Part 404

Sitting beside Becca as the van headed through the streets of Portland destined for the zoo, Sarah watched quietly as Jesse sat in Howie’s lap playing with his hands. It must have been genetic because that was her favorite thing to do when she and Howie were just sitting quietly. She loved watching the two and it was even more fun when the others joined in, like now.

AJ leaned across the seat to pull Jesse’s hair just hard enough to get her attention then quickly sat back.

"Stop it, Daddy," fussed Jesse.

"Stop what?"

"Pulling my hair."

Howie laughed, "’Princess’, you have my hands. How could I have pulled your hair?"

Looking around, Jesse spotted Nick and AJ giggling. "One of YOU did it!"

"Did what, ‘Peanut’?"

"Pulled my hair!"

"I wouldn’t do something like THAT to you," said Nick innocently.

Jesse glared at AJ, "UNCLE AJ!"

"What? You REALLY think I did it? I’m hurt, ‘Little One’!"

As AJ was denying any part of it, Kevin reached from his seat and tugged at her hair.

Jesse whipped around in time to see Brian and Kevin both giggling now. "Daddy! They’re picking on me!"

"Tell them to stop," laughed Howie.

"STOP IT!" stated Jesse adamantly.

Kevin held his hands up, "I don’t know what you’re talking about ‘Squirt’!"

Brian spoke up, "You guys better leave my girlfriend alone or I’m gonna kick your butts!"

"That I’ve gotta see," said Kevin.

Jesse piped up, "Uncle Brian could do it too!"

"You tell ‘em, Jesse!" laughed Brian.

"Ewwww…..I’m shakin’ in my shoes," teased AJ.

Jesse leaned over to look at AJ’s feet and said, "You aren’t WEARING shoes, Uncle AJ!"

Everyone burst out laughing and Jesse began to pout hiding her face with Howie’s hands.

"Jess, it’s just a figure of speech," explained Sarah quickly. "It means that Uncle AJ isn’t afraid of Uncle Brian."

Lifting her head, Jesse mumbled, "Oh."

"Now your mother is a different story," cracked AJ. "I’m terrified of her."

"And you should be!" responded Sarah.

Jesse quickly became defensive. "My mommy’s NOT mean! She’s the bestest mommy in the world!"

Howie hugged Jesse, "You’re absolutely right, ‘Princess’, and Uncle AJ is just playing…RIGHT, Uncle AJ?"

"Jess, I love your mom as much as you do!"

"You’d better," mumbled Sarah for only AJ to hear, "or I’ll kick your almost non-existent butt."

"’Tigger’."

"Yes, ‘Bone’," answered Sarah sickeningly sweet.

"BITE ME!"

Laughing, Sarah grabbed AJ’s hand and bit him then began to make choking sounds. "EWWWW!! GROSS! You’re SOUR!"

"Hey! Not EVERYONE can be as sweet as ‘D’."

The playful banter continued between the guys and Jesse but Sarah grew silent again watching the whole scene. It didn’t go unnoticed either. Howie kept an eye on his wife giving her an occasional wink or a smile. He knew she was having a hard time dealing with Jesse leaving despite the front she was putting up.

Becca also noticed Sarah’s mood change and as the van pulled into the parking lot of the zoo, she nudged her. "Are you okay? You’ve been awfully quiet and Howie looks worried."

"I’m fine," answered Sarah trying to be cheerful.

"There you go again, holding back. What was your blood pressure like this morning?"

"I don’t know…didn’t check."

"And why NOT?"

Howie overheard the conversation and saw Sarah’s growing annoyance with Becca’s persistent questions about her blood pressure. Taking Sarah’s hand to help her out of the van, he said, "I’ve been checking it before she takes a nap, Bec…after she’s been up and doing stuff. It’s been fine ever since Edmonton."

"Are you sure?" questioned Becca as Sarah took Garrett from her.

"I wouldn’t lie about Sarah’s health, Bec," answered Howie as he reached to get the diaper bag for her. Wanting to change the subject, Howie asked, "You aren’t gonna carry Garrett the whole time, are you?"

"I don’t have much of a choice. We left the stroller on the bus."

