Chapter 25
Leonard and Penny walked into a quiet beachside restaurant. He had just finished picking her up from the airport. He glanced at her. Penny looked refreshed and happy. It was miles away from how she looked when she had left Pasadena. It felt so good to be with Penny again, he had missed her terribly when she went away.
"Can we get a table overlooking the ocean?" Leonard asked the waiter. He nodded, and led them to a quiet table towards the beach. The soft caw of seagulls and the smell of the ocean air filled the space.
Penny smiled and took Leonard's hand. "It is so good to see you Leonard. I've missed you so much. Oh it feels so great to be back in California! I can't believe how quickly I missed the ocean" Penny said as she gazed out at the water. They both sat down at their candlelit table. The sun was slowly setting in the background. They quickly ordered their meals, but were saying very little to each other. The silence was awkward, as they both shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. The air was filled with tension, with too many things to say, with nothing to say at all. Leonard thought he would start with a safe topic to break the ice.
"So…I suppose you know about Sheldon and Amy?" Leonard began.
"No not really. I didn't really talk to anyone while I was in Nebraska. Why what happened with them? Are they having problems again?" Penny asked concerned.
"Oh quite the opposite." Leonard grinned. He took a sip of his wine. "The impossible has happened. Those two finally did the horizontal mambo."
"What!" Penny dropped her fork. "Did Sheldon tell you? I can't believe it! Holy crap on a cracker…" Penny said astonished.
"Well, he didn't come outright and tell me as such. I kind of heard them…through the bedroom wall. I kind of called him out on it after, and he confirmed."
"They were having sex, knowing you were sleeping in the next room?!" Penny exclaimed.
"No..no. I told them I was staying over at Howard and Bernadette's because we were having some of Wolowitz's new-fangled drink orbs. I just couldn't sleep in their spare room, so I left pretty early in the morning…around 5 am. When I got into bed, I started hearing…ummm noises. Unmistakable noises." Leonard laughed. "Well, it's not like we haven't done that to Sheldon plenty of times.."
"I know, I know…but wow. I'm kind of speechless!" Penny looked thoughtfully at her wine glass. "I was sure, the minute that happened, Amy would be on the phone to me. I haven't heard from her since I left. I know I shouldn't be surprised, it's going to take some time to rebuild our friendship." Penny sadly flicked the condensation on her glass.
"Well, if it's any consolation, I don't think Amy is upset with you. She's just firmly planted in Shamyland right now." Leonard looked at Penny. "You know, they are really happy together. I feel happy for them. They are really good for each other"
They stared at each other. The question that was on both of their lips lingered in the air. Who would say it? How could they start this conversation? Penny started nervously biting her nails. Leonard started playing with his napkin.
Leonard looked up at Penny and blurted out "Do you think we are good for each other Penny? I want your honest answer." He looked extremely guarded, but interested in the answer. No emotion was escaping his face.
Penny took a big breath and began. "I've been doing a lot of thinking about you, me…our relationship. Sometimes the differences between us are so glaringly obvious. I know that this isn't right, but I honestly felt like I had normal person interests, and you and your friends were a bit odd. I kept focusing on how we were different, but not on how we were the same."
"Well, I like to think I am normal, but how do you thing we are the same out of curiosity?"
"Well, funny enough, I thought a lot about something Amy told me a while back. I was complaining about you and our friends weird interests to her. You know, Amy doesn't exactly hold the same love for Star Trek, Star Wars and D&D that you guys do. I thought that I had a bit of an ally in her. I did in some respects, but she had a really different perspective.
Leonard looked curious. "How so?"
"Well, she pointed out that as an actress, I am a dreamer. I take stories that someone has made in their minds, and breathe life into it. The subtle nuances I make can change the whole tone and feeling of a scene. I create a whole new world for people to escape into. She said it was so creative and imaginative. Then she said, that as physicists that you and Sheldon are also dreamers."
Leonard looked at Penny with great interest. He was waiting for her to go on.
"I was a bit puzzled myself. To me, it seemed like you guys set up crazy experiments, and do a lot of math. It didn't really seem outwardly creative, like being a writer, an artist, a musician, an actor. But Amy, told me that you guys are trying to explain the very fabric of the universe. You are trying to explain the unexplainable, which requires thinking and dreaming of the impossible. Multiple unseen dimensions…multiple universes You use math as your paintbrush to paint the picture of the universe you are imagining. When I really think about it, you can't get much more creative than that. It also explains to me your fascination with the science fiction world."
