Chapter Twenty-Nine

The Muddy Mustang Debacle

Sheldon opened his eyes slowly, taking a moment to remember where he was. He sat up and looked around the room, glad he'd left the desk lamp on since the sun already set. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw it was nearly 5:30 p.m. Yawning, he lay back down, reflecting on the past two days, how he came to be lying in the Kilauea room of Glenn and Sally's bed and breakfast. As he lay there reflecting, his brain refocused to the sounds around him. He heard voices from downstairs, and more immediately, soft piano music coming from the room next to his. He focused on the music, his eyes closing again. He couldn't identify the piece, but he was certain it wasn't modern. His mind swam with the music, and he felt a calmness wash over him. After several minutes, the smell of food drifted upstairs, and Sheldon felt it would be socially appropriate to get up and join his hosts.

Standing at the mirror, Sheldon saw his rumpled clothing and mussed up hair. He planned on a shower before bed, so he simply changed his shirt and wet his hair. Opening the door to his room slowly, he saw the neighboring door, the Etna room, open, the music coming from within. Sheldon found the music captivating, and he walked over to look into the room.

Seated at the small upright piano, her back to the door, sat a woman with long black hair spilling down her back. Sheldon watched her fingers glide elegantly across the keys. She wore jeans and a simple navy blue sweatshirt. Still listening, Sheldon glanced around the room, which was decorated in an Italian theme. On top of the dresser was a make-up case and several bottles of lotion and perfume. Various articles of clothing, including a jacket and a hoodie, lay on a chair near the door. Sheldon also noticed six pairs of shoes, ranging from sneakers to hiking boots, along the wall. The nightstand featured a stack of books. While attempting to read the titles from his place in the door frame, he suddenly realized the music had stopped. He snapped his attention to the woman, still sitting at the piano bench, but facing him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he said.

Then they were quiet. Sheldon studied the woman, Lillian's older sister. She looked a lot like Lillian, but she appeared shorter, with much longer hair, past the center of her back. Her make-up brought out her dark brown eyes and the light pink lipstick she wore highlighted her full lips. Sheldon realized he'd been staring at those lips for a bit longer than appropriate. Luckily, she stood and extended her hand to him.

"You must be Dr. Cooper," she said, taking his hand.

The firmness of her handshake shocked Sheldon, and he immediately felt a strength in her. Again, he realized he was staring, this time at her hands. He shook his head and let go.

"Please call me Sheldon," he said. "And you're Rosemary Fox, Lillian's sister."

"Here, take a seat," she said, grabbing the items on the chair, throwing them on the bed, and motioning for him to sit down. "Did my playing wake you?"

"No. I was enjoying it. What were you playing?"

"Some Brahms," she said, grabbing the book and handing it to him. "They have a nice selection of composers here. You play?"

"No," he said, weighing the book in his hand and looking up at her. "But you do beautifully."

She gave him a brilliant smile, and Sheldon felt his heart rate quicken. What was wrong with him? He tried to think of something to say, but couldn't.

Rosemary finally spoke. "When we arrived back this afternoon, I was so excited to learn you were here. Lillian adores you, especially since you invited her to illustrate your book. And your paper was so interesting. Have you submitted it yet?"

"Yes, but I'm waiting for the review board. Probably be another month," he said, trying to avoid sounding irritated. He remembered Glenn telling him to relax, live in the moment. The paper seemed to be the main instigator of negative thoughts.

"Ugh, editorial boards are the worst," Rosemary said, rolling her eyes. "I've done a couple journal articles, but my two books, damn, especially the first one. You know, being new to the publishing scene and all."

"Do you have copies of your books?" Sheldon asked.

"Oh yeah. I do. I was going to give them to the McCarthys for their library. Keeps with the whole Pacific Northwest theme they've got going." She jumped over to the stack of books and handed two to Sheldon, one a history of the tribes of the state, the other about masks. "I'd be honored if you'd look at them. I know history probably isn't your thing, but still."

Sheldon began leafing through the history book when Rosemary began to laugh. She had a strong, deep laugh which caused Sheldon to involuntarily smile. He looked up at the woman.

"What?"

"Well, you don't look like how I pictured you," she said. "This is a little stupid…but have you ever seen Jurassic Park?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so you know the mathematician that Jeff Goldblum plays?"

