At noon on Friday, Sheldon triple knocked and waited just outside his wife's lab. She slung her purse over her shoulder and joined him in the hall.
"Why hasn't the school called?" He fretted, as she locked the door behind her.
"Let's give them a little more time."
"But it's Friday. We need to know before this evening so we can start preparing our scripts and get our props together."
She held his hand and squeezed as they headed for the cafeteria. "Déjà vu," she muttered under her breath, thinking of the similar conversation they had one week earlier. Out loud she said, "Even if they allow us to continue, we're not helping Leah. These videos are a lot of work. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to raise the other students' scores if the videos keep them engaged, but we're failing our own daughter."
He stopped suddenly. A group of young professors walked towards them, so he pulled her to the side. "I feel the same way. We're lessening her boredom a little, but she's not learning anything. Since they won't allow us to teach anything beyond a third-grade level, I don't know how else we can help."
"There is the option Bernadette presented."
"When we talked about it on Monday, I didn't think you were in favor of Leah attending a new school."
"It's not ideal, but we should at least look into it."
They continued to their destination, each lost in their own thoughts. Amy grabbed a tray and merged into the meal line. She looked over her shoulder to find her husband biting his lip, chin in hand.
"Sheldon?"
He looked up. "Sorry, just thinking about other options for Leah. What if she doesn't want to change schools?"
"We can present her with the potential option but stress that it may not even be feasible." She handed him a tray as he got in line behind her.
"We could, but if she's excited for the chance then finds out it's not feasible, she'll be devastated. I think we should gather all the information before sitting down with her," he reasoned.
"You're right," she agreed, adding a prepackaged salad to her tray.
"Is Bernadette actively checking with Nathaniel's school?"
She shrugged slightly. "I don't know. I'll shoot her an email when I get back to the lab."
Trays laden with food, they paid the cashier and headed for the table their friends already occupied. Raj vacated his seat across from Howard and Leonard. He gestured for Amy to sit and dragged an empty chair from the next table to the short edge, allowing the couple to sit next to each other.
Amy accepted his offer. "Thank you, Rajesh."
After a round of 'hellos', Sheldon took his seat, placed his napkins precisely, and bit into his burger.
"So, how did Leah react to the sex book?" Howard asked, without preamble.
Sheldon choked on his food. Amy patted his back as he coughed and wheezed until he assured her that he was fine.
"She seemed okay with the content but asked a lot of personal questions," Amy supplied.
Howard wiggled his eyebrows. "What kinds of questions?"
"Howard! It was bad enough that Leah put us through that. I won't dignify your question with a response," Sheldon huffed, his eye twitching.
"Why not tell these two? Amy told Penny," Leonard informed his best friend.
"Amy!" Sheldon sputtered.
"I told her because I wanted to know if Cadence had the same inquiries."
"Did she?"
"No. She hasn't even uttered the word 'sex'," Amy informed her husband, looking to Leonard for confirmation.
He nodded in agreement. "Honestly, I'm a little concerned Cadence may start asking questions if Leah brings it up."
"We'll ask Leah not to say anything," Amy promised.
"Thank you."
The group focused on the food in front of them until Raj finally broke the silence. "The Geminids meteor shower begins tomorrow. I was thinking of going out to Vasquez Rocks to watch it. Do you think Leah might be interested in accompanying me?"
Sheldon turned to his wife. "You know, an astrological expedition might be just what Leah needs to get her mind off her inappropriate inquiries."
"Agreed. Rajesh, thank you for the offer. We'll check with her tonight."
"And while the little one is out, that will give the two of you a little one-on-one time, if you catch my drift."
"Howard, please," Sheldon groaned. Amy rested her hand discreetly on his back, and within moments he visibly relaxed. "We'll probably use the time to finish Leah's pageant costume, since we've hardly had a chance to work on it. We've only managed to cut out the pieces."
"We've been making up for our lost family time every night this week," Amy informed the group.
Raj bounced in his seat. "I volunteer to work on the costume."
"Rajesh, that's kind of you to offer, but we can't let you do that," Amy declared.
Sheldon turned to her. "Why not? It will save us a lot of time."
"But we'll have time tomorrow night if Leah goes out."
"When Nat's out with his friends, Bernie and I make every minute count, if you catch my..."
"Howard, must you?" Sheldon interrupted.
Leonard lowered his hands in a 'calm down' motion. "Guys, settle down." He addressed the couple. "No matter what you two end up doing, it will at least give you a little downtime if you let Raj help."
Amy glanced at Sheldon who nodded slightly. "Thank you, Rajesh. We accept your offer."
"Great! I'll swing by your house tonight to pick up the supplies, if that's okay."
"Yes, that's perfect. Thank you so..." Amy was cut off by Sheldon's ringtone.
He glanced at the screen then swiped 'Accept Call'. "Hello... Yes, this is he..." He frowned as the caller went into a lengthy monologue. "There's nothing else... I see... Very well... Have a good day."
Everyone's eyes were on his as he ended the call and stared at the blank screen.
Amy tentatively lay her hand on his arm. "Sheldon, is everything okay?"
"I'm not sure."
"Was that the school?" She asked softly. He nodded.
"Are you okay, Buddy?" Leonard asked, concerned.
"I'm not sure how I feel."
"Did they ask us to discontinue the videos?"
"Not exactly." He sighed. "They asked if we could do one per week until the holiday break, then they will reevaluate the situation. Part of me is insulted that they don't want us to create one per day, another part of me is relieved that they still want us to continue in any form, and another tiny part of me hoped they would tell us they didn't need our services anymore."
