Chapter 10

Leonard woke up at seven in the morning feeling refreshed. He went straight to the bathroom to freshen up and empty himself from last night's dinner. He was done after ten minutes and went straight to his desk and opened his laptop to check if he has any emails. He closed the laptop and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He got all the ingredients from the cupboard and refrigerator and set them all on the kitchen counter. Leonard began cooking. Half an hour later, he was almost done and took out some fruits from the fridge and began peeling and slicing them. He looked at the stove from time to time to make sure none of the food he was cooking gets burnt. He replaced the coffee grounds n the coffee maker and made a fresh pot. Around ten minutes to eight, everything was done the same time Sarah came out of her bedroom.

He helped his daughter to the bathroom and told her to wash her hands. Sarah got excited when Leonard told her that Penny would join them for breakfast. Leonard took his phone and texted Penny that breakfast is ready.

L: [Good morning! You awake now?]

After a few minutes she replied.

P: [Not yet! I'm still sleeping….]

L: [Breakfast is getting cold...hurry or Sarah will eat all of it…]

P: [ok...be there in five...{heart emoji} {smiley face}]

After six minutes she knocked on the door and Leonard opened it and welcomed her in. She was wearing her robe and had her hair tied in a ponytail.

"Coffee?" Leonard offered her.

"Ugh...thank you….good morning sweetie.." she said as she lightly pinched Sarah's cheek.

"Good morning Penny…" the child replied to her.

Leonard handed Penny a cup of coffee. She took a sip and was instantly rejuvenated.

"Ok...let's eat!" Leonard announced as they began to put food onto their plate. The breakfast he prepared were Belgian waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, sliced apples and oranges and an orange juice for his daughter. They had some sliced bread on the side while Sarah put a healthy stream of maple syrup on her waffles.

"Oh my god Leonard...these waffles are delicious…" Penny exclaimed as she was chewing her food..."these are even better than the waffles they serve at the restaurant!"

"I knew you'd like it that's why I made plenty for the three of us." Leonard smiled at her while Sarah was quietly chomping down her food.

"Penny you wanna come play with me in the park?" Sarah blurted out as she took an apple slice from the platter.

"Uh...honey...Penny might have other plans for today so it's just gonna be me and you alright.." Leonard quickly said so Penny would not be obliged.

"Well actually...my shift starts at three this afternoon and I'm not doing anything really...so yeah I'll go to the park with you sweetie!" Penny smiled at her.

"Yay!" Sarah exclaimed.

After fifteen minutes, all the waffles were gone and they were stuffed. Sarah burped and excused herself making Leonard and Penny burst out laughing.

"Ugh...that was great...I don't think I've ever eaten that much breakfast before in my life…" Penny said as she stood up and patted her belly.

"Well...we're going to the park so we'll probably burn most of it anyways…" Leonard said as he started to tidy up the kitchen island. "Sarah honey...you better go wash up and change so we could go to the park now...and don't forget to brush your teeth."

Penny helped her get down from her chair. She ran to the bathroom.

"I probably should freshen up and get changed too huh?….I'll be back in fifteen…" Penny said as she walked back to her apartment.

They walked out of their building while Sarah holds on to her father's hand. Leonard and Penny made small talk as the park was only three blocks away from their building. There are plenty of trees there so it wouldn't be a problem if the sun got too high.

They arrived at the park and there were already several kids playing and running around while their babysitters watched them. Sarah immediately went for the playground and Leonard quickly followed her. Penny decided to sit on a bench to watch Sarah play as Leonard watches his daughter in case she falls or trips.

"Hi!" as a woman in her late thirty's greeted Penny. She was pushing a stroller with a baby boy sleeping inside.

"Hi!" Penny greeted her back.

"I'm Stacy by the way...and this is Jack right here…so which one is yours?" she asked as she nodded towards the kids on the playground.

"Oh...Uh...I'm not a babysitter...I'm with Leonard and Sarah over there…I'm Penny by the way.." Penny replied.

"Oh right...Leonard and Sarah…" Stacy nodded.

Penny protested immediately "Oh...no, no, no. I'm with them. But I'm not 'with' them...you see I live across the hall from their apartment…and we're friends..." she added.

"Hey...you don't have to explain yourself...ok?" Stacy assured her.

"Do you know Leonard?" Penny asked.

"Sure...almost everyone who comes here knows them...you know...what happened to Sarah's mom and all?…" Stacy replied.

"Yeah...Leonard told me about that…" Penny answered looking back at Leonard and Sarah.

A few minutes later, Sarah came running back to Penny and pulled on her hand.

"Penny come on!...I wanna play on the swing!...please!" she told Penny as Leonard followed closely breathing heavily.

"Tag!...you're it!" Leonard tapped Penny's shoulder as he sat on the bench. "Hi Stacy!" he greeted her.

"Hey!" Stacy nodded at him.

Penny surrendered as she followed Sarah to the swing. She helped her get on it and pushed her lightly. Sarah swung happily as Penny made sure she didn't lose balance or fall off.

"Wow Leonard!….Sarah seems to bond really well with Penny huh?…" Stacy said as she looks at them.

"Yeah…. I know…." Leonard sighed as he looks at Penny and Sarah playing and laughing.