Friday, December 28, 2012

Epilogue


Christmas eve in Hawaii, it was Sarah's first time in Hawaii. She hadn't been on a vacation before she met Richie so for her sons it was the first vacation they ever went on. They both loved surfing and Hawaii was a perfect place to surf, while Ava was sunbathing on the beach. Sarah and Richie did the same.

They had both been busy with work, Richie with his fashion line and already back to writing songs while Sarah had started a job at the nearest hospital as a receptionist for one of the wards. She liked her job a lot and had made a few friends out of her colleagues already.

Winter in Hawaii were pretty much the same as summers in Hawaii. So far they had spend their few days on the island on the beach, the weather was beautiful and so was the island itself.

But now, after a wonderful dinner with the family, and a nice Christmas movie afterwards, Sarah sat in bed, her knees pulled up where a photo album was resting through which she was leafing. Richie had asked her if she wanted to join him in the shower but Sarah decided to look through the photo album.

She had brought it along on vacation because she needed to look at the pictures to remember how their relationship started and their summer had been. Before they left she had a feeling she might need some cheering up, lately she needed Richie's support more frequently than she had wished.

The photo album had been a wedding present, as soon as they had opened it they knew what would have been inside. It was Jon's and Dorothea's present, a white photo album with two gold hearts on the cover.

She opened the book and read the text she had read so many times over the last few months,

Congratulations to you, Richie and Sarah, on finding one another.
Anyone can take a single look at the pair of you and see nothing but your love, care, respect, and admiration for each other shinning through not only in your eyes, but your smiles, and in the things you do.


The first time they had read it together, they had smiled at each other, it perfectly described them.

On the first page of the album was a photo of Sarah and Richie, a driver carrying bags behind them, walking down the hall. Sarah remembered the moment as the first time she had gone over to Europe to see Richie, so many things had changed from that moment on.

Looking through the album on the day after their wedding they had realized Jon had taken a lot more photos than they knew about but every single photo he had managed to capture a special moment between them or a step in their relationship.

A few pager further Sarah found another photo of herself and Richie, she was soaking wet, a towel was wrapped around her but it was noticeable Richie wasn't as wet. She remembered that only a few minutes they had told each other their love for one another.

Neither of them looked stunning in that particular photo but Sarah loved it because she knew the story behind it and it always helped to cheer her up again.

The photos at the castle in Scotland where Jon had joined them were some of Sarah's favorites. It had been a bright and sunny day which showed in the photographs too. She particularly loved the one Jon had taken while she and Richie were looking out over the walls and the kiss she had stolen from him a few minutes later.

Her absolute favorite photo was more to the back, on one of the last pages she found it, looking at longer than she had spent at looking at the others.

This photo represented the biggest change in her life. Since that moment on everything had changed, things were very different now.

It was a dark photo but it was at night, yet the figures of her and Richie were still clear, the rose Richie was handing her in the picture, still stood in the same box on her bed side table at home. It hand't moved since she had placed it there, before they left on vacation she had wondered if she should take it along but was scared it would get damaged and left the box safely in it's place.

Instead she had her engagement ring, which also looked like a rose, it wasn't a red one but a white gold one, just like her wedding ring which meant even more to her.

The last page of her photo album didn't bear a photo but another text,

This photo album holds your shared moments captured forever in time for you to see. The beginning has begun to fill, and now the two of you can fill the rest as you spend the rest of your lives together.

Instead of closing the book, Sarah returned to one of the pages that held a few pictures of them by the pool in Spain.

At that moment Richie walked back out of the bathroom.

Sarah looked up at him and smiled, she admired how comfortable he was with himself as he walked over to the bed completely naked. She definitely wasn't that comfortable with herself, she was glad Richie was still fine with that. She preferred a nightgown at night, even if it was hardly anything, the only times she slept naked was when they had more plans than just sleeping at night.

Richie lifted the covers on his side of the bed and got in, sliding closer to Sarah, holding his arms open. Sarah put her book down and moved into his arms, letting him embrace her as she rested her head on his shoulder, he kissed the top of her head.

"What's on your mind?" He asked gently but Sarah only shrugged against him and said, "nothing."
"Then why are you looking in that book?"
"I like looking at it."
"You usually look in it when you're a bit down or thinking about us." Richie explained, still gently.
"How do you know that?" Sarah looked up surprised.
"Because I'm your husband, I know you. So what's on your mind?" He asked asked again.

Sarah sighed.

"I was just thinking how perfect and easy things were a few months ago."
Confused Richie asked, "what do you mean?"
"The last few months have been a little rougher with everything going on and not working out as we had planned it." Sarah explained.

Richie hugged her tighter, he had been thinking the same, but hadn't told Sarah about it. The last few months had been a little harder, she was right about that but he thought they should hope and not give up.

"We just have to keep trying." He tried to encourage her even though he had a few of his own doubts.
"I just didn't think it would take this long."
"We have to keep trying." He repeated.
"I think it'll get even harder." Sarah said sadly, already feeling down about it all.
"Why would it get even harder?"

Sarah shook her head against him, she hadn't told him yet but now she had to.

"I got my period this morning." She confessed.
"Is that what's got you down all day? Sweetie, we just keep trying, we knew it wouldn't work at once." He said, not letting the disappointment he felt show, Sarah needed him now.

He held her for a while while he thought things over. It would take longer for them they successfully get pregnant, they certainly weren't in their 20s anymore but they had been told to just keep trying for a while and if that didn't work, they'd try something else. He couldn't deny he had hoped for it to work from the first time but so far they weren't that fortunate.

"Tomorrow we have a nice Christmas with the kids and we just keep trying for another kid. It'll work eventually, don't worry about it." He tried to encourage her again.

Sarah nodded and slid down the bed, Richie moved with her, not letting her go all night.



Christmas morning didn't immediately turn around Sarah's mood.

Usually the kids weren't up before 11 am when they didn't have school but now she could hear voices from the living room at only 9 am.

She gently shook Richie's shoulder to wake him up.

"Richie, honey, we got nosy kids."
Richie opened his eyes and stretched next to his wife. "What?"
"The kids are trying to figure out their Christmas presents."
"Spoiled brats." He chuckled, not meaning it at all.
"You wanted to spoil them."
"Because we can, so why not?"

They got out of bed, looking for clothes that would cover them up some more before going to the living room, which was on the same floor as their bedroom was.

All three teenagers immediately stood up and turned their backs to the tree and presents, with matching smiles on their faces.

"Very nice tree we have, isn't it?" Richie asked nonchalant.

He walked over to the tree with Sarah and sat down on the couch nears to it and picked up one of the presents and read the name tag.

"To Sexy Girl, from Sexy Stud." He looked up at Sarah. "That must be to you from me!" He said excited.
Sarah laughed and took the present.



An hour later all the presents had been opened and Sarah was regarding her family around her. Richie was helping Caleb with a new guitar while Noah was showing his new phone to Ava. She had a perfectly happy family around her, why did she still feel like something was missing?

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Epilogue later

Don't panic just yet, part 3 of this story will start in February. It's just because it'll have a big time jump that I want to start a new story, and because I have to work in January and might not have time.

In February I'm starting university so I should have more time, no not because I won't study but because I can't take all the classes.

Still need a title for the next one, so suggestions are welcome.

Chapter fifty




Saturday morning Richie started feeling nerves too, nervous as he was, he was sure of what he was doing, he was making the right decision, no reason to be nervous but the nerves didn't go away.

He managed to make Sarah eat a little bit of breakfast too, even though it was only a slice of toast, he couldn't blame her, he was nervous too.

Their mothers arrived around 11 to help Sarah get ready, Richie couldn't believe they were there this early, the wedding itself was at seven in the evening, still eight hours from now, how would she needs eight hours to get dressed?

He kicked out of his room a little while later and got told to get ready in another bathroom, his mom told him he couldn't see Sarah in her dress until tonight.

Richie felt a little disappointed, he had had to wait all week and wanted to see her in her dress now. What did her dress look like? Would she go in traditional white or in another colour? How would she wear her hair, up or down? Would Ava's dress match hers? What would Ava look like then?

Trying to forget her curiosity he went downstairs to find three teenagers perfectly relaxed in front of the tv. Unbelievable, how could they be this relaxed on a day like this? He went to sit down, he surely didn't need eight hours to get dressed but whenever he tried to clear his mind it was just pointless.



Upstairs Sarah was taking her time showering, making sure her hair would look perfect for tonight. She tried the old trick of cold water to make her hair lighter blond but wasn't sure if it was really going to work, certainly she wasn't going to try and wash it with lemon juice.

Abbey and Joan waited in Sarah and Richie their bedroom while Sarah showered, they got Sarah's wedding dress out of the clothing bag and laid it out on the bed.

It looked beautiful on it's own, indisputably it would look even more beautiful on Sarah.

Sarah returned from the bathroom, wearing a robe a few minutes later.

"I have to get dressed now?" Sarah asked a little confused, she looked around for an alarm clock on one of the night stands next to the bed.
"You do, so you can change things if you're not sure about it." Joan insisted.
"It's not even noon yet." Sarah said.
Then Abbey pitched in too. "That's only six hours to get ready and we have to get ready too."
"That's ages." Sarah complained.
Abbey looked up at her. "Shush."

That undoubtedly made Sarah feel like a ten year old girl but she went along with it anyway.

Back in the bathroom her mother made her sit down on the stool and dried her long hair, brushing it at the same moment.

"Now how do you want your hair later? We'll do that once you got your dress on."
Sarah tried to answer but her mom went on.
"We should put it up, at least a little bit."
Sarah smiled and nodded, if she really didn't like it, she'd say so.

In the mean time Ava had finally come upstairs to join them.

Sarah came back in the room with her hair dried, still wearing the robe.

