Chapter 1
"Watch where you're putting your hand!"
"Stop nagging me! I know what I'm doing!"
"Could have fooled me. It feels like this is your first time…"
"Woman, those are fighting words."
"Two words, Sheldon, 'junior rodeo.' I can take you on easily."
Softly panting, sweat across both their brows, Penny Lane and Sheldon Cooper glared at each other across the stainless steel countertop.
A five tier mousse monstrosity stood precariously against the bright kitchen lights. Both held their breath as the tower stood, but all too soon the structure slid under its own weight, toppling into a pink cream mess all over the countertop.
Both groaned in frustration and dismay.
The pretty blonde checked the time.
Nine pm on a Saturday. I used to be out at the clubs. Now I'm spending nights baking cakes with Chef Whack-a-doodle.
And having fun doing it. Days were spent running the day to day creations at California's number one bakery, Gateaux Affairs. As the newest hire, Penny was mostly regulated to clean up and dish duty, however her persnickety boss had just recently graduated her to icing the cookies.
Raj, the silent baker, whispered to Howard. "It took me two months before Sheldon let me decorate cookies. How come Penny gets to in a week?"
"Well she had her own bakery before it burned down," Howard surmised. "Remember her application cake tasted just like one of our own. She could be another baking genius like Sheldon."
A sudden squawk was his answer as Penny scrambled to remove a metal bowl that had been placed too close to the stove. Its sticky residue catching with smoke.
"Penny! How can you catch a mixing bowl on fire!" Sheldon scolded her as he doused the dish in the sink.
"Okay, maybe she's not a genius," Howard corrected himself.
One thing was for certain. She had cast a spell over their team.
Penny had gently steered Howard and Bernadette - Gateau Affairs' bakery head of wait staff - on a date. A well placed invitation to a midnight tasting at Chez Renee not only offered a romantic treat for the pair, it also supplied reconnaissance to Sheldon on what that elite restaurant was creating with its desserts. The two had come raving about raspberry foam and about each other.
The newest baker also went on a date with Leonard after his shy approach. The attraction was short lived though. Compared to Sheldon's inferno of passion and determination to succeed in the baking world, Leonard's quiet acceptance of his own talent was like a single candle flame.
Sheldon watched the pair as their spark ebbed to a jovial friendship, even giving a nod of approval after Penny found a girl friend that interested Leonard. Well, anyone interested Leonard, to tell the truth. The tall owner would rather have a happy baker than a brooding one.
Sheldon was glad when life settled into its natural equilibrium.
Mornings were spent preparing cookies, cakes, even the occasional pie. He knew not to speak or remark on any of Penny's morning appearance lest he got a well deserved punch in the throat. Afternoons entailed any special orders, or debating changes in the menu.
Their conundrum started one month ago.
"Gablehauser makes promises he can't keep!" Howard moaned.
Bernadette, his bespectacled girlfriend patted him consolingly on the shoulder.
"This is the event of the century! The number one pop singer, Kristy, is finally getting married to the number one country singer, and they're deciding to have a wedding cake from Gateaux Affairs or Kripke's. We have to win the contract!"
Howard gave a fond smile to the head of the wait staff. As the front of the house, she was the unfortunate victim whenever their baking rival, Barry Kripke, would show his smug face at the shop. Last year's Stevenson loss was especially trying for everyone.
Penny had not received the full story from the boys, but the trio were unusually red faced while Sheldon turned stony at the mention. She had other problems to think about though.
"A five-tiered mousse cake!" Leonard blurted out. "Who on earth thought of that?!"
Raj gave a quick whisper to Howard.
One day, Penny thought. She'll trick away the man's selective mutism.
Howard relayed the information. "The bride's rival in the music world had three tiers at her wedding, and the number one hit last year. Now our client is the top of the charts this year, and she wants to outshine her enemy with a five layer cake."
"And with all edible ingredients," Sheldon interjected. "That means no hidden rods for support or fake styrofoam bases to make it look like five layers."
"It has to look good and taste good," Penny muttered to herself at the present day. It was quickly nearing another hour gone, and the other boys had begged off for the night ages ago. It was just her and her tall, neurotic boss. She quickly flipped through the notebook of failed creations. "What about try number five?" she questioned.
