Find a Penny, Pick Her Up

Chapter 19

A knock sounded against my door. 

"Come in," I said, tearing my eyes away from my history notes. Dad stood in the doorway, smiling his excited smile. It was a Saturday - French toast day. I sniffed the air, not smelling the familiar cinnamon and nutmeg. I wonder what he was so excited about. 

"What?" I asked, a smile of my own stretching my lips. Seeing Dad excited was like watching a Golden Retriever retrieve it's first tennis ball. 

"Mom and I have a surprise for you," he said. 

"What is it?" 

"It's in the kitchen," he said. "So you have to come downstairs." I slid off my bed, following Dad. He practically hopped down our staircase, letting me enter through the doorway first. 

"Surprise!" Mom threw up her hands, waving them like spirit fingers. I blinked at Grandma, who with gifts in hand, threw me a huge grin. I took her in, and even though I hadn't seen her since last Christmas, she still looked the same. Maybe with a few more wrinkles under her eyes, but the same, wild Grandma. Her leopard sweater accented her dyed-blonde hair, pulled back into a low bun, a matching leopard ribbon flowing from it. She loved her ribbons, and for years gifted me the same ones so I could match with her. If only you could see our childhood photos together. Apparently, Grandma looked exactly like me when she was younger. From then on out, she'd give me an outfit that was identical to hers, and Mom made me wear them every time we'd be at family events. Holidays, birthdays, you name it. For years, we looked like weird twin sisters with a huge age gap. Jess laughed at the pictures all the time, begging to see them. But not me; it still gave me the shivers. Now, that was real PTSD. 

"Penelope, sweetheart," she said, giving me a hug. She still smelled like a distinct Chanel perfume, but I wasn't sure which one. "Oh, I'm so excited to see you," she pulled back. "When your parents called and said you wanted to see me, I just had to jump on a flight and come right over." My parents...called her? 

I looked to them, but they looked so happy that I wanted to mirror their happiness. Or at least pretend to. Okay, let's get one thing straight: I loved my grandma. I was happy she was there, but I wanted to visit her in order to get away from Port Royal. I wanted to get on a plane and fly far, far away to Arizona. Didn't anyone understand that? 

The three of them jumped straight into a lively chatter, and Grandma placed the gifts on the kitchen table beside her. "So, Penelope, what should we do today?" Mom and dad both smiled at me, awaiting my answer. What was this, some type of therapy? Babysitting? 

"How about we do something all together?" I suggested. "We can go to the beach. Or the pier-"

"I have to go to the grocery store," Mom said. "Get some things to make dinner for Grandma." I looked to Dad, practically crying for help. 

"I have to do some work for a client today," he said, reaching for Grandma. "See you later, Mom. You girls have a good day." They left us alone in the kitchen.

"Looks like it's just us." I gave her a nod, wondering what this was all about. "Maybe go get dressed, and I'll whip up some eggs. Fried, okay?" Another nod, and out of the room I went. 

"Try not to look so excited!" she added, but a laugh lay in her tone. 

~

"Would you like to drive?" she asked, dangling the keys to her rental car. I eyed them, knowing well she knew of my adverse feelings toward getting in the driver's seat, starting the car, and putting my foot on the gas. Especially that part; I think it would be the hardest. I grabbed two plastic water bottles from the fridge, dropping them in a plastic bag.