Never a-Penny Apart (Part 2)
"All right, rise and shine, me lovelies! Saturday's finally here!"
Patch and Penny perked their heads up with a jolt when the voice of their human pet stirred them from their slumbers out of the blue. Grogginess still lingered in their eyes, until Baldrick went over to the windows and pulled apart the curtains, immediately flooding the entire flat with bright, yellow sunlight. There was certainly no going back to sleep for the Dalmatian siblings.
But given the significance of that particular day, they didn't really mind being awoken so suddenly like that. Patch gave a cheerful bark to the human, who ruffled his and Penny's heads in return. "Alright, lovelies. Just give me five minutes to clean up the house a bit, and then we can shoot off to your family's house before you can say 'Bob's your uncle'," he told them before whistling away as he started clearing away the files on his dining table.
Exactly 5 minutes later, Baldrick put on his overcoat and flat cap and leashed the Dalmatian siblings before they left their flat. The Radcliffes' residences was only about half an hour's walk away at the town of Notting Hill, a vibrant but very much a middle-class neighbourhood.
Their walk towards there was rather quiet and uneventful, as it was evident that most of London's residence were sleeping in that morning after a tiring week. However, this didn't quite apply to some residences, as the trio found out the moment they arrived at the grounds of the Radcliffes' flat. Multiple joyful barks and yelps could be heard from the outside as the trio stood outside the main door, with Patch and Penny happily wagging their tails in anticipation after hearing the commotion going on inside.
Baldrick gave several loud knocks on the door, which was soon opened by Nanny, the Radcliffes' helper and maid.
"Good morning, ma'am!" Baldrick cheerfully greeted, raising his flat cap.
"Well, good morning to you too, Mr Baldrick!" Nanny greeted back with a beam before kneeling down to the excited Dalmatian siblings. "And good morning to you too, Patchy and Penny!" she smiled while playfully ruffling their heads. Patch and Penny responded by barking happily and furiously licking her face.
"My! Aren't you two excited now?" Nanny laughed as she accepted their licks.
"Now, you two go right ahead and join your siblings. They've been waiting for you two to arrive," she chuckled before she stood back up. "Mr. and Mrs. Radcliffe are just having their breakfast in the kitchen, Mr. Baldrick, and they'd like you to join them," she informed him.
"Righto!" Baldrick replied before unleashing the two Dalmatians beside him.
Patch and Penny made no haste to dash off and join their siblings while Baldrick hung his coat and cap before making his way to the kitchen.
"Oi, Patch! Over here!"
"There he is, the rascal!"
"Wotcher, Patchy?"
Patch grinned as his brothers, namely Rolly, Freckles and Dipstick called out to him and motioned for him to join them.
"Sup, guys?" He asked before giving them each a paw-bump.
"Just the usual..." Freckles casually said at first, but he then brought Patch closer to him as if meaning to whisper something into his ear. "You're just in time, Patchy! Ol' Lady Jennifer from next door has been baking up a storm this morning!"
Patch's eyes gleamed at the mention of the old lady who lived in the unit next to the Radcliffes', and who also happened to be a skilled baker, specializing in baking dog treats. "She is? Huh... I though the air smelled a little too good when we were standing outside just now." He said with an excited grin.
Dipstick joined in, "Ha! Can't ever expect for such a heavenly smell to come off from our house. 'Specially since we've been only eating kibble our entire lives."
"Yeah... I could really do with something other than kibble or Kanine Krunchies," Rolly agreed with him.
Patch smirked at him. "Yeah, you could also do with every other food out there in the world too, can't you, Rolly?"
Dipstick and Freckles chuckled while Rolly let out an annoyed grunt.
"Anyways... since that selfish ol' bird has never given any of her treats away for free, we've been um... discussing how we might be able to procure us some uh... free samples of her baking." Freckles continued with a smug grin.
"Have you now?" Patch asked with interest, understanding the hidden meaning behind his brother's words. "And I take it that your discussions have been fruitful?"
