Friday rolled around and Amy hurried out of work, excited for the next day.
One of her work colleagues who was amazing at photography, had offered to be their photographer on Saturday, and Amy had called Sheldon at lunch to see if he minded, and he happily agreed.
It was all systems go now!
Amy met Penny in the lobby and the two of them hurried to the florist's.
"What are you looking for to go in your bouquet?" Penny asked as they walked into the door.
"Pink Lillies." Amy replied. "But with some purple and white flowers in there too."
"Hmm…" Penny frowned as she browsed the aisle behind Amy, and spotted some deep purple orchids next to some soft, pastel purple lilacs. "Hey Ames! Come over here; I think I found something!"
Amy located the hot pink Lillies and selected a few, before meeting Penny on the other side.
Penny pointed out what she had found.
"Oh I love them. Those are perfect!" Amy smiled as she picked some of each. "Now just for some white…"
"What about these white spray roses?" Penny suggested as she moved over a little, and found spray roses in all different colors.
"Perfect!" Amy breathed. "Could you grab those for me please? I don't have enough hands."
"Sure." Penny took a few, and they moved over to the desk, where the assistant had just come out from the back.
"Oh! I'm sorry to keep you, ladies! Do you need any help, or have you found what you were looking for?" The older woman smiled politely.
"We've found them, thank you." Amy replied, as she and Penny carefully laid the flowers on the desk. "These are for a bridal bouquet…I'm getting married tomorrow." Amy's heart leapt a little as she said this.
"Congratulations!" The older woman grinned, as she trimmed the stems of the flowers evenly. "What color ribbon would you like around these?"
"Pink please. Like the lillies."
The lady cut her ribbon expertly, and tied it around the stems of the flowers. "Do you have corsages for the men and bouquets for the bridesmaids?"
"Oh crap, I almost forgot!" Amy gasped. "I'll be right back."
She rushed to grab some more flowers and returned to the desk.
"So…The roses, lilacs and orchids for Penny's bouquet, and the Lillies for the corsages." Amy decided. "Sheldon will have the biggest Lilly on his button though, because he's the groom."
"Excellent choice." Penny smiled.
As the woman prepared the bridesmaid bouquet and buttonholes, Amy took out her card.
She paid for the flowers, and scribbled down the instructions for keeping the flowers fresh overnight, before thanking the woman and exiting the store with Penny.
"Well, that's it. That's everything!" Amy exhaled. "This time tomorrow, I'll be walking down the aisle!"
"I can't believe it." Penny replied, linking arms with her friend. "I'm so excited!"
At that moment, Penny's phone rang.
Fishing it out of her pocket, she answered; "Hello? Oh hey sweetie…Don't worry, I won't let Amy see Sheldon before tomorrow…What? What do you mean he's gone?!"
Amy's heart dropped and her vision blurred as a lump rose in her throat.
She felt herself stumble, and held onto Penny for support as her breathing quickened.
"Leonard, I have to go. Amy's having a panic attack! If you find Sheldon, tell him I'll kill him!" Penny hung up.
Amy was hyperventilating, so Penny guided her to a bench and gave her a paper bag to breathe into as she rubbed her back.
Once Amy regained her breath, she spoke.
"How-How could he do this to me!?" She wept. "The wedding is tomorrow! If he couldn't handle it, then why the hell did he propose in the first place?"
"Amy, I'm so sorry. Leonard said that he went to the bathroom, and by the time he came back, Sheldon had gone." Penny said. "But we're going to find him…Oh, I'll find him if it kills me!"
"Well, I mean…Did he leave a note or anything?" Amy asked.
"No." Penny shook her head, regretfully.
Amy sighed and shook her head. "I should have known that this would happen. Why did I say yes? Why do I love him, Penny?" She burst into tears, and Penny hugged her tight.
"Come on, let's go somewhere quiet." Penny whispered, as she linked arms with Amy and walked her towards the beach.
"I can't be here." Amy shook her head tearfully, "this is where our wedding was supposed to be!"
"I know sweetie, but the sea air might do you some good. Come on, sit with me." Penny sat on the sand, her arm around Amy comfortingly.
It was getting dark now, and nobody was around.
All they could hear was the distant sound of cars on the roads, and the lapping of the waves against the shore.
Amy took a deep breath.
"I gave him everything." She wept. "Literally everything!"
