Penny Wise
ROMANTIC SHORT STORY WRITTEN BY JULIA DOUGLAS
If she snapped up her fellow bargain hunter, would it be half-rice heaven or freeloading frustration?
Straight after work, Penny hurried along the high street in her charcoal pinstripe skirt suit and glossy grey heels.
The door of the mini-supermarket swept aside and she headed straight for the reduced shelf.
They’d usually done the second markdown by the time she arrived and she always wondered what she might have missed, even as she looked forward to what would still be there.
It wasn’t just the thrill of finding a bargain. She enjoyed the surprise of not knowing what she might have for tea. Especially if it was something she wouldn’t normally buy.
Like that beef and potato hotpot! She never bought ready meals at £3.99 a pop, but for £1.49 it would make a tasty treat. Especially if I team it with some fresh cabbage, she thought, dropping it into her basket.
And what about that strawberry sundae, down from £1.99 to 60p? Or was that too indulgent?
Undecided, she scanned the other items. A pack of mini pork pies would make a fun lunch tomorrow.
Rejecting a pizza and a packet of past-their-best carrots, she glanced again at the sundae.
Maybe she should treat herself.
She was about to grab it when a tanned male hand snatched it away.
Affronted, Penny’s eyes followed the retreating hand and took in its owner: a tall man with a gleaming black pompadour and stylish beard. He was probably in his mid-twenties, maybe a couple of years older than her.
She guessed she must have given him an accusing look, because he smiled with a slight blush and said, “Sorry, were you about to take that?”
“No, no, you got it first.” Penny wished her tone didn’t sound so passive-aggressive. She couldn’t help noticing what a good-looking guy he was.
“Great! Well I’ll grab this pizza, too.”
He slid the slightly squashed box into his basket and headed off.
Penny watched him go, momentarily mesmerised by his broad shoulders.
Shaking her head to dislodge any further thoughts about him, she headed to the chilled cabinet for a pint of milk.
As she left the checkout, the good-looking man was standing by the flower buckets, examining a bunch of chrysanthemums with a pair of reduced stickers on it.
Briefly Penny wondered who he was buying them for. Not that she envied any woman who received double-reduced flowers, she decided hypocritically.
Penny always went to the big supermarket in the late evening when there were often some good bargains to be had.
Pushing her trolley through the wide entrance, she made a beeline for the reduced shelf.
Turning into the aisle, her heart gave a start when she saw the man with the black pompadour and beard who had snatched her sundae in the minimarket.
Straightening up from the reduced shelf, he glanced her way and did a double take of recognition.
His handsome face relaxed into a grin that threatened to melt her heart.
That was until he said, “You missed some bargains tonight!”
He hoisted a basket full of plastic packets of steak, each with no less than three reduced stickers on it.
“Enough to fill my freezer for a couple of months,” he crowed. “And not even a third of the usual price!”
“Lucky you!” Penny wished she didn’t sound so aggrieved.
The man’s brow creased in apology as Penny regarded the almost cleaned-out reduced shelf.
“There are a few olives left.” He indicated the marked-down jars. “I don’t like olives.”
“Neither do I,” Penny snapped.
“Here, have one of these.” He pulled a steak from his basket.
“No, no, fair’s fair,” Penny protested. “You were here first.”
“No, I insist. I’ll feel greedy otherwise.”
Before she could stop him, he popped the steak in her trolley. He flashed her a bewitching smile and headed down the aisle. For the second time she found herself gazing, bemused, at his receding figure.
Under a bright light in the car park, Penny was loading her full-priced shopping into her red hatchback when a gleaming black Mercedes backed out of the row of cars behind her.
Checking to make sure she wasn’t in the way, she was startled to see her bargain hunter at the wheel.
He gave her a distinctly flirty wave and Penny’s cheeks burned as she returned the gesture.
The spark as their eyes met went right through her.
Then the enormous car cruised past her towards the exit.
What was a man who drove a car like that doing shopping on reduced shelves? Penny wondered, as she closed the boot of her own brand-new car.
Younger or older?” Marjorie called across the car showroom.
“Eh?” Penny glanced up from her computer screen.
“She’s the same age as me,” said Marjorie. “But do I look younger than her or older?”
Penny gazed past the shiny new cars to where her glamorous middle-aged boss was holding up a magazine picture of a well-known actress.
“You definitely look younger,” Penny said dutifully.
Smiling like a kitten, Marjorie went back to reading her magazine.
Penny turned to her screen and tried to concentrate on ordering a car for a customer. Why had she ticked blue when he wanted green? She cursed herself as she backspaced.
