Not Another Summer Love Story

Chapter 24 - Pretending

I didn't see Logan for a whole day. It wasn't intentional, I was busy spending my day off on housework and preparing dinner for Dad and Penny, but I still felt a little bad about leaving him hanging after the night at his place. 

It felt different, but incredibly homely having someone else joining the little meals between Dad and I. I wasn't a great cook, but Dad was working on maintaining his boat and I had the time off of work, so I volunteered to do my best to create something at least half edible.

Penny was particularly energetic as I opened the door for her late in the afternoon. I felt a little shy, oddly, which was probably because Dad wasn't home yet, so it was just us.

"Hi, Valerie, how are you going?" she asked kindly as she placed a bottle of wine on our rickety dining table. Her bright coloured lips were arched in a confident smile, which reminded me of the similar charisma that radiated from my mother. Maybe it was a taste my Dad had in women.

"I'm going well," I told her. "How about you?"

"Great, I was working on a report at Port Lewis today. The weather was wonderful."

The memories I'd made with Alastair in Port Lewis dribbled through the cracks of the wall I'd created for today. "I'm sure it was."

"Do you want some help with dinner?" she offered.

We cut up vegetables for the salad, side by side, and I recalled all of the times I'd stood here alone, wondering if my mother was preparing dinner for her family with her soon-to-be stepdaughter. It brought a warm feeling, and surprisingly some degree of closure. Maybe having Penny here would close the gap that had been left gaping here ever since Mum left.

Dad was tired, I could see it in the lines beneath his eyes when he stepped through the door. But, he still gave a cheery smile as he kissed Penny on the cheek. "Have you girls been behaving?"

"Of course!" she said enthusiastically. "Val was just telling me about the dancing trophies in your shed."

I hid my smile as Dad gave me a betrayed look. "I was twelve, her grandmother forced me to compete. I had no say!"

"I've seen the videos," I told her. "You should have seen the smile on his face!"

My dad gave a strained laugh and changed the subject. 

"So, Val, do you have a boyfriend?" Penny asked as she dug the prongs of her fork into a chunk of lasagna later on in the evening, after a few glasses of wine and light chatter.

"Oh, Val has a very restricted outlook on boys," Dad said as I spluttered on my cola. "Although, wasn't Lenny Mathews' son on our doorstep the other week? Logan, isn't it?"

The blush that had been planted from Penny's question grew to what was probably a bright red tinge. What was I supposed to say? "I guess so."

"Does this mean I could have hope for grandkids?"

"Dad!"

"Sorry," he laughed. "But maybe we could be meeting a prospective boyfriend sometime soon. I'm sure there's loads of guys in Sydney."

"I don't even know if I'll get in," I reminded him in a bid to talk about anything but my romantic life. Like I wanted to talk about almost having sex with Logan and messing my friendship up with Alastair. Still, the liveliness of my father was a positive thing, and I knew part of it was because of Penny.

I was washing the dishes when Dad came into the kitchen to dry. I could hear Penny humming in the dining room as she cleared the table.

"Your mother called me today," he said.