Chapter 43: The Penny Situation
She's sitting in the hallway at 7 AM, crying into her phone.
I'm leaving for the Pasadena shop, coffee in hand, when I spot her.
Penny. Leonard's crush. My friend. My neighbor.
Currently sobbing.
"—I can't do this anymore, Dan. I can't. No, don't—no, I'm done. We're done. I'm hanging up now."
She ends the call, drops the phone, puts her head in her hands.
I should walk past. Give her privacy. Not get involved.
Instead: "You okay?"
She looks up, mascara running. "Do I look okay?"
"Not really."
"Then there's your answer." She wipes her face with her sleeve. "Sorry. Bad morning. Bad month. Bad year."
"Want to talk about it?"
"You don't want to hear about my relationship drama."
"I have twenty minutes before I need to leave. Coffee's still hot." I sit down beside her in the hallway. "What happened?"
She considers. Then: "I finally dumped Dan."
"Finally?"
"He's been cheating for three months. I knew. He knew I knew. But I kept—I don't know why I kept—" She stops. "God, I'm pathetic."
"You're not pathetic."
"I stayed with a guy who was cheating on me because I was scared of being alone."
"That's not pathetic. That's human."
She laughs bitterly. "You're being way too nice about this."
"I dated someone for six months knowing we'd break up eventually. Sometimes we do dumb things for people we care about."
"Melissa moved to Seattle, right?"
"Yeah. January."
"That sucked."
"Still sucks. But less."
We sit in the hallway quiet. Building sounds filter around us—someone's TV, elevator ding, footsteps above.
"Thank you," Penny says eventually. "For not being weird about this. Leonard would've—he means well, but he'd have tried to fix everything. Given me advice I didn't ask for."
"Leonard's got a savior complex."
"And you don't?"
"I've got a mind-my-own-business complex. Usually."
She smiles. Genuine this time.
"Want actual coffee?" I offer. "Not hallway sympathy coffee, but real breakfast coffee?"
"You don't have to—"
"I know. But there's a cafe downstairs. I have time. You look like you could use a friend."
"A friend?"
"Yeah. That thing where people hang out without wanting anything from each other."
She studies me. "You're different than I thought."
"Good different or bad different?"
"Jury's still out."
The cafe's nearly empty at 7:30 AM.
We order—coffee and bagel for her, refill for me. Sit by the window overlooking the street.
"So," Penny starts, "you're the successful businessman now. How's that going?"
"Two shops, steady income, some consulting work. Can't complain."
"Leonard says you're making insane money on investments."
"Leonard talks too much."
"He worries about you. Thinks you're doing something risky."
"I'm doing something educated. There's a difference."
She picks at her bagel. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How do you do it? The success thing. Because two years ago you were—I'm sorry, but you were kind of a mess. And now you're this confident guy with two businesses and money and—like, what changed?"
The question hits harder than expected.
What changed?
I died and stole someone's body and absorbed temporal knowledge from the void.
"I started trying," I say instead. "Stopped accepting failure. Took risks. Surrounded myself with good people. Built on small wins until they weren't small anymore."
"That's very inspirational poster."
"It's also true. Mostly."
"What's the 'mostly' part?"
"The mostly part is some luck. Right timing. Being in LA when the entertainment industry needed comic consultants. Having friends who supported crazy ideas."
She drinks her coffee. "And the girlfriend leaving didn't destroy you."
"It sucked. Still sucks. But I had shops to run, friends who cared, investments to manage. Stayed busy. Moved forward."
"That's—Stuart, that's really healthy. Mature."
"Don't sound so surprised."
"I just—you've changed a lot. In a good way."
We talk for another hour. About her acting—auditions that go nowhere, the grind of Hollywood rejection. About her family in Nebraska. About what she actually wants from life.
She's smart. Funny when not crying over cheating boyfriends. Self-aware about her patterns.
And beautiful. Obviously beautiful. I've known that since meeting her.
But right now, vulnerable and honest over coffee, she's—
Don't.
The warning's internal. Not the tingle. Just common sense.
She's Leonard's crush. Just broke up. Needs a friend, not another guy hitting on her.
And yet.
Walking back to the building, she hugs me.
"Thank you. Really. For listening without making it weird."
"Anytime."
She holds the hug longer than necessary. When she pulls back, we make eye contact.
One second too long.
Both feel it. That spark. That moment.
She breaks it first, steps back.
"I should—I have an audition at ten. Need to fix my face."
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
She heads to her apartment. I head to the elevator.
Don't look back. Don't complicate this.
I look back.
She's watching me from her doorway.
We both turn away quickly.
In my car, heading to Pasadena, I think about that moment.
Leonard's been in love with Penny since she moved in. Never acted on it, but everyone knows.
She just broke up. Vulnerable. Probably not thinking clearly.
And I'm—what? Interested? Attracted? Both?
This is a bad idea.
Terrible idea.
Friend-group-destroying idea.
My phone buzzes at a red light.
Leonard: Saw you with Penny this morning. Everything okay?
He was watching. Of course he was watching.
Me: She broke up with her boyfriend. Was upset. Got coffee. That's it.
Leonard: Okay. Just checking.
The light turns green.
I drive toward the shop thinking about complications I don't need.
Two successful businesses. Growing investments. Consulting career taking off.
The last thing I need is relationship drama with Leonard's crush.
The absolute last thing.
So why can't I stop thinking about that hug?
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