Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from The Big Bang Theory. I don't own any of the characters.
CHAPTER 1
After dreaming about it for years, Leonard finally found the time to put a special dream of him into action. A coast to coast road trip. He had told his roommate Sheldon and his friends Howard and Raj about this dream a while ago, and Howard and Raj immediately wanted to join Leonard on his trip as soon as it was possible. Now the time had come. Leonard, Howard and Raj used all of their annual vacation days, had saved enough money and were ready to start. They only knew such big undertakings from travel reports in magazines, books or television, so it would be a real adventure for them. Sheldon declined the offer to join them right from the moment Leonard told them all about his dream. He would only go on a coast to coast trip, if they would all sit in the comfort of an air-conditioned train.
Two weeks had passed since the three men started their road trip from coast to coast, which they wanted to do over the course of four weeks, starting in September and reaching the endpoint of their trip, New York City, by the end of the first week of October. A rental car, which they had booked for the entire trip, served as their means of transportation. In New York they would take a plane to travel back to California. To avoid tiredness during their journey, they took turns at driving every four hours. Now, at the beginning of the third week of their trip, they had already passed Las Vegas, where they spent some time gambling and visiting shows. Howard almost got involved with a hooker, which would have cost them a considerable amount of their travel budget, if Leonard hadn't intervened at the last minute. A few days after that they had an overnight stay in Salt Lake City, where Raj blunderingly carried away some minor bruises on his hand, when he tried to pull a stalling chocolate bar out of a vending machine. Then they had crossed the Rocky Mountains and made a detour to the Yellowstone National Park, where they spent a few days in a cabin, savoring the sublime nature and the great wildlife. After spending the last night in a motel near Cheyenne, Wyoming, they were now on their way to Des Moines in Iowa.
Howard was driving, when they passed the Nebraska sign at the Interstate 80. "Hey guys, we just entered the Cornhusker State."
"Oh cool! Then it's time for 'the Boss'." Leonard, who sat in the passenger seat took a CD out of the glovebox in front of him and put it into the player in the center console of his car. A few seconds later the sounds of the eponymous title track from Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album 'Nebraska' came out of the speakers in the car.
"Thankfully Sheldon wasn't interested to join us on our road trip." Raj remarked from the back seat.
"Absolutely." Howard agreed. "He constantly would have something to complain about."
Leonard smirked. "Although, it would have been fun to watch how he would've handled the bathroom in the Yellowstone cabin. There were some spots that looked a little bit unsanitary, to be honest."
"Yeah, he would have totally freaked out and would've spent the first day disinfecting the room because of all the breeding sites for germs," Raj said with a chuckle.
A few hours later Leonard took over the wheel. They were still driving on the Interstate 80 towards Des Moines. Suddenly a huge truck in front of them spun a big stone from the road, which loudly hit the windshield of their car with such intensity, that it caused a long crack from the left upper corner almost to the middle.
"Dammit!" Leonard cursed.
"What happened?", Howard asked startled. He slept in the passenger seat and now woke up from the noise the stone caused when it hit the windshield. Raj, who slept on the back seat, woke up as well and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
Leonard pointed at the crack. "A stone that was spun by a truck hit the windshield and caused a massive crack."
Howard's eyes opened wide. "Oh boy, yeah. Crap! We can't drive with this any longer. The windshield could burst."
Raj bent forward. "We need a new car."
Leonard was disgruntled. "Damn, you're right! We made such good time. We could have easily arrived at Des Moines in less than three hours."
"Where are we?" Howard asked.
"We just passed the city limits of Omaha, Nebraska." Leonard replied.
Thanks to modern technology they could connect with the internet via their smartphones and were able to find a subsidiary of their car rental company. Although damages of no fault of one's own were covered by an insurance that was part of the rental contract, the insurance also included a deductible, so they had to pay for a new windshield since the costs were within the frame of the deductible. They also had to stay overnight in Omaha, since a new car was only available the next day. One of the employees of the car rental company recommended them a nearby motel. Leonard, Howard and Raj took their luggage out of the trunk and walked to the motel. Luckily it was only two blocks away. They checked in and as soon as they were in their room, they flopped down on the beds.