"You better believe it! Ol' Dipstick here found a way to... aid us in said procurement. Tell him, old chap."
"Right..." Dipstick began before he huddled his three brothers closer to him and started whispering away.
Meanwhile, and not too far away from them, Penny mingled with some of her sisters; namely Jewel, Cadpig and Two-tone. And she was quite surprised to hear some news that they had for her.
"Are you kidding me?! Roger is rich now?!" she cried out in disbelieve.
Her sisters nodded in confirmation. "No kidding, Penny. He really is rich," Cadpig said. "Happened three days ago, when some man wearing fancy clothes knocked on the door and gave him a piece of paper."
Jewel chimed in. "I think that piece of paper is what humans call a cheque, Cadpig. From what I read, it's supposed to represent the amount of money that's written on it." She then turned to Penny. "Heh, you should have seen him that day. Took one look at the cheque and then immediately fell backwards like a plank of wood."
Penny cringed at that. "Ouch. Did he hurt himself?"
"Don't know," Two-tone said. "But looking at how he immediately picked himself up and then repeatedly screamed out 'One million pounds! One million pounds!' like a maniac, I'd say he didn't hurt himself too badly that day."
Cadpig and Jewel snickered at how accurately Two-tone mimicked Roger's crazed behaviour that day, while Penny was equally amused.
"Wow... who knew that Roger's terrible singing actually landed him a million pounds..." Penny commented with surprise.
"The money's not exactly from his singing, Penny," Cadpig informed. "The fat man in the suit who gave him the cheque mentioned something about a video game he created."
"I doubt anybody would pay a million pounds to hear him sing," Jewel interjected with a grin. "But I am surprised to know that he had been creating video games all this while. Must have been something that he does when he's not engaging in musical terrorism."
Her sisters ended up bursting in laughter at her joke. Penny was about to ask another question when a fourth sibling suddenly appeared and interrupted her.
"How're you doing, Penny?"
Penny turned around and her eyes instantly gleamed when she saw the particular younger brother who had just greeted her.
"Lucky!" she cried before leaping towards him and showering him with affectionate nuzzles.
"Great to see you too, sis," Lucky laughed as he returned her nuzzles. Most of his brothers would have reacted in disgust if any of their sisters tried to nuzzle them like that, but Lucky being the youngest amongst the bunch of now-adolescent pups, he certainly welcomed such display of affection from his older sister.
"Where have you been hiding? I was actually looking for you when I arrived here just now, but I couldn't find you," Penny asked with a smile after she was done nuzzling her brother whom she was extremely fond of.
Lucky put on an apologetic face, "I'm really sorry for that, Penny. But that's actually the reason why I need to see you." He said, sounding rather serious. He then glanced over at Cadpig, Jewel and Two-tone, "Is it okay if I have a private word with her for a few minutes? It's really important," he asked them apologizingly.
"Yeah, sure, Lucky," Jewel replied, noting the sense of urgency in his tone before she and her other two sisters walked away.
Lucky then led Penny to a quite corner of the living room where none of his siblings were anywhere near, giving them a sense of privacy.
"What did you want to talk about, Lucky?" Penny asked, curious about her brother's sudden seriousness.
Lucky took a glance to his left and right to make sure that none of his other siblings were within earshot before he spoke to her in a low voice, "I assume they told you about Roger's newfound wealth, right?"
Penny nodded, "Yup, of course."
"Alright, well, let's say you're in Roger's shoes; you live in a cramped flat with 99 Dalmatians, and you now have a million Pounds in your hand. What would be the first thing that you'd buy with your money?"
Penny took a glance to her right at the chaotic scenery of the living room where her other siblings were noisily mucking about with their own activities, and it didn't take her another second to think of the answer. "Well, that's a no-brainer. I'd definitely buy myself a newer and much bigger house to fit myself and the other pups."
Lucky nodded firmly, as if to confirm that she had gotten the point he was trying to make. He then brought his muzzle closer and continued in an even lower tone, "I was actually in the kitchen this morning when Roger and Anita started having their breakfast. They didn't realize I was there, but I overheard them talking about some farm that they've just bought."
