I wasn’t quite finished with the story I was telling by the time 2025 ended and so decided to continue it until it reached an ending point. Then I will start a new one. Besides, I kind of want to see where Penelope ends up. And so we have…
Day 190: She stepped back as he wheeled it inside the house.
She stepped back as he wheeled it inside the house. Michaelson rolled the loaded shopping trolley into the house and then turned and shut the door. After a moment’s thought, he locked it as well.
“Think they will come back?” Penelope asked.
“Not really, but it seemed a sensible precaution.” He looked to Penelope.
“I’ve been locking it when I arrive home as well,” she confessed.
“Good,” he said. “Although this might be the last set of people after you. Hopefully that should mean the locked doors are just normal precautions and not because someone is hunting you. You went out?”
Even though it was said as a question there was an almost accusatory note in his tone.
“My plan was to pick up some things to occupy myself while I was staying in and recovering,” Penelope said. She hated feeling like she had to justify herself. ‘But he did move me behind him when people were waving guns around.’ She figured that for the moment that gave him a pass.
As though to remind him of her injury she lifted her arm a bit. Pain shot through her and she winced.
“Problems?” he asked. His eyes focused sharply on her arm.
“I landed on it when I dropped to the floor,” she admitted.
“Ah,” he nodded, his face clearing. “You will need a pain pill. Why don’t I help you get this up the stairs and then I’ll give you the update before leaving you to you own devices.’
“Sounds like a plan,” Penelope said. She indicated the stairs. He moved the cart forward. At the bottom of the stairs, he lifted the cart and carried it up the stairs.
‘Better than my plan,’ Penelope thought. Her plan had been to make several trips carrying one item up at a time. She followed him up the stairs.
“Do you want me to get them out of the cart while we talk?” he asked. “Lifting might not be your best thing at the moment.”
Penelope looked at the cart and had to agree. Maneuvering the items into the cart was fairly easy as gravity did a lot of the work. When she paid for things, the clerk did most of the lifting. “On the counter is fine,” she told him. At the moment the only thing on the counter were the books sent over. Underneath them was the paper that was wrapped around the hidden charms. The books were still flattening the piece of paper and not knowing what might be on the paper, she didn’t want to move them. The books were no impediment as he just placed the other items around the stack.
He did look at the titles and nodded his improvement. “Beginning to get a handle on the plant thing?” he asked.
“Starting to at least in theory,” Penelope said. “I was waiting to practice until I had some seeds and such.” She thought about the plant she used as rope downstairs. “Mostly waiting.”
“You did good with the plant in the front,” he told her. “More control than you had at the bank.”
“I thought about what I wanted to do here,” Penelope said. “At the bank my emotions just came out, I think that was the difference.”
“Still, it is a step towards control and less destructive than the greenhouse.”
Michaelson continued taking things out of the trolley and Penlope had no doubt he would be able to provide an inventory of her shopping should anyone require it.
“Speaking of the greenhouse,” Michaelson said. “I had a chance to talk to Peter Sinclair.”
Ten til Midnight 