CHAPTER 10
Penny woke up a little before 10 am, when she felt a few aggravating sunbeams hitting her forehead and almost blinding her. Leonard had already gone to work. Seeing that Penny was very tired, Leonard let her sleep in. He said goodbye with a gentle kiss on the forehead and a sincere smile.
Even though she was still feeling sleepy and she didn't want to get up from bed, Penny took a shower, and had a cup of coffee and a toast for breakfast. As she looked in the full length mirror, she slowly put on her waitress uniform. The same routine, every day, except for the occasional schedule change.
Suddenly, in that mirror, Penny could picture herself as a heavily pregnant woman. Although she blinked several times, trying to erase those images, Penny could still see in her reflection, the distinctive silhouette of a pregnant woman, with a prominent yet fictional curve in her belly.
At that moment Penny felt immensely distressed. She felt a lump in her throat and it seemed that the walls of her room were dangerously approaching her, threatening to crush her. She had trouble breathing and experienced an uncontrollable urge to run away.
"So ... this way is how it ends" she thought. "I guess this is the end of your dream of being a great actress, Penny". In her eyes, the tears were struggling to escape. "Say goodbye to the successful career in Hollywood that you've always dreamed of."
Penny knew she wasn't a girl anymore; she was a grown woman and she'd matured a lot, comparing to that girl from Nebraska who came to California with a dream. She knew for sure that she loved Leonard with all her heart. She looked at her wedding ring and smiled warmly.
Leonard and Penny were not planning to have to have a baby but, if a baby were coming Penny was definitely going to love him. The problem was that Penny didn't know how to react at the time; she'd always struggled with commitments and responsibilities. And this was ... absolutely the greatest responsibility she would face.
"My job!" Penny screamed, when she realized what time it was. "I'm going to be late!" Her job as a waitress at Cheesecake Factory wasn't her dream job, but she needed the income. Penny quickly grabbed her purse and walked down the stairs.
In her car, Penny told herself: "Who wants a pregnant waitress? If I am already a mediocre waitress, I don't want to see myself in a few months, with a huge belly and stumbling over tables" She shook her head as if she could stop thinking about it. She inhaled deeply. "Calm down Penny! It won't be so bad and… you don't know it for certain."
Penny arrived at the restaurant a little late and, without wasting more time she went to the kitchen, where she greeted her friends.
"Guys, I think you should check the expiry date of that salmon, because it doesn't smell so well. It's kind of… gross!"Penny told the cooks. She felt a little nauseated, perceiving that smell, and she covered her mouth and her nose with a hand.
"Penny, this salmon is really fresh. Our supplier just brought it an hour ago" the chef replied.
Leonard was awfully quiet in the morning. Sheldon had barely noticed it because his entire focus was on Nicholas while Leonard drove them to Caltech.
The experimental physicist struggled to concentrate on work; after all, operating lasers required attention. Trying to push away the thoughts that distracted him, Leonard put on his safety goggles and continued working as normally as he could.
"Focus Leonard or you're going to lose a finger!" He demanded himself.
Occasionally, Leonard grinned silently, knowing he had a big secret to keep. Penny and he hadn't yet decided whether it was the right time to become parents but, if someone asked Leonard if he would like to have a baby ... the answer was yes!
Leonard had always wanted a baby with Penny; to be honest he had imagined their babies from the moment that he met her. Similarly, Leonard had faced disappointment every time they had a negative pregnancy test. Although Penny was relieved in those occasions, Leonard wasn't happy with a negative result. He'd always felt that something was missing.
"It's going to happen! This time it's going to happen!" he repeated like a mantra. Leonard and Penny had discussed this possibility before, but they never reached an agreement, and so far the experimental physicist had to settle for being Nicholas' favorite uncle.
When Leonard imagined himself as a father, he hoped to give his future child, everything he didn't have as a kid, and obviously he didn't mean material things. He wanted a home where birthdays are celebrated with joy and love, and Christmas gifts, aren't just grades for an academic paper.
"Sheldon and Amy are Nicholas parents, and they're doing a great job, I guess we can do it too. Right? Penny and I can be good parents."Leonard said softly.
"I shouldn't think about it ... yet. As Penny said, we'd had false alarms before" Leonard breathed heavily. "But maybe this time is different."
"Nicholas, it's time for lunch!" Sheldon told his son as they entered the cafeteria. He sat at the table and put Nicholas on his lap. "Umm, let's see the lunch your mom made you: a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich, milk and a banana". Unquestionably, Nicholas' lunch looked mouth-watering compared to Sheldon's macaroni and cheese.
"Nicky, would you like to do a swap with me? I want to change my macaroni and cheese with your sandwich". Sheldon gave Nicholas a spoonful of macaroni and when he tried it, he responded with a charming face of disgust.
"I'll take that as a no" Sheldon commented as he looked at Nicholas. The baby was eating his sandwich like it was a real treat.
"Hey Sheldon! Hey Nicky!" Raj and Howard approached the table and greeted them.
"Hello!" Sheldon replied, and then he continued feeding his son. Sheldon realized the sandwich had a smiley face carved in the bread, just like Sheldon's mom used to make it.
"I didn't know that Nicholas was here. Are you having a good day, Nicky?" Raj asked the little boy and he answered with a cute chuckle.
"Nicholas is having a great time. Apparently physics isn't indifferent for him as I thought. I consider that… with the right guidance, he could be my successor" Sheldon smiled proudly.
"Oh really? Why do you say that?" Howard was intrigued.
"I say it because… this morning when I was giving a lecture on subatomic particles, Nicholas was paying more attention than the rest of the audience. I thought my son preferred Biology, since he's been influenced by his mother, but I must say that I see great potential in Nicholas". Sheldon told his friends with a conceited tone.
