Page 29 of Rescue
He’s clearly not going to let this go, and I know if I don’t tell him he’s just going to find out for himself from someone else. Hell, I’m surprised he doesn’t know by now.
“Well, I guess if you’re going to bully me into telling you,” I give him a stern look before relaxing and smiling at him again, “Penelope Collins.”
“Oh yeah? Mabel’s granddaughter? Well I’ll be. She used to be thick as thieves with the twins. Didn’t she move to the city?”
“Yeah, she did, but she came back to help after Ms. Mabel’s accident.”
“I see. Is she home for good?” It seems like an innocent question, but I can tell it’s a loaded one.
We haven’t really talked about what she's going to do when her grandmother is back on her feet again. Though now that I think about it, she did say that Mabel was there in the cafe yesterday. She must be pretty close to getting back to work. I wasn’t worried about her going back to the city before, but now that Dad has brought it to my mind it’s all I can think about.
Dad must see the panic that takes over my face as I spin out on thoughts of Penny leaving before we can see where this might take us. “Don’t worry too much. I’m sure it’ll all work itself out.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right,” I murmur, distractedly. I shake my head to put those thoughts out of my mind for right now. Dad’s here for a meeting and I have things we need to discuss. I clear my throat and then explain my ideas to start our own shuttle service. I’ve talked with a few vendors and crunched the numbers. I think we can turn a profit, even in this first year, if we really buckle down and work hard. Dad stays quiet, listening to my ideas and thinking things through.
When I’m done, he brings his hand up and scratches his head as he looks at me long and hard. “Son, this is all real good work. I can tell that you’ve done your research and you’ve been trying hard to come up with a new plan for the business.”
“Why do I sense a ‘but’ here somewhere? Dad, this is a solid plan. It’s obvious Callahan doesn’t want to sell to us, so let’s try something new, right?”
“Why are you so sure he’s not going to sell to us? Have you followed up with him?”
“Well, no, but it was obvious the way he dismissed us a couple weeks ago that he didn’t take my offer seriously.”
“It wasn’t quite as obvious to me. I think you need to go sit down and have a talk with him and find out why he hasn’t gotten back to us. If he really won’t sell to us, then this might work, but I don’t feel right undercutting his business, especially before he’s even given us an answer. I’ve known Tom for a long time, and it isn’t like him to shut down a good offer.”
I’d rather wrestle a bear than go back over to the Callahans for another talk. It’s no secret that I’d just as soon avoid everyone in Tom and Kathy’s family than talk to any of them again. After what I did, they deserve for me to leave them alone, but Dad won’t hear of it.
“I’m not trying to push you son, but everyone in this situation needs some closure. I think you need to try one more time before you give up. It’s just good business.”
I sigh. I’m sure he’s right, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. “I’ll get over there soon, but don’t hold your breath on him accepting our offer. I can’t say I blame them either.”
“You have got to stop punishing yourself for things that you had no control over. It’s time to move on and let yourself be happy. You’ve suffered long enough, I think.”
The familiar ache in my knee tells me my suffering isn’t completely over and never will be, but I choose to let it slide. Our conversation drifts to the upcoming winter season, the new inventory we have coming in, and how much snow we think we’ll get.
Later when I’m heading home from work, I see Penny’s car in the parking lot of the cafe. I’m tempted to stop and see if she wants to have dinner, but I decide to just keep heading home. I don’t think I’d be good company right now and I’d hate to bring her down.
