A door opening woke Penelope Marshall up from her nap. She stayed there for a little bit but decided to leave her room and join the party. It was the polite thing to do. It seems like she was only asleep for a little less than forty-five minutes. Once she opens the door, she hears laughter and the tail-end of a conversation between family.
"...need is an actual boyfriend. I would also like to see my brother some other time," a man spoke. Penny finally reached the edge of the loft balcony. She sees a huge family spread across. Two women on a couch with a man, Mr. Romano and two other men around the dining room table, and then her fiancé roaming between groups. She knew it was him from all the pictures she has seen in the past few days. She does not see Mrs. Romano and Ms. Birdie, so her guess is that they were in the kitchen. She hears Mrs. Romano's voice and Penny continues to space out, still waving up from her nap. That was until she hears a familiar voice...
"And let's welcome Penelope Marshall."
This surprised her. Everyone suddenly had their eyes on the new redheaded girl.
All she could do was wave and say, "Hi."
Mrs. Romano and Ms. Birdie pop out from underneath the kitchen with wine glasses in hand.
"Oh Penny, darling," Mrs. Romano shouts up to the girl. "Come down so you can meet all of my wonderful children!"
Shaking, Penny obliges. Down each step, everyone remained staring at the poor girl. Mr. Romano, when at the bottom at the stairs, takes Penny's arm gently to guide her around the room.
"Okay Penny are you ready to meet the whole family, there is quite a lot of them."
Penny is still speechless and just nods along.
"Over there," he points to a green eyes and chestnut buzzcut hair, "is Benjamin, the oldest at 32. He is a cop, with a wife and two kids."
He walks over to the girl and gives her a firm handshake, "It is good to meet you! My father has spoken to highly of you. I'm sorry my wife Sofia isn't here. She is watching over my two young children, Tessa and Lukas."
He moves away so that Mr. Romano can continue, "The next person is Daniel, who is 30, and also a manager." Daniel had dark blond hair, styled with a fade cut and longer hair parted down the middle. His eyes match his older brother and father. He looked very familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on it. He also comes up to Penny, who actually found her voice to speak.
"And from what I heard looking for a boyfriend right?" Penny says, showing that she listened to part of the conversation.
"Good ear! Yes, I'm looking for a boyfriend since I just broke up with mine, but that also means I have a free spot open for a new client." He pulls a business card from his pocket. "Call me after you get settled and we will find you a nice audition."
So far, Penny really liked Daniel. He was funny, put together, and just a calming presence for the young woman. However, she has only met four out of the eight-person family.
"Daniel also has an identical twin," Mr., Romano carries on, "named Dylan, but he has been away, busy with work for some time. I hope that the next time he is in New York you can met him. Next, our first girl, Aubrey. She is twenty-eight and also a psychologist."
Aubrey stays at the couch, looks at the girl with a cold set of eyes, "You can call me Dr. Romano-Hill."
Penny, suddenly a little terrified of the tough brown haired, blue eyed woman. "O-okay," Penny stutters.
"Knock-off Aubrey," the man next to her said. "I am her husband, Logan Hill. I am a lawyer."
Aubrey starts laughing, "I got her good Logan! It's okay Penny, I was just messing with you. I can tell that you are one amazing young woman already." Aubrey gives Penny a small wink. Penny feels better about that interaction.
"Our second daughter," Mr. Romano says after giving his first daughter a pointed look, "is Addison. She just turned twenty-five, so around your age. She works as a-"
"oof" Penny lets out a grunt as a spider-like woman latches on to Penny for a hug. The blonde hair, blue eyed daughter was about the size of her mother and had the same loving and chaotic energy.
"It is so," she draws out the so, "great to meet you finally! I know that we only found out about you this week, but it is just great to see you in person!"
Penny just nods along, a little uncomfortable with the unexpected big hug. She wasn't a fan of hugging.
"She works as a fashion designer," Mr. Romano tries to continue after his youngest outburst.
"Well, currently out of work and single!"
"Amen sister," Danny cuts in.
"Whatever," Mr. Romano sighs. "Finally, we come to my youngest son, Quentin. Age twenty-seven and the man that took over the family business." While speaking, he guides Penny over to the young man. He was very handsome in her opinion, well everyone in the family was. He looked most like the oldest son Ben with his chestnut hair and green eyes, like his father. The hair was very unique because Mr. Romano had blonde hair and Mrs. Romano had dark brown hair. The hair color stood out to Penny.
Quentin also had a thin chestnut color beard, a little fuller than a five o'clock shadow. He was also still in business attire: a navy suit, white button-up, matching navy tie, and black belt. He also had dark eye bags under his eye, indicating that he didn't get enough sleep and/or he was stress.
"It's good to finally meet you," Penny said. In reality, her acting skills came in handy to hide the anxiety in her voice. She held out her hand, expecting a firm handshake, like a majority of the family.
"Can't say the same, Penelope," Quentin rudely said back.
Penny was somewhat expecting behavior like this. Why wouldn't he act this way? He is marrying a girl he never met...tomorrow!
"Oh my god," Mrs. Romano swore under her breath. Then she addressed the room, "Okay, dinner is ready. Everyone, find a seat at the table."
When Quentin stopped facing her, Penelope closed her eyes and let out a breath. Living with this man might be harder than expected.
Amelia and Ms. Birdie cooked a Romano classic: Chicken Francese, with a side of homemade noodles and green beans. Amelia enjoyed cooking this because she found a way to make a lot to feed so many children.
Penny was used to good cooking. Ms. Birdie Portuguese heritage and just talent produced amazing food for the girl. When she sat down at the table, Addison was pouring her a glass of white wine and Mrs. Romano served her a heavy plate.
