World Environment Day (June 5th)
Sheldon had a plan. He had spent 8 days working diligently on his problem. Amy would be devastated if he broke their relationship agreement. She was his friend, and he did not want to lose that. Amy wanted more intimacy. So the obvious solution was to find someone Amy would be attracted to. Then he could break up with her, so she could be with someone else, yet remain his friend. Then he would be free to be with Penny.
The last three weeks had been spent scouting out possibilities for Amy. He had been completely unsuccessful. He had introduced Amy to several colleagues, and acquaintances. She had expressed no interest in any of them. But now he thought he might have found the perfect person. He listened to Priya and Leonard talk about the upcoming weekend. Priya was trying to convince Leonard to join her, Penny, Mark, Raj and Mark's nephew for World Environment Day. They were going to spend the morning planting flowers at the park.
"I will join you," Sheldon said from the kitchen. He turned to Amy on the couch. "How about it, Amy? Would you like to help plant some flowers at the park?"
Leonard walked over and pressed his hand to Sheldon's forehead, making Sheldon glare and push his hand away. Priya looked at Sheldon carefully. "You are going to help us plant flowers? In the dirt?"
Sheldon nodded. "Priya has spoken often about how much all of you have enjoyed your holiday events. I think it would be interesting to participate."
Amy's eyes narrowed. "Yes. I will join also." She stood and walked over to Sheldon. "It will be an interesting couples activity." She stressed "couples" slightly, making Sheldon wonder if she knew what he was trying to do.
Leonard shrugged. "I'm in too, then. It might be fun. Besides, with Penny and Mark being so close, we should probably get to know him better. It's beginning to look like he's going to be a permanent part of the group."
Not if I have anything to do with it, Sheldon thought.
Penny giggled as Howard squealed like a girl when his trowel cut a worm in half. Bernadette rubbed Howard's arm soothingly, while trying to restrain her snickers. Bernadette plopped a geranium into the hole and added fertilizer. Penny covered it with soil and then Priya put down mulch. The group was working like an assembly line. Leonard, Sheldon, Amy, and Zack were working around another tree nearby. Mark was keeping each group supplied with plants and fertilizer while Raj dealt out the mulch.
Sheldon scooted a bit to the left and bumped Zack slightly. Zack automatically edged closer to Amy who looked a bit flustered. Sheldon smiled internally, certain that his plan was working. He looked around and saw Mark watching him with a knowing smile. He flushed and looked away. He tugged his thick gardening gloves up tighter over the latex gloves and shifted the micro mat he was kneeling on. They finished planting a ring of posies around the tree base and gathered their tools.
Sheldon carried his things over to the bench and looked around. He smiled to himself to see Zack helping Amy to her feet, a blush on her cheeks. His internal smile disappeared quickly when he saw Penny and Mark heading around the corner of the shed, laughing.
Sheldon began to walk that way, but before he got very far, Amy appeared at his side. She linked her arm through his and smiled.
"I have to admit, this was more fun than I had anticipated," she said. "Don't you agree?"
Sheldon looked at her hopefully. "What have you enjoyed most?"
Amy looked around the park with a smile. "Seeing you step outside your comfort zone gives me hope that we are moving toward overcoming your reservations."
Sheldon sighed. Okay, so he couldn't expect immediate results, but he did hope this didn't take too long. He looked toward the shed worriedly.