42 hours until the wedding

When they came back for lunch, Howard had his nose wrapped in a bandage and his eyes were red. The lock on the closet door had jammed which meant Howard hadn't been able to get Amy in and she had mistaken him for a rapist, macing him and hitting him in the nose. Sheldon was still at the club, having been forgotten in the chaos, as had Raj. Missy was on her way to get them. Leonard, Penny and Howard were at the Cooper house. As she helped Mary prepare dinner (A/N: I know, sexist, but who else is going to do it?) Penny decided to ask some questions.

"What was Sheldon like as a child?" Penny asked as they peeled potatoes.

"Up until he was five, Shelly was real quiet. He would just sit in his room for hours, reading and playing with his toys. But when he started school, he realized that he wasn't like the other kids. That he was special and the other kids didn't appreciate that," Mary said. She put down her peeler and sighed. "I always felt like I had betrayed him in some way by not telling him he wasn't like them. After he started school, he became, well…the way he is now."

"You knew Amy, right?"

"She dated my son for three years Penny. I saw her almost as much as I saw my own daughter." Mary stared at Penny as if the blond was possibly slow. "Those two…you don't see it much these days, what they had. If things had gone differently, I'd be a grandma by now."

"What was he like when they were together?"

"Almost normal. For a while, I thought that he was possessed by some German demon, but then I recognized the signs. My little boy was in love. He actually did things boys his age did. He went out; saw normal movies, none of that alien stuff. He started to use words we understood, and he laughed all the time when they were together." Mary paused again. "When they broke up, his heart was just shattered. He almost didn't go to California, but after…he just had to get away."

"He kept things," Penny blurted out. "From their relationship. Pictures and trinkets."

"I'm not surprised. Shelly was always the type to keep things. He has a little box of letters from his mee-maw."

"I know. I saw that too."

"That woman and I never got along, but I have to admit she loved that boy to death."

The front door banged open and the sound of Raj singing filled the house. It sounded like 'Love Hurts' by Incubus. Sheldon walked into the kitchen, smelling of bleach and sawdust.

"I find it concerning that no one came into the closet during the course of my sojourn in there," he announced. "Mother, if the wedding is to take place there, I am going to need my Haz-mat suit."

"It won't be taking place there," Missy said. "Amy told me that the wedding is going to be at the lake. Something about the mood or setting. I wasn't listening."

"How could you not listen? Every detail to crucial to the plan!" Sheldon cried.

"Well, we were talking about that before I knew y'all were gonna go all Rambo and crash the wedding in drag."

"I love you Missy! You are very pretty when you yell," Raj chirped. Everyone shut up and stared at him. Then, he fell over.

"How much did he drink?" Penny asked.

"After his third, the bartender just gave him tonic water and green Kool-Aid." Missy shook her head. "Someone help me get him to the couch.

Over dinner, they talked about the weather and current events, staying away from today's events and the upcoming nuptials. Soon, the conversation turned to people that only Sheldon, Mary and Missy knew, excluding the rest.

"Do you remember that Mexican lady who used to live down the street? The one who babysat and told fortunes?" Mary mentioned.

"She was Peruvian," Sheldon reminded her. "I told you that several times as you kept offending her."

"Anyway Shelly, I saw her granddaughter at the A&P today and apparently Miz Esmeralda has the sugar and her poor granddaughter has to take over as head of the family," Mary continued.

"I remember her," Missy said. "She used to tell you your future for free. Or for some snacks."

"That explains the diabetes," Sheldon muttered.

"Didn't you and Amy go see her once?" Missy asked.

"You saw a fortune teller?" Leonard didn't believe it and Sheldon's affirmative nod just made it seem that less believable. "Really?"

"It was a lark."

Xxx

(Then)

The 'voodoo woman' lived a block from their houses. Local legend said that she could read one's fortune accurately. Sheldon of course didn't believe in such madness and told Amy so as she half-dragged him to the little yellow house.

"Sheldon, this falls under doing things for fun," she said as the grip on his hand tightened. "We've talked about this, remember?"

"I believe we discussed day trips and having coitus outdoors, not this type of nonsense," Sheldon reminded her, causing a blush to sweep across her face.

"This qualifies too," she hissed as they walked up the stone walkway. A girl that appeared to be about eleven sat on the porch, reading a thick paperback. She looked up from her mop of curls.

"Are you here to see my grandma?" she asked. Amy nodded. "Go on in. She's in the kitchen." Sheldon attempted to stay behind, but in a burst of strength, Amy dragged him inside the house. The walls were covered with pictures of children (the seventies and eighties attire were a dead giveaway) and grandchildren, most of the latter being of the girl on the porch. The house smelled of lentils and chicken. A small old woman sat at the table with a book of word search puzzles.

"Um, Miz Esmeralda?" Amy whispered. The woman looked up and smiled.

"Sit," she said and they did. "Which one of you would like to go first?"

"He would," Amy pointed at Sheldon, as if Esmeralda needed any clarification.

"I never do readings with couples," the older woman said. Amy nodded and left the room. Esmeralda took Sheldon's hand.

"Unlike your girlfriend, you are not at a crossroads in your life. In your mind, you have a plan. But, you keep forgetting the other factors. Do not forget that other people have plans too.

"In your future, I see great happiness and love. But then, great pain. You will experience the worst kind of sorrow after the best kind of love. In the land of the sun, you will collect a surrogate family. Listen to the blonde, Sheldon. She has great wisdom, deep down."

Xxx

Note: In the next chapter, Penny and Amy finally meet!