Page 26 of Persuading Penny
Georgina looked up at me with a sweet smile. “Thank you. I hate the color of my wall, but I love the swing set outside. I love the little pond out by the woods. I love running up and down the stairs. I love looking through the windows where the glass is all wavy and blurry. I love...”
Reagan laughed. “Okay, sweetie. I think she gets the picture.
She looked at me. “Let me take your jacket.”
I shrugged off my navy-blue tweed jacket and handed it to her. She turned to put it away in the front closet that I knew all too well.
“What a beautiful blouse,” she said.
“Thank you.” I looked down at my gray pants, my sensible Mary Janes peeping out from under the hem, then flattened the fabric of my baby blue blouse against my belly. It was a simple blouse, with tiny puff sleeves and a bit of a ruffle at the collar.
Richard came to join us, wiping his hands on the tea towel wedged into the waist of his jeans. “Penny,” he said, his hand extended to shake mine. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you, too.
Little Tommy came running up behind him. Imitating his father, he held his hand out to me. “Hawo.”
“Hello,” I said, shaking his tiny hand.
“Come see my room,” he said, keeping his little hand in mine.
“Mine, too,” Georgina said.
“Now, you two, stop bothering the guest,” Reagan said. “Penny came over for dinner, not a tour of her own house.”
“It’s no bother,” I said, smiling down at the children. “Actually, I’m a little curious to see.”
“Okay,” Richard said. “I need to get back to my roast, so we’ll leave you to it, and will be in the dining room when you come back down.”
“Oh,” I said. “I forgot. I brought a bottle of wine. I was so caught up with Georgina’s new décor, I left it the car. It’s in the passenger seat.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get it,” Reagan said.
I nodded and smiled as Tommy tugged at my arm, leading me to the stairs. The children chatted all the way up, each eager to describe their room. At the top of the stairs, they quarreled over whose room I should go see first.
“How about we stop at the very first room we come to,” I said.
They nodded and we headed down the hall, first coming to Tommy’s room. His stuffed animals were everywhere as well as a few toy cars.
He hurried in to put a few cars back in a large toy chest. “Isn’t it nice?”
“Very.”
“Now my room,” Georgina shouted. “Now my room.”
We continued on to Georgina’s room. It was indeed brighter with its new rainbow curtains on the windows and colorful pillows and cushions on the bed. As she showed me her favorite cushion, I heard voices from downstairs.
“That must be Keely and Hugh,” I said. “How about we go down to say hello.”
“Hawo!”Tommy shouted with glee, his arms open wide to welcome any visitors.
As we neared the stairs, I could make out Richard and Reagan’s voices, but Keely was unusually quiet. I hurried down the stairs, hoping nothing bad had happened.
“Oh, Penny,” Reagan said. “Perfect timing. I’d like you to meet...”
As my eyes set on Cliff’s face, Reagan’s voice faded into the distance, and I didn’t hear the rest of her statement. My heart raced as I grasped the handrail.
“Uncle Cliffy!”Georgina shouted as she reached the second to last step and jumped into his arms, quickly wrapping her legs around his waist.
