Finding Home

Author's note: There is not a single bit of nookie in this installment. Andy and Sara are, (at least in my mind) real people. Real people do more than just copulate (no offense to loyal readers of erotica). It's been fun getting to know these characters -- and the others who will be introduced in coming installments. I hope you enjoy.

Sunday

Andy woke up first and slowly turned his head to consider the woman lying next to him. She was now sans makeup, and her once straight hair had become curly again with a vengeance. She was as beautiful, he thought, as he had ever seen her.

He moved his head back, and stared at the ceiling, considering how blessed and fortunate he was. Did he really believe in being blessed? His spotter, Romeo Garcia certainly did. Romeo was a devout Catholic, who believed in a God who was both, "the man upstairs" and yet intensely personal. Romeo's God ran the whole show, and yet was concerned with the ins and outs of individual human lives. Andy found himself becoming more and more convinced by Romeo's view of God, but then he had been killed before Andy could learn more. He had started attending Mass with Romeo for six months before his friend's death. He'd found great comfort in doing so -- even more after Romeo's death. There was something permanent, solid, and eternal going on there. He hated all the abuse the church had been guilty of, but he loved the tradition and settledness of the Mass.

He looked at his watch. It was 8:30. There was a 10 AM Mass down the street at The Church of the Advent. He quietly slipped out of bed, making sure not to disturb Sara, and headed to the bathroom. He handled his morning necessities, and turned the shower on. Five minutes later, he had showered, shaved, dressed, and headed to the kitchen.

Not surprisingly, only his grandfather was awake -- well - his grandfather and the cook who was busy preparing Sunday brunch, a staple in the Carlson household. The older man was in the breakfast nook, reading an actual physical copy of the New York Times

Literary Review

, and enjoying his second cup of coffee. An already-read copy of the

Boston Globe

sat on the table as well. Andy grabbed a cup of coffee and slid in across from his grandfather.

Setting his paper aside, the Judge spoke first. "Did you sleep well, son?"

"I did. Thank you."

"How are you this morning? Your grandmother told me there were some tense moments yesterday afternoon." He paused, "Andrew, please know that if you're going to be mad at anyone, it ought to be me. I asked them not to talk to you, Andrew. That was my doing, not theirs. They both love you very much -- but I think you know that."

"I do, and thank you for telling me. I guess -- I guess I had no idea how -- well, I guess how selfish it was for me to want to run off and avenge my parents. It hit me yesterday that all these really important things were going on in the lives of my sisters and I was off trying to kill the people who killed our parents. Now, it sounds really shallow, and childish, and stupid. I met Alex three days before he married Jessica. I should have seen what was going on between Christopher and Ellen -- but you can't see shit when you're playing in the damn sandbox."

"Your military service was a noble thing, Andrew. I hope you know that," said his grandfather lovingly.

"I do -- I just wish I could have been more present for Jess and Ellen -- to say nothing of Mikey, Jake, and Dre. That seems to me to be more important, and I missed it and I can never get that back, grandpa."

"Well, you can be present now -- which you are. You have sisters and brothers-in-law who love you a great deal. It makes your grandmother and I very happy to see the people you've become, and the people who you've chosen as spouses."

"Thank you."

"Which reminds me: I know you've heard this, but Sara is quite something. I have no idea how you chose between the two, but I must commend your choice. She's enchanting, Andrew; just enchanting. I'm very happy for the two of you."

"Thank you. She's so beautiful, it makes me literally hurt sometimes. Watching her sleep this morning -- I mean I know her hair's a mess, and she's got sleep face, and all that -- but she's so beautiful I can hardly see straight."

His grandfather laughed knowingly.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how did you choose?"

"Eden made the choice for us, and now we don't know how we're going to deal with that. It's weird, grandpa, but if you had asked me Friday morning which one I'd choose, I'd have said Eden hands down. But then Friday evening something just clicked. I knew it was Sara. So then, Eden Face Timed me yesterday, and she'd been crying, and then she gave me some cock-and-bull story about meeting this great guy on the plane and wanting to date him. It's all baloney, but Sara and I aren't sure how to proceed with her. We both care for her, and she just kind of took herself out of the running, so to speak. What do we do with that?"