While Sheldon was talking to Raj and Howard, he stopped paying attention to his baby for a moment. Taking advantage of the situation, Nicholas was playing with his sandwich and in a few seconds he had strawberry jelly and peanut butter all over his face and hands.
"Sheldon, I think your little 'Carl Sagan' needs help with his lunch" Howard pointed at the toddler.
"Oh Nicholas! What a mess!" Sheldon shook his head as a reproach of his son's actions. He took a wet wipe from his bag and cleaned Nicky's hands and face.
Leonard came into the cafeteria and greeted his friends; he sat in the empty chair and began to eat in silence, but deep in thought.
"Is everything okay?" Raj asked him, he was somewhat concerned about the attitude of Leonard. "It took you a while to come to the cafeteria."
"Yeah, I just ... I was talking to Penny on the phone for a moment, and I lost track of time" Leonard answer, absent-mindedly.
"If you and Penny are fighting, I would suggest you to buy her flowers. Amy loved the roses I bought for her. Sheldon told us so", Raj winked and Sheldon nodded. Leonard didn't say a word and continued eating.
Raj found it ironic that he could always give the best advice about relationships, and he was the only one of the group who remained single.
After a few minutes, a smiling red-haired girl, with her face full of freckles approached their table. She was the same girl who attended Sheldon's lecture.
"Dr. Cooper! It's so nice to see you again ... and your baby's still here. Hi sweetie!" She greeted Nicholas, merrily waving her hand, but he hardly looked back at her.
"My name's Violet Lewis, I was at your lecture a few hours ago. I was thinking that… if you are not so busy, you could help me with a paper I'm writing. I could really use the help of a tutor and, who could be a better tutor than you? Also, if you're looking for a babysitter, I can take care of your son when you need it. I can stop by your office this afternoon… if that's not a problem with you". Violet coyly played with a lock of her hair and showed Sheldon a toothy grin.
"At the moment I'm pretty busy to be your tutor but I guess you could send me your paper via email and I'll take a look at it. As for your offer to babysit Nicholas, my answer is NO", Sheldon replied categorically. "Nicholas is uncomfortable with people he doesn't know. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to continue with my lunch."
"O… okay, I'll send you the paper. I already have your email" Violet replied as she walked away, feeling somewhat discouraged.
"Sheldon ... do you realize what just happened?" Howard was perplexed. "That girl was flirting with you in a rather obvious way."
"Howard, I think you're wrong, she just wanted me to be a tutor for the paper she's writing, and she was trying to be nice by offering to babysit Nicholas", Sheldon stated as he gave Nicky a banana for dessert. The little boy looked adorable, wearing his monkey costume and eating a banana.
"Howard is right, that girl was totally flirting with you and I think I know why. It's because of… Nicky. Babies are chick magnets. That girl's biological clock started ticking when she saw your son". Raj added with a smile. "Just take a look around; can you see all those women looking at you at the same time?"
Incredulously, Sheldon looked around, and in fact, several girls were staring at Nicholas and him, as if they were a spectacle. Sheldon nervously gulped.
"Shhh! If we're quiet, we can hear the sound of their biological clocks: Tic Tock, Tic Tock!"Howard was laughing out loud.
"What do you do think Leonard?" Sheldon questioned, still surprised with the events. "Leonard? LEONARD!" Sheldon shouted when he noticed his friend wasn't paying attention, at all.
Leonard shook his head and answered: "Howard's right!", then he shrugged and kept eating.
"I think I've found the perfect wingman. Right, Nicky?" Raj smiled with a renewed hope. "High five!"
Nicholas giggled and waved his little hand to uncle Raj.
"Tomorrow, I will ask the landlord to fix the elevator" Amy thought aloud as she opened the door of apartment 4A. Walking up four flights of stairs wasn't easy when you have a nagging pain in your lower back and belly, like Amy had that day.
Amy considered that the pain was probably due to her skirt's waistband; it started feeling tight around her belly, even though it was too early to feel that way. Amy estimated she was six o seven weeks pregnant, and when she was expecting Nicholas, her clothes didn't feel so tight until she was thirteen or fourteen weeks pregnant.
"Maybe, I was wrong and you're a little bigger than I initially thought. Well, it's either that, or I'm overeating" Amy told her baby while gently stroking her belly. "And by the way, would you like some ice cream? Or even better… olives?"
On their way home, Leonard accompanied Sheldon and Nicholas to the drugstore; he wanted to buy some vitamins and folic acid for Amy and the new homo novus.
Leonard was feeling annoyed while Sheldon fixedly stared at the shelves, looking for the most appropriate prenatal vitamins.
"Look, Leonard! These vitamin supplements have higher iron content in milligrams than the others, but in these, the iron is in the form of ferrous sulfate and the other one contains ferrous fumarate. I can't decide between them. So, ferrous fumarate or sulfate? Leonard? Are You listening? Leonard!" Sheldon was exasperated while trying to get Leonard's attention.
"Why don't you take that one?" Leonard randomly pointed to a box.
"Good choice Leonard! Ferrous fumarate has better intestinal absorption than sulphate. Thanks Leonard!" Sheldon took the pillbox that Leonard chose and holding Nicholas in his arms, he headed to the checkout lane.
"Penny!" Nicholas said, with a happy chuckle when he unexpectedly saw her, leaving the drugstore.
The boy stretched out his hand, to greet her, but Penny put a finger on her lips, silently asking him to be quiet. She ran to her car as fast as she could and apparently neither Leonard nor Sheldon noticed her presence at the pharmacy.
"Nicholas! Penny isn't here. You'll get to see her when we get home" Sheldon told him while paying for the vitamins.
Leonard however, struggled to stay calm while trying to distinguish whether that blonde girl with a Cheesecake factory uniform, running in the parking lot, was actually Penny.