“What about her?” Marjorie held up the magazine to show Penny a pop star. “Do I look younger than her?”
“Much younger,” Penny said after barely a glance.
She tried to focus on her work, although it was like trudging through treacle.
“And what about her?” Marjorie interrupted.
“She could be your mother,” Penny replied absently.
“Hey! You didn’t even look!” Marjorie protested.
“Yes, I did!”
“Look again, then.”
With a heavy sigh, Penny turned. Despite herself, she burst out laughing when she realised that Marjorie was holding up a picture of a puppy.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Marjorie – I was miles away. I just can’t get my mind off this man I met.”
“I thought something was distracting you these past few days,” said Marjorie. “Did you find him online?”
“No – on the reduced shelf.”
“Oh! Well, that’s better than those best-before-yesterday sandwiches you always bring in for lunch. Was he marked down to a good price?”
“I should have snapped him up at any price,” Penny sighed. “The trouble is, I don’t think I’ll ever see him again.”
The following week, Penny stared dejectedly at an almost empty reduced shelf in the big supermarket. All this way for a pack of meat-free sausages!
She didn’t actually need any shopping, but as tragic as she knew it was, she’d been haunting every reduced shelf from Aldi to Waitrose in hope of bumping into the man again.
Well, this is the last time, she told herself firmly.
To make her trip worthwhile, she stocked up on toilet roll and tissues and pushed her trolley to the checkout.
In the chilly car park, she was loading her shopping when a man’s voice said, “You’ve changed your car, then?”
Penny turned and was startled to see Mr Snake Hips pushing a shopping trolley towards her.
Her heart jangled like the rattle of his trolley over the rough tarmac.
“You definitely had a red one the last time I saw you.” He indicated her honey-coloured city car.
“What?” Penny tried to engage her brain. “Oh yes, I sold that one yesterday.”
He took a blipper from his coat pocket and Penny was surprised to see the lights flash on a low-slung sports car parked next to hers.
“Looks like you have a different car yourself,” she observed.
“I drive a different one every week.” He shrugged as the sports car’s boot purred open by remote control. “I review them for the local paper.”
“Wow! That must be great fun.”
“I only do it because it saves buying one of my own.” He flashed a cheeky grin.
“Same here!” Penny laughed. “I work in a car dealership, but I only went for the job because they let us take the cars home with us!”
Sounds like we’re two of a kind.
Their eyes met and Penny realised she’d stopped breathing.
Breaking the spell, the man took a bunch of marked-down orange roses from his trolley and carefully laid them on top of the shopping bags in his boot.
“Are they for someone special?” Penny heard herself ask.
She didn’t really want to hear that they were. But at the same time, she had to know if he was attached. Perhaps that would put an end to her maddening obsession with him.
“Well, I like to think he’s special – they’re for me!” He laughed. “There wasn’t much reduced stuff on offer tonight, but these should brighten my flat for a few days at least.”
The boot closed by remote control and Penny knew he was about to vanish from her life again – and for how long this time?
She searched desperately for something to say that would make him linger a moment longer.
To her amazement, he said, “Do you like musicals, by any chance? I have a couple of tickets for Guys And Dolls next week and I wondered if perhaps… ”
“I’d love to!” Penny gushed.
“I’m Mark.” He offered his hand, which was warm despite the autumn chill. “Mark Downe.”
“You’re kidding!” Penny giggled.
“Actually, it’s just the pen name for my column: Mark Downe Cars. It sounds better than Mark Brown.”
“I’m Penny Wise.”
“Good one!” Mark guffawed.
“And that’s not a joke!” Penny protested. “My surname really is Wise.”
“And Penny…?” Mark enquired.
“My dad thought it would make me grow up to be thrifty. I guess it worked.”
Mark offered to pick her up. But as thrilled as she was to be going out with him, Penny reluctantly stuck to her usual first date security protocol and opted to meet him at the theatre.
She parked around the corner and found him waiting for her among the throng of patrons on the steps.
He opened his arms for a hug of greeting. Stepping into his embrace felt as natural as if they’d been dating each other forever.
The brief nuzzle of his cheek against hers was sublime. His cologne made her drunk. Walking inside, hand-in-hand, she felt as if her feet were floating on air.
“Amazing seats!” Penny said when they were settled in an auditorium buzzing with anticipation.
“Best in the house,” Mark said smugly. “And free interval drinks in the VIP bar.”
“Free?” Penny asked.
“I’m reviewing the show,” Mark explained. “They don’t pay much at the local rag, but the freebies are good!”
Penny smiled thinly and Mark’s face clouded with concern.
“You’re not offended, are you?”
