Mother's Day
Jareth watched from his perch atop a towering pine as Sarah wandered solemnly around the blossoming rose garden. She casually strolled through the rows of fragrant and colorful buds, but didn't stop to sniff or admire any of them. In fact, Jareth mused, she didn't seem to even see them at all. Judging by her furrowed brow and somewhat pensive expression, her mind was a thousand miles away.
Sarah's daydreaming wasn't anything new to the Goblin King. In fact, it was one of the things he most loved about her. However, this wasn't her usual head-in-the-clouds-amused-smile-on-her-face type daydreaming. She seemed anxious, perturbed.
"This will not do," Jareth said to himself as he swooped down from the tree and flew away toward the castle. As he glided down onto the flagstone, he changed into his natural form and without missing a step, strode toward the huge mahogany desk in the center of his study. He picked up the little black book Sarah had given him to keep track of meetings and events and special observances and glanced over his carefully marked calendar.
"Hmmm... interesting," he spoke aloud. He shut the book with a soft thunk and made his way downstairs for dinner, a slight smile playing at the corners of his lips.
Jareth studied Sarah carefully later as they shared a quiet dinner of roasted lamb and vegetables. The goblins were enjoying a Scrabble tournament in the newly appointed Game Room, which meant Sarah and Jareth could eat in relative peace. He had to admire her brilliance in coming up with such a scheme. She'd even taught most of them to read just so they could play. The goblins who struggled with reading were being tutored by their more literate fellow goblins. Jareth smiled at the thought of the little goblin classroom with tiny desks and a chalkboard that Sarah had commissioned. He looked across the table at where she silently sat lost in thought and frowned. She was a kind, caring woman, even to the rowdy, obnoxious goblins, and it pained him to see her distressed.
"You've been a bit distracted today, my sweet," Jareth said finally, breaking the silence.
"I'm sorry," Sarah softly answered. Jareth looked at her plate and frowned. She had barely touched her food. She was just pushing it around her plate with her fork.
"You're not eating much either," he told her. "Aren't you feeling well? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong. Not really..." Sarah let the sentence drop off.
Jareth reached a pale, bare hand across the table and let it rest on top of hers.
"Tell me what's on your mind," he told her, though he suspected he already knew.
Sarah looked up at him and a tear shimmered in the corner of her eye. It fell onto her cheek and she wiped it away quickly with the back of her hand.
"It's so stupid!" she cried. "I shouldn't be so upset over this, but I can't help it!"
Jareth was at her side in a flash. He took her small hands in his and leaned in so that their foreheads touched. "What is it, my love? You can tell me."
Sarah drew in a deep breath and Jareth braced himself for her announcement. He was glad that at that angle Sarah couldn't see the smile cracking across his face.
"I"m... I'm..." Sarah began then paused, flustered.
"Yes? What is it, Sarah?" Jareth asked expectantly.
"I'm upset over Mother's Day," Sarah finally blurted. She pulled away from Jareth and slumped against the back of her chair.
"You're what?" cried Jareth in surprise. He felt his wide smile crumble into a frown of confusion.
Sarah sniffed a bit and looked away. "Tomorrow is Mother's Day," she told him. Mother's Day bothers me. It always has. Even before my mom left."
"I don't understand, Precious," Jareth replied, shaking his head. "What exactly is Mother's Day?"
Sarah looked at him as if he'd come from another planet. She shrugged and must have realized that such a thing as Mother's Day truly was completely alien to him because she began to describe it.
"Mother's Day is when we, I mean humans, celebrate the things our moms do for us. You know, stuff like fixing your hair, kissing your bumps and bruises, giving you pep talks about boys and dating and all that stuff."
"Why should that upset you though, Sarah?" Jareth asked.
Sarah looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "It bothers me because my mom never did those things for me. Even when she was still with my dad, she didn't have time to bother with me. She never brushed my hair or kissed my skinned knees or let me cry on her shoulder when a boy broke my heart. She was emotionally absent. To me, she was a picture in a newspaper or a face on a screen. She was a lot of things to a lot of people, but she was never the one thing I needed."
