Sunday

Sheldon ignored Missy as she danced around the room. In a teasing voice she sang out "Shelly's got a girlfriend!" over and over. He stood in front of the big bay window of Meemaw's house watching the little road. After 20 minutes Missy got tired of teasing him and walked off to call one of her friends. He glanced at the clock again and sighed. Mr. Wyatt had said noon. It was now 12:07. Maybe they changed their mind?

The sound of an engine drew his attention. He grinned as the sunlight bounced of the windshield of Mr. Wyatt's truck. He raced out onto the porch and watched Mr. Wyatt pull into the driveway. As soon as the truck was parked he rushed down to the passenger door. He opened it up and Penny unbuckled her seatbelt. Sheldon helped her down and she hugged him for a second.

"I gotta pee!" Penny exclaimed. Sheldon took her hand and quickly led her inside to the bathroom. Mary and Meemaw watched with amusement as Sheldon stood by the door, listening to Penny ramble on a mile a minute about everything she saw on the trip.

Wyatt brought in her suitcase and rolled his eyes. "She's done nothing but ask if we were close yet, and did I think he forgot her, the entire trip. I almost couldn't get her to sleep last night because she was so excited."

Mary laughed and offered him a cup of coffee. When Penny came out she gave Meemaw a big hug and said a shy hello to Mary. Missy reached over from the stool she was sitting on to ruffle Penny's hair before going back to her phone call. Sheldon gave Wyatt a polite hello and Wyatt surprised him by giving him a firm handshake.

Sheldon took Penny on a quick tour while Mary set out lunch for everyone. The adults watched with amusement as Penny and Sheldon fidgeted all through the meal excitedly. Finally Meemaw took pity on them and said they were excused. Like a shot they were out the door. Sheldon led Penny to his favorite place, the small pond on the other side of the cornfield. He already had a couple of fishing poles and his Papaw's old tackle box waiting. An hour later Wyatt and Mary showed up so he could tell Penny goodbye and that he would miss her. Penny cried a bit, because she had never been without her daddy before, but Mary hugged her and said she could call every evening to say goodnight.

Sheldon and Penny spent the rest of the afternoon sitting by the pond, talking about what they had been doing since school ended and what they were going to do together.

Monday

With Penny visiting, Mary allowed Sheldon to stay with Meemaw also. She figured it was easier than having him wake her up at 6am every morning to go visit. So, by 7am Sheldon and Penny were sitting at the kitchen table eating cheerios while Meemaw sipped her coffee and read the paper. Sheldon washed the dishes while Penny got dressed. It was Meemaw's 'town' day. The day she did her grocery shopping, paid bills and took care of any errands she had to do. Sheldon and Penny climbed into Meemaw's car and soon they were heading down the road.

Meemaw was pleased with how well behaved Penny was. She was energetic, and talkative, but she minded completely and she never strayed from Sheldon's side. Once she had paid her bills and picked up new glasses and a few prescriptions, she took them to McDonalds for lunch. Penny had clapped excitedly because there were mcdinos toys in the kid meals, and Sheldon also got one, although usually he asked for an adult cheeseburger meal. He immediately gave Penny the toy, earning a hug from the little girl.

Grocery shopping was an experience. Meemaw asked Penny what she liked to eat and she said anything except liver. They were in the cereal aisle when a large man and two teen boys came around the corner. Sheldon immediately tensed up. He hadn't forgotten the last time he saw the Boyd brothers. The two boys spotted Sheldon and grinned cruelly. They walked over and glanced at Meemaw who was a few feet away looking over the pancake syrup selections.

"Hello Smelly Cooper," the older one taunted.

Sheldon turned to walk away and the other grabbed his arm.

"Where ya going, Smelly?"

Before he could say or do anything, the older one yelled out "SHIT!". All eyes turned in time to see the boy push Penny to the floor. Meemaw rushed over and Sheldon grabbed Penny up. The boy's father stomped over and grabbed his son by the ear. The kid started yelling that she had bitten him.

Sheldon hugged Penny tight as she whimpered. He bent down to check her over and found her knee was scraped up and bleeding a tiny bit. Mr. Boyd spanked his son right there in front of everyone and made him apologize to Penny.

Penny looked at the boy angrily. "You called Sheldon a name!' she said loudly. "You better apologize!"

Meemaw took Penny and Sheldon by the hand and led them away. Once they were in another aisle, Meemaw bent down and looked Penny in the eye. "Penny, I am proud of you for defending Moon Pie. But I don't ever want you to bite someone again, okay? That was not the right way to act. Next time, you come get me, or another adult and tell them what happened, okay?"

Penny hung her head and nodded. "I'm sorry, Meemaw."

Sheldon hugged her again, and Meemaw smile slyly. "Now, I'm thinking that a brave little girl like you needs ice cream. And so does the gentleman who rescued her."

Penny grinned and grabbed Sheldon's hand. "Yay! Ice cream!"

Sheldon and Meemaw grinned as Penny hopped up and down.

