Part 293
Thanks to Lisa, the other dancers, the crew, Nick and AJ, Sarah was able to avoid Howie for the rest of the day, including dinner. Every time he went looking for her, someone found a way to distract him.
Howie looked at his watch as they came off stage from singing ‘America the Beautiful’ and mumbled angrily, "Where the hell is my wife?"
AJ heard him and said, "She’s probably getting Jesse ready for bed."
Howie glared at AJ remembering what he’d heard. "Alex…if Sarah performs and you don’t try to stop her, there’s gonna be hell to pay."
"Where the FUCK did THAT come from?"
"I heard you two talking this afternoon." The guilty look on AJ’s face was enough to confirm his suspicions. "You had BETTER stop her, AJ! I’m NOT joking!"
"Fine…I’m going to find Sarah for you."
AJ watched Howie storm off and then headed to the dancers’ dressing room where Sarah had been hiding out with Lisa most of the afternoon.
"You ready?"
"Yeah…where’s Howie?"
"Looking for you and he’s PISSED."
"God…Alex, he knows I’m going on and…" Sarah rushed to the bathroom to get sick.
AJ called after her, "Hurry up, Sarah, before Kevin and Howie BOTH find out and we’re ALL in deep shit."
Meanwhile, Howie had decided to go to the bus hoping against hope that AJ had been right and Sarah was getting Jesse ready for bed. On his way, he ran into Billy. "Where’s Sarah?"
"Not sure. She was with Lisa during dinner."
Howie looked at him, studying the man who was currently protecting his wife. "You’ve been with her all day. What’s going on, Billy?"
Billy shook his head. "Howard, I’m paid to protect your wife. Don’t put me in this position."
"Damnit, Billy! You saw her in Ottawa! She collapsed and it hasn’t been forty-eight hours! She’s EXHAUSTED!"
Not thinking, Billy took the bait. "She was fine at sound checks."
"Damnit! She IS going to do it! And I bet AJ did NOTHING to try and stop her," spat Howie spinning on his heels. Billy heard him as he headed in, "I can’t even PAY someone to keep her from screwing up."
While Howie was confronting Billy and AJ was getting Sarah, Kevin was in
Krystal’s dressing room. "Krystal, you go on in five minutes. Why aren’t
you ready?"
"I thought Sarah was going on first…as always."
"No, I told you, she’s taking a week off."
"I know what YOU said but Nick came to me at dinner and said she was still gonna sing tonight."
"Nick?"
"Yeah."
The thundercloud started forming, "Damn her!"
"What?"
"She’s gonna sing after PROMISING not to. And I bet Howie knows too! Those two are bound and determined to scare the shit out of all of us!"
Krystal couldn’t respond because Kevin stormed out headed for the ‘underworld’.
The two thunderclouds collided outside the dressing rooms and the entire crew knew what was about to happen.
Kevin glared at Howie, "I knew DAMN well you couldn’t keep your wife from going on stage. Getting Nick to help was cheap!"
"Who the hell said I even KNEW? And what’s Nick got to do with it? It’s AJ who’s helping her!" growled Howie.
"Oh, it’s BOTH of them!" Kevin realized Howie didn’t have anything to do with it and he asked, "When did you find out?"
Together, the two headed to the underworld as Howie said, "I had an idea this afternoon when I got here and heard her singing but I had HOPED that AJ would convince her NOT to! Billy just confirmed that she was going ahead."
From the stage, the two men heard AJ’s voice, "KBNHA Records is proud to present ‘Sweet D’s Angel!" and the music started.
Howie recognized right away that it wasn’t Sarah’s own material that she was doing and as they reached the wings, they met AJ. Howie growled, "You didn’t even TRY to stop her, did you?"
"Look, I trust Sarah and you should too! Just watch her."
"It has NOTHING to do with trust, Alex. Sarah needs to rest!" snapped Kevin.
"Just watch!"
The three men stood in the wings watching as Sarah bounced across the stage working the crowd into a frenzy, hitting the notes to perfection, and giving it her all. She was better than they had ever seen her.
Sarah spotted Howie in the wings, his arms crossed and an angry scowl on his face. Kevin was beside him looking even darker and she knew they were mad! Oh well, she couldn’t think about that now…she had a show to do. She tossed her head as she turned away and headed back to center stage as the song ended.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Montreal! Are you READY TO ROCK THIS COUNTRY?" The crowd responded with a thunderous ‘Yes’ and Sarah laughed, "You know, I have two ‘thunderclouds’ watching me from the wings so I need to talk to you for just a few minutes. First off, I normally do my own material but tonight, I’m doing something extremely different. I’ve chosen several songs by Shania Twain and one by Faith Hill to perform because, well, I WANT to have some fun!…" and Sarah went on to explain to the crowd about the events of the last few days and the explanation she’d given AJ earlier that day. When she was done, she turned to the wings where Howie, Kevin, and AJ were still standing and blew Howie a kiss as the music started. "I’m going out tonight—I’m feelin’ alright…"
Sarah saw Howie nod his head to let her know he understood and she turned back to the audience singing her heart out. She knew he was okay with her explanation and she was ready to have fun.
Reaching the chorus, Sarah was where she could see Howie as she sang, "Oh, oh, oh…go totally crazy—forget I’m a lady…Men’s shirts—short skirts/ Oh, oh, oh, really go wild—yeah, doin’ it in style/ Oh, oh, oh, get in the action—feel the attraction/ Color my hair…" and off came the hat she’d been wearing revealing her freshly highlighted hair.
