Chapter 11: Bon Appetit

Amy meets the girls and makes friends. The guys have a bit of a communication problem.

That evening I had arrived at Sheldon's building at promptly seven p.m., by this time I knew full well the emphasis he placed on punctuality. To my pleasant surprise, he was waiting for me on the sidewalk outside the lobby. I could see the smile that spread across his face as I exited my car and walked towards him.

He greeted me with an upbeat, "Good evening, Dr. Fowler. I hope your drive was a pleasant one."

I answered his question in what I hoped was a pleasant voice, "It was. There was little to no traffic, which doesn't happen very often this time of day. You look very nice tonight, Sheldon." I thought I'd add that to make sure he knew I approved of his appearance.

He nodded and gave me a compliment, "As do you." I had taken great pains with my outfit for the evening. I had paired a new pair of black leggings with a teal sweater that went past my hips. My look was trendy but also fairly conservative. At that point I was still rather reluctant to show much skin, even to Sheldon. Still, I knew I was looking pretty darn good.

We had then entered his building together and made our way up the stairs to the fourth floor. On the way, Sheldon explained to me how the elevator had gotten broken. He couldn't, however, explain why it hadn't been fixed yet. He lived in a nice building in a nice part of town. You would think the building would have been better maintained. That thought soon left my mind and was replaced by a bit of nervousness. I was about to meet yet more new people and I have never been very skilled at that. But this was important to Sheldon and he had approved of the way I had handled myself at lunch. So I decided to act much the same way tonight.

Sheldon opened the door and announced, "Look who's here!" Predictably, Howard looked peeved, Leonard looked a bit cautious (I couldn't figure that one out), and Raj had his mouth against Howard's ear yet again. The only thing different was that this time Howard moved away from Raj and told him, "Would you stop that, please?" I saw a small, blonde, woman next to Howard and assumed, correctly as I later discovered, that this woman must have been his girlfriend, the microbiologist. I was very eager to get to know this woman and 'talk shop' later in the evening.

My biggest surprise was the beautiful blonde woman next Leonard. I had guessed that this was his girlfriend, Penny. Before I could be introduced to her, she came over to me and hugged me tightly, this was a bit startling. She then stepped back and beamed at me before announcing, "Welcome. You must be Amy, Sheldon's new squeeze! I am so happy to meet you. Before I could reply to this, she handed me a glass of wine and gave me a wink. "Anyone who gets the better of Howard Wollowitz is always welcome in my home!" This evening was definitely holding much promise.

Prior to going downstairs to meet Amy, I had decided the best course of action would be to fill in Penny as to who Amy was and I why I wanted them to meet. I took the bull by the horns, so to speak, and took Penny aside to speak with her. "Penny, I really want you to meet Amy. I think you two would really hit it off. That is why I invited her here tonight. Leonard and the other guys have already met her at lunch today."

Penny poured herself a glass of wine and asked me, "Is it true she really got on Howard's case for checking out her chest?"

I took a sip of my water, no alcohol for this man, "Affirmative. She was definitely not appreciative of his attentions in that direction."

Penny then had a bit of wine and quizzed me in an amused way, "And she called out Howard and Raj for their weird friendship?"

I nodded and replied, "Yes, I do believe she did just that."

"Cool." She put down her wine glass and spoke to me in a 'just between the two of us' voice, "Did she really ask Howard if he and Raj had a gay relationship?"

I wasn't quite sure what she meant by that remark, but I answered her as truthfully as I could, "I truly don't know how happy they are, but Amy insinuated that their relationship went beyond mere friendship."

Penny put a hand on each of my shoulders and smiled up at me happily, "Sheldon, I will be more than happy to meet her. She sounds like my kind of girl. When is she due here?"

I made my way to the door, "I am going downstairs to meet her now."

"Well don't be late. I have a feeling this will be quite an interesting evening." She turned to Leonard and said, "Don't you think so?"

Yeah, sure," he answered her with a look of apprehension on his face, "real interesting."

For some reason I failed to fathom, Leonard had not seemed as excited as Penny about the evening. But I had just put it down to being a little nervous about introducing a new member to our little group. I should have told him not to worry, but at that point in time I had to leave and go downstairs to meet Amy. Still, he had seen Amy in action at lunch. He had seen how seamlessly she had fit in with everyone. I sometimes think Leonard worries too much.

