Katie dug through her new backpack, pulling each item out and showing it off for her dad and little brother, "Look! My pencil case has unicorns on it. It matches my lunchbox. Mommy said she's going to make me a special lunch for my first day of school."
"Are you excited about starting school and being there all day?" The physicist asked his five-year-old daughter the weekend before she was to start kindergarten.
"Uh-huh," the little girl nodded her head, brushing the hair out of her eyes.
Sheldon noticed this and motioned for her to come closer to him, "Katie Beth, do you want me to fix your hair so it's not in your face all day while you're playing with Rory?" She nodded in response and ran upstairs. Sheldon stood from his spot on the couch and followed his daughter to the second floor. Meeting her in the bathroom, she already had the brush in her hand and the container of hair ties on the counter. "Now, how do you want your hair today?"
Katie held her finger to her chin, thinking for a moment before answering, "Two braids, please." As Sheldon began to run the brush through his daughter's hair, she questioned, "What's Max doing in the office? Everything is in boxes and your whiteboards aren't there anymore."
"We're redoing that room. Your mom and I wanted to surprise you with your own room since you're growing up. You shouldn't have to share a room with your little brother anymore. Max offered to help us, so he's getting everything ready for us to paint it. That's what we're doing while you and Leo are playing with Rory at Leonard and Penny's house today," explained Sheldon, securing the end of the first braid.
"Oh, okay," was Katie's only response. "Are my toys going to move to my new room, too?"
Smiling at his daughter in the mirror, Sheldon nodded. "Yes, all your toys and books are going to move to your new room. Your bed and dresser will be moved, as well. I think we're done here," he snapped an elastic band around the end of the second braid. "Let's find Leo and see what he's been up to while we've been doing your hair."
"Leo's in here," Max called into the hallway as Sheldon passed the room. "He followed you and got distracted when he saw me in here. Mom texted me, asking why you weren't answering your phone. I'm guessing you left it downstairs. She should be home in a few minutes and will need help bringing everything in from the car."
The group made their way downstairs to meet Amy with the supplies she had picked up from the hardware store to paint Katie's new room. "What color are you going to paint my room?" Katie asked, watching Amy pull into the driveway.
Smirking at the girl, Sheldon shook his head, "It's a surprise, but I think you'll like it. You won't be able to sleep in your new room tonight because it will still smell like paint, but you should be able to start sleeping there tomorrow night. That will give you a few nights in your new room before starting school on Tuesday."
Everything was quickly brought inside and Sheldon took a quick inventory to check Amy had gotten everything they needed. "I got everything on the list. Can you please take them over to Penny and Leonard's? I told Penny they would be there soon. She mentioned possibly taking the kids to the park after lunch."
"Hi, Leo. Hi, Katie," Rory greeted his friends when Sheldon dropped them off with Penny and Leonard for the day. The kids saw each other all day, every day at daycare, and Rory and Katie had been in the same preschool class, but they still got excited to see each other outside of school.
Penny smiled as the trio ran down towards her son's room. "Bernie is taking Halley and Michael to the park after lunch. I thought it would be fun to meet them there. I can drop them off for you since we'll already be out."
"Thanks again for watching them today. Amy and Max should be getting started on the painting. I've been given strict instructions that I'm not supposed to stay too long; just drop off the kids and get home again. Max moved everything this morning while I was getting the kids ready and Amy was picking up supplies."
"I won't keep you here, then," Penny answered. "Oh, real quick. Does Katie know she's getting a new room? I don't want to slip and say something if she doesn't know."
Nodding, he answered his friend. "Yes, she knows. I told her this morning when she asked what Max was doing in the office. We didn't tell her what color it's going to be, though. She had a few questions, but I think she's excited to be getting her own room. I need to get home. Thanks again."
Late that afternoon, Sheldon, Amy, and Max were sitting on the floor of what was about to become Katie's new room. "I don't know about the color now that I see it on the walls," commented Amy, relaxing back on her elbows, taking in the full room.
"She loves purple. I think you picked the perfect shade for her," Sheldon praised his wife. "The furniture and curtains will help break it up, so it won't seem as purple once we get everything in here."
Max took a sip from the bottle of water next to him while listening to his parents' conversation. "Why did you decide Katie needed to get her own room before school started? Wouldn't it have been easier to do this earlier in the summer and not when school is going to start in three days? That's a lot of changes all at once."
Sheldon yielded this question. "I shared a room with your Aunt Missy until we were twelve. She moved into Georgie's old room because she wanted a space to herself. We decided to have Katie and Leo share a room when Leo was born because we thought it would be easier. They would be on similar bedtime schedules and would be sharing a lot of the same toys and books. Now that Katie's older and starting school, I suggested she have her own room. It's better to separate them now since we have the room rather than wait until Katie is almost a teenager and still sharing a room with her little brother."
