"Someone saw you outside the house late last night. Bein' pushed into an SUV. Are you okay?" Jenny's voice sounded a lot like Penny's only with a bit more Texas twang.
"What? Outside the sorority house? Someone's been taking those weird sleeping pills again." Penny laughed and rolled her eyes at me. "What would I be doing lurking outside your house? And in the middle of the night?"
"I know. Sounds nuts, doesn't it, Pen?" Jenny laughed. "So where are you? Can you meet for coffee? I got the cutest new blouse to show you. And there's this math test comin' up. I just can't get the hang of this one type of equation. I know you could explain it and it would click. We are always on the same wavelength. Am I right?"
Penny's eyes filled and she shook her head. "Can't meet tonight, Jen. Sorry about the math test. Judith in your sorority can help you. Go to her. I've got a date. Really cute guy. I'll tell you all about it later. Oops, got to go. He'll be here soon and I'm gonna jump in the shower." She ended the call, then sobbed.
"Aw, Penny, I'm sorry." I rubbed her arm.
"M-m-math! I always help her with math. But now I can't because I might bite her on the neck and d-d-drain her dry." Penny fell over and cried on my shoulder.
"No, you can't because you have a date. All in all, you handled that very well." I patted her back as my robe got damp.
"I lied to her." Penny sat up and wiped her eyes.
"Get used to it. It will become your way of life with mortals." I glanced at the clock, then got up and walked toward the bathroom. "If you're serious about going on this date, we'd better get moving. My hot water heater is ancient. It has only one long hot shower in it or two short ones. I'm taking a quickie, then you're next. Wash your hair and let me see what I can do to fix it."
Penny jumped up. "You really hate the way I look, don't you?"
"I didn't say that."
"Didn't have to. First you take me to your shop and pick out new clothes. Next, you tell me to wash off my makeup and then give me your lipstick, muttering about your hairdresser the whole time. Now you tell me you're going to fix my hair like I'm a freakin' Barbie doll!" Penny stomped toward her bedroom. "Give me some space, Glory. You're my mentor, not my mom." The door slammed.
"Thank God!" I yelled down the hall. Well, how was that for gratitude? I gathered up some clothes and went into the bathroom, stopping for several minutes to study my face in the mirror. Size-six Glory had had cheekbones, none here. No, not tempted. The price was too high. But having a reflection was so unbelievably cool. How long would I have this unexpected treat? No telling. But I was going to make the most of every second. I stripped and tried to see more of me in the small glass. Forget it. There was way too much Glory and not nearly enough mirror.
I hurried through my shower and jumped into my clothes, then knocked on Penny's door.
"I'm sorry, Penny. I'm bossy. What can I say? I took my mentoring job off the rails to where it didn't belong." I turned the knob and poked my head inside. If she'd run again . . . But, no, she was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"I'm not an idiot."
"That's obvious." I sat on the foot of the bed.
"I know I look better in green than in horizontal stripes."
"It's not polite to read my mind." I sighed and jiggled her bare foot. "But I have a clothing store. I'm really into fashion and have been trying to disguise my own figure flaws for centuries, Penny. So maybe I wanted to pass on some hard-won information."
"I get that." She sat up and looked at me. "I want to look good for this date. Really good. I know nothing can come of it. He's a mortal, I'm a freak. But for once I'd like a hot guy to be into me. A guy who doesn't buy his clothes at Goodwill or pay more attention to his hard drive than to the woman sitting next to him at the computer."
I grinned. "I am so there with you." I held out my hand and helped her get