“Yeah, ‘cause it’s your name.”
“Stop it!” Bonnie said, nostrils flaring. “And this, Penny, is my cousin Funyun,” she spat the words out.
“I’m not taking that as an insult,” he countered. “I’ve had Funyuns. They’re actually a lovely snack.”
“You would think so. They’re disgusting,” she rolled her eyes before turning back to the bag of chips. “Unlike these wonderful things.”
Holding the loaf of bread he’d finally found in one hand, he extended his other. “Hello, Penny. I’m Finn. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m sorry, who?” Penny extended her hand, but he’d said his name so quickly, and she was still adjusting to the accent.
“Just call him Frank,” Bonnie cut in.
“Finn. Like what a fish has,” he said with a wink.
“Or a shark,” Bonnie added darkly. “Right, Frank, hand me a piece of bread.”
“Sure thing, Bon-Bon,” Finn smirked, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
“I’ll hurt you,” Bonnie warned.
“You’re being very rude to your guest,” Finn said, placing both his hands on Bonnie’s shoulders and steering her gently to a seat. “She asked what a chip butty was. We need to show her before the chips go cold. I’ll make ‘em.”
Penny watched this whole interaction with mounting amusement. The love and familiarity between the two were evident, even as they bickered. She wondered why Bonnie had never mentioned Finn before.
Taking a slice of bread, Finn first spread butter on it before loading it up with the intoxicatingly scented, thick-cut fries and folding it in half. Bonnie’s hands reached for it greedily, then dropped as he handed it to Penny instead. “She’s the guest,” he said, already starting on the next one.
“Fine,” Bonnie said flatly.
Soon, he handed her another, his eyes wandering back to Penny to see what she thought. “You don’t have to wait,” he reassured her when he saw her untouched food.
Penny battled with the guilt of eating something so decadently bad for only a moment. They were both staring at her, and it smelled so good. “Oh, okay.”
“Go on,” Bonnie said as she lifted her own, taking a much larger bite than Penny would have thought possible.
Penny felt Finn examining her as she finally lifted the chip butty to her mouth, taking a much more tentative taste. Within moments, her eyes popped at the savoriness of the soft bread and the warm salty chips. “This is delicious,” she exclaimed, mouth still full.
“I know, right!?” Bonnie agreed heartily.
“The best.” Finn picked up his own, making his way around the kitchen as he ate. He peeked into cupboards and checked the fridge. “Well, I see you managed to get the coffee going, but you haven’t touched anything else. It’s almost four o’clock in the day. I’d say you’d have eaten anything at this point. You must be starving.”
Penny felt the blush creeping over her. Considering her disheveled state, she must look like a fool unable to take care of herself. “Well… Bonnie was sleeping and… I had some toast.”
Finn’s eyes fell back on his cousin. “Toast? You left her to just have toast” he said with a gruff laugh.
“I…,” Bonnie started, then, instead of coming up with her usual quick retort, her smile dropped, and her head fell into her grease-stained fingers. “I’m sorry, Penny. I’m so sorry about last night. It’s just, I just….”
Stepping to her side, Penny rubbed her back, soothing words spilling from her mouth. “It’s okay. Hey, it’s okay.”
But Bonnie kept shaking her head back and forth. “It’s not. Nothing is okay. I kept it all in. I handled it,” she said through gritted teeth. “I got us here. But then….” Her voice wobbled and trailed off.
“All right, love, all right.” Finn was suddenly next to them, his arms wrapping tightly around his cousin. “It’s gonna be okay. You’re home.”
She lifted her watery eyes, looking for the reassurance she needed in his.
For a moment, the warmth of his body so close to her distracted Penny from her friend’s distress. Get it together, she scolded herself. You’ve had no interest in men for the last couple of years, and now, at the most inappropriate time, you decide to.
“Only one thing for it,” he said, stepping away again, heading towards the kettle. “A nice cuppa. And maybe a chat.”