"Are you getting ready too?" She asked Ava when she noticed Ava getting her own dress ready.
"Yeah, I need to shower and I want to help you. Can I help you too?"
"Of course you can, isn't that part of your role and you helped with everything else too." Sarah agreed with her.
Ava nodded. "Can I use your bathroom?"
"Yeah go ahead." Sarah waved a hand toward the bathroom, letting Ava use it to get ready too.



Two hours later Sarah was finally allowed to get her dress on, her mother insisted on helping her pick out the right set of underwear. Which Sarah thought was funny, cause she only have one pair anyway, her mother wasn't too pleased.

Sarah was looking into the ceiling high mirror, when Ava thought of something.

"Do you have something new, old, blue and borrowed?" She asked in a panic.
"No, why?"
"You need it, that's just part of a wedding." Ava insisted.
"Goodness," Joan said, "how could we have forgotten that?"
"I got something blue for you." Ava said, quickly getting out of her dress and back into her jeans and t-shirt and ran out of the room.
"I already got you your something old." Abbey said, retrieving one of the few bags that stood on the bed, getting a blue box out of it.
"What's that?" Sarah asked.
Abbey carefully opened it and showed Sarah the necklace inside it.
"Mom." Sarah gasped as she noticed the silver necklace. "Dad gave you that on your wedding day."
"I know but I want you to have it now." Abbey insisted.
"Are you sure?"
Abbey nodded. "It's for you, that way your dad is here a little too."
Sarah hadn't even thought of that, a little touched, she nodded.

Meanwhile, Ava returned with something in her hand, just as Sarah was putting on her mother's necklace.

"You can borrow my bracelet. It's blue and it would be borrowed." Ava held out the simple beaded, blue bracelet.
"It's beautiful." Sarah said, accepting the bracelet.
"I got it from grampa on my birthday before he died." Ava added a little uncertain.
"I promise to give it back to you first thing tomorrow morning." Sarah promised, seeing it was a little hard for Ava to do.
"Now just something new." Ava said.
Joan got out another little box. "I got that one covered."
Sarah turned around to see what Joan would have for her.
"I got you earrings, I just thought you might not have those yet." Joan explained, opening the box to show Sarah.
"Oh." Sarah said a little surprised. "I don't have my ears pierced."
Joan smiled. "I wasn't sure of that so I just got clip-ons."
Sarah smiled relieved.

Making sure she had the things she needed, Sarah took her dress back off so it would stay clean while doing make-up and hair.



Downstairs Richie had finally gotten in action around 3 pm, he still wasn't allowed into his room and went to a bathroom down the hall to shower and get dressed.

He had only just gotten in the shower when he heard a knocking on the door.

"Richie?"

He recognized his mother's voice and turned off the water.

"What?" He asked confused.
"Sarah's not feeling too well, she wants to see you."
He got out of the shower immediately, looking for a towel and his jeans to put on. "I thought I wasn't allowed to see her?"
"She wants you, just come."
"Coming." He finished putting his jeans back on and opened the door.

Worriedly he followed his mother to his bedroom, to the bathroom door, Ava, Abbey and Joan all standing behind him, tentatively.

Richie carefully knocked on the bathroom door. "Honey? You in there?"
"Richie?" He heard her voice from inside the room, low and worried.
"I'm here honey." He opened the door and went inside.

Sarah was still dressed in her robe, sitting on the bathroom floor in front of the toilet. Now she was glad she had changed out of her wedding dress for hair and make-up.

"Are you alright?" He bend down next to her, his hand on her back, rubbing up and down.
"I think so. Think it were just my nerves making me sick."
"You're alright now?"
"Yeah, it's okay." Sarah nodded slightly.

Richie sat down on the floor next to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her for a few minutes, making sure she was feeling better before he let her get up again.

Carefully Sarah got back to her feet, a little unsteady she walked over to the stool to sit down.

Richie gave her a glass of water and mouthwash to get rid of the nasty taste.

A few minutes later he asked her again, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah."
"We should get back to getting ready." He suggested gently.
Sarah chuckled. "Don't think our moms are happy I delayed them now."
Richie chuckled too. "Good luck."

He helped her to stand up and walked back to their bedroom with her. He wanted to kiss her before he left but his mom interrupted them.

"You're not even supposed to see her before the wedding, no kissing. You better have slept in separate rooms last night too!"
"Sure mom." Richie smiled, knowing she knew they hadn't. He turned around to give Sarah a smile instead and went back to the bathroom down the hall.



Finally Sarah stood in front of the mirror high ceiling again, regarding herself.

Her wedding dress was a cream color, with a strap over her right shoulder. The top was tight fitting while the skirt got looser the more it went down to the bottom. Her mother's silver necklace looked perfect and matched with the earrings she had gotten from Joan. Ava's blue bracelet stood out a little but Sarah thought that made it even more perfect. Her hair was up again, like a few weeks ago when Richie had told her how beautiful he thought she looked with it.



Sarah and Richie were driven to the hotel in separate cars. Richie and the boys left earlier to meet Jon, of course Richie's best man at the hotel too.

Richie's nerves were rising on the way there, he was glad to see Jon waiting for him. Without any words, they hugged and went on with their duties.

Noah and Caleb took their places as ushers, they had gotten the seating plan and memorized it as best as they could. There weren't many people so it couldn't possibly be that hard. Their mother didn't have any guest, she didn't know anybody and couldn't invite friends, she simply didn't have any. That way they evenly divided Richie's friends over the two rows.

The boys took their jobs very seriously and politely showed everyone to their seat. Caleb was extra polite when he noticed Stephanie and Gabby.

Finally when they had lead everyone to their chairs, dividing them evenly between the two rows, Jon and Tico with their family on Richie's side and David's family, along with Sarah's family on Sarah's side.

It didn't take them very long to get everyone seated and they returned back into the hotel, finding their mother.



Richie was standing in the back, screens were set up to hide the hotel from view, on the other side was a canopy, the white drapes were shut, in which he knew Sarah was finishing the last touches.

Ava emerged from the canopy and walked over to Richie, Jon walking over from the hotel too.

With a smile Ava stood in front of her dad, looking up at him, then reached in to hug him.

"I love you dad."
"I love you too." He hugged her back tightly.
"Sarah loves you too."

Before Richie could answer, Ava had let go and taken Jon's arm to walk down the aisle.

Richie took a deep breath and watched her go.

The closer they got the more he knew he had to get going too. Once Ava and Jon let go and both stood on their side, Richie stepped up to the aisle.

In just a little while Sarah would be his wife.

He took his first step down the aisle, suddenly all his nerves disappeared. Like during rehearsal the night before he tried not to hurry down the aisle and made sure he wasn't walking too slow either.

When he reached the alter he took his place next to Jon, who was his best man.

The guests sat down again and they waited.

Strangely, Richie felt completely relaxed, his nerves had gone, this was the right thing to do.

A few minutes later music started playing, the guests stood up, and Richie, Jon and Ava all turned towards the canopy that opened slightly.

Richie's eyes grew wide and a smile appeared on his face when he watched Sarah walk out. Her sons each took an arm and walked her down the aisle. She looked so beautiful and he couldn't believe she was his.

He watched Sarah walk over to him, not once taking his eyes off her, when she stood next to him, he smiled softly, a smile which Sarah returned, and took her hand, turning towards the priest.



~The End~

Chapter forty-nine

August ended fairly quickly and September was right around the corner.
Sarah's sons had an easy time settling it at school and Sarah had the whole day with Richie to plan the last few things for the wedding.

After approval of them both Sarah made a trip to the post office to mail the invitations. It would only be a small wedding, their mothers, children and Richie's friends.

They planned to meet at Richie's house in the afternoon before going to the beach for the ceremony itself and returning to the house for a late dinner and celebrations.

Sarah actually looked forward to seeing everyone again.

The week before the wedding, Richie dropped her and Ava off at a store that sold wedding dresses and asked Ava to make sure Sarah didn't look at any prices of any of the beautiful dresses in the store.

Ava and Sarah spend almost the entire day in the store while Richie got a new tuxedo, he couldn't wear something he already owned, he needed something new for his wedding.

It was a complete girl's day, which Sarah remembered doing with her mother when she was young. Ava had an incredibly opinion about which dresses Sarah would like and in almost all of them she looked perfectly beautiful. With every dress Sarah tried on, Ava found one that was almost the same and would be perfect for her, being the maid of honour. She was still honoured with the role and kept asking Sarah if she was really sure. Sarah had to keep confirming, she had become to love Ava like she would her own daughter. She was sure Richie had done the same for her boys, it seemed that way at least.

 Only one more week and they would be married. It promised to be an exciting and nervous week. Sarah looked forward to it even though she was nervous but it also felt right to do. Being with Richie she always felt more comfortable and daring. As long as she had him, she could do anything in life and marriage was the next step to that, making it definite that she would never be without him again. She knew Richie had noticed the changes in her too because he didn't ask if everything was okay whenever they did anything. Not only in their regular life but their sexual life too.

Richie went to buy the rings alone, he wanted something simple, yet elegant enough.



Sunday was a calm day which Sarah spent at home with her three children, Richie was performing at a telethon, which they were now watching on tv, waiting until Richie would finally perform. She always wanted a daughter and with Ava she was pretty close to achieving that. Although Ava was a great girl, that she loved, she still wanted her own daughter, the same way Richie loved her sons but still wanted his own son. That would mean they had to get two children, a boy and a girl.



The rest of the week they arranged the last minute things.



Catering testing was on Tuesday, to which they brought Noah, Caleb and Ava along to test and decide what they'd eat. Since they were a fairly small group for a wedding, they had enough time to prepare it before Saturday evening.

They had received everyone's RSVP's and as they expected, everyone would be able to come, most arriving late Friday or early Saturday morning.



