Part 476
Inside the cab, Howie instructed the driver to head to the state capital building, then turned to Sarah. He wove his fingers with hers and pulled out several lists handing them to her.
"Pick what you want to do today."
"I thought we were going shopping."
"Well, what I had planned was to shop today and sightsee tomorrow but your doctor’s appointment is going to mess that up."
"Not necessarily. It may only take an hour."
"We’ll see how it goes. After the capital, we’ll do whatever you want, but you have got to see the view from this place. You can see all the way to the Wyoming border and to Pike’s Peak and there’s a step that’s exactly a mile above sea level."
Howie’s eyes were bright with excitement as he told Sarah about it and she loved it. She had listened to him so many times telling her about the places they’d been and the sights they’d visited and dreamed of being able to go with him. His enthusiasm was contagious too as she began to get equally excited.
"’D’, whatever you pick is fine. I trust you."
"No!" he insisted tapping the lists. "Find a place for us to have lunch and then something you want to see."
Sarah began to look over the lists. If he wasn’t going to pick something then she would find something he’d like. The first list was restaurants in and around Denver. Okay, that narrows the choices down. Hmmm, there’s a Mexican restaurant that looks worthwhile and Howie likes Mexican food. I can handle that. Now, museums. Here’s one for Latin Americans and he’s big into knowing about his culture.
"Okay, lunch at Casa Alvarez. Then we can go to Museo de las Americas."
Howie caught on right away to what she was doing. "Angel, I want you to pick what YOU want to see. This is for you."
"No, ‘D’, its for US and what interests you, interests me. I want to share it ALL with you."
Howie hugged her closer to him. "This is why I love you. Okay, we’ll do this and then go shopping. Tomorrow, we’ll plan the day together."
"We can use the time at the doctor’s office to plan it. Howie, I’m so glad we decided to come early."
"Me too, ‘Angel’. There was just something about Denver the last time we were here that reminded me of you. You were always on my mind when we were apart but here, in Denver, it was like you were everywhere I looked."
"It was snowing the last time, right?"
"That and the mountains and the fact that it was getting closer to you getting out of the clinic. Plus, Kevin wasn’t here, Nick was having REALLY bad vibes about Denver…just everything about Denver made me want you here with me."
Looking out the window, Sarah watched the mountains in the distance and felt a sudden surge of homesickness. Sighing, she said, "I wish these were the mountains of Virginia."
Kissing her lightly, he whispered, "I promise, ‘Angel’…we’ll go to Virginia the first chance we get."
"When?"
"We’ve got time between TRL and ‘The Early Show’. We can go then."
"Thank you."
"I know it’s hard on you too, ‘Angel’, and when WE go home, you still don’t get to see your family. Why don’t you call Lorraine and have her meet us there so we can go over what we want for the house?"
As the cab came to a stop, Sarah smiled, "Already done. The house is almost finished thanks to my brothers. Mark and Rusty have stayed on the contractors to have it ready thinking we were gonna be home for Thanksgiving. And I called Lorraine the other day. She already knows what I want for the bedroom and if possible, she’ll have it ready for us by the end of October but she can’t promise the rest of the house."
"Call her and tell her when we’re gonna be there. Set it up so that we can talk to her, say, the 25th," instructed Howie. Then to the cabbie, "Wait here for us."
As the two got out, Sarah said, "If she can have the bedroom ready, we can at least sleep at the house while we’re there at the end of the month."
"More like break in the bed," teased Howie as he kissed her.
Taking Sarah’s hand, Howie led her up the steps to the gold step. Turning her to face him, he took her left hand in his and slipped her wedding band and engagement ring off.
Surprised, Sarah questioned, "What are you doing?"
Smirking, Howie said, "Angel, you can stop the dumb blonde act. It doesn’t suit you."
"Ohhh…you are…."
"In love with my wife, even if Nick is rubbing off on you. I’m taking your rings."
"I can SEE that but why?"
"Because, I have something to replace it with. Do you know what today is?"
"Yeah, October 8th."
"No…it’s an anniversary."
"Of what?" questioned Sarah trying desperately to think of what this could possibly be an anniversary of. They had started dating in June and they’d made love for the first time on his birthday in August. It DEFINITELY wasn’t their wedding anniversary.
"It’s been exactly two years since the first time you ever joined me on tour. For two years, you have put up with me calling at all hours of the night, traveling constantly, and fans screaming my name or grabbing at me. You have tolerated dates being interrupted and gone out of your way to make sure every fan gets a chance to talk to me or one of the other guys. You’ve been so tolerant of my career."
"That’s because it’s part of the man I love, Howie"
"But it makes my heart swell with love even more because you do this for me. Angel, I’ve heard you tell me so many times that you don’t feel like you give me enough but you give me far more than you realize. I have never regretted a minute of the time with you, even with all the problems we had. I have NEVER been more in love with anyone in my life or ever will be again."
