The Work-Life Balance Disruption
Chapter 18
Speculations
Amy walked into the Cheesecake Factory the following day. She had made plans to meet up with Bernadette. Since she took an earlier bus, she decided to wait at the bar and chat with Penny for a bit.
She had grown on her, Penny. And, since she knew Doctor Cooper really well, perhaps she could help Amy shed some light on the whole situation. The goodbyes yesterday had been interesting to say the least.
After the events in the classroom, he had helped her off the desk, she was still wobbly on her legs.
"Will you come to my office this Wednesday to discuss your paper? I've checked your schedule, and we should have enough time after your final class," he said.
Amy blinked at him. She had forgotten he had access to her Google Calendar.
"Uhm, sure," Amy murmured. She was still hazy from her earlier orgasm.
"Good," he responded, "perhaps you should leave this classroom first. There are no other classes here this time of day, but on the off chance that there is someone around here, it's best we leave separately. People might talk if they were to see the both of us exit at the same time."
"Right," Amy nodded quickly.
She had been halfway to the door, when she figured out why something felt amiss. He still had her panties in his pocket.
She turned around, red in the face. "Doctor Cooper?"
He was wiping his hands and mouth with a wet wipe. He looked up questioningly.
"Yes?"
His eyes were crinkled with amusement. He was daring her to ask for them back, she could tell by the look on his face.
She decided not to humour him; she would rather walk around campus half naked, then to give him the satisfaction of her asking for it.
"I expect a grade with constructive criticism on my performance within 36 hours," she said instead, and turned to the door, hiding the grin on her face at his perplexed look.
Amy saw Penny making a cocktail for Rajesh Koothrappali, it was light greenish in colour in a martini glass. She hesitated. She had wanted to speak to Penny in private, not with one of Doctor Cooper's friends present as well.
Amy figured she couldn't just hang out at the entrance of the restaurant either. She walked over to the bar and greeted the both of them happily. "Hello Penny, Rajesh," she nodded and installed herself on the barstool next to him.
"Hello," Rajesh greeted her, sipping his cocktail.
Penny grinned at her devilishly. "Amy, how are you doing girl?" she raised her eyebrows for good measure, as if her tone wasn't suggestive enough.
Amy blushed. "I'm fine, thank you," she muttered. Penny was already pouring her a glass of wine.
"I think you're more than just fine, Amy," she said, handing her the glass. "Sheldon looked more obnoxious than usual yesterday evening. Dare I say, he looked rather pleased about something."
Amy felt the blush spread across her face. This was a bad idea. Obviously, Penny knew something happened. Why did he have to behave this transparently?
"I thought something was up with him today," Rajesh interjected. "He wasn't even mean to Howard during lunch, which he always is. Did you have something to do with this?"
Amy took a big gulp of her wine, avoiding both their eyes. Good God, this was awkward.
Penny must have noticed how uncomfortable she was, because she tried to change the subject. "Raj, the guys are here," she nudged him, mentioning to a table behind him.
Amy did a double take at her words.
Of course the others would be there as well. Why else would Rajesh be drinking by himself at the bar?
Leonard appeared next to her. He leaned over the bar, giving Penny a kiss in greeting. "What time do you get off work?" he asked. Penny rolled her eyes, and sighed loudly. "I was hoping at nine-ish. I was going to have drinks with Bernadette and Amy later."
Amy raised her eyebrows. She hadn't made any plans of the sort. Penny winked at her.
Leonard turned around. "Oh, hey Amy!" he looked genuinely happy to see her, and gave her an awkward one-armed hug.
"Are you here by yourself?" he asked, looking around for a companion of sorts.
"No, I'm meeting Bernadette for dinner," Amy replied.
"Why don't the two of you join us?" he said, smiling, "I'm sure the others won't mind, and Howard is always happy to spend more time with Bernadette."
Amy tried her hardest to think of a reason to decline. Nothing came to mind.
Penny smirked at her. "Yeah, Amy, why don't you?"
"Alright," Amy finally replied, and followed Leonard to the round table.
Rajesh saw them approach, and stood up courteously to give his seat to Amy. He moved to a different table quickly, grabbing a vacant chair to sit on. Amy would have smiled more brightly at him in appreciation, if the proffered seat wasn't next to Doctor Cooper.
