When they pulled into the driveway, Derek awoke Penelope with a gentle nudge. The first thing she noticed was a huge arch made out of fresh flowers and ribbon, with a sign on it that read "Welcome Home Penelope!" Never mind that they had just driven down a long driveway that opened up into a huge house.
"Wow…" Penelope briefly wondered if it was considerable to call it a mansion or not before her eyes turned to the people who were now walking outside to stand underneath the arch.
An older woman and gentleman who Penelope was sure she had seen before. Were those Derek's parents? Derek hopped out to grab the door for Penelope, helping her out of her seat. She was slightly weak, and needed a little bit of steadying while she found her footing, but Derek was right there to help her, offering her his arm for stability.
He walked her over to his parents, and his mother immediately reached out to wrap her in a huge hug. "Penelope! Look at you! Welcome home, dear!" she greeted.
Penelope froze, but tried to allow herself to fall into his mom's embrace. It didn't go unnoticed, and she was quickly released. "I'm sorry dear. Carlo told us not to force ourselves on you but I just couldn't help myself. All I have wanted to do since I learned about your situation is hug you. My name is Lilly. I'm Derek's mom."
Penelope stared at Lilly for a moment, studying her face. She saw nothing in it but warmth. "Can you… do that again?" She asked, tears welling in her eyes. Lilly immediately obliged, wrapping her up again. Instead of freezing, she wrapped her arms around Lilly and fell into her, sobbing in her shoulder.
"Its ok, dear." Lilly cooed at her while rubbing her arms up and down her back. "You are safe, here." She promised. As they broke the hug, Lilly glanced over to Derek's dad. "This is Dan." She said. "Derek's dad."
Penelope couldn't speak through her sobs and just nodded at him while he smiled back at her, offering her an assuring pat on her shoulder.
"Dan, why don't you go help Derek grab her things. I'll help her inside the house." Lilly said. "Come on, dear." As the two men went back to Derek's car, Lilly led her inside the house and to the living room, where she directed her to a large, fluffy chair and helped her to sit down.
"I'm sorry." Penelope whispered.
"For what, sweetie?" Lilly asked, puzzled.
"For being so weak. I know I'm not supposed to cry."
Lilly sat down on the edge of the chair next to Penelope. "Oh no, sweetheart. That's nothing to be ashamed of. Its okay to cry. From what it sounds like, you've been through a lot. I'm guessing that you have kept it all to yourself this entire time, haven't you?" When Penelope nodded, Lilly continued "Well you don't have to anymore. You can be as vulnerable as you want here. Nobody is going to punish you for it. And if you want to talk about any of it, I'll listen. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, either. Okay?"
"Yes Ma'am." Penelope.
"Oh you sweet, sweet girl. Call me Lilly." She said as softly as she could, wrapping Penelope up in yet another hug.
Derek and Dan came back, inside with all of the shopping bags from the store, as well as Penelope's sketchbooks and phone.
"How about I go make us some tea while the boys get your things settled. Would you like that?" Lilly asked.
"Yes, please." Penelope replied.
"I'll be right back in just a few minutes. You just wait right here."
As Lilly left, Penelope took the time to herself to gather her wits and try to calm down. Its ok. She told herself. The Witch is gone. Lilly is not the witch. Shes the mother of the prince, and she is going to turn me into a real princess. Taking several deep breaths, Penelope dried up her tears and and allowed herself to smile as she pulled herself back into her fantasy world. Lilly was dressing her for the biggest ball of the season. She was wearing a big, puffy dress and when she got to the dance floor, Derek was going to be there to greet her and sweep her off her feet.
They would dance hours into the night, laughing gleefully as they enjoyed one another's company.
A light clinking sound pulled Penelope back to reality. Lilly had set her cup of tea down on a table next to the couch and was now reaching out to hand Penelope a cup of her own. "Here you go, dear. It's a little hot, so sip carefully. I made you chamomile with a bit of honey. It should help you settle down and relax a bit. I know that this can't be easy on you."
Penelope shook her head as she tested her tea before blowing on it and taking a sip. When was the last time that life had been easy on her? The easiest she ever had it was when she was busy at work. It was easy because she didn't have time to sit down to think about how much she didn't want to go home.
For several minutes, they sat there quietly, before Lilly started speaking. "So tell me about yourself, Penelope."
