Howard listened to the young man graciously but modestly accept his father's accolades. Closing the freezer door with more force than he intended, he pushed the cart out of the frozen section with a scowl on his face.
-0-0-0-0-
When the urgent knock shattered the silence, in a common and unspecial fashion, the last person Penny expected to see was Sheldon. "Have either of you heard from Amy?" he greeted them.
"No."
"Me neither, and I was expecting her here five minutes ago!" he said, tapping his watch. "Oh, six! Penny, I'm getting worried."
"Aw, that's sweet, how much you care. Relax, she probably got stuck at a red light."
"Maybe." Sheldon considered, and made a face. "I'm waiting out front." He turned and moved quickly to the stairs. Smiling to herself, Penny closed the door.
Sheldon swiftly descended. Stepping off the last flight he passed a lady. "Excuse me."
"Sheldon."
He stopped and turned, studying the woman again. It was Amy, he realized. She had parted her hair differently and did not wear hair clips, so it flowed freely down her shoulders. She had put on pink lipstick, and was wearing a dressy blue shirt and jeans. "Amy," he said, trying to take it all in. "What did you do to yourself?!"
"Don't you like it?"
"Yes! But it was the old you I loved."
Amy ran a hand over her bodied hair. "It's still me."
"Well, the lipstick is a bit much," Sheldon grumbled. "I don't want it rubbing off on me; I'd never hear the end of it." He gazed into her made up eyes. "Why?" he asked simply.
"Penny has made it debilitatingly clear that I have no fashion sense. I want to show her how feminine I can be." Then she paused and shrugged. "And it might be more accurate to say that it's nearing the anniversary of our first date, and I wanted to do something special."
"You didn't have to change yourself for me."
"It's not just for you. I'm tired of people saying I'm not..." Her voice trailed off as she felt a rush of embarrassment.
"Not what?" Sheldon asked caringly.
Amy met his gaze shyly. "Woman enough."
"Well," he answered, as they began ascending the stairwell, "If it makes you feel any better, people have often implied I'm not man enough."
They trudged the stairs together in compatible silence. They reached the top of the stairs at the same instant Penny and Leonard came out of 4B, and they stopped and stared at Amy.
"Amy?" Leonard asked.
"Yes," Amy said succinctly.
"Wow, you look...good," Penny told her.
Amy's brows went a little lower. "I know you mean to compliment me; but the surprise in your voice is insulting."
"Sorry, it's...the jeans."
Amy flashed her a toothy smile. "They're new."