Chapter 21
A week after the film premier, Penny was on a flight to her home in Nebraska. She needed to see her family and tell them what happened to her for the past year and her plans for the future. She arrived at her parent's house and they were glad to see that their daughter was doing alright after being away for more than a year.
"Penny! It's so good to see you again!" said her mother Susan crying happy tears as she hugged her daughter.
"It's good to be home mom….where's dad?" Penny said as they sit in the living room.
"Your dad went out for a while. He'll be back soon." Susan added. "We were beginning to worry, but when you called about that movie you're doing, we were glad you already came back to the States." her mother said as her father Wyatt entered the house. Penny immediately jumped and ran to hug her father.
"Daddy!….I missed you!" she said hugging her father tight.
"Ugh….I missed you too slugger….so how's my little girl?" he asked as they returned to the living room.
"I'm doing good daddy….I just finished filming the movie that's why I came here to stay for a while." Penny said.
"Well we're just glad that you're here with us again." Susan said.
Penny took a deep breath and decided to tell her parents her decision to go back to Leonard. "Mom, dad, I need to tell you something…." she said. Penny told her parents everything that happened to her over the past year. She told them about Leonard, his work, Buster, the island, their adventures and their friends on the island. She told them about her decision to come back to Leonard and stay with him until he finds his 'eureka moment'. She showed her parents all the pictures she took with Leonard and Buster.
"So I guess you and Leonard will be getting married huh?" Susan asked her daughter.
"We talked about it but Leonard hasn't proposed to me yet." Penny said.
"Are you happy with him?" Wyatt asked her.
"Yes dad….he's so great...and he always does things to make me happy." Penny said.
"Well….if you ask me I would like to at least meet him first before you two get married." Wyatt said.
Penny nodded. "I'll tell him that." she said.
"It's alright if he doesn't want to….at least you're honest to us about him." Wyatt said.
Penny hugged her father. "Thank you daddy!" Penny said.
"You're welcome slugger….your mom and I just want you to be happy." he said.
Penny stayed with her parents for the next two weeks, helping out her father in the farm and visiting her friends and relatives to catch up on things. She told them about Leonard and that she will stay with him for an indefinite time or until he decides to come back to California.
After a couple of weeks, Wyatt and Susan dropped Penny off at the airport for her flight back to California. Wyatt parked his truck on a vacant slot while Penny and Susan stood by the curb. Susan was in tears as she said goodbye to her daughter.
"Don't cry mom. I promise I'll call once I arrive on the island." Penny said as she hugged her mother.
"I just want you to be safe." Susan said.
"I'll be alright mom. Leonard will take care of me." Penny said.
"Just be safe slugger and give us a call so your mom won't worry about you that much." Wyatt said.
"I will daddy." Penny said hugging her father. "I love you daddy!" Penny said trying hard not to cry.
"We love you too slugger." Wyatt said.
"I love you mom!" Penny said hugging her mother.
"I love you too honey!" Susan said. Penny picked up her luggage and made her way into the airport as her parents waved goodbye to her.
It's been a week since Penny left Nebraska. She was at her house making preparations for her trip back to Leonard. She can't believe that it has been seven months since she left Leonard on the island. She wondered what he was doing at this time, probably taking Buster for a walk along the beach or cleaning up after him. The thought of her two 'boys' busting on each other made Penny smile. She was checking her stuff in her luggage when the thought occurred to her. She decided to get dressed to visit one more place before her trip back. She arrived at CalTech around lunch time and asked around for directions to the Physics Department, looking for Dr. Sheldon Cooper's office. A tall lady was passing by as Penny knocked on Sheldon's office, she told Penny that Sheldon is probably at the cafeteria having lunch with his friends. Penny thanked her and made her way to the cafeteria. She immediately recognized Sheldon sitting with Howard and Raj eating their lunch, talking with each other as she walked towards their table.
"Uh excuse me, are you Sheldon Cooper?" she asked.
Sheldon looked at her. "It's Dr. Sheldon Cooper…. and you are?" he asked Penny.
"Uh I'm Penny….I'm Leonard's girlfriend." she said.
They were all surprised by Penny's revelation and stared at her.
"You're Leonard's girlfriend?" Howard asked her.
"Yes...I'm Leonard's girlfriend." Penny added. "May I sit down?" she asked.
"Of course...please…" Sheldon said. Raj leaned over to Howard and whispered.
"Raj says you look familiar." Howard said.
"Oh Leonard told me about Raj not being able to talk to women, but to answer your question, maybe you've seen my movie The Big Change or The Carpenter's Son?" she said. Raj whispered to Howard again.
"You're an actress?" Howard asked her.
"Well I'm not an A-lister, but I've been on several movies." Penny said.
Sheldon turned to Penny. "Is Leonard alright?….how is he doing?….where is he?….what is he doing with himself?….when is he coming back?" he asked Penny.
