Chapter 49
It's been four months since Leonard and his family left Nebraska and returned to the island back to their life. William was back to his usual self, focusing his attention back to school especially now that he needs to catch up with his classes and lessons. Leonard did the same, catching up with his work and relieving some of the workload from Larry to give his friend and partner a little breather in managing their business.
Penny and Buster for their part has been focusing on the little princess since she started walking and getting more curious with the world around her while adding a few words to her vocabulary like calling out Leonard's and William's names, and most recently Buster. The couple was astonished at how fast their daughter was learning new words, sometimes trying to mimic the person on the television just to entertain herself. Buster has been right in the middle of it, guiding his sister whenever she explores the living room or the backyard and letting her know the things to avoid that might hurt her. Penny looked at their dog and can't help but remember the first time they met when Sammy brought him over to their old house, telling her that Buster needed a new home. As soon as Buster looked up to her with his cute puppy dog eyes, her heart was melted, promising the puppy she will convince Leonard in letting them keep him. Now she has two kids who grew up with their dog, joining them in their journey through life and being the faithful companion to her and her husband.
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It was a Saturday morning and the young family was sitting in the front yard watching their kids play on the lawn with Buster when a boy more or less the same age as William called them from the gate.
"Hey Adam! What brings you here?" said Leonard.
"Honey, who is that?" Penny asked.
"It's Adam honey, he lives near the office." said Leonard. "What can I do for you Adam?" he asked the young boy.
"Hi Mr. Leonard, this man right here is looking for you." said Adam, pointing at the man behind him.
"Uh, may I ask who are you and why are you looking for me?" said Leonard.
"Hello Dr. Hofstadter, I'm Terry Halls. I'm a staff writer for Wired Magazine." said Terry while shaking Leonard's hand.
"Hi...let me guess, you're here to ask for an interview huh?" said Leonard.
"Yes sir. I've been looking all over for you." said Terry.
"Uh huh." said Leonard before turning his attention to Adam. "It's alright Adam, you can go home now. Thank you." he said.
"No problem Mr. Hofstadter." said Adam before turning around and walking away.
Leonard faced Terry. "You know, you're the first one to track me down here." he said. "How did you find me anyway?"
Terry gave him a weak smile. "Coincidence really. I was browsing around on Facebook and I thought I saw you in one of the posts I was scrolling past. When I checked it out, I knew I was onto something so here I am." said Terry. "Dr. Hofstadter, I know you don't want your life disturbed or anything but I came all the way here. And I'm sorry if I'm invading on your privacy but I have to give it a shot."
Penny joined her husband at the gate. "Honey, who is this?" she asked.
"This is Terry, a writer for Wired Magazine." said Leonard.
"Oh, the one requesting the interview!" Penny said.
"This is my wife Penny." Leonard said.
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Hofstadter." said Terry, shaking Penny's hand.
"Okay Terry, I'll give you your interview." said Leonard.
"Honey, are you sure?" Penny said.
"Yeah, I mean he's the first one to come this far, right?" he said.
"Oh my god thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me!" said Terry, shaking Leonard's hand.
"I have one condition though." said Leonard.
"Uh okay, what is it?" asked Terry.
"That you send me the article before you publish it. I want to be able to remove parts of it that I don't want top be put out there." Leonard said.
Terry nodded. "Sure Dr. Hofstadter. I think that's a reasonable request." he said.
"Okay, now why don't you come back tomorrow maybe one, one-thirty and we'll do the interview in the backyard." said Leonard.
"No problem sir." said Terry. "Thank you." he added before turning around and walking back to his hotel.
"Are you sure about this honey?" asked Penny.
Leonard nodded and kissed her cheek. "Yeah, I'm sure. Now let's get back to the kids before they begin riding Buster on his back." he said as they went back to watch their children in the front yard, tossing a small rubber ball around while Buster barked and jumped around to the delight of Sarah.
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The next day, Terry came back to Leonard's home with his notes, voice recorder and camera that he will use for his interview with Leonard. The couple invited Terry to lunch which he accepted, impressed at how cute and smart their children was.
After lunch, Leonard led Terry to the backyard for the interview as Penny made them some tea. After preparing his stuff, Terry started his interview of Leonard, asking him about his previous work at CalTech before asking about his almost decade-long absence and his recent scientific publications which was well received by the scientific community. Leonard was surprised in realizing that he enjoyed the interview as Terry was quite knowledgeable in the different scientific and mathematical principles that Leonard was talking about, not to mention his casual approach to the interview, making Leonard feel at ease and relaxed.
After talking for almost two hours, Terry closed his notes and turned off his voice recorder, ending the interview. He was relieved that he finally got the interview that has been in his to-do list for years.
"Thank you Dr. Hofstadter." Terry said as he put his stuff back in his knapsack.
"You're welcome Terry." said Leonard.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" said Terry.
