Chapter 27
Whistling to herself, Penny descended the staircase of the apartment complex to go check her mail before work. It had been two days since Sheldon and Penny had seen the stars together and it still brought a warm fuzzy feeling to Penny when she thought about it. Resolve strengthened, Penny was once again ready to tackle the alter issue.
She grabbed her mail and made her way out the front doors. She got in her jeep, revved up the engine, and made her way to the Cheesecake Factory. Waitressing was tiring but bills needed to be paid. Penny had an audition later that week for a minor role in a TV series. They wanted someone pretty and sassy, which Penny thought fit her perfectly.
Unfortunately, luck was not with Penny on the issue of time. She got stuck in standstill traffic. Sighing, she grabbed for her mail to see if anything good was there.
"Bill, bill, trash, bill, Ooh! New magazine!" It was new magazine that Pasadena was sending out that she had signed up for on a whim. "Pasadena Now!" was supposed to get the people of Pasadena up to date with all the new and happening things that were going on in Pasadena. Penny got it to see ratings on new hotspots.
Flipping through the magazine and humming along with the radio, Penny stopped at an article that made her brain stop. Hands trembling, Penny's face split into a triumphant grin and her hand darted for her cell phone. Punching in the digits of the phone number given, Penny waited for someone to pick up the phone.
"Hello? My name is Penny and I have a couple questions. Do you have a few minutes? Perfect" and Penny spent the next twenty minutes in traffic, engrossed in a conversation to help change a part of Sheldon's universe.
"Penny, I do not understand why there is call for secrecy. I will find whatever endeavor you decide to be both enjoyable and enlightening. I just hope that it has nothing to do with shoes. You do recall that I am not one to marvel over the complexity of 'wedges.'" Sheldon was sitting in the passenger seat of Penny's car while Penny was making her way towards their destination.
"Don't worry Sheldon. It's something that I think you will find most educational."
Sheldon's eyebrow arched at this admission before he turned back to look out the window. "Well, then afterwards I believe that we should go try one of those yogurt bars you seem so fond of."
Penny almost crashed into the car in front of her at Sheldon's statement. "What! You do realize that they are self-serve, right? That means anybody could be touching the toppings. Germs, you remember? Your arch nemesis?"
"Penny, it is not as if I am saying we should go to some dirty hole in the wall. I am more than confident that you will take me to a clean establishment." Sheldon retorted while still looking outside. He turned towards Penny with a mug smirk. "Besides, I am not fond of toppings anyway. I will merely ask for a bowl that has not been out of the box. There is little to no contact with the actual yogurt and the employees."
Laughing, Penny pulled into their destination's parking lot. Sheldon looked out, before blanching. "Why are we here?" The church loomed over the parking lot that Penny and Sheldon were in.
"You've gotta trust me Sheldon. Come on." Penny got out of the car and waited for Sheldon to meet her around the front of the vehicle. His normally long, measured stride was cut short and almost jerky. Smiling encouragingly, Penny put her hand in his and pulled lightly. Sheldon looked down at her with a weak smile in place before following her into the church.
The church itself was of a classical design but what Sheldon didn't know was that they were modern in ideals. This is what caught Penny's eye in the magazine. They were a new wave church with a old style building.
They continued through the stone hallways, the only sound being their footsteps. Sheldon continued to get more and more jerky with each corner they turned. His eyes darting from side to side was disconcerting to Penny but she knew that this needed to be done. This was one of the only ways Penny could think of to move forward in her vendetta. She knew that it was a long shot that Sheldon wouldn't just transition into one of the alters before they even made it to their destination. However with each day that Sheldon got closer to her, it was another day that Sheldon trusted her a bit more. It was Sheldon's trust in her that was the base of her entire plan.
At the end of the corridor was a large wooden door. The name plate by the door read "Pastor Paul Jameson." Penny snorted softly to herself. 'Of course the Pastor's name would be the same as two of the alters. Bizarre' she noted before knocking on the door. The muffled "Come in" prompted Penny to look one more time at Sheldon.
"We can go back to the car if you want. I won't think less of you if you just want to go home." Penny nonchalantly remarked, but her mind was racing a million different ways. 'If he doesn't go in, then this could be one of our last chances. Last chance to nip this nasty alter in the bud.' She started from her thoughts when she felt Sheldon softly squeeze her hand.
"No, you have a reason in which to bring me here. We will progress further and see this to the end." Sheldon sent a wobbly smile her way before reaching for the door handle. A moment hesitation and they were inside.
Pastor Jameson was sitting behind a huge desk, illuminated by large windows behind him. The man behind the desk had peppered hair with short trimmed beard. His smile was engaging and warm. 'Perfect! He's just what I need him to be like!' Penny thought as her smile widened.
"Are you Penny Smith and Mr. Cooper?" Pastor Jameson inquired.
"It's actually Dr. Cooper." Sheldon and Penny said at the same time. Turning to each other, surprise lighting their faces, they chuckled softly. Pastor Jameson smiled indulgently, before gesturing to the two chairs that were sitting in front of the desk. Sitting down, Penny and Sheldon waited expectantly for Pastor Jameson to finish putting a marker in his book.
"Now, from what Penny has told me, you are a bit leery of the church as a whole, is that correct?"
"I'm not sure what Penny has told you of my preferences but I do not base my decisions on mere speculation. This is from years of observing and experiencing multiple church organizations vehemently protesting my work."
