Chapter 79
The evening had been truly wonderful, a much needed change. Despite not having won the Grammy, Sarah was still thrilled to have been nominated and she’d talked to Howie after the show before the guys headed to the parties. She was glad that he was going out instead of hanging around moping about being apart but she knew AJ or Kevin had had to do some serious coercing to convince him. Hearing him in such good spirits, she decided not to mention Becca’s suggestion and she’d decided not to pursue it any further.
It was almost three in the morning now and she was wide awake….still. She’d wanted to sleep but just couldn’t. She’d close her eyes and cloudy visions of Howie would flash across her mind’s movie screen causing her to open her eyes again. In fact, the visions had her unsettled, mostly because the only thing she could make out in them was Howie’s face. That should have been perfect but instead her heart beat would accelerate and sweat would coat her body.
The phone rang and she knew it was him without having to look at the caller ID. She carefully reached for the phone to answer silently praying that he wouldn’t hear the emotions in her voice. "Hey, ‘D’."
"What’s wrong, ‘Angel’?"
Who was she fooling? Why had she even tried to cover up? "I don’t know. I just….I can’t explain it, ‘D’. I keep having these visions of you but I can’t make out anything because they’re so cloudy."
"Are the children okay?"
"Yeah, they’re fine. I have Caro and DJ here in bed with me so I didn’t have to get up."
"Is that such a good idea, Angel? I mean, I know you’re there basically by yourself having to take care of them but…."
Sarah let out a heavy sigh. "No, it probably isn’t, but I wanted someone here with me."
Without having to see her, Howie knew she had a tear or two running down her cheek. Softly, he purred, "No need to cry, ‘Angel’. Get a tissue and wipe your tears."
Sarah did as he lovingly instructed, not even wondering how he knew. "Why are you calling anyway?"
Howie chuckled softly. "You’re going to think I’ve lost it."
"Not really."
"I got this uneasy feeling that you weren’t okay. You’ve been tossing and turning, haven’t you?"
"Sorta."
"What time did you go to bed?"
"Right after I talked to you."
Howie hesitated for a couple of seconds, then said, "Sarah, I miss you and I hate being separated from you."
"I miss you too, ‘D’. Becca asked me tonight why we didn’t just take the foundation’s jet so we could be together."
"I never even thought about that."
"I told her that." Sarah hesitated, then started again, "Howie, I know we both said we needed to just get use to being apart like this but…well….do you want me to come out there?"
"You know the answer to that, ‘Angel’," he answered softly. "I’ll make the arrangements for you first thing in the morning. Are you going to bring Jesse?"
"I don’t want to take her out of school and Becca said she’d keep her. Howie…."
"Close your eyes, ‘Angel’," instructed Howie. A second later, "Are they closed?"
"Uh huh."
"Think about the last time I held you in my arms. Remember the way it makes you feel, ‘Angel’," cooed Howie knowing he needed to get her to relax so she could sleep. He hated not being there and he was kicking himself for not having thought about the foundation’s jet.
Sleepily, Sarah said, "You always make me feel so safe."
"That’s it, ‘Angel’…you’re in your safe spot," and he began to sing her favorite Spanish lullaby. Listening, Howie heard the tell-tale signs that she was almost asleep and he whispered, "I love you, Sarah….now hang up the phone."
"I love you too, Howie," was the sleep-laden response he got just before the phone went dead. Smiling, he hung up the receiver and rolled over to get comfortable. Closing his eyes, he drifted off dreaming of having Sarah with him, in his arms.