A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews for the last chapter! And look! We have a cover now!
Disclaimer: Lorre & Prady
Chapter Eleven
The moment Amy and Sheldon arrived Penny dragged Amy to the kitchen so they could have a "girl chat" and the guys took their breakfast in the dining room. Amy smiled at the quaint setting in the kitchen at a small table for a comfortable two, or a cramped four. The table was laden with a platter of thin and crisp pancakes, a plate of sausages dripping in the succulent fat, two patterned plates next to two small mugs, and everything was surrounded by a maple syrup jug, a butter plate with a half used stick of cool, pale butter, sugar, cream, salt and pepper. "Oh, you didn't have to go to all this trouble," remarked Amy as she sat down.
Penny brought over the coffee pot and poured the richly brewed caffeinated beverage to the brims of their mugs. "This is nothing. You should see what I have laid out on the table for the fellows. Shelly will never admit it, but he loves my cooking. It's how I finally gained his trust." She used her fork to gracefully move pancakes from the platter to her own plate. "And if his preferences are any indicator I bet you're a good cook too."
Amy blushed. "I actually invited him to dinner when I first met him, but he showed up for breakfast and then again for dinner."
"You must be a natural. I had to work hard to perfect my cooking skills. Poor Leonard, when we were first married I barely knew what I was doing. Now it just comes to me like any other housewife."
Amy sipped at her coffee. "How long have you two been married."
"It was twelve years this May."
"Twelve years?"
Penny smiled. "I know it sounds like a lot when I say it too."
"Do you have any children?"
She sat her fork down on her pancakes and the corner of her lips turned down. "No, we've tried for years, but have never been successful and now that we're both getting older there's a chance it will never happen."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Penny smiled slightly and chased a bite of sausage on her plate. "Don't be. It's something Leonard and I have come to terms with. What about you and Shelly? Have either of you thought about what your future would hold after your journey?"
Amy held her cup and stared at the uneaten pancakes on her plate. "We haven't really discussed it. I didn't really think beyond wanting to leave where I was at. It never really occurred to me until yesterday that I would have to make a decision once I arrived here: did Sheldon and I part ways or do I stay with him?" She let her thoughts die out as she stared at the depths of her cooling coffee as if it was an oracle.
"Do you love him?"
Amy looked up at Penny. "I…" She gulped. Amy thought about her infatuation with him in the beginning when he wooed her with his Texan charms, helping her escape Kansas, those nights were he showered her with his undivided attention. Then her mind wandered to the last few days: the money, suspicious phone calls, and even how Leonard and Penny played into it. Did they know something she didn't know? After all they had known Sheldon the longest. Perhaps they knew why he carried around so much money. "I'm not quite sure yet."
Penny gave her a reassuring smile. "That's okay. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to make sure it feels right in your heart. There's nothing wrong with that."
Amy smiled back and speared a sausage with the tines of her fork. "Thanks. I've been meaning to ask, but what does Leonard do for a living?"
"He teaches the science classes at the high school," replied Penny with a smile.
"He must be very smart."
"He is. He was going to go to Princeton until the war broke out. Afterwards, it just sort of fell apart. When they needed a science teacher, he offered his assistance if they couldn't find someone and he ended up with the job."
"Does he enjoy it?"
"I think so. Did you go to a university?"
Amy sighed. "I had planned to, but….it fell through as well."
Penny pushed her pancakes around in syrup, thinking. "You know, you could always borrow some of Leonard's books. If you like science that is."
Amy brightened up. "I do. Does he have any over biology?"
"I think so, he was starting to invest himself in physics before the war, so a lot of his books are over it. He's bought quite a few over the years, so we'll have to see what he has."
"Thank you, this means a lot to me. Sheldon has absolutely nothing in his house. I had already resolved myself to death by boredom while he was gone."
Penny laughed. "I promise ya won't on my watch. I have been nagging Shelly since he bought the place next to ours that he was going to have to do something with it. With you staying with him now maybe he will. And if he says no we can wait until one of his business trips to redecorate. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."
Amy polished off her coffee with a smack of her lips. "Thank you for your offer Penny. You and Leonard have both been kinder than it is necessary."
She grinned and set her own cup down. "You're our neighbors and Shelly's been a friend for years; it's our pleasure."
"Leonard, under no circumstances am I goin' ta allow ya to do that! Don't ya remember what happened last time?"
"Dammit Sheldon it's my life! You can't be the boss of me!"
"I'm not tryin' to be the boss of ya; I'm tryin' ta keep your sorry ass alive. Your wife would have me hung before she let me even think about agreein' ta ya. I'm sorry Leonard, but it ain't happenin'."
Penny turned pale as the men's shouts could be heard through the walls. Amy set her mug down and rushed to the dining room were both Leonard and Sheldon were standing at opposite ends of the tables, both looking incensed at the other. "What is going on in here?"
Both men redirected their looks toward Amy and they each wore a different one: Leonard looked guilty, but Sheldon looked terrified and scared. Leonard quickly limped over to where Amy was standing. "It's nothing Amy, nothing at all. Please leave and let Sheldon and I settle it ourselves."
Amy turned away from Leonard and scowled at Sheldon. "I want to know what is going on here! Why are the both of you yelling? As far as I know you both have no reason to."
"I," he gulped, "I"
"Amy," said Penny softly as she grabbed he wrist.
"What?"
"Can I speak to you? Privately." There was a bit of a begging in her voice.
"Yes."
Penny led Amy outside on to the porch were she directed her to the porch swing. She dug in the pockets of the apron she never took off and produced a cigarette package. She pulled one out and stuck it in her mouth, her hand reaching down back into the pocket to pull out a match box. She struck the side and lit her cigarette, shaking the match to snuff out the flame. She breathed in a few calming puffs before holding out the pack to Amy. "Cigarette?"
"Yes, thank you." Amy took the pack from Penny and pulled her own cigarette out. She passed Amy the match book and she lit the cigarette.
Penny puffed a stream of smoke out and looked at Amy. "I hate it when they argue."
Amy took a few quick puffs, making sure to angle the smoke away from Penny's face. "Why do they argue?"
"It started after we first met Sheldon." She looked over at Sheldon's driveway and pointed the car. "And ya wouldn't believe it actually started with that car."
"What happened?"
"He was staying at the hotel and Leonard saw him outside next his car. The two struck up a conversation and Leonard invited him to supper. And afterwards they went back outside to talk about it. Leonard wanted to drive it, but Sheldon told him no. Leonard's stubborn and tried to anyway, but his leg prohibits him from being able to shift the gears. He crashed the car and it put Sheldon in a tizzy and we didn't see him for a year. When he came back they both apologized to each other for their behavior, but now whenever they have an argument it doesn't matter what it's about it always goes back to that car."
Amy watched as Penny told the story and felt that something was off about it. Like it was a bit spontaneous; that it wasn't quite a retelling. More like it was the first time Penny had ever come across the story. And quite frankly, it was poorly supported as well. "I thought they get along well."
"In the end they do, but they always have an argument when they first see each other after Sheldon comes back from being on the road." Penny leaned forward in the porch swing and grabbed an ash tray from off the frame of the porch. "There's a reason I had us eat in the kitchen." She stubbed her cigarette out. "Those two are going to be the death of me." She turned to Amy and set a hand on her shoulder. "You won't be able to change Shelly, but God have you made a difference. And I think he's changed you too."
