Chapter Six
December 25th
Penny had fallen back asleep as soon as they boarded the bus to Galveston. During the short transit time her head had come to rest on Sheldon's right shoulder. Sheldon was frozen in place, the vanilla scent of her skin and her slow rhythmic breathing were mesmerizing. As the bus approached the terminal, Sheldon gently ran one finger along her cheek. "Penny, we have arrived."
Penny slowly blinked and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, but nestled in closer to Sheldon. "Mmm…too comfy…don't want to get up."
Sheldon counted to ten and reminded himself to breathe. "We have to go Penny. Remember, it's Christmas."
Penny's eyes shot open. "Christmas! Yay! Did you say we're here?"
As the bus drew to a stop, Sheldon glanced out the window and saw his brother Duke leaning against his pickup truck. "Yes Penny, we're in Galveston."
Penny leaned across him and caught sight of Duke. She waved to him excitedly.
"I doubt he can see you Penny. The lights on the bus are dimmed and the windows are tinted."
Nonetheless Duke waved towards the bus. "He can see me!" Penny stuck her tongue out at Sheldon and stood up and threw on her cream colored hoodie. She looked back down at Sheldon who hadn't made a move. "What are you waiting for Sweetie? Let's go see your family!" Penny grabbed his hand and yanked him up. Sheldon let Penny lead him down the aisle of the bus and out into the cool morning air of Galveston.
Duke ambled over to the bus where the luggage was being unloaded. He quickly noted that his brother was allowing the beautiful blonde to hold his hand. "Well, hey there Penny! Aren't you the prettiest thing I've seen in a while?" He enveloped Penny in a big hug.
Penny pulled away from him and smacked his chest. "You lie! I caught my reflection in the rearview mirror as we got off the bus. But, it's nothing a hot shower and a hot cup of coffee won't fix."
"I have a thermos of tea in the truck if that'll help." Duke let go of Penny and did the one arm embrace with his brother. "I'm glad you're home Petunia."
Penny playfully smacked Duke upside the back of his head. "Strike one!"
Sheldon smirked in his brother's direction as the older man shook his head. He had hoped the petite woman would rub off on his brother, not the other way around. "Can I at least call him Shelly?"
As they climbed into the cab of the F-150, Penny said 'Yes' while Sheldon said 'No'.
Duke grinned mischievously at Penny. "Well then I guess that's settled, Shelly!" He handed the thermos to Penny who was wedged between him and Sheldon in the front seat. "I hope you don't mind but its half cream and has about five spoons of sugar in it."
Penny took the little plastic mug off the top, unscrewed the cap and inhaled deeply. "Mmm…this is perfect." She quickly poured herself a brimming cup before the truck started moving. She nosily slurped about one third of it before handing it to Sheldon so she could recap the thermos. "This is really good."
Sheldon took a sip from the cup and agreed. "Duke always did make a nice cup of tea."
Duke only stared at the two of them. Truly Christmas was a time for miracles, not just one, but two! A compliment from his brother and neurotic germaphobe boy just drank from the same cup as another human being. Duke threw his right arm around Penny and gave her a quick squeeze. "Penny, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!"
---
Duke pulled his truck in front of the doublewide trailer. Nearly every inch of the tiny lawn was festooned with decorations. "You should have seen it all lit up last night. You could practically land a plane by it, it was so bright."
Penny tried to take it all in. "Well, as long as it worked for Santa." She cracked as she followed Duke and Sheldon up the walkway.
Duke and Sheldon stopped short, looked at each other and then back at Penny. Duke arched an eyebrow towards his brother and motioned his head as to say 'you tell her'.
Sheldon paused and chose his words precisely. "Penny, despite the crass commercialism displayed on the front lawn, and dear lord, the roof, our mother very much prefers to keep the 'Christ' in Christmas. I must ask you to refrain from using the 'S' word."
"Oh," Penny nodded her head. "I'll try as long as you don't use your 'S' word Sheldon."
Sheldon knotted his eyebrows together. "My 'S' Word?"
With a wry look on her face, she turned to look up at him. "Saturnalia."
---
Penny lost track of time as she stood under the spray of the shower working out the kinks in her body brought on by a day and a half of traveling. She was brought back to reality by a loud banging on the door followed by it being opened by Mary Cooper.
"Come on darlin', time's a-wastin'. You need to hurry up and get ready if we're to make it to services on time!"
Penny peeked out from behind the shower curtain and wiped the shampoo from her eyes. "Um, services?"
