Chapter 27: Life Goes On
The sunlight seemed a little brighter today.
Ethan sat on the couch, quietly organizing his thoughts.
Mary believed in God, and priests believed in the Holy Light; the two concepts had fundamental similarities.
After talking with Mary, he finally seemed to grasp something essential.
He had previously thought faith was transactional—I offer devotion, you bestow divine power.
But reconsidering it now, he suddenly understood.
Faith—isn't waiting for cosmic validation, but believing in your heart and choosing to move forward;
It's not intellectually comprehending the Light, but walking toward it even when surrounded by darkness.
He picked up his coffee mug and smiled faintly: "Seems Anduin was right all along... Forget analyzing Light and Shadow, just get shit done."
Ethan's existential crisis was resolved, and Sheldon's employment situation also saw improvement thanks to Mary's forceful maternal intervention.
Under his mother's persuasion (read: iron-fisted insistence), he finally agreed to return to the university the next day, apologize to the Department Head, and resume his research position.
Everything seemed to be gradually returning to normal.
At dinner time, everyone gathered in the living room. The air was thick with the mouthwatering aroma of fried chicken.
Howard confidently strutted up to Mary: "Forgive my forwardness, but I now completely understand where Sheldon inherited his striking good looks."
Mary smiled warmly and shook her head: "Sweetheart, that line won't get you anywhere, but I appreciate the effort."
"I made chicken," she said directly to Raj with genuine concern. "I sincerely hope they don't worship it as sacred where you're from."
Raj looked momentarily confused but quickly shook his head reassuringly.
"We have an Indian gentleman at our church, Dr. Patel. It's such an inspiring testimony," she said while serving chicken into bowls. "The Lord gave him a vision and brought him all the way to Texas so our congregation could enjoy twenty percent off elective surgeries."
Mary added helpfully: "Of course, only for those who genuinely need the procedures."
Leonard couldn't suppress his response: "What a truly heartwarming story."
"Alright, everything's ready," Mary announced. "Everyone take a plate, and use the placemats Shelly wove."
Once everyone was seated around the table.
Mary nodded with maternal satisfaction, raising her hands to pray: "Heavenly Father, we thank you for this meal, and for all your countless blessings. We especially thank you for helping Sheldon and Ethan find their way back to purpose."
She paused meaningfully and added: "I'll close with 'In Jesus' name, Amen.' But you don't have to join in... unless you're genuinely moved by the Holy Spirit."
Everyone exchanged awkward glances and quietly bowed their heads.
"Wow," Penny said enthusiastically, taking a generous bite, her eyes absolutely lighting up. "This is hands down the best chicken pot pie I've ever tasted!"
Mary smiled with deep satisfaction: "It's Shelly's absolute favorite. Want to know the secret ingredient?"
Penny smiled sweetly and guessed, "Love?"
Mary replied matter-of-factly: "Crisco shortening."
Everyone simultaneously froze mid-chew.
Mary looked thoughtfully between Penny and Ethan, then added cheerfully: "With so many eligible young men right here at this table, Penny, since you're such a remarkable young woman, why don't you consider dating one of them?
Someone like Ethan or Leonard, perhaps."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Penny said diplomatically, setting down her fork and raising an eyebrow, half-joking. "I actually tried, but Leonard has apparently dedicated his entire existence to theoretical physics..."
Leonard quickly interjected, "I really haven't..."
Everyone turned to stare at him, and he immediately fell silent.
Penny continued smoothly: "And Ethan has impossibly high standards; literally all his ex-girlfriends are exceptional overachievers." She finished with a playful wink at Ethan.
Mary nodded knowingly: "Yes, all his former girlfriends have been exceptionally accomplished young women, especially Paige."
Sheldon's head immediately snapped up at that specific name, his expression instantly becoming laser-focused.
Mary noticed his reaction and continued deliberately: "Yes, the same Paige who consistently beat you at academic science competitions. I actually spoke with her mother just a few days ago."
Sheldon immediately erupted defensively, his tone dripping with indignation: "She never 'beat' me! I was merely questioning her problem-solving methodology, which relies excessively on intuitive leaps and completely lacks rigorous logical deduction! Furthermore, she constantly brags that she understood the Schrödinger Wave Equation three full months before I did!"
Ethan maintained his outward composure and asked in a carefully neutral tone, "Aunt Mary... is Paige doing well these days?"
"Oh, she's thriving." Mary looked between the two young men and replied with obvious amusement: "From what I hear, she's excelling at Princeton, researching something along the lines of... quantum information paradoxes under entanglement conditions? I honestly don't understand the technical specifics.
But her mother's quite concerned, apparently she's recently become obsessed with professional poker, claiming she wants to 'systematically conquer Las Vegas' using advanced game theory and probability statistics to earn back her entire tuition."
Hearing this, Sheldon's face displayed pure contempt and disdain: "Poker? That represents the absolute lowest application of misunderstood probability theory and pseudo-psychology! A genuine intellectual should dedicate themselves to Grand Unified Field Theory research!
Furthermore, 'conquering Las Vegas'? Please. I could mentally calculate optimal dealer-advantage probabilities when I was ten years old, but I recognized that environment was contaminated with both biological pathogens and fundamental logical fallacies!"
Ethan couldn't suppress his laughter. This definitely sounded exactly like something Paige would attempt—brilliant, fearless, perpetually seeking new challenges, maybe slightly unhinged.
Watching the two certified geniuses at the table suddenly retreat into their own competitive rivalry, Penny became intensely curious about this mysterious girl named "Paige."
Penny leaned forward with obvious interest: "So this Paige is also one of Ethan's ex-girlfriends? She must be pretty extraordinary, right?"
Sheldon immediately interjected with brutal honesty: "She's not extraordinary at all; she's simply taller than you, considerably thinner than you, and substantially more intelligent than you."
The atmosphere instantly froze solid. Penny's expression visibly darkened immediately.
"Sheldon!" Ethan quickly cut him off.
Mary smoothly intervened: "Sometimes being exceptionally smart or exceptionally thin isn't necessarily advantageous for a young woman, especially not for someone like Ethan. Isn't that right, Ethan?"
Ethan forced an uncomfortable smile: "Uh, honestly I have no idea."
He decisively redirected the conversation: "How are Missy and Georgie doing these days?"
Mary's face immediately brightened: "Missy's exactly the same as always, working as a waitress at a sports bar, just like Penny here. Georgie's still managing his tire shop, and business is booming. Little CeeCee is thirteen now, and she looks exactly like Missy did at that age."
Ethan asked with knowing amusement: "The same incredible social skills?"
Mary corrected: "No, the same impossible rebellious attitude."
The next morning, Sheldon went to Caltech under Mary's "mandatory maternal escort."
He was wearing a deep burgundy striped cardigan over a vintage Flash t-shirt, with light blue straight-leg khakis.
He stood ramrod straight, his expression deadly serious, looking more like he was presenting at an international physics conference than going to apologize.
Sheldon: "Dr. Gablehauser."
Gablehauser: "Dr. Cooper."
Under Mary's watchful supervision from the doorway, Sheldon stepped forward stiffly and continued:
"Well, we may not have established the most productive professional relationship during our initial interaction several weeks ago—specifically when I referred to you as 'an intellectually mediocre primate.'
I simply want to apologize... for pointing out that objective observation."
...While Sheldon was delivering his "apology," Ethan stood outside the Rayne Clinic, gazing up at the sign he had personally installed:
"Rayne Clinic—Healing Beyond Conventional Medicine"
Ethan looked up and basked in the warm California sunlight.
"Well, just another day for a low-level priest trying to make a difference... let's do this."
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