Chapter 25
Glynda remained with Penny for some time. The girl would occasionally slip into fits of sobbing, and Glynda did her best to soothe her. Together they practiced the calming techniques Glynda had been teaching Penny, and over time, it seemed to work. The social worker came and went. Given Penny's extraordinary situation, and her father's unofficial will, she was officially placed in Glynda's care, pending the necessary checks and reviews. Physically and emotionally drained, Penny managed to fall asleep for a short time, waking up in the late afternoon.
Penny climbed out of Glynda's lap and sat beside her on the couch. Rocking back and forth, she stared at the ground miserably. "Father...father is dead, isn't he?" She asked, almost whispering.
Glynda was taken aback. It was a heavy question to begin with, and she was not sure Penny grasped the concept of death. "He is." Glynda finally replied. "I'm sorry." They sat in silence for a few moments. Glynda watched Penny, but she seemed to have no reaction. That was hardly surprising, it was just confirmation of something she had already known. "Do you...know what that means?"
"Yes." Penny confirmed. "Father explained death to me. When someone dies, they go away, forever, and no one can see them or speak with them again. He said that one day he would die, that I would have to go on without him. He said not to worry, that it would not happen soon...but it did." Glynda put an arm around the girl's shoulders, and Penny leaned into her. "What will happen now? Do I have to live here alone? Do I have to live with someone new?"
"You don't have to be alone." Glynda assured her. "I'm not sure exactly what the future holds, but for now, I'll take care of you. Would you...like to come live with me?"
Penny looked up at Glynda, and for the first time all day, smiled. "Yes, please."
"I have to warn you, I don't live alone." Glynda warned. "My partner Raven lives with me. I know it's scary to meet new people, but Raven is a good person, who you can trust just like you trust me. I love her with all my heart, just like your father loved you."
"Do I...I am afraid." Penny's smile faded.
"If you're too scared she can stay in her room, or you can stay in yours, at least until you're not so afraid anymore." Glynda encouraged. "Remember how scared you were when we first met? It took time, but you're not afraid of me anymore. Right?"
"Yes." Penny nodded. "But...father helped me stop being afraid."
"I'll help you stop being afraid." Glynda promised.
Penny was silent for a moment. "I will try. I need to try."
"Good, that's a good attitude to have." Glynda praised. "So you'll come home with me tonight?"
"Yes, I will." Penny confirmed.
"Alright." Glynda smiled, hoping her expression would further reassure Penny. "Why don't you go gather a few toys, some pajamas, and anything you need to sleep, just what you'll want for tonight. Tomorrow we can rent a moving van and come back to get more."
"Okay." Penny agreed. "But…" She fished around in her pocket before pulling out a few little pieces of metal. "...I broke my clip." She held out the bent and broken remains of the butterfly-style paperclip she toyed with almost constantly, flipping the arms back and forth. It had been a source of comfort and an outlet for nervous energy. The metallic click-clack accompanied Penny wherever she went. "When I was waiting for the ambulance, I squeezed it too hard, and it broke."
Glynda took the broken clip from Penny. The metal was bent and broken, certainly not repairable. "Why don't you use a fidget cube instead?" She suggested. Glynda reached into her purse and retrieved one of the toys. She kept several for patients to use, and had encouraged Penny to use one in lieu of her clip before. "If you don't like it, there are other kinds, or I could get you a new clip."
Penny took hold of the cube and began toying with the buttons and switches. She closed her eyes and managed a small smile. "This is...this is good."
"Wonderful." Glynda breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, go gather your things. I have to make a phone call, but I'll come to your room as soon as I'm done."
"Okay." Penny nodded. She hopped off the couch and rushed up the stairs to her bedroom.
Glynda slipped her phone out of her pocket. It had been silenced since her arrival, and the missed calls and texts had piled up. She would get to them later. Swiping through her contacts, she found Raven and called. "Hey, what's up?" Raven answered.
"I've got an emergency and I need you to do me a few favors." Glynda replied.
"Yeah...of course." Raven responded. "What's going on, what do you need?"
"I'm bringing a patient home." Glynda explained. "I'll give you more details in person, but she has many phobias. I need you to clean up the guest room, make sure there's nothing in there that might be at all scary...the bed probably needs fresh sheets, and the room needs a dusting for sure."
"Yeah, I can do that." Raven said.
"And I need you to make yourself presentable." Glynda added. "Shower, put on some nice clothes, maybe makeup…"
"Why?" Raven asked.
"So you'll be less scary." Glynda replied. "And put your hair in a bun."
"Why a bun?" Raven pressed. "I hate putting my hair up."
"Because when your hair's down, you look like there's an eldritch abomination growing from your scalp." Glynda noted.
"You always liked it." Raven resisted.
"We're trying not to scare a little girl, who because of her phobias, will already be terrified of meeting you." Glynda admonished. "Just do it."
