Chapter 41
"Are you sure this is a good idea Leonard?" Alfred asked as they waited in the living room for Penny and Sarah to get ready for their visit to Beverly in New Jersey.
"It's gonna be fine dad." he said. "I told mom to do this not as a favor to me or you but for her granddaughter who only wants her family to be together." he added.
"Okay. I just don't want her to make any scene or drama." said Alfred. "You know how she takes the smallest things and blow them out of proportion." he added.
"Believe it or not, mom has changed quite a bit. She's not so scary now, unlike before when she can literally bite your head off if you piss her off or something." said Leonard.
"I know the feeling son." said Alfred, giving Leonard a weak smile. The girls came out of the bedroom already dressed and ready for their visit to New Jersey.
Leonard smiled upon seeing Penny and Sarah all made-up and looking beautiful. "Wow! You two look amazing!" he said kissing them on the cheek.
"Thank you daddy! Danica did really good in fixing up my hair." said Sarah.
"She sure did honey." he said. "Are you ready to visit your grandma?" Leonard said.
"Yes daddy!" she said, holding her father's hand and Penny's as they all went out of the apartment.
After almost an hour and a half of driving, they arrived at Leonard's childhood home, with Leonard parking the car on the side of the street, opposite the house.
"Is that the house you grew up in daddy?" asked Sarah.
"Uh huh. Looks like nothing much changed actually." said Leonard as they unbuckled their seat belts, Alfred making sure it was safe to cross, holding his granddaughter's hand while Penny held Leonard's. They walked up the pathway and stood on the porch, ringing the doorbell. Sarah ran up to Beverly as soon as she opened the door.
"Merry Christmas grandma!" said Sarah, hugging her grandmother.
"Ugh! Merry Christmas too dear! I missed you so much!" she said as she welcomed them into the house. "Come in, Cathy's finishing up in the kitchen." said Beverly. "Are you having a wonderful time?" she asked the child.
"l am grandma! We went to the Statue of Liberty. We went to the park and the best of all is I'm gonna have a new mommy!" said Sarah as she sat beside Beverly, making Leonard and Penny smile.
"Uh, what do you mean you're going to have a new mommy?" Beverly asked when Penny decided to chime in.
"Leonard proposed to me the other night." Penny said while showing her engagement ring to Beverly.
"Congratulations!" Beverly said giving Penny's hand a light squeeze.
"Thank you Beverly. These two kept their plan a secret from me." she said, looking at Leonard.
"Good thing you taught Sarah well on how to keep a secret." Leonard added, making Sarah laugh as Cathy walked in, coming from the kitchen.
"What was the congratulations all about?" Cathy asked.
"Daddy proposed to Penny aunt Cathy!" Sarah said.
"Oh my god! That is so amazing!" she said while looking at the ring on Penny's finger and giving her a hug. "Hi dad! Nice to see you again." said Cathy, giving Alfred a hug.
"Merry Christmas sweetheart. How's the store?" said Alfred.
"Well, we just finished the renovation and we had to hire a couple more guys to keep up with the holiday season. So, it's getting better I guess." she said. "Anyway, I gotta go back in the kitchen. Lunch will be ready, maybe ten minutes." said Cathy.
"Do you need any help back there?" Penny asked.
"Sure! If you want." said Cathy.
"Come on sweetie, let's help your aunt Cathy in the kitchen." said Penny.
"Okay mommy!" said Sarah, holding on to Penny's hand.
Once they were out of sight, Leonard decided to break the ice between her parents.
"Mom, thanks for letting dad come with us. I know this is difficult for both of you but can you keep it together just for one day?" said Leonard.
"Don't worry dear. It's Christmas so I guess we could let the past be history, right Alfred." said Beverly.
"You're right Beverly and thank you for letting me come and visit. I know you still haven't forgiven me for, you know." He said.
"I'm trying to let it go Alfred." she said. "I figured, what kind of message do we teach Sarah if we let her see us bicker and fight. That little girl has definitely taught me a thing or two about life." she added.
"I couldn't agree more." said Alfred, making Leonard sigh with relief to see his parents not come at each other's throats.
"Okay, lunch is ready!" said Penny coming from the kitchen.
The three of them stood up and went to the kitchen, joining Cathy, Penny and Sarah on the table to have lunch.
"Wow, that smells really good!" said Alfred.
"Thanks dad. This is mom's old recipe." Cathy said.
