Chapter 26
Just before dawn, her soft cries reached into his dreams waking him. What was that? Who was crying? Oh, wait…he was on the couch at Howie’s. That had to be Sarah. Getting his bearings, he staggered through the dark into the master bedroom where he could hear her cries. He slid into bed on Howie’s side and gathered her in his arms pulling her close to him. Her body was stiff…was it from fear? What was she dreaming about?
“Shhh, you’re okay, Sarah. It’s just a dream,” he reassured sleepily.
“Howie?” she whimpered.
“No, ‘Tigger’, it’s me…Alex. Go back to sleep. I’ve got you.”
Relaxing once more, Sarah settled into the warmth of AJ’s arms knowing she was safe. Even when he was gone, Howie was looking out for her, protecting her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~
Right on schedule, Howie and Sarah’s alarm entered the room, and NOT quietly, at 6 AM. Sarah felt the weight of Jesse climbing on the bed and she groaned knowing it was time to get up.
“MOMMY!” cried the little girl with surprise. “What is Uncle AJ doing in bed with you?”
She’d been aware of the warmth of a body beside her but in the fog of sleep, she just figured Howie had put the pillows against her to make it feel like he was there. Now she became aware of the weight of an arm across her and a hand holding hers. Looking down, she saw the familiar tattoos and wondered when he had joined her.
Turning her head slightly, she said softly, “Alex, wake up.”
Without opening his eyes, he grumbled, “I’m awake.”
Jesse leaned across Sarah to give AJ the precious butterfly kisses she reserved only for Howie and giggled, “Wakey, wakey, Uncle AJ.”
“Good morning, Little One!!” AJ tried to sound cheerful but Sarah could tell he was having a hard time waking up.
“Jess, your daddy laid out your clothes for you last night. Go get dressed and give your Uncle AJ time to wake up. He’s not use to waking up this early.”
“Okay, Mommy!” she beamed and bounced out of the room slamming the door behind her.
AJ groaned, “Is she ALWAYS like this in the mornings?”
“When she’s had enough sleep, yeah. When did you join me?”
“I don’t know…around four, I guess. You were crying in your sleep.”
Sarah thought for a minute but didn’t remember the dream and shrugged. “Probably dreaming. I’m gonna go get you a cup of coffee.”
“Stay put. You aren’t supposed to be doing anything.”
“I’m just going to the kitchen, Alex. That’s not doing too much.”
“Yeah, and when you get there, you’ll find SOMETHING to do like fix breakfast and I’m NOT gonna have Howie come back here to fuss at me for letting you overdo.”
Sarah laughed, “I promise!! I’m JUST going to get you a cup of coffee. Howie always sets the coffee pot to start before he goes to bed.”
“The answer is STILL NO! I’ll get it. What do you want for breakfast?”
“You’re gonna cook?” asked Sarah in shock.
“Yes! What do you want?”
“Hmmm….how about a side dish of AJ with a huge helping of Howie.”
AJ laughed, “What? No Kevin? He’d be disappointed.”
“Ummm, I’ll take a slice of Kevin too.”
“Coming up. Do I need to fix Jesse lunch?”
“No, she can buy it at school today.”
Giving her a kiss, AJ got up and headed out to fix breakfast for Sarah and Jesse. Sarah watched him and smiled. AJ was such a good friend and she loved him dearly. A part of her missed their mornings together and her thoughts drifted to the memories of those days.
The ringing of the phone brought Sarah out of her daydreams and she reached to answer it. She had no doubt who it was either as she answered, “Good morning, ‘D’.”
“Good morning, ‘Angel’. You sound so much better this morning. How do you feel?”
“A little nauseous but other than that, I’m fine. I miss you, ‘D’.”
“I miss you too but I promise to be home by dinner.”
“I thought your flight left at 6,” said Sarah looking at the clock. “This doesn’t mean you’re gonna be late, does it?”
“No. The flight is delayed and I wanted to talk to my angel.”
The couple talked a little longer until Sarah heard a flight being called.
“Is that your flight?”
“Yeah, it is. I gotta go ‘Angel’. I love you.”
“I love you too, ‘D’. See you tonight.”
“Hey…behave for AJ, please.”
“Yes dear,” placated Sarah.
Howie laughed, “I’m gonna ‘yes dear’ you when I get home.”
“I can’t wait,” teased Sarah.
With that, the connection was broken and with a smile on her face, Sarah hung up.
The rest of the morning was an adventure with AJ attempting to take Howie’s place. It was a pure miracle that they even got out of the house in time to get Jesse to school and THAT only happened because Sarah started to get angry and AJ was worried that her blood pressure would go up.