Finding Home Pt. 19

Grace nodded, "Jake told me before we," she blushed, realizing what she was about to divulge, "well, he just said that Andy had never been happy before, but he is now. Jake loves Andy like a brother. Sara, I forgive you, I just need a chance to work through this a bit."

"It's true," said Ellen. "We thought we lost Drew after Romeo was killed. Sara and Eden gave him back to us. Sara is so good for Drew; I can't even believe it. But Kail, I hear you. I felt betrayed as well," she turned and looked at Sara. "Sara, I love you to death, and I absolutely forgive you."

"You felt that way because I did betray you. I betrayed all of us. I have no idea why, but you can bet I'm going to figure that out," said Sara emotionally. "I did something incredibly stupid. I hurt you all, and I hurt the man I love."

"OK, are we done here?" asked Eden abruptly. "Look, we've let Sara know we're pissed. We love Andy, and when someone hurts people we love, we take it personally. I know Sara and Andy, and I knew two things right away: she knew she totally blew it. And I knew Andy would forgive her. It's Andy; and this is the most Andy thing ever. It's one of the gazillion reasons we love him."

"Now, I'm a hangry ice princess. If you don't mind, I'm gonna take my bestie and her fiancé and go get some food. No offense to any of you, but I need some time with them. As you all know, I stepped out of the way so that they could be together. Not to be a total heifer, but I'm claiming some bestie time with them," said Eden assertively.

As they prepared to leave, Helen called Andy over. Gina was standing with her, and they both shared looks of admiration and relief. "Andrew, if I may offer a suggestion?" began his grandmother.

Andy moved to both women and gladly received the loving hugs they offered him. Andy knew that a crisis had been averted, and he had Gina and his grandmother to thank for this.

Andy chuckled, "How about if we cut to the chase and you just tell me what I need to do?"

Gina giggled and Helen smiled at him. "While we understand your decision to move out of the Commons, you may want to rethink the sleeping arrangements for tonight. As you know, there are other kinds of intimacy between a man and woman. Gina and I both feel that Sara would be well-served to be physically close to you. And to be blunt, it would be good for you as well." She smiled broadly at him. "You look like hell, and a proper night's rest would do you good."

"Done," he said grinning.

Turning to Gina, "Momma G, do you have everything you need? I'm sure you didn't plan to end up in Maine when you left the apartment this morning."

"Tommy and Jill will be here shortly. Your grandfather picked them up about 5 minutes ago in Portland. But thank you, Andy. Just keep looking after our girl," she kissed him on the cheek.

"Yes ma'am. Thank you for sharing her," he said winsomely. "I'm sorry we both have our mornings booked tomorrow, or we could show you around."

"Oh, don't worry. I have a wonderful tour guide, right here," she said nodding to Helen. "And Andy, Tommy is bringing a bass with him. With the two of you, and Ellen and Christopher, we do look forward to some music," she smiled at him. "I know it's not quite hockey night, but please humor me?"

"I find denying the lovely Jones women is quite beyond my power," he smiled.

As he went to leave, Andy pulled Ellen aside, and the two whispered conspiratorially.

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"OK, if the two of you ever screw your relationship up like this again, I will lose my shit on both of you," said Eden in an eerily calm but firm tone. They were seated at a corner table in The Lobster Shack.

Andy grinned at her.

"Dammit Andy, do not give me that fine as hell Andy smirk," she protested. "What the hell would you have done if you'd caught Mikey making out with some cheerleader when you were in high school?"

"I'd have kicked his ass, and then asked Priya out," he grinned.

"Sara, have I punched you today?"

Sara giggled, "No E, you haven't. And thank you. I know you wanted to."

"Damn skippy I did. Andy, have I tried to seduce you today?"

"No ma'am. You have not," replied Andy. "But I'm pretty sure you don't want to. I think young Mr. Ross is more at play here than anything else, little sister."

Eden blushed. "Well, whatever. But you get my point. You two are so good for one another. It's amazing to see you together. You make each other better, by like, an exponential factor. Do the work. Get your shit together. I need those beautiful nieces and nephews in my life," she got teary as she said this.

"E, you're amazing. Thank you for not punching me and trying to steal my fiancé. You are a great friend, and I love you," said Sara.

Andy's phone buzzed. He glanced at the number. "Will you excuse me? I really need to take this call."

