BREAKING POINT

The silence in the car started to feel a little awkward. Was Penny also thinking about that assumption the staff of the Baby Supermarket had made? What did she think about it? Had she-even for that tiny moment of time-thought about what it would be like if it had been true?

Something like alarm prickled in Joey’s spine. He’d already overstepped a boundary falling for someone who would never see him the same way. But it didn’t change the fact that he cared. That she had touched his heart in a special way.

But it seemed as if something entirely dif-ferent was bothering Penny. She was so quiet.

“I’ll pay you back,” she said, finally. “Please you have to let me. You didn’t come with me so you could cover all the expenses”

“That’s not necessary.” Joey replied.

She shook her head. “Of course it is. You’ve already done far more than most people would.”

Joey said nothing. Infact, he felt kind of…disappointed.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“I will be getting more time work more soon.” Penny continued. “Howard is growing fast” Something like a huff of laughter broke her words. “Good grief…I’ll have to find somewhere to live, first…”

“There’s no rush,” Joey heard himself say-ing. “Audrey and I love having you around. You know that. And when did you decide to move?”

“Oh I have had it on my mind for a while now. You and Audrey have been good to me, but I can’t stay with you forever. I will have to leave and start my life over. But don’t worry, I won’t be going too far away”

Joey nodded his head. “I understand” he said. “Audrey is not going like hearing that though. I know how much she loves having you and Howard around. She’s so used to you guys now that it would be hard for her after you leave”

But what about him? How would he feel if she left. Penny found herself wondering. And she was disappointed when he said nothing about that.

Joey continued, “And don’t worry about paying me back for the baby stuff.”

He kept his gaze firmly on the task of locating a space on the far side of the store’s car park. “Consider it a gift.” he added.

Easing the vehicle to a stop between the designated lines, he turned his head to offer a smile that would confirm that it was no big deal. That he could afford it easily enough for it to mean virtually nothing.

To his surprise, Penny was scowling at him. She looked…as disappointed as he’d been a minute ago

“I asked for your help,” she said quietly. “Not charity.” It was another awkward moment, during which Joey realised how patronising he must have sounded. No wonder Penny was on the defensive. That flash of anger in her eyes suggested that she would fight for her independence with the same kind of passion that she would use to protect her son.

He had to respect that… And he needed to apologize. Joey opened his mouth to do exactly that but, before he could say a word, another sound was heard.

A shriek of extreme pain.

They were still staring at each other so Joey could see the way they both dismissed any thoughts of anything personal. The pro-fessional switch in him was flipped that instant.

“Oh, my God…” Penny breathed. “That sounds like a child.”

Joey had his door open already. “Where did it come from?”

Penny was out of the car now, too. “There… look…” she said.

Almost opposite them, a car had stopped at an angle that cut across two parking spaces.

The driver’s door was open. So was one of the back doors. A woman was reaching into the car and another shriek split the air.

“Nooo… Don’t touch…”

“I have to, darling…I’m sorry…” The woman sounded nearly as upset as the child.

“Nooo…” The shrieks increased in volume.

This child was clearly terrified.

Howard was sound asleep in his flash, car seat. Leaving the door open would mean that Penny could hear him the moment he woke and the vehicle the screaming was coming from was only a few metres away.

She didn’t hesitate to follow Joey.

“What’s wrong?” she heard him ask the woman. “I’m one of the doctors from the hospital”

A quick glance over his shoulder told him that Penny was right behind him. “And this is my friend, Penny”

“It’s Mia-my daughter.” The woman straightened, turning to face Joey. “We were at the park and she fell out of a tree.”

She tried, and failed, to stop her face crum-pling and a sob emerging. “There’s something wrong with her arm. I think she’s broken it.”

“How high was the tree? And did you see how she landed? Did she hit her head as well?”

Penny stepped past them, as the mother was answering Joey’s questions, into the small gap by the open door. She crouched down so that her head was a little lower than the girl, who had subsided into quieter sobs now that no one was threatening to touch her.

“Hey, Mia…I’m Penny”

“Go away…” came the reply.

“I like your shoes.”

Penny made it sound as if the sneakers were the most exciting thing she’d seen all day. “Are they the ones that have the sparkly lights when you walk?” she asked.

Mia said nothing. She was still glaring at Penny suspiciously.

“I want a pair of those.” Penny sighed. “But they don’t make them for big girls like me.

How old are you, Mia? Four?”

“No.” Mia was offended enough to be dis-tracted from her fears. “I’m five.”

“Wow…you’re going to school already?” Mia nodded proudly and Penny smiled at her. She let her gaze slide down as she did so, though. The little girl had one arm cradled against her chest and she was using her other hand to hold it still. Penny could see the unusual shape of the small elbow on the injured side. She could also see the colour of the hand below it.

“Oh…look at your nail polish… What a pretty colour.” she said. “I love pink… It’s my absolutely favourite colour.”

Mia was thoroughly distracted now. She actually smiled at Penny. Joey saw that Penny was doing a good job of talking to the little girl so he stayed just behind them so as not to spook the little girl. He didn’t want her crying again. And Penny was handling it so well.

“Me, too. I like pink too” Mia said. She hadn’t minded Penny’s gentle touch on the fingers of her uninjured hand as she put her own fingers beneath it to admire the nail polish. She was even more careful as she slipped her fingers beneath those on Mia’s injured side.

“Can you move these fingers, darling? I want to see how pink they are.”

Mia shook her head.

“Because it hurts?”

It was a slow nod, this time.

“But it doesn’t hurt so much if you keep your arm very still?”

Another nod.