Chapter 17

Barely half an hour later, Sara’s phone rang.

“Hello? Jon? You just left!”

“I know, I know. You’re messing with my head, Sara - I can’t see you tomorrow - I’m taking the kids over to mom’s. I forgot about that.”

Sara laughed. “Don’t worry about it - you’re just getting old and forgetful.”

“HEY! No fair! You can’t say stuff like that when I’m not there to punish you for it!”

“Why do you think I said it? Seriously, though, don’t worry about it, Jon. Give me a call if you like - just use my cell, because I don’t know where I’ll be. Have fun at your mom’s.”

“Oh, it’ll be a barrel of laughs - she’s going to want all the details of why Dot and I are splitting up, and I can’t give them to her. I can’t wait.” He sounded depressed at the very idea.

“It won’t be that bad - surely she won’t say too much in front of the kids?”

“No, I guess not. Okay, babe, I’ll call you tomorrow sometime. Bye.”

“Bye, Jon.”

Belatedly, Sara remembered that she’d used the starry stuff in the bath, and went through to the bathroom. As she’d expected, the whole bath was covered with stars and sparkly stuff, which had all stuck hard as the bath dried. She sighed and dug out the bath cleaner, scrubbing until all the sparkles were gone and the bath once more white. Leaving the bathroom, she glanced down and saw more stars on the tiles by the door, and smiled, remembering how they’d fallen off her and Jon.

She made a sandwich - after all that pizza, she wasn’t in the mood for dinner - and ate it while watching a movie. The exertion of the cleaning, and the post-cleaning exertions with Jon, made her feel pleasantly weary, and she snuggled into the couch, briefly thinking how nice it would be if Jon were there to snuggle up to. That was her last thought for a while, as her interest in the movie couldn’t compete with her tiredness, and she fell asleep on the couch.

When she woke, it was dark, and she switched off the TV before stumbling through to bed, still half asleep as she undressed and fell onto the mattress.

Jon was home in plenty of time to see the kids for a while before they went to bed. Once they were settled down, he and Dot sat together and had a drink and a quiet chat about the steps they needed to take next. He told her he was going to take the kids to see his mom the next day, and asked if she’d like to come too, but Dot shook her head, saying that it was probably best that she didn’t, not just now. She’d go see her in a few days, alone, and tell the whole story.

“Is this my fault?” Jon suddenly blurted out, giving voice to the thought that had been haunting him since he found out.

“No. I don’t think it’s anybody’s fault - we’ve just grown apart, Jon. There’s no blame involved here.”

That seemed to satisfy him, and he gave Dot a brief hug and a brotherly peck on the cheek before heading up to bed.

Next morning, over breakfast, Jon told the kids they were going to see their grandma, and while they ran around collecting shoes and the various bits and pieces kids seem unable to go anywhere without, Jon headed upstairs to get his jacket, dialling Sara’s number as he closed the bedroom door behind him.

When Sara’s cellphone rang, she checked the display, recognising the number.

“Good morning!” She chirped, and Jon found himself smiling at the sound of her voice.

“Hi. How are you today?”

“I’m great. You?”

“Better now I’m talking to you.” Jon replied, and heard Sara’s soft chuckle through the phone.

“Aw - you’re sweet. How are the kids?”

“Well, at the moment they’re running around the house trying to get ready to go to mom’s. But they’re okay. I don’t think we’ll be back from there until quite late, but can I call you when I get home?”

“Jon - you don’t have to ask. You know you can call me whenever you need me..…I mean whenever you need to talk.”

“Oh, I need you. I want you, and I hate not being with you. If you went into the studio today…….you’d be able to go in late tomorrow, wouldn’t you? I could come over in the morning.”

Biting her lip, Sara thought about it. Her assistant would be back from vacation on Monday, but she could leave him a note if she went in today. She could catch up on some work today - knowing that Jon wouldn’t call - and make sure that the studio was back to normal, with no evidence of Jon.

“O-kay. I can do that. It’ll let me get sorted out before my assistant comes back Monday. Yep - I can do you - I mean that - tomorrow morning.”

Jon chuckled at her deliberate slip of the tongue.

“You’re a bad, bad girl, Sara. Maybe you should dig out that whip…..”

Now they were both laughing as they said goodbye and hung up.

Sara got organised and drove over to the studio, where she spent a few peaceful hours charging her cameras and making sure she had everything she needed packed into the travel case she used for her equipment. In case she forgot to do it the next day, she printed out all the details from the actor’s agent, folding the pages neatly into a pocket on the case.

