Chapter 57
For the next couple of weeks, Leonard spent most of his time with his wife and daughter before his trip to the North Sea. They first went to the beach that weekend, knowing that Penny and Sarah loved spending time there, getting some tan and playing along the sand while Leonard looked at his girls, happy just to watch them having fun under the sun.
"Daddy come on!" Sarah yelled as she pulled Leonard off the beach towel. "We're gonna bury you in the sand!" she added.
"What was that?" Leonard asked as he stood up while Penny joined in pulling him onto the sand.
"Just stay still honey!" said Penny as they lightly pushed Leonard onto the sand to lie down. He laughed as he did as he was told while Sarah and Penny started piling up the sand over him.
"I have a bad feeling about this." he said as he tried to squint to keep out some sand from his eyes. Penny noticed him turning his face away from the sand so she went over and brushed some of the sand away from his face.
"There. Better?" she said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
Leonard laughed a little, glad his wife gave him a little incentive for letting them do what they want. "It's great honey." he said.
"Just stay still daddy! We're trying to turn you into a hunk!" said Sarah, making Penny laugh.
"Okay sweetheart, why don't you get some more water so we can build-up your dad's biceps." Penny said as Sarah took her plastic pail to get more water from the edge of the beach.
After almost ten minutes, the girls stood up to admire their work, giving a high five to each other as Penny took her phone to take a picture of Leonard.
"Smile honey!" Penny said while making sure the camera is in focus. "Say cheese!" she added.
"Cheese!" Leonard said while giving a goofy smile.
"Sarah sweetheart join your father!" Penny told the child as Sarah posed with her father on the sand, doing wacky poses while smiling for the camera.
"Your turn mommy!" Sarah said as she took the phone from Penny to take a picture of the couple. Penny then planted a big kiss on his cheek while Sarah giggled and laugh, seeing her parents' affection for each other. "That is so gross!" she yelled, teasing her parents.
Penny stood up and took the phone from the child to put in her purse, under their beach umbrella. "Come on sweetie, let's swim on the water!" said Penny as they ran towards the water, leaving Leonard behind.
"Hey! I think you forgot something! Or someone!" Leonard yelled as the girls laugh while running away from him. He wiggled himself off the sand and stood up, covered with sand from neck to toe. He then saw his girls on the water and decided to join them. He reached his wife and daughter and dived under the water to wash off the sand from his body before swimming towards them, grabbing Penny's legs while carrying Sarah in his arms.
"Gotcha!" he said making Sarah scream.
"Daddy, you ruined our masterpiece!" Sarah said.
"So, your plan was to leave me out there to bake under the sun!?" Leonard asked, laughing a little.
"Well, we covered you with sand which is a good insulator right?" said Sarah, making the couple laugh.
"She just disproved you with science honey!" Penny said.
"Is that so?" Leonard said as he pushed his face against his daughter's neck, making her scream with laughter.
"Daddy stop it! I'm gonna die!" Sarah exclaimed as she tried to push her father's face away.
Leonard put his daughter down as Penny splashed some water to his face, catching him by surprise. Leonard was surprised and tried to retaliate as the girls teamed up against him, getting him from either side.
They stayed at the beach until around noon when Leonard decided to grab a quick bite before going home to the apartment. Penny and Sarah immediately went to the bathroom to wash-up before changing their clothes so they could rest for the whole afternoon as Leonard had planned for them to go to dinner later before seeing a movie afterwards.
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The following week, the young family went to the ranch for Sarah's horse-riding session. The couple was impressed to see their daughter as she was able to control the horse on her own now, keeping Bunny Rabbit steady in a nice walking pace while Amanda rode beside her, keeping a close eye on the young girl and the horse.
"Good job sweetheart! Just keep up the pace and don't pull on the reins too much!" Penny said as Sarah passed by the couple who was standing by the fence, watching her ride the horse.
"Okay mommy, I got it!" said Sarah. "You two just stay there and do mom and dad stuff!" she added surprising the couple while making Amanda laugh out loud.
"Good call baby girl!" said Amanda while giving her a high five.
"Hey, you watch it young lady!" Penny yelled.
Sarah turned to Amanda and smiled. "Sometimes they forget that people are looking at them when they're holding hands or being lovey-dovey with each other!" she said making Amanda laugh again.
"Oh god!" Penny said, resting her head on his shoulder.
Leonard kissed her on the forehead. "Don't worry honey, I'll be more worried if she sees us getting busy or something." he whispered, making Penny smile.
"You're a jackass." she said.
"Hmm, I know!" he said. "I promise, you'll get some later." he added.
"You wish Hofstadter!" she said, teasing her husband.
"We'll see about that little miss!" Leonard confidently said.
Penny sighed. "Okay buster, I'll let you have sex with me tonight, but you have to promise me one thing." said Penny.
"What's that?" asked Leonard, obviously excited.
Penny gave him a quick kiss on the lips before turning around. "You're gonna give me everything!" she said with a teasing smile before walking back to the shade under the tree where they put the food and drink that they brought with them.
After a couple of hours of riding, Sarah returned to join her parents near the tree line where they were sitting, drinking some sodas.
"Hey sweetie, how was it?" Penny asked as Sarah hugged her parents.
