Chapter 27

Leonard and Penny came back to apartment 4A after their three-day mini-honeymoon at the hotel. The gang was there eating takeout food to welcome them back. Amy and Bernadette was so excited seeing them glowing in their happiness as a newly married couple.

"So when are you two planing on going to the Bahamas?" Amy asked as the couple sat on the couch.

"We were thinking a couple of days from now….I just need to file my leave at the university." Leonard said as he took food from the coffee table and gave them to Penny. Penny took it and gave Leonard a kiss.

"Thank you honey!" she smiled at him.

"Ugh...will you two please get a room?" Raj teased them.

"What?….Is kissing my husband making you all uncomfortable?" Penny joked.

"Yes!" they all said.

"Okay fine….we'll get a room after we're finished eating...right honey?" Penny touched Leonard's chin.

"Damn straight we are!" Leonard smugly said.

They continued eating while exchanging stories about the wedding and reception.

After two days, Leonard and Penny went to the airport for their trip to the Bahamas. The whole gang dropped them off at the airport and wished them a safe trip. Thankfully, Penny was feeling a lot better now than two days before. They got in the airport and checked-in their luggage and went through security into the boarding gate to wait for their flight to be called. Leonard sat there reading a magazine while Penny leaned on his shoulder to take a light nap.

Their flight was called and they made their way into the plane along with the other passengers. Penny looked at Leonard and smiled as they were both excited for their trip. They held hands as Penny took many selfies with her husband. They settled in their seats after putting their carry-ons in the overhead storage. The flight crew made their final pre flight checks and the plane began to move into the runway. The plane began it's takeoff procedures and was afloat after a few minutes. Leonard held Penny's hand to calm her down during the takeoff of the aircraft.

Penny slept for most of the flight, only getting up to use the restroom from time to time. Leonard noticed she was somewhat pale and always tired.

"Honey are you alright?….you look a little pale…" he asked her.

"I'm fine honey….maybe I'm just a little airsick….I'll just sleep this off….how much time do we have?" she asked her husband.

Leonard turned on his in-flight seat monitor and looked at the flight information. "We still have three hours until we land." he said to her. "Plenty of time to sleep." he kissed her on the cheek.

Penny leaned on him. "I love you honey." she whispered to him.

Leonard smiled. Somehow, he still couldn't believe that Penny is his wife now, after all the years they have known each other. He remembered them being friends, the awkward encounters when Penny was dating other guys or when he was with other women. He thought of the time when they first broke up during the bowling match and how devastated he was because of that. He thought of the uncomfortable feeling every time she hung out in their apartment even if they were not together anymore. He remembered how sad he felt when he saw Penny dating Zack – his polar opposite. He was smart while Zack was stupid as a bag of potatoes, he was short and uncoordinated while Zack was tall and athletic, he was average looking while Zack was easy on the eyes. It hurt him deeply seeing Penny with other men but nobody cared or understood how he felt. Sometimes he thought that Penny might be torturing him by going out with other men, like dangling a piece of fruit that he cannot ever reach or get. He still carried those wounds with him until now.

He remembered how happy he was when Penny gave him another shot and when they eventually got back together. He remembered his proposal in bed that paved the way for Penny breaking up with him again. When the offer to go to the North Sea expedition was given to him, he was relieved to have some sort of escape even for a little while. He recalled their trip getting canceled, Penny running after him at the airport, the awkward encounter with Alex. So many ups and downs that eventually led to this moment of them going on their honeymoon.

He decided to push those thoughts out of his mind and focus on their present and future together. He tried to close his eyes to get some rest until he slowly drifted off to sleep.

He woke up after sleeping for about two hours. He focused his eyes and saw that Penny was reading on her IPad. She felt him move and placed her hand on his cheek to reassure him.

"Are we there yet?" he asked his wife.

"Almost there honey. The pilot announced we'll land in about twenty minutes." she said. "you okay?" she asked him.

Leonard held her hand and kissed it. "I am now." he smiled at her.

Their plane landed after about half an hour and they got up to get their carry-on bags. They then made their way out of the plane and claimed their luggage. As they made their way out of the terminal, they saw a tall man holding up a sign with their names on it. They went to him.

