Chapter 96

Jon was killing time in the first class lounge at Heathrow, flicking aimlessly through a magazine, when his cellphone rang, the display showing ‘Sara’.

“Hey baby.”

“Hi Jon. Still at the airport?”

“Yeah. Where are you? You’ve arrived wherever it is, right?”

“Mmm. Just checked into another hotel, and I was thinking of calling Richie soon. Will it be too early for him?”

“Nah. It’s, what, eight am in LA. He’ll be up - at least, he will be once the phone rings!”

“You’re evil! I’ll give it another couple of hours, I think. Don’t want to disturb him. I have to go, baby. I just wanted to say hi……just wanted to hear your voice I guess.”

“I’m glad you called sweetheart. I’ll call you tomorrow sometime - or maybe later today. Keep your phone on.”

“Okay. Well, bye, Jon.” There was the merest hesitation, then the words were just barely breathed into the phone. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Sara. I’ll speak to you soon. Bye, darlin’.”

They both hung up, not willing to risk saying more in case they broke down again, Sara throwing herself down on the bed, while Jon sat staring blindly at his phone, wondering if Sara had video calling on her phone. Next time they talked, he’d ask.


Around the time Jon’s flight took off, just after five pm, Sara finally dialled Richie’s cellphone, listening to the odd-sounding ring for a few moments until the call was answered.

“Hello?”

The voice that answered the phone was so guarded Sara wasn’t even sure she’d dialled the right number.

“Richie?”

“Yeah.”

“I was starting to think I’d dialled the wrong number. It’s Sara.”

“Sara! Sorry, girl - I didn’t recognise the number. From the weird shit in front of it, I guess you’re still overseas, huh?”

“Mm-hm. Just flew up to Yorkshire today.”

“So is Jon headed home, then? Or did he cave in and stay with you?”

“He’s on a plane right now.” Sara said after a glance at her watch. “I’m going to be really tied up with work for the next few days, and I guess he’d have been left at a loose end while I was working. He’ll have enough to get on with back home, so it’s the best thing. No point in his hanging around here bored.”

Richie laughed, but kindly. “Do you think if you say that often enough you might convince yourself?”

“Is it that obvious?” Sara sighed, then she remembered why she’d actually called. “Jon said you have a date this weekend, huh? With Linda?”

“Yeah.” Even through the phone Sara could tell Richie was grinning. “She’s flying in Friday - well, tomorrow - night for the weekend.”

“That’s great. You’ll have to let me know how it goes.” Sara hesitated, but she felt comfortable enough with him to ask. “You really like this Linda, don’t you?”

“I guess it’s my turn to say ‘is it that obvious’!” Richie laughed. “I do, actually, Sara. I don’t know what it is about her, but I feel like she’s special. I mean, I know she’s a fan and everything, but when we had dinner the other week, it was kinda…….kinda grown-up, y’know? There was something there - for both of us I think. Something worth taking a chance on. Christ, that doesn’t even make sense to me!”

“I get it, Richie.” Sara said quietly, touched that he was telling her this. “I think I get it. Sounds like how I felt about Jon at first.”

“And now?”

“Well, I saw his picture on my laptop earlier, and it made me cry, so what do you think?”

Richie laughed again, but he could hear the shake in her voice, and tried to make her laugh.

“I think maybe our boy’s gettin' old, and ain’t as pretty as he used to be, if seeing him reduces you to tears, Sara.”

Sara broke into giggles - she and Richie seemed to share a twisted and irreverent sense of humour.

“Yeah - that’ll be it, Richie. Anyway, I have to go, but I just wanted to say good luck for the weekend - I hope everything goes the way you want.”

“Thanks, Sara. When am I gonna see you again?”

“I get back on the thirtieth, and Jon’s invited me to a show on the first, so I guess I’ll see you there.”

“Good. Talk to you later, Sara. Take care.”

“I will. Bye Richie.”

Sara sat for a moment, staring blindly across the room, the brief chat with Richie almost making her miss Jon more - if that was even possible. She wondered if she should maybe go eat dinner - she wasn’t hungry, but she knew that she really should eat, since all she’d had all day was one piece of toast and an obscene amount of coffee. Forcing herself up, Sara put on a pair of shoes and a jacket, grabbed her bag and headed out of the room, and out of the hotel into the evening.