Sara and Eden talked in his absence, and about 15 minutes later, he came in with a shit-eating grin on his face. He slid in next to Sara, fairly beaming.

"OK, Droobie as your god-sister, and the 'last other' just come out and say it. I'm not in the mood to have to ask you," Eden said sharply.

"What's a 'last other?'" queried Sara.

"I'm the last woman other than you to sleep with Andy," she said matter-of-factly. "The 'last other.'"

Sara giggled.

"Well, OK then," said Andy. "Three things: first, Miles is at the Commons. He's looking for Power Girl. When the shoot got postponed, he bugged his dad into bringing him up to school. The football team got called back to campus early."

"Kail will absolutely lose her shit," said Eden.

"As will Grace," said Andy. "Jake is on his way, and the school is putting him up at Harriman House. He will be the only guest." He raised his eyebrows. "One of you may want to text the lovely future Mrs. Jacobs and give her a heads up."

"Second, young Mr. Ross will be here shortly. He has directions to a frontage road that will take you down to the ocean below the cabin. Snips, your access code will open the gate. If you'll trade us vehicles, he can drive a stick, and you'll find the truck more useful than your Volvo wagon."

She looked at him dumbfounded.

"By the way, the front seats recline entirely," he grinned at her. "There are sleeping bags in the box in the truck bed. It's supposed to be lovely tonight, and the sunroof will give you a fantastic view of the night sky. Plus, it's very secluded."

Eden began blushing.

"One of you may want to text Kail to tell her she's on her own this evening," he turned to Sara. "Because you and I will be spending the night in the boathouse. But only if you want to."

Sara squealed and kissed him.

"So that's a 'yes'?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

"Finally; the phone call I stepped out to take was your birth father. We had a very nice conversation. He's invited us out to meet him. We'll need to nail down a date, but Bellissima, he wants very badly to meet you."

Sara looked at him, speechless.

Eden began to laugh, "Sara, I take it back. I am going to kick your ass for what you did today. That's the most amazing thing I've ever heard of. It's the most Andy thing in a totally Andy day."

"Sara, I need you to say something here, my love," said Andy smiling.

She kissed him passionately. "You need to take me to the Commons now," she growled to him. "I know make-up sex is amazing, and you need to be prepared to be amazed my beautiful man."

He smiled at her. "All in good time. By the way, he said some really nice things about you. I recorded our conversation, with his permission, so you can listen to it when you're ready."

She beamed at him.

______________________________________________________________

Thankfully, Ethan Ross walked in at just that moment. Andy greeted him warmly, and Eden rode with Ethan back to The Commons. While the women went inside, Andy showed Ethan around his truck. He walked him through the directions to the access road, and wished him well on his evening.

"Hey Andy, thanks man," said a shocked Ethan. He was not a stupid young man, and he'd immediately grasped what his evening would hold.

"Take your time, young Padawan," said Andy. "She's an amazing woman."

Ethan grinned and nodded.

"Can I offer you a brotherly word of advice?" asked Andy.

Ethan nodded again.

"A senior at Groton offered this to me when I was a sophomore. I thought he was bullshitting at the time, but I've found this to be true. Go down on her, Ethan. A man who will do that for his lady will score extra points. Women are always stunned when a guy will do that for them. Take your time; you've got all night, my friend. She'll let you know what she likes, and since Eden is bossy as hell, she'll tell you exactly what she wants. She's had a hell of a day. I'd consider it a personal favor if you'd put a smile on her face," Andy said sincerely.

"Are you sure that's what she wants?" he asked. "Andy, she's great and I really don't want to mess this up."

"When she comes out here and kisses you, you'll have your answer," Andy said grinning.

Sure enough, both men received deep and passionate kisses from their women when they emerged from The Commons. Andy caught his eye as they were getting into their respective vehicles and winked. Ethan laughed. Eden saw this and raised her eyebrow at Andy.

"Have a good evening, Snips. I love you, little sister. Thanks for all you've done today," he said to her sweetly.

"I love you too, big brother," she replied. She looked at Ethan and said quietly, "Don't worry, I'll fill you in. We have all night, and I know you'll need a break," she smiled at him.

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Andy pulled out of the parking lot and pointed the car towards the boathouse. He could feel the fatigue in his very bones. He was relieved, and that relief was giving way to fatigue.

"Before we get to the boathouse, we need to do a bit of scheduling," said Andy. Sara had scooted over beside him in the Volvo, and she had her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him.

