Chapter 3
"Mommy are you drunk?" William asked as he went to sit beside Penny on the couch who was laughing at the TV show she was watching with her husband.
"What? Who told you that?" Penny asked before putting her wineglass on the side table.
"No one mommy." William said.
"Then why did you ask if your mother is drunk?" Leonard said, amused at how curious his son was.
"Nothing...it's just that one of the kids in my class told me that his mommy's the same, always drinking wine and stuff...sometimes getting all crazy and weird." said the young man, making Leonard laugh.
Penny gave him a snide look before facing her son. "Okay sweetheart, listen to me...I'm not a drunk...I just like drinking wine...you know...to calm my nerves..." she said.
"Why do you need to calm down mommy? Is it because daddy's always giving you a hard time?" William said, making Penny laugh.
"Sometimes sweetie." Penny said, giving Leonard a playful look.
"Is daddy cheating on you?" said the young boy, surprising his parents.
"No...your father is not cheating on me!" Penny said. "Why would you think he's cheating on me?" she asked.
"And more importantly, who's teaching you this stuff?" Leonard asked.
"No one...I saw it on TV once..." said William.
"Really? Tell me what you saw." said Leonard.
"Well...the guy was always at work...and he's seeing this other woman other than his wife..." said the young boy.
Penny sighed, knowing that they should do something about their son seeing too many inappropriate stuff on TV. "Okay sweetheart, listen to me...your father is not cheating on me...and he will never cheat on me...do you know why?" she said, looking William straight in the eye.
"Because he's scared of you?" William said, making his parents laugh.
"Well apart from that...your father is a great guy...he's a loving father and husband...he's faithful...and he cares for all of us..." said Penny. "Do you understand?"
William nodded. "Yes mommy." said the young man. "Does it taste good mommy? asked William, referring to the wine.
Penny took her wine glass from the side table. "Here, have a little taste and find out for yourself." she told her son, moving the glass closer.
"Honey are you crazy?" Leonard said, giving Penny a stern look.
"Relax Leonard...I know what I'm doing." Penny said as William moved closer and took a small sip of wine, immediately scrunching his face after tasting the bitter taste in his mouth.
"Yuck! How can you drink that stuff!? That's so gross!" exclaimed the young boy before jumping off the couch and running to the kitchen, probably to drink some water.
"See? Problem solved!" Penny told Leonard, giving him a smug look.
Leonard pulled her close and kissed her lips. "You are so smart!" he said as Penny accepted her husband's affection.
"I'm never gonna drink wine again...like ever!" William said while walking back to join his parents.
"No problem buddy..." said Leonard, pulling his son to sit between them.
"Daddy...are you and mommy gonna make a new baby?" asked the young man, surprising his parents again.
"Who told you that!?" asked Leonard.
"Oh my god!" Penny said, bowing her head.
"No one told me daddy...I just know that mommy's and daddy's make babies that's all." William said.
"Okay sweetie, you listen to me and you listen real good...your father and I are not having another baby, do you understand?" Penny said, looking William in the eye.
"But why not?" asked the young man. "It would be nice if I had a baby brother that I can play with." he added.
"Because having another baby is not that easy...it's a lot of responsibility for me and your father." said Penny. "And if we have another baby, you're gonna have to share your toys with him?...or her?"
"I don't mind..." William said, making his parents smile.
"And why are you suddenly so curious about everything huh?" Penny asked.
"I just want to learn mommy...and I want to know lots of things like daddy and big sister!" said the young boy.
"And what do you want to be when you grow up?" asked Leonard.
"I don't know...a Jedi maybe...or Batman..." William said, making his parents laugh even more.
"And how are you gonna build your lightsaber?" Leonard asked.
"I don't know daddy...can you teach me how?" said William as Sarah came into the living room to join them.
"What's happening?" asked the young lady before sitting on the chair and reaching for the TV remote.
"Daddy's gonna teach me how to build a lightsaber!" William said.
"Lightsaber? What do you need a lightsaber for?" asked Sarah.
"Because I wanna be a Jedi when I grow up!" William said, making his parents laugh.
"A Jedi huh? And how are you gonna power-up that lightsaber of yours?" Sarah asked as she began searching for a show on the TV.
"Uh..." William said before looking up to his father. "Daddy, how can I power my lightsaber?"
Leonard looked at his girls and smiled, deciding to play along with his son. "Well...some scientists believe that making a lightsaber is theoretically possible...if you can make an exotic power source capable of generating that much energy and heat." he told his son.
"That sounds hard...and impossible..." said the young man.
"Well...a couple hundred years ago people were using whale oil to have lights at their homes...then they discovered oil in the ground and not long after that, we were sending people to the moon...with hard work, nothing is impossible buddy...you just have to put your mind into it." said Leonard, hoping to inspire his son.
"So if I study hard and learned math and stuff, I can make great things too?" asked Penny's son.
