Chapter 14
Moving Experiences
After Leonard had completed all the legalities of the house and put in place the direct debit payment agreement to Sarah Jeffers, his assistant, to pass onto her grandmother, they began to start moving their things in.
Penny was over the moon at their first house together and immediately began stripping wallpaper off in the lounge, in fact so obsessed was she that she missed their lunch date and this got Leonard into quite a state with worry, until he rang her and found she was still at the new house.
So Leonard drove over there and stopped to pick up some pizzas, coffee and mineral water on the way.
On entering the lounge he was stunned to find that Penny had single handedly stripped all the wallpaper off and was now rubbing down the woodwork to the accompaniment of Beyonce from her Ipod dock.
"Honey, look I really don't want to be a buzz-kill but be careful you don't overdo it, please honey", Leonard pleaded "I can always hire a couple of decorators to do it all".
"Don't you dare this is our first house together and I want it decorated how I like it", she said stamping her foot in agitation at him.
"OK honey but please be careful, Look have a rest a spell and eat some pizza", he cajoled.
Penny relented feeling her empty stomach starting to growl and began to wolf down the tuna and sweetcorn pizza he had got her, clearly eager to continue with her decorating, and after eating that, four slices of garlic bread and half of Leonard's pizza too, she drank some water and began to continue with her work.
They managed at first with the few sticks of furniture, mainly from Penny's apartment, and also the dining table and chairs that they ha bought for 4a much to Sheldon,s disapproval. After which Penny decided it would be far better if they accrue more furniture gradually, rather than diminish their savings on splashing out for everything at once.
By the Friday evening Leonard had to be a little forceful with his wife to get her to stop work, as by now Penny had stripped the wallpaper from the lounge and two of the bedrooms and sanded the woodwork in the lounge and the master bedroom and was halfway through stripping the wallpaper from the dressing room at nearly 8:00 pm.
As they drove away from the house to take her out for a well earned meal and a rest, he was stunned to see that Penny was in tears. So he reversed back onto their drive and asked her what was wrong .
"I can't help with paying for our house so I thought that if I get the decorating done I will have contributed at least something to it", she sobbed.
"Honey, I love that you have such a good heart and that this is such a concern for you, but you must be careful not to overdo it or it could harm our baby, let me sort something out, you can still supervise and select all the colours, wallpaper and furnishings which is still contributing to our house". Leonard reasoned.
Penny finally had to see the sense in that, for she certainly did not wish to harm her baby so she decided to just enjoy her meal and relax for the rest of the evening, especially as Leonard had pinky promised he would work on the house all over the weekend.
It was late on Saturday afternoon when Leonard was just applying the undercoat in the lounge, and Penny was stripping wallpaper off the wall in the third bedroom, when a large box van drew up and reversed in front of the garage, Penny noticing it from out the window went down to investigate, and as she stepped out the front door, out of the van climbed Marcia and Wyatt.
"Mom, Dad, what a lovely surprise, what are you doing here?, Penny squealed in her excitement to see her Parents.
Wyatt explained "Well Penny I offered Leonard $100,000 towards buying a house, but good man that you've got there, He refused, he told me it was his dream to take care of you his wife ( at that, Penny immediately began to tear up) , but reckon I still wanted to help , and if you and Leonard don't mind then", And with that he opened up the back of the van.
Inside the van were washing machine, drier, large refrigerator, chest freezer, and dishwasher and also a handmade walnut double bed.
"The bed was made by old Claude Harrison he owns a small place next to ours, And he's been a family friend of ours for years and it's his present to you both", Marcia explained.
Penny overcome by delight cried and as she made coffee for them all Wyatt and Leonard acquiescing to Wyatt's generous nature loaded them into the garage except for the bed which went upstairs into the master bedroom to be later very carefully covered up by Penny.
