Chapter Twenty-Five: Announcement

It was odd, how similar people's reactions were.

Penny called her mother as soon as she left Patty, and while the phone was ringing, tried to calm herself down enough to not explode. After all, her mother was old and still upset about Phoebe's death; she didn't need yelling on top of it. If Penny found out her mother was involved in any way, though, with Patty's ridiculous announcement, then all reason would be out the window.

"Hello?" said Gordie, after the third ring.

"Gordie, it's Aunt Penny," she said. "I need to speak to your grandmother."

"Oh boy," said Gordie, and Penny wondered if any of her attempt to take the anger out of her voice had worked. "Hold on a second. Grandma!" she heard him yell right after. "Grandma! Aunt Penny's on the phone and she wants to talk to you!" There was a pause, and then she heard Gordie say, "I think you're in trouble."

A second later, her mother was on the phone. "Penny?"

"Mom," said Penny tightly, "Patty just came home with some surprising news. She and Victor are getting married."

"Really?" said Patience, not sounding extremely shocked. "That's wonderful."

"No, Mom, it's not wonderful. She's nineteen!"

"She's in love."

Penny rolled her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. "She mentioned something I thought was kind of weird though," she said. "She told me that she went to see you last night before she went over to Victor's. You didn't tell her to go over there, did you?"

"No, dear, I didn't."

"You didn't imply that she should get engaged or talk about making a commitment to a man she's only known for a few months?"

"All I told her," said Patience, "was to follow her heart."

"Mom!" said Penny, any semblance of grace flying out of the window. "She's nineteen. Nineteen! She shouldn't be following her heart, she should be following her head. She's too young to know what she wants."

"Penelope," said Patience, sounding more collected than Penny ever remembered, "you have to calm down. Patty is extremely practical. More so than you ever were. You have to start trusting her. If she knows that this is what she wants than let her do it. What's the worst that can happen?"

"The worst that can happen? She could end up hurt. Or alone. Or pregnant and abandoned."

"If she ends up hurt or alone, we'll be there to help her through it. If she ends up pregnant and Victor leaves her, then we'll help her through that too. No matter what, she always has family to come back to," said Patience. "You've got to remember that, Penny. She's never alone unless you choose to leave her. You're her mother."

Penny sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I just don't want her to go through any pain," she said. She felt deflated; defeated. It was unusual for her, and she didn't particularly like it.

"Pain is a part of life," said Patience. "She'll deal with it. And who knows. Maybe she and Victor will last."

"And maybe the underworld will renounce evil," said Penny. She shook her head. "But fine, Mom. You're...right."

"Thank you," said Patience. "I won't even make you repeat it for the record. Now go talk to Patty before this escalates out of proportion like your last argument."

"Fine," said Penny. "I'll talk to you later."

"Goodbye," said Patience, and the phone clicked off on the other end. Slowly, Penny put down the phone and then headed up to Patty's room to try to repair the damage.

"Patty," she said, knocking on the door. "Sweetheart, can I come in?"

"Yeah," said Patty.

Penny opened the door and entered the room to find Patty lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She looked so childlike that Penny had to pause for a moment and reaffirm her mother's words in her mind. "Patty," she said, sitting down on the edge of her daughter's bed, "I'm sorry about what happened downstairs."

Patty laughed derisively. "Uh huh," she said.

"I am," said Penny. "I shouldn't have reacted that way. You're right. You're...an adult...now, and if you want to get married that's your choice, not...mine."

"Are you being serious?" asked Patty, rolling over onto her side and looking up at Penny.

"Yes," said Penny. "What I think...doesn't...matter. You should do what you want. I won't get in your way."

"Are you feeling okay, Mom?" asked Patty. "You don't sound like yourself."

Penny shook her head. "Don't push your luck, young lady. I just had a very enlightening phone call with my mother, but my having an open mind only goes so far. Remember that."

Patty smiled, and then looked down at her bedspread. "I'm sorry if I just sprung this on you," she said. "I just feel like getting married is the right thing to do. That being with Victor is the right thing."

"Okay," said Penny. "I can understand that, I guess. But why does it have to be in January? It's so soon, Patty."

"It's something in my gut," said Patty, looking more serious than Penny had even seen her. "Something big is going to happen, I can feel it."

Penny nodded, slowly. "Alright then," she said. "January it is. Heaven help me."

Patty laughed, and Penny couldn't help but crack a smile. It had been too long since she'd seen her daughter even remotely happy.

"Just promise me one thing, though," she said.

"What?" asked Patty.

"Keep your last name."

John was the name of Susan's latest conquest; a good looking guy with a nice smile and a passion for civil rights, including male-female equality. She had met him during one of her classes that semester, and they had been dating for about a month. Currently, John had his tongue down her throat and a hand up her shirt, and Susan was loving every second of it. Unfortunately, her phone began to ring with the utmost persistency just as John began to unhook her bra.

"Shit," said Susan. "Hold on a minute."

"Susie, no," said John as she pulled away from him, reaching over and grabbing her phone. He settled back against the bed and watched her, his eyes dark.

"Hello?" said Susan, ignoring John's protests.

"Hey, Susan. It's Patty." Susan grinned and swatted John's hand away from her arm.

"Hey, Patty," she said, turning to John and shaking her head. "What's up? You burn down Buddy's yet?"

"Actually, I have some big news," said Patty.

John's hand crept up the back of her shirt and started fooling with her bra again. Susan whipped around, saying, "Hold on a second," to Patty, and then, "Jesus, John. I'm on the phone. Chill out." She heaved a sigh and directed her attention back to the phone. "Sorry about that," she said. "What's your big news?"

"Well," said Patty, sounding nervous. "I'm getting married. In January."

"What?" said Susan, standing up so fast she nearly hit her head off of the top of the bunked bed. "To who?"

"Victor Bennett," said Patty. "You remember him, right? From that day at Buddy's. Before you left for school."

"Fuck, Patty," said Susan. "The last time I talked to you it was going to be one date, remember? What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. We fell in love. I fell in love," she said.

"This is huge!" said Susan. "Christ. And in January?"

"Yeah," said Patty. "Look, Susan, I really want you to be my maid of honor. Please. I promise the dress won't be that goofy looking."

"Of course I'll do it," said Susan. "God, I need a cigarette. Did your mother have an aneurism?"

"Almost," said Patty. "But my grandma talked some sense into her apparently."

"Wow. I...Well...Wow. Congratulations," she said, finally finding her cigarettes and pulling one out.

"Thanks," said Patty. "And thanks for not going ballistic."

"Me, go ballistic? Why would you think that?" She lit the cigarette and took a long drag, instantly feeling slightly more calm.

"I don't know. I guess I just thought you'd be a little...skeptical."

"Yeah, well..." said Susan. "You gotta do what you gotta do. I guess. But seriously, Patty, promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Please keep your last name."