He had been home 3 days and he felt like he was going crazy. Between his mother bringing a parade of friends round to see her prize winning son, and Meemaw shoving food in his mouth every time he opened it, Sheldon felt like a day locked in the laser lab with Kripke would be a breeze in comparison.Missy had tried to help him escape the maternal attention by taking him out to dinner yesterday evening; but her trying to 'fix him up' with each and every one of her scantily clad friends was not any kind of rescue he needed. Now he was sat in his old childhood hiding spot, up the tall tree at the end of his grandmothers backyard wishing he was at home."Sheldon! Dinners ready."His grandmothers voice, usually the one thing guaranteed to calm him, made him groan. Slowly lowering himself to the ground he made his way into the house. He knew tonight's dinner conversation would revolve around Amy. This morning he had given Meemaw back the ring. He hadn't spoken or explained; he just gave her the box and left. She had watched him go and had left him alone all day, but now the smell of fried chicken and his favourite apple pie told him she meant business. Entering the dining room he was a little surprised not to see Mary, Missy and George there too ready to ambush him."Where is everyone?" he asked."Out. We need to talk and I figured I had more chance of getting the truth out of you without an audience.""I don't want to talk about Amy." Sheldon stated firmly.Meemaw watched him without saying a word.After several long seconds and unable to take her unblinking gaze and the silence any longer he blurted out. "I messed up Meemaw. I messed up and she left and it was my fault.""So apologise boy, you know how it works.""Well I tried that, kinda. But I made it worse. Now she has gone.""Gone? What do you mean gone?""She moved to New York, she had to leave not only the state but right to the other side of the country to avoid me. Now none of it matters."The emotions he had been bottling up began to pour out of him."Meemaw I didn't even ask her.""Ask her what moon-pie?" Meemaw questioned gently seeing her grandson begin to uncoil from the tight knot of emotions he had been carrying around with him since he arrived."To marry me, I didn't ask her. She wanted a break and I panicked. Then it all went wrong. I heard my work had been submitted but she wouldn't listen. I couldn't tell her and I wanted to be happy but I couldn't, then she got annoyed and left." The words left him in a rush his normal controlled manner absent as he tried desperately to explain."Sheldon slow down. Why did Amy get annoyed?""Because I kept following her. I didn't want her to go.""To New York?""No to go... leave me. But she said she needed time. 11 hours wasn't enough evidently, so I checked every 12 hours but she said I was making it worse. I tried to say sorry, I bought her flowers like I have seen Howard do for Bernadette when she is mad at him. Every day I bought a bunch of flowers and I took them to her office but she got mad at that too.""So she didn't know you were going to propose?"Sheldon shook his head no."And you didn't tell your friends? Leonard? Penny?"Sheldon snorted, "No if I had told Penny Amy would know. No I didn't tell anyone because I wanted to do it right. Amy likes romance. I wanted it to be romantic like one of those soppy novel she is always reading. Then when I heard my work had been submitted I wanted to thank her for being there with me, I didn't want the two things confused.She helped me Meemaw. She pushed me and was honest with me and she believed in me. But I couldn't tell her because she wouldn't answer the door. I banged and banged. Then Leonard came and took me home and the next thing I knew she moved to New York.""Have you spoken to her since?""No." Sheldon whispered sniffing back the tears that were now falling. "I wanted her there Meemaw. In Stockholm. She should have been there. And she wasn't and it wasn't right. We had spoken about it. How it would be. How she would sit at the front and clap, how she would hand me wipes and purell when the hand shaking got too much. But she wasn't there and its all wrong."Getting up and running from the room Sheldon left his grandmother alone staring after him with a look of deep concern on her face.73After finishing her chat with her friends and completing the work she needed to do Amy sat on the sofa and replayed the earlier conversation over in her head. She had told Penny and Bernie going back would feel wrong, but maybe she had been mistaken. Being here felt wrong and going back would mean girls nights and dinners with friends. She had alienated herself and the only one who had suffered was her. She knew the only thing holding her back was Sheldon. Having finally admitted this out loud maybe the time was right to admit some other things too.She had left because she felt out of control. She had thought out of every person in her life Sheldon was the one person who understood her more than any other. They had both shared the experience of an upbringing feeling isolated from their peers and family too.She had stood by him as he debated which career path he wanted to pursue, and comforted him when things at work had not always gone as he planned.She had quite literally bathed