"Thank you, Raj," she muttered, lowering herself in the seat.
Doctor Cooper looked her over. Amy could feel his stare boring through her. "Miss Fowler," he said, his voice monotone, "this is a surprise."
He didn't sound at all happy about this.
"Yes, I ran into her at the bar," Leonard grinned, either not noticing his less than welcome attitude or choosing to ignore it, "Bernadette will be joining us as well. I thought it would be nice for us to get to know Amy better."
Howard perked up at the mention of Bernadette's name. "Bernie's coming as well? Yay!"
Rajesh got up again, walking over to a table to get yet another chair for Bernadette. He put the chair next to Howard, making the others scoot in even more.
Amy could actually feel the body heat coming from Doctor Cooper to her left.
"This is fun!" Leonard said, still oblivious to what was going on between Amy and Doctor Cooper.
"So, Amy," Howard continued, "I hope Sheldon didn't give you too much of a hard time yesterday for not answering that question in class."
Amy choked on her drink. Did he know? Or was she imagining the emphasis on the word 'hard'?
Amy coughed. "No, it was alright."
Suddenly realising she could have fun with this, she continued. "I think I've gotten a lot better actually," she neglected to say at what, "don't you agree, Doctor Cooper?"
Doctor Cooper gave her a look. "There is still a plenty of room for improvement, Miss Fowler," he said haughtily.
Amy tried not to let the disappointment show on her face.
"Of course there is, it's not my expertise after all," she answered, smiling sweetly at him, "but I think with your instructions I'll improve in no time. I am a good student after all."
Doctor Cooper's pupils dilated and he narrowed his eyes at her. Amy blinked back at him innocently.
When it appeared he wasn't going to respond, Amy looked away from him and took a sip of her wine again. Howard looked curious at their exchange. Leonard was looking at her suspiciously.
Oops, maybe she hadn't been as subtle as she thought.
Rajesh looked none the wiser however. "How nice that you're taking such an interest in physics, Amy," he said, "you're a biology student, aren't you? What are you currently working on?"
Amy cleared her throat. Maybe it was better that they talk about something else.
She started to tell Rajesh all about her current workings with the Capuchin monkeys – he interrupted and told her about all the exotic animals his parents had in India – and how their nicotine addiction was fascinating to see. She was just talking about the difference in behaviour between the monkeys addicted to menthol cigarettes, and the ones addicted to regular ones, when Bernadette arrived.
"Hi guys," she greeted, shooting Amy a look as she saw how close she was sitting to Doctor Cooper. "This is unexpected, us eating together like this."
"Thank you," Doctor Cooper spoke up angrily, rolling his eyes, "apparently, it's the more the merrier at the Cheesecake Factory."
"Sheldon!" Leonard reprimanded him. It was the second time Amy saw him berate Doctor Cooper. Was this normal behaviour in their social group?
"This completely disrupts the group dynamic of our usual meals together," Doctor Cooper explained, sounding like a child who didn't get his way.
"Well, I think it's nice," Rajesh said, smiling. "Besides, Penny eats with us all the time, you don't mind her."
"Yeah, Sheldon," Howard interjected giving him a sly smile, "we thought you'd like to eat with Amy… And Bernadette. They're both scientists, so we'll be able to discuss something interesting as well."
Doctor Cooper just stared at him angrily.
Amy felt incredibly awkward. And they hadn't even ordered dinner yet.
The waitress came by, taking their order and bringing another round of red wine for herself and Bernadette. She hadn't even ordered it, but accepted it gladly.
Doctor Cooper took an insane amount of time explaining how he wanted his cheeseburger (barbecue sauce, chees and tomatoes on the side, cucumber instead of pickles and no onions), eventually telling her that she should just ask Penny for directions.
Amy watched Howard grasp Bernadette's hand on the table. They shared a not-so secret smile. Amy watched them with a slight pang of pain in her heart. Doctor Cooper sat next to her, but hadn't so much as looked at her after her daring statements.
After everyone's order was taken, an awkward silence settled over them.
Luckily, Leonard saved the day as he brought up the topic of the Higgs Boson and its significance to the future of physics. It started a heated discussion that lasted all through dinner on whether or not there would be more discoveries like this around the corner.