"Yeah sure." said Leonard.
"Are you and your wife planning on going back to the states?" Terry said.
Leonard sighed. "My wife and I talked about it but we haven't made a decision yet. I mean, we're quite happy here. I have a good job, my son is already attending school, my daughter is happy bouncing around the yard with our dog...I don't see a reason to change it." he said.
Terry nodded, understanding Leonard's reasons. "Well, I have a daughter too so I know where you're coming from. I would do everything to make her happy."
"How old is she?" Leonard asked.
"Just coming up to four. Right now her life revolves around barbie dolls, princess dresses and fairy tale bedtime stories." said Terry, making Leonard laugh.
"I guess my little girl wouldn't be far off from that huh?" Leonard said.
"You'll be surprised at how fast they grow up. That's why I record everything around the house, every playtime at the pool, every game night, Trick or Treat every Halloween...so when they grow up and leave me and my wife to have their own lives, we have something to amuse us." said Terry.
"That's nice." said Leonard. "Hey, do you want a beer?"
"Yeah. Thanks." said Terry.
Leonard stood up and went inside the house, coming back after a couple of minutes with two bottles of beer from the fridge with Penny following close carrying Sarah in her arms followed by William and Buster.
"So you and your wife have only one child?" asked Leonard, handing him the beer.
"Yeah, we're planning to have two more but we want to space them out so it wouldn't be much of a burden to my wife." said Terry.
"That's nice." Penny said as she sat beside Leonard. Leonard took Sarah from Penny, sitting her on his lap.
"Well, my wife and I are already happy with two kids. Especially now that they're so smart, like this young man over here." Leonard said, touching William's head.
Terry lightly touched Sarah's hand, playing with her. "I'm sure this little one would be smart too." said Terry making Sarah laugh while mumbling 'dada', 'mama' and 'yayam'. "Isn't that right huh?" he added while making funny faces, making Sarah laugh.
"How old is your child Terry?" Penny asked.
"My daughter's almost four years old." said Terry.
"Oh that's nice. She must be keeping you and your wife at your toes huh?" said Penny.
"You can say that again." said Terry. "But my wife and I are okay with it. She just lights up our world everyday."
"I get what you mean." Penny said. "No matter how tired I am from doing all the chores inside the house, I take one look at these two and all my worries are gone." she said while hugging her son.
"Mom I can't breathe." said William before Penny released him.
"Is it alright if I take a picture of you guys?" Terry asked.
"Yeah sure." Leonard said as Penny pulled her son to sit beside her.
"And if it's not too much, I'd like to include this one in the article." Terry said.
"It's fine Terry." Penny said before turning to her son. "Don't forget to smile sweetheart." she said to William.
"Okay, three, two...one." Terry said as he took several shots of the young family. Terry moved closer and showed the picture on his camera screen to them, zooming in for them to see themselves in the screen.
"At least this young lady was smiling in a couple of them." said Leonard, happy with how the picture turned out.
"Don't worry, I know how important your privacy is so I won't put anything in the article that will disturb your quiet life here." said Terry.
"Thank you Terry, we really appreciate it." said Penny.
"Hey, I'm just glad I got to interview your husband here." said Terry. "My boss will surely be happy for this."
"You've come this far so I figured why not." said Leonard.
They continued talking until Terry decided to go back to his hotel and write up the article, promising to send Leonard a draft so he can decide which items not to include in it.
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After a couple of days, Leonard received an email from Terry with the first draft of the article. Leonard was quite surprised that Terry had written quite a long article somewhere around five thousand words which is as long as a chapter in a book or a novel. Terry also included the pictures that he plans on publishing with the article.
After reading the draft, Leonard highlighted a few sentences in the article that he didn't want to be published, mostly stuff about his family in the states and a few private stuff about him and Penny. After reading through it again, he sent back the attachment, thanking Terry for the article and wishing him a safe flight back to the states.
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After a couple of months, Leonard came home finding his son playing with Sarah in the front lawn with Buster. William was tossing a small rubber ball to his sister and Buster with Sarah trying her best to throw the ball back to her brother. The little princess saw her father and immediately screamed, excited in seeing her 'dada'.
"Dada!" Sarah yelled while walking hurriedly towards Leonard.
Leonard put his briefcase down to scoop his daughter up, showering her with hugs and kisses. "Come here honey!"
"Daddy!" William said, joining in welcoming his father.
"Hey buddy! How's school?" Leonard said.
"It's alright I guess. I had another perfect score." William said, making Leonard proud of how smart his son was.
"Good job buddy! Your mom and I are so proud of you!" he told his son before turning to the dog. "And what about you Buster, what did you do today huh?" he said as the dog barked and wagged his tail.
"He's playing catch with me and Sarah." said William as Penny came out of the house, smiling at seeing her husband being welcomed by their kids.