Penny proudly took them on a tour of her house and garden, talking nineteen to the dozen all the time. Wyatt and Leonard quickly made some beds up in the two bedrooms and the two men left to 4b to bring the rest of the things and Leonard's stuff still remaining in 4a to the house, Leonard for some obscure reason now could not help but feel a little sad at the sight of the emptiness that was now all there was in 4b and the happy memories of his first meeting with Penny, to all the ups and downs as their relationship twisted and turned, before their eventual union . Then they returned to the house. Penny had ordered takeout for them all and after they ate they retired to their beds.
Wyatt lay for a while staring up at the ceiling thanking the powers that be that Penny had ended up in a fine house and not one with wheels, he had never seen her so happy as he had this last month or so.
The next morning they unloaded the van into the garage till Penny could sort things out and Leonard and Wyatt painted the lounge, while Penny and Marcia looked at Paint, Wallpaper and furnishings on her laptop. On Monday, Penny and Marcia left to pick up the wallpaper for the lounge and the paint for the master bedroom. By the end of the day the lounge was finished, except for the floor covering in which Penny was still undecided on.
Sheldon acutely felt the emptiness now that Leonard had collected the last of his things from 4a, it was now clear to Sheldon that things no longer were the same, and Sheldon found things had changed in a big way now and he just couldn't cope with it at all.
Amy tried her best to help him but to no avail. She decided she would have to speak to Leonard and Penny to find a solution before Sheldon took off again on his travels to try and make sense of things, and this time, there would be no telling where he would go.
Tuesday morning and Leonard had a brainwave if he got male decorators and they hit on Penny making her uncomfortable, it might set her back in her healing process but if he could get female ones it might be better, So when the opportunity arose he asked Sarah if she knew any.
Sarah didn't personally know of any but would ring round her friends and see if they could help.
Leonard thanked her and began to look at his itinerary for the day .
Penny was meanwhile looking on her laptop for ideas on floor coverings for the lounge and then decided on laminate flooring with a large center rug in the middle, while Marcia and Wyatt were painting the walls in the master bedroom and before long two rooms had been decorated and Penny began to turn her attention to the carpet for the main bedroom when her phone rang with Leonard's ring-tone (The theme from Star Trek of course) "Hi Honey, Mom and Dad have finished painting our bedroom and I was just going to look for carpet designs on the net, what's that, you've found some decorators, are they, great we could all have girl talk while we work, thank Sarah for me will you, OK, I love you too Honey, see you tonight". Then ending the call she turned back to carpets, and before the day was at an end she had ordered the carpet and arranged it to be fitted the next day. Wyatt and Marcia left for Nebraska on the Wednesday morning, Then the first thing Friday morning her decorators arrived and introduced themselves to her as Kelly and Sandra, they explained that most of their work was done for elderly ladies living on their own and then Kelly showed Penny some photographs of their previous work on Kelly's laptop and also some references from satisfied customers, Penny was satisfied with their references and impressed by the high standard shown by the girls. So the two girls started work and by the end of the day the dressing room was finished and the two bedrooms ready for painting the walls, Penny then asked them if they knew anyone who laid laminate flooring, and Sandra said her boyfriend was a carpenter and he could do it, Penny was startled, "I thought you were both..., Never mind", Penny said quickly, avoiding putting her foot in it. She discovered later that Kelly was getting married next year and Sandra too, was getting engaged soon. Sandra told Penny to choose the laminate she wanted and Sandra told her boyfriend the size of the room, then he informed Sandra how many packs she would need and underlay, adhesive, and skirting as it was so much better than those horrible cover strips that went round the edge.
So Penny ordered everything and also the center rug and arranged for Sandra's boyfriend to fit it next Wednesday.
Later that Evening, Penny told Leonard that the girls weren't gay and Leonard explained that Sarah had got them from the phone book., and he'd just assumed that they were gay, as Sarah had told him that she would ask her friends if they knew any. Penny slapped him on the arm, "I was this close to losing our decorators Hofstadter , they Might not have taken it at all well if I revealed I thought they were lesbians", she explained.
Leonard examined the work the girls had done and like Penny, he was very impressed with the standard of their work.