Wednesday after school Sarah was picking up hers and Ava's dress, as usual Richie picked the kids up from school and went on to the bridal shop where only Sarah and Ava went inside, did their final fitting and packed up the dresses in long bags so nobody could see them just yet.

In the car Ava did a little bragging of how beautiful her dress was to her soon to be stepbrothers. Telling them her new dress was much nicer than just a tuxedo.


Thursday evening Sarah was full of nerves, only two days away. That afternoon Richie and her had gone to the hotel that offered their private beach that they had paid for for the entire day and evening. With the staff they had gone over how they wanted the seating and the decorations. The hotel was used to beach weddings and had everything Sarah and Richie wanted.



Friday morning Sarah woke up even more nervous but so happy to have Richie next to her. He was still asleep but his sleeping, relaxed figure made her relax a little too. He was always capable of making her relax, he also made her more confident.

She didn't need confidence to do this, for this she was lead through love, it was clear what she wanted and for once she actually knew what she wanted. All she wanted was Richie's love and support for the rest of their lives, it was all she needed.

Richie woke to an empty bed but could already smell the distant fragrance of fresh coffee coming from the kitchen. He loved having a woman in his life again, someone to share with, someone he could support and love forever. Someone that could love him and his life too. Sarah hadn't had a very good view of his life yet but he was sure they could overcome anything.

After driving everyone to school, Richie insisted him and Sarah took a calm day, the last weeks had been stressful enough with arranging everything and today he wanted to relax with his very soon to be wife.

Around noon he finally thought of the perfect way to make Sarah forget her nerves and asked her to come with him, without telling her were they were going.

Sarah found out only half an hour later when Richie parked in front of a spa.

"We're getting massages again?" Sarah asked excited when the car stood still.
"It relaxed you last time and if you want you can get all the fancy stuff."
"Oooh they should have this facial stuff that should make your skin all pretty and glowing." Her excitement only grew.
"Then you get that." Richie agreed and got out of the car.



Sarah got exactly what she wanted and got the complete luxury package, getting the full treatment, which took much longer than just Richie's massage but he didn't mind waiting for her. When Sarah finally finished she looked so relax and beautiful, he thought it was worth all the waiting and money.

Their evening they spend together in bed watching tv, cuddling close, an evening to themselves while Sarah tried to ignore the still growing nerves inside her.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Chapter forty-eight

Sarah loved her new laptop, instead of using it for anything professional for now, she looked up everything to arrange a wedding.

They had returned from their vacation on Tuesday night, now two days later, she was still talking to Richie about a possible wedding later this month or in September.

The day after they had arrived back home, Richie had an interview on tv about his clothing line and tomorrow he was off with Ava to the U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton, Sarah decided she'd spend tomorrow at home then.

Richie was playing a telethon on tv the first weekend of September, so those days were out of question, which only left them two weeks before school would start and Sarah still had to move in too.

By now Sarah spent more time at Richie's house than at her mother's. Ava had gone back home too.

Both of them had told their children together about their plans, according to the kids there wasn't much for them to decide and they wished their parents good luck.

"Planning the wedding again?" Richie asked as he sat down next to Sarah.
"There wasn't anything on tv and you were busy and it just popped into my mind." Sarah answered.
"You haven't even picked a date out." Richie pointed out.
"I know, what it is it today? 18th August?"
Richie nodded.
"When does school start?" She asked.
"29th so we need to get the boys listed at school."
Sarah nodded, "we can do that Monday because you're not home tomorrow either, and then we need to move over here."
Richie nodded again. "Busy."
"The beginning of September? The day after you play that telethon?"
"That's labor day." Richie pointed out again.
"Last day to do something nice during summer." Sarah suggested.
"What about that weekend, we have to make sure everyone can come over... 10 September?" Richie asked back.
"September 10th, 2011." Sarah said the date.
"9/10/11." Richie chuckled.
"We can do that so you can have fun with the date." Sarah suggested.
"It's a fun date, we need invitations too."
"Oh I can find a website for that." Sarah excitedly returned to Google to search for wedding invitation designs or people that could design them.

She loved her new laptop.




During the weekend Sarah packed her stuff into boxes, it was strange to leave her mothers house now but she felt confident into moving in with Richie. With him she'd be fine now.

Her sons were doing the same thing in their rooms, while at Richie's house, Richie was emptying guests rooms so the boys could decorate it however they wanted it.

While packing Sarah also threw out clothes and stuff she didn't need anymore, she didn't need it anymore.



On Sunday evening all the boxed stood in the living room, ready to be brought to Richie's house.

Sarah tried hard to not start crying when Richie arrived and the boys helped him to put all the boxes in his big car. This was such a huge step and she wouldn't have her mother to be with her anymore, but she had her soon to be husband to support her along the way.

When she finally hugged her mum and said goodbye, her tears started flowing.

Her tears weren't completely sad. They were sad because she was leaving her mother and her home of the past ten years behind but happy and hopeful for the future and what would come next.

She finally let go of her mother and turned to hug Richie in stead.


"Ready to go?" Richie asked after a few minutes.
Sarah nodded.

It wasn't just ready to go, ready to go on too.

Richie gave her a hand to get in the car and got in on the other side, he backed the car out of the driveway and drove to his now, different too, home.




By Tuesday everything fell into place.

The boys were ready to start at their new school, a little excited and nervous since it was less than a week away now.

Sarah loved living at Richie's house, it was a lot easier, she didn't need to bring things over anymore.

Richie had shown her to his walk in closet, amazed Sarah had looked around, she hadn't nearly seen everything every time she had been there before. Now half of that closet, which was empty was for her. To her relief, Richie helped putting all her clothes away, packing it had been enough work on her own and she was glad she could share this, like many things to come.

Tuesday night they had their first almost-family dinner, Ava was at her mother's for the week but would return on Sunday for the start of school.



Wednesday morning Sarah was excited and impatiently waiting for the mail to arrive. She knew it would be delivered in a box that she needed to sign for so the mailman had to bring it all the way to the door and she couldn't wait for him to ring the bell.

She needed to see now so she could still change some things if needed.

Again, she tried to focus on other things she needed to finish too. So far she had the flowers arranged and Richie had made sure they could get married on the beach. They needed the invitations and catering. Then most importantly Sarah needed her wedding dress and a maid of honour one for Ava.

Ava was more than excited to be maid of honour and was very happy Sarah had given her the role, it meant a lot to her. Most important, the only one so she could get all the attention on her own until Sarah would walk down the aisle..

For the rest they needed tuxedos, Sarah's son would be ushers, glad they didn't have to wear jackets and could just wear their shirts and a tie like that.

Sarah and Richie needed to go shopping this week.

Everything else was almost arranged, a few more little things other than sending off the invitations and they would be ready to have the beach wedding Sarah wanted to have.

Finally the door bell rang and Sarah jumped up from her chair in the kitchen to go open the door.

She signed the form and accepted the little box, thanked the man and closed the door.

"Richie! The wedding invitations are here. Come see!"



Chapter forty-seven

The next morning Richie woke up, remembering Sarah's presents in the living room. He got out of bed, relieved yet again that Sarah didn't wake up. This was definitely something he liked.

In the kitchen he started two cups of coffee and got the presents from the living room to bring back to the bed, then returned to the kitchen to retrieve the cups of coffee.

He sat down on the bed and started waking Sarah up.

When she finally opened her eyes and sat up a bit, Richie held out the cup. "Got you coffee."
"Thanks." Sarah took the cup and tentavily sipped.
"We forgot your presents last night." Richie held out one of the wrapped gifts.
"You got me presents?" Sarah asked exciting, putting the coffee down on the night stand.
"Of course I did. Open this one first." He held out the flattest one of them all.
Sarah carefully opened the gift wrap, so she wouldn't rip it too much.
"A dvd?" She asked when almost all the paper was gone.
"I hope you like it."
Sarah removed the last pieces of paper and looked at the cover. "Pay It Forward." She read the title and remembered. "That's the movie I watched!"
"I thought it was. Do you like it?"
"I do, thanks so much." She opened it and turned it over, getting a look at everything. "Oh my God, that's Jon."
Richie chuckled. "I know."
"And I said I thought he was cute. I didn't think you'd actually know him."
Richie chuckled again. "As long as you still marry me."
"I find you attractive, not Jon."

Richie smiled and kissed her, making sure of it.

Sarah opened the next present, ticker than the first but smaller. She unwrapped it as carefully as thr first one and found Pay It Forward, the book too.

Another present gave her an iPhone, according to Richie she needed a phone, just so it would be easier.
The last and biggest present was a brand new laptop. Another thing Richie thought would make things easier. While thinking Sarah was going back to school, he thought a laptop would be helpful with research and homework.

"Richie, this is so much, I didn't really get you anything last month." Sarah said regretful.
"You did, remember we had phone sex?"
"How is that a present?" Sarah asked confused.
"Because I see it as another step forward and you came over for my birthday and said yes. What more could I have wanted?"
"That's going to make it very hard to get you a Christmas present."

The rest of the day they spend on the beach again. The lake was hot.

Richie had his fun again with covering Sarah in sun screen.

When he finished, he helped Sarah up from the sunbed and walked over to the ocean. He loved seeing her in her bikini but even more in a wet bikini.

Sarah followed him, the water quickly rose as they walked deeper until they were all the way in the water.
Richie held her close to him, his hands cupping her bottom.

"Richie." Sarah said a little hesitant.
"No one can see us this far." He held her a little closer.
"We can't do anything here." She said carefully.
"I can just hold you, can't I?"
"Yeah you can." She hoped it would stay like that, this was a public place, even if nobody could see then.



The next day Richie arranged something for them to enjoy as a family but kept it a surprise until they arrived.

A big balloon with a basket stood in a field, a couple of people around it, walking around and getting things in order.

