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“Penny?”
“Helping you.”
I’d had a couple of messages from Penny that I replied to on my walk over. After assuring her I was fine, I told her I’d call her later and explain why it took so long to reply, since I had to clean the church.
“I was going to call you as I cleaned,” I told her. “You don’t need to be here.”
“Name one TV show or movie where the aftermath of a college party didn’t look like Hazmat was required.” She wrinkles her nose as she picks up an empty wine glass by the stem. “This place is gross.”
“Exactly. You don’t need to help.”
Penny sets the glass back down. “I don’t see anyone else here, helping. And I doubt anyone’s coming. Besides, if I’d smoked enough crack to try to be in the Elite, you’d be here helping me.”
“I think I love you.”
“You do,” she says with a nod. “It’s hard not to. But you need to keep those feelings platonic, because I’m already in a committed throuple.”
As she joins my side, I turn back and survey the church with her. No matter how long I stare, it doesn’t look any better. “I came up here to see how bad it was, and what I’d need to clean. I’ll head back and get some supplies.”
“This place may be more club than church, but I’m willing to bet…” Penny frowns and looks up at one of the murals before sighing. “If I was a gambling person, which I’m not—I bet this place is like my synagogue. There’s got to be a cleaning closet somewhere.”
“Penny, I’m going to remind you that we’ve drank in this place before,” I tell her in a theatrical whisper. “On a Sunday, too.”
She turns, folding her arms. “FYI, Saturday is the Shabbat, not Sunday. But that was before you moved into Lucifer’s house. While you’re in there, I’d rather not piss off any god, especially if we’re going to be asking favors of him in the future.”
I knew she was trying to make light of the situation, but I wasn’t sure any god was going to help me with what I was prepared to do anyway.
While I start collecting glasses, Penny walks around the room, disappearing behind every door she can open. It’s not long before she’s carrying a stack of cardboard boxes in.
“Good news,” she says, setting the pile down. “Whoever set up left all the boxes for the glasses, plates and silverware.” She points at the box. On top is the JKU crest with Dining Services printed below it. “Who’d have thought the college would supply the means for underage drinking and debauchery. I was expecting a service from the city.”
“I’m sure the paperwork says something like, student-teacher conference.”
“I also found the cleaning supplies.” She pulls out two brand new pack of rubber gloves from her hoodie pocket, passing one to me. “I’m taking the glasses, and you can deal with the trash.”
XXVI
Tori
With Penny’s help, it was a little after two before we finished cleaning the church.
When we went down to the dining hall, I’d spoken to Doris who leant me the keys to the van so we could return all of the glasses and the hot food table. What I hadn’t realized then was that we’d also need to wash everything, so I promised I would do that after the breakfast service.
Tired and somehow aching more than I had been yesterday, I was in too much of a daze to care that as well as the dining hall being almost empty, neither Syn, Royal, nor Gemini had showed up for breakfast until about fifteen minutes before the kitchen closed.
There’s still a chance one of the three could arrive, but if I don’t eat now, I won’t. Despite the number of students eating, the kitchen has still provided as many breakfast options as they usually do, so I grab a couple of breakfast muffins and sit with Penny to eat them.
“Bubbe wants me to go spend Thanksgiving with her.” Penny looks as dead as I feel. Unlike normal, she’d arrived halfway through breakfast. She’d eaten quickly and returned her plate before turning to coffee. By my count, she was already on her third cup.
“Are you going?”
Penny nods, although she frowns as she does. “Jake is coming back from Philadelphia, so it will be easy for the three of us to see each other if we’re all at home.” The ‘three’ Penny is referring to are her boyfriend, Jake, her girlfriend, Nicole, and herself. “But I want you to come, too.”
“You were quite clear yesterday about your throuple status. And if I recall correctly, your grandmother isn’t my biggest fan.”
“No, but she likes you more than Syn does.” Penny glances over her shoulder towards the door. “Where is he, anyway?”
This is the first time Syn hasn’t bothered coming to breakfast—not that I’m worried about him. I’m not surprised he didn’t bother to tell me, either. He’s probably arranged for someone to serve him breakfast in bed.
