Chapter 4
"Come on... where are those funny mushrooms when you really need them..."
Ginny the Golden Retriever grumbled to herself as she dug about under the thick bush and poked her nose around to sniff out the particular vegetation that she was looking for.
"AHEM!"
Ginny let out a startled yelp and immediately cowered when she heard the sound from behind her. "I WASN'T DOING ANYTHING, OFFICER!" she blabbered as she spun around to face the individual behind her, only to have her jaw dropped in surprise when she realized who the individual was.
"What the- Penny?!" she exclaimed, while the female Dalmatian looked at her with a confused raised brow.
"Gins, what's up with you?" Penny asked with a bemused look. "And why were you looking for mushrooms?"
Ginny let out a nervous chuckle as she straightened her posture, "Uh... just a little hobby of mine that I'd like to do once in a while," she explained with a sheepish grin. "Anyways, fancy seeing you here at the park this fine Saturday morning. I thought you're usually at your family's house this time around?"
Penny's face fell slightly as she mentioned this. "Um, yeah... things got a little complicated with that," she began, sparking Ginny's immediate curiosity. "Also... I didn't know you hang around here on Saturday mornings, Gins. I thought your human doesn't bring you here on weekends?"
Ginny flashed a rather sly grin as she responded, "She doesn't, but she's at her workplace right now for some reason and I felt bored being at home alone. So I decided to come here to pass the time. Just my luck she left the kitchen window open for me to shimmy through!"
"Wow. That's quite daring of you," Penny remarked with genuine awe at her friend.
"Thanks! Anyways, what was so complicated about you visiting your family, Penny?"
"Oh, right..." Penny said, almost forgetting the reason she wanted to see the Golden Retriever in the first place. "Well, it's complicated in the sense that... our family has moved out of our old home this morning-"
"Moved out? Why?" Ginny queried with heightened curiosity.
"Well... apparently our Roger earned a huge amount of money last week," Penny explained. "Not from his singing though. Apparently, he helped developed some sort of video game and received the money for it. So, naturally, he bought a new home."
Ginny's eyes widened. "Wow... fancy that! So he finally bought a multi-million dollar mansion, I presume?"
"Well, that's certainly what I would have bought if I were in Roger's shoes," Penny grinned at her. "But no, he actually bought a farm instead. To accommodate our siblings."
Ginny's eyes widened even more at the mention of the word 'farm' and she excitedly opened her mouth to make a remark about it, but then hesitated and shut it back.
"Did you want to say something, Gins?" Penny asked with slight concern when she saw her friend's reaction.
"Uh, well- I err... no-no, not really, just wanted to say it must be nice to be living on a farm," Ginny stuttered with a sheepish smile. "So um... when are you moving in over there?"
The Golden Retriever was slightly surprised when her friend suddenly looked crestfallen. "Well... our siblings and parents are already on their way there since half an ago. Patch and I won't be joining them though. We uh... have to stay with our human Baldrick here in London," Penny sadly told her.
Ginny was genuinely shocked at hearing this and immediately tried to console her friend. "Oh my gosh, Penny. I'm so so sorry to hear that," she said, putting a comforting paw around her and nuzzling her Dalmatian friend. Penny welcomed her embrace and was silently glad that she was friends with this Golden Retriever, as quirky as she was.
"It's alright, Gins. Nothing for you to be sorry about," Penny sighed while still in her embrace.
Ginny eventually let go of her, but her concerned look remained on her muzzle. She then slowly asked, "Penny... I hope you don't mind me asking this, but... where exactly is the new farm?"
After a brief pause, Penny told her, "Honestly... I have no idea," she revealed, much to Ginny's surprise. "And apparently, neither does my family. The Radcliffes didn't exactly tell us where they'd be moving to, so I guess my parents and siblings would find out when they get there."
"Is that so? You mean Roger never mentioned anything about the farm at all before today?" Ginny asked.
Penny briefly pinched her lips to the side as she tried to recall. "No he didn't... but I actually overheard him talking about it last Saturday."
"Really? What did he say? Could he had mentioned something that might be of hint?"
