Penny stepped on delicate pale leg out from the car and onto the crowded steps of the city hall. The three women walk side-by-side up the steps to the many doors.
One was excited that her brother was settling down with a girl that she approved of.
Another was concerned about the girl's well-being but remains neutral to protect everyone.
Lastly, the girl was shaking, trembling, and just worried about getting married to a man that hates her.
Inside the office of the judge who is the wed the couple, stood four more people. A small portion of the Romano family, mother, father, and son.
And then Marshall family lawyer making sure the wedding is true.
The father is impeccable dressed in a dashing black suit and a matching bowtie.
The mother is matching with a classy little black dress, almost like she is celebrating the death of her son's single life.
The son is not looking his best, even on his wedding day.
Quentin woke up this morning with a massive hangover. He is already enduring a mental and emotional pain, so why not add physical pain to make it a perfect trifecta. His outfit somewhat reflected that pain. He is always best dressed, but on his wedding day, Quinn is a little below average.
He is not in a full suit, like his father and like how he would dress for work. He believes that Penny doesn't deserve to see him at his best. He wore pants that he found ugly, maroon slacks. The shirt was just average, a long white sleeve button up. To match the pants, he wore the maroon sport jacket that came with it. No tie, brown belt, and brown shoes completed the outfit.
Overall, he didn't look bad, but to himself he looked like total trash.
While the judge was getting ready for the wedding and getting together the marriage license, Dante found a perfect time to reticule his son, "I know you hate that suit with a burning passion. Why are you wearing it?" All Quentin did in return was roll his eyes. This fueled his father's anger, "You are ridiculous! Your mother and I raised you better than this. You think this sweet girl wants to marry an asshole like you."
"I am not ridiculous. I am angry at you and at this mystery girl. She should have said no to all of this! She had a choice. I don't care that she did it for her father's company. I don't know those people and I don't care about that business going under. Not... my... problem. "
Dante was taken back by his son's disgusting words, but he was not speechless, "You need to get off the pile of shit you climbed up on. You are not invincible. You grew up and had a great life. Your mother and I treated all of you guys so well, loved you hard, and gave you whatever you wanted. Not everyone lived like you. Many had worse, and you need to remember and respect that."
Dante walked over to his wife and whispered in her ear, "At this point, I have no hope in him. I am absolute disgusted by our son, worse than what he did in high school."
Amelia agreed with her husband but, "I have hope in that this girl will help him change his mind."
At this time, Penelope, Addison, and Ms. Birdie all walked into the judge's office. Mrs. Romano starts to fawn over Penny, telling her daughter what a great job she did. Penny gives her a sweet smile.
The judge comes back into his office with papers, "Okay, the couple needs to sign these papers for the marriage license and then we will proceed to the union."
Quentin still doesn't want to look at Penny, but he does peak a glance. She looked beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. He almost felt guilty for what he was wearing, but he put himself back in the mindset that she was the enemy.
The papers are in front Penelope as she signs her name. Her and Mr. Romano agreed in California that she would keep her last name and not take the Romano name. It was done to keep Quentin happy.
While Penelope was completely focused on the task present to her, Quentin's mind was everywhere and nowhere at once. He was shaking his leg and playing with the skin by his fingernails over and over again. It drove his family crazy, but Penny didn't even notice.
It took a few minutes and some name calling for Quinn to finish signing his stuff. Then they all walked together into another space so that the couple could be married. The actual ceremony wasn't supposed to be long. He would say the vows and then say the "I do's" and then kiss.
The couple, Penelope and Quentin stood across from each other. Penny was looking right at him, but Quentin was looking all over the place, continuing to tap his foot and pick at his skin. At this point, Dante had to place a hand on his shoulder, and gave him a look Quinn knew all too well.
The judge started the basic vows said at every wedding ever, and Penny said "I do" very quietly. It wasn't supposed to come off as shy, but she was just nervous about his response. What if he says no? That would make things a little awkward around the family.
