Part 165

No words were said as Howie took Jesse in his arms and headed to where Sarah was kneeling on the ground. He could tell by the way her shoulders shook that she was crying. Standing behind her, he gave Jesse a kiss on the cheek before setting the little girl down.

The little girl put her small hand on Sarah’s shoulder and said, "Don’t cry, Mama."

Sarah felt ice pour through her veins. Turning slowly, expecting it to be some horrible joke, she saw those blue eyes looking at her. Those beautiful blue eyes that she had NEVER forgotten. She looked at the little girl but couldn’t say anything.

Howie knelt down beside Jesse and took Sarah’s hand in his. "Angel, say something."

Sarah reached up to touch Jesse’s face as if she were a mirage and felt the soft skin. She realized that it wasn’t a dream or a mirage…it really was her daughter standing in front of her and she took the little girl in her arms holding her tight as her tears fell in the child’s hair. "Oh, god, Jesse! I love you so much."

The little girl wrapped her arms around Sarah’s neck and responded. "I love you too, Mama."

Sarah held Jesse in her arms crying for what seemed like forever, forgetting that Howie was there until he reached over to touch her. She looked up into his eyes and saw a light in his eyes she’d seen the day she told him she was pregnant. He had done this. He had somehow found her daughter, the daughter she had believed was dead, the daughter that had been the light of her life. How would she EVER be able to repay him?

Without letting go of Jesse, Sarah asked softly, "How?"

"It’s a long story, Angel. I can tell you about it later. We have a birthday party to go to and I expect Jesse is hungry."

Jesse beamed, "A birthday party? FOR ME?"

Howie laughed, "Yeah…for YOU! Where would you like to have lunch?"

"McDonald’s!" squealed Jesse.

"McDonald’s it is then," said Howie. "Anything for my little princess."

Howie helped Sarah up and slipped his arm around her waist as they headed back to the truck with Jesse in Sarah’s arms.

The couple who had brought Jesse to the cemetery was standing at Howie’s truck waiting for them with Jesse’s things. Sarah recognized them and became furious.

"What are you doing here?"

Howie saw the anger in Sarah’s eyes and he said, "Whoa, Angel! They brought Jesse back to you."

"YOU! You’ve had Jesse all this time."

The lady spoke up, "Sarah, we’re sorry but it had to be done."

Sarah went to put Jesse in Howie’s truck before she exploded. There was no way she wanted to unleash the anger that was building in front of her. She said softly, "Jess, Mama is right here but I need to talk to Cindy for a minute."

"Okay, Mama."

Howie was behind her and said, "Sarah, reach in the bag on the other side."

Sarah did what he said and pulled out the doll that Howie had bought for Jesse. "For her?"

"Yeah, and Jesse, there’s a Pooh Bear in that bag too!"

The little girl’s eyes were as big as saucers, like Sarah’s when she was surprised. "FOR ME?"

"All for you, Princess," smiled Howie. "Your mom and I will be right back."

As Jesse played happily with the doll and Pooh Bear, Sarah closed the door and turned on the couple with a fury that Howie had never seen before. "HOW DARE YOU KEEP MY LITTLE GIRL FROM ME FOR TWO YEARS! SHE WAS THE LIGHT OF MY LIFE AND YOU HAD THEM TELL ME SHE WAS DEAD!"

Jim looked at Howie helplessly and said, "We’re sorry, Sarah. We only did what was asked of us."

"ASKED OF YOU? BY WHO? SURE AS HELL NOT ME AND NOT BY MY FAMILY!!! WHAT, DID RUSSELL PUT YOU UP TO THIS?" screamed Sarah.

Howie knew he had to calm Sarah down so he put his hand on her shoulder. "Sarah, listen to me….please."

Sarah turned on Howie. "How long have you known that Jesse was alive?"

"Since right after we got back from Virginia at the start of the month. Sarah, there’s a lot that I have to explain to you and now isn’t the place or the time. We need to take Jesse to get something to eat and then head back to Orlando. For now, Jim and Cindy have done nothing wrong…nothing to deliberately hurt you. They have only done what was asked of them in order to protect you and Jesse. Russell had NOTHING to do with them keeping Jesse all this time or you being told that she was dead. In fact, he was the reason."

"Do you know what was going on?" asked Sarah helplessly, her anger dissolved by Howie’s touch and the tenderness in his voice.

Howie hugged her, "Yeah, I know most of it and someone who knows the rest will be here tonight to explain. For now, you need to apologize to Jim and Cindy."

Cindy spoke up, "There’s no need. We both knew that Sarah would be mad and I can’t say that I blame her. If it had been my child, I would feel the same way. Sarah, please, we did everything we knew to take care of her for you. A day didn’t go by that we didn’t show her a picture of you and when we got the pictures of you and Howie getting married, we showed them to her as well."

Jim continued, "Jesse doesn’t remember a thing about the accident or Russell. She believes Howie is her father."

Sarah began to cry again and Howie held her close stroking her hair. "Shh…Angel, it’s okay. You’ve got Jesse back and we’re a family."

Sarah looked back at Jim. "What happened to her? My parents told me she was dead."

"Jesse did suffer some brain damage but the loss of her memory is the only permanent damage. She was taken to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and given the best of everything. She was in rehab for almost a year."

"Who paid for all of this?" questioned Sarah.

Jim shook his head and Howie said, "That will be explained tonight, Angel."

Sarah looked at Jim and Cindy. "I’m grateful to you for all that you’ve done for her. It’s just such a shock to have my daughter back after all this time."

The couple smiled. "We completely understand. You know, you’ve got a wonderful husband here. It didn’t take him long to find us and make sure you had your little girl back," said Cindy smiling at Howie.

Howie was holding Sarah in his arms as she said, "Yeah, he is pretty good. I think I’ll keep him around for a little while."

They all laughed and Howie gave her a kiss. "Let’s get going, Angel. There’s more to this day that you don’t know about."

"God…how much more can there be? You’ve given me my daughter back!"

"There’s plenty. Jim, Cindy…would you care to join us?"

"No thanks. I think this is time you three should have together…as a family, like you said," replied Jim.

Jim and Cindy gave Sarah a hug and wished them well before telling Jesse good-bye too. Then they watched as Howie and Sarah left the cemetery before heading their own way.

Part 166        The Dance Index(2)