Part 199
Very little time passed before Jesse came stumbling out to where Sarah and the guys were working on music. "Mommy…" she called sleepily.
"Baby, what are you doing up?" asked Sarah as she set her glasses down.
"Aunt Becca’s tummy keeps moving and she’s snoring louder than Daddy!"
Nick laughed, "That would be my wife."
Howie held out his arms, "Come here, Princess. Curl up beside your mother and go back to sleep."
Jesse curled up on Sarah’s lap as Sarah stroked her hair. She sat that way for some time as Sarah looked at the rest of what Alex had been showing her.
Interrupting the conversation between Alex and Sarah over a line, Jesse asked sleepily, "Mommy, do you pray to God every night?"
"Yeah, I do," answered Sarah looking down at her daughter.
"What do you ask him?"
Sarah smiled, "Mostly to give me the strength to be a good mother, a good friend, a good wife. I use to pray that he’d give you back to me. Why do you ask, baby?"
"I heard you last night praying," said Jesse innocently.
Brian and Kevin’s drinks were spewed and they all broke into hysterics as Sarah turned a bright red.
Nick cracked, "Oh…THIS is gonna be fun."
Alex looked at Sarah. "Baby, I don’t think I’ve EVER seen you this embarrassed…even when I told you I had packed your clothes when you moved in with D."
"All of you just shut up!" hissed Sarah.
"Mommy…did I say something wrong?" asked Jesse innocently.
"No, baby…"
"Princess, what you heard was your mother trying to get me to leave her alone."
"What were you doing to her, Daddy?"
"Yeah, D. What were you doing to her?" smirked Kevin.
"How about demonstrating?" suggested Alex.
Sarah looked at Howie curious as to what he was gonna say.
"I was tickling her. You know, your mother is REALLY ticklish…right….here," he said as he started tickling Jesse along her sides.
Jesse started laughing and squirming in Sarah’s arms as Howie tickled her. "STOP IT! Daddy! STOP!" squealed Jesse.
"What’s the magic word?" teased Howie as he continued to tickle her.
"PLEASE!" laughed Jesse.
Howie stopped and Jesse moved into his lap so that he could hold her. Kevin grabbed the camera to snap a picture of the two and Alex and Sarah went back to working on the piece in front of them.
Jesse was quiet as she listened to her mother and Alex harmonizing. Then, as Sarah leaned back, it came….THE question Sarah knew was inevitable. Everyone had helped her put it off as long as possible.
"Mommy, where do babies come from?"
Sarah put her stuff down and sat back as all the guys got comfortable. They were anxious to hear Sarah’s answer too. She took a deep breath and looked at Howie first. He smiled, mouthed ‘You can do it’, and gave her a wink. "Jesse, babies are created when two people are very much in love."
"Like Uncle Nicky and Aunt Becca?"
"Yeah, like them."
Jesse looked at Sarah. "Mommy, Uncle Kevin and Uncle Alex love each other. I heard them say so. Does that mean they’ll have a baby?"
Sarah heard the muffled snickers, as Howie said, "No, princess. It’s when a man and a woman love each other."
"What Uncle Kevin and Uncle Alex feel for each other is a brotherly love…like I feel for Uncle Dusty."
"Okay…like you and Daddy?"
"That’s right, baby."
"Or you and Uncle Kevin…or you and Uncle Alex."
Howie was trying very hard not to laugh as Sarah said, exasperation in her voice, "No, Jesse…"
"But Mommy…I heard you tell them that you love them and I’ve seen you hug them."
"Jesse, yes…I love Kevin and Alex but what I have with your daddy is extremely different. We’re married…joined together by a bond that can’t be seen."
"Like I can’t see God but he’s still there."
"That’s right."
"So, when two people love each other, they create a baby. Is it magic?"
"Sort of. It’s a magical feeling. God made a man and woman’s bodies so that they fit together."
"Like a puzzle?"
"Yes…like a puzzle. See, a woman has a seed and the man has the fertilizer. When they join together, if everything is just right…that seed is fertilized and it grows inside the woman."
"How long does it take?"
"Nine months," said Howie. "And as the baby grows, the mommy’s tummy gets bigger, like Aunt Becca’s."
"Mommy, did you get big like Aunt Becca when I was in your tummy?"
"Yeah, sorta. I wasn’t AS big though."
"Can I see a picture of you when I was in your tummy?"
Sarah looked at Howie. "D, do we have them with us?"
"Yeah…I think so. Kevin, look in the cabinet behind you."
Kevin turned to check the cabinet and pulled out a photo album. "Is this it?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Kevin handed it to Sarah and they started flipping through the pictures. As Jesse looked at them, Sarah realized the whole issue of Russell was about to come up. As Jesse flipped the page, Sarah looked at Howie and he put his arm around her.
"Mommy, who is this man with you? And why isn’t Daddy in any of these pictures?"
The guys looked at Sarah as tears formed in her eyes. Alex put his hand on
her knee and Kevin asked, "Want help?"
"No…I’ve got it, Boo," she said. "Jesse, the man in the picture is your father."
Jesse looked up at Sarah quite confused. "My father? Then…who’s holding me?"
"Your daddy.’
"I don’t understand."
"I’m not sure I do either," mumbled Sarah. "Sweetheart, a man can be a father in that he helps create a baby but he’s NOT there for the wonderful things about having a baby. A daddy loves his child unconditionally. A man can be a father and not a daddy."
"Can he be a daddy without being a father?" asked Nick, completely engrossed in Sarah’s explanation.
Sarah smiled softly as she gazed into Howie’s eyes, "Of course."
Jesse thought about what Sarah had said but the others could tell she didn’t fully understand.
"Jess, Howie…your daddy…didn’t help create you," said Brian. "But he loves you without question and would give anything to make sure you’re happy. He’s gonna be there for you, to help your mother take care of you."
"That’s right, Princess. From the minute your mother told me about you…how you like playing on the beach, the way you play with your hair when you’re tired…I knew I loved you."
"Why?"
"Because you’re a part of your mother."
"Would you love me if you didn’t love Mommy?"
"Definitely."
Jesse reached up and kissed Howie on the cheek. "I love you, Daddy.
The three went back to looking at the pictures. Sarah was relieved that Jesse was okay with Howie being her ‘daddy’.
"Mommy, did you love my father?"
"Sort of. In the beginning, yeah, but then he changed and became very mean to me."
"Did he love me?"
"Yeah, but he didn’t know how to show it. Jesse, I’m not going to lie to you. I was NOT in love with your father when you were created. He forced himself on me and that’s how you came to be."
"Do you love Daddy?"
"Most definitely."
"Are you two gonna make a baby?"
Howie smiled, "Princess, your mother and I have already made a baby…actually, two babies."
"Two?" asked Jesse as her eyes got as big as saucers.
The guys laughed and Alex said, "Your mother can’t do ANYTHING the easy way."
Sarah playfully swatted at him, "Nothing in my life has ever been easy…except falling in love with Howie. Even being friends with you clowns can be DIFFICULT."