Howie rolled over hoping to find Sarah still beside him but was disappointed. They’d been home for two days and she’d slept very little. When she did, it wasn’t a peaceful sleep either. He also suspected that she had started purging again but he hadn’t been able to prove it and it was all because of Russell. The minute they had walked through the door, it had started up again with a phone call. Neither one had thought to check the caller ID and Sarah had answered the phone. It had been Russell and she had slammed the phone down immediately.
Howie looked at the clock and spotted the note she had left. ‘John’s dropping me off at the youth center. luv ya....Your angel’. Eight o’clock. She had probably been there for at least an hour...alone. He quickly reached for the phone and started dialing.
On the other end, Raoul picked up and Howie said, "Hey...Sarah’s at the center alone. Do you mind going over there?....Thanks a ton. Give me a couple hours and I’ll be there. I need to get a shower.......Yeah...she’s going to give you a hard time but I don’t care. The bastard has called here at least four times since we got back. I don’t want to take any chances."
He hung up and went to get his shower. ‘God....why does this woman drive me crazy like this?’ he thought as he rushed to get ready. Before leaving for the center, he went to grab his stuff for the night. There was the Christmas party at the youth center and then Sarah wanted to go to the midnight service to hear Becca and Sonja sing.
On the drive to Orlando, Howie thought about what he was going to do to stop Russell. The only way the police would get involved was if he physically harmed her but he didn’t want that to happen. He was at a loss as to how to protect her and she had made it plain that she didn’t want a bodyguard. There was the idea of taking her with him on tour but he still had to find someone to take over what Sarah was doing for him with the foundation, the restaurant, and the youth center. He had to respect her career the way she respected his.
Howie found Sarah busy with the final preparations for the party that was to take place that night. He spotted Raoul draped with gold tinsel as Sarah put it on the Christmas tree and Rachel was helping her. The sight made Howie laugh and he knew that Raoul would get even with him for it. Jeff and the older kids were helping the road crew set up chairs and tables while the groups’ sound crew set up the system for the guys to perform that night.
When Sarah spotted Howie, she handed the tinsel to Rachel. "Finish with this. I’ll be back in a minute."
Rachel looked over her shoulder to see Howie standing in the middle of the gym. "No problem."
Sarah bounced across the gym and into Howie’s arms. She gave him a kiss as he held her close.
"WOW!" said Howie. "I wasn’t expecting that. You’re in an
awfully good mood."
"It’s Christmas and I have a HUGE surprise for the kids. Come with
me..."
"SARAH....not in front of the kids," teased Howie as he hugged her close."
"You goof!!" laughed Sarah. "I meant to the office."
"We can do it there too," whispered Howie.
Sarah just laughed as she took his hand and led him to the office. He closed the door behind them and pulled Sarah to him. He kissed her deep, holding her close, and running his hands over her ass to pull her even closer.
"Don’t EVER leave me in bed like that again," said Howie when he pulled back.
"I’m sorry, D, but I wanted to get here and get started with this. I
should have had this done last week."
"Okay...so what’s this surprise?"
"I found this guy...well, more like he found me...but anyway...he looks SO REAL....he’s going to play Santa tonight for me."
"I thought Nick was going to do that."
"He was, but Howie....you have got to see this man. He looks so real with the beard and the hair and the stomach."
Growing suspicious, Howie asked, "How did he find you?"
"He was sitting outside the center when I got here this morning...."
"He was waiting on you? Sarah...."
"Don’t worry. John came in with me and he stayed until Raoul got here. I don’t know why you worry so much about me. Russell isn’t going to hurt me."
"Try convincing someone else that you believe that. I’m the one who holds you every night when you wake up screaming because you’ve had a nightmare about him. Now, where is this guy you want to play Santa tonight?"
"John took him to a local men’s shelter to get cleaned up and get some food. He’s a homeless guy but he’s just as sweet as he can be. Did you bring your costume?"
Howie cringed at the mention of the costume. Somehow, Sarah had convinced him to play one of the elves for Santa that night and he would have to wear tights. The only consolation in the whole ordeal was that AJ and Brian would have to do the same. Kevin had been suckered into being a reindeer and Vanessa and Alison were going to join him. Of course, Sarah was going to play an elf too along with Sonja. Nick was suppose to have been Santa with Becca being Mrs. Santa but now that was going to change.
"Yeah, I’ve got my costume along with yours. What’s Nick going to do now that he’s not going to be Santa?"
"He’s going to be a reindeer with Kevin. Ness and Ali called and they are headed home today and can’t make the party."
"Have you told Nick yet?"
