It was a productive morning, Mel thought to herself as she made yet another cup of coffee a couple of hours later. She felt she knew so much more about how to structure a social media plan now Penny had taken the time to explain it to her. Together they had started a donations page, updated her Instagram profile to link to it and worked out what hashtags to use to attract the most views. She could do this.
She glanced over at Penny as she spooned coffee granules into two mugs. She was still bent over her keyboard, formatting a video of Basil breaking through yet another fence that Mel had filmed last week, curious as to how long it would take him.
“Basil’s a great attraction,” Penny had told her. He’s cute, he’s friendly, he’s kind of photogenic…,” she’d trailed off. “Well. He’s a great story, anyway,” she’d finished, finally, clearly trying to end on an up note. “We can make him into someone people check in to keep up with. “A ‘Basil’s latest escapade’ type series. People will love it!”
Penny looked up and smiled at her. “I think maybe it would be easier for you to do this kind of thing on your phone,” she said, catching Mel looking at her. “Some of the editing apps you get now are pretty good.”
Mel pulled a face as she brought the coffee over. “My phone is about a million years old,” she said. “Like my laptop, really.” She nodded at Penny’s sleek machine, with her phone-and-stylus laid beside it on the scrubbed pine. “And I can’t afford to upgrade to anything like yours.”
“Hmm.” Penny pulled a face. “It’s probably easier for me to do it for you then, if you’re okay with that?”
Mel flinched and obviously failed to keep her reaction off her face, as Penny immediately added “It’s really not an issue. It won’t take me very long to do each one, I’m used to doing them and I’ve got the right kit. You’ve seen them on my own feed, haven’t you?”
Mel nodded. It was one of the things she liked about Penny’s social media—the little video clips that told a story in themselves.
“I should be able to do it myself though,” she said. “I don’t like being dependent on other people’s good nature”.
“You run an animal sanctuary,” Penny pointed out as she pulled her coffee towards her. “Your business model is being dependent on other people! Your volunteers help caring for the animals—why not for this?” She grinned across the table and Mel relaxed.
“True,” she said, smiling back at her. “Absolutely true. I supposed I should just get used to it, shouldn’t I?”
Penny pulled a face. “I think maybe, yes?” she said, face serious again. “I bet the lady here before you had lots of help?”
Mel nodded, reluctantly. “In a different way though,” she said. “She could pay for help, she paid me, when I first started. Her husband left her quite well off when he died I think. When she got frail I more or less moved in to take care of her, because she didn’t have anyone else. Then her money ran out, so we lived on my job and her pension, between us, for the last couple of years.”
“You could sell it,” Penny said, pragmatically, waving a hand. “You’d walk away with a nice lump sum?” She turned it in to a question.
Mel’s heart gave a little pang at the suggestion. “That’s what my dad said. But that wasn’t why Annie left it to me. She wanted her animals to have a safe place to live.” She paused. “And me, I suppose.”
She got up and clattered around the sink, hiding her face so Penny didn’t see her expression. Her last years with Annie had been hard, and it had been like losing a parent when she died. She blinked, furiously. She wasn’t going to cry.
“You’ve had a really tough time,” Penny said suddenly, from right beside her, reaching past to put her coffee mug in the water and patting her arm with her empty hand as she drew away again.
The sympathy was the last straw. She sniffled a bit and Penny slid an arm around her and drew her close. “It’s okay,” she said. “I can see it’s all been a bit much, me turning up this morning. I’m so sorry I’ve made you feel worse by stirring everything up.”
Mel laid her head on the taller woman’s shoulder and let her wrap her in a hug. It felt so good, being held by another human being. She let herself relax in to it and just enjoy the moment. The spark of attraction she felt for Penny wasn’t relevant here, it was just Penny being kind.
After a moment or two they drew apart by mutual unspoken agreement, and Mel rubbed her hands over her face to eradicate the trace of tears. “I’m sorry,” she said, passing her hand over Penny’s shoulder as well. “I’ve got you damp.”
Penny caught her hand and gave it a little squeeze. Mel looked up at her. “It’s fine,” Penny said. “I’m happy to help you, in whatever way I can.” She bit her lip and looked down as Mel watched her, clearly not happy about meeting her eyes. She pulled a face and clearly with some effort said, “It was a bit of a random decision to come here when I left home last night. I’m sorry to dump all my problems on you, when you’ve got so much of your own stuff going on.” She looked up at Mel again, face vulnerable. She was so beautiful, even though she was tired and troubled.
Mel squeezed her hand. “I’m happy you came,” she said, and found it was true as the words left her mouth. She wiped her eyes again, as they were still inconveniently leaking. “I’m happy you came and I’m happy you’re helping. And I’d be happy if you’d like to stay for a few days, if that fits with your plans. I have a perfectly good spare bedroom that never gets used and you’re welcome to it for however long you need. I’d love to get to know the real you behind the social media posts.” She tried for a watery smile, and it worked.
Penny squeezed her hand again and leaned forward to place a whisper of a kiss on her damp cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “I’d love to.”
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