She had no idea what to do.
Of COURSE Irene would call and OF COURSE Jareth would answer! Sarah thought. It was Easter day, and Irene wanted to know if Sarah was coming to the annual Williams Easter Barbeque. Jareth, naturally, answered the phone, and of COURSE, Irene invited him.
Sarah glared at Jareth like she was about to murder him. She couldn't BELIEVE he answered the phone while she was showering.
"Oh, don't look at me like that, precious. You know I've always wanted to meet your family, and they have wanted to meet me."
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
"Really? Then WHAT is, Sarah! I won't bite, and hopefully they won't, either."
"The point is, Irene is Irene and she expects us to marry!"
"And what's wrong with that, Sarah love?"
Sarah's whole world stopped rotating when he asked that question. She had never thought of marrying Jareth, but when she DID think about it, she liked the idea. So she didn't complain.
"Put your jeans and your button up plaid. I'm going to go change." She kissed him gently on the nose and left to go change." She kissed him gently on the nose and left to go change.
Jareth smiled lightly at the action then went to go change.
"Sarah, stop squeezing my arm so hard. I don't care if you believe me or not but that actually hurts."
Sarah let go of his arm and grabbed his hand. "Sorry… just nervous." She said.
"Well don't be. It'll be okay." Jareth reassured her.
They stood at the doorbell for a minute, shivering from the cold winds. It was springtime, and the weather had gone from warm and sunny to below freezing and cloudy in less than a day. They had their winter coats and boots on and were huddled up so close together, they looked like Eskimos.
Jareth rang the doorbell. Soon after, Irene opened the door and smiled. "You must be Jareth! Come inside, it must be freezing out there!"
"Yes, ma'am. Jareth King. I have heard so much about you, Mrs. Williams. It's a pleasure to finally get to meet you." He said, taking her hand and kissing it.
Irene swooned and led them inside the house. "Please, Mr. King,"
"Jareth, Mrs. Williams, call me Jareth."
"Okay, Jareth, please sit down on the couch, lunch will be ready soon."
Just then, Robert Williams walked into the room.
"Hey dad! Happy Easter!" Sarah said, hugging her father.
The two embraced in a hug, and then Robert looked Jareth up and down, studying his figures. He was in the clothes Sarah had picked out for him. His wild mains were tied back in a neat ponytail and he stood tall.
"You must be Jareth, Jareth King, is it?" Robert asked.
"Yes sir, Mr. Williams. It's a real pleasure to finally meet you." Jareth said, holding his hand out to shake with a smile. They shook hands and greeted.
Irene took Sarah into the other room to let the two men talk.
"Where is Toby?" Sarah asked confused.
"Oh, he's outside. But the real question is, Sarah, where in the world did you meet a man like that? He's absolutely charming, and he's, he's… well he's BEAUTIFUL!"
Sarah blushed. "I know, I think all of the female population would think so, and maybe some of the male population…" She said happily.
Irene looked at her fondly. "Well, he seems like a nice man. How long have you two been dating?"
"About 4 or 5 months. He moved in with me in December, due to the fact we realized we were in love."
Irene "aww"-Ed and set the table for 5. She went to the door and called Toby.
"SARAH! YOU'RE HERE!" Toby ran to her legs and hugged them tightly, causing Sarah to fall down
"Hey Tobes!" Sarah said to the five year old. "Can you let me get up, please?"
"Sorry, Sar." The two got up as Irene called the boys in for lunch. Jareth and Robert were enveloped in a conversation about work and other manly stuff. Jareth pulled Sarah's seat out for her and she sat down, him sitting right beside her.
"So Jareth, where exactly do you work?" Irene asked him as she was serving the food to everyone.
"I own my own business. We deal with troubled children and keep them in a home. My father is the CEO and I'm soon to inherit the title once I have a wife." Jareth said surely.
Irene smiled slyly at Sarah, and Sarah hid her face from view.
"I see… and who did you have in mind, Jareth?" Irene asked.
Jareth looked at Sarah and smiled lightly. "At the moment, I have no idea. But I have a pretty good guess." Jareth said surely.
Irene snickered as the couple blushed under each other's gaze. Toby looked at the Goblin King for the first time, and his eyes widened.
"I know you. I don't know how, but I know you."
Sarah's eyes widened as she suddenly took interest in the food on her plate.
"I don't know how you would know me, I'm from England."
Toby's eyes narrowed at the man and he continued eating his food. Sarah sighed a sigh of relief. That was close. She said. Jareth grabbed her hand in reassurance, almost like he was reading her thoughts.
"So, Jareth how did you and Sarah meet?" Robert asked curiously.
"Sarah and I met about ten years ago in a library. She was fifteen and I was eighteen, and we had some disagreements on the author she was reading about, so naturally, she hated me. About two years after that, we met again and it just went off from there."
Robert looked at Jareth, studying him some more. Sarah was his only daughter and he didn't want her to end up hurt. "So you are a little older than Sarah?"
"Yes sir."
Irene grabbed Roberts hand and struck a warning look. Robert nodded in agreement and the family continued to eat.
By 5:30, everyone was laughing and having a good time. Jareth and Robert seemed to be having a good time, while Sarah and Irene talked about random woman things.
