What could PRINCE have to worry about? He's gorgeous, talented and successful And as a bonus, his insecure girlfriend Penelope Smith has become a little more confident while growing her photography business.
I watch Penelope sleep. My mind keeps going back to what she said about not wanting children. Personally, I think having children with her would be nice if we were blessed enough. Otherwise, we'd still have a happy life together. But if I want a shot at us having a family, I'll have to get her to therapy, ideally before our wedding or pray for an accident after the wedding.
How hard could it be to watch your self criticizing in front of your daughter? If she hears you say "I hate my legs" can't you just say something like "I'm being silly, they're not that bad"? Penelope's lack of self esteem doesn't make her a poor role model. She has accomplished so much. Her future children would definitely admire their mother, even if she doesn't have the sleek model's legs she'd prefer.
Children is a subject I'd like to bring up again, but I don't want her to feel I'm pressuring her. How do I say,"I love you, want to spend forever with you and try for a family" without scaring her shitless? What if that damn self esteem gets in the way and she doesn't feel worthy of being my wife? Some would say she's out of my league, being white, a successful business owner and coming from a family who basically funded her education. Naturally there are still racists out there who give us dirty looks. It's not as bad as when Margaret and I were dating, but I still notice.
The next morning, I take her to the airport and say goodbye. Once again I read her the riot act about Grace. Margaret is a saint for agreeing to let Grace come. I'd told Margaret that Grace doesn't think before she speaks. I left it at that because I didn't want Margaret to think poorly of Penelope's friends. At home I do a workout hop in the shower and walk out nude to put on a fresh outfit. While opening my bureau to get some underwear I notice Penelope's closet door open somewhat. Not like her at all! "Weird,"I mutter under my breath. Still naked, I walk over and close it.
"Hey! I'm in here!" yells Sabrina as she flings the door open. "OH NO!" she screams as she covers her eyes.
"Get back in there while I put something on!"I order.
"I'm very sorry."
Right now, while I'm grabbing clothes all I care about is the outfit not clashing."What ARE you doing here? And where's Sammy?" I ask while I put on a shirt. Sabrina is almost never invited here.
"With Brad. Penelope and I were discussing a real estate agent convention I'm going to. When I mentioned an outfit was bringing she said she had a scarf that'd be perfect and I could borrow it! So I came over because I had her permission even though she's not here. Can I open the door?"
"Yeah. As far as I'm concerned you two should be borrowing things regularly."
Sabrina goes through some clothes on the rack."These are beautiful! Did you pick them out?"
"A few but she chooses her own clothes mostly and plays a big part in designing her red carpet outfits."
"Wow!" Exclaims Sabrina as she picks up a shoe,"We wear the same shoe size! I had no clue! Do you think she'd let me borrow a couple pairs?"
"Not sure."
Next Sabrina looks in Penelope's jewelry box. "I love the bold estate sale jewelry she wears. Too bad I don't feel I can pull it off. Penny basically used to wear work jeans and work tee shirts even when she wasn't working and she'd throw on some old necklace or something with it. Dad wasn't crazy about the look. He wanted her to dress like a lady once in awhile after work. Pretty skirts and dresses. But she didn't think she had the figure for that." Sabrina looks upward,"WHAT THE HECK? SHE'S STILL GOT JANITOR CLOTHES? THAT WAS HER OLD LIFE! We have got to throw these out for her own good. They must be two sizes to big now"
"If we throw them out, she'll have a fit and won't let you borrow anything again. Believe me, I tried. Got her to get rid of a pair of jeans, that was challenging enough for her"
"Dad told me not to say this, but he's so happy you took Penny to church that he said, 'Maybe I misjudged that boy'"
"He actually said that ?"
"Personally I think you fit in with our family very well. Aunt Sophie liked you instantly."
"Thank you. I figured Sophie and I would get along well. This is off topic but do you think Penelope is a good role model?"
She looks confused,"For whom?"
"Someone like Sammy. As he grows up."
"Absolutely! But I just hope she outgrows drag shows by the time Sammy knows what they are! If my son goes to one it won't be until he's an adult and it won't be with his aunt because that's weird!"
Sabrina is very into appearances, maybe more than me. But it's not hard for me to imagine Penelope as the eccentric aunt who encourages all of your eccentricities."What would you like them to do together?" I ask.
"Penny could teach him photography. Maybe when he's older if he's interested she could show him how to run a business. Of course, I'll try to force her to give him French lessons. Did you know she can sing almost all the songs from Rocky Horror Picture Show in French?" Sabrina laughs.
"No. What is it with her and that movie?"
"After a rough week when she was about fourteen, Derek took her to see it. He thought she'd like the music and the crazy characters. She did and that film makes her think of Derek still."
"Oh, she never told me."
"Probably because it's not a movie normal people get sentimental about."
"I wouldn't have judged her. Movies are memorable sometimes because of who we saw them with. The first time I saw Grease I went with my friend Margaret because she wanted to see it. When I see it's on television I think of those days, hanging out with Margaret."
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"That's sweet. Well, I'd better get going. Have you seen a black and white polka dot scarf?"
"In my closet. Swiped it for a press conference." I hand it to her.
"It was nice to really get to chat. We need to more often because you might be my brother-in-law one day, if I'm lucky. Sorry about invading your privacy, I thought I'd the scarf and get out."
"Just don't tell anyone you saw me naked in my bedroom. We'd end up in the tabloids."
As she leaves, I think that Penelope and I do need to spend more time with Sabrina, Brad and Sammy.
What do you think of Sabrina? And her relationship with Penelope?
