Chapitre 29: Cheese

"I've never been around animals much so I didn't give it much thought," Penelope said half-truthfully.

Roman laughed. "Are you not counting Copernicus because you're afraid of him? I know you hated when he let it out of its tank while you were living at home."

So Percy did end up getting a snake in this world. Figures. That was the name he had chosen for his fictitious future snake while begging their parents.

Back when he was super interested in reptiles, he told her that ball pythons (one of the most popular breeds used for pets) only lived about ten years in the wild but lived twenty to thirty in captivity. It made sense that he would still have it.

"Snakes are creepy and should not be kept in people's houses," Penelope said stoutly. "I've never understood that boy's obsession with reptiles. It's a miracle he didn't strong arm my parents into letting him have an entire reptile exhibit in his room."

"Didn't he have a red-eyed tree frog and a tarantula at one point too? I think they both died before he graduated high school," Roman mused.

She had absolutely no idea but it sounded like something he would do given the means. "Yeah," she said, trying to sound confident in her answer. "I didn't like those either."

"Of course you wouldn't. You'd want something cute and fluffy that you could pet based on how much you love soft things."

Penelope couldn't even deny that. Fuzzy blankets and pajama pants were her weakness. Not wanting to encourage him, she simply nodded and made a small noise of acknowledgement.

There had to be a way to change the subject and fast! She didn't want to make any waves here in case there was a chance she would be able to switch back. She imagined the other Penelope would be confused and possibly upset to come home to a random animal.

Roman spoke up before she could think of anything. "So do you want to get one? A pet, I mean."

"Not right now. I'm still not really able to bend over easily or lift anything heavy," she said, grateful to have a perfect excuse at hand. Having a post-surgery body had come in handy more ways than one!

"Ah, right. Stupid of me to forget that."

"You're not stupid, you just had a long day. Why don't you go get changed into something more comfortable? I'm feeling pretty good today so I can make dinner," Penelope offered.

Roman smiled. "It's been a while since I've had your cooking. Sure thing."

He kissed her sweetly on the lips before heading upstairs, unknowingly leaving her in a tailspin. It was nothing more than a peck but she thought she might faint. No other kiss had ever affected her this much!

Penelope shook it off, firmly telling herself that she was only reacting because nobody this handsome had ever kissed her before. She slapped both of her cheeks simultaneously to come back to her senses and headed into the kitchen to make dinner.

===

The surprise Roman planned for Saturday was not what Penelope expected at all. She had asked him what the nature of the activity would be so she could dress accordingly and all he said was that she should have close-toed shoes.

She ended up wearing a three quarter sleeved white and navy blue baseball tee with jeans and matching striped alpargata shoes. Going casual was the right choice because they pulled up to the most rural-looking place she had ever seen about an hour away from where they lived.

Three llamas hung out in a pen out front and the parking lot wasn't fully paved. She had no idea they had places like this anywhere near L.A. She had heard rumors of rural areas in central and northern California but had never visited them, only driven by on the freeways while going to San Francisco and back.

"Uh…Roman? What are we doing here?" Penelope dared to ask.

He smiled at her with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "Didn't you read the sign when we drove up?"

Sign? She hadn't seen any signs. Double checking, she found one that blended in with its surroundings rather well that said 'Somis Cheese and Specialities.'

Penelope burst out laughing, unable to help herself. She regretted it instantly because it kind of hurt to laugh still. "You drove all the way out here for a cheese store?"

"Not just any cheese store. They offer factory tours where you can see the cheese made and offer free samples! And you can feed the llamas too; I checked the website," Roman said proudly. "Surprise!"

This was absolutely not the kind of surprise she would expect from a rich man but she couldn't deny that the prospect of seeing how cheese was made was intriguing. She had watched a documentary on the making of Parmesan cheese a while back and thought it was cool.

Free samples sounded good too. Penelope had always loved cheese but her parents tended to buy the cheap generic kind because it could get pretty expensive. She never had fancy cheese before.

"This is an awesome surprise," she said with a snicker and pumped her fist in the air, oddly enthused. "Let's go sample some cheese!"

The tour only consisted of checking out the back room because the place wasn't all that big but it was still interesting. Cheesemaking was not only a science but an art.

She thought Percy would probably love this and then experienced a pang of sadness upon realizing she might never get the chance to take him here. Even if she did make it back to her world, this place might not exist there. And there was still no guarantee she would ever see her Percy again…

Penelope shook those thoughts free. No. She couldn't think about that right now. Besides, she still had a Percy even if he wasn't the one she grew up with. And had threatened her the other day.

She didn't manage to get her mind off of that depressing topic completely until it was time to sample the cheeses. She couldn't decide which was her favorite, the garlic gouda, garden herb gouda, or smoked white cheddar. They were all so good!

Roman liked the cheese with small pieces of jalapeño in it best. Penelope didn't even dare try that one because she couldn't handle spice.