Playing at Forever (6 page)

It had been even longer since he’d spoken to his father than it had been since he’d talked to Penny.  Tommy was a disappointment, and the Colonel didn’t take disappointment too well. 

He wondered if his father had always been that way.  Thomas Sr. looked happy in the pictures Tommy had seen of his parents.  And so did his mother.  So that had to mean something—he had to be at least somewhat decent to get a woman to not only marry him, but to have his child. 

Maybe it all went wrong with Tommy. 

That wouldn’t be too surprising.

A knock sounded on the door and Tommy sat up, thinking back to the night before.  He was sure he had put the ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the door.  He glanced at the clock.  No, it was too late for maid service. 

Maybe it was Penny?  He hadn’t told her when to expect him, so maybe she had come to seek him out instead?

The knock sounded once more and Tommy looked toward it.  “Tom, I know you’re in there.  Open up.” 

He could only hear his heart pounding in his ears as his temper began to flare.  “I’ll stand out here all day if I have to.”  Tommy swore quietly under his breath as he jumped to his feet and crossed the
room in two quick steps, throwing the door open
.

“What the
hell
are you doing here?”  Graham removed his sunglasses, peering around Tommy and into the room. 

“You alone in there?”
 

“What are you doing here?” 
he
repeated, pulling the door closed behind him.

“I was worried about you, Tom.  You kind of just…took off.”

“And I took off for a reason.  You didn’t seem all that worried back in L.A.”  Tommy glared at the man.  “How did you even find me?”

“You used your credit card, Tom.  It really wasn’t that hard.”  Graham looked around.  “Can we take this inside?” 

“No,”
  Tommy
shook his head.  “I don’t want you here, Graham.  I want you to leave.” 

“After I came all this way?”

“Yes.  Go back home.”

“Exactly how long were you planning on taking this little hiatus?  You do remember you have auditions. 
Scripts waiting to be read.”

“They’ll wait.”  Tommy spoke through clenched teeth.  “I mean it.  Get out of here.”

“This isn’t going to do good things for your image, Tom.  Think about it.  It won’t impress studios.”

For just a moment, Tommy hesitated.  This was his livelihood that they were talking about.  Was he really willing to sacrifice it all?

And then he thought better of it.  No, he would be better off in the end.  He could return to work with his head on straight.  Wouldn’t the studios prefer that? 

Of course they would. 

“Goodbye, Graham.”  And with that, Tommy closed the door in his manager’s face.

“We need to talk, Pen.”  She heard Kevin’s voice before she saw him and she groaned.  He and Gina had seemed to have some sort of tiff earlier and she’d stormed out of the restaurant in a huff.  She had been dreading this all day, certain that the argument had something to do with her. 

“Then talk.” 

“Let’s go in the office.”  This was not going to be good.  She sighed, setting down the plates she had been carrying to set a table.  On the way to the office, she made sure to ask one of her waitresses to finish her task.

She was certain that whatever conversation that was going to take place was going to do
wonders
to improve her day.  After her earlier argument with Kevin, two of the waitresses had called in with the flu along with one of her busboys.  Things would have been okay, if only Gina hadn’t walked out as well.  The lunch rush had been hell to get through.

“What’s going on?” 

“I don’t know how to say this, Pen.”  She dreaded whatever words he was about to say next. 

“Just say it.”  There wasn’t much he could say that could hurt her any worse than she’d already been hurt. 

“Gina wants out.”  Penny was actually filled with relief, a smile forming on her lips.

“Great, I don’t think the three of us should be working under the same roof anyway, considering our situation.”

“No—
you’re not understanding
, Penny.  She wants
out
. 
As in the both of us.
  She wants you to buy us out.  Either that, or we sell the place.”

And for just a moment, the room swayed in front of her. 

Sell The Seaside?

She couldn’t even consider the possibility. 

But the alternative?
  She didn’t have the funds.  She didn’t have the credit.

“Are you hearing me?”

