Two months later found Raj at his friends' apartment in a tuxedo, with Sheldon and Leonard gathered around him, trying to tie the bow tie.
When Rosalind had first invited him to this charity ball, it had sounded fun, actually, like something out of a novel or a movie. He'd been delighted to prove to her that he really could handle the ballroom dancing – Priya had made sure of that – and he'd accepted the attentions of the tailor who made over her father's tuxedo for him, surprised and pleased at the results. But as the date approached, he became increasingly anxious. She'd grown up among Pasadena socialites, she knew them and their ways; he was worried that he'd just be the rumpled immigrant scientist in the corner.
"This isn't working. We need Penny," and Leonard threw up his hands and went across the hall for their neighbor's help.
"Wow," said Penny as she entered the apartment, "If had known you were going to turn out like this, I would've tried to cure you with Shakespeare."
Raj smiled – he did think the suit fit well – and flapped the ends of the bow tie at her. "Help."
The more he knew Rosalind, the less he was intimidated by other women, but he still couldn't talk with other women as well as he could with her. He was beginning to think that was more because Rosalind was so easy to talk to than because he was anxious around the other women.
"Well, let's see what I can do here, now." She pulled and tugged and looped, but couldn't figure out the tie either. "Well, maybe Rosalind can tie it, right before she rips the suit off you."
Raj sighed.
Leonard intervened, "Penny. Shhh."
"What—you mean they haven't…?"
"No, and it worries him."
"You guys, I'm right here." Raj groaned.
"Well, honey, don't worry. You look great – maybe tonight will be your night. If it isn't, come look me up." Penny gave Raj a kiss on the cheek that made him blush.
Sheldon turned around from his computer, where he'd been trying to follow a bowtying video on youtube. "Raj, just because Rosalind is not as sexually aggressive as Penny, that doesn't mean that she isn't interested in you. Hardly anyone is as sexually aggressive as Penny."
"I love you too, Sheldon," Penny said before returning to her apartment.
"I've got to go, she'll be waiting." Raj left with his tie loose.
He was still getting used to life with a girlfriend, much less a girlfriend who came from old money. The beautiful old Mission revival house in the WASPish neighborhood no longer terrified him, although he never had understood her literary joke about the green shutters. The baronial lawn that stretched behind the house down to the guest cottage had ceased to be imposing the Saturday she'd helped him scratch out a makeshift Cricket pitch, which he'd used to teach her and the Girl Scouts the basics of the game. That had been a wonderful day; watching her laugh and play with her scouts, he'd seen the girl she'd once been and the mother she might someday be and loved them both.
Mostly, they'd spent time in "his" world. They'd gone to the movies with his friends, and rather than object to Sheldon's odd methods of finding the seat according to the acoustical sweet spot of the room, she'd started him on a week-long project creating a statistical model that would predict the best seat in a theater. Raj had objected to Sheldon's monopolization of Rosalind for that week, but was flattered when Sheldon wished aloud that Leonard could find as reasonable a woman as Rosalind, and, indeed, the new system did result in less embarrassment at the movies. They'd even gone on a double date with Howard and Bernadette; after that, Howard seemed to less threatened by Rosalind.
They saw each other almost daily; she played games with him and his friends; they ate meals together. Sometimes she brought her grading and curled up in a corner of his office, and they would work together. He'd learned that she had an encyclopedic knowledge of campfire songs, a subversive sense of humor, and pretty decent skills as an electrician. She never wanted him to change the way he dressed or to buy her gifts; she seemed to want nothing so much as his company. She was always, it seemed, inquisitive, bright, and warm, and while life with Rosalind was certainly not dull, it was becoming more and more comfortable.
Even so, he wasn't prepared for what greeted him at the door this evening: Rosalind, not in her everyday, modest, professional clothes and neat little bun, but Rosalind, bare-shouldered in an elegant brown silk gown, her hair swept up theatrically in a way that drew attention to her bare shoulders, bare neck, and lovely face. Raj found himself actually weak-kneed; he rested his hand on the doorframe to brace himself.
She smiled and grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him into the house. "Mmmm." she smiled. "Yes, absolutely."
"I was going to say the same about you, but you took my breath away." For that, Raj was rewarded with a kiss. She grabbed a silk and velvet shawl and they were on their way.
In all the years Raj had lived in Pasadena, he'd never been to the Huntington. For Rosalind, it was like her own private playground; her father had spent summers researching in the library, and her mother had volunteered as a docent in the gardens. She took his arm as they ascended the steps into the marble mansion built with the profits from the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, and somehow managed to make it look like he was leading her, rather than the other way around.
"We'll find Adam and Erik; they'll help you with your tie."