"Yeah, I remember." said Alfred as they took their seats around the table. Penny helped Sarah with her plate to make sure she doesn't spill any food on her dress.
They started eating with Sarah telling her stories to Beverly, Alfred and Cathy about their trip to the Statue of Liberty, Coney Island and the shopping spree the day before including their time at the salon. Beverly and Alfred made sure to chime in from time to time, glad to see their granddaughter's face light up as she told them her stories.
"It seems like you're having a nice time huh?" asked Beverly.
"l am grandma. I have daddy! I have new mommy! I have you and grandpa and aunt Cathy!" she said making the adults a little emotional at the child's affection, feeling her deep longing for a complete family.
"Don't worry honey, your mom and I will always be here for you." said Leonard, holding his daughter's hand.
"He's right sweetheart. Your dad and I would never leave you." Penny added.
"I know mom, I just wish our family is not a broken family." said Sarah, surprising the adults in the table.
"Honey, didn't I tell you, our family is not broken. Your grandpa and grandma love you so much. Don't forget that." Leonard said, rubbing his daughter's back.
"Sarah, why do you think our family is broken?" asked Beverly, fixing her glasses.
"I mean, you and grandpa are not together anymore right?" she said making Cathy gasp, covering her mouth with her hand, saddened by her niece's remark.
"Sarah honey, your grandma and I went through some problems and we decided it was best for us to separate so we won't make matters worse." said Alfred, worried Sarah might cry.
"What problems grandpa?" Sarah asked.
"Oh? Uh, it's a little difficult to explain, its just some grown-up stuff really." said Alfred
"I'm smart, I'm sure I could figure it out." She said.
"You are smart honey, but you have to take our word for it when we say you're still young and it's not appropriate for you to hear some grown-up stuff. Do you believe me?" Alfred asked his granddaughter.
Sarah nodded. "I do grandpa. It's just that when I was at school, our teacher asked the whole class about our grandmas and grandpas. All the other kid's grandmas and grandpas were still together and I'm the only one different. I had no mommy, my grandma and grandpa are not together, all I had was my daddy." Sarah said as she bowed her head and began to cry.
Penny quickly got off her seat and went to her step-daughter to hug her and calm her down. "Oh my god sweetie, don't cry. You have me now. I'm gonna be your mommy now." she said, kissing her on the cheek.
"I wish I was just a normal kid with a normal family, mommy." said Sarah, still crying.
"Oh honey! Don't say that. You're very special to us. We all love you, don't forget that." Penny said, hugging her tight as Leonard knelt beside them, kissing his daughter.
"Honey listen to me, your mom is right, we all love you very much." said Leonard, hugging them both tight. "And don't you ever think that our family is broken alright? And don't let anyone tell you otherwise, do you hear me?" said Leonard.
Sarah nodded, resting her head on Penny's shoulder, calming down a little bit.
Beverly looked at Alfred, somewhat ashamed of the effect of their separation to their granddaughter. Alfred sighed and decided to talk to the little girl.
"Listen to me sweetheart, I'm sorry if you feel that way about our family. But you have to believe me that our family is not broken. Can you do that for me?" said Alfred, looking her directly in the eye.
Sarah nodded. "I believe you grandpa." she said, hugging her grandfather.
"Thank you sweetheart. Your grandma and I love you so much, don't forget that." Alfred said.
"I love you too grandpa." said Sarah.
Beverly then went beside the child and hugged her, kissing her cheeks. "I'm so sorry dear. Can you forgive me and your grandpa?" Beverly asked.
"Yes grandma." said Sarah.
Beverly hugged Sarah again. "Thank you dear." said Beverly as Sarah began to calm down. "Hey, I haven't told you this but your Christmas present is in my room." said Beverly, hoping the child would be distracted.
"Really?" she asked as Beverly wiped her tears.
"Yes, and if you want, we can go upstairs so you can find out what it is." Beverly.
Sarah got off her seat. "Okay grandma." she said as Beverly held her hand to the stairs. "Grandpa got me a microscope and a math book." said the child as they climbed up the stairs.
"Wow. That's so nice of him. I hope you'll love the one I got for you." said Beverly.
At the table, Penny pushed her face on Leonard's shoulder. "I hate seeing her cry honey." she said, wiping her tears.
"Me too." said Leonard while hugging his fiancé.
"I'm so sorry about this Leonard. I never should have come here." said Alfred.
