Chapter 25
It's been a week since William's family went back to California after Beverly's funeral and the settlement of her will and estate. He called Nancy to meet with her at Beverly's house to talk about something. He arrived an hour early and decided to check every room in the house, making sure all the windows and doors are locked, not to mention unplugging every appliance from their sockets just to be sure nothing will set off a fire or something. Being in the house that her grandma left him felt very strange and sad at the same time, mostly because he misses talking to her. William was making tea at the kitchen when he heard a knock on the door. He went to the door and opened it, finding Nancy standing outside.
"Hi Ms. Nancy, come in." he said. "I'm making some tea; do you want some?" he asked.
"That would be nice William." Nancy said as she followed him into the kitchen. "God it feels so weird being in this house again. I can still feel Beverly's presence." she added.
"Me too. It's like she never left at all." he said as he poured the hot water into a cup for Nancy.
Nancy took the cup and let the teabag brew for a while. "What is it you wanted to talk about Will?" she asked.
William took a sip of his tea before speaking. "I wanted to ask a favor if you could watch over the house from time to time." he said.
"Really? Why? I thought you're gonna move in here?" asked Nancy.
"No I'm not. I feel weird even thinking about spending the night here alone." he said.
"I know what you mean." she said. "So what is it that you want me to do?" she asked.
"Nothing much really." he said. "Just to make sure no one's broken in and stolen something. I already unplugged everything except for the lights and I shut off the main water line so we won't have any leaky faucets or something." said William.
Nancy nodded. "Okay. I guess I could pass by here every once in a while and make sure there are no broken windows by those kids playing baseball on that vacant field nearby." she said making William laugh.
"Thank you, and you don't have to worry about the money." said William. "I can give you some gas money if you want." he added
"Don't worry about it William, it's the least I can do for Beverly. She left me some money if you can recall." said Nancy.
"Yeah I remember." he said. "And I'm gonna be checking in here from time to time too, when I'm not busy at Princeton." he added.
"Okay." said Nancy. "So are you gonna clean up in here or are you gonna leave everything as it is?" she asked.
"I think I'm gonna leave it as it is for now. Which reminds me, do you know a place where I can buy those clear plastic sheets so I could cover everything in here?" he asked.
"I think that big Costco near the freeway exit have those." Nancy said. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked.
"No, I got it." he said as they continue to catch up until Nancy said goodbye so she could pick up her daughter from school. William decided to leave too, making sure that everything was turned off before looking at her grandma's old couch, her favorite place to sit on while watching TV and having tea. He took a deep breath before stepping out, locking the door behind him and hoping that one day he can convince himself to stay in the house without thinking of her grandma who, despite what other people may think about her, has been nothing but a loving and supportive grandmother to him.
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After a few days, William was entering his apartment building when he heard Erin call his name who was also coming in.
"Hey William? I haven't seen you for two days." she said. "What's up? Are you alright?" she added.
"Hey Erin, nothing much, it's just some stuff at work I guess." he said as they climbed the stairs as the building elevator was under maintenance.
"Is everything okay at work?" asked Erin.
"Just a minor setback." he said.
"What happened?" said Erin.
William sighed. "One of the reviewers found a snag in my calculation. Now I have to start all over again." he said
"I thought it was already in the bag?" Erin asked.
"Well, that's nothing new right?" he said. "One disappointment after another." he added.
"I'm sorry Will." Erin said while touching his shoulder to comfort him.
"Do you want to join me? I have more than enough for two people." he said showing her the food he was carrying.
Erin gave him a lovely smile. "Sure I'll join you. Let me put my stuff in my place and wash-up okay?" she said as she went to open her apartment door.
"Okay. I'll leave the door unlocked." said William as he went inside his apartment.
After a few minutes, Erin entered William's apartment as he was unpacking the food on the coffee table.
"So, what's for dinner?" she asked as she sat beside him.
"I hope Mexican's alright with you?" he said as he handed a paper plate to her.
"Hey, I'm getting free food, I'm not about to complain or anything." she said making William laugh.
"Sounds like what my mom used to tell my dad when they were still dating." he said as they started to eat.
"How's your grandma's house? Are you gonna move there?" she asked.
"No." he said.
"Why not? I mean, it's yours now, right?" asked Erin.
"Yeah but it still feels weird being there." he said. "But I asked Ms. Nancy to visit the house from time to time. You know, just to make sure no one's broken in or something." he added.
"I know what you mean." said Erin. "So, Sarah told me she got your grandma's jewelry collection huh? That must be something right?" she said.
"She got half. My aunt Cathy got the other." he said. "I think my dad is gonna get her a safety deposit box in a bank so she could put the jewelry in there." he added.