Sarah was in tears as Howie professed his love and slipped the ring onto her finger. The ring, the setting, and Howie’s words took her breath away leaving her completely speechless.
"Sarah, if I had to all to do again," he said as he squeezed her hand, "I’d still want you by my side."
Tears fell as Sarah stared into his soft brown eyes. Softly, she whispered, "You’re my soul mate, Howie. I can’t imagine not having you in my life. The days of pain and agony that I endured with Russell, they were all worth it. It makes me value the good in my life and my life with you is definitely good."
"You don’t ever have to imagine life without my love. All the words in every corny love song, I want to sing them to you and then go write some more. I want to go to the highest peak," Howie pointed to one of the mountain peeks, "and scream how much I love you! You know me better than anyone else, including the guys. You are my soul mate and my best friend."
Placing his hands on her stomach and leaning in, Howie kissed her. His lips were like the clouds in the sky, light and feathery, caressing hers into submission. On cue, their lips parted and his tongue swept in to touch every erotic spot he knew. His mouth was like a magic wand touching her all the way to her core and her legs felt like limp noodles. She had to grasp his arms to keep for falling.
Pulling apart, Howie asked, "Do you like the ring?"
Sarah placed her hand on his chest to look at the ring. It was two gold bands wound together, like their hearts and their love. "It’s gorgeous, Howie…but I want to keep my other band too."
"Okay." Howie slipped her other rings back in place. "I have mine back on the bus. Now, I need you to do me a HUGE favor."
"I’d give you the world, Howie."
"I married a strong, independent lady who didn’t ‘bow down’ to me. Please, stop with this letting me be the ‘boss’. You know when I need to make the decisions and when WE should make decisions together."
Sarah started to protest, "But…"
"No ‘buts’, Sarah. I love the woman who tells Kevin where to get off…the woman who gives back to AJ and Nick just as good as they give…the woman who knows what she wants and goes out and gets it. She’s the woman who stole my heart. She isn’t EVER afraid to tell me what she thinks. Promise me?"
Howie’s eyes were pleading with her and just like him, she had no defense. "I promise," she smiled.
"Now let’s go see Denver, ‘Angel’."
Howie started to lead her back down the steps but she stopped him. As he looked back, she asked, "This step, it’s one mile above sea level?"
"Yeah, that’s what the marker says."
"And we kissed…here, on this spot?"
"Yes."
"Doesn’t that make us official members of the mile-high club?"
Howie laughed. "Angel, we ALREADY were members but we could come back here tonight and make love just to be sure," teased Howie as he pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her.
Sarah growled into his ear as she ran her fingers through his hair, "We could do that right now."
"Broad day light?" questioned Howie with his eyebrows raised.
"Uh huh…adds to the excitement."
"Uh huh…come on, woman. I’m hungry," grinned Howie. "We’ll make love tonight in the privacy of our bedroom."
Arm in arm, the couple went to each marker for the peaks. Neither wanted to be away from the other so they were constantly touching…their arms around each other or holding hands.
They floated back to the waiting cab and headed to the restaurant where they were given their choice of tables. Howie spent the entire time telling Sarah about Puerto Rico and the pyramids in Mexico. She loved listening to him and begged for more when he stopped. She also made him promise to take her to see all the sites he’d told her about.
Next on the agenda was the museum for Latin Americans. Howie proudly told her all he knew about the exhibits and Sarah even surprised him with her knowledge too.
As they were finishing with the last of the exhibits, Sarah stopped and rubbed her stomach.
"Angel, are you okay?"
"Not really."
"You’ve done too much. I want you to go to the hotel and take a nap."
"What are you gonna do?"
"I want to go see what they’ve got for maternity stuff for you and see how late they’re gonna be open. Maybe after a nap, we can go shopping and out to eat."
As Howie opened the cab door for her, Sarah pouted, "How am I suppose to sleep if you aren’t holding me?"
Howie laughed, "As tired as you are, you will probably be asleep before your head hits the pillow. I promise, I’ll wake you when I get back."
"Umm, I like the way you wake me up too. Okay, but promise me that you won’t be long."
"I promise, ‘Angel’. Driver, would you take her to Brown’s Palace Hotel?" The driver nodded his head as Howie handed him three hundred dollars to cover the cost of the fare. "Angel, we’re in the Roosevelt Suite. Billy should be there waiting for you."
Sarah gave him a kiss. "I love you, Howie."
"I love you too. Now go get some rest. I won’t be too long."
Howie shut the door and watched as the cab pulled away with his wife. Turning, he spotted another cab waiting and headed over to it.
Back at the hotel, Sarah got the key card from the front desk and sure enough, as she stepped off the elevator, Billy was standing at the door. The two exchanged looks and silently, Billy shook his head telling her he knew she had done too much. He quietly opened the door to let her in and resumed his stance by the door to watch over all the occupants.