A/N. I'm starting this A/N two days before hurricane Ian is scheduled to hit here. It's currently forecasted to be a category three storm and the path currently takes us through the eye. So, we have extra water, extra canned food, and I have a generator with 17 gallons of gas, so we are about as ready as we will ever be. See you on the other side…
ETA: Okay, so after the storm… Ian turned out to be a monster. It came onshore as an almost category five with winds of 150 MPH. Fortunately, for us, it came in over 100 miles south of us. The Fort Myers area was not so lucky.
As it was, I spent four days without full power (the generator to give us needed power, Fridge, fans, battery, phone chargers, etc.), but we were also without internet. I've spent the last three days clearing the dead palm fronds from the yard. So, while I am so sorry this chapter is late, all in all, a week's delay isn't that bad, considering the condition we could have been in. On the bright side, there will only be four weeks between this one and the next chapter, instead of five.
Chapter 9: Goodbye Mom and Dad
9 August 7:30 PM
"What do you mean, you won't be going back to work?" said Leonard.
"We don't need to talk about it, here and now," whispered Penny. "We can discuss it after my parents leave."
"But, my dad is coming in on Tuesday," Leonard whispered back. "Will we have enough time to talk about it before?"
"You might want to talk either softer or louder," said Wyatt. "Remember, I have pretty good hearing."
Leonard and Penny looked sheepishly at Wyatt and nodded. "We don't have to talk about this right now," said Leonard. "We can do this tomorrow afternoon."
Penny looked at him, then patted his hand, "Thank you, sweetie, that would be good."
And with that, they returned to their meal and the discussion with Wyatt and Susan about their leaving the next day.
9 August 10:30 PM
After returning home from dinner, Leonard, Penny, and her parents made some small talk and had a glass of wine. Susan was concerned, but Penny pointed out she had enough milk pumped so she could have one. Leonard helped her parents set up a Dropbox account so they could watch the videos Leonard and Penny would take, their email accounts wouldn't accept large video file attachments.
They spoke of what time they should leave the house and then asked when Leonard and Penny thought they might visit Nebraska again. They both admitted they weren't sure, it would depend on when they felt the twins would be ready for the trip, but it would be at least three to four years.
Wyatt nodded and said if that was the case, then with Randall running the farm more, they might make another trip out here next year. Both Penny and Leonard said that would be fine, just let them know, so they could get one of the bedrooms ready. And with that, her parents mentioned they had to finish packing so everyone went upstairs. Her parents to pack and Leonard and Penny to put the twins to bed.
Leonard and Penny had gotten the twins down and then done their evening absolutions and were now laying in bed, Leonard spooning Penny, his arm over her, their hands clasped together. He wondered if he should say something and decided he would, but only as encouragement.
Leonard said, "Penny, I know you don't want to talk about it…"
"I don't Leonard…"
"Just listen to me," said Leonard. "You do what you want to do or what you feel you have to do. Whatever you want to do, I'll go along with it and support you. Just, when we do talk about it, give me the courtesy of telling me what you are thinking. I'm not going to argue about it, but I do want to discuss it, okay?"
Penny sighed, "Yeah, I get that, okay. But, I'm still a bit conflicted about it. Remember, I said I'm not sure, not that I'm not going back."
"Yeah, I remember," said Leonard. "That's why I said I want to talk about it, I may be able to help you decide. And, you should talk to Bernadette about it also, she and Howard both struggled with this, too."
"Yes, I know they did," said Penny. "And, I do plan on talking to her, but, for now, let this go, we can talk about it tomorrow afternoon, after we get back from the airport."
"Okay, that's fair," said Leonard. He kissed her cheek, "Goodnight, Penny, I love you."
She pulled his arm tighter around her and said, "Goodnight, sweetie, I love you too."
With that, they both lay together, spooning, until they drifted off to sleep.