Penny frowned as she strained to recollect what she and Lucky overheard when they eavesdropped on the Radcliffes and Baldrick last Saturday:
"Are you able to visit at least twice a month?"
"Sorry, Anita. My annual leave wouldn't be enough to allow me that many visits. I reckon the most I could do is a three-day visit every six months."
"That's an awful long gap in between visits there, mate."
"Afraid that's the most I could afford with my line of work, Roge."
Penny frowned as that part of their conversation that she recollected didn't seem to provide anything substantive. She then remembered overhearing Roger saying something just as she and Lucky were making their exit:
"You can take the train to Exeter Station, we can pick you up from there."
Penny's eyes widened when she recalled that sentence, "Hey, wait a minute, Gins! I just remembered Roger saying something about an 'Exeter Station'. He was telling our Baldrick to take the train there when he brings us to visit our family, so I reckon the farm must be somewhere near that station! Do you know of any Exeter Stations?"
Ginny flashed an apologetic look at her, "Sorry, I don't really know anything about trains, Penny, let alone train stations."
Penny let out a disappointed sigh and paused as she tried to think further. She happened to gaze towards Ginny and almost immediately recalled an important piece of information, this time regarding the Golden Retriever herself. "Hey, Gins. Didn't one of your exes work as a Guard Dog at a train station?"
This time, it was Ginny's turn to pinch her lips to the side in thought as she mentally sifted through the long list of her ex-boyfriends to figure out which one of them was Penny talking about. "Oh! Wait a minute!" she eventually exclaimed. "You're talking about Butch, aren't you? Yeah, he guards the platforms of Paddington Station."
"Well... Paddington's not too far from here. Do you think he knows where 'Exeter Station' might be?"
Ginny started fidgeting about her left paw and a look of unease was soon visible on her maw. "Yeah... he might know where that is. But Penny... um... you see..."
Penny briefly wondered why her friend was being hesitant, but the answer eventually dawned upon her. "Oh... you're not keen seeing your ex again, are you?"
Ginny silently nodded. "Yeah... we weren't really on speaking terms when we broke up," she admitted.
Penny let out a sigh. "I see. It's okay, Gins. It was just an idea anyway. I wouldn't want to put you in an awkward position or anything like that," she said, trying to mask her disappointment, though she was mentally devastated that she had hit another dead end. "Let's just take a walk around the park, shall we?"
As she turned to head back to the main trail, Ginny stared after her. Though Penny did her best to mask her disappointment, the Golden Retriever could sense it through the tone of her voice as she spoke. And it immediately made her feel a pang of guilt. Taking in a deep breath, she called out to her friend, "Penny! Wait!"
Penny halted and turned around towards Ginny's direction as the Golden Retriever suddenly ran to catch up with her, "Penny, wait. Instead of taking a walk, let's just go and see Butch, okay?"
Her Dalmatian friend was completely taken aback by her sudden change of mind. "Are you sure? I mean, I don't want you to do anything that you're not comfortable with, Gins."
Ginny flashed her a reassuring look, "Don't worry about me, Penny. If it means helping you find out where your family has relocated, I'd do it. Just for you."
Penny was beyond touched at hearing this and she couldn't refrain herself from giving an appreciative nuzzle to her friend, "Thank you so much, Gins," she said, her muzzle buried into her plush, golden fur. Ginny couldn't help grinning at this and put a paw around Penny as her way of saying "you're welcome".
They eventually let go of each other and Penny turned to head back to the main trail, "Shall we go? Paddington's just North from the park, right? So, I'm assuming we should take the park's Northern exit."
"Actually, Penny..." Ginny interjected, causing Penny to look back in surprise for the second time. "Butch works at the station, but his shift doesn't start until 1pm. It's still rather early in the morning, so he usually hangs around in an alley near here until his shift starts."
"Oh... ok. Where exactly is the alley again?"
"Just across the street from the park's Southern entrance, so we should actually be heading towards there."
