One Little Thing

As wrath, sympathy and love swirl all in your heart you hold your girl for as long as she needed it. Safe in your arms you feel Penelope relax. A final soft sigh tells you that she’d mentally returned to a better place.

“Okay.” You kiss her head again. “We’ll figure this out. In the meantime…of course you can stay here. This is home, Penny. And it always will be.”

“Oh Daddy.” She whispers. “I knew you were going to make it all better.”

“Daddy’s here, Peanut.” Backing away you cup your hand over her cheek as she gazes up at you with those wide, blue eyes. “Hey. You want to help me out with that lasagna?”

“Of course!” Her bright, beautiful smile lights up your heart. Setting down Bonbon she hops from her stool and hurries for the fridge. “I’ll start on the cheese!”

The mood is light as the pair of you settle into your well-worn cooking routine, on the surface at least. On the inside however what Penny had told you continued to gnaw away at you. Having messed with the exact wrong woman this collegiate wrestler had gotten his just reward and yet…that mother fucker had touched your daughter! He’d gotten her drunk and tried to take advantage of her! Try as you might you could not shake the sound of Penny’s voice in your imagination, afraid and confused and alone, pleading with him to stop. And you couldn’t shake the image of her in tears as she stood over his motionless body. She was such a gentle girl who had tried so hard for so long to always contain her great strength. In even forcing her to defend herself that bastard had hurt your girl. Eventually that piece of shit would recover. Would his next victim be able to stop him like Penny had? And how many had there been before her? It sounded like this predator purposely targeted women like your family. The rage continued to grow. Your usual live and let live nature could not quell the fiery anger that burned in your gut. You don’t let on just how much it was bothering you as you wanted to keep things cheery and normal for Penny’s sake, but under the surface it smoldered.

Despite your impotent rage you could not help but be lifted by having your girl home again. Having here here laughing and joking and helping out…it just felt sooooo right. As much as Penny had been homesick you’d been experiencing ‘empty nest’ just as powerfully. You felt a bit guilty at the selfish joy you’d felt at telling your daughter that she could move back in. But…maybe she needed a few more years at home. It was normal for kids to stay home well into their twenties. While no Harvard the local college wasn’t so bad. It had done you and Fiona well. She’d move back in. She’d go to school here. She’d be home for another few years. Yeah, this was going to work out just fine.

By the time the lasagna was in the oven you had come to peace with Penny’s return. You were down right giddy about it. There was just one little thing to take care of before you could settle back into your domestic bliss.

As Penny tried her best to explain to Bonbon why he had to go pee in the litter box and not on the floor you peel away to return to the balcony. Taking the phone from your pocket you pause a moment…then dial.

Most people couldn’t have gotten near talking to her and of those that could most of them would have to at least go through an assistant or two, but not you. You were among a very small handful of people who had a direct line to the great woman herself. Leaning forward on the rail you stare out over the park as the line rings.

“Heyyy you sexy twink!” Your big sister’s upbeat tone was at odds with your grim state of mind. “You have reached your goddess. Speak!”

“Hello Fiona.”

Picking up on your serious tenor she drops the act. “What’s up, little brother?” Before you could even answer she hits you with more questions. “Is it Penny? Is something wrong with Penelope?”

You take a deep breath, reconsider this irrevocable action one last time, then say without hesitation. “Somebody hurt my baby girl.”

A long pause follows before Fiona, her words as cold and as hard as steel, says. “Tell me everything.”