"We're going on a balloon ride?" Ava asked amazed and excited when they saw the balloon.
"We are." Richie confirmed.
"That's so cool man." Caleb pitched it.
"I know man!" He laughed.

They all got into the basket and before they knew it they were high above in the sky, the whole landscape below them was shrinking the higher they went.

Everyone except Sarah stood by the edges, looking down to the ground, pointing out places.

Finally Richie noticed Sarah standing still in the middle, not making any move to get close to the sides.

"What's wrong?" He asked, walking the short distance to stand in front of her.
Sarah looked up into his eyes. "We're very high."
"Are you scared of heights?" Richie asked, inwardly starting to panic if she was, they couldn't just land right now.
"I don't know, I haven't been this high before. I... I just don't want to look." She said.
"Okay, I'll stay here with you." He said and held her stare as she was still looking into his eyes.



The ride wasn't very long and an hour later they stood back on the ground.

"That was nice." Sarah said as they walked away.
Richie chuckled. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you're scared of heights."
"I didn't know either," said Sarah, "I've never done anything like that. On the plane I don't look out because I don't want to see it either."
"But it was nice."

All the kids agreed to that.



They spent their last few days at Lake Tahoe in the same way, mostly they spent time on the beach. The kids went off to try more water sports.

Closer to the end of their vacation, Richie rented a small boat and took everyone on the water, he had rented fishing equipment too.

A quick boat ride farther off shore and Richie got out the fishing equipment, followed by teenage sighs and "that's no fun"

Eventually he got everyone a rope and today was their lucky day. Almost as soon as Noah had his rope down the water, he already caught a fish. He held it up and looked around confused.

"You have to unhook him." Richie pointed out.
"I'm not touching that." Noah said disgustedly looking at the fish that was trying to get away but couldn't.
"Come here." Richie motioned for him to move his line over so he could grab the fish.

Noah did as asked and Richie unhooked the fish, then threw it back in the water.

"We're not keeping them?"
"You can't eat one of those so just put them back."

When Ava caught a fish it went the same way, another disgusted look and not wanting to touch the fish. At least Caleb tried to unhook it but made it worse until Richie helped him.

Sarah decided to skip on fishing, noticing Richie had enough work unhooking fish, she loved seeing him like this, like a father taking his kids out fishing except these were her kids. She loved how Richie treated them, the boys didn't remember much about their dad and had grown up without a father, maybe this would be beneficial for them too.



On their last day Richie took Sarah to a spa, thinking she hadn't been to one before, he was sure she'd love it.

To start they got massages, the spa offered couple's massages so Richie and Sarah could share a room.

A little uneasy about being naked Sarah got on the massage table and faced Richie.

A few minutes into their massage, Richie looked over at Sarah, her eyes closed and completely relaxed, he was right, he knew she'd love it.



As with all good thing, their vacation came to an end too. They got home late and Richie showed Caleb and Noah to the guest rooms before finding Sarah to take to his own bedroom, very different plans on his mind than sleeping.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Chapter forty-six

"So we should get married this summer?" Sarah asked.
"If that's what you want." Richie repeated.
"I think so." Sarah said more certain of herself. "Do you think we can arrange it that fast?"
"I'm sure we can. You just tell me how you want it and if you want I can get someone to arrange it all."

Sarah nodded, that sounded very good according to her. They had to talk to the kids the next day, they should at least have a little bit of an opinion on this too.

Richie's dinner was perfect and they both loved it, even if it was a little simple, the flavour and taste made it perfect.

When they finished he brought the plates back to the kitchen and returned with their desserts. These ones he hadn't prepared himself but gotten out of the fridge.

After dessert Richie walked around the table and gave Sarah a hand to get up from her chair, he looked her over once again.

"I really like your hair like this." He told her.

Hesitant Sarah raised her hand back up to her temple but Richie caught it just in time.

"Beautiful." He insisted.

He held her hand and walked her outside to the back deck where the hot tub stood.

"Everyone can see us." Sarah said while Richie started undressing, noticing he didn't have any swimwear on.
"It's dark, we'll turn off the lights if you want, nobody can see us." He tried to convince her of it.
Sarah slightly nodded and followed his example.

The hot tub's warm water felt nice even though it was warm outside.

Richie asked his next question hesitantly a few minutes later.

"Since we talked about marriage tonight, is there another thing we can talk about?"
"Sure, what is it?" Sarah looked up at him next to her.
"Do you still want kids?" He said even more hesitant.
"Didn't I tell you a month ago? I do, I thought you wanted more kids too?" She now sounded just as unsure as he did.
"I would love to. I'm not sure how it'll work though."

Sarah turned a bit and lowered her hand into the water, wrapping it around his dick.

"I think it goes like this."
Richie chuckled but didn't make her stop. "I meant, with our age and stuff."
"We just try and see what happens."
"I guess that would be a start. Can we try and see what happens now? He asked a little excited with Sarah's hand still around him, making him harder with every stroke.
"I'm still on the pill."
"We can still practice." He suggested.

Sarah smiled and reached in to kiss him, then moved to straddle his lap, her strokes had made Richie hard and ready for some pleasure. She held him still and slid down on top of him, sighing when she could feel him entirely inside her.

Richie wrapped one arm around her back and held the other on her hip, guiding her movements on top of him. His lips caught hers in a kiss he didn't want to let go of while Sarah started moving up and down on him.

Only a few minutes later Sarah threw her head back and Richie reached up to her breasts, cupping them both and he felt Sarah's orgasm around him, making him find his own already too.

Sarah slumped forward and rested her head on Richie's shoulder.

"We'll do it nicer," Richie promised, "when we go it for real."
"Why? I like this too."
"Then we can do it a lot more times, with more orgasms." He said in a low voice and kissed her neck, gently nipping her skin.
Sarah squirmed and giggled against him.

"When are the kids getting back?" She asked when she sat next to Richie again.
"Oh fuck, we better move before they do." Richie quickly got up out of the tub and held a hand out to help Sarah out of it.

Together they dashed off to the bedroom, falling into a heap of sheets when they got there.

Richie pulled her close next to him and started kissing her again, paying attention to her temple, of which she was so uncertain of showing, he loved every little part of her and that included the scar.

His lips covered almost every inch of skin he could kiss while he travelled down to her chest, wrapping his lips around a nipple and gently sucking it.

Sarah gasped in delight as he did and her fingers disappeared into his hair, holding him there.

Richie only moved to get to her other breast, his hand cupping the one he had just left, making sure it would still get attention, he played with her nipple so it stood erect the entire time.

Soon enough he could feel something else starting to stand erect too, lying so close to Sarah he was sure she could feel it too.

Richie was right and Sarah's hand snaked down between them, wrapping around his semi-hard cock, playing him until he stood up straight.

He loved doing this with Sarah, it seemed to be even more like love than it had been before, that's how special Sarah was.

"I love you." He said as he rolled her to her back and moved above her, getting in place.
"I love you too."

With that he carefully moved inside her until he was fully within her walls, already she tensed around him. He thrusted slowly, feeling her tremble with every stroke he made.

Sarah tried to keep it off, with him an orgasm felt even better, she wanted to go at the same time as Richie did. She held his shoulders and pulled him down on top of her, kissing him passionately, not wanting it to end again.

Richie's thrusts sped up as he kissed Sarah, he tried to keep it slow but with Sarah trembling underneath him he couldn't hold back either, her kiss made it even harder.

A few more thrusts and they both found their released.

When they caught their breath, Richie rolled off of her and pulled her close next to him.

"We'll do it like that." He said.
"I like that too."
"I hope it works." Honestly, he didn't know if they would be able to, their age definitely wasn't an advantage in conceiving.
"You have to be positive, remember?" She referred back to rehab where they had to be positive of getting a better life too.
Richie nodded.

They stayed quiet a while, hearing the kids get back on the boat, a rummage of noise until it turned back quiet, assuming they had all gone to bed.

Richie thought Sarah had gone to sleep too, she hadn't said anything in a while. He moved a little to get more comfortable next to her.

"I can't go to school then."
"What?" Richie asked confused.
"If we're gonna have a baby, I can't go to school for four years."
"Why not?"
"You'll be making music and touring, if I go to school, neither of us will be there."
"I guess that's true." Richie said, guessing she didn't want a nanny either. "It's up to you, you're the one that would get pregnant, you want to go school. It's your decision."
"To be perfectly honest, I'd rather have a baby. I told you I want a girl, so you better work on that." She teased him.
Richie chuckled. "I'll do my best."
"I can do something else in a hospital, right? Work at a reception desk or something?" Sarah thought.
"You definitely could, still helping people that way." He agreed with her.

Sarah settled against him again and closed her eyes, for now she needed sleep, tomorrow would be another lazy day at the lake's beach.

Chapter forty-five

A couple days later they found themselves at Lake Tahoe.

As Sarah had suggested Richie swapped their vacation in Hawaii for this. He had booked one of the houseboats for their stay. Even though Sarah didn't want the biggest one, Richie completely ignored that and got it anyway for its luxury.

It was big enough for everyone to have their own room to sleep with bathroom. The kitchen and living room were both specious. Out on the deck there was room to eat outside or enjoy the sun, even from in the hot tub at the back of the boat.

At first they explored their boat, unpacking and ooh-ing and aah-ing with everything they saw.

After they had seen everything they went out to the lake and the nearby town to explore the neighbourhood.
In only a few days it would be Sarah's birthday and Richie was already looking for a perfect place to celebrate.

For her birthday he was going for simple things. Things she didn't have but could use.



Their first full day of vacation time they spend on the lake, as a lot of the days that would follow would be like.

The kids enjoyed themselves with a bunch of water sports while Sarah and Richie spend time sunbathing on the beach.

