Labor Day (first Monday in September)
He watched her cross the lawn with a plate of watermelon for Mrs. Wolowitz. Penny had hardly sat down at all since arriving. He had been stunned when she arrived. Not because she was there, but because of how she looked. He had always considered Penny to be one of the most beautiful women he had ever met. Now, however, he had to admit he was wrong. She was THE most beautiful woman he had ever met. Her skin almost glowed. Her eyes sparkled with warmth. She had been working out, apparently. Her arms and legs were toned, her stomach held a hint of musculature. She still looked soft and feminine, but now she moved with the confidence of someone who knew her body's strengths and limitations.
Sheldon was put in mind of a large cat, all grace and fluidity. She stopped to chat with Mr. Rostenkowski for a moment before making her way over to Raj's side. He considered moving over that way so he could hear what they were saying that was making her smile so happily.
"Sheldon?" Amy touched his arm. "Are you listening to me?"
Sheldon looked at his girlfriend and nodded. "Yes, Amy. You want to know if I think it would be acceptable for us to share a room at the Star Trek convention as Leonard and Priya are doing. The answer is no."
Amy's eyes narrowed and she looked across the Wolowitz's back yard. "Howard and Bernadette are sharing, Leonard and Priya are sharing, even your friend Penny is sharing a bed with her male friend. Why not us?"
Sheldon sighed. "Amy, I have told you many times, I am not ready for such intimacy. Besides, Penny and Raj are not sharing a bed, just a room."
Amy smiled mysteriously. "Actually, no. I heard her telling Bernadette that she was going to stay with her friend Mark. Raj will get a room to himself."
Sheldon stilled. "Penny is not staying with our group?"
Amy shook her head. "She is leaving the day before we are and will be staying a day longer than us."
Sheldon didn't stop to think. He just walked across the lawn and interrupted Raj and Penny. "You will no longer be part of our trip next month?"
Penny looked stunned by his tone. "No, not really. I got hired to work at the convention. So, I need to show up on Thursday for fittings. Why are you acting so surprised?"
Sheldon's eyes narrowed. "Maybe because this is the first I heard of it. I have made plans, Penny. Driving arrangements, room arrangements, even a schedule of events. This disrupts all of that."
Penny sighed. "Sheldon, I sent you an email as soon as I got hired. That was over a week ago. I knew you would need to know for your charts."
Sheldon crossed his arms. "Unacceptable, Penny. You will need to change your travel plans."
Penny's temper began to rise. Raj 'eeped' and hurried away. "Sheldon, I am not giving up a paying job just because it throws your seating chart off. You'll never even know I'm not there, anyway. I was in Bernadette's car."
"Of course I would know," he said with exasperation. By now everyone was staring at them worriedly. For a while things in the group dynamic had been shifting. They all knew it, even him. He just refused to accept it. Over Penny's shoulder he saw her friend Mark approaching. Even here, among the core group, this man was intruding?!
Sheldon watched as Penny turned toward him and smiled softly. Her anger was gone in the blink of an eye. Without another word Penny walked away. She met Mark near the grill. He wrapped an arm around her waist and Penny drew him over to meet their hostess, Mrs. Wolowitz. Sheldon took a seat near the porch and spent the rest of the afternoon studiously avoiding Penny.