Chapter 27
The next morning, Susan and Penny along with her aunt Maggie were busy in the kitchen cooking food for lunch while Leonard and Wyatt made sure to have enough chairs in the living room for their relatives. Buster was also in the kitchen watching his mommy cook with Susan and aunt Maggie.
"Penny you should keep an eye on your aunt Maggie so you could learn a trick or two around the kitchen." said Susan.
"I know mom." she said as she continued preparing some of the ingredients on the kitchen island while Maggie watches over the food cooking on the stove and making sure the food tastes perfect.
It was almost lunch time when Penny's relatives arrived at the house. Penny's brother Randall and Sister Lisa also came along with their spouses and kids. Penny hugged her nephews and nieces and kissed them on their cheeks as their grandparents did the same. Leonard tried his best to remember all of Penny's relatives names as they lined up to either shake his hand or give him a tight hug. Susan invited them to the kitchen to get their food. Once everyone has their plates full of food, they settled around the living room and kitchen while some of them chose to eat at the porch and the backyard.
"So Leonard, Wyatt here tells us you're quite handy in fixing stuff?" asked Penny's uncle Bob.
"Uh yes sir. I started with the small stuff at first then worked my way up." said Leonard.
"Wyatt also told us you helped him fix his tractor?" Bob asked.
"Yeah, it was a clogged oil line that was causing the problem." Leonard said.
"Really? Would you mind me asking if you could take a look at my motorcycle?" asked Bob.
"Yeah sure!" said Leonard as Penny joined her husband.
"It looks like you guys are getting along?" Penny said smiling at the guys.
"Yeah. I asked Leonard here if he could help me take a look at my motorcycle." said Bob.
"Oh my god! I didn't bring my husband here to fix your stuff uncle Bob!" Penny said.
"But he says it alright? Right Leonard?" said Bob.
Leonard was about to speak when Penny cut him off. "That's because he's just being nice!" she said.
"Honey it's fine. I'm gonna be here for a couple of months anyways so I might as well do something useful." said Leonard.
Penny glared at him. "So you're saying that you'd rather spend all your time fixing everyone's stuff than to be with your wife? You better think hard on what you say next!" Penny warned him as their relatives look on.
"Oh you're in trouble now Leonard!" teased one of Penny's cousin.
Penny put her hand on her waist. "Well?" she asked her husband.
Leonard sighed. "Fine honey. We'll do whatever you want." he said.
"Come on Penny!? I bet it wouldn't take long for Leonard to fix my bike? And besides, I'm going to be there to help him out." said Bob.
Penny sighed. "Fine! But you'll bring that bike of yours here!" she said.
"You got it Penny! I really appreciate it!" Bob said to the agreement of the rest of Penny's relatives.
Lunch proceeded as planned without any other drama from Penny's relatives until Penny's maternal grandmother Juliet arrived being supported by one of Penny's cousin. Susan and Wyatt welcomed Juliet as one of Penny's uncles stood up and offered up a chair for her. Juliet sat down as Penny hugged and kissed her.
"Nana, I'm so happy you could make it!" Penny said.
"Aww you're so sweet dear. Now let me look at this husband of yours?" asked Juliet. Penny stood up and grabbed Leonard's hand, pulling him to sit beside her grandmother.
"Nana, this is my husband Leonard, honey this is my grandma Juliet." Penny said.
Juliet touched Leonard's face, taking a closer look at him. "Hmmm, tell me Leonard, what do you do for a living." she asked.
"Uh, I'm a construction contractor, but before that I used to repair stuff like stereos and televisions." said Leonard.
Juliet looked at Penny and her parents. "Ugh thank goodness! One of my grandkids finally married someone useful!" she exclaimed.
One of Penny's cousin protested. "But grandma, we all have jobs!" he said.
Juliet looked squarely at him. "If you call riding around in that silly skateboard thing of yours a job then I won't argue with you anymore." she said making the others laugh. She turned to Leonard. "Leonard dear, can you oblige an old lady with a request?" she said.
"Uh sure!" said Leonard looking anxiously at Penny.
"I would like to have another great grandchild before I die." said Juliet. Penny and Leonard looked at each other, not knowing how to react or what to say.
"Uh grandma, Leonard and I haven't decided on having kids yet." Penny said hesitantly.
"Why not?" she asked her granddaughter when Susan decided to butt in.
"Mom, it means that they're not ready yet." said Susan
"What it god's name does that mean?" asked Juliet.
"Nana, it means we'll get there when we get there." said Penny.
"Ugh, kids these days doesn't make much sense at all. In any case, you two will come to my house tomorrow for lunch, you hear?" asked Juliet.
"Yes Nana, we'll be there." said Penny with Leonard nodding in agreement.
Juliet continued talking to Leonard to know more about him, his family and his work with some of Penny's aunts and uncles chiming in on the conversation. It was almost three o'clock when the last of their relatives left the house saying their goodbyes and congratulations to the couple.
