Sarah tossed and turned most of the night, unable to fall into a deep enough sleep that would allow her to feel rested. The night was warm, but that wasn’t the reason for her insomnia. She threw the blanket off, pulled it up again, then eventually ended up hurling it off the bed in frustration. She rolled over and draped her arm over the pillow that represented Danni’s body, but it could hardly take her partner’s place. Sighing loudly, she opened her eyes and stared at the clock: 3:15 am.
Still thinking of Danni, she sighed louder. “I miss you.”
Then, like an alarm in the night, her cell phone rang and vibrated itself right off the nightstand and onto the floor. In a panic, she jerked herself upright and answered it, unsure who could possibly be calling at this late hour.
“Hi, it’s me.”
Remnants of whatever sleep she managed to get still had a slight control on her, but she recognized the voice immediately.
“Danni, what’s wrong?”
“I didn’t get to call before boarding but I managed to get that flight I mentioned earlier.”
“What are you talking about?” The last time they talked Danni mentioned coming home in a couple days. Sarah had no idea what this sudden turn of events was about.
“I called earlier and left a message on the answering machine. I caught a red eye. I’m actually calling from the plane now. Were you still in bed?”
“What?” Sarah jumped off the bed and stood in a daze. “You’re on your way home?”
“Yeah, didn’t you get my message?”
Sarah didn’t remember seeing the light on the answering machine flashing, indicating someone had called, but then she hadn’t exactly been expecting someone to call either. “No.”
“That’s strange. Well I should be landing around 6 am. Should I just rent a car and drive home or will you pick me up?”
Sarah could barely contain her excitement. “Danni, we’ll be there waiting.”
As Sarah wrote down the flight information she kept her voice calm and to a near whisper. There was no need to wake Elizabeth this early…not the night before the biggest day of her life. She considered calling Vickie and asking her to watch Elizabeth while she drove the two hours to Philadelphia to pick up Danni, but she also knew Elizabeth would most likely never forgive her. Elizabeth missed her mom as much as Sarah did and it was only right that they both be there when Danni stepped off the plane.
A few minutes later, after she had dressed and prepared a few items and loaded the car, she went inside and woke Elizabeth. She was still very groggy and it was difficult to dress her while she was half asleep. Sarah still felt a twinge of guilt about waking her so early but in her heart she knew she was doing the right thing. Wearing jeans and a simple t-shirt, Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her mother as Sarah carried her downstairs and put her into the car.
Her mind was fully on Danni’s homecoming when déjà vu struck and she felt like she was being watched again. Like the first time, she searched up and down the street but didn’t see anyone. The feeling was a bit stronger this time and she carefully looked over unusual hiding places like behind trees, parked cars, and shrubbery.
Still nothing.
As a precaution, she safely locked Elizabeth in the car while she went back to lock the front door, suspiciously looking over her shoulder every few seconds. Her heartbeat had increased, causing her breathing to become more erratic.
“You’re getting paranoid in your old age,” she told herself. “You’re going to give yourself a heart attack one of these days.”
The front door clicked and she knew that no one could get inside now. She kept reminding herself that everything would be fine again once Danni was home. Her paranoia would subside and things would return to normal.
Getting inside the car, she gave Elizabeth a quick glance, making sure she had safely buckled her in the seatbelt before pulling away. As the car drove away, Sarah continued looking in her rear view mirror, but she was too far away and out of view when the pulled back curtains to Sarah and Danni’s bedroom window had been released.
Someone had definitely been watching.
Sarah and Elizabeth shuffled through the growing crowd of people in the terminal. The small shops and eateries in the airport were barely opened, some still had their gates closed and locked, but as the minutes ticked on and the crowd grew larger with each passing minute, there was no doubt the morning commute was in full swing. Sarah glanced at her watch and cursed to herself over the time: 6:45. The flight monitors throughout the terminal reported Danni’s plane had already landed, but there was no sign of the woman as she looked over heads of people rushing past them for the familiar face of her wife.