"You honor it -- just like Michael did when you backed out with Priya. I know you were only boys, but it was a noble thing you did. It was plain to see that Priya liked you, but you removed yourself from the picture. You did it as a choice, out of love for your friend. Eden has done the same thing. That's a brave and noble thing to do, if you ask me. But I understand it doesn't answer the question that's nagging at you," said the Judge' smiling.

"You mean, why did a beautiful, intelligent, amazing woman back out of dating me? That nagging question?" Andy grinned.

The Judge laughed.

"Yup, that's the one. But you know the answer. It's not about you. It's about Sara, and maybe you to a lesser extent. She chose a selfless path so her best friend could be happy with a man they're both quite fond of. As I told you at The Lobster Shack, the Adams' are quality people. This does not surprise me at all."

"Well, I'm glad you understand it, because it makes no sense to me," confessed Andrew.

______________________________________________________

Their conversation was halted when they heard Sara and Helen laughing in the hallway leading to the kitchen. While exact words could not be heard, both men could tell the conversation was one of warmth and endearment. Sara had utterly charmed Andy's family, and he could not have been happier that this was the case.

The two women walked into the kitchen, with Helen still laughing and wiping tears from her eyes.

"Ralphie, you have to see this," she said as she paused to kiss Andy, "Ellen had Derek video Andrew when he saw her for the first time in that marvelous dress. It's simply adorable."

She kissed her husband of 52 years, and motioned for him to scoot over so she could set next to him. The Judge took the offered phone, and watched the video, equally enthralled. The old man began to laugh heartily.

"Oh Andrew!" he said laughing. "Son, I know it's not fair given that Sara did look amazing, but that's really funny."

Sara leaned over and kissed Andy, and he too scooted over so that she could sit next to him.

"Sara dear, would you like some coffee?" asked Helen.

"Yes ma'am, that would be great. Thank you."

"How do you take it? Andrew drinks motor oil. I hope you're not as puritanical as he is."

Sara giggled. "I'm not. Cream and sugar please."

"Ralphie, we need to check on a few things. Did you ask Andrew if 2 PM works to fly back to school? And then we need to let the Hughes boy know. Oh, and sweetie, I think Jessica and Alex are going to spend a week up at the cabin, maybe two. We'll need to call Bruce and Judy and let them know. C'mon, grandpa. Let's get this handled and leave these young people to their morning," she instructed her spouse as she handed Sara her cup of java.

As he got up, he asked, "So Andrew is 2 PM late enough for you to fly back?" chuckling as he did so.

Andy smiled, "That sounds great. I have class tomorrow, and Sara starts crew training, so an early start would be good, I think. What say you, lady?"

Sara was leaning against Andy with her head on his shoulder. A lovely look of serenity covered her face as she sat with him, holding her cup of coffee.

"Mmm. That would be great."

"Alright. Now, if you'll excuse me, duty calls," said the old man affably.

Once they were out of earshot, she turned to Andy.

"Baby, your grandparents are wonderful. I hope we're that happy when we're their age."

"We will be. I can tell you this, they've worked at it. The Judge says its equal parts luck and hard work. Miss Helen says something close to it, but it's wittier than that."

"You were up early, not that I'm complaining -- I really didn't want you to see me this morning. I looked awful. My hair looked like freaking Chewbacca."

"You looked nothing of the sort," said Andy. "You looked amazing. I love it when you have Wookie hair." Andy gave his best effort at a Wookie growl. It was a sad effort, to say the least.

Sara giggled, "Baby that was awful. It's a good thing you gave me so much good loving last night to make up for it."

"Well, there's lots more where that came from," he whispered. "And for the record, I was the recipient of the good loving last night, so thank you."

"You're dressed kinda nice," she said. "Are you going somewhere this morning?"

"Well, yes," he said haltingly. "I was going to go to Mass at Church of the Advent. It starts in about 45 minutes."

"Can I go with you?" she asked.

"You want to go to Mass?" he asked, stunned.

"Baby, my mom is an Italian, from Brooklyn. We don't go except at Christmas and Easter, but we do go. And, I'd love to go with you. I didn't know you were Catholic."

"I'm not, but -- well here's the thing -- my spotter . . ."

"Romeo?" she queried.