"So we are a couple of dreamers then…" Leonard looked thoughtfully up at Penny. He had so much that he needed to tell her, but he didn't quite know how to say it.
Penny cleared her throat "Leonard, I've always known that I love you. But I kept on focusing on the negatives. And it wasn't just you. I did that with Amy and Bernadette. I did it with work. I was living in a world in my head in a sense. Like everything was supposed to be like the silly daydreams I had as a kid."
"And what…do I not meet up to your daydreams of what you wanted?" Leonard asked.
"No…I've realized so much in the last week. It took me almost losing everything in my life, to slap me into reality. I thought about what's really important to me. I was stuck on what I thought I wanted, but didn't realize that I had changed. I am no longer that person, I've grown up, but I left my goals unchanged. I'm not that girl that moved out here from Nebraska, that was going to become a big movie star and jet set around the world with my movie star husband. I don't even want to be that person anymore, it's not what I want for my life."
"And what do you want Penny?"
"I want a partner who truly loves me and who I love in return. I want friends that I can count on, and that are there for the good times and bad. I want a job where I am excited to get up in the morning to go to. It sounds quite simple, but it's everything that is important." Penny took a hold of Leonard's hand. "Leonard, you are that person for me. I know I haven't treated you like it, but that is going to change. You are the one I want to see the first thing in the morning and the last person at night. You are the person I want to share my joys and fears with. I want to be silly with you. I want to cry with you. It's you…only you. You've always been there for me, and I just took it for granted. No more Leonard. Please let me prove to you that I can be the partner that you deserve. I love you so much." Penny said passionately.
It was everything that Leonard had wanted to hear. That Penny truly wanted to be with him. That she wasn't settling, that he was her one true love.
"Penny, you're not the only one who did a lot of thinking when you were away." Leonard started. "I've done a lot of reflecting about us and thought a lot about what everyone told me over the past couple of weeks. I thought about what Sheldon said about us. I thought about what Howard said also. That I had this need to "save" you and be the one to take care of you, and that I didn't like it when you turned to someone else. Penny I hated how you turn to everyone else for advice, and not ever to me. And when I give advice you don't seem to take me seriously at all. It makes me feel unvalued and unimportant. I want to be you partner, and not be seen as someone who is pestering you all the time. I know that these problems between us, is not all your fault, and it's not all my fault either. We are both partially to blame. I really think we need to communicate better. Judge less…listen more. For both of us."
"I'm really sorry Leonard for how I treated you. I do value your opinion. Your opinion really matters the most to me" Penny said softly.
"I'm sorry too Penny. I'm sorry you couldn't feel yourself with me. I'm sorry for being judgemental, and getting upset when you go to others for advice. That wasn't fair to you either. You know….this is good. I want us to talk more. I think that's one thing we can take away from Sheldon and Amy's crazy relationship agreement, they do seem to talk about what's bothering them right away, and not bottle it up."
"Yeah, I agree." Penny smiled. "So where do we start from here?"
Leonard reached over and held Penny's hand. "Hi, I'm Leonard."
Penny laughed. "Hi Leonard, my name is Penny."
"So, Penny, what do you do?" Leonard asked.
"Well, I've had a few jobs. I was a waitress and also an actress. Most recently I was a pharmaceutical sales rep, which was fascinating, and got me interested in my new career path. I'm thinking about enrolling at UCLA in marketing this fall. I found that I was really good in sales, and I still love the entertainment world, so I was hoping to marry the two. I think I would be really good at it."
Leonard broke out into a big smile. "I'm sure that you would be excellent at it."
"And what do you do Leonard?" Penny asked
"Oh I'm an experimental physicist at CalTech."
"Wow, that sounds amazing. You must be a brilliant guy."
"I don't know about that…I think I do alright." Leonard smiled.
"Cute, and modest too. I have one more question for you Leonard." Penny held both of his hands gently.
"Yes?" Leonard said softly
"Will you marry me?" Penny said, gazing into his brown eyes.
"Oh, I don't know….we just met and all –"
"Leonard!" Penny exclaimed.
"Of course. Yes. Yes, yes and always yes. I love you Penny." Leonard leaned in towards Penny. They shared a soft and gentle kiss.
"I love you too Leonard…with all of my heart." Penny whispered into his ear.
They embraced and gazed out at the ocean. They were on a new path, connected and stronger than ever.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait. The finale kind of put me in a bit of a depressed funk about writing this. Only one chapter left in this story! Reviews are always appreciated! Thanks so much for sticking with me through all the ups and downs of this story. Final Chapter….Girls Night.