"Um. Ok. What would you like to know… Miss Lilly?" Penelope carefully tested.
Lilly smiled at the use of her name. Although still formal, it was some progress. "Tell me about things you like to do. Your favorite color, or your favorite band?
"My favorite color? Band?" Penelope thought about it. "Well, I guess I would say that light blue is my favorite color. And purple. I like soft, pastels… Girly colors." Colors that she wasn't allowed to wear because Mary had told her she looked like too much of a slut in them.
"My favorite band? Um, well… I like a lot of bands, and I like a lot of songs. I don't know that I have an actual favorite. I just like anything that has a good beat."
Lilly nodded and urged Penelope to continue. "And as far as my favorite things to do, well. I just like to read, write, and draw. That's about it. Oh, and bake! I like to bake, too but I'm not allowed. So all the baking I ever do is at the sandwich store. I love good food." Penelope trailed off.
"And shes really good at it, too!" Derek interrupted from behind her. He and Dan had finished putting things away in Penelope's new room.
Penelope blushed at that. "Oh, yes! I heard you made Derek a delectable sandwich a few weeks ago! He wouldn't stop talking about it at our company dinner that night. I'm not a huge sandwich person myself, but I think I'd like to try it some time."
"Sure! I'd love to make you one!" Penelope beamed. "I like to create new things. It keeps it all fun and exciting! You should really come down some time!"
"I think I will do that!"
Penelope paused for a moment, thinking about whether or not she should ask the question she had on her mind. Noting Lilly's interest in her, though, she decided to go for it. "May I ask a question?"
"Oh, please do!"
"Well, I don't want to sound rude, but why do you own a sandwich shop if you don't like sandwiches?"
Lilly burst out laughing, causing Penelope to jump and shrink back into herself. "Oh! I'm sorry dear! Please don't be scared." She said through her chuckles. "I'm sorry." She settled down. "Its just that you are so cute and innocent and that sub shop was, well... A project, you could say. A project that brings back some memories."
"Danielle, our oldest, thought that when she turned sixteen, she deserved to have her own business. So we gave her one. Lilly and I thought that she wouldn't last a week, and we planned on selling it when she got bored with it after she made it tank. And, well, it didn't tank." Dan chuckled, answering the question.
"She was actually very proud of that little shop for awhile. She tried so hard to learn the ins and outs of owning her own business. She was absolutely terrible at it, though! One day, Dan and I came in to check on her and the bread dough was pouring out of one of the ovens. It had made such a mess! She had to close it down to clean up the mess. But she still tried, though! And for that, we are very proud of her."
"When she turned eighteen, she decided to go to college. The shop was actually doing pretty well, so we decided to keep it. We have Terry to run the store for us, and Danielle uses her earnings from it for charity."
"Wow that's really cool!" She had no idea that she was working for someone who was so amazing. "So where is Danielle now? Do I get to meet her?"
Lilly shook her head. "Oh, Lilly has long since left the nest. She is married now, has a couple of children, and lives in Florida. They do travel a lot and I do get to see my grandbabies a few times a year. Derek is the only one that is still here. Granted, he doesn't live with us anymore but we still have dinner together several times a week."
"Derek doesn't live here?" Penelope found herself starting to panic a little.
"I have my own place across town." Derek said. "A 19-year-old bachelor can't take custody of a 17-year-old girl who is in foster care. Don't worry, though. I'll stay here with you, and I won't go home unless you want me to."
"Yes, Derek's room is just down the hall from yours. We want you to be as comfortable as possible while you recover."
Penelope breathed a sigh of relief. Over the last two weeks, Derek had become like her lifeline. The only thing that brought her safety. She thought that perhaps it was selfish of her, but she didn't want to be away from him. Derek had become her tether and was slowly bringing her back to the ground.
"Thank you." Penelope said, casting everyone a grateful smile as more tears welled up in her eyes. "For being so kind. And for taking me in. I… I've been alone for a very long time, now. I don't even remember what its like to have friends anymore. I always thought that I would have to find a way to save myself. And it turns out that I didn't have to. Thank you." She said again as the tears fell.
Before she knew it, not only did Lilly have her arms around her, but so did Derek and Dan. Her nightmare was finally over, and her life could now begin.