"You sure can sweetheart!" Penny said, proud of her son. "But you have to learn the small stuff first...just like your sister, she started learning how to read and then she went to math and now look at her...one of the youngest child geniuses in the State of California!" Penny said.
"I'm gonna beat her!" William said, making his parents laugh, proud of how confident he is.
"Yeah you wish!" Sarah chimed in.
"Daddy, can you teach me so I could beat big sister at math and stuff?" William said, not backing down from a little competition.
"Sure buddy...no problem." Leonard said.
"You just wait big sister...one day I'm gonna beat you at math!" William said making his sister laugh.
"Sure little brother...whatever you say." said the young lady, not wanting to discourage her baby brother.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Dr. an Mrs. Hofstadter...thank you for coming." said Ms. Linder, William's classroom teacher.
"What is this about? Is my son in trouble?" asked Penny as they settle inside the principal's office.
"No...your son is not in trouble." said the lady sitting behind the desk, Principal Meyer. "Actually, it's on the contrary." she said, handing a piece of paper to the couple.
"I gave this homework to my class since they've just begun learning to add numbers. I had them add the numbers from one to a hundred...to keep them occupied." said Ms. Meyer. "But your son finished his even before the entire class even got to the door, telling Ms. Meyer that he was done." said the principal, surprising the couple.
"I didn't believe it at first so I went to the computer and tried it out...and your son was right." said Ms. Linder as Penny looked at her son's work, still unable to understand how he was able to do what he did. Leonard looked at the paper and can't help but feel proud, seeing the correct solution that his son did.
"I don't know what to say." Penny said to William's teacher before facing Leonard. "Honey?"
"It's the correct approach...I mean, adding one hundred to one, ninety-nine to two and so on makes fifty pairs of a hundred and one...you just multiply it and you'll get five thousand and fifty...see that?" he said, pointing at the paper.
"Dr. Hofstadter, your son is obviously a bright boy...this proves that he's too smart for his classes now." said the principal. "It's not surprising at all since his big sister is as bright as he is."
"What do you think we should do now?" asked Penny.
"Well what I'm going to suggest is to have him assessed by a professional." Principal Meyer said.
"Like a child psychologist?" said Leonard.
"Yes...that way, we'll know how advanced his intellect is." said Principal Meyer.
Leonard nodded, seeing the principal's point. "Okay...what do you think honey?' he asked his wife.
"I don't know...I don't want to spook him or something." Penny said.
"I understand your mother is a psychologist right?" asked the principal.
"And a neuroscientist..." Leonard added.
"Well...maybe your mother can recommend one of her colleagues to assess your son...at least she would be invested since it's her grandson." Principal Meyer said.
"I guess I could call her about it." said Leonard before looking at Penny. "Don't worry honey, I won't let anyone hurt our son."
Penny nodded, knowing that the extent of her son's intellect is worth looking into. "I guess you're right..." she said.
Leonard smiled and kissed Penny on her cheek. "Good job honey...your son is as smart as your daughter..." he said.
"I guess we're done here." said the principal. "Ms. Linder, is there anything else you'd like to say?"
"Well now that we're on the subject...I'd like to tell Dr. and Mrs. Hofstadter how...'lively' their son is." said Ms. Linder, making the couple smile as they understood what she meant.
"Is he giving you a hard time in class?" Penny asked.
"No...not really...but I gotta say, your son doesn't run out of counter points every time I try to explain things in class...sometimes a little too much." said William's teacher.
Penny rolled her eyes and looked at her husband. "Honey, what have we done?" she said.
Leonard rubbed his hand on Penny's back to console her. "I've been asking myself the same question for four years now." he said, making Penny laugh.
"Well it's not that your son is a bad kid or anything...he's just a little too...'opinionated' if that makes it any better." said Ms. Linder.
"Trust me Ms. Linder, we know exactly what you mean." said Leonard.
"Don't worry, we'll talk to him." said Penny.
"So I guess that's it...thank you for coming Dr. and Mrs. Hofstadter." said Principal Meyer before shaking their hands.
"Thank you." Leonard said, shaking the principal and teacher's hands.
"You should be proud of your son...I've been a teacher for almost ten years now and this is the first time that a bright child like this came under my care...so this if fairly new to me too." said Ms. Linder.
"Thank you." Penny said before going out of the principal's office and heading home with her husband. She wrapped her hand around Leonard's arm as they walked toward the parking lot.
"Hey, are you okay?" Leonard asked.
Penny smiled at him. "I'm great honey...I'm just so proud of my baby boy..." she said.
"I'm proud with both of them...they didn't just get my curly hair but what's underneath as well!" he said, making Penny laugh.
"Do you think we can transfer him to Sarah's school?" asked Penny.
"It's possible...but maybe we should wait until we had him checked out..." said Leonard.
"Yeah about that...I'm not so sure about it..." Penny said.
"Why not?" Leonard asked.
Penny took a deep breath. "I just don't want him to feel different from the other kids...like someone being experimented on..."
