After the lunch.

I could see that dad isn't pleased with Mary and Philip being here already. I wonder what has happened in the past, they seem so awkward around each other. I never have seen them in my life before. I wonder how long ago it was that they saw each other for the last time. I take my bottle of beer and take a swirl. Washing the food away in my mouth. I let my eyes go to Frances. She's talking to Franny and Bianca. I see them giggling and smiling. They're not including Britney in their conversation, and I couldn't blame them for that. Frances looks at me and gives me a little smile. I bite my lip and take another swirl from my beer.

Britney and Philip are looking at me when I stand up. "I'm gonna drain the lizard." "What does that mean?" Britney asks. I look at her. "It means that I'm gonna take a piss, you know number one." Her eyebrows go up. "That's a weird expression for saying you need to pee. You do know the toilet is inside, right?" Everyone is looking at us. I chuckle about it. "I'm gonna take it out in the woods." I walk to the woods without waiting for a reply. "I need to drain the lizard too." Jamaal stands up and follows me. Britney grunts a little. Bella runs after me and Rosco barks at her. "Hey, Beebee, you're having fun so far?" I ask as I disappear behind a tree. Bella start to sniff around.

"Dancer." I turn my head to see Jamaal approaching. "What is it, Skittles?" He stands next to me and starts to pee as well. "Are you doing this on purpose?" "Do what on purpose?" I look at his face and then down again. "Ever since you got here, you're neglecting your fiancée completely." I inhale deeply. "What do you want me to do?" "Well, for instance, you could give her some attention." I let the air go out slowly and shake my head. "I don't feel like it." "Brother, she's really suspicious, because you're looking at Baby an awful lot and everyone is starting to notice it. Even entitled cousin Philip."

"I really can't care anymore, brother. I try, but it's just not working." Jamaal sighs. "I've never seen you like this before." I zip my jeans and put my hand in my pocket. "Look." I take the bottle out. Jamaal zips his jeans and looks at the bottle. "What's this?" He asks as he reads the label. "They're painkillers or some sort. I found them in my room when I went to get clean clothes." I explain. "You think they're from Britney?" I nod. I'm sure they're hers. "I think she's taking them. I don't know for how long. I never saw these pills before." Jamaal hands me back the bottle. "You need to show this to Baby."

"I will, Baby thinks that I had drugs." "What do you mean?" "Remember yesterday?" I see him nodding. I put the bottle back in my pocket. "Baby told me that I had the symptoms of a bad trip from drugs. I never use drugs." "You think she wanted to overdose you?" "Yeah, I do. Anyway, after Baby told me, I started to avoid Britney. That's why I'm sleeping in my old tent." I point at the tent as we walk back. "Man, this is messed up. Has she tried this before?" "Not that I'm aware of to be honest. My son keeps telling me lately that I've changed so much because of her."

"Dancer, I think your son is right. She might even be drugging you for some time now without you knowing it." I look at the family and see Britney laughing with Philip. "Maybe… I don't know." Jamaal looks at them as well. "They look pretty cozy." "Yeah, well, I don't care… and Philip told me before lunch that she's exactly his type." Jamaal lays his arm around my neck. "Let's play some ball, brother." I chuckle and shake my head. I lay my arm around his shoulder and we playfully fight a little. He's way too strong for me. Jamaal starts to laugh.

I hear a car approaching and turn my head. Bryan is coming to me. I see a taxi stopping and wonder who that could be. Then I see Billy stepping out. I start to smile. I see someone else stepping out as well with a little girl. She looks younger than Bryan. Billy takes their suitcase out of the trunk and pays the taxi driver. "That's Billy." "Yeah, and Penny." I watch them walking to the house, looking around. I see Billy talking to her, the little girl is holding his hand. I smile when I look at them. Penny sees me and stands still. "You okay, Pen?" "Johnny!" She shouts and runs to me. "Penny!" I'm having a wide smile on my face. She jumps on top of me. I take a few steps back as we hug tightly and laugh.

