Part 401
Portland…Everyone had chosen to sleep on their bus foregoing a hotel. Sarah was up early, unable to sleep knowing that this was the day Jesse would be leaving them. She didn’t relish the idea of having to tell Jesse the plans or the thought of saying goodbye but she knew Howie was right.
Coming out of the bathroom after a shower, Sarah was greeted by a very sleepy Howie. Looking at the clock, he yawned, "Angel, come back to bed. It’s way too early to be up."
"I can’t sleep, ‘D’. You go back to sleep. I’m gonna go work on some music."
Sitting up, Howie reached for Sarah’s hand. "You can’t change what today is, ‘Angel’, and you know it’s for the best."
Sarah allowed Howie to pull her to him as she pouted, "I know but ‘D’!!"
"C’mere, ‘Angel’," coaxed Howie sexily as he pulled her back into bed with him. He took her in his arms having her lay on top of him, her hair falling in his face but he simply brushed it aside as he smiled lovingly at her. "You ARE a good mother, Sarah, but our lifestyle right now isn’t what Jesse needs. She’ll be okay and we’ll be home before you know it."
"I shouldn’t be so selfish wanting a career in music. I’ve got my teaching degree and I’ve got the center. I could go home and be taking care of our businesses."
"You aren’t being selfish, ‘Angel’. Tell me something. If you hadn’t gotten pregnant with Jesse and you’d been able to break free from Russell…what would you have done?"
"Tried to get into the music business."
"Okay, you’re there now!! You just have a child to consider. Fortunately, we have someone who can help us out making sure she has a normal childhood. Mama is gonna spoil her and she’ll forget all about being away from us."
"You really think so?"
"’Angel’, aren’t I always right?" smirked Howie.
Sarah slapped him playfully, "You’re as bad as Kevin about being right!"
Howie laughed as a timid knock sounded at the door. Before they could answer, it opened slowly. "Mommy, Daddy, can I come in?"
"Come on, ‘Princess’," smiled Howie as Sarah rolled to make room for Jesse between them. "Your mother and I were just talking."
Jesse climbed up between them and took Howie’s hand to play with him. "Daddy, where are we?" she asked as they played patty-cake.
"We’re in Portland, Oregon. Know where that is on a map?"
"No sir."
"It’s ALL the way across the country from Florida."
"Is it very far from Florida?"
"VERY far, Princess. Tell you what. After breakfast, Mommy and I will
take you into town to see what there is to do."
"What about my lessons?"
"We’re gonna skip them today."
"Skip them?" asked Jesse in shock.
"We need to talk, ‘Princess’," said Howie as he sat up.
"Howie, should we….now?"
"Yeah, now is the best time. Come on, Jess, sit in my lap."
Jesse did as Howie asked and he had her sit on his lap facing him. Sarah sat up too and leaned against Howie as he held the little girl’s hands in his.
"What’s up, Daddio?" asked Jesse brightly sounding suspiciously like Kevin.
Howie reached to stroke her cheek, "Jesse, you know your mother and I love you very much, right?"
Jesse panicked hearing Howie call her ‘Jesse’ and then it was made worse when she saw Sarah’s tears about to fall. "Daddy, what’s wrong?"
"Nothing’s wrong, ‘Princess’." Howie realized his mistake in calling her ‘Jesse’. "Your mother and I have decided that you need to be in school."
"Why? Mommy is teaching me everything, isn’t she?"
"Yeah, and she’s doing an awesome job," said Howie as he squeezed Sarah’s hand.
"Mommy’s the greatest and so are you, Daddy."
That brought a smile to both their faces as Howie said, "We think you’re pretty great yourself."
Excitedly, Jesse asked, "When can I start school?"
"How about in a couple days?"
Jesse thought about it and a look of bewilderment spread over her face.
"Daddy, are we going home?"
"No, baby," answered Sarah. "Aunt Pollyanna is gonna be here this afternoon to take you home."
"Cool!" bubbled Jesse.
Sarah was confused, "You’re okay with this?"
"Yeah! I miss MeMe and Pop. Am I gonna stay with them and do you think
they’ll let me have ‘M’ at their house?"
"I’m sure if you ask, you can," said Howie. "’Princess’,
I want you to understand that we’re doing this because it’s what’s best
for you…not because you’ve done anything wrong."
"And we’re going to miss you a great deal," added Sarah tearfully.
"Oh, Mommy! Don’t cry! I’m gonna miss you too," said Jesse. "And don’t worry about me…MeMe took GREAT care of Daddy when he was my age so I KNOW she’ll take good care of me."
Howie and Sarah couldn’t help smiling. "How did you get to be so
smart?"
"That’s easy, Mommy. I am YOUR daughter!! Can I go watch a movie now?"
"Don’t you want to cuddle some?" asked Howie.
"No sir! You need to make Mommy happy."
Howie laughed, "Go on, ‘Princess’. We’ll be out in a few minutes…after I make Mommy happy again."
Jesse gave both of her parents a kiss and then scurried off to watch a movie closing the door behind her as she went.
When she was gone, Howie took Sarah in his arms and lay her down on the bed kissing her deeply as he ran his hand along her stomach.
"What are you doing?" asked Sarah when Howie pulled back.
"Making Mommy happy," smirked Howie. "You were worried for nothing."
"How was I to know she’d miss your parents and ‘M’?"
"Are you okay?"
"I guess so, ‘D’. This is…."
Howie stopped her. "Yes, Angel….this is the right thing! Jesse’s gonna be fine and so will we. With everything we’ve got going on between now and the end of the month, the time will fly by."
"Yeah, and then it’ll be time to go to Japan…WITHOUT HER…AGAIN!" whispered Sarah as she tucked her head against his chest.
Howie stroked her hair. "Sarah, she’ll be okay and when we get back, we’ll be home for a while."
"Uh huh…what’s a while with OUR schedule?"
"’Angel’, I’ll do everything in my power so we can be with her as much as possible. The only thing I know I have is that hotel deal in Alabama that might take me away for a day or two."
"What about the Grammys?"
"What about them?"
"Are you going?"
"NO WAY! They’re the same day you’re due. I wouldn’t dream of leaving town with you about to deliver."
"Howie, you know, I’ll probably deliver early. You could still go."
"And leave you alone with the twins and Jesse? Have you lost your mind, woman?"
Sarah laughed, "I’ll be okay, ‘D’, after the twins are born."
"But I promised to be there to help you." It was Howie’s turn to pout as he added, "Besides, I want you with me, ‘Angel’."
Sarah melted hearing him say this and seeing the look in his eyes. "I want to be with you too, ‘D’, but I won’t be able to travel. Maybe Pollyanna can go with you. She needs the exposure as much as I do."
"I promise, as soon as you can travel, I’ll take you somewhere special and show you off."
"It doesn’t matter, baby. You know that as long as I have you, that’s all that matters."
"Yeah, I know. It’s gonna be a while before breakfast and Jesse is watching a movie. Want to fool around?" suggested Howie as he ran his hand across her stomach and down between her thighs.
"Ummm…sounds good to me, ‘Sweet D’," responded Sarah as she kissed him lightly and then ran her tongue along his lips.
Howie was now on top of her, holding his weight up. "Woman, you are such a damn tease."
"But I aim to please, ‘D’," she responded as her hands found their way to his growing erection.
Just as Sarah began to stroke him, Nick burst through the door. "Why are you sending Jesse back to Orlando?" demanded Nick completely ignoring what the couple was in the middle of.