Part 410
"And the beautiful princess lived happily ever after," whispered Howie as he closed the book. Pulling the blanket over the sleeping little girl, he placed a kiss on her forehead.
Looking up, his eyes fell on his wife as she leaned against the doorframe. Smiling, he stood up and moved to her. He kissed her lightly on the tip of her nose as he placed his hands on her stomach.
"What is my Queen doing out of bed? You promised me you’d rest."
Looking as though she would fall apart if someone said ‘boo’, Sarah put her hand on his cheek. Softly, trying hard not to cry, she spoke, "I wanted to make sure you would come back and join me."
Taking her hand in his, Howie kissed it and led her back to their bed. "I promised you I would, ‘Angel’. Now, get comfortable and I’ll tell you a bed story time."
Sarah laughed at Howie’s imitation of Jesse. No matter how many times they told her it was ‘bedtime story’, she still got it confused.
Settled on the bed, Howie took her in his arms, brushed her hair out of the way, and kissed her on the neck allowing his two-day growth of beard tickle her skin. He smiled feeling her body tremble from the simple gesture that he knew she loved.
Caressing her stomach, he asked, "You’ve been having Braxton-Hicks, haven’t you?"
"Umm, yeah," she answered as she relaxed in the warmth and security of his arms.
"Are you okay now?"
"I’m fine. I just did too much this morning."
The two grew silent for a few minutes as Howie thought about how to ask her about Becca.
Knowing she’d promised to tell him about her talk with Becca, Sarah rescued Howie when she said, "You know, you really upset Becca today."
"Me? What did I do?"
Sarah sleepily explained to Howie everything Becca had told her at the zoo. He
listened trying to think of things he’d done to make Becca feel like she was
competing for Sarah’s love and attention. There were some instances that he
could see Becca would perceive that way but it had never been his intentions. He’d
always been grateful to Becca for being Sarah’s friend and for everything she’d
done for both of them. If it hadn’t been for Becca last Halloween, he would
have lost Sarah for good. It hurt him deeply that he’d made Becca feel this
way and tears fell on his pillow.
Sarah finished talking and realized that Howie was extremely quiet. "’D’,
what are you thinking?"
He wiped the tears away as he said, "I never meant to make her feel that
way, ‘Angel’."
Sarah could tell by the tremble in his voice that he was crying so she rolled over now to face him. She wiped his tears as she said, "I know that, ‘D’, and I told her that."
"God, if it hadn’t been for Becca, we wouldn’t be here now. She saved your life when you had the miscarriage and she took you in when you left Russell. She’s been such a good friend to both of us."
"You need to tell her, ‘D’. I can say it until I’m blue in the face but it would mean so much more to her if YOU said it."
"Next chance I get, I promise. Everything else, you assured her she shouldn’t feel guilty?"
"I tried but it’ll take her a while to be convinced," yawned Sarah.
"You should be sleeping," scolded Howie. "You’ve got a show to do tonight and no day off for several days."
"Stop it, Howard! I’ll be okay. So I don’t bounce across the stage tonight as much as I usually do. No one expects a fat cow to do that anyway."
Howie laughed, "You are NOT a fat cow, ‘Angel’. You are a very sexy, pregnant lady who is carrying not one but two miracles, two very real proofs of our love. Now, I do NOT want to ever hear you call yourself fat again. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, dear," answered Sarah trying hard to sound like the obedient wife.
"Now, beautiful ‘Angel’…close your eyes and go to sleep. You’ve got sound checks in an hour. A quick nap would do you some good."
"Tell me a bed story time?"
Howie laughed, "Close your eyes." Sarah did as Howie requested, resting her head on his shoulder. Howie played with her hair as he began. "Once upon a time, in a town called O-town, there lived a young man. This young man was searching for the perfect lady to be his bride but he searched in vain. No one suited him…"
"No one?"
"Nope…no one. Anyway, No one suited him until one day, this beautiful angel appeared to him in a dream. She was perfect, everything he ever wanted and so much more. The only problem was, where could he find this angel? A month later, while doing a favor for a friend, this angel appeared and took his breath away. That was it, he’d lost his heart to her forever. He had to see her again and he spent several days trying to figure out how to ask her out."
"Does he ever figure out how to see her again?" asked Sarah sleepily.
"Uh huh…he does."
"What happens next?"
"Well, they fell in love, head over heels in love with each other. They had their share of problems but their love got them through it all and he asked her to be his bride."
"What did she say?"
"She said ‘yes’, because she was so in love with him and she couldn’t live without him either."
"Do they live happily ever after?"
Howie took her hand in his, kissed each finger and then said, "Of course they do, ‘Angel’….forever and ever!!"
Sarah yawned once more as she said, "Forever doesn’t seem like long enough."
"No, it doesn’t," whispered Howie as he heard her slow breathing of sleep. He kissed her forehead. "Forever is definitely not long enough with you, ‘Angel’. I love you."