The autumn wind was bleak. George sat by the window, quietly watching Robin busy at work in the distance.
He watched as pieces of wood were erected one by one, watched as Pam rolled up her sleeves to hold the ladder, sweating profusely but with a blissful smile on her face.
After watching for a while, George covered his legs with a thick wool blanket beside him, then wheeled his chair carefully toward the door.
As usual, he prepared to retrieve the newspaper and mail from the mailbox.
Most of the time, Lewis would remember to place the mail toward the front of the box so George could reach it.
But sometimes there was too much mail, and it might get pushed to the back. Slowly and carefully emerging from the house, George stopped in front of the mailbox and reached his hand inside.
From afar, Penny noticed this scene.
She hesitated for a long time, carefully observing George.
After so many years of interaction, she knew George was quite sensitive about being helped by others.
Especially those small tasks that ordinary people could easily accomplish but he could never manage no matter what.
But the cold wind was biting, and visibly, George had already begun pounding his legs hard as they throbbed with pain from the cold.
Just as Penny was about to step forward, a hand suddenly reached into the mailbox. "Your mail."
Ron said, handing the letters to George, then before George could react with anger, placed the Flame Orb he had brought on George's lap.
"Also, happy birthday, Mr. George."
The intense heat of the Flame Orb now passed through George's thick blanket to his legs, and the pain instantly subsided.
Along with it, George's expression, which had been about to erupt, also softened.
"You still remember my birthday?" George looked up at Ron's face. "What is this?"
"A magical orb," Ron explained. "It's a bit hot, but if you use cloth to separate it, I think the temperature should be just right."
The leeks saved up from spring had long been used up. Although he had used some Cheri Berries afterward to suppress the pain in his legs, the effect was ultimately not as good as the leeks.
George had been worrying about this winter.
Though he didn't say it, and acted as if he didn't want to participate in any festivals at all.
But in reality, he quite liked squeezing into crowds, doing nothing, watching young people fooling around, enjoying the long-lost hustle and bustle of life.
"Thank you——" George took the newspaper and thanked Ron.
By now, Evelyn had also gotten up inside. Seeing George wasn't in the house, she hurriedly ran out in panic. Seeing George sitting by the mailbox chatting amiably with Ron, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She then raised a smile, nodded at Ron, and called over to Penny, who was blowing on her hands in the cold not far away.
"What's wrong, Granny Evelyn?" Penny looked at Evelyn, asking confused.
"Cold, aren't you, child." Evelyn reached out to touch Penny's icy cold hand, then said: "Go inside and pour some hot tea. You can also bring some for Robin and the others."
The trailer was in the back mountains. In Penny's current situation, even if she wanted to host everyone, she didn't have the means.
So Evelyn added: "These next few days, you can use our kitchen whenever you like. Consider it Granny's housewarming gift."
Hearing this, Penny didn't refuse further. She followed Evelyn toward the door, greeted Ron and George when she saw them, then entered the house.
Inside, Penny followed Evelyn into the kitchen, while Ron sat with George in front of the television.
Penny glanced from afar at Ron chatting casually with George, then cleaned the kettle and placed it on the stove.
It was much warmer inside than outside. She rubbed her fingers and took the teapot from Evelyn's hands.
"Let me wash it, Granny."
Evelyn watched her with a cheerful smile. Having lived most of her life, if she couldn't guess where the money for Penny's new house came from, she would have truly lived in vain.
Now looking at Penny, then at Ron, she felt more and more satisfied with what she saw.
Evelyn had practically watched Penny grow up since she was little. When she was scolded by Pam, or sitting alone in a corner wiping away tears, Evelyn would always bring her home, then bake her some small cookies or a little cake.
Penny would sit quietly in the corner eating, while sneaking glances at George watching television, carefully curling herself into a ball.
"Shall I bake some more cookies?" Evelyn asked, taking ingredients out from the refrigerator.
"That would be great." Seeing the water wouldn't boil for a while, Penny agreed.
"I still remember when you were little, only this big." Evelyn gestured with her hands and said: "So tiny back then, just sitting under trees reading books."
Penny smiled shyly, kneading the dough while saying: "That was so long ago."
Evelyn laughed upon hearing this, "Yes, time flies. So many years have passed in a blink."
Once the water boiled, Penny poured the hot water into the teapot. Just as she was about to find another tray for the cups, Ron was called over by Evelyn.
"I'll carry it." Ron took the teapot, turning his head to look at Evelyn talking with George.
Learning that Ron had given him a magical warming device, so George wouldn't suffer too much going out now, Evelyn wheeled George over.
"Let's go, we'll go together."
Penny was startled for a moment, then quickly arranged the cups on a tray and followed behind Ron.
At the construction site, a gust of cold wind blew, hitting the sweat on Robin's face and making her shiver involuntarily.
"Come have some tea, dear." Evelyn looked up at Robin from below.
Robin paused, climbed down from the ladder, and took the cup Penny handed her.
The cup walls were thick, warm in her hands without being too hot to hold. Robin took a sip of tea and felt the cold in her body dissipate considerably.
Pam was chatting with Evelyn and George at this moment, letting out bursts of laughter from time to time. She squinted her eyes, enjoying this moment of warmth.
Meanwhile, in Kalos, Cyllage City.
Abigail and Serena had walked for so many days, finally arriving in Cyllage City from Lumiose City. After challenging the Cyllage Gym, Abigail was now excitedly sharing her experiences during this time with Caroline over video.
——
Caroline listened while nodding, her gaze remaining on Abigail's smiling face.
"Oh right, today, they're building Penny's new house." Caroline suddenly remembered and shared with Abigail.
"So fast?" Abigail looked at Caroline in surprise.
Although she had long heard about Penny's wish, she knew that building a house was no small sum. She had originally thought this matter would take at least two years.
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