Birthdays were supposed to be something that people looked forward to every year. At least, they were when the person was still young. Penelope had long ago stopped looking forward to her birthday. It had become nothing more than another day, and that was that. Everyone in the house had practically been begging her to come up with something she wanted to do, but Penelope came up with nothing. Lilly had asked her what her favorite foods were, and that was about all Penelope was able to talk about.
So when Penelope woke up, she wasn't expecting for her bedroom door to be fully decked out, or to walk downstairs to find that the living room was fully decorated with teal and pink balloons, streamers, flowers, little things that were dangling from the ceiling, and a big sign that read "Theres no better thing than adulting. Happy 18th Birthday!". Penelope didn't know how they managed to put so much stuff out for her overnight, but it was almost overwhelming.
Penelope's jaw hit the floor the moment she laid her eyes on it all. Lilly was busy in the kitchen, working on something that smelled sinfully delicious. When Penelope wandered in, she noticed that the table was set with the same teal and pink birthday themed tableware. "Wow. Did you do all this for me?" she asked.
Lilly smiled. "Welcome to the family." She winked. "We go out for everyone every year. Take a seat. Breakfast is ready."
Penelope did as she was asked and sat down at the table. Lilly sat a large glass of orange juice in front of her, along with a freshly made stack of pancakes, topped with strawberries, syrup, and whipped cream. "This looks delicious! Is it ok if I wait for Derek and Dan to come down?"
"They've already gone to work. Derek wanted to go in as early as he could so that he can come home early. He said he'll be home at lunch, and then he is going to take you out to do I-don't-know-what."
Penelope stuffed her disappointment and instead beamed. "Did he give you a hint?"
"Nope. He just said don't plan anything between lunch and dinner. That's literally all I got out of him."
"Would you tell me if he said anything else?" Penelope pressed.
"I would not." She winked. "Now you just sit there and enjoy your breakfast. I've gotta go run a couple of errands, but feel free to do whatever you'd like."
"Okay. Thank you, Lilly! This is so great!" She delved into her breakfast, letting out a delightful moan as she took her first bite. "Ohmygosh this is so good!"
"Of course it is. It was made with love." Lilly winked at her again and then took her leave.
Penelope took her sweet time with eating her breakfast before making her way to the family room with a sketchbook in her hand. She was growing to enjoy being able to do anything she wanted, and what could be better than sitting down to watch a movie?
The family room was set up almost like a small theater. There were cushy seats that reclined in front of a large TV. A fancy surround sound system was set up around the room so inconspicuously that you almost couldn't even tell where the speakers were. She picked a chair that was center to the TV and curled up in it as she found a newer rom-com to watch.
As the movie started, Penelope picked up her sketchbook and started to draw. Part of her paid attention to her drawing, while the other part of her paid attention to the movie. So this was what it was like to have a "normal" birthday.
And it was only the beginning of the day, too!
Around 11, Derek messaged Penelope, telling her to get ready to go out. She wasn't sure what they were going to do, but she had just the thing! It was the embellished jeans and purple top that she had picked up from Versace. She chose to put her hair up in a cute little messy bun, something she had been working on (and almost mastered) since Jezz had done it for her.
When Derek got home, Penelope couldn't help but notice that he had stopped and stared at her. Blushing, she asked "What?"
"You are just so beautiful. You know that?"
Penelope was still having a hard time believing that she looked even remotely as good as Derek claimed, but she had finally given up on arguing. Instead, she thanked him.
"I'll be right back." He promised, going upstairs to change. He came back down wearing a tight shirt that showed off the muscles in his arms and upper body, as well as a pair of jeans. To top off the outfit, he wore a cowboy hat.
"Nice hat." Penelope said with a light giggle. This was the first time she had seen him wear a hat of any kind. She was almost awestruck by how much it made him look sexier than he already was.
Derek tipped it in response before extending his arm out for her to take. "Shall we, milady?"
Penelope took it with grace, and asked "What are we doing?"
"You'll see." He smirked. He led Penelope out to the patio, down the path through Lilly's garden and opened the gate that enclosed the backyard. There was a somewhat worn path that led out to the stables.
"Oh, no. Derek I don't think I can-"
"Nuh uh! Don't turn me down yet. Give it a chance." He cooed at her.