Richie had claimed then a pair of chairs so they could lay down comfortably. After a few minutes though, Richie remembered something.

"We need sunscreen." He said excited.
"In the bag." Sarah waved a hand over to the bag, uninterested. Her eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses Richie had bought her the day before while they explored the town, he couldn't see her eyes now but by the lack of interest he assumed she was dozing off.

Richie got up and searched the bag, finding the tube of sunscreen at the bottom. He opened it and sat down on the sunbed next to Sarah, squeezing it into his hands and putting his hands down on her belly to spread the cream.

"What are you doing?" Sarah sprang open, surprised when she felt the hot cream and his even warmer hands on her already hot skin too. She pulled off her sunglasses to look at him.
"Told you we needed sunscreen." He grinned widely.
"Didn't think you meant on me, I was gonna doze off."
"I know but I like this a lot more." Richie's grin grew even wider and his palms spread over Sarah's body.



On her birthday Richie had changed his mind completely. He had made sure the kids were out to one of the clubs they were allowed in town and had Sarah all to himself on their boat.

Sarah was getting ready in their small room, still thinking they were going out while Richie started preparing dinner in the kitchen. He wasn't the best cook but he was going to try for Sarah.

Sarah took her time dressing and getting ready, she brought the summer dress she had worn on their last date and decided to wear it again, knowing Richie had liked it a lot last time. She only had one nice set of underwear that was white and would go unnoticeable under her dress and easily decided on that.

Her hair was a different matter, she always wore it lose, so it covered up the scar she had on her temple. She looked in the mirror, regarding herself, she didn't look too bad but she wanted to do something special.

"Richie!" She called for him.
A minute later he stood at the door. "What do you need, my dear?" He tried to sound most polite.
Sarah chuckled, she loved the silliness that showed once in a while. "Can you get me something from Ava's room? Some stuff for my hair, I don't have anything."
"Okay, back in a minute."

Richie walked across the living room to where Ava's room was, he walked in the room and found a few things on top of Ava's dresser. On the way back he started thinking, he hadn't ever seen Sarah with her hair up or anything special, what did she need it for?

He knocked on the bathroom door to give Sarah the few things he had found but Sarah was quick to keep the door closed, not letting him in.

"I'll be ready in a minute." She said instead.

Richie shrugged and went back to the kitchen, remembering the food he was preparing.



A little while later Sarah did walk out of their room and into the dining room. Richie was just getting the plates to the table, he had completely forgot starters and skipped to the main course, hoping Sarah didn't mind.

He looked up when he noticed Sarah walk in.She looked even more beautiful than she did normally, he wasn't sure if she was wearing a tiny bit of make-up, maybe not. Her hair definitely looked different, it was all put up, showing off the beautiful contours of her face, the reason why he always pushed her hair back.

"You look beautiful." Richie said.
Sarah blushed a little. "Thanks." She walked around the table and went to sit down on the chair opposite of where Richie was standing. "You're staring." She told him when he didn't move at all.
He shook his head, "Sorry," and sat down in his own chair.
"Thought we were going out for dinner?"
"I wanted to make dinner for you instead, might not be as good as at a restaurant though." He already apologized before either of them had a decent taste of it.
"I'm sure it will be just as good." Sarah told him.

They started dinner and Sarah was right, the food was just as good as anywhere else they had been for dinner, it might not have been as fancy but it tasted good. She had no clue Richie could cook like this. In a lot of ways she still had to get to know him but she now had a lifetime to do that. Soon, they would get married.

Once again their conversation led to the subject of marriage.

"Do you still think me and the boys should move in?" Sarah asked back to the conversation they had a few days ago while they were still in New Jersey.
"Of course, it would be easier for them to transfer schools in September than in the middle of the year or something." Richie explained how he thought about it.
Sarah nodded, that made a lot of sense, that way it would be easier for them. "What about my school?"
"Where is it?" He knew Sarah had found a college to learn to be a nurse's aid but she hadn't told him where it was, maybe it wasn't so far.

Sarah tried to explain as best as she could, not remembering the exact address of the college just now.

"I can drive you and pick you up." Richie shrugged.
"I should probably renew my driver's license now." Sarah suggested instead, now that she wasn't scared to go out anymore, she could go places and driving to school would be easier than Richie having to bring her every day.
"That's probably a good thing too." He agreed.
"Yeah then you don't have to drive me around on top of driving Ava around." Sarah joked a little.

"Why don't we just get married then too?" Sarah said out of the blue after a few more bites of dinner.
"When?"
"The end of the summer, it would still be nice weather to get married on the beach but it'll be soon."
"If that's what you want."
"Is it what you want?" Sarah asked him uncertain about how soon it would be.

Richie put his fork down and looked up at her.

"Sarah, if I could, I'd marry you right now, honestly I don't want to wait another year for it either."

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Chapter forty-four

They arrived the next day during the afternoon, while, thanks to time difference, it was already evening for them.

It was almost dinner time, local time but they unpacked a bit first.

Joan's house was just big enough for everyone, Richie and Ava both had their own room there but Ava gave hers up and traded it for the den. Her room had two beds and would be easier to share for Caleb and Noah then the den which had a pull-out couch with which she was happy enough for a few days. The den also had a big tv and a bunch of dvd's which Ava minded even less.

Sarah followed Richie to his room after they had shown the boys to Ava's. Inside the room, Richie put down their bags and Sarah went to lay down on the bed and looked around. The room was simple enough, bright colors and dark brown furniture, she liked it a lot, it had a fresh and clean feeling to it.

"We can't sleep now." Richie said, it wasn't late enough yet.
"I'm just laying down." Sarah told him a little tired.
"We'll go to bed early tonight." He promised, understanding she was tired already.

Even though he was determined not to go sleep just yet, Richie got on the bed next to Sarah anyway and took her hand. Looking down at her fingers, thinking about what was to come now, he started fingering her ring, he was sure he had made the right choice with it.

"I really love it." Sarah told him.
"I'm glad you do."
"It's beautiful." She went on.
"Perfect for you then."

Richie reached in to kiss her softly and laid back down next to her again.

A few minutes later they were both sound asleep.



The next day, in the evening Richie took Sarah to the Boardwalk where he had spend lots of time when he still lived in New Jersey.

"Did you spend a lot of time here when you grew up then?" Sarah asked while they walked through all the entertainment stalls that were still opened late.
"Oh yeah, started playing gigs at Asbury Park." Richie explained.
"Where's that?"
"It's a bit of a walk that way." Richie pointed. "It's quite far to walk from here."
"I don't mind, I'd like to see it." Sarah said a little excited to see where Richie's music career had started all those years ago.
"Alright, we can get a car to get home later." He suggested, knowing it was a long walk and the walk back would be even further.

While walking Sarah asked questions about places and Richie told her as much as he knew about them. It had been years ago that he really spend time on any of the boardwalks, things had changed a lot but he still wanted Sarah to see it.

Also there were a lot of stands that sold food, during their walk Richie bought Sarah Disco Fries.

Sarah chuckled after the first fry she had. "This is like poutine."
Richie nodded. "It is, but Jersey style."
"And I thought we were the only ones that liked that."
"Guess not. I'm getting you a Ripper too, you have to try that. Have you tried salt water taffy?" He went on excited about everything the boardwalk offered.

They passed a lot of the places Richie used to play when he was younger, before Bon Jovi, it had been a while since he actually visited it and it was nice to see the sights again.

Soon enough they were stuffed with all the food Richie insisted Sarah had to try while being in New Jersey, determined they didn't have it good enough anywhere else in the world. Sarah assumed he was right and tried everything he bought her, most of it she liked a lot too.

After their long walk they finally arrived at Asbury Park and Richie took Sarah to The Stone Pony, a place she needed to see and experience.

It was quite busy but they found themselves a space to watch the band that was playing on the stage. Again Richie asked Sarah to dance, even though the music wasn't slow at all, they slow danced anyway. He liked having Sarah close against him and Sarah liked being there. His strong arms around her always made her feel very safe, nothing could scare her anymore.



The boardwalk had given Richie and Sarah such a lovely time the night before they decided to go again in the afternoon with the whole family. Richie's mom loved spending time with her granddaughter and was eager to get to know her soon to be 'step'grandchildren.

There were loads of games the children could play, keeping them entertained the whole afternoon.

At one moment Sarah and Richie stood on the side, watching the ocean.

"Do you still want a wedding at the beach?" Richie asked while they watched the waves rolling on the beach below them.
"Yeah, I think it would be really nice."
"We should arrange that then." Richie said.
"Now?" Sarah asked a little surprised.
Richie shrugged. "When do you want to get married."
"I'm not sure yet." Sarah answered honestly not knowing yet. "Doesn't really matter to me."
"It's got to be warm so we can actually do it on the beach." He reminded her.
"It's always warm in California."
"Yeah, that's true."

Again they bought a lot of food even though they knew Joan would want to make dinner for them all later but since Sarah had tried everything, her sons had to try them too. Even Ava was delighted to try the New Jersey Cuisine again.



Every evening they had a family dinner that Joan insisted on preparing for everyone. It was nice to spend the time together, talking. Soon they felt like had known each other for ages and it was easy talk randomly about subjects that just popped up and everybody could be themselves.



During their next day, Richie wanted to show Sarah the town he grew up and took her to Woodbridge, showing her around town, all the places he used to go, including the house he grew up in and his old high school.

"Do they know you're a big, famous rock star now?" Sarah asked interested.
"They do," Richie answered, "I've donated money a few times."
"That's nice of you."
"Gotta give back." Richie agreed.

He always tried to give back whenever and wherever he could, donating to his school, they had been able to build a gym for the athletes which he was very pleased with since he had played so many sports during his time there too. Not only that but helping out homeless people, people that really needed a break and some help. If he could, he would help out.



