Page 6

Penny

HORIZON CAFé IS IN DOWNTOWN IDLEWOOD, IF YOU CAN CALL TEN OLD brick storefronts a “downtown.” It’s Saturday, which means the booths and tables are full of chatting customers, and the line stretches to the door. Light pours through the tall windows, reflecting off the periwinkle paint and gold decorations.

When Penny and her mom walk in, Penny’s godfather Ron Willis is taking orders at the counter, chatting as he quickly navigates the menu on a tablet. Their new part-time barista, Jojo, is flitting around the espresso machine, his eyes bloodshot with concentration. Judging from the bandages on his fingers, he still hasn’t mastered how to make a latte without burning himself. In the background, Linda Ronstadt’s “Just One Look” plays on the old jukebox.

Jojo spots them. “Hey! Have fun at the cemetery?”

“It’s always a party.” Anita winks.

Jojo blushes and almost burns himself again, and Penny hides her laugh with a cough. A woman waiting in line rolls her eyes and whispers something to her friend. Her mouth forms the word flirt .

You’re numb to this , Penny thinks, but her anxiety rolls in like a storm. That burst of courage she had when she was talking to Alonso last night is long gone.

A booming Kentucky accent pierces the sound barrier.

“Is that my goddaughter?” Ron says from behind the register. “I can’t be certain, since I haven’t seen her in weeks.”

“ One week,” Penny says as she ties on her apron. “I was doing an SAT prep course.”

“Mm-hmm. Sure.”

Penny wraps her arms around him. He’s so tall that he can kiss the very top of her head. “Missed you ’round here,” he says.

“Missed you, too,” Penny says. “How far behind are we?”

Ron gives Jojo the side-eye and whispers, “I’m guessing about ten orders. I thought college students were supposed to be smart.”

Penny gasps. “Not so loud!”

“I was born loud, hon.” Ron looks behind Penny. “Wasn’t your mama right behind you?”

“Yeah, she’s…” Penny trails off, because her mom has disappeared.

“Find her, will you? I need my break.”

Penny flashes an apologetic smile at Jojo, who is holding all the orders with a desperate look in his eyes. She runs to the back of the café, where the door to the office is cracked, and she pokes her head inside.

Anita is standing in front of her desk, staring at her phone. She’s so distracted that she doesn’t even hear Penny’s footsteps. Penny glances at her mom’s phone screen, where there’s a text from an unsaved number:

Meet me in fifteen.

“Who’s that from?” Penny says.

Anita jumps, pressing her phone to her chest. “Wow. Warn a girl, won’t you?”

“Sorry, but are you coming? Ron wants to take his break.”

“Actually, I forgot I have to take care of something,” Anita says, grabbing her purse. “Will you let Ron know? I’ll be back before close.”

Unease keeps Penny’s feet glued to the floor. “Mom. Come on. What’s happening?”

“A friend needs me. That’s all.”

“The same friend who gave you that necklace?”

Anita laughs and tucks a curl behind Penny’s ear. “I promise I’ll tell you more when I get back, okay? I love you.”

“But—” Penny starts to object, but Anita is already gone, the back door to the parking lot drifting closed behind her.

Penny almost runs after her. But Jojo is behind on orders, and Ron needs his break, so she returns to the front of the café. She’ll grill her mom about this mystery person the second she gets back.

But Penny can’t ignore the feeling of wrongness in her bones, because her mom is never this secretive. What could she possibly be hiding?