"Yeah, fine." Raven relented. "Anything else?"
"Oh, take down the painting in the living room, put it in the closet." Glynda remembered.
"It's just a forest." Raven observed. "Ruby painted it."
"It's kind of creepy, and I don't want to take any chances." Glynda insisted.
"Okay, is that all?" Raven asked.
"No, that should do it." Glynda answered. "I'll see you soon. Love you."
"I love you too." Raven declared before the pair hung up.
Glynda slipped the phone back into her pocket and took a deep breath. It had been a difficult day, and there were surely more difficult days ahead. Slowly, she walked up the stairs, following the sound to find Penny's room. When she arrived she found Penny sitting on the edge of her bed, with a piece of already packed luggage at her side. "Did you pack everything?" Glynda asked.
"Yes." Penny replied.
"What about your toothbrush and toothpaste?" Glynda pressed. Penny nodded. "Pillow?"
"And a blanket." Penny confirmed.
"Okay, good job." Glynda praised. "You've been very brave today, you're doing very good."
"Well." Penny corrected. "I'm doing well."
Glynda smiled. "Ah yes, my mistake. You're doing very well."
By the time Glynda and Penny departed the Polendina house, it was well into the evening. The summer sun had still yet to set, and still would not for some time, but it had been a long and exhausting day, during which neither had had anything to eat. Glynda offered to get Penny food from anywhere she chose. Penny picked a small pizzeria. On the way home from therapy sessions with Glynda, her father would stop there to get them lunch. To Penny, the place was inextricably linked with both Glynda and her father, making it the natural choice.
Penny remained in the car, watching a documentary on her tablet as Glynda entered the restaurant to order. Glynda soon returned with the food, a personal pizza for Penny - plain and light on the cheese - and a large pizza split half and half - extra cheese and bacon on one side, assorted meats on the other - for herself and Raven. From there it was a short drive to Glynda's home. It was a house not unlike Penny's, a cookie-cutter structure located in an affluent suburb on the outskirts of the city, different mostly in that it was but a single story tall.
Penny eyed the second car in the driveway with apprehension. "Your p-partner is here?"
"Yes, Raven is here." Glynda confirmed as she pulled the car to a stop. "She might be a little...intimidating, but try not to be afraid."
"I will try." Penny nodded.
Placing the pizzas atop the car, Glynda retrieved Penny's suitcase from the trunk. Once down on its wheels, Penny wheeled the luggage to the front door, waiting as Glynda approached with pizzas in one hand and keys in the other. After fumbling for a moment, Glynda managed to unlock the door and led Penny inside. "Let's get you to your room." Glynda suggested, figuring less contact with Raven would make the situation easier to handle for Penny. "You can eat there." Penny followed silently as Glynda walked through the living room, into a well-lit hallway beyond. "I hope you like it." She pointed to a door at the end of the hall. "That's the bathroom. My bedroom is to the right."
Just as Glynda reached for the doorknob to Penny's room, the door opened and Raven stepped out. Penny stared wide-eyed at Raven as she gazed back. "Uh...hi." Raven managed. Penny yelped and ducked behind Glynda, wrapping her arms around the woman's legs and hiding. Penny whimpered as Glynda and Raven stood face-to-face. "I...sorry?"
"Take the pizza." Glynda instructed, handing the large box to Raven. "Wait in our room." Raven nodded and rushed off down the hall. "Come on Penny, it's alright." Penny peeked from behind Glynda's legs, and seeing Raven disappear into the other bedroom, relaxed her grip and took a deep breath. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting her to still be in there."
"I-it is okay." Penny stammered.
"Let's get you settled." Glynda met her with a reassuring smile. She guided Penny into the room. To Raven's credit, the room was spotless, and the bed bore fresh sheets and pillowcases. The desk against the wall had been cleared of the cardboard boxes that previously cluttered its surface, and the various odds and ends that had been in the room where nowhere to be seen. After placing the pizza on the desk, Glynda lifted the suitcase onto the bed. "Why don't you start eating while I unpack for you?"
"Okay." Penny nodded. She sat at the desk, and after a few calming breaths, opened the box and went to work on her dinner.
Glynda slipped the tablet out of the front pocket of the luggage and set it aside. She then opened the suitcase to find it surprisingly well-ordered for one packed by a child. The toiletries were separate in one corner, toothbrush and toothpaste in a plastic bag. Beside them were neatly folded pajamas, for some reason featuring a race car design. The pillow and blanket separated those from a set of clean clothes identical to the ones Penny currently wore. At the very bottom were three unlabeled wooden boxes.
"What are these boxes?" Glynda asked.
"Those are my models, and tools." Penny turned around in the chair. "That box has the tools, that one is for the finished models, and that one is for the models I am still working on."
