Page 128 of Positively, Penelope

PS: I almost missed you all enough to pull out the photos of our camping trip through the Smoky Mountains. Almost.

From: Luke Edgewood

To: Izzy Edgewood, Penelope Edgewood, Josephine Martin

Date: January9

Subject: Re: Missing you

You’ve been gone three weeks, Iz. And you have Brodie. Surely you can’t miss usthatmuch. Those photos are reserved for real emergencies, like... never.

Luke

PS: Brodie will talk some sense into you.

From: Penelope Edgewood

To: Izzy Edgewood, Luke Edgewood, Josephine Martin

Date: January9

Subject: Re: Missing you

More like he’ll KISS some sense into her! And then she won’t miss us at all.

It’s been wonderful to be at the Ashby and to know I’ve been brought on to make a difference. AND that I have the power to make that difference. It would be practically perfect if I didn’t miss Matthias and Iris so much. But we’ve gotten into a good schedule of video calls (just like you and Brodie used to do), and since I have your relationship with him as a positive example, it’s definitely helped with the distance and... uncertain future.

I have NOT cried every day. I’ve gotten it down to maybe three days a week.

And I still smile. Luke’s telling people that I left my smile in Skymar! That is NOT good PR for an executive director of a theater!

Your message made me miss everyone in Fiacla so much more! Aren’t they just a wonderful group of people?

JMC and I are meeting with the board in a few minutes to discuss which musicals we plan to feature our first year. EEEE!!! I’m bringing every Julie Andrews / Audrey Hepburnrecommendation I can. You can never go wrong with Julie Andrews or Audrey.

Penelope

PS: Doesn’t Matthias have the best eyes?

Text from Josephine to Izzy:I just wanted to let you know that I miss you. I think Penelope’s personality energizes the twins much more than yours. You had a calming effect, especially since you chose to read books to them instead of sing musicals. I came in on her singing “The Phantom of the Opera” the other day, and I am certain it took the twins longer to go to sleep than usual.

Izzy:Was it a Tuesday night? They usually have a hard time going to sleep after you take them to whatever baby yoga you’ve enrolled them in.

Josephine:It was Tuesday, but it wasn’t because of the yoga.The Phantom of the Operais terrifying. A man wearing a mask in a basement? When she saw my horror, she kindly changed to “I Could Have Danced All Night,” but then she started crying, kissed the babies, and left. She’s much too attached to those musicals.

***

Penelope stood and stretched out her back from an afternoon of sorting through another series of boxes stored throughout the Ashby. And though Jackie had offered to send someone to go through the boxes for her, Penelope felt that she needed to be the one to decide what was useful or not. Some people didn’t understand how something as simple as a clothes hanger could easily be transformed into a theater-worthyaddition, not to mention lovely little discoveries like costumes, hats, and myriad props.

Besides, staying busy was good for her.

It kept her mind from thinking about Skymar and her fingers from looking up flight details.

She couldn’t afford a flight just yet, neither financially nor time-wise, but boy oh boy, when she could, she was jetting right over to enjoy some Iris hugs and some Matthias kisses. At least she got to see them on video calls. That was something! Of course, she’d known separation was going to be tough, but she hadn’t fully grasped the ache.

But having this job had been wonderful. And spending time with Josephine, the twins, her parents, and Luke had made the transition so much easier.

Right.

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