"Great! Unscheduled layover with additional costs," Howard sighed, staring at the ceiling.
Leonard sat up, walked over to his travel bag and pulled a water bottle out of it. "Don't worry. It's annoying, sure, but our travel budget is not in danger. We always have to take something unforeseen into account on such a long trip."
Raj's stomach began to rumble noticeably. "Boy, I could eat something. Not the junk food we have the whole time. A real dinner. What about you guys?"
"There's a restaurant one block down the road." Leonard pointed in the direction where he saw a restaurant on their way from the car rental company to the motel. "Let's grab a bite to eat."
"Good idea," Howard agreed and jumped up from the bed. "Let's go."
Leonard grabbed the key of their motel room and the three men stepped outside. It was a pleasantly warm and sunny September afternoon in Omaha. Leonard locked the door and turned to Howard and Raj. "Let's see what this town has to offer."
It was a quiet afternoon in the restaurant, in which Penny worked as a waitress. The lunch rush was over and she looked forward to the end of her work day in two hours. Penny didn't like her job. Actually she hated it. Her shifts, especially at the weekends, often lay so adversely they tarnished her private life. In addition the work was extremely stressful at times. It also didn't help that her personal relationship with the restaurant manager was strained for quite some time. At least the restaurant paid her a fair salary, which was enough to pay the rent for her small apartment. She was also able to put a few dollars aside now and then, but it certainly wasn't fulfillment she experienced at this place. After finishing high school, she entered Community College to study art and history, but dropped out after two years when she failed at some courses. Her intention was to job for a while and then return to college for a new start. Two years later, she still had the job, but somehow she couldn't find the motivation to return to college again, much to the dislike of her parents.
Penny just finished to clean a table, when Leonard, Howard and Raj entered the almost empty restaurant and sat down at a table near the entrance. Howard and Raj at one side, Leonard at the other. Penny brought the cleaning rag back to kitchen, grabbed three menus when she returned to the dining area and approached the table which had been occupied by the three men. "Hi! I'm Penny", she said with a friendly smile on her face. "I'll be your waitress for this afternoon." She handed out a menu to each of the men, who all looked up at her and simultaneously uttered a timid 'Hi'. It was so cute, it made her chuckle. "How about some drinks as a starter?" Howard and Raj placed their orders. Actually Howard placed the order for Raj too, since Raj couldn't talk to women. After noting Howard and Raj's orders on her pad, Penny looked at the bespectacled young man with the curly brown hair and smiled at him. "And what can I get you?" Leonard didn't answer. He was mesmerized by Penny's beauty. Her long blonde hair was done in a ponytail, with a few strands hanging down at the side of her face. It was the face of an angel. It had soft, rounded features and very little make-up on. But what really mesmerized, no downright hypnotized Leonard, now that Penny looked at him directly, were her eyes. Those green, sparkling eyes. They had a beaming brilliance which he never saw before. The longer Leonard didn't say a work, the more awkward the silence at the table became, especially for Penny.
"Hey, Leonard! Stop dreaming!" Howard said and touched his arm, which brought Leonard's attention back to the two men across the table.
"Oh, sorry." Leonard cleared his throat and looked down to hide his blushing face. "Umm...a coke please. Thanks." Wow, that's embarrassing. I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown, just because I order a drink from a beautiful girl. I must look like a stumbling idiot.
Penny chuckled. So, Leonard is his name. He's really cute. "Great! I'll be right back with your drinks. In the meantime please have a look at our menus, so I can take your food orders." With a bright smile she plugged her pad into the pocket of her apron, turned on her heel and walked to the kitchen.
Leonard watched her go and sighed unwittingly. Howard and Raj rolled their eyes. "Dude, I think Cupid's arrow just hit you", Raj said and laughed.