She checked around the studio, making sure it was tidy before writing a quick note to her assistant, explaining that she’d be late in the following morning, but she’d call when she was on her way. Lugging the case of cameras and accessories, Sara locked up the studio and went down to her car, then drove home again to sort out some clothes for the trip.

Jon’s visit to his mom went surprisingly well. She was just concerned about the kids, really, and when she saw how they seemed to be coping with the whole separation thing, she started to smile more genuinely. Even so, Jon was relieved when it was time to leave. He found it difficult to lie to her, pretending that he didn’t know anything about Dot’s affair, and he was sure she could see right through him. Didn’t matter how much acting he’d done - he’d never been able to lie convincingly to his mom! With hugs and kisses, and his mom’s instructions to call any time ringing in his ears, he finally managed to get the kids back into the car. Driving home, he called Dot, and said he was thinking of taking the kids for dinner - did she want to join them? She didn’t - she was right in the middle of something, she said, but go ahead and take the kids out.

“Guys - where do you fancy for dinner?”

For once they agreed, and all the kids chorused “Barnacle Bill’s!”

After a long, somewhat noisy dinner, they headed home, although Jon was trying to get into the habit of not thinking of the beautiful big house as ‘home’. The thought reminded him that he needed to look for somewhere else to live, and he made a mental note to call a realtor in the morning. Thinking of the morning made him think of Sara, and he decided to call her once they got back to the house and the kids were inside.

When they drove up to the house, the kids piled out in a rush, heading into the house, and Jon slowly drove around to the garage, dialling Sara as he went.

The phone rang a few times before she answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey - it’s me. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Oh, no, I’m just having dinner. How was the visit with your mom?”

“Actually pretty good. I think she’s cool with it now.” He parked up, switching off the engine. “I would’ve called earlier, but I stopped off for dinner with the kids. What are you having?”

“Pasta.” Sara replied, and Jon heard the clatter of cutlery.

“What kind? I see you as more an arrabiata girl than a carbonara one.”

“Well, I’m not keen on cream sauces, but today’s is just pasta. Pasta with butter and black pepper. Lots of black pepper.”

“Yuck! No sauce? You’re a strange girl.”

“So nice of you to notice. What can I say - I like what I like. I do eat some strange things though.”

“I know.” Even though he couldn’t see her, Jon knew Sara was blushing at that, and he grinned.

“So - what were you planning on making me for breakfast?”

“I guess it depends how much of an appetite you have. Let’s see how you feel in the morning.”

“I’m pretty sure I know how I’ll feel in the morning. Same as I feel right now.”

“Which is how?”

“Horny as hell.” He told her, and was rewarded by her laugh.

“But we’re only talking.”

“I know - I told you, I feel about eighteen again. What are you wearing?”

“Oh, no. Not going there. I’m too hungry to think straight.”

“I’m pretty hungry myself.”

“I thought you said you stopped off for dinner?”

“I wasn’t talking about food, baby.”

“Oh, dammit!” Sara suddenly exclaimed. “Oops - sorry Jon. Did I yell in your ear?”

“Only a little. What’s wrong?”

“I just dripped butter all down myself. I need to go clean this off.”

“Where is it? Does that mean you’re all slippery and hot? I could come over………maybe lick it off for you?”

“Good God, you’re insatiable, aren’t you! It’s all down my shirt.”

“Oh. Okay baby, I’ll let you go clean up. What time can I come over tomorrow?”

“Anytime you like. Just call me so I can get out of bed.”

“Why would you want to do that? You know I’m just going to take you straight back there.”

“Yeah, but I need to open the door, don’t I. Right. Enough. I have to try to wash this out before it stains. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Bet your ass you will. Bye Sara.”

“Bye sweetie.”

Jon hung up with a smile and headed into the house. Planning ahead, he told Dot he’d be leaving early in the morning, so he’d probably not see the kids, but he’d be back later, to pack some stuff for the wedding in Canada. She offered to do it for him, but he just said he’d have to get used to doing it for himself.

Sara did her best to clean off the shirt, leaving it in the bathroom to dry as she found another. When she’d finished eating, she picked out the clothes she’d take to Canada, putting them to one side to be ironed and packed the next day.

They didn’t know it, but both Jon and Sara were tucked up in their beds by eleven o’clock, both of them looking forward to the following morning.