Penny nodded in affirmation. The Southern entrance was opposite the entrance that she, Patch and Baldrick had taken to enter the park earlier. Without wasting another second, both dogs raced back to the main trail and started heading in the opposite direction. It only took them a minute to sprint to the other end of the park and through the arches that marked the Southern entrance. Once outside, they found themselves on the sidewalks of a bustling street, where a block of small buildings that housed several small businesses were situated right across it.
"Over there, that's the alley where Butch hangs around," Ginny said, nudging towards a small alleyway between a butcher shop and a barber's. "Follow me across the street, Penny."
Penny nodded and trailed after Ginny who had started crossing the street. Although it was rather busy, most of the traffic consisted of humans who were crossing the street as well, sparing the two dogs from having to dodge any motor vehicles as they made their way across. Unbeknownst to them however, a pair of eyes had been quietly observing them from somewhere inside the park since they arrived at the sidewalks, and was still monitoring them when they finally made it to the other side.
Ginny led Penny to the beginning of the narrow alleyway that was between the barber's and the butcher shop. "We're here," the Golden Retriever declared.
Penny peeked into the alley. "Um... but there's no one here, Gins," Penny said, with a confused raised brow after finding not a soul within the backalley.
Ginny merely grinned at her. "Do you see that large metal trash can on the right side of the alley?"
Penny looked again and squinted hard, due to the low amount of sunlight that was obscured by the buildings on either side, but she could eventually make out the shape of the only trash can that she could spot not far ahead from the alley's entrance. She nodded in confirmation to Ginny.
"Well... that trash can belongs to the butcher next door. Butch usually raids its contents around this time for his early lunch, I think. If he is there, you can just walk up to him and talk to him, Penny. Don't worry, he doesn't usually get too irritated if he's interrupted during his meal," Ginny explained with a reassuring look.
Although Penny understood this, she noticed that the way Ginny was explaining to her was as if she would be meeting Butch by herself. "Hey... you are coming with me right, Gins?" she asked.
"Um... I will, but I think things would work out better if you spoke to him first, Penny," Ginny said rather timidly.
Penny stared at her for a brief moment but eventually nodded, having deduced that her friend probably wasn't ready yet to be anywhere near her ex. With that, she started making her way into the dimly-lit alleyway. As she walked further inside, she picked up the scent of expired meat, that was soon followed by audible chewing noises as she got closer to the trash can.
She eventually arrived a few feet away from the trash can, and from where she stood, she could make out the silhouette of a rather stocky bulldog in the shadows whose back was facing towards her as he ate what appeared to be a pile of expired sausages.
"Oh, if only the chap threw out these bangers more often..." she heard him mumbling to himself with a gruff voice.
The bulldog was so preoccupied with his meal that he didn't hear Penny approaching him from behind. Penny hesitated for a moment as she stood behind him. She had never met a bulldog before, but she had heard that some of them could be menacing. And although Ginny assured that he "wouldn't get too irritated if he were interrupted during his meal", the way he was violently devouring the sausages made her feel otherwise. She briefly considered waiting for him to finish eating his meal, but then remembered about Patch and Baldrick back at the park. They would certainly be worried and started looking for her if she took too long.
Mustering all her courage, she eventually proceeded to get the bulldog's attention. With her politest tone, she softly said, "Hi, excuse me?"
Butch immediately let out a frightened yelp, kicked the sausages away and spun around with a mortified look, "I DIDN'T RAID ANY TRASH CANS TODAY, OFFICER!"
Penny to a step back in shock at his unexpected outburst, but the bulldog was soon just as shocked to see her as well. Realizing that he's now in the presence of a female Dalmatian, Butch hurriedly wiped off the horrified look of his face to put on a more confident look. "Oh! Terribly sorry about that, Miss. A few run-ins with the Coppers would do that to you sometimes," he said with a smooth tone and a wide grin, trying his best to look 'macho' in front of her.
"Oh... I see," Penny began. "I'm so sorry to have startled you," she said, offering him her sweetest smile.
Butch was practically smittened at seeing her smile at him. He had never come across a Dalmatian before, let alone a female Dalmatian as beautiful and slender as Penny.