"Models...of course." Glynda nodded. Penny had told Glynda of her love of building and painting model cars. Her father had worked for a car company - now that Glynda thought about it, that probably explained the race car pajamas too - and had often brought home model kits from the company store. "Should I put these somewhere special or-"
"I can take care of them when I finish eating!" Penny cut in. "They're very fragile!"
"Okay, I'll just leave them on the bed." Glynda noted. She left the tablet, pillow, blanket and pajamas on the bed as well, and put the folded, clean clothes into a drawer. Picking up the toiletries, she headed for the door. "I'll be right back, but I need to do something first. I'm going to put these in the bathroom." Penny nodded, her mouth full of pizza. "I should get you something to drink...what do you want?"
Penny swallowed her mouthful. "I will have iced tea...if you have it."
"Okay, I'll get you a glass of iced tea." Glynda agreed. She headed out the door, dropped the toiletries off in the bathroom, then headed to her own bedroom, where she found Raven waiting, sitting on the bed beside the unopened pizza box. "Raven, are you alright?"
"I really blew it huh?" Raven smiled sadly. "The girl looked like she'd seen a monster."
"You do look rather...striking." Glynda noted. "Penny's very skittish in general, and after today, she's even more on edge."
"What happened?" Raven asked.
"Her father died." Glynda replied.
"Oh...why is she here?" Raven inquired.
"His will put her in my care." Glynda answered. Raven had no answer to that. "The will asked me to see to it that she finds a loving home, where her needs are taken care of. Right now that's here...but…"
"But what?" Raven pressed.
"I know it's sudden, and it might sound crazy, but I'm considering permanently adopting her." Glynda responded. "With your consent of course."
"I...uh...yeah…" Raven spluttered. "That's…"
"It's a lot, I know." Glynda sighed. "We don't have to decide right away, and I've not made a concrete decision. We'll take some time, think it over, talk about it, talk to Penny, then make our decision."
"Okay." Raven nodded, still in shock.
"I need to get back to her." Glynda noted. "Go ahead and eat your half of the pizza. I'll have mine later."
"Yeah, alright." Raven managed. Glynda hurried out, closing the door behind her. Raven sighed. "Holy shit."
After reheating and eating her own pizza, Glynda helped Penny unpack her model kits. Penny was wary at first, not wanting anyone else to handle them lest they do damage, but Glynda proved she had a soft touch and Penny relented. She went on to explain the various paints, glues and tools, before showing off some of the completed models to Glynda. Glynda was very impressed with the level of detail, right down to decals and paintwork. The kits were designed for adults, but Penny put them together with expert precision.
Penny worked on a model for a while as Glynda watched, then the pair lay down on the bed to watch a documentary Penny had on her tablet. Glynda noted the extensive library of educational material, mostly car related but extending to many different scientific fields. Penny chose a video about Nevermore cars, a luxury marque Glynda was vaguely familiar with. About a half hour in, Glynda was surprised to see Penny's father. He described the process of constructing engines for one of the company's high-end models. As Penny watched him, a smile spread across her face, and she looked about as happy as Glynda had ever seen her, but there was still a sadness in her eyes. She knew this would be as close as she would ever get to her father now.
"Your father built engines?" Glynda asked once the documentary was over.
"Yes, and designed them." Penny confirmed. "Once I was born, he mostly worked from home, but he would go to the factory sometimes to make sure they were making them properly. When he was younger, father built engines for the Nevermore Grand Prix Team."
Glynda was unfamiliar with motorsports, but even so, the Nevermore Grand Prix Team was known worldwide. "Wow, that's a famous team."
"Yes, and father was famous too." Penny nodded. "The team never gave him any trophies, but some of the drivers have him parts of their uniforms to thank him."
"Do you have any other videos with him in them?" Glynda asked.
"No." Penny shook her head.
"Not even interviews?" Glynda pressed. "Maybe we could search for some."
"No, father did not like being famous." Penny explained. "He told me he did not want to be on camera or talk to the press. He just wanted to live a quiet life with his family. He actually only agreed to be in that one documentary for me. It was a surprise for my birthday!"
"That's great." Glynda smiled. "I bet you were really excited."
"I was." Penny confirmed. "I could see him even when he had to go to work." Penny paused and her smile disappeared. "I can still see him now." She paused once more, clearly thinking hard. "Did he do that because he knew he would die?"
"I...hmm." Glynda sighed. "I don't think that's why. I think he just did it to make you happy."
"Oh, okay." Penny managed to smile once more. "It worked!"
"Good, whenever you're feeling sad, or alone, remember that." Glynda advised.
"Will you make a video for me?" Penny asked.
"I don't know, I'm not really famous or anything." Glynda noted.
"I do not care." Penny declared. "If I had a video of you, I could see you and hear you even when you are not around. It would make me happy like father's video."
Glynda thought for a moment. "I guess I could record a video for you. I'm not sure what I'd say or anything, but I can give it a try."