Wanderers

3 - Lost and Found

"You know I ran into Eileen Carmichael the other day down at the grocery store. She mentioned she was going to be out of town for business again...you know what that means?" Cora winked at Penny as they cleaned up their breakfast.

"Stop it!" Penny looked at her aunt disgusted. "I am not going over to some dumb party at Calvin's down the street!"

"I promise if you go, I won't call the police like last time," Cora snickered.

"What kind of parent are you? Seriously? I would rather jump off a cliff than have to spend 30 minutes with that boy." Penny scowled her giggling aunt as she walked her to the front door with her lunch box in hand. "Anyways you didn't even call the police."

"Penelope! You are such a prude! You and Calvin used to be inseparable. I mean we owe the Carmichaels, right?" Cora mentioned as they walked out on the front porch into the hot July sun. The shade of the porch was all that offered them some relief.

"What are you talking about?" Penny laughed confused.

"I mean they are the ones who brought you back after you had been missing for a few hours. Honestly it was around that same time you probably had that picture taken with the key? Don't tell me you don't remember that?" Cora laughed with hesitation.

"Of course I remember that!" Penny lied already feeling a sense of dread creeping up her fingers at her confusion.

"If the Carmichaels hadn't found you wandering on their property and brought you home, who knows what could've happened. I remember your mother cried and cried to me on the phone for a week feeling like she had somehow been a bad mom," Cora sighed.

Penny looked out over the sprawling fields that surround her house and for the first time wondered how much she really knew about her home. Was there something that she wasn't remembering. Something important. Her thoughts went back to that key. But why?

"I'm headed into work but I should be home tonight. We could sit on the roof tonight? See if any of the neighbors shoot off fireworks? I mean that is if you haven't changed your mind and decided to go over to the Carmichaels?" Cora laughed and Penny sneered.

Penny opened up Cora's car door as she got in and shut the door behind her. Penny leaned in and kissed her aunt on the cheek.

"I'll let you know what Naomi and I get into," Penny smirked.

"Tell Calvin I said hi," she winked as she pulled out of the driveway and disappeared in a cloud of dust.