"Yes."

"So, when I was reading your paper, I pictured him," she laughed. "Dumb, huh?"

"I'm a physicist," said Sheldon.

"I guess in my historian, museum curating mind, I group all people that think for a living together," she said. "Pardon my bias."

"It's okay. Rather amusing," Sheldon chuckled, thinking about how much he didn't resemble Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park. Then, his brain began to itch, wanting to know what Rosemary really thought about him. "Are you disappointed?"

Rosemary raised her eyebrows, smiled, and began to giggle. "Not at all. And you seem much more logical. He wore a black leather jacket on a tropical island."

"Well, I see you two have met," said Glenn, entering the room. He turned to Sheldon. "You have a good rest after that long drive?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Well, dinner is ready. See you downstairs?"

"Great," said Rosemary, jumping up. "Be down in a moment."

Glenn met Sheldon's eyes and winked before he left the room. The interaction puzzled Sheldon, and he turned to Rosemary. "Ladies first?" he said.

Sheldon followed Rosemary, fascinated by the movement of her shining black hair as she bounced down the stairs.

Over 120 miles west, Amy and Erik sat down with Jessica and Benji for dinner. They lived several miles north of Ilwaco, in the last little town on the peninsula, Ocean Park. Amy found their small house charming, the kind she would love to live in on the coast.

"So clamming went well this morning?" Benji asked.

"Yeah, dropped off a bucket of clams in the parents' garage," Erik said, taking a bite of his meal. "Jess, you always make the best meat loaf."

"Thanks," she said. "Do you think mom will make chowder for Thanksgiving?"

"Man, I hope so," Erik said. He turned to Amy. "Mom's chowder is amazing. It's how clam chowder tastes in heaven."

"So, you mentioned you went to Leadbetter Point this afternoon," Benji said. "The weather's been rather nice today. How was it?"

Erik and Amy shared a glance and burst out laughing thinking about the events of the afternoon.

After dropping off the clamming supplies and Honeybee (dogs weren't allowed at the wildlife refuge), Erik drove Amy out to the end of the peninsula to walk along Willapa Bay, a location he would go to often growing up. Amy enjoyed clamming that morning and looked forward to being outdoors more, thankful to be out of the lab and doing something active. Although the sky was still overcast and the temperature cold, they'd been blessed with dry weather.

Pulling into the parking lot, they grabbed their coats from the trunk and headed down a wooded path.

"The left leads out to the Pacific," Erik explained. "Really great beach, protected for the bird population. We've walked to the end of the peninsula several times over the years. One time Benji and I found a dead shark washed up on the beach. Kinda cool."

The couple walked along the bay, watching the blue herons feed on frogs and snakes. Amy couldn't get over how beautiful and full of life the area was. Her biology-inclined mind loved seeing the cycle of life fully represented, and she enjoyed the smell of vegetation and sea water. She started pointing out things to Erik about the plants and birds in the area.

"It's nice to have a biologist onboard," he said, linking arms with her as they walked.

Finding a piece of drift wood, the couple sat and soaked in the scenery for a while.

"So what would you do out here?" Amy asked.

"Well, when I became interested in photography, I'd come out here a lot," Erik began. "My buddies from school and I would come out to chill. This place and the lighthouse I was going to show you later were prime make out spots too."

They sat in silence for a long time, listening to the wind in the trees, watching the herons, gulls, and occasional crane. Suddenly, the air shifted a bit and Amy crinkled her nose as an unpleasant swampy smell reached her.

Erik saw her expression. "Yup, the tide is coming in. We'd better head back. There's no beach when the tide's in, and it gets really mucky."

About halfway back down the shore, Amy spotted a beautiful stone being washed in by the incoming tide.

"Hey, I'm going to grab that," she said to Erik. "It looks like it would polish up really nice. Maybe use the geology department equipment."

"Cool," Erik said. "Nature calls. Be right back."

Erik walked into the woods, and Amy walked towards the rock. Bending down, she picked it up, studying it for several moments before putting it in her pocket. She felt water wash over her shoes, glad she had on her rain boots. Starting to turn around, she realized she couldn't move. She looked down at her feet and realized the muddy sand surrounded her boots up to her ankles. Craning her neck, she saw Erik emerging from the woods.

