Part 104
Reaching the house, Sarah and Howie were both surprised to find that Carlos and Raoul were with Brian and Kevin. Sarah was thrilled to see them and gave each man a hug.
"What are you doing here?" asked Sarah.
"We came to be with you," said Raoul. "You don’t mind, do you?"
"NO!" responded Sarah emphatically. "You’re a part of the family too. I’m just surprised, that’s all. Come on in and I’ll fix you something to drink and eat."
The group headed into the house where Sarah started searching for something for lunch for them while Howie led them to the family room. They talked about the trip down and what was going on in the news with them.
While Sarah was in the kitchen, her nieces, Ashley, Rebecca, and Courtney came in with three of their friends carrying their beach towels. Ashley said, "Oh cool! You’re here, Aunt SaSa."
"Yeah…just got back from town. ‘Da’ and I were at the funeral home."
Rebecca asked, "Who’s bus is out front?"
Sarah looked at her nieces who were grinning and realized what they were up to. She knew that her nieces’ friends didn’t believe the girls when they said that they knew the Backstreet Boys. They had been given strict instructions not to take pictures to school for fear that they’d be stolen. She smiled, "Your uncle’s friends are here."
"All of them?" asked Courtney.
"No, just two and their bodyguards. They’re in the family room if you want to go speak to them."
"Cool!" said Ashley.
"Hold on before you go," said Sarah. "Take these drinks to them for me, please."
Sarah handed a tray of drinks to Courtney and watched as she and the other two led their friends into the family room. Sarah moved quickly the other way grabbing the camcorder on the way to catch the look on the girls’ faces when they realized who was in the family room.
Rebecca ran to Howie first since he was her favorite. "Uncle Howie!" she greeted with a hug.
Howie laughed, "Hey, Rebecca!"
Courtney set the drinks down in front of Kevin and Brian and greeted them, "Hey, Kevin! Hey, Brian."
All three greeted Sarah’s nieces with hugs and thanked them for the drinks.
Courtney took a seat beside Kevin while Ashley sat with Brian as Howie asked, "Who are your friends?"
The girls’ friends were standing in the doorway frozen as Courtney said, "Marissa is the one in purple…because you’re her favorite, Uncle Howie. Kimberly is next to her and Brittany is behind them."
Marissa whispered, "Oh my god….Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys!"
Sarah laughed as she set the camcorder down and went to usher the girls into the room. She said, "Come on, girls. They aren’t going to bite."
The three girls moved in to sit on the floor in front of the others and Brittany asked, "What about the other two…AJ and Nick?"
Rebecca said from her seat in Howie’s lap, "You dork…AJ’s is getting help for…"
Sarah said sternly, "Rebecca, don’t be so mean. Brittany, AJ won’t
be coming and Nick should be here…"
"Thursday," said Brian. "We just talked to them a little while ago and they’ll be flying in Thursday morning."
"OH….MY….GOD!" gasped Kimberly. "You DO know the Backstreet Boys!" and the three began giggling.
They all laughed as Courtney said, "I told you, Aunt SaSa is MARRIED to Howie."
Sarah asked, "Would you like pictures?"
They all nodded ‘yes’ eagerly and Howie said, "There are some group shots in my bag, Angel."
"I know and I’ve got some of AJ that he signed. I’ll be back in a minute."
While Sarah went to get the pictures, Kevin, Brian, and Howie talked to the girls answering their questions. When Sarah returned, they were singing to them so she joined in with them.
After singing and signing the pictures, Ashley asked, "Aunt SaSa, I don’t suppose you could go down with us to the pond, could you?"
"Sweetheart, we’ve got company."
Kevin said, "Go on, Sarah. We’ll be okay."
Brian asked, "What are you gonna do at the pond?"
Sarah explained, "The pond is where we go swimming. It’s spring-fed
and when Daddy moved back up here, he fixed it up for us to use rather than
going to the local pool. There’s a diving platform in the middle and an old
tire sing. The only problem is the kids can’t go down without an adult."
"Sounds like fun," said Brian. "Do you have other plans for this
afternoon?"
"No, just hanging out here," said Howie. "We weren’t expecting you today."
"Why don’t we ALL go? It’s been a while since we’ve had a day to relax," suggested Brian.
The girls looked at them hopefully and Kevin offered, "I’m up for it."
"Me too!" agreed Howie. "Angel, what about you?"
"We need to eat lunch first and someone should stay here in case someone comes by."
"We could pack a picnic," suggested Courtney. "There’s PLENTY of food in the kitchen."
Raoul said, "Carlos and I will stay here."
"There you go, Angel," said Howie. "Are you going?"
"Yeah….I guess so."
The girls cheered as the guys laughed at them. Then Courtney, Ashley, and Rebecca went to pack the picnic lunch while Sarah and the guys went to get changed.
It was decided then that Kevin, Brian, Carlos, and Raoul would stay with Sarah and Howie at her parents’ house rather than going into town to a hotel. She explained that her whole family lived in the area and there would be plenty of room for any out-of-town company.
