The Right Choice

Chapter 11

Jessie stared at the sight in front of her as she fiddled with the sandwich in her hands. She couldn’t believe it. They were the last two people she had hoped to spot together let alone have a joyous conversation with each other. ‘I must be seeing things.’

She saw Penelope and Sam standing next to each other at the lunch counter. Sam picked up the chocolate cake and kept it in his tray. Penelope saw that and gave him a look of mock anger. She then picked it up and returned it to the counter as she said something to him.

The past week at Richmond, Riker & Co. had been nothing less than entertaining for Jessie. Penelope and Sam had pretty much steered clear of each other since their argument on Monday. Every time there was a conversation, neither of them participated at the same time. At least one of them would ignore the conversation. That meant that Neal was the only person she could talk to without having it become uncomfortable.

The two hot-headed individuals even stayed away from each other for the entire week. But today was something else. They were behaving as though none of the argument had taken place. They were even making trivial jokes with each other. Neither left the others side and now they were inseparable at lunch too.

“They ran out of salads. Can you believe it?”

Jessie’s attention got diverted when she heard Neal as he kept his tray on the table and sat next to her.

“Forget about the salad. Can you believe this?” She said pointing towards the two at the counters.

Neal looked forward and gave out a sigh while shaking his head. “Huh! I was beginning to wonder when they would get back to normal.”

Jessie was taken aback, “You don’t find it to be weird?”

“Not really.” Neal said with a laugh.

“Okay. Why not?” Jessie pressed ahead. “I mean, they were at each other’s throat just a few days ago. And today, they are behaving as though they are the best of buddies. I mean, did I miss something?”

“No you didn’t.”

“Then what the hell is this?”

“This is what happens every time when Penelope goes out with someone,” Neal replied before taking a sip out of his soup. “Sam says something really mean to her. Penelope retaliates in anger. They argue for what seems like centuries and stop talking to each other for days. Then they start to realize how stupid it is and bury the hatch.”

“Wow!” Jessie raised her eyebrows and asked, “And that happens every time?”

Neal simply nodded in affirmation.

“That’s crazy.”

“You know it.”

“I have a question. Why doesn’t Sam just simply ask her out? That would save them a lot of trouble and energy. Probably save our sanities as well.”

Neal laughed, “Sam is more of the deep thinker. He prefers to be in his own little world, as you may have noticed. He likes her spunky personality which I’m afraid is more than he can handle. So he is hesitant to move forward.”

Jessie nodded as she remembered the past week. The first day was spent in silence and tension as the two refused to talk with anyone. Their anger seemed to spill into the surroundings. So much so, that she and Neal barely spoke with each other. It was hardly how Jessie hoped her first day would go. She had hoped that the next day would be better. Sadly, it was only mildly better.

Penelope had returned to her normal self and had given Jessie a detailed and thorough tour of the office. Thanks to which, Jessie knew the storage space for the bathroom toiletries as well. ‘Why would I want to know where those are kept?’