Chapter Twelve: Destiny

Meeting Penny Halliwell was like being under the scrutiny of a microscope. I was a bug, and she could squash me at any time.

Years later, Victor would wonder what might have happened if he hadn't kissed Patty that day at the hospital. Maybe they never would have become a couple. Maybe they never would have married. Maybe they wouldn't have had three beautiful daughters. Hell, maybe, somehow, Patty wouldn't have died. He never would be able to say for sure; no one could. But he would wonder.

And then something would happen to make him realize what ifs didn't matter; the kiss and all that followed, was meant to be.

But at the present time, sitting in the hospital, kissing Patty while his father slept in the chair next to her and his mother was thirty feet away in another room, Victor's thoughts were not on the future outcomes of his actions. For how could he possibly know what was to come?

Patty was the one to break the kiss. She sat back and gave him a small smile, her brown eyes lit up. Victor smiled back.

"So you'll risk it?" he asked her.

Surprisingly, Patty shrugged and ducked her head shyly, a characteristic he would not have pegged in her. "You don't know what you're getting into," she said.

"I'm already in it, Patty," he said, trying to quell his frustration. "Stop trying to make excuses and give me a chance."

Patty opened her mouth to speak, gasped, and threw her hands out. It was a strange gesture, Victor thought. And so sudden. She spread her hands like she was going to catch a ball, and then instantaneously they were back in her lap. He'd never seen anything like it.

"Your mom," she whispered, and he turned around to see his mother standing outside of the room with her arms folded across her chest.

"Hey, Mom," he said. "How's Uncle Michael?"

"Better than I expected," she said. "Do you want to go in and see him now?"

Victor tugged on his earlobe. "Oh, yeah. Sure," he said. He looked back at Patty. "You want to come in?"

"The doctor said only two people at a time," his mother said. "And Angela's still in there."

Patty gave him a small smile. "It's fine, Victor," she said. "I should probably get going anyway." She stood, then paused, hesitantly.

Victor swallowed, hard. "Do you, uh, want to get some dinner or something tonight?" he asked. "You know, talk."

"Well, my mom and I were going to go to my uncle's for dinner tonight," she said. "But I can probably get out of it."

"Victor, your uncle is waiting," his mom said.

Victor stood and leaned down near Patty's ear. "I'll pick you up at seven?" he asked.

She nodded. "That'll be fine." She pressed a kiss into his cheek and stepped away. "Nice to see you again, Mrs. Bennett," she said. And then she was gone.

"I don't like that girl, Victor," his mom said as soon as Patty was out of sight. "There's something odd about her."

"You don't even know her," he said. "She's a perfectly nice person, Mom." And he brushed past her and into the room.

He arrived at Patty's just two minutes before seven, feeling slightly nauseous and incredibly nervous. The conversation that had followed their kiss had bothered Victor greatly; more so as the day continued and he replayed it again and again in his mind. She had responded right back when he kissed her. She had seemed to want it as much as he. In fact, it had been her speech prior to it that had finally given him the guts to take action. But then after...

What did it mean? What was she so afraid of? She must have had her heart broken badly in the past, for this kind of resistance to even starting a relationship. But Victor had no plans to hurt her; in fact, he was pretty sure he was falling harder for her every day. If only she could see that.

He shook the thoughts out of his mind and climbed out of the car, heading up the steps and to the door. He knocked loudly, and was surprised when the door was answered not by Patty, but by a woman who could only be her mother.

"Hi," he said, trying to be jovial. He smiled broadly at her. "Is Patty ready to go?"

Mrs. Halliwell raised an eyebrow at him. "No," she said. She stepped back and gestured for him to come into the house, so he did. "She'll be down in a few minutes."

"Oh," said Victor. "Okay." He glanced around the foyer and rocked back and forth on his feet a couple of times. "This is a nice house," he said. He looked back at Patty's mom; she wasn't smiling. In fact, she looked a little foreboding with her arms crossed over her chest that way. "Really nice," he added.