“Are you sure we’re at the right place?” Elizabeth asked, tugging on Sarah’s sleeve. “You said it was tomorrow. Maybe we’re early.”
“No, Hon,” Sarah said. “She’s coming home today.”
“Maybe she got lost,” Elizabeth rationalized.
Sarah chuckled. Danni’s sense of direction was impeccable and it would be more likely that they were lost, though she knew they weren’t. And then, as if they were the only three people in the terminal, Sarah spotted the person she was looking for, who had already seen them and had picked up her pace to a near run.
“Hey,” Sarah said, halting them in their steps. She knelt down to Elizabeth’s level and pointed in Danni’s direction. “Look who I see.”
Elizabeth’s glance followed the direction her mother was pointing and saw the familiar form of her mom coming towards her. Without further thought, she broke free of Sarah’s hold and ran across the closing distance between them.
“Mommy! Mommy!”
Danni dropped her bags and leaned down to scoop up Elizabeth as she jumped into her arms. “I missed you, Munchkin.”
“I missed you too.”
Danni looked up and saw Sarah had joined them, forming a group hug in the midst of dozens of people walking around them.
“Welcome home,” Sarah said, kissing Danni gently the lips.
Danni smiled. “It’s good to be back.”
Sarah picked up Danni’s bags and they began their walk back to the car as Danni retold highlights of her trip. Elizabeth couldn’t have cared what she talked about, she was just glad her mom was home again and she barely eased her grip around Danni’s neck as they walked back to the car.
“I brought you back something,” Danni told her. “But you have to wait until we get home to get it.”
“That’s ok. I’m just glad you’re home.”
“Yeah, and why is that?” Danni asked.
“Because you cook better than Mother does.”
Sarah and Danni both laughed at Elizabeth’s bluntness, despite its truth. Danni had left recipes and Sarah followed them to the last detail, but she never managed to get it just right. Eventually she chalked it up to Danni simply having a knack for cooking that she could never have.
The ride home again wasn’t nearly as long as the women thought it would be. Elizabeth fell asleep in Danni’s arms thirty minutes into the drive, leaving Danni in the backseat directly behind Sarah as she drove the car. She was tempted to misbehave slightly, perhaps whisper naughty ideas into Sarah’s ear or let her hands roam Sarah’s body while she drove, but she knew Sarah was tired and didn’t want to risk an accident. There would be plenty of time for naughtiness tonight. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Sarah’s chair and rested them upon her waist, simply whispering into her ear, “I love you.”
Back at the house, Sarah had been upstairs helping Elizabeth dress for her big day when the youngster shooed her away.
“I want to pick my own clothes today,” she stated, not waiting for her mother’s approval as she opened the closet door and stood before the many choices that would keep her occupied for quite some time.
Knowing it would be a while before she decided on the perfect outfit, Sarah took the opportunity to slip back downstairs. Nearing the kitchen, the delicious aroma of Danni’s famous French toast filled the air and she inhaled deeply.
“It’s good to have you back,” she said, announcing her presence.
Danni moved about the kitchen like a professional chef, knowing exactly when to add ingredients so they would complement rather than overpower the meal and when to begin serving so as to not keep anyone waiting. She had a real knack for this, which Sarah found oddly amusing since Danni never really expressed a desire to cook. Some things just came naturally to some people, and for Danni, cooking was one of those things.
“It’s good to be back.”
Sarah watched in awe for a moment before offering to help, but Danni declined so she simply took a seat at the table and sipped at her freshly brewed coffee.
“Oh, I didn’t even tell you. Guess who I ran into at the airport last night?”
“Who?”
Danni turned to watch Sarah’s reaction. “Sam.”
“Wow! I haven’t seen her since the wedding. What’s she been up to?”
The faint sound of Elizabeth coming downstairs signaled that breakfast was ready and Danni returned her attention to the food, serving up three plates of her finest, or rather what she considered her finest for being awake for over twenty four hours. As Elizabeth joined them at the table, she paid little attention to the conversation at hand.