Amy and I exchanged the usual pleasantries and headed up the stairs. When we entered the apartment, Howard did not look pleased and pushed Raj away from him as he was whispering in his ear yet again. Bernadette looked curiously at Amy, and Penny went right up to her and greeted her warmly with a hug. She said she was pleased to make her acquaintance and handed her a glass of wine. Amy, of course, was her usual gracious self and accepted Penny's offering as she returned her smile. I could see these two were hitting it off fabulously. I had been correct in my assumptions. Everyone loved Amy. At least I thought they did. But why did Leonard look so worried and Howard so angry? Most likely they had been having some sort of disagreement earlier in the evening. Oh well, it was none of my concern. Amy and I proceeded to the couch where I sat down in my usual spot and invited her to sit next to me. This evening was getting off to a great start!

How do you admit to someone you care about that you intensely dislike something they love? I will admit it right now, I hate Thai food. I do not care for any food that is heavily spiced. This includes Indian food, certain Mexican foods, and most definitely Thai. I'm more of a sushi person, myself. I do believe I made a good show of pushing the food around my plate so it looked like I was actually eating it. Sheldon soon caught on, however, and asked me, "Amy, you are barely touching your food. Do you feel all right?"

I had been forced to come up with and answer quickly. I finally decided on the truth. He had a right to know my likes and dislikes. That was part of building a relationship, right? I turned and confessed to him, "Sheldon, I'm not really fond of Thai food. I find it a bit too spicy. I suppose I prefer sushi to Thai."

At the mere mention of sushi, Penny lit up at that like a Christmas tree. She almost squealed as she replied, "Me too! Thai is not really my thing. But I love sushi! Amy, how would you like to go with me and Bernie for sushi sometime?"

I had never before in my life been invited to hang out with another female. This was certainly a novel experience for me. So I smiled and answered her, "Thank you so very much. I think I would enjoy doing that. Do you have a favorite sushi restaurant you go to?"

Bernadette spoke up at that, I swear she had the squeakiest voice I had ever heard in my life, she informed me, "Penny and I always go to O2 Sushi. It has the best sushi in Pasadena. Hey, we could talk shop while we're there."

"Or not." Penny interjected.

Howard then shot his girlfriend the evil eye. I'm not sure if Bernadette noticed it, but I sure did. What had I ever done to earn that response from him? I had merely made a comment about my take on his relationship with Raj, which still puzzled me. He seemed happy with Bernadette. Maybe he was bisexual. Yes, that must have been it. It explained Howard's actions perfectly.

Anyway, after everyone was finished eating and I was finished pushing the food around my plate, everyone began to talk. The men had gone off to mostly talked shop so I was left to converse with the women, which wasn't an unattractive option but I hadn't much experience engaging in 'girl talk'. No matter. Penny took over and did most of the talking, which made the entire situation much easier for me.

"How long have you been a new row biolwhatever?" Penny asked me in a very inquisitive manner.

I answered her truthfully, "I've been working as a neurobiologist for five years now."

Bernadette leaned forward like she was very interested in my career and asked me, "Where did you go to school?"

"Harvard." I answered her. I hadn't wanted to come off as a braggart, but that was where I went to school.

"That sounds grueling." Penny remarked. "Did you always like that math and science stuff?"

I nodded, pretended to eat more Thai, and replied, "I have always had an interest in the STEM subjects, but I also have an interest in classical literature and music."

Penny made a face and it wasn't from the taste of the food. Her pretty nose wrinkled up as she exclaimed, "Oh boy! I hate all those things. Except music. Who do you like in music? I like Adele, Guns 'n Roses, and Beyonce. Who do you like?"

I turned to her and admitted, "I enjoy classical harp music and Neil Diamond. What about you, Bernadette?" I wanted to include Howard's wife in this discussion. I rather liked her and hoped we could become friends.

She then gave an evil grin that I never have been able to completely erase from my mind and answered enthusiastically, "Thrash metal."

Penny put down her wine glass and made a suggestion, "Okay then, what do you guys say we change the subject?"

Bernadette smiled and replied, "Sure. So, Amy, how did you meet Sheldon?"

Penny chuckled, "Yeah, how did you fall for the Wackadoodle?"

