Sheldon is miserable. Penny is pregnant. Things are a real mess. Is this relationship salvageable? This chapter overlaps Penny's doctor visit.
"Mary?" Meemaw walked into the living room with a tea tray. "Missy just pulled up outside. Sheldon is here."
Mary looked up with hopeful surprise. "Shelly? Do you think he's come for Penny?"
Meemaw nodded. "I believe so. He looked very determined when he got out. I don't think we should tell him about the baby, though. That is for Penny to do."
Mary hesitated and then nodded. "You're right. She needs to be the one to break the news."
The door opened and Sheldon and Missy stepped inside. Sheldon looked around the room before walking over to hug his family. He set his bag down and headed to the stairs silently.
"Penny isn't here," Mary said calmly. "She had a few things to do in town today. It's her week off, you know."
Sheldon turned and walked over to the sofa. "When will she be back?" he asked sadly.
Meemaw shook her head. "I don't know. She was meeting a friend for lunch after her errands, and then she will be back. Why are you here, Moon Pie?"
Sheldon looked at her with surprise. "Am I not welcome?"
Mary patted his knee. "Of course you are, baby. But we want to know what you intend."
Sheldon relaxed slightly. "I intend to restore my relationship with Penny. I do not know what it will require, or how long it will take, but I will fix this. I can't be without her. I am miserable, Mommy. I miss her so much. Nothing else matters. I can't work. I can't sleep. I have spent the last 7 weeks in a state of wretchedness."
Meemaw sipped her tea and looked over the rim at him. "Penny is hurting, also, Moon Pie. Why did you ignore her?"
Sheldon looked so frantic, Mary almost began singing Soft Kitty on impulse. "I didn't mean to! We were getting so much information from our tests, and it was just something that happened. I thought well, I'm really tired from all day in the lab, so I'll just call her tomorrow, but then tomorrow would come and I would put it off again because I needed to type up some results and before I knew it, it had been over two weeks."
Missy crossed her arms over her chest. "What about the next time you get caught up in your work, Sheldon? Will you put her off then, too? You called Amy to talk, but not Penny?"
Sheldon shook his head with certainty. "I don't think I ever could again, Missy. You have no idea how much I miss her. I love her. She is the most important person in the world to me. I don't just want her in my life. I need her. I am useless without her. And I only contacted Amy to have an outside perspective on a particularly difficult experiment. "
Sheldon ran a hand through his hair. "It doesn't matter what it takes. I'll move here. I'll get a job teaching high school science. Whatever it takes. I just need her back," he said softly. Sheldon's eyes were bleak as he looked at Meemaw. "Does she hate me?" he asked softly.
Meemaw shook her head gently. "No, dear. She doesn't hate you. She blames herself. She thinks there is something about her that makes her forgettable. You need to prove to her that she's wrong. Explain it to her, Sheldon. Tell her how you feel. She's not unreasonable. She misses you, too. She loves you, Moon Pie. You just need to prove to her that you are committed to her."
Sheldon nodded and stood up. "I am going to take my bag upstairs." He looked at Meemaw hopefully. "Should I put my things in our room? Or do you think she will be upset?"
Meemaw looked at Mary who looked at Sheldon. "Take the room across from Meemaw, just in case. You can always move your clothes later."
Sheldon's shoulders slumped a bit and he nodded. "Okay."
Sheldon hung up his clothes and sighed. What was he going to say? He had spent the entire flight and drive here trying to figure that out. He had never been well versed in romance. He was not good at flowery speeches or grand gestures. He only had his honesty and his sincere desire to make her happy.
He hoped she would be back soon. Meemaw had said she was meeting a friend for lunch. Was it a male friend? He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. He wouldn't blame her if it was. She was single. He hoped it wasn't, though. He didn't know what he would do if she was with someone else. He needed her desperately. He had to fix this.
He closed the closet and walked out of the room. He walked back toward Penny's room and stepped inside. He moved to the bed to sit down and he was immediately enveloped in her scent. Her green apple shampoo on her pillow. Her vanilla lotion on her blankets. He resisted the urge to just crawl into the bed and wrap himself in her scent.
"Sheldon?"
He looked up to see his mom in the doorway. "Yes, Mommy?"
"I just wanted to give you a little bit of advice." She walked over and sat down beside him. "Honey, sometimes love isn't enough. I loved your father. And he loved me. But we made a lot of mistakes, too. We didn't listen to each other and we fought for control all the time. You and Penny are both very strong willed people. I know you both love each other, but you are going to have to compromise sometimes. The both of you will need to make concessions on occasion. I want both of you to be happy. You were wrong to put your work first. Penny was wrong to just give up. You can't have a relationship that way. Fight for what you want. But also remember that sometimes, it's better to negotiate and compromise. Don't fight a battle just to be the winner. You end up losing everything."
Sheldon surprised his mom by reaching over to grab her hand. "Do you regret loving Dad?"
Mary shook her head. "No. Because despite our fights, we ended up with you, Missy and Junior. And it wasn't all bad. I have a lot of wonderful memories, too. It was only the last few years that were painful. Before that, we were very happy. We just lost sight of what was important and got caught up in who was right and who was wrong. I don't want that for you and Penny."
Sheldon nodded and sighed. "I just want her to be happy. I want to make her happy. Mommy, I love her so much."
Mary kissed his cheek, gently. "Then just do your very best, Shelly. That's all you can do." Mary stood up and pulled him to his feet. "Meemaw has made some lunch. Come eat. Penny should be back soon."
Sheldon pulled his mom's arm through his, making her smile widely. "I love you, Mommy."
She squeezed his arm lightly. "I love you, too, baby."