There was an emptiness to the house when she had made it downstairs, and she felt the silence deep in her bones. Erin was right behind her, and she reached back for her hand, needing someone to hold onto as she came to realise that maybe they were alone in the house. "Do you think that she left, too?" she asked quietly as they took a seat at the kitchen table.
"I don't know. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, Penelope. Hand me the menu, and I'll order while you set out plates and whatnot." Penelope nodded, knowing that there really wasn't another response. As she handed Erin the menu, she took a look around the kitchen, seeing that there was still coffee left in the pot. "I'm not going to be wanting coffee tonight, as I would actually like to sleep. Though I know that anticipation will keep me up far later than it should."
"That is thoroughly adorable," she whispered as she went over to the fridge and looked at what was in there. "Ugh, I don't know why I'm looking in here when you're ordering food for us. Would tea keep you up too late?"
"Not if you choose something like Lady Grey."
Penelope nodded as she closed the fridge and then filled the kettle with water before turning on a burner so that the water could come to a boil. "All right, I'm going to see if Alex is still here, since I have to know." Erin gave her a sweetly understanding look as she nodded, talking with the person from the restaurant.
Taking a deep breath, Penelope made her way through the ground floor of the house, finding no one there. She decided to climb the stairs slowly, thinking about the fight that she and James had had. She was going to have to find a way to apologise, to try and smooth everything over between them so as to put Alex at ease. Passing by their room, Penelope checked the two bathrooms and then the two bedrooms, growing increasingly frantic and despondent when she couldn't find Alex. Knowing that the woman had left at some point, Penelope felt her shoulders slump as she made her way back down to the kitchen. "She's taken off somewhere," she said dejectedly as she sat at the table. Erin reached out and patted her arm lightly. "Do you think that I should text her?"
"Yes, but don't ask where she is. Just tell her that there is Thai food coming in about forty minutes, and there will be more than enough for her."
Nodding, Penelope did just that before placing her phone face down in the middle of the table, not wanting to be distracted by the device as she spent time with Erin. "So, I take it that our prodding the Director finally paid off?"
Erin nodded as the kettle began to whistle. Popping to her feet, she poured them both mugs of boiling water before bringing the mugs to the table. "Lady Grey?"
"Yeah."
"Good. And yes, our prodding finally worked." She took a seat once again, handing Penelope one of the bags before dropping her own into the water. "He reinstated my full pension, along with a slight aggravation bonus. It's nice not to feel like I'm a burden any longer. And I hope that in a few weeks I can find it in myself to be able to move in with David. That is the end goal, after all. That was going to be our next move if John and Jason hadn't happened. I can't help but feel like my life is in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment as I try to rebuild the pieces of my life."
"I miss my apartment, too. It's weird to live with other people. It's weird to have someone next to me in bed that I'm not sleeping with. Not that I would try anything with you, because you're a dear friend, but it's just that usually when I sleep with someone, I sleep with someone. It's kind of sweet, in a way, since I didn't really have sleepovers when I was young, I was a bit of a loner. But this is nice. Can I be completely honest with you?"
"Of course. I would hope that you could feel like you could be open with me about everything."
They smiled at each other, and Penelope brought her mug to her lips and took a sip before she took a deep breath. "It's a little like sleeping with my mom. You make me feel safe at times, in a way that I haven't since I lost her. And when you move in with David, I know that I won't have that again, and a piece of my heart hurts at that knowledge?"
Erin let out a tiny sigh as she reached out to cup Penelope's face, her thumb tapping against her cheek bone. "You are genuinely one of the sweetest women that I have in my life right now. And I am glad to be your surrogate mother, and any time that you would like to have a girl's night, I'll let David know, and we can have the house or the cabin. And we can invite Alex and Jennifer, and anyone else that you would want over, since it's always more fun with more people."
There was a tiny hint of sauciness in Erin's voice, and Penelope giggled as she nodded. "Talking dirty to me again, Chief Strauss?" she asked with a teasing lilt, and Erin shrugged as she picked up her mug and drank from it, not saying anything else. It was easy to giggle, as she found that this was a return to the old Erin. This was progress, hard won and bitterly gained, but progress nonetheless, and she was grateful for that. Her phone rattled on the table as the doorbell rang, and she reached out for the device as Erin got to her feet once more.
I need more time to think by myself. I'm safe. And I promise you, darling, this is about me. You know that I am first and foremost a linguist, and that I take words seriously, and so I hope you know that when I tell you this, you're my darling. And I'll talk to you soon.
From the tone of the text, Penelope didn't know if she was going to be happy or upset seeing her, whenever she appeared, and she frowned before tapping back a quick reply. We'll be here when you're ready to talk. And I am truly sorry. Xx Penelope hit send before she could second guess herself, setting the device aside once more as Erin reentered the kitchen, two large bags in her hands. "Alexandra is well, she just needs a little time. I suppose that we all do, after that."
Erin nodded as she set the bags on the table. "At least we know that we don't need to worry tonight. And if something should happen, I'm certain that she'll reach out to us and let us know what she needs. Now let's eat while it's still warm." Penelope nodded as she helped Erin set out the containers of food, the delicious scent filling her nose as she reached out for first container and served herself before passing it on to Erin, finding that even though her heart was heavy, she was still hungry.