"Nick’s not out of the bed yet. Oh yeah...there’s also Aaron. He’s coming in for the party too. Now, if it would only snow."
"Sarah...we’re in Orlando. Get real."
Sarah put her hands on Howie’s chest and asked sweetly, "Don’t you believe in miracles?"
"Sure, I do. I have you but snow...in Orlando. That’s a little more than we could hope for."
Sarah sighed dreamily. "That’s the one thing I miss about Christmas in Florida."
Howie looked at her. "Angel, you grew up in Florida. You’ve never had a white Christmas or have you?"
"One or two but they were in Virginia. We use to go up there for Christmas with my grandparents and the last few Christmases we spent there, it snowed. It was so beautiful and you could go out and play in it all day. Then come in and sit in front of a fire place to warm up. It would be SO romantic."
"I’ll have to remember that for future reference. I’ll have to take you somewhere for Christmas next year where there’s snow."
"Yeah, Florida boy! Like I can see you in the snow," teased Sarah.
"Hey...I’ve seen snow and enjoyed it."
"When?"
"When we were in Europe. It was fun."
"God, I forget how much you’ve traveled. Come on. I need to get this place ready. What time will the guys be by to do the sound check?"
"Around four."
Howie and Sarah went back out to finish working on the center. They worked the rest of the morning and had the gym transformed into a magical winter wonderland by lunchtime. Sarah was really pleased with the way things turned out and thanked everyone for the help before dismissing them.
Howie took Sarah to the restaurant for lunch where they spent a couple hours there working. Sarah amazingly fell asleep on the couch in Howie’s office but he didn’t bother her.
When they got back to the center, Howie and Sarah walked in on an argument between Kevin and Nick.
"I don’t know why Sarah asked you to be Santa. You can’t even grow a mustache or a beard. You’re such a kid!" grumbled Kevin.
"You’re just jealous because someone else is in charge and NOT you," sniped Nick.
"I am not!"
"Are too."
"God, you’re so immature."
"I resent that! I’m almost twenty-one," whined Nick.
"Almost only counts in horseshoes which I wish I had one of so I could wrap it around your throat!"
"Stop it, you two and behave," said Sarah. "Besides, Nick, you aren’t playing Santa. I found someone else."
"Why?" whined Nick.
"Oh, stop the whining," smirked Kevin. "You’re just jealous because she found someone better."
AJ cracked, "Hey, Sarah, Santa isn’t half Puerto Rican and half Irish!"
"Ahahahaha," smirked Howie. "Who said it was me anyway?"
"I just figured Sarah was looking for an excuse to sit on your lap."
"Don’t need an excuse," shot Sarah. "Now go do your soundcheck before I hurt all of you."
"Jeeeze...and I thought Becca was a slave driver," grumbled Nick. "Sarah’s giving her a run for her money."
Sarah smacked Nick on the butt, "I heard that, Carter!"
AJ, Brian, Nick, and Howie went up to where they would be performing while Kevin hung back. "Are you still going to sing?"
"Yeah. Howie doesn’t know, does he?"
"Not that I know of."
Howie called out, "Hey, you’ve got your own girlfriend. Leave mine alone."
Kevin laughed and joined the others. It took about an hour to go through everything and then the others went to grab dinner. Kevin had agreed to get something for Sarah and Howie since Sarah wanted to stay at the center to take in the refreshments from parents as they arrived.
By six, everyone involved with the party was there and in their costumes. Sarah was pacing the floor because her ‘Santa’ hadn’t shown up and she was just a little concerned.
Nick asked, "So, where is this Santa that you found?"
Sarah looked around and Howie said, "Don’t worry. He’ll be here."
With a sigh of relief, Sarah said, "There he is now with John."
"Damn, check out the makeup job," said AJ.
"That’s not makeup, Bone...that’s the real thing!" said Sarah proudly.
Howie gave Sarah a kiss and whispered, "You were right, Angel."
Sarah went to greet her ‘Santa’ and then brought him over to meet the rest of the group. They all shook hands with him and then they all broke off into their own conversations as they waited for the party to begin.
Becca grabbed Sarah’s elbow in a panic. "I have to ask a HUGE favor."
"What’s up, Bec?"
"My star has laryngitis. You have GOT to do this for me tonight."
"Bec...I don’t know the stuff."
"Oh, don’t give me that! You did all this stuff in college with me!"
"Fine! I’ll do it."
Becca gave Sarah a hug and said, "Thank you! Thank you! God, I love you for this."
"Gee, is that all it takes?" teased Sarah.
"I'm easy," she quipped.