"Hello Ramona" Amy said calmly purposefully neglecting to address Dr. Nowitzki by her title.
Sheldon jumped up from his stool almost knocking it over as he turned quickly to face the most enraged expression he had ever seen on his wife.
"Amy!" Sheldon said as his voice cracked high. "I thought you were upstairs asleep" he said as he lowered his voice to a more normal level.
"Couldn't sleep" Amy replied simply calming down her expression. "What are you two up to this evening?" she asked nonchalantly as she settled down on the bar stool on the other side of Sheldon and flagged down the bartender.
Amy was in shock at seeing Sheldon with "her". But while she shook with fury on the inside, she looked cool as a cucumber on the outside. Or at least she tried her best to appear that way as she ordered a strong drink.
Sheldon and Ramona sat down again and Sheldon took a drink. He had to clear his throat before he spoke. Amy didn't believe his hesitation in speech was due to the alcohol.
"Oh well, as you know I could not sleep and came downstairs" Sheldon began. "I came into the bar for a moment and ran into Dr. Nowitzki. We were just catching up" he grinned sheepishly.
"Yes" Ramona jumped into the conversation. "Just catching up. What's it been Dr. Cooper? Two years?" she questioned with a hint of feigned innocence.
"Two years!" Amy squeaked out as she turned her head to look at Sheldon.
Sheldon's head swung back and forth between the two women sitting on either side of him. The expression "a deer caught in headlights" came to Amy's mind.
"I don't understand Sheldon. I thought you two hadn't seen each other since before we were married" Amy questioned as her cool facade began to fade. In her mind, she was really thinking since before this "Nowitzki broad" blatantly tried to steal you from me.
Amy quickly took a drink from the glass the bartender had placed in front of her. She needed to try and calm her nerves.
Sheldon opened his mouth to speak but Ramona jumped in again.
"Oh no" Ramona said grinning. "We've seen each other many times over the years. Not to mention our many correspondences. The world of theoretical physics is such a small world, isn't it?" she finished with a small laugh.
Amy's mouth gaped open and then shut. She had been looking at Ramona but then she fixed her eyes on Sheldon. His mouth was closed and in a firm line. She stared at him. Her expression no longer rage or blase' but hurt. Deep unabashed hurt.
Her bottom lip quivered slightly and she knew if she didn't get out of there soon she would either scream or cry or both. Either way, she didn't want to give either of them the satisfaction of seeing her break down.
Amy looked away from Sheldon, took a deep breath and wrapped both hands tightly around her glass.
"Yes. It is a small world" she said calmly and lifted the glass to her lips.
Amy finished her drink in one swallow ignoring the burning sensation caused by the alcohol sliding down her throat. She put her glass back down on the counter with a little too much force and stood up.
"Well" she paused unable to stop herself from glaring at both of them. "You two have fun "catching up" she said with a high dose of sarcasm through her clenched teeth.
Before Sheldon or Ramona could react, Amy had spun on her heels and quickly walked out of the bar.
Sheldon could do nothing but watch as his wife vanished from his view.
Amy raced back upstairs afraid Sheldon might be following her. Once in the hotel room, she quickly dialed her phone and pressed it to her ear as she frantically paced back and forth in front of the bed.
"Come on" she pleaded out loud "Come on".
"Hello?" a voice finally answered.
"Leonard" Amy said.
"Amy?" Leonard replied. "Why are you calling from Sweden? Isn't it nighttime there? And why are you calling me and not Penny?" he questioned. "Is everything okay?"
"No" Amy answered. "Everything is not okay" she choked out desperate to keep from crying. She had to get through this call.
"Oh god, what's wrong?" Leonard asked. "Is it Sheldon?"
"Yes" Amy squeaked.
"Oh no" Leonard really sounded worried now. "Is he hurt? Is he…"Leonard trailed off.
"Not yet" Amy said "but that depends on your answer" she said angrily.
"What?" he said confused. "Answer to what?" he asked.
"Your answer to the question of did you know that Sheldon had seen Dr. Ramona Nowitzki since we had been married?" she asked.
Amy heard Leonard gasp.
"Did you know Leonard? Did you know that he had seen her not just once but many times?" she asked putting the emphasis on the word "many".
Amy did not hear anything coming over the phone.