"Okay Sheldon, slow down and I will answer all your questions. But to start off, I can't tell you where Leonard is. It's his intention to remain hidden." Penny said while pulling out her phone. She scrolled on her phone and showed them a picture of her and Leonard. "Here...do you believe me now?" she asked. Howard, Raj and Sheldon looked at the screen and was surprised to see a tanned and fit Leonard.
"Wow! Leonard looks really good." Howard smiled.
"Yeah...Leonard has had a lot of physical exercise….he says his health is a lot better now than when he was here in California." said Penny
"But what is he doing with himself?" Sheldon asked.
"He works as a maintenance guy. You know, fixing TVs, stereos, washing machines…" said Penny leaving out important details so the guys will not be able to trace where he is. "Can I ask you guys a question?" Penny asked.
"Yeah sure." Howard said.
"How was Leonard's work before he left California?" she said.
"Well to be honest, Leonard's career was sort of in a standstill….it's nothing spectacular really." said Sheldon.
"Did he say anything to you?" Howard asked her.
"He said that he's still looking for his original idea and if he came back here, he feels that it may not come to him." Penny said.
Howard nodded. "I'm sure it will come to him." he said.
"You think so?" Penny asked.
"Yeah. There were many times when Leonard really comes up with brilliant and cool ideas." Howard said.
"Really?" asked Penny.
"Uh huh. Sometimes his ideas can be complex and other times, really plain and simple." Howard said with Raj nodding his head.
"I see." she said. "He really misses you guys. He doesn't talk about it but I can tell." she said.
"We miss him too. It's not the same without him." Howard said.
"He's right. I was pretty devastated when he left. He left a video message for me but it took a long time for me to accept that he left me like that." said Sheldon. "Imagine the Ninja Turtles without Leonardo…..or the Fantastic Four with only three members….or the Justice League without Green Lantern…." Sheldon said.
"Yeah, Leonard told me about ComicCon….do you guys want me to pass along any messages for him?" Penny asked.
"Are you going back to him? When and where?" Sheldon quickly asked.
"Yes Sheldon, I'm going back to stay with him and no….I won't tell you where I'm going or when because Leonard told me you guys can use your nerd skills to track him down." Penny said.
"Alright fine. Just tell him to come home soon." Sheldon said. Raj whispered to Howard.
"Raj says don't forget the souvenirs when he decides to come back." Howard said.
Penny smiled. "Okay. You got it." she said.
They continued to talk as Penny asked them all sorts of questions about Leonard. The guys told her about all their crazy adventures in and out of work. They told her about Leonard's ex-girlfriends including their feeble attempts to 'score' with girls which sometimes end up in humiliating results. Penny was glad that she visited the guys as she now feels she knows more about her boyfriend hearing about him from his closest friends. They were talking for the better part of the hour until Penny told them it was time for her to leave.
"Thank you guys for telling me everything about Leonard." Penny said.
"Penny please tell him to come home….we miss him so much." Sheldon said and was almost in tears.
"I will Sheldon." she said hugging him. She then hugged Howard and Raj. "I'll tell him you said hello." she said.
"Tell him we're here waiting for him." Howard said.
Penny smiled at them. "I will and Raj, I hope you'll get over your...condition" she said kissing him on the cheek. Raj was surprised but smiled at Penny. "Hey let's take a picture together? I'm sure Leonard would be surprised to see it." she said pulling out her phone. The guys stood beside her as she took a few selfies with them. "Okay, I guess I better get going now….bye guys!" she said as she turned and walked away while the guys waved goodbye to her. Penny reached her car and drove back to her house feeling a lot more closer to Leonard after talking to his best friends.
Penny spent the next couple of days preparing for her trip back while Miranda made sure that all of Penny's affairs in order.
"Remember, give me a call if you need anything alright?" Miranda said.
"I will and I probably won't need this much money since Leonard's job is more than enough for both of us." Penny said while packing her luggage.
"Is that luggage enough for you?" Miranda asked.
"It's gonna be fine. I left some of my stuff there anyways." Penny said.
Miranda hugged her tight. "I'm gonna miss you Penny….I've always considered you as my little sister." she said.
"I know. I feel the same way….and don't worry….I'll do my best to convince him to come back home." Penny continued. "I haven't told you this but I visited his friends at CalTech a couple of days ago." she said.
"Really? Why?" asked Miranda.
"I wanted to find out more about him by hearing it from his friends." said Penny.
"Did you find out anything juicy?" Miranda teased her.
"Oh yeah….I'm gonna rub it in his face." Penny said smiling.
"I'm really happy for you Penny." Miranda said smiling at her.
"Thank you. I promise I'll call once I arrive." she said hugging her again. They continued to talk while Penny finishes packing her luggage.
The next day, Miranda dropped Penny off at the airport. They said their goodbyes to each other coupled with a lot of hugs and tears. Penny waved goodbye to Miranda one last time before she went inside the airport. After going through check-in and security, Penny waited at the boarding gate for her flight to be called. She remembered the first time she did this. She remembered having no idea how her trip would end or what she would find but this time was different as her reasons were clear, a chance for a quiet and happy life.