Page 19 of Positively, Penelope

Penelope

From: Izzy Edgewood

To: Penelope Edgewood, Luke Edgewood

Date: September5

Subject: Re: Babysitting and basements!

Luke was right. Again.

You are safe and even making new friends while I’m freaking out about your welfare. I’m glad to learn that you were not devoured by ghosts or a Venus flytrap, but next time you are in a live video chat with me and the reception goes off, please return to a place with reception and text me that you are not dead.

Love,

Izzy

PS: I woke up at five thirty for this, Penelope! Just remember that!

From: Penelope Edgewood

To: Izzy Edgewood, Luke Edgewood

Date: September5

Subject: Re: Babysitting and basements!

Luke isn’t always right, Izzy. Saying so only encourages his sense of superiority. But I will try to remember to text you if we are disconnected in the future. It’s not common, of course, for me to be swept away into a mysterious storage basement, but shouldsomething similar happen again, I’ll make sure to set your heart at ease.

Gwynn and I got along so well and have similar hopes for The Darling House, but since she is still in college, she doesn’t come into town except on random weekends. She wants to take a position at the theater once she graduates because it’s her dream to support the place she’s loved so much since childhood. I think she mentioned something about one day owning the theater. Hurrah for female business owners!

It did make me think of Ashby.

The muffins were a hit! I didn’t have any left after the meeting and there were only five of us present. Mr.Lewis Gray, of course, didn’t come and Alec is still out of town. Apart from them, there is Matt, Gwynn, me, Evelyn (the secretary), and Lars (the facilities manager). There’s also a very sweet volunteer named Dani. It appears that Matt is highly involved in the productions (it seems like Alec used to be but hasn’t been as available in the past few years), so... there’s another possible reason for a financial slump. I’ll know more once I see the productions in action.

Love,

Penelope

PS: Matt’s asked me not to show Iris any princess movies so she won’t get a fairy-tale idea about romance. I’m trying to decide betweenMary Poppins,Toy Story, andTangled. (Becausereally,Tangledis about a young woman trying to be free and eventually get back to her parents. Nothing too fairy-tale-ish about that.)

Text from Luke to Penelope:I’m not sure whether to be proud or not that you intended to massacre inanimate (or undead) objects with the Swiss Army knife I got you for your birthday. However, I’ve seen how you wield a toothbrush when scared, so I have no doubt it was one of the most entertaining roles you’ve ever played.

Penelope:You’re supposed to be easier to ignore from across the world. Though I was thankful for the knife. It works great on apples.

From: Gwynn Gray

To: Penelope Edgewood

Date: September6

Subject: Budding friendship?

It was such a pleasure to meet you today, though I wish it had been under different circumstances. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a person’s face turn so pale as yours when we found you in the storage room. Please don’t mind my brother too much. He has one of the best hearts in the world, but since it’s been terribly broken, he’s not keen on showing it to strangers.

I think we are going to get along just fine. The Darling House is in desperate need of you, as you well know, and I only wish I could be around more often to brainstorm some creativity together, but now you have my email and I’ll attach my cell phone number too. Already I can tell we have some similar views on how things should change around here if we’re truly going to make a difference. Perhaps you’ll have more influence than me, since both my brothers and my grandfather think I am too young to really handle the business side of things, despite the fact thatI graduate in December with a degree in business. (I’ve also told them that I got the degree for the sole purpose of making a difference in the family business. Men can be so infuriating sometimes, especially brothers.)

Anyway, I’d love to see some of your ideas. You mentioned making graphics and had some new website design ideas? Perhaps, as an insider to The Darling House, I could give you my perspective.

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