Part 7

    Howie and Sarah spent every spare moment they had together over the next month.  When he wasn't rehearsing or checking on the club or doing other things for the group, Howie was with Sarah at the youth center or taking her out.  He took her to Disneyworld, Busch Gardens, the beach, out to eat...wherever she wanted to go.  He showered her with attention by sending her a single red rose every time they were apart for more than an hour and treated her like a queen.

    Sarah loved the attention and she tried to do for Howie too when he would let her.  She would cook for him and on days when rehearsals were particularly tough, she'd give him back rubs.  She went out and bought his favorite music on CDs for when he was at her place and wanted to listen to them too. 

    One of the things Sarah loved so much about Howie was how protective he was of her.  When they were out in public, he always made sure his bodyguard was with him and together, they made sure that no pictures were taken of her.  Howie told her it would be hard enough when they were on tour dealing with the press and he wanted to keep her from it as long as possible.

    Of course, Sarah impressed Howie too in respects to his fans.  She would offer to take a picture of Howie with a fan if she saw they had a camera.  She never complained when he was approached either even if it was during a romantic dinner.  She understood how important it all was to him and respected that.

    The guys kept questioning Howie about his obvious absences at the club, group get-togethers, and the constant reports of a 'mystery' lady in his life.  Howie kept quiet though except with Kevin.  He told Kevin all about her and explained that he wanted some time with Sarah that was *his* to get to know her and for them to become secure in their relationship before he had to go back on the road.

    One Tuesday afternoon after rehearsal, Kevin caught up with Howie and said, "Hey, 'D'.  Can I talk to you for a minute?"

    "Sure, but I kinda wanna get going."

    "How are things with you and Sarah?"

    "Just great.  She's meeting my family this weekend.  Jerry and the kids are coming in from North Carolina and I thought it was time for her to meet them."

    "Sounds serious."

    "Kevin, she's amazing!  She doesn't mind the fans, she doesn't mind the time I have to put in on the road, she respects my career."

    "Yeah, but you haven't really let her be exposed to everything we go through.  How is she going to react then?"

    "She'll be fine."

    "Look, I want to have you and Sarah over Friday for a cookout.  You know, introduce her to the rest of us.  I'm going to do steaks on the grill and we'll just hang out by the pool, just the 6 of us."

    "Sounds cool.  I'll tell Sarah about it.  I want to keep her busy this weekend."

    "Why?"

    "I'll give you the sum but if she wants to tell you the story, it's up to her.  It's would have been her daughter's third birthday Saturday.  She was killed a little over a year ago in an accident.  She wants to go up to Fernandina on Saturday to put flowers on the grave and I'm taking her."

    "Whoa!  That's some serious stuff there.  How are you dealing with it?"

    "Man, it breaks my heart to see her upset.  Look, I want to get going.  We'll be there but don't tell the guys I'm bringing her, okay?"

    "Sure."

Part 8