"We have the creamy, cheesy mushroom crepe," Hazel said. "I went mushroom picking yesterday, found loads of them. They're nutty and savory."
"So tasty," Penny said. "He'll take it!"
Penny grabbed a metal stick with a black bat cutout with the number thirteen on it.
"Morticia made these," Penny told me. "Or maybe Lilith. I always think that it must be weird to see someone else walking around with your face." She looked up at me. "But then, I guess you must be used to it."
"I don't have a twin," I said, pulling out her chair for her.
"All your brothers—you guys look nearly identical," she said.
"My father worked hard to find sister wives that were all slim, blonde, and blue-eyed," I said dryly.
"What was it like?" Penny asked softly.
I sipped my coffee. Maybe it was the plastic straw, maybe all of Penny's energy was rubbing off on me, but I didn't blow her off.
"It was…" I looked out the window. "Difficult. My father is not a good man, but he liked to build himself up as if he was a god. On a good day, he was neglectful, on a bad day, abusive. He didn't even drink—the cult rules banned alcohol—so you can't even blame his behavior on addiction. He was, he is, simply a terrible person."
Penny reached across the table and took my hand, softly rubbing her thumb across my knuckles. She didn't say anything, for which I was grateful.
Hazel came over with our food.
"This looks amazing!" Penny said, releasing my hand.
Hazel looked between us but didn't say anything. There was a small, knowing smile on her face as she slid the plates in front of us.
"Enjoy!"
"Look at these pancakes," Penny said, jiggling the plate. "Aren't they amazing? They're so fluffy." Penny drenched the stack of pancakes with syrup and took a huge bite.
"So good," she said with a little moan that made my teeth rattle and my pants feel tight. She cut off a piece of the tall pancake and held it out to me. I gingerly took the fork from her hand.
"You're not going to let me feed you?" she teased.
"I can't be the only person appearing on the Harrogate Facebook group day in and day out," I replied.
"You spice it up!" she said. "Otherwise it's people complaining about the train schedule and the state of their grass. Do you like it?" she asked excitedly as I chewed the fluffy piece of pancake.
"It does taste like fall," I acknowledged.
"I know. Isn't it awesome?"
"The crepe is pretty good, too," I said, taking another bite.
"Better than Bulletproof coffee?" Penny asked.
"Yes," I admitted.
She looked expectantly at my plate.
"What?"
"Can I try some?"
I cut off a piece and held it out to her. She leaned forward and ate it off the fork.
She made that moan again. "It tastes like the forest in autumn!"