"Oh, no-no, no need to apologize," he responded in a polite tone with the grin still plastered on his lips. "Not often I get a visit from a pretty Dalmatian such as yourself, Miss... uh...?"
"Oh, my name's Penny," she said, trying her best not to giggle after being called pretty. "You must be Butch, right?"
Butch was slightly taken aback when the Dalmatian mentioned his name. "Um... yeah, it is. Wait, how did you-"
"Is it true you work at Paddington Train Station?" Penny eagerly asked further while still maintaining her polite tone.
This time, however, Butch's grin immediately disappeared and the mortified look returned to his muzzle. "Whoah, whoah! How'd you know so much about me?! You're a Copper, ain't you?!" He suddenly screamed out almost hysterically and retreated a step back.
Penny was shocked once again at how easily this stoic-looking bulldog was so easily plunged into hysteria and she immediately tried to calm him down, "No, no... I assure you, Mr Butch, I'm not with the police!" she almost yelled out.
"Then how did you know my name and where I work?! We've never even met before!" Butch screamed.
"We have a mutual friend! She's the one who told me about you," Penny explained, to which Butch's panicked face suddenly morphed into a look of utter surprise.
"Really?" He exclaimed before easing his posture. "So who's this mutual friend that we seem to have in common?"
Penny was just about to tell him about Ginny when she suddenly held back her tongue. She was worried that mentioning her name would not only bring trouble for the Golden Retriever, but she also feared that it would put Butch off from revealing the information she needed from him.
"Well, uh... she's an acquaintance that we both know of, and she's also a Londoner, just like us, and well..." Penny babbled nervously while Butch stared confusedly at her with a raised brow. "And, well... she likes to go the Park nearby and she's-"
"And she's also your ex-girlfriend."
Both Penny and Butch gasped and turned to their right to see Ginny standing a few feet away from them. Penny was beyond relieved to see her friend finally showing up and sparing her from the awkward situation that she was in. Butch, on the hand, was beyond annoyed by the Golden Retriever's presence, his face fell into a spiteful frown that he shot at towards Ginny.
"Well... look who it is..." Butch said unamusedly at her.
Ginny sighed tiredly. "Oh, please don't start. I'm not in the mood."
"Hey, you're the one who swore you'd do everything in your power to never see me again. And yet here you are..."
"Well, clearly I didn't count on my best friend desperately needing your help when I said that. But hey, at least you get to be helpful for once in your worthless life!"
Butch rolled his eyes in exasperation before turning towards the Dalmatian. "Ugh... I say, Miss Penny... I find it quite hard to fathom that a lady such as yourself would actually consider being acquainted with a bitch like her!"
Penny simply didn't know how to react at this point. She was actually flattered hearing Butch call her 'a lady', but she was also angered when he called Ginny the b-word. She was convinced that he didn't really use the word to reference her friend being a female dog.
But before she could even respond, Ginny chimed in, "At least this bitch actually has friends and people who'd like to make their acquaintance with! Unlike you. Can't even befriend the other bulldog who's worked at the same station as you for the last 5 years! You should feel lucky I even decided to date you."
Butch briefly looked hurt after hearing those stinging words, but his rage soon returned and he flashed a menacing scowl at her. Just as he was about hurl another insult towards the Golden Retriever, Penny suddenly rushed right in between them, catching the squabbling exes by surprise, "Okay, things are clearly getting too out of hand right now," she said in a firm tone before she turned to face the Bulldog, "I'm so sorry to have to disturb you in the middle of your lunch, Mr Butch. It's clearly my mistake, I shouldn't have interrupted you just now," Penny said to him with an apologetic look. "Um... I think it's best we meet again at a more appropriate time,"
Butch was completely taken aback by this, but before he could say anything else, Penny started walking in the direction of the alleyway back to the main street. "Come on, Gins," she said without looking at her friend, disappointment clearly embedded in her tone.
As she walked away, Ginny and Butch, still in their stupefied state, suddenly exchanged glares before mouthing insults at one another:
"Great! You see what you just did?!" Ginny silently spat at Butch.