Penny's eyes widened upon hearing this information. "They bought a farm?" She exclaimed in surprised, but not loud enough to attract any attention. "But I thought there aren't any farms here in London? Surely farms would take up vast amounts of land, right?"
"Yes, you're right," Lucky confirmed. "So that must mean that the farm they bought would be well away from London... probably in the more rural parts of England somewhere."
Penny paused for awhile as she processed what her brother had just said. "Wait a minute... if they're moving to a new farm, then... that means we will move in to that new farm too!" she exclaimed in excitement, picturing herself scampering about the vast lands of that new farm with all her siblings.
That was when she noticed that Lucky wasn't sharing her excitement, his face oddly crestfallen for some reason. "What's the matter, Lucky?" Penny softly asked with concern.
Her brother sighed. "Penny... I'm very sure that we will all be moving together with the Radcliffes to their new farm, but... I'm not sure if 'we' would also include you and Patch."
Penny's was visibly confused at first when he said this, but her face immediately fell when she realized what he meant. She completely forgot that Patch and herself had a commitment with their human pet Baldrick. There was no way they could join the rest of their family because of said commitment.
She stared at Lucky, finally realizing the reason for his seriousness. "We're gonna get left behind, aren't we?" she said with a sigh.
Lucky could only offer an apologetic look. "I really hope not," he said. He then looked at the direction of the hallway that led to the kitchen. "You know, Roger and Anita are having breakfast with your human right now. Maybe we might know the answer if we try listening in on what they're saying."
This gave a faint sense of hope for Penny and she immediately agreed. "Alright. Let's go."
They left the corner and started making their way towards the hallway, but were suddenly forced to make way when they suddenly heard scampering of paws heading towards them from behind.
"Pardon us, you two!"
"Excuse us!"
"Make way, Lucky! Oh, hey Penny!"
Both Lucky and Penny stared in surprise when Dipstick, Freckles, Rolly and Patch whizzed past them and towards the hallway. Penny wanted to call out to Patch to find out where he was going, but he was already too far ahead for him to hear her. The four brothers went to the end of the hallway before turning to the right and through the door that led to flat's backyard, which was left ajar for some reason.
Lucky and Penny exchanged a confused glance at each other before they decided to continue on with their initial plan. The kitchen's entrance was also at the end of the hallway but just opposite the backyard's door. The Dalmatian siblings stopped just before the entrance and perked their ears up to hear what was being said inside.
They could hear Roger and Anita talking, or rather, discussing something with Baldrick.
"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's heart immediately sank just hearing those few lines of dialogue. She was sure that 'a three-day visit every six months' equates to her only being able to visit her family twice a year... there was no way she could last without seeing her brothers and sisters for so long! She was sure she'd sorely miss all of them... Cadpig, Two-tone, Freckles, Rolly, and...
She glanced at the brother who was just beside her at that moment. "Oh, Lucky..." she quietly sobbed as she laid her head on Lucky's back.
Lucky himself couldn't hold back his own tears. He was particularly fond of both Penny and Patch. They were, after all, his biological siblings and litter mates. Just as he was about to say something to soothe his sister...
"Now, dearies... you're not supposed to be here."
They gasped and turned around to see Nanny standing just behind them with her hands firmly rested on her hips.
"Come on, dearies. Go and join your brothers and sisters in the living room. It's rude to disturb the Radcliffes when they're having their breakfast, you know," she instructed in a gentle but firm tone to the Dalmatian siblings.
Lucky motioned for Penny to oblige Nanny, and the two had to turn back towards the living room.
As they were leaving, Penny managed to hear Roger in the kitchen saying,
"You can take the train to Exeter Station, we can pick you up from there."
The pair walked past their other siblings in silence. Penny ears drooped as she mentally processed the brief conversation that they overheard.
"I'm very sorry, Penny," she heard her brother softly apologize to her.