"That's nonsense!" Leonard replied. "I just enjoyed the sight of a beautiful waitress."
"Yeah, and you wish you could hook up with her. Keep on dreaming." Howard teased him.
"Hey, why not? If we were in Pasadena I would ask for her phone number." Leonard folded his arms in front of him and executed a confident nod.
Howard grinned sarcastically. "Says the man, whose track record of girlfriends is really staggering."
"She smiled at me," Leonard countered.
"Because you are a guest. That's her job. Oh, and by the way, your sudden fit of mutism when she asked you for your drinking order certainly turned her really on." Howard said with another sarcastic grin.
"This girl is way out of your league. You wouldn't have the slightest chance to float her boat." Raj remarked matter-of-factly while looking at his menu.
Leonard was slightly annoyed now. "Shut up! Both of you! Why do we even talk about this? When we get our new car tomorrow, we drive on. And as soon as we leave this restaurant, none of us will see her ever again anyway."
Howard laughed. "Calm down, Leonard. We're just teasing you."
An hour later they had finished their food and paid the bill. Penny noticed that Leonard now apparently avoided eye contact on purpose. She noticed it before, but this time it was really conspicuous. The whole time he seemed to look on the floor. However, their eyes met at one point. It was only a split second. Leonard quickly looked down, but he couldn't restist to look up at Penny again. And again their eyes met. She smiled at him. Leonard shyly returned her smile and blushed. Penny felt herself blush a little too. God, this guy is so cute.
When Leonard, Howard and Raj finally got up to leave the restaurant Penny thanked them all for their visit and wished them a nice day. She was astonished by the very generous tip the three men left for her. Wow, that's the biggest tip I've ever got. She walked to one of the windows of the restaurant and looked out. The three men were still in sight. This Leonard seems to be a really nice guy. Too bad I probably won't ever see him again. Penny sighed and walked back to table where the three men sat a few minutes ago to clear it.
All the way back to the motel Leonard couldn't get Penny out of his head. Her lovely smile and her gorgeous sparkling green eyes had put a spell on him. Was it really possible, that this beautiful girl had turned his head in such a short time? He had to get her out of his mind. They would leave Omaha the next day, and the odds of seeing her again leant towards zero. So why bother himself with unnecessary thoughts. Back in their motel room they talked about their further plans. When the new rental car would be available, they wanted to drive straight to Chicago, rejecting their initial plan to have an overnight stop in Des Moines.
Meanwhile Penny had finished her shift and was on her way to see her boyfriend Kurt. Actually she wanted to eat dinner with her parents and her brother, but she decided to pay Kurt a surprise visit at his apartment. They had to talk. She felt a shift in tone in their relationship lately. Something was going on with Kurt. He seemed to avoid her, as he excused himself with increasing frequency when they were supposed to have a date. And when it came to intimacy, there was absolutely no passion anymore. It felt like an annoying obligation. At least for her. Her parents were never excited about her relationship with Kurt. They thought Penny could do so much better than being the trophy of a tall, muscular guy with a peabrain. And deep inside of her Penny had already started to think the same. Her love for him was definitely gone, if it was even ever there. It was rather teenage infatuation for tall buff guys than real love and affection that led to this relationship with Kurt. But somehow she wasn't able to break up with him yet. For her it was kinda comfortable to be together with someone, despite her true feelings. She never really thought about that being together with someone for the wrong reasons was the perfect way to become dissatisfied and unhappy.
Penny had a key to Kurt's apartment, so she didn't have to use the doorbell. Kurt tried to persuade Penny many times to move in with him, but she liked her own apartment. As soon as she opened the door of the apartment, she heard noises from the bedroom. Unambiguous noises. She walked over to the room and slowly opened the door. And there he was. Her boyfriend Kurt doing another girl. They didn't even notice Penny's presence. Tears shot into Penny's eyes. Just in that moment Kurt and his acquaintance noticed Penny standing in the door. "Oh no!" Kurt exclaimed with eyes wide open. Penny turned around and ran out of the apartment.
