Penny's Choice

Chapter 6

Penny didn't see Jake very much over the next couple of days. He was busy with meetings and she spent her evenings practicing.

On Friday morning Penny got a phone call from Mirella. She sounded horrible.

"I'm sorry, Penny, I can't teach you this Saturday. I've got a cold."

"Oh no. I'm sorry. I hope you feel better soon."

"I'll see you next week, okay?"

"Okay."

Penny felt relieved after she hung up the phone. It was nice to get a bit of a break from her lessons. She had been putting a lot of pressure on herself and now she could relax a bit.

Penny went to Jake's office on her lunch break. Luckily he wasn't in a meeting or anything.

"Hey, I was just thinking about you," he said, smiling when he saw her in the doorway of his office.

"You were?" she asked. "I hope it was something good."

"It's always something good," he said, chuckling. "What's up?"

"My piano lesson was cancelled," Penny replied. "I'm free all day tomorrow."

"That's great!" Jake said. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet," Penny replied, shrugging. "I hadn't thought of anything."

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm going on a fishing trip with some buddies this weekend. I booked it weeks ago."

"Oh," Penny said, feeling disappointed. "I see."

"I'm sorry. I would have loved to get together but I made these plans a while back."

"I understand," Penny said softly. "Maybe we can get together next weekend."

"Oh, for sure," Jake said, standing up and coming over to her. "I'll see you before then."

He gave her a quick hug and kissed her on the cheek.

Penny tried hard not to feel disappointed as she walked back to her cubicle. Was it a bad thing that she was already used to hanging out with Jake? Maybe she should play harder to get. But she had never really understood women who played games. She didn't really want to be someone like that. She didn't think Jake would appreciate it.

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On Saturday morning Penny decided to do something she had been putting off for a long time: buy new clothes. She absolutely hated shopping. Her mom used to be a great help to her. She would bring her outfits to try on and Penny would never have to leave the fitting room. Her mom knew what looked good on her, too. Penny missed having someone in her life who knew her that well.

Penny spent most of the day at the mall. Luckily she found a few helpful sales clerks who didn't mind making multiple trips back and forth to her fitting room.

Penny found seven new outfits for work and none of them were black. She found form-fitting clothes that fit her curvy figure more tightly than she was used to. A few of the outfits made her feel almost attractive. She hoped Jake would notice the difference in her attire. She wasn't used to wearing bright colors and tight pants. But she still looked professional and she hoped she looked more fashionable. Penny splurged on some new shoes and scarves to go with her new outfits. She'd never bought so many clothes at one time before. Her savings account was depleted quite a bit, but she figured it was a good investment.

By Saturday evening, Penny was exhausted. She was sick of looking at herself in the mirror. She was a little surprised at how thin she looked in her new clothes. She must have lost weight since the last time she went shopping. It had been a few years, so she was surprised.