"Erik!" she cried. "I'm stuck!"

Erik stopped on the dry sand of the beach and began laughing. She must have looked hilarious. She would probably laugh too if she didn't feel her feet continue to sink.

"Erik, I'm sinking!" she screamed at him.

That seemed to snap him to attention. He still wore the high boots from clamming, so he walked out towards her, continuing to bounce around from foot to foot to avoid sinking himself. He bent down to her boots.

"Amy, I don't think we can get these out. You'll just need to step out of them," he said.

"And walk in just my socks?" she said, thinking of how cold and muddy she'd be.

"Yeah. Hey, I'll carry you. We're not too far," he assured her.

Amy stepped out of the boots and jumped onto Erik's back, legs around his waist, arms around his neck. He began walking towards the shore.

"But what about my boots?" she said, remembering Penny helping her pick them out. They were high-end rain boots, a splurge Amy rarely gave into. She felt proud to actually own a cool article of clothing.

"Amy, they're gone. A sacrifice to the wet land gods. If we continue to stay, they'll be digging us up five thousand years from now and putting us in a museum under the label Willapa Bog Couple," he said. "We need to go."

"But it's littering," she said, shifting her body to get him to turn around but only succeeding in knocking him off balance. They both plummeted into the mud.

"What the hell, Amy," Erik cried, leaping up, now covered in mud himself.

Amy jumped to her feet, now only wearing her socks, feeling her feet sink into the cold muck. Erik motioned for her to get back on him.

"Sorry," she said, holding onto him tightly. She could tell he was angry. And why wouldn't he be? She just turned a nice outing into a complete and total mess. They were both covered in mud and smelled like a swamp.

Upon reaching the wooded path back to the car, Erik put her down and turned to face her. She expected a stern look, but he only began to laugh. He wrapped her in his arms, kissed her, and continued laughing into her neck. Amy smiled too, her hands muddy from hugging him.

They arrived at the parking lot a couple minutes later. Erik stopped suddenly.

"Oh hell no," he said as Amy stepped down.

"What?" she asked.

"We can't get into my car like this," he said. "The mud, the smell. It'll never come out."

Amy thought for a moment, trying to come up with a solution. Ah ha! "How about the towels we brought for Honeybee? We only used one after clamming. We brought a lot. Maybe there's more in the back seat."

They looked in the back seat and saw one bath-sized towel. Not enough.

"Hey, I have an idea. We lay the towel down in the trunk, and we take off our muddy jackets and pants and put back there. Our shirts and underwear are fine," Erik said. "I can drive in my socks."

Amy gaped at him. "Okay, let me get this straight. You want me to sit in your Mustang in just my panties and top."

"Yes."

Amy opened her mouth to argue but had to agree this seemed the best solution.

"Amy, please," Erik pleaded. "This car is my third favorite thing in the whole world."

Amy glared at him. "What are the other two?"

"Well, the second is my camera, which pays for said car," he explained. "And the first is you, baby." He said sweetly, before looking at her sternly. "Now take off your pants!"

Amy looked around. The parking lot was empty, nobody around. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine."

Benji and Jessica laughed as Amy and Erik told the story.

"You will never find those boots again, Amy," Jessica said. "When we were kids, a drunk drove his car from the ocean to the bay side. Ruined a lot of vegetation. Crashed the car into the swamp. He got arrested, but they couldn't get the car out. Didn't matter. The bay claimed it completely within three days."

"How did you guys get into the room in just your underwear?" asked Benji.

"We just ran," Erik said. "But what happened before we got to the hotel is up there on my list of embarrassing moments."

Again, Amy and Erik shared a meaningful glance.

"Well, damn Erik, you've embarrassed yourself a lot," Benji chuckled. "I need to hear this."

Erik and Amy headed back up the highway, making plans on how to get into their hotel room.

"I say we just trash those clothes," Erik suggested. "My boots will clean, but we can just buy new coats at the general store in town. They won't be high end like your rain boots, but functional."

"Oh, you be quiet about my boots," Amy scowled. "You just don't understand."

Erik glanced over at his girlfriend and smiled. She sat there in her usual blouse and cardigan and simple pink cotton panties, her cute feet bare.

