Chapter 54
It's been a month since Penny's acting career setback. Leonard made sure to make Penny feel his love and support, calling her to ask how her day was, telling her how much he loves her and reassuring her that she has what it takes to make it. Penny was thankful that Leonard knew how to make her feel better and never stopped him from being extra sweet to her. She resigned to the fact that at least she still had a job that she liked, being in the know on what's in and out of the fashion industry while getting good commissions along the way. At least now she didn't have to tip-toe around her finances, even having a little extra money saved up in her bank account.
She thought of how her life would have been if she hadn't met Leonard. She probably would have gone back to dating 'regular' guys who just saw her outside beauty instead of seeing the person within who had dreams and aspirations. She thought of the first few months when she met Leonard and Sarah and how it changed her life in an instant and in ways she never expected. She knew that she wanted to get married and have her own kids someday but not in the way that it had happened to her when she met them. She felt surreal just by thinking about how fast things have happened - she met this guy and his daughter, they rescued her without asking for anything in return, then out of nowhere, as if their fates were destined to be intertwined, they became neighbors. It was as if some higher power was telling them not to fight it and just go along with the flow and everything would be alright in the world. And at the center of it all was Sarah - sweet and smart but somehow robbed of her innocence when her mother was taken so soon. She couldn't even imagine how a young and intelligent mind could comprehend the fact that she didn't even know what her mother's voice sounded like, or the way she laughs, how she cooks or how she eats her food, does she like ketchup more than mayonnaise?
Now that task is on her shoulders, not to bring back the past but to guide this young lady through life, to show her that she and Leonard would always be there for her through thick and thin no matter what. She knew that she could never replace June as Sarah's mother and Leonard's first wife and it would be an insult to her memory if she even thought about it, but now that she and Leonard have embarked on this life together, its up to them to make do with what they have and guide Sarah as best as they could.
She snapped out of her daydream as her coffee has already turned cold while she sat inside their break room of the store. She stood up and rinsed her cup in the sink before putting it back in the overhead cabinet. Penny looked in the mirror to fix her hair before going back to her job. Little did she knew that fate has another surprise waiting for her.
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"Honey I'm home!" Penny said as she went directly to Leonard in the kitchen where he was cooking their dinner, kissing him on the lips.
Leonard smiled at her, glad to see her happy. "Hmm, someone's in a good mood!?" he said holding her close.
"Well, who wouldn't want to come home to an amazing husband?" she said kissing him again.
"And who is this amazing husband that you're talking about?" he asked teasing her.
Penny decided to play along. "Hmm let me see, he can't eat any dairy product or he'll turn the room into a Hazmat Zone only, he's an asthmatic nerd who can't leave the house without his inhaler, he still wears his batman boxer shorts that I'm guessing he got from the kid's section of the department store." she said laughing a little. "But in spite of all these, he's this amazing, smart, loving and supportive husband who I love so much!" she said before kissing him again.
"You know if you keep talking about Hazmat Zones and Batman, I'm gonna have to take you right here on the kitchen island!" he said tightening his arms around her.
Penny kissed him once more. "You'll get some later. I promise." she said. "Where's the princess anyway?" she asked as they heard the bathroom door open with Sarah coming in to join them.
"Hi mom!" Sarah said as Penny hugged her stepdaughter.
"Hi sweetheart! How was school?" she asked while kissing her cheek.
"It was great mom." said Sarah.
Penny pulled her to sit on the couch. "Come on tell me. We'll let you dad finish up cooking." she said.
"I joined the school's Science and Math Club mommy." Sarah said.
"Oh my god that is amazing sweetie! Now you'll have more friends right!?" said Penny while hugging the young girl.
"Our teacher is gonna give us extra credit because they're planning to send us to this competition where we will face off with kids from other schools." Sarah said, surprising Leonard.
"Really? Wow that is a big deal honey!" he said.
"We're so proud of you sweetheart!" said Penny. "I guess you're the youngest in the team huh?" she asked.
