Part 126
Howie had called his mother from the club while Sarah was in the bathroom to let her know they were coming. He explained about Sarah’s dad and Sarah calling her mother. Mrs. Dorough agreed that Sarah needed a little extra attention and that she was more than glad to be there for her too.
When they arrived, Mrs. Dorough greeted them excitedly with hugs. "I thought you two would be leaving for your honeymoon."
Howie smiled as he pulled Sarah into a hug from behind. "We’re leaving tomorrow for Hawaii with a stop-over in Arizona to see AJ."
As Mrs. Dorough led them to the family room, Sarah made a hasty exit for the bathroom as a wave of nausea hit. Howie followed to check on her.
"Angel?"
Leaning over the toilet, Sarah groaned, "GO AWAY! This is YOUR
fault."
Howie laughed as he held Sarah’s hair back. "You’ll be okay if you can joke about it."
Sarah leaned back against him. "Who’s joking? It is your fault. You’re the one who got me pregnant."
"And you loved EVERY minute of it," shot Howie.
Sarah grinned. "Yeah, I did. Go on. I’ll be okay in a minute."
Howie kissed her on the forehead and handed her a face cloth to wash her face with before leaving.
Howie joined his mother in the family room where he saw all the pictures from their wedding spread on the coffee table. He picked up one in particular that he loved. It was of the two of them as they said their vows.
Mama D asked, "Is Sarah okay?"
"She’s fine. Just morning sickness. What are you doing here with our pictures?"
She let that go knowing that there was more bothering Howie at the moment and
it was NOT Sarah being sick or what he had told her on the phone. "Getting
ready to put them in your scrapbook. I was looking for the perfect day to do
them and having Sarah here to help is wonderful."
"Is that really such a good idea? I mean, seeing pictures of her parents given the mood she’s in over them."
"Son, she has to face the memories, accept what’s happened, and realize it’s okay to miss her mother. And I expect that she’s dealing with all of this a lot better than you give her credit," said Mama D. Then taking his hand in hers, she said gently, "Howard, I know what happened last Halloween has you scared but it will be okay. Sarah is so much more grown up since she went to that clinic and the two of you have worked out your problems."
Howie put his head on his mother’s shoulder and she put her arm around him. As he began to talk, tears rolled down his cheeks. "Mama, I’m scared to death something is going to happen with this pregnancy and I can’t stand the thought of seeing Sarah go through that pain again. She’s lost her daughter and then she lost our baby…babies."
"Son, you have to have faith in God and in Sarah."
Sarah stood at the doorway watching and listening. She had known that Howie was scared too but he had stayed strong for her. Just another reason for her to love him and he made it so easy for her.
Mrs. Dorough looked up to see Sarah standing there and she motioned for her to join them. As Sarah moved through the room silently, Mrs. Dorough said, "I think you need a few minutes alone with your wife. I’ll go fix us something to drink while you two talk."
Howie moved so that his mother could get up and saw that Sarah was there to take her place. When she was beside him, he lay down to put his head in her lap. Sarah gently wiped the tears away from his cheeks and leaned over to kiss him.
Taking his hand in hers, Sarah held it to her heart and asked softly, "You called Kevin this morning too because you were scared?"
"More like terrified. Angel, I don’t think I can stand to see you hurt again."
Sarah smiled softly, that smile that melted Howie’s heart every time he saw it. "Okay, my turn for the ‘pep’ talk and I’m gonna use the same words you use with me. Howie, I’m gonna be fine. I’m not gonna go back to purging. I have that UNDER control thanks to you, Kevin, Bec, Nick, etc. I’m eating better than I have since I was pregnant with Jesse and I’m taking care of myself. Yeah, there’s gonna be stress in my life…especially with our lifestyle but I have you and I know how to deal with it. As long as I have you to talk to, to hold on to, I’ll be fine. YOU are my strength, Howie…my reason for being."
"What about your parents?"
"What about them? I accepted my mother’s death when we were in Virginia. I just miss her and it’s like Becca said, it’s gonna take time for me to get use to the fact that she’s not there for me to call every time something wonderful happens. And with you in my life, that could be EVERY DAY! As for Daddy, it breaks my heart to think that he’s going through this but there’s NOTHING I can do to control it. All I can do is be there for him. Besides, maybe NOT remembering what he has lost is for the best. You know, there is a good side to all this."
"Really?"
"Yeah…I have an awesome husband to share my dreams with. I have wonderful friends who are there too. And when I need a mother, I have Mama D. Your parents have become second parents to me. They have never turned their backs on me even when you and I were having problems. You have given me the world, Howie…a wonderful world full of love and support. I…WE…will be fine."
