Page 52 of Persuading Penny
I shook my head.
“Did someone say something mean?”
I shook my head.
“Then what is it? Is something going on at home? Your mom? Your dad?”
On and on, I shook my head.
“You were fine when I spoke to you just minutes ago. What happened?”
“All the talk,” I finally said.
She raised her brow. “The talk? What talk?”
“The proposal.”
Befuddled, she shook her head and looked at me. “Honey, you have to tell me something more coherent than that.”
“Cliff is going to propose to Bridget.”
She nodded. “Yeah. I heard something about that.”
I wailed and fell into her arms.
“Is that it?”she said, petting my hair. “You’re upset that Cliff might propose to Bridget?”
I nodded.
“But...why? Why does that up...? Oh, my God. Oh, my God, Penny. Cliff. The way you’ve behaved so oddly every time he’s around. There’s something between you two, isn’t there?”
Clinging to her, I nodded.
“So, when you said you knew each other, you tworeallyknew each other.”
“We were almost engaged.”I forced myself to release her before my nose dripped all over her. I reached inside the stall to pull out some toilet paper and loudly blew my nose.
“Oh, Penny,” she went on. “Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have insisted you be on set so much.”
I shrugged. “I thought I could handle it. It was almost a decade ago. Our story was long past. But... Oh. It’s so hard. So much harder than I expected. Seeing him was hard enough but seeing him with...with her...with that frivolous actress who is all silly and giddy and giggly and girly...it’s torture.”
“I understand. I know how hard it can be to witness the person we love fall in love with someone else.”
Hearing her say that aloud, that I loved Cliff, and that Cliff loved Bridget hit so hard, I had to sit on the toilet before my legs gave out.
I shook my head, wanting to shake her words off. “I’ve moved on,” I said feebly. “I’ve met someone. Someone wonderful. He’s handsome and kind and such a gentleman.”
But he’s not Cliff.
“That’s wonderful, Penny. That’s exactly what you should do. Get on with your life. Have fun. Find love and romance. That’s the best remedy for a heartache like this. Soon, you’ll realize that you’re happier without him.”
Fat chance of that happening.