That night they tried their new bed out, "Well there's no chance of us breaking this one Leonard", Penny laughed as they snuggled down together.
And so by the time of Penny's first trimester the house had been decorated throughout (except for the nursery as the walls had only been painted a neutral colour) and also new kitchen, bathroom and en suite .
Penny was excited as today would be her first scan and already she was going through the usual symptoms, Throwing up, frequent visits to the toilet etc. and most strangest of all, she just could not get enough of Leonard's natural aroma (not the horrible B.O. Odour), often Leonard would come home and Penny would be holding his T-shirt to her nose'.
and now here she was sitting there with Leonard waiting to be called in.
Soon the call of Mrs Penny Hofstadter was announced and Penny and Leonard entered the scanning room.
Penny was told to lay on the couch and raise her dress exposing her abdomen and the midwife spread some gel over Penny's stomach and placing the instrument on Penny, she began to search for the foetus, "Hmmm, good strong heartbeat Mrs Hofstadter I'll just turn the screen so you can see better, right, here's an arm and there's the head and the legs are here she said, and all looking very good indeed, I'll just get you a video of it".
Penny left the clinic walking on cloud nine, She had also been given a photograph of which she was now looking at with wonder, "Leonard", She whispered in awe, "It's our Baby, the product of our love".
Leonard could not find words to answer her, he was just thunderstruck by this beautiful image of a miracle.
Leonard dropped Penny off and then made his way to Cal-Tech.
Penny went into the kitchen and took a bottle of water from the fridge and sat in the lounge and was idly watching one of those makeover shows on T.V. When her doorbell rang.
Upon opening it there stood her middle aged neighbour from next door , "Hi I'm sorry to bother you, but I seem to have locked myself out, My Husband is on his way but he will be a couple of hours yet, well I'm sure you know yourself what the rush hour traffic is like in L.A. And I wondered if I could I please wait here as it has started to rain", she explained.
"Why yes of course, do come in, would you like some coffee?", Penny offered.
"Yes please, sorry let me introduce myself I'm Helen Gibbs how do you do ", she said.
"You're that famous interior designer from T.V.", Exclaimed Penny, not admitting to the fact that she didn't know who she was till this afternoon on T.V.
"What a lovely house, who's your designer?", Helen asked impressed.
"Oh no, I did it all myself, and a couple of excellent girl decorators and my parents and I did the decorating", Penny explained.
Helen looked Thoughtful, "Well Penny I must say you have quite a talent there", she said after Penny had given her the grand tour.
"They then chatted about inconsequentials and after a while Helen's Husband called and then they left.
That evening Amy called round about Sheldon and after much discussion they decided that Wednesday and Friday evenings they would all meet at 4a, though as Leonard pointed out ,with Raj and Emily now engaged, and even Stuart was getting serious with Howard's Cousin Jeannie things are bound to change, Amy acknowledged his point and said it was just to buy time until Sheldon can adjust to a new homeostasis.
So the next Friday evening the whole gang met in 4a for take out and the talk was full of Penny and Leonard's house, Penny's pregnancy, and Raj's engagement to Emily, had they set a date?, will the wedding be in India or here in the USA?, And Stuart, how was it going with Jeannie, are they thinking of getting engaged soon?
And so the conversation continued on similar lines, Sheldon finally realised that things could never be the same again, He needed constancy and order in his life and decided it was time to put his plan into operation tomorrow evening.
And Late that Saturday Evening the phone rang and Penny shrieked in delight, startling Leonard who was dozing in front of the T,V, "Sheldon's finally proposed to Amy", Penny squealed wide-eyed at Leonard, Leonard was suddenly wide awake, "I don't believe it", He said, "I know it's so cool", Penny replied excitedly.
Earlier they had been discussing names for the Baby, and after The fashion of the Beckham's Leonard had jokingly thought of Lake, Jacuzzi, Long Grass and even Running Deer.
Penny got a little annoyed with him and told him to be serious.
