A Penny's Worth by Nancy DeRosa Page A

everything.”
    “It all sounds too good to be true,”
Penny said awkwardly, but she meant every word. Winston had positioned his
snout on the center of Brutus’ butt and was licking it with great intensity.
Lovely.
    Sarah blurted out, “I have you to thank
for all of this, you know.”
    “Thank me for what?”
    She smiled broadly. “Do you remember when
you had,” she broke off her sentence, laughed then continued, “suggested that I
stop rabbiting on about TV shows?”
    “Yeah. I know I offended you and I’m
sorry.”
    “No, it was the best thing you could have
done for me. At first, I admit, I was upset and I avoided you.” She laughed.
“Since now to be honest, but you made me think about my life and how empty it
was. I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said. Look how small my world had
become. I was living my life through other people’s dramas and they weren’t
even real. How pathetic is that?”
    “Well… not exactly pathetic, and they are
called reality shows. I just thought that perhaps we could talk about other
things sometimes.”
    Sarah clacked her fingers. “That’s just
it… what else could I possibly talk about?” Sarah touched Penny’s arm lightly.
“Because of your bluntness, I refused to sit in front of that damn television
any longer. It was hard in the beginning,” she admitted, smiling proudly. “But
I did it thanks to you.”
    “That’s just great Sarah.” Penny felt
uneasy: she really didn’t feel like she had done a good deed. But hey, Sarah
Bentley looked on top of the world. The tables had turned, and now she was the
pathetic one with nothing to look forward to other than the Tonight Show. “I
switched jobs, you know!” She tugged Winston’s face away from Brutus’ butt.
    “Really, where are you now?”
    She tried to sound self assured. “I am a
nurse on the oncology floor at Wayside Hospital.”
    “Wow,” Sarah sighed. “You really are my
role model.”
    “Well, let’s not get carried away.”
    “Dating anyone?”
    “Nope.” She felt a pang in the pit of her
stomach.
    Sarah touched her arm again. “Gary has
this great friend who happens to be single. Would you like to meet him?”
    She wondered who the stranger was in her
head who said on her behalf: “I’m open to anything these days.” She felt a
twinge of guilt that she had wanted nothing to do with this woman. Now, in just
a few short minutes, Sarah had become more interesting. “I would like to meet
Gary’s friend. It could be fun.” She shrugged: she didn’t want to appear too
eager.
    Sarah grinned and checked her watch.
“That’s a plan then. I’ll set something up soon, I promise. Got to run, but
we’ll be in touch.”
    Penny waved her hand nonchalantly. She
didn’t want to seem like she was climbing up the walls for a quality date with
a man. A nice restaurant or a movie sounded like heaven. It had been far too
long since she had done that, and the desperation was nipping at her like a
thousand paper cuts.
    She thought about the irony of her situation.
Telling Sarah how boring she was may have improved her mornings, but Sarah had
gotten an even better deal out of it. Hey Sarah, I think you owe me big time,
she thought as a smile spread across her face.

Chapter 19
    The following day, she was at work promptly at 7AM,
ready for whatever hellish challenge this hospital should conspire to throw at
her, ready for indifferent colleagues and tricky procedures, ready for anything
except the sight of Dr Bruck, leaning against the wall by the main desk, deep
in conversation with one of the prettiest nurses on staff. Peggy Mastersen.
Blond, petite, and perky. She was hanging on Dr Bruck’s arm, laughing merrily
at something he had said. Penny could have been invisible when she shouldered
past Dr Bruck and his over-attentive groupie. To make matters even worse, Reins
was waiting at the end of the corridor. Great start to the morning. Penny
hurried towards her.
    “We have a situation in room