She steered him towards the musicians, where she knew they would find her friends. Rosalind was eager for them to meet. "Raj, this is Adam Siebert-Montero, my dear, dear friend. Adam, this is the charming Dr. Raj Koothrappali."
Raj was surprised when Adam greeted him with a bear hug. "It's so good to finally meet you, Raj. I'm so glad you two found each other. You have to keep our girl Rosalind here; don't let her run off to Philadelphia or Brazil or some other ridiculous place. We need her with us."
Raj nodded. The bear hug and the clear affection between Rosalind and Adam made him nervous. Rosalind asked Adam, "Where's Erik? Raj needs help with his tie, and I know you're no use with these things."
Erik arrived at that moment, and Raj quicklly realized he had nothing to worry about regarding Adam. The two men leaned together; Erik straightened Adam's collar affectionately, letting his hand rest on the taller man's shoulder before turning to Raj.
"You must be Raj. I'm Erik Siebert-Montero. Rosalind has talked about nothing and no one else for the last two months. She hasn't even complained about her grading." Raj shook hands, relieved not to be hugged, and Erik paused and looked at Rosalind. "When are you going to learn to tie one of these, Rosalind? Come with me."
Raj followed obediently, leaving Adam and Rosalind giggling like schoolchildren behind him.
In the men's room Erik fussed with Raj's tie and smoothed out his collar.
"Don't worry about them. I used to worry about her – who wants to get involved with some guy who's hung up on a straight girl? – but they're like siblings. I owe her a lot, actually. She saved Adam's life in high school, and I don't mean she was his friend when no one else was, although that's true, too; she literally saved his life. She talked the old man into coming to our wedding; she's half the reason he'll talk to Adam at all." Erik was straightening Raj's sleeves, now, making sure that the coat sleeves and the shirt sleeves hung together. Raj was bewildered by Erik's non-stop speech and motion, but clung to the information he provided.
"The first time I came to one of these things, I was scared out of my mind. Adam was so worried about his dad that he was no use. Rosalind took me in hand, introduced me around, nudged me in the right directions. Trust Rosalind. She'll get you through this." Erik kept talking as he pulled out a comb and neatened Raj's hair, then carefully disarranged it.
"That's my advice. Trust Rosalind. And shake hands. When in doubt, shake hands. The only people I know who shake hands more than these people are my tios back home in Riverside." He stepped back to examine Raj, who was beginning to feel pretty silly, then turned him to the mirror. Raj looked good. Both men smiled.
"OK," Raj said. Trust Rosalind. What else had he done for the past two months?
He did, and as Erik had promised, the evening went well. He learned that he liked the dancing best – that was almost like being alone with Rosalind, at a party just for the two of them – but she had to do a certain amount of hand-shaking and socializing, and she made that go smoothly too. He had even managed a short conversation with Dr. Siebert, while Rosalind and Mrs. Siebert were in the ladies' room. At one point, there were toasts, and Rosalind was called upon to make a speech. Everyone applauded genteely, and the people near him nodded at Raj, as though complimenting him on her charms. He felt oddly pleased and proprietary.
After the speeches, Rosalind showed him through the galleries. He liked this, too; she could talk easily about art, or use a painting as a pretext to talk about something else. Pinky and Blue Boy were duly admired, but she stopped him in front of an enormous painting of a woman in a brown dress, with shadowy figures lurking behind her. Her face and pose were striking.
"I always liked this painting." Rosalind said. "She's an actress. Sarah Siddons."
"She's both beautiful and terrifying," Raj said.
Rosalind replied. "Oh yes, because she's saying, 'I can kill you with my mind.'" Raj laughed out loud, and suddenly he saw himself: at a posh gala, with an elegant girlfriend, admiring famous artwork, and laughing at his girlfriend's Firefly references. It was all a bit surreal. Not bad, but definitely surreal.
"Hey," he said, almost as an afterthought, "With that wrap, your dress looks like hers a little bit."
Rosalind smiled, and posed with her wrap: "Beautiful and terrifying?" she asked. Then she dropped the pose, returned to herself, and took his arm. "You get extra boyfriend points for noticing," she said with a smile.
Rosalind made sure that they met up with Adam and Erik at regular intervals; the more he got to know them, the more comfortable he was with them. At one point he found himself sidelined with Adam – Rosalind was dancing with Erik – and he realized that Adam had been waiting to get him alone.
"She's beautiful tonight, isn't she?" Adam didn't even wait for Raj to reply. "Sarah Siddons all over. I can't remember the last time she was this serene. She really trusts you, you know."
"Well, I hope so." Raj wondered what Adam was getting at.
"No, you don't understand. She doesn't trust people. She came here with you, in your car, didn't she?"
Raj nodded.
"She's been to your apartment alone, hasn't she?"
Raj nodded again, wondering why it was so hard for Adam to get to the point.