"It was so much fun mom." Sarah said. "Next time, Amanda promised to teach how to make Bunny Rabbit trot." she added.
"What?" Leonard exclaimed, sitting up straight. "Isn't that too dangerous?" he asked.
"No daddy, Amanda will ride with me on the horse so she can guide me and make sure the horse doesn't run too fast." Sarah said. "Don't worry about me dad, it's you who should worry about your trip." she added.
"What do you mean?" asked Leonard.
"Well, it's pretty cold in that ship right? For sure your asthma's gonna give you a hard time." said Sarah.
"She's right honey. Maybe you should bring a lot of inhalers with you?" Penny said.
"Don't worry about it, we're not gonna spend the whole three months at sea." said Leonard. "Our team leader said that we'll be going to port every two weeks to stock-up on supplies and fuel. By then I'll make sure to buy extra inhalers." he added.
"I just wish you wouldn't be gone for that long daddy." Sarah said.
"I know honey. I wish it were shorter but I promise I'll take the first flight out once we're done, alright?"said Leonard.
Sarah nodded and hugged her father. "I love you daddy." she said as Leonard hugged his daughter tight.
"Ugh, I love you too honey. I'm gonna miss you so much." he said, feeling his daughter's affection. Penny was touched to see the closeness of her husband and daughter, deciding to join in.
"Don't worry daddy, I'm gonna be a good girl so mommy won't have a hard time taking care of me." said Sarah.
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For the coming days, Leonard made sure to focus himself on his daughter and especially his wife who would not resist his advances in getting intimate in the bedroom or in the shower when their daughter is asleep or is busy with her homework in the living room. Leonard was glad that Penny never resisted him in the bedroom, probably because he would be gone for more than three months and his wife was 'stocking-up' on their good memories before he would leave.
One night, they were breathing heavily after making love.
"I'm gonna miss you." said Leonard as he stroked Penny's hair.
"Me too honey." she said while tightening her arm around him. "Are there gonna be girls in your expedition?" she asked, making Leonard smile.
"Yeah, a few actually." he said.
"Who are they? And what are they gonna do there?" Penny asked.
Leonard looked at his wife. "Wait, are you saying I might cheat on you while I'm on the boat with those other girls?" he asked.
Penny didn't respond and reached for her phone. "Tell me their names." she said as she opened her phone, obviously to check them out.
Leonard sighed. "Fine. There's Mandy Chow, who's a marine biologist." he said. "Then there's Clara Simmons, who's in charge of all our computers, Eve Larson who's part of the physics team from England." he said as Penny checked out the girl's Facebook pages. "So?" he asked his wife.
"Hmm, this Mandy chick is really cute. And this Clara too!" Penny said while scrolling on her phone.
Leonard laughed. "Honey, I'm not gonna cheat on you. Come here!" he said pulling her close and kissing her lips.
"You better not mister or don't bother coming back here." she said making him laugh.
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After a couple of weeks, Penny and Sarah dropped off Leonard at the airport for his trip to England to join the scientific expedition.
Leonard knelt down in front of his daughter to reassure her. "Don't be sad honey, I'll be back before you know it." he said while hugging his daughter.
"Be careful daddy." Sarah said, trying hard not to cry.
"Of course! I still have to come back to you and your mom right!?" he said.
"Dad, can we visit grandpa's farm in Nebraska when you return?" asked Sarah making Penny smile.
Leonard laughed a little. "Sure honey. We'll stay there for a week or two, okay?" he said.
Sarah nodded before hugging her father tight. "I love you daddy. I miss you already." she said as tears fell from her eyes.
"I love you too honey." Leonard said, trying hard to keep himself together. "Don't worry, I'll call as much as I can okay?" he added.
"Okay dad." Sarah said as Leonard kissed his daughter before hugging her again. He then stood up to say goodbye to his wife who was trying to control her tears. "I'm not gonna say goodbye honey, but see you in three months." he said as he hugged his wife.
"Just come back to us." Penny said while hugging Leonard tight, pushing her face on his neck to smell his cologne one last time.
"I will honey, and I'll call you as soon as I land in England okay?" he said, kissing Penny's lips.
Penny held his face, letting their kiss last for as long as they can. "I'm gonna miss you." she said, wiping her tears.
"Me too." he said, kissing her again.
He took a deep breath as he hugged his daughter and wife one last time before taking his luggage to join his teammates who called his name as they enter the airport gate.
"Okay, I'm going now! Wish me luck!" he said.
"Good luck daddy! We love you!" Sarah said, waving goodbye to her father.
"I love you honey! Don't worry about us, we'll be okay." Penny added as Leonard waved goodbye, joining the other team members from CalTech as they enter the gate.
As soon as Leonard disappeared into the airport, Penny took Sarah's hand to go back to their car so they could go home.
"Come on sweetheart, let's go home. I'm sure your father will call us before he boards the airplane." said Penny as they walk back to the car.
"Can we get something to eat mom? I'm kinda hungry." said Sarah.
"Sure sweetie." Penny said as she made sure her seat belt was secure. "What do you say we get some cheeseburgers and fries huh?" she asked her stepdaughter.
"That sounds nice mom." said Sarah as Penny drove out of the parking lot.