"Christmas services, young lady." Mary narrowed her eyes at Penny. "Maybe you can convince Shelly to go."
Penny gave her a tight smile. "If I'm going, you better believe he's going too!"
Four hours later
Penny looked sheepishly at Sheldon. "I thought you were kidding about the fruitcake."
Sheldon admonished her. "I never kid."
---
Penny and Missy were curled up on the sofa looking through a photo album and giggling. Sheldon glanced across the room at them and Penny pointed at the page in front of her. "Who knew you had such a cute tushie!"
"Well, now we're even." He quipped at her.
"Hardly." Penny teased. "This is only a picture!"
Missy looked bewildered. "Did I miss something?"
Sheldon opened his mouth, but was interrupted by the doorbell. Missy glanced out the window and squealed. "MeeMaw is here!"
Missy jumped up off the couch and barreled into Sheldon as they both rushed to open the door first. They tried to shoulder each other out of the way, but Missy won out when she stomped her heel on Sheldon's toes. While Sheldon hopped up and down on one foot shooting death glares at his twin, Missy opened the door swiftly and Penny got her first glimpse of MeeMaw. She wasn't anything like her own Grammie who was small and plump and exuded friendliness. The woman at the threshold was tall and stood ramrod straight, her silver hair was pulled up in a tight bun and she looked like she never cracked a smile in her life.
Virginia Cooper took a long look at her twin grandchildren. "You two stop whatever you are doing and give your MeeMaw a kiss." Sheldon and Missy again tried to elbow each other to get to her first. "My arms are still big enough for the both of you."
"How about all three of us?" Duke asked as he pushed his smaller siblings aside.
After all the hugging and kissing was done, MeeMaw spied Penny standing back from the melee at the door. She cocked her eyebrow in what Penny could only describe as in a Sheldonesque way. "Is this her, Moonpie?" Sheldon looked to Penny and back to his MeeMaw for a sign of approval. "Penny, may I introduce you to my MeeMaw, Mrs. Virginia Cooper. MeeMaw this is my…my…"
Duke whacked Sheldon on the back. "Spit it out Shelly!"
"…my Penny. I mean my neighbor, Penny." Sheldon sputtered out.
Penny reached forward to shake the older woman's hand. MeeMaw had a handshake like a vice grip. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mrs. Cooper."
"I'll have none of that Mrs. Cooper talk, it makes me feel old. Call me Ginny." While her words were polite enough, her face was impassive as stone. Penny wasn't sure if the woman liked her or not.
Mary came through the swinging door from the kitchen carrying one of the dishes for the table. "Oh good, Mother Cooper you're here! Your timing is always impeccable."
Ginny gave a hard look to all three of her grandchildren and Penny. "Mary, don't tell me you're doing all the preparations by yourself!"
The protestations call fast and hard. 'She threw us out!' 'She won't let us help!' 'I can boil water, but I'm not sure about the other two!'
"It's alright Mother, I've got in under control. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes." Mary wiped her hands down the front of her apron and headed back into the kitchen.
Ginny tsk-tsked and turned to Penny. "You'll sit next to me. I've heard a great deal about you, but I need to hear it for myself."
Penny, normally sure of herself in social situations suddenly felt as awkward as Raj was around women. She couldn't even squeak out an answer, so she just nodded her head and smiled. She thought if his MeeMaw didn't like her, Sheldon would never even…could he ever think of her like that anyway?
---
Mary took her seat at one end of the table, with Duke at the opposite end, now that he was the 'man' of the family. Missy and Sheldon were on his right, while MeeMaw and Penny sat to his left. Mary held out her hand signaling for everyone to clasp hands together for grace before the meal. She turned to Penny on her right. "Penny, as our guest it would be an honor if you would say the blessing."
Penny took in a deep breath. She could do this. If she could only remember any kind of blessing. Then, it just popped into her head and was out of her mouth before she could stop it. "Good food, good meat, good God, let's eat!"
A low rumble started next to Penny's right, followed by a loud guffaw from Ginny and the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. Ginny whammed her on the back. "I knew I would like you! It's just like having my George here with us again!"
Penny whipped her gaze from Ginny to Mary who was dabbing her eyes with her napkin, but also had a huge smile on her face. In fact all the Coopers were in some form or another either smiling or wiping away tears.
"What did I tell you Mother? Is she a peach or what?"
Penny looked across at Sheldon. "What did I do?"
Missy answered for him. "That was Daddy's favorite blessing!"
Ginny squeezed Penny's hand. "Yep, a real peach."