"Gosh, it's been such a long time." She lets me go and grabs my face while she's smiling widely as well. I couldn't help it, but I feel so happy to see her again. And seeing Billy again as well. It's been such a long time ago. Penny looks at Bryan who is still standing next to me. "Bryan?" He only nods. I can see he's a little shy to see her. "Son, this is auntie Penny." Penny giggles about it and gives Bryan a little hug. "Last time I saw you was when you were about three years old." "I don't remember." "Of course, you don't, you were too young to remember."

She looks back at me and sees my face. "What the hell have you done to your face?" Jamaal starts to laugh out loud. "I told you, Dancer, everyone is telling you." I shake my head and Penny looks at Jamaal. "I'm Penny Johnson, a very dear old friend from Johnny." "My best friend." I correct her. Jamaal pats my chest once and then extends his hand to Penny. "I'm Jamaal, Johnny's brother." "It's a pleasure to meet you Jamaal." "You can call me Skittles." "Skittles?" Jamaal starts to grin. "My nick, Johnny's nick is Dancer." Penny looks at me and starts to chuckle about it. It's like she never was out of life for so many years. I start to grin. She gives me a kiss on my cheek. Billy came closer with the girl and I see his huge smile.

"Billy!" "Cuz! It's so good to see you again! I've missed you a lot." Billy and I we hug tightly. "I've missed you a lot too, cuz." I say as I let him go. "You got blonder, cousin." Jamaal says. Billy starts to laugh. "You still have the same humor, cousin." Billy says as they hug. I look at Penny again and smiles. "You look beautiful as always, Pen." She looks at me and chuckles. She waves it away with her hand, like she always did. Bryan is looking at us. I see his face and smile. Penny looks at Bryan again with a smile. "You got your father's eyes. I hope you won't be such a heart thief like he was." "You mean, is." Penny looks at me and I see her expression.

I look at the little girl with a smile. "Who's this?" I look back at Penny. "This is my daughter, Kaylie, she's eight, almost nine." I kneel and extend my hand. "Hey, Kaylie, it's nice to meet you. I'm Johnny." She looks at my face and then she looks up at her mother. "Sweetie, this is your mother's long-lost best friend." Penny explains. "The one you danced with, mommy?" She asks. She's really cute. Penny nods with a smile. Kaylie looks back at me. "She's just like you, Pen." Instead of taking my hand, she lays her little arms around my neck and hugs me.

"Stop it, Johnny, but yeah, sometimes a little too much like me." I chuckle and let Kaylie go. I stand straight again. She takes Billy's hand again. Mom came to us with a smile. "Billy, I'm so happy to see you again." Billy looks at her and smiles. They hug tightly. "It's been such a long time, auntie." "Too long." Mom looks at Penny and Kaylie. "And who's this lovely lady and young lady?" I chuckle about it. Penny rolls her eyes at me. "This is Penny and her daughter Kaylie." Billy introduces them. Mom looks at me for a second and then at Penny again. "How do you know my youngest? I saw you two hugging." I start to grin. "Stop it, Johnny." She points at my chest. Mom is a little confused.

"Johnny and I are my best friends, though I haven't seen him in nine years." Mom looks at me. "Yeah, he has a tendency to stay away from the people he loves." Penny's eyebrows go up. "What do you mean?" "We haven't seen him in five years." I roll my eyes. Jamaal chuckles. "But I'm glad that he's changing back to his true self. You're hungry? There's still some lunch left." "No, we're fine. We ate on our way here. But thanks for asking, auntie." "All right, I'll get you something to drink. What do you want to drink, Penny?" "Beer is good, thanks." Penny answers with a smile. "Let's see the rest of the family." Billy and Kaylie walk to the rest of the family. Bryan and Jamaal follow them.