“Yes, Kevin.  I heard you.”  She was positively livid.  As if Gina hadn’t already taken enough from her—now she was even going to ruin this.  The one and only thing she cared about. 

“She wants this taken care of as soon as possible.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen.  You know what this place means to me, Kevin.  How can you even put me in this position?” 
she
shook her head, rubbing one of her temples.  “I have to get back out on the floor.”

“If you can spare me, I was planning on leaving early.”

“Get out of here, Kevin.  Just get out of my sight.”

She would rather do it all alone than have to look him in the eye. 

By the time Tommy showed up, Penny was exhausted.  She sat at the bar, two empty shot glasses in front of her, a third waiting, and a nearly untouched mixed drink in her hands. 

“Rough day?”
 

“Understatement.”
  She took a long sip from her glass. 

“Want some company?”  Penny didn’t answer.  The truth was that, yes, she did want company.  She wanted Tommy to sit there beside her into the wee hours of the morning, talking about the life they used to live and reminding her how easy it had all been once upon a time. 

But she couldn’t bring herself to say the words.  She was too hurt, too angry.  She needed to think. 

Even though that was the last thing she wanted to do.

“You can talk about it, if you want.”

“I just—I need some space right now, Tommy.  Just because you come running back here out of the blue doesn’t mean that I have to drop everything in my life and—”

“I know, Pen—I’m not asking—”

“I have a lot going on right now, Tommy.  I just don’t think this is the best time for a reunion.”  

Even as she spoke the words, she was regretting them.  Tommy’s eyes darkened as he looked away.  He remained at the bar for a moment before reaching out and picking up her last remaining shot and downing the bitter liquid. 

“I’m sorry I intruded, Penny Lane.  I hope things work out for you.”  She couldn’t even look at him as he made his way out of the restaurant.

Instead, all she could do was lay her head down on the bar, her head swimming. 

She had no idea what she was going to do—her options were already so limited.  Sell the restaurant, or buy Kevin out. 

Except that she
couldn’t
buy Kevin out. 

How could he be doing this to her?  How could he have been so different from the man she’d thought he was? 

She had thought she’d married someone with the same passions as her.  She’d thought he was a decent guy—someone loyal, someone she could count on.  After Tommy had left all those years ago, it was Kevin who had stepped into his footsteps.  He’d been her friend before he’d been her lover. 

 And now, so many years later, he was betraying her worse than she’d ever thought possible.

Penny walked home alone that night, lost to her thoughts. 

Everything had changed so much over the years.  Where had it all gone wrong? 

Involuntarily, she thought back to the night Tommy had left.  He’d suggested she come along with him, knowing full well that she wouldn’t. 

Sometimes, she tried to imagine what life would have been like had she taken him up on that offer.  Would Tommy have made it?  She knew for certain that she wouldn’t have.  Penny’s destiny had never been to act, despite whatever Tommy may have believed.

It was only next to him that she could even attempt to shine.

No, Penny wasn’t made for a life in the limelight
and she had accepted that long ago.  But still, what would life have been like if she and Tommy had somehow managed to stay together?

What would her life have been like if she and Tommy had even managed to keep in touch? 

Another ache thrived to life in her chest and she rolled onto her side, her tears soaking into her pillow. 

She thought about how badly it had hurt that Tommy had walked away so easily.  There had been nights, especially in the
beginning, that
she had lain awake all night, staring at the ceiling, wondering where he was and if he was okay. 

She had wanted to believe that he needed her.  That she had meant as much to him as he had meant to her.  When he stopped calling, when he didn’t write…it all became so clear to her. 

He’d broken his promise.  He’d forgotten about her.  And worst of all, she realized that she’d lost the one and only person who would ever completely understand her. 

That had been the hardest thing to accept.  Because even though she had Kevin, it still felt as if part of her was missing.

And now, looking back, Penny wished she would have listened to her instincts.  She had convinced herself somewhere along the way that she had imagined the strength of her bond with Tommy.  She had romanticized it, and such a reality didn’t exist. 