"So, I totally forgot I've got Marty tomorrow afternoon. He's with Jen and Jeannie right now, but I can't totally whiff on my end of watching him. On top of that, we need to meet with Christopher and the contractor at the house. There are some decisions we need to make. Demo started today, but we have a few finishes and other things we need to talk about. We could leave them to Christopher, but I thought you'd want to be a part of that. We can have Tommy, Jill, and your mom come as well if you'd like."

She nodded at him with tears in her eyes. He paused to consider her. Finally, she spoke, "Baby, why are you so good to me?"

"Why do you let me?" he asked, grinning.

"Because I love you," she said softly.

"Bingo. Sara, I know I could live without you, but damned if I want to. We're going to get through this. Being mad, and treating you like shit would only make that take longer, and then I'd feel like an ass. Bellissima, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Please don't doubt that ever again."

She nodded.

"So, since our nap time is shot, I was wondering if you'd go out with me tomorrow night? I don't think we've ever had a real date. We could make it a double date, or a triple date, or even a quadruple date. If the Birds of Prey would like to get pretty and have their men show them off, I'm sure something could be arranged." He said smiling.

"I'd love that. Probably just you and I?" she said.

"Done. Now, since it's you and I, I'm thinking Chinese food and putt-putt golf? You'll probably kick my ass, but it would be nice to just hang out. And I have one other place, but I think I want it to be a surprise." He paused, "I realize now we skipped a couple of steps in our relationship. I'd love to go back and hit those. We won't lack for things to talk about, I don't think."

She giggled and nodded her head. "Yes. I'd like that very much, Andy."

"Last thing on the schedule agenda. Jake wants us to get Kail and Eden, plus you and me, to Buffalo this weekend. He's going to ask Grace to marry him, and since apparently none of you can get engaged without the rest of you there, he'd like to keep that train rolling."

Sara shrieked, and giggled.

"I've got two rooms reserved at The Curtiss. If the other ladies would like their significant others along, we can go boys' room and girls' room," he smiled. "We can drive. We'll take the Rover. Jake and Grace are flying out of Portland. It's an 8-hour drive, but it'll be fun. He's going to ask her Saturday, I think. We probably want to think about how soon we tell Kail. She kept our secret, but I don't know about keeping this from her bestie."

She put her head back on his shoulder and sighed deeply. "Andy, you're so good to us. I," she paused, and her breath caught.

"Don't say it, my love. I know," he said tenderly.

They pulled into the gate at the cabin. "I know Tommy and Jill are here, would you like to stop in and say hello? It's only 8 PM. We have all night, Bellissima."

"I want to go to the boathouse, but we probably should stop by and make an appearance. Thank you, baby," she said lovingly.

___________________________________________________________

20 minutes later, Andy and Sara were walking across the lawn to the boathouse. Helen was playing the gracious hostess, a role she excelled in. Gina hinted at the fact that they had better things to do than to sit and chit chat with them. Andy winked at her, and they made their exit as quickly as possible.

"I need to grab a shower," said Andy as they made their way across the lawn. "I'll be quick, and then I'm guessing you'd like one as well."

Sara nodded. "I need to shower badly, baby. I'm ashamed of how gross I am," she admitted.

"I call bullshit," he said kindly. "You're lots of things Bellissima, gross is not one of them."

He paused, "Ellen did a bit of work for us, so let's wait until we're ready to see what she did, and we'll check it out together. Did you get your present for the day?"

"What present?" she asked.

"We had a deal with Ellen. The favorite things email she sent you was a ruse we set up. The six of you were going to get little things from your fellas just to say we miss you and are thinking about you. Nothing huge, just little, hopefully thoughtful things," he explained.

She looked at him and began to tear up. "That was your idea, wasn't it?"

"Not entirely. I was talking with Ellen last week. I got the six guys on board, and then she ran with it. She's great with that kind of stuff."

"Dammit!" she screamed. She stopped, put her hands on her knees and began to weep.

Andy pulled her up and held her tightly. "Shh. It's OK. You made a mistake. It happens." Andy did his best to soothe her.

Finally, she spoke. "No baby, it's not alright! I just about threw my whole life away for a kiss from my high school crush! Andy, who does something that fucking stupid?"

He smiled at her, "It does sound pretty crazy, doesn't it?" Andy said softly.