---
Dinner went on without a hitch. Everyone ate too much and many stories were told. As everyone pushed back from the table to give their stomachs more room, Ginny turned to Penny. "So, Sheldon tells me you're going back to school. An education is a wonderful thing. I've a mind to go back myself."
Penny beamed at her. "I couldn't have done it without Sheldon. He reworked my schedule and found me some terrific scholarships. One in particular, the Utah Memorial Fund, is covering almost half of my tuition.
Ginny who had been taking a sip of cranberry juice, started to choke on her drink. A few drops spilled down the front of her white blouse. Everyone around the table cried in alarm to see if she was okay. "I'm alright, I just need to get some water on this before it stains." She looked across the table at Sheldon. "You…come with me to the kitchen…to help me."
Once they were through the door to the kitchen, Missy whispered to Duke. "I wonder if the Utah Memorial Fund is in Salt Lake?"
Duke look puzzled. "Huh?"
"SLC, stupid! Don't you remember that PopPop used to call Sheldon Utah because of his initials?" Duke and Missy looked at each other and then over at Penny, both smiling like Cheshire cats.
---
Meanwhile in the kitchen MeeMaw was dabbing at her blouse with a paper towel. "Sheldon Lee Cooper, do you mind explaining yourself to me?"
Sheldon wouldn't meet her eyes. "I don't know what you mean, MeeMaw."
Ginny went over and took Sheldon's face in her hands. "Moonpie, the money your grandfather left you was for your future."
Sheldon raised his eyes from the floor to meet his grandmother's. This was the woman who always supported him, who was always there for him whether it was a scraped knee or a prestigious award. He could always tell MeeMaw the truth without being judged. "Penny is my future."
"Are you sure she's the one?" Ginny gently patted his cheek.
Sheldon didn't know how to explain it to her, he could hardly explain it to himself. "MeeMaw, Penny's like…she's like a burrowing wood tick…"
It was at that moment that the door to the kitchen swung open with Penny leading the way in front of Duke and Missy carrying dirty dishes from the dining room.
"Excuse me?" Penny's voice immediately sent out a warning alarm. "Did you just compare me to a blood sucking parasite?"
Sheldon panicked. "No…no, that's not what I meant! MeeMaw, please help me!"
MeeMaw patted him on the arm. "You're on you own on this one." She grabbed Missy and Duke on the way out.
"But we want to watch!" Missy whined.
Penny walked over to Sheldon at the sink and stood toe to toe with him. Her green eyes pierced through his body. "Well?"
"Penny, what I was attempting to tell MeeMaw was that like the burrowing wood tick, you have gotten under my skin without me even realizing it."
"Wow Sheldon, that's…I don't even know what to say to that." Penny shook her head, no girl wants to be compared to an insect.
"Penny, you don't have to say anything." Sheldon took a step closer and raised his hands as to put them on her arms.
Mary poked her head through the door. "If you two are done fightin', MeeMaws going to read us 'The Gift of the Magi'.
Sheldon dropped his hands to his sides and backed way from Penny and headed out to the living room. Penny wanted to ring his neck, but it would have to wait for later. Ginny was already ensconced in a rocking chair, Mary was in a wingchair and Missy and Duke were settled in on the couch.
Penny went to sit down next to Missy. Sheldon stopped her before her butt reached the cushion. "That's my spot!"
Penny looked around, she'd have to drag a chair form the dining room or sit on the floor. On the floor like an insect! A friggin' wood tick! Penny thought about the time she had gotten a tick in her leg. She hadn't even known it was there, and couldn't get rid of it even when she tried. In fact, she had to go to the doctor to get it removed. "Oh!" The realization of what Sheldon meant hit her like a ton of bricks and a feather pillow at the same time. She looked down at him, all settled in his spot of his mother's couch and sat right down in his lap.
"Penny, this is my spot!" Sheldon cried out, although his arms acted of their own accord and encircled her waist. "The Paulie Exclusion principle explains to us that no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time."
"But, I'm not in your spot."
"Yes, but you're trying to be in my spot."
Penny smiled at him and ran her fingers through the back of his hair. "No Sweetie, you are in your spot, and I'm in mine."
Sheldon swallowed thickly, his eyes never leaving hers. "Your spot?"
"Your lap is my spot, and no one else can ever sit there." Penny leaned in and kissed him softly.
Sheldon's arms tightened around her and pulled her closer. Three years he had waited for this, Penny tasted as sweet as she truly was.
They only broke apart when the din of Mary's 'Hallelujahs' followed by 'praise the Lord' intruded into their consciousnesses.