"I think you should move in after we go on vacation." Richie said on their way back to his mother's house while he held Sarah's hand.
"Yeah?"
"Think it would be easier, cause Caleb and Noah would have to transfer schools."
"I didn't think of that, I guess you're right. I have to find them a new school then." Sarah started thinking of how she was going to do that.
"No, no, if press and stuff finds out about us they'd be better off at Ava's school."
"I can't afford a private school for them."
"Don't be crazy, we're getting married, we share all that."
"But that's so expensive." Sarah argued.
"Really doesn't matter and it would be easier."
"I guess you're right." Sarah sighed. "So you want me to move in at the end of the summer?"

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Chapter forty-three

The airport was just as busy as every other airport Sarah had been to in the last two months but now it didn't seem to bother her at all.

Richie led the way to where they had to be, he knew his way around airports much better than Sarah did.
Soon enough they were standing with a bunch of other people, waiting at the gate.

"When do Ava and your mom get here?" Sarah asked while they were waiting for her family.
"This afternoon but we don't have to come pick them up." He explained.
"Why not?"
"They'll get here with everyone else and they'll be driven to the hotel."
"So Ava won't be on her own?" Sarah asked relieved.
"No, she went to my mom's a few days ago and they'll be flying with everyone else's wives and kids." Richie continued to explain.
"Good, I was a little worried she'd fly on her own."

Richie smiled to himself in thought, Sarah was worried about his daughter. She was worried so she cared. He knew Sarah was kindhearted and cared for Ava too but this made it definite, he felt a little relieved and glad.

Sarah was first to spot them in the crowd that was walking through the gate. Once the boys were close enough she gave them great big hugs while Richie greeted her mother. Sarah hadn't told them yet and she couldn't wait.

She let go of the boys and turned to her mom, opening her arms but her mom stopped her and grabbed her hand, turning to look at her ring finger.

"What's this?" She asked.
"We're engaged." Sarah's smile couldn't possibly get any brighter with Richie proudly standing next to her.
"Aw honey." Abbey reached in to hug her daughter, then Richie. "I'm so happy for you."

Both boys stood watching surprised and dumbstruck.

Finally Noah was the first to say something. "Mom, really?"

Sarah realized she should have discussed this with them, at least let them know the possibility but now it was sure.

"I'm sorry I should have told you guys more about Richie and me." Sarah quickly said.
Noah looked even more surprised. "No, we're happy for you." He said just as quickly and turned to Caleb for confirmation. "Right?"
"Yeah, we are, just a bit surprised." Caleb answered.
"Aw boys..." She leaned back in to hug them. "I love you guys."



The rest wouldn't arrive until dinner time so they spent the day around the hotel, the boys spend the afternoon by the pool while Abbey went to nap.

In the mean time Ava and Joan arrived, Ava knocking excitedly on Richie's door. When he finally opened the door she gave him a big hug.

"Missed you too." He said before Ava let go.

Richie's mother was the next to hug him, then she stood back and looked at him.

Richie posed for her, making several silly poses, making Sarah chuckle at how cute he was.

"You look fine." She said approvingly, "now introduce me to your girlfriend." She insisted.
"Fiance." Richie corrected.

Both Ava and Joan gave him a questioning look.

"I asked Sarah last week." Richie explained, Sarah started blushing




When Abbey returned to Sarah and Richie's room to find out the planning, she immediately got introduced to Ava and Joan. Richie decided they should leave early so they could have more time with their families before all the rest arrived too.

Tonight was the end of tour party, the reason why families were coming.

All together they walked down to the elevator at the end of their floor that was completely used by Bon Jovi members, family and staff.

"Who's that girl?" Caleb asked, watching a blond girl in a bikini, holding a towel walk past them. She had smiled politely and walked past them.
"That's Stephanie, Jon's daughter." Richie told him.
"Oh." Caleb cocked an eyebrow.
"She's older than you." Sarah said, then glanced at Richie for confirmation, he nodded.
"So? She's still hot."

Richie thought it was quite funny but let it go and got in the elevator with the rest.

He noticed Caleb looking at every girl that walked past them, Sarah was right about Caleb being after girls, he really was.



There was a big hall reserved for the tour party, later the rest would join them for dinner there and after that they'd party.

They sat at a table that was big enough for them all, their mom's instantly got along, just like Ava and the boys had done. Sarah couldn't believe how easily everything fell into place with this. Things had been so different years ago.

Joan asked Sarah a bunch of question about her life, where she had grown up, what she had done after school... The explanation of Sarah's previous marriage was kept quite short. Richie stood by her and together they explained how wrong her marriage had been. Joan understood and went on to ask how they met.

After that everyone started talking about what the children had done the last few weeks during their summer vacation and their plans for the rest.



When everyone else started arriving, Joan took Richie aside for a few minutes. Her only son, she had to know he was making the right decision with this.

"Yes mom, I'm very sure."
"I'm just watching out for you." Joan told him.
"I know mom, but I really want to do this, I don't want to be without her anymore, it just feels so right." Richie explained.
"I want you to be happy."
"I am happy. Happier than I have been in a long while."
To that Joan nodded and hugged him. "I love you son."
"I love you too mom." He hugged her back.



For the rest of the night, Abbey and Joan got along great, they kept mostly to the table during dinner and the party, not wanting to be in a crowd of people.

Their dinner was just with the rest of the band. Halfway through, Caleb nudged Richie's side.

"Who's that girl?" He whispered, looking over at another girl.
"That's Gabby, she's also older than you." Richie pointed out.
"She's pretty too." Caleb smiled a bit.
"You do know these girls are daughters of my best friends?"
Caleb lighted up. "So you can help me?"
Richie laughed. "No."

At the end up dinner, Richie decided to stand up, when he cleared his throat everyone looked up at him.

Sarah already started blushing.

"So... You've all got to meet Sarah during the last few weeks." He started a little nervous but got more courageous. "I guess you've all notice how happy we are together." He took a breath. "So, I decided to make it official and you can all expect wedding invitations sometime soon, at least I hope it will be soon."

Sarah's face turned even redder than it had.

"Why are you blushing?" Richie asked when he sat down again.
"Everyone is staring at us." Sarah answered.
"They're happy for us."


They had dinner all together and afterwards, more people joined the hall and their party really started, a band played and Richie asked Sarah to dance with him.

A slow song was playing and a little reluctant Sarah went to the dance floor with him. Richie placed his arms around her hips and Sarah reached up to put her own arms around his neck, slowly swaying to the music music with him.

A party alone with the crew and staff was a lot easier for Richie, nobody asked him if he wanted any sort of drink, he appreciated that a lot.

He had noticed a few times, trying to talk to Stephanie, he thought it was quite funny.

When Sarah was in the bathroom, Jon walked up to Richie after he had played a song.

"You know that boy talking to my daughter?" He asked a little possessively.
"Caleb, Sarah's oldest."
"He better not have any plans of become a lawyer or something." Jon warned.
"He's actually quite interested in his guitar." Richie told him.
"Interesting, that might not be so bad then." Jon nodded and walked away, seeming to be thinking.
Richie chuckled.

Sarah returned only a few minutes later and conveniently another slow song started playing and Richie asked her to dance again, this time Sarah rested her head on his shoulder while they swayed.

This party was a lot more fun than the one a few weeks ago, even more than his birthday, just because Sarah was there too.



Well into the night the party finally ended when everyone started going back to the hotel, they still had a concert the next day.

By the end everyone seemed to getting along just fine. Abbey and Joan had sat together at their table the entire evening, talking about their children and grandchildren. Joan was excited to have Richie and Sarah and the kids over for a few days before they went back home and left on their vacation.



Pretty tired, Sarah and Richie got in bed together, laying as close as they always did. Richie was glad the tour was finally over and he could now spend his time with Sarah, exactly what he wanted to do.




The next day was a pretty calm day for everyone, they slept most of the day and met up in the afternoon to discuss concert stuff while their families were off to the pool or other activities the hotel offered. Of course Caleb was at the pool, Noah on the other hand found the game room where he found 3 younger boys he had seen last, even though they were a good few years younger than him, they had a great time playing arcade games.



The last concert Sarah enjoyed from the side of the stage with everyone else.

"Richie does look a lot happier than a few month ago."
Sarah had been introduced to Jon's wife, Dorothea the night before and smiled.
"It can only be because of you."
"I hope so." Sarah agreed.
"I'm happy for the both of you and congratulations, seems like Richie doesn't want to wait to get married either?"
Sarah chuckled a little. "Yeah, he's seems a bit impatient, doesn't he?"
"At least he didn't do what Jon did. When we finally made our minds up we ran off to Vegas. Our parents weren't happy with that, insisted we had a decent wedding party a few months later."

Sarah chuckled again, she liked Dorothea, it had been a while she had started to make friends but this was a start.

The concert seemed to go and on but finally it did finish, the crowd didn't seem to agree and kept on cheering.



In the hotel room, Richie celebrated his own end of the tour party in a private way with Sarah. Now that they had pretty much done everything sexually, Sarah was a lot less reserved about it and let Richie do what he really wanted. And what he really wanted was hearing Sarah scream his name she had done before.



The next day they said goodbye to everyone, the tour was over, they wouldn't see each other for a while and needed some time to themselves, they all knew that fact.

Everyone said goodbye at the hotel and they all went to separate ways.

Jon was off to Croatia with his family. Tico was going home to Florida and both Richie and David were going home to New Jersey. Only a week from now Richie would be taking Sarah and the kids on the vacation Sarah had suggested.

A quick sorry



I know I said I'd write a chapter for every day but tomorrow I'm moving back home after 8 crappy months in England, so I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to actually write, if I don't, I promise to catch up.




Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Chapter forty-two

Monday they woke up in Spain. Richie had been right about the concert on Sunday. They left immediately after the show to a nearby airport.