Penny takes my arm. She smiles as we walk slowly to the rest. "What does your mother mean with you changing back to your true self?" I look at her face and sigh. "Everyone thinks that my fiancée has been changing me. My son keeps telling me that since some time now. He's missing the real me." I explain. She looks at me up and down. "I see you're a cowboy now." I chuckle about it. "This is how I actually was before I went to New York." She smiles but didn't say anything more about it. She knows me better than most people do. "Well, no matter how you've changed. I'm really happy to see you again. I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Pen, and look at you. You've got a daughter, you always wanted kids." She pats my arm once and then rubs it. "Yeah, sadly her biological father ran away when he discovered that I was pregnant with her." "I'm sorry to hear that." She shakes her head. "Don't be, he was an asshole anyway. I'm happy that Billy has always been there for me. Kaylie sees him as her daddy." "Billy is amazing." I stop walking. She turns herself to me with a smile. I watch her face. "He is, and he has been missing you very much." I start to smile. "You still work at Kellerman's?"

"No, I got fired when Max discovered I was pregnant. Billy quitted that same day." I look at my cousin and see him looking at us with a smile. "Why don't you give him a chance?" I whisper. "Oh, I do, we're together for about five years now. It took some time for us to realize that we're in love." I watch her face. I start to smile and grab her in a hug. She let me go. "He asked me two months ago and I said yes." She holds her hand up, showing me her ring. "That's amazing! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you both." I grab her in a hug again, this time I hug her tightly. She laughs about it and pats me on my back. Britney came to us. She stands still and crosses her arms.

"Hum, hum." I look up and see her face. I inhale deeply and let Penny go. Penny sees my face and looks at Britney. "Who's this?" I'm getting frustrated. Penny feels that and lays her hand on my chest. I let the air go out of my lungs. "Pen, this is my fiancée Britney… Brit, this is my best friend Penny." Penny extends her hand, but Britney didn't shake it. "Best friend, huh?" She looks back at me. I see her pout and sigh annoyed. "You're worried I came here to take Johnny away?"

I snort about it and they look at me. "I don't know what to think anymore. I seem to meet women that have a history with him that he never told me about." Britney turns and walks to the house without wanting to hear more about it. Penny frowns. When Britney was out of sight, Penny turns to me. I look at her face. I see that expression, it's like Kellerman's all over again. "You can't be serious, Johnny. That's not even your type of woman." Penny says when Frances came closer. "That's what everyone is telling him." I see Penny's astonished expression and became curious. Penny turns around and looks at Frances.

"Baby?" "Hey, Pen." "Oh my god! I'm so happy to see you again!" Penny grabs Frances in a tight hug. Frances looks at me and sees my confused frown. "It's good to see you again, Pen, you look amazing." They let each other go. Penny looks at her up and down with a smile. "So, I see you in your normal clothes now?" Frances chuckles. "Yeah, this is me." I look at Frances up and down with a smile. I would love to tear those clothes off her body. She sees my smile and points at me. "Stop giving me that look, mister."

She takes Penny's hand and pulls her to the rest. I inhale deeply as I look after them. Penny turns her head to look at me, then she looks at Frances while she's thinking. "How do you know Johnny?" Frances asks curiously. "I'll tell you later." When Billy takes her hand and introduces Penny to the rest of the family. "My, my, Billy has good taste." Jack says with a half grin. He checks Penny out when I came closer. I see his face. "Don't you even try, Jack." I point at his chest. He looks down and then up at my face. "Or what?" He asks with a grin. Why does he always want to dare me? I want to grab his shirt, but he jumps back. "Whatcha gonna do, Dancer?" I try to grab him again. This time he runs away. I run after him. "Dad is worse than I am." Bryan says in a frustrating way. The family starts to laugh about it. He sighs and shakes his head.

"I'm a little confused." Penny says, she looks at Frances again. "I'll tell you later, it's not a good moment now." Frances look at Kaylie with a smile. "Your daughter looks like you." Penny smiles and they look at Kaylie. She's hiding herself behind Billy, all these people makes her really shy. "She does." "And what about you and Billy?" Penny holds her hand up. Frances sees the ring and starts to smile wider. "Congratulations!" Frances exclaims and hugs Penny again. Penny chuckles a little and smiles as Frances let her go. Franny and Bianca came to them with a smile.