Sheldon shook his head. "The melted sugar columns were rock hard. The bride said her father would break his dentures on them."
Penny groaned. They had no successes and Gablehauser expected a result by tomorrow! They were thinking in circles and needed a break.
"Do you trust me, Sheldon?"
The brunette stared into the pretty blonde's eyes.
"Yes, Penny."
It was so simple to think of a thousand excuses to say no. However, he had a small inkling of hope. He just needed to let the universe give him another sign just like it did before, when he first met Penny, and when she found him by being hired.
Sheldon followed her the short distance to her car. Its blinking check engine light long banished by a visit to a reputable but affordable mechanic of Sheldon's choosing. He long ago found out that instead of squawking about a problem, if he suggested a solution, all parties would be more amenable to his complaints like flies to honey.
The pretty girl led him to an establishment that was too well lit to be called a hole in the wall, but too small to be known as mainstream.
"A piano bar?" He queried with delight as they entered.
The bar was dimly lit with soft jazz music playing by a live pianist. People were sipping their beverages in small groups, laughing quietly. A few were even playing games at the bar.
Penny got herself a mojito, plus a non-alcoholic one for Sheldon. Somehow during the time if the two drinks got switched, neither complained.
Sheldon closed his eyes basking in the atmosphere. His usually active mind was at a contented glow. He had suggested Rogers and Hammerstein to be played and was quietly humming along to the jovial show tunes. The music reminded him of quiet nights at his Meemaw's.
The green eyed girl sat beside him on a comfortable couch. Soft cheering met her ears, and she craned her body backwards in the seat trying to see the source.
"Oh, they're building a house of cards," Penny murmured.
Her blonde hair and the smooth skin of her shoulders pressed against Sheldon's cheek. He was glad she could not see the redness in his face.
Over at the bar, a young man perilously placed two final cards atop a five level pyramid balanced on the wooden bar table. The bartender shook his head in laugher, playfully pouring the man a shot, no doubt just losing a bet in the process.
The man gulped the contents down quickly and placed the empty glass face down on the uppermost triangle of the pyramid. The additional weight did nothing to the geometric creation. His group cheered him on as he grinned from his success.
"It's strong enough to hold that?" the blonde marveled.
Sheldon turned at her remark, curiosity getting the better of him when he suddenly grabbed her shoulders in agitation. He leaned his head against hers trying to see a better view of the scene.
All Penny could feel was the heat of his hands against her bare shoulders and the softness of his breath against her face.
"Sheldon?"
He turned towards her face suddenly, gazing into her eyes with awe and wonder.
"Eureka."
"Sheldon? What are you talking about? I don't understand."
He had grabbed a cocktail napkin and a pen, words spoken under his breath frantically.
Sketching the same pyramid structure, he spoke aloud to Penny. "If we use cards in the cake pan, then pour in the mousse, it'll create a frame to rest the thinner sugar columns on like we used in test three…"
"But the columns can't balance on the top of two thin cards, Sheldon. Unless…" She took the pen from his hand, much to his dismay.
She remembered something from her childhood. The blonde drew a set of lines emanating from the center in a circular shape, like the spoke of a bicycle wheel, then placed a card as a roof directly under where a column would rest.
The green-eyed girl blushed softly as she handed the pen back to Sheldon. "When I was little, it was too difficult to make pyramid card houses like the one that guy did. I made these instead."
"Yes, Penny." Sheldon breathed. "This is exactly it."
This was exactly the sign he needed.
He placed cash on the table, his head spinning with new revelations. Sheldon practically sprinted towards the door.
"Sheldon! Wait for me!" Penny called out with a smile. Here it was, this excitement and fire that soon became an everyday part of her life. After her discovery of the joy of baking, even after her shop burned down, these were the moments she lived for.
And she had found herself chasing the man that had given her so much wonder and happiness.
I'm back! Please excuse the formatting errors.
As usual the story is based on the Hong Kong series, Gateau Affairs. Penny burning the bowl is from Masterchef Season 3. This story is completely written and will consist of five chapters.
Grignard