They'd flown straight to Barcelona and gone to bed when they arrived at the hotel.

He was relieved he didn't have to get up early to pick up Sarah from the airport anymore.

Even though they slept until close to noon, Richie was the first to wake up. Again he had the chance to watch Sarah sleep, it was definitely one of his favorite things to do.

Now that they were engaged he could really start thinking of her moving in. Would she before or after they got married? Maybe that would depend on when they got married. But Sarah wanted a beach wedding so it had to be during the summer so it wasn't too cold but did he really want to wait for next summer?

He kept watching Sarah as he thought all these things over. There were so many things he wanted to arrange and talk over with her.

Sarah's eyes finally opened slowly, as she saw Richie next to her, she lazily stretched out beside him.

"I haven't slept this well in ages." She did sound very relaxed.
"I noticed, you don't wake up every time I move."
"I'm just a light sleeper. I told you nothing used to be able to wake me up until my marriage went so bad." Sarah said. "Maybe you're just quieter."
"I'm not, I always try to not wake you up but you always do." Why would he deliberately wake her up?
Sarah shrugged.
"Maybe you finally feel safe?"



They spent most of their day at the hotel's pool. Richie had two days off and wanted to do some lazing about too. Tomorrow they could visit another museum Sarah wanted to see. He was sure he hadn't been to that many museums during a tour. It was a nice twist to it and he was making Sarah happy, that's all he wanted, a happy fiance.

It was quite busy at the pool because of the heat. Everyone was lounging around with occasional dips in the pool so Sarah and Richie did the same.

Throughout the day each of Richie's friends came along. Tico only stayed for a few minutes, only taking a short dip in the pool, swimming a few laps before leaving again.

David stayed a bit longer, sitting down next to Richie but by the time he left he hadn't noticed Sarah's ring either.

Jon showed up just when David went to leave, he had clearly gone for a run, pulling off his shirt and getting in the pool before taking the chair David had occupied.

"Where's the ring?" He asked Sarah.
Sarah smiled and held her hand out to show him her ring.
"It's beautiful. Richie made a good pick." Jon smiled back.

Just a perfect lazy day to do nothing. In minimal wear, which was even more exciting according to Richie. The only way she could look even more stunning was naked but a bikini was close enough.

After dinner they spent time on their room's balcony, watching the sun set and the stars appear in the sky high above them. The one brighter than the other.

While watching, with the sun gone, the air had considerably cooled down and they decided to go back inside.

After a quick shower to clean off the day's sweat, they ended up in bed, laying close together, face to face.
Richie carefully pushed Sarah's wet hair away from her face and reached in to softly kiss her.

Tuesday was Richie's second day off. They slept in again and in the afternoon they were off to do some sightseeing. He took his sunglasses and off they were.

They explored the inner city of Barcelona, walking into small shops, looking around for local things.

The city was busy but Barcelona was a very touristic city so it wasn't a surprise, at least not to Richie.

At last they found the colored waving benches of Barcelona and this time Richie actually wished Jon was there. The benches were a piece of art and he hadn't brought a camera with him. Where was his stalker when he needed him?

It was hot in Spain as it was in Greece and they decided to go for dinner before going to the museum. After that they could go back to the hotel.

The museum seemed deserted, it was only a tiny place, through he his sunglasses he could only see two other tourists, a couple like him and Sarah and guide or a member of staff.

"I think it's about to close." Sarah said a little concerned.
Richie checked his watch for the time. "Oh it's almost 8. You're probably right." He shrugged. "They'll kick us out if we stay too long."

They walked around, learning about the museum while Richie noticed the other two people on the other end were paying more attention to something else.

It took him a while before he realized it was him they were paying attention too. Nobody had recognized him in ages, he'd forgotten about it for a while.

A few minutes later the young man walked up to him, the woman seemed a little taken back, she quickly explained she was a fan but didn't want to bother him during his time.

Richie waved it off and agreed to a quick photo.

Sarah stood back and watched him interact. That was the second time a fan recognized him, only this one was a lot more civilized about it.

A minute later Richie walked back up to Sarah and went back to what they were looking at.

"That doesn't happen often. She was really nice too."
"Yeah, they're definitely not all bad." Richie agreed but remembered the girl at rehab's turn around too. She hadn't been that bad after all either.

Ten minutes after closing time they were asked to leave. Richie apologized for staying to long and their driver brought them back to the hotel on the other side of the city.



Wednesday Sarah was excited, it was the middle of the week, half way, her boys and mother would be coming over on Saturday. After the show on Sunday they were going to Richie's home state of New Jersey to spend some time at his mom's house. Strangely, Sarah couldn't wait to meet her.

It was the first time that week that they were up early. Richie had to do an early sound check and invited Sarah with him. It was something she hadn't done and he wanted to show her his point of view from the stage.

They played a few songs during which Sarah kept by the fences that would soon be filled with fans.
During the last two concerts Sarah had stood in the same spot and loved the new view she got of Richie that way. Finally she really got to experience a real concert and couldn't wait for tonight.

After half and hour Richie called her on the stage so she could see.

"Wow that's huge." Sarah said amazed as she looked out all the way to the back. "How many people fit there?"
"A lot, forty thousand or something."
"Don't you get stage fright with so many people watching?"
"I've been doing this for almost thirty years." Richie pointed out.
"What if you make a mistake?"
"That doesn't happen." Richie said, sure of himself.
Jon laughed from his spot by the microphone. "Yeah, it does!"
"You go learn your lyrics." Richie told him.

They were back at the hotel for lunch and decided to stay to watch a movie together.

It was still hot outside and they undressed before getting on the bed to watch but with Sarah half naked next to him, Richie couldn't keep his hands off of her and soon had completely forgotten the movie.



An hour later their bodies were sweaty but not only because of the heat.

The movie was now almost near the end but was completely forgotten as they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Before returning to the venue they showered together and had dinner.

Once again Sarah got her space with security right in front of Richie and anticipated the moment he would walk out to cheers of the crowd.

Chapter forty-one

Sometime during the early morning, Sarah woke up, feeling more satisfied than ever. She looked back over her shoulder, when she noticed the rose on her night stand, she knew it had all been real.

She was engaged.

She was deeply in love and engaged to Richie.

Along with this, this summer had been the best of her live. Getting over most of her fears had changed her life but had made it so much better.

Distracted from her thoughts when Richie stirred, she watched him, hoping she hadn't woken him up yet. It was still dark and too early.

Her eyes followed his hand which disappeared under the sheets. The white sheets were thin enough for her to see the outlines of his dick. Amazed she thought if he ever got enough, he was fifty-two don't men start getting problems then? Richie definitely didn't.

Sarah kissed him softly, careful not to wake him and sat up next to him.

Carefully she lifted the sheet, only to see his hand stroking over his dick.

Sarah wasn't entirely sure what she was doing or was going to do.

Richie had convinced her to let him do the same to her last night and it had been amazing. If it felt the same for him, she wanted to give him that pleasure back. Only fair.

She pulled the sheet lower and sat up next to him, then checked if he was still sleeping, which he was. Even when he stirred after she wrapped her hand around his dick, he still slept.

Softly she stroked him a few times, like she had the night before. Her eyes stayed steady on his, wanting to be sure he was still sleeping, she felt a little embarrassed but she was hoping he was right about it being impossible to be bad at.

Her courage gathered as she continued her movements, making her grasp a little firmer. Like the night before she leaned closer to him.

When Richie felt her breath on him, his eyes shot open, looking down at Sarah.

"Morning honey." He said in a sleep hoarse voice. "You alright down there?"
"Yeah," she looked up at him, "I want to do this for you so you have to let me know if it's good or not."
"It's alright." He didn't want to force her or make her feel guilty.
"No, I want to." She assured him.

Richie nodded and let her be so she could decide what and how much she wanted to do.

Sarah bent back down and licked the head of his dick again. Then she carefully held him still and opened her mouth wide, guiding him inside her mouth, she wrapped her lips just around it's head.

Richie groaned at the wet and warm feeling, amazing.

Slowly Sarah lowered her head and took him in deeper, making Richie groan louder.

How could she believe she was bad at this? She was doing just fine, even if it had been years since she had attempted to give someone a blowjob.

As her movements kept on, although slow, his orgasm started to creep up on him. He could feel the familiar sensation in only a few more minutes.

"Sarah." He tried to warn her.

Sarah sucked a bit harder, feeling him getting even harder before he gave in to his orgasm. A few times she had to swallow before he could lick up the remnants.

A little unsure, she crawled back up the bed to lay next to him. Should she ask how bad it was or just leave it? He might not even want to tell her, he might just lie about it.

Richie pulled her close against him, then said, "Told you it's impossible to be bad at blow jobs."
"It wasn't that bad then?" She asked unsure of even asking.
"That bad? Was great." He said honestly, hoping she would believe him. "I love you."
Sarah smiled. "I love you too."



Only a few hours later there was an continuous knocking on their door, like everyone needed them at the same time, the knocking didn't stop.

Annoyed, Richie got up, finding shorts before answering the door, to his surprise, Sarah didn't wake up when he left her.

He quickly went to open the door.

"What?" He asked.
"I know you probably got stuff to celebrate but we have to go." Jon answered.
"Go? Where?"
"Vienna, I think, we're leaving in an hour or so, everyone's pretty much ready to go."
"Fuck, I completely forgot. Give me a few minutes."

Without waiting for an answer, Richie closed the door and went back inside, getting his clothes together and stuffing them in his bag, before he got back on the bed next to Sarah.

He leaned in closely and kissed her tenderly and briefly and watched her eyes flutter open.

"Morning honey, apparently we have to leave."
"Leave?"
"Next city, concert tonight." He explained.

Sarah nodded and sat up next to him.

