SrCuervo
patreon
18
🕑 Added 2025-04-19 09:12:45 +0000 UTCThe Supreme State of Science
Chapter 18 – Sheldon's Family
At the dining table, Mary had been secretly observing Jimmy, as if she wanted to thoroughly study her little Sheldon's friend.
Seeing Jimmy talking to young Sheldon—who seemed to be ignoring him—the sensitive mother's face suddenly turned serious. She pinched her husband, who was drinking beer beside her, and whispered, “George…”
“What is it?”
Mary gestured for her husband to go see what Sheldon was doing with his friend.
George thought Mary was worried that maybe Sheldon wasn’t adapting well to his friend’s behavior. So he casually said, “Hey, Jimmy, where is that war set?”
Jimmy looked at what Mr. George was watching, and when he recognized the movie, he quickly said, “It’s mostly set in Southeast Asia—Vietnam.”
Jimmy’s attitude was simply positive; you could feel the charisma in his voice and his eagerness to interact with others.
It was obvious that Jimmy was very different from Sheldon—much less reserved and with a more pleasant personality.
When George heard Jimmy mention Vietnam, he became interested. He had served in the army when he was young and fought in Vietnam. He had his own opinions about what happened in that country and what people say about it nowadays.
However, since this was a child versus an adult’s perspective, their feelings about war could be completely different. That’s why he truly doubted whether Jimmy understood what a war really was.
“My grandfather served in Vietnam—he rose to the rank of Colonel, if what they told me is true. Actually, I have one of his medals with me.” Jimmy pulled out a medal hanging from a necklace around his neck and showed it to him.
“No way, that’s a Medal of Honor…” George was so moved that he began asking questions about Jimmy’s grandfather and sharing his own experiences.
Grandma Connie, who was sitting nearby, suddenly shouted, “George!”
George stopped talking, turned around, and asked, confused, “What is it?”
“I want a cold beer. Bring me a bottle.” Connie’s attitude seemed commanding.
“Well, if you want a beer that badly, why don’t you get it yourself... Looks like you’ve learned how to give orders too.” George, who had just finished his beer, stood up to grab another one and took the opportunity to bring one for his witch of a mother-in-law.
Mary relaxed much more after George stopped talking about the horrors of war with a thirteen-year-old boy.
The other people at the table might not have understood what Grandma Connie had just done, but Jimmy noticed it. Instead of wanting to bother George or order him around, she was actually worried about what the kids might think about war.
Mary, on the other hand, seemed even more concerned after learning that Jimmy didn’t seem to care about war at all, proudly showing off one of his grandfather’s medals.
As Jimmy displayed the medal, he joked, “If my grandfather were still alive, I think he’d say you’d make a wonderful grandma.”
“How sweet…” Connie forced a smile as she looked at the medal and said, “But I don’t think I could ever fall for a soldier. I don’t have as bad taste as my daughter.”
“Mom!” Mary exclaimed in shock.
“Yes, and let me give you a piece of advice too, Jimmy—never move in across the street from your mother-in-law, or she’ll make your life miserable.” George winked at Jimmy, who simply smiled.
“Oh my God, George…”
“Tell me, Jimmy, what are your hobbies at school?”
Sheldon quickly jumped in to answer: “Illegally selling homework to all the grades at school—and George Jr. is his accomplice.”
“Your brother?”
“That’s a lie, don’t listen to him, Mom!” George Jr. shouted from the background, protesting his brother’s words.
“Maybe Sheldon has the wrong idea about what I do, but in simple terms, I write step-by-step guides on how to solve assignments. This teaching method is very unique because it includes detailed instructions on how to reach each answer.”
“That actually sounds good.”
“But he charges money,” Sheldon couldn’t believe his family was supporting Jimmy’s money-making idea.
But he underestimated his grandmother’s innovative mind, who only thought about money, and she said, “Sweetheart, if I were as smart as you or Jimmy, I’d do the exact same thing to make money.”
“But it’s not a good thing, he could get in trouble!”
“Well, that’s always up for debate…”
“I don’t plan to do it for much longer anyway…” Jimmy had been thinking about it for a while. He actually didn’t need much money anymore—now that he was about to look for investors, the last thing he needed for his future inventions was money.
“That’s for the best—smart thinking,” Mary said, relieved that Jimmy, one of Sheldon’s few friends, was so reasonable.
