Meryl watched fondly as her daughter held an electric blue dress against her body in front of one of the mirrors in the store, before switching it for a simple black one. She observed the contemplative frown on Penny's face, recognizing all too well the look of worry over picking the right dress. She looked so grown up, she thought, standing in a pair of heels she was trying on from the shoe section, her hair taken down from its earlier ponytail waving past her shoulders. As she grew up, Penny had stopped shopping with her so often, preferring to go with her friends. It still felt strange watching her independently pick out her own clothes and decide what worked for herself, always remembering taking her shopping as a little girl and picking out clothes for her, laughing fondly at the outfits Penny would pick out by herself.
Draping the sweater she had picked out for herself over her arm, Meryl walked over to Penny with a smile. "What're you picking a dress for?"
"Leonard's birthday." Penny sighed unenthusiastically, switching back to the blue dress.
"Ooh, is he having a party?"
"No." Penny shook her head. "He's not really a party person, he's just been with me a couple of times." Shrugging, she put both dresses on the edge of a nearby rail in favor of a red one she'd placed there, now holding it against her and turning from side to side. "I'm going to take him to dinner."
"You're taking him to dinner? Aww. That's so sweet."
"I've been saving my allowance so that I can pay for it as a treat. I saved eighty percent each week - ironically, it's thanks to Leonard that I could work that out without having to ask him in the first place." Penny groaned as she threw the red dress on the rail. "Ugh, they all suck! I look sucky in all of them."
"Oh, sweetheart, no you don't. Why don't you go and try them on?" Meryl suggested.
"What's the point, I won't look good in any of them." Penny huffed, kicking the heels off and slipping back into her pumps. "I really wanted that purple one over there but if I buy it I can't buy the shoes to go with it or go for frozen yoghurt like we were going to on Wednesday. I'll just find something else in another shop."
Noticing the disheartened look on her daughters face, Meryl patted her arm. "Why don't you show me that purple dress?"
"Nah." Penny shrugged, picking up the three discarded dresses and hanging them back up properly on the rail.
"Here. How about you show me it, and if I approve, I'll buy it for you as a treat."
"Really?" Penny's eyes widened in excitement at the prospect of her Mom treating her to a dress.
"Yes. If I approve."
"Okay!" Penny grinned, picking up the heels and leading her mother over to the main dress section. "It's a little bit shorter than I would usually wear, but it's really pretty."
"Well then why don't you go get it, and we'll head over to the changing rooms and I'll see how it looks before I freak out about how it looks on a hanger."
"Mm." Penny frowned, nodding. "Good idea. Okay, You go over to the changing rooms then, I'm gonna get the dress."
On their agreement, Penny rushed off to locate her dress as her mother walked back towards the changing rooms. Finding the purple number, she quickly held it against herself in the mirror. She'd tried it on a few weeks ago whilst out shopping with her friends, noting it in her mind as one she'd try to buy if she could, her friends agreeing that it was very much a perfect dress for her. She hoped her mom would agree; yes, it was probably a little shorter than she'd usually be okay with her wearing, and the neckline cut a little lower than any of her own dresses, though still higher than those of her sisters dresses. However, she'd figured that since it was for Leonard's birthday dinner rather than going to a party, she wouldn't be so worried about these things - or would at least overlook them once Penny reminded her that even if she wore a longer dress with a higher neckline, it wouldn't change what happened after dinner with Leonard. Not the best tactic, she knew that, but at least it would prove her point.
It was with this argument that Penny won over the dress buying. Her mother had given the hem and neck lines a questioning look, which Penny took as her prompt to explain that it was just her and Leonard, not a party, and that no matter what dress she wore she would still be staying at his place, so she might as well wear this one. Meryl sighed and agreed, admitting that the dress did look nice and that compared to what her sister would have worn, it was a very safe choice. Grinning, Penny had gone back into her cubicle to get changed while her mother went to buy the dress for her. Meryl couldn't deny that the dress was pretty, and that it suited her daughter very much. She wasn't particularly worried about it's length or cut, but wanted to be sure that that wasn't the reason that Penny had wanted to buy the dress in the first place. There was a line between buying a pretty dress that happened to be a little more revealing than usual, and buying a dress because it was revealing and just happened to be pretty. At least she's buying it for the right reasons, Meryl thought as she accepted the paper bag and thanked the saleswoman.
