Post by Lane Kent on Jun 7, 2005 19:00:22 GMT
LOVE AND DECEIT - When Mike Met Penny
PART II
Tuesday 10th May 2005, Penny was sitting on Mike’s sofa laughing and joking with a woman, when Mike arrived home. He looked startled to see Penny with company. She had only moved in the night before but it was quite clear already that she had her feet firmly under his table.
PENNY: (startled) Mike! What are you doing here, I thought you would be longer.
MIKE: The business meeting didn’t take long. So I thought I might as well come back home to you (he went over to kiss her)
PENNY: Oh, forgive my rudeness Jan, I should introduce you. This is Mike Baldwin and this is my former neighbour Janice Sykes,
Mike looked blankly at Penny.
PENNY: You know Mike, I told you about her on Sunday, Jan is who let me know about my break in.
Mike did all the usual how do you dos, getting rather bored of the niceties. Penny went to make cups of coffee for everyone, although Mike was already thinking he would need something stronger like a scotch before trying to make his leave. But Mike had no intention of leaving the ladies in peace just yet however bored he was. Mike was curious as to how friendly Janice and Penny really were and would this “Janice Sykes” be a regular fixture in his home. He felt he would need good warning about this. So while Penny was out of the room he decided to find out more about her guest.
MIKE: (addressing Janice) So you and Penny get on well then?
At that point Penny came back into the room much to Mike’s despair.
PENNY: Oh Jan and I go back years. My sister was married to Janice’s husband’s brother.
JANICE: Yes Both men a pair of scum bags.
MIKE: Oh, I was married to a Sykes once and if they were anything like her, then you have my sympathies.
Mike chuckled, after all Sykes was a common name and he didn’t read anything into the fact Janice’s husband was called Sykes or of his little joke at her expense. However Janice sent her eyes downwards and Penny was shuffling around uncomfortably before finally addressing Mike.
PENNY: Well, (she said awkwardly), that’s all past now isn’t it Mike? Guess what Jan? I’m going to be the 5th and last Mrs Mike Baldwin. He proposed to me last night. Jan appropriately gushed and the two women giggled merrily. However it was now Mike’s turn to feel awkward.
Making his excuses to go and freshen up, Mike went into the bedroom and plopped down on the bed with a deep sigh. What the heck was he thinking, inviting that woman into his home, let alone asking her to be his wife? Of all the women Mike had ever bedded, only some he had truly loved and Penny King was not one of those.
Mike, still sitting on his bed, reached into his pocket and pulled out a tatty black and white photo of a baby. Looking lovingly at the photo, a tear formed in the normally cold-hearted Baldwin’s eye. This little baby was the whole reason for Mike going through this charade with Penny! The little girl he had only set eyes on once, their daughter. The little daughter Penny had so callously discarded all those years ago.
When Penny had first told Mike about the baby, he had offered to do the right thing and marry her much to Penny's surprise. However she had said no and disappeared back to her parents during Christmas 1974. A career was what Penny had always wanted and a marriage and the baby stood in the way of all her dreams. There was no way Penny would ever of kept the baby and she made it quite plain to Mike from the start that the moment it was born she was giving it up for adoption.
So it came to pass, as promised the minute their daughter was born, Penny gave her up. This upset Mike dreadfully and he had never forgiven or forgot.
Penny had no idea that Mike still thought about their daughter. It had taken her a lifetime but Penny had long since realised Mike was the love of her life and money wasn’t everything, however their daughter still meant nothing to her. Penny thought Mike felt the same way about the baby. After all that was such a long time ago and he had since had two children.
In Mike’s eyes, Penny and he had had a bit of fun when she was a teenager back in London and he had been the envy of all his friends for having someone so young. Then when Penny was in her 30s and he in his 40s, they had resumed their affair as both now were settled in Weatherfield. It had just been sex or so he thought. She was married to Preston King and he knew Penny would never leave Preston. Penny’s goal in life had been to get rich and live the life of a Queen. With Preston she had managed it on one level. It had given her social standing and all the luxuries she had ever wanted, even if Preston was a cold and heartless husband.
So for Mike an affair with Penny in the 1980s, was a safe affair with no commitment. His heart had been broken by Deirdre Barlow at the time who had chosen to return to her husband Ken, instead of starting a fresh with him. It had hurt Mike badly. He had also been hurt by Maggie Dunlop’s rejection of his proposal of marriage around the same time and her taking their son Mark away from him. So he had turned to his past love Penny King for a bit of companionship, sex and comfort.
Never in his wildest dreams would Mike Baldwin of ever considered anything serious with Penny. Nor did he think she ever wanted more from him? In the 1990s his only dealings with Penny had been on a purely business level through her husband Preston.
Everything changed when Preston died in December 2003. Suddenly Penny was throwing herself at Mike and wouldn’t leave him alone. At first he tried to brush her off, then he succumbed, but he still had his freedom and kept her at a distance.
The more time Mike spent with Penny the more he realised he had no feelings for her whatsoever and if anything she was an irritant. He hated all her friends as he considered them boring and Mike now was starting to wonder if he hated Penny too?
