Part 117
Monday morning, Sarah and Howie went to town before anyone else to meet with a contractor about building their house for them. They had the plans and were anxious to get started so that it would be ready for Christmas. Howie had promised Sarah they’d come to Virginia when they got back from the cruise.
From the contractor’s office, the couple headed to the airport where they met the others. Mr. Taylor and Dusty had brought the rest of the ‘gang’ to the airport. While Sarah was saying her good-byes to her father and brother, Howie went ahead to talk to the pilot.
Boarding the plane, Sarah suddenly became dizzy and started to sway. Kevin was beside her and she reached for him.
"Whoa! Baby, are you okay?"
"No…I HATE stairs."
Kevin laughed, "Good thing the condo doesn’t have any. Want me to help
you?"
"Yeah, my head is still spinning."
"And there’s NO WAY in hell I can catch her," said Becca.
"Sarah, do you have any idea why you’re so dizzy?"
As they made their way onto the plane, Sarah said, "It’s a hormonal thing."
Howie was at the top of the steps and had seen the whole thing. He took her hand now and asked, "Angel, are you okay?"
"I will be when I sit down."
As they settled into their seats, Becca asked, "Did you have this problem with Jesse?"
"Not at all. It’s bound to be a boy…
"Or boys," Howie quickly added with a silly grin.
Everyone laughed and Sarah rolled her eyes, "God…he’s gonna be insufferable!"
Becca laughed, "Maybe we should lock Howie and Nick together so they can drive each other nuts instead of us."
"That’s not a bad idea," said Sarah. "Only problem with that is we’ll need to lock Kevin and Brian with them too because I have the feeling they’re gonna be JUST AS BAD."
"Hey! I resent that!" pouted Brian.
"DO NOT start, Rok," shot Becca. "We ALL know how you were
Saturday."
"Speaking of Saturday…it’s VERY obvious what was going on, guys,"
smirked Sarah as she cut her eyes at Howie. "And I do NOT want you treating
me like some China doll. I am QUITE capable of doing for myself."
"Hey…I’m NOT responsible for THEIR actions," protested Howie.
Nick cut in, "NO MARITAL FIGHTS."
Together, Howie and Sarah chorused, "Who’s fighting?"
Everyone groaned as the couple broke into giggles. Howie leaned to Sarah and kissed her.
The group prepared for take off as the plane began to move. Sarah glanced over at Nick and noticed the death grip Nick had on Becca’s hand. He hated flying, as did Brian, and being on a small plane only intensified his fears. Sarah, Howie, and Kevin took advantage of the situation and began to raze Nick about it.
Once the plane was in the air and leveled off, everyone unbuckled their seatbelts and got comfortable so that they could talk. They started with their plans for the break they had now. Brian and Kevin were going to focus on their relationships since they hadn’t seen Sonja and Vanessa in almost a month as well as business interests. Kevin had plans to help promote Krystal now that her new CD was due out.
Nick wanted to spend time with his family so he and Becca were going to catch up with Aaron in the next few days.
Sarah smiled when Nick said he missed his family. "Looks like Becca’s working her magic on you."
Nick gave her that goofy ‘Carter’ grin, "Sorta."
Kevin snipped, "Let’s hope she can charm Jane the same way."
Becca groaned at that. She had heard horror stories about Nick’s parents from Sarah, Kevin, and Howie along with stories she read on the email lists. She’d only met her mother-in-law once, the weekend of the Lupus Benefit so she really hadn’t had that much of an opportunity to get to know her.
Sarah asked, "So, Bec, how do you feel about spending time with Jane? Maybe you can do some maternal bonding."
"Yeah, right. You know, I don’t know her that well. I mean, we’ve only seen each other once and that was right after I came back. How much time have you spent with her?"
"Thankfully, NOT MUCH," said Sarah. "She adds new meaning to the word mother-in-law and she fits the profile PERFECTLY."
Nick remarked, "She’s DEFINITELY NOT Mama D, that’s for sure."
Sarah squeezed Howie’s hand as she said, "I DEFINITELY got the BEST mother-in-law around."
Howie kissed Sarah to the chorus of gagging sounds from the guys.
Becca teased, "Sarah, you’ve already GOT Howie where you want him. You don’t have to suck up to him NOW."
Gazing adoringly into Howie’s eyes, Sarah said, "Nope, if I had him where I wanted him, you clowns wouldn’t be here and there would be a lot less clothes involved…and a WHOLE LOT of sucking going on."
Kevin cracked, "There’s always the back of the plane. We won’t look."
Without acknowledging Kevin’s comments, Sarah looked at Howie asking with her eyes if it was possible. Howie laughed as he leaned to her. Whispering in her ear, he said, "Not this time, Angel. Be patient."
Sarah nestled into Howie’s arms yawning as Brian asked, "What are your plans for the break, D?"
"Doctor’s appointment, check on the business, and go on a honeymoon," said Howie as he stroked Sarah’s hair.
"Where are you two going?" asked Kevin.
"Not sure yet. SOMEONE hasn’t told me where they want to go yet."
Becca smiled, "Howie, she missed it."
"Huh?"
"Sarah’s asleep."
"WOW! I thought you were the only one who could fall asleep that easily, baby," said Nick.
"She’s been really tired lately," said Becca softly.
Howie pulled her hair back and caressed her cheek as he said, "Friday night was the first night since the incident with AJ that she’s slept peacefully."
"No dreams?" questioned Kevin.
"None. She fell asleep in my arms and when I woke, she was still there, in the same position."
"Maybe you should reconsider getting her to record until after the baby is born," suggested Kevin. "It’s gonna be stressful enough with you touring and her being pregnant."
Howie looked down at his wife as she slept peacefully in his arms. "It’s up to Sarah. I’m not gonna push her."
"What about AJ? Are any of you gonna go visit him?" asked Brian changing the subject.
"We promised him we would," said Kevin. "I think we should take turns."
Howie said, "I want to wait until Sarah’s been to the doctor…see if we can get some news."
With that, the guys worked out a schedule for visiting AJ and the conversation changed to music while Becca followed Sarah’s lead and fell asleep. The two ladies slept peacefully the rest of the flight while the guys talked softly.