Sweet Penelope

Impertinent

I can't remember the last time I had a good home cooked meal. I wanted to leave good first impressions, so I didn't get much food. Penelope, on the other hand, stacked her plate high. I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Get seconds later, try to be courteous." She huffed at me. "Well, Mason, it's too late now. I'll eat it all, don't worry." I just nodded and awkwardly sat down at the table. Cheryl pulled a chair out for Penelope and she sat down. "Now you both get as much food as you want. It's a compliment to me if you want more. And I made plenty." Penelope did a sassy hand twirl. "I told Mason the same thing, I told him I'd eat all of this food." I smiled. "And I'm sure you will." She crinkled her nose at me and took a bite of potatoes. Thomas kissed Cheryl's forehead. "Should we wait for Daniel or go ahead and start with grace?" Penelope tilted her head. "Who's Grace?" Thomas laughed. "Oh, she's not a who. Grace is a prayer we say before we eat." Penelope showed visible confusion as Thomas went on to explain it to her. I had learned about religion before just out of curiosity and they all sounded ridiculous to me. Out of respect, I bowed my head and closed my eyes, and Penelope did the same. Thomas spoke slow and he put a lot of passion into it, but before he could finish, a man barged through the door. "Tom! Cheryl!" Cheryl already looked annoyed and Thomas gave a fake smile. "Ah, Daniel, fix you a plate and sit down." Daniel didn't hesitant, he grabbed a plate and walked over to the stove. "Well, you sure didn't save me any." Penelope's face turned red and she looked at me. I gave her a reassuring smile, Daniel was being immature for a grown man, I thought. Common courtesy only goes so far. Penelope held her plate up. "Um...sir, you can have some food from my plate." Cheryl shook her head. "Oh no sweetheart, you don't have to do that. I'll cook him some more. You keep your word and eat all your food." Penelope nodded and set her plate back down. Daniel smiled at her. "Thanks for the offer kiddo. Tom, you're not even going to introduce me to these fine kids?" Thomas sighed. "Daniel, this is Mason and Penelope. Kids, this is my step brother." Daniel laughed. "Man, you sure never forget the word step!" Thomas cracked a smile. Daniel looked at both of us and grinned. Penelope smiled back and waved, but I didn't smile. He was rude. He barged into the house and had Cheryl cook more food just for him. He was dressed poorly and he was very loud. He gave me a weird look because I didn't smile back, but I didn't care. I leaned over and whispered to Penelope, "We don't trust him." She nodded and I rubbed her hair.

Daniel sat down at the table and he never stopped talking. He cussed more than I did, and he found a way to incorporate the word "fuck" into every sentence. Penelope's eyes got wide every time he said it, it's a word I rarely used and when I did use, I was mad or upset. He used it freely. He wiped his greasy hands on his jeans and shirt. All I could do was ignore him and hoped he went away soon. Then, he made eye contact with Penelope and I felt the hair on my arms stand up. "So, your name is Penelope?" She nodded slowly, and she looked at me to relax her fear. "That's a long name, do you have a shorter nickname?" I spoke before she could. "I call her Penny. But I rather you didn't. She's Penelope, and her name is long, but it's pretty." Penelope smiled and took a sip of her water. Daniel laughed. "Woah calm down cowboy. I was just making conversation, that's all." I was getting angry. "Make conversation with someone else." Thomas stood up. "Daniel, I think you should leave. Mason is just protective of his little sister, that's all. Please don't fight with a fourteen year old." Daniel stood up too and tossed Toby a piece of chicken. "Well, that's good. As least he cares about her. Thanks for the meal." He left almost as quickly as he entered. I felt ashamed for making a scene at dinner, I didn't want to be the reason we got sent back. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Thomas rubbed my head. "It's okay. I can almost say I'm proud of you for standing up to the crow."

Cheryl ran Penelope a bath and I headed back into our room. I picked up my book and was reading when Thomas walked into the room. I looked at him and he sat down on the edge of the bed. "So you like to read?" I placed my bookmark and shut the book. "Yeah, I enjoy it some of the time." Thomas picked the book up and read the title. "Oh, this is a good series. I read it a few years ago. It's a difficult read too. Impressive. I have a tub of books in the garage. Maybe tomorrow we can go through them together and you can pick a few out and bring them in here." I smiled. "I would like that. I've read this book about three times, I just always find something new." Thomas pushed his glasses up. "You're a really good kid. Penelope is too. Cheryl couldn't ever have kids and we were always nervous to adopt. But, I'm so glad we finally did." Hearing those words made my night. We were wanted, and they were happy with us. He said we were good kids. He wants to give me some of his old books. I thought Penelope and I had finally made it.

Penelope came in later and her hair was braided and she was in pajama pants. She jumped in bed with me and hugged my neck. "I love it here." I squeezed her. "I do too." She pulled back and her eyes were forming tears. "Cheryl was so nice to me. She ran me a bath and told me if I needed her, I just needed to yell her name. She even braided my hair. Mason, I think I'll call her Mom tomorrow." I kissed her forehead. "That's up to you. I'm going to take my time with calling them Mom and Dad but you can. Thomas offered to show me some of his old books tomorrow." A tear rolled down her cheek and I wiped it away with my thumb. "Are you okay, Penny?" She nodded and smiled. "Yes bubby, I'm just feeling so happy. It's so weird our bodies want to cry when we're happy too." I couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm always going to make sure you're happy. And if I'm ever doing a poor job, you better put me in my place." She laid her head over on my shoulder. "I think you're doing wonderful."