Mad Hatter Day (October 6th )
It was Cal-Tech's costume gala. Sheldon sat at the group's table, resisting Amy's attempts to drag him out onto the floor. He had no desire to dance. Nothing could get him out there.
"Wow!" Priya said in surprise. "Is that Penny? What is she doing here?"
Bernadette nodded. "She said Mark asked her to come. Don't they look cute together?"
Penny was wearing a grey furry cat suit with neon blue stripes. The long tail was draped over Mark's arm. Her blonde hair was tucked up underneath furry cat ears. Mark was wearing a dark green top hat, a large polka dot bow tie, and a dark coat. His white make up and red wig completed his Mad Hatter costume. They were talking with a couple of professors from the English department.
"They've been dating for a while now, haven't they?" Leonard asked.
Howard nodded. "Sort of. I'm not sure what is going on with them. As far as I know, they spend quite a lot of time together, but they don't really act like a couple."
Sheldon tore his eyes from Penny and looked at Howard. "He's not mean to her, is he?"
"Oh no!" Bernadette said quickly. "In fact, he's really nice to her. Don't let the tattoos fool you! He's a big ol' teddy bear. And so smart! He's traveled a lot too. It's just that you never see them cuddle or kiss. No little nicknames. No showy affection stuff. But it's obvious they care about each other."
Raj sipped his wine. "Well, he did carry her in his arms that day at the beach."
Bernadette laughed. "And promptly dumped her into the water! They spent the next hour having a water fight."
Sheldon looked across the room at Penny. He had not seen her very much since the barbecue. At the convention she had been working a booth for the new animated Star Trek miniseries that was being promoted. Her costume had been from the Next Generation era, as was the show. It turned out that Mark was producing the new show. After the convention, he had not seen her often. Besides working at the Cheesecake Factory, she was apparently taking some community college classes. Raj had let it slip when he opted out of Halo one night to help her study for a test.
Leonard shook his head. "I still can't believe she's dating someone twice her age."
Priya shrugged. "He does not look to be that much older than her. Does his age really matter? Penny is the one dating him, not you."
"Hi guys!" Everyone turned to see Penny and Mark walking toward them. Howard and Raj grabbed a couple of chairs.
"Join us," Bernadette said with a smile. Mark held out a chair for Penny and then sat down. He laid his arm across the back of her chair and smiled.
"Hey. Um, let's see…Sheldon, Amy, Leonard and Priya, right?" They all nodded, except Sheldon who watched the new couple closely. "Pretty cool Justice League costumes."
"You two look nice, also," Priya said.
Penny giggled. "It took two weeks to get him to agree. I had to be very insistent. Especially since today is Mad Hatter Day."
"Mad Hatter Day?" Sheldon asked with a raised eyebrow.
Mark pointed to the small white tag on his hat. 10/6 was printed in bold ink. "I tried to get her into an Alice ensemble, but after seeing the Cheshire Cat costume, I had to agree with her choices."
Penny refused the glass of wine the waiter offered and asked for a bottle of water instead.
"Designated driver?" Amy asked trying to act casual. Penny still made her feel uncomfortable, especially when Sheldon watched the other woman so carefully.
Penny shook her head. "I am trying to stop drinking. I haven't had more than a couple glasses of wine in two months."
Sheldon looked at her in shock. "That's wonderful," he said softly. "Good for you, Penny."
Penny shrugged. "I have Mark to thank for that. He's helping me kick the habit."
Mark smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "You do all the work. I just cheer you on."
A couple dressed in Victorian garb walked over. "We're going to go tour the butterfly garden. You two coming?" the guy asked Mark.
Mark's phone rang and he looked at it. "It's my partner. I'll be back." He stood and walked out of the ballroom.
Penny smiled a little bit. "You guys go on. Maybe we'll catch up."
"I can take you." Everyone looked at Sheldon with surprise. He cleared his throat lightly. "If you want, I'll go with you. Amy and I, that is."
Penny's eyes flickered over to Amy for a second. "That's okay, sweetie. I know you don't like bugs. I appreciate it, but I think I'll go see how Mark is doing." Penny stood and smiled at everyone before walking away.
After a few minutes the rest of the group settled down and conversation turned to the newest Spiderman movie coming out. Sheldon tried to watch for her, but Penny and Mark never returned to the table.