Penny stopped and gave him a small smile. "It's not your fault, Lucky," she assured him before taking a glance at the hallway behind them. "And it's certainly not Roger's fault either. I would move us out of this house if I had that kind of money too."
"And it's not Baldrick's fault too, right?" Lucky slowly asked, knowing full well it was a rather thorny question to be asking.
Penny actually thought it was an easy question to answer, but when she opened her mouth to reply... her words seemed to have clogged in her throat. She admitted that Baldrick was the reason why she and Patch couldn't be with the rest of their family. But now she also realized that a newfound hatred for her human pet had started sprouting deep within her, and she didn't like it. Penny shut her eyes, trying to extinguish her resentment. How can she hate the very human pet who raised her and her brother? She opened her eyes and saw that Lucky was still waiting for her response.
"No... of course not," she quietly said, though deep down, she was convinced that it was lie.
Lucky silently thought the same too, but he kept quiet. He was now regretting asking her the thorny question in the first place.
Both of them suddenly heard the familiar sound of scampering of paws for the second time that morning and immediately stepped aside. And just in time too, as Rolly, Freckles and Dipstick whizzed past them before the boys slid to a halt near the flat's entrance, all of them laughing and chortling at each other as they did so. Patch was the last to follow after them as he had to shut the door leading to the backyard behind him. Penny noticed he held something in between his jaws when he whizzed by, and she quietly observed him stopping just in front of the coat hanger where Baldrick hung his overcoat and slipped that particular object into one of its side pockets.
She had no idea what her brother was up to, but she thought she had better tell him of the news that she and Lucky had found out. She took no more than a couple of steps towards his direction when the living room was suddenly filled with even more excited barks as two particular dogs entered via the hallway.
"Morning, Mum! Morning, Dad!"
"Had a great time sleeping in, eh Dad?"
"Rise and shine, Mum!"
Pongo and Perdita were grinning ear-to-ear as they cheerfully greeted their beloved 'puppies'.
Patch and the boys had noticed their parents' arrival too, and they wasted no time to whizz past Lucky and Penny to greet them.
"Patch, my boy! You're here!" Pongo laughed as he nuzzled his eldest son in greeting.
"Oh, my Patchy! It's so good to see you," Perdita joined in and nuzzled her son too.
"It's definitely great to see you again, Mum, Dad!" Patch laughed as he savoured the affection his parents were giving him. He loved the fact that his parents never thought that their children were too grown-up to be given such loving nuzzles.
Perdita then looked up and searched for her daughter who was usually beside her son's side. "Now, where has Penny gone to?"
Penny took this as her cue to approach her parents. "Over here, Mother," she acknowledged with a feigned smile as she walked towards them, Lucky following closely behind.
"Hey-hey! There's my girl!" Pongo greeted her and proceeded to nuzzle her too with Perdita soon joining them.
Penny nearly cried at her parents' embrace. She was never overdramatic, but a voice within her kept bringing up the possibility that this could be the last time she would be receiving their loving affection before seeing them again half a year later.
Luckily, she managed to maintain her composure throughout and flashed a genuine smile at them once her parents were done nuzzling her.
"So, Penny... has Patch been giving you trouble the past week?" Pongo inquired with a teasing grin, catching his son letting out an exasperated sigh.
Penny snickered. "Happy to report that Patch had been mostly well-behaved throughout the whole week, Dad," she replied with a laugh, as if she were a guardian for Patch and reporting his demeanour to them.
"Seriously? 'Mostly'?" Patch scoffed at her, which only served to widen the grins on his sister's and parents' lips.
Pongo then noticed something in particular about his son. "Hey, Patchy-boy. I see you got some crumbs around your jaw."
"Really?" Patch asked and started smacking his lips about to have it cleaned, until he froze in his spot and slowly looked up to his Dad, who was slyly grinning at him as if he had caught him red-handed perpetrating a crime.
Pongo then turned his attention to three of his sons standing behind Patch; Freckles, Rolly and Dipstick, who also had crumbs all over their faces.
