Chapter 15
Walking down the road at nearly 8 on a Saturday evening, Mary had finally come across a little coffee shop, the same one that Sheldon had met Amy in. Smiling at the memory, she walked over to the edge of the road to wait for traffic to die down so she could cross. Nearly 20 minutes later, there were absolutely no cars whatsoever on the road, so Mary crossed. About ¾ of the way across, a motor cycle zoomed past her, almost knocking her over. One side of her wanted to curse at the driver who had almost killed her, but the other more religious side of her praised God that she was still alive. After she composed herself, she completed the task of walking across the street and she entered the little coffee shop.
If you were to walk into the coffee shop, the first thing you would notice was the smell of caramel and chocolate being blended together in a sweet aroma that tickled your nose. Glancing around, you would find that close to a dozen people were sat down at either a booth or a table, all either hunched over steaming cups of coffee or chatting with their company, always smiling and laughing.
Besides the people, you would notice that the walls were the color of cheery wood, a beautiful red-brown that matched all the tables and booths. On the walls hung pictures painted by professional painters, some of the outdoors when it turned fall, others of the ocean and its beauty. That wasn't all; they also had a little section where kids could hang up their own art work. There were pictures of bunnies and monkeys and people playing on play grounds. It was enough to make your heart melt on the spot.
Walking into that coffee shop, that's exactly what happened to Mary; her heart melted. She admired places where they took pride in their costumer's artwork. She had a genuine smile spread across her face as she made her way over to the counter where a young female was working. The female was dressed in a white, button-up top and she had her golden hair curled and pinned back. On her face she wore blue eyeliner that brung out the blue in her eyes. Se truly looked beautiful so when Mary walked up to the counter, she told her. "My, my dear, aren't you beautiful today." She said in her sweet Texan accent. The women looked at her confused for a moment, before she responded with "Sorry, I'm already in a pair-bonded relationship."
"Well my, my don't you sound a lot like my Shelly." Mary told her, not realizing that she didn't know who Shelly was. "In any case, I was just merely complimentin' you. I'm married." The warm smile returned onto Mary's face, to which the women reciprocated. "May I ask mam', who's Shelly?" Mary chuckled to herself. Of course this woman wouldn't know who her Sheldon was. "First, call me Mary." The women nodded in response. "And secondly," Mary continue in her sweet voice. "Shelly's real name is Sheldon. I like to call him Shelly. He's my second son and a true blessing." The women now could figure out that Mary was religious, so she felt a little more comfortable around her.
"He sounds like a lovely man." The women replied. "Please, call me Lina." She told Mary. Mary nodded her consent and again, both women were warmly smiling at each other. "What can I get for you today Mary?" Lina asked. Neither was in a rush since there was no line behind Mary, but there was a reason she was here and Lina had a job to do. "Oh, dear, I'll have a small coffee, 3 sugars, vanilla please." Lina nodded again. "Right away Mary" She said with a small smile. With that, she turned and made her way to the kitchen.
Mary moved away from the counter then and glanced around. Couples and groups filled the tables and chatter filled the pleasant environment. She located a small table near a window in the back right corner and decided to sit there. While she was walking towards it, she noticed a particular couple sitting at a table not far from where she decided to sit. They were giggling and talking about all the sciency stuff that Mary didn't understand. Looking at them, Mary felt a smile creep onto her lips. Her little Shelly finally had that, and she was ever so happy for him.
About 5 minutes past that consisted of her staring out the window taking in the sights when she heard someone walk towards her. She tore her gaze off the window and placed it on the women walking towards her. "Why, hello again Lina" Mary cheerfully greeted. "Hi Mary" Lina said with a small smile. "Here's your order." She then placed the steaming hot coffee in front of Mary and turned to go back to the counter when she was stopped. "Leaving so soon dear?" Mary asked. Lina turned so she was again facing her and gave a slight nod, indicating that she had to get back to work. "Why don't you join me? We can chat for a while." She winked Lina's way and it made her feel very uneasy. Her attitude was something anybody could fall in love with, but the way she behaved around women made her believe that Mary was out to have a relationship with her. "I really can't, I have to get back to work. Just let me know when you need the check." And with that, she turned and headed off to the kitchen. "Suit yourself" Mary muttered underneath her breath.