Around the time when Penny had finished her workday at the restaurant Leonard, Howard and Raj sat around a table in their motel room and were about to finalize the third round of 'Mystic Warlords of Ka'a'. For Leonard, who was totally wrapped up in the game and won the first two rounds, it had the effect, that Penny was out of his head for the time being.
Howard laid his card on the table. "Molten river."
"I play nightshade dryad. Game, set and match," Leonard exclaimed triumphantly. "Three games in a row. I'm on a roll."
"Yeah, yeah. Pure luck." Raj said with an annoyed expression on his face.
Leonard took the cards from the table and wanted to start another round. "Round four, gentlemen."
Howard stopped Leonard with a wave of his hand. "No, thanks. He went over to the bag, which contained their food for the journey. It was almost empty. "Hey, we need new food for our drive to Chicago tomorrow. There's only one box of crackers left. And something for tonight wouldn't be bad either."
Leonard stood up from the table. "OK. I'll go and get us something for tonight and the drive tomorrow. There's a grocery across the street." He grabbed his wallet and went out the door.
Ten minutes later Leonard came out of the grocery with a bag full of food. Well, that should be enough for tonight and tomorrow until we arrive in Chicago. While he stepped out on the sidewalk, he didn't notice the young woman who came out of the door, that was the entrance to the apartments above the grocery. And as fate has ordained, Penny bumped into Leonard at full tilt.
The bag fell on the floor and tore open. As a result its content was strewn around the sidewalk. Penny's jostle against Leonard was so vigorous, that he not only dropped the bag of foods, but he also lost his balance and landed on his bottom. "What the hell?!"
"I'm so sorry. I was lost in thoughts and didn't pay attention to where I was going", Penny said startled. "Please let me help you." She reached out her hand and helped Leonard to get up. As soon as he was on his feet again, she looked at the young man again and recognized the cute bespectacled guy with the shy smile from the restaurant she waited on earlier. "Leonard?"
"Hi Penny!" Leonard was utterly surprised and could hardly believe his luck to see her again."Umm...Nice to meet you again." He shyly smiled at her and brushed off the dirt from his pants.
"Again, I'm so sorry." Penny apologized. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm fine. Everything's safe and sound," Leonard replied with a chuckle. "What about you?" In that moment he noticed her sad and teary eyes.
"Everything's ok with me," Penny answered. "Let me help you gather up your groceries." She bent down and together they put the groceries back into the bag. "I fear you have to hold your hand under the bag, since it has burst open. And that's all my fault."
"Don't worry about it!" Leonard said to her. "The main thing is that all the groceries are still in one piece."
While they gathered up the groceries from the sidewalk, their eyes met again every so often, which caused a blush on Leonard's face each time. But he also was concerned about her sad and teary eyes. "Umm...It's really none of my business and we absolutely don't know each other, but...Umm...You seem to be sad. May I ask if everything's okay?"
"Fine, why not!" Penny sighed. "I just came out of my boyfriend's..." She paused for a moment to rephrase her sentence. "No...my ex-boyfriend's apartment where I caught him in the act with another girl," putting extra emphasis on the word 'ex'.
Leonard didn't know what to say. "Oh, that's terrible. I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. He cheated on me for quite some time. I knew it somehow, but now I have the proof." Penny picked a cookie box up from the floor. "I should have dumped this jerk long ago."
Suddenly Kurt came out of the front door of the apartment building. He planted himself in front of Penny, who just put the cookie box into Leonard's bag. "Oh good, You're still here. Please let me explain, honey."
Penny yelled at him. "Don't call me honey. And what do you want to explain to me? I've caught you with another woman in bed doing her. There's nothing to explain."
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Please give me a second chance. I'll make it up to you," Kurt tried to calm her down.
Penny became really furious and practically screamed. "Are you kidding me? You have the nerve to say you will make it up to me, while that bitch is still in your apartment."
