Chapter 43
"Sarah sweetheart, take it easy on carrying those boxes. You don't want to strain your arms or something." said Penny.
"Your mom is right honey, the apartment is not going anywhere." said Leonard.
"I know dad, I'm just excited that mommy is moving in with us." said Sarah as she carried the box across to 4A as Penny and Leonard shook their heads, amused with Sarah's enthusiasm.
"Do you remember when we found out we were going to be neighbors?" asked Penny.
Leonard smiled as he put some of Penny's kitchen utensils on the box. "Yeah, I was so nervous back then and I was trying hard to hide my crush on you. Good thing my daughter was there to make it more awkward." he said as Penny laughed.
"Me too. When I got to my car that morning, my hands were shaking and I almost hit another car when I was driving out of the curb." she said surprising Leonard.
"Wow, I must really made an impression on you huh?" he asked.
"Yeah, that might be stretching it a lot mister." she said giving him the look as Sarah came back.
"Dad, is it okay if I play with my X-Box?" she asked.
"Go ahead sweetheart. We have the whole week to carry my stuff over to your apartment." said Penny as Sarah ran back into the apartment, closing the door behind her.
Leonard smiled and held Penny's hand. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he said teasing her.
Penny rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you're unbelievable!" she said slapping his arm.
Leonard pulled her into the bedroom. "Come on, you're leaving this apartment behind and we have to make good use of it until the last day." he said as he closed the bedroom door before pulling Penny close to kiss her and remove her clothes. Penny giggled and smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck while kissing him passionately.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A week after Penny moved in to 4A, Leonard was seated on his desk, typing on his computer while Sarah was watching some TV as Penny came into the living room.
"Honey, I was thinking of bringing Sarah with me to the mall." said Penny.
"Okay. Are you guys going to the salon?" he asked without taking his attention from his computer screen.
"No, we're going to buy some stuff for the house. I was thinking of redecorating this place, you know, make it look a little more homier." said Penny.
Leonard turned around. "And you think this place does not look homey enough?" he asked.
"No." she said. "Look around you and tell me how many 'nerd' stuff can you find?" she said.
Leonard took a deep breath and turned back to his computer. "Fine. Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.
"We're good. Right sweetie?" she said giving Sarah a high five.
"Yes mom." said the child.
"Come on. Let's get you changed so we can leave your father in peace." she said as she pulled Sarah to her bedroom to change her clothes. After a few minutes, they came out of the bedroom all ready for their trip to the mall. They went to Leonard and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "We're going honey." she said.
"Okay. You girls have fun alright!" said Leonard as he kissed Sarah on the cheek.
"Bye daddy!" said his daughter as she held Penny's hand before going out of the apartment, closing the door behind them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After almost five hours at the mall, Penny called Leonard to help them carry the stuff they bought for the house. He went down the elevator and was surprised to see a truckload of shopping bags filled with drapes, bed sheets, pillow cases, vases, display pieces and other stuff for the house.
"What did you do? Buy the whole mall?" he asked as he took half of the bags from the trunk of Penny's car.
"Relax honey. We didn't go overboard or anything." said Penny.
"She's right daddy. Just trust us and it will be fine." said Sarah as they went to the building and into the elevator carrying the bags.
"I just hope you didn't spend too much money on this stuff." he said.
"Would you just relax! Don't you think I know that?" said Penny.
Leonard sighed. "Fine. So I guess you two would be taking charge of this redecorating thing huh?" he said.
"You bet honey." said Penny smiling at him as Sarah nodded her head.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next Saturday, Leonard had to go to the university to finish setting up their new lab equipment with a few grad students to help him out. Luckily, it was Penny's day off so Sarah wouldn't be alone in the house. He came from the bedroom ready for work as Sarah and Penny were in the kitchen, cleaning up.
"Okay, I'm going now. You girls have fun alright?" he said as he kissed his girls on the cheeks.
"Bye daddy!" said his daughter.
"Don't worry about us honey. We'll start redecorating today, right sweetheart!?" she said.
"Right mommy!" said Sarah, visibly excited.
"Okay, just be careful alright?" he said.
Penny gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Don't worry honey, we'll be careful." she said as Leonard went to his desk, making sure he has everything he needed before going out the door while Penny and Sarah waved goodbye to him.
As soon as Leonard left, Penny knelt in front of her step-daughter. "Okay, here's what were gonna do, we're gonna put all your dad's 'nerd' stuff in that big box over there alright?" she said.
Sarah smiled and laughed. "Okay mommy." said the child.
"Good, but we have to careful not to break them okay? Your dad won't appreciate it if Iron Man lost an arm or a leg." she said smiling at the child.
