Chapter 42
"I'm so glad you guys have made it up to each other!" Kim said as Jimmy drove the car on their way to New York.
"Well I think it's not surprising at all." Jim chimed in.
"What do you mean?" asked Kim.
"They practically spent the whole weekend in the house...like a newly married couple on their honeymoon...right?" he said, making fun of the other couple sitting at the backseat.
"Okay Jim...I think you've already made your point." Erin said, slightly embarrassed,
"Hey don't get me wrong...I'm happy that you guys are okay now." said Jim.
"We get it man." William said. "Just keep your eyes on the road."
"Don't worry, you two just make yourselves comfortable back there." said Jim.
"Yeah and we won't mind if you two decide to make out or something." Kim said, laughing along with her boyfriend.
"What ts wrong with you!? We are not going to make out!" Erin yelled.
"Well...that's not a bad idea...right?" William said, making Kim and Jimmy laugh.
Erin suddenly faced him and punched his arm. "You're an idiot!" she said.
"Okay I'm sorry...I just wanted to make you laugh...it obviously didn't work." said William, slightly massaging his arm.
"You guys are so cute!" Kim said, happy for her friend.
"Let's leave them alone babe." said Jim.
"Thank you Jim." Erin said.
"Hey no problem...we still have the whole day to make fun of you guys anyway." he said, making Kim laugh as he continued driving towards their first destination which is the barge for the Statue of Liberty.
The two young couple reached their first stop with the guys holding their girlfriend's hands as they make a beeline with the other people getting on the barge.
"Last time I was here, I was maybe nine or ten when we visited my grandpa for the holidays." said William.
"Really?" said Erin, smiling at him.
"Yeah...Sarah was probably five or six years old." He said.
"What was she like back then?" asked Erin.
"Well nothing has changed really...she was always excited for Christmas, you know with my grandparents showering her with presents and stuff." he said.
"How about you?" said Erin.
"It was okay I guess...at least we get to spend some time away from California, even if it's only for a while." William said as they stepped on the ramp before going to the top deck to get a better view of the bay.
"I'm guessing Sarah always liked being at the center of attention in your family trips huh?" Erin asked.
"You can say that again...when we were here for Christmas, my mom and dad took us to a nearby public ice-skating rink...oh I'm telling you, she went full-Frozen on us." he said.
"Aww that's cute!" said Erin as they stood by the railings to get a good view of the river.
"At the start it was, but when my parents told us that we're going home, she screamed so loud that everyone in the rink just stopped and covered their ears." said William, making Erin laugh.
"Oh my god!? That's terrible!" she said.
"And then she started crying and yelling at my dad, accusing him that he doesn't love her anymore, making him feel guilty." he said, laughing a bit.
"She's really a piece of work huh? What happened after that?" she said.
"Well I told my dad to distract her with the prospect of food and to promise her that we'll go back the next day." he said.
"Did it work?" asked Erin.
"Like a charm...we took her to a nearby diner and got her a big Sloppy Joe and a hot chocolate drink." he said, impressing his girlfriend. "...that calmed her for a bit."
Erin put her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. "Hmmm...you are so smart..." she said, not paying attention to the other people in the barge. Erin then saw something in the corner of her eye, turning her head and seeing Kim with her phone pointed at them. "Uh...what are you doing?" she asked.
"Nothing...just taking pictures." Kim said, making Jimmy laugh.
"And what are you going to do with those pictures!?" asked Erin.
"I don't know...leverage maybe?" said Kim, obviously teasing the couple.
"Oh my god! Please don't put that on the internet!" said Erin, facing Kim.
Kim smiled and put the phone in her pocket. "Relax Erin...do you really think I would do something like that?" she said.
"Don't worry about it babe!" said William before pulling her back. "Now where were we?" he said, moving closer to kiss her again when Erin suddenly pushed him off.
"Let's just enjoy the view." she said before turning her back on William.
William sighed and looked at the other couple. "Thanks for ruining the mood guys!" he sarcastically said.
