"Good morning, Barbara." The lady that had lived across the street from them forever was out, watering her grass in her pajamas and housecoat with rollers in her hair....She was a little eccentric, but if you ask Penny, she would tell you that Margret made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world.
Better than Barbara's, even.
"Good morning." She waved back, wrapping her sweater around her arms as the chilly morning air hit her skin on her walk to get the mail.
"Did Penny have a wonderful birthday?" Margret asked with a soft smile on her aging face.
"She did, yeah." She nodded lightly, taking the stack of paper out of the box as her mind traveled back to her sweet girl.
After she had dinner with her dad, Penny headed out to Phoenix with some friends, where she spent the weekend celebrating her twenty- first birthday... It was hard to believe that she was all grown up and even though she was incredibly proud of her granddaughter, it was hard for Barbara to come to terms with it.
She still imagined Penny as that little seven year old with two pigtails, no front teeth, begging her not to leave her at school in the morning...
"Lindsey and his girlfriend are actually taking her to Hawaii in a week, so she's just really excited." She added as her eyes began to scan over the mail.
It was all the usual- bills, bills, another bill and then, right as she was getting ready to look back up at the neighbor, who had started asking about all the travel details, Barbara's eyes met the pink envelope...
It was written out to Penelope in the recognizable cursive with hand drawn flowers in the corner, and like always, there was no return address... There never was.
"Come over for coffee in awhile and we'll catch up?" She glanced back up, heart beating in her chest as she began to head down the sidewalk.
"Sounds good." Margret assured with another light smile as she watched the other woman hurry back up the front porch of her home.
It looked like she had just seen a ghost and in many ways, she had.
"Jess?" Barbara slipped out of her sandals as soon as she was in the foyer, moving through the house to get to the kitchen.
He was sitting at the island, just finishing the newspaper when his wife came scurrying in on her heels. "Where's the fire?" He smirked lightly, looking at her over the edge of his glasses before his eyes fell back down to the cartoon portion of the paper.
She carefully placed the envelope on the counter in front of him as she pursed her lips to one side. "A few days late, but it came." Barbara mumbled, tears already lingering in her eyes as she stared down at her daughters handwriting...
It never failed to make her emotional. Every birthday, every Christmas, every big life moment- there was a card that always arrived. They always came the exact same way- tucked safely into the same pink colored envelope with Penny's full name in the center and some small flowers drawn on the edges.
Raising a brow, he shifted in his chair as he set the paper down to pick up the envelope. "Are you going to tell her?" He wondered, giving her the most gentle set of eyes in a sympathetic manner.
That situation wasn't easy for anyone, but it was extra difficult for Barbara, who had not only yearned to have a relationship with Stevie, but also wanted nothing more than for Penny to have one with her as well... She knew that they would have totally adored one another.
Biting down on the inside of her cheek, she shrugged her shoulder as she sank into the island next to him. "I don't know..." she shook her head lightly, feeling him slip his arm around her shoulder to pull her in a little closer.
She had been on the fence about talking to Penny about her mother for a long time and since Lindsey assured her that it was up to her to decide when the best time was, it made it a little more complicated... She didn't know. She thought maybe when Penelope turned eighteen she would start asking questions, but she didn't, not to Barbara.
It was very difficult for the older woman, who had spent the last twenty years trying to protect her granddaughter from all the chaos in the world around her... Sometimes it wasn't easy.
Jess let out a soft sigh, eyes scanning over her face as he watched her think about it for a moment. "I think it's time, Barb." It pained him, it really did, but he knew Penny was curious...
He didn't mention it to his wife, but there had been a couple of times when Penny had brought it up to her grandpa and even though she only asked the bare minimum of questions, he knew she wanted to know more.
Now, of course, Lindsey was the one that had sat her down with her and explained what had happened to some extent... He told her what had happened to her brother, but he felt like Stevie's story could only be told by her, so he only gave Penny his testimony.
Who was he to tell her every detail of life he didn't live? He didn't think it would have been fair to Stevie and even though he hadn't seen her in two decades, he still wanted to leave her with some respect.
"Maybe after her trip with Lindsey." Her voice was soft and a little sad... She didn't get nervous very often, but this was something that definitely called for it. "I don't want to ruin that for her."
~~~
"I hate Hawaii!" Macy's voice was loud, shouting it at her father as she tossed her purse on the kitchen table.
She had just walked through the front, announced that she'd broke up with her boyfriend and then started in on everyone in the room... Like always.
"It'll be fun, sweetie." Dan was sitting at the island, finishing off his dinner and drinking from scotch from his crystal glass- much needed, obviously.
Stevie's eyes grew dim as she sank back into the counter, also not very excited about the surprise trip that he had planned for their family... Hawaii brought back too many memories for her and they weren't that great.
Scrunching up her nose, Macy rolled her eyes. "I don't want to go with you two." She admitted, eyes burning into the blonde. "I'll just stay home with my mom." She added before she turned around to stomp out of the room and right up the stairs.
Stevie flinched when the sound of her bedroom door slamming filled the whole house. "This is really nice, Dan." She mumbled as she shook her head in disbelief. "Forcing this will never work for any of us."
