Raj opened the front door to the spa and held it to allow Amy to pass through. Amy started to walk toward her car, when Raj called out to her from across the parking lot, "Amy? We're over here."
Amy looked up, as she had been staring at the flowers and operating on auto-pilot heading to her car. Only, the car she was heading to - her car - was no longer parked in the same spot she had originally left it.
She looked over at Raj. "Um, Raj… where's my car?"
Raj trotted over and caught up with Amy. "Sheldon has it."
Amy tilted her head and looked at Raj as though he had lost his mind. "Sheldon has it? What? Why?"
Raj put his arm around Amy's shoulders, and started to lead her over to his car. On the way, Raj did his best to explain to one very mystified Amy.
"I told you Sheldon wanted to be sure you were taken care of today. Here, I'm not doing a very good job of this. Why don't you see if this explains better?" Raj replied.
Raj handed Amy an envelope. Inside was a handwritten note on beautiful, soft rose colored stationery. And in the careful, precise, flowing penmanship Amy would have known anywhere…
Amy,
Please don't blame Raj for not being able to explain this to you. I know you're confused. But all will reveal itself in the end.
I hope you enjoyed your massage. I wanted this to be my responsibility today, not yours. You can use the gift card another time.
Think of this as something of a gamer's "quest." You will see our friends today, one following another. They each have a message to share with you, from themselves, and from me.
I wanted you to know that you are special, and loved, and not just by me, but by all…
And when this is done, maybe we can play a different game together to bring in the New Year?
Love, Sheldon
Amy turned to look at Raj, as he opened the car door for her. Her eyes were bright, with unshed tears. Raj gave her a brief hug, and then let her slip into the passenger seat of his car. Raj took the roses from Amy, and added them to the box he had taken out of the backseat of her car earlier. Amy placed the new note back inside its envelope, and slid it in her purse.
Amy looked around the inside of the car while she pulled on her seatbelt and clipped it in place. Wow, this is how the other half lives, Amy thought. The car was plushly appointed, with leather seats and state-of-the-art electronic devices. It was decidedly different from the older model but dependable sedan Amy drove.
Raj opened the driver's side door, and sat down. He looked over to Amy, and smiled.
"I think Sheldon chose me to be first, because Howard and I were the first to know you, if only on the computer." Raj started the car, and backed out to drive away.
"When we filled out that application on the dating web site for Sheldon, it was really just supposed to be a joke. Howard and I tried to completely and accurately imitate Sheldon. Even in response to the application's question asking 'his' opinion of on-line dating sites, we used the word 'Hokum.'
We thought there would be no one who the computer system could possibly find that would be a match for Sheldon and his ways. In fact, Sheldon initially absolutely refused to cooperate with the plan to meet you. That was, until I threatened him with a dirty sock that we had found on the roof earlier... hiding it somewhere in his apartment where he would never find it…"
Raj allowed himself a low chuckle. Amy smiled – she had heard this story before.
"When we walked into that coffee shop, and you started to talk to Sheldon, Howard and I couldn't believe what we were hearing. You were his match in every way. Even your beverage order – tepid water. It could have come out of Sheldon's mouth."
Raj sniggered. "Howard said it best that afternoon: 'Good God, what have we done?'"
Amy laughed out loud at the last statement. That part, she hadn't heard before.
Raj's face grew a little more contemplative. "Amy, I don't think you realize what effect you've had on Sheldon over the last five years. Yes, he's still demanding, overbearing, overreaching…"
Raj pulled to a stop at a red light and turned toward Amy. "Seriously, what do you see in this guy?" Raj asked, teasing her with a twinkle in his eye. Amy's smile grew a little brighter.
The light turned green, and Raj proceeded through the intersection. "In truth, though… Sheldon has changed. He's mellowed. You've taught him to have concern for others, as well as himself. He's easier to work with as a result."
Raj pulled into a parking space, and turned the car off. He looked Amy in the eye. "You've taught me too. I've learned so much from your kindness and your honesty. I'm glad to have you as a friend."
Amy was moved. "Raj, I think that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me. I'm glad you're my friend, as well." She reached over the center console and squeezed his right hand.
Raj blushed and dropped his head briefly, then looked ahead of the car. "Well, we're here… but there's one more thing I'm supposed to do."
Raj lifted his hips slightly and reached into his right pocket. What he pulled out fit inside of his closed fist. Raj reached over, gently took Amy's right wrist with his left hand, and turned her right hand palm-side up. He brought over his right hand, and deposited the contents from his pocket into her hand.
Three more faux wood tiles: A (1), L (1), and R (1).
Amy's look carried an unasked question, but Raj knew exactly what it was. He answered her honestly, as he knew how highly she valued the truth.
"Yes, I know. And no, I won't tell you. I promised him."
Amy nodded her head in understanding. She opened her purse, brought out the red velvet dice bag, and deposited the tiles inside. Amy then tucked the bag back into her purse. She reached behind Raj's seat to pick up the box of roses from the back, and turned to stand up from the car's front passenger seat.
When she was out of the car, Amy noticed Raj wasn't opening his door, and she turned back to him. "Aren't you coming?" she asked.
