Shadows Sings Side-Stories Chapter 2 Part 5

I had some time to think during the night before going to sleep. 

“If Penny is not feeling like I am spending enough time with her, I can try to plan something special for her tomorrow. That should help her feel appreciated and hopefully tell her how much I love her,” I said aloud to myself. 

“The only thing is what would be a good place to go with Penny. What would my lady like?” I asked myself. 

I sigh. 

“I just wish she could tell me what the problem is so I could fix it. I don’t like being left in the dark. This is my relationship on the line here too. Can’t we just work this …thing out?” I say to my pillow.

"Please let tomorrow be a better day for us," I say before going to sleep. 

Morning came and I felt better after having a night to sleep on things with Penny. I decided that I would take her to her favorite little coffee shop, and we could eardrop on the morning book club to get a brief of some random book the ladies read this week. Penny told me that she thought it was fun to get other people's opinions on books she has never heard of. Occasionally, I would find a copy of a book the group talked about on her bookshelf. But only if it sounds like something Penny was interested in. If not, we could always find something to talk about. News, local events, old stories that are no longer in town that sound like they could have been awesome or thankful they are not around anymore. Shopping and having places to hang out are things Penny enjoys. It's hard to do for her since I have not had Bruce's luck in finding work as a senior in high school. Money has been tight and finding a job to work with my schedule had been impossible. Although with my allowance I could do a little outing with Penny when I am not paying off my debt to Bruce. I think I still owe him eighty-five bucks for Penny's birthday present this year. It's worth it though. I mean it's a part of being an adult sometimes, right?

Don’t worry about what you owe Bruce, I need to make things right with Penny today. With that I got myself cleaned up and tried to look nice but causal for Penny. I text her to see if she was available this morning and wanted to go get coffee. While waiting for a reply I found my mother in the kitchen cooking breakfast for my family. My little sister, Tina was drawing a picture at the table waiting for mom. Dad was sitting with a cup of coffee in hand reading the paper.  I got a plate out and put it in my usual spot at the table.

“How are your college classes going?” dad asked.

"They're going well enough, history is a pain but I'll do my best to pass the class," I answered.

“You have classes today?” he asked.

“Only one this evening, Tuesdays and Thursdays are my busy days,” I replied.

“And how is your homework coming along? I know that you have been doing a lot of stuff with your friends this weekend,” dad commented.

“I have been able to get most of my homework done when I get back home from school. I know that if I don’t my anxiety gets bad, and it affects… well everything." I said starting to feel flustered by his questions. 

“I don’t mean to make you upset son. I just want to know what’s going on and how if we need to help you do your best,” dad said.

"I appreciate your help dad, but I am an adult. If I mess up, I will try again and work through my problems. Right now, I'm worried about my friend who is gone missing and being there for Penny. Losing our friend is hard on both of us," I said. 

"I know. Sorry for making a fuss about school. It’s the only thing I feel we as your family could help you with. Finding a missing person, we have to trust our community with that. Though I wish I could do more to help,” dad said.

“I understand dad. I wish we could find her soon too. So, we can have some peace of mind again,” I said.

Dad nod and gave Tina a side hug.