"How was the comic book store?" Meryl asked, chuckling as Penny flopped down onto the chair opposite her. She'd waited for her daughter at a coffee shop, heading over to their favorite restaurant when Penny had text her she was finished and heading back so she could order their usual meals before she got there.
"Scary. And weird." Penny sighed, before raising a brow and curling her lip upward in confusion. "Did you know there's such a thing as Star Wars Day? And that people actually celebrate it?"
"Really?"
"Yeah." Penny's eyes widened in disbelief. "Bad enough this group of guys kept staring at me like I was some alien the whole time, but they looked as though I'd threatened to kill them when I asked the guy at the counter if Star Wars Day was a real thing or something he made up to promote the store, because there were a few deals on Star Wars things saying 'perfect for Star Wars Day'."
"That is... odd." Meryl nodded slowly, though now she thought about it, she was sure Wyatt had mentioned it a few times before and she'd dismissed it because, like Penny, the whole idea seemed odd to her.
"Right? Anyway, I felt stupid enough as it is asking that and these guys staring at me was just weird and creepy. I mean, haven't they seen a girl before? So then I ended up buying this Star Wars thingy as well as Leonard's birthday present, and had to use my spare thirty dollars I was saving for the cinema with my friends - but I didn't wanna not get Leonard something for Star Wars Day and I only thought after I left that maybe the guy just said that so I would buy something and now Leonard's gonna think I'm stupid."
"Relax, sweetheart, I'm sure he's not going to think you're stupid."
"But I bet people don't get people presents for that, and now I won't have money for the movies, and I'll have to explain that it's because I went to the comic book store. God, I should not be allowed to do these things on my own." Penny rolled her eyes, sipping at the diet coke that her mother had ordered before her arrival.
"It'll be fine. Everybody loves getting extra presents, he'll love it." Meryl pointed out.
Penny frowned in thought as she swirled the ice around her glass with the straw. "You know how when I asked for extra money, you gave me extra jobs around the stables?"
"Uh-huh."
"What if I did that every week? Kind of like a job. Then I wouldn't have to ask for the extra money, I'd earn it, and it would be constant."
"You realize that if you do that, Dad will probably stop giving you your allowance."
"I know. But I wouldn't need it if I'm earning money anyway, would I." Penny poked her straw through the lemon slice in the glass.
"You're really willing to work up at the stables every weekend? What're you going to do about your weekends with Leonard?"
Tilting her head, Penny raised a brow. "For the weekends I don't do, I'll come up after school during the week. Maybe I can convince Leonard to come with me when he stays over and he can get used to the horses so he doesn't freak out whenever they look at him."
"And you are seriously willing to do this? It's not gonna be like last time when you said you would and then decided you'd much rather just hang out with your friends?"
"Of course I'm being serious! I want to have my own money and earn it for myself rather than relying on Dad all the time. And I don't go up there as much anymore, so this way I'll get back into the habit."
Also tilting her head, Meryl bobbed her head in approval. "Alright then."
"That's it? 'Alright then'?" Penny looked at her mother doubtfully.
"What were you expecting? A congratulatory phone call?"
"No... I dunno, I always thought I'd be more excited about having a job." Penny raised a shoulder to her ear and dropped it again. "Suppose I asked for it from my Mom, rather than went through a whole interview thing and stuff."
"Exactly. Interviews suck. This is way better. Just as long as you don't use that money to buy more of that underwear." Meryl raised a stern brow at Penny, before relaxing slightly, knowing full well that this was beyond her control and something she wouldn't have taken seriously if she had been Penny's age either. "That I know of."
"Oh, you won't. I mean I won't." Penny scrunched up her face. "Whichever one is the correct answer."
"Dad, you know Star Wars stuff, don't you?"
"Huh?" Wyatt raised a brow, before wiping at his forehead with a pocket cloth and picking up his toolbox, having just finished fixing a customers tractor with the help of his daughter.