“Well, she’s still an ADA. We didn’t have much time to talk since we were catching different planes, but she alluded to being in a relationship.”
Sarah’s surprise was hard to contain.
“Sam? Geez, I’d love to meet whoever can sweep that one off her feet.”
Danni laughed quietly. It was true Sam’s stubbornness and cool icy demeanor often interfered in her personal relationships, often reminding Danni of herself, but if she could find that special someone in Sarah she was sure Sam could too.
“Ooh! There she is!”
Danni and Sarah joined about a hundred other proud parents and friends of Elizabeth’s fellow classmates in the auditorium this morning. People turned and watched as the graduates slowly marched down the aisle onto the stage. When Elizabeth got closer, Danni wrapped her arms around Sarah in a loving embrace and smiled.
“I really thought I was going to miss this,” she confessed.
Sarah placed a comforting hand on Danni’s and squeezed. “I’m really glad you didn’t.”
Danni gently kissed Sarah’s cheek, unable to hold back from communicating how in love with her wife she truly was. But Sarah’s emotions were in overdrive too and she turned into the kiss, expressing her own love for Danni in return. It wasn’t meant for show, but she didn’t care who saw. It was straightforward and affectionate, pure.
Vicki turned and shushed the couple, nudging Sarah with a teasing elbow. “You two can get a room later. Right now you’re distracting me!”
Sarah chuckled. Her eyes followed Elizabeth as she climbed the last steps and took her place on stage. She was absolutely adorable in her cap and gown, and for a brief instance Sarah imagined them years down the road when her daughter would be graduating high school and eventually college. As the others began to sit down, her smile widened and she joined them, clasping Danni’s hand firmly in her own.
The ceremony continued with the school’s principal welcoming everyone. Some teachers and a few of the staff had spoke briefly about the class, and then one by one the students were called forward to receive their makeshift diplomas. Vicki had been taping the entire event, but that nagging feeling she had been having lately returned again.
She glanced around the room, casually looking behind her for anything unusual, but everyone’s eyes were directed to the stage. The blinding flash of dozens of cameras working in unison was almost rhythmic. Only the slowly closing door to the antechamber seemed out of the ordinary, but she chalked it up to a latecomer.
“You ok?” Danni whispered.
Sarah snapped out of her daze and nodded. She looked to the stage again and saw Elizabeth briefly wave at her, but she remained in a slight trance.
“You sure? You’re acting weird.”
“Weird day,” she admitted. “I think I’m tired.”
Danni smirked and leaned closer. “Well don’t think you’re getting sleep anytime soon. I’ve got other plans for you this evening.”
Sarah blushed, knowing full well what Danni’s plans included, and she allowed her mind to fast forward to this evening and all the naughty things that would be happening while Elizabeth spent the night at Vicki’s. Still, despite the pleasant distraction, she succumbed to paranoia and glanced a couple more times over her shoulder when she felt eyes watching her. She didn’t recognize anyone, but the feeling remained for the after party and never really left until they were home again.
The photos spread across the table like a deck of cards, each one telling a moment in Sarah Bishop’s recent life. Walks along the beach, trips to the grocery store, a drive in the car, each one snapped without her even being aware. At first they were from a distance and she was completely safe from harm, but the more recent photos were obviously closer. Snapshots of her through a window eating breakfast, another taken inside her home- right across the room while she worked on her computer…that night was a perfect opportunity as classical music blared from the stereo, blocking out any noise he might have made.
He slowly shuffled through them, remembering the feelings they invoked as he took them. And then he pulled out his favorite. Sarah had been sound asleep and he was able to get so close, within arms reach, to snap this one. She was so beautiful that night. Alone, waiting for him, if only that damn dog hadn’t started making noise! A duplicate of the picture resided on the wall, an enormous red heart drawn around her face. Walking over to it, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a pair of Sarah’s panties, rubbing the fine lace between his fingers as he spoke to the picture as if she had been in the room with him.
“I’m coming, my love,” he whispered, stroking his finger down the side of her cheek. “I’m coming.”