When Mary dropped in that evening to check on the kids, she found them curled up on the couch under a blanket fast asleep.

Tuesday

Penny was bouncing in her seat singing "Ice, Ice Baby" to herself. Sheldon was beside her double checking his pockets to make sure he had wipes, Purell, and tissues. In the other pocket he had his money and the money Mr. Wyatt had given Penny. Behind them in Mary's van sat Junior, Missy and her friend Autumn. The girls were giggling about some boy they knew. In the front Mom and Meemaw were discussing the jam Meemaw was entering in the fair.

When Mary parked she gave the kids the usual warnings about not filling up on junk food, staying inside the fair grounds and not getting into trouble. Mary unbuckled Penny and took one of her hands. Sheldon got out and took the other. Everyone got their hand stamped at the entrance, although it took a bit of pouting from Penny for Sheldon to submit.

Sheldon absolutely refused to ride any rides, though. Instead they focused on the games, funhouse and animals. Penny squealed often in the funhouse. Several times she hid her face in Mary's skirt, but she refused to leave until they went through the entire thing. Mary laughed with amusement when Penny immediately asked to go again.

Sheldon liked looking at the rabbits and horses, and Penny was fascinated by the goats and pigs. Neither of them wanted anything to do with the noisy chickens. By far the most interesting for Penny was the llama. She was ecstatic when the owner let her sit on it.

They were on their way to get cotton candy when Penny came to a dead stop. Her eyes went wide and she let go of Mary and Sheldon. She walked over to the ring toss game and stared up at the prizes. Sheldon dug into his pocket and pulled out a couple of dollars. He walked over and looked over the game carefully. He handed the barker his dollar and picked up the rings. Five tosses later he had five ringers. He pointed up to a prize and then handed it to Penny.

She stared at the two purple monkeys with long arms wrapped around each other in awe. She hugged it tight and slipped her hand back into Sheldon's. Mary and Meemaw trailed behind them smiling. They liked seeing the usually reserved and awkward boy so relaxed and happy.

Wednesday

Penny did her best to sit still and not squirm. She wasn't used to church, though. Her daddy wasn't a religious man, and they didn't attend any services. She sat between Missy and Sheldon and listened to the singing. She couldn't read fast enough to follow along in time with the others. After a little while the preacher announced that the kids were dismissed and could go to their own bible study groups. There were a couple of women in the hallway to gather the groups of kids. One reached for Penny's hand and she froze when she saw Sheldon going to the other group.

The woman bent and told Penny that she was supposed to go with the kids her age, and she started to shake her head fervently. Sheldon hurried over and stood beside her, looking anxious. Missy joined them and asked if Penny could go with them since she was their guest. The woman relented and allowed Sheldon to lead Penny off. She sat beside him and spent her time drawing pictures on the paper the teacher gave her, while the others learned about the Temple of Solomon. Afterwards, Penny gave the picture she drew to Mary. She wouldn't know it for many years, but Mary kept that picture in a frame in her bedroom. It was of seven people in a field of flowers. Over each figure was a name. Mommy Mary, Missy, George, Meemaw, Sheldon, Penny and Daddy. Over the names was a huge rainbow. Under the flowers Penny had written 'My Family'.

Thursday

Rain fell steadily outside as Meemaw hung up with Mary and walked into the living room. Sheldon was sitting on the couch with Penny curled up beside him. Her face was a bit flushed and her eyes were red. Meemaw took the thermometer from her mouth and looked at it. It read 99.5°. She tucked the blanket around Penny's legs more and went to get her some juice. She had called Wyatt earlier and told him Penny had a slight fever and headache. He told her Penny has a history of ear infections and that he would call her doctor and have him send a prescription to the pharmacy there for her along with his insurance information. He asked if they wanted him to come get her, and Meemaw declined immediately. She told him Sheldon was already upset because he hadn't prevented Penny from getting sick. Taking her home would only upset the both of them more.

Mary was on her way to pick up the medication and would be there soon. Sheldon had been very worried when he went to wake up Penny and found her ill. When she returned with the juice, she heard him singing in a whispered voice. She smiled as the lyrics to Soft Kitty floated through the air.

Penny was a hugger by nature. When she wasn't feeling well, that tendency was increased. She clung to either Sheldon or Meemaw. When Mary arrived with her medicine Penny crawled up into her lap and wrapped her little arms around Mary's neck tight. Before long she was fast asleep.

Friday

Sheldon woke up to the sound of crying. He sat up sleepily and reached for his robe. He stepped across the hall and peeked into Penny's room. She was sitting up on the little bed, arms wrapped around her knees. Rain was beating against the glass. Another clap of thunder sent Penny scrambling under the blankets. He eased into the room and sat down on the bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"I'm scared," she whispered. More thunder sounded and Penny grabbed him tight. She hid her face in his robe. Sheldon pulled away after a minute and turned on the little radio on the dresser. Soft music filled the room. With a yawn Sheldon pulled back the blanket and slid in the bed. He laid down and Penny curled up beside him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and covered them both back up. Before long they were both asleep.