"You're kind of adorable, you know that Amy?" he finally said.

She looked over at him. "You think so? I've been thinking about changing my look. Penny and Bernadette say I dress too, well, frumpy. I should be more girly. Hence, the boots."

Erik was shocked. "I like the way you dress," he said. "It's practical. And sexy."

"Sexy? Seriously?"

"Um, yeah," he said. "Because I know what's going on under there. And it's hot. And why change, if you're comfortable?"

Amy shifted in her seat. "Well, I'm not comfortable right now," she paused. "Do you think I should get rid of my glasses?"

"No," said Erik firmly. "I love those glasses. That way I get two Amys."

"What?"

"Yeah, there's Amy with glasses and Amy without. Two Amys," Erik said. "It's like a sexy, strange threesome I've worked out in my head with your clone. Don't take that away from me."

Amy began to giggle, and Erik smiled, loving making her laugh. The smile dropped from his face when he glanced in the rear view mirror to see a police car pull up behind them, lights flashing, sirens blaring. Erik glanced down at his speed – he wasn't going fast. What the hell? He pulled over, the police behind him.

"Shit," he said. "I don't know what we were doing wrong."

"Maybe a tail light out?" Amy suggested.

Erik glanced in the rear view mirror and sighed, relieved.

"It's one of my buddies from high school, Johnny. He's on my fantasy football team," Erik explained. "He's a cop now and probably recognized my car. Just wants to chat, I'm sure. He's done this before."

"Erik!"

"What?"

"We're not wearing any pants!"

Erik glanced back to see Johnny step out of the car, smiling and walking toward them. He looked over at Amy to see her removing her cardigan quickly and draping it over her lap to hide her panties. Smart girl.

Erik rolled down the window and Johnny leaned in.

"Yo man, what's up?" Johnny said, removing his hat, his brown hair matted to his head. "I remember you mentioned you were going to be in town."

"Yeah. Amy and I were going to stop by the station when we went to town tomorrow," said Erik, gesturing towards Amy. "By the way, this is my girlfriend."

"Pleased to meet you, Amy," Johnny said, smiling at her before his face fell to a puzzled look. "Erik, I can't help but notice you and your girlfriend here are both without pants."

"Yes, that's true," said Erik.

Johnny became stern. "You know Erik, participating in amorous activities while driving can be a danger to yourself and others. You remember what happened to Gabe and his girlfriend."

Erik glanced over at Amy, who was turning red. "Johnny, it's not what you think."

"Oh, really?"

"We had a bit of a mud mishap out at Leadbetter Point. Our clothes are in the trunk if you'd like proof," Erik said, then grinned at his friend. "But I'll need to see a warrant first."

Johnny began laughing. "Yeah, lost a football out there one time, remember?"

"Speaking of football," said Erik, desperate to change the subject. "We're both really sucking it up this year."

"Yeah, keep defaulting to cheaper players. Shouldn't do that. Need to invest to win," Johnny said. "Hey, you two stop by the station tomorrow. We can have lunch at the bakery next door. Noon."

"Great," said Erik.

"Nice to meet you, Amy," Johnny said. "I look forward to talking to you when we're all fully clothed." He laughed as he walked away.

Erik gripped the wheel and leaned his forehead against it. He heard Johnny honk as he pulled away. Erik finally turned his head to glance at Amy, who had her head in her hands.

"He won't tell anybody, will he?" Amy asked.

"The truth?"

"Yes."

"This will be all over the peninsula by tomorrow morning," Erik sighed.

"Oh God."

Erik saw Amy's body begin to shake like she was crying. He felt so bad. Bringing her to meet his family, explore his hometown, he wanted her to have a good time, feel at home. Now she'd been embarrassed. He leaned over and put his arm around her.

"Amy…"

She lifted her head up, and he saw her smiling, tears running down her face. Finally, she began to laugh hard, her whole body shaking. He joined in, and they sat for several minutes at the side of the road in hysterics.

"Well," said Jessica, when they'd finished their story. "You're now officially a part of peninsula lore, Amy. Welcome to our home."

Erik looked over at his grinning girlfriend and realized his heart was beating quickly. She was becoming so much a part of him, and now she was a part of his hometown too. Just when he thought he couldn't love her any more than he already did, he fell a little more.