"Me?! You're the one who suddenly showed up and started the insults!"
"Hey, you called me a bitch! You expect me to just keep quiet about it?!"
"What's wrong with that? You are one, aren't you?"
"Oh, don't even try. We both know what you meant when you said that! Now you go and get her back!"
Butch's eyes widened with both surprise and anger. He briefly glanced towards Penny's direction who had moved further away from them in the distance before glaring back at his ex. "Me?! Why me?!" he angrily mouthed to her.
"Because she was clearly upset with you! She needed your help, and this is what she got! Now you go and get her back!"
Butch was beyond dissatisfied with the Golden Retriever at this point, but he ultimately gave in, flashed one last scowl at his ex and started running after the Dalmatian. "Ms. Penny! Hold on!"
Completely unaware of the silent argument that had imploded behind her, Penny immediately stopped in her tracks and turned around with a surprised look, wondering why on Earth was the Bulldog suddenly calling and chasing after her.
"Miss Penny! I must say, I sincerely apologize for the outburst between Ginny and myself just now," he huffed his apology once he caught up with her. "Please... Ginny says that you seek my assistance, and I'd be more than happy to be of service."
Penny was pleasantly surprised at his sudden willingness to help her and happily nodded at him, "Oh... well, that's very nice of you, Mr Butch. I simply can't thank you enough," she said with a grateful smile.
Ginny soon appeared behind them, bearing a look of guilt on her maw. "Yeah... I'm sorry too for making you feel uncomfortable, Penny. Butch and I have a rather unpleasant history," she sighed apologetically.
Penny nodded understandingly, "It's okay, Gins. I know you didn't mean anything by it."
Butch was rolling his eyes when Penny wasn't looking, but having decided that enough of his precious break time was wasted on niceties, he cleared his throat and asked, "So... how can I help you, Miss Penny?"
"Oh, right," Penny began before focusing her attention towards him. "Ginny says that you know a lot about train stations in England."
"Oh, undoubtedly!" Butch proudly declared. "My human has been a station master for 45 years and was posted at various train stations across the country! He talks to me about his experiences in all those stations that he's worked at when we're off-duty at times. Paddington is currently his 26th station that he's been posted at."
"Oh..." Penny exclaimed in awe. "Well, given your vast knowledge on train stations, I suppose you would know where an 'Exeter Station' might be located?"
Butch creased his forehead as he tried to recall, "Hmm... Exeter... my human definitely mentioned that he was posted there back in 1952. If I recall, he said it was the only train station in Devon, in the North-western part of England."
"Devon?!" Penny almost blurted out.
"Yes, Devon. About 200 miles north-west of London," Butch proudly affirmed.
Penny's face fell. She didn't know much about Devon, but she was upset to learn just how far away it was. Never in her life she'd imagine being separated by 200 miles apart from her parents and siblings. Just thinking about it suddenly made her feel homesick.
Just then, Ginny exclaimed: "Devon, huh? I guess that make sense. Plenty of vast lands and farmyards over there!"
Her remarks caught Penny's immediate attention, and the Dalmatian couldn't help but stare bewilderedly at her friend after hearing what she said. "Wait a minute, Gins, how do you know that? You said you've been a Londoner your whole life..."
The Golden Retriever was clearly caught off-guard by Penny's question and it was soon obvious she struggled to respond to her. "Oh... well, I uh- I guess I meant to say most of my life actually," Ginny stammered nervously as Penny stared at her with a raised brow. "You see, Penny-"
Before she could continue, Butch cut her off, "Hold on, you mean to say ol' Ginny here never told you?" he snickered as he directed his question to Penny.
"Tell me about what?" Penny asked, now getting confused.
Ginny threw a death glare at the bulldog, but Butch simply ignored it and made a startling revelation, "Well, Ginny here was actually a country bumpkin before she ended up here in London. She was born in Devon!"
Penny's wide-eyed stare shifted from Butch to Ginny. "Gins... is that true?" She asked.
Ginny let out a long, disappointed breath. "Yeah... it's true. I was actually born on a farmland somewhere in Devon."
