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“He’s moving away. In less than two weeks.”
Her mother’s lips pursed. “Hmmm. How far away?”
Penny was glad Margaret was knitting. It was easier to talk about it when she didn’t have to look her directly in the eye. “Mississippi.”
“Oh no. That’s fairly dire.”
“It’s where he’s going to med school.” Penny bit her lip. “He told me up front that we only had a month before he left and it would be better not to get involved.”
“And?”
“And I thought I could handle it. I thought I could spend time with him without getting attached.”
Her mother looked into the camera, her head tilted to one side. “Oh, Penny. My sweet girl, you get attached to disposable food storage containers.”
“I liked him, Mom. He’s gorgeous—like seriously, unbelievably gorgeous—and really sweet once you get to know him. And he actually liked me back. I just wanted…” She looked down at her lap, too embarrassed to say the words aloud.
“You wanted to feel liked by a cute boy,” her mother supplied for her. “Particularly after Kenneth bruised your self-esteem, I’d imagine. That’s all right. It’s what rebound relationships were invented for.”
Penny clenched the steering wheel with the hand that wasn’t holding the phone. “That’s what I thought at first, but it’s not like that with Caleb. It’s not like anything I’ve ever felt before.”
Margaret’s sharp eyes shifted to study the digital image of Penny’s face on her screen. “You love him.”
“Yes.” Penny’s shoulders sagged. “I didn’t mean to, it just happened.”
Her mother smiled faintly. “That’s usually how love works.”
“And now he’s leaving and I can’t do anything about it.”
“No.” Her mother’s tone was somber and compassionate. “You can’t.”
“I never should have let myself get close to him. It was a huge mistake.” Penny’s fingers were getting pins and needles from squeezing the steering wheel so hard. She pried them off and shook out her hand to get the blood flowing again.
Her mother clucked sympathetically. “Sometimes you have to follow where your heart leads you.”
“Even if it's headed straight to heartbreak town?”
Margaret shrugged. “A little heartbreak builds character.”
“You mean scar tissue.”
“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to,” her mother said lightly. “No one’s ever died of heartbreak, is my point.”
“Romeo and Juliet did.”
Margaret’s lip curled as she let out a derisive snort. “Romeo and Juliet died from being insufferable idiots. They'd have been much better off if they'd built up a little more scar tissue.”
Penny smiled despite herself. Her mother had always hated that particular one of Shakespeare’s plays—and the fact that it was a required part of the district’s curriculum. “So what you’re saying is it’s actually a good thing I’ve fallen in love with a man I’m going to lose in twelve days.”
Her mother’s expression softened, causing a knot of homesickness to form in the pit of Penny’s stomach. “Love is never a bad thing, sweetheart.”
Penny shook her head to cover her emotions. “As if there were ever any doubts where I get my optimism from.”
“Pfft. I’m a realist, thank you very much,” Margaret said. “I’m not trying to sugarcoat this: it’s going to hurt like the devil. But you’ve got a sensible head and a strong heart. You’ll come through it tougher than you went into it.”
“And tough’s supposed to be an improvement?” Penny asked uncertainly.
“For a sweet soul like yours? Tough is a critical survival skill.”