"Hi welcome to Bahamas! I'm Anthony and I'm here to collect you….here let me take your luggage!" he said as he took a cart and placed their luggage on it.

"Hi Anthony, I'm Leonard and this is my wife Penny." Leonard said.

Anthony pushed the cart forward towards the exit of the terminal. "So you are newly married huh? Congratulations….we get a lot of newly married couples here for their honeymoon!" Anthony said to them.

"Thank you Anthony! We got married just five days ago." Penny told him.

"Wow that's nice….I'm sure you'll enjoy your time here!" Anthony said as he led the couple into the parking lot.

Anthony loaded their luggage into the back of the vehicle while Leonard and Penny get settled inside. Anthony went to the driver's seat and drove the van out of the airport towards the hotel. It took them about an hour to reach the hotel.

They got off the van while a hotel staff attend to their luggage. Anthony said goodbye to them and told the bellboy to take them to the hotel reception.

"Welcome! I'm Aliya…..let me get you registered so you guys can take your rest from your flight." Aliya said.

"Hi Aliya...I'm Leonard and this is my wife Penny." he said as he gave Aliya their passports to register them into the hotel's roster. Aliya was done after two minutes and gave them back their passports. "Okay….here are the keys to your suite and we have a complimentary breakfast buffet at the lounge until ten in the morning….do you have any questions?" Aliya asked them. They shook their heads. "Great!….Charley here will take you to your suite….please don't hesitate to call if you need anything." Aliya said as she motioned for the bellboy to attend to them.

The bellboy took the baggage cart and asked them to follow him to their suite. They arrived at their suite as the bellboy brought their luggage in the room. Leonard took a couple of dollar bills and gave them to the bellboy.

Penny went straight to the bed to lie down. Leonard went to the balcony and moved the curtain aside to see the view outside. It was already sundown outside as he saw the coast starting it's nightlife activities. He went to sit beside Penny and see how she was doing.

"Are you alright honey? How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"I'm okay honey….just a little tired." she said.

"Are you hungry? We can order room service?" he said as he reached for the menu on the nightstand. He looked at the menu while Penny rolled on her side to look as well.

"Oh this looks nice….pickled fish!….I want to try that." Penny smiled at him.

Leonard was surprised as he thought it was weird. "Really? Are you sure?….you don't find it a little gross?" he asked her.

"No….I want to try it!" Penny said while giving him a sad look.

"Fine...but don't expect me to eat it if it tastes funny…" he said to his wife.

"Okay….I love you honey!" she said to him playfully. Leonard went to the phone and called to order room service.

Their food arrived after twenty minutes. Leonard put the food tray on the small table by the window so they could eat while looking out to the view outside. Penny began to eat her fish and found it delicious.

"Oh my god Leonard...this pickled fish is so delicious!" Penny said.

"Really? It doesn't taste or smell funny to you?" he asked.

"No!...you should try it...come on…." Penny offered him.

"Uh no thanks….I'm good with my salad and chicken." Leonard said.

"Honey you didn't order any dessert?" Penny looked at the table.

"Honey….I'm all the dessert you need!" Leonard said smugly.

"Eeewww….I think I'll stick with the fish for now…" she jokingly said.

"Suit yourself….it's your loss." Leonard said. They stayed silent for a while then suddenly burst into laughter.

Penny finished her pickled fish and everything that's not eaten by Leonard. He was a little amazed that Penny could eat all of the food they ordered. After eating, he stood up and started to unpack their stuff in the closet by the bedroom. Penny then went to the bathroom to freshen up and change into her nightgown. Leonard was almost done unpacking when Penny came out of the bathroom. She came to him and dragged him to bed.

"Honey….let me wash up first….I still smell like the airplane…" he said.

Penny rolled her eyes and almost yelled at him. "Fine!….hurry up!" she said to him.

Leonard quickly went to the bathroom and within five minutes was done washing up. Penny was standing by the door when he came out and immediately dragged him to bed. Penny was like a possessed person as she didn't let go of her husband and continued to kiss and grope him on the bed. They hurriedly shed their robes and went under the covers to make love on the first night of their official honeymoon.