"Really? She's not gonna wear them?" asked Erin.
"No, she says it's too weird. You know, with how close she was to my grandma." he said.
"I guess you're right." said Erin. "At least she has something to wear when she gets older or something." said Erin.
They continued talking until they finished eating and began to clean up the coffee table. William was done cleaning in the kitchen sink when he decided to show Erin a bottle of tequila from his overhead cabinet.
"Hey, wanna try some?" he said showing her the bottle of liquor.
"Where did you get that?" Erin asked, surprised to see him with a bottle of alcohol.
"I got this from one of the guys at Princeton. Don't worry, I'm saving this for occasions such as this." he said.
"Will, you're only nineteen. I don't think it's a good idea." she said.
"Don't worry, no one will know. And we're not gonna go out, we'll just stay here." said William. "It's not like we have anything better to do, right?" he added.
Erin sighed. "You're gonna get me into trouble." she said as William opened the bottle and took two glasses from the cupboard, sitting beside Erin and pouring them a shot each.
"Don't worry about it. We don't have to finish the bottle. I just want something to drown out everything that's happening in my life right now." he said as they took the shot, grunting at how strong the tequila was.
Erin was saddened after hearing William. She knew that he's still thinking of Halley even though they've been broken up for almost six months now. Then his grandma passed away a month ago which also took an emotional toll on him not to mention having a big setback at work. It's as if fate was trying to test his resilience and resolve. Even though he was intellectually gifted, he's still a teenager, burdened by his own genius and the drive to prove himself as his father's son.
Erin stood up and went to the fridge and saw what she was looking for - lemons to counter the bitter taste of the tequila. "This will make it better." she said while slicing up the lemons.
William poured another shot for them. "Good call woman!" he said, making Erin laugh.
"Hey, you had one shot and suddenly you're this party animal!?" she said.
"There's salt in the drawer if you want." he said as Erin found it before bringing it over to the coffee table.
"Okay, you know how this works right?" she asked.
"Yeah, we lick the salt, take the shot and bite the lemon." he said.
Erin smiled at him. "I'm surprised you know about that!" she said, giving him a surprised look.
"I'm a genius remember!" he jokingly said, making her laugh.
"You're a smart-ass, that's what you are!" she said.
"Are you sure you're not talking about my sister?" he asked while laughing along with her.
"Shut up and drink Mr. Genius!" she said teasing him as they licked the salt from their finger before drinking and biting the lemon.
"Arrrgh, that is strong." said William.
"So, do you want us to stop?" she asked, winking at him.
"Are you kidding me?" he said as he poured another round for them. "I'm not the one to back out from a challenge!" he proudly said, making Erin laugh out loud.
"Hmm, so confident!" Here!" she said, dipping her finger on the salt and feeding it to William, surprising him. William smiled and decided to play along, licking the salt off Erin's finger before drinking his shot and biting the lemon.
"That's so much better!" he said, making Erin laugh again. "Okay, my turn!" he said as put some salt on his cheek, surprising Erin for his sneakiness.
"Ugh! You are one sneaky scientist William Hofstadter!" she said, looking sternly at him. "Okay, I'll play along if that's how you wanna put it!" she said as she moved closer to lick the salt off of his cheek, quickly breaking off and drinking her shot followed by the lemon. "Are your happy now!?" she asked.
William laughed, slightly tickled by Erin's soft lips. "So happy!" he said.
"Okay, let's see you try this!" she said, taking a pinch of salt and putting it on her neck.
"Hmm, you're really not backing down huh?" William said as he held her arm before closing in, sucking lightly on her neck, making her giggle and laugh.
"Okay take the shot Hofstadter!" Erin said as William broke off, slightly embarrassed while drinking his tequila.
"Sorry about that." he said, blushing a little.
"Yeah, tell that to your face!" said Erin, amused at how William took the opportunity to get frisky with her. "What are you gonna do now?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Okay woman, you asked for it!" he said as he took some salt and put it on his lips, surprising Erin. "Well?" he asked, teasing Erin.
Without warning, Erin quickly moved up and kissed William, tasting the salt off his lips while she wrapped her arms around his neck. William was surprised but found himself kissing her back, feeling her soft lips lock onto his as they share the tender moment together, realizing something that they both knew, but was too scared and too shy to admit to each other.
They broke off, trying to catch their breaths as they look at each other while touching each other's face.
"What are we doing?" Erin asked,
"I don't know, do you want me to stop?" he said, not taking his eyes off her.
"I'm scared William." she said.