"Do what I dare/ Oh, Oh, Oh, I wanna be free—yeah, to feel the way I feel/ Man! I feel like a woman!" and she ran her hands through her hair, looking right at him with that ‘I’m gonna make it up to you later’ look she had and Howie couldn’t help himself. A groan escaped from deep down as he felt himself harden.
AJ cracked, "Oh, she KNOWS how to get around you! She’s off the hook for sure now!"
Kevin grumbled, "She’s NOT off the hook with ME!"
The song ended and Sarah said, "The next four songs are for you,
D!"
Sarah sang ‘Holding on To Love’ making sure to flirt with Howie as much as possible. The cameraman caught Howie several times eliciting squeals from the audience and Sarah laughed.
For the next song, pictures from when they were dating, some from concerts and some from parties they had attended and some that the guys had taken at their houses appeared on the screen behind Sarah as she sang, "When I first saw you, I saw love. And the first time you touched me, I felt love. And after all this time, you’re still the one I love…."
Howie was lost watching Sarah, his anger completely gone. Out there on that stage was the woman he loved so totally and completely. She was happy, healthy, and having the time of her life. There was no way he could stay mad at her.
It was time for the duet with Howie and Sarah headed to center stage where
she held up her hand to get the crowd quiet. "You know, a little over two
years ago, a brown-eyed boy stepped out of my dreams and into my heart. From
that moment on, I have been completely in love with him. Last May, I married the
man of my dreams and in about five months…."
Howie came out and finished, "In about five months, the angel of MY dreams is gonna give me not one…but TWO beautiful miracles."
The crowd erupted in screams and cheers as Howie joined Sarah wrapping her in his arms with his hands on her stomach.
"Do you mind if Howie sings a song with me?" asked Sarah to the audience to which they screamed ‘NO’ and the music started. Sarah stepped away slightly taking Howie’s hand in hers as she gazed into his eyes. "I do swear that I’ll always be there. I’d give anything and everything and I will always care. Through weakness and strength, happiness and sorrow, for better, for worse, I will love you with every beat of my heart."
Together, as Howie and Sarah sang the song, footage of their wedding was played on the screen and they walked to greet the fans. The love the couple shared was evident in their touch and the way they moved together and the fans loved watching the footage along with seeing the couple together.
At the end of the song, Howie cupped Sarah’s face in his hand as he leaned in to her. His lips claimed hers, his tongue slipping in to touch hers setting off a fire that had been smoldering throughout the song. Sarah’s hand went into his hair tangling in his curls as she held on to the lifeline. She felt as if she were floating away.
Pulling back, Howie whispered, "I love you."
Sarah smiled and said to the audience, "My husband knows EXACTLY how to set up my next song"…and she sang. "I don’t want another heartbreak / I don’t need another turn to cry / I don’t want to learn the hard way / Baby, hello, oh no, goodbye/ But you got me like a rocket / Shooting straight across the sky…It’s the way you love me / It’s a feeling like this / It’s centrifugal motion / It’s perpetual bliss / It’s that pivotal moment / Its…ah…impossible / This kiss, this kiss…unstoppable…this kiss, this kiss…" Sarah kissed Howie quickly and took off across the stage singing.
Howie couldn’t keep from laughing as he watched her. Her eyes were like diamonds and her smile was electric. Moving off the stage so he could finish watching her, he met Kevin and AJ still waiting.
AJ grinned, "She’s only got two more songs after this."
Howie looked at him, "I’m still mad as hell at you and Nick for not stopping her."
"But you gotta admit…she put on a hell of a show!"
Howie looked back at Sarah grinning, "Yeah, and she looks DAMN hot with her hair like that."
"This next song is dedicated to you, Kevin," said Sarah looking over at Kevin in the wings. "It’s called ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much."
Howie started laughing as he remembered the lyrics but Kevin was still scowling. "Oh, lighten up, Kevin! She’s FINE!"
"Yeah, this time, but two nights ago, she collapsed and almost lost the twins. You have GOT…"
"Don’t Kevin! Don’t try to tell me what I need to do with my wife. AJ’s right…trust is a key and I trust her. I knew this afternoon that she was gonna do this and I COULD have stopped her but I didn’t. When she says she’s not gonna do anything to jeopardize her health, I trust her. I also understand WHY she had to do this and you know something, I even understand why she went behind my back. When she comes off stage, don’t you DARE fuss at her. It’s NOT your place."
From the stage, they heard Sarah, "Okay, so you’re Kevin Richardson…That don’t impress me much / So you got the looks…."
AJ laughed, "Uh, Kev, I’d say she got you!"
"Like she said, don’t impress me much," growled Kevin and he stormed off.
The last song was "Honey, I’m Home" but Sarah changed that line to ‘Howie, I’m home’ making him laugh. It had been an awesome show and Howie was proud of his wife, especially after AJ told him that Sarah had done it all herself.
Sarah flew off the stage and into Howie’s arms. "OH GOD! Howie! It was SO GOOD!"
"You were fantastic, Angel!"
"You aren’t mad, are you?"
Howie held her at an arm’s length from him as he said, "Sarah, you broke a promise to me and you took a big risk."
Sarah tucked her head remorsefully as she said, "And went against your wishes. I’m sorry."
Howie smiled as he lifted her chin with his finger. "But you were FANTASTIC, Angel. And your hair!" he said running his hand through it.
"You like?" questioned Sarah hesitantly.
"Definitely! Come on, Angel! I’ve got to get ready…and I want to show you how much I love you!"
Sarah laughed, "Have we got time?"
Pulling her to him so that she could feel him, "We’ll MAKE the time!"