Raj smiled. "Not this time. I'll see you later. I need to go over to Emily's. We're getting ready to go out for New Year's tonight."
Amy nodded, and closed the door behind her. She looked up and found herself at her "other home:" 2311 North Los Robles, Pasadena.
######
Amy started her ascent of the three flights of stairs to apartment 4A, wishing for yet another time someone would finally get around to fixing the broken elevator. When she reached the fourth floor, Amy took a deep breath, and knocked at the door. Leonard's voice invited from inside the apartment: "Come in!"
Amy opened the front door, partly hoping Sheldon would be pecking away at his computer, but not really expecting to see him. At least she wasn't disappointed. Leonard was in the kitchen, a kettle of water heating to the boiling point in front of him. He reached into the cabinet and pulled out two mugs.
"Tea?" he asked Amy.
"Yes, please. Chamomile, if you have it. That would be lovely."
Leonard nodded and motioned for her to sit in the living room. Amy placed her purse and the box on Sheldon's desk, and she draped her jacket on his chair. She sat on the couch. In front of her, on the coffee table, was a pair of white long stem roses, with the same blush inlay. And another envelope in soft rose stationery. Amy unexpectedly felt a moment of great trepidation - she was almost afraid to pick up the letter, but she didn't know why - and then, just as quickly, it was gone.
Leonard set out a tea bag in each mug and poured water over the top. He brought the two mugs to the midst of the apartment and sat beside Amy on the couch.
"So, which ghost are you?" Amy asked, with a teasing note in her voice.
Leonard didn't connect to the reference Amy was making. "Come again?" he asked.
Amy laughed a little. "Well, Raj seemed like the Ghost of Christmas Past from Dickens's A Christmas Carol, so I can only assume you're the Ghost of Christmas Present…"
Leonard joined her in her laughter. Then he grew more serious.
"Actually, no. I promise, no ghosts. You know Sheldon put us up to this, right?" Leonard asked. Amy tipped her head, motioning for him to continue.
"Amy, Sheldon cares more about you than anyone. Even himself. He wanted you to know how special you are. It's just that simple."
Leonard reached forward and picked up the rose envelope with a note. He held it in his hands, looking at it with a fondness in his demeanor.
"Sheldon is a pain in my ass. I have been his chauffeur and his tutor in the ways of life. I haven't had free access to my own bathroom or made an individual dinner decision in ten years. He has 'nit-picked,' and 'organized,' and 'scheduled,' and 'contractually-obligated' the hell out of me for the last decade!"
Then Leonard looked seriously at Amy. "And I'm closer to him than I will ever be to my own brother. Likely, we'll each be closer to the other, than either of us will ever be to any other man."
Leonard pointed at Amy. "It's because of you. You opened his heart and you taught him to care," Leonard said, simply.
Amy eyes started to water. A tear rolled down her right cheek. Leonard joined her in wiping at his own eyes. Amy reached over and hugged Leonard fiercely.
Amy interjected, softly, in his ear. "It wasn't all me. You helped him, too. Sheldon dearly loves you. I know he feels the same as you do… he is closer to you than to his own brother also. And he wouldn't have it any other way."
Amy let go of Leonard, and sat back. She laid her hand out gently, palm side up, finally ready for the envelope. Leonard passed the note to Amy. Her hands shook when she opened the letter and began to read its contents.
And the opening salvo was a knife that cut straight through Amy's heart, and impaled her soul.
May 25, 2015, was the worst day of my life. It was the day I thought I'd lost you.
I didn't understand how you felt at the time… that you believed you were only a "second thought" to me. You didn't know you were the biggest part of my life. You had been my only one for the longest time – longer than I can count. Somewhere, deep inside, I knew I needed to tell you… but I just couldn't. I didn't know how…
I was a fool.
I often sat in my room, staring into space, wondering what had gone wrong. I was barely functioning. A month later, the day in June it stormed from dawn on, it finally hit me:
...I remembered how wonderful you made me feel when you gave me that box of MeeMaw's cookies for Christmas last year. You'd called MeeMaw, and she'd willingly given you her cherished recipe. In doing so, she told me without saying a word that she knew how special you were to me.
...I remembered the pain in your eyes - you asked me if you occupied any of the thoughts in my brain - when we were together on the couch in my apartment on our anniversary. I could finally see it with my eidetic memory, but it was a month too late! How could I have not seen what was in front of me then?
...I remembered an old friend who told me I should appreciate the people I love. He didn't know it at the time… but he meant you.
Something inside of me snapped. I was ready to run over to your apartment to tell you… to lay it all out for you and let the chips fall where they may. But you beat me to the door. Opening that door… seeing you there… I thought that the world had started again in that moment. Because in that moment, in the smallest chance that you might come back to me… I started to breathe once more.
I will not be a fool again.
Know this: I will love you until I draw my last breath, and afterward I will still love you. You are now, have been, and will always be… my very first thought.
Never forget.
Sheldon
Next: Leonard helps Amy understand the month she lost... and takes her home.
Look for chapter 3 in time for the weekend on Friday morning!
Thank you for reading, and for sharing your feedback in a review if you so choose.