Page 14 of Keeping Penny

The guy had left, making Penny feel proud of herself, as if she’d thrown off the giant weight that had been unexpectedly dumped onto her shoulders. She could save her money, get herself and Bowie back to the States.

She’d come home from work the next day to find their tiny little hut had been vandalized. All their things either stolen or ruined. Pots, clothes, blankets…everything was destroyed. And the following morning, Colvin himself showed up, in his pristine and expensive-looking blue suit, demanding the monthly payment.

It was clear who’d orchestrated the destruction of her home. Colvin had a smug smirk on his face, and a look in his eye that made it obvious he’d do much worse if she tried to screw with him again.

Then he’d glanced at Bowie in a way that terrified Penny.

So she’d done what any smart mother would do in the same situation. She paid up.

In the two years since, she’d had no choice but to give him most of the money she earned every month.

Penny’d had no one to turn to. The police wouldn’t interfere. She’d attempted to go to them in the past and they’d dismissed her concerns, saying they didn’t get involved in “foreigner’s personal disputes.”

Thinking about Colvin always made her feel a little sick. But tonight, hundreds of miles away from him on this US ship, she could finally relax. Colvin couldn’t get to her here. She might only have twenty bucks to her name, but she was free of the fear that had hung over her head for so long. Free from John’s abuse, free from Colvin’s extortion, free to get back on her feet, and attempt to provide Bowie with the kind of life she deserved at long last.

Marrying John in her mid-twenties was a terrible mistake. She realized now that what she’d told herself was love, was nothing but a desire to be loved. To have a family. The beginning of their relationship wasn’t exactly bad…it just wasn’t the happily ever after she’d always dreamed about. She and John had fallen into a routine fairly quickly, a rut, and he worked a lot. She was left at home by herself, in an unfamiliar country. Eventually, she’d taken a part-time job just to fill some of the empty hours of her life.

It had taken a few years for her to get pregnant, and when she did, she thought their marriage would somehow magically change for the better. That John would be as thrilled about the baby as she was. Instead it was the opposite. He seemed to resent the attention Bowie took away from him when he was home, and things quickly went downhill fast, as far as their relationship was concerned. Especially once they realized their baby was blind.

The mental abuse started first, then the physical.

She was older and wiser now, and she’d given up the dream of finding someone who would love her unconditionally. Heck, she didn’t even know what that felt like, as she’d never experienced it.

No, that wasn’t true. Bowie loved her like that. And it was enough. More than enough.

Once more, Penny vowed to give her daughter the life she’d never had. She might not be rich, but not one day would ever go by without Bowie knowing down to her soul that she was loved. That her mom would be there for her no matter what.

Feeling a bone-deep satisfaction, Penny closed her eyes. She couldn’t wait to show Bowie what Pyro had gotten for them in the morning. She’d be so excited when she felt how soft the clothes were, and when she realized they were brand-new. She’d have to dole out the sweets a little at a time, because Penny had no doubt Bowie could literally eat the entire bag in one sitting if she could.

Yes, the evacuation was scary, but the end result was a new beginning. One Penny was going to take complete advantage of. She couldn’t wait to start her new life with Bowie in the States.

* * *

Two days later, Penny wasn’t quite so content. The number of evacuees in the hangar had grown exponentially. It was loud all the time, and it wasn’t just women and children being housed there anymore either. It was awesome to see families reunited, the joy of seeing wives greet their husbands and children hug their fathers. But all too soon, tensions began to rise.

Uncertainty about what was happening to the people they worked with, where they were going, when they’d be able to return to their jobs…it was obviously all weighing on the evacuees.

Not only that, but boredom was setting in, making people testy and grouchy.

Penny had started taking Bowie up to the flight deck as much as she could. They weren’t allowed on the runway or anywhere near where the aircraft were landing and taking off, but there was a small observation area that had been cordoned off, and she and Bowie spent countless hours up there in the fresh air. Penny described everything she was seeing to her daughter, doing her best to answer the thousand-and-one questions Bowie had about everything she was hearing and smelling.

The chairs weren’t especially comfortable, seeing as they were cheap metal folding chairs, but the benefits of being out here instead of in the hangar with everyone else outweighed the drawbacks.

She’d also found out the hard way that it wasn’t smart to leave their things behind at their cots. The day after Pyro had sent the bags of gifts, she and Bowie had left to explore the areas of the ship they were allowed to visit. By the time they’d returned to the hangar, someone had rifled through their belongings, taking most of the chocolate and some of the clothes Pyro had purchased.

Bowie had taken the news amazingly well, saying that whoever took their things probably needed them more than they did. But Penny was sad for her daughter, as she’d been so excited about trying the different kinds of candy bars she’d never had before, and absolutely thrilled about the brand-new clothes.

So now, whenever they left the hangar, Penny packed the duffel bag with all their belongings and brought it with her. It was a pain in the butt, but better than having the rest of their stuff stolen.

This morning, when she and Bowie had come on deck, the ship was moving. The flight deck was quiet and the breeze was a welcome change from the smell of diesel and grease that usually hung heavy in the air.

Penny couldn’t help but wonder if Pyro and his friends were still onboard. She didn’t know how things worked. Did they fly out to the ship, do their missions, then fly home? Did they have to stay with the ship? Was this ship even going back to the States? She had no clue. There were a lot of rumors among the evacuees, but Penny hadn’t heard anything official.

Some thought they were headed to Italy, others thought France. Still others said the ship was already slated to go back to the States, that they’d delayed the return because of the emergency evacuations in Gabon and now they were headed home.

Selfishly, Penny hoped they were going back to the United States. If they were brought to another country, she’d be stuck there, because she certainly couldn’t afford to fly her and Bowie anywhere.

Was Pyro okay? Had he been hurt in any of the other evacuations? She’d heard some wild stories from the others in the hangar about how bad conditions had gotten in the city, how dangerous. And the stories about their evacuations almost made Penny and Bowie’s flight from the roof of the hotel seem tame.