She had told herself that Kevin was a good match for her. 

How wrong she’d been. 

About everything.
 

Seeing Tommy again reawakened something within
herself
.  It gave her reason to believe that—no, she hadn’t imagined it.  Whatever she’d had with Tommy
was
real. 

He was her
friend
.  And even if he had disappeared, she was certain he had a reason for it. 

Because when she looked into Tommy’s eyes, she could tell that he actually
felt
guilt.  He knew that he had committed a wrong and he felt badly for it.

And how had Penny repaid him? 

Oh, that’s right.  She lied to him.  And then she took her anger out on him. 

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

It was late in the morning when he heard a knock at his door.  He groaned, covering his head with the pillow.  The knock sounded again, this time with a little more persistence. 

He swore loudly as he rose from the bed, throwing the thinning blankets onto the floor and pulling the door open, very angry words on the tip of his tongue.

Very angry words that disappeared the moment he saw Penny standing there, holding a cup of coffee out to him. 
“Peace offering?”
 

“I think I’m probably still in your debt, Pen.  You don’t have to apologize.”

“But I do.”  She sighed, shrugging her shoulders.  “It’s a long story.” 

“I’ve got time.” 

“How about we go for a walk?”

“You mind if I throw a shirt on?” 
he
watched as Penny’s eyes flickered over his bare chest momentarily before nodding, a little bit of excitement rousing inside him as she did so. 
Stop it
, he scolded himself.

“I mean, I can’t have you walking around like that,
that’s
for sure.  There’s bound to be some law of decency you’re breaking.”  He chuckled, shaking his head as he held the door open for her.  “There is such a thing as being too fit, you know.” 

“Tease all you want.”

“Oh, I will.”  She smiled, perching on the edge of the bed while he disappeared into the bathroom.  He liked how easy all of this was for them.  It had always been that way. 
“Rough night?”
 
she
questioned and he peeked around the door.

“Oh—well, I’ve had worse.”  The room was in a state of total disarray, blankets and pillows all over the place.  A half empty bottle of whiskey sat on the nightstand.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
  He ducked back into the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth, running a hand through his hair.  

“I know the feeling.”  Tommy wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear that or not and so he said nothing, turning around to grab one of the only two shirts he had brought with him.  That was one of the drawbacks of doing something spontaneous.  Details were always overlooked.  It was lucky that he’d been wearing two shirts the day he’d taken off.

“Maybe, if you’re not busy, we could make a day of it and do a little shopping.
  I’m…well, my wardrobe is quite limited.”

“Today isn’t usually my day off…”  She bit her lip for a moment, thinking.  “But you know what?  Kevin can handle it
all on his own
.  I’m taking a personal day.”  Tommy laughed as he watched her eyes narrow.  It was pretty obvious that, whatever Kevin had done, Penny was
not
happy about it. 

“You show ‘
em
, Pen.”  He tried to be serious, but she only rolled her eyes at him.  “Come on,”
  he
nodded toward the door, taking a sip of the coffee she’d brought him. 

“Sorry I woke you,”
  she
said after a few minutes, the two of them walking toward a park that lay along the coast.  “I forgot you’re probably still on L.A. time.”

“It’s no big deal.  I’m used to running on a couple hours of sleep.”

“Things that busy for you out there?”

“Sometimes.”
  Sometimes, he just couldn’t sleep.  Just like everyone else, he lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering about all of the what-ifs. 

“Is that why you were so feisty when I knocked on the door?” 
she
asked.

“Well, to be fair, I thought you were someone else.” 

“Who?
 
The maid service?”
  Penny raised an eyebrow at him.  “Were you really going to talk to the maid like that? 
How prima donna of you.
  Maybe I
should
call you Thomson Davis.”  She nudged him with her shoulder, a smile on her lips. 

“No, no.  Tommy is fine.  I like Tommy.”  Mostly, he liked how warm the name sounded, coming from Penny.  As if he really mattered.  That was a nice feeling.