Penny kicked off her shoes and took the box to the counter, then unfolded the flaps. She reached inside and started pulling things out. The yoga blanket she’d given him on his birthday. A set of bluetooth headphones. The smart wallet she’d purchased for Danny before they traveled to France last summer. And, the pièce de résistance at the bottom, Danny’s Butchart Gardens sweatshirt she’d always stolen on the weekends.
“What a dick,” she muttered, anger reaching a low boil in her midsection.
“Are those your things?” Brett walked up to stand next to her.
Penny whirled. “Nope. They’rehis.They’re things I gave him—no, not even that.” Penny snatched the sweatshirt off the counter. “This washis, his. I love oversized shirts, and I used to wear it on Saturdays instead of a robe, so the asshole sent it to me in this—” Her voice caught as something fluttered out of the sweatshirt and landed on her toes.
She leaned over and picked it up. Her check. Not even in an envelope. Two-hundred dollars and sixty-three cents. Penny laughed out loud and dropped it on the counter next to the rest of Danny’s things.
That’s what she was. Histhing.A tool. One he’d gotten great use out of until he’d used her up. “I spent years helping Danny build his patient base. I gave up my own salary so that he could wrap profits back into the practice.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, then pushed past Brett and stalked down the hall.
Penny slipped into her room and closed the door, leaning against it as tears pricked her eyes. She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she could block all the nooks and crannies where loneliness and hurt seeped into her. The tasks of washing her face or brushing her teeth felt insurmountable, but she forced herself to go to the bathroom, then turned off her light and climbed into bed, grabbing her decorative pillow since she’d left her real one in the entryway. She tucked the blanket around herself and curled into a ball, trying to warm her feet.
_____
The sun hovered well over the horizon as Penny dragged herself to the car at seven in the morning. She opened the door to find her camping things sitting just outside in the hall. After cleaning herself up, she marched out into the kitchen to find the box and all of Danny’s crap gone besides her check. She hoped Brett had smashed or burned them. Preferably both.
The drive to the airport was quiet and uneventful, giving Penny time to calm her thoughts and prepare for the whirlwind that was her sister. She stopped and grabbed a coffee and donut at Tim’s. She would need high energy today, and since her tank was currently at “E”, that was going to take a miracle. Timmie’s was at least a good start.
As she pulled up to the arrivals curb, she spotted Andrea wearing a bright red sweater and waving with the exuberance of a golden retriever, probably pissing off every person standing next to her who, like Penny, believed no day should start before eight.
"Hey, Pens!" Andrea rounded the hood and pulled her into a tight hug as soon as Penny parked and stepped out of the car. "Let our best six hours commence!”
"Love you too," Penny laughed. "How was your flight?"
"Ugh, you know me and flying," Andrea rolled her eyes. "I spent the whole time praying we wouldn't hit turbulence.”
Penny reached inside the car to pop the trunk, and Andrea rolled her carry-on back and hoisted it in. When they were both back in their seats, Penny asked, “Where to first? Breakfast?”
Andrea shook her head. “Your place. I’ll eat whatever you have, but I refuse to let you get out of not showing me your apartment. Or your room—”
“Housemate, and I’m not trying to get out of it. There’s just no rush. Are you sure you don’t want to hit breakfast first?” Penny asked, praying that Brett’s “work thing” would take him out of the apartment most of the day. Andrea typically had a content filter like a colander, but with a limited timeline, Penny was worried it would be more of a cheese grater today.
“To the apartment!” Andrea pointed to the end of the covered pick-up zone like the captain of a ship.
Penny tapped out a text to Brett while she waited to merge.
My sister wants to see the apartment. I recommend pretending you’re still asleep
“Who are you texting?” Andrea asked, leaning over in her seat.
“Just bringing up the map.” Penny swiped back to the directions and put both hands on the wheel. As they made their way back to Northwest Calgary, they chatted about everything from Andrea's latest romantic escapades—most notably a heliski instructor who she ran into buying groceries for a guided backcountry tour who she then went out to dinner with—to their favourite family recipes they wanted to make together the second she got home.
As it always seemed to do with Andrea nowadays, the conversation eventually circled back to Brett.
"So he plays hockey. What else?" Andrea asked.
“I guess you can ask him yourself.”
“You two don’t talk?”
Penny drew a deep breath. “We talk, but I don’t know why you’re so interested in him.” She knew exactly why Andrea was so interested. Her sister wasn’t stupid, and try as she might to lead her off the scent, she couldn’t seem to give normal responses when Andrea brought him up. This was her attempt at nonchalance, and she hoped it was working.
“Okay, that’s fine. I can interrogate him when I get there. But just for the record, I’minterestedbecause this is the first time you’ve had a roommate.” Andrea put her feet up on the dash. Penny didn’t bother to correct her. “After Danny, I want to make sure this guy understands the situation.”
Penny focused in hard on the signs for the highway exits. “And what exactlyisthe situation?”
“You need someone who’s going to look out for you, who’s not a selfish prick.”
