CHAPTER 16
Amy left her apartment on that clear afternoon and at the entrance of the building she met Mattias, he was coming back home after walking his dog. Amy greeted Mattias and his golden retriever named Max.
Max, the puppy, wagged his tail happily as Amy stroked his head and his paws. The puppy was very friendly and obedient.
"Are you going out? Do you want me to take you somewhere?", Mattias asked.
"No, don't bother. I'm going out for a walk. I want to go shopping. Girl stuff, you know, Amy replied.
"Are you sure?, It's no trouble at all. Let me feed Max and I'll be ready to go out with you". Mattias informed.
"No thanks, I'll be fine", Amy said while she left the building, waving her hand.
Amy walked a few blocks to the bus stop, where she rode the bus that led her to Downtown Stockholm. Hundreds of stores showed their finest items at their windows.
At a highly renowned store Amy saw a beautiful navy blue dress, with V-neck, ¾ length sleeves, and a straight skirt. The dress had a matching satin belt around its waist. Amy wasn't sure whether to buy a dress like that or not. Of course she liked it, but usually she wouldn't risk and buy something like that. She didn't think it would look good on her. She stared at the outfit for about two minutes imagining the shoes that would match perfectly with that dress. Would Sheldon like it?.
"If I were you, I'd try it on", said a voice that sounded awkwardly familiar to Amy.
Amy turned around, to see who was speaking to her and was pleasantly surprised when she saw Emma, the girl she'd helped with her baby at the plane, during her flight to Stockholm.
"Aw, it's such a small world!. Hi Emma, I've never thought we would meet again, and look here is little Lilly too". Amy greeted her kindly, stroking the baby's cheek. Lilly smiled from her stroller.
In an unusual act of courage Amy decided to try on that dress she liked so much, even though it wasn't her personal style, this was a special occasion and, since she hardly knew a handful of people in Stockholm, she didn't really care of what other people say. The dress was elegant and attractive without being too revealing.
"Well, what do you think?", Amy asked Emma.
"I think it's a beautiful dress and it looks stunning on you. Yes, you should buy it", replied Emma. "But… why don't you try a smaller size?".
"A smaller size? Seriously?, This is the size I always wear". Amy was puzzled.
"Well, I think a smaller size will fit you. The one you're wearing now is a little loose, don't you think?" Emma told her.
Amy looked in the mirror and after a few seconds of staring at her reflection she realized that Emma was right. Apparently, in this month and four days she had been in Sweden, Amy had lost four or five pounds. Well, she had almost no appetite, and missing Sheldon consumed a great amount of energy. She tried a smaller size.
"Well… that's the dress! Buy it!", Emma encouraged her, raising her thumb as a gesture of approval.
Walking around the store they found a pair of gorgeous black heels. Amy had worn heels before, but these were considerably higher than any other pair she had.
"You'll have to wear the heels during the week to get used to them", Emma recommended Amy.
"Yes, and I must admit that estrogen exert great pressure on the female brain, now I want a purse to match", Amy was smiling, completely happy with her new dress.
When they finally finished their shopping Amy and Emma shared a pleasant afternoon sipping a cup of coffee and chatting for a while. Amy liked Emma; the young blonde had a very cheerful personality, she reminded her of Penny, and her daughter Lilly was an adorable baby.
When she got home, Amy started a video chat with Penny; she wanted to show her the dress she just bought. "So… what do you think?", she asked.
"It's perfect for you. You look so pretty. And ... is that handsome Swedish doctor going to that cocktail party with you?", Penny asked with a smile. "Sheldon will be so jealous", added Penny.
"You mean… Mattias?, Of course he'd be there, he is the head of the Department of Neurosciences at Stockholm University." Amy replied coldly.
"But he is also your friend and you can't deny that he's so cute, I've seen his pictures on Facebook and I'm telling you that if I wasn't in love with Leonard, I'd spend all my money on a ticket to Stockholm just to meet him. Ha, ha!". Penny laughed.
"Bestie, you know that, for me, there's no other man in the world but Sheldon" Amy replied sternly.
"Amy, it's just a joke, I know you only have eyes for your Doctor Wackadoodle. Don´t you?", Penny said.
"Yes, I miss him so much and it's getting worse with every day. I think I'm catching his hypochondria and his quirks. You know… I'm dying to sip Kool-Aid, through a red vine, exactly like he does, and the bad thing is that I can´t find Kool-Aid here in Stockholm. Last week I had Thai food for lunch, almost every day". Amy wasn't lying.
"Sheldon misses you too; obviously, he's been in such a bad mood lately. I've tried to cheer him up, but it's hard. You know he's almost certain that he has a brain tumor. He asked me to take him to the hospital, I think it's to divert his attention from the fact that you're away.
"You know he's like a little boy sometimes and he needs someone to take care of him. I miss him so much". Amy was about to cry.
"Don't worry, I'm taking care of him. You're gonna get through this" Penny said sympathetically.
"Thanks, Penny, you're the best!" Amy added sincerely.
The next Saturday night, precisely one month and ten days since Amy left Pasadena; the long-awaited presentation for the multinational Project of the Institute of Neurosciences of Stockholm was about to take place.
It was 10 am in Pasadena; and even though Sheldon had already gone to the hospital and requested a brain scan and many other tests (with normal results), he was still feeling sick. He woke up again, with nausea and the same headache as the day before. He could only have a cup of mint tea. Everything else would increase his discomfort.
