Chapter Thirty-Five
The next few weeks went by in a blur. In between rehearsals and her shifts at the Cheesecake Factory (yes, she still had to work there), she barely had time to see Sheldon. Surprisingly, he understood and had even been busy himself at work. When Dr. Mueller reported back to the University about the success of Sheldon's lectures at the school, Dr. Gablehouser started looking at him in a new light. The Arctic Incident was almost all but forgotten. There were even talks of Sheldon make a annual trips to the University in Germany and maybe some other ones in Europe. Of course, Sheldon told them he do it on one condition: if Penny was allowed to come with.
That had brought tears to Penny's eyes when Sheldon had told her one night as they sat on the couch watching a movie. It meant that Sheldon was in this relationship for the long haul.
"I talked to my mother recently," he said that same night. "She wanted to visit right away, but when I told her of the play you are starring in, she wished to come down to see it. So, I'll need two more tickets for opening night."
"I'll get them for you. I hope they like the play," she leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled up at him. "Oh, and speaking of the play, I forgot to tell you. I won't die at the end. In fact, Jenny gets her happily ever after with Carlton!"
"That is great!" Sheldon smiled, a real non-creepy smile. "I know Meemaw would have been just as upset to watch you die on stage as I would have." With every thing Sheldon told Penny about his Meemaw, she started to like the woman more and they hadn't even met, yet. She was taking that as a good sign.
Now, it was only two days before opening night and Penny had never been more nervous. Rehearsals had gone extremely well. She and the actor who played Carlton got along and if Penny squinted, he seemed to look a little like Sheldon, making it easier to imagine him when they had scenes together.
Penny was lounging on her couch after a morning rehearsal and debating on whether she should go through her lines one more time or just lay there until it was time to go to bed. However, the decision was made for her when someone knocked on her door. Opening it, she was surprised to see Sheldon standing there. He hadn't done his signature knock.
"Good afternoon, Penny," he requested. "Will you be busy at six this evening?"
"Hm. Nope," she answered.
"Good. I request time in your presence in the form of dinner."
Penny surpassed a giggle at Sheldon's words. "And of course, you'll have it. What kind of dinner?"
"Formal. I plan on taking you somewhere nice. But the location is a surprise." He allowed himself a smile.
"Oooh. I can't wait. I'll be ready by 5:30." She went on tiptoes and pecked his lips, "Which means I should start getting ready now. I'll see you in a few hours, Sheldon." She closed the door behind her, reenergized and excited for the evening.
A few hours later, Penny was dressed in a simple red dress and her hair fell in loose curls down her back. This would be their first date in the United States. She knew it would have come sooner if their schedules had not been so hectic the past couple weeks.
She had just applied a layer of red lipstick to her lips when someone knocked on the door. Knowing it was Sheldon (since he used his normal knocking routine), she checked her appearance once more in the floor length mirror by her closest before she went to the door.
Sheldon stood in a sharp looking suit and Penny had never seen him look more handsome. When he saw her, he seemed to be speechless and it made Penny feel good about herself. It wasn't enough when Sheldon was speechless.
"G-Good evening, Penny," he finally said. "Are you ready?"
"Let me grab my purse and I will be." She grabbed her purse from the couch and took Sheldon's offered arm. Together, they walked down the stairs. Penny couldn't help but feel like some A-list actress going to a movie premiere or awards show with a handsome man at her side. Maybe this was all practice for when it finally happened to her. She could only hope.
"So, where are we going?" As they stepped down onto the main floor.
"It's a surprise," he smiled.
Outside, a shiny black car was waiting for them. A window rolled down and Leonard waved to them, he was also dressed in a suit. "Hey, guys."
"Is Leonard coming with?" Penny leaned close and asked, slightly disappointed that it wasn't going to be just them.
"No. He is driving us there. I was going to hire a driver along with the rented car, but he offered."
"Wow. Why are you going all out?"
"Well, opening night is in a few days and I know you'll be busy. My wish was to have this date closer to opening night, but it wasn't to be."
"It's okay! I don't care when we go on a date as long as it's with you." She kissed him on the cheek.
Sheldon smiled again and moved to open the back door for her. Penny slid in and waited for Sheldon to join her on the other side. Once he did, she put on her seat belt and sat as close to him as the belt would allow.
Leonard seemed to know where to go because he pulled out onto the street without Sheldon giving him any directions. Penny tried to see if she could guess where they were going by the streets they turned down, but gave up when she realized they could be going to any number of restaurants in the city.
Finally, when the car stopped at their destination, Penny couldn't wait to get out to see where Sheldon had taken her, but she waited until Sheldon got out of the car to open her door, first.
"Marjellchen," Penny read. "It's...it's a German restaurant!" She turned and threw her arms around him. He did all of this to remind them of their time in Germany and knew how much Penny missed it.
"Yes," Sheldon said, slightly surprised to have his arms full of Penny, but didn't protest. "They have a restaurant with the same name in Berlin. I doubt the food will be as good here, but I knew that you would still like it."
