Free Web NovelChapter 62: Chapter 62: Dana’s room
Percy and Dana stood in front of his house.
"So," Percy said, already reaching for the door but not quite turning the handle yet, "I’ve been a bit busy lately. Haven’t had time to clean."
Dana said nothing.
He glanced at her. She was looking at the house, not at him, clearly unmoved by the disclaimer.
Percy sighed and opened the door.
He showed her through it room by room, narrating things she hadn’t asked about. Dana followed along quietly, taking it all in, until she stopped in the sitting room and tilted her head at the arrangement of the furniture.
"You didn’t do this," she said.
"What?"
"The furniture. This isn’t how you’d set a room up."
"How would you know that."
"Because I know you." She crossed her arms, studying the placement of the chairs, the angle of the small table by the window. "This looks like Beatrix’s work."
Percy felt the goosebumps crawl up his arm before he could stop them.
"Women’s intuition is a terrifying thing."
"I didn’t know," he said, which wasn’t quite a lie. "Didn’t have time to ask."
Dana smiled. "I was surprised to hear you two separated, honestly. Back at the orphanage I was sure you’d end up together. The way you two were together almost everyday hour at the orphanage."
Percy looked down, smiling awkwardly. "Yeah."
"It’s okay." She bumped his shoulder lightly with hers. "That’s just life. No one can predict it."
He led her further up the stairs, stopping in front of a closed door.
"This was Beatrix’s room," he said, then cleared his throat. "Cough cough."
He opened it.
Dust hung in the air thick enough to catch the light from the hallway. Dana stepped inside and ran a finger along the windowsill, lifting it to show him the grey film coating her skin.
Percy’s face went red with embarrassment.
Dana sighed and rolled up her sleeves.
"Where do you keep the cleaning supplies?"
A knock sounded from downstairs before he could answer.
They went down together. Percy opened the door to find Mrs. Callyst standing on the step, already smiling, her expression shifting into mild surprise the moment she spotted Dana behind him.
"Oh, my , what a pretty young lady."
Dana blushed.
Percy stepped in quickly. "This is my sister, Dana from the orphanage. Dana, this is Mrs. Callyst, my neighbour."
"Hello," Dana said, a little shy, ducking her head slightly.
"Well, aren’t you just lovely." Mrs. Callyst’s warmth came through immediately,
Dana relaxed a notch.
"she reminds me of Sister Mara," she thought.
She opened up a little after that, and Percy filled in the rest also why Dana was here, what was happening, the orphanage, all of it in a few brief sentences.
Mrs. Callyst nodded along, then turned the conversation sharply.
"Is her room ready?"
Percy hesitated.
Mrs. Callyst’s eyes narrowed slightly, already guessing the answer. "Don’t tell me you put her in Beatrix’s old room and haven’t touched it since she left."
Percy said nothing, which was answer enough. He smiled helplessly.
Dana chuckled.
"It’s fine, I can clean it myself," she said.
"Nonsense. I’m helping. My old heart won’t settle otherwise." Mrs. Callyst was already rolling up her sleeves before anyone could argue further.
Percy tried to stop her but was too stubborn to listen and finally he had to give in
The evening went into cleaning after that with dusting, rearranging, wiping down surfaces that hadn’t seen a cloth in long time .
At some point Dana slipped off to refill the water basin and stepped into the bathroom.
She stopped.
Two toothbrushes sat side by side near the basin, and she recognised them both immediately , it was the same brush Percy and Beatrix had used back at the orphanage, she was sure about it , since they were made to make toothbrush on their own as the nuns provided the materials , she along with Percy and Beatrix had made theirs together with unique design for each .
Her expression went complicated for a moment. Her gaze lingering on the toothbrush of Beatrix .
She shook it off and refilled the basin like she’d come to do.
By the time the room was mostly in order, the second sun had nearly dipped below the rooftops. Mrs. Callyst offered to cook dinner and insisted they come over to her place to eat, since it was getting late and none of them had touched the kitchen yet.
Once Dana’s belongings were set down properly, Mrs. Callyst eyed the sparse room and made another offer.
"I’ve got some old furniture I could give you. Might not be exactly what a young girl wants, but it’s something."
"I’ll take her shopping," Percy said. "Get her properly set up later."
Mrs. Callyst raised an eyebrow at him. "And will you be financially alright for that?"
Percy puffed his chest out slightly and reached into his pouch, pulling out three silver coins , careful not to reveal the rest and held them up for both of them to see.
Dana’s eyebrows lifted in surprise at the amount.
"Well, look at you," Mrs. Callyst said, genuinely pleased. "Thoughtful boy."
Percy said nothing, but internally thanked both Mr. Marco and Mr. Norman .
---
Mrs. Callyst’s house greeted them with five small rulers of the place that appeared from separate corners the moment the door opened.
Dana stopped walking entirely. As one of the larger one, an orange tabby, walked straight into her arms like it had already decided. She stood back up with it settled against her chest, purring steadily with no intention of leaving.
Percy glanced around. "I don’t see Mr. Callyst."
Mrs. Callyst waved a hand without turning. "Gone fishing in the mountains with his friends."
"What a strong old man, would i even be that active at his age?"
---
Dana drifted into the kitchen almost immediately. Percy followed as far as the doorway and stopped, recognizing within the first minute there was no space for him in whatever was happening.
Mrs. Callyst instructed. Dana asked questions. Within ten minutes she was cutting vegetables, Mrs. Callyst adjusting her grip once, Dana correcting it and not repeating the mistake.
Percy went and sat with the other cat.
---
Dinner was simple and good. The conversation moved easily between Dana and Mrs. Callyst, Percy contributing occasionally but mostly eating and listening.
When the plates were empty he stood and stacked the dishes before either could argue.
"Sit," he said. With a firm tone.
They chuckled at his decisiveness as they agreed to take up the offer .
He worked through the dishes steadily, their conversation drifting behind him, which he decided not to pry on.
He was setting the last dish aside to dry when it reached him.
A sensation came to him.