"Like... you've seen the films and you talk about it sometimes, right? As in, you're a fan of Star Wars."
"Yeah, I'd say I am." Wyatt nodded, beginning the walk back up the drive and cutting a corner to his tool shed. "Why?"
Penny frowned. "Did you know there's such thing as a Star Wars Day?"
"Yeah. That's where that saying comes from - May the Fourth be with you."
Scrunching up her face, Penny folded her arms. "What?"
"You know. Like 'may the force be with you'... but it's May the Fourth." Wyatt explained. "Haven't you watched the films with Leonard?"
"Well, yeah, but I wasn't really paying attention." Penny shrugged, before clarifying "they're not my kind of films so I kept zoning out."
"Alright." Wyatt brushed his hands off on his overalls before they left the toolshed to head back to the house. "Why're you asking?"
"I just didn't know it was a thing, that's all." Penny followed behind her father, rubbing at a stain on her thumb. "How come you didn't tell me about it?"
"Probably because you have no interest in Star Wars." Wyatt chuckled, taking off his shoes before stepping into the house, watching as Penny did the same.
"But Leonard does, and you could have told me so that I knew." Penny frowned, closing the front door behind her. "So do I have to say to him, 'May the Fourth be with you' on May 4th?"
"I'm sure he'd enjoy that, but I don't think he'd blame you if you didn't. Why are you so bothered about this anyway?"
"I don't know." Penny sighed. "It just feels like something I should know, since he loves Star Wars. He has a green lightsaber."
"Damn. Should have challenged him to a lightsaber duel when I met him." Wyatt laughed.
"You have a lightsaber?" Penny asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. Had it for a long time. Your mother won't let me use it. It just sits in the back of the closet."
Raising a brow, Penny folded her arms. "I didn't know you were a closet nerd. Is that why you approve of Leonard so much? Why are my two favorite guys so uncool?"
"Hey! That's your father and your boyfriend you're talking about, Slugger!"
Giggling, Penny grinned. "Just kidding. I'm gonna go wash up and help Mom with dinner."
"You're helping with dinner? What did you do wrong now?"
"Nothing! We just had a nice day together yesterday so I thought I'd help her with dinner as a thank-you." And she bought me a dress and basically got me a job.
"Well look at you all growing up." Wyatt said fondly. "Okay then, you get going because I'm starving."
"Hello." Sheldon said stiffly as he opened the front door of his home to Penny. He hadn't really been keen on the idea of letting Leonard invite Penny round for their Star Wars Day festivities, but Leonard had insisted. And then Amy had agreed that she should come, so he'd had to say yes. "Come in."
"Hi." Penny smiled awkwardly, before stepping inside behind Sheldon.
"You have to take your shoes off in the hallway." Sheldon said as he closed the door behind him. "My mother is cleaning the house."
"Oh. Alright." Penny slipped her feet out of her blue ballerina pumps. "Is Leonard here yet?"
"Of course he is. I said to be here at eleven, so he was here at eleven. You're late."
"I know, I'm sorry, I was up at the stables and I lost track of time. I'm only twenty minutes late!" Penny frowned.
"Twenty minutes late is twenty minutes missed of Star Wars viewing time." Sheldon pointed out, before turning abruptly to lead her through to the living room.
"Oh. Well I didn't mean it." Penny said, before rolling her eyes in his direction and sticking her tongue out. How did Leonard put up with him every single day? She grinned, however, when she stepped into the living room and saw Leonard, who immediately got up and walked over to her. "Hey you."
"Hey." Leonard wrapped his arms around her in a hug, which she reciprocated, before pulling back. "I told Sheldon I'd go answer the door since I knew it was you, but he insisted since it's his house that he answers it. Sorry."
"It's alright. I suppose I should get used to his craziness." Penny sighed, an amused smile on her face.
Leonard nodded in agreement. "Yeah, probably."
Biting her lip, Penny held out the plastic bag in her hand to Leonard. "Here. This is really stupid. I got you something for Star Wars Day. I have no idea if you're meant to or not, but I did anyway, and my parents said it's a nice gesture in any case. So, yeah. Oh! May the... May the Fourth be with you." Grinning proudly, she shoved the bag into Leonard's hands, deciding that if she was going to look stupid anyway, she might as well go the whole way rather than being unsure. It was just like cheerleading routines, she thought: if you're unsure, you might as well be wrong and strong.
