Part 356
Drowsily, Howie asked, "Angel, are you okay?"
"I’ll be fine," answered Sarah as she ran her hands across his arms.
"Does it hurt when they move like that?"
"Not really. It’s just uncomfortable. Go back to sleep, ‘D’. I’m gonna go downstairs."
Howie kissed her on the shoulder. "Sure you don’t want me to go with you?"
"Yeah. Go back to sleep, baby," whispered Sarah as she kissed him.
Howie settled back into the pillows and Sarah pulled the covers back over him. She watched him for a minute, brushing his hair back. A light, happy feeling spread through her as she watched him, the man of her dreams. There had been a time in her life when she had thought she’d never be with him.
Kissing him on the forehead, she whispered, "I love you, Howie."
Pulling on a pair of shorts and one of Howie’s shirts, Sarah headed downstairs. Knowing the guys would want coffee when they woke, she went to the kitchen first and started a pot. As she fixed herself some juice, she heard the phone ring but before she could answer it, it stopped.
At the same time, Mrs. Richardson came into the kitchen. "Good morning, Sarah. You’re up awfully early."
"The babies are moving making it difficult to sleep. Can I get you some juice?"
Seeing the coffee, she said, "I’ll just have a cup of coffee. Thank you."
Pouring a cup for her, Sarah asked, "What time are you headed back to Kentucky?"
"My flight is at eight-thirty. A cab is on it’s way."
"It was really good to see you again."
Mrs. Richardson and Sarah sat down together at the kitchen table and continued talking. The older lady shared her experiences while she was pregnant with Kevin which Sarah loved hearing and they discussed names. Sarah hadn’t really decided on any name other than Caroline if one of them was a girl.
As the two talked, Kevin came in wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, his hair very rumpled from sleep, and he looked like death warmed over. Seeing his mother and Sarah, he smiled sleepily. "My two favorite moms," greeted Kevin giving them both a kiss.
"Son, I told you not to get up this morning. I can get to the airport on my own."
Pouring himself a cup of coffee, Kevin said, "Believe me, I didn’t want to get up but the phone woke me."
"Who on earth would be calling at this hour of the morning?"
"The studio, unfortunately."
"Is there a problem?" asked Sarah.
"I’ll tell you about it later, when the others are up and can hear it. Mama, what time is your flight?"
"Eight-thirty," she answered as they heard the doorbell ring. "And there’s my cab now."
"I’ll get your bag."
"It was wonderful to see you again, Sarah. Please, take care of yourself and don’t let these boys work you too hard."
"It was good to talk to you again too, Mama Ann, and thanks for your stories," grinned Sarah looking at Kevin.
Kevin groaned knowing that his mother had shared stories about him as Mrs. Richardson gave Sarah a kiss on the cheek.
From the door, Kevin said, "Are you going back to bed?"
"No. I’m gonna go out by the pool."
"I’ll join you as soon as I get Mama off."
Sarah headed out to the pool where she took a seat on one of the lounge chairs. Despite being six in the morning, the temperature was already well into the seventies and she was grateful that they were headed back to Canada. California heat was so much worse than Florida heat. Being pregnant didn’t help the situation much either.
As she watched the sky changing colors, Kevin came out with her. She moved and motioned for him to sit behind her. Straddling the chair, Kevin sat down and Sarah leaned back into his arms.
"What are you doing up so early?"
"The babies were making it uncomfortable to sleep."
"Are they still moving?"
Sarah nodded her head as she took his hand and placed it on her stomach. He held it there feeling the movement under his hand.
"Wow!" said Kevin in awe. "This is so cool."
"Yeah, it is," laughed Sarah. Then getting serious, she said, "’Boo’, I’m sorry."
"For what, baby?" asked Kevin as he continued to feel the babies moving.
"Hurting you. Vanessa."
"Shhh, don’t blame yourself, Sarah. What happened with Vanessa wasn’t your fault."
"But…you…me…."
"Baby, things with Vanessa have never been the best. I guess I kept expecting her to be more like you."
"Vanessa’s her own person."
"I know that."
"What happened the other night?"
"We broke up. She was tired of competing with the past…our past."
"You never told her about us?"
"No more than we dated. She didn’t need to know any more than that."
"Why’d you buy her flowers if you broke up?"
"An apology for hurting her. We were going to talk some more but she left. I hope you two will still be able to be friends."
"I’m sure we will be but it won’t be like when we were younger. It can’t be like that anymore."
"Because of me?"
"To a certain degree, yeah. More though because I’ve become the woman I was destined to be rather than the woman Russell was trying to make me and I have you, Alex, Becca, Nick, Brian, and Howie to thank."
"Especially Howie," grinned Kevin. "I think you two can’t get any closer and something happens to prove me wrong."
Sarah pulled Kevin’s arms tight around her. "I love him so much, Kevin, but sometimes it’s like a dream and I’m going to wake up."
"It’s not a dream, baby. Whatever you want, whatever you dreamed about as a little girl…Howie’s gonna give it to you."
"I know. What do you want, ‘Boo’? What would make your dreams come true?"
Kevin held her as he thought about what she’d asked him, absent-mindedly stroking her arm. Finally, he spoke, "Well, one of my dreams is coming true…performing. But, I want to settle down, have stability in my life, have children. Having Jesse around and now Garrett, it makes me realize how much I want that too."
"There is someone out there for you, Kevin, and she’s going to be extremely lucky."
"What did you think of Lynne?"
"She’s nice."
"She’s gonna meet me in Seattle for your show and travel with us for a few days."
"That’s wonderful, ‘Boo’. Promise me something?"
"Don’t compare her to you?"
"Yeah."
"Don’t worry. A clean start, like you had with Howie. She doesn’t know anything about you and me."
"And if she asks?"
"We’re just really good friends."
Sarah turned her head and placed a light kiss on his lips. "Kevin, I love you."
"I love you too, Sarah. I promise you this, no matter who I’m with, I will always be there for you. You need a shoulder to cry on when you and Howie argue, I’m a phone call away."
"I know, ‘Boo’….and I’ll always be there for you too!"
The two friends sat together with Kevin holding Sarah in his arms for almost an hour talking about music. When they heard the others beginning to stir, they went together to the kitchen to fix breakfast.