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In their old house, when her father was still around and her mother hadn’t succumbed to the temptations of the bottle, it had been peaceful. They had lived on a quiet street, in a quaint suburban neighbourhood. The smell of cinnamon and spices would linger in the air around their house. She could remember curling up with her dad in that green-leather armchair and a book, the rain drizzling down outside as her momma sang along to the radio in the next room. Her father would wink at her and call himself the luckiest man in the world, for having the two of them. Penny had never felt more special than those times.
In the summer and spring, they planted flowers in the pots on their porch. The tulips and spangles were alright, but Penny’s favourite had always been the marigolds, a bright yellow-orange that lasted through most of the spring and summer. Her father would help her carefully water the plants and care for them until they were almost as tall as her. Her days were spent full of sunshine and giddy laughter as her father span her around in their small yard.
It was wonderful until a man in uniform came and knocked on their door.
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Penny hated this. She hated the way her mother shuts herself off from the world, from her. After her father was buried (because Penny was seven and she knew what laid to rest meant) her momma wouldn’t speak. It was bad. Really bad. She would have to be strong, like her father. Strong for her momma. Strong for herself.
Penny knows her momma’s not right, especially after she sees the empty cans and bottles littering the floor of her momma’s room. Her momma’s asleep, though, so she tiptoes in and carries as many as she can to the bottle depot down the street. The people behind the counter look worried about how she is bringing the cans and bottles here, but she says that it's her parents. They give her ten dollars, and she buys herself some chocolate on the way home.
Momma’s still not awake when she gets home, but that’s alright. Penny sits in their green-leather chair by the window as watches as the clouds darken overhead. The frost and rain and cold had gone away now. That means she can start to play outside more. Penny frowns.
She wonders if they can plant marigolds this spring.
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Penny hates Pelican Town, at first. Her father is gone, and after a while, her momma says that they can’t stay in their old house anymore. (It’s probably because of the stacks of letters that keep getting piled up on the kitchen counter.)
They pack up their things, and her momma drives her far, far away from their old house. She frowns as they arrive in Pelican Town. There are no new houses, and they all look lived in. Where will they live?
She meets the Mayor and they sleepover at his house while they get settled in. Momma says that the trailer is only temporary. Penny hopes it is.
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(Penny finds out that marigolds can’t survive in Pelican Town the hard way. She tries so hard to keep them alive, but they die each time she tries. Eventually, Penny gives up. There’s no point in trying to bring a piece of her father with her to Pelican Town. She only has her memories and photos. Later, she finds that they have no more white vinegar left, and she cries.)
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Her momma spends most of her days driving the bus to and from the desert, and her nights at the Saloon. Penny doesn’t mind that much. She usually gets a couple of books from the library and reads in her room until her momma gets home. Penny has to hide her books under her covers if her momma comes in. Her momma wouldn’t like her to be staying up so late, but she just gets trapped in the books. It’s not perfect, but it’s livable.
Until the bus breaks down, and her momma is out of a job until the bus can be fixed. Penny goes outside and stays there until it’s time for dinner. Her momma is always weird when she comes home, and she always smells like alcohol now. Penny hates it, but she has to help her momma. She has to, for her father.
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Penny meets Sam at school, and they instantly become friends. They both like books, and playing outside, and Sam brings her flowers that she puts in her room. He’s nice, and she finds herself spending more time with him than in her books. At least her momma never really cared about her being friends with him. They grow up together, and even though Sam spends more time with Sebastian and Abigail, he still always finds the time to hang out with her.
The bus is still broken, and her momma still drinks, but she’s got purpose now. Penny finishes school and teaches Vincent and Jas at the library. She reads on the days she doesn’t teach, head filled with the wonderful stories and adventures of her books. Penny forgets about the marigolds for a long, long time.
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Penny sits under her tree with a book on her lap, but her mind is anywhere but her book. She’s never exactly been very social, and now she’s true that fact. There’s a new girl in town, and she’s apparently very nice. Penny wants to get to know her. It’s always nice to have another girl around town, especially one that’s around her age. Sighing, she turns the page of her book. She knows all the words to this one, but it’s still nice to sit here and drift off into the story.
She spends a few more minutes like that, before she hears someone approaching her, and glances upwards. It isn’t Sam, or Vincent, or Jas, its someone she doesn’t know. She’s got dark hair and skin, and piercings in her nose and lips. Her leather jacket was old, but it fit her well. Penny smiled nervously up at her, feeling herself flush slightly. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
“Oh, um…” Penny isn’t exactly sure what to say to this new girl. She hasn’t exactly met many new people. “Hello. I’m Penny.” The other girl smiles at her, and Penny feels much better about her awkward words.