"Oh!" Leonard took the bag from his grinning girlfriend. Sure, the guys would bring over all their Star Wars things and Raj had once bought them all gifts the first time they'd gotten together for it because Howard had tricked him into thinking that was the 'official American tradition'. But he'd never outright received a gift for Star Wars Day. In fact, he hardly ever received gifts in the first place. This he certainly hadn't expected. A grin filled his face. Maybe Penny had no interest or understanding of the nerd world, but she sure did try, and it was adorable. "Thank you. That's really sweet."
"Really? It's not dumb?"
"Of course not!" Leonard assured her, pulling her in again and placing his lips over hers.
Passing by the doorway, Mary Cooper frowned and paused on her way to the kitchen. "There will be none of that sinning under my roof!" She barked sternly, before continuing off again.
Blushing, Leonard and Penny pulled apart. "You can open it later," Penny told him, gesturing to the bag. "It's not wrapped or anything, just still in the paper bag I got it in. It was raining in the morning so I put it in a plastic bag just in case."
Leonard was about to reply when Sheldon interjected. "People, please. We have waited long enough. Lets just get this started, I don't need this carefully organized schedule to go to waste just because you two feel the need to socialise away from the rest of us."
"You can come and sit next to me, Penny." Amy grinned, patting the empty space behind her on the smaller couch.
Contemplatively, Penny looked at Amy, and then back to Leonard. Once more, Sheldon decided to speak up. "If, Leonard and Penny, you are going to insist on 'cuddling' this whole time and ruining Star Wars Day, then I would suggest that Penny take up Amy's offer and Leonard join us on the big couch."
Sighing, Penny rolled her eyes, rubbed Leonard's arm, and went over to the smaller couch Amy was sat on, dropping down next to her. Sheldon glared at Bernadette and Howard, who were sat on the big couch. Bernadette glared back at Sheldon for a moment before giving in and relocating herself beside Penny.
"It's okay, I made Howie a Death Star cake and brought it over to his house this morning." Bernadette muttered. "It took me hours."
"I bought Sheldon Star Wars socks." Amy nodded. "He's wearing them right now."
"This day is so confusing." Penny stated aloud, followed by a noisy sigh. All the guys turned their heads to glare at the girls and shush them, before turning back to face the screen simultaneously before Sheldon hit the play button. "I'm so gonna make Leonard watch all of Sex and the City with me."
"Ooh, Sex and the City!" Amy whispered gleefully. "My mother won't let me watch that."
"I watched them all with my sister." Penny told her. "It's really good. You should watch it."
"I haven't seen the movies." Bernadette said, tucking her legs beneath her. "We should watch those together at some point. Like, the guys have their video game nights, we could have... a girls night!"
"Yeah..." Penny twisted her lips uncertainly. Her idea of a 'girls night' wasn't exactly hanging out with Amy and Bernadette. But they were nice people, and it wouldn't hurt to spend some more time with them since their significant others were so close too. She was growing fairly fond of them. "Okay, how about a sleepover at my place?"
"A slumber party?" Amy's eyes lit up. "Yay!"
Sheldon's head whipped round, his eyes wide. "Shh!"
"Sorry, sorry. My fault." Penny waved a hand in dismissal for him to return his attention to the screen again. "Yeah. We can do that I guess. Just not next weekend, it's Leonard's birthday."
"Ooh." Bernadette grinned, wiggling her eyebrows. "Fun."
"Yup, it will be." Penny smirked, before bringing her attention back to the plans they were making. "So, shall we say, the weekend after that?"
"I'll put it on my calendar as soon as I get home." Amy confirmed excitedly, remembering to keep her voice quiet.
"Yeah, works for me." Bernadette agreed.
Never in a million years would Penny have guessed that one day, this was how she would spend a Saturday. Sitting on a couch with Amy Farrah Fowler and Bernadette Rostenkowski, making slumber party plans, in the home of Sheldon Cooper, watching Star Wars films, for the sake of her boyfriend.