L Is For Leonard Hofstadter

Leonard parked carefully and gritting his teeth, braced himself for the pelting rain before he slammed open his car door. Still, the driving sheets of water pounded into him in a torrent before he could jog across the parking lot and into the crowded coffee shop.

Safe haven though it was, the distance from the car to the entrance seemed miles long, and he shook his head wildly when he finally burst through the door.

He dripped cascading wet drops from every available surface and pore and stood guiltily in the lobby portion of Coffee Nips, his neighborhood java café, for a couple of minutes.

Pretending to seriously study the posted menu with an apologetic expression, he felt certain that the coffee shop's management must resent the rain splatters.

However, no one said anything to him, so he pulled out his wallet and ordered a steaming cup, paid, generously doctored it with cream and sugar, and sank down with relief at one of the empty tables.

Sighing, he wrapped both hands around the warm cup and relaxed before scanning the dining room to check out other patrons as he sipped.

He had begun the process of swallowing the first steamy drops when he heard a man's voice raised enough to carry across the entire restaurant. At once a female voice followed, obviously from the same conversation, but her voice reflected a desperate, pleading note, instead.

Swiveling in his seat, Leonard easily identified the noisy patrons.

The couple sat unsteadily in a small booth caddy corner from him. The man wore camouflage pants with a long sleeved tee, and sported hair close cropped enough to identify him as active military. Muscular, he looked to be in excellent shape and in his early thirties.

Leonard shuddered at the man's physique. He wouldn't want to meet the guy in a dark alley.

The woman's appearance lay on the opposite end of the spectrum. Pale and washed out looking, she seemed to shrink back against the faux leather back cushion of the booth. She appeared exhausted, or maybe just resigned.

When she noticed Leonard studying her she glanced uncomfortably away, running a hand through shapeless chestnut hair.

Listless, Leonard thought to himself- she looked listless.

Leonard focused on the imitation marble table top and decided to mind his own business. The couple, the GI Joe and the mousey female, could deal with their own issues.

He adjusted his glasses and crinkled his nose, taking another soothing sip of his coffee.

Setting it down, he drew several smiley faces around the Styrofoam cup rim with his fingertip.

A couple of minutes later, though, the same man's voice rose even higher than had occurred the first time, and the woman's replies spilled out with an undertone of an even more desperate quality.

Leonard's head jerked up at that, and he saw that a handful of other patrons openly stared at the dysfunctional couple right along with him.

Noting the collective gasp from the witnesses and realizing that he was the center of attention, the man jumped up so quickly that his chair teetered. The woman scrambled to follow, righted the unbalanced chair, and in her haste dropped her purse.

The contents scattered across the floor and the man swore out loud as she hurried to gather them.

Grabbing her by the arm as she corralled a plastic lipstick tube he yanked her upright and ordered, "Enough! We're going!"

She cried out as his grip tightened painfully and without logically thinking through the consequences, Doctor Leonard Hofstadter stood up and blocked their path.

"Turn her arm loose now," he commanded, wringing his hands.

The demand coming from such an unmatched opponent surprised the man and he stopped abruptly, causing the female to knock into him.

That fueled his anger even further and he shoved her away from him with a volley of curses and insults.

She cringed from the vicious words, shutting her eyes as if that would stymie the rage, and just stood helplessly under the abuse.

Once again, Leonard reacted.

Nervously clasping and unclasping his hands, he initiated eye contact with the trembling woman. "Why don't you go sit back down and drink some coffee? You have no business with someone talking to you this way or treating you this way."

The man towered over Leonard by at least six inches, and could conceivably batter him to a pulp.

Angry that Leonard had interfered, he quickly replaced the physicist as his opponent instead of his female partner and sucked in an audible breath of outrage.

Crossing both hands like a music conductor, Leonard cut off the tirade before the man could start. Holding up his palm towards the hothead he ordered firmly, "Get out now, and save yourself from yourself. Otherwise, when the police show to answer this complaint you will leave in handcuffs. Personally, all that concerns me at this point is for you to leave here, right now, and to leave her alone."

Instantly the man balled up his right fist. Gazing from one wall of the coffee bar to the other, he suddenly slammed a five dollar bill down on the tabletop.

Then incredibly, the man followed Leonard's instructions.

He started to respond but then stopped and stalked to the exit door.

Yanking it violently, he targeted Leonard and the woman with a barrage of curses as he slammed the door so hard the glass shook and then disappeared from sight.

As the door slammed behind him the diners broke out into a spontaneous burst of applause for Leonard, calling out words of congratulation and praise.

Embarrassed, he brushed off the tributes to him and crossed to where the woman now stood surrounded by other customers.

Smiling gratefully and sliding gently into a chair, she spoke shakily as she rubbed her temples, "Thank you for standing up for me. Jacob- that's my boyfriend's name- Jacob really scares me sometimes. His temper just escalates and explodes over the smallest things. As grateful as I am, I can't believe you risked yourself. He could have killed you if there had been a fight."

The cashier interrupted and assured them that he had called 911 minutes earlier, at the beginning of the scene, and had reported a domestic dispute.

One of the female patrons patted the woman's shoulder and spoke firmly. "This is not the first time he has gotten physical with you, is it?"

With a shake of her head, the woman confirmed her suspicion.

She wiped her eyes, and a man standing close to her grabbed a napkin and gently patted the tears on her cheek.

Licking her lips, she addressed all of them softly. "This is it, then. This is the last time. I'm tired of going back to the same situation. It never gets better and it always get worse."

The jangling of the front door stopped the explanation as a Pasadena city police officer entered.

The other patrons slowly drifted from the victim, sharing words of encouragement as they left.

Leonard located his almost full cup of coffee and called good bye to the woman.

"Take care of yourself, and please let this officer help you now. Your boyfriend- he scared me," Leonard admitted.

She gave him a wobbly smile in reply. "I understand. Why did you confront him, then?"

Leonard paused and held the door open as he answered her.

"I learned a long time ago that since I would probably always be the smallest in the room, I had to learn to be the smartest in the room if I wanted to be a real man."

With that, he closed the door and ran back through the rain to his car.