Sarah looked at the clock. "Woah, is it really 5:48?"
"Yes? Why do you and Jareth need to go home?" Irene asked with concern.
"Because the blizzard is supposed to hit at 5:50"
"I think it already has, Sarah. Look." Jareth said surely.
Sarah stood up and looked outside the window and surely enough, it had been snowing cats and dogs.
"…Jareth, I can't drive in this…"
Irene's eyes suddenly lit up. "It's okay, guys, you can stay here!" She piped up.
Jareth smiled at the invitation. "Of course, we would love to!" Jareth piped up.
Sarah's eyes widened. "But… we have… stuff to do… at home… and we don't have… clothes…" she stammered.
"Sarah, I know you have clothes here! And Robert can give sweats and a t shirt to Jareth for the night, so it'll be alright."
Robert looked at his wife in protest. "I'm pretty sure the kids would like to go elsewhere. I mean… think about it Irene. They are 25 and 28. I'm pretty sure they have some "business" to attend to tonight."
Sarah blushed and looked horrified at Jareth, signaling Jareth to speak. "No sir, I wouldn't do that with your daughter unless we were married. I believe in purity, unlike most people these days."
Robert nodded in approval. "I'll go look for some sweat pants for you to wear." With that, Robert left the room calling for Sarah to come with him. Sarah let go of Jareth's hand and left the room to follow her father.
"Yes, daddy?" she asked innocently as they walked up the stairs.
"I like him. I like him a lot. If you and he plan to get married, you immediately have my blessing. I approve of the man. He doesn't seem like the type to hurt you in any way or form, unless of course-"
"DAD!" Sarah immediately cut off the last part.
Robert laughed at his daughter and entered his room, looking for sweat pants for his daughter's boyfriend. "Will these do?" He held up a pair of red velvet sleep pants that tied at the waist with a crotch hole in the middle. "They're very comfortable. Does Jareth usually sleep with a shirt?"
Sarah took the pants and examined them. "Yeah, these are okay… and no. He doesn't… so it shouldn't be a problem."
As she was inspecting the sweat pants, they heard a piano being played in the living room. The two looked at each other and ran downstairs to see where this beautiful melody was coming from and who was making it.
Sarah saw Irene in tears and Jareth playing the piano with great force. His fingers danced across the black and white keys like ballet dancers, but the sound was forceful, like thunder during a thunderstorm. His feet skid across the piano pedals like tap dancers. Sarah watched in awe as he played. She had heard nothing like it.
When Jareth was finally done, the whole room clapped.
"That was amazing, Jareth! Who composed that piece?" Karen wondered.
"I wrote it myself, Mrs. Williams." Jareth replied sincerely.
Irene gasped and swooned at the remark.
"Jareth, I believe you never told me you play… or write music." Sarah finally cooed.
"Oh… well now you know. Are those for me?" He asked looking at the velvet pants.
"Yeah. Here" She said, handing the pants to Jareth. Jareth took the pants and examined them carefully.
"They look very comfortable. Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. and Mrs. Williams." Jareth said happily.
"They are! I used to-" Irene cut Robert off immediately before he finished his sentence, which made Sarah a little worried. "I'm tired, dad. I think I might go to bed soon." Sarah said, breaking the silence.
"I agree, I am exhausted from today's events."
"You're right, Jareth," Irene suggested. "It's Toby's bedtime anyway. We will see you in the morning, and no hanky panky!" Irene shouted after the couple as they walked up the stairs. Sarah decided to ignore the comment as the two walked upstairs.
Sarah opened her old bedroom door and looked through her dresser as Jareth undressed and put on the sweat pants.
"You look really hot without your shirt… and pants." Sarah said, eyeing his beautiful features up and down.
Jareth chuckled at Sarah's remark. "Why thank you, dear. You don't look half bad yourself." Jareth said. Sarah looked down at herself, wearing plaid flannel pants and a red tank top.
"Shall we go to bed then, Sarah?" Jareth asked her "I'm freezing, and I'd like a cuddle from my precious lover of mine…"
Sarah pushed Jareth onto her bed and cuddled close to Jareth. He was warm, and he smelled of cinnamon and whip cream. Perfect for her taste.
The man she was in the arms of buried his face in her shoulder. He loved that spot. It was the best in the aboveground and underground, and it was reserved for HIM. Jareth wrapped one arm around Sarah's waist and pulled her close. With his free hand, he pulled out his ponytail and threw it on the floor next to his clothes. Sarah's giggle stifled as Jareth kissed her lightly but passionately on the lips.
"I was glad to meet your family today, they're very nice." Jareth whispered in her ear.
"Yeah, I know. My dad really likes you. He says you have his immediate blessing when you ask to marry me, and he knows you'll never break my heart. He really likes you. And Irene seems to enjoy your company. Maybe too much. And Toby doesn't mind you, which is a good thing. I'm surprised he remembered you."
"I know… I thought I had erased his memory clean of those 13 hours…" Jareth remembered.
Sarah smiled. "Well, it doesn't matter now. Let's sleep. We have a long and cold day tomorrow."
"Goodnight Sarah, sleep sweet…"
"Goodnight Jareth, sweet dreams…"
And with that, the two fell asleep, warm in each other's arms.