1. Sibling Rivalry


    Date: 12/22/2023, Categories: Exhibitionist & Voyeur, Author: byYDB95

    ... now! Joe, let's get out of here." Without a look at any of them, even Joe, she stepped outside. Joe gave Cornelia a dirty look and followed Penny outside.
    
    "I guess you heard everything?" Penny said, gesturing down the road to a popular breakfast spot. There would be a wait for a table, but right now she welcomed that.
    
    "I did my best not to," Joe said. "You think she'll come back?"
    
    "I hope so," Penny said. "And yeah, I think probably. She really seems to love him."
    
    "Is that why you don't look so upset?" Joe asked.
    
    "Partly that," Penny said. Then she turned to him with a smile. "And partly because she finally told him what I've been trying to tell him for years, the way he favors Cornelia. He never listened to me, but I bet he'll listen to her!"
    
    She was right. After breakfast and a long walk together on the beach, Penny and Joe returned to the house to find Larry drinking coffee at the kitchen table. He still looked devastated, confirming Penny's suspicion that Jan hadn't returned yet, but he managed a smile at them. "Penny, listen," he said.
    
    "Shall I go downstairs?" Joe asked.
    
    "You might as well stay," Larry said. "I'm sure you heard everything."
    
    Joe nodded but said nothing. Neither did Penny; she just looked at her father and waited.
    
    "I've been thinking about what Jan said. And I'm sorry, Penny. Your brother used to say the same thing and I never listened to him either. I'm sorry."
    
    "Thanks," Penny said.
    
    "This is why Curtis has stayed ...
    ... away, isn't it?"
    
    "He told me he wanted to be sad when Mom died, but she was always such a nightmare for him. And yes, Cornelia had a lot to do with that."
    
    "Your mother loved you all."
    
    "I know, but that's really not the point, Dad. Now, could you please listen to something?"
    
    "Sure."
    
    Penny took her phone out of her purse. "When I first got here the other day, Cornelia seemed a little too happy to see me. So I figured she was up to something. Listen to what she said when I was trying my swimsuit on." She pressed 'play' on her audio recording app, and set the phone on the table.
    
    "I'm here for Dad, not for her. He's the one who always calmed the waters when everyone else was at each other's throats, you know that. And he loved Mom, no matter what the rest of us thought of her. But you know, losing her made me realize, maybe we ought to try harder to forgive one another. That includes you and me, all right?"
    
    "Thanks, Penny. Oh, speaking of Dad, he's already seeing someone new if you can believe that! A professor named Doctor Blop or something. I intend to make sure she never feels welcome here, and I'd appreciate your help, or at least staying out of the way if you can't."
    
    Larry was aghast. "Then she was just accusing you of what she really said!"
    
    "And she knew you'd fall for it." Penny wanted to forgive her father, but for the moment she couldn't. "Now which one of us do you think put that junk in Jan's water?"
    
    Unbeknownst to Penny and Joe, Cornelia and ...
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