Chapter 44 - Friends, Relatives and Parties
"This sort of sucks." Howard whined as he and Raj put another bale on hay on the trailer.
"I became an Astrophysicist so I wouldn't have to do things like this." Raj added.
"It's not really that bad, you get use to it after a while." Leonard told them.
"Yeah, how long?" Howard asked.
Leonard chuckled, "A week or two."
Howard and Raj just looked at each other, both thinking the same thing, they wanted to kill Leonard. Leonard also saw their looks and only chuckled harder, "There is only 10 more bales, so when you're done, I won't ask you to do anything else, you're done."
"Okay." they both told Leonard at the same time.
"Oh, and by the way, thanks." Leonard added.
Raj and Howard looked again at him, now a little embarrassed about complaining, "No problem." Howard answered for both of them.
It was about another thirty minutes before Leonard, Raj and Howard were sitting around the kitchen table drinking ice teas and resting, Raj and Howard especially sore from having to do manual labor. "Is Wyatt still out there working?" Howard asked, a tone of disbelief in his voice.
"Well the chores for today are done, so he just went out to check on the cattle since he has extra time. He'll be back in here soon." Leonard explained, he actually had become to enjoy helping Wyatt with the chores, he couldn't help but look up to the man as sort of a father figure.
"I can't believe he works so hard each day." Raj blurted out.
"He's farmer and a rancher, it is hard work but he told me he actually enjoys it, he is his own boss and works at his own pace." Leonard explained to his friends, repeating what Wyatt told him.
"Well better him than me." Raj responded.
Leonard snickered, "Raj what would do if the supermarkets closed?"
"Starve." Howard answered with a chuckle.
"Shut up." Raj responded back, making Howard and Leonard laugh a little harder.
The next few minutes they all just sat quietly drinking their tea, each lost in their own thoughts, before Howard broke the silence, while looking at Leonard. "You know, we should have a guys night out before you get married."
"You mean a Bachelor Party." Raj said with excitement.
Leonard shook his head, "No, we don't have to do that."
"That sounds great!" the voice from the hallway responded, making Leonard, Howard and Raj all jump, but Leonard soon relaxed when he saw who it was, he had seen pictures of the intruder all over the house.
Leonard stood up and put his hand out, "Hi Steven, I'm Leonard Hofstadter, your sisters fiancé."
Steven took his hand and shook it, "So you're the guy my mother is gushing over that is marrying my sister. You know she said if she would had known Penny would find someone as good as you before, she would have shipped Penny off to California years before."
Leonard blushed, "I think your mother exaggerates a little."
"No she doesn't, if anything she is very hard on people." the four men now turned to look at the new intruder as Wyatt closed the back door behind him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Leonard started to apologize only to have Wyatt put up his hand to stop him.
"Leonard, if you have any fault it is that you fail to realize what a good man you are. I'm just glad my daughter sees the real you and can get over that fault." Wyatt told him, smiling the whole time.
"Wow even my father likes you, I'm impressed." Steven blurted out.
Wyatt then looked at Steven, his face now transformed to almost a glare. "Yes I do and that means he is already considered family, so you remember that and make sure your friends know that too."
Steven put up his hands and took a step back in submission. "Okay, okay, I'll let everyone know not to mess with Leonard or they'll have to deal with you."
A smile suddenly returned to Wyatt's face. "No, you tell them if they mess with Leonard, they will have to deal with Penny and you, my son, will have to deal with your mother, and Penny."
Steven stared blankly at Wyatt for a second before he spoke again, "Okay, this just got serious, I got it, no screwing with Leonard." Leonard just watching the whole exchange between father and son with a little concern.
The whole kitchen was now quiet for few seconds before Wyatt spoke again, "But the idea of a little Bachelor party before the wedding doesn't sound like a bad idea as long as it doesn't get too wild, and nothing happens to make Penny or my wife mad." he then looked at Leonard, "It will give you a chance to meet some of the men of the family in a controlled environment, instead during the reception."
Leonard was still trying to process the don't screw with Leonard remarks, when now he became concerned again, "Controlled environment?" Leonard said, obviously wanting an explanation.
Steven now smiled, "Yeah, so when they first meet you and act like assholes, it won't be during the reception." Steven then patted a even more worried Leonard on the back, smiling even more at Leonard's discomfort, before he continued. "Alright then it is settled, I'll take care of everything." but then he got quiet for a second, obviously thinking, before he spoke again, "Um, but I'll need a little money."
"We can cover that." Howard now said as Raj nodded.
"Great, this is going to be epic." Steven now boasted, getting smiles from Raj and Howard.
