Some more lore I have... I seriously gotta start posting more regularly on here, maybe make one of those big posts that I keep pinned with all my lore. Idk how to make those 💔
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Unfortunately, it was rainy. If I could change the weather, I would. I didn't want Penny to come back from school on a sad rainy day. But, I suppose it fit the mood.
I sat there for hours on some bench. The cold nipped at my nose and my finger tips. But I held my umbrella, and the smaller blue one I had bought for her. I didn't think I would need it this early, but here we were I guess.
The train ended up being late, there was some kind of issue with the engine and they had to get a guy out there. I couldn't stop thinking about how different my life was going to be from now on. I've only met her a few times, Nathan said she had behavioral issues. I just think they didn't know how to parent properly—its why I pulled her out of school as soon as I got custody. I was homeschooled, and I turned out fine.
Anyway, three hours after the original time, I heard the whistle of a train and I lifted my head. I saw the machine pulling in, and as soon as it stopped, kids flooded out. Adults ran behind a couple of groups, trying to wrangle them all in an orderly fashion, but they were all too excited to see their families to care anymore.
I stood from my bench, holding the umbrella, probably looking like some kind of dork. I looked around the crowd for her, but I didn't see her immediately. When I did catch sight of her, one of the train members was helping her off of the train. Probably emotional support? I dunno.
Penny didn't recognize me until the attendant pointed me out. I had seen the young lady before, when I came to Penny's school for a meeting that said I was her new legal guardian. She was assigned to be Penny's counselor.
When Penelope did see me, the counselor said goodbye and let Penny come to me. I couldn't tell if she was a slow walker or just really nervous. But, when she did come to me, I knelt down and offered her the umbrella. She took it almost immediately and opened it up.
"What are you doing here?"
She was the first one to speak—and for that I was thankful, because I had no idea what I was doing. But, her question caught me off guard. Did her counselor not tell her that I was adopting her?
Before I could do something less stupid, my hand dug into my pocket and pulled out the folded up adoption certificate—I had been keeping it near me, mostly just my way of processing having a child. "Kiddo, i-..."
My voice caught in my throat and I just sighed, quietly handing her the paper. She didn't seem like such a terrible child right now...
"You-... You adopted me?" She asked me quietly, looking up from the paper. I could see the tears forming in her eyes and I just nodded. I didn't want to say anything sappy, and I don't think I had it in me.
"Can I-.. can I keep this?" She continued, I could hear the break in her voice. I, again, nodded. I don't know why, I wanted to keep that little certificate. But, suddenly my want was squished by her little voice in my head.
"Yeah. You can have whatever you want," I responded, giving her the best smile I could muster. I stood up and rested my hand on her head, gently ruffling her blonde curls.
"C'mon. We've gotta get out of this weather," I added, putting my hand on her shoulder and pulling her along with me.
The walk home was quiet. She didn't speak. She just held the little paper close and kept the umbrella right over her head. I played with the idea of saying something, but I decided against it. She seemed fine in the silence.
Just as we reached my place, as I was opening the door, she spoke up behind me.
"...what do I call you?" She asked.
I couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle. I held the door open and let her go first, motioning to the little umbrella holder.
"Whatever you like—preferably not my first name, though. You used to call me Uncle Henry, that still works for me," I said, untying my boots and setting them aside.
When I turned around to find her, she was gone. Probably in the spare bedroom that she had taken over a couple years prior—Nathan and Pep liked to go out a lot, Penny stayed with me and she started putting stickers on things that didn't require stickers.
I decided to leave her alone for a little while. She was still grieving... Hell, I was too. I didn't push dinner. I had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn't hungry, and I wasn't either. Instead, I sat in my living room and read some old book about a war that happened a couple centuries ago.
I didn't even realize it, but hours had passed since I originally sat down. I glanced down at my watch, then looked around suspiciously. Penny hadn't been too loud, or broken anything. I closed my book, and was about to go bother her when she came to me. Or well, ran at me and jumped on top of me.
I let out a strangled yelp and pulled her back to look at her. I thought she was bleeding or something. "What? What is it? Are you bleeding? Something hurt?"
I could hear her sniffling, and assumed something was wrong. But she shook her head and instead reached into her pockets. I finally got a good look at her, and realized she was crying. Out of instinct, I reached out and wiped the tears off. She didn't move away. Instead, she grabbed a paper that had stickers on it—because why wouldn't she have that in her pocket?—and started putting them on my face.
I had expected so much worse, so honestly I just sat there and accepted these stickers. When the stickers ran out, Penny just leaned into me and didn't stop crying. But I didn't pry. I just put my arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
"I miss them too... And I'm not sending you back to that school, Pen," I mumbled, trying to come up with a way to comfort her without actually knowing what was wrong.
She did quiet down, and I felt relieved. She looked up at me, those green eyes that matched her father's stuck to mine. I just tiled my head in a silent question.
"...thank you for taking me in. I- I thought someone was gonna pick me up and take me to an orphanage," she said.
My eyes widened and I shook my head. "No, no, no. You know what I went through in that place. You think I'd let you end up in a place like that?"
Penelope sniffled and stared at me with this helpless expression. She put her arms around me, and I hugged her back. I could hear her little heart racing, and honestly... The idea of letting her lose herself in a place as terrible as that, it was enough to keep me up at night.
"Over my dead body, kiddo."
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Anyways yayayay Henry and Penelope lore
