“Yes honey, I can leave work early,” Denis says to Edmund. There go my plans to finish the Dewy Decimal project, she thinks to herself but refuses to admit that to her husband. “Is she doing okay? Should I pick up anything for mom?”
Denise always called Penny “mom,” because, after the accident, Penny stepped into the loving role of caregiver.
“No, I think just some company will provide her with the peace of mind,” Edmund says. “Sorry, you know I can’t just take off from…”
Denis interrupts, “I know, my love. Work takes priority.” It always has, not that she was ever bitter with being married to a law enforcement officer, it just came with the territory. Late nights, canceled vacations, and no text replies throughout the day were just common practices. “I’ll figure something out for dinner and will save you some for when you’re off work.”
A heavy sigh on the other end. “Thanks, babe, I know you were working on a large project for work but momma feels a little shook up from the interaction this afternoon,” Edmund says.
She admittedly was impressed with his memory about the project but ultimately, family mattered most of all. “That’s okay, I’ll tell my boss and will head out in five minutes.”
“I love you,” Edmund says.
“I love you more, now please be safe at work.” The usual send-off at the end of each call is followed by a click ending the connection.
Denis loves being a librarian for a variety of reasons but mostly due to the people she works with. Her boss, Carol, is easygoing and realizes that family will forever come first. So it was no surprise that Carol said, “then what are you still doing here?” when Denis asked to leave early. This made life easier when coworkers' priorities align with her own.
Now she was headed towards home with peace of mind when a familiar figure was heading in the same direction on the sidewalk. She already knew who the person was before passing them. It was Lewis.
Pulling up beside the sidewalk, she rolls down the window and says, “want a ride, stranger?”
Lewis jumped in response due to staring into his cell phone instead of paying attention to the surroundings.
Without a word, he climbs into the passenger seat.
“Seems a little early to be heading home from school?” Denis says once he’s buckled the seatbelt. “Playing a little hooky today?”
Silence from the passenger seat.
Denis pulls onto the road again. She always skipped classes in high school but still managed to graduate. Lewis has a better GPA than she ever did while completing school. There was inner turmoil deciding if disciplinary action was required. Part of her thought yes. It was her duty to raise such a responsible young man to contribute to society. But a larger part of her wanted to say the hell with it. There were worse things to be concerned about and skipping class wasn’t one of them.
Before pulling into the driveway, she says, “don’t make this a habit of missing class. You’re smart so I’m not going to discipline you on how to act like a mature 15-year-old. However, don’t let grandma catch you home early. She’ll skin your hide from here till Mississippi. Head upstairs and I’ll text you once the coast is clear.” She winks at her only son while putting the car in park.
A smirk flutters across Lewis’s young face, he looks so much like Edmund. A ripple of love envelopes Denis’ heart. “Thanks, mom for being so cool. And you’re right about grandma, I didn’t think about that. She would skin and display me on the front porch for all to see.” They both laugh at the comment knowing Penny was a force to reckon with and not against.
“I love you, now head upstairs to your room while I distract grandma.”
“I love you more,” Lewis says while hopping out of the vehicle.
To distract Penny, Denis walks into the house first yelling, “Hey mom, it’s me. I left work early. Where are you at?” This canceled out Lewis’s stomping up the stairs.
Denis doesn’t wait for a reply and heads directly into the kitchen where Penny sits at the breakfast nook, staring out the front window. Edmund has returned to work but the remnants of his lunch scatter the counter. Mustard, mayo, Swiss cheese, and ham gather in resolution while a dirty plate and knife chill in the sink. Looking towards her mother-in-law, “do they ever learn? You know how many times I’ve told Edmund to put stuff away after making his sandwiches. Especially the perishable stuff.” Denis says while trying to ease the tension. “Some days, it’s like I am raising two children.”
Penny laughs in response and stands to help her daughter-in-law. “And it remains like that for the rest of their lives so prepare yourself.”
They work side by side in comfortable silence. Once everything is returned to their designated location, Denis picks up the bottle of whiskey and grabs two glasses. “Join me with a drink and tell me about your day?”
Sitting back at the nook, Denis poured two fingers of whiskey for both ladies. They take a long swig and stare out the window. “So tell me what happened,” Denis says.
“Not a whole lot to say. A knock at the front door disrupts my tea time. Unsure on who to expect, I grab the shotgun and open the door, only to see Clyde on the other side.”
“Clyde?” Denis says. The phone call with her husband was short and he never divulged the details. She expected a disturbance but not the appearance of her estranged brother-in-law.
“Yeah, him.” Penny empties the glass and indicates Denis to pour another. She obliges but pours a little less.
“What did he want?”
“I don’t know. I kicked him out before he had a chance to explain the unannounced visit.”
They both take a sip of whiskey in unison.
“You know, the anniversary is almost here,” Denis says in a hushed tone.
“Yeah.”
“Maybe that has something to do with his visit.”
“Possibly but I think he was mostly here for money,” Penny polishes off the remaining drink. “Guess we will never know. What’s for dinner?” An abrupt change of subject indicating that she no longer wanted to talk about The Secret.
Denis was no stranger to this reaction and also fostered the same belief. The Secret was never fully talked about in the open. She agreed that Penny seemed a little shaken up but nothing that some whiskey and comfort food couldn’t fix. And so once again, she brushed the issue under the rug and moved on with life. “Well, I was supposed to go grocery shopping after work because someone likes to eat all the food but never shops for groceries.”
Penny blew off the passive-aggressive comment by saying, “you’ve heard of such things as grocery delivery, right? I hear it’s all the rage.” A dramatic eye roll from her only daughter-in-law catches Penny’s attention. “And when in doubt, there is take-out.”
“Hmm, pizza for dinner it is!” Denis says while grabbing the phone book to place an order for delivery.
