Alvin had never been good at reading a room, but was too lost in his thoughts to realize Penny was also quiet. He'd always been good with a comfortable silence, but wasn't very good at recognizing if it was comfortable or not. He never expected anyone to fill the lull if he was spacing out.

He could however, read between the lines at Penny's invitation and decided to add her workshop to his rotation of haunts. Between the hospital, the greenhouse and now here, he would have plenty of places to keep him busy and out of his own house. Being home all of the time still felt a bit like a failure, so the more time he spent out of the house the better. He'd taken the gallery out of his rotation, once he knew he wouldn't be running into Miss Thompsett anymore, but maybe he'd give it a chance every once in a while. Alvin was starting to come to terms with the fact that he needed people around him more than he initially thought. Uncomplicated people like Zinnia and Penny, to keep him company even when he was in his head.

"Me neither," Alvin admitted, passing her a wry smile. They could be not-alone together and work on brooms at he might start feeling some kind of normal. A new normal, but some semblance of normal nevertheless. Maye he was reading too much into her invitation, and he didn't know Penny all that well outside of professionally, but was starting to think maybe she had something she was avoiding too. "I get quiet a lot," he warned. "But it's mostly because I get caught up in my head." It shouldn't be a surprise to her. "But just throw something at me and I'll snap out of it." This time he passed her more of a grin, hoping to break the ice a little.