"Oh... what was it like there? And how on Earth did you end up here in London then?" Penny continued asking out of heightened curiosity, realizing just how little she knew about her best friend.
"Well... I can't really remember much, although I can tell you that being a puppy and living on a farm were some of the best and sweetest time of my life," Ginny recalled with a broad smile, although the smile eventually disappeared as she continued, "But... about the second question... I uh- I don't really feel like talking about it. It's... it's just a piece of dark memory that I try to forget."
Penny was surprised by her last few words, and although she was now burning with curiosity about her best friend's past, she decided it was best to avoid any further questions. She then noticed that Butch was now fidgeting with his paws and wearing an impatient look on his muzzle. Penny took that as a sign to make their exit and leave the bulldog to his lunch.
"Well... thanks for telling us about Exeter Station, Mr Butch," Penny said to him while flashing her sweetest smile. "I can't tell you just how helpful you've been just by telling me where it was."
Butch immediately beamed proudly at hearing her compliments. "Not a problem at all, Ms. Penny! Happy to be of help," he exclaimed. "If you need anything from me again, I'm always here everyday between 10 am and 1 pm. Otherwise you can find me over at Paddington Station near the platforms."
Penny nodded before motioning to Ginny to follow her out from the alleyway. As Penny walked away, Ginny threw a last spiteful look at Butch (who merely rolled his eyes in response) before catching up with her friend.
"So... I gather that your family's on their way to Devon right now?" Ginny slowly asked as they walked side-by-side.
"I suppose so..." Penny sighed.
"Are you going to tell Patch what you found out? How do you think he'll react?"
Penny briefly wondered about this. "I honestly think he might be beyond devastated if he finds out just how far our family has moved away." She eventually concluded with a dreary tone. Just picturing how miserable her brother would be made her feel gloomy herself.
Ginny nodded understandingly and decided not to ask any more questions. Nothing else was said as they reached the end of the alleyway before crossing the street and arriving back at the sidewalks outside Holland Park.
"Gins... would you like to carry on with our walk around the Park?" Penny eventually asked, feeling the need to do something with her friend to cheer both themselves up after all that had just happened.
Ginny unfortunately responded with an apologetic look, "Sorry, Penny. My human usually goes back home around this time for her lunch, so I better start heading back myself. Last thing I need is her having a panic attack when she sees that I'm not in the house."
Penny mentally sighed in disappointment but nodded understandingly. "Oh, alright. So, I suppose we'll be seeing each other this coming Friday?"
"Earlier, if my human forgets to close the kitchen window again," Ginny said with a playful wink.
Penny giggled before the Golden Retriever wrapped a paw tightly around her in a deep embrace. "See you again, Penny!" Ginny eventually said after they parted before taking off in the opposite direction.
"Bye, Gins!" Penny yelled out as her friend disappeared in the distance. She then turned and started making her way back to the entrance of the Park.
As she walked towards the bench where she left Patch and their human Baldrick, she started a heated mental debate with herself on what her next course of action should be. On one hand, she felt obligated to at least tell Patch where their family had moved to. But on the other, she knew her brother would be beyond moody and miserable, and possibly even depressed if he ever finds out about it.
She hadn't forgotten how miserable he was earlier that week when they were anxiously waiting to find out if their family were moving out without them. And she certainly remembered how cold he was towards her throughout that time eventhough there wasn't actually any animosity between them. It was just the way Patch behaves whenever he felt anxious. And truth be told, Penny really didn't like it when their sibling relationship was strained unnecessarily and for no apparent reason.
Penny's thoughts were abruptly halted when she realized that she was now a few yards away from the bench. To her surprise, she saw that Baldrick was now somehow fast asleep, his body slumped against the seat with his snoring mouth gaping upwards towards the sky and the book that he wanted to read to her and Patch was still gripped in his left hand that was rested beside his left tigh. Patch, meanwhile, was sitting on his haunches on the ground, with a look that was a mixture of pure boredom and tiredness. He didn't even seem to notice her eventhough she was clearly within his line of sight. With a sneaky grin on her lips, Penny quietly walked ahead.