10 August 10:30 AM
Leonard and Wyatt were finishing loading the car, Penny and Susan had finished cleaning up after breakfast, and Louise was watching the twins. Wyatt and Leonard walked into the house and could hear all three women laughing in the kitchen. As they walked towards the kitchen they could see Penny doubled up.
Leonard said, "What is so funny?"
Penny gasped a couple of times before gaining control and said, "I was wiping down the counter and kept scrubbing and Mom wanted to know when I started being such a clean freak. I said it was Louise's fault because she stressed keeping everything clean."
Susan said, "So I thanked Louise for teaching Penny to clean better than I could."
Wyatt and Leonard looked at each other with puzzled faces, then they both shrugged. This elicited another round of laughter from the women. Leonard just shook his head and said, "Are you two ready?"
Penny nodded and said, "Yeah, just let us get our purses."
"And our carryons," said Susan.
With that, the two women walked toward the stairs. As the two women were doing that, Leonard explained to Louise that they would be gone about three hours, an hour there, an hour back, and an hour or so at the airport.
A few minutes later, the women came down with their purses and the two carry-ons. Wyatt and Susan said goodbye to Louise and the four adults got into Penny's car for the ride to the airport. Their flight wasn't until 2:20, but they planned on having lunch at the airport, before planning for an hour in the security line.
They arrived at 11:45 and Leonard dropped them off before going to find a parking place. Half an hour later they were sitting at Starbucks, just outside Terminal four security. They had all ordered coffee and a sandwich for lunch.
They sat there for an hour, talking about what was coming up on the farm, and Wyatt asked Leonard when he would be going back to work. Both couples studiously avoided talking about when Penny would be going back to work.
At 1:15 PM they all got up and started toward the security entrance. They stopped and said their goodbyes, Penny's eyes were noticeably filled with tears. She may have yelled at them, but they were still her parents and she loved them. Susan hugged Leonard, while Wyatt shook hands with them before Penny hugged them both.
With promises to call when they arrived, Susan and Wyatt turned and walked toward security. Leonard had his arm around Penny as they watched her parents walk toward the security entrance. They turned and waved before disappearing into the entrance. Leonard and Penny turned and headed out of the airport.
10 August 2:30 PM
Leonard and Penny had just passed Warner-Brothers studios, Leonard knew because he heard her sigh, when Penny spoke up, "Leonard, how about with discuss my going back to work tonight, after dinner."
"That sounds fine with me," said Leonard.
"I don't want to go too deep into it," said Penny. "But, I will give you some idea of my thinking. Maybe you can help me change my mind or figure out what exactly I want."
"If you don't feel comfortable with it, I don't want to change your mind," said Leonard. "If you're just not sure, then yeah, I'll try to help you, one way or another."
"Okay, we'll talk about it tonight," said Penny.
10 August 6:30 PM
Leonard had started the grill and had just finished preparing the steaks for dinner because it was his turn to cook. Penny was in the living room watching the twins when he heard Penny's phone ring. He couldn't quite hear Penny speaking, so he turned his attention to picking out a couple of potatoes and then started preparing the salad.
He was working on the salad when Penny entered the kitchen. "That was my dad," said Penny. "He said they had just gotten home."
"How was their flight?"
"He said he slept for most of it," said Penny. "They were delayed on the drive home, some big accident on the road to the house. But, they made it."
"Good," said Leonard. "Don't forget, we need to talk about you going back to work."
"Yes, I know," said Penny. "I'm thinking about it now, actually I've been thinking about it for a while now, but I'm still not sure."
"Okay, we have about twenty minutes before we eat," said Leonard.
"I'll bring the playpen and the twins over to the table," said Penny. "That way we can watch them while we eat."
Leonard nodded and when back to preparing the salad.
10 August 7:30 PM
They had cleared the table and washed the dishes. The steaks, along with a salad and baked potato, had been delicious. Leonard was turning out to be a wonderful cook, though Penny. He puts more effort into it than I do, although I have gotten better.
