After dinner, people were free to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the night and some people, including Max, wanted to go sightseeing. Penelope didn't see the point since she had lived in San Francisco for two years and had already seen all the good stuff.
Nobody here would believe that though because it had happened in another world. Max probably knew where she had gone to college; it would never work.
So she let herself be dragged along to see things she had already seen multiple times. Some of the group had never been to San Francisco at all despite it being in the same state. It was quite a drive though.
Penelope and a few others acted as de facto tour guides since they had been here before. It wouldn't be questionable for her to say she had visited here before and knew some of the best things to see.
They only managed to hit Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge before having to head back to the hotel to sleep because of traffic. Most people wanted to continue sightseeing every day during breaks from the conference but she bowed out of that immediately using her status as a patient.
All that walking around wore her out and she had promised both Roman and Darren that she wouldn't overdo it. Tomorrow she would use that free time to rest rather than get dragged along by her coworkers' whims.
===
The advertising conference was held in a conference center only a few miles from Penelope's old university. People from mid-sized to large advertising firms from all over the country had come out to hear panelists speak on a variety of different topics as the world's media continued to change as well as be a part of activities meant to utilize this new information.
The conference provided lunch and dinner and involved a three-hour break between the last activity and dinner, where everyone was seated separately from their groups for the sake of networking. Penelope would be able to go back to the hotel and take a nap every day if she timed it right.
She stood in front of the first exhibition hall after getting her name badge and looked around with a sense of awe. She never would have imagined herself being able to participate in anything like this.
She had to stop herself from bouncing in anticipation because that wouldn't be professional. Penelope Cross was a calm and collected businesswoman; she wouldn't be excited about seeing something that was fairly normal in her field.
That begged the question of what did excite her. Penelope had read the journals and knew they had similar tastes and opinions on a lot of things but she couldn't fathom the woman's heart at all.
If she loved her husband, why did she keep putting her job first? Why exactly did she prioritize her job so much? What had been the motivation behind drawing Roman as water and herself as fire?
It could be looked at in a variety of ways. Water and fire were typically seen as elemental opposites. She could be saying that they were too different.
Or, in a more positive way, that because he was like water he could be around her passion without getting burned. But that obviously wasn't true based on how much her inability to prioritize was hurting him.
It could also be taken negatively, like he kept trying to put out her fire by getting her to do what he wanted her to do and extinguishing her spark. That was a selfish take on it since Penelope had read about the arguments and thought he had proposed a reasonable compromise.
Their life experiences were so different that she couldn't fathom her other self's thought process. If Penelope had even a fraction of what she did, she would be sure to properly appreciate it.
Therein laid the problem. Right now she had everything Penelope Cross did but wasn't sure if she was morally allowed to enjoy it and make this foreign life her own.
That was what she had to decide while she was here. She had slightly less than a week to make her choice but the decision couldn't be made lightly. She needed to carefully consider the pros and cons of all of her limited options.
The sketch she drew yesterday encapsulated her feelings pretty well. She felt chained by expectations—Percy's, Roman's and so on—and the life that her other self was supposed to be living. She couldn't escape her past and live the largely carefree life she had found herself stuck with because of guilt either. There was no winning.
"Penny! Come sit by me; the welcome ceremony is about to start," Max called.
Penelope realized she was zoning out standing in the aisle of the largest exhibit hall and that she needed to move. People behind her had started to grumble. Murmuring an apology to them, she made her way to where Max was sitting with the other members of the creative department.
She did need to do a lot of thinking to make her choice but she also needed to pay attention to what was going on around her. If she was truly going to be stuck here, she needed to know more about advertising or she was going to get fired.
She might not be obsessed with her job like her counterpart but she still wanted to be involved in the field of graphic design since she lost out on her chance before. Getting fired would make that difficult.
"What all do you think they're going to talk about today?" Penelope asked her coworkers conversationally.
"Not a clue," Julie replied with a shrug.
"I think they're probably going to talk about the history of advertising and how ads need to change with the times," Kyle contributed.
They all made noises or acknowledgement or nodded along to what he was saying. That would make sense. While looking to the future, it was usually a good idea to review what had already been done. Penelope was impressed by his insight and looked forward to seeing whether or not he was right.
She still couldn't believe she was actually here! It felt like a dream to be on a business trip since neither of her jobs were the type to make people travel. She had to make the most of the next week.
Percy had been so worried about pulling off his plan to sneak into the hospital that he had a hard time focusing. He finished his homework for the week by the skin of his teeth. He was never like this! But when it came to his sister…
Penny had been more of a parent to him than Iris or Trevor had since they were always lost in academia. Not that he faulted them for that—he understood the pull of the mysteries of the world, which was why he was so into science.
