It's Only Temporary

Epilogue (Part 3)

A Few Years Later...

Penny looked up from her spiral notebook and rolled her stiff shoulders to work out the kinks, as her eyes drifted to the clock. Nearly 2:00 AM. She should probably get some sleep. She looked longingly toward the corridor that passed outside the study where she sat. She and David had moved into this apartment almost two years ago, and she was still getting used to the spacious floorplan – such a contrast to the cramped, makeshift bedroom where she used to do her MCAT studying, not so many years ago.

Now her medical books sprawled about the little office in disarray. David made no comment on the mess, as long as she kept it confined to the study and didn't allow the chaos to spread to the two rooms at the other end of the hall.

One, the master suite that she and David shared.

Two, the second bedroom, split by their two new roommates: Leo and Adam.

Penny scowled at the clock, fighting back a yawn. She only had one more week to prepare for the big exam at the end of the month. She had to make sure she aced it on the first try – couldn't afford the delay if she had to re-take it. She'd already taken an extra year to finish her degree. She just graduated from Cornell Medical School this past May, and now she had one week left to study for the boards, before she took her place in the psychiatry residency program at Mount Sinai.

She sat up straighter in her chair and took a swig of black coffee. One more hour, she told herself. Bed could wait. David would be fast asleep anyway by now, although Adam and Leo might be up before too long. . . .

"Roommates," Penny muttered under her breath. She couldn't help but crack a tired smile at the thought.

She would never forget that day, a couple years ago, when she sat in the living room of David's old one-bedroom, scrolling through apartment listings on Craigslist. He'd found her there when he came home from work that day, and he'd eyed the screen skeptically over her shoulder.

"Craigslist, Penny?"

"I know. I know," she'd answered without looking up. "You have a rule."

"Why are you looking at apartment listings?" He'd loosened his tie as he spoke, and cast aside his suit jacket over the back of the couch. She hadn't been able to resist a furtive glance as he moved, the lean muscles of his back and shoulders rippling beneath the thin cotton of his dress shirt.

"I'm thinking of moving," she told him vaguely.

He'd slumped beside her on the couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. "Brooklyn?" he inquired.

She shook her head, and then pulled up one of the listings to show him. "Manhattan," she replied. "Gramercy Park."

"Classic 6?" His eyes had darted to her face, and Penny remembered how she bit the inside of her lip as she awaited his response. He knew what that term meant – probably the most coveted apartment floor plan out there, when it came to Manhattan real estate. He read the rest of the listing under his breath. "Living room, dining room, study, two bedrooms. . . ." He paused for a moment before he spoke. "Seems like a little much for two people, don't you think?"

She shrugged. "I'm thinking of taking in some lodgers."

He'd screwed up his forehead at her. "I know med school is expensive, Penny, but—"

"I'm not planning to charge them any rent."

"So we're just going take in random people off Craigslist and provide free housing?"

"Room and board," she corrected.

"Why would we do this?"

"Well, a Classic 6 would be way too big for two people."