Sheldon's dinner with the McCarthys, the Foxes, and Yoshi proved to be both enjoyable and delicious. Staying quiet for most of the meal, soaking in the conversation around him, Sheldon savored Sally's delicious cooking, tonight homemade macaroni and cheese with a seasoned baked chicken. Glenn had told Yoshi and Lillian that Sheldon had spontaneously decided to drive up to stay with them, get away from the city for his holiday. Nobody knew the real reason, and for that, Sheldon was grateful.

The group jumped from topic to topic, debating state politics, talking about the area. Glenn and Sally, who just met Rosemary the previous evening, asked about her work. Sheldon listened carefully, interested in the woman. He knew everyone else at the table after numerous conversations over the past few months, so she remained the unknown factor. Aside from curating at the Washington State History Museum, she enjoyed woodworking, focused on mask making out of a small studio in in her garage. She sold her work online.

"How was the train ride from Tacoma?" asked Sally.

"Good. Busy."

"You like the train?" asked Sheldon.

"Oh yes. Traffic up in the sound can be a nightmare. But Lil is driving me back on Friday so we can do a little shopping together in Seattle," Rosemary explained.

"Black Friday, bitches," Lillian said excitedly, high-fiving her sister.

"Yeah, you two can have that," said Yoshi, rolling his eyes. "I've gotta get working on my proposal."

Conversation shifted to Yoshi's work, and Sheldon was happy just to sit and listen, occasionally focusing his attention on Rosemary.

Toward the end of the meal, Sheldon realized why he found Rosemary so interesting. She was a hybrid of two of his favorite women. Like Penny, she was energetic, bubbly, and rather girly, with her jewelry (gemstone necklace, dangling earrings) and make-up (which he found tasteful and not garish) and apparent interest in shopping. Like Amy, she was incredibly intelligent and appeared deeply in love with her field and work. He listened to her argue points several times, impressed by the dexterity of her mind. He enjoyed her rather lengthy and well-informed debate with Glenn on education reform. Sheldon wondered how she would be playing some of his puzzle games.

Of course, there were differences too. Unlike Penny, who couldn't make up her mind about her job or Leonard or anything, or Amy, who, until more recently, followed everyone else's lead socially, Rosemary possessed a quiet confidence and strength, saying what she meant with conviction. She owned a gracefulness Sheldon immediately liked and wished he had himself. She relied little on sarcasm for her humor, which Sheldon was grateful for since he still struggled. Finally, like her sister, Rosemary seemed excited about, well, everything. Sheldon suddenly realized that listening to her, watching her, made him happy, and he immediately felt uncomfortable with the feeling.

"So how about game night?" suggested Sally. "Monopoly, anyone? I have an apple crumble we can eat then as well."

"Ohhh, Monopoly was a staple at the Fox house," said Lillian, glaring at everyone around the table. "Get ready to be owned."

"We just need to get cleaned up first," said Sally. "Why don't you kids just relax while we do dishes."

"I have an idea!" cried Yoshi. "You know what would be an awesome game to play in this house?"

"What?" asked Glenn, raising an eyebrow.

"Hide and seek."

The whole table started laughing, except for Sheldon, who suddenly became worried.

Rosemary spoke first. "Okay. Let's do it. I haven't played that in years."

Glenn gave his wife a mischievous grin. "Honey, why don't you play too? I can take care of the dishes."

"Oh, now sweetie," Sally said, glaring at her husband playfully. "I think…"

She never got to finish. Yoshi grabbed her and the group headed into the living room, leaving Sheldon and Glenn at the table.

Glenn stood to begin clearing the plates. "Aren't you playing too, Sheldon?"

Sheldon stared down at the table. "I had a bad experience with hide and seek when I was seven."

"Oh?"

"My sister had some friends over, and we played. They never found me. I stayed hidden for two hours before I realized they switched to playing Barbies. And I missed out on Meemaw's homemade ice cream sandwiches."

"Well, I don't think that will happen here," Glenn said. "Homemade ice cream sandwiches?"

"Ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies."