"Come, let's have some female quality time." Franny says with a smile. They walk to the porch and sit down on the bench. Mom came outside and gives Penny a beer. "Don't you want Britney to join you?" Mom asks. "I don't know where she's at, ma." Mom only smiles and walks away. "So, you're Johnny's best friend?" Franny asks. "Yes, we met at Juilliard and became best friends forever." "So, you two never had something?" Bianca asks curiously. "Am I being interrogated?" The other three giggle. Franny waves it away. "No, but we wonder how many girls my brother had before becoming friends with them." Penny looks at Franny for a thoughtful moment.

Penny looks at Bianca, who gives her a nod. As last, Penny turns her head to Frances who rolls her eyes. "So, if I'm correct, Bianca was with Johnny?" Penny asks as she points at Bianca. "Yeah, when we were seventeen, it was a long time ago." Penny chuckles. "You're here for him?" "Oh, no, Jamie asked me to be his date for these annual game events. He said it's required to attend as a couple." Franny starts to laugh about it. Bianca looks at her as Franny shakes her head. "Girl, you've been caught in his trap, don't let my brother get deeper there, you'll get hurt."

Bianca looks at Jamie who is looking at her with a smile. "Yeah, he's too charming." "Runs in the family." Franny chuckles. Penny looks at Frances with a thoughtful expression. "Baby, here, has a crush on my brother since she moved to Pampa." Franny explains as she looks at Penny. "You mean Johnny?" Franny nods. "You never told me, Baby." Frances giggles. "I didn't think it would matter. He wasn't at Kellerman's when he still worked there, and you never told me about him being your best friend." "But you had a crush on him?" "She still has a crush." Franny interferes. "It's useless anyway, I mean, he's engaged."

"Like you care if he's engaged." Frances rolls her eyes, Bianca giggles. Penny gets confused. "What happened?" Penny asks as she looks at Frances. Frances turns her head to look at me. I see her looking and I give her my half grin. She gives me her little smile and I hold my breath. "They had sex this morning at the creek." Bianca whispers. Penny's astonishment grows "I never thought you would do such a thing, Baby." "It wasn't planned, it just happened." "But you didn't mind, and neither did my brother, you know he's having a crush on you since you moved here." "True." Frances replies.

"Really? He never told me about his childhood crush." Penny looks at me with a teasing smile. I see her face and I can see that they're talking about me. I point at myself. Penny nods. I roll my eyes and turn around. "How do you two know each other?" Franny asks curiously as she watches Penny and Frances. "I was on holiday at Kellerman's with my parents and my family the year Penny was pregnant with her daughter." Franny turns her head to look at Kaylie. "That's your daughter? I thought she's Billy's." Penny chuckles about it. "She sees Billy as her dad, but he's not her biological father." "He's not in the picture?" "No, he ran away when I told him I was pregnant from him."

"God, some men…" "Luckily, Baby was there, she helped me a lot, even if I got fired at the end of that season." Penny explains. Frances smiles as Penny looks at her. "How are your parents and your sister?" Penny asks. "Mom and Lisa are all right. Lisa lives in Portland now, she got remarried to some rich lawyer. Dad died about six years ago. I've taken over his company." Baby explains. "I'm so sorry to hear that, your father was a wonderful man." Penny takes Frances' hand. Frances smiles and squeezes. "That he was."

"So, you're the doctor here? The only one?" Frances chuckles a little. "Yes, I am, but I got a few assistants." "That's amazing, Baby." Britney came outside. The four women look at her, watching her walking away. Some moments later, Philip came outside as well. They're watching him straightening his tie. "I can't imagine that's family." Franny whispers as they watch him walking to his mother. "What's he to you?" Penny asks. "Cousin or something, his mother is my aunt. I never have seen her in the whole of my existence. Why she came now is beyond me." "You think there's a reason why they came?" Bianca asks. "Of course, I mean, ma always told us that her sister feels herself too good for us, because she married some millionaire." "Hmm… maybe she just wants to reconnect." Frances says as she looks at Mary and Philip. "Not sure, really." "Let's not assume things yet." Penny says. "I agree." Bianca says. "We'll see." Franny says.