The waitress came over to clear their empty plates, and Amy leaned to the side to give her access. Closer to him like this, she could smell the now familiar scent of fabric softener and talcum powder that she came to associate with Doctor Cooper. The scent alone caused her heartrate to quicken.
She almost yelped when she felt the hand on her leg. He gave her a squeeze, as if to silence her.
Amy looked to her left subtly, but Doctor Cooper wasn't even looking at her. He kept his gaze focussed on Rajesh to his left, continuing their conversation about sub-atomic particles.
The hand moved up, sliding under her skirt. Amy stilled in anticipation. What the hell was he doing?
Amy hoped the others didn't notice her slight blush. Taking a deep breath, she spread her legs a little, granting Doctor Cooper more access. Access to what, she couldn't say.
She felt his hand graze the inside of her thigh, inching higher still.
"So, Amy," Bernadette said, startling Amy. She jumped in her seat, and Doctor Cooper's hand slipped between her legs fully now.
Bernadette looked at her quizzically. "I was wondering if you'll be going back to Harvard after this year is over?"
All eyes were suddenly on her. Including Doctor Cooper's.
Doctor Cooper, whose hand was firmly lodged between her legs, his ring finger and pinkie grazing her through her panties. Amy shuddered with arousal, but she hoped it came off as nervousness to the others.
She cleared her throat, "I'll have to go back either way to get my diploma and present my dissertation for the committee," she answered. The hand between her legs stopped moving.
"But after that, I don't know. I was hoping to continue researching here at Caltech," she finished, "I have my family here as well." Among other things, she added in her head. And Doctor Cooper's fingers caressed her once more.
"It would be nice if you were able to stay here, Amy," Bernadette smiled at her genuinely.
Howard gave her a smile as well. He would forever be in her debt for helping him get back together with Bernadette, Amy realised.
"Thank you," Amy smiled. The hand between her legs squeezed her thigh. What was he trying to tell her?
The silence that followed was comfortable, until Leonard looked at his watch. "Time flies!" he exclaimed, "we should go if we want to catch that movie."
The others around them nodded, and Doctor Cooper removed his hand from between her legs. Amy tried to subtly pull down her skirt. He had barely touched her, yet she was incredibly turned on nonetheless.
"Why don't you pull the car round, Leonard," Doctor Cooper said in his usual no-nonsense voice, "I'll settle the bill."
Everybody moved quickly after that; Leonard and Raj walked out of the restaurant, waving them goodbye. Bernadette had stood up to give Howard a really inappropriate kiss goodbye.
Amy regarded them with distaste. She liked Bernadette, really, but her earlier arousal was disappearing rapidly watching this public display of affection.
Doctor Cooper cleared his throat next to her softly. Amy looked back at him.
The look in his eyes was intense and her heart constricted. "I haven't forgotten about your request, Miss Fowler," he muttered, as if not to disturb Howard and Bernadette, "you'll receive my written assessment of your… performance before midnight."
Amy gulped nervously.
He raised his eyebrow. "Not so confident now, are we?" he smirked, and stood up from the table. Looking over at the couple, he raised his voice. "Wolowitz! Let's go."
Amy watched him walk to the cash register and pull out his credit card. Bernadette and Wolowitz were still kissing, albeit more subtly then before.
"Howie," Bernadette giggled, "you're gonna miss the movie!"
"I'd rather spend the evening with you than in a theatre watching a movie I've seen before," he replied, nuzzling her nose.
"Okay," Bernadette whispered, giving in.
"SHELDON!" Howard hollered, unashamed at the scene he was making, "Go ahead! I'm not coming!"
Doctor Cooper just looked at him, shook his head and turned around to leave. Amy decided to leave Howard and Bernadette to it, and got up to walk to the bar.
Penny looked up, and her face contorted in disgust as she saw Howard and Bernadette going at it. "Oh God, this is a family place," she said, "if I don't throw up in my mouth at the sight of this, someone else will. My boss will probably kick them out soon."
Penny handed her another glass of wine. Amy smiled gratefully in response.
"So," Penny said, grinning at Amy, "will I be seeing you at breakfast at 4A anytime soon?"
Amy blushed. "I don't think so," she muttered, taking a big gulp of wine. She was rapidly getting drunk with these amounts of alcohol.
