Part 601
The house had settled for the night and the only sound to be heard was the rain on the tin roof. Sarah had gotten Garrett settled hours ago with a warm bottle and a bath and she and Howie had settled in for the night as well. Snuggled under the comforter with Howie’s arms wrapped around her, his breath on her skin, hot tears burned her cheeks as they fell effortlessly. Her thoughts all evening had been on how her babies would never know her parents and how Garrett would never know Becca’s parents. She’d grown up knowing both sets of her grandparents and it had been such a blessing.
Not able to sleep, Sarah eased out of Howie’s arms, tucked the covers around him to keep him warm, and went to check on Garrett. He was sleeping peacefully, his little thumb stuck in his mouth. Confident that both Howie and Garrett were safely asleep, she stole quietly down the steps to get herself a glass of milk. Not ready to go back up, she headed to the den and began searching the shelves filled with photo albums. Thanks to her mother’s organization, she found the one she was looking for and pulled it out.
Settling on the couch, Sarah began flipping through the pages of memories, remembering each one. Her childhood had been a happy one because of her family and she prayed every day that her children would have the same thing.
Howie woke to an empty bed and he sat up to look around for Sarah. Getting up, he went to check on Garrett thinking maybe he’d woken up and Sarah had taken him out of the room. No dice! Garrett was sleeping peacefully.
Going out into the hall, Howie spotted a light downstairs and headed down in search of his missing wife. He found her curled up on the couch with the photo album in her lap. Even though her hair hung down covering her face, he could still tell she was crying.
He moved quietly to sit beside her and wrapped his arm around her. With his other hand, he wiped her tears.
“What ‘cha doin’ up?”
Sarah giggled hearing Howie talking like her brothers. “You sound like a hillbilly.”
“Reckon’ I done been here too long,” teased Howie.
“You goof,” said Sarah swatting at him playfully.
Howie placed a kiss on her cheek. “It’s late, ‘Angel’. You should be asleep.”
“I know but I couldn’t.”
Howie looked at the pictures of her grandparents. “More memories?” he asked as she put her head on his shoulder.
“Um huh,” she answered. “’D’, I’m gonna take Jesse to see Russell’s mom when I get home.”
Howie didn’t want to show his surprise over this but it came out in his voice anyway. “Why?”
“Jesse is her only grandchild and it’s not fair for me to keep them apart. Mrs. Fullwood didn’t do anything but love us. She couldn’t help Russell being the way he was.”
“What is this going to do to Jesse?”
“I don’t know. She knows about Russell.”
“Why take a chance that this could cause problems?”
“I don’t have to tell her Mary is her grandmother. I can just say she’s a friend.”
“I don’t know about this, ‘Angel’. I don’t like the idea of you going to Fernandina alone and all the memories it’s going to bring up for you.”
“Would you feel better going with me?”
Howie remained silent as he thought about this.
“Howie, I had a wonderful childhood because of my family and that included my grandparents. Jesse’s got your parents but Mama is gone and Daddy’s not going to be much of a grandparent before too long.”
“Will you wait for me to go with you?”
“Yes.”
“First sign of ANY trouble…bad memories, his mom giving you a hard time...we leave.”
“Yes dear,” placated Sarah.
Howie shook his head. “One day I’m going to learn to say ‘no’ to you.”
“But not for a VERY long time,” Sarah said impishly.
Howie laughed and took the photo album from her. “Okay, woman…let’s get your cute little butt back to bed. I was cold without you beside me.”
“Oh poor baby!! Is it too cold for my Florida boy?” teased Sarah.
“Not as long as I have my little hot mama beside me,” retorted Howie as he took her hand to help her up.
With his arms around her waist from behind, Howie directed Sarah back up to their room after putting the glass in the kitchen and turning out the light. Quietly, they snuggled back under the covers and as Howie caressed her stomach, Sarah drifted off to sleep quickly.