"No problem man!" Jim said, giving Kim a high five.
"Great!" William said before putting his arms around Erin and resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Don't worry babe...you'll get some tonight." she said, whispering in his ear and giving him goosebumps.
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The four of them spent the whole day in New York, taking in the sights and visiting a few of the famous food stops along the way. It was almost six in the evening and the four of them were eating in a diner, talking about stuff from work.
"I can't believe that your sister is gonna be credited in your paper." Kim said.
"Well she helped in a small way so it's only fair to give her some credit for it. And my mom would totally rip my head off if I didn't include our precious princess in my paper." said William, making them all laugh.
"Your dad must be very proud of her huh?" Jim said.
"Yeah...she had to step it up and make it up to him...you know, for almost causing his demise..." he said, laughing a little.
"Hey that's not funny." said Erin.
"I'm just joking." William said.
"What I want to know is why your parents let her go to UCLA instead of CalTech where your dad can watch over her." Jim asked.
"My sister threatened not to talk to them and cut all her hair if they forced her in attending CalTech." said William, making them all laugh.
"And it worked?" asked Kim.
"Sort of...you see, the foundation that supported my scholarship in UCLA also wanted to support her, you know being from the same family and such...and they wouldn't support her if she decided to go to CalTech...some politics or something...so my parents had no choice but to allow her to go to my old school." William said.
"But still...a full scholarship is kind of a big deal right?" Kim said.
"Yeah...the only thing is that she has to maintain her grades or risk losing it." he said.
"Well I'm pretty sure she won't have any problems with that." said Erin. "I mean, she's pretty smart for a sixteen-year-old right?" she added.
"Yeah she is...that is until she gets distracted with food...ice cream...shoes...or basically anything that sparkles!" said William, making them all laugh.
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Meanwhile in California...
"Oww! I bit my tongue!" Sarah said, putting down her spoon and fork and touching her mouth.
"Well it is near your teeth so it's not surprising at all." said Leonard, taking a bite from his food.
"Maybe someone is thinking about you?" Penny said, teasing her daughter.
"That's stupid." Sarah said.
"Hey! Watch your language!" Penny yelled.
"I'm sorry...but the notion of a person thinking or talking about you can cause a direct physical manifestation is a total malarkey." said the young lady, making Leonard laugh. "What's so funny about that?" she asked.
"You sound just like your uncle Sheldon." He said, making Penny laugh.
"Ha! You're a nerd!" Penny exclaimed, getting back at her daughter.
Sarah took a deep breath, unable to retaliate back at her mother. "I can't believe you're comparing me to uncle Sheldon of all people." she said as they continued having dinner.
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Back in New York...
"I guess your sister got that from your mom huh?" asked Kim.
"Absolutely...you won't be able to stop them once they enter a mall or a boutique...it's like watching a young and older version of the same person..." William said. "I mean, my mom's pretty great and all but you can't deny where my sister got her personality from." he added.
"Yeah...it was fun watching them come at each other." Erin added, laughing a bit.
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Meanwhile in California...again...
"Oww!" Penny exclaimed, holding her hand on her cheek as they sat in the living room, watching TV.
"What happened?" asked Leonard.
"I bit my tongue!" she said, massaging her cheek.
"Well..." said Leonard when he was quickly cut off by Penny.
"I don't want to hear it Leonard!" she yelled while massaging her cheek.
"Aww...come here." he said, pulling her close and kissing her cheek. "...my poor, lovely wife..." he said, making Penny smile a little.
"That's a pretty smooth move Hofstadter." Penny said, amused at how her husband cuddles her.
"This might be a long shot but I hope you won't mind if I show you the rest of my moves...upstairs..." he said, giving her a smug smile.
Penny bit her tip. "Come on sailor...while I still have my shields down!" she said while pulling him off the couch and onto the stairs. "I wanna see those moves that you're bragging about." she added as they enter the bedroom.
Leonard saluted her. "Roger that!" he said, making Penny laugh.
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Back in New York...again...
