My Calamity

I found myself, though mentally exhausted, unable to fall asleep that night. So much had happened, and my mind couldn't stop rerunning the night. I had been so close, so close to telling Penelope that I loved her because I'd been sure she'd known, and now I realized how much of a mistake that would have been. I couldn't tell Penelope yet, telling her would only risk running her off.

Below my bedroom I could hear Jessica and my mom doing god knows what, and my dad whom had gotten home from a business trip a few days ago. He hadn't spoken to me much but I didn't mind. Tossing over onto my back, I sighed clamping my eyes shut as I resisted the urge to count sheep.

I heard my door slide open and looked away from my ceiling to where my mother stood in a pair of loose satin pajamas. She was holding the kitchen phone in her left hand, covering the mouth piece. "You haven't heard anything from Penelope have you?" she asked, her voice a little above a whisper.

I sat up, my mindset bewildered. "No, why? Is everything okay? What's going on?"

My mom held out her hand to stop any further questioning. She placed the phone back to her ear, and angled her body away from me. I climbed out of bed as she whispered to who I presumed to be Mrs. Reid. "What's going on?" I asked when my mother hung up the phone.

She chose her words carefully. "Penelope got in a fight with her mother and left."

"What do you mean left?"

"Patrick," my mother said slowly. "Calm down. I'm sure Penelope is fine. She's probably just blowing off steam."

"How long has she been gone?"

"A couple of hours." It was the way my mom said it so casually that set me off. A couple hours wasn't just anything, it was enough time to file a missing person's report, it was enough for anything to happen. I pulled on the first pair of jeans I found, and slipped into some sneakers, grabbing a hoodie to slip over my shirtless body. "Patrick, I'm sure she's alright."

"But you don't know that. I have to know she's alright." My mom followed me downstairs leaving a good distance between us for safe measures. Jessica was lounging on the coach watching Jersey Shore, and my father sat in the dining room across from the living room on the other side of the foyer.

I hadn't told my father about Penelope, I left that to my mother and Jessica. He hadn't talked to me about her but I knew it was only a matter of time. He'd sit me down and strike up a conversation about life, and supporting my family and all that other crap he liked to toss out there whenever he felt I was veering off the path he had made for me.

It didn't surprise me that both Jessica and he both knew that Penelope was MIA, and it didn't surprise me when he was the first one to speak. "You don't need to be running around the town at this time of night looking for some girl, Patrick."

I pulled the door open, ready to leave and avoid a fight with him, but I thought better of it, and turned to look at him. "But that's just it. She's not some girl. She's Penelope."

I was waiting for a remark from Jessica, something witty because she always had a line especially when it came to my relationship with Penelope but she stayed quiet and so did my mom, and without another word, I walked out of the house, slamming the door behind me.

I took the longer route to Penelope's house to see if she happened to be walking around, and even drove by the park, which was empty, and then parked on the street. When I rang the doorbell Mrs. Reid flung the door open as though she were expecting my arrival, and then let out a shocked, "Oh!"

"Patrick," she said when she recovered. "What are you doing here?"

I was bit surprised she even had to ask. "Where did you see her last?" I responded, ignoring her question.

Her eyes scrunched in a way that threatened tears. "She went out the back door. I checked the forest until it was dark and there was no sight of her. I don't know where she could have gone."

"Can I check the back?" Before the question had fully left my mouth, Mrs. Reid was bustling around gathering a flash light, and telling me what bushes not to touch. I trudged out into the Reid's backyard a moment later; passing by the pool I'd spent time in with Penelope and walking a bit more distance before I was at the edge of the forest.

Harbor Springs' forest was unlike the rest of Harbor Springs. They were large and dangerous full of wildlife that had overpopulated over the years. Nobody in Harbor Springs was a hunter, so much of the animals lived to their full maturity before dying off. They usually kept to themselves, because we usually kept to ourselves but once in a blue moon there'd be the kid that was mauled by a black bear, or a car accident caused by deer, and very rarely the cougar attack.

Thinking about this now didn't ease my worry about Penelope, so I did my best to clear my mind and focus on the task at hand. The forest was thick with underbrush but there was a thin path that I continued to follow, flashing my flashlight around to both ward off wild animals, and signal Penelope if she was nearby.

It felt like I was walking for hours, even if it was only ten maybe fifteen minutes, and I considered myself to be lost. I didn't know which way was back, and which way was forward, so I continued on hoping to strike the road. As I rounded a hill, I was surprised to see a lake at the bottom of it, cast in the shadows of night. The moon set a glare upon it, moving slightly in the small currents. Also, set against the water, was the outline of a figure.

Penelope sat curled in the grass by the lake, arms wrapped around her haphazardly. Relief rushed through me as I slid down the hill, and made my way to her. She didn't hear me coming until I was a few feet behind her, and she turned her head around, and gasped, the only real sign of emotion.

"Patrick?" she questioned hesitantly, blinking up at me. I didn't say anything as I slid onto the ground beside her. "What are you doing here?" she whispered.

"Your mom was worried. She called my mom. You've been gone for a while, you know." Penelope slid her head onto her folded arms, and didn't respond. I could tell something was bothering her but I didn't know what, and I didn't know if she would tell me either. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Penelope shook her head, and I sighed into the night, wondering what I was supposed to say now. I was saved the contemplation because Penelope slid back, plopping herself between my legs. I realized rather quickly that I didn't need to say anything, and wrapped my arms around her, feeling the gooseflesh on her arms. She placed her head on my chest, and inhaled deeply, sending shivers down my spine.

We sat like that for a long time, the silence enveloping us like a welcomed blanket. At last, Penelope said, "Are you wearing a shirt?" I chuckled at her question, feeling a smile etch its way onto my face. "I'm serious! I feel skin." I laughed harder now, imagining Penelope's blushing face.

"No, I'm not," I answered finally. "Does that bother you?"

"A little," Penelope muttered, "a little." As much as I wanted to live in this moment, with Penelope in my arms, and this lake at my feet, I knew I had to take Penelope back home. Her mother was worrying.

"Time to go," I told her at last not wanting to end this moment but unwilling to let her mother wait any longer. Penelope huffed heavily and I laughed, getting up and pulling her with me. We walked back to her house slowly enjoying the silence between us.

"Alright," Penelope said as we stood in front of the back porch steps. "See you later."

"Go in the house, Penelope." Penelope glared at me, but I wasn't leaving till I knew she was in the house. When she realized I wasn't going to leave she turned and stomped up the stairs for dramatic effect. "Good night," I called. Penelope stopped where she was on the second step from the top, and then turned around and jogged down them coming to kiss me.

It was brief but fiery, and it left my lips tingling in a way that was shiver-inducing. "Good night," she whispered back before heading back up the steps and slipping into the house, the glass door sliding closed soundlessly. I stared into the window and watched Penelope walk into the kitchen slowly, her mother met her in the doorway and they just stared at each other for a while. They might have been speaking but I couldn't tell.

And then they hugged and I knew whatever had caused a rift in their relationship had been forgotten, and all was mended, and I could back home knowing Penelope was out of harm's way.