Chapter 29

"Mom are you sure you don't want me to stay here with you for a while?" said Penny as they were having lunch in the kitchen.

"Penny look at me, I'm still strong. And besides, your father asked me to watch over the farm after he's gone and I'm intending to keep my promise." said Susan.

"But grandma, you can't work on the farm anymore." said Sarah.

"It's alright honey. You guys remember Patrick right?" said Susan.

"He's the one who gave me Buster right?" said Sarah.

"Uh huh. Well I asked him if he could manage our farm along with his own and he agreed as long as he can hire as many helpers as he wants." said Susan.

"Really? Patrick's willing to do that?" said Penny.

"Why not? He's been doing this stuff all his life and his son Julian has been helping him in keeping track of their finances." said Susan.

"Isn't he the one William tutored while we stayed here one summer?" Sarah said.

"Yeah. He's taking up an agriculture business course at the community college so he could help Patrick with managing their farm." Susan said.

"Wow, good for him!" said Leonard.

Penny sighed. "But you're gonna be all alone here mom."

"Don't worry about me Penny. Randall and Lisa live nearby and they always come and visit." said Susan.

"I can stay here with grandma!" said Sarah surprising her parents.

"No!" Penny quickly said.

"Why not?" Sarah said.

"Do you really think you can get off that easy huh?" Penny told her daughter. "And besides, your precious boyfriend is gonna be devastated if you stayed here."

"Your mother is right honey. And you still have school." said Susan.

"Yeah, and it's not gonna be fun if you're not there with us, right? I mean who's gonna be there to play cat and mouse with your mom?" said Leonard, obviously teasing his wife and daughter.

Sarah turned and looked at Penny. "Mom, can I say it please?" she said.

Penny smiled and laughed a little. "Go ahead sweetheart."

"You're a jackass dad!" Sarah said while laughing.

"What!?" said Leonard, surprised at what his daughter said. "I can't believe you would let her talk to me like that!?" he told his wife.

"Well you deserved it." said Penny giving her daughter a high five. "Nice going sweetie!"

Leonard laughed, amused by his wife and daughter. "God I wish you two would always be like this instead of always coming at each other's throats." he said.

"Are you kidding me? Mom and I always get along!" said Sarah.

"She's right!" Penny said.

Leonard shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, just don't come running to me when either of you screws up!" he said making Susan laugh.

Penny and her family stayed with Susan for another two days, promising to visit her as often as they can. Susan reassured her daughter and granddaughter that she's gonna be alright, telling them that although she misses Wyatt badly, she just thinks of her husband's passing as something that she would eventually go through herself one day. Sarah cannot stop herself from crying at the thought of losing her last grandparent. Susan reassured her that whatever happens, she's still gonna be her favorite granddaughter, telling them that she's happy to have lived a full life and ready for whatever comes next.

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Meanwhile, a week has passed since William and Erin came back to New Jersey...

Erin opened her eyes and sensed that William was not on the bed anymore. She turned on her side and saw that it was still early, too early for him to be out of bed when she saw it was only two-thirty in the morning. Erin sat up and grabbed her nightshirt, putting it on and fixing her hair before going to the bathroom to relieve herself and splash some water on her face. After the bathroom, she went to the living room and saw her boyfriend wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, quietly doodling on his whiteboard, She decided to lean on the door jamb and stare at him while he works, eyeing him from head to toe and seeing that no matter how mature he talks and acts, he's still a kid somewhat pushed into being an adult a few years early.

William didn't notice Erin looking at him so she decided to walk up quietly and hug him from behind, slightly catching him by surprise.

"Hey, what are you doing?" said Erin, hugging him tight while putting her face on his shoulder.

"I'm just trying out some stuff." he said pointing at his whiteboard. "Maybe I'll stumble onto something weird." he added.

Erin tightened her hug, pushing her face onto the back of his neck. "You're so smart. Let's get back to bed babe." she whispered onto his ear.

William didn't notice that Erin was being frisky with him. "Go ahead, I'll join you later." he absently said while staring at his board.

Erin quickly released her arms, feeling a little dejected after being brushed off by her boyfriend. She turned around and went back to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her before burying herself under the covers thinking she will get back at him one of these days. William didn't notice how irritated Erin was as he continued to write on his board, correcting some terms and looking at a few books just to make sure he was doing it correctly.

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Later that night, William came home and knocked on Erin's apartment. After a few minutes, Erin opened it, frowning a little when she saw William at her door.

"Hi babe!" William said while kissing her on the cheek. "Have you eaten already?"

"No. Why?" Erin asked.

"Let's go out and eat. We need to celebrate." William said while holding her hand.

Erin pulled her hand and folded her arms. "And what are we celebrating?"

