Part 53
When Sarah was ready, she found Howie in the kitchen and he handed her a glass of orange juice. He had also fixed her a quick breakfast and she was grateful. Ever since the clinic, he had been really good about making sure she ate and when she was in a rush, he would fix it for her. Now was no exception.
As she rushed through, Howie said, "I’ll meet you in town later."
"Okay. I’ll be at the youth center first and then I’m headed to Sea World to check on the items for the auction and the fire works display."
"What time are sound checks?"
"Our sound check is at 3 but I’m gonna be there after Sea World so that I can make sure everyone is happy with their dressing room and so forth."
"Don’t forget the dinner with the sponsors."
"I’m not gonna forget that. Becca said we could get ready at her place."
"I’ll see you later, Angel. Be careful and make sure you eat some lunch."
Sarah gave Howie a kiss and started to leave. Over her shoulder, "Have you got my stuff?"
"Yeah! Go on and don’t worry. I’ll have everything, Angel."
She looked back at him. "Hey, you forgot something!"
"What?"
"I love you."
"No, I didn’t forget….I couldn’t EVER forget that. I love you, Sarah."
With that, Sarah’s day started and it would be midnight the next night before she got the chance to slow down again. She stayed on the go for the rest of the day and it wasn’t until their sound check that Howie DID catch up with her.
"Sarah," said Howie as he grabbed her by the waist.
"Howie, not now. I have to do something."
"Yeah, give me a kiss," said Howie not letting her go and placing a firm kiss on her lips.
Sarah looked at him and smiled, "God! I needed that."
Howie took the clipboard out of her hand and gave it to Angela who was standing behind him. "Let Ang handle some of this. You and I need to rehearse."
Angela laughed, "You’d better listen to the boss or you’ll never hear the end of it at home."
Sarah was grateful that Howie had shown up and let him pull her to the stage by the hand. He handed her a mic and they began to practice the songs that he had picked out for the night. He had purposely chosen a couple duets for them…."The Time of My Life’ and ‘From This Moment On’. There were also some songs that he had done for Sarah to sing and as she went through them, he sat back and watched her.
Nick came in with Aaron while Sarah was going through the music and sat beside Howie.
"Wow! Sarah really has an awesome voice, D."
Without taking his eyes off her, Howie said, "I know. I wish I could convince her to record. I think she’d do well."
"Why don’t you record this stuff tonight and use it?"
"I’m recording it but I’ll let her decide when she’s ready. Hey,
Aaron. You’re up next," said Howie when he realized that Aaron was there
too. The two men watched him go backstage and Howie asked, "Where’s Bec?"
"Resting. Man, with this baby, she gets tired really easy."
"I remember Sarah saying something about feeling drained when she was pregnant with Jesse. I think she said something about having an iron deficiency. You might want to check that out…or make sure you tell Becca to have it checked."
"Thanks, bro…..Here comes your wife."
Sarah joined the two and Howie put his arms around her waist. "What are you two talking about?"
"Becca being tired," said Nick. "You sounded great. I know you’ll knock them dead tonight."
"Are you and Becca coming?"
"No. Not this time. We are still avoiding the public eye for right now."
Howie suggested, "Why don’t you join us for the cruise this time around?"
"Yeah…THAT would be killer," said Sarah.
"I’ll mention it to Bec! Now that she isn’t involved with the church, she may be able to do it."
Sarah gave Howie a kiss and said, "I’ve gotta get back to work, D."
"Angel, it’s time to go get ready for dinner."
"I can’t leave now! Aaron still has to do his sound check and there are a million other things that have to be done for tomorrow."
Howie didn’t let go of Sarah as he said firmly, "Sarah, stop! Everything is set for tomorrow and the crew can handle Aaron’s sound check. Now come on!"
Nick snickered, "Oh boy! I can see THIS being interesting….Howie being your husband AND boss!"
Sarah shot Nick a dirty look, "Oh, shut up, NICKY!" Then to Howie, "D, I just…"
"Want it perfect! I know and it already is because YOU have worked your cute little butt off to make sure it is. Now come on! You have been over every little detail a million times…and that’s just today!"
Sarah threw up her hands in frustration. "Fine….if something goes wrong, I’ll just tell the sponsors that YOU wouldn’t let me do one last check."
Howie laughed, "That’s fine but NOTHING is gonna go wrong. Nick, we’ll see you later at Becca’s?"
"Yeah, probably. I’m gonna hang here with Aaron until he’s done and then we’re headed there to get ready for dinner with my family."
"Ummmm….sounds like fun….NOT!" teased Sarah. "Now I know why Becca’s not here. She’s at home obsessing over dinner with the future in-laws."
Nick laughed, "Yeah!! Probably!"
Sarah gave Nick a kiss on the cheek and she and Howie left to get ready for the dinner.
Howie had been right…everything for the Benefit was absolutely perfect and it was a huge success. At the fireworks display on the last night, Howie pulled Sarah away from everyone to thank her for everything she had done for the Foundation.
Standing in a quiet spot where they could still see the display, Howie wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a passionate kiss. When he pulled away, he had tears rolling down his cheeks. "Sarah, I’ve never really told you how much it means to me that you have jumped in and taken such a BIG role in the foundation. You never knew Caroline but you have given your heart to this and it means the world to me."
Sarah wiped his tears as she said, "Howie, I knew from the very
beginning what this all meant to you. I guess that’s why I obsess over making
it PERFECT because it is so special to you."
Howie couldn’t continue because the fireworks display was over and Angela was
moving to the mic to thank everyone for their time and donations. He had wanted
to make sure that he thanked Sarah too so without letting go of Sarah, they
headed to where she was saying her thanks.
Angela finished what she was saying and turned to Howie. Taking the mic, Howie looked into Sarah’s eyes first, winked, and turned to the crowd. "First and foremost, I want to thank EVERYONE for coming to the Dorough Lupus 2001 and making it such a HUGE success. Without your donations, we wouldn’t be able to help all the people who suffer from this horrible disease that took my sister from us. I’d also like to thank all the sponsors for their time, donations, and help in making this benefit a success as well. Finally, I need to thank the ONE person who has pulled it all together to bring you this event. For those of you who went on the cruise last December, you got to meet her then but to the new people here tonight, you saw her perform last night with me. About two years ago, I meet this incredible angel and introduced her to my family. Well, on the way back to her house that night, she asked me about Caroline. She had heard us talking about her and was curious so I told her all about my sister and this foundation that my family and I had set up. From that moment on, she sank her heart into the foundation. She’s responsible for the website and organizing most of the charity benefits like the cruises and this weekend. I can’t put into words what’s in my heart for this woman and what it means to me what she does for the foundation." Howie turned to Sarah and took her hand in his, pulling her to him. "I’d like you to meet Sarah….my wife."
The crowd erupted with applause, giving her a standing ovation and she began to cry. Howie’s parents and the rest of his family joined him onstage. Howie’s mother gave Sarah a hug and then his father followed by the rest of the family.
Howie had moved away from them to get the rose that he had bought for her and then pulled her to him. He handed her the rose and kissed her. Whispering, he said, "Thank you, Sarah."
It was almost midnight when the last of the crowd was gone and the clean-up crew moved in. Sarah was going over the last thing with the director of Sea World thanking him for everything when Howie joined her. He put his arms around her waist from behind and said, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I am. I’m exhausted."
Kissing her on the neck, Howie said, "We’re gonna go crash at Becca’s rather than go back to the condo."
"Why?"
"Bec offered and I knew you’d be tired. You haven’t slowed down for the last forty-eight hours. No arguments."
"None from me. All I want is a bed and your arms around me."