Runaway bride would be the right word to describe her.
“Now,” the man spoke again as they entered a backroom, which was much smaller and had stairs leading up to it. “What do you want?”
Penelope could sense both anger and pity as the man spoke to her. Surely, he must not have come across a similar incident before.
“I want a place to shelter myself in,” she said.
“If you cause any trouble that might get me fired, I will…”
“Not at all,” she said quickly. “I really do not mean any harm. I just.. I just need some shelter and…”
“Are you telling me the truth?” the man accused, but then seemed to regret his own words as he noticed the look of desperation on Penelope’s face. “Stay here.”
“Where are you going?” Penelope started to follow him as he made his way upstairs. “Can I come with you? I would really rather not be alone at this moment.”
“Absolutely not,” he said. “Do not move, I shall return in a moment.”
“And do what?” Penelope argued, worry lines creasing her forehead.
“And wait. I will go get the owner.”
“Oh,” Penelope straightened. Right, the owner.
Well, that did not sound like the worst of ideas. He would be the man who had the final say in this entire matter. It would be in Penelope’s interest if she could convince him somehow.
She watched the man disappear at the top of the stairs. It was only then that she got a moment to breathe and take in her distraught state . Her hands were shaking, and even as she tried, she could not get them to stop.
She threw the bouquet in her hands to the floor, chiding herself for not getting rid of it earlier. But could she really blame herself? She had other things on her mind.
“I have no use for this anymore, I suppose,” she said, watching as it fell to the floor.
A moment later, she jumped up as a small dog wandered into the room, immediately burying its nose into the discarded pile of flowers.
“Oh,” Penelope said, surprised at the sudden appearance but not finding it entirely unwelcome.
At least she was in the presence of another living thing. She had always loved animals dearly.
“Now, who is this?” She approached the animal carefully.
The dog looked up at her, careful at first, but then seemed to sense that she meant no harm. He began to wag his tail back and forth, sitting upright.
She lowered herself onto her knees and gently scratched his head .
“At least someone here is happy to see me,” she muttered to herself. “You seem like a very good boy.”
The dog took in the words of encouragement happily, his tail wagging faster now and making a thumping sound against the floor.
The dog leaned into her touch, tail thumping against the floor in approval.
“Oi!What is going on here? Don’t touch him!”
Both Penelope and the friendly dog got startled by the sudden interruption. Penelope looked up to see a young boy standing in front of her, glaring at her.
“I was not doing anything to him,” Penelope began to explain herself. “And most of all, he did not seem to mind.”
“Do not touch him,” the boy chided, waving his fingers to call the dog back towards him.
“Get behind me,” the boy instructed the animal. “What have I told you about cozying up to strangers?”
