Sweet Penelope

All For Her

Our new parents introduced themselves as Cheryl and Thomas. Their home, which was now our home as well, was small and comfortable. The kitchen table was piled with random papers and some laundry still needed to be folded on the couch. And I loved to see that. This couple was normal. They weren't perfect, they didn't have enough time in their day to finish all of the house chores. And maybe they didn't care because with love you can accomplish a lot, except for the laundry for some reason. Cheryl was quick to apologize for the mess. "I just haven't had time for anything. And well, Thomas and I, were just really excited to meet our kids that we just kinda dropped everything." I went to speak but Penelope cut me off. "I love it here, your home is cute! Do you have a dog though?" Cheryl chuckled. "He's not a dog, he's more of a human. But yes, Toby is our sweet little dog. He's old and sleeps in our bedroom all day, he's awful lazy. I'll go get him so you can meet him sweet girl." I smiled to myself, it was such a relief to know that they had a dog.

Penelope was so focused on Toby, she wasn't worried about unpacking. I unpacked her suitcase for her, along with mine. Thomas showed Penelope her room but she said it would be her "spare" room, so he just went along with it. She insisted that we continue sharing a room and I wouldn't want it any other way. Thomas moved another bed into the room because they're small for two people. A window and a nightstand was between the beds and Penelope seemed really satisfied with it. I took her drawings, that I had neatly folded in her suitcase, out and tacked them onto the wall. "Look at that, Penny." She grinned and then giggled. "Yeah, but you forgot the rainbow pattern." I shook my head. "Oh, my bad." I fixed the tacks back to where they resembled the pattern of a rainbow. "Is that good now?" Penelope nodded her head and rubbed Toby's head. "He's the cutest dog ever." I looked at the little dog, his little gray snout and short legs. He wasn't the prettiest dog I had ever seen, he had bushy eyebrows and shaggy fur. He was black and had a horrible underbite, which showed some bottom teeth even when his mouth was closed. "Yep, he's adorable."

Cheryl started cooking dinner and it smelled delicious. Penelope was asleep in her bed with Toby resting his head on her chest. I was reading my book, and I smiled over at her. We had been through a lot together. So many different foster homes in the last seven years that I've lost count. The only difference is I remember a time when life was normal, or whatever normal is considered. Penelope doesn't, her life has always been orphanages and foster homes. She didn't get to meet our mom or dad, and sometimes I'm glad for that. Mom was a drug addict, and she tried so hard to stay sober. The therapy sessions never worked for her though, and my dad found her overdosed in her car at a Walmart parking lot. Penelope was two months old at the time and I was seven. My dad gave up after losing his wife, he gave up on his own kids, not that he had much custody anyways. He was heavily involved with drugs too. He had no money because he spent it all on drugs. He couldn't afford to care for us, so he just drove us to the nearest orphanage and dropped us off. I remember I held Penelope in my arms and I was terrified. We were entered into the system, went to many different homes and orphanages. Nothing ever worked out for us, and Penelope never got to experience a family. In a way, I haven't either, not a happy one anyways. When I was seven and I looked down at infant Penelope, I made a promise to her that I would keep her safe always. I'm not just her brother, I'm her best friend. I'm her father figure. I'm her family. And nothing will ever change that.