The next day, Wyatt and Susan went with the couple to visit Grandma Juliet's house for lunch. They arrived at around eleven as one of Penny's cousin living with their grandmother welcomed them in. Juliet was sitting in the living room when the four of them entered the house.
"Ah Penny! Leonard! Come in and sit with me." said Juliet.
"Your house looks very nice." said Leonard.
"Thank you and please, call me Nana, okay?" Juliet said. "You guys make yourself at home. Susan, Penny, can I ask you to help your cousin Josie back in the kitchen?" asked Juliet.
"Sure thing Nana, come on mom." said Penny. "You stay here okay honey?" she said to Leonard.
"Yeah sure." he said standing up and looking at the pictures on the bookshelf.
Juliet looked at Leonard. "The tall man is my late husband Teddy. He died from a heart attack." she said.
"I'm sorry to hear that." said Leonard. He then looked at an old record player on the side table, lifting its clear upper cover.
"That thing has been broken for many years now. Teddy liked listening to music, always singing along with those silly records of his." said Juliet pointing at the stack of vinyl records on the shelf.
"Do you mind if I take a look?" asked Leonard.
"Go right ahead. But I'm warning you, one of Penny's cousin tried to repair it but ended up being electrocuted and thrown across the room. It's like watching some silly cartoon or something." said Juliet laughing a little.
Leonard pulled out the multi-tool from his belt and opened the back panel of the record player.
"That's one nifty tool you've got there Leonard." Wyatt said as he went near him, watching him check the insides of the appliance.
Leonard showed him the multi-tool. "Yeah, this one has seen too many broken radios and computers than I care to count." said Leonard as he continued to work on the record player while Wyatt took the multi-tool, opening and checking the various implements in it. After almost half and hour, Penny and Susan came back from the kitchen seeing Leonard hard at work on the appliance.
"Honey, what are you doing?" she asked her husband. Leonard fixed the panel back and twisted the last of the screws in it's place. He plugged the record player in the socket.
"This." he said smiling at Penny while flicking the power switch, making the appliance come back to life. Leonard took out a record from the shelf and put it on the platter. The record began spinning as Leonard carefully put the tonearm down. The room was slowly filled with music as Leonard turned the volume knob making Penny's grandmother stand up, speechless at hearing the music her late husband used to play.
"I thought I'd never hear that again." said Juliet as she walked towards Leonard. Juliet gave Leonard a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for bringing him back to me Leonard." said Juliet, wiping a tear from her cheek.
"Thank you Leonard. My dad always loved playing songs on that record player." Susan said, giving him a hug.
"It's nothing really. Some of the wires inside were just loose." said Leonard.
Penny went to her husband and kissed him on the cheek. "Good job honey." she said. "You'll get some tonight, I promise." she whispered into his ear.
Josie joined them in the living room, curious at the music playing emanating from the speaker. "Leonard did you fixed that?" she asked.
Leonard nodded. "Yeah." he said smiling at her.
"Wow! Good job. That thing has been broken for ages!" said Josie. "Anyway, lunch is ready." she said as the rest of them followed her into the kitchen to have lunch.
After lunch, they retired back to the living room, the ladies were having tea while Wyatt and Leonard chose to have beer.
"Leonard, thank you again for fixing that record player. You have no idea how much it means to me." said Juliet.
"You're welcome Nana. It was my pleasure." said Leonard.
"She's right Leonard. When my dad was alive, he wouldn't allow anyone touching that record player. You can watch the TV all you want or listen to the radio all day but that record player is hands off even to my mom." Susan said.
"Really? Well the tubes inside were still intact, otherwise it wouldn't even power up and some of the wires were just loose." said Leonard.
Penny looked at him. "Tubes?" she asked her husband.
"Vacuum tubes honey. They're the ones amplifying the sound to drive the speakers." said Leonard.
"Oh? Alright." said Penny. They continued talking, with Leonard and Penny sharing their stories about their life on the island. About three in the afternoon, Wyatt and Susan decided to go home with Penny and Leonard saying their goodbyes to Juliet.
"It was nice meeting you Leonard." Juliet said.
"It was nice meeting you too Nana." said Leonard, hugging Penny's grandmother
"Bye Nana, we'll come and visit again before Leonard and I leave." Penny said kissing her grandmother.
Later that night, Leonard and Penny were lying on the bed, naked and smiling at each other after making love. Leonard caressed Penny's face, brushing aside her hair.
"You're so beautiful." he said kissing her on the lips.
Penny took a deep breath and smiled at her husband, looking at him full of admiration. "You're so amazing honey!" she said kissing him back.
Leonard smiled. "Do you think they heard us?" he asked.
"I don't care." she said burying her face against Leonard's. "Don't shave your beard until I tell you alright?" she said.
Leonard laughed a little. "So you would rather your husband look like a caveman than a clean-shaven scientist?" he teased her.
"Yeah and I want my stud of a husband to stay just the way he is right now." Penny whispered.
"Hmmm stud, I like the sound of that." he said pulling his wife closer. "I better start fixing everything around here." he teased her.