Leonard looked at Wyatt with more than a little apprehension. "Will you be coming?"
Wyatt could see a little pleading in Leonard's question, but he already knew he would be there, Meryl would insist that Leonard had someone she could trust with him, as body guard, at any party her son organized that included their family. "I will be definitely there, Son."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxWRONG BABYxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The five girls were sitting around a table, in a restaurant, to eat a late lunch after spending a couple hours in the dress shop and then another hour more buying some wedding decorations. They had all decided to eat something before they resumed their shopping, the plan to shop into early evening then drop Amy and Bernadette at the hotel later that night, before their return trip back to Penny's parents home. So now everyone was focused on their menu's trying to decide if they should be good and have a salad or get what they really wanted, a large hamburger and fries.
Lindsey was having the hardest time deciding, because her mind was on something else entirely different than the food. She had received a text from her brother Steven letting her know that the next night they were having a bachelor party for Leonard and that she should take Penny out to do the same. Lindsey never turned down a party, so she was now trying to figure a way to slip the idea of a party into the conversation with Penny without her mother commenting and turning the idea off.
"Ladies are you ready to order?" the waitress surprised Lindsey who was lost in thought.
Since she had the page open with the 1/3 pound burgers Lindsey quickly ordered the first thing that looked good, "Mushroom and Swiss burger with fries." then noticed as all four of the other women looked at her like she did something wrong. "What, I'm hungry." she defended herself.
The waitress then looked at Penny, who nervously blurted out, "Bacon cheeseburger deluxe…and fries." guiltily. She was hungry too and was not going to eat a salad while her sister ate a huge hamburger in front of her.
"I want a chili cheeseburger with fries." Bernadette quickly ordered cheerfully, now that all the other girls had decided to indulge.
Meryl looked up at the waitress, "I'll have the roast beef sandwich with mash potatoes and gray."
That finally left Amy who now looked at all the other women as they looked back at her, the peer pressure to not order a salad evident in their stares, making her look at her menu again. "Vegan-burger…with fries." she finally ordered.
While they waited for their meals, the girls talked about what they still had to do after they ate, the wedding and what still needed to be done. It was during a short lull in those subjects that Lindsey decided to bring up the guys bachelor party. "Did you guys know the guys are giving Leonard a bachelor party?"
Penny looked at her sister, "They are? When?"
"Tomorrow night." Meryl answered Penny
Lindsey stared at her mother in shock, "How did you know?"
"Your father sent me a text." Meryl told her daughter
"He did?" Lindsey asked, still surprised.
Meryl glared at her, "What do you think we are? So old and feeble that we don't know how to use our phones."
"Well….yeah." Lindsey came back with.
"Really!" Meryl responded.
"Sis, shut up." Penny quietly directed at her sister. Bernadette and Amy trying hard not to giggle.
Lindsey looked at Penny, who was slowly shaking her head to let his sister know to drop the conversation about her parents phone savvy now, then at her mother who was glaring at her. The tension was thick, but thankfully for Lindsey, the waitress took that moment to deliver the food, distracting them all from the previous conversation. Their food all got distributed quickly and everyone then quietly ate, letting the previous awkward tension at the table dissipate.
"These fries are great." Amy finally broke the silence.
"Yeah and they are never-ending so if you want more just ask." Penny added cheerfully trying to lighten the mood.
"Sweetie, you eat all you want, that wedding dress still looks a little loose on you." Meryl told her daughter.
"Well better a little loose that too tight." Penny responded.
Bernadette smiled. "I don't know, my wedding dress was a little tight at the top and Howard seemed to really like it."
"Please Bernadette, I'm trying to eat here." Penny joked.
Bernadette gave her friend a slight forced glare, "Any you are going to tell me Leonard doesn't care about your rack."
Penny stopped eating, then stayed motionless for a second like she was thinking, finally smiling. "Yeah he does." all the girls giggling except Meryl who just shook her head while smiling.
"You know a girls night out wouldn't be a bad idea." Bernadette now said. "We haven't done one of those in a while."
Penny looked at her, feeling a little pang of regret. "No I guess we haven't."
"All right, then it is set, we'll have a hen party tomorrow night. I know just the place and I'll take care of everything, even the strippers." Lindsey now told them, her enthusiasm evident.
"No! There will be no strippers." Penny said loudly, making the women look at her. The mention of strippers made all of the last few months come back to Penny and that made her start to feel sick to her stomach from guilt. She looked at the other women at the table and then explained quietly, "I'm not interested in seeing or being around naked men."