Leonard apologized to her but said that Long Grass and Running Deer sounded cool like Native American names", but at the meaningful stare from Penny he quickly dropped the subject.
Soon Penny had decided on Honey Marie for a girl and Wyatt for a boy, as the baby was conceived on their honeymoon Penny did go a little Beckham though, with the name Honey.
On the Tuesday and Penny was at the age old task of ironing one of Leonard's shirts when the doorbell rang . Helen, her neighbour, was back to ask Penny if Helen could feature Penny's home on the makeover show, as Penny had such a fresh approach to interior design and she thought it might appeal to younger couples very much like Penny and her husband and as Penny had been an actress perhaps they could get some scenes of Penny describing at how she arrived at her ideas for the décor in some of the rooms. And an excited Penny immediately agreed especially at seeing the figure they were willing to pay her.
Excitedly she rang Leonard, "Honey, Helen's going to feature our house on T.V. And they want me to be in some of the scenes",
"That's so cool honey, I'm not surprised, the house looks great, and you did wonders with the décor and didn't Helen herself say you had talent. I'm so excited for you". He told her enthusiastically.
On the day before the shoot, Penny was like a madwoman cleaning here and tidying there and the next morning she insisted Leonard had his breakfast at Cal-Tech in case he made a mess in the kitchen. (Penny, with their first new house had swung round from slob to house proud, due I think to her self esteem being much higher than when she was single and working as a waitress. at the Cheese Cake Factory.)
Helen introduced Penny to the viewers in front of their house and as Penny had done so well in rehearsals, Penny did the entire view on her own describing why she chose this and how much this went with that etc.
on the day the programme went out the entire gang were in Penny's lounge to watch.
"Penny you did brilliantly, I'm so proud of you", Leonard told her kissing her cheek, "Yeah she's a real star Dude", Raj added "And did you notice honey our baby was on T.V. Too" Penny told Leonard, patting her bump.
"yeah it should have been called the Penny & Junior show", Leonard joked.
The Next day Penny had her final session with Dr Julie Jeffers and she afterwards took Julie out for a meal in thanks for helping her so much, as they parted afterwards Julie wished her all the happiness in the world, and Penny replied to her, "I already have it".
On her return home, She found Helen waiting for her "where have you been?" the phones have been ringing non stop, we have people ringing wanting you to do their houses and other people wanting you to doing the programme full time", Then seeing the nervous look on Penny's face at mentioning the latter, Helen added, "It would suit me fine if you would front the programme as I am really too busy with clients" and she added conspiratorially, I've just picked up a contract from Jennifer Lopez to do her house.
Penny excitedly agreed to front the programme and as she told Leonard later, "The funniest thing about it was, I wasn't acting at all, I was just being myself and the audience loved it", "Well it doesn't surprise me in the slightest honey, I have been very much in love with you for over eight years", Leonard told her, Penny threw her arms round him and kissed him before dragging him off to their bedroom.
On the Saturday Penny threw a dinner party for the whole gang to celebrate both Penny's T.V. programme and Amy & Sheldon's engagement, and Bernadette & Emily helped Penny so the work would not be too much for her, in fact Bernadette wanted this baby almost as much as Penny. (it was a little late for the engagement party as it had been difficult to get them all together).
Sheldon then asked Leonard if he could have a private word with him and the two men retired to the study.
"Leonard, I thank you for being my friend and also for showing me through your friendship then marriage to Penny, that I can't keep everything the same, as we well know the elements are in constant motion and changes occur in the universe all the time and I had to realize that I needed to too. I love Amy and am happy at the thought of marrying her, she will provide the constancy I need, helping me to cope with change. Also congratulations on your tenure, and I apologize, as I now realize, Thanks to Amy, that it was achieved due to your hard work and dedication. Thanks Leonard", Sheldon said, in all sincerity. Leonard smiled "We have a lot to thank Amy for ", Leonard told him and gave him a brief hug.