Tears were flowing down Sarah's cheeks as she spoke and the long wet streaks on her beautiful face made Jareth's chest ache. It was clear she was hurting, and he tried to think of what to say to make it better.
"What of your stepmother?" he asked. "The two of you are close now. She obviously cares about you a great deal."
Sarah shook her head. "She's great," she told him. "But it isn't the same. Besides, I was a teen before she came along and had been without a mother figure for years. I didn't know how to react. No wonder I was such a brat."
"You? A brat? " Jareth asked with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk.
Sarah stuck her tongue out at him. She couldn't help but giggle. Jareth laughed too and wrapped his arms around her.
"I wish I could make things better for you," he whispered into her dark hair.
"It's really silly of me," Sarah told him. "Every year I get so bent about it because I feel so stupid buying a flowery card with a lame poem on it about how wonderful my mom is. It's a lie. I hardly know that woman, yet I feel I have to thank her for at least not leaving me in a grocery store somewhere or selling me on the black market to get more liposuction."
"This really bothers you, doesn't it, my love?" Jareth asked tenderly.
"Yes, it does. It makes me feel ungrateful and horrible."
Jareth took Sarah by the shoulders and turned her toward him. "Look at me, Sarah," he told her. She did and he continued. "You are not a bad person for feeling the way you do. Your mother let you down. You owe her nothing. You have turned out quite well despite her ineptitude. Look at you! You're a caring person. You're loving and kind and not nearly as much of a brat as when I first met you."
Sarah smiled a little and swatted Jareth's hands away.
"Jerk," she said with an amused snort.
Jareth ran his hands through her silky hair and kissed her tear-stained cheek. "Instead of feeling pressured to celebrate your mother, Sarah, I think you should celebrate yourself."
"But I'm not a mother," Sarah argued.
"Aren't you?" asked the Goblin King. "You've certainly bandaged a lot of bruised goblin knees and brushed the matted hair of wished-way children. You've wiped their snotty little noses and soothed them while they fussed and cried. And..." he let his voice trail off and looked expectantly at Sarah.
"And?" Sarah asked.
"Aren't you missing something?" Jareth questioned.
"Um... I don't know?"
Jareth cleared his throat and stood. "I have made a point to keep up with certain things, Sarah," he began. "For my own personal benefit and for the sake of the well-being of my subjects I mark a circle on the calendar for the expected arrival of your...um... favorite aunt."
"My favorite aunt—OH!" cried Sarah. "You keep up with my periods? Why?"
"I told you," Jareth answered warily. "For the sake of my subjects' well-being and safety."
"I'm not that bad," Sarah growled.
"Hmph!" grunted Jareth. "Remember the movie we watched with your brother about the giant lizard and the Asian people?"
"Godzilla?!"
"Yes. It's like that."
"JARETH!"
Jareth quickly kneeled at Sarah's side and looked up into her red face. He could almost see the steam puffing from her nose and ears.
"That's not even the point, Precious," he told her soothingly. "The point is that I haven't made a circle on the calendar in just over six weeks.
"Six..." Sarah's eyes went wide when it finally dawned on her what Jareth was saying. "I've been so busy that I didn't even realize I was late. Do you really think I could be... pregnant?
"It's likely, is it not?" asked Jareth. "We haven't exactly been trying to prevent it."
"No...I...oh my gosh, Jareth!" Sarah exclaimed before wrapping her arms around him.
He held her tightly to his chest and as he did he could feel the faint magical flutterings in her center, confirming his suspicions. A smile broke across his delicate features.
"Happy Mother's Day, Precious," he whispered to Sarah. She just laughed happily.
The End
A/N:
What Mother's Day is complete without a lot of fluff flavored with a generous sprinkling of angst and guilt? I'm sending this out to all of you who, like Sarah and me, have Mommy Issues. We may not have had the best moms, but we're gonna make damn good parents!
Mom, thanks for not leaving me in the car with the windows rolled up. Oh, and thanks for the plenteous literary material. And the therapy.
Wow, this was cathartic.
Fanny