"Hi honey!" Penny said, quickly kissing Leonard on the cheek before Sarah could react and push her parents away from each other.
"Aaarrgghh! Mama! Mamai" Sarah yelled as she leaned over to 'protect' her mother from her daddy.
Penny took Sarah from Leonard. "Aww, I'm sorry sweetheart. Come here!" said Penny, kissing her daughter.
"I'm with Sarah on this one." William suddenly blurted out, surprising his parents.
"Hey, that's not nice. If you say that again I'm gonna take away all your toys." Leonard said.
"Wow dad, is that what you call parenting where you scare your kids in every turn?" William said, obviously teasing his father.
Penny knelt down and kissed her son. "Good job sweetheart. You just made me so happy."
"See that? Mom agrees with me." said the young man.
Leonard sighed, knowing that he was beaten. "Fine, I'm outnumbered." he said before pulling out an envelope from his briefcase. "By the way, I think you should take a look at this." he said giving the envelope to Penny while taking the baby off her arms.
Penny opened the envelope and pulled out a copy of a magazine, seeing Leonard's name on one of the articles printed in the cover. "Honey, is this it?" she asked.
"Yeah, it was a very good article actually." he said as they walked towards the house to sit in the living room.
William sat beside Penny as they opened the magazine to look for the article. "Reclusive Scientist Returns with a Bang with Revolutionary Ideas." William said while reading the title and turning several pages. "Look daddy, it's us!" he said while pointing at the picture.
"Yeah, you look good in that picture huh?" Leonard said to his son.
"Hmm, I wish I could have worn my other shirt that day." Penny said, suddenly getting a little conscious of how she looked in the picture.
"What are you talking about honey? You look great in that picture." said Leonard.
"I know, I just wish I could have put on a little makeup or something." Penny said.
Leonard leaned over and kissed his wife. "Honey, makeup or not, you're still beautiful to me." he said, glad that Sarah just stared at him while kissing Penny on the cheek. "Hey, why didn't you push me away young princess?" he said, tickling his daughter.
Sarah giggled and laughed. "Dada! Dada! Dada!" the baby screamed.
"I think she's just playing with us. Let's try again." said Penny while leaning over to kiss Leonard when the baby suddenly screamed and pushed Penny's face away.
"Aaaahhhh! Mama! Mama!" Sarah said while giving Penny an angry look.
"Hey, I thought you were protecting me from your father?" Penny asked the baby, amused by her daughter's playfulness.
Sarah turned and hugged her father. "Dada! Dada!" she said while resting her head on Leonard's shoulder.
"Aww, good job princess. Daddy loves you so much!" said Leonard as he put Sarah on the rug to play with him and Buster, passing the rubber ball around. Sarah stood on her feet and walked around, trying to catch up to Buster who made sure her little sister doesn't fall over or trip on her feet. Leonard was touched at how close his children was with their dog, having an invisible connection and knowing each other's idiosyncrasies while being there for one another.
After almost half an hour, William and Penny put the magazine down on the coffee table.
"So, what do you think?" asked Leonard.
"I think it was great daddy." said William.
"He's right honey. It was very easy to read even if I didn't understand all of the scientific mumbo-jumbo you said in the interview." Penny said, slightly teasing her husband.
"Join the club. Even I didn't understand half of the stuff I said." said Leonard making Penny and William laugh. Sarah saw them decided to laugh along with her parents and brother. "Aww, come here princess! You're so adorable!" he said while nibbling on Sarah's neck, making the baby explode with laughter. They didn't notice that Buster took the magazine in his mouth and began chewing it on the floor.
William suddenly yelled at the dog when he saw what he was doing. "Buster what are you doing!?" he yelled as they saw the dog looking back at them, realizing that he did something bad.
Sarah then wiggled herself out of Leonard's arms and walked up to the dog. "Aaarrgghhh!" the baby yelled at the dog, surprising her parents and brother with her sudden change in demeanor. Buster slowly bowed his head and walked away with his tail between his legs towards the backyard. "Aaarrggh!" Sarah added making the dog run for his life. Leonard, Penny and William looked at each other, not knowing whether to laugh or be afraid of Sarah's temper.
William walked over and picked up the magazine, dripping with Buster's drool. "Now it's ruined dad." he said.
"It's alright son, we'll look for a copy when we go to the mall this weekend." said Leonard.
"What's wrong sweetie?" Penny asked her son.
"Nothing mom, I'm just wondering how Sarah would turn out when she gets older." said William. "It's like she's The Hulk or something." he added.
Leonard laughed and pulled his daughter close to sit on his lap. "Then we better not make her angry buddy."
"I'll keep that in mind dad." said William as Sarah kept making baby sounds, playing with the rubber ball while seated on her father's lap as Penny and William joined in, tickling the baby and filling the house with her screams of giggles and laughter.