Penny looked disappointed. "Oh," she said. "I thought something might have happened between you two yesterday? Maybe a kiss or something…"
Amy looked away and knew Penny could see her intense blush. Oh Penny, if only you knew what had happened.
"If you're not into Sheldon, let me know. I'll stop badgering you about it, I swear," Penny said, "but I think one of you just needs a little push for either one of you to admit you're into each other."
Penny made it sound like Doctor Cooper was really into her.
Amy wasn't convinced. He was attracted to her, that was certain. But he was doing this whole dominant power display, which really said nothing about his feelings for her. Only that he desired her physically.
A horrifying thought entered her mind. Maybe she wasn't the first student he did this whole power display with…
Amy emptied her glass in one gulp. "I'm gonna go," she said, needing to be alone with her thoughts. She didn't trust Penny enough to confide her doubts to. She'd blab to Doctor Cooper for sure.
"Thanks for the wine," she said, sliding a few dollar bills towards Penny.
She left with Penny looking at her with a blank expression on her face, probably wondering if she had said something wrong.
Amy took a ridiculously long shower once she got home. Her head was filled with thoughts she couldn't seem to shake.
Why hadn't she thought about this before? Perhaps Doctor Cooper had a different student each semester to 'teach' stuff to… He hadn't expressed any feelings to her whatsoever, just lust and a need to make her abide by his rules.
Sure, he had been comforting and kind to her after that whole ordeal with Zack, but that could have just been a ploy to get her to warm up to him.
And who was this Ramona the girls kept mentioning? Was she a former student of his? Should she look her up on Facebook?
Amy was slowly going crazy.
She got out of the shower and grabbed her phone. She had a missed call from her mother.
Amy frowned. The relationship with her mother was strained to say the least. They hardly ever talked on the phone.
Why would she call her this randomly?
She also had several unread messages. Doctor Cooper had sent her two, but Amy was more interested in the one her mother had sent.
10:11 PM
From: Mom
Aunt Flora died yesterday. The funeral is this Saturday. Wear something appropriate, Dad will pick you up at 10AM.
Amy stared at the message in shock.
Pain gripped her around her heart. She heaved out a sob when the message fully registered. Her sweet, sweet great-aunt Flora had passed. Aunt Flora had always been more of a grandmother to her than her own grandmother, who had passed before she was born. She shouldn't be that surprised or upset; Aunt Flora had been well in her nineties, and lived a full life.
Yet, she couldn't stop herself from crying.
The fact that her mother informed her via text message felt like a knife in the heart.
She threw herself down on her bed and cried over the comforting hugs from Aunt Flora she would never receive again, never whisper conspiringly with her about her stuck-up mother, but most of all, cried over the way her mother just didn't seem to care enough about her, when she brought her only daughter such heart-breaking news like this.
All thoughts of Doctor Cooper and his possible former girlfriends left her mind as she cried herself to sleep.
To be continued
A/N: You probably weren't expecting anything like this, but please, stick with me.
On a more personal note: tomorrow, December 17th, it will be one year since my father passed away. It is no coincidence I'm posting this (and the next) chapter now.
My father was seriously ill and died way before his time. The cancer had grown quickly due to medication supressing his immune system. It had spread from his lungs to his brain and liver, and there was simply no cure. He was almost unrecognizable, both physically and mentally as well, the final weeks of his life. Those weeks in December were literally the darkest of my life.
Waiting for inevitable death was incredibly hard and exhausting. At some moment in time, you start hoping for it to be over.
And now, after 364 days without him, I still can't get used to the idea I will never see him again, or talk to him on the phone, or laugh at his stupid (sometimes racist) dad-jokes. Rationally, I know everyone has to say goodbye to their parents at some point in their life (please, never let it be the other way around), but losing my father at 29 was not something I ever imagined.
My father was a humble man. Kind. Smart. Funny. I wish he could have had more; grandchildren perhaps, more trips abroad. But he was satisfied just seeing me and my sister happy, and listening to music with a good Belgian beer. My father taught me compassion, respecting others and being satisfied with what I had.
I miss him dearly, but I hope some of his best qualities continue to live on inside me.
The next chapter will be emotional (for me at least), but it will be a good thing for Amy and Sheldon. I'm hoping to post it sometime this week.
Thank you. For your amazing reviews so far, and any kind words in advance.