"Well since we're on the topic of careers...Erin has something to tell us..." said Kim.
"What is it babe?" William asked Erin.
"Well...I decided to continue with my web design course at the community college." said Erin, making William excited.
"That's great news! I'm so proud of you!" he said, quickly kissing her on the cheek.
"It's not a big deal...I just want to finish what I started." Erin said.
"Whatever you need, just tell me okay...I can even teach you some stuff if you want." said William, visibly excited for his girlfriend.
"Stop that...I told you not to make a big deal out of it." she said.
"If you want, we can ask Sarah to help you out...I'm sure she won't mind." William said, not paying attention to what Erin said.
"No! I want to do this on my own...and without anyone helping me." Erin said, giving William a stern look.
"But babe?" he said.
"I said back off okay!?" Erin said to the point of almost yelling.
They were all surprised with Erin's reaction. "Okay...I'll stop talking if that's what you want." said William.
"I never said shut up! I just told you to let me do this on my own didn't I!?" Erin yelled before standing up. "I need some air." she said, walking hurriedly out of the diner while a few people looked at them after hearing their brief exchange.
"What was that all about?" asked Jim.
"Excuse me." William said as he stood up to follow Erin outside.
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Outside the diner, Erin was standing by the side, obviously agitated by what happened inside.
"Hey...I'm sorry..." William said, hoping his girlfriend would calm down. "Tell me what's bothering you?"
"Do you really want to know!?" Erin asked.
William took a deep breath. "Babe, I cannot solve the problem if I don't know what it is." he said.
"Don't you get it? No matter what I do, I won't be able to measure up to you!" Erin said, surprising William. He didn't realize that Erin would be having these reservations about her relationship with him.
"I didn't realize you'd feel that way." he said.
"Well I do!" she said. "You don't know how hard it is for me...especially when you took me to that party with your colleagues."
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked William.
Erin sighed, trying to keep herself from losing her temper. "You're the genius and you can't figure it out!? Look at me...I can't possibly have any kind of success in life...I'm not smart...I don't have any talent...I'm not rich..." she said.
"Babe." said William.
"And I'm always gonna be known as your girlfriend and nothing else!" she said, wiping the tears off her eyes.
"Erin please...I was just being supportive. I'm sorry." he said, hoping she would calm down. Kim and Jimmy went out the diner and joined them.
"Hey guys...are you okay?" Kim asked.
Erin took a deep breath. "Can we go home now?" she asked Jim.
"Uh yeah...sure." said Jimmy.
"Thanks." said Erin as she pulled Kim's hand, walking towards the car. William sighed and decided to let her go, knowing that it's useless to argue with his girlfriend right now.
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The ride home was a quiet one, with Kim and Jimmy exchanging awkward looks with one another, hoping the couple in the backseat would make it up to each other.
They reached their apartment building with Erin quickly getting out of the car and going straight upstairs, leaving William behind.
"Go after her!" Kim said.
"Yeah I got it." he said before running after Erin. He reached their floor and went to Erin's apartment, finding her by the fridge, drinking a glass of water.
"Hey...can we please talk?" said William.
"I don't want to talk Will." she said.
"What is your problem? I was just being supportive to you! But if you don't want me to help then it's fine! You don't have to yell and bite my head off!" said William.
Erin folded her arms and glared at him. "Are you done?"
"You know what...I'm not gonna stay here and take this." he said as he turned around to go to the door.
"Fine...you can apologize when you're ready!" she yelled.
William faced her, finally losing patience. "I did nothing wrong so you can wait all you want but I'm not gonna apologize!" he said before opening the door and slamming it behind him as he saw Kim and Jimmy standing at the hall.
"Will?" Kim asked.
"You heard that huh?" said William.
"Yeah." said Jim.
"I'm going to my place...clear my head a bit." said William, going to his door.
"Don't worry Will, I'll talk to her." she said as she pulled Jim into the apartment.