That word had confused me. I had never heard it used before. "Wackadoodle? What's that?"

Penny smiled and explained, "I just meant that Sheldon thinks differently than the rest of us."

I felt I had to correct that statement, so I informed her, "As a neurobiologist, I must tell you that all humans have different thought processes. Some are genetic and some are formed by our individual environments. So that makes Sheldon pretty much like everyone else."

Bernadette had leaned towards me and continued that thought, "That's a fascinating way of looking at it. I only study infectious diseases and toxic viruses, but I do remember learning that in school. Take me; I hate children because I had to watch so many of my younger siblings as a child. So that is the nurture part of the nature or nurture paradigm for me. I'm also short because I take after my mother, who's not tall. So my height is mostly genetic, not environmental. Of course, she smoked while pregnant with me, so that may have had something to do with it as well. Isn't genetics fascinating?"

"Definitely. But enough about science." I liked this woman a lot. She was on my wavelength, for sure. But I saw we were boring Penny, who was not. However, I felt her beauty was enough. I was sure her looks had opened many doors for her in the past and tonight was no exception. I had always wanted to have a beautiful female as a friend and this was my chance. So I decided to change the subject to something Penny would enjoy as well and asked her, "Penny, where do you buy your clothes? I love your outfit!"

She seemed to come alive with that question and replied in an excited voice, "Thanks! I'm a Hot Topic and Forever 21 girl. You want a good look? Go to those two stores. Your outfit isn't bad, though. Where did you get it?"

"The Limited. I was wondering," here I had gathered up my brave and asked, "could we all go shopping together sometime? I need to add more pieces to my wardrobe and Penny, you would seem to be the expert at that. While we're out, Bernadette and I could also talk a little shop."

Penny took a sip from her wine glass and responded, "That sounds good. How does Saturday sound?"

I nodded, "That works very well for me. Bernadette?" I wanted to include my fellow scientist as well. I know only too well the pain of being left out.

Bernadette broke out into a wide smile and squeaked, 'Call me Bernie. Sure, I'd like that. We could go for sushi and then shopping, in either order. We could make an afternoon of it. Does that sound good to you guys?"

At that point, Penny had gotten up to refill her glass and called over her shoulder, "I'm there. So Amy, say we meet here Saturday at noon and go get sushi and then do some serious harm to our credit cards."

I tried my hardest to appear nonchalant, but I don't know how convincing I had been, "Agreed. I will meet you two here at twelve o'clock. It sounds like that could be fun." In all honesty, I'd never gone clothes shopping with another woman but my mother before. I was excited at the prospect.

Bernadette finished her wine and smiled at me, "It's always fun with Penny. Maybe we could get beauty makeovers, too. We haven't done that in awhile, Penny."

Penny had eventually come back and sat down between us, "Sure. Let's give Amy a proper initiation. Are you down for that, girl?"

I continued with my calm, cool, and collected projection, "Of course, it sounds very enjoyable. Thank you for the invitation, Penny."

She gave me a big smile, tossed back her hair adorably and winked at me, "Hey, if you're going to be dating Sheldon, you'll probably be hangin' with us, too. So get used to it."

My cup had been overflowing. I couldn't believe how wonderfully life turns out sometimes. Within the last fortnight I had gained a boyfriend, new girlfriends, and a social calendar to finally mark on my refrigerator. At that moment, life was good. At that moment. But what could go wrong on a shopping expedition? Right?

During our dinner I had noticed that Amy was not really touching her food. I became very concerned about her health. When a person doesn't devour Thai, something must be wrong. I inquired about the state of her health and she informed me that she was not fond of Thai food. Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. She told me she preferred sushi to Thai. Yuck! She liked raw fish over spicy noodles? Whatever was wrong with her? But she had looked so adorable as she had explained that to me that I instantly forgave her. I certainly didn't understand it, but I forgave her.

At the mention of sushi, Penny had perked right up and invited Amy to go with her and Bernadette for sushi. I had felt relieved, yet not surprised. How could you not love Amy? She was amazing! The girls then made plans to go to O2, their usual sushi restaurant. I had never been there, I'm not that fond of sushi, but I had heard them talk about the place many times. Bernadette made mention of discussing their work while on this social outing and Amy seemed to like that idea. Penny, on the other hand, did not. But what can you do about that? I mean, Penny is a very close friend of mine, but I have never forgotten that she was not on the same intellectual plane as the rest of us. Did that make me a snob? Maybe. But I still liked Penny because for all her lack of a formal education, she had more than her share of common sense and street smarts. If I wanted to be honest with myself, I had benefitted from both of those things in the past and would most likely do so in the future.

