A Penny Saved is a Love Earned Pt. 01

"Thank you, Bryan," she tenderly smiled, softly squeezing my hand, "That was a very sweet thing to say."

"I wasn't trying to be sweet," I told her, "I was just telling the truth."

"So, you're saying that you'd lie about something like that, then?"

"Only if it was to avoid hurting someone's feelings," I frankly replied, "I see no need to be mean to someone just because he or she might not be as attractive as the next person."

Suddenly Penelope leaned over and softly kissed me on the cheek, then said, "That was to thank you for being the sweetie that you are, and also for being such a good person."

"In that case, "I chuckled, "You're very welcome."

We traveled down river for about twenty miles and then turned around, and by the time we made it back to the marina; it was getting close to dinner time. Of course I'd already had Jessie make reservations for us at Morton's earlier that day so; I made sure that we were back in plenty of time.

~~~~~~

When we got back to my house, I smiled at Penelope and said, "I want to you to go home and get all dolled up, because you and I are going out to eat tonight," much to Megan and Sam's pleasure.

"Come on now, Bryan," she protested, "You don't have to do this."

"I refuse to take no for an answer," I smiled, "Besides, I want to do this so, don't argue with me."

~~~~~~

"My God," I gasped, when I saw Penelope back at my front door that evening, "You look so beautiful, Penelope."

"Thank you," she cooed, her cheeks turning slightly pink, "You look pretty good yourself."

"All for you, M'lady," I smiled, extending my arm, "Shall we go, then?"

~~~~~~

Penelope was dressed in a pair of white slacks and a white silk blouse, both of which fit her like they were made explicitly for her. Her long silky and shining dark hair now flowed all about her shoulders and elegantly down her back. Her make-up had been perfectly applied, and although I wasn't willing to admit it back then, it was when I looked at her that night I began to realize that my heart would eternally belong to her...and her alone.

~~~~~~

"I've always wanted to eat here," Penelope smiled, as we were seated, "But I just never had the time."

"You do now," I happily smiled, "I want you to eat and drink anything you want, because tonight is a night of celebration."

"Oh really," she girlishly giggled, "And exactly what is it that we're celebrating?"

"Me getting out of the hospital in one piece to start with," I teased, "But moreso for my getting to meet you, and for the invention that we've come up with."

Because she was much closer this time, Penelope leaned in and briefly, but tenderly kissed my lips. Then she looked directly into my eyes and said, "That was to say thank you for this evening, in case I forget to tell you later."

I kissed her back, only I held it slightly longer than hers, and then leaned away and softly replied, "Any time, beautiful lady.....anytime.

~~~~~~

Chapter Four

After our drink order had been taken, I decided that I wanted to know more about this intriguingly beautiful woman so; I looked at her and said, "Can I ask you a rather personal question now?"

"I don't see why not," she sweetly replied, "After all, you answered mine."

"Okay," I smiled, "Do you have Native American blood in you? I mean, the first time I saw you I thought you reminded me of a beautiful Indian Princess."

"You're pretty good. Most people ask if I'm Asian," she grinned, "But in answer to your question, yes; I'm half Cheyenne. It's on my mother's side of the family."

"Oh, wow," I replied, "I'll bet your mother is beautiful, too."

"Yes," Penelope replied sadly, "She was."

"Was?"

Bringing up what had to have been a very painful memory for here, Penelope looked at me with tears threatening to spill from her beautiful dark brown eyes, and bravely replied, "My father was a U.S. Navy SEAL and was stationed in what was once Saigon during the war in Vietnam. Mom and I lived there with him, and while I was at school during the day; my mother worked at the American Embassy. She was killed when the Viet Cong attacked the embassy during the Tet Offensive in nineteen sixty-eight, and then Dad was killed a year later."

"Oh, God, Penelope," I replied, my heart literally breaking as tears rolled down my cheeks, "I'm so very sorry."

"I was only seven at the time so, Dad's sister, my Aunt Vivian, took me in and raised me like I was her own," Penelope sweetly replied, taking her napkin and drying the tears from my face, "She's a kind and caring soul...just like you."

Thankfully, the waiter made it to our table and broke me from my reverie, as well as the sadness I felt for this most beautiful of all God's creations. He took our orders, and after making sure our refreshments were full, he again left us to ourselves.

Dinner with Penelope that very first evening was something that will, and forever shall, be one of my fondest memories of her.