"I love it!" She hadn't even tried the food, yet and she had already fallen in love. Tears sprang to her eyes and she didn't bother to wipe them away. They were happy tears and she considered herself lucky to be with a man like Sheldon. "Come on, let's go inside." She grabbed his hand and together, they walked into the dimly lit restaurant.
Sheldon had made reservations under his name and soon they were seated. Thankfully, the menus were not all in German and Penny didn't need her dictionary to translate. "We can order of a bottle of wine...to share," Sheldon offered.
"Don't you mean beer?" Penny winked, letting him know she was only joking. "We don't have to. You don't like alcohol."
"I could give it a try. For you. And I thought all romantic evenings needed a bottle of wine."
"Not all of them, Sheldon. But if you would like to try we can get one for the both of us."
"How about the three of us?" A familiar voice spoke behind Penny. Instantly, she threw the menu down and squealed as she launched herself at Doctor Dominic Mueller. "Good evening, Fraulein Penny." He hugged her close and kissed her forehead.
"I can't believe you're here!"
"Sheldon told me about your play during a phone conversation and I figured I was due for a vacation." He took a seat at the table. "I hope it is all right that I am here during your date. I wished to surprise you before your big night."
"Not at all," Penny reassured. Though, she had been excited to spend a romantic evening with Sheldon at such a nice place, she didn't mind that Dr. Mueller was here, as well. She and Sheldon would have many nights in the future to go on romantic dates. "So, how long are you here for?"
"Two weeks. One week for vacation and the other week, I have some things to do at CalTech."
"That's great!" Penny exclaimed, happy that she would be seeing more of her dear friend.
"I'm glad you think so." He picked up a menu. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see what they offer here. I doubt it'll be as good as home, but I am very hungry, so anything will do."
The dinner seemed to fly by, much to Penny's dismay. It was almost like being back in Germany with Sheldon and Dr. Mueller as they ate German food and talked. She was glad that the older man seemed to care enough about her to come see her first big play and to think, the first time they had met, she been playing a part. A part which had soon become the real thing. Penny mooning over Sheldon, who didn't seem to notice her affections.
"I had a wonderful evening," Dr. Mueller said as they stood outside of the restaurant an hour later. In his hands, he held hers and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "I can not wait to see you perform."
"I just hope I don't make a fool of myself." Her cheeks flushed at the words. In the hecticness of the past few weeks, Penny hadn't allowed herself to think such negative things. But as opening night continued to grow closer and the more people she knew coming to see her, she started to doubt a little in her abilities.
"You will do splendidly, Penny," Sheldon stepped in. "I would have never spoken so highly about you if I didn't know it to be true." Penny knew he was telling the truth. Sheldon had a hard time not telling the truth and only said things he meant (which sometimes got him in trouble).
"Thank you, sweetie." She smiled at him.
Dr. Mueller looked between the two with a fond smile before turning to shake Sheldon's hand. "I better be off," he said. "I don't want to intrude anymore on your date night than you already have."
"You didn't intrude at all." Penny gave him a fierce hug. "I can't wait to see you again in a few days."
"And I can't wait to see the moment everyone realizes you're a star, Penny dear."
How many times tonight would tears prick her eyes? Without being able to contain herself, she threw her arms around the doctor once more. How had she gotten so lucky to have such wonderful people in her life?
Fifteen minutes later, Penny and Sheldon watched Dr. Mueller drive off in his rental car, waving as he did so. "When will Leonard get here?" Penny asked, trying not to let her disappointment show that their night would soon be over.
"I have told him not to pick us up for another hour," Sheldon responded. "I was thinking, since it is such a nice evening, that we could take a walk. This part of town is safe and the sidewalks brightly lit, so there is nothing to fear. I was also thinking that we could grab some dessert, too. How does ice cream sound?"
"Great!" Anything would have sounded good as long as the evening didn't have to end. It was already shaping up to be one of the best nights of her life (the ones spent in Europe with Sheldon were still high up on the list, though).
Together, they walked down the brightly lit sidewalks of Pasadena. Sheldon even allowed Penny to hold his hand. She didn't think the night could get any better.
When, they unfortunately, made it home an hour later with hands slightly sticky from their ice cream. Sheldon walked Penny to her door and Leonard quickly slipped behind his, allowing them some privacy.
Penny wrapped her arms around Sheldon and squeezed. "Thank you for surprising me with a nice dinner and Dr. Mueller, Sheldon. I really missed him."
"And he missed you, too. You must have made quite an impression on him while in Germany."
Penny stepped from him. "I hope it was a good one."
He tilted her chin up. "Of course it was, Penny. You always leave good impressions. Remember when we first met?"
She remembered vividly. That first day, when Sheldon had shown her his whiteboard, it had almost been like he had been flirting. Of course it hadn't taken long for Penny to discover how weird he was, but over the next few years she had come to like his quirkiness. "Yes," she finally answered and smiled.
Sheldon didn't say anything more and leaned down to kiss her fully on the mouth. Making it a perfect way to end a perfect day.