Leonard, who immediately flinched at the first sight of Kurt and his enormous body size felt very uncomfortable. Being a witness of a fight between a couple, or ex-couple, in public, where everyone could hear what's going on, was really awkward.
"Ah, c'mon. I send her home and we can talk about it. C'mon! Please!" Kurt begged.
"You don't get it. It's over." Penny threw her key of Kurt's apartment at him and walked away.
Kurt grabbed the key from the sidewalk and turned to Leonard who instinctively flinched again. "And who are you? Why are you listening to a private talk with me and my girlfriend? Get lost, little man."
Penny heard that and turned around. "Hey, first of all, I'm not your girlfriend anymore. And second. Leave him alone." She looked at Leonard. "Would you escort me to my car, please?" With a nod Leonard stepped at Penny's side and they both went off.
Kurt narrowed his eyes to a slit. "Screw you, Penny! I don't need you. I'm better off without you anyway," he shouted and walked back to his apartment. Penny didn't turn around, but her eyes were filled with tears again.
Leonard walked next to Penny in silence, holding the bag of food and taking care nothing fell out of it. Tears were streaming down Penny's cheeks. Leonard wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say. She's so beautiful, even when she's heartbroken. I don't want her to be heartbroken. If I only knew how to make her feel better. Then again she just broke up with her boyfriend a few minutes ago. She needs time to get over it. These thoughts made Leonard very sad himself, because he realized he wouldn't see her again, as soon as they would arrive her car. He couldn't comfort her. There was simply no time. She would drive away and that's it. He was torn from his thoughts when Penny spoke to him. "Here's my car. Thank you for escorting me."
"You're welcome." Leonard smiled at her. "I'm going back to my motel room now. Howard and Raj certainly wonder where I am."
Penny had stopped to cry by now. "Sorry for causing you so much trouble," she said. "And sorry you had to witness this embarrassing scene with my ex."
"No problem," Leonard assured her. "You don't have to apologize."
A little smile formed on Penny's face. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. Whatever you want."
"What are you doing here in Omaha? I guess you are not from here."
"No, we are from Pasadena, California. We are on a coast to coast road trip," Leonard explained. "Our rental car was damaged, so we needed a new one, which we will get tomorrow. We have to stay overnight and tomorrow we continue our trip. Next stop Chicago."
"Wow! That's so cool." Penny's face lit up a little bit more, before she became serious again. "You know, I just realized that I wasted four years in a relationship with a cheating idiot and I'm stuck in a dead end job which I absolutely hate. I'd love nothing better than to quit my crappy job and join you on your road trip."
Leonard smiled. "That's fine by me." Then he saw that Penny wasn't smiling. "Umm...You can't possibly mean that!"
Penny cocked her head. "What if I mean it? This would be a chance for me to escape this crap here for a while. I could recharge my batteries." Again, a little smile formed on Penny's face. "Do you have a free seat for another passenger?"
Leonard was totally perplexed. Was this girl, this beautiful girl, he thought he would never see again, and whose wonderful sparkling green eyes put a spell on him, actually wanting to join their road trip? He had to be dreaming. "Are you really sure? What about your job? Oh, and our journey is supposed to end in New York City in about two weeks. We take a plane there to get back to California. How would you get back to Omaha?"
"First, I quit this job without batting an eyelash," Penny answered. "I'll find another one, when I come back. Everything's better than the one I have now. Second, I have some savings. I can afford a plane ticket back to Nebraska. Oh, and of course I would participate in covering all costs incurred, like food, motel rooms and gas money. I promise. What do you say?" She looked at Leonard expectantly.
"Well, this is really a surprise. A few minutes ago I thought we'd say goodbye and would never see each other again. Something I already thought when we left the restaurant this afternoon, by the way. If it was up to me, you are definitely in."
"Yeah, I know." Penny paused for a few seconds. "We don't know each other, but my gut is telling me I can trust you and your friends. And during the trip we have enough time to get to know each other."
"You are really determined to join us," Leonard said and smiled.