I caught Howard giving Amy a look of displeasure. I was not sure where that had come from, but I have never really understood Howard. He's a bit strange. Soon, we men and the ladies each went off with their own group. Howard, Raj, Leonard, and I began to discuss our work. I was informing Leonard that I might need his assistance with a particularly troublesome problem I was attempting to decipher when Howard cut in on our conversation, "Look, Sheldon, I'm sure you and Leonard can talk about that at work tomorrow. I want to know more about why you seem to like Amy. I don't find her pleasant at all."

I was truly shocked and I had to ask him, "Why not, Howard? Everyone else seems to enjoy her company. Just look at her over there talking away with the other girls. They seem to have no problem with her." It was true; the girls had seemed to be getting along with her very nicely.

Howard looked over at Amy and then back at me, "Well, she didn't insinuate that they were gay, like she did to me and Raj."

I had quickly corrected him, "No, Howard. She inferred you and Raj were gay, she didn't insinuate. She was quite blunt about it if I remember correctly."

Howard had frowned at me and replied, "All the same, she rubs me the wrong way, and Leonard, too."

I looked at my friend in amazement and asked him, "Leonard, is that true. Do you find Amy annoying?"

He finished the wine in his glass and told me, "To be honest, Sheldon, yeah, a little bit."

I digested that information for a moment and then smiled broadly at both of them, "Well gentlemen, that just gives me and Amy one more thing in common. Thank you both for your honesty."

Howard then nudged Leonard and told him, "See, I told you he was a crazy bastard."

Leonard held up a hand, "Wait a minute, Howard. He may have a point there. It seems that both he and Amy cause people to have the same reaction to them. Maybe there is something more to their relationship than we thought. I mean, what were the odds of that happening?"

Howard shook his head and then looked over at the door longingly, "Maybe you're right, Leonard, but I still can't wait to get out of here and go home." Raj then whispered again into his ear and he had snapped at him, "Will you just please learn how to talk in front of women? I don't relish being called gay."

Leonard grinned at the both of them and said, "Settle down, Howard. We all know you have a girlfriend, right? The most you could be is bi."

I had to ask, "Bi? What does that mean, Leonard? I know bi is a Latin prefix meaning two, but two what?"

Leonard had attempted to explain that idiom by giving me another, "Sheldon, it means he swings both ways."

I was completely confused at that point and asked him, "Swings on what? I've never seen Howard swing on anything."

Leonard took a deep breath and tried another explanation, "Okay, Sheldon. I'll put it like this; bi means Howard likes girls and guys."

I had thought I finally understood him and said, "Oh really. I didn't know he had that many friends. That is nice to know. I suppose we are all a bit bi, then."

Howard did not look one bit pleased at what I had said and he snapped at me, "Sheldon, just shut up. The girls might hear you."

Now I had become confused once more, "What would it matter if they did?"

Howard pulled me aside and told me, "Sheldon, Leonard was talking about bi as meaning you like both genders sexually."

I finally understood that saying and replied, "Oh. I see. Well I guess Leonard and I are not bi, then. You and Raj? I'm not sure yet."

Howard once again looked annoyed and informed us, "Leonard, I'm taking Bernie home and leaving you with this idiot. Goodnight."

Leonard grinned and waved goodbye to his friend, "See ya later, Howard. Take care."

I put down my bottled water, looked at Leonard and asked, "Did I do something to anger Howard?

He patted me on the shoulder and said, "No more than usual, buddy."

I felt great relief at that pronouncement and began to make my way across the living room, "Okay, then. Well, I suppose now that the evening is winding down, I will walk Amy downstairs to her car."

Which is exactly what I did. As we said our goodbyes with a most memorable kiss, I confirmed to myself that I was most definitely not bi.

Well, Sheldon found out he was straight, Amy made some tentative friends, and Howard was now convinced that Sheldon was crazy. Not bad for one evening. Next on the agenda, Amy and Sheldon rescan their brains and Sheldon goes to Amy's place for dinner.