"Do you remember before we moved and I said I would share my room with the baby?" Max questioned. "I love Katie, but I'm so glad you guys decided we should move into this house so I didn't have to."
Amy put her arm over the seventeen-year-old's shoulders and pulled him close to her. "Thank you for helping with this. I know it probably wasn't how you wanted to spend the last weekend of summer vacation before senior year."
Returning his mother's half-hug, Max shrugged his shoulders. "I don't mind. I've only got another year here before I go away to college, I want to spend as much time as possible with you guys and Katie and Leo before then."
"Can we please not talk about you moving away to college? I don't like to think about my baby moving away," Amy said as her phone chimed with a text. Checking it, she commented, "That was Penny. They're leaving the park now. I told her it was okay for her to drop the kids off."
"When can I see my new room?" pleaded Katie during dinner. Her parents and brother had closed the door to the room before Penny dropped her and Leo off to keep her from seeing the color Amy had chosen.
Sheldon and Amy exchanged a look before Amy answered the question. "It's not finished yet. We were only able to paint it today. We'll move your bed and all your stuff in tomorrow morning once we're sure the paint is dry."
Eagerly nodding her head, Katie exclaimed, "I don't care! I want to see my new room."
"Okay," remarked Sheldon. "Can you put your plate by the sink? Once the table is cleared, we can all see your new room."
Katie and Leo quickly set their dinner plates on the counter next to the sink and ran upstairs. Unable to wait for their parents and Max, the pair quickly returned to the kitchen. "Let's go," Leo impatiently shared. The remaining dinner dishes were placed in the sink to be washed later as the rest of the family followed Katie and Leo back upstairs.
Stopping outside the closed door, Amy knelt in front of her daughter. "Just remember that there's nothing in there yet. You can open the door whenever you're ready. I hope you like the color we chose. Daddy said what color to pick, but I picked the exact color paint to get."
Opening the door, Katie gasped, "It's purple. I love it." She turned around and found Amy standing behind her, wrapping her arms around her. "You picked my favorite color, momma. How'd you know what color I'd like?"
"I know what my kids like. Are you excited about moving all your stuff tomorrow?" She asked, returning her daughter's hug.
"Yep."
Sheldon and Amy moved Katie's bed and dresser the next morning while Max was at the comic book store. Katie spent most of the afternoon setting her stuffed animals on her bed exactly how she wanted them and was insistent she didn't need or want help from anyone. By the time evening rolled around, everyone was tired and Katie was excited for her first night in her new room. As Amy tucked her in, Katie asked, "Is Leo going to be lonely without me in our room anymore?"
"He might be," Amy shifted to sit next to her daughter after tucking the blankets around her. "But did you know his bed is just on the other side of this wall?" She placed her hand on the wall Katie's bed was against. "If you want to let him know that you're still close by, you just have to gently knock to let him know you're here. You can try it if you want."
Katie knocked against the wall and heard giggles from the other side of the wall before her brother returned the knock at Sheldon's prompting. "He knocked back. Do you think me and Leo can have sleepovers in each other's rooms like we sometimes have in Max's room?"
"Let's wait a while before we have any sleepovers, but I think that would be okay sometimes. Good night, Katie. I love you," Amy said, placing a kiss on top of her daughter's head.
"Is daddy going to say goodnight?" The five-year-old asked as Amy reached to turn out the lamp on the bedside table.
Amy nodded. "Yep. I have to say goodnight to Leo, so he'll come to say goodnight to you while I'm saying goodnight to Leo."
Sheldon and Amy quickly swapped rooms and said goodnight to the child they hadn't tucked in before meeting in the hallway, closing their children's bedroom doors behind them. Sheldon stood in front of the closed doors while Amy slipped her arm around his waist. "They'll be fine," she remarked.
"Our little girl is growing up, Amy. She starts kindergarten the day after tomorrow. I'm not ready for her to be growing up so fast."
Looking up at him, Amy smiled. "I felt the same way when Max started kindergarten. You know, Max is out with his friends and won't be home for a few hours. What do you say we go to bed early tonight?"
Sheldon pulled back to look Amy in the eye, "But we never go to bed before Max is home for the night."
"I'm not talking about going to sleep, Sheldon," Amy grabbed his hand was leading him towards their bedroom. "It's been a while and I want to spend some time with my husband tonight."
"What?" he asked, quickly catching onto what his wife was asking. "Oh, yes, I would love to spend the night with you."
I started a new job yesterday as a pharmacy tech. I've never done anything like this, but I'm excited to be doing something different. I've got about 5 chapters left for this story to write, plus a few one shots before I wrap up the Max universe. I think the last chapters will be posted sometime next month.