Bernadette, Amy and Meryl got quiet, but Lindsey didn't seem to understand, she had not really been around Penny when things were really bad, she had not seen Bernadette and Amy back in Pasadena trying to help Penny or her mother holding her crying daughter in her arms. Lindsey still sort of related Penny's problem with Leonard to her problems with her husband, so partying with strippers to have fun, before being hooked up with a man forever, seemed the normal thing to do to her. "Aw come on, we have to have strippers, plus you don't know when you will ever get to see another man's junk after you are married."
Penny just stared at her, "I need to use the bathroom." she told everyone before she got up from the table and headed to the bathroom.
Bernadette looked at Meryl and Amy, "I'll check on her." then she got up and followed the path Penny took.
Meryl looked at her daughter, "Do you have an idea what you said."
Lindsey looked confused, "What."
It was Amy who bluntly told her, "Penny might be a little sensitive to be around any other man because of what happened between her and Leonard's roommate. She has been very upset about the whole thing, so after all that happened, being around naked men might not be something she would enjoy."
Meryl just nodded and glared at her daughter.
"Oh." Lindsey's enthusiasm diminished as she now remembered. "So no strippers."
Meryl shook her head then put her head in her hands as she felt a headache coming on. Lindsey definitely had some more growing up to do, how could her daughters be so different, then she remembered one was with Leonard and had a real relationship. So he looked at Lindsey again, then sternly said, "A girls night out and no strippers, got it." Lindsey just nodded, her mother's expression left no room for argument.
In the bathroom, Penny just stared at the mirror image of herself, she didn't think the girl looking back at her was worthy of Leonard, but she knew she would try like hell to change that. She had cried herself to sleep every night, after he was gone, while praying to anyone who would listen and promising that she would never risk loosing Leonard again if he would come back to her. She also knew she didn't want another man to even come close to touching her, she had already given herself to Leonard, no man would ever touch her again except him and she was more than happy knowing that.
"Are you okay?" Bernadette's question surprised Penny who quickly turned to her small friend.
"I don't want anyone but Leonard." Penny said to her.
"I know Penny, I've known it for a long time and it is written all over your face." Bernadette then reached over to rub Penny's shoulder, happy to feel Penny relax.
"I will not take a chance on loosing Leonard again." Penny said while looking back at mirror.
Bernadette nodded, "I know Honey, I know you love him."
"I love him so much, I don't want to be without him again."
"You won't, in a couple days you will be his wife." Bernadette tried to comfort her.
Penny nodded, "He is so good, I know he deserves better than me."
"Maybe" Bernadette's response making Penny turn quickly to look at her. Bernadette just shrugged as Penny stared at her speechless, then smiled at her. "Penny you have got to understand, it doesn't really matter if he deserves better than you, because you is who he wants, Leonard has always wanted you, from the first day he saw you, Howard has told me. So you are exactly the person Leonard wants and he is the man you want, you two are soul mates, you two just belong with each other." Bernadette stated like it was a know fact, which to her it was.
"You really think so?" Penny now looked at her friend again.
Bernadette nodded her head, "Penny don't let yourself get worked up over something that means nothing. Your sister said something stupid and it hurt you, okay, but what she said doesn't matter, Leonard still loves you and is going to marry you this Saturday, nothing has really changed."
Penny nodded, "I know you are right, but I still sometimes fear I'm going to do something to screw things up again and loose him, or that maybe…"
"Penny, it is scary getting married, I was scared to marry Howard, but can you see how you are right now trying to convince yourself that you don't deserve to be happy, that somehow you don't even deserve Leonard." Bernadette hoped Penny understood what she was saying.
Penny looked down at the sink for a few seconds before she responded, "Yeah I guess." She had felt more stressed the last couple of weeks, even the thing about Leonard she talked about with her mother, in the dress shop, had bothered her probably more than it should.
Bernadette smiled a little, "Penny maybe you are just a stressed out bride, it is not like you have had the most perfect last few months. Can you see how it wouldn't take much to push your buttons and make you feel like you are now."
Penny nodded, "Yeah, I guess I do." She then looked at her friend, "You are about as good as my shrink, you know. Maybe I should be seeing you."
Bernadette giggled, "I just went through some rough stuff myself when I was marrying Howard, remember after Howard's the bachelor party."
Penny nodded, "Yeah, that was a rough time for you."
Bernadette now got serious, "So feeling like you do right now, is really not unusual, and though it is not the same, I and probably many other brides had a rough time of it too. So Honey, just relax, things will work out in the end and in less than a week from now your biggest problem will be remembering to sign you name Penelope Hofstadter."
Penny smiled, "Yeah, people have already asked me how to spell 'Hofstadter'."