his wounds and been a shoulder to lean on; yet in the one moment she felt the need for a little space he had not listened. He of all people she had thought would understand the sometimes overpowering pressure of work and family; yet he had not even considered this when he added a whole new pressure of his own.There would have been a time she would have been more than flattered at his desperation to keep her near, yet like the time she had arrived to work at Caltech Sheldon had to overreact. Had to put his needs before hers turning what had been an issue solely of her own peace of mind and path in life into an issue where everything about their relationship suddenly felt very one sided and wrong and she just needed space.When she had first told Penny she was leaving Penny had offered to go sort Sheldon out, her threats of physical violence didn't offer Amy any comfort nor did the threat to lock them in a room to sort themselves out. Amy had just needed space.But she had had a year of space. A year of exactly what she thought she wanted. A year where her job was her focus, people paying her full attention and giving her full credit. She had been rewarded by job offers all over the country and pay increases and promotion, but none of it mattered. Her year of space had just made her realise what she wanted was exactly what she had left behind.But Sheldon was there.She had not sent the text message congratulating him, but she had not deleted it either. As confused as she was about returning home the one thing she did know was she could not go back to how things were between them.73Mary Cooper arrived home late afternoon. She figured she had given her mother enough time to talk to Sheldon and not having heard anything she walked into the house expecting to see them sat chatting in the kitchen. When she had checked the kitchen and the living area and found both empty she went upstairs. That empty too she wondered if they had gone into town. It was only as she was boiling some water for tea that she noticed a pair of legs dangling out of the tree at the far end of the yard.Sheldon was in his hiding spot. A sure sign any talks had not gone well she wondered once more where her mother was. Abandoning her half made tea Mary went out into the garden expecting her mother to be tending the flowers she was so proud of, but seeing no sign she called up to her son."Hey Shelly. Where's Meemaw?""At her senior centre." Came the disembodied reply."You have a nice catch up?" Mary continued cautiously."No!" The reply was underlined by Sheldon curling his legs higher up into the tree retreating out of sight."I'm making tea, you want some?" Mary cajoled."No thank you. "Sighing Mary returned to the house and wondered what had occurred to make Sheldon withdraw even further into himself. Knowing she could not talk to him when he was like this, but also wanting to know what had caused this event, Mary abandoned her tea and went back to her car. It would be better talking at the senior centre anyway. With Sheldon's hearing so acute they could never have a private conversation at home anyway.On arriving at the senior centre Mary walked towards the games room. Her mothers recent obsession with gaming reminded her of her son and the similarity made her smile. The smile soon vanished though when she realised her mother was not there."Mrs Cooper, hello. Is everything OK? You look confused.""Hello Billy." Mary smiled at one of the volunteer workers. "I was looking for my mother I thought she was here.""Oh she is. She is on the computer." Pointing, Billy indicated the room which housed a bank of PC's and Mary saw her mother seated at the computer furthest from any distractions."Thanks Billy." she smiled and entering the room pulled up a chair. "Hey mom!"Jumping slightly at the unexpected interruption she turned, "Hi Mary. I take it you have been home."Nodding Mary asked "What happened?""I'm not sure. He started to talk, but got incredibly upset. Amy has gone. Moved to New York and broken all contact.""Oh my! No wonder he is upset.""It happened a year ago Mary. He has been bottling this up for a year.""But surely his friends knew? Leonard, Penny? Why have they not said anything?""I have no idea," Meemaw practically growled "and that is what I intend to find out."Focusing for the first time on what her mother was actually doing she saw her email account open."You are messaging them?""Oh yes. Each and every one of them. Amy too. I intend to find out exactly what has been going on for the past 12 months.""I'll go get us some tea." Mary muttered as she watched her mother type furiously.It was as the kettle boiled she began to process what her mother was actually doing or trying to do. Returning with two steaming mugs she asked, "mom, how exactly do you propose to get the email addresses of all Sheldon's friends. I am sure he will not volunteer them readily."Meemaw sniggered, "That boy thinks he is so clever. He has had the same password for his email account and gaming accounts since he had his first computer.""He has?""Yes, and 'I'm batman' no spaces is hardly difficult to crack is it!" Meemaw chuckled. "That boy thinks he is so smart!"Finally finished her typing she turned once more to face her daughter. "Now all we have to do is wait!"