"Uh huh. My teacher even said that now they have a chance to get even with this other school who kept on beating them for three years now." said Sarah.
"Wow, now that is a big deal!" said Leonard. "It looks like they're counting on you to win the competition huh?" he asked.
"I'm kinda scared daddy. What if I screw up and we lose the competition?" Sarah asked, a little anxious about the huge responsibility on her tiny shoulders.
Penny held Sarah and faced her. "Listen to me sweetheart, you are the smartest kid in that school and I'm sure you'll blow the competition out of the water. Do you hear me?" said Penny. "And it doesn't matter if you win or lose, what's important is you do your best, do you understand?" she added.
Sarah nodded. "Yes mommy." she said.
"That's my girl! Come here." Penny said, hugging Sarah tight. "Remember, your dad and I are very proud of you." she said while kissing her stepdaughter.
Leonard finished up in the kitchen and joined his girls, reassuring Sarah of their support. "Don't worry honey, it's not a question of whether you know stuff or not, it's about being confident and relaxed when you go up against them." he said.
Sarah nodded. "Okay daddy." she said.
"Just don't think about it too much sweetie." Penny added. "Now why don't we eat, I'm starving." she said while pulling Sarah into the kitchen.
"You mom is right." said Leonard as they start preparing the kitchen island for dinner.
"Hey I have an idea, Why don't we get your entire team here so Sheldon and the guys can coach you? Maybe Bernadette and Amy can join too!" said Penny.
"That's a great idea honey." Leonard said as they started eating.
"Is that allowed?" Sarah asked.
"Why not? I mean it's not like we have to pay them or anything right?" said Penny. "Well, maybe we'll just buy dinner for them. It's like having private tutor, only this time your tutor would be real scientists and doctors!" she added.
"Knowing Sheldon and the guys, I'm sure they won't mind at all." Leonard said.
Sarah nodded. "Okay daddy, I'll tell my teacher." she said.
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Later that evening, the couple laid on the bed after making love.
"I told you you'd get some." Penny said, smiling at Leonard.
"Thank you honey." Leonard said while kissing her cheek.
Penny looked at him. "Leonard we're married now. You don't have to thank me for sleeping with you." she said.
Leonard laughed a little. "I guess I forgot." he said.
"You forgot that we're married?" Penny asked.
"I'm only joking honey!" he said, tightening his hug.
"Hey uh, something came up at work." said Penny, trying hard to hide her excitement.
"Tell me." he said.
"Well, there's this lady who's a regular customer of mine for quite some time now. She always buys many items from the store every time, you know mostly dresses and shoes. It turns out that she's this stylist for some celebrities and she asked me if I wanted to work for her." said Penny.
"Are you gonna quit your job?" asked Leonard.
"Well the money's pretty good. I mean she wouldn't have offered me the job if she didn't think that I was up to it." said Penny.
"If that's what you want, then you have my support." he said.
"Really?" Penny asked, becoming a little excited.
"Of course! I want you to be happy with what you do." said Leonard. "What about Andrew? Isn't he gonna be disappointed that you're gonna quit your job?" he asked.
"Well I already talked to him about it and he understood my decision." said Penny. "Besides, we would be getting some of our items from the store so it's not like I'm totally cutting myself off from them." she added.
"I know you'll do great with this new job honey." Leonard said while kissing her.
"Thank you honey." she said. "Now let's get some sleep." said Penny as they closed their eyes, wrapped in each other's arms.
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Penny quit her job after a week to start her somewhat freelance job as a stylist to a few celebrities. The only downside to her new job is the somewhat irregular hours she would be working. Sometimes she would get up early if one of their clients have to appear in a morning TV show, making sure their wardrobe and accessories are in order. For other times, she would stay up late if their client would have a filming schedule all through the night.
One day, she had nothing going on so she decided to pick up Sarah from school. Sarah jumped as soon as she saw her stepmother waiting for her at the school's gate.
"Mommy!" Sarah exclaimed as Penny hugged the young lady.
"Hi sweetie!" she said. "Ugh I miss you so much!" said Penny while kissing her cheek.
