"I know that Alan has been quite adamant that Erin not have the children resume their custodial visits until she's been out of rehab for a month, but do you think that there's any way that he would perhaps relent to us all having lunch together tomorrow to celebrate her successful completion of rehab?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line, and she crossed her fingers that Dawn would agree to champion her idea, since she knew that it would buoy Erin's spirits and help her get started on her first steps into the outside world once more. "This is rather late notice."
"I know, but life got in the way, and then it was time for her to return to her life. Please, would you check in with him? I know that your relationship with him is through the court system, so if you stand up for Erin, he has to be able to see that she won't stumble in the course of an hour or two, right?"
Dawn let out a soft chuckle. "You are persistent, and that is exactly what Erin needs. Give me a few hours, and I'll see if I can get him to relent a little."
"Perfect, thank you!" She ended the call, and then looked up to see that Aaron had joined her in the kitchen at some point. "Hey!"
"Hi. Jack wanted to know what was taking you so long, since it doesn't take five minutes to put cookies on a plate and come back to the living room."
She shrugged a little, her happy smile dimming a little at the tone of his voice. "I was just confirming with my friend if we were still on for lunch tomorrow. Remember, I'm taking the day off so that I can bring our mutual friend home from the airport."
"Oh, that's right. Does that mean we have to deal with Kevin tomorrow?"
Penelope giggled a little as she nodded. "It's just for one day, and then I'll be back in the office. I'm certain that he can handle any request you throw his way." She leaned up and kissed his cheek softly before lifting the plate of cookies. "Now, let's head back into the living room and watch whatever movie Jack has picked out."
He nodded and slung an arm around her waist as they made their way back to Jack, who was waiting patiently on the couch. "Finally! I thought I would die of hunger!" he said as he began to bounce on his seat, grinning widely at them.
"You had a good lunch, bucko, so I hardly think you're starving," she teased as she set the plate on the coffee table in front of them. Taking a seat next to him, she watched Aaron take the other seat, picking up the remote and pressing play. It was so nice to have this gentle time with them, since things had remained tense between her and Aaron ever since he'd gone to Texas for his custodial.
Just as the credits began to roll, her phone rang, and she picked it up to see Dawn's name on the display. "Who is it?"
"My friend, finalizing when her plane lands tomorrow. I'll take this in the kitchen again, so that you can start the next movie." She accepted the call, dropping a kiss to the top of Jack's head as she stood up and began to make her way out of the room. "That was fast!"
"Sometimes good news comes fast. Alan relented, so long as I remain with you the entire time. What time were you thinking we should meet?"
"I think around one would be good? I'm heading to her at nine, and we'll have to pack her room and bring the bags down to my car. Plus, I think that she has to have an exit interview, and I have no idea how long that will take. I also have the feeling that she'll need a little time to compose herself, since I haven't mentioned that this could even be a possibility. I didn't want to raise her hopes, only to dash them if Alan had said no."
"Of course. And where do you want to meet?"
"Red Bird Bistro? I think we'd all enjoy that."
"I'll put that down in my phone, and we'll see you there tomorrow at one."
She let out a pleased sound as she nodded. "Perfect, see you then!"
Once off the phone with Dawn, she added the lunch to her calendar, making certain to set an alarm so that they wouldn't be late. Once that was done, she poured herself a glass of water and then went back into the living room, reclaiming her seat next to Jack and snagging a cookie to nibble on as she turned her attention to the movie. "Did you figure out what time you need to leave tomorrow?"
"Yeah, if I head out around seven, I should reach the airport by the time she's claimed her baggage, and then I can run her home."
"If you're leaving that early in the morning, you can always come in and work a half day."
Her smile completely slipped off her face as she turned to look at him over Jack's head. "I already told her that I would spend the day with her, since she has to get groceries and do laundry and all that. She's been away for a month, so we have a lot to catch up on." She looked at the cookie in her hand, suddenly feeling a bit sick to her stomach, and dropped it onto the coffee table before getting to her feet. "I need to get home, I'm sorry. We'll talk Tuesday, when I'm back in the office."
Leaning over, she hugged Jack tightly, kissing his cheek before she got to her feet and stalked out to the door, grabbing her purse off her hook as she wrenched the door open and stalked outside. She knew enough to not slam the door, as she didn't want to make a scene, but her steps were heavy as she made her way to her car, making the bottom of her feet ache by the time she slid behind the wheel and started the vehicle. She had just started backing out of the drive when Aaron started down the drive towards her, and she shook her head, trying not to look at Jack, who was standing in the doorway, looking sad.
"Penelope, wait!"
"No, Aaron, you heard me. I need time to cool off so that I don't spoil my day with my friends. You don't own me, you've known that I was taking tomorrow off for three weeks now, and I am allowed to have a life outside you. Or are you just planning on cutting me off from everyone that I care about? Who's next? Derek? Fuck that, by the way. That will never happen. Good night."
Without another word, she finished backing out into the street and then took off for home, glad that her top was down so that the wind could whip through her hair as she struggled to keep from crying over this fight. She didn't know where this possessiveness was coming from, since it wasn't really like him, but it hurt to feel like he was slowly constricting her social connections. A small voice in the back of her mind whispered that she also wasn't being completely honest with him about who she was seeing, so that might be adding to his reactions.
Shaking her head to clear that voice away, Penelope drove home as quickly as she could, wanting to shut herself away in her apartment before Aaron could get Jack packed up in his car and ended up waylaying her outside, again playing off the fact that she wouldn't want to make a scene. Finally, she arrived at home, parking in her usual spot, and she grabbed her things before rushing inside and up to her apartment. The elevator seemed to take forever, and she tapped her foot impatiently while she waited for it to arrive.
As soon as the doors opened, she stepped inside and pressed her floor button, then tapping the door closed button over and over until it shut, and she sagged against the wall of the elevator as she allowed herself to cry quietly. Her phone buzzed against her chest, and she pulled it out to see that Aaron was calling her. She sent his call to voicemail before tapping out a text to him, letting him know that she had safely arrived at home, and asking that he not contact her until Tuesday, as she had asked. With that message sent, she slipped her phone back into her bra as she stepped out of the elevator and made her way over to her door.
It didn't surprise her that she dropped her keys a few times before she managed to finally unlock her door and let herself inside. Penelope made certain that she turned and locked her door, throwing the chain lock on too for good measure, before she stepped out of her shoes and hung her purse on a hook. It was still too early to sleep, but she didn't feel like doing anything else in that moment, so she went into her bedroom and stripped off her clothes, taking care of them before tugging on an oversized shirt and crawling beneath the covers, plugging her phone in on her nightstand before rubbing her head on her pillow and then staring up at the ceiling, thinking about her reaction to Aaron, and what this meant for their relationship.