They sold it. It’s a candle store now, I think.”
“Well, I guess everyone needs candles.” Tommy took a bite of the food, enjoying the home cooked flavor.
“And Amy has been doing well. She’s married now, with two daughters.” Penny