"Sheldon, it's okay to have mixed feelings. I feel the same way."
"You do?"
"Yes. You're not alone. We're in this together." When he gave her his boyish lopsided smile, she returned the smile then turned to the astrophysicist. "Since we'll only need to film one video this weekend, we'll have time to work on the costume afterall."
"I still want to do it. I'm already imagining all the glitter and sequins," he said dreamily, as the guys all rolled their eyes. "Besides, I have nothing else to do. Take Leah somewhere fun, then it will be ready when I pick her up for the meteor shower, if she agrees to come."
"There are some family-friendly events going on right now. Bernie and I are taking Nat to the interactive dino exhibit at the Natural History Museum tomorrow."
"And Penny and I are taking the kids to see the Christmas-themed creations at Legoland."
"What do you think, Sheldon?"
"Those are both acceptable ideas. I have a couple of family activities in mind too. We'll present them all to Leah tonight and let her choose."
"So I get to make the costume?" Raj asked, hopefully.
"Yes. Thank you again, Rajesh. We really appreciate it."
xxx
After the dinner dishes were cleared, the Coopers retreated to the living room. Leah grabbed the TV remote, but Amy placed her hand on her daughter's.
"Soon. Daddy and I have a couple of things we need to discuss with you first."
"Am I in trouble?"
"No, of course not," Sheldon reassured her.
Leah took her seat on the couch next to her mom and waited. They both faced her, Sheldon leaning forward slightly to see around his wife.
"Uncle Raj had such a fun time stargazing with you last month that he asked if you would be interested in joining him again," Amy began.
"When?"
"Tomorrow. The Geminids meteor shower begins," Sheldon explained.
"What will you do if I go?"
Amy smoothed back her daughter's bangs. "We'll find something. Don't worry about us."
Leah craned her neck towards the bedrooms down the hall, an odd expression on her face. The same expression she had five days earlier when they had the sex talk. She rearranged her expression back to the questioning look she'd given them moments earlier.
"Okay. Tell Uncle Raj I'll go."
"You can tell him yourself soon. He's coming to pick up the materials for your costume."
"Why?"
"He wanted to help so we can have some family time tomorrow."
"Won't you be filming more flag episodes?"
"Only one this weekend, and we'll do that on Sunday. Tomorrow we'll make up for last weekend." Sheldon clarified.
"But you've been making up for it all week."
Amy hugged her. "We've tried, but it's not the same as having a whole day together."
"We have a few options for you to choose from. We'll do whichever one you want," Sheldon promised.
"Can't you do the flags tomorrow and family time on Sunday?"
Sheldon looked wounded. "It almost seems like you don't want to spend time with us."
"I do. I just..." Leah sighed in frustration.
"You just what, Monkey?" Amy asked, soothingly.
"I was planning to read tomorrow."
"You can read on Sunday while we're filming," Sheldon offered.
Leah blew out a deep breath. There would be no getting out of this. The October 2018 diary would have to wait another day. Once again, her plans would be delayed. "Fine," she mumbled.
"That's my girl! We have four options. We can go to the interactive dino exhibit at the museum, to Legoland, check out the new 1980s-style arcade, or go to the zoo."
"The arcade?"
Sheldon furrowed his brow. "Are you asking us or telling us?"
"Telling you. May I be excused now?" She squirmed against her mom's hold.
Amy kept her arms loosely around her daughter. "I thought we were all going to watch TV."
"Won't Uncle Raj be here soon? If we start watching something, we may get interrupted."
"That's true. Alright, Monkey, you're excused."
Leah hugged each of her parents then headed for her bedroom. She closed the door partway then reached under her mattress for the red diary. All week she had read about her mom's sad childhood. She had been looking forward to reading something not so depressing, and now she would have to wait an extra day. She flipped the pages to the next entry and began to read.
February 17, 1991
Grandma called to see how I was doing. Mother and I haven't seen her in a month, so she hoped we could stop by today. Mother already had plans to grocery shop and clean, as she had been working late all week and didn't have the chance, but she agreed to drop me off.
Grandma is delighted. It will be just the two of us. Usually I have to share her with Irene and Danny, but not today. Aunt Doe is taking them and a few close friends to Six Flags amusement park. Grandma suggested we bake cookies. As much fun as that sounds, I asked if she could start teaching me to play the harp. She happily agreed.
I'm so excited for my first real harp lesson. If this one goes well, maybe we can do this every weekend until I master it. I'd really love to show off my skills next Christmas.
The sound of the Spider-Man doorbell alerted Leah that her uncle had arrived. She shoved the diary back under her mattress and ran to the front door. Her dad opened the door, and after the men exchanged pleasantries, he stepped aside.
"Uncle Raj!" She wrapped her arms around his waist.
Amy joined the trio. She handed the bag of fabric and accessories over to their guest. "Thank you again for doing this."
Raj peeked in the bag and pulled out the sparkly white fabric, weaving it through his fingers. "Oh my goodness! Leah, you are going to look like a princess in this."
"Cadence will be the princess. I'm just a snowflake."
"Just a snowflake? Nonsense. You will be the most beautiful snowflake on that stage, I'll make sure of that." He rummaged in the bag and extracted a package of diamond-like beads.
"I was going to make a necklace too."
Raj pulled the package away when Amy attempted to grab it. "You enjoy your family time tomorrow. I'll take care of it."
"But..."
"No buts. It's my pleasure. Anyway, I should get going so you can enjoy the rest of your evening. I will see you tomorrow," he promised, looking pointedly at Leah.