"Ah... I see that you boys had paid Ol' Lady Jennifer next door a visit," he said, maintaining the sly grin on his lips.
"Uh... w-what? Ol' Lady Jennifer the Miser? 'Course not, Dad! You know there's nothing worth paying her a visit!" Freckles denied, rather unconvincingly.
Pongo chuckled and started walking towards them. "Alright, come on, boys. The cat's out of the bag. Come and share with your Old Dog how you brilliant lot finally got ahold of those delicious dog treats of hers!"
Patch and his brothers could no longer seriously maintain their feigned innocence. "Aw, come on, Dad. We don't know anything about any dog treats! Honest!" Dipstick was heard chuckling before he and his brothers went to a corner of the living room to have their boyish chats with their Dad.
That left Perdita with Penny and Lucky in front of her. She suddenly noticed her daughter staring after the boys and their dad, a tinge of dejection was somehow visible within her gaze. Perdita's motherly instinct told her that something was bothering her daughter. "Is something the matter, Penny?" she softly asked, noticing her question had slightly startled her.
"Oh- um, no, Mother, I'm fine..." Penny hesitantly replied, trying to muster an assuring smile. She then caught sight of Lucky through her peripheral vision, who seemed to subtly nudge his head towards their mother's direction. Penny fully understood his gesture and what he was urging her to do.
"Actually, Mother..." Penny began. "I was wondering if you have heard of any news recently."
"News?" Perdita repeated before giving it a thought for a few seconds. "Hmm... the only news we heard this week was that Roger received a million Pounds from someone three days ago. Did you know about that, Penny?"
"Yes, Jewel and Two-tone told me about it," Penny replied. "But have you or Dad heard of any other news from Anita and Roger?"
Perdita paused again to give her daughter's question a thought. "No... I don't think so. The whole house was jumping and dancing about when Roger got his money that day... yet, the days after that has been very quiet. Come to think of it, the Radcliffes seem to be very quiet about their money lately." She let out a brief chuckle, "Your father has really been hoping that they'd at least use some of it to buy more decent dog food than Kanine Krunchy kibbles."
This genuinely made Penny and Lucky laugh. "I second that!" Lucky agreed with a chuckle.
Penny nodded with a grin, and decided she found out enough about what she needed to know from her mother. "Thanks for informing us about that, Mum. I really do appreciate you telling us all this," she sweetly said before giving Perdita a brief nuzzle.
"My pleasure, Penny," Perdita replied with a relieved smile while returning her daughter's nuzzle. She then looked up to find her mate, only to see him sharing a wholesome laughter with his four sons in a nearby corner of the living room. "Please do tell your Dad that I'm having my breakfast if he comes looking for me, Penny," she said before politely excusing herself from her son and daughter.
"Will do, Mum!" Lucky replied and watched as their mother made her way to the hallway. He then glanced at his sister next to him.
"Looks like we're the only ones who seem to know about Roger's plans on moving out," he whispered to her.
Penny let out a long breath. "Yeah... I only hope that them keeping quiet about it means that their plan is still a long time from now." She paused to gaze into her brother's eyes. "I really do want to spend more time with you guys before you move."
Lucky sniffled slightly as he agreed with her sentiments. He couldn't bear the thought of being separated and being so far away from his favourite older sister.
They spent the next several minutes sitting next to each other in silence, watching their other siblings laugh and fool around with each other. Penny had never thought that she would cherish such a chaotic sight; the sight of her brothers and sisters mingling and enjoying each other's presence. She didn't know if she would still be able to witness all this next Saturday.
Her ears pricked up when she suddenly heard human chatter amongst the barrage of yelps and barking as Roger, Anita and Baldrick appeared from the hallway and walked into the room. The three of them seemed to be discussing something as they walked towards the main door and ignoring the various barks that greeted them along the way. They stopped when they reached the coat hanger next to the door.
Baldrick put back on his overcoat and flat cap before glancing around at the chaotic living room. "Patchy! Penny! Time to go home, lovelies!" he called out.