"HEY!"
Patch let out a panicked gasp and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice yell out at him. When he looked to his left, he found Penny giggling at mischievously at him.
"Argh... for Pete's sakes, Penny! Were you trying to snuff me out by giving me a heart attack?!" Patch almost yelled at her.
Penny merely snickered, "Oh, come on, it wasn't that startling."
Patch briefly shot her a sour look before letting out a tired sigh. "Well, where have you been? You said you'll only be a few minutes, but you were gone for a good half an hour!"
"Oh... I guess I had a lot going on in my mind," Penny vaguely said, the mischievous grin disappeared from her lips after having made the instantaneous decision to not tell him about what she had found out.
Patch immediately raised a suspicious brow at her, "You sure you weren't hanging out with that Ginny?"
"Well... is Ginny ever in the Park on Saturdays?" Penny nonchalantly asked.
"How am I supposed to know? We're usually at our family's home on Saturdays."
"Precisely."
Patch's face furrowed into a deeper look of confusion with her response. "Wait, what...?"
He was about to ask her again but then shook his head. He was just too tired to handle his sister's antics. "Oh, nevermind. Let's just wake Baldrick up so we can go home."
Penny mentally sighed in relief that she didn't have to answer any other awkward questions. She already felt bad keeping a major secret from her brother, and she certainly didn't want having to start lying to him now.
Patch went over to the bench and gave a brief lick on Baldrick's right hand.
"BAH!"
The easily startled man bellowed with shock and immediately sat up straight with a jolt. He blinked twice with a slight daze before his vision eventually settled and he saw the Dalmatian siblings staring at him.
"Oh... oh dear, did I fall asleep, again?" he seemed to ask himself before noticing Penny. "Ah, so you're finally back, eh? Hope you didn't have too much fun without us!"
Penny gave a polite acknowledging bark as Baldrick sat up before giving her a rub on her head. He then glanced at his wristwatch. "Hmm... almost noon. Alright, let's back home now, shall we?"
He leashed the two Dalmatians with two different leads, pocketed his book in an overcoat's pocket before they set off.
As they walked, Penny glanced to her left and couldn't help noticing that Patch was rather silent as he walked, and his brows were furrowed as if he was deep in thought. Seeing him in that state gave her a pang of guilt. She briefly thought of just blurting out everything she knew to him at that very moment, but luckily managed to hold back her tongue.
No... Penny gathered that he was probably thinking about their family at that very moment. Things would definitely take a turn for the worst if she blurted everything out right now.
She felt that what she needed right now was to be a good sister to him. She was the only family he had left here in London, and she firmly decided to try and keep him happy for as long as they were separated from their parents and other siblings.
A thought suddenly flew into her head and she immediately gave her brother a nudge. "Hey, Patch?"
"Hmm?"
"Isn't Canine Careers having a marathon of their past episodes at one later?"
Patch looked at her with a raised brow. "Yes... but you don't even watch that show..."
"Well... I have to admit, I was intrigued by their last episode on Saint Bernards and what they do," she said coyly. "I was thinking maybe we could sit together and watch through the whole marathon."
Patch's face was now furrowed with surprise. "Quite unusual of you," he commented with a suspicious tone. "But, eh- I'll bite."
He then grinned at her. "Sure, sis."
Penny instantly broke into a wide, appreciative smile herself. "Thanks, Patchy," she said, before lightly rubbing her muzzle against his side. Patch's grin briefly grew wider as he received his sister's tender gesture.
Nothing else was said between the two siblings as they continued walking side-by-side. But Penny couldn't help noticing that the grin remained on Patch's maw. Seeing that small, upwards curve on her brother's lips brought an overwhelming sense of satisfaction in her, and she couldn't refrain from smiling herself.
As they turned around a corner of the Park's main path, they briefly passed by the entrance where Penny and Ginny went through an hour earlier. Patch silently glanced at the entrance, where he could see the alleyway in the distance.
End of Part 4
To be continued...