Catch Me If You Can
Prologue
"You may now kiss the bride," the pastor said.
Both Chuck and Sarah smiled openly as they moved in for the kiss Chuck never thought he'd have. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her towards him. After a few seconds the small gathering began to shout encouragement to the couple.
Finally, breaking free, Chuck gazed into her eyes and was gratified to see the same love shinning back that he felt for her.
Later, as they walked out of the church, they were greeted with what seemed like thousands of bubbles. They quickly jumped into Sarah's Porsche and sped away for their honeymoon.
That was two months ago and now Chuck sat on his sofa stroking his new bride's hair while watching one of those dinosaur shows on the Discovery channel. He could not believe how things had turned out. It seemed as though he and Sarah were going nowhere for the longest time. Then suddenly, everything changed in the blink of an eye. And now he was stroking her hair as she slept with her head on his lap.
He looked down at her and was awestruck by her beauty. He silently thanked God for giving him the precious gift of Sarah Walker. He still found it hard to believe that she fell in love with him.
He bent down and kissed her on the brow and her eyelids fluttered open. She looked into his eyes and smiled a sleepy smile. "Hey, how long have I been out?"
"Probably about thirty minutes. Long enough to miss the Utah Raptor," he said smiling down at her.
"Aw, you'll have to fill me in later on."
"You've gotta deal there," he said and they shared a smile.
"I'm hungry, you want anything to eat?" Sarah said. "I was thinking about making some motes. What do you say?"
"I can't turn down motes," Chuck said lovingly as she stood up to go into the kitchen. Chuck had just learned that motes were one of Sarah's specialties, hot oatmeal, drowning in butter and served with tons of brown sugar. They are guaranteed to clog your arteries within the hour but your cholesterol will improve. But as Chuck had recently learned a bowl of Sarah's motes were worth every blockage.
After they ate, they talked over the TV shows they pretended to watch. One of the things Chuck loved the most about Sarah was the fact that they could talk about anything. It seemed as though any subject held her interest. He had never met anyone so special in his whole life. He was amazed that she was lying on his lap looking up into his eyes as they discussed the ramification of the new propane school buses that had recently made the news.
He stroked her hair as they talked and he saw that she was starting to get sleepy.
"Come on sleepy head. We've got to go to work in the morning. We better get to sleep."
"Yeah, I'm getting tired. You mind if all we do tonight is sleep?" she said.
"I guess…just this one time. But you're gonna owe me," he said with mock seriousness.
"I already owe you Chuck Bartowski. I owe you for sweeping me off my feet. I owe you for changing the way I look at the world." She looked at him earnestly. "I hope you know that."
He just smiled at her. "Come on sweetie, someone needs their beauty sleep."
Ten minutes later, Chuck was lying next to Sarah, his right arm draped over her waist. He loved to sleep with his arm around her. For someone so dangerous, she sure had a tiny waist. He couldn't get over the incongruence that was Sarah Walker. Even though he knew she loved him, sometimes he felt like it was all too good to be true. Someone as beautiful and talented as Sarah could fall in love with a guy that worked at the Buy More. If he dwelled on it, he didn't like the conclusions he always reached. But then he would look into her loving eyes and all his worries would melt away.
Chuck finally went to sleep too but not before thinking about how perfect Sarah's form was as he felt her ribcage and stomach with his hand and forearm. He would do everything in his power to make her happy. His last thought before slumber was that he had to work extra hard to make sure she knew how much he loved her.
They both woke up around seven that next morning. Chuck had to be at work before Sarah so he got his shower first. They had worked out their morning routines pretty effortlessly. By now, Chuck had come to expect to have some kind of breakfast waiting on him when he got out of the shower and got dressed. On the days when Sarah had to work before him they reversed roles.
"Oh, French toast. I didn't know you knew how to make French toast?" Chuck said.
"I didn't…Ellie taught me. I wanted to surprise you."
Sarah was rewarded by Chuck's largest smile. She knew that doing these little things that told Chuck how much she loved him meant the world to him. She knew that and that's why she did it.
"Have I told you today how much I love you?" he said.
"Hmm, let's see. Yes, if I remember correctly you said it more than once."
"I don't mean that. I mean really told you I love you.
Sarah looked at Chuck and seemed to melt before him. You tell me everyday. In the million little things you do. I know that I'm the most loved woman in the world."
Chuck's eyes misted over and his look turned serious. "Indeed you are Mrs. Bartowski. Indeed you are."
Thirty minutes later Sarah met Chuck at the front door to say goodbye for the morning. They had plans to meet for lunch.
She smiled into his eyes and kissed him briefly on the lips. "See you later, honey."
"You bet you will," he said and closed the door.
Sarah's expression darkened the second the door closed and she turned to go into the bathroom they shared. She stood in front of the mirror looking at her reflection trying to recognize the person she saw there. She then went to stand over the commode.
Had Chuck forgot his keys and walked back into the house at that moment he would have heard the sound of his wife dry retching in the bathroom.