It was much cooler here than in Cornwall, and she snugged her jacket closed as she walked, finding a small pub with one of those signs that said ‘good pub grub’. When she went inside, she was surprised to find the guy from the hunt standing at the bar, and he caught sight of her in the mirror, turning to face her.

He said hello, and politely introduced her to the barman, then he headed back out of the pub, and Sara picked up a menu, forcing herself to choose something to eat. She took a drink over to a corner table, and the barman soon brought over her food, leaving Sara sitting staring at a sad, microwaved version of one of her favourite meals - lasagne. The meal certainly did nothing to pique her appetite, and she contented herself with picking at the fries that accompanied the pasta.

While Sara was trying to coax herself to eat the less-than-appetising meal, Jon was having something of the same trouble, although the food in the first class cabin was markedly better than what Sara had been served. Still, he was finding it difficult to enjoy the meal, pushing food around the plate while staring vacantly at the TV screen in front of him. Eventually, he gave up, and moved his seat into a reclined position, trying for some sleep instead. The years of touring, when you grabbed sleep wherever and whenever you could, paid off, and he managed to sleep his way across the Atlantic, until an apologetic stewardess woke him to say they were on final approach and he’d have to put his seat up again.

Once they’d landed, and he was in a cab heading for the big house he was still sharing with Dot and the kids until the apartment was furnished, Jon pulled out his cellphone and dialled Sara’s number. There was a slight delay, then she answered breathlessly.

“Hey, babe, it’s only me.”

“Jon? Sorry - I couldn’t find my phone! Are you home already?”

“I’m in a cab from the airport. What time is………oh, shit! Did I wake you, Sara?”

“Yeah, but it’s okay. I’m just glad to know you’ve landed safe, even if you are on the wrong side of the Atlantic. It’s cold here, too, without you to snuggle up to.”

Jon just laughed, then Sara continued, her voice sleepy and alluring, twisting at Jon’s heart.

“I called Richie. He sounds really excited about Linda coming to see him. I really hope it works out for him - he’s such a sweetheart.”

“You jumping ship on me, darlin’? Goin’ over to the darkside?”

“Never. I love you, Jon. And I miss you so bad already. Oh, God, I have to go, or I’ll start crying again.”

“Okay, sweetheart. You get back to sleep, and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Can you leave it until Saturday?” Sara asked hesitantly. “I’ll be real busy tomorrow, and I can’t have my phone on when I’m working. There’s no way I could concentrate if I spoke with you. Saturday afternoon should be good though.”

“Saturday afternoon, then. Good night, Sara. I love you.”

“G’night Jon. Love you too.”

Sara laid her phone back onto the bedside table, and she was still thinking of Jon as she fell asleep again. Out in New Jersey, Jon’s cab finally arrived back at the house, and Stephanie opened the door as soon as he stepped out of the car, running to him.

“Daddy!”

She slammed into him, hugging him hard, and Jon was worried.

“Stephy? What’s wrong?”

Stephanie disentangled herself from him, seeming to remember that she was a teenager and shouldn’t be so pathetically happy to see her parents.

“Nothing. I just missed you. We all did, dad.”

Jon smiled and hugged her again. “I missed you too, Steph. I just had to go over to England after the show in Florida.”

“England? Did you go to see Sara, dad?”

“I did, sweetheart, and we’re okay again. She’s still over there, working, but we made up.”

“Good. I don’t like when you’re not happy, dad. When does she get back?”

“She’ll be at the Habitat show, on the first of next month. She just gets back the day before.”

“Maybe I can meet her there.” Steph suggested. “We could come to the show, right?”

“That’d be great, Steph. Come on - let’s get inside - I need coffee.”

Inside the house, Jon spent some time with all the kids, handing out the little trinkets he’d bought them in Perranporth. Dot was around, but she wanted to give Jon some time alone with the kids, so she headed off upstairs early, saying she was going to take a bath, since daddy was there to put them to bed. Jon and the kids watched a movie, all huddled together on one of the huge couches, until it was time for the boys to go to bed. Stephanie had homework, too, so Jon packed her off to her room to do that, kissing them all goodnight before he went to the room he was using and settled down with a mug of coffee and a book. He’d picked it up at the airport, when he saw it was the same author Sara was reading, and while it wasn’t exactly what he’d normally read, it was entertaining and distracting, which was what he needed right now.