Kapitel 8: I Know You, Penelope Cross

That was the first indication other Penelope gave that she might be interested in Roman as more than a friend. Penelope had to stop reading there though because she heard the garage door opening.

Had she really been reading that long?! She hadn't even remembered to take a break and eat anything or nap. Ugh.

Stuffing everything back into the box and shutting it so the carnage inside wasn't visible; she hurried downstairs as fast as she could and tried to make it look like she had stayed on the couch the entire time. She turned the TV back on and flipped to a random channel, suddenly ravenous. She shoveled in Cheez-Its like nobody's business.

Roman came through the garage door then with a soft smile on his handsome face. "Hey, Penny. How are you feeling?"

Honestly? After rushing to put everything away, she realized how much pain she was in. "…it's probably time for another pain pill, to be perfectly honest. I feel terrible and I'm hungry too."

He bent down to kiss her forehead, which left her feeling super awkward because no one aside from her parents had ever done that. The few boyfriends she'd had over the years hadn't been the forehead kissing types.

"I'll get one for you. What do you want for dinner?" he asked on his way to the kitchen.

He could cook? Man. Penelope Cross was one lucky woman. Once again, she was slightly jealous. And filled with guilt for taking advantage of his kindness when it wasn't supposed to be aimed at her.

"Some sort of pasta would be nice," Penelope admitted.

"You got it," Roman said with a smile as he came back and handed her the pill and a glass of water.

She gulped it down and thanked him before returning to her show. Only now did she realize it was some home improvement thing from HGTV. She hated shows like that. Had he noticed?

He didn't seem to be suspicious. Penelope could hear him puttering around in the kitchen. She switched to something she did like—a DVR recording of Survivor—so he wouldn't question her taste when he got back.

Eventually Roman returned with two plates of garlic parmesan pasta. Penelope thanked him and slurped it up eagerly in her hunger.

He simply laughed and said, "You forgot to eat lunch, didn't you?"

"How did you know?" she asked after swallowing.

"I know you, Penelope Cross. If I had to guess, I'd say you snacked on and off but didn't want to get off the couch to have a real meal."

That…wasn't far off. She had been so focused on the journals that she had forgotten to eat but what he said sounded exactly like the sort of thing she did on her rare days off when she was too tired to cook.

Technically speaking, Penelope only had one real day off per week. Her other days off didn't match up so she only worked one job on those days instead of both. She had been lucky to get one full day off at all.

On Thursdays she was so tired and still had to make herself run errands or see Percy or her mother that she usually didn't eat properly. It wasn't like she had the money to eat out either.

Freezer meals at work and snacks in between were what kept her alive, horrible as it was. She should probably take advantage of being here for a while to eat better so she had better habits when she went back. If she was even able to go back.

Penelope didn't want to think about that right now. Her coming here was a fluke—the universe had to right itself somehow, didn't it?

"Why are you watching this episode again?" Roman asked curiously between bites.

Shoot. She hadn't realized that the other Penelope had probably been watching it every week with her husband. She hadn't been able to keep up this season because she didn't have a DVR and the show aired during her drugstore job on Wednesday nights.

"I didn't realize I had already watched this one," she said sheepishly. "The pain meds must be messing me up more than I thought."

Roman smiled and Penelope stiffened momentarily at the blinding whiteness. She barely managed to stop her jaw from dropping so half-chewed pasta fell out of her mouth.

"I think you need to take a nap. Have you slept at all since I left?"

"…no."

"I thought that might be the case. Why don't we turn on a baseball game instead? That always puts you to sleep," he suggested.

That much was true. Her dad used to love baseball but every time she tried watching it with him she always conked out after less than one inning. What could she say? It bored her to death.

"Okay," Penelope said with a yawn before finishing off her pasta. "And thanks again for the food."

"No problem. What kind of husband would I be if I didn't take care of you while you're recovering?" Roman asked rhetorically.

Her stomach twisted with guilt. She wasn't even his wife. He would be horrified if he knew the truth. She couldn't say anything or make him suspicious! She had promised Percy she wouldn't upset him.

Percy probably wanted to do him a favor since he had saved their dad in this world. She could see where he was coming from. All Penelope had to do was not upset the balance for a while until she figured things out.

Roman put the dishes in the dishwasher and came back to turn on a Dodgers vs Cardinals game. He plopped back down right next to her and she felt herself getting sleepy as the announcer began droning on about batting averages.

Penelope drifted off as she felt him gently rub the top of her thigh in an attempt to help her relax. She had always been a physically affectionate person so it made since that he would do that to help his wife sleep. He really was a nice guy.

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