"Completely understandable, Dr. Cooper. There are many churches that find the sciences to be 'witchcraft' or simply lies. However, here at Life Pool, we find that a combined effort of both the church's and world's principles is the best way to bridge gaps. I am not saying that science is the answer, but it does answer so many questions."
"It answers every question! There is no debate on that issue! I have devoted my entire career to figuring out the universe!" Sheldon yelled, leaping from his seat. Penny jumped slightly at the sudden movement. Looking up, she saw the almost frantic look in Sheldon's eyes. A look she only saw him give when he wasn't sure of the outcome of something. Penny put her hand on Sheldon's arm to placate him. He wrenched it out of her grip.
Sheldon got around the two chairs, muttering to himself, and started to pace back and forth between the door and desk. Penny moved to get up, but Pastor Jameson motioned for her to stay, shaking his head. Getting up slowly, Pastor Jameson slowly made his way around his desk.
"Dr. Cooper? I need you to take a deep breath. I can.."
"No! I won't…I can't do this again! Don't make me do it! I'm sorry! I'm sorry that I don't believe! I can't!" a sob wracked through Sheldon as he slowly curled into a corner of the room. The sobs wrenched through to Penny's heart and she jumped up from her seat. Pastor Jameson tossed her a dark look and another motion to stay.
"Dr. Cooper? Sheldon!" Sheldon looked up at the use of his name. Pastor Jameson knelt down in front of Sheldon. "Sheldon, I am not going to do anything. I just wanted to let you know that you can believe whatever you want. The church will still believe in it's ideals and you will continue to believe in yours. We are not asking you to change. In Texas, you may have had some troubles, but churches in California are more accepting. You understand that, right?" Sheldon shivered slightly before nodding. Pastor Jameson placed his hand on Sheldon's knee. It was the wrong move.
Whimpering, Sheldon tried to curl more into himself. "I'm sorry Reverend. Please don't hit me. I'm sorry!" However, Pastor Jameson would not be deterred. Pulling Sheldon into his arms, Pastor Jameson hugged him tightly. Sheldon tried to get out of his embrace, his attempts weak and half-hearted. After a few minutes of weak attempts, Sheldon collapsed into the Pastor's embrace.
Pastor Jameson murmured soft words that Penny didn't catch but could see that they were helping Sheldon calm down. His sobs no longer wracked his body and he had reduced his crying to mere hiccups.
"No one is going to hurt you here, Sheldon. Church is supposed to be a safe place. A place where anyone can come and seek refuge." Leaning back, Pastor Jameson brushed away Sheldon's tears.
Sheldon looked like he was about to say something before his eyes lost focus. "Sheldon? Are you ok?" Pastor Jameson asked as he pulled away slightly. Apparently, he didn't expect Sheldon to push him away forcefully. Pulling himself to his feet, Sheldon stalked over to where Penny was sitting. Looking up at him, Penny automatically knew that Sheldon wasn't there anymore. "Hello Paul."
"Harlot, I commend you on the attempt. You may be getting rid of me but your problems are just beginning. You don't even know what you have in store. You think this was hard? Ha! You'll be wishing for such ease in times to come. I hope your soul is saved, because you will be wishing for death by the end of it." Pulling back from Penny, he turned to address Pastor Jameson. "Your unorthodox methods are what is ruining the church. However, you seem to have struck something inside of Sheldon. I don't think that you can save his soul but I praise your crack at his twisted soul." Putting his hand out, he shook the pastor's hand before heading back to the corner. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes and Sheldon opened his.
"It was fascinating, Pastor. I hope that we can come back to discuss some questions I know that I will have." Wiping his face one more time, he turned to Penny. "I am going to the restroom for a moment. I will meet you out front." Penny barely got out a quiet 'Ok' before he essentially bolted out the door. Penny thanked Pastor Jameson before heading out the door herself.
Rustling through her purse, she finally found her phone. Dialing a well used number, Penny waited for someone to pick up. "Mrs. Cooper? I have something to tell you."
An hour later, Penny and Sheldon were sitting in "Yo Fro-Yo!", a frozen yogurt shop that was on the way home.
"I am pleased to say that my faith in you was justified. This is both quite clean and the frozen yogurt is quite satisfactory. Thank you for taking me here, Penny."
"No problem, Moonpie. Maybe next time you can try some toppings with it." Penny joked.
"Penny, do not talk crazy."
Chuckling, Penny started when she heard her phone go off with a text message. Pulling her phone out, she was surprised to see that it was from Sheldon's brother. Clicking view message, the message was short: Problem solved. Good job. Get-em-done. Penny's smile grew to almost manic proportions before Sheldon noted.
"Is there something funny that you wish to share?" Sheldon asked.
Putting her phone away, she looked back up at him. "It nothing Sheldon. Just some good news."
****I want to clarify that I don't think that all churches in Texas are full of antagonist pastors/reverends. I have met some very nice clergymen. Paul and the un-named reverend in my story are merely here to pull my plot along.
Also, I am sorry about being so late with the update. I appreciate all the favorites and reviews that everyone continues to bestow upon me. Without them, I am merely a tree that falls in the woods alone: unheard. I hope that this chapter holds up to everything that you wanted. One more down! We are close to the home stretch with DIQ. I'm going to update my other story before I update this one. Let me know what you think! Much love!***