"They’ve got strollers here," said Sarah spotting them by the gate. "’D’, we might want to consider one for Jesse. There’s no way she’s gonna make it through this zoo without getting tired."

Turning in time to see Brian lifting Jesse onto his shoulders, Howie smiled, "If she does, it’s NOT from walking. Doesn’t look like her Royal Highness is gonna have to do much walking."

Sarah shook her head, "God…and they think WE spoil her."

Nick came bounding out of nowhere with a stroller. "Here, Bec…put GT in here so you don’t have to carry him."

Kevin appeared out of nowhere too. "Here, baby. Let me take this little guy for you," he said as he slid his hands under to take Garrett.

Relieved, Sarah gave him up, "Thanks, Boo."

Kevin smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Whispering in her ear, he said, "It’s gonna be okay. Go on with ‘D’ and I’ll help out here."

A stay of execution. Kevin had seen Sarah’s annoyance too over Becca’s barrage of questions and had stepped in to help. She loved Becca dearly but ever since she’d asked for the blood pressure stuff, Becca had questioned her every time she’d shown the slightest hint of slowing down. What irritated her the most was the fact that Becca doubted Howie too.

His arms slipped around her waist and his lips pressed against her ear. "Come on, ‘Angel’."

"Where’s Jess?"

Howie pointed towards the petting zoo to where AJ and Brian had taken Jesse. That left Kevin helping Nick and Becca and they were temporarily alone, well, except for Tommy and Raoul but they always stayed a respectful distance.

Looking over her shoulder, she nodded and they headed to a quiet out-of-the-way bench in the shade. Taking a seat, Howie wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "’Angel’, Becca’s just worried about you, that’s all. Don’t let it get to you."

"It irks me though that she doubts you," answered Sarah softly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I’ll talk to her and get her to back off. You don’t need the added stress."

"Thank you!," sighed Sarah watching as a group of girls recognized AJ and Brian.

Howie watched too as the two introduced Jesse to the fans and laughed as his daughter developed an ‘attitude’ because HER time with her uncles was being infringed upon. "We need to talk to her about the fans. She can’t be throwing temper tantrums or being rude in front of them."

"She’s just being like this because she’s leaving," defended Sarah.

"It’s amazing how much like you she really is even though you two were separated for so long."

"Better to be like me than her father."

Howie heard the tears in her voice without having to look and hugged her closer. "It’s gonna be okay, ‘Angel’. Focus on making her day fun, not her leaving."

"I’m trying, ‘D’," whispered Sarah.

"You know, the others are going to pick up on your mood."

"Yeah, but the only one who will bug me about it is Becca."

"Then don’t give her a reason to ask you. And you don’t need Jesse to pick up on it either. It’ll just upset her."

Sarah was silent as she watched her daughter racing towards Kevin followed closely by AJ and Brian. Kevin scooped her up in his arms, spinning her around, and held her so that the other two couldn’t get her. Kevin was going to be so good with his own children. She had a picture of what his children would look like and she smiled softly. All of the guys were wonderful with Jesse and Garrett and she looked forward to seeing them all fathers.

Howie took her silence as uneasiness over Jesse’s impending departure. "Look at it like its our honeymoon, ‘Angel’," he said as he nuzzled her neck.

"Does that mean we can stay in bed the whole time making love?"

"Sure, and we don’t have to worry about being interrupted, at least not by Jesse," laughed Howie against her skin sending shivers down her spine. "We’ve got three days between the Albuquerque show and the one in Denver. I thought maybe we could leave early, right after the show, and spend some time in Denver. I want to show you everything. You’ll love it, ‘Angel’. I just wish it could be snowing like it was the last time I was there."

Sarah could hear the excitement in his voice and she loved it. It was definitely something to help brighten her mood. "I can’t wait to see it with you, ‘D’. Maybe we can stop off in December, after we do the ‘Hollywood Squares’ taping. Show Jesse too."

"That’s an idea. Or, I could take you for Valentine’s Day or even your birthday," gushed Howie. Seeing the others looking for them, he said, "Looks like they’re ready to go in. Ready?"

Sarah took his hand as he helped her up and they headed over together to join the others.

Part 405        Index