Penelope scoffed at Nolan’s reaction. She tried to explain. “See, I thought moving this here would—”

Nolan cut her off. “The acoustics in here are ruined! Come on, Penny!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Penelope said, disappointed her work was going unappreciated. She didn’t expect Nolan to throw a parade, but she hoped even he could appreciate that hanging a flatscreen was better than precariously leaning it against the wall.

“And you said you wouldn’t touch my guitar!” continued Nolan, barging past her.

“And I didn’t! It’s right where you left it, on the couch. Technically, I just moved the couch,” said Penelope, triumphant in her loophole.

“Ok, so I guess now I get to rearrange your things?” asked Nolan, as he made a move to head to her room.

Penelope put out a hand to stop him. “What? Nolan, you sleep in the living room. Where we both spend time. Just…try to appreciate it, ok?”

Penelope sighed as she headed back to her bedroom. She couldn’t believe that all of her effort didn’t even get a thank you. She flopped down on her bed. Was everything supposed to be this hard all the time? A wave of anxiety washed over her, and suddenly everything felt wrong.

Was it the right choice to leave Jake, and the easy set up at his apartment? What if I’m really not ready fort school? How am I supposed to even create this whole capstone while managing… Nolan’s “acoustics”? Where was I going to get the money?

Penelope did the only thing she could think of when she was upset and looking for solace— she video called her mother.

“Hi, mom—” started Penelope.

“Penelope!” exclaimed the voice on the other end of the phone. “I was worried about you.” Mrs. Roman always had a way of going from excitement to concern in less than the time it took to say “hi.”

“I haven’t heard from you in so long,” Penelope’s mother continued.

“Mom, it’s only been a week,” Penelope smiled. “How are you?”

As Mrs. Roman launched into a story about how the sink was leaking at home, Penelope popped her head back out into the main space to see if Nolan had cooled off. But she didn’t see him at all. Penelope tentatively walked to the couch with the phone, careful to avoid Nolan’s guitar.

Suddenly, her mother ended her home maintenance update. “Where are you?” she asked her daughter.

“Well, I actually have good news,” Penelope started. “I found a great new apartment! And look at all of the work I’ve done today,” Penelope flipped the camera around to show off how she had re-organized.

Mrs. Roman didn’t say anything, so Penelope flipped the camera back to herself and continued. “It’s affordable—more than affordable, actually, it’s CHEAP, even for Brooklyn, and it’s beautiful. I think I can finally have some space and time to really grow,” Penelope found herself getting excited all over again about the possibilities just saying it all out loud. She smiled as she continued, feeling proud. “In fact, I’ve decided to use the apartment as my capstone project! I’m going to finish up school, get my degree, and start finally pursuing my dreams.”

But her mother was looking at something behind Penelope.

“Mom? Did you hear me? Did the service cut out?” Penelope asked, checking the bars on her phone.

“Who is that man?” Mrs. Roman asked, pointing to the window behind Penelope. “That’s not Jake.” Penelope whipped her head around to see a shirtless Nolan outside as he scrubbed at the windows…in the winter cold.

“Oh, um…” Penelope stalled for a moment thinking. She hadn’t been prepared to tell her mother about her breakup…or why she was living with a strange, perpetually naked man.Nolan waved at the phone from outside, grinning. Penelope shifted on the couch, moving Nolan out of her mother’s eyeline.

“Well, part of making this move was breaking things off with Jake. He wasn’t good for me, Mom. And I restarted school, which I couldn’t do when we were together,” Penelope tried to sound confident about her decision.

She waited a moment for her mother to respond, but Mrs. Roman said nothing.

“Mom? What do you think?” Penelope asked.

“Penelope...I just don’t know if this is a good decision,” sighed Mrs. Roman.

Penelope’s heart broke a little to hear the doubt in her mother’s voice. “What do you mean?”

“You had one fight with Jake and you’re giving up?” Mrs. Roman asked.

“It wasn’t just one fight—” Penelope started to say.

Penelope’s mother continued. “Honey, he’s been a good boyfriend to you. He gave you food, shelter, and love during the past year. You don’t just throw that away.”

Now it was Penelope’s turn to stay silent. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Maybe you should give him one more chance,” Mrs. Roman said. “Some women would kill to have what you do. Relationships take work. My marriage to your father hasn’t all been roses, you know.”

“Mom, I don’t want to hear about you and Dad. Jake and me. It’s not the same,” Penelope responded, starting to doubt herself all over again. “You don’t understand. He’s not…my person.”

“Just think about it. He can support you, that’s all I’m saying,” Penelope’s mother said.

Just then, Nolan re-entered the apartment with a bucket and a rag that looked suspiciously like the shirt he was just wearing. Penelope didn’t want her mother to see him again—and she definitely didn’t want him to see her upset.

“I’ve got to go, ok?” Penelope said, desperately wanting to end the conversation.

“I love you, remember that,” said Mrs. Roman. “I just want what’s best for you. Always.”

“I know. Love you too,” said Penelope, hanging up.

Penelope couldn’t help tearing up out of frustration. Her mother was always supportive -- why couldn’t she see that this was the decision that was best for her? Penelope knew she didn’t need her mother’s approval, but she couldn’t help wanting it anyway.

Nolan eyed her quizzically, and Penelope gave a fake yawn and rubbed the water from her eyes, pretending she was just tired. She walked back to her bedroom—and then a thought occurred to her.

Her mother definitely didn’t give her the reassurance she wanted. But she did remind Penelope that she needed some kind of income to make this really work. It was time to give her old manager a call.