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He uncrossed his arms and rubbed his thumb over his palm. “It means she does a lot of volunteering and organizing social activities on post.” His voice sounded tight and his entire posture radiated unhappiness. This was clearly torture for him. But he hadn’t bailed yet.
“Brothers and sisters?” Penny asked.
“Two younger brothers. One in college and one in high school.” His jaw tightened. “Both headed into the army like our dad.”
“But not you? You didn’t want to go into the army?”
He made a face like he’d drunk sour milk. “No.”
“You really hate talking about yourself, don’t you?”
“I just don’t like talking about this.”
“I’m sorry.” Penny made a mental note that said family issues and tucked it away in his file.
He shrugged. “It’s okay. It’s just…my dad wasn’t too happy when I didn’t go into ROTC.”
ROTC meant he’d gone to college, but before she could ask him where, a new customer came in and Caleb escaped the rest of her interrogation by going to take his order.
That was all right. Penny’s file on him had already expanded by leaps and bounds. She was pleased with the progress.
“Ask him about something besides his folks,” George said quietly from behind his newspaper.
“Why?” Penny asked.
“His father’s a real piece of work. It’s a sore subject.”
Penny folded down the corner of George’s newspaper so she could look at him. “How do you know that?”
George shrugged. “We talk sometimes.”
Interesting.
So she’d been right about the family issues. Good to know. Next time she’d steer clear of his home life, and maybe he’d loosen up a little more.
She was looking forward to adding more pieces to the Caleb puzzle.
Saturday morning Penny went back to yoga class, because routine was good. Routine was better than a boyfriend because it never let you down.
“Are you feeling better?” her friend Melody asked as they laid out their mats in their usual spots at the back of the room.
They’d met last year through their Great Books group. They were the only two people in the group under the age of forty, and after they’d bonded over their shared love of Marvel movies and fan fiction, Melody had turned Penny on to this yoga studio.
Penny bent to adjust her mat so it was more perfectly parallel to the floorboards. “Tons better.”
“We missed you last week,” the instructor, Tessa, said, laying a hand on Penny’s back as she glided past. Tessa had long blonde hair and a gentle, calm demeanor that effortlessly commanded attention. Despite her youth, she reminded Penny a little of her mother, with her teacher’s knack for inspiring respect without ever raising her voice.
Conversation quieted automatically as Tessa reached the front of the room. She greeted the class, started up a playlist of meditative music, and began leading them through the warm-up sequence.
Penny had only moved up to the advanced class a few months ago. She’d been intimidated to the point of nausea when Tessa had first suggested it. All the advanced women were slender and athletic. They looked like they could have played the Amazon warriors in Wonder Woman, and for all Penny knew, some of them had.
It had taken all the courage she could muster to show up for the advanced yoga class, but Tessa had been right: Penny was good enough, even if most people wouldn’t think so by looking at her.
As they moved into Natarajasana, Melody wobbled and cursed under her breath. Penny tried not to take too much pleasure in the fact that she was actually stronger and more coordinated than thin, pretty Melody. Realizing she wasn’t the worst student in class had been a real boost to her confidence.
She’d originally signed up for yoga because she figured she could use the enforced relaxation in addition to the exercise. Being still and contemplative weren’t exactly her strong suits. She preferred to keep busy, and her mind was perpetually racing ahead, making plans for the next activity. But for one hour every week, Penny pushed all those tendencies aside and focused on mindful breathing as Tessa’s soothing voice guided her through a series of increasingly challenging poses.
Where it all tended to fall apart for Penny was during corpse pose at the end. It was just so boring, lying there on the floor with nothing to do. Today, as she struggled to soften her throat and relax her limbs, her mind fixated on Kenneth and the fact that she’d dated him for two whole months without ever seriously considering whether she actually liked him.
