The Girl He Had To Marry- An Arranged Marriage Story

Chapter Twenty-Six: Preparing for Thanksgiving

Penny wasn't prepared for Tuesday morning. The sudden sounds of an alarm startled her awake. She basically sat straight up, looking around the room for the source of the sound. It was her phone, on her desk. That means that she had to get out of bed to turn the horrible sound off. She basically stomped like a child to her desk to turn the alarm off. She stops the alarm and leans over her desk, groaning. It was six-forty-five in the morning. 

She didn't even set the alarm. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep to the movie her and Quentin were watching. 

Then, like clockwork, there was a knock at her door. It was like someone was listening and waiting for her to turn off the alarm. 

And, surprise, surprise, there was. 

She opened the door and came face to face with Quentin, and he was already dressed for the day. Very confused, she asked, "What are you doing?"

Quentin waited for her to finish rubbing her eyes and yawn, "I am getting you out if bed so that we can go on an early morning walk together."

Usually on his days off, he would go running at this time, but he can settle for a simple walk around the city. 

"I don't know if I am up for that. I'm still pretty tired," She says, trying to close the door so that she can go back to bed. He decides to push his way inside, towards his bed. She gasps in surprise as he starts making the bed. She was going to go back into it, "Now what are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't go back in bed," he pauses to finish making the bed. She is still too in shock to stop him. "Wear something warm and easy to move in. It's pretty cold outside. You know what, the cold will really wake you up. I'll make some coffee for us to go."

He bounced out of the room. She couldn't believe that he was so full of energy at this time in the morning. Penny was never one to wake up early. She preferred sleeping in. In her early teens, it became a survival tactic, so that she never came across her father when he was home. It developed into an everyday action that she just enjoyed. 

She wasn't going to go back to bed now that her bed was made. It would have been rude. Quentin went out of his way to make her bed and she wasn't going to let that go to waste. So she walked towards her closet and picked out a pair of gray leggings, long-sleeved black shirt, a plaid scarf to warp around her neck, and a pair of white sneakers. 

The sweet smell of coffee draw her downstairs where she found her husband waiting with two travel cup. He handed one to her, "I don't know what you like in it, so it's just black."

"Thanks," she says, bringing the mug to her lips and taking a big sip. Quentin in the past tried to drink his coffee black, because sugar made his ADHD worse, but he found it disgusting. He now settles on lots of cream and a little bit of those sugar-free flavor syrups. 

Together, they walk to the front door, gathering there jackets in there hands. He asks, "Are you ready to go?"

She gives a little nod, while she was more focused on putting on her jacket with one hand. Once she succeeded, she said, "Let's go."

Then, it back a morning tradition for the rest of the week leading up to Thanksgiving. He would wake her up in the morning, they would grab some coffee, and then they would go for a nice long walk. Some times they would talk to each other, other times they would just stay silent and appreciate the city. Sometimes it also felt like a personal tour of New York. Quentin would pass by shops, restaurants, and even random alleyways and tell a story or rave about how amazing they were. It really made her feel more comfortable with where she is living. 

After there long walks, they would return to the house and go there separate ways until dinner when the three of them would dine together. Quentin would go to his room to read, and Penny would do anything to keep her mind busy. Sometimes she would be with Ms. Birdie learning how to cook. She would scroll through Pinterest, looking at random things. She would go online window shopping, looking for clothes, furniture, and DIY items that she would never, and couldn't buy. Lastly, sometimes she would pick up a book and read. 

She was just doing anything to keep her mind off of everything going on. It works, for the most part. She would still be exhausted halfway during the day, which resulted in her taking a nap before dinner. She was pleased with this new schedule, but not one-hundred percent happy. Not that sure didn't enjoy what she was doing, but rather, it was just hard to raise her spirits. 

However, there is no doubt that she is improving little by little. 

***

Faded floral wallpaper from the 70's wrap around the cheap motel room. The corners and edge pealing away. The disgusting yellow roses with swirling green vines on top an ivory white are sure to drive someone mad. If it didn't, surely the mismatched pink floral bedspread that is one day away from sprouting mold. Or the teal blue shag carpeting that has spots more worn down than others. 

All of this, in the cheap motel room on the outskirts of Reno, didn't make DR crazy. 

But thats because he already was. 

His current case has driven him to madness long before checking into this vile place. His current condition distracted him from a room that would drive other's to the deepest parts of there mind. 

However, all of that doesn't matter. The only thing that does is the fact he has a break in the case. 

The moment he stepped into the rented room, he got to work trying to solve Ross DeLuca's mystery. He had a thumb-drive with a file of all the people that worked under and got paid by William Marshall. He first got rid of anyone that was obviously not Portuguese, which was a good amount of people. The company was surprisingly diverse. That left a pretty good group of men and women that were either known Portuguese or could be Portuguese. His own Company supplied him with all information of the Gallo family, including all members. He started with the the Gallo head and traced it back to Ross DeLuca. It wasn't that hard. The head's sister was his mother. She married a man that was lower in the family, therefore, he wasn't a big part of the Family. The word family was another big part of solving the puzzle, because the f was lower case. When talking about the mafia Family, it is like a name. However, he used family, implying that this person is a part of his own family. They are related by blood. 

So he started a family tree and it didn't take long to find a familiar name. It was a woman, specifically the wife to the head's only brother. She is Portuguese and after the death of her husband at a young age, she went to work for William Marshall personally. 

Alberta Cotta Gallo, only maid to William Marshall and now Penelope Marshall. 

A sinister smirk spread across his face as he looked away from his computer. This woman has ties to the Gallo family and was present the day he was murdered with her only alibi being the daughter of the man who is dead. 

He is so close to solving this once in for all. 

DeLuca said that she knows something. He doesn't believe that at all. He thinks she did it. 

It looks like he is heading home for Thanksgiving this year.