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William closed the front door and decided to wash up and go straight to bed, feeling drained after his fight with Erin. He was surprised when he found out about her insecurities, especially since this was the first time they talked about this stuff with him assuming that their difference in educational backgrounds didn't matter to her.
He was already lying on his bed and was slowly drifting off to sleep when he heard the front door open. He sat up on the bed when his bedroom door opened, with Erin standing in front of him wearing her robe. She walked up to him and sat on the bed, holding his hand.
"I'm sorry...I never should have taken it out on you." she said, slowly hugging him.
William hugged her back. "It's alright...I didn't know that you had feelings like that." he said.
"Well I do...and I'm not proud of it." said Erin.
"Erin...I don't care if you haven't finished college or a scientist like me...it doesn't matter to me." he said.
"You still don't get it do you?" said Erin.
"Tell me what it is." he said.
"Aren't you gonna get bored with me? I can't even understand half of the things you're saying especially when we're hanging out with your friends from the university." she said. "I just feel so out of place..." she added, pushing her face on his neck and crying.
William hugged Erin, rubbing his hands on her back to console her. "Erin..." he said, not knowing what to say.
"I don't know what to do." she said while still crying on his shoulder.
"We'll do nothing...you're gonna go ahead with your design course...if you want me to help out, then I'll help you out...and if you want to do it on your own then it's fine by me...but don't shut me off. You should tell me everything so we can figure it out together." he said, trying to calm his girlfriend down.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you." she said.
William wiped her tears before kissing her cheek. "It's alright babe...you're my girl and we do this together." he said.
Erin smiled, thankful that her boyfriend understood her. "Thank you..." she said before kissing his lips. "You know what?" she said.
"What?" asked William.
"If you recall...I told you that you'd get some tonight, right?" Erin said, biting her lower lip.
"Did you lock the front door?" he asked.
Erin kissed him before quickly standing up. "Take off your clothes...I'll be right back..." she said as she hurriedly went out the room to lock the front door while William started taking his clothes off. Erin came back in no time and saw William still wearing his boxer shorts. "Ugh you're so slow!" she said, jumping at him and hurriedly yanking his clothes off. After undressing her boyfriend, Erin hurriedly shed her own clothes before joining William on the bed. "Come here!" she said as she put her own weight over William, locking her lips with his while she wrapped her arms around his neck, never letting him go as they made love under the covers.
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After a couple of days, Erin was on a few minutes break from her shift at the restaurant. She was glad that she and William were able to sort out their little misunderstanding but it still occupied her mind from time to time. She took out her phone and decided to call the person who might understand her.
"Hello? Hi! Mrs. Hofstadter, this is Erin." she said. "Is this a good time to call?"
P: "Erin hi! Yeah it's totally fine...what's up?"
E: "I know this may sound stupid but can I ask you something?"
P: "Yeah sure! What is it?"
E: "I was just wondering how you and your husband did it...I mean, stay happily married?"
P: "Oh? Okay...we worked hard on it I guess...Erin, I'm not exactly sure what you mean with your question."
E: "Well...was it hard for you guys...I mean you had different backgrounds with your husband being a scientist...and you're just a 'normal' girl."
P: "Oh that? Wait...are you and William having problems? Is he always bringing up his nerd stuff into everything?" Erin laughed a bit.
E: "No Mrs. Hofstadter...it's just that sometimes I feel that I'm not good enough for him...like he's gonna get bored with me after a few years since I don't really understand half of what he says."
P: "Erin don't think like that...you think you got it hard?...imagine how difficult it is for me now."
E: "What do you mean?"
P: "Well it was difficult when I only had to deal with my husband...but now I had to deal with my kids as well...don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that my kids are smart but there are days when I still feel out of place when they talk nerd around the house."
E: "Oh my god...I never thought of it that way..."
P: "Erin...my advise is don't let it get to you...and don't think that you're not good enough for my son."
E: "Thank you Mrs. Hofstadter...it means a lot, especially coming from you."
P: "No problem Erin...and I can see that my son is very happy with you."
E: "Really? How can you tell?"