"Thank you," she said, but her resolve didn't soften. "My grandparents built it in 1906. After the earthquake."

"Yeah?" said Victor. He patted one of the walls. "It seems to have held up very well."

"Hmm," said Mrs. Halliwell.

Victor nodded his head and clapped his hands together, feeling incredibly awkward. Where the hell was Patty? What was taking so long? The silence was choking him. He had to say something.

"I'm, uh, Victor, by the way," he said, realizing he hadn't yet introduced himself.

"Penny," she said, sticking out her hand. Victor shook it firmly. "So, Victor," she said. "Do you go to school?"

He stared down at her. For such a little woman she was extremely formidable. And his charm didn't seem to be working on her at all. Just like Patty, his mind registered.

"No," he said, "I don't. But, you know, someday I'd like to. You know, business school maybe. I think I'd like to own my own business someday."

"That's interesting," said Penny.

He nodded. "I, uh, actually work for my uncle right now. Selling used cars. But I guess I don't really see myself doing it forever."

For the first time, Penny cracked a smile, and Victor felt relief flood his body. Somehow in his inane rambling, he had struck a chord with this woman. Now if only Patty would come down before everything was ruined.

"Do you believe in fate, Victor?" asked Penny.

And this was where he'd ruin it, he thought.

Think, man. What had Patty said about fate? Destiny? Think!

"Victor?" said Penny, clearly reading the panic in his face. "It's not a quiz."

Yeah, right.

"I guess so," he said, trying to read her face. It wasn't telling him anything. "I mean, uh, yeah. I guess I do."

He was drowning. And Penny wasn't going to do anything to help him out of it.

"Victor!" he heard, and he looked up to see Patty walking toward them. Finally. "Hi," she said. She paused by her mom.

"Hi," he said.

"So, I'll be back later, Mom," said Patty. "Give Grandma and Aunt Phoebe kisses for me."

"Of course," said Penny. She nodded her head. "Victor."

"Nice to meet you," Victor called as Penny disappeared into another room. Patty shook her head at him and started towards the door. As soon as they were outside Victor breathed a sigh of relief. "Wow," he said.

"What?" said Patty, stepping down the stairs.

"Your mom," he said. "She's pretty intense."

Patty laughed and the last little bit of tension left Victor. "Yeah," she agreed. "But don't take it personally. She's like that with most people."

They reached the car and Victor opened Patty's door before walking around to his own side.

"So?" said Patty, as he started the car. "How's your uncle doing?"

"Well," said Victor. "Getting a little sick of my mom, I think. But he looks okay."

"Good," said Patty. "I'm glad. So what was my mom talking to you about anyway?"

"Uh, fate," said Victor. "She wanted to know if I believed in fate."

"Oh." There was a pause. "Do you?"

"Honestly?" said Victor. "I have no idea. I've never really given it much thought."

"Is that what you told my mom?"

Victor laughed. "No. I pretty much babbled uncertainly until you showed up."

"You're going to need to get past that, my friend," said Patty. "You have to meet my mom head on, and make sure you're ready to parry."

"I thought you hated confrontation," said Victor.

"I do," said Patty. "But I've lived with my mom for nineteen years. I know how to deal with her in my own way. But everyone else just needs to fight back." She smiled thoughtfully. "Except my grandma and my aunt Phoebe, I guess. They're probably the only ones who can lecture my mom and get away without scars."

"So it's her older sister?" he asked, half-jokingly. He knew from watching his brother that while Nancy had some authority over him, Victor had none, just because he was younger. Stupid familial hierarchies.

"Whose?" asked Patty.

"Your mom's," said Victor. "Is your aunt Phoebe her older sister?"

Patty laughed. "No," she said. "My mom doesn't have any sisters. Phoebe's my grandmother's cousin; we just call her aunt because it's easier."

"Oh," said Victor.

"It's a little confusing, I know," said Patty, "but you'll get used to it."

"I will?" he asked.

Patty just smiled.

"I will," he said.