"And did you know that he had corresponded with her many times too? Amy asked.
"Leonard?" she asked frustrated.
"Well, technically Amy" Leonard began "that is three questions so…"
"LEONARD!" Amy yelled loudly into the phone.
"Okay, okay!" Leonard yelled back.
Amy wasn't sure but she thought she heard him take a quick puff from his ever present inhaler.
"Leonard" Amy tried again and softened her tone. "Please. You are his best friend but I am his wife. I need to know. It's important" she said quietly.
"Fine" Leonard said. "Yes. I knew."
Amy gasped loudly through the phone. She reached blindly for the bed behind her and sat down.
"I'm so sorry Amy. I never meant to keep secrets from you but, well, we didn't want to upset you" he pleaded.
"I promise, nothing bad is going between them. Just science, that's all. They are in the same field and well, they run into each other from time to time at conferences and events and sometimes correspond with each professionally. Nothing more" he finished.
"I see" Amy said coldly.
She was in shock. Absolute shock. If she had not seen them with her own eyes, she might have believed Leonard. But she had seem them. Their encounter most definitely did not look professional tonight.
"Amy, why are you asking me this?" Leonard asked.
He looked at his watch. He was going to be late to teach his next class but that couldn't be helped. Something was really wrong here and his best friend needed him.
"Because I saw them tonight! They were hugging and laughing and drinking in a hotel bar after Sheldon had thought I was in the room asleep" Amy blurted out.
"WHAT!" Leonard yelled. "Are you sure?" he said lowering his voice as others in the classroom hallway started looking at him.
"Yes, of course I'm sure." Amy took a breath bracing herself to ask the next question.
"How long Leonard?" she asked.
"How long has he been…"Amy paused unsure of what to say "been in contact with her" she asked trying to find the right words.
There was a long pause then Leonard finally spoke.
"Ten years Amy" he said bluntly.
Amy gasped again. 'Oh my god, ten years! Ten years of betrayal!' her mind was swimming. It was a good thing she had sat down. She thought she might actually faint.
Leonard continued. "Sheldon and I ran into Ramona at a conference ten years ago. She was married at the time and we actually ended up meeting her husband there. Sheldon didn't see any harm in talking with her again and since she was married, neither did I. He wanted to tell you about seeing her. I mean you know how honest Sheldon is. Honest to a fault really but I convinced him that it might upset you and he should just leave it alone. He agreed. I didn't find out until just a couple of years ago that he had maintained contact with her. I thought it was a one-time occurrence. I swear, Amy, if I had known that he was going to continue…"
"What do you mean 'married at the time'" Amy asked interrupting him.
"Well" Leonard cleared his throat "from what Sheldon told me, um, I think she got divorced some time ago" he finished.
"I see" Amy said again. "Well that explains a lot" she said matter-of-factly.
Dr. Ramona Nowitzki was still after Sheldon, Amy surmised. That bitch!
"What can I do?" Leonard pleaded. He felt absolutely terrible for having any part in causing trouble for his friends. "How can I help?" he asked again.
"Does Penny know?" Amy asked hesitantly.
A betrayal from her best friend on top of her husband was just too much to bear, she thought.
"No, she has absolutely no idea" he said strongly.
Amy exhaled. At least someone was still on her side.
"Amy, I am so sorry again for keeping this secret but you can't honestly believe that there is anything funny going on between them. I mean Sheldon loves you. He had his chance with Ramona not once, but twice before actually. Back before you were engaged and back when she was a grad student. Every time he turned her down. Even if for some bizarre reason she was still interested in him, why would now be any different?" he reasoned trying to appeal to Amy's logical mind.
Unfortunately, Amy's mind was anything but logical right now. She was too upset to think clearly as she remembered how Sheldon was the one to initiate the hug with Ramona at the bar.
She was upset because she remembered how his eyes finally showed some life again when he smiled at the other woman.
She was upset because she remembered how he laughed for the first time in ages, not because of Amy, but because of her.
"Why would now be any different?" Amy repeated back to Leonard.
"Because now" Amy paused shutting her eyes "now I think he wants her too" she said simply and abruptly ended the call.
Amy threw her phone down on the bed and began angrily pacing back and forth again. She stopped and glared at the door as soon as she heard the familiar beep of the hotel key and waited.