Penny nodded. "Yep! And you can trust me too. I swear I'm not a member of a gang who's robbing people on a journey. Cross my heart!" She smiled and made the corresponding gesture with the forefinger of her right hand.
"You don't look like a criminal. I trust you", Leonard chuckled. He looked at Penny and continued to speak in a tone of amused disbelief. "Wow! Who would have thought that! September 24, 2007, the date Penny asked a guy she just met, if she could join him and his friends on a road trip."
Penny laughed. "Yeah, that doesn't happen very often."
Leonard had to laugh too. "Well, OK then. But there's still one thing. Would you come with me to my motel room, to talk with my friends Howard and Raj to see if they are okay with it?"
"Sure thing!" Penny said.
Leonard felt as if he would walk on air, when he and Penny went to the motel, where Howard and Raj were waiting. He still couldn't believe that this girl he just met about three hours ago in a restaurant, which should be an onetime thing, and then met again by chance wanted to join their road trip. It was surreal, and yet it was happening. He wasn't dreaming.
Howard and Raj couldn't believe their eyes, when they saw Leonard entering their motel room with a blonde beautiful girl. And it was not just a girl. It was Penny, the waitress.
"Hey, I'm back." Leonard said cheerfully. "As you can see I have company."
"Hi, guys. I'm Penny", she said with a smile and waved at Howard and Raj, who were completely flabbergasted. "Maybe you remember me from the restaurant you had a meal this afternoon. I waited on you. Oh, before I forget it. Thanks for the generous tip you left for me. That was so nice."
Howard found his voice again and jumped up from the bed he was sitting on and took a bow."Bonsoir Mademoiselle. Howard Wolowitz, Cal-Tech department of Applied Physics. You may be familiar with some of my work, it's currently orbiting Jupiter's largest moon taking high-resolution digital photographs."
"No, not really," Penny replied with a questioning look on her face.
"Things can always change," Howard winked. "To what do we owe the honour of this visit, young lady?"
Penny had to giggle. Howard's antics were funny, but also a little bit weird. "Well, I'd like to join you on your road trip to New York."
Howard's jaw fell, and Raj dropped the book he was holding.
Penny picked the book up and gave it back to Raj. "You must be Raj."
Raj looked at Penny, then he looked back at his book, took a sip of water and looked at the ceiling.
Penny was a little taken aback by Raj's strange behaviour. "Uh, I'm sorry. Do you speak English?"
Howard answered for Raj. "Oh, he speaks English, he just can't speak to women."
Penny was dumbfounded. "Really? Why?"
"Well, he's a weird guy", Howard grinned.
"Umm...ookaay...So, you don't mind if I join you on your road trip?" Penny asked. "Oh, I already told this Leonard. Of course I would participate in covering all costs incurred. You know food, motel rooms, gas money."
Howard was hooked. "Are you kidding me? I'd be very disappointed, when I wouldn't see you in our car tomorrow. I'll save you a place next to me. Oh and I'm willing to share a motel room with you...and my bed."
"Ugh! No, thanks," Penny said with a disgusted facial expression, while Leonard rolled his eyes and made a gesture with one of his hands, indicating Howard to shut up.
"Your loss!" With a flop Howard sat down on his bed again.
"I think, I'll get over it." Penny rolled her eyes and turned to Raj. "What about you Raj? Are you okay that I accompany you?"
Raj just smiled awkwardly, nodded and gave a thumbs up.
Penny was happy and cracked a bright smile. "Great! Then I go home now and pack a few things." She took a piece of paper and a pencil, which lay on the table next to her, and wrote something on it. She gave Leonard the note. "Here's my address and my phone number, Sweetie. Please call me, when you car is ready. I'll wait for you at my apartment." She walked to the door and waved goodbye to Leoanard, Howard and Raj. "Bye. See you tomorrow." The three men beckoned back. Penny smiled, opened the door and left the room.
As soon as Penny had left the room Howard jumped up from the bed again. "OK, Leonard. You owe us an explanation. What's going on here?"
"Yeah, spill!" Raj added.