There was light small talk among the groups at the table. Mr. Romano, Aubrey, and Logan talked about work. Ben and Dan talked about Ben's family. Mrs. Romano and Addison talked about a new boutique that was opening. They just talked about little things, like how a family would. It wasn't anything big or important, just little memories from the last time they saw each other.
Penny never got a chance at that. She was robbed of a good childhood. Penny decided to stay quiet, holding a small smile and just listening to everyone speak. She, at that moment, was just happy. She has only known them for at most five minutes, but she could see getting close to everyone that sat at the table. Maybe even get close to Quentin.
Quentin was also a mystery to Penny. He sat pretty far from the future bride and didn't even look at her. Instead, he just cut his chicken, in an irate manner. She just let it go. Tonight, after everyone leaves, they will have a chance to talk and clear the air.
Penny cuts into a chicken delicately and takes a bite. Of course, it was delicious! She hasn't eaten anything all day. At the airport she had some fast food, but that later sat in her stomach like a rock due to nerves. Now that she was in New York, she had a chance to sit down and enjoy the food in front of her.
"So, Penny," Ben brings everyone attention back to the new girl. "I know this is your first day and whatnot, but how do you like New York?"
Quentin continues to eat, just super focused on his food and knee bouncing like crazy.
"It is really nice," Penny smiles. "Kind of similar to San Francisco but with small differences. I think I will like it here much better."
"Do you have any plans? What did you study in college?" Another, Aubrey, asked.
"Of course, she has plans. Plans with me," Danny replied for the young woman.
"Well, I studied dramatic arts at a local community college. My father didn't want me far from home," Penny let a frown cover her face for a second, but quickly recovered. "I worked as an actor in a San Francisco local theater troupe. I am hoping that will Daniel's help I can land a role in New York. Whatever that maybe."
"Penny, I also saw that you dance along with singing and acting," Danny mentions. "How did you get involved in that too?"
Penny said, "Well, my mother loved all of that stuff to. She had a beautiful voice and just liked to move. I am not a hardcore ballet dancer or anything. I'm not super flexible either. I just work with my strengths."
"You seem like an incredibly strong woman Penny," Aubrey remarks. "Your father just passed away, the day of his funeral you found out you were to be forced into marriage and moved to New York. That must have been one long day."
Penny felt a little uncomfortable at hearing all those details because she doesn't like to think of those bad moments. She was also uncomfortable at the compliment.
Before Penny could say thank you, Quentin scoffs, "Oh yeah, real strong. Strong enough to tear my life apart."
Mrs. Romano dropped her utensil at his words, "Excuse me Quentin? What did you say? This young woman has done nothing to you. She is in the same boat as you, forced to marry a loser like you!"
The family knew of their mother's rage. That is why they were such great children and became amazing adults...
...Because their mother made them piss their pants every time she was furious.
The children and husband all decide to look away as Mrs. Romano's wrath was directed towards her youngest son. He was often the source of her anger.
"I don't know who she is, I don't care who she is, and I don't want to get to know her. She is just some gold digging bitch that wants money from our family. She probably told her father to put that in-"
"ENOUGH!" Mr. Romano shouted, who was now furious at his son. He couldn't believe that his son could say such awful things to a woman he was never met. He felt sorry for the girl, who had tears stuck in her eyes. He could see that she was doing everything in her power to stop an anxiety attack from starting. She just closed her eyes and hung her head low. Just exhausted from the day, now exhausted from this strangers hounding her.
Just like her father.
"You are being a disrespectful little bitch!" Mr. Romano cursed. "I can't believe that you are attack this young woman and calling her vile names. She has done nothing. Her father left her barely anything. No money, not even the house. The only thing left in the will for her was a marriage. She probably has it far worse that you at the moment. She changed her whole life to protect a company that we get to absorb and profit from."
Penny's heart swells at the thought of Mr. Romano protecting her, for standing up for her when she couldn't. No one has ever done that. Ms. Birdie couldn't do anything. If she did, she would be promptly fired and would never have a chance of seeing her again.
Penny felt like she was once free from her father's clutches, but now it seems she was found another man that is capable of emotionally abusing her.
Quentin had nothing to refute his father, so he sounded like a children when he replied, "Whatever, but I'm not going to pretend to like the girl. As long as she stays out of my way, then this marriage will work perfectly." He eyes land on the only girl with red eyes. "Do you understand?"
Penny stare right into his as she said, "Crystal. Clear."
Dinner and then dessert remain quiet and awkward. They all talked to Penny, getting to know her better and she got to know everyone else better. Quentin, again, just stayed hyper-focused on his food and had his leg shaking.
Penny helped with the dishes and wished everyone goodbye one by one. She was going to see the Romano parents at the city hall wedding, everyone else had work. They said a nice goodbye, giving her a nice big hug and told her to try to survive the night and talk some sense into their son. She nods, but in reality, she will try to stay away as long as possible.
Addison will also be at the wedding since she does not have work. She makes a snarky comment on how everyone else is working on a Saturday. Quentin strictly invited a small group of family because he is embarrassed at everything. He wishes no one could be there, including Penelope. But that can't happen unless he wants to lose everything. Addison was one that he could not stop from going. She had no excuses and truly loved to bother her oldest brother. That is what little sister do. Addison also bought Penny a dress, a nice white dress for tomorrow. It wasn't a real, full wedding gown, but it was still classy and suggested that she was doing something nice.
She promised that she will be back the next day with the dress to help her get ready.
Aubrey was the last to leave, with her husband halfway out the door, she pulled Penny aside to give her a business card, "Please call me if you want a session or just to talk for some advice. I can tell that you are going through something, and I will be here if you need something."
Before Penny would respond, Logan pulled his wife out the door.
That just left Penny and Quentin, the couple getting married tomorrow.