“Of course not.” She squeezed his hand warmly.
For a moment she’d felt insulted to be invited out on a freebie. Was that all the effort she was worth? But hadn’t she just driven to the theatre in a new car that she only drove because of her job?
The lights went down and the curtains swept open to reveal a magical world.
Sitting hand-in-hand in the dark with Mark, Penny realised she didn’t need him to spend money on her to enjoy his company.
“So did you enjoy it?” Mark asked as they left the theatre.
“I did. Every minute!”
“May I walk you to your car?”
She linked her arm through his.
“I’d suggest going on somewhere for a nightcap,” Mark said when they reached her vehicle. “Unfortunately, I have to rush home and write my review overnight.”
“That’s all right,” said Penny, although she wished he didn’t have to leave.
“Can I take you for dinner at the weekend instead?” he asked.
“That would be lovely.”
“Shall I pick you up this time?”
“Why not?” She gave him her address.
Then, as their frozen breath merged in the cold night air, his eyes twinkled with a question. Her lips formed a heart shape in answer.
His arms gently enveloped her and their lips became one in a kiss that she wished would never end.
Do you think it’s a red flag?” Penny fretted in the little kitchen behind the showroom’s office.
“Do I think what’s a red flag?” asked Marjorie, flipping the kettle on.
“The marked-down buys, the free cars, the free tickets. Am I getting involved with… a tightwad?”
“Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.” Marjorie arched her eyebrows.
“What do you mean?” Penny’s cheeks caught fire.
“How much did you pay for that salad?” Marjorie asked.
Penny looked down at the plastic tub she’d picked up on the minimarket’s reduced shelf the previous evening.
“Ten pence,” she admitted guiltily.
“You’re made for each other!” Marjorie chuckled.
“But what would that be like in the future?” Penny worried. “Would we ever spend anything?”
“I think you should have your second date before you start worrying about a reduced-shelf wedding cake,” Marjorie counselled. “Take your time and let the future take care of itself.”
The sales manager picked up a folded magazine and said, “Oh, my goodness, I didn’t know she was my age. Be honest, Penny. Do I look as old as that?”
“You don’t look half her age,” Penny answered without looking up.
Penny’s nerves jangled at the ring of her doorbell.
“Just coming!” she called out in a high-pitched squeak.
Heart pounding, she double-checked her hair and make-up in her dressing table mirror. Straightening up, she smoothed her crushed velvet dress in the full-length mirror on her wardrobe door. She’d found the claret dress on a boutique sale rail for a fraction of its eye-watering original price.
Grabbing her bag, she ran to the door.
Mark stood in her flat’s hallway almost hidden behind a vast bouquet of roses that certainly didn’t look as if it had been picked up from a reduced bucket.
“They’re beautiful!” she gasped, overcome. It was the most extravagant present she had ever received.
“Not as beautiful as you,” Mark murmured, taking in her outfit.
“I’ll just pop them in the sink to keep them fresh until I get back!” Penny ran back into her flat.
Downstairs, Mark held open the door of a small hatchback.
“Sorry it’s not a Merc or a Lambo. I have to take whatever they send me every week – luck of the draw.”
“It’s you I’m going out with, not your car,” Penny assured him.
“So, where are we going?” she asked as they clicked their seatbelts.
He named the costliest restaurant in town and Penny’s stomach contracted.
“Are you sure you want to go somewhere so pricey?”
It was her policy to insist that they split the bill on a date – and at the place he’d mentioned, she wondered if she had enough in the bank to do so!
“Don’t worry, this is entirely my treat.” He grinned.
“Are you reviewing it?” Penny guessed. “Is it another freebie?”
She kicked herself for sounding ungrateful. After all, if he could get them into such an exclusive place for free, wasn’t that a good thing? Not something to feel somehow cheated by.
“I wish it was!” Mark laughed. “But no, I’ll be paying for this one, and I’m more than happy to.”
Penny stared at him, open-mouthed.
“I know you probably think I’m a miser.” Mark’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “And I won’t deny that I like to pick up a bargain…”
“I wasn’t complaining,” Penny insisted. “I’m exactly the same.”
“The reason I like to save as much as I can on everyday things,” said Mark, “is so I can save up to splash out on the things that mean the most to me. Things like tonight… and you.”
Ashamed to have misjudged him, Penny gently cupped his cheek.
“I won’t always expect you to spend a lot on me,” she promised.
“Well, tonight you can be spoiled like you deserve to be.”
They leaned together and as their lips reunited, Penny had never felt more treasured.
Read more romantic short stories:
Read A Romantic Break, See You In My Dreams, Back In The Day, plus many more in our archives.