Patch let out an acknowledging bark and gave his four brothers and father a brief nuzzle each before making his way to his human pet. "See you all next week!" he managed to say before he took off, evidently still in high spirits.
In contrast, Penny quietly walked towards the door with Lucky following closely behind. She stopped when she reached where her human pet and brother were waiting for her before turning around to see her other brother one last time. "Goodbye, Lucky..." she whispered before giving him a nuzzle. "See you next Saturday."
Lucky silently nodded as he returned her hug. "Hope to see you then, Penny."
Patch raised a brow in surprise as he watched them nuzzle each other goodbye. Lucky then pulled himself away from Penny before turning his attention to Patch. "Goodbye, Patch." He said, giving him an equally affectionate nuzzle.
"See you, Luck," Patch replied, rubbing a paw on his brother's back. "Sorry I didn't get to hang out with you today, baby brother. We'll do something together next week, okay?"
His words made Lucky broke out a small smile. He still loved being called baby brother by his older siblings despite the obvious fact that he was too big to be a 'baby'. "Sure, Patchy. I'd love to hang out more with you next week," he said, mustering the energy to maintain his small smile.
Soon, Pongo and the other siblings appeared behind him to wish their goodbyes.
"Goodbye, you guys!"
"Bye, Patch! See you, Penny!"
"Au revoir, you two!"
Roger and Anita said their goodbyes to Baldrick as he leashed Patch and Penny before they set off down the street. Patch let out another bark goodbye while Penny stole a last glance behind at her siblings and former human pets as they piled out from the flat's door, still waving and goodbye at them.
She took a deep breath and faced forwards again as they made their way back to Baldrick's flat. As they walked, Penny noticed that their human had been keeping quiet to himself, which was odd, as he was usually cheerful and in high spirits everytime they got back from visiting Roger and Anita. Penny didn't want to make any conclusions from this observation, but something told her that his silence must have had something to do with the discussions that she and Lucky overheard.
To her left, Penny noticed that Patch was smiling smugly to himself as he walked, probably replaying the events of the morning that he had with his brothers and father. Penny felt that her brother should know about Roger and Anita's plans, but seeing him in such a happy mood at that moment made her reconsider. Perhaps it was best if she told him later at a more suitable time. The last thing she wanted was to destroy his 'happy moment'.
Soon, the three of them reached their home after half an hour's walk. Baldrick hung his overcoat and flat cap and switched on the tv for the Dalmatians before settling himself at his dining table. And as per usual, Patch sat himself in front of the tv while Penny went over to their sleeping basket. She purposedly curled herself in a way that she would be facing Baldrick's direction so she could observe him.
Usually by this time, he would have started busying himself to prepare lunch for himself, but at that particular moment, he remained seated at his table and staring at the space in front of him. He would occasionally rub his chin or fiddle with his glasses, but the blank expression remained plastered on his face, and it was obvious that he was deep in thought.
He remained like that for at least half an hour, before he eventually got up and went to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Penny presumed he had gone in to take his usual Saturday afternoon nap, which he usually did around that time.
Patch also noticed that their human pet had gone to his bedroom, and he took this opportunity to make his way to Baldrick's overcoat, grabbed something from one its pockets and then walked over to where his sister was laying in the sleeping basket.
"Want some?" he asked as he placed a large dog biscuit treat in the shape of a bone in front of her.
Penny was genuinely surprised to see such a huge piece of dog treat, which was possibly the biggest that she had seen. "Good heavens, Patch. Where on Earth did you get that?" she asked with genuine surprise.
Patch merely grinned at her, "Where else but Ol' Lady Jennifer's kitchen, of course."
Penny let out a brief chuckle after realizing what her brother had been up to the entire morning. She picked up the treat with her jaws and cleanly ate it in two bites without leaving a single crumb on the floor.
"Hey... thanks for that, Patch," she said with a genuine smile before giving her brother a brief lick on his muzzle.