~~~~~~

I still had my casts on and wasn't able to drive so, Penelope had driven us that evening. And when we stood on my front porch that night as she dropped me off, I smiled at her warmly and said, "I really had a great time with you tonight. I wanted you to know that."

As opposed to answering me vocally, Penelope placed her arms around my neck. And after gently but firmly pressing her body against mine, I tasted her soft lips. Thus began the start of something so wonderful, that I could tell you what I was feeling in a thousand different ways, but I would never truly be able to give the perfect description.

"Good night, Bryan," Penelope breathed, once the kiss was broken, "And thank you, for such a wonderful evening."

"Thank you, too, beautiful lady," I softly replied, "I can't wait to do this again."

She slowly pulled away from me, and as she turned to leave, Penelope looked over her shoulder at me and purred, "Call me tomorrow, handsome," and then she got into her car and drove slowly down my driveway, and then away.

~~~~~~

I was awakened the next morning by the sound of my sister's voice telling me to get up if I wanted some breakfast. And after getting out of bed and taking my morning ritual pee, I came down the hall from my bedroom in just my boxers and a tee shirt and then sat down at the kitchen table.

"Jeez, Uncle Bryan," Sam teased, "Don't you think you should've put some clothes on before you came in here. There are women in the house ya know."

"Who, you and your Mom?" I laughed, "Give me a break, little girl."

"And just who're you calling a little girl?" she defensively bristled.

"You," I teased, "So, don't give me any more shit, little girl!"

"You know what, Uncle Bryan?"

"No," I chuckled, "What?"

Slamming down the magazine she was holding onto the table, Sam glared at me and said, "You can be a real asshole sometimes," and then turned and stomped away.

"IT'S MY HOUSE," I yelled after her, "I'LL BE AN ASSHOLE IF I WANT TO."

"You do it rather well, too," Megan said, from behind me. Then as she sat one of the two mugs of coffee she was holding, down onto the table in front of me, she asked, "What did you do to piss her off now, Bryan?"

That's easy," I chuckled, "I called her a little girl."

"Oh, you shit," Megan giggled, "She hates that, too."

~~~~~~

I had a meeting later that day with Mark and Earl, but before I left the house I called Penelope.

"Hello," she said, answering her phone.

"Hi, beautiful lady," I smiled, "How're you today?"

"I'm glad you called" she tenderly replied, "I was just thinking about you."

"You keep doing that and you won't get anything done," I grinned, "Have you got any plans for this evening?"

"No," she giggled, "Why do you ask?"

"My sister is making her world famous lasagna tonight, " I smiled, "And I was hoping that you'd come over and join us for dinner."

"Really?" she wistfully asked, "What time should I be there?"

"Oh, I'd say around six-thirty," I grinned, "That'll give us some time to visit before we eat."

"I can't wait," she sweetly replied, "I'll see you tonight, bye, sweetie," and then she hung up before I could respond.

"Silly girl," I smiled, placing the receiver back into its cradle.

~~~~~~

"We've got a problem, Boss," Earl said, the moment I walked into my office after Megan dropped me off.

"What is it?" I asked.

"With what it's going to cost us to refit the shop," he began, "I doubt we'll barely break even."

"I don't understand," I replied, "How can that be?"

"I've already talked to Doctor Michaels, and we're guaranteed to sell at least a hundred chairs to Baptist Hospital. However, it's going to cost us ten thousand to make each chair with the new upgrades and modifications that Doctor Brennan talked about," Earl explained, "And in order to make any kind of reasonable profit, plus being able to meet payroll we're going to have to charge at least eighteen thousand per chair."

"What's it going to cost us to refit the shop?" I asked.

"Just a little over seven hundred and fifty thousand," Mark replied, "And that's without insurance on the machines. So, if any one of those suckers break, we're screwed."

"Shit," I cursed, "I'll figure out something. I don't know how or what, but I'll make it all work out somehow, I swear."

"Hell, boss," Earl replied, "We don't have to do this ya know."

"BULLSHIT," I yelled, then after calming down, I looked at Earl and said, "I'm sorry for snapping at you, old friend, but we're on the threshold of something great here. I'm gonna figure out a way, I promise. It's just gonna take a little time so, you two stay on track and I'll deal with the rest of this shit, okay?"

"You got it, Boss," Earl grinned.

"Yeah," Mark smiled, "We trust you, Bryan.

~~~~~~

"Hey, Jess," I asked, walking out of my office and into hers, "I need a favor, sweetie."

