I should be posting this chapter tomorrow. However, I'm not sure I can do it since there is some family event that I have to attend this weekend. So, I thought, why not post it now.
Well, here goes nothing.
Amy Farrah Fowler used to dream about her wedding—a June wedding on a cliff overlooking the ocean sunset, with a big white dress she was going to wear, and the prince charming she was going to marry—until she stopped doing that at one point. Not because no man found her attractive enough, a few men had shown interest in her. She just did not find someone who complied with her standards. Her mother told her that she should not have too high standards so that men could approach her but Amy did not feel the need to lower her self-esteem just to have a boyfriend. She agreed to date once a year just to silence her mother even though she barely could stand the dates. She was perfectly fine being all alone, she did not need a man to feel complete.
"This whole thing is ridiculous, don't you think?" Sheldon whispered to her. They were sitting next to each other in the groom's family seating. They arrived with a few minutes to spare and immediately took the empty seats prepared for them. Meemaw greeted them with a hug as if they had not met for a long time while Mary only nodded at them.
"I don't think so. I think it's quite lovely," she whispered back. Even though Amy herself had given up on the idea of getting married, she still often found the ceremony of other people's weddings to be beautiful.
"Yes, it's lovely. But it's ridiculous to perform a wedding ceremony in a church backyard somewhere in Texas at this time. We're practically melting. Why can't they have an indoor wedding? There is literally a church not more than 30 feet from us," he complained. "An outdoor wedding? Can you believe it? When I get married, I'll do it at the Athenaeum club at Caltech. You should see the place, it's beautiful and most importantly, indoor."
"'When'?" Amy frowned. "Is this wedding giving you an idea into thinking about getting married yourself, Sheldon? Didn't you say you have no intention to be pair-bonded?" Amy asked curiously.
"N-no. I was just saying that because Albert Einstein was a member of the Athenaeum club. Now, hush, the ceremony is about to begin," Sheldon said quickly.
The whole ceremony was alright. If it was not because of the heat, Amy would have enjoyed it more. She was grateful for wearing a light cardigan and forgoing her tights.
Thankfully the reception was held in an air-conditioned tent built next to it so the guests did not have to walk far. Amy immediately drained the glass of water on their designated table. "They should have held the ceremony in this tent from the beginning," she said. She took off her cardigan and draped it on the back of her chair, leaving her with her short sleeve dress.
"I concur," Sheldon replied, following her action by taking off his own jacket. He took a moment to appreciate Amy's arms as she always covered in cardigans or lab coat all the time. Except for last night when she wore her nightgown to sleep. However, the dress she wore at the moment was pretty fitting and Sheldon could almost visualize her body. His mouth suddenly felt dry so he drank his water down in one gulp.
"Oh, there you are. Come with me." Sheldon's mother suddenly grabbed her son on the arm and dragged him away before he had a chance to say anything.
"Don't worry, Sweetheart. He'll be back." Sheldon's Meemaw took the empty seat on Amy's right. "I hope you don't mind I'm taking this seat, I'm just keeping it occupied until Sheldon returns."
"Oh, no, it's fine. I'm sure he won't mind," Amy said. "Besides, there are still other empty chairs available." She looked around their table which was only occupied by Sheldon's Meemaw and her. It was meant for Sheldon's family but they were somewhere else.
"Missy will be back when she's done fixing her makeup and Georgie will be back when the flirting is not working," she pointed at Georgie who was standing extremely close to one of the bridesmaids. "And Mary will return Sheldon after she is finished trying to set Sheldon up with that poor girl."
It was a wrong timing to drink another glass of water as Amy almost choked on the water upon hearing Meemaw's explanation. Fortunately, she managed to not spill the water all over the table.
"I just don't understand why she still insists on doing that. I feel bad for that girl," Meemaw continued.
"Why?" Amy asked.
"Oh dear, anybody can see that my grandson is smitten with you."
"W-what?"
"He hangs on to your every word. You should see his eyes when he looks at you. Speak of the devil."
