Chapter Twenty-Four
Once again Marc spent the night at Penny’s, making up for the nights they had spent apart. Penny told him all about her panic attacks and the abortion, and how by learning to be a little more assertive, she had been able to clear the air with both her parents and her friends. And Marc spoke of his fears over facing a new relationship, after the train wreck he thought he had made of his last one.
They made love several times over the night, sleeping in between bouts of conversation and sex, and in the morning, Penny expected to be groggy and in no state to take her run, let alone go to work.
Instead, she woke up with her alarm, eager for the day to begin. She shook Marc, who groaned and said from a muffled place inside the covers. “What time is it?”
“Six,” she said. “I’m going for a run. Did you want to come along?”
“Seriously?” His tousled head appeared as he squinted at her. “It’s six o’clock on the morning. Who gets up now?”
She grinned. “I guess that means no.”
“It definitely does,” he said, “but if you want some other type of exercise, I could probably wake up for that.”
Penny was sorely tempted, but she hadn’t been running for a few days, and she missed the early morning beauty. “You’ll just have to take care of that yourself,” she said cheekily.
“I will,” he warned, before turning back over and, apparently, going back to sleep.
Penny smiled at his back fondly before changing into her running gear and heading out the door.
She was amazed at what her parents had managed for the naming ceremony for Elodie. Only a few people were invited - her parents, her brother and sister, Lydia and Desiree, and Jim and his wife. Marc had asked if she wanted him there, and she had thought for a moment before saying, “No, I don’t think so.” Before he could do more than pout, she had continued, “It’s not so much that I don’t want you there, it’s more that it’s a part of my life I’m letting go of, and you’re the part of my life I’m moving forward towards.”
He had smiled and nodded, understanding her reasoning.
The ceremony itself was held at the local Memorial Gardens. Her parents had organized a small stone which Penny would place beside the pond, engraved with the name “Elodie Davis”. They had organized lilies for each participant, and a nearby pavilion held food and drinks.
One by one, her friends and family approached Penny, hugged her, then threw their lily in the water, saying Elodie’s name. Penny was overwhelmed at how the acknowledgement of the existence of her baby by the people most important in her life made her feel. Even though she would never hold Elodie, or watch her grow up, she was a real person who would not be forgotten. It gave Penny a measure of peace, somehow, just to know that.
Afterwards, they all moved into the pavilion and toasted the little girl. Penny stood, wanting to say something, but hesitant as to where to start. She didn’t like getting up in front of people - putting herself forward like this was hard. But she felt she owed her child this send off, so she persevered.
“I want to thank you all for coming today,” she started, looking at the smiling faces before her. “I needed today to prove to the world that Elodie was a real person, not just a throwaway item. I wish things had been different and we had all had the opportunity to know her,” and here, her voice caught a little, and she saw tears gather in her mother’s eye, as well as Lydia’s. “But life is strange and sometimes things happen. But you know what? I think, no matter where she is, Elodie knows that she is loved.” She lifted her champagne glass in a toast. “To Elodie.”
“To Elodie.”
Sunday was back with noses to the grindstone, with the start of the final week of rehearsals for the show. On Thursday, they would have an audience of the various front of house helpers who wouldn’t get the opportunity to see the show otherwise, since they would be concerned with front of house duties while the show was in progress. And then on Friday, they would have their first paying audience. So, Sunday, and then Monday, would be their last rehearsals.
Jane had asked Cerise to come back, and Cerise had agreed. Chris’ dismay was fun to watch as Cerise bounced up to him, apparently having forgotten that he was the one who insisted she leave.
“Hi Chris. I’m back!”
“Oh, yay,” Chris deadpanned.
“I think we might need to practice that kissing scene from the second act a few times.”
Chris groaned, but Cerise dragged him away.
Penny was impressed. Cerise hadn’t forgotten at all.
Marc sidled up behind her and put his arms around her waist. “Are we all ready to go?”
“You shouldn’t be asking,” she chided. “You should be saying “Madame Stage Manager, we are all ready to go!”
“Okay,” replied Marc. “Madame Stage Manager…”
“Yeah, I got it,” interrupted Penny, with a gurgle of laughter.
Marc nibbled her neck, where her hair was pulled out of the way into a ponytail. “We have a few minutes before curtain,” he whispered suggestively. “There’s a nice dark corner behind the stage over there.”
Penny turned in his arms. “Or we could wait until scene eight. It’s that really long one, remember?”
“Oh, I remember.” Marc’s voice was almost a growl, and Penny, seeing the glint in his eyes, shivered expectantly. It would be a good rehearsal. Even if absolutely everything went wrong, it would be a good rehearsal.
“Hey you guys,” said Jane, striding up to them. “Guess what?” In her hand she held a sheath of papers.
“What?”
“Fran got that letter authenticated - looks like it actually was written by our friendly poltergeist. Or at least someone who was around at the same time.”
“Do you really think Edwin is still hanging around the theater?” Marc asked, and Penny jabbed him with an elbow, at the same time as Jane said, “Absolutely.”
“I thought you believed now,” Penny said to Marc, and he grinned.
“Well, I thought I did,” he said, “but it could all be explained by other things, so maybe I don’t.”
Penny rolled her eyes and Jane grinned. “Some people just won’t believe until you bash them over the head with it,” she said, before rushing off again.
Penny nodded, turning back to Marc. “Is that what I need to do? Bash you over the head?”
He leaned down to kiss her. “I’d prefer you to do other nasty things to me,” he suggested with a wink, and she laughed.
“Come and see me backstage during scene eight then, big boy.” He laughed, and let her go, and she smiled to herself watching his delectable arse as he walked away.
A light breeze ruffled her hair. “I know, Edwin,” she said, “he’s going to be tough to persuade.” She looked around. “Now, are we all ready to go out here?”
She moved to the props table, only to find the handkerchief was already missing. She chuckled. “Alright, Edwin, you can have it. But please, please don’t mess about with the lights.” There was a little buzz of electricity, and the lights seemed to dull for a moment before springing back to full brightness.
Penny shook her head. Between the theater ghost, her new job, and her new boyfriend, she certainly had her hands full.
She smiled. It was exactly where she wanted to be.
The End