"No problem," Patch casually replied, "Although you should be thanking Dipstick though. He's the one who found out that part of Ol' Lady Jennifer's wooden fence in her backyard was rotten, and we simply had to gently knock it down to gain 'temporary access' to her flat and ultimately her kitchen. Oh, and not mention Baldrick too! Such a convenience that he's never used his coat's large side pockets before. You could slip in an entire cobra into it and he'd never even realize."
Penny failed to suppress a snicker at this, "Well, whatever it is, thanks for saving the treat for me, Patchy."
"Sure," was his simple reply.
Penny expected him to resume watching his programme on the tv, but he surprisingly chose to join her in their sleeping basket, proceeding to curl himself up snugly beside her. "Hey, Penny. Can I ask you something?" he asked after settling himself down.
"Ask your heart away, Patch."
"Yeah... what's up with you and Lucky today? I noticed you guys seemed gloomy and... a tad emotional this morning. Is something up?"
Penny looked at him, her earlier smile disappeared when he asked his question. She let out a long breath of air. "Patch... I think there's something you should know."
"And that is...?"
Penny paused to compose herself. "Patch... Roger and Anita are moving out, along with the rest of our family."
Patch blinked, thinking that he had misheard her. "I'm sorry, they're moving out?" He clarified, and his sister nodded. "Oh... where are they moving to?"
"To a new farm they just bought. Using the money that Roger had just received the other day. You've heard about it, right?"
"Oh, yeah... Dipstick mentioned that on our way to Ol' Lady Jennifer's." Patch recalled. "Huh... fancy that. Roger actually being able to afford an entire farm! Farms usually mean lots of land, right? And lots of land means plenty of space to race around with the gang! And don't farms usually mean lots of chickens too? And lots of chickens mean plenty of-"
His excited ramblings came to a pause when he noticed his sister didn't seem to reciprocate his eagerness. "Is something wrong?" he queried in a confused tone.
Penny bit her lip, unsure how exactly to break out the important news to him. "Patch... our entire family is moving into that new farm... but without us."
Patch's face immediately creased with confusion. He was sure he was hearing her words properly, but he was completely gobsmacked at why she said that they weren't-
"Wait... is it because of-"
"Yes, Patch. It's because of him."
His gaze turned towards the bedroom door, and he immediately let out a long, disappointed groan as everything finally clicked in his mind.
"They're really moving out without us? Because of him?!" he lamented; his voice slightly muffled as he sunk his head between his front paws.
Penny genuinely felt sorry for him after seeing him like that. But she was taken aback when Patch suddenly sat up straight and gave her a quizzing look. "Wait a minute. How on Earth did you know about them buying a farm in the first place? None of the boys mentioned anything about that."
"Lucky was the one who overheard Roger and Anita talking about it in the kitchen, Patch. He told me about it, and we spied on them as they were discussing about it with Baldrick," Penny patiently told him. She then took a deep breath as she prepared herself to inform him on the more pertinent part of the news. "Patch... I think you should know that Baldrick happened to mention that he could only afford to bring us on a three-day visit to our family every six months."
Patch's eyes widened in disbelieve at this. "Three-day visit every six months?! Are you saying we're only going to see our family twice a year once they move out?!"
Penny could only muster to give a single nod in confirmation. Patch's face was still scrunched up with disbelief as he glared at his sister. He eventually let out a long, tired sigh for the second time that afternoon when he finally figured out why Lucky was so emotional when they had to leave... and also why their human pet had remained quiet throughout their journey home. His head once again sunk between his forepaws.
"Did they say when they'd be moving?" he asked, his voice muffled once again.
Penny let out an equally tired breath before resting herself against Patch's body to comfort him. "I'm sorry Patch. Lucky and I didn't get the chance to find that out."
Patch didn't reply after that. Penny heard him groan one last time before he kept completely silent. She understood exactly how he felt.
Penny rested her muzzle above her brother's head and the two siblings remained that way in silence for the next couple of hours.
End of Chapter 2.
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