Sheldon had hurriedly walked to their table looking irritated followed by Mary. He took the other empty seat next to Amy. "I can't believe you! I brought Amy here and you promised that you will stop trying to set me up," he said to his mother.
"No. I promised not to invite Vanessa as your plus one, which I did. However, she and her mother are invited to the wedding because they are the member of this community. I have nothing to do with it," Mary said.
"Then why did you invite her to dinner tonight?" he asked angrily.
"I was being polite."
"Really? So, you have no ulterior motive?"
"No," Mary replied. She said it calmly Amy had no idea whether she was telling the truth or not.
"Fine. Then I don't feel the need to engage in any conversation with her tonight."
"Sheldon Lee Cooper, I raised you better than that. You are going to behave and treat her nicely!"
"That's unacceptable. I'm a grown man. You can't tell me what to do."
"Is that how you talk to your mother?" Mary raised her voice a little. Other people from the nearest table started looking at them.
"Sheldon," Amy said softly.
Sheldon's Vulcan hearing caught her word. He was suddenly aware that Amy was sitting next to him and deliberately grabbed her hand for comfort. Mary eyed them suspiciously.
"It's just a dinner, you're going to be alright," Amy said.
"But, Amy, I don't like it," he replied meekly.
"You don't know that yet. She could be a nice person," she said.
"You need to stop being so kind and adorable." Amy blushed a little at his compliment. Sheldon then turned to his mother. "Very well, you can invite her to dinner but I will not enjoy it."
"It's my house, Shelly. I don't need your permission," Mary simply said then left them.
"See? He listens to you," Meemaw whispered in Amy's ear.
Amy played with her food. The peach cobbler was delicious, but she was no longer hungry. They were having dinner which was prepared by Mary. Amy had offered to help a couple times but she just shooed her away. Now, she was awkwardly eating dinner with Vanessa, Sheldon, his mother, and Meemaw. Missy was staying at her own house and Georgie's flirting seemed to work as he disappeared with that bridesmaid sometime during the reception and had not yet been seen since. At first, Amy thought it was nice of Sheldon not to be rude to the guest and treat Vanessa politely, even engaging in conversation with her. That was until Sheldon only talked to her throughout the dinner and ignored other people completely, including Amy.
Amy eyed Vanessa. She was beautiful, tall, and skinny. All the things Amy thought she was not. At least she had better hair than Vanessa's short hair, which was unfortunate, she would look prettier with long hair. Vanessa and Sheldon had been talking about some comic books and science fiction, things that Amy had no interest at all—although it never stopped Sheldon to keep talking to Amy about those things. Amy usually let him since she found herself mesmerized in watching him talking enthusiastically about something he loved. It turned out Vanessa had the same interest as him in comic books and science fiction. So, instead of just a smile or a simple nod like what Amy usually gave him to respond to his talk about comic books and science fiction, Vanessa responded with the equal enthusiasm as him. Amy felt weird in her stomach.
"You're in luck because I happen to have that edition in my old room and we can check it right now," Sheldon said.
"Let's do it so that I can prove you wrong," Vanessa replied.
"Um, not going to happen," he said.
They both stood and left the dining room without saying anything to the other, they even left their half-empty plates on the table.
"That's rude, they didn't excuse themselves.," Meemaw commented.
"Oh, just let them. They are still young," Mary defended them.
"I know what you are doing and I don't approve it," Meemaw said.
"I'm not doing anything. It's good that they get along very well. Vanessa seems like a good girl and they looked suited to each other," Mary replied.
Both women seemed to forget that Amy was there until Amy accidentally knocked her glass and spilled the water on the table. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll clean it," Amy clumsily stood and used her napkin to dab the water before it ruined her dress.
"It's okay, dear. I'll clean it. Just enjoy the rest of the evening, you're our guest anyway," Mary said sweetly.
Amy thought it was the first time that Mary acted nicely to her. She wondered if it had something to do with Sheldon and Vanessa.
"I-I'm going to go get some fresh air," Amy said. She then quickly opened the back door and stepped outside.
The last thing she heard when she closed the door was Mary said "What?" to Meemaw.