“Hey. I’m Jesse. I uh, just moved in.” Jesse says, jerking her hand in the direction of the old farm. “Mayor said that I’d better introduce myself to everyone so uh,” She shrugs, and her hand brushes through her hair. “Nice to meet you.” Penny can feel herself hugging her book to her chest, and she almost feels bashful. This girl, Jesse, seems so cool. She’s probably more like one of Sebastian or Abigail's friends, especially with all of her piercings. “What’re you reading?”
Jesse asks questions about her and her book, and Penny can’t wipe the smile off her face. She’s so, so nice, and Penny wants to be her friend.
(Or maybe more than that, but Penny knows that she’s hoping for too much.)
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Jesse stops by every day, whether or not she’s teaching. Vincent and Jas are always up for a bit of fun during school, so they go off on their own while Penny and Jesse chat. It’s nice to have a friend who talks to her every day. Sure, Sam does as well, but it's different, having a friend whose a girl.
In the summer, Jesse brings her a ripe melon from her farm, and Penny almost squeezes the life out of her with how tight her hug is. Penny had loved the melons that she had gotten at the old house, the ones her father had picked out himself. They eat the melon together, and Penny savours the sweet taste on her tongue.
They have fun at the festivals together, standing together on the docks and watching the jellies. They walk through the fair together, and Jesse wins her a stuffed bear in the strength challenge. Penny pretends like she isn’t blushing and takes it gracefully.
(The bear sits on her bed, and some nights she curls up with it in the trailer, and remembers that day. It never fails to make her happy, even when her mom has been drinking.)
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They sit in the forest together, feet dangling into the pond. Their shoes were behind them, and Jesse’s hands are right beside hers. It’s summer, and Jesse’s been in Pelican Town for over a full year. It’s gone by so quickly Penny is almost surprised that it’s mid-summer again. Almost. Jesse laughs a clear, melodic sound, before splashing some water at Penny. They end up soaked, and Penny wants to complain about her wet clothes, but she can’t find it in her to do it.
Jesse lets her sleepover, that night, and they stay up and talk about everything. Jesse tells Penny about Joja, and how it had drained her of everything she had. Penny tells Jesse about her father, and marigolds, and how her mother can’t stand the sight of them. She tells Jesse about how her mother killed the marigolds, and about her books and Sam.
Penny falls asleep feeling closer to Jesse than she feels to anyone, even Sam or her mom.
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It’s the end of summer, and Penny is trying to pretend that she isn’t in love with Jesse. Being in love is hard, she finds out, and it’s even harder when its Jesse. Every time she laughs, or smiles, or lays with her hair, Penny can’t seem to find enough air. Penny’s just plain, a nobody, but Jesse is so much more than that. She’s everything that Penny had dreamed about, everything that she had read about in her stories. But she couldn’t just say that she was in love with Jesse. Jesse might not feel the same way she does.
Yoba, this is difficult. All she can think about is Jesse. Her books can’t even distract her anymore. Penny sighs, and leans back against her tree. There’s a flowery smell to the air today, and everything feels hot and heavy. She’d be content to just lay here and sleep, but Penny knows that she was busy. For just a few moments, then.
Someone approached brushed through the grass towards her, and she opened her eyes to see Jesse in front of her. Jesse looks nervous, and she looks like she’s trying to hide something from Penny.
“Hey, Penny.” Jesse stammers out, and Penny smiles up at her, watching as she sits down beside her. Penny still can’t see what she’s hiding, but she figures that she’ll find out soon enough. “I, uh, I got these for you.” Jesse pulls out a pulls a bouquet from behind her back, and Penny almost gasps in shock. “They’re marigolds. I, uh, thought you might like them.” Jesse looks embarrassed, and Penny takes them from her carefully. They look just like the ones she used to grow with her father. “I've been kinda, y’know, been meaning to uh, ask you if you’d like to uh, I dunno, like, have a pizza at Gus’ tonight? Cause like, I’ve got this massive crush on you and if you don’t feel the same that’s totally okay-”
Penny leans over and presses a chaste kiss to Jesse’s cheek, which stuns her into silence. “Thank you.” She murmurs, feeling her eyes start to sting a little. “They’re beautiful.” Jesse is still looking at her with that awestruck look on her face, and Penny can feel her cheeks heating up. “I’d love to.” She gives Jesse a shy smile and tries not to cry.
(Later, she does, because she had forgotten about how much she had loved marigolds. Jesse wipes her tears away and kisses her, and Penny feels like she’s dreaming.)
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On the day of their wedding, Penny holds a bouquet of marigolds, the orange-yellow flowers matching perfectly with the ones in Jesse’s hair. Jesse beams when she arrives in front of her, and Penny knows that her life will only get better from here.
(They name their first child Mary, and Penny and Jesse spend every moment they can showing her the wonders of flowers. Her favourites are marigolds too.)