"Me too." said William. "But I wanna kiss you again." he said, taking a deep breath before moving close, kissing Erin's lips again. Erin didn't move as she let William kiss her, feeling his passion building up as their kiss became more intense. Erin suddenly broke off and stood up, dragging William into his bedroom. She slammed the door shut before pushing him on the bed while taking her shirt and pants off. William was surprised when Erin jumped on him, yanking off his clothes while kissing him passionately as he moved his hands to explore her body.
"I didn't know you had a hummingbird tattoo on your side?" William said as Erin wouldn't stop with her advances.
"Shut up and I'll show you the rest later!" she said as William pulled the sheets over them while their bodies become one.
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Meanwhile, back in California...
Penny was carrying some clean laundry from the basement when she saw her daughter's backpack on the kitchen island. Sarah must have arrived home while she was in the basement, she thought. Penny went upstairs to bring the clothes to their room when she heard some noise coming from her daughter's bedroom. She noticed the door slightly ajar and was surprised to see Sarah and Jason sitting on the floor, kissing while holding hands.
Penny decided to clear her throat. "Eherm!" she coughed out, surprising the young couple and making them jump away from each other.
"Mom!?" Sarah yelled as they tried to hide their embarrassment.
"Hey! I won't tolerate that tone of yours young woman!" she said, giving her daughter a stern look.
Sarah bowed her head, knowing that she has no chance against her mother. "I'm sorry mom." she said. "Please don't tell dad!? Please mom!" she added, walking towards Penny.
"You're gonna tell him yourself!" Penny said, making Sarah more afraid.
"Mom I can't do that! Please!" said Sarah who's on the verge of crying.
Penny sighed. "Fine, I'll talk to him so he won't kill you." she said as she walked away towards their bedroom.
"Oh my god! I'm in trouble now." Sarah said softly to Jason as he stood there, speechless and not knowing how to console his girlfriend.
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Later that night, the young family was having dinner with Penny and Sarah being unusually quiet, exchanging awkward glances with each other. Leonard knew that something happened between his girls so he decided to break the deafening silence in the house.
"Okay, are you two just gonna sit there and exchange looks with each other? What is happening!?" he asked his girls.
"Your daughter has something to say." said Penny.
Leonard took a deep breath, dreading the answer he was gonna get from his daughter, "What is it honey?" he calmly asked Sarah so as to not frighten her. "Tell me. Don't be scared." he said.
Sarah remained quiet, not wanting to upset her father.
"Okay, let me guess. You did something to upset your mother." he said as Sarah glanced at her father, trying hard not to cry. "She saw you and Jason kissing, am I right?" he said.
Sarah quickly stood up and ran upstairs to her room, crying her eyes out before slamming her door, scared and embarrassed at what she did. Leonard looked at Penny, knowing that his guess was spot on. They decided to stand up and follow their daughter to talk to her. They reached Sarah's room and knocked on the door as Leonard turned the knob, slightly opening the door and seeing their daughter slumped on the bed with her face on a pillow, crying her eyes out. Leonard went in and sat on the side of the bed, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't cry honey. It's alright. I'm not mad or anything." he said, trying to comfort his daughter as Penny looked at her husband and daughter. "Come on, let's get back down and finish dinner." he said as Sarah sat up, wiping the tears from her face.
"I'm sorry daddy." she said,
"Come here." said Leonard, pulling his daughter in for a hug. "Don't worry, I'm not angry." he said.
Sarah then faced her mother. "I'm sorry mom." she said as Penny moved in to hug her daughter.
"It's alright sweetheart." said Penny as Sarah began to calm down. "Let's get back down there and eat." she said as they made their way back to the kitchen to finish dinner.
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Later in the bedroom, Penny snuggled up to her husband, feeling his warmth.
"How's the princess doing?" asked Leonard.
"A little embarrassed but I think she'll be alright." said Penny. "How did you guessed that I caught them kissing anyway?" she asked.
"I don't know. Lucky guess?" he said.
"Now I know how my mom felt when I was a teenager." Penny said, making Leonard laugh. "Why are you laughing? Aren't you worried about her sneaking around and going overboard?" she asked.
"Are you kidding me? Why do you think I'm getting less sleep these days?" he said. "And look at my hair! It's more grey now that it was a couple of years ago." he added.
Penny looked at her husband, worried for him. "Honey, why didn't you tell me you weren't getting enough sleep?" she said.
"Don't worry about it honey. I'm gonna be alright." he said.
"But if you have less sleep, it will raise your blood pressure. I don't want you to have another heart attack." Penny said.
"I'm gonna be fine." said Leonard. "I'm being careful with what I eat now. And I'm taking Marty for a walk around the neighborhood every weekend, right?" he added.
Penny tightened her hug. "I just want you here with me, like forever." she said.
Leonard hugged his wife back, smelling her hair. "I'm not going anywhere honey." he said as they closed their eyes, kissing each other goodnight.