Bernadette smiled back, "So we good?"
Penny nodded, "Thanks Bernadette, you are a good friend."
Bernadette giggled, "Remember that when I get pregnant and become a bitch."
Penny now looked at Bernadette with wide eyes. "Are you and Howard planning on something?"
Bernadette nodded, "We just stopped using contraceptives a week ago and are just letting what happens, happen."
"That is so great." Penny stepped towards Bernadette and gave her a hug.
"Penny please don't tell anyone else, right now." Bernadette added after Penny let her go. Bernadette hadn't planned on telling anyone, but she felt Penny needed a distraction right now.
"Oh, I promise, well except Leonard. I have to tell Leonard or I will explode."
"Okay, but just Leonard and you tell him to keep it secret." Bernadette responded, getting a nod from Penny. "Well why don't we go back before our burgers get cold, I'm actually hungry enough to eat the whole thing."
"Really, eating for two." Penny teased.
"Remember tell no one okay." Bernadette reminded her friend.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxWRONG BABYxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The rest of the night went by quickly, Penny trying hard to not let what happened during their meal ruin the evening but she couldn't help herself from thinking of Leonard constantly the rest of the night. It got especially bad after they dropped Bernadette and Amy at the hotel, Howard meeting his wife at the door and the both of them kissing each other as Amy hurried past her to get to Sheldon. It just made Penny want Leonard to hold her more and she found herself impatient in the car all the way home. So finding Leonard sitting on the swing outside, waiting for her, when they arrived home, made her almost run to him, before she wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss and hug him.
"Whoa, did you miss me?" Leonard was a little surprised.
Penny's face was now buried in his neck so her voice came out almost in a whisper, "Yes."
Leonard just stood there holding her and rubbing her back, watching as Meryl passed by them to the house, pushing Lindsey in front of her. It wasn't a minute later Leonard and Penny were alone on the porch and Leonard moved back to the swing to sit with Penny next to him, tightly against him. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he made sure to tightly hold her with his arm as she snuggled close to him. It was also still cool outside so with the blanket he had taken outside with him to wait, he covered the both of them.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Leonard thought Penny was relaxed enough to talk. "Penny did something happen tonight."
Penny and Leonard had talked a lot since they had been there and Penny loved to talk about what she was thinking with him now, she could never shut him out like she had done years before. Things were now different between them, and Penny felt she had to be honest about everything to him now. "Honey, I only want you, no other man will ever touch me again but you, you are my only and last love."
Leonard looked at her, "Honey, I only love you too and don't want anyone else, ever. But it sounds like something is wrong, what is bothering you?"
Penny tried to pull herself closer to Leonard, so Leonard scooped her up onto his lap, where she then laid herself against him, her arms around his neck, their heads touching. So much body contact by them now made her relax even more. "Lindsey wants to have a girls night out tomorrow since you are having a bachelor party."
"Oh, I was going to tell you about that. If you don't want it to happen that is fine with me." Leonard quickly told her.
"No Honey, you going out with your friends is fine. I want to go out with the girls too, it has been so long, you know." Penny assured him that the party was okay.
"I promise nothing bad with happen." Leonard tried to reassure her.
"I know Honey, I trust you." Penny kissed Leonard then rested her forehead against his. "It is just Lindsey said she wanted strippers at the girls party and I told her no."
"Oh." was all Leonard said.
"Honey, I told her no because I don't want any other man than you, you are my man, I don't want to even see another man and the only man who will ever see me from now on is you….only you." Penny then kissed him again, this time taking her time before she broke her kiss, then laying her head again on his shoulder, "I love you so much. I don't think I could ever go on without you anymore." Penny tried to hide the tears running down her cheeks.
Leonard was a little surprised about all the emotion Penny was showing and he knew he needed to tell her something he had been thinking about a lot, so he lifted her head off his shoulder. Seeing her wet face, hurt Leonard, he loved her so much and hated to see her sad. "Honey, I trust you, I really do. I have thought about it long and hard and I trust you. I don't know exactly how to explain it but just realize I do trust you." he then wiped her face before he gave her a soft kiss on the lips.
"You are the most amazing man in the world and I don't know how I got so lucky to find you. Honey, I love you so much." Penny then returned the kiss.
Leonard pushed her hair behind her ears. "So we are good?"
Penny nodded, "Very good."
"Good." Leonard smiled at her. "I have to get up early to help your dad, so do you feel like going to bed now?"
Penny smiled and nodded, "Yes. Do you mind me hanging on you all night?"
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Leonard told her before he helped her off his lap so that they could go in the house and then to bed.