35. One Hour Before the Lunch Heard ’Round the World
GAVIN
After fixing a little electrical problem in my dad’s house, I thanked the renters and referred them to the property management company who’d be handling the house while I was away.
I walked down to Penny’s place and Milo answered. Hugging him, I said, “Hey kid. Shouldn’t you be at school? Where’s your mom?”
“I think she forgot I have a half day at school today for teacher conferences. I have a pretty good idea of where she is, though.”
“Where’s that?”
“Has Mom ever told you about the old dance studio she used to go to when she was a kid?”
“Sure. But isn’t that a Subway now?”
“Yeah, but it’s going out of business.”
“Seriously? A Subway near a college is going out of business? Huh.” I shrugged. “Is she eating lunch there?”
“She said she was gonna go check it out, but I think she just goes down there and sits on the bench outside.”
I’d never heard of Penny doing this. “What? Why?”
“I don’t know. I think it’s nostalgic for her or something.”
“Is your dad here?”
“My dad?” Milo looked at me strangely.
“Yeah, your dad.”
“No, he’s not here. Um, I don’t mean to be rude but I have a shit-ton of homework to do and then I’m going to stay at my friend’s house tonight. Do you want me to tell Mom you stopped by?”
“Hey, wait a sec. I’m glad I ran into you, Milo, because I have some big news. I’m leaving for a bit. In fact . . . I’m going to France.”
He blinked for several seconds, his expression blank. “Why?” he asked.
“My girlfriend, Briel, is from there. She’s going back home . . . and I’m going with her.”
“Oh . . . that’s great, G. Does Mom know?”
“No, I need to tell her. That’s why I came by. Do you really think she’s down at the Subway?”
“Yeah.” He was apprehensive and I had no idea why. “Did she know you were coming down?”
“No.”
“Try her there, I guess. If you can’t find her, you can always come by tonight. Like I said, I’ll be sleeping over at my friend’s house.”
We hugged and he held on to me longer than usual. “This isn’t good-bye just yet. I’ll see you at your game tomorrow, okay?” I said.
“Sure. See ya, G. Good luck with Mom.” He gave me a long look before he shut the door.
My stomach was churning. I was finally going to tell Penny my news. I’d been avoiding her for a couple of months, but I couldn’t put it off any longer.
When I pulled Charlize into the Subway parking lot, I spotted Penny right away. She was staring into the distance blankly, holding a manila envelope and spacing out. When I got closer, she must have recognized the familiar purr of my engine because she turned her head and stared at me as I pulled into the parking space.
I got out and walked up to her. When she stood, she seemed taller. I looked down and noticed she had heeled boots on, tight jeans, and a fitted sweater. Her hair was done and she had makeup on. I hadn’t seen this side of Penny in a long time. She looked amazing.
“Hey! Surprise, surprise,” she said as she hugged me. She smelled like heaven. I missed her arms around me.
“You look fantastic, P. Do you always get dressed up to hang out in front of Subway?”
“Ha! I was hoping to meet the strip mall owner. I’m thinking about converting this place back into a dance studio once Subway’s lease is up, but I’m not sure if I have the funds.”
“That would be amazing. Can’t you guys sell one of your cars or something? Or maybe a Tag watch?”
She laughed.
“Oh, shut it. Let’s grab some lunch. You keep saying you want to catch up, but I haven’t seen you in so long. We can walk across the street to that little pub by Bank of America, if you want to?”
“You just read my mind. I’ll drive, by the way.”
She looked at me suspiciously. “Big news?
I shook my head. “Let’s get a drink first.”
I DROVE US both over and parked by the bank. I was positively shaking by that point. I didn’t know how Penny would react to my news. On our way into the pub, she spotted an outgoing mailbox and dropped in the envelope she was carrying.
At the bar, I ordered a beer and she ordered Chardonnay and some beer-cheese pretzels. I was surprised. Penny usually stuck to salad.
“That’s different for you.” She looked like she’d lost a lot of weight.
“Don’t think you can distract me so easily. Tell me what’s going on. Did you break up with Briel?”
I guzzled my beer and took a deep breath. “Don’t be mad, okay?”
She looked surprised. “Why the hell would I be mad?” she said before picking up her glass of wine and downing the whole thing.
“Jesus, Penny.” She motioned to the bartender for another glass.
“Spill, Gavin.”
“Briel is pregnant.”
Penny started breathing fast, her nostrils flaring. The bartender refilled her glass. She downed it and slammed it on the counter.
“Shit, Penny! Be careful. You almost shattered your glass!” My voice was getting high and loud.
“You’re moving to fucking France?!” Now she was yelling. I had to get her out of the bar.
HALF AN HOUR later, I was exhausted. We had just had our first knock-down, drag-out fight in what seemed like forever, and now we were standing in the Bank of America parking lot, her face covered in tears and Charlize running behind me.
“Is this it?” she asked.
“This is it, P.”
She wrapped her arms around me, and I tried to commit the feeling of her, the smell of her, to my memory.
I got into Charlize and revved the engine. “We’ll talk on the phone or email or something, okay?”
“Okay,” she said.
I nearly choked on my next words. “I wish it were you, Penny.”
As I drove away, tears started streaming down my face. I felt my phone vibrate and pulled it out of my pocket.
Penny: Lance and I are getting a divorce. I thought you should know.
I nearly drove off the road. The manila envelope she dropped in the mailbox. Her ranting and raving about how alone she was about to be. Suddenly, it all made sense.
Fuck.