Sara looked at him -- the confusion showing on her lovely face.

"Do you know what your number one fan said? She said the insanity of the whole thing makes her think there's some other stuff going on. This is not about you and me, not really. It's about some other thing in your life -- or in your past. You've just got to do the work to figure that out," he said calmly.

"So why did I want to kiss him, Andy? Baby, not to be mean, but I really wanted to kiss him. I wanted his hands on me. How fucked up is that?" she protested.

He smiled at her. "You mean like the time I wanted to make love to Grace? Or the time I wanted to make love to Kail?"

She looked at him stunned.

"Sara, do you know what's the second strongest urge human beings have? Sex. You faced that today, and you didn't do so well. I'm guessing you'd never really had to deal with that before, have you?"

"I mean, I've had guys hit on me, but not like today. I really liked Brian when we were in high school, but Andy that's high school. Besides, what kind of loser hits on a woman with an engagement ring on her hand?"

They had come to the boathouse, Andy entered in his code, and led her upstairs. He opened the balcony and had her sit down on the Adirondack chair. He returned a minute later with a glass of white wine and a bourbon.

"Which one?" he asked her.

She pointed to the bourbon. He chuckled.

"OK, I'll be right back."

He put the wine back and poured his own bourbon. Andy settled on the chaise lounge and motioned for Sara to come sit with him. She snuggled in next to him.

"Let me ask you a really personal question," he began. "How old were you when you masturbated -- on purpose?"

She giggled. "I was 16. The summer between my sophomore and junior years."

"And, Miss Jones-Easley, when you did that, who did you picture? What was the name of the young man who had you so worked up?"

She gasped, "God, Andy. I don't really want to say."

"It's OK. I'm guessing it was Brian Boyle. Am I wrong?" he asked tenderly.

"No," she said quietly.

"OK, so gangly, awkward Sara has a crush on a really good-looking guy -- Ellen showed me his portfolio -- and he's the object of her masturbatory fantasies."

"I'm absolutely mortified right now," she said.

"Sara, when you were worried about me and the cheerleaders in my calc class, I told you that I was a big boy and that I'd been hit on before. I figured that given how beautiful you are, you would have had the same experience -- but I was wrong. You've had asshats stare at you, and say stupid shit like Max Ross did. But this is the first time a guy not named Andy DeGroat told you that you're beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes," she admitted.

He smiled at her. "Romeo and I used to have a check-in once a week. He did not want to cheat on Maria, so I was his Ranger buddy. When you're deployed, you get to know people. And when you're deployed, you get pretty damn lonely. So, suddenly, the cute nurse who speaks Spanish starts to remind you of your wife, and you want to kiss her, and do all the other things married folks do. Romeo and I used to talk about that, a lot."

"So baby, connect the dots for me, please?"

"Well, I think your counselor should do that for you, but you're a victim of your own success. Given how many people have recently told you how different you look, and how amazing you are -- I'm guessing you've never had a guy tell you that. You liked it. Hell, we all like it. You've just never had to deal with it as an engaged woman before. I don't think you'll react the same way again," he smiled at her. "Since Grace will be an engaged woman soon, and since the male populace of Colton will soon be pulling its head out of its cumulative ass, you may want to do that with her. You can hold one another accountable. I'm telling you; the male folk will be thick as flies around all four of you."

She kissed him deeply. "Thank you, baby. I love that you get me, even when I have no idea what the hell I'm doing."

"I'm just returning the favor. As I recall, someone saved me from myself at French and English with Ellen and Christopher," he said lovingly.

She giggled.

Andy moved to get up. "I need that shower. I'll be quick, and then it's your turn."

_________________________________________________________

20 minutes later, Andy lit the candles Ellen had put in the boathouse, and started the playlist he'd created for her and her trip to NYC. It was basically a list of the songs that had come into their lives over the past two weeks. "Isn't She Lovely?" topped this eclectic list that included everything from old school R&B to Chris Stapleton.

Sara emerged from the bathroom with her hair up, and she was wearing one of Andy's Groton t-shirts. This one had to be from his 8^th-grade year, because it was quite small, and very tight. The hem of the t-shirt stopped above her belly button. She completed the outfit with a pair of thigh-high stockings that looked like athletic socks. In between the shirt and the socks, she wore nothing. Andy smiled when he saw her two-inch strip staring at him as she walked towards him.