"Well, I had a little progress at work. You know that equation I was working on this morning? I think it's the way forward to finish my dissertation." he said giving her a big smile.

Erin looked blankly at him. "And where are we going?" she asked.

William looked at her, puzzled at why she wasn't excited for him. "What's wrong?"

Erin looked up. "I don't know. Maybe because when I needed you, you just stood there doing your math and stuff, completely ignoring me!" she yelled before slamming the door in front of him.

William was surprised, realizing his mistake earlier so he opened the door, seeing Erin sitting on the couch giving him a death stare. He sat beside her and slowly put his arm around her shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Please?" he said, hoping Erin would forgive him.

Erin suddenly broke off and punched his arm, grunting at him. "You're an idiot!" she yelled.

"Ow! That hurt!" said William.

Erin punched him on the other arm. "Jerk!" she said grunting at him as the door opened with Jimmy and Kim walking in on their little lover's quarrel.

"Uh, what's happening?" Kim asked as Erin folded her arms and turned her back to William.

"I think they're having a spat." Jimmy whispered to Kim's ear.

"Oh?" Kim said as he pulled Jimmy inside the apartment towards the kitchen, sitting down to look at the couple.

"What are we doing?" Jimmy asked.

"We're going to watch. This should be interesting!" Kim said, smiling at Jimmy.

"Oh, okay." Jimmy said laughing a little as William and Erin looked at them.

"Unbelievable!" William said while Erin kept quiet. He then turned his attention back to his girlfriend. "Come on babe, I'm sorry. I promise I'll make it up to you."

Erin suddenly stood up and walked to her room, making William sigh and bow his head. "Thanks for backing me up guys!" he said to Kim and Jimmy.

"Aww come on man, we never did anything!" said Jimmy.

William sighed and stood up, walking towards Erin's room to try to get her back. "Erin please open the door. I'm sorry." he said as he knocked on the door, trying to turn the knob to no avail. Erin didn't answer so William decided to get back to the living room.

"No luck?" asked Kim.

"No." William said.

"Just give her some space. I'm sure she'll come around." said Kim. "What did you do anyway?"

"Something stupid obviously." William said as he sat on the chair while Kim and Jimmy sat on the couch, watching TV.

"Don't worry Will, I'm sure you and Erin can square it out with each other." said Jimmy.

After almost ten minutes, Erin came out to the living room, dressed casually to the surprise of the three. "Well? Are we going or staying?" Erin asked while glaring at William.

William stood up, relieved that his girlfriend is already talking to him. "Uh yeah, let's go." he said as he reached out to hold her hand while Kim and Jimmy looked at them, anticipating what Erin might say to him.

"Listen here and listen good mister! The next time that you do that to me again, you can pack up your stuff, forget that you have a girlfriend and go back to California, you got that!?" she yelled.

William took a deep breath and lightly held her arms. "Yes. I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it again." he said while slowly moving close to kiss her cheek. "You look really nice by the way."

"Nice try buster!" Erin said as she walked towards the door looking at William. "Well?"

"Oh right! See you guys!" he said to Kim and Jimmy before joining Erin going out of the apartment.

"Erin is really something huh?" Jimmy said to Kim.

"Oh, she's just warming up!" said Kim, laughing a little while resting her head on Jimmy's shoulder as they focus back on the TV.

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Later that night...

"Just because you got lucky tonight doesn't mean you're out of the woods yet, you got that?" said Erin as she rested her head on William's shoulder after making love.

"I know babe. Don't worry, I'm not gonna do it again." said William, kissing her forehead.

Erin took a deep breath and wrapped her arm around him. "Good. Now tell me about work today."

"Well, I don't know if it's a good thing or not but if I didn't focus on my board, I may not have moved forward with my research." he said. "My adviser was glad when I showed him my initial calculations this morning."

Erin moved up and kissed his lips. "You are so smart."

"And a jackass!" William added making Erin laugh.

"Damn right you are!" said Erin. "You're lucky that you're cute otherwise you would be having sex with yourself right now."

"That's not fair. I screw up once and you're already thinking of dumping me?" he said.

"Yeah." said Erin. "I practically threw myself at you and you never even turned around to look at me!"

"Okay! How many times do I have to say sorry?" William said.

"Until I say so." Erin said, obviously teasing him.

"Well what if I make it up to you again?" said William.

"How are you gonna do that?" she asked.

"By doing this." he said, quickly moving on top of her and burying his face on her neck, making Erin moan and tremble with excitement.

"William...stop...it..." she said as she locked her lips with his.

"Oh no...not this time." he said while putting his whole weight on top of her. "I screwed up and I have to make it up to my girl."

Erin laughed as she put her arm around his neck to pull him closer, their bodies merging under the covers while William whispered loving words into her ears.