Howie looked up into Sarah’s eyes seeing the conviction he heard in her words. She had in deed grown up. "Angel…"
Placing her finger on his lips, Sarah stopped him. "Shhh…no need for words, D," she whispered.
Howie reached up to trace her jawline with his finger to her lips. Softly, as he gazed into her eyes, "So beautiful…so smart…and SO MINE."
The two moved to each other, their lips touching and their tongues searching for each other. The love they felt for each other flowed in the kiss and their touch. As they pulled away, Sarah whispered, "I love you, Howard."
Mama D had watched from the kitchen giving the couple time to talk. Now, as they pulled away from the kiss, she returned with the drinks setting them on the coffee table in front of Howie and Sarah.
Howie sat up, scooting closer to Sarah. "Thanks, Mama."
Mama D smiled, "I didn’t do anything, son, except nudge you to follow your heart. You and Sarah have such a strong relationship but you’re trying too hard to protect her. Sarah finds her strength in you. Don’t be afraid to lean on her too, Howard. She WANTS to be there for you just like you are for her. And she’s NOT as fragile as you want to think. Now, want to explain something to me?"
"What do you want us to explain?" asked Sarah.
"What is this about morning sickness?"
Sarah looked at Howie. "I thought you told her!"
Howie grinned impishly. "I forgot. Mama, Sarah’s ten weeks pregnant with twins."
Mama D squealed with delight as she jumped up to hug the couple. "Oh, my
goodness! This is so wonderful"
"We went to the doctor yesterday," said Sarah. "My due date is February 28th."
"We’ve got a video tape of the ultra sound for you. Wanna see it?" asked Howie.
"Of course I want to see it, Howard!" responded Mama D excitedly.
Howie ran out to their truck to get the video while Mrs. Dorough and Sarah talked about the twins and what Sarah was going to do with Howie on the road. When he came back in, he put the tape in the VCR and they watched intently. Mrs. Dorough began to cry as she watched the two little shapes and the heartbeats on the screen.
"Those are my grandchildren," she whispered. "Oh, Sarah….bless your heart! You make my son so happy and now you’re giving us TWO miracles."
Sarah squeezed Howie’s hand as she said, "I’m glad I could make you happy, Mama."
The rest of the day was spent working on Howie’s scrapbook and looking at other pictures. As they put the pictures from Howie and Sarah’s wedding into the book, they talked about what had been happening in the picture when it was taken. They laughed at the goofy expressions on Nick’s face at the reception; the seriousness of Kevin’s expression as they sang to Sarah; Becca’s look of complete contentment at being back amongst her friends; and the love that was so evident on Howie’s and Sarah’s faces in EVERY photo taken. The pictures of Sarah’s parents brought tears of sadness over what they would miss with the birth of the twins and Sarah’s career in music that Howie was trying to launch. But they also brought tears of joy that they did get to see Sarah realize her ultimate dream…marrying Howie.
Howie’s baby pictures were brought out as well for Sarah to see and plans were discussed for the birth of the babies. Mrs. Dorough told Sarah about Howie as a baby and that he came by the nickname ‘Sweet D’ from birth. He had been a happy, peaceful baby…no trouble at all and his sisters had spoiled him from the day he was born.
Just before dinner, Howie received a call from Sarah’s brother Mark. Her father had been found and he was safe. The doctor had kept him for observation overnight just to be sure and Howie asked that they run a complete physical.
"D," whispered Sarah. "Let me talk to him." Howie handed the phone to Sarah and she said, "Mark, you need to know something. Mama wrote Howie a letter before she died…Daddy was showing the early signs of Alzheimer’s and Howie and I are concerned that all this was due to that."
"Sis, Dad was disoriented when we found him."
"Then make sure that the doctors know, Mark…and don’t worry about the expenses. Howie and I will take care of it."
"Are you two coming to Virginia?"
"No….not this time. We’re leaving tomorrow for Hawaii for out honeymoon. Howie has all that information and I’ll let you talk to him in case you need us."
Mark hesitated for a minute and then asked, "Sarah, how are you holding up?"
"I’m fine, Mark. Don’t worry about me….just help Courtney and the others get through this. It’s tough on them."
Mark laughed softly, "Always worrying about everyone else. Sis…I love you."
"I love you too, Bubba. Give Courtney a kiss for me and tell Rusty, Dusty, and Jeff that I love them too."
Sarah handed the phone back to Howie so he could give Mark the necessary information in case something happened while they were gone.