To Richie's delight she walked over to her bag for clothes, naked. He could definitely get used to that, then he remembered he had to do his own packing too.

"Richie?" Sarah asked after a few minutes. "Do you have a box?" She was standing by the night stand, holding the rose he had given her the night before instead of a ring.
"I'll check." He rummaged through his bag and found a tie in it's box. The tie didn't matter to him so he pulled it out and gave the box to Sarah. "How's that."
"Perfect. Thank you." She wanted to keep it and to keep a flower, she had to be careful with it or it just might break and she wouldn't want that to happen.



An hour later they were sitting in a car to the nearest airport where Jon's private plane would bring them to Austria.

Richie was sure there were places Sarah wanted to see. The city was rich with history and culture, they wouldn't leave until Sunday evening so he had to find something he could take Sarah to. Tomorrow he had to go ring shopping with Jon, he wanted to stick to that plan for sure. He also knew there was a lot of art in Vienna, maybe he could ask Tico about it.

He was lucky when Sarah fell asleep again on the plane. Strange how she could sleep on the plane if he was there but not when she was alone, was it his presence  What about her not waking up this morning? He wasn't sure what to think of it but he didn't mind, then he didn't have to feel guilty anymore when he did wake her up.



Because they had left early in the morning, they arrived before noon in Vienna. He had talked to Tico during their flight and found out Tico was planning to visit the Museum of Fine Arts when they got there, fortunately Tico was quite pleased Richie wanted to go along with Sarah.



The museum was huge, they could spend ages in there but they had a concert to play tonight, even thought it was still slightly before noon, they knew they wouldn't be able to see everything.

They paid their entrance and walked into the halls. The first were ancient Greek and Roman art, a total different kind of art than what they were used to now, nonetheless it was very interesting to see what people could make back then without as much resources artists had now.

The next hall existed out of Egyptian and Near Eastern art. Sarah had always been interested in Egypt and was even more interested in seeing their art. She found it amazing how they could make bright colours and such detailed drawings. Once again she was glad Richie had found a museum to go to.

On the second floor they lost track of Tico, every room was filled with painting from European artists. Thinking they'd find Tico again later they continued looking around on their own.

Sarah pointed out the painting she liked to Richie.

"I gotta say, he's a bit weird." Richie said as they walked by Van Gogh painting.
"He did go crazy." Sarah pointed out.
"Yeah, he had a drinking problem, cut off his ear."
"Oh that's him?" Richie asked, he had heard of that before.
"It is, the alcohol made a buzzing in his ear that wouldn't stop so he cut it off, went a bit crazy." She explained.

The room they were in existed mainly out of Dutch and Flemish artists.

Richie spotted a painting of a naked woman on one of the walls. "Don't mind you posing like that." He teased Sarah.
"Don't think." Sarah regarded the painting, she definitely didn't feel comfortable enough with herself to pose with a fur blanket.
"Why not? Look, she even has the same hair colour as you but I think photos now would look better though."
"Not gonna happen."
"I'm just kidding." He assured her.

It felt a little strange not hearing someone taking pictures of them every second, they had gotten used to Jon taking photos of them behind their backs but now he wasn't there.

In the next room they found Tico again, he was enjoying the significantly less Spanish art.

For the rest of their visit they stayed together, they hadn't much more time and didn't want to lose each other again, finding each other might be more time consuming.

They decided to skip the top floor since there were only coins on display thee and nobody was really interested in that. All together they went back to the hotel so they could start unpacking there.

"Do we leave at the same time?" Sarah asked as she got the box out of her bag, glad it had a clear cover and she placed it on the night stand again.
"Yeah, we'll leave around four or something. I need to arrange a place for you though."
Sarah shrugged. "Maybe I can stand with the crowd?"
"You want to do that?" Richie asked surprised.
"I think so."
"How's your ankle? Can you stand that long? I don't want you standing with all those shoving people." He talked quickly.
"It's fine."
"Maybe you can stand with security, that's a bit closer to me too."
"That's good too." Sarah agreed.



Only an hour they were backstage at the venue, unlike the previous shows they were here early, usually they arrived only an hour before the show, now they were there four hours ahead.

This time Richie actually had time to show Sarah around everywhere. Again he got to introduce people to Sarah but this time he could introduce her as his fiance instead of his girlfriend.

When Sarah took a few minutes in a bathroom, Jon popped up from around the corner, excited he walked over to Richie.

"So? Did you ask her? What did she say? She said yes, right?"
"Wait," Richie said calmly, "I forgot we're teenage girls." and went on in a high girly voice. "Yes, she said yes, we're getting marry, can you believe it? Oh em gee!" He asked just as excited as Jon.
Jon shook his head. "Did you pick a date already?"
Richie answered him in a normal voice again. "Well no, but she said yes so we're getting married."

Before he could go on, Sarah walked out of the bathroom.

With a huge smile Jon reached in to hug her. A little stunned, Sarah hugged him back.



Fifteen minutes before the show a security guard guided Sarah to a place in front of the gates where the fans were standing. She would be closer to Richie than all his fans were, then again, she really was closer to him, her fiance, she still couldn't believe it.

Richie was the first to walk onto stage, the crow behind her started screaming, maybe she wasn't a screaming type because she kept completely calm even when Richie smiled at her. Two girls behind her screamed even louder, saying he smiled at them, Sarah knew better, she hoped.

The concert started with one of the songs Sarah had learned by now, they had played it at almost every concert she had been too.

She was able to watch Richie the entire time while he played. The faces he made while playing guitar reminded her a lot of other faces he made at other times, she thought it was kinda funny and arousing at the same time.

After a while, she heard Jon call Richie, Sarah hadn't even noticed Jon wasn't on the stage anymore. She looked around for him as she watched Richie walk past her with another smile, over to a stage between the fans.

The few songs he played over there was the only time she wasn't able to keep her eyes on Richie and she felt a little disappointed, she certainly loved watching him play guitar, it was clearly his passion to which he was very devoted.

During the second encore, Richie made sure to keep his eyes open and watch Sarah in front of him as Jon sang always. He sang the back up vocals but mouthed the rest of the word for Sarah, making sure she got the message he was trying to send to her. The lyrics described perfectly how he felt for her even though the song was based on a stalker.



They had played only one more song and left immediately afterwards back to their hotel.

Exhausted Richie plopped down on the bed, two days in a row he had been woken up way too early, on top of that he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

"I wanna sleep in way past noon tomorrow." Richie groaned as he sat back up to start undressing.
"You don't want to go to another museum?" Sarah asked, sounding a little disappointed.
"Maybe." He remembered she might want to.

Together with Sarah he got undressed and ready for bed. He was just about to lie down when he got a text.

11:39 what time do you want to go tomorrow

He needed to buy a ring, how did he forget that again? He needed sleep too.

11:40 around 11

Richie put his phone away again and turned to Sarah who was watching him, wondering what he was doing. He moved closer to lay right next to her, gently he pushed her hair back over her shoulder and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm gonna get you a ring tomorrow and make it official."
"Do I get to pick one?" Sarah asked excited.
"It's got to be a surprise and you'll be looking at prices." He  knew she would.



The next morning Richie woke with Sarah's hair in his face, she was tucked under his chin, her head resting on his chest, so close to him.

Carefully he moved her off of him and went to get dressed, when he came back from the bathroom, he was surprised again that Sarah hadn't woken up while he was gone. She had done so for two months and now all of a sudden she didn't?



At eleven he walked out his room, Sarah knew he would be going and he didn't want to wake her up if she was still sleeping.

Jon was already waiting for him, again with a camera in hand.

"Do you really take that everywhere?" Richie asked.
"I do, I want a picture of you picking out a ring."
"Want a picture of me doing the proposal again?" Richie asked a little annoyed.
"No, I'm good." Jon answered smartly



In the inner city of Vienna they found a jewellery store.

"So you want to ask her again?" Jon asked as he looked at rings.
"Yeah, make it formal, right, with a ring." Richie shrugged as he started looking around too.
"What kind of ring do you want?"
"Something unique, special." Richie thought out loud.



Half an hour later Richie had found the perfect ring he wanted to give to Sarah. He was glad she hadn't come to pick because she surely would have said no if she saw the price tag of it. He could care less about the price, it was for Sarah, he'd pay millions to be able to keep her.



When Richie got back to the hotel room, Sarah was sitting up in bed, watching a movie on tv, all to gladly he took of his jeans and got in bed with her to watch the rest of the movie with her.

In the afternoon Richie took her to a Botanic Garden just outside the city. Every park or garden reminded him of where it had all started so he wanted to ask her again at a place that resembled the beginning of their relationship

He had planned it out again, he'd ask her here again at the garden and then they'd go for dinner, the other way around of what they had done two days ago.

Sarah was nervous the entire time they walked through the gardens, she knew he had bought her a ring but when was he going to ask her, would he wait until later that night or would he ask her here?

The longer it took, the more she wanted him to just ask her right now, so she could say yes again.

When they walked through a part of the garden that was full of roses, all in different colors, she was sure he was going to ask her now since he had asked her by the rose bush at the previous hotel but they continued to walk. Her nerves started to kill her.

Richie was waiting for the right moment, a perfect place with the perfect surroundings to ask her.

Finally he saw he what he wanted. A huge weeping willow, with it's leaves hanging over a big pond. The scene itself looked romantic, perfect for what he wanted.

He took her to the tree and stood beside her. He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a tiny box, carefully opening it to show her the ring .

"Do you still want to marry me Sarah?" He asked.

Sarah looked at the ring in the box, the ring was beautiful, the shape of it was perfect and would remind her forever of how he had asked her to marry him, not that she would ever forget anyway.

"Yes Richie, I still want to marry you, I love you." She answered.
Richie smiled. "I love you too, I want to marry you more than anything." He answered her unasked question.