P: "Erin...he's my son...I've known him longer that you do."
E: "Fair enough...thanks for taking my call."
P: "Hey it's not a problem...if anything else, I'd like to hear more from you guys."
E: "I don't think William would like that."
P: "Yeah...he's always a little protective when it comes to his privacy...especially from me and Leonard."
E: "Well...my break is almost over now. I have to go back to work."
P: "Okay Erin...it was nice hearing from you...and say hello to Kim and Jimmy for me alright?"
E: "I will...and say hello to your husband and Sarah okay?" she said before putting her phone down.
Erin smiled and took a deep breath, feeling relieved after sharing her thoughts with Penny, thankful that she was able to share her thoughts with her without being judged or ridiculed.
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Later that night...
William heard someone knocking on his door as he was finishing up on cleaning his plates on the kitchen sink. He took the towel by the fridge and wiped his hands dry. "Coming." he yelled.
He opened his door and was surprised when Erin came into the apartment and immediately dragged him to the bedroom, locking the door behind them. "Come on." she said, pushing her boyfriend on the bed.
"Woah...what's gotten into you?" he asked as Erin straddled him, pushing her face on his neck while trying to undress him.
"Shut up and let me do this." she said, pushing him down on the bed before kissing him passionately. "You're mine now." she added.
William wrapped her in his arms and spun her around, pinning her on the bed. "Come here." he said as Erin opened up, letting him in as their bodies merged under the sheets.
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"That was fun." said William, laughing a little. "Thank you." he said, kissing her on the side of her head.
Erin looked at him and started laughing. "You're thanking me for having sex with you?" she asked.
"Well...yeah...why?" asked William.
"Are you kidding me? You don't have to thank me for having sex with you." Erin said.
"I know...I was just surprised when you came in and attacked me like a sex-crazed person." said William, laughing a little.
Erin glared at him, punching his arm. "The next punch would land on your nose." she said.
"Okay I'll stop." he said, pulling her close.
They were quiet for a while when Erin moved up to face him. "Hey before I forget, I called your mom today." she said, surprising William.
"Why?" he asked.
"Nothing...we're just catching up." she said.
William thought for a while and knew that Erin was not being truthful to him. "Tell me the truth...why did you call my mom?" he asked.
"Okay fine...I just wanted to ask her how they were able to keep their marriage happy even if your mom and dad had very different backgrounds." she said.
William sighed. "Babe...I told you...I don't care if you're a scientist or not." he said.
"I know...and don't worry, I'll try my best to not let it get to me...I promise." she said.
William kissed her. "Good. That's my girl." he said before hugging her tight. "I have an idea."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Why don't I teach you a little physics...that's gonna be fun right?" he said, hoping his girlfriend agrees.
"Okay let me get this straight...when you say a 'little physics' what you actually meant is 'a lot of physics' right?" she said, giving him a sneaky look.
William stared at her, surprised at how Erin understood his meaning. "Okay fine...I just think it would be a good bonding moment for us...so we can do something fun instead of just having sex all the time."
Erin gave him an angry look. "So you're saying that you're tired of having sex with me!?" she said while punching his arm.
"Oww! That hurt!" William said.
"Good...that's what you get for being an idiot!" said Erin.
"You know I get very excited every time you call me that..." he said, giving her a goofy smile.
Erin sighed and turned her back on him. "No...I'm tired...I want to get some sleep." she said, pulling the blanket and covering herself.
William moved close and hugged her from behind, trying to cuddle with her. "Aww come on babe...I'm sorry." he said.
Erin wiggled herself out of his arms. "Let me go...I'm not kidding around William Hofstadter!" she said to the point of almost yelling.
William was slightly taken aback and decided to stop, afraid that Erin might punch him again. "Okay jeez...no need to shout." he said as he pulled the blanket over himself to go to sleep.
Erin suddenly turned and hugged him, pushing her face onto his neck and snuggling close to him. William was surprised and slowly put his arm around her. "Uh..." he said, surprised by her sudden change in demeanor.
