The charming villa was nestled among lush gardens, its stone walls draped in ivy and fairy lights. The inside was just as stunning with high ceilings adorned by crystal chandeliers and polished wooden floors that gleamed beneath her feet.
"Welcome!" Amy, her brother Theo's wife, ran to greet her with a hug. “We’ve missed you!”
“I’ve missed you guys, too.”
Amy helped bring in the supplies, and Penny tied the bottom of her dress up so she could walk around in flip-flops. With the help of the staff, they filled vases and cut the stems on the bouquets, then arranged them on the tables and lit the candles.
"Wow, you’ve really outdone yourselves," Theo, her burly oldest brother, walked in dressed in a charcoal grey suit. Penny ran as fast as she could in her tight dress and hugged him. Theo squeezed her so tight she wondered if Andrea had let anything slip about what she’d been through the past few months, but didn’t ask. There would be plenty of time to debrief once they were sitting in the Mediterranean Sea.
Her stomach clenched as she pulled back and smiled at her brother.She didn’t want to go.She’d felt numb packing her clothes, but now, surrounded by the floral arrangements and flickering light—after looking at snapshots of her parents’ deeply fulfilling love story—the idea of getting on a plane made her want to throw up.
She turned before Theo could see the expression on her face, then walked to the chair she’d set her purse on and grabbed her phone. Brett hadn’t texted back. Penny’s heart hammered in her chest as she typed out another text.
I miss you. I miss you so much. I hate that I left
Penny stared at the message, her eyes blurring with tears. It was all true, but what would it accomplish? Was she going to load her stuff back in the moving truck she’d already returned and drive back to Calgary?
She deleted the message and shoved her phone back in her handbag.
“I think we’re ready.” Amy planted her hands on her hips and surveyed the room. It had been transformed into pure elegance, soft and beautiful. Long tables were adorned with crisp white linens, and as the staff strung the last strands of fairy lights, Penny’s breath caught in her throat.
Romance.Brett would’ve loved it.
The first guests began to arrive fifteen minutes later, and Penny was swept up in her emotions. She hadn’t seen the faces of their family friends in years, and her heart was full to bursting as they walked into the dining room and took their seats.
Penny texted Andrea.
People are here. You have the parental units?
Yes! Just picked them up. They still think we’re just meeting you and Theo for dinner
Penny grinned and looked up to see Sophia and Marco walking from their car toward the entrance. She hadn’t seen either sibling since the summer of 2021, though that wasn’t all her fault. Since Soph had moved to Ottawa, none of them had seen her much, and Marco was almost just as hard to nail down. He was always jet-setting somewhere around the world. She might’ve been a little bit jealous.
Theo caught them first, and Penny queued up to greet them. After embracing all around, they stood to the side while the staff ushered people to their seats.
“Is Andrea almost here?” Theo asked, nodding at Amy on the other side of the tables as she re-lit a candle that had gone out.
Penny nodded. “Anytime now.”
“Do you think we should hide?”
Marco shook his head. “No, I think we should plaster ourselves against the glass. Let them get a good look the whole time they're walking up the sidewalk.”
Penny snorted, then went to her table for a drink of water. Her eyes pricked at the corners.This.This was what she’d been missing. This was what she’d given up for effing Danny.Ugh.She hated herself for being so blind—for having no backbone.
“They’re here!” Sophia squealed, and Penny forced herself to pull it together. This night wasn’t about her.
They watched as Andrea walked with their parents from the parking lot, and Penny held her breath, waiting for them to look up. Her mom’s eyes landed on them first–her and her siblings standing in a row in front of the glass. When her hand flew to her mouth, Penny couldn’t hold back her tears.
“Shit,” she whispered, and Theo put an arm around her shoulders.
“Amy has extra mascara in her bag.”
Penny laughed and forced herself to breathe as Andrea dragged her now-weeping mother closer to the door.She wanted this.She wanted this life. She wanted steady love and kids and fortieth anniversaries, and she wanted to wake up every morning next to the same person until they were grey-haired and changing each other’s diapers.
Cheers erupted as they entered the room, and then Theo had to leave her side to keep their dad from collapsing. Penny walked forward and looped her arm through Andrea’s as all the siblings crowded around their parents. Together, they led them through the room to greet friends and look at the photo display.
Andrea patted her arm. "Lucas would have loved this.”