"No problem, Bryan," she happily chirped, "What can I do for you?"

"I need a ride back to my house," I replied, "If it's not too much trouble."

"Come on, I'll take you," she giggled, "We've known each other way too long so, don't ever worry about asking again."

"Thanks Jess," I smiled, "I appreciate it."

"Oh, one more thing," she smiled, "My little brother is over the moon about meeting Samantha, and I wanted to say thank you, Bryan."

"That reminds me," I grinned, "Tell Tommy to be at my house around six o'clock tonight."

"You got it, boss," she smiled, with tears in her eyes, "I haven't seen him this happy since before our Mom died."

That's a good thing then," I smiled.

~~~~~~

After Jessie had dropped me off at my house, I discovered that no one was home when I walked through the front door. So, considering the fact that it was only one o'clock in the afternoon, I walked back to my bedroom and did something I haven't done since I can't remember when; I took a nice long nap.

~~~~~~

I dreamed that I was in a forest somewhere, walking at a leisurely pace down a slight incline. All at once I heard screams emanating from somewhere behind me and drawing ever nearer. All at once I found myself running amidst a screaming horde of Native American people dresses as their nineteenth century ancestors, all in buckskin clothing.

Suddenly there came another noise from behind me. It was like the ground was rumbling beneath me. As it drew closer, I could make out sounds similar to those of riders on horseback. I felt the adrenaline fueled fear raging through my consciousness at a rapid pace, and then came the gun fire.

The ground began exploding all around me in every direction I ran. All at once I heard myself screaming and watched as my body fall forward onto the ground, wracked in burning pain, and then everything went black After a moment or an eternity, I wasn't sure which, I saw the darkness fading into light, a warm healing, almost tender light.

When my eyes came back into focus, I found myself lying on a bed of soft pine needles, no longer hurting, and no longer afraid. And then I saw someone walking toward me from out of the light. She had dark eyes and long black hair that fell past her waist, almost to her knees. She wore a long bluish white gown that flowed like spun silk, reflecting the warm light as she drew nearer.

When her face came into focus, she reminded me of someone I knew, but at the time I couldn't remember who. And then looking into my eyes, she smiled and said, "Hello, Bryan."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am called Nala," she smiled, "And I am part of her past."

"Part of who's past," I asked, "What're you talking about?"

"You know of whom I speak, brave one," Nala gently replied, "Love her, my son because you are the only one who can take away her pain. You two have always been a part of one another, each the same as the other, but in different ways. Take her unto you and she will bear you a son and a daughter, the three of which shall love you for the rest of your life. Go now, Bryan....Bryan....Bryan......"

~~~~~~

"Bryan...Bryan, wake up sweetie," was the first thing I heard when I opened my eyes. I was pleased to find Penelope sitting beside me on my bed, gently rubbing her palm against my cheek.

"Hi," I sleepily replied, "What time is it?"

"It's time for you to wake up, silly," she softly smiled, "But it's five-thirty, now that you ask."

"I guess I'd better get up then, huh?"

~~~~~~

"Good morning, Sunshine," Megan teased, when Penelope and I appeared in the kitchen, "I sent Penelope in to wake you up, I hope you don't mind."

"Nah," I laughed, sticking my nose over the pan she was cooking in, "Is it ready yet? I'm starving."

"You know how long it takes me to make this stuff," she giggled, "Oh; and your niece wants to talk to you, too."

"Where is she?" I asked, "Is she still pissed off at me?"

"I don't know," Megan knowingly smiled, "But she's out on the back patio by the pool."

"Why is Sam pissed off at you?" Penelope asked.

"Because he called her a little girl," Megan giggled, "And now that she's eighteen going on thirty, she hates that, and Bryan knows it."

"Bryan," Penelope playfully scolded, "You should know better than that."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I groaned, "I'll be back in a minute, you two."

~~~~~~

I walked out of the kitchen to the den, where the sliding glass doors that led to the patio and pool were. Looking through the glass door I saw Sam sitting in a deck chair with her back to me.

I quietly slipped out the door, and then walking to where Sam sat, I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and said, "You wanted to see me, baby girl?"

Suddenly Sam stood up, turned around, and then throwing her arms around my neck, cried, "I'm sorry I called you an asshole this morning, Uncle Bryan."

"Aw, it's okay, sweetheart," I soothed, gently patting her on the back as she we hugged. Then I pulled back away from her, and with one arm still around her, I smoothed her hair from off of her face and smiled, "I've got a surprise for you."

"Really?" she girlishly giggled, knowing she'd been forgiven, "What is it, Uncle Bryan?"

"Do you remember the two guys that brought me my chair while I was in the hospital?" I asked, as she excitedly nodded her head, "Well, Tommy is coming over for dinner tonight, and he should be here any minute."

"OH MY GOD," she screeched, "I need to go and get ready. Gosh, Uncle Bryan, why didn't you tell me sooner," and with that she disappeared back into the house, while I simply smiled and shook my head.