"I know you did sweetie," Penny consoled, "but for all we know, he could have just gone for a breather before the wedding, just to calm his nerves. Maybe we're overreacting…"
"Shh!" Amy hissed suddenly. "Do you hear that?"
The two girls heard an engine coming closer, and turned around.
A little further along the beach, a small truck was driving down the sand.
It came to a stop a little way in front of the sea before being stopped and the engine shut off.
Two men climbed out of the front and closed the doors; their voices could only slightly be heard.
"We're too far away to hear." Amy frowned.
"I wonder what they're doing… Maybe night fishing?" Penny said. She turned to Amy. "Want to go and see? It might take your mind off things."
"Sure." Amy shrugged, half-heartedly.
The two men had their backs turned to Amy and Penny as they snuck along the beach towards the truck, and hid behind a large cluster of rocks.
They could hear the voices much clearer now.
"Thanks for doing this, Bill."
"You're welcome, sonny." Replied a heavy Southern accent, "Where do you want her?"
Amy and Penny stared at each other wide-eyed.
"Oh my God…They have a woman in there!" Amy whispered.
"It better not be a dead one!" Penny gulped.
They listened further.
"We could plant her here I guess…I'm coming back tomorrow afternoon. Good job the beach is closed off; nobody will come and interfere." The first voice was saying now.
"Okay. Help me dig a hole in the ground." The Southern voice replied.
The girls had heard enough.
"NO! We heard you...You can't bury a body on the beach! We'll call the cops, you sick bastards!" Penny cried.
The two men spun around in shock.
"A body?" The Southern man laughed. "Are you insane?"
Amy squinted at the other man. "Sheldon!"
"Amy, you're not meant to be here! You're meant to be with Penny!"
"I am with Penny. Leonard called and said you high-tailed it! You were going to ditch me the night before our wedding! How could you? I gave you everything Sheldon!" She cried.
"Don't be absurd! Why would I run out on you the night before our wedding?" Sheldon looked hurt. "I told Leonard where I was going in the note."
"Ha! Leonard said there was no note!" Penny countered.
"It was stuck to the fridge with the pineapple magnet. How could he miss that?" Sheldon frowned.
The Southern man had now moved round to the back of the truck and was making a noise.
"Then what are you doing here if you're not running out on me?" Amy asked.
"I can't say." Sheldon replied.
At that moment, the Southern guy pulled out something large and white from the truck.
"Bill!" Sheldon hissed. "I told you Amy isn't supposed to see this!"
"Sorry pal, I do have other things to do today. Where d'you want her?" Bill replied.
Amy blinked. "Is that an ornate archway?"
Sheldon sighed. "It was meant to be a surprise…I bought it and was going to put it up tonight so that it was ready for tomorrow. We're supposed to get married underneath it."
"So…You really weren't running out on me?"
"Of course not. Why would I do that?"
Amy looked dumbstruck, and Penny shifted guiltily.
"Oh my God…Sheldon, I'm so sorry! It's just that Leonard called and said you made a run for it, so we thought the worst…" Amy said. "I'm really sorry."
Sheldon hugged her. "It's okay. I don't blame you…I blame Leonard."
Penny took out her phone and moved it around until she finally got a signal and a message from Leonard that was sent twenty minutes earlier:
Sorry, false alarm. I found his note on the fridge. Panic stations aborted. Love you xxx
"Hmm…I blame Leonard too." Penny muttered, pocketing her phone. "We got the bouquet and the buttonholes by the way; we should give the corsages to you now. DON'T lose them!"
"Yes mom!" Sheldon rolled his eyes, muttering.
She opened the bag and gave Sheldon the two pink Lilly buttonhole flowers, transferring them into the paper bag that she had given Amy to breathe in. "Here you go. Yours is the big one."
Sheldon took the bag of flowers delicately, putting them safely in his satchel. "Thank you…I'm going to look like such a girl."
Amy laughed. "You do anyway, but it's okay because I love you." She kissed him.
"I love you too…And next time, please have a little more faith in me." Sheldon smiled as he kissed her in return.
"I will…Again, I'm sorry." Amy answered.
"Don't worry about it," Sheldon smiled. "Now run along! I'm sleeping in Leonard and Penny's room tonight so you two are bunking in our suite."
The girls squealed excitedly as they hurried up the beach back to the hotel.
Sheldon wandered over to help Bill put the archway up, when he paused and turned around.
"Amy!" He called out.
Amy spun around. "Yes?"
"I'll see you tomorrow…Mrs Dr Cooper!"