The twins were in their playpen, with Leonard watching them while Penny turned on the dishwasher. She walked out to the living room and sat down next to Leonard and said, "Are you ready?"
"Yes, I am," said Leonard. "Are you?"
"Yep," said Penny.
"Before you start, I just want you to know that I support anything you want to do," said Leonard. "If you work, if you don't, it's up to you."
"Thank you, Leonard, for that," said Penny. "But, I'm really not worried about that. I know you will support me. Okay, here goes. I would like it if you didn't interrupt me. I've got it straight in my head, so let me get it out before it gets all jumbled up. Afterward, you can ask questions or tell me your ideas, okay?"
Leonard nodded and Penny continued, "I want to start out by saying I love Louise. She has been such a big help to us and has taught us so much. However, I'm not sure I want her to be raising our kids. This is nothing against her, I just think that it is something we should be doing. If I'm home, we don't have to worry about someone else raising our girls. I'll be here for them all the time."
"Second, and I hate to admit this but, I'm tired of pumping breast milk," said Penny. "I love when I'm breastfeeding them, but pumping?" Penny shook her head, "I'm not a real big fan. If I'm home, the amount of pumping I'll have to do will be much smaller, just a bit if we go out or have plans."
"But, if I'm going to work every day, I'll have to pump a lot," said Penny. "Some at night, some while I'm at work. I'm worried that it will be too much for me."
Penny turned to Leonard with a smile, "Finally, I know I said I didn't want kids a couple of years ago, but now, I can't see being without them. I just didn't think I would come to love them as much as I have. I don't want to leave them and if I'm working, I'll miss all those little things they do for the first time as they grow up and I know I'll miss them when I'm gone all day at work."
Penny paused then said, "So, there you have it, my current reasons for not being sure I want to go back to work. I want to raise them, I want to feed them and I just want to love them. What do you think?"
Leonard leaned back, he was impressed. Penny's comments were very cognizant, something he didn't think she would have been able to pull off when they first met. But, with her work with Zangen, she had learned a thing or two about putting a "presentation" together.
He smiled at her and said, "I'll handle the last two, first. I suppose pumping could be a problem, but Bernadette pumped for two for a year or so and it didn't bother her, I'm sure you can get some tips from her. But, I realize that women are different, so you might be bothered by it more, there might be something physical that bothers you, so if you don't want to, you don't have to."
"I'm sure you do love them," said Leonard. "I'm not sure I'm going to be happy leaving them when I go back to work, so, I get that. But, Howard and Bernadette fought over who could stay home and they both ended up going back to work, so, again, you might ask Bernadette."
"And, how will you feel, staying home all the time," said Leonard. "If you are home all the time, with the babies, how will that affect you? Will you get bored with them or will trying to deal with two kids at the same time drive you up the wall? And, if that happens how will that affect how you get along with them? It's something to think about, although I will say this again, you and Bernadette are different, so if it works out you want to stay home, stay home."
"The big question is if you want to stay home, will we keep Louise?" asked Leonard.
"I don't know," said Penny. "Can we?"
"From our point of view, I think we could," said Leonard. "Money would be tight, but we could swing it."
"No, I was thinking of keeping her only part-time," said Penny.
"From her point of view, I don't think that would be fair to Louise," said Leonard. "Do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Penny, this is Louise's job," said Leonard. "If you put her on only part-time, she couldn't afford to work with us. She would leave sooner or later, probably sooner, so she could find a job that paid her well enough to live by herself."
"Put it this way," said Leonard. "How would you feel if Zangen wanted to put you on, part-time?"
"Okay, yeah, I see that," said Penny.
"And, then what happens if you want to go back to work?" Asked Leonard.
"Well, I suppose we could always put them in daycare at Caltech if we need to," said Penny.
"Penny, if you decide to go back to work and we put them at the Caltech daycare, won't someone else be raising them? Wouldn't it just be better, if you are unsure, for you to go back to work, and keep Louise?"