"Wow, maybe we'll need to add that to our summer dessert list," Glenn paused and looked at Sheldon. "Sheldon, you will be found and you won't miss dessert. What's the number one rule this week?"

"Live in the moment."

"Now get in there and play hide and seek," Glenn said firmly before beginning to laugh. "I can't believe I just said that to someone in their mid-thirties." He continued to clear the table as Sheldon slunk into the living room.

Apparently the group had been waiting for him, since the second he entered, Yoshi launched into the rules.

"Okay, I'll seek first. I'll count to a hundred, and I'll have ten minutes to find you," Yoshi explained. "No going outside. You know, cougars."

Sheldon suddenly became concerned. Cougars?

"Everywhere else is available…"

"Except Glenn and I's room," said Sally, nodding to the hall off the living room.

Yoshi dashed into the dining room and began counting loudly. Sally grabbed a magazine and crouched behind the couch. The girls looked at her and laughed before running upstairs. Sheldon looked down at Sally, who gave him her bright smile.

"Better hurry, Sheldon."

He ran upstairs to the second floor, pausing at his room. No, that would be too obvious, wouldn't it? Was there a strategy to this game? Yoshi's voice boomed through the house. He'd already reached 60 seconds. Sheldon rushed up to the third floor and ran into the first room he came to, the Iceland room. He paused for a moment to look at the photos of geysers and violently erupting volcanoes, a world looking very dangerous and primordial. Yoshi's voice suddenly re-entered his thoughts. Fifteen seconds?! Sheldon dashed into the room's closet and closed the door, stepping as far back as he could. As he did so, he tripped on something that let out a yelp, and he crashed awkwardly to the floor, his lower back hitting what felt like a vacuum cleaner, his legs entwined with someone else's.

"Ouch," came the voice. Rosemary. "Sheldon? Are you okay?"

"Yes. You?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry," said Sheldon, struggling in the small space to return to his feet. "I'll go."

He moved towards the door just as he heard Yoshi shout in the distance, "Ready or not, here I come."

"Sheldon, don't go. He'll catch you," whispered Rosemary into the dark. "Sally stores the carpet cleaner in this closet along with a large box of toilet tissue. I was going to hide behind those. I think we can both fit."

He felt her hand on his shoulder guiding him to crouch behind the carpet cleaner. In the little bit of light coming through the bottom of the door, he saw her pull the large box over so they were in a little square, the wall beside and behind them, the carpet cleaner in front, the box blocking them in. Sheldon crouched down and made his tall frame as small as possible, and he felt her crouch behind him, her body pressed against his back. Her close proximity, along with the enclosed space, made him begin to breathe erratically. How did he wind up hiding in a closet with a woman he barely knew? Rosemary shifted suddenly, and Sheldon felt her hands on his upper back.

"Sorry, lost my balance," she whispered. "I feel so ridiculous. Yoshi somehow always talks us into doing stupid things. But they're always fun in the end."

Sheldon remained silent but continued to feel even more uncomfortable. He wanted to burst out of the tight space screaming. At the same time, he felt the sensation of Rosemary against his back oddly stimulating, exciting. She began to giggle just as Sheldon heard Yoshi arrive on the third floor.

"Quiet," Sheldon whispered.

He felt Rosemary lean her head on his back, her fingers digging into him gently as Yoshi entered the Iceland room. The closet door was thrown open and Sheldon and Rosemary froze. Yoshi paused for only a moment then closed the door and left the room.

Rosemary and Sheldon remained frozen in their positions for over a minute. By this time, Sheldon no longer felt like making a mad dash for the door. He focused on the feeling of Rosemary against him, could sense her steady breathing. He soon discovered he'd matched his own breathing with hers.

"Sheldon," she whispered.

"Yes," he said quietly.

"Your t-shirt is soft," she said. "Do you use fabric softener?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's, it's…" she said, seeming to hesitate. "Nice."

"Thank you," he answered, his heart starting to race. She was leaning against him, could she hear his heart? What was wrong with him? The urge to quickly exit came back, along with Glenn's words. Live in the moment. But what if the moment was terrifying?

"Okay, I give up," shouted Yoshi from somewhere in the house. "Rosemary? Sheldon? Where are you?"

"Ha, I think we won," said Rosemary, standing up along with Sheldon. The duo emerged from the closet into the room. She turned to him and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, remaining silent, just looking up at him.