Leonard started to explain. "Well, when I came out of the grocery Penny bumped into me. She asked me what we were doing here, so I told her about our road trip and she wanted to join us."
"Yeah, right! Just because." Howard interrupted him.
"No, of course not just because," Leonard continued. "She just broke up with her boyfriend and she hates her job, which she will probably quit while we are talking here. So she thought, joining our road trip would give her the chance to escape the troubles she has here and to recharge her batteries."
"Broke up with her boyfriend, you say? So she needs comfort. Something only I can give her," Howard bragged. "You'll see. By the end of our trip I will be her new boyfriend."
Raj objected. "Forget it dude! She will fall for me first."
"You can't even talk to women," Howard scoffed.
"I will seduce her with my eyes." Raj looked at Howard trying to make seductive eyes.
"Stop it, you both. That's creepy," Leonard cut them short. "Here are the rules. When I drive, Penny will sit next to me in the passenger seat. And when one of you is driving, Penny and I will sit on the back seat."
Howard smirked. "Clever, Hofstadter! You already have a plan to win her over."
Leonard sighed. "I just want to make her trip as comfortable as possible. We want to leave a good impression on her after all. Right?"
Howard put Leonard off. "Yeah, sure! You're wasting your breath! It's quite obvious you have a crush on her." He and Raj mockingly made kissing noises.
"What?" Leonard said with a high-pitched voice. "That's not true". Seeing that Howard and Raj just sneered, Leonard gave up. "Ah shucks! You can think what you want! Here's the stuff I bought."
For the rest of the evening the three men watched TV and ate some snacks. While Howard and Raj kept an eye on the TV, Leonard found it difficult to pay attention, his mind occupied with thoughts of Penny. He would spent the next two weeks with this beautiful girl. Something he still couldn't believe. Still preoccupied with thoughts of Penny he went to bed.
After leaving the motel Penny went straight to the restaurant where she was working and quit her job. Quick and easy. The restaurant manager didn't even try to persuade her to stay. He wished her good luck for the future and with that this chapter was over.
At home in her little apartment Penny packed all necessary things she would need during the next two weeks. When she finished packing she flopped down on her couch and called her parents Wyatt and Susan, who lived on a farm in a little town near Omaha. She had expected that her parents wouldn't be excited, that her 21-year-old daughter wanted to go on a road trip with three men, she just met a few hours before. Joining a road trip with three total strangers on the spur of the moment couldn't be a good idea. And at first her parents wanted to forbid the trip, but after a long talk Penny could convince her parents that she would know what she was doing and there would be no reason to be worried. She could take care of herself. Penny knew the three men were okay, especially Leonard, to which she already felt a connection. Of course she also told her parents that she had quit her waitressing job and that she broke up with Kurt. The latter was well received by her parents, while the job thing caused some concern but eventually Wyatt and Susan accepted it.
After the phone call with her parents Penny watched a little TV before she went off to sleep. She lay in her bed and thought about what happened today. She sensed this day was a turning point in her life. The start of a new chapter. Tomorrow would be the beginning of a journey into the unknown. But she wasn't afraid. Quite the contrary. She felt an excitement and a thrill of anticipation like never before. She couldn't wait to see what the following two weeks would bring for her.
Her thoughts went back to the events of the day. She caught Kurt cheating, which made it easy to end this farce of a relationship with him. She ran away and bumped into one of the guys she waited on shortly before. And this guy and his friends who happened to undertake a coast to coast road trip would take her along on this road trip and let her escape all the troubles she experienced here at home. She smiled. It's funny how life goes. Is it destiny? Is Leonard thinking it's destiny too? Her thoughts completey turned to Leonard now. Leonard! Leonard was so different than all the guys she met so far. But in a good way. She knew him just for a short time, but she was sure he was a great guy. He wasn't just cute, but he also seemed to be a friendly and caring person. And those glances they exchanged. Why was she blushing? Something's going on here. With thoughts of Leonard she drifted off to sleep.
To be continued...