The next 15 minutes or so passed by uneventfully for Mary, watching tourists come and go from the café, couples come in and out, and eventually Mary got so lost in the sights that she didn't realize that her coffee was cold and still half full, or that Bernadette was coming towards her at an alarmingly fast speed.
"Mary!" Bernadette chirped, putting a fake smile on. "How come Sheldon didn't tell us you were coming?" Mary turned her head to face the blonde and she put a genuine smile on her face. "Why, sugar, I don't know why Shelly didn't tell ya'll 'bout my visit. I'm just happy to be here!" Mary's enthusiasm made Bernadette feel slightly better about her situation.
"Well, how come you're in this café all by yourself? I don't think it's nice to leave your mom in a café all alone while she's visiting you." For the first time in this conversation, Bernadette was generally concerned about someone other than herself. "Oh, sugar, it's quite alright. Sit down and I'll tell you why." Bernadette gave Mary a slight nod and proceeded to sit down in the chair across from her. "See, what happened was, Shelly and Amy had a little, 'fight' if you will." She explained, using hand gestures. "and Leonard had called me to tell me that Shelly was not himself, and he asked me to come visit." "Yeah, Sheldon has been acting weird lately." The blonde agreed. "Anyways, I came here and I've never seen my Shelly so broken over someone before. So Leonard and I decided to go over to Amy's and talk with her about it." Mary paused and took a sip of her coffee. "My, this is cold." She stated. "Would you like me to take it back for you and get it heated up?" Bernadette asked.
"It's quite alright dear. Bless your heart for asking though. Anyhow," Mary continued, swallowing. "We brought Amy over to Shelly's and they were talkin' and stuff and I left." "How come Leonard or Penny didn't come with you?" Bernadette asked. Mary's smile turned into a grin. "'Cuz I got them to spend a romantic evenin' together of course!" Bernadette nodded slowly. "So does that mean they're back together?" "Oh darlin', I don't know. I hope so!" Bernadette chuckled softly; Mary's enthusiasm was almost like a little kids'. "So tell me, Bernadette, why did you come marching in here all upset?" "Upset? How could you tell I was upset?" Mary gave her a look and her mouth formed an 'o' shape. Mary leaned forward, ready to hear her story.
*Flashback*
"What's going on?" Bernadette asked, now for the second time. Raj then came into the bathroom and gave Penny some pills before leaving. Howard continued to ignore her, which made her upset. All she wanted him to do was listen and answer her question. "HOWARD!" She yelled. "Yes, ma… my Bernadette." Howard had replied. Bernadette had rolled her eyes and softened her tone. "Howie, what's going on?" For a second, Howard looked like he was going to say something, but before he could, Leonard cut him off. "Bernadette, I think I may have the answer to that." He told her. After pausing and moving toward Howard with his arms crossed, he continued. "I think Howard is jeleous that I helped you when you were drunk and he didn't." She had stopped listening after that, displaying her confusion and disappointment on her face. When Leonard was done talking, she turned to Howard. "Howie, is this true?" She asked.
"Yes Bernie, it is. But what was I suppose to do?" He asked her. Bernadette was not amused, all she wanted to do was get away from the problem. "Look, Howard." She said in a firm voice, clearly displaying her anger. "Leonard doesn't deserve you being mad at him. He was only trying to help." Her voice softened a little towards the end of her sentence but her voice never lost any of its firmness.
Leonard spoke up at that moment. "Uhm, guys." He said. His words fell on deaf ears as Howard and Bernadette continued to argue. "I don't care; it's not fair to him!" Bernadette continued to defend her case. "Hello? I'm standing right here you know." Leonard said, again being ignored. "What? So what are you saying?" Howard asked in a condescending tone that was dripping with nervousness. "Enough!" Penny yelled.
Penny shot Bernadette a look of irritation to which she complied with, grabbing Howard's ear and dragging him out of the bathroom and out of the apartment, all the while Howard was grumbling under his breath.