"This must be a brain tumor", he told himself as he left the bathroom, after gargling with mouthwash.
"Sheldon, we went to the hospital and they didn't find anything wrong with you", Leonard told his friend.
"Well, I hope those aren't the words written on my tombstone: Dr. Sheldon Cooper, theoretical physicist. He went to the hospital and they didn't found anything wrong with him," said Sheldon with his condescending tone.
Skype's ringtone made Sheldon quickly run to his desk. It was Amy; his face was shining when he saw her on the screen. Why does she have to be so far away?
"Hi Sheldon, Amy waved at her boyfriend. "Are you okay?. You seem a little pale and you have dark circles under your eyes". Amy was worried when she looked at Sheldon's face
"It's the same discomfort I've had for the last month. I went to the hospital but they couldn't find anything", Sheldon said. "Nevertheless… you, look so ... different", Sheldon told her as he realized how stunning Amy looked. "Are you going out?".
"Yeah, as I told you with anticipation, this evening we have a reception to present our research project. Look!, this is the dress I bought for the occasion", Amy told Sheldon, then she got up from her chair and turn around, so her boyfriend could admire her outfit. She was wearing a natural and subtle makeup that highlighted her beautiful features. Her hair was arranged in a delightful updo.
Out of curiosity; Leonard who was also in the living room, headed to the desk because he wanted to see Amy. Sheldon gave him a reproachful look.
"Oh, well ... I think that skirt is very short, it's probably two inches above your knee, and you're going to catch a cold", Sheldon said, unable to take his eyes off Amy . "That… cleavage", he thought, biting his lower lip.
"Don't listen to him Amy, you look amazing!", Leonard affirmed.
"Thank you, Leonard!", Amy said blushing.
"If you excuse me, this is a private conversation", Sheldon told Leonard. The experimental physicists shrugged his shoulders, and left the apartment. He went to Penny's.
"Amy, you know that I consider fascinating to contemplate your figure, but I don't feel comfortable knowing that other men may look at you, the way I do. I feel, somewhat… vulnerable", Sheldon admitted.
"But Sheldon… it's just a dress, a modest one I must say. I wanted to wear something nice for this event" Amy was surprised by the alpha male attitude of her boyfriend.
Someone knocked at Amy's door. "You're not going to open that door?", Sheldon asked her.
"Of course", Amy said as she headed to the door. It was Mattias. He was going to pick her up, so they could both attend to the reception. They had to be there at 8 pm.
"Hi Amy, I see you're ready. You look very beautiful", Mattias told her. He was wearing a classic and elegant black suit.
"You look great, too", Amy felt shy. "Give me a minute, so I can say goodbye to Sheldon" Amy said as she walked to her desk.
Sheldon Cooper appeared as offline in her contacts. "I'm sure it's just a connection problem", Amy thought. "I'll call him later" Then she took her purse and her black coat.
"I knew it, she's with him… she's going out with him", Sheldon shouted after that video call. A few seconds later he was looking for a plane ticket to Stockholm.
It was a cold night in Stockholm, although it hadn't snowed for about two weeks. Mattias parked his car and got out of it to open the door for Amy, extending his hand for her to take it. He was a gentleman.
Together they walked to the reception lounge where formal presentation of the project was taking place. The decoration was sober and elegant. The lounge was full of highly recognized scientists and other personalities from the field of neurobiology.
Mattias did a brilliant exposition of the project, earning applauses from the audience; Amy was excited to hear the words of the neurologist, as he thanked his group. On several occasions, Mattias looked straight to Amy's captivating green eyes.
After the formal event and a delicious dinner, Mattias and the rest of colleagues decided to go to a very trendy club in Downtown Stockholm, where they could have a drink and dance all night.
Amy wanted to go home, she felt unusually tired, and even a bit dizzy. Those high heels made her feet hurt, and she had no intention of going out, perhaps because of what had happened earlier with Sheldon. "I hope it was just a connection problem, Sheldon wouldn't hang up on me". She told herself.
"I'm a little tired. I think I better take a cab and go home", Amy said, she din't want to be rude and unfriendly.
"Amy please, come with us, we'll have a good time. We've worked so hard and we deserve a little fun… I'll take you home later". Nobody could say no to Mattias's smile.
"Okay, but I don't want to stay up late", Amy was succumbing to peer pressure.
Mattias and Amy chatted all night; they danced together and perhaps… they had one shot too many of that local vodka.
Amy talked about Sheldon most of the night. Mattias tried to evade the issue of his ex-girlfriend, but Amy gets very curious when she drinks a few cocktails.
"And why did you break up with her?", Amy asked.
Mattias didn't expect such a direct question, although it was almost four months since he broke up with her ex-girlfriend. It still hurts.
"Well, apparently I spent a lot of time working abroad, and a long distance relationship didn't work out for us. I was always busy and, I guess Frida got lonely; so she decided to find someone else." Mattias said, breathing deeply and taking Amy's hand.
"I'm sorry", Amy said. She could imagine how much she would suffer if someone came between her and Sheldon.
"Do you want to go home?", Mattias asked her.
"Yes, let's go!", she answered.
A.N: I'd like to know what you think about this story. Reviews are nice!
