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Colin woke up to the sound of the rain hitting the window and an empty side of Penelope’s side of the bed. He knew that it must not haven’t been too long since she left the bed as her side still held her warmth.
“Pen? Where are you?” He whispered as he was still in the state of being between asleep and awake.
“Pen?” He asked again, checking to see if she was probably in the other room using the chamber pot. As she didn’t answer, Colin was confident to say she was not in the room. So the adventure to find his wife began.
After passing a few guestrooms, Colin found himself on the other side of the house moving towards his daughters’ rooms where he knew that his wife was. Soon he found himself leaning on the door frame of the room.
“Papa? Papa?” He heard his daughter questioning, in her baby babble, to his wife. Penelope was sitting on the rocking chair holding their daughter.
“Hush little baby, Papa had a very busy day, and he needs to sleep. Similar to what you should do too, Aggie.” Penelope said in a hushed tone, just in case Colin was still asleep.
“Do you want me to sing you a lullaby? I know you only like it when your Papa sings but we got to be quiet.” Penelope said, with a pout, because Colin did in fact know that Agatha only liked being serenaded when he did it.
“This lullaby reminds me of our story Aggie, I feel like you will like it.” Penelope said, clearing her throat.
‘Clear blue water, hide tide came and brought you in, And I could go on and on, on and on, and I will, Skies grew darker, currents swept you out again, and you were just gone and gone’
“Did you know, that your Papa, would always be leaving on tours, he would always write to me, but when he would leave, it almost always would leave a hole in my heart.”
‘Lantern burning, flickered in my mind for only you, But you’re still gone gone gone, Been losing grip on sinking ships, You showed up just in time’
As Penelope had Agatha in her arms, gently rocking her, Colin would think about those times too. At first it was for the thrill of going to new places, to discover something new. He was still young, and did not think much of anything, now he could not imagine being anywhere else but home.
‘Your kiss, my cheek, I watched you leave, your smile, my ghost, I fell to my knees, when you’re young you just run, but you came back to what you need’
“When your Papa first left, my dear Aggie, I felt as if my world had tumbled down. My own Papa had passed away, but nothing hurt more than knowing that your Papa was leaving. I cried in your aunt Eloise’s arms that night.” He heard her say gently stroking a finger on Aggie’s soft, rosy cheek.
‘This love is good, this love is bad, this love is alive back from the dead, oh, oh’
“After hearing your Papa say some hurtful words the season after, he tried very hard to get into my good gracious, he even tried to find me a husband Aggie!” Penelope exclaimed in a low chuckle. Colin, he too, needed to chuckle too. He still could not believe that he would go such extreme lengths to get their friendship back. But for Penelope, he would do anything.
‘These hands had to let it go free, And this love came back to me, oh oh, This love left a permanent mark, This love is glowing in the dark, These hands had to let it go free, And this love came back to me’
“When I told your Papa that you were growing inside of me, Aggie, you should have seen his face. He had the biggest smile and I could just see in his eyes that he truly was happy.”
“And I know that he will have that same smile when I tell him that he will be a Father again.” She said, causing Colin to let out a small gasp. He turned to look at Penelope and saw her smiling while now gracing Agatha’s face, finally being asleep.
“Is it.. Is it true?” He murmured in a low voice, careful to not awake the sleeping baby.
“Yes husband, it is true. You’ll be a Papa once again.” She replied carefully, passing Agatha to her father’s arms, so she could stand up as she was already tired from sitting too long.
“Dear wife, you can not imagine how happy I am right now. You have made me the happiest man in the world. I love you so much.” He said, as he was placing the baby in her cot.
“Penelope, I love you so much and I am forever grateful that you have accepted me as your husband, and has given me the opportunity to have two beautiful children.” He said, taking Penelope in his arms, giving her a deep kiss.