"Shut up...let's just get some sleep." she said while making herself comfortable. William smiled, knowing that he had nothing to worry about. He rested his head on the pillow and pulled the blanket over them.
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Meanwhile in California...
Penny was standing by the car when she saw her daughter walking towards her with a few other girls that she assumed were Sarah's classmates. Sarah saw her mother and waved goodbye to the girls before running towards the car.
"Hi mom...sorry I'm a little late...we just passed by the library to get some stuff." said Sarah, giving her mother a light hug.
"Hey it's not a problem...are they your new friends?" asked Penny.
"Yeah...that's Justine, the one wearing a light blue shirt and that's Yelena with the short hair." Sarah said. "I'll drive." she added, extending her hand to get the keys from Penny. "What's in the bag?" she asked, looking at the paper bag in Penny's hand.
Penny handed her the keys. "Oh, I went inside the campus and bought us a couple of shirts...look..." said Penny, showing her daughter a t-shirt with a mathematical equation on it. "...I figured this will make us look smart and fun at the same time!" she said.
Sarah took a deep breath and gave her a weak smile. "Really? Of all the equations you could've chosen from, you chose 3n+1?" asked Sarah.
"Why not? E equals mc squared is so overrated." said Penny. "What's wrong with this one?" she asked.
Sarah sighed and sat on the driver's seat. "That shirt is a joke mom. I'll explain it to you when we get home." she said as Penny sat on the passenger seat, throwing the shirt and paper bag in the back.
"Fine. Now watch out when you're backing up." said Penny as Sarah slowly backed the car out of the parking slot.
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They reached home and found Leonard on the couch watching TV.
"Hey guys!" he said as Penny went over and kissed him before putting the paper bag on the coffee table. "What's this?" asked Leonard, looking inside the bag.
"I bought a couple of fun shirts for me and your daughter but apparently she's too cool to even wear them." said Penny, taking a swipe at Sarah who went over to kiss her father's cheek.
"Because that shirt is a joke mom." said Sarah.
Leonard took out the shirt and laughed after seeing the mathematical equation on it. "Really? 3n+1?"
"What's the big deal with that anyway?" Penny asked.
"Okay mom...let me teach you." said Sarah. "Choose a number...any number." she told her mother.
"Any number?" Penny said.
"Yes honey...any number you can think of." Leonard said.
"Uh, okay...twenty-seven?" said Penny.
Sarah and Leonard looked at each other. "Okay...and is twenty-seven an odd or an even number?" asked Sarah.
"It's an odd number...right?" said Penny.
"That's correct honey." Leonard said, smiling at her as Sarah took a pad of paper and pencil from Leonard's desk.
"Okay mom...if the number is odd, you multiply it by three and add one...that's where the 3n+1 comes from." said Sarah, giving the pad and pencil to her mother.
Penny pulled out her phone and pushed on the screen. "Okay...times three, plus one...eighty-two...then what?" asked Penny.
"And is eighty-two an odd or an even number?" asked Sarah.
"It's even." Penny said.
"Maybe it's better if you write it on the pad." said Sarah. "If it's even...then you divide it by two." she added.
"Okay..." said Penny, using her phone and writing the result on the pad. "Forty-one." she said.
"Great...now just apply those two conditions whenever your result is either an odd or an even number." said Sarah.
Penny sighed and decided to go back to her pad paper when Leonard laughed out loud. "What's so funny?" she asked her husband.
"Can't you see? Your daughter just gave you homework!" Leonard exclaimed. "That is so cool!"
Penny gave them a stern look. "I can't believe this!" she said, making Leonard and Sarah laugh.
"Who would've thought that all the time you spent in high school skipping homework and classes would eventually catch up to you!?" said Leonard, making Sarah laugh.
"Shut up Leonard!" Penny said, before going back-to her homework on the coffee table.
Sarah took the TV remote and began scrolling on the screen. "Look dad...The Desolation of Smaug..." she said.