At 20 weeks pregnant Penny & Leonard were excitedly going for another scan to determine the sex of their baby, once again Penny shivered as the midwife spread the cold gel on Penny's middle and then she moved the scanner over Penny's abdomen, The couple waited with baited breath as the midwife worked, "It's the right size for 20 weeks and a good strong heartbeat" She said, then "keep still little one I can't see", before, "You have a little girl", she announced.
Penny at once gasped and began to cry "It's Honey Marie, Leonard, she's so beautiful", but Leonard was lost for words as he was sat there stunned and wiping his eyes.
As soon as she was home Penny was immediately looking on her laptop for wallpaper patterns and paint on decorating the nursery for a Baby girl
Helen set Penny up with a couple of interior design contracts and She had even hired Kelly and Sandra on a permanent basis to work under Penny, Leonard had set Penny up with a desktop computer with three screens, and software to aid her in her work, and Penny had also enrolled herself on a course in interior design at a local college and by her second trimester had five contracts under her belt. Penny would meet and discuss with the client and Kelly or Sandra would measure the rooms and paint sample colours on walls, and Penny would go through fabric and paper samples and work on her computer to design and print out an artists impression on the finished room.
And before long with the T.V. And designing, Penny had paid the rest of the money owing on the house to her great satisfaction, Now she had contributed much towards the house and proved herself an able partner to Leonard, at which Penny had been so concerned about after her marriage to Leonard.
Penny, now at 8 months pregnant was sweltering in her dress and it seemed that fanning herself with the hymn Sheet was making no difference, "Trust Sheldon to have his wedding on the hottest day of the year, I swear he did it on purpose just to teach me a lesson for taking Leonard away from him?", she thought. She looked round at her friends, Raj and Emily were now engaged as were Stuart and Jeannie, Jeannie had been a godsend for Stuart as with her excellent business acumen, she had really turned the comic book store around and at last it was regularly showing a profit. Bernadette and Howard were also expecting their first child, with Bernadette at 6 weeks gone.
As they all were friends of both the Bride and bridegroom it was decided that the girls would sit on the brides side and the boys on Sheldon's side, Leonard, as best man was standing with Sheldon waiting for Amy's entrance, Penny looked at her husband looking very smart and hunky in his suit and felt her excitement beginning to build, "Crazy, I'm 8 months gone and I still wanna jump him, but wow, he just so excites me though", she thought.
Sheldon although not religious decided to get married in a church in order that his mother Mary and other God fearing relatives would attend his wedding. At hearing from Leonard that the cabin at Lake McConaughy had WiFi, Amy and Sheldon decided to honeymoon there too, Sheldon puzzled at Leonard's warning to beware of the long grass?, but at the thought of going on the boat, he was really looking forward to wearing his sailors hat.
Finally the music announced that the bride had arrived and all as one turned to see her walk down the aisle. Penny gasped, Amy looked absolutely stunning in her dress and tiara her make-up perfectly applied by Emily, who had earlier told Penny that she had learned by tidying up corpses after accidents, Penny was almost sure she was joking.
Sheldon's face was a picture as he looked at Amy, his face was the look of love. (no not his koala face though) .
They both said their vows clearly though Sheldon was forbidden by Amy to say his in Klingon.
And Then Dr and Dr Cooper left the church for their reception. It was going rather well till Jeannie had to rush to the ladies to be violently ill, Howard then chastised Stuart for letting his Cousin drink so much, at which Stuart indignantly informed Howard that Jeannie had only had a couple of Martinis besides the champagne, whereupon Howard smiled, shook Stuarts hand and said congratulations at which Stuart suddenly realizing the reason for Jeannie's predicament, promptly fainted.
By now Penny was feeling very tired and her ankles had swollen so, therefore Leonard made for home as soon as Amy and Sheldon had left for the honeymoon.
Upon their getting into bed Penny seemed to recover a bit and though difficult they enjoyed their little exercise before Penny adopted her usual position happily spooned in front of Leonard, the fingers of one hand intertwined with his.
