The London Dissatisfaction
It was their honeymoon and she had it all planned out. Sheldon wanted to look over her itinerary and make sure she had organized everything to his exact specifications including alternative activities in case of circumstance or emergency, but Penny shooed him away every time he tried to take a peek at her notebook. She had sketched out maps and charts and in the margins written addresses, directions and phone numbers so that no matter what, they would have an enjoyable time.
The backbone of her plan had included a train ride from the hotel she had booked in Reading, just northwest of London (she purposefully booked a town at least twenty minutes away so that Sheldon could experience the British railway for the first time), a visit to the science museum (she was so glad it was free there), lunch at a café just across from the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral, a walk over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern (she loved art), and boat ride down to Embankment to see the Houses of Parliament (she always wanted to see Big Ben).
But the highlight of the night, the Big Deal, the pièce de résistance was a ride on the London Eye at sunset. Ever since she helped Sheldon with his fear of heights, she'd been wanting to celebrate and this was her way of showing him that they were in this great adventure together.
The day had gone brilliantly. Sheldon nearly had a heart attack when he walked into the Science Museum. He had never been to this particular one, and although to Penny they were all the same, she knew it meant a lot to him. Her favorite part was the walk over Millennium Bridge, where she could see the River Thames snaking along the skyline of London, a city she'd seen so often in the movies, but never imagined she'd see in real life.
Her heart started racing the closer it got to sundown. She started talking excitedly as they crossed the bridge from the Houses of Parliament toward the crowded pier that held the giant Ferris wheel. She revealed her plan to them and although he looked a little nervous, he smiled excitedly and gave her a hug. They walked past the long line of annoyed looking customers toward the Fast Track counter. If Sheldon had taught her anything, it was to always get the Fast Track of anything. She walked toward the counter and approached the smiling lady behind it. She handed the pre-booking receipt to the woman and waited for their tickets.
"I'm sorry," the woman said, her smile still plastered on. "We're having technical difficulties this evening. We will be shutting down the Eye until next week."
Fuck.
"I'll be happy to rearrange your times for whenever's best for you starting from the fifteenth. If not, I'm afraid I will have to offer you a refund."
Penny's world crumbled down around her. This was the one thing she did not have an alternative for. She even planned for an eventual zombie attack after seeing the movie 28 Days Later. But it didn't even occur to her to arrange for a substitute in case they couldn't ride the Millennium Wheel. Tears started to fall down her cheeks when she felt long fingers wrap around her shoulders from behind and strong hands holding her up.
She shook her head. "No, just a refund please," she managed to get out. The lady turned to her computer and Penny let out a long breath and pondered on how it came to be that she would panic when something didn't go according to plan and it would be Sheldon Cooper who calmed her down.