Chapter 1

It was the usual day at the Cheesecake Factory. A few tables were empty with people coming and going. Penny was serving the last order for a table when a man, and presumably his daughter walked in being led by the receptionist to their table. The man was not so tall with glasses and curly, swept back hair. The daughter, she guessed is about 5 or 6 years of age. She has curly hair like her father and is wearing a cute one-piece dress with floral print.

The receptionist waved at Penny to attend to the new customers as they were seated down. Penny walked over to them and introduced herself.

"Hi! I'm Penny and I will be your waitress for today!" she said while handing them the menu.

"Hello Penny! I'm Leonard and this is my daughter Sarah." he replied smiling. "Sarah honey, aren't you going to say hi to the nice lady?"

"Hi miss Penny." she said looking up to the blond waitress. Leonard proudly smiled at Penny.

Penny bent over to talk to Sarah while Leonard was looking over the menu thru his glasses.

"You know what Sarah, we have some good burgers and fries that you might like over here." she said as she helped her while pointing at the kids section of the menu.

Penny took their orders of food and drinks. "Ok, your food will be served in about 10 minutes. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything." she said.

"Sarah honey, do you need anything else before Penny gets our food?" Leonard asked his daughter.

Sarah leaned over to Leonard to whisper. Leonard smiled and looked at Penny.

"Um actually, can you point to where the restroom is?" Leonard asked her.

"The restroom is right over there by the cashier." she pointed while smiling at Sarah.

Penny then walked away to have their order prepared while Leonard walked with his daughter to the restroom. After they were done, they returned to their seats while Penny was serving them their iced tea. Leonard looked up to her and smiled casually. Penny returned the smile him. Leonard then helped his daughter with her iced tea so it will not spill on her dress or on the floor.

After a few minutes, Penny returned with their food. She carefully placed the plates on the table and went back to get the rest of their order. "Please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything - ketchup, mayonnaise, a refill of your drinks...ok sweetie!" she said as she touched Sarah's cheek. Sarah smiled back at her while chewing on her burger.

"Thank you Penny. It's very kind of you." he said while he was putting some salt in his salad.

Penny came by their table to refill their iced tea. She can't help but overhear Leonard and Sarah talking about some sort of science fiction show that she never heard about. Leonard laughed at the comment made by Sarah. Sarah then looked up to Penny and asked her.

"Miss Penny do you know who Mr. Spock is?" she asked.

"Uh..no sweetie! I'm sorry." she said with a somewhat sad face. "Is he from Spongebob?" she added.

"No! He is from Star Trek." she replied. "My uncle Sheldon is very similar to him." she added.

"And why do you say that sweetie?" Penny asked.

"Because they both talk like a computer." Sarah said to which Leonard starts laughing. Penny smiled awkwardly not knowing why it was funny.

"Don't worry Penny. A lot of people don't get that joke too." He smiled at her. "If you happen to see Star Trek, then you will know what she means."

"Uh Penny could we get the check please?"

"Sure. I'll be right back!" she said then turned around to the cashier.

She came back with their check. Leonard pulled out a couple of twenty dollar notes and put it in the billfold and handed it back to Penny.

"Let's go honey before they close up at San Gabriel. We still need to buy some flowers." He said as he helped his daughter down from her chair. "Say goodbye to Penny now."

"Bye miss Penny." she said while waving at her.

"Bye Sarah! Bye Leonard! Come back soon ok!?" Penny said as she waved back at them.

She opened the billfold and was somewhat happy that he over-tipped her as she signaled a busboy to clean up their table.

When she returned to deposit the payment, Linda the cashier and another waitress Bernadette was looking at her smiling playfully.

"What?" Penny asked the two.

"You're really great with children aren't you?" said Bernadette. "And her father seems to like you too!"

"Yeah the way he smiles at you. Ugh!" said Linda as she placed her hand on her chest. "He's cute isn't he!?" Linda said raising an eyebrow.

"Stop it guys. He is married and I was just being a nice host to them. They are our customers after all?" Penny replied.

"He is not married because he was not wearing his wedding band." Bernadette said. "I saw when I passed by their table."

"No. He is married. In fact, I heard him looking to buy flowers before they head out to San Gabriel." Penny added. "It's probably for his wife."

Linda and Bernadette looked at Penny and then to each other. They then chuckled at the same time. Making Penny roll her eyes up. "You two are the worst!"

The girls continued to chat when a group of customers came in and they went back to their work.