Chapter 10: The Stables
It was a 25 minute ride to the stables where Penny would meet them. Chrissy, to be sure, was very excited to get to see horses up close. Of course, she'd never met Penny before, who Leonard would explain was an old friend of his. The weather was perfect that Sunday afternoon as Leonard eased onto the freeway for the trip - traffic was fairly light, for a change.
He followed the directions from the notes he'd written based on Penny's explanation. Even super IQ Leonard had been having trouble figuring out the complex navigation system in his new car.
"Whoever designed this thing ignored all the rules of logic," Leonard complained to himself as he shook his head.
"Are we lost, Daddy?" Chrissy asked from the back seat.
"No, we aren't lost - I have the directions right here on this piece of paper, Sweetie," Leonard assured her.
Satisfied with her father's answer, Chrissy then returned to asking questions about the stables and how many horses there were, etc.
Finally he found the side road that Penny said needed a right turn to arrive at the stables, and as he made the turn he could see a large building up ahead. Lots of open land lead up to the entrance with white fencing providing a solid barrier to the property.
"Idlewood Equestrian Center and Stables," Leonard read the large black on white sign that hung over the driveway. "This is the place - we're here, Chrissy."
He could feel his heart rate increasing as he entered through the main gates of the stables and pulled over to the right in front of the office, a small wooden building that hadn't seen paint in a while. It looked like something from the set of a a Hollywood Western. He and Chrissy walked through the opened door to the front desk, where a gruff, older man of about 65 looked up from his paperwork.
"Can I help you?" the man asked.
"Yes, my name is Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, and this is my daughter, Christine. We're, uh, we're here to see someone...um, her name is Penny..." Leonard's response was cut short by the man at the desk.
"Yeah, you're on the list. She's been expecting you. Hold on a second." With that the man grabbed a two way radio and barked into it to someone named Cal. Leonard could barely make out Cal's response but it sounded like he would find Penny and let her know.
The man looked back over the top of his half glasses at Leonard, standing there holding Chrissy's hand. "She'll be up here in a minute," he said as he returned his gaze to the papers on the counter in front of him.
Leonard feigned a smile and responded, "OK, thanks." He also wondered if he was supposed to have dressed a certain way for this visit - maybe cowboy-looking or something. Growing up as somewhat of an outcast because of his smarts and his total lack of athletic ability, Leonard was very sensitive to trying to blend in. He recalled years ago when he tried to blend in with Penny's football group at her apartment, wearing that ridiculous red football jersey that Sheldon remarked looked like a cocktail dress. Today, though, he went with an older pair of blue jeans, a button-down short sleeve shirt and his beloved high-top sneakers. It would have to do.
It was only a few minutes but it seemed like forever as Leonard and Chrissy waited in the office. The office wasn't fancy, for sure. But there were lots of interesting framed photos on the walls of horse owners with their horses. One picture in particular struck Leonard, as it pictured a young blond woman on her horse in a mid air shot as horse and rider cleared some kind of barricade.
Boy, that looks dangerous, Leonard thought, I hope I'm not watching Chrissy do that some day.
The man at the front desk caught Leonard examining the picture.
"Yeah, that's her...that's Penny. She's become a pretty good rider."
Leonard smiled back at the man, acknowledging his comment. Wow, he thought, I guess she really is into this.
He suddenly heard a car's tires on the gravel in front of the office - it was one of those little Mini-Coopers, its shiny black finish somewhat dulled by a light coating of road dust. A cloud of dust drifted off off behind the car as it came to an abrupt stop. Fast driver, Leonard thought.
He was about to turn back around to look at the man behind the counter when he caught sight of the Mini's driver exiting the car - it was Penny! She was dressed in dark blue jeans, riding boots, long sleeve light brown shirt, and sporting aviator-style sunglasses. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail, not much make-up - she looked terrific, as always. Leonard and Chrissy turned and headed out the front door, as Leonard offered a small wave at Penny. Penny's face brightened and returned the wave with a wide smile.
