Chapter Text
On Sundays, Penny picks the movie and I get chocolate pudding- the best pudding ever-as a consolation prize. It's a very satisfactory arrangement especially since I was expecting Jello Cook-n-Serve. However, as with all things Penny, my expectations were far surpassed. The pudding I get is made from scratch using a Hershey's cookbook recipe circa 1933. In my life, I have never experienced such chocolate intensity; it's practically sinful. The first time I ate it, I told Penny I loved her. She really has a way of making me behave contrary to my usual paradigm.
This Sunday, we watched the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice due to Penny's insistence that I, in some ways, remind her of Mr. Darcy.
"Seeing as I am not British, do not own a palatial country manor, nor will I ever ride a horse, your comparison is without grounds." I informed her. Her response was to snort at me. Endless hours later, Mr. Darcy makes his proposal to Elizabeth Bennet. Penny chuckled into my shoulder.
"Why are you laughing?" I asked twining my fingers into the blond curls at her neck.
"Because that is exactly how you would propose." Penny giggled. "You'd point out all the flaws and detriments and then be baffled by the rejection."
"Assuming I were to propose at all." I said tartly. Penny pushed herself up to look me in the eye.
"You don't want to get married?" Her tone implied I had just rejected my quest for the Nobel Prize.
"I never thought much about it." I replied honestly. Penny seemed to shrink into herself then picked up the empty pudding cups and hustled to the sink. Penny cleaning is never a good sign.
"Have I said something wrong?" I was disappointed that I had to trot out this inquiry once more; I had been on such a successful streak- one whole month without a verbal gaffe.
When Penny and I began our romantic endeavor, I must have asked that question or some variation thereof endlessly. Luckily, I am a fast learner and quickly picked up on her body language that indicated when I crossed the line. I also learned(painfully) that comments about her weight, hair or menstrual cycle are never welcome. Now, I am once again inquiring about my shortcomings
Penny finally answered me. "No." she said stiffly.
"Are you upset because we have not engaged in any amorous physical contact this evening?"(coitus is a strained topic with us). Her response was to slam a pan in the sink. That, I know, isn't good. I rose from the couch but stood out of her arm's reach.
"Penny, we agreed in our contract that you would always verbalize any real or imagined slight I may have produced. How else am I to understand?" She faced me, her green eyes seemed overly bright, cheeks flushed.
"I'm just surprised you don't want to get married."
"That's not what I said." I clarified. "I said I never thought much about it."
"Same thing." she muttered.
"It most certainly is not. That's like saying the spin of entangled particles and non-entangled particles will be the same simply because they are particles when Bell's inequality experiments prove otherwise."
She pulled a face, "Just forget it, Sheldon."
"I can't. I have an eidetic memory."
Penny groaned and flung herself back in front of Mr. Darcy. I stood behind her couch trying to figure out a way to ease the tension between us. Our relationship is and always will be contentious to some degree but we try to keep the peace on Sundays.
"Penny, are you harboring doubts that I love you?"
'No, Sheldon." She sighed. "You tell me everyday at 10A.M." I sat next to her,
"Then I am at a loss." She wove her hand into mine.
"Don't worry about it, Moonpie. Sometimes, I act like a girl." I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"I love you , Penny."
"Why, Dr. Cooper, you're twelve hours early." she snuggled closer into me.
"What's life without whimsy." I replied.
SHELDON" S JOURNAL- ENTRY 1
Stardate:312486.37623668194
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife." Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice
These words have woken me out of a very satisfactory REM cycle. I'm certain their appearance in my subconscious is due to the movie and conversation I had with Penny. It is true I never considered marriage but, then, I never considered a girlfriend, not eating pizza on Thursdays or boxer shorts either.
But marriage?
I'm not opposed to the institution though my parents were a poor example of wedded bliss. Meemaw, on the other hand, always spoke highly of Pawpaw(who died when I was an infant). Meemaw stressed the importance of a good life partner. That one person who was meant share your secrets, embrace your faults and compel you to become a better person. Upon reflection, Penny has been that for me since the day we met.
I don't want to imagine my life without her. She fills a void that my relentless pursuit of science never could. Even my research has shown tremendous growth since our relationship began because my medial insula and anterior cinguate now have Penny's smile to occupy them.
Clearly, the disruption in my sleep indicates that marrying Penny was in my subconscious and not as farfetched as I indicated to her this evening. She is my Bohr magneton, the yin to my yang. Penny is the answer. Always.
The next morning, I review my journal entry. I have experienced no change during the night nor do I have a desire to retract any of my statements. I reach into my sock drawer to pull out my most intricate Japanese puzzle box to date. Sadly, I have it opened in twenty seconds. What a disappointment.
Meemaw's engagement ring drops into my palm. Once arthritis began to twist her fingers, she gave it to me claiming my brother would only hock it and Missy would probably pierce her tongue with it. It is the only item of value my family has(aside from my mind, of course). Mom's engagement ring had been pawned long ago to buy us shoes and keep our roof over our head during one of my father's prolonged absences.
"You'll know who to give it to when the time is right, Shelly." Meemaw slipped the ring off her finger.
Whom, I corrected silently never daring to do it publicly.
"I know she'll be as special as you and you'll make her as happy as Pawpaw made me. You are so like him."
If I believed in such nonsense, I would swear Meemaw possessed the gift of foresight.
The ring instantly catches the light coming through my window. The center stone is round and a carat and a quarter; it is flanked by two marquise shaped baguettes set in white gold. What makes it truly unique is the center stone was cut using a "miner's cut" which is no longer employed. I picture Penny's hand. I shall have to get it sized since Meemaw's hands were bigger.
"Sheldon!" Leonard called from the living room, "Get a move on or we're going to be late."
I pocket the ring, grab my messenger bag and head off to solve the mysteries of the universe which include how to propose to Penny and how to tell Leonard.