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WITH THE HECTIC schedule that came with being senior partner of a multi-million dollar worth firm, more often than once, Penelope would spread herself too thin.
So when I decided to pay her a visit several days later with a flat white and avocado on sourdough — her favourite if memory served — needless to say it was a pleasant surprise for the both of us.
Her office was situated in the entrance hall, quarantined from the several other offices that were set out sporadically around the upper ground floor. The bureau was filled with a clinical atmosphere that rubbed me up the wrong way, that was until I stepped into her cubicle and her warm eyes locked with mine and the cheerful smile playing on her bronze face was enough to warm up the place.
Clearing out the cluttered mess on her desk, then eagerly beckoning me over to the chair installed in front of her, it was evident to see that she was pleased to see me.
"You're godsend," she said leaning across the table to take hold of her brunch. "You really shouldn't have."
"Don't worry about it." I assured her. "It was on the way, and I'd take on pretty much any excuse to stop at that place."
"Sun Spot, is it?" She asked before taking a sip from her warm drink. "Your father is always talking my ear off about that place. Says it's been your favourite for years – now I know why. This is brilliant, love. Thank you."
I smiled brightly at her in mere satisfaction. "Told you so."
After falling into an uncomplicated quiet as Penelope finished eating, I paced up and down her office only to observe what it consisted of – which wasn't much. I always suspected that my step-mum was simplistic due to plenty years of cohabiting with her and adapting to her style de vie. But if a stranger waltzed in her office then they'd suspect the same thing too because it was clear as day that it was an apt reflection of who she was: soft, well-ordered and minimalist.
"Now don't take this the wrong way because I'm pleased that you've stopped by," she started mildly, tossing the remnants into the dustbin. "But what do I owe this lovely visit?"
I stopped dead in my tracks and turned on my heels to stride toward the vacant seat and plopped onto it, letting out a lengthy sigh. "It's just I had this all figured out," I said. "I was going to fly out here and reconnect with her and it'd be like old times. Going out to the shops, binge watching films and whatnot. Now she's evaporated from the face of the earth and I don't know if she'll turn up or – "
"Let's not go there," she warned, "it'll just have you worked up. Have you thought about busying yourself? Maybe go out, get some drinks with some of your mates?"
