BREAKING POINT

Penny and Jeremy texted and called each other. He didn’t call much because he said he was mostly busy, but he texted her. He told her about his journey and assured her that he was safe and that he loved her.

One of his texts read: ‘I have been settling down in the most luxurious flat in the center of Cairo. It has three bedrooms, sitting room, dining room and a an enormous very modern kitchen. The place is very comfortable. It’s incredible. Your apartment doesn’t compare to it very favorably… Except of course when I remember you are in it… Which is very often ‘

Penny smiled happily to herself when she read that, unaware of Joey’s steady gaze with those deep greenish eyes of his.

She kept reading the text: ‘You have to know that I miss you the hell of a lot, darling, especially nights when I get so lonely. I’m pretty busy as far as work is concerned and we might not get to talk on the phone for long. I didn’t want to tell you this on the phone because I didn’t know how you would react, but I was asked to stay for a further six months. I can’t say that I fancy the idea of being away from you for so long. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t hesitate to accept the offer because life out here is so much fun. There are lots of parties and a terrific social life. You would love it.’

Penny smiled again wondering if she could join him there, but she broke off her train of thought abruptly, forcing herself to remember her condition. In another month or two she would be unable to go to parties or anything like that and she knew Jeremy. He wouldn’t like that. He would feel like he had to stay at home with her to keep her company and all the while be fretting to get out and join in the fun. And he hadn’t even brought up the idea of her coming over there. No it was better this way. When he returned, it would only be a month or so before the baby was born and soon, she would be able to go out and have fun with him

She read a part of his text that said that none of the females over there was as beautiful as she was. For some reason, she found herself remembering what he once told her about a woman he once dated.

“Oh, it was quite fun for a while” Jeremy had said, “but I got fed up with her eventually. She was the clinging type and nearly drove me mad calling me every few minutes and always wanting me to tell her how much I loved her”

How well Penny recalled his words, and her own, in reply was,

“Did you love her, Jeremy?”

“I thought I did for a week or two” he had said. “But after we started living together, everything went flat. My fault, I expect. I just lost interest in her”

Penny had been frightened by those words. But she she knew now that she didn’t have to let them worry her. Jeremy had not lost interest in her since they had started living together. She could feel sorry for that other girl who must have loved him enough to give herself to him, then found out that he wasn’t really in love with her. Poor girl….

Penny picked up her phone and read the last part of his text which she knew would contain a special message of love for her. A faint color rose to her cheeks, and looking up suddenly, she was embarrassed to find Joey’s gaze on her. She felt almost as if he might be able to read from her face those passionate, unconstrained words of Jeremy’s. The sentence was just too intimate.

She closed her eyes suddenly, seeing herself in her own little bedroom in the flat, lying in the early morning shadows in Jeremy’s close embrace. She saw Jeremy’s face, tense and drawn with emotion and heard his voice, urgent, demanding :Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“You are so lovely. So lovely. So lovely….”

“Tired, Penny?”

She opened her eyes and realized that Joey had spoken to her.

“A little. I was thinking” she replied.

A moment of wild ungovernable jealousy surged through Joey, immediately controlled with an effort of will. Two seconds later, all the remained of that minute of unbearable emotion was a trembling in his hands as he clenched his fingers round his phone. He hated Jeremy but disliked himself still more for his jealousy.

‘I’m glad. I glad that he texts her and keeps in touch with her’ he told himself. ‘I’m glad that he makes her smile. I want him to come back and marry her as she wishes…. Take care of her and his child”

But deep on his heart, Joey knew that he was not glad. He wanted Jeremy to let her down. He wanted the privilege of taking care of Penny… And her baby. It was not Jeremy’s child at all, in those secret thoughts of his. Only Penny’s. Penny’s baby… And he wanted it to be his too.

“Oh Joey. I’m so happy” Penny said.

He turned and saw radiance in her eyes.

“That’s good, Penny” he said. “The happier you are the better it will be for your health and consequently… The baby”

“Well, I am happy” Penny said, her eyes shining. “Jeremy says he will be home as soon as he can. And I can’t wait”

“You have waited patiently for him” Joey said.

Penny laughed.

“I have been in a fever of impatience actually” she confided. “Read all of his texts again and again and laid awake at night praying that nothing would hold him back”  she stopped talking for a while, then added, “Have you ever been to Cairo before?”

“Yeah. I spent several leaves in Cairo and one in ismailia one time I was posted there”

“Joey that’s wonderful” Penny said. “Maybe sometime you can tell me all about the places Jeremy goes to. Then I will be able to picture him over there”

Joey promised to give her any information she should want.

Later, talking it over with Audrey, Penny decided that it might not be fair to Joey to talk so much to him about Jeremy.

“Why ever not?” Audrey remarked evenly. “It’s no use letting Joey get any ideas in his head about you losing interest in your Jeremy. It would only give him false hope”