"Yes ma'am. Romeo Garcia. Well, Romeo was really Catholic, and a great guy. We had a lot of time to talk when we were embedded somewhere and we couldn't move because -- well you just can't move -- like for days. Anyway, I started going to Mass with Romeo. I liked it. I found comfort in it, especially after Romeo was killed. I wish you could have met him, Sara. He would have freaking loved you," said Andy wistfully.

"Well, I'll head upstairs and get ready. Is that what you're going to wear?" she asked him.

"I've got an old navy blazer I'll throw on with this, and I'll ask grandpa if we can borrow the Rover. That way, you'd have about 40 minutes to get ready."

"Come join me, then," she said. "We probably need to talk. I heard from Eden this morning."

_______________________________________________________

Andy left Sara alone as she showered, and got dressed -- mostly so. He realized that her current female reality meant she needed some privacy as she dressed for the day, so he talked to her through the door. Sara sent Eden the video of Andy and Christopher singing last night, and Eden sent her a tearful Marco Polo message at roughly 7 AM Paris time as a reply.

"Baby, you're right, she looks awful. That is not the Eden Adams I know."

"My grandfather and I talked about it this morning. He thinks Eden did what she did out of love for you, primarily."

"That sounds right. Andy, when I was going to back out, it was so that my best friend could be freakishly happy. I guess Eden knew better than we did that you and I were a better fit for each other. Bless that girl for that! Baby, if she hadn't . . ."

He kissed her on the forehead. "I know, but she did, and here we are. We owe her quite a bit, I think."

"So how do we move forward with her? Andy, she can't move out of the Commons just because you and I are there. That would be awful."

"Maybe we could cool it a bit when we're all there?" he asked. "I mean, no loud sex every night because you can't get enough of me?" he asked tauntingly.

She looked at him lovingly, and then fake laughed. "Har, har, har. So funny. 'Tis to laugh. You're a crooner, Droobie, not a comedian."

"You know, I hate that you have a nickname for me and I've got nada for you. What did your mom call you?"

"You mean other than 'Sara Gina Jones' when she was pissed at me? Well, when I said I had Chewbacca hair? That was from my mom. Some mornings, I'd get up and she'd say, 'Well good morning, Chewie!'"

"OK, so as I was saying Chewie, what if we cooled it a bit? We can always drive to the cabin if we need to, and you can have your wicked way with me there. I want her around too. The thought of Eden feeling like a third wheel would kill me."

Sara was silent for a while.

"Andy, what if we invited her into our bed with us?" she asked hesitantly. "Like the first night you made love to us. We could have a regular date with Eden."

"OK, the heterosexual 24-year-old horn dog in me freaking loves that idea. However, the guy who wants to marry you thinks that might not be such a great idea. Sara, I want what's best for us. I love Eden -- and truth be told, she's damn hot in the sack. But I'm going to marry you, Sara Gina Jones-Easley. She'll remain Eden Adams, you however, will become Sara DeGroat -- I mean if that's what you want," he said haltingly.

"Baby, I told you to ask me to marry you, so you're damn right that's what I want," she said confidently.

"No, I know that. I'm sorry, I meant if you want to change your last name. You don't have to, you know."

"What if I want to? What if I can't wait to be Mrs. Andrew DeGroat, and to live in the family house on Beacon Hill in Boston? Because baby, I want that so badly I can't see straight."

Andy glanced at his watch. "We need to go. We can talk a bit in the car."

As they walked through the house, the conversation continued.

"OK, so we cool it with Eden around -- we've agreed on that. Here's my next question: would your mom totally freak out if I asked for your hand next weekend?"

"No, she would not. I've been texting and Marco Polo messaging her too, Andy. She's a bit freaked out, but she can't wait to meet you. She's anxious for you to sing for her in person, by the way."

"You sent her the video?" asked a shocked Andy.

"Damn straight. My man - my talented, wonderful, damn fine man sang beautifully for me in public. You're damn right I sent that to my momma. You know what she messaged back to me? She was crying, like happy crying, and she said, 'Oh baby girl. He is amazing. Hurry up and get home so I can meet him. I'm so happy for you.'"

_______________________________________________________

They parked the Rover, and quickly walked inside. Sara got the holy water from the font, and crossed herself as they went in. Andy watched her do so, and then the two sat down near the back. Sara went forward to receive the host; Andy having whispered his encouragement for her to do so while he remained seated. When the Mass was over, the two made the quick trip back in an easy silence.