The girls then went into overdrive, putting away almost all of Leonard's 'nerd' stuff in a box while putting up the new drapes and other stuff that they bought from the mall while cleaning and dusting around the apartment. Sarah was happily humming as she helped her stepmother redecorate their apartment. After being satisfied with their work in the living room, they then went to redecorate the bedrooms, starting with Sarah's replacing the old bed sheets and pillow cases with the new ones they bought. They also put up a couple of stylish posters showing a few farm animals and nature scenes that Sarah liked when they were at the mall.
After Sarah's bedroom, they they went to work on Penny and Leonard's bedroom, doing the same thing they did with Sarah's, replacing everything and cleaning up all the unnecessary junk that they didn't need.
After redecorating the whole morning and afternoon, the girls looked at their work, satisfied and happy with the result as they rested on the couch.
"We did good right mom?" said Sarah as they leaned on the couch.
"We sure did sweetheart." said Penny giving Sarah a high five.
"Do you think daddy will like it?" Sarah asked.
"I'm sure he will." said Penny. "Now why don't you go into the bathroom and take a shower, you already smell funny." she said while sniffing the child's armpit making her giggle and laugh.
"Okay mommy." she said as she ran to the bathroom to take a shower.
"Call me if you need anything alright?" Penny yelled.
"I got it mom!" Sarah said as she closed the bathroom door.
After Sarah was done showering, Penny took her turn in the bathroom, cleaning herself up from the dust and sweat she had from working the whole day.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Leonard arrived at the apartment around six in the evening and was greatly surprised when he saw the newly redecorated apartment, seeing the new drapes, display pieces, throw pillows and other stuff that Penny and Sarah bought from the mall.
"Wow! This place looks amazing!" he said as he put his satchel on his desk before going to Penny in the kitchen island as she prepares their dinner. He kissed Penny on the cheek before doing the same with his daughter.
"Do you like what we did daddy?" asked Sarah.
"I do. You girls really did a great job!" he said as he looked around and was dumbfounded when he saw his 'nerd' stuff missing from the book cases. "Uh honey, where are my action figures?" he asked.
"Oh, we put them away in the storage closet!" said Penny as she stirred the pot on the stove.
"Why did you do that?" he asked as he walked up to her.
"Because we don't want this place looking like Stuart's comic book store." she said as Sarah went to Penny to help her out. "Why, do you have a problem with that?" Penny asked as she looked at him while Sarah did the same, waiting for his response.
Leonard sighed and didn't answer her and immediately went to their bedroom finding the same situation inside. He went back to the living room to ask the girls.
"Where is my Bat Signal?" he asked.
"Honey, we just put them away." Penny said. "Don't worry, we were careful and didn't break any of them." she said.
Leonard went to sit on the couch, pushing his face on his hands and trying to keep himself from freaking out.
"Honey, I thought you like how the apartment looked?" said Penny as she sat beside him.
"I did. I just don't like it when you mess with my collection." he said.
"But daddy, we were careful and we didn't break any of them. I promise." said Sarah as she sat beside his father.
Leonard took a deep breath. "Fine." he said smiling at his daughter. "Don't worry honey, I'm okay now." he said kissing his daughter.
Penny put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "We're sorry honey. It's just we had so much fun today and we didn't think it would upset you if we put your collectibles in storage." she said.
Leonard nodded and kissed his fiance. "I'm okay now. Don't worry about it." he said. "So what's for dinner?" he asked.
Penny stood up and pulled him into the kitchen island. "Come on, I want you to relax while I finish up here!" she said smiling at him as Sarah followed them to have dinner.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After dinner, Penny put Sarah in bed to rest before going to their bedroom where Leonard was also getting ready to sleep. She entered the bedroom and saw Leonard looking out the window. Penny walked towards her fiance and hugged him from behind, kissing his neck.
"Are you still mad at me?" she asked.
Leonard turned around and put his arms around her waist, before kissing her lips. "I'm okay now." he said smiling at her.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yes." he said. "I guess I could let it go. At least Sarah is enjoying herself now that you're here with us." he said. "Nothing beats seeing your daughter happy." he added.
Penny hugged him tight. "Thank you honey." she said before kissing him again.
"And I must admit, the apartment does look great!" he said.
"Do you mean that?" she asked.
"Yeah. It feels more, cozy, more lively." he said making Penny excited.
Penny kissed him again. "Thank you sweetheart. You're so great." she said hugging him tight.
"Hmm, I like where this is going." he said winking at her.
Penny smiled and quickly turned off the light before jumping at him, kissing him hard while Leonard undid her robe, feeling her warm body against his as they jumped on the bed to make love.