Adam nodded back, as though Raj's consent had proved something. "She trusts you. Let me explain. Six months or so before she met you, she went on a date. Some historian, I think, who had been pestering her. She drove herself, met him at the restaurant, and made sure that Erik and I would be there, too. Not at the same table, of course, but within earshot. She doesn't trust people – well, men. She doesn't trust men. She trusts you, though, and I figure that makes you pretty special."
Raj wanted to ask Adam if Rosalind really had saved his life, but instead, he pointed out the obvious, "She trusts you and Erik too."
Adam nodded, and turned to face him. "And we would do anything for her. So don't – don't do anything to break that trust. If you hurt her…" Adam patted Raj on the arm, and for a moment Raj was very conscious of how tall Adam was. "But you won't."
"No, I won't." was all Raj could think to say. Adam waved the dancers over, and traded places with Erik. Rosalind smiled apologetically before Adam whisked her off.
Erik wasted no time getting to the point: "So, Raj. Did Adam threaten you?"
"A little bit, yeah." Raj was hoping Erik would explain what was going on.
"Don't think he doesn't mean it, and don't think I wouldn't back him."
Raj was getting fed up. "Look, I don't know what you guys think I am going to do. All I want is to be with Rosalind."
"Sorry, man. You're not the only one who loves her, you know?"
Raj didn't know how to reply to that, so the two men stood in silence until the music stopped.
When Adam and Rosalind returned, Raj grabbed her arm. "Is there someplace we can talk?"
"Sure, follow me," she said, and led him across the marble porch and down the great lawn to an enormous tree. She sat down on the bench beneath it and patted the seat next to her. Raj did not sit.
"What is going on? You lead me on, dress me up, then bring me here so that your friends can threaten me. Why is Adam going on about you trusting me? Why won't you…" He stopped. Talking to women was turning out to cause as many problems as not talking to them had. Rosalind was quiet for a moment.
"You make me sound like the femme fatale in some gumshoe novel, luring the handsome hero to his doom. I should have realized that Adam would do something like that. I guess I feel so protective of him that I forget that he feels that way about me." She sighed – there was no way to keep this light - and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, and when she spoke now, her voice was low and still, and her words were deliberate.
"Adam probably told you that I don't trust many people. He's right. I keep most people at arm's length. I'm outgoing, but I don't let anyone get too close. It's a bit lonely at times, but I don't like risk, and I'd made my peace with it. Then my mother called, and I couldn't keep her at arm's length anymore. Then I met you, and I didn't want to keep you at arm's length. I wanted to pull you in – or be pulled in by you…"
Raj had spent all his anger in his first outburst; he sat down beside her. "Then why haven't we made love?"
She looked at him, sideways, and her eyes were so sad he was surprised that she wasn't crying. She looked away, and spoke again, almost mechanically. "My sophomore year of undergrad, there was this guy from Villanova. We met for coffee a few times. I think we went to a movie. Then I went with him to a party at his fraternity. He was drunk and strong, and I was stupid and trusting and didn't have a backup plan."
She pounded her leg with her fist, still angry with herself. She stood and turned away from Raj, pulling her wrap around her and all but disappearing in the dark. "I didn't want anything about you to remind me of him."
It took Raj a minute to realize what she was telling him, but in a flash he understood her friends' threats and her wariness, and felt what a risk he represented for her. He was grateful, more than anything; all along he'd felt like she had rescued him, and her need for him was a welcome balance. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I was afraid it would be too much. I was afraid you'd leave." She turned around to face him.
Raj stood and took her hands. "Leave – for what? For whom? Rosalind, I was ready to throw myself at your feet when you were on the verge of losing your home and your job, and I couldn't even speak to you. I love you. Do I have to pin poetry to the trees? I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I don't want to be killed by gay preppies."
She smiled a little, and Raj felt as though she were returning to him from a great distance.
He continued. "We'll figure this out. How did you deal with this with other boyfriends?"
She shook her head.
"You didn't deal with it?"
She looked at him. "There weren't any other boyfriends."
Raj's mind was clicking. "So does that mean that you haven't… since you were a sophomore…"
She shook her head. "Just that one time. Pretty pitiful, I suppose, but I just locked all that away. I never particularly wanted to until now."
Music spilled down the lawn from the house, and they subconsciously assumed the starting position for the waltz, his hand around her waist, hers on his shoulder, their other hands meeting loosely in the air, together in the companionable darkness.
"Come home with me tonight," Raj said, then kissed her again, but not on the mouth. He kissed her on that beautiful bare shoulder he'd been staring at all evening. He heard her sharp intake of breath and felt her arms encircling him.
Raj kissed her again, this time on the neck, and murmured in her ear, "Trust me, Rosalind."