Chapter 53: The Parent Visit
Wyatt's handshake could crush walnuts.
"Stuart. Heard a lot about you."
"All good things, I hope."
"Penny doesn't usually introduce me to boyfriends. So yeah. Good things."
We're at a diner near Penny's apartment. Saturday morning. She's nervous—bouncing her knee under the table, playing with her napkin.
"Dad, Stuart owns two comic book shops. And he's consulting for Marvel Studios."
"Marvel, huh?" Wyatt's interested. "Like the movies?"
"Iron Man 2. Thor. Captain America."
"Penny mentioned you're doing well for yourself. Comic shops profitable?"
"Yeah. Both locations doing solid revenue."
"Good for you." He sips his coffee. "Most people your age don't have their shit together like that."
"Dad!"
"What? It's a compliment." To me: "How old are you?"
"Twenty-seven."
"Twenty-seven with two businesses and consulting work. That's impressive."
The Attractiveness power is definitely helping. Wyatt's leaning in, engaged, treating me like an equal instead of interrogating.
But also—I did build this. The shops exist. The consulting is real.
Both things can be true.
After breakfast, Penny suggests showing Wyatt the shops.
Pasadena first. Saturday morning crowd—regulars, weekend browsers, parents buying comics for kids.
"This is really something," Wyatt says, examining the displays. "You build this from scratch?"
"Opened eighteen months ago with everything I had. Nearly failed immediately."
"But you didn't."
"Got lucky with some inventory decisions. Word of mouth spread."
"Luck helps. But luck doesn't maintain two locations." He's studying the organization, the customer flow. "You run a tight operation here."
"Try to."
"My daughter tell you I used to collect?"
"She mentioned it."
"Had a decent Amazing Spider-Man run. Sold it when Penny was ten. Regretted it ever since." He picks up a trade paperback. "Maybe I should start again."
"We do subscriber boxes. Curated monthly selection based on preferences."
"Yeah? How much?"
"Depends on preferences. Range from forty to hundred a month."
"Sign me up for the sixty tier. Spider-Man heavy."
"You got it."
Penny's watching us with barely contained glee. This is going better than she expected.
Burbank shop next. Wyatt's even more impressed here.
"Near the studios. Smart location."
"Industry people stop by. Sometimes during lunch breaks, sometimes scoping authenticity for projects."
"That how you got the Marvel gig?"
"Partially. Built reputation through consulting on other shows first. Marvel was the natural progression."
We talk business for an hour. Revenue models, expansion strategies, employee management. Wyatt used to run a auto repair shop—sold it five years ago—and he treats me like a fellow businessman.
Not like his daughter's boyfriend.
Like a peer.
"You're good for her," he says suddenly.
"Dad!"
"What? You are." To me: "Penny's dated a lot of losers. Guys with no ambition, no drive. You're different."
"I try."
"You succeed. That's better than trying."
Lunch at Cheesecake Factory. Penny's working the evening shift but wanted to show her dad her workplace.
Leonard's at a corner booth with Sheldon. Working on something, laptops open.
Penny waves. They wave back.
Then Leonard notices who she's with. His expression shifts—recognition, then careful politeness.
"Stuart." He comes over. "Didn't know you'd be here."
"Showing Penny's dad around. Wyatt, this is Leonard. He's one of my best friends."
"Leonard Hofstadter." Handshake. "Experimental physicist at Caltech."
"Impressive," Wyatt says. But his tone is polite, not engaged.
The difference is subtle but obvious.
With me, Wyatt leaned in. Asked questions. Showed genuine interest.
With Leonard, he's being polite.
"You and Stuart know each other through the comic shop?" Wyatt asks.
"Yeah. Been going there since it opened. Stuart's place became our hangout spot."
"He's built something good there."
"He really has."
Leonard's smile is tight. He catches my eye for half a second.
Then returns to his table.
"Nice kid," Wyatt says. "Seems smart."
But that's it. Nice kid.
Not peer. Not equal.
Just—nice kid.
That evening, walking Wyatt to his car.
"You approve?" Penny asks nervously.
"More than approve. Stuart's solid." He hugs her. "You did good, kiddo."
After he drives away, Penny turns to me.
"He really likes you."
"I like him too."
"No, like—he really likes you. He didn't like Leonard. He didn't like Dan. He didn't even like Mike, and I dated Mike for a year."
"Maybe his standards have evolved."
"Or maybe you're just—" She stops. "—actually good."
"I try."
"You succeed. That's better than trying."
She's quoting her dad. Grinning.
"Come here." I pull her close.
We stand in the parking lot, her arms around my waist, my chin on her head.
"Thank you for today," she says. "For being perfect with my dad."
"I wasn't trying to be perfect."
"That's what made it perfect."
At home that night, I think about Wyatt's handshake and Leonard's tight smile and the word "solid" applied to me like it's earned.
The Attractiveness power makes people like me naturally. Smooths social interactions. Creates positive impressions.
But Wyatt responded to the businesses, the ambition, the concrete achievements.
Leonard offered intelligence and kindness.
I offered success.
And success won.
That should feel good. Validation, parental approval, proof I'm building something real.
Instead, I think about Leonard returning to his table. The way his smile didn't reach his eyes.
The way Wyatt called him "nice kid" like Leonard wasn't a grown man with a PhD and years of friendship with Penny.
I built this success on stolen time.
Leonard earned his PhD through actual work.
And somehow, I'm the one getting approved.
Life isn't fair.
And I'm learning that's true even when—especially when—the unfairness works in your favor.
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