Leonard sighed. "Don't blame yourself dad. It was bound to happen anyway. But at least this time I have Penny with me to care for her." he said.
"He's right dad. Sarah's not the only one who feels like this. Even Michael's kids somehow feel the same way, but at least he has his wife to explain the situation to them unlike Sarah who only had Leonard for most of her life. It was until Penny came along." Cathy added.
"Yeah. Thank god she did. Do you know how difficult it is for Sarah and me to use a public restroom?" he asked. "I have to go and find a nice lady to help her out inside. The same goes if I use the men's restroom. I have to find a safe place to leave her for five minutes before I could go and take a leak." he said.
Penny glared at him. "So, what you're saying is you only got together with me so your daughter would have someone to go with her in a public restroom?" asked Penny.
"Yes." Leonard said, smiling at her.
Penny punched him lightly on the arm. "You're a jackass!" she said, making Cathy laugh.
Sarah and Beverly came down from upstairs, carrying a box about three feet long.
"Look mommy! Grandma got me a telescope!" said Sarah.
"Oh my god that is so nice honey!" Penny said. "We'll set it up in your bedroom when we get home okay?" she added.
"Okay mommy." said Sarah.
They continued to sit in the living room as Sarah told her stories about school and her new friends to Beverly and Cathy while Leonard, Penny and Alfred chimed in from time to time while they were having tea, enjoying their family time together. Around two in the afternoon, Penny decided to put Sarah in Beverly's bedroom for a short nap when she saw her step-daughter yawn while leaning against Beverly. Leonard carried his daughter upstairs with Penny following close behind to tuck her in.
"You sleep here for a while okay sweetie? Your dad and I are gonna be downstairs." Penny said while kissing the child on her forehead.
"Yes mommy." said Sarah as she closed her eyes, resting her head on the pillow. Penny took Leonard's hand as they close the bedroom door and went down to the living room to join Beverly, Alfred and Cathy in the living room.
"How is she feeling?" Alfred asked as Penny and Leonard sat down on the couch.
"Tired and heavy I guess." Penny said.
"We're sorry about your daughter Leonard." said Alfred.
"Don't worry about it dad." he said smiling at his father. "She's gonna be fine now that Penny's here with her." he added, squeezing Penny's hand.
"He's right dear." said Beverly to Leonard. "I guess we're just stubborn to realize the effect of our separation to the kids." she added.
"It's alright mom. I guess she just let out all the longing she had for a complete family. I mean, before we met Penny, it was just me and her. It was hard for me raising her alone but I guess it was more difficult for her, given her very young mind." said Leonard.
"Well at least she's not the shy kid anymore." Cathy chimed in.
"You're right. Penny really made her come out of her shell." said Beverly.
Penny smiled, touched by the compliment from Leonard's family. "Thank you Beverly. It means a lot." she said.
"She's right honey. Remember when you first met us at the restaurant? Whenever she wants to say something, she would always whisper in my ear, but now she doesn't shy away from expressing herself." he said. "You may not notice it but you've been a positive influence on her." he added.
"Aww honey!" Penny said, looking at Leonard.
"I mean it. She's more lively now. More so when you two are always ganging up and keeping secrets from me." said Leonard.
"We're just trying to see how far we can push you honey." Penny said.
"Hey, I'm not mad." said Leonard. "If anything else, I'm quite glad to see Sarah opening up, especially when Bernadette and Amy joined our circle of friends. Before it was just me and the guys in her life and I gotta tell you, four guys is not the best team to raise a young girl especially when that team is made up of Sheldon, Raj and Howard." he said making Penny laugh.
"Yeah, it's like seeing The Beatles and Yoko Ono trying to take care of a puppy or something huh?" Penny said making all of them laugh.
Sarah woke up around five in the afternoon. Penny took her to the kitchen to help Cathy prepare dinner. After dinner, they said their goodbyes to Beverly and Cathy with Leonard promising his daughter that they'll visit Beverly again before they fly back to California.
They spent the rest of their vacation going to the other tourist spots in New York. The couple took Sarah to the public skating rink where Leonard proposed to Penny. Penny was right when she said to Leonard that they would have a hard time getting the child off the skating rink.
After spending almost two weeks in New York, the young family went back home to California, bringing a lot of souvenirs, selfies and happy memories. Sarah was the happiest as she received the best gift for Christmas - a new mother.