My Calamity

When all I could hear on the other end of the phone was Penelope's even breaths I knew she'd finally fallen asleep. It was four in the morning and I knew she wasn't going to be up for class tomorrow, and I decided she should sleep anyway. "Good night," I whispered though she wasn't conscious to my words before hanging up.

Sleep came easily that morning, even though the light was seeping into my room slowly but surely, and the a/c was rattling louder then usual. There was a contentment in me that eased me down the road into a dreamless stupor. I slept for over ten hours, and when I awoke, it was to the sun burning my back through my cracked curtains, and my phone buzzing beside my head.

"Hello?" I answered, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears.

"I got the tickets you asked for, they're in your mailbox," Ben responded on the other end.

"Okay, thanks."

"Did I wake you?"

"Yeah," I answered irritably. "How'd ya' know?"

"Cause you sound like shit," Ben replied, giving a short laugh. "Doesn't Penelope have art class today?"

"I'm letting her sleep. We were up all night talking on the phone."

"About what? Your wedding?"

"Oh, ha, ha, you're funny. It's been a week."

"And I've never seen you fall harder."

"Yeah well I've never seen my thumb hit the end button faster," I narrated sarcastically, before hanging up on Ben. Immediately after, I climbed out of bed and ran to the mailbox to get the movie tickets I'd requested of Ben to buy for me.

Smiling to myself, I headed back inside a slick patch of sweat going down my back, urging me to take a shower. Today was going to be hot

_______

As expected, the degrees continued to climb till it was over one hundreds degrees directly in the sunlight. After my shower, I got dressed in the lightest of clothing, a pair of navy plaid shorts, and a blue polo. When I walked outside, I was immediately suffocated by the heat. I quickly made my way to the garage where my car was parked, unlocking the doors before getting in, and starting it.

The ride to Penelope's house was but five minutes long. It had become habitual going to get her, and I could easily maneuver there with my eyes closed, though I didn't. The house was empty as far as I could tell, but when I got to the front door, it opened and out walked Melissa Reid, Penelope's sister.

"Oh," she gasped, surprised to see me. Her surprise was soon masked by a warm smile. She held out her hand to me, and I shook it formally. "I'm Melissa, you must be Patrick. I heard a lot about you."

I grinned, and nodded my head. "You can call me Patch though."

Melissa mirrored my nod, and gestured to the house. "Did you want Penelope? Cause she's still asleep. But you can head on up."

"Okay," I nodded, "thanks."

"No prob," Melissa made her way down the steps, "it was nice meeting you, Patch!"

"You too," I called watching her cross the street and get into her car, before walking into the house.

Penelope's house appeared virtually the same as it was yesterday. The air conditioning was running on full blast, and I was welcomed by a much-needed gust of cool air. The house smelt of cooking food, courtesy of Adele, and a perfume that was unrecognizable to me.

I followed the stairs to the first floor, and then stopped; looking down the hallway, I wondered which room was Penelope's. Each door looked remotely the same – mahogany wood and sharp-cut crystal doorknobs. I tried one door, and found it to be a study, and continued till I came across a dimly lit room at the end of the hall.

I eased into the room, drinking it all in as I did so. The first thing I realized when looking around was that the room screamed, practically breathed Penelope.

From the pristine taupe walls, to the waxed wooden floors, it was easy to tell Penelope treated her bedroom much like she treated everything else in her life. Nothing about her room said she was a teenager, if anything I would have thought this was her mother's bedroom, or a guestroom.

Accented in gold and a green-grey color, the room expelled a calm atmosphere. The windows were covered in gold curtains that cast a glittering effect on the room from the sun that seeped through the blinds. To the left of the room was a wooden office desk with a computer propped in the middle of a wide range of books. On the floor next to the desk were more books and as I looked around I noticed more and more books.

There was a gnawing feeling inside me that begged to look around some more, but I didn't, and instead walked over to the bed in the middle of the room, and sat down on the edge.

Penelope laid on her back, sprawled in the middle, her arm above her head, hair billowing across her pillow like wild ivy. Hesitantly, I lifted the hand that was lying atop her stomach, and bent forward to kiss it gently. Slowly, her eyes began to open, and she sleepily stared at me as I set her hand back down. We stared at each other for a long time.

When it sunk in, she sat up wearily, and pressed a hand to her forehead. "Oh god, what time is it? Were you waiting outside long? I'm so sorry!"

"Penel, calm down," I said slowly. "Its noon and I just got here."

"Oh," the panic dropped from Penelope's face, but as quickly as it was gone was as quickly as it was back, "oh my god my hair! Don't look at me!" I watched her scramble out of the bed as I laughed at her childishness, and run into what I presumed was her bathroom.