Penny kissed him on the lips again. "I'm okay with it as long as you do it with your shirt off." she said.
Leonard quickly moved on top of Penny, pinning her down and kissing her on the neck.
Penny was taken by surprise and squealed as she let her husband have his way with her, meeting his every move with her own, trying hard not to scream as Leonard's beard and kisses kept on tickling her. "I love you so much." she whispered.
"You're mine Penny." he whispered as they lovingly embraced each other while making love.
Leonard and Penny spent the remainder of their two-month stay in Nebraska with Penny showing off Leonard to the rest of her relatives and friends usually during the weekends. Penny made sure to show Leonard around town, usually eating out, seeing a movie or just taking a walk around the country side. During the day, the couple would volunteer to help out Wyatt around the farm, feeding the animals or cleaning their enclosures. Penny made sure to keep Buster away from the other animals especially the goats and the horses which would scare easily and jump with fear when the dog barks at them. Leonard for his part made sure to wrap a piece of cloth or a handkerchief across his mouth and nose when he's working in the farm so that the dust won't trigger an asthma attack.
By the time their two-month stay was finished, Leonard has to managed to repair and improve almost all of the appliances around Wyatt and Susan's house, from the washing machine, the heater and Randall's old clock radio. Penny's uncle Bob also brought in his motorcycle for Leonard to take a look at. They spent a whole day taking it apart, finding the trouble in the transmission mechanism, Bob then took the assembly to a local motorcycle shop and was lucky to find a replacement for it at a good price. They spent the next two days putting the motorcycle back together, testing and making sure it runs properly. Bob was so thankful that he offered to pay Leonard for his help which Leonard declined, saying that he enjoyed doing this stuff and that family should never pay.
"I owe you one Leonard. I really appreciate you helping me out." Bob said shaking his hand.
"It's nothing really. Just glad I could help." said Leonard. "Just drive safe alright?" he said as Bob started the motorcycle, waving goodbye to him and Penny. Penny turned to her husband, putting her arm around him.
"You are just amazing! Now why don't you come with me so I could help you wash up." Penny said teasing him.
"I like the sound of that." he said following his wife to the bathroom upstairs. Penny pulled him inside the bathroom and hurriedly removed Leonard's dirty clothes. She got naked herself and pushed Leonard under the shower to wash off the sweat and grease from his body. It didn't take long for them to be making out and getting frisky under the cool water stream. Penny never released Leonard from her grip as he held her tight, frenziedly kissing her neck and moving into her.
"That was fun huh?" Penny said as they got dressed in the bedroom.
"Yeah." said Leonard as he combed his hair in front of the mirror. Penny moved behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest.
"You are so amazing." Penny whispered, kissing his cheek. "Now why don't we go downstairs so I can make us something to eat." she said.
"Hey before I forget, I'm gonna call my dad tomorrow, let him know we're visiting next week." he said.
"Okay. How long are you planning for us to stay there?" Penny asked.
"Maybe a week or two, depending on how my mom reacts when she sees me already married with a beautiful wife?" said Leonard as Penny prepares a couple of sandwiches for them.
Wyatt and Susan came into the kitchen and saw the couple eating by the table.
"So, you two ready for your trip back next week?" Wyatt asked.
"Uh yeah. I'm calling my dad tomorrow to let him know we're coming over." said Leonard.
"Well, just make sure to give him our best." said Susan.
"I will. I'm sure he'll appreciate it." said Leonard.
After another week, Wyatt and Susan dropped off Leonard and Penny at the airport. Wyatt helped Leonard unload their luggage while Susan hugged her daughter, not knowing when she'll be able to see Penny again. Leonard put their luggage in a cart to say his goodbyes to his in-laws, shaking Wyatt's hand.
"You two take good care of yourselves alright?" said Wyatt.
"We will, and don't worry about Penny, I'll take good care of her." said Leonard.
"I know you will Leonard." Wyatt said. Leonard then unbuckled his belt and took out his multi-tool, giving it to his father-in-law.
"Here." said Leonard, giving the implement to him.
Wyatt initially hesitated and gave it back but Leonard refused. "Leonard I appreciate the gesture but I can't." he said.
"Please. I have another one back home." said Leonard as Penny and Susan looks on.
Wyatt nodded, unbuckling his belt and putting it on. "Thank you son. I appreciate it." Wyatt said shaking his hand again. Susan then hugged Leonard. "Goodbye Leonard. I hope you two could visit us again." she said wiping her tears.
"Thank you and don't worry, we'll call as soon as we land in New York." said Leonard.
"Don't worry mom, we'll be fine. Leonard will take care of me." said Penny hugging her mother again.
"Goodbye slugger. Don't give your husband a hard time alright!?" said Wyatt, hugging his daughter.
"I got it dad." Penny said wiping her tears.
The couple then took their luggage and made their way into the airport, waving goodbye to Wyatt and Susan. After a couple of hours, Leonard and Penny settled themselves inside the aircraft as it made its way onto the runway, preparing for its flight to New York.