PART 3 BELOW!
PART II
Tuesday 10th May 2005, Penny was sitting on Mike’s sofa laughing and joking with a woman, when Mike arrived home. He looked startled to see Penny with company. She had only moved in the night before but it was quite clear already that she had her feet firmly under his table.
PENNY: (startled) Mike! What are you doing here, I thought you would be longer.
MIKE: The business meeting didn’t take long. So I thought I might as well come back home to you (he went over to kiss her)
PENNY: Oh, forgive my rudeness Jan, I should introduce you. This is Mike Baldwin and this is my former neighbour Janice Sykes,
Mike looked blankly at Penny.
PENNY: You know Mike, I told you about her on Sunday, Jan is who let me know about my break in.
Mike did all the usual how do you dos, getting rather bored of the niceties. Penny went to make cups of coffee for everyone, although Mike was already thinking he would need something stronger like a scotch before trying to make his leave. But Mike had no intention of leaving the ladies in peace just yet however bored he was. Mike was curious as to how friendly Janice and Penny really were and would this “Janice Sykes” be a regular fixture in his home. He felt he would need good warning about this. So while Penny was out of the room he decided to find out more about her guest.
MIKE: (addressing Janice) So you and Penny get on well then?
At that point Penny came back into the room much to Mike’s despair.
PENNY: Oh Jan and I go back years. My sister was married to Janice’s husband’s brother.
JANICE: Yes Both men a pair of scum bags.
MIKE: Oh, I was married to a Sykes once and if they were anything like her, then you have my sympathies.
Mike chuckled, after all Sykes was a common name and he didn’t read anything into the fact Janice’s husband was called Sykes or of his little joke at her expense. However Janice sent her eyes downwards and Penny was shuffling around uncomfortably before finally addressing Mike.
PENNY: Well, (she said awkwardly), that’s all past now isn’t it Mike? Guess what Jan? I’m going to be the 5th and last Mrs Mike Baldwin. He proposed to me last night. Jan appropriately gushed and the two women giggled merrily. However it was now Mike’s turn to feel awkward.
Making his excuses to go and freshen up, Mike went into the bedroom and plopped down on the bed with a deep sigh. What the heck was he thinking, inviting that woman into his home, let alone asking her to be his wife? Of all the women Mike had ever bedded, only some he had truly loved and Penny King was not one of those.
Mike, still sitting on his bed, reached into his pocket and pulled out a tatty black and white photo of a baby. Looking lovingly at the photo, a tear formed in the normally cold-hearted Baldwin’s eye. This little baby was the whole reason for Mike going through this charade with Penny! The little girl he had only set eyes on once, their daughter. The little daughter Penny had so callously discarded all those years ago.
When Penny had first told Mike about the baby, he had offered to do the right thing and marry her much to Penny's surprise. However she had said no and disappeared back to her parents during Christmas 1974. A career was what Penny had always wanted and a marriage and the baby stood in the way of all her dreams. There was no way Penny would ever of kept the baby and she made it quite plain to Mike from the start that the moment it was born she was giving it up for adoption.
So it came to pass, as promised the minute their daughter was born, Penny gave her up. This upset Mike dreadfully and he had never forgiven or forgot.
Penny had no idea that Mike still thought about their daughter. It had taken her a lifetime but Penny had long since realised Mike was the love of her life and money wasn’t everything, however their daughter still meant nothing to her. Penny thought Mike felt the same way about the baby. After all that was such a long time ago and he had since had two children.
In Mike’s eyes, Penny and he had had a bit of fun when she was a teenager back in London and he had been the envy of all his friends for having someone so young. Then when Penny was in her 30s and he in his 40s, they had resumed their affair as both now were settled in Weatherfield. It had just been sex or so he thought. She was married to Preston King and he knew Penny would never leave Preston. Penny’s goal in life had been to get rich and live the life of a Queen. With Preston she had managed it on one level. It had given her social standing and all the luxuries she had ever wanted, even if Preston was a cold and heartless husband.
So for Mike an affair with Penny in the 1980s, was a safe affair with no commitment. His heart had been broken by Deirdre Barlow at the time who had chosen to return to her husband Ken, instead of starting a fresh with him. It had hurt Mike badly. He had also been hurt by Maggie Dunlop’s rejection of his proposal of marriage around the same time and her taking their son Mark away from him. So he had turned to his past love Penny King for a bit of companionship, sex and comfort.
Never in his wildest dreams would Mike Baldwin of ever considered anything serious with Penny. Nor did he think she ever wanted more from him? In the 1990s his only dealings with Penny had been on a purely business level through her husband Preston.
Everything changed when Preston died in December 2003. Suddenly Penny was throwing herself at Mike and wouldn’t leave him alone. At first he tried to brush her off, then he succumbed, but he still had his freedom and kept her at a distance.
The more time Mike spent with Penny the more he realised he had no feelings for her whatsoever and if anything she was an irritant. He hated all her friends as he considered them boring and Mike now was starting to wonder if he hated Penny too?
PART 3 BELOW!