"I'm going to wait downstairs!" I called to her as I got up, recalling the way her cheeks had lit up in embarrassment a moment ago.

"Make yourself at home!" she returned. I heard the shower go on, and decided to take my leave, heading downstairs to wait for her.

It was always weird waiting for Penelope, I always felt as though I were doing something wrong or that any moment her father would walk in the house and demand to know what I was doing here. Of course that never happened. I didn’t know where Penelope's father was, or what the story was there, but I was positive he wasn't walking through that door any time soon.

I continued on into the kitchen where Adele sat at the island, silently watching One Life to Live on the mini-television. I sat down across from her, and startled she jumped to her feet assuming an all-business role.

"G'morning, Adele," I said warmly, offering a smile. "You can watch your show; I didn't mean to bother you."

She didn't sit down, and I didn't expect her to. I'd come to learn that Adele was like a second mother to Penelope, but Adele didn't shy from her duties as a housemaid. However much Penelope didn't like it, Adele always put Penelope and the family's needs before her own.

Adele laughed the sound soft and worn having seen many jokes. "It's the afternoon, Patch."

I laughed too. "Oh, right."

Adele turned to the fridge. 'Would you like something to eat while you wait for Penelope? I can make a quick sandwich."

"Oh, no, I'm fine," I answered honestly. "Like I said, you can sit and watch your show. Don't mind me."

Adele nodded her head but she still didn't sit down, instead she busied herself with the dishes in the drainer. "What are you two doing today?" she asked, her heavy accent fading in and out as she spoke.

"Movies," I responded nonchalantly.

"That's nice!" I could tell Adele was smiling though her back was turned to me. I expected her to say something else to keep the conversation going (she was usually very good at that) but she didn't, and I was okay with waiting in silence but then she turned around and I wasn't really sure what the look on her face said but it couldn't be good.

"Patrick," she said as I attempted to get my leg to stop shaking. She sighed, and leaned against the counter, folding her hands into the pockets of her apron. "Whatever you do, don't break her heart. I don't think she could take it."

I didn't know what to think in that moment, but I knew I didn't have to think to know my answer. "I think I love her."

"Sometimes that isn't enough."

"But what if it is?"

"What if what is?" Both Adele and I turned to the doorway, shocked to say the least, to find Penelope standing there with a genuinely curious smile on her face. I felt a hot flush creep up my neck as I prayed she hadn't heard my prior words.

"We were just discussing politics, is all," Adele said genially as Penelope wrinkled her nose. I found it adorable, but I was too deep in shock to tell her I thought so.

Penelope offered her hand to me, seemingly unaware to my change in mood. "Shall we?" I looked at her smile that took up her most of her face, and then traveled downwards to where an electric-blue voile shirt-dress hung on her frame, hugging it loosely yet still managing to catch her curves. And then finally, I looked at her hand, which was awfully appealing for a hand, and met it with mine. It was cool in comparison to my own hand, soft too, just like I remembered it.

"God bless you, Patch," Adele whispered as she breezed by me to walk out the kitchen. Penelope, seemingly oblivious, tugged me along until we were outside under a relentless sun. I dropped Penelope's hand to unlock the car, and open the passenger door, and watched unabashedly as she slid into the seat with easing, tucking one ankle behind the other.

Once I was seated behind the wheel with my seatbelt buckled, I turned the car own, only to be hit with a warm gush of air as the air conditioning started. Penelope rolled down the window as she too waited, and I backed out the driveway, maneuvering down the street.

I glanced at Penelope every so often out of the corner of my eye, curious as to why she wasn't trying to figure out where we were going. She seemed, as always, oblivious to my staring as her eyes darted along the scenery, every once in a while closing her eyes and breathing deeply as though she was content to live in this moment forever.

When I pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater, I wasn't surprised to find it packed. It was brimming with scantily clad teenagers who were there to socialize and not actually buy a ticket to see something. Luckily for me I managed to find a parking space off to the side in close walking distance but I found it a bit disconcerting being parked next to a big SUV, and a Beamer that looked as though it'd already been in a number of accidents.

Penelope jumped out of the car as soon as I had parked, stretching as though she'd been sitting for hours, and then coming around the side to wait for me. I took my last gulp of cool air before turning off the car, and climbing out, locking the doors behind me.

Together we walked into the cinema, her silence giving me this unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach, thinking maybe she had heard what I'd said in the kitchen.

Opening her mouth to confirm my fears, she turned and looked at me, and then said, "You're awfully quiet."

I felt a gush a air pass through my lips, an breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. While I was happy she hadn't heard my confession, I was also very sad about it too. And I didn't know why or how that could be.