Sheldon was sad about Amy rejecting him, but as soon as he climbed the stairs and entered the train, all of his cares seemed to melt away. He was even happier he had his best friend in the world to join him. He knew he would have to adjust his itinerary. After Amy rejected him, he saw a posting online for job openings in Denver. He hated teaching, but doing it to a select small group, he thought it may be challenging. He knew it couldn't hurt to check it out and thought Leonard may be interested in this too. It could be a new start for the both of them and he always liked Colorado, except for the liberal pot laws.
Leonard, just like Sheldon was devastated what happened with Penny. He hoped she would have come clean about her indiscretions, but a leopard doesn't change its spots.
The two of them entered their extra-large cabin. They decided once they arrived on the train to splurged and get one of the largest Pullman cabins available. Once they unpacked they went to the dining car to discuss where they were heading.
Sheldon pulled out his computer and after booting it up, he turned it so he could show Leonard where they were heading. "First stop is Las Vegas, I know it may be a sore destination for you, but I promised Christy Vanderbilt (Brooke D'Orsay) I would stop over for a day or so. I'm sure with all of the loose women in Vegas; you should be able to find someone to hook-up with. If not, I'm sure Christy will have a friend to set you up with."
Leonard couldn't believe Sheldon, "You know something Sheldon? As soon as you stepped onto this train, you seemed to have changed into a completely different person. I'm not complaining, I like this Sheldon, so loose and fancy free."
Sheldon flashed him a smile, "You know, I haven't realized that, but thinking about it, I can see what you are saying. I feel so free on trains and it may be more of my future, especially after Amy broke up with me."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, maybe you can bring her on one of these train treks of yours. I know she'd see a completely different person, it may be good for both of you."
Sheldon shrugged, "You may be right, but once the train leaves the station, I'm leaving that life behind, at least for the next couple of months. So, tell me. What happened with you and Penny? I know you told me she didn't confess, but you already knew about them."
Leonard looked down and wrung his hands and looked up at Sheldon, "Yeah, I knew about them, but like I told you at the apartment, I came clean about Mandy onboard the ship. I asked her several times if anything happened while I was away. She denied it over and over again. I couldn't begin a marriage with that hanging over her head. When I called her out on it, she was more upset with Raj and you for telling me. It didn't faze her in the least; well not until I told her I couldn't go to Vegas with her. Suddenly she began sobbing and said she was sorry, but you know Penny, when she's cornered, out comes the waterworks. It usually works, but this concerns the rest of our lives and I couldn't go forward knowing she really didn't think it was wrong."
"So what happens now? Are you going to be able to live across the hall from her? How did you leave it?"
He let out a long breath of air, "I don't know what happens next. I hope this long trip will clear my head and I can think things out. As far as living across from her, I did that when we were broken up for a couple of years. Before I left, I wrote her a long note. "I told her I still loved her and wanted to marry her, but thinks had to change. I was no longer going to be a doormat for her to stomp on. If she wanted to marry me, she was going to have to show me, not just tell me. Actions are a lot more effective than words." I was thinking somewhere along the way on our trip, I may hire a private investigator to check and see if she's changed, or if she tossed our relationship in the trash and went back to her old ways."
Sheldon nodded, "Sounds like a plan, I have another option; our second stop is in Denver. I don't know how good it will be, but it can't hurt to explore. I found an exclusive tutoring job where an elite group of students want to boost their grades and it pays well, it has nearly a one on one learning program."
Leonard nodded, "That sounds interesting, especially if things don't work out with Penny. It would be a new start and we could get out of the liberal crap in California. Where are we going from there?"
Sheldon cleared his throat, "I'm not sure if you want to stop there, but I was going to spend a day or two in Nebraska and I contacted Wyatt (Keith Carradine) and Susan (Katey Sagal). It may be a little uncomfortable for you."
He shook his head, "No this is perfect, I can layout my side of the story and let them know what has to happen if their daughter and I have a future. Hell, Wyatt knows what a slut his daughter is and I hope they understand where I stand. Where do we go from there?"
He chuckled, "Well, this is a little awkward to bring up, but I had your mother set up this next stop. It's sort of a sex ranch." He waited to see Leonard's reaction, but he just sat there listening, "Ummm, I going to be learning how to orally give women the most intense orgasm of their lives. They guarantee that by the time you leave their compound, you will have the skills to make any and all women come so hard that they will squirt. " He gave Leonard a smerk, "So what do you think, would you like to attend, I'll even pay for it. That way, if it doesn't work with Penny, you'll have another great learning technique under your belt."
Leonard had a big grin on his face, "You never fail to surprise me Sheldon. HELL YEAH, I can't wait to see what happens and what we'll learn. After that, where are we headed?"
Sheldon hit the next tab and showed him Chicago, "We'll be spending a whole week in Chicago. I want to visit the FBI office there and see if they have any more information about the murder of Special Agent Angela Page. You know I was about to give up everything to be with her and my world collapsed when she was killed in an undercover sting. I have a couple other stops while we are there, but I'll let you know what they are the closer we get to Chicago."
Leonard patted Sheldon's hand, "I know you were hurt badly when she was killed. I hope there isn't a lot of pain there for you. How about after that?"