The Big Bang Baby [The Big Bang Theory]

Chapter 9

What Amy announced last night bugged me. My mind was creating images of confusion and sadness. I couldn't sleep much. Why would she make a joke out of being pregnant? I know she wants to be a mom, so lying about it did not sit well with me. The expression on her face after she said it was an April fool's prank did not seem like she was telling all of the truth.

"Gregg, do you think Amy is not pregnant?" I asked Gregg. We were working yet another shift at the Cheesecake Factory.

"I don't know. Why would Amy lie about it?" He said while cleaning the table next to me.

"I have this feeling, you know, the sixth sense." He didn't reply to that. I didn't expect him to, either. His hand appeared on my table. I looked up and saw him helping me.

"So, when is our next lesson?" He asks. I sighed.

"We just finished our previous one," I said, turning my body to face him. "Why are you so hurrying to do the next one?"

"Because I have plans." He said, a sly smile starting to form on his face.

"Plans? What kind of plans?"

"You know. Plans." He slowly walked back towards the table he was cleaning a few minutes ago.

"You can't do this to me, Gregg," I paused, looking in his direction. "Wait a minute. Do you have a date already?" I asked. His smile broadened.

"I knew it! Who's the lucky girl?"

"It's none of your business." He said as he finished off the table and moved on to the next, walking backward-facing me.

"Come on, Gregg. If you want me to help you, I need to know what I'm in for." I don't know how it happened, but he suddenly was close to me. The noise of the screeched table echoed in the room as he bumped into it. His face was only inches away from mine. We were silent, not saying a word, just staring at each other.

"What are you two doing? The shop will be open in a few minutes!" A voice snaps me back to reality. I looked around to see where the voice came from, but all I saw was a shadow disappearing into the distance. I slowly step away from him, realizing what is going on, giving the two of us some space.

"We better get back to work," Gregg said and walked away, finding another table to clean.

"Yes," I said, agreeing with him. My mind and body are confused, unsure of what just happened. It's one of those feelings that you only feel once but never actually understand what it is. Getting hot flushes and a turning tummy. I look in his direction, hoping what I just felt was only a one-time thing. I see his figure out of the corner of my eye. Nope. Not a one-time thing. I looked at the table I was standing at and started to clean it with the cloth in my hand, thinking: What just happened?

***

I knocked on the door of Raj's apartment a few days later. A barking noise echoed inside.

"Nutmeg. What's wrong?" Raj's voice asked. He was devastated when Cinnamon passed away a few years ago, so I recommend that he gets a new dog to keep him company because I knew how much Cinnamon meant to him. The door handle turned, and the appearance of Raj filled the door frame. Nutmeg was at my feet within seconds, sniffing and then licking. I smiled and picked her up with her still licking away.

"Where's Gregg?" Raj asks as he poked his head further out, looking down the corridor.

"He said he is going to be a bit late," I said. Raj gave the nod and let me in. His apartment looks quite lovely. He cleaned up since the last time I was here. You can see it. Just as I wanted to take my seat, a knock on the door echoed across the room. Raj looked at me, terrified.

"Don't worry. It's probably just Gregg." I said and headed towards the door, opening the door.

"Joel, what are you doing here?" I asked as soon I saw him on the other side.

"Greg asked me to come over. He can't come, so here I am." He said, walking inside. He saw the dog, and that was it. You won't get his attention again soon.

"If you guys have anything better to do, you can get to that. I know kids your age aren't 'cool' if you spend your night with someone like me." Raj said. I quickly looked in Joel's direction to see what reaction I would get.

"No, it's fine. We're here to help as I promised. I never break my promise." It's as if the universe knew when to send the people to the apartment because another knock filled the room. Raj and I looked at Joel, expecting him to answer the door. He looked at us as if we were crazy. Joel sighed and headed to open the door.

"It's probably her." Raj started pacing around the apartment, Nutmeg following his every move.

"Lucy?" Joel said, surprised when opening the door to see her standing on the other side. I knew something was different the moment she walked into the Cheesecake factory and headed in his direction that day, but I thought it was someone very different. Lucy has not changed a bit. From the photos Raj has shown me, she looks the same. The same hairstyle and even the same voice. Almost as high as my mom's. Raj just looked at her, and she at him.

"Looks like we'll be leaving now, right Joel?" I said and headed towards the door he was still keeping open.

"But-I just got here," Joel said.

"Leaving. Now." I said through my teeth walking to the door. Joel looked at the two and back at me. Raj awkwardly smiled at him.

"Let's go. You two have fun now!" He said and followed me out the door.

"Remind me why we came again?" He asked just as the door shut behind us.

"Why did you come? You just showed up unexpectedly and did not tell me you were coming." I said, walking away angrily.

***

I knocked on the door of Leonard and Penny's apartment. It's been a while since I needed to be at their apartment. I have always had to go to the opposite door in the past few months. The door swings open, and Gregg is standing there. He sighs.

"What do you want?" He asks with an attitude. That's a first. He never talks to me like that.

"We had a deal. Why were you not at Raj's apartment this evening?" I asked him, ignoring his attitude towards me.

"Do we need to talk about that now?" He asked, no smile appearing on his face.

"We had a deal, Gregg. You can't just drop me like that."

"I didn't drop you. I sent Neil in my place."

"That's not the point. You said that you would be there, not Joel."

"Can we talk about this another time? I'm in the middle of something," he said, gesturing toward the inside of the apartment. I peeped my head over his shoulder and saw her.

"Is this the girl you were talking about the other day?" I whispered to him, making sure she couldn't hear me. All he did was nod.

"You could've at least let me know what was going on."

"I know. I'm sorry." Gregg said as he closed the door. I smiled, and he did the same. The door closed shut before I knew it. For some strange reason, I felt very disappointed that he didn't want to talk to me.