I drove my car to the mausoleum. “Just tell me this. What else has he done to you? Has he ever hit you?”
“No. He’s just controlling.”
“Yeah, that’s the understatement of the century.”
“I don’t think he would be that way if it weren’t for...”
“Say it, Penny. Go ahead.”
I turned my whole body toward her and looked at her intently, waiting for her to say the words.
“He’s jealous of my relationship with you.”
There it was.“Penny, he’s kept you at home, doting over your child, but Milo’s a fucking genius, for God’s sake. He’ll be off to college in the fall, and then what? What will you do, Penny? Make pie for Lance? Let him tell you who you should hang out with, and when and how often?”
She started crying into her hands. I had finally broken her down. I gave her a T-shirt from the backseat, and she blew her nose into it. “Thanks.”
“I’m sorry, Penny. I don’t want to make you cry. I just want you to confront the truth. I want you to be happy.” She blew her nose again. “Let’s go inside.”
We went into the mausoleum, where we immediately came upon her father’s urn behind the glass. It was a beautiful copper vessel engraved with the wordsLiam Charles Piper. Husband, Father, Brother, Son. Brilliant Loving Soul.
“Penny!” We heard Kiki’s voice before we saw her. “I didn’t know you were coming to visit Dad today.”
“Oh fuck,” Penny said under her breath. Her eyes were still puffy from crying. She turned toward her sister and tried to muster her biggest smile. “Hey, Keeks.”
Kiki’s big blue eyes shot open wider than I thought possible. She looked up at me. “Gavin, what’s going on?”
“Hey, Keeks,” I said. “Long time, no see.” A part of me still couldn’t believe that the former, beribboned beauty queen was now a tomboyish microbiologist with a platinum-blond pixie cut. Even more amazing: she worked at the same pharmaceutical company that Liam had worked at for most of his adult life.
“Is something going on, Penny?” she said.
“Penny,” I coaxed her.
Penny just stood there, shaking her head. Kiki pulled her in for a hug. “Is this about Dad?”
Penny shook her head.
“Is it about Milo or Lance? Are they okay?” Kiki asked.
I looked at her and mouthed,Lance.
Kiki hated Lance. To be fair, she didn’t approve of most men, or traditional values of marriage and motherhood. After she left the pageant circuit and Liam passed away, she grew into one of the fiercest, strongest feminists I knew. She was dead set against Penny marrying Lance, believing she was doing it out of a warped sense of obligation. She was very vocal about her feelings for Lance, which meant that Kiki didn’t come over to Penny’s very often.
“What did he do this time?” Kiki pressed. “Don’t tell me. I already know. He’s an ass. He’s been an ass since you married him.”
Penny shook her head. “He’s a good dad. And no, he hasn’t been an ass since I married him.”
Kiki gripped Penny by the shoulders. “Don’t lie in front of Dad’s ashes, P. What happened?” Kiki was getting angrier by the second.
“He’s fed up with my relationship with Gavin and... I don’t know, lots of other things.”
“Gavin is your best friend.” People always said that but it never helped the situation. Even Kiki knew it.
“Keeks,” Penny warned, “he doesn’t understand.”
“Let’s go outside,” I said. “We’ll fill you in on everything.” Kiki let go of Penny and touched the glass in front of the urn. “Dad, sorry you had to see this.”
Penny touched the glass, too. Emotional, she managed a weak, “Daddy.”
