Hang Your Dreams

The Truth

Penny woke to the sound of the room door opening and closing. "James?" She called out.
"Ahh good morning, my dear." He said appearing in the doorway rolling a trolly across the main room to the table. "I ordered us breakfast to our room, I hope you don't mind. I am a tad tuckered out from last night and I need to grab Nathaniel in an hour." He chuckled snd stretched as he plopped down at the table. Penelope let out a loud yawn and went to the bathroom briefly to clean her face and brush her teeth. "Come eat first!" She could hear James shout. "No, I need to take care of my morning breath!" She teased him. She went back to the bedroom, looked in the mirror and posed for a selfie. Feeling refreshed and confident, she went to the table to eat.

"Excited for today?" Penny asked, grabbing her fork and taking it to her plate. "Yes, it's been since the split since I've seen him but Leslie and I have talked a bit over the texting thing and she agreed I can have him today. I miss my boy."
Penny smiled endearingly at James, seeing how excited he was to see his son.

2 hours pass and James, Penny and Nathaniel are going around a few local blocks of NYC while Nathaniel rides his new scooter that James just purchased. "Cant believe she demanded I take Meagles too if I'm taking Nathaniel." James muttered to Penny while his son happily scooted behind. "Maybe she didn't want the dog and him to be separated?" She asked. "No she said if I had time to 'walk my son' then I had time to 'walk our dog'" James angrily whispered. "She sounds angry at the world" Penny said rolling her eyes.  Penny could spot some paparazzi hiding and snapping photos but wouldn't dare get close with James' son there.
"They're snapping photos." Penny whispered to him. "Just don't look, they'll want to approach." He murmured as he continued walking. "Daddy, can we get McDonalds?" Nathaniel asks as he speeds his scooter up to match James's pace. "Of course Nate, we're just going to head home to put Mr Meagles in his crate and we'll be good to go!" James smiled delightfully at Nathaniel making sure he didn't suspect he lived anything but a normal life. "Your house of Leslie's?" Penny quietly asked James. "Mine, I'll give you the tour once we arrive."
They finally arrived at his new apartment. James bent over and closed up Nathaniel's scooter and carried it inside. "This is Daddy's new place, I'll show you the brand new bedroom I got you!" James told him as he helped Nate unbuckle his helmet. Nate smiled excitedly, showing a few missing teeth that have yet to grow in. James chuckled at the sight of his smile, entered the elevator and pressed number 3.
They arrived at his apartment door and waited while James fumbled with his keys for a moment. He opened his door, palmed him hat and placed it right on the table by the door as they entered. "Mi casa es su casa" James said, almost bowing as his gestured. Nathaniel went running around to examine the place immediately while Penny stood hilariously unimpressed by him at the door. "Isn't it Mi Casa Es Tu Casa?" She asks while laughing. "I don't think it matters." James squinted his eyes as he got closer to Penny and placed his hands on her hips. "I think it does." She smiled playfully back at him. They leaned it to kiss and pulled apart before Nate could see.
"Dad where's the TV and computer! I need to play Minecraft!" Nate said while jumping on James's bed. "Ah ah, that's my room you bugger, get out of there!" James called, noticing Nate had been jumping on his new king size bed. "Your room is next to the 2nd bathroom." James pointed down the hall to the light blue room with red stripes. He smiled as he watched Nathaniel run. "He's such a sweet boy" Penny said, admiring how much James loved his son. "I'll just get him comfortable in there for a minute." James said heading towards Nathaniel's room.
At that moment, Penny's phone vibrated and Sarah's name displayed. She opened the text from Sarah which read, "Which scene is this? You walking with James and his son? You playing house now?" with a photo that paparazzi had just released.

She also sent Penny the article it came from stating that James moved on rather quickly from his separation from "baby mama Leslie Stefanson" and dating a "new large exotic co star that James reportedly hand-picked to kiss him on set in order to start a relationship." Penny paused reading it, her eyes welling up with tears due to fear and confusion.
Just as she finished reading, Nathaniel ran by chasing Mr Meagles around the kitchen. James walked out of his son's room and approached Penny, "ready for the tour?" He asked.
Penny flipped her phone over to show James the photo. "Ha, they posted that photo already. You look great, I must say." James complimented her appearance in the photo. Without replying, she swiped to the article and pushed the phone closer to him. He grabbed it quietly at the sight of the headline, "James Spader's Rebound?" He quietly read it, analyzing the words, thinking of a response. He glanced up at her quietly and handed her phone back. "Nothing?" She asked. A singular tear falling from her face outlined the side of her nose before falling to the ground. "What do you want me to say? It's tabloids." James responded quietly. "Did you hand pick me? Groom me? Am I a rebound or a young new toy to get Leslie jealous? Am I this new fat exotic piece of meat you're interested in trying?" Penny's voice increased in volume as she spoke and James gently shushed her and gestured towards his son. At this time Nathaniel only knew Penny was someone from his father's job as James frequently is in meetings and hanging out doing work with co stars and crew members. "It's a tabloid, Penelope. They say what they do to get a rise, see some drama, stir the pot they say. I didn't hand pick you to kiss me. The producers, casting directors and all them did. I don't care about your size, you could 500 pounds or 50, I care about your health & your well-being. I will admit, I did speak with the producers AFTER the day we met and kissed regarding possibly exploring your character's backstory as I did feel like you naturally command the camera and were brave enough to take on a split second role. Of course you're gorgeous, but I didn't groom you in any way. You told me that you had a crush on me for years last night." James explained to her, now getting a bit loud himself but not in an angry way. "Ooh daddy has a girl crush." Nathaniel repeated in the living room. James shot a look over to him which relayed to Nate to mind his business. In a lower voice, he continued, "I would never assume anyone likes me in any manner or that I can have anyone I want. Meeting you was like meeting someone I have met before, as if we knew each other in past lives or whatever. At 62, I'm nervous as hell to make any moves on anyone let alone a woman as young as yourself. I know how that looks and I know the world we live in. I'm sorry if I've ever made you feel like a rebound or something I'm using to get Leslie jealous but I would never." He leaned in and embraced her, now whispering in her ear, "I know it hasn't been long, but I love you & I care deeply for you. I can't explain it." "I love you" she whispered back, now fully crying tears she couldn't explain.
They pulled apart and James grabbed tissues from the kitchen to give to Penny. "Here, let's go grab McDonald's and we'll eat like a family okay?"
Penny took to her phone as they walked to McDonalds, responding to Sarah's onslaught on text messages.
"It's not like that. We met on set, we have been working, but he had to grab his son today so I went with him. I like him a lot, and I hope he likes me too but I'm approaching this as a friend. We just got back to the city this morning, I offered to accompany him & I left my bags at his house." Penny sent her texts to Sarah. No response.