When the pulled into the garage, she leaned over and kissed him.

"Thank you, baby. That was nice. I love that we did that -- together."

"I am too."

"We should probably talk more about that -- church, I mean."

"Stop looking so damn fine and having your wicked way with me and we could talk about a lot of things," he quipped.

"So funny, Droobie."

"You know it, Chewie."

She looked at him with an exasperated look -- then looked forward before speaking to him.

"OK, you can call me that -- but only when we're alone. When you've got me naked and hot and bothered -- don't you dare drop that. You will get nothing from your lady if you pull that -- are we clear?"

"Crystal." He paused for effect. "I love you Chewbacca," he said with a crap-eating grin on his face.

"I love you too. When you're not such a smart ass, you actually make that sound nice."

"Well for the record, I'm a Star Wars geek, and a huge Chewbacca fan. But I must admit, as much as I love and respect your mother, I just don't see it," he stated.

She looked at him incredulously. "Andrew David DeGroat. You have never even met my mother, how in the world can you say you love and respect my mom?"

"Quite easily, actually. Sara, she raised my absolute favorite human being on the face of the entire planet -- by herself! Damn skippy I feel nothing but love and respect for that woman. But that being said, you are absolutely lovely. I just don't see you ever looking like Chewbacca."

"That is really sweet, and for the record, saying things like that will get you laid. But baby you forget that I was a half-black, half-Italian girl with a thick head of long, naturally-curly hair who was going through puberty. I shudder just thinking about it, and I'm glad you weren't there to see it. It was really awkward. I slouched all the time because I was tall, and then these came in," she said looking at her chest, "and life was miserable for about 3 years."

"Well, I wasn't there. But Sara, I am so looking forward to navigating that with a young lady who is a quarter-black, a quarter-Italian, and half-whatever the hell my side is. You'll be amazing, just like your mom was. Plus, I'll be there for moral support, and foot rubs, and whatever else dads need to do," he said pointedly.

Just then, both their pockets vibrated. It was Ellen and Jessica, respectively, telling them to quit making out in the garage and come inside so that they could have brunch. They both chuckled, and went into the house to enjoy the time with family.

________________________________________________________

Andy, Sara, Alex and Jessica were joined by Cooper Hughes and his parents at the helipad. Cooper hugged his parents good bye, and joined the four already seated in the aircraft. Andy gave his seatbelt and head set a once over, explaining to the excited young man how to talk to his fellow passengers. Alex and Jessica had already reserved Channel 3 for their own use, and Andy and Sara took Channel 4. After they cleared the city, Alex motioned for Andy to go to Channel 5.

"Brother, I have some ice time for us this evening, if you are up to it. I have a week, possibly two, where Jessica and I will be at the cabin. I really need to lift and strengthen my foot, and I need to skate. I have a series of basic skating drills I need to do if I'm going to play again. I know you are starting school tomorrow, but I could really use your help," Alex explained.

"You've got it, brother," pronounced Andy. "I'll help you however I can. You may have a hard time, however, keeping the Fighting Camels hockey team away from the rink while we skate, though. I know Cooper just about wet himself getting to ride in the same helicopter with you. You may want the team to send up some swag to give out to these guys. You're kind of a big deal you know, Mr. Fedorov."

"I am an injured player trying to return for one more season. I've had a good career, Andrew. I've won a Stanley Cup. I've been an All-Star. I want to be home with Jessica and the children."

"You forgot being a two-time Olympian, and winning the Norris trophy twice. Oh yeah, and being a first ballot hall-of-famer. Plus, my girlfriend thinks you have better hair than me," Andy joked.

Alex laughed. "Maybe after August, you can grow your hair out. I know your sister likes my hair a bit longer -- though you have done very well for yourself with fairly short hair," he mused. "Brother, I have talked with the Bruins about a position as a consultant with them after I retire. There are a couple of law school positions that will be open in Boston next year. Ralph Ivanovich thinks Jessica has a good chance of landing one of them. She will teach, and I will consult. Together, we will raise our child. This is a good life, I think."

"Bullshit." Andy declared, "Brother, that's a great life. You'll make Jess and my grandparents very happy if that comes to fruition. I wish you well."

"Well, your help these next two weeks will be key to my return to the ice. I say that not to put pressure on you, but to let you know that it means much to me that you will help," said Alex.