Chapter 75: The Final Month - Part 3
Saturday. Final week.
My penthouse is packed. The gang, Penny's work friends, Jake and Marcus from the shops. Forty people crammed into my living room.
"Speech!" Howard shouts.
Leonard stands. Holds up a leather-bound book.
"We made you something."
He hands it to Penny. She opens it. Starts crying immediately.
Photos. Every game night. Every pizza dinner. Every stupid group outing. A year of friendship documented and bound.
"Leonard, this is—" She can't finish.
"We wanted you to remember," he says quietly. "That you're part of this. Even in New York."
Bernadette's crying. Amy's taking notes. Raj is already sobbing.
Sheldon stands. "I have also prepared something."
He pulls out a single sheet of paper.
"I've calculated the optimal visitation schedule. You should return to Los Angeles every six weeks for a minimum of forty-eight hours to maintain friendship cohesion. I've included flight recommendations and cost analyses."
"Sheldon, that's—actually really sweet."
"It's logical. Emotional bonds require maintenance. I'm simply providing the framework."
"Thank you."
Howard produces a framed photo. "This is from Vegas. All of us. You're part of the crew now. That doesn't change."
She's hugging everyone. Thanking them. Promising to visit.
My turn.
I hand her the package. She unwraps it carefully.
The Wonder Woman art. Professionally framed now. Museum quality.
"Stuart—"
"You said you'd need reminders. That this was real. So here's proof."
"This is too much."
"It's exactly right."
She hugs me. Whispers in my ear: "Thank you. For everything."
"Thank you back."
We pull apart. She's smiling through tears.
The party continues. Music. Laughter. Stories about Penny being "surprisingly normal for dating Stuart."
I stand on my balcony. Watch the city.
Leonard joins me.
"You okay?"
"Honestly? Yeah. This is good. Sending her off right."
"It's going to suck after."
"I know."
"But you'll be okay."
"I know that too."
He claps my shoulder. "Good."
Sunday. Last date.
We cook together. Pasta again. The one dish we mastered.
"This feels full circle," Penny observes.
"We're good at endings."
"Is that a compliment?"
"It's a fact."
We eat on the couch. Watch Firefly. Her choice.
"I'm going to miss this couch," she says.
"It's just a couch."
"No. It's the couch where we watched movies and talked for hours and fell asleep together. It's our couch."
"You can visit the couch."
"That's not the same."
"I know."
After dinner, we walk. No destination. Just movement through the city.
Past the comic shop. Past her apartment building. Through neighborhoods we've driven through a hundred times.
"I want to remember this," she says. "All of it. The good and the—" She pauses. "—the ending."
"The ending's not bad. Just sad."
"Same thing."
"Different thing."
We end up at my penthouse. The balcony. Where we first kissed after the power outage date.
Full circle.
"If timing was different—" Penny starts.
"Don't."
"I need to say it. If timing was different. If I wasn't leaving. If you weren't—" She's crying. "—I could see forever. With you."
"I know."
"You feel it too?"
"Yeah."
"But timing's everything."
"Timing's everything."
We kiss. Last kiss as a couple. It tastes like tears and regret and something else.
Gratitude, maybe.
For seven months that mattered.
Monday. LAX.
The gang's here. All of them. 4 AM departure means 2 AM arrival.
Sheldon's brought coffee. "Statistically, you'll need this."
"Thanks, Sheldon."
"You're welcome."
Group hug at the security checkpoint. Everyone crying. Penny's mascara running.
"I love you guys."
"Love you too," Bernadette manages.
"Come back soon," Howard adds.
"Six weeks," Sheldon reminds her. "Per the schedule."
They peel off. Give us space.
Just Penny and me.
"This is it," she says.
"This is it."
"I don't want to go."
"You have to go."
"I know."
She's holding both my hands. Squeezing tight.
"Stuart Bloom. You—" Voice breaking. "—you changed my life."
"You changed mine."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
"Always?"
"Different. But yeah. Always."
One more kiss. Quick. Final.
She picks up her bag. Heads toward security.
Turns back once.
Waves.
I wave back.
She goes through. Doesn't look back again.
Gone.
The drive home is quiet.
Leonard's in the passenger seat. Everyone else took separate cars.
"You want to talk?" he asks.
"Not yet."
"Okay."
We drive through empty LA streets. The city's still asleep.
"Leonard?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. For being here."
"Where else would I be?"
At my building, he hesitates.
"You going to be okay alone?"
"I'm always okay alone."
"That's not what I asked."
"I'll be okay. Eventually."
"Okay."
I head upstairs. The penthouse feels enormous and empty.
Wonder Woman art on the wall. Photos everywhere. Evidence of Penny.
I sit on the couch.
Our couch.
And finally let myself fall apart.
Note:
Please give good reviews and power stones itrings more people and more people means more chapters?
My Patreon is all about exploring 'What If' timelines, and you can get instant access to chapters far ahead of the public release.
Choose your journey:
Timeline Viewer ($6): Get 10 chapters of early access + 5 new chapters weekly.
Timeline Explorer ($9): Jump 15-20 chapters ahead of everyone.
Timeline Keeper ($15): Get Instant Access to chapters the moment I finish writing them. No more waiting.
Read the raw, unfiltered story as it unfolds. Your support makes this possible!
👉 Find it all at patreon.com/Whatif0