Page 76 of The Locker Room

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Jed gave his son a one-armed hug and said, “Good night, boys.

You may want to let Penny sleep on the couch, okay?” before

disappearing into the bedroom.

Andi stayed out for another moment, and looked at them with

bright eyes. She was still a pretty woman, with curling blonde hair,

although Xander had noticed that more of the blonde had come from a

bottle than it had seven years earlier, and the fine lines around her eyes

had grown deeper and (from Xander"s point of view) kinder and wiser.

She didn"t kiss Chris right away. She stood on her tiptoes and

pulled Xander (a full six foot nine by now) down so she could kiss his

temple and whisper in his ear, “You will always be part of our family,

sweetheart.” When she was done, she gave Chris a long hug and then

disappeared into the bedroom with her husband.

Chris and Xander weren"t anywhere near tired. They asked Penny

if she wanted to stay up and play video games or Trivial Pursuit or

something, and she looked at them levelly and said, “How about I tell

you guys a story?”

66

Amy Lane

Chris and Xander looked at each other, and Penny took the stuffed

chair and gestured at them grandly to ensconce themselves on the couch.

They sat, and Xander realized with a start that Penny was beginning her

first year of college. He wondered hopefully if there was anyone she"d

write to as she left, or anyone she"d miss. Maybe Penny would spend her

college days in that passion/drama/romance play that Xander had seen

most of the other guys partaking of during their time at Chapel Hill, and

in a way he wished that for her. He"d loved having Chris as his anchor,

and wouldn"t have traded that security or that kindness for a thing on the

planet, but Penny was braver than he was. Penny had tried band, and

drama, and soccer, and academic decathlon. She"d run for student body

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