"How could you miss me mom? We just saw each other this morning!" Sarah said laughing a little.
"I know, but ever since I got this new job we haven't spent much time together anymore." said Penny. "I'm sorry about that." she added.
"It's alright mommy, I know this job is important to you." said Sarah.
"Thank you sweetheart." Penny said while hugging her again. "I promise I'll make it up to you. Now what do you say we go home so I could make some dinner for us. I'm sure your father is hungry." she said while pulling her hand to go to her car.
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Another couple of months has passed and Penny made sure to give some time to her husband and stepdaughter which mostly consists of spending a whole day visiting the ranch or going to the beach, sometimes seeing a movie or just going to the park where Sarah can play with some of her friends.
Ever since they got married, the couple saw a different side of Sarah, especially when she's around other kids. She was more open and doesn't shy away from playing with other kids and sharing jokes and stories with them, especially about her going to the ranch and riding Bunny Rabbit.
They were having dinner at the kitchen island when Penny told them about what happened to her at work that afternoon.
"So, something unexpected happened today at work." she said.
"What happened mommy?" asked Sarah.
"I shot some scenes for a movie today." said Penny, surprising Leonard and Sarah.
"Uh, what was that again?" Leonard asked.
Penny laughed a little. "I said, I got a part in a movie." she said.
"Okay, I'm gonna need more than that." said Leonard.
"Well, one of our clients was the lead actress for this movie and we were there as her glam team, you know, make sure she looks good for the shoot. One of the extras got the flu and called in sick and one of the assistant producers saw me and said that I would fit the character of that other girl. They basically told me to go into makeup and put on the wardrobe so that they could continue filming." said Penny.
"Oh my god that is so amazing honey! I'm so happy for you!" Leonard said as he went over to kiss his wife.
"Congratulations mommy." Sarah added while hugging her stepmother.
"Thank you. I mean, who would've thought that this job would land me my first acting job in a real movie!?" said Penny.
Leonard gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm really happy for you honey." he said. "So tell us about the movie! What's your part in it?" he asked as they continued eating.
"Well, I play as one of the friends of the main character." said Penny. "It's not much I mean I only have like three scenes in the movie and a couple of lines, I would be lucky if they include my scene in the final cut." she added.
"I'm sure they'll put your scene in there." said Leonard.
"I hope so too honey." Penny said.
"So are you gonna go to more auditions mommy?" asked Sarah.
"I guess. I mean, if I'm not too busy helping other celebrities with their outfit." said Penny. "And I don't want to miss out on things around the house, especially with you little princess!" she said, giving Sarah a lovely smile while lightly pinching her cheek.
"It's alright mom. I want you to be happy." said Sarah making the couple a little emotional.
Penny stood up and hugged her stepdaughter. "Aww, thank you so much sweetheart!" said Penny.
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Later that night, Penny was resting her head on Leonard's shoulder as they get ready to sleep when they heard a knock on the door.
"Sweetie is that you?" Penny asked.
The door slowly opened as Sarah popped her head in. "Daddy can I sleep here?" she asked.
"Come here sweetheart." Penny said as Sarah ran and climbed on the bed, snuggling up to her stepmother. "Let me guess, you had another bad dream last night huh?" she asked the child as Leonard pulled the covers over them.
"It's the scary man again mommy." said Sarah, a little embarrassed.
"Honey, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. Everybody has bad dreams." said Leonard, gently kissing her cheek.
"Do you have a bad dream too daddy?" asked Sarah.
"Yeah, most of it is drowning and sinking under the water but then I wake up and have an asthma attack." Leonard said, laughing lightly.
"Are you sure you were dreaming or just having an asthma attack in the first place?" Penny asked, slightly amused.
"Oh I'm sure it was a bad dream." he said, hugging his daughter tight. "Don't worry honey, your mom and I are here to chase the bad dream away." he said reassuring the young lady.
"You dad is right sweetheart." Penny said kissing her on the cheek. "Now let's get some sleep, I have to be on set early tomorrow." she said.