"Hi, you guys!" Penny proclaimed. "Welcome to my home away from home! And you...you must be Chrissy, right?" Leonard's daughter smiled and nodded enthusiastically.
"Well, my real name is Christine, but a lot of people just call me Chrissy," the little girl announced.
Penny bent down and said, "My middle name is Christine. I think it's a pretty name."
Chrissy replied, "And my middle name is Rebecca, from my mom. But she died."
Penny nodded knowingly, stood back up, and smiled at Leonard, "Oh Leonard, she is adorable. You must be so proud."
Leonard smiled, "Yeah, well, I wish I could take credit for her, but she's all Becky, for sure."
"OK, well, the stables are just down the road a bit, so I thought we'd jump in my car and just take a quick ride back there. How's that sound?" Penny asked.
Leonard gave Penny a quick thumbs up, buckled Chrissy in the back seat and jumped in front right seat as Penny started up the car. Sitting next to his old girlfriend in the Mini, Leonard noticed that he was feeling just a little more at ease somehow. She seemed so much like the woman he had known back at Los Robles Apartments - not so Hollywood looking as the People magazine cover, but still totally beautiful. Leonard had no idea what to expect from the afternoon but, despite his anxiety, it felt really good to see her again. He allowed himself to inhale, as if he could finally breath again.
"Hold on, you two, here we go!" announced Penny as she accelerated the Mini Cooper down the dirt road. Well, her driving style hasn't changed, Leonard thought. He gripped the door handle, which Penny spotted, causing her to laugh that familiar laugh. Leonard offered a smile back and then turned his view out the side window as he noticed the horses and riders out for their Sunday exercises.
It was a short, bumpy ride down the road and then a quick turn , stopping in front of a building marked "North Stables." Leonard jumped out and unbuckled Chrissy's seat belt and helped her out. By this point Penny was standing in front of the car, waiting to take them on a tour of the stables and a short walk around the grounds.
Leonard was surprised at how at ease Penny seemed, both today and that Thursday at the fundraiser, as he remembered how awful their last months together were back in 2014. It almost made it more awkward today. Leonard kept wondering in his head, What am I going to say to her?... what's she going to say to me?... why'd she even invite us down here today?... why did I accept?
The conversation was light and focused a lot on Chrissy, who was, Leonard assumed, the reason for the invitation. After the tour of the stables, Penny stopped at one of the stalls at the far end of the building. The sign above the stall gate said "Razzmatazz".
"Meet one of my horses, Razzmatazz," Penny proudly exclaimed.
The horse, a medium brown with some white on her lower legs, was really beautiful...and big. The smell in the stables and the sight of the horse right in front of Leonard brought back memories from summer camp and those scary rides on the horses.
"And next door here is my other horse, Nebraska Girl - I guess you can figure out where that name came from!" Penny smiled.
"Wow, you have TWO horses," Chrissy shouted, "Daddy, she has TWO horses."
Leonard and Penny looked at each other and laughed.
"So, Chrissy, would you like to take a short ride on one of my horses? Leonard, don't worry, it's safe - I'll be walking the horse," Penny assured him. "Which horse would you like to ride?"
"I want to ride the one with the funny name," Chrissy decided.
"OK, Razzmatazz it is," replied Penny as she walked over to grab a saddle and prepare the horse for the ride.
A short time later, Chrissy was loving being on the horse. As he and Penny walked along with Chrissy high up on Razzmatazz, he couldn't help but wonder what thoughts were going on in Penny's head right now. It was easy talking with her about normal stuff - where they each were living now, how Penny's TV show was doing, what it was like being in a successful show, and Penny seemed interested in hearing about Leonard's job as Cal Tech's promoter of research and his traveling. And, of course, Penny gently asked about Becky, again offering her condolences and curious about her and the life that Leonard had shared with Becky for what turned out to be a very short time.
Leonard beamed as he watched his daughter enjoying her moment... escorted by the woman that, two weeks ago, he would not have imagined he'd be seeing today...after these three long years.