As they walked down to the pond, Sarah told the guys that the farm had been in her mother’s family for over a hundred years and that each of her brothers had their own house there too. Her mother’s parents had their house there as well and her father’s parents, the ones Howie and Sarah had visited at Christmas, lived thirty miles away. She also explained how her parents had ended up in Fernandina but always came to Virginia for visits.
At the pond, Sarah slipped her shirt off so that she could get some sun when her nieces spotted her tattoo.
"AUNT SASA! What’s that on your shoulder?" asked Courtney.
Sarah blushed realizing that her family didn’t know about the tattoo. "It’s an angel…"
"With ‘Sweet D’s Angel’ under it," said Rebecca. "That’s SO cool!"
Ashley asked, "What did ‘Da’ say when he saw it?"
"Uhhhh…he doesn’t know…and YOU THREE DO NOT NEED TO TELL HIM!" warned Sarah.
Howie laughed, "Angel, what’s wrong?"
"Dad isn’t gonna be real pleased with it," grimaced Sarah.
Kevin and Brian laughed and Howie said, "You should have thought about that when you got it."
"I’m an adult," said Sarah defensively. "And I paid for it."
"Okay! Okay!" said Howie as he took her in his arms. "You don’t have to get so defensive. Come on…let’s go for a swim and cool off."
Howie picked Sarah up and headed out to the diving platform. The others followed and before Sarah realized it, Howie was throwing her in.
She surfaced and looked up at the three men standing on the dock laughing.
"That was mean, D! And what are you two laughing at?" said Sarah as she splashed Kevin and Brian getting them wet.
The group spent the afternoon at the pond having fun playing in the water. Sarah was grateful for the time away. It had been over a month since the guys had been able to kick back and relax and the stress of the tour along with AJ had taken its toll on them.
Later in the day, Sarah was sitting in a lounge chair with her eyes closed listening to the sounds of the girls as Kevin and Brian swung them out on the tire-swing. She heard Howie pull himself up on the dock but was still startled when he let the cold water drip on her stomach.
She sat up quickly, "HEY…THAT’S COLD!"
Howie laughed and straddled the chair to sit behind her as he said, "I’ll warm you up, Angel."
Sarah leaned back into his arms. "I like the sounds of that but not in front of the girls."
Howie kissed her tenderly on the neck, "Kevin and Brian have them occupied. Why don’t you join us?"
"I don’t feel like it, D."
"What’s wrong?"
"Dizzy."
"Want to head back?"
"Yeah. I need to get dinner ready anyway."
"I’ll go with you," said Howie as he helped her up. Then, hollering across to Brian, "Hey…B-Rok…we’re going up to the house."
"Aunt SaSa! How long before dinner?" called Ashley.
"A couple hours. You three need to head back shortly so you can get cleaned up. The family is gonna be here for dinner."
They all chorused ‘Okay’ and Howie and Sarah headed back to the house. With Howie’s arm around her waist, Sarah rested her head on his shoulder as they walked.
"Angel," asked Howie softly. "Did you do too much today?"
"Not really."
"You seem tired."
"I am but it’s more because of everything that’s happened…Alex going to rehab and Mama dying."
"Why don’t you take a nap and I’ll get dinner ready for everyone?"
Sarah smiled, "I’ll be okay, D. You promised to behave."
"So I can’t be concerned for you at all? Sarah, that’s impossible. You’re my wife and you’re pregnant with my child."
"Okay! I give up!" sighed Sarah. Then mumbling, "Nick’s not this bad with Becca."
"Nick’s not me either. Stop complaining before I have to take charge," teased Howie trying to sound stern.
Sarah laughed, "Oh, please…the forceful Howie. It turns me on!"
Howie stopped and pulled Sarah around so they were now face to face, their bodies pressed together as he held her hands behind her back. "What else turns you on, Angel?"
Sarah gazed into his deep, brown eyes, "You…your touch, your scent, your voice, your tenderness…everything about you."
Howie leaned to her, his lips brushing hers. His tongue parted her lips, darting in for a taste and teasing her. Pulling back from the kiss, he leaned his head to hers. "Is your Dad gonna be home?"
"I don’t know, but D, we are MARRIED now."
Howie grinned, "I can’t get past being in your parents’ house."
Sarah laughed, "I’ll just have to tempt you."
"You’re already doing that. God…it was a good thing the water was so cold," smiled Howie. "Seeing you in your bathing suit was just about my undoing."
"Come on, D! We’re wasting time."
The couple continued on to the house only to find a crowd of family and neighbors milling around, talking to Mr. Taylor and her grandparents. Sarah was greeted warmly and she introduced Howie to everyone.
"Did you have fun?" asked Mr. Taylor.
"It was a nice, relaxing afternoon," said Howie. "It’s been a while since we’ve been able to do that."
"Where are the rest of your friends?"
"Kevin and Brian are still down at the pond with the girls. We came up to fix dinner," said Sarah.
"No need," remarked Aunt Jackie pointing to the table that was now loaded with even more food than before. "There’s enough food here to feed an army."
Sarah cracked, "You haven’t ever seen my friends eat…especially home-cooked food. It’s a good thing Nick’s not here."
Everyone laughed and the couple went up to get cleaned up.