The judge looks towards Quinn and repeated the same thing. When it was his turn to say the two infamous words, Quentin was in another land entirely. This time, it was Penny's turn to snap him back to reality, "Um, Quentin. Hey Quentin," this brought his eyes back to the girl for the first time today. She gave him a sweet smile, "It's your turn to say the words."
Quentin almost enchanted by the sweet smile said, "I do."
"You may kiss the bride," the judge says with a bored look. He saw no chemistry between the couple and new that they weren't going to last long. For all he knew, the bride could just be pregnant.
"I'm sorry, but we are going to skip out on that part. I am very shy, and I want my first kiss to be done in private with my new husband," Penny gives a bigger smile to Quentin, albeit a fake smile. Penny knew how to read the room and knew that Quentin did not want to kiss her.
The judge understood, "Okay, I know pronounce you husband and wife."
The rest of the family clapped for the couple because they were generally happy for them. They fell in love with Penny after one day, and of course they love Quentin. Even if their "relationship" would produce no love, they are happy that the two have each other. Penny has new friends and an amazing support system. Quentin also gets a new friend, and he surely has few of those. It might be possible that she can even help him with his own problem. Not directly, of course, but in a slight way that will make his day easier.
Quentin still stood in shock. Did Penny fake that smile to manipulate him? To make him fall for her? He saw her skills when manipulating the judge so that they don't have to kiss. Quinn started speculating about the girl now. How she is going only with his rules to make him fall for her. He refusing to fall in love with such a beautiful young wo...
No, he thought. She is the like the devil's spawn.
Everyone wants Quentin to fall in love with Penelope, but he is the king of rejecting and go against suggestion. As everyone tries to push them together, Quentin pushes the opposite way.
They all walk out together to grab an early dinner at Quentin's favorite restaurant. There wasn't anything that happened at dinner. Penny and the rest of the family were being polite. They all talked together, but the topic of conversation was on Penny. They all wanted to know her more, they were just captivated.
Quentin, on the other hand, was out of focused. He would go between going on his phone and scrolling to staring off into space. He definitely wasn't listening to the conversation. He couldn't focus on just one thing. His mind was running at sixty miles an hour. He couldn't stop going over different reasons for Penelope's smile at the wedding. Quentin couldn't see that fact that Penny was just being polite and was trying to grab his attention. No malice thought behind it.
After dinner, Ms. Birdie, Quentin, and Penelope where all dropped off at the Penthouse. It was a quiet night for everyone. Ms. Birdie studied the kitchen more and developed a list to go shopping. Quentin was exhausted from the day and went to bed where he crashed and fell asleep. Penny started unpacking her clothes and important toiletries. Her stuff was coming the next day and planned on spending the day unpacking.
When she was finished, she wrote up a list of clothes that she might need soon now that she is living on the east coast. She has some leftover money that she can use to buy the clothes. However, that will be the last of her shopping for a while. That was until she had a stable job on stage.
She planned on meeting Danny on Monday to discuss her talents and build a resumé perfect for New York. The rest of the week and time will be spent auditioning.
She didn't feel like leaving her room and was just comfortable on her bed. She put on her pajamas, grabbed the laptop that she kind of stole from her death father (it's not like anyone else was going to use it), and got into bed. Her plan was to watch a movie on Netflix (she shared the account with Ms. Birdie), but she came to a problem.
She didn't know the WIFI password.
Penny groans and drops her head into her hands. This meant that she had to go bother the master of the house, which would mean breaking rule one. But it was a necessity.
She got out of bed and walked to the master bed. She knocked on the door. No answer, but the door was slightly open. Penny pushed it open, peaked her head in.
For a second, she believed that Quentin as going to scream her out of the room, but quite the opposite. He was fast asleep on his bed. He looked so calm and relax, peaceful for once.
Penny decided not to go on her computer tonight and just let him sleep.
He needed it after a busy day.