They were good people, simply busy ones. They weren't around enough to notice their son struggling socially but Penny was.
She knew that Percy needed to know how to get by in this world full of other humans and taught him how to do it even if he didn't always enjoy it. He stopped getting into fights at school and was able to be pleasant to others even if he didn't mean it.
Not getting bullied was a game changer. The weak minds of other children weren't capable of making him feel bad—he knew he was smarter than them and they were simply jealous—but it had been inconvenient and took away time from more important things.
Learning to blend into the world he didn't quite fit into had saved him a lot of trouble down the road. He would always owe Penny for that and for being one of the few people in this world who loved him when he wasn't pretending for the sake of others.
Percy had to get her back at all costs. He knew the other one was away on business right now, which was both a blessing and a curse.
On the plus side, she wouldn't know what he was up to. But it also meant that Roman would have nothing to do and might not let him go when he showed up unannounced for a visit.
That was the only window of opportunity he had to conduct his tests and get the Penny they both knew and loved back. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to explain this to his brother-in-law. He had to keep the visit short.
With any luck, Roman would have plans with his friends tonight and would let Percy off the hook. He couldn't let this chance go to waste but he also knew that he wouldn't even be let into the building if he didn't go see Roman.
Percy packed all of his gear and a set of scrubs that would prevent him from standing out into the backpack he normally used for school. He could pretend he decided to drop by on the spur of the moment after getting out of class.
Roman normally got off work around 5 PM so he would have to show up around 4:30 to make this work. And then spend the next ten hours or so hiding somewhere so he could conduct his research undisturbed.
He sighed. It was going to be a long day. He planned to bring his laptop along to get more homework done while he was stuck.
Once he arrived at the front desk of the hospital, Percy acted as confidently as possible when the secretary asked him how she could help him. "I'm here to see my brother-in-law, Roman Cross. He's the director of this hospital."
The secretary looked at him skeptically until she noticed the color of his hair. Anybody who knew Roman had to know that his wife was a redhead.
"Name and ID please," she said.
Percy complied and gave her his most friendly, nonthreatening smile. She ended up making a phone call up to Roman's office because of his efforts. Halfway there!
"Hello, Director…I have a young man here to see you who says he's your brother-in-law. His name is Perseus Logan." She went silent for a moment listening to Roman talk. "Uh huh. I'll send him right up. Have a nice day."
The secretary smiled at him more sincerely than before. "Go on and sign the visitor's log before heading upstairs. Do you know how to get to his office?"
"Yes, I've been there before. Thank you!" Percy said after signing himself both in and out using a time about a half hour later.
This woman saw so many people in a day it was unlikely she would either check the log right now or realize she didn't see him leave. As long as the paperwork was in place, he should be covered. Not signing out later would likely be more problematic. Hospitals were high security places, after all.
He headed up to the administrative floor and knocked on the door before hearing Roman say "come in." The office had a large window but still seemed gloomy because of the paint choices and lighting.
Roman's diplomas hung on the wall and he had pictures of himself and Penny on his desk. A few potted plants were scattered here and there as well to make this place seem less depressing but it didn't do much.
Despite the gloominess of his office, his brother-in-law smiled brightly at him. "Percy! What a pleasant surprise. I was drowning in paperwork. What brings you here?"
"I was on my way home from class and thought I'd drop by to check on you. How are you holding up with Penny gone?" Percy asked, using his readymade excuse.
Roman's face fell slightly. "We've been texting and calling but it isn't the same, you know? At least she seems to be having fun. I've been watching sports after work the past two days but I'd rather have her with me. Harry is dragging me out tonight to do an escape room with some of his friends so hopefully that helps."
He barely managed to hold in his sigh of relief. Good. With other plans, Roman probably wouldn't ask him to come along. He knew Percy wasn't a huge fan of social gatherings.
"Escape rooms are fun. We should do one with Penny when she gets back," he suggested.
"I think they require a minimum of four people though. Have any girls you might want to bring and consider it a double date?"
As if. Percy hadn't had a girlfriend since his sophomore year of college. Too much trouble, not enough time in the day. He probably wouldn't try to have another relationship until he found a woman with the mind of a scientist.
"No but I'm sure I can find someone to bring along," he lied. He wasn't sure he knew anybody who would be willing to come since he wasn't particularly close with anyone in his department at school.
He supposed there were always his parents if worst came to worst. They would have to wait until they got back from their research trip though.
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