"Oh that's a good one!" Leonard exclaimed as Sarah put the remote on the coffee table before snuggling beside her father to watch the TV with him.
"Haven't you seen that like a million times already!?" asked Penny.
"Just go do your homework honey!" Leonard answered making their daughter laugh some more.
"I should punch you right now!" Penny said before going back to her 'homework'.
"If only your brother could see your mom now." said Leonard, earning a high five from his daughter.
"That's so funny!" said the young lady. "Dad, can we get a pizza for dinner?" said Sarah.
"Yeah sure..." said Leonard. "You go ahead and order for us." he added.
"Okay...and I won't forget to tell them to have your cheese-less slices." Sarah said.
Leonard pulled her close and kissed her cheek. "That's my girl." he said as Sarah scrolled on her phone, ordering the pizza online.
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"So? Any luck?" Leonard asked as Sarah put the pizza box on the coffee table.
"What's the point of all this anyway?" Penny asked, slowly losing patience at the seemingly random results she was getting.
"Don't worry mom...you'll find out soon enough." said Sarah, taking a bite out of her pizza slice.
Penny sighed. "Fine." she said, continuing with her calculations.
After another ten minutes...
"Wait! What is happening!?" asked Penny, looking at her pad paper before pushing on the phone again. "This can't be right!" she added.
Sarah looked over and smiled. "She's in the loop dad." she said as Leonard sat beside his wife.
"You see honey, what you just did is called the Collatz Conjecture." said Leonard. "Remember the rules you did for either even and odd numbers?"
"Uh yeah." Penny said.
"Mom...the Collatz Conjecture or 3n+1 says that any number you pick will always go down to one." said Sarah.
"Any number?" asked Penny.
"Yes honey...any number...no matter how big it is." Leonard said.
"Even if I use ten gazillion?" asked Penny, making Leonard and Sarah laugh.
"Yes honey...all numbers would eventually reach that four-two-one loop where you got stuck with." said Leonard.
"Okay...so what's your point?" asked Penny.
"Well...if you can find a number that doesn't go down to one, then you would've disproved it honey." said Leonard.
"And you'll be more famous than Einstein!" Sarah chimed in.
"Really? No one has proven it yet?" Penny asked.
"No one mom...and anyone trying to solve it is just gonna be wasting their time." said her daughter. "That's why I told you that shirt is a joke."
"What about your brother? Maybe he can solve it?" said Penny as she took her phone to call William on Skype.
After a few rings, William answered his phone, focusing the camera on himself.
W: "Hey mom...what's up?"
P: "I did some math sweetheart." she said, making Leonard and Sarah laugh a bit.
W: "Uh...okay...what kind of math did you do?"
P: "The Coll...honey what is it called again?"
L: "The Collatz Conjecture honey."
W: "Okay...I'm gonna need more than that."
P: "Well your sister here says that no one can solve it...so I told them maybe you can try and solve it yourself."
William sighed and laughed, amused by his mother.
W: "Mom...a lot of people already wasted their time on that problem...people a lot smarter than me or dad or even uncle Sheldon...and it got them nowhere."
P: "Oh? Okay."
Sa: "You should've seen when mom got boggled down at the four-two-one loop!" said Sarah, making William laugh.
W: "I wish I was there to see it!"
P: "Okay okay! You guys got me! Are you happy now!?"
W: "I'm sorry mom...please don't be mad."
L: "He's right honey...I'm sorry if we made fun of you."
Penny took a deep breath. "Okay...I'm okay now...anyway, how are you and Erin sweetheart?" she asked her son.
W: "We're great mom...she told me that she called you the other day."
P: "Yeah...we were just catching up."
W: "Well I won't ask what you two talked about because I know you'll just make something up."
P: "Now you're learning!" she said, laughing at how her son is slowly having a handle of his relationship with Erin.
They continued catching up with William, telling them of Sarah's driving 'adventures' and her foray into college life. William was glad to talk to his parents again, somewhat wishing he was there to see how they are dealing with his sister who is facing a new chapter of her life in the university.