"I know what you mean...let's talk to my mom first...so we'll know how to approach William with it." Leonard said.
"Okay..." Penny said as they reach their car.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Later that afternoon, William came into the living room, putting his backpack on the side before joining his parents in the couch.
"How's school buddy?" Leonard asked, putting his son between him and Penny.
"It was okay daddy." said the young man, grabbing the TV remote and looking for his favorite cartoon show.
"Well I have a treat for my smart and handsome son!" Penny said before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, making William excited.
"Really? Is it a cupcake?" asked the young man.
"I bought a tub of chocolate ice cream!" said Penny, making her son exited.
William jumped off the couch and pulled on his mother's hand. "Come on mommy...I want to have some ice cream now!" said the young man, making the couple laugh.
"Okay okay! Just don't pull my arm off my shoulder!" Penny said, following the young boy while Leonard laughed a little, amused at how active his son can be when it comes to food, especially ice cream.
"Why did you buy a tub of ice cream mommy? Is it your birthday?" asked William as Penny began scooping some ice cream for her son with Leonard joining them in the kitchen.
"Well your father and I came from your school and we talked to your teacher Ms. Linder." said Penny. "And guess what..." she said, giving the mug filled with ice cream to her son.
"What?" asked the young man.
"She told us how you were able to solve that homework in just a few minutes." said Penny.
"Oh that? That was nothing really." William said as he started eating his ice cream.
Leonard lightly ruffled his son's hair. "Did your sister teach you how to do that?" he asked.
"Well kinda...but not really." William said.
"Well in any case, me and your dad are so proud of you." Penny said before leaning over to kiss her son. "You're gonna be a genius just like your sister!" she added as Sarah came into the kitchen to join them.
"Hey!" said the young lady, putting her bag on the kitchen counter. "What's going on?"
"I'm gonna be a genius big sister!" William exclaimed, making his parents laugh.
"What are you talking about?" Sarah asked, knowing that her little brother probably did something trivial.
Leonard then gave William's homework to Sarah. "Your little brother did this." he said.
Sarah took the piece of paper and looked at it. "Hmm...good job little brother!" she said, giving her brother a high five.
"You taught him how to do this?" asked Penny.
"Not really...I just taught him to use his imagination on how to solve a problem...you know, to make it easier..." said Sarah, making her parents smile.
"That's nice honey...I'm so proud of you." said Leonard while kissing his daughter on her temples.
"Mommy bought a tub of ice cream...do you want some?" William said, already halfway through his cup.
"You go ahead little brother...I'll have some after dinner." said Sarah.
"Okay...just don't be surprised if there's little ice cream left for you later..." said the young man, making them all laugh.
"Sweetie...you can't eat too much ice cream...you're gonna ruin your dinner." said Penny.
"Don't worry mommy...in case you forgot, food is my best friend!" said William, making Leonard and Sarah laugh and Penny roll her eyes.
"Okay William Hofstadter, you only get two cups of ice cream for today, you understand?" Penny said, giving him a straight look.
William looked at his father. "I know that mommy is serious when she calls me by my full name." he said, making Leonard laugh. "I understand Mrs. Penny Hofstadter!" he added before quickly jumping off his chair and running to the living room, cutting off Penny's chance of getting back at him.
"She got you there mom!" Sarah said, laughing out loud before following her brother out of the kitchen.
Penny sighed and shook her head. "Leonard, what have we done?" she asked.
Leonard moved closer to console his wife. "I know honey..."
"Why do you have to give him that big brain of yours?" Penny asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Yeah...and you seem to have given him too much of your sassiness..." Leonard said, making Penny laugh a little.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Later that night, William knocked on his parent's bedroom door.
"Hey buddy...are you okay?" Leonard said, after opening the door, seeing his son with his stuffed toy wookie in his arm.
"Daddy, can I sleep here with you and mommy?" asked William.
"What's the matter sweetheart? I thought you wanted to be Batman? He's not afraid of anything right?" Penny said, slightly teasing her son.
"I don't have my cape and mask on...so for now I'm just William Hofstadter." said the young boy, making Leonard laugh.
Penny smiled, seeing how cute and adorable her son is. "Come here sweetheart..." she said as William ran inside before jumping on the bed to join his mother.
"Thank you mommy." said the young man before making himself comfortable in Penny's arms.
"Ugh...you're welcome sweetie... mommy loves you so much." said Penny as Leonard joined them on the bed.
"I love you too mommy." said William before kissing his mother on her cheek.
Penny hugged her son tight, thankful at how sweet and affectionate he is. "Ugh...my son is so sweet..." she said.
William slightly turned to look at his father. "Did you see that daddy? That's how you do it so mommy won't get mad at you." he said, making the couple laugh.
"I'll keep that in mind buddy." Leonard said, kissing his son and his wife before turning off the lamp on his night stand. "Now let's get some sleep." he said before pulling the blanket over them as William snuggled up to his mother, feeling her loving embrace as they slowly drift off to sleep.