Although hesitant, Penelope allowed him to continue leading her to the stables. When they reached them, they were greeted by a lady who was clad in plaid, a pair of jeans, cowgirl boots, and her own hat. "Mister Filmore. G'mornin!" she said in a very southern accent. Penelope wasn't good with them, and had no idea where she could have possibly been from. Wherever it was, she definitely fit the part of a traditional cowgirl.
"Good morning, Aubrey! This is Penelope, our latest addition to the household. Penelope, this is Aubrey. She is our stable lead."
Aubrey extended her hand to Penelope. "That's right, Miss Penelope. I take care of all of the horses here. I make sure they are fed, trained, watered, and have everything they need to be taken care of. Now I heard you might be a little bit nervous about riding."
"Well, yeah. Horses are big and, I, uh. Well I don't wan to die, I guess?"
"Now that's not gonna happen on my watch, Little Lady. All our horses here are good tempered. Minus ole Max. He's Big D's horse. Only because Big D is crazy and likes a challenge. We're gonna stay away from ole Max, today. I pulled miss Daisy out for you to get to know today."
Aubrey led them inside the stables, where there were not two, but three horses tied up to be ridden. She stopped at a beautiful white horse with light brown patches on her body. Her tail was braided and her mane looked like it had been freshly brushed. "This is Miss Daisy. Shes as tame as they come. Such a sweet girl. Aren't you, Daisy?" Aubrey reached over and gave Daisy a little pat. Then, she beckoned Penelope to do the same.
"Now, horses are like any other animal. They can sense our emotions, and they are gonna know if you're nervous or scared. So we're gonna take some time to get to know Miss Daisy first. You can stick your hand out gently. There ya go! And just let her smell you for a moment. And don't forget to talk to her. Say hello! She loves ear scratches."
"Hi Daisy." Penelope said softly, although nervously. "You're a beautiful girl, aren't you?" She asked as she held her hand out flat with her palm up. Daisy reached down and nuzzled it with her lips, as if she were looking for a treat.
"Oh, now she thinks you're gonna give her a snack. Here. She likes peppermints." She pulled out a little candy from her pocket and unwrapped it, placing it in Penelope's flat hand. Daisy nuzzled it as she sniffed it, and then took it out of Penelope's hand.
Penelope giggled as the horse's lips flapped around her hand and it took the mint. She crunched on it lovingly while bobbing her head up and down in approval. Then, when it was gone, she nuzzled Penelope for more.
"Now, that's all you get, girl. You're on a diet, remember? You been stealing too much hey from the boys latley!" she scolded.
Penelope giggled some more and cautiously reached up to scratch Daisy behind her ear. The horse huffed her approval. As nervous as she was, Penelope found that she was quickly becoming attached to this magnificent animal, who was being so gentle with her.
Aubrey spent the next half an hour showing her how she cared for Daisy, how she brushed her coat, cleaned out her hoofs, and made sure that she was ready to ride. When they got done with that, she instructed Penelope on how to mount the saddle, and started leading her outside to the corral to teach her basic movements and commands.
At first, Penelope was scared, almost cowering down as she sat on to of Daisy, but the horse neighed at her and bobbed her head, almost as if to say "I got you!" They trotted in circles as Penelope learned how to use the reigns to steer left and right. How urge the horse to slow down and move faster. By the time they had made several laps around, she was giggling and laughing as Daisy carried her along.
"Look at you! Already a pro beginner! I'd say you're bout ready to hit the trails, girl!"
"Thank you." Penelope beamed. "This has been really fun."
"Well good. I'm glad you're enjoying it, because we're not done, yet!" Aubrey led them back towards the stables, waving for Derek- who had been leaning over the fence watching intently- to come back inside. He did so, approaching his dark brown horse and mounting him as the two women got back inside.
"Now we're gonna have ourselves a nice little trail ride. This little man that Derek just got on? Well that's Kyle. And this sweet girl right here is Moonbeam. Now Boss, you got the reigns of this ride and I'm just gonna follow behind in case y'all need anything."
"Okay!" Penelope exclaimed enthusiastically. And with that, Derek led them out of the stable, through the corral, and onto a well-established trail.