~~~~~~

Little did I realize that my sister and Penelope had been watching me from the kitchen window and had seen and heard the whole thing?

"He's good with her," Penelope smiled, as they watched.

"Oh, honey," Megan proudly grinned, "That girl worships the ground he walks on, and always has."

"I'll bet he'd make a great father," Penelope said, "He's such a sweetheart."

"That he is," Megan replied, "Ya know, when he was in college, the girls liked him because he was good looking, the nerds liked him because he was smart; and even though he was nice to them as well, the jocks didn't mess with him either because they knew that they would get their asses kicked if they did."

"And I'll bet that he never let any of that go to his head," Penelope giggled, "Did he?"

"No," Megan proudly smiled, "He really didn't."

"Can I ask you a question about Bryan, Megan?" Penelope inquired, "You can tell me it's none of my business if you want to."

"Come on now," Megan smiled, "I know that my little brother cares for you, but I know that you care deeply about him, too, because I can see it in your eyes every time you look at him, pretty girl so; what is it that you wanna know?"

"Tell me why he and his ex-wife got a divorce," Penelope asked, "And why hasn't he been with anyone since?"

"He met Vicky while they were in college," Megan began, "At first we all loved her to death. Then after they got married, Bryan went to work for a friend of Daddy's, with beginning yearly salary of seventy- five thousand dollars."

"That's not bad," Penelope smiled, "Especially coming right out of college."

"There's something about Bryan that not a lot of people know," Megan softly replied, "He's a genius, literally. When he was in the fourth grade, the school wanted to move up to the ninth grade, but Momma and Daddy wouldn't let them. They said that they wanted him to mature emotionally with his own age group."

"Holy shit," Penelope replied, in amazement, "No wonder he was able to design that chair so quickly and so easily."

"Ya see what I mean?" Megan chuckled, "Anyway, Vicki got a job in Franklin around all of those snobby rich assholes that live there. One day she came home and told Bryan that she wasn't happy with where they lived, and demanded that they move to Franklin into a new house."

"God," Penelope disgustedly said, "She sounds like a real bitch to me."

"She's the biggest cunt I've ever known," Megan spat, "Hell, poor Bryan went in debt up to his ears to pay for that fucking house for her. After two years, she comes home one night and tells him that she's leaving him, because she claimed that she'd accidentally fallen in love with someone else, and that this person was able to provide her with the luxuries that Bryan wasn't."

"How in the hell do you accidentally fall in love with someone?" Penelope sneered, "Jeez, I hate this fucking bitch and I don't even know her."

"Oh, that's nothing, "Megan continued, "The asshole that Vicky left Bryan for turned out to be a scam artist, and when he went to prison, she tried to get Bryan to take her back."

"What did Bryan say about it?"

"If I tell you something," Megan said, "You have to swear to me that you'll never say a word to my brother about it."

"You have my word," Penelope quietly replied.

"Well after Bryan told her to fuck off," Megan continued, "I caught up with her and kicked her ass. Then I told her that if she ever came around my brother, or my family ever again, that I would put her little ass in the hospital for a very long time."

"Damn, Megan," Penelope giggled, "Remind me to never piss you off."

"I'd never do that to you though," Megan smiled, while hugging her, "I can tell that you love him very much.....don't you?"

"Yes," Penelope suddenly sniffled, tears beginning to fill her eyes, "Ever since the very first time I ever laid eyes on him. I think he's such beautiful man."

"That's good, sweetie," Megan smiled, tears beginning to fill her eyes as well, "Just don't ever hurt him, okay?"

"Never," Penelope cried, "Never, ever, ever....."

~~~~~~

Chapter Five

I came back into the house to find Megan and Penelope happily chatting and giggling in the kitchen, Penelope having been enlisted by my sister to help her in the preparation of dinner that evening.

I was about to start playfully aggravating those two when the door-bell rang. I knew that it was more than likely Tommy who was at the door so; with a knowing smile, I went to answer it.