Sheldon found himself just looking down at her too, unable to speak. After a long moment, Yoshi burst into the room, forcing Sheldon to break his gaze.

"Dude, I checked this room," Yoshi said.

"Well, not good enough," said Rosemary, slapping the younger man on the back. She headed downstairs, leaving the two men behind.

Yoshi looked back at Sheldon. "Those Fox girls." He left too, Sheldon remaining alone.

What had just happened? Sheldon felt a little weak, so he walked over to sit on the bed and stared at the floor.

He looked up to see Lillian enter the room. "We have time for one more game. Since you and Rose tied, one of you is seeker."

"Rosemary can," said Sheldon. "I think I'll…set up the Monopoly board."

"Okay, cool," said Lillian, shrugging and leaving Sheldon alone again.

Relax, Glenn had said. Live in the moment. But obviously when he did that, his brain went to all sorts of uncomfortable places. Sheldon shook his head and went downstairs, unsure how he would make it through the week. He was glad this group didn't know him like his friends back home. The neurotic Sheldon. The robot Sheldon. The unreasonable Sheldon. He had a chance here to be a newer, fresher version of himself. And he liked that, wanted the opportunity. But deep down he knew he was the same, and sooner or later they'd find out.

Three hours later, the group was wrapping up the most vicious and competitive game of Monopoly Sheldon ever played. True to Lillian's words, the Fox girls annihilated everyone, with the exception of Sally. In fact, the final two on the board for Lillian and Sally, both staring each other down as if in an old west shootout. Glenn finally insisted they call a draw.

"Hey, we're doing the seven-mile falls loop hike tomorrow, so we need to get an early start," he said, grabbing the dessert plates from the crumble they ate two hours before. "Enough is enough."

"No, we need a winner," insisted Lillian.

"Honey, I love you," said Sally to Glenn. "But back off my game."

The others left them at the table, Sheldon following Glenn into the kitchen.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to hike tomorrow," said Sheldon. "I do not have a warm coat nor proper footwear."

"Nonsense," said Glenn. "I have extra hiking boots and jackets. We've got things stored away for visitors. See you in the morning, Sheldon. Sleep well."

Sheldon returned to his room, suddenly remembering he needed to contact Howard. The last he spoke to his friend, he indicated he'd be heading home. He sat at the desk chair and pulled out his phone, deciding to text his friend rather than call. The time was late.

SC: Howard, thank you once again for being a good friend. I've decided to visit my friends at Mt. St. Helens for the week. I will be home by the weekend. Please send Bernadette my regrets at not being able to attend Thanksgiving.

Howard must have been awake, because just as Sheldon was pulling out his pajamas, his phone beeped.

HW: Enjoy your time. I'll let Bernie, Raj, and Laura know you just left to see the geologists. I've got your back, Sheldon.

Sheldon bit his lip as he felt a lump in his throat. Despite their differences, Howard was a good friend. A great friend. Howard saw Sheldon at one of his lowest, craziest moments, and still kept his word. Amazing.

Sheldon grabbed the phone charger out of his suitcase, catching a glimpse of the ring box. He scowled and quickly zipped up the bag.

"Well, have a good night," came a voice from the door, startling Sheldon. He turned to see Rosemary. "I look forward to the hike tomorrow. Glenn says there's four waterfalls along the trail."

"It'll be a nice time," said Sheldon, uncertain if he was lying or not. He wasn't one for hiking. "I'm glad to meet you. And thank you again for editing my paper."

Rosemary gave him a big smile. "Happy to help. Pleasant dreams."

She walked away, and Sheldon heard her door close.

After showering and doing his nightly routine, Sheldon lay in the bed, once again reflecting on the day. He heard movement in the room next to him, probably Rosemary getting ready for bed. Sheldon strained his ears, listening, but there were no more sounds. Perhaps she'd gone to sleep. He recalled the sensation of her leaning against him in the darkened closet and felt anticipation at what tomorrow would bring.

Author's Note: So I kind of want to open a volcano themed bed and breakfast. Anyone want to help?

Next time, Sheldon reluctantly (and clumsily) bonds with nature, and Amy loses her way. Thank you for reading!