As they entered the house, Roger braced himself for what Christina was about to tell him. "What don't I know?" he asked sitting on the couch.
"Roger, she still loves you. Very much." she started as he interrupted her.
"I know. She's still wearing the ring I gave her." he said quietly as his sister sat next to him with her hands folded in her lap.
"Roger, when you left, she was devastated. You have no idea how devastated she was. She gave up the apartment you guys had and moved in here. She spent all of her time here in your room just crying for the first 6 months. She was really bad off, Rog. She found out she was pregnant 2 weeks after you left. She seemed to be getting better. She had your child to think about and wanted to have that piece of you. She left your room. She was eating again. She even looked for a job. She hoped you would come back and you guys could get married like you were supposed to." she told him looking up at her mother, whose eyes filled with tears before she turned away.
"A baby? Chrissy, where is..." he started as tears filled his own eyes.
"Roger, she lost the baby a month later. She was more depressed than ever. She felt like she let you down and lost you forever. That baby gave her hope and then to have it taken away from her like that. She couldn't handle it. She stayed in your room again. She stopped eating, sleeping, she just cried all of the time. She gave up. On everything." she told him holding back tears.
"Oh my God." he said getting up and pacing the living room crying.
"Roger, you are the only man she's ever wanted. The only one she's ever loved. We thought she was gonna hurt herself, but one morning mom and I woke up and she was gone. We thought she left to find you, but she was at her parents house. She re enrolled in school and got a job. She got out of the house, but didn't get on with her life. Sure she went to school and worked, but that's all she did. She never did anything else. Me, Heather, Erika, Dustin and Kelly tried getting her to hang out with us to take her mind off of you, but she always sent us away. Everything reminds her of you. So she went to school and work and stayed in her apartment all the time." Christina said wiping her eyes.
"Chrissy, where does she live? I have to see her. Be with her." he asked quietly as he wiped his own eyes.
"Roger, I don't think it's a good idea. I have been taking care of her since I was 15. I know her. I didn't tell her you were coming to the wedding because I didn't know how she would handle it and thought seeing you would snap her out of it somehow. I mean, you guys were the greatest couple I've ever known. I was hoping being in the same room with you would help her somehow." she said getting up.
"Why didn't you ever tell me any of this?" he asked looking down at her.
"When Roger? When would have been a good time? When you were with April shooting up, or how about after you found her in the bathroom, or when you were diagnosed with HIV and going through withdrawal, or when you were with Mimi and Angel was dying? Yeah, there were so many opportunities." she yelled at him turning away from him.
"Chrissy, I know, I'm sorry. I screwed up. I made a lot of mistakes that hurt a lot of people." he told her taking her arm.
"Yeah especially yourself. Roger, you and Sara belonged together and leaving her was the beginning of the end for you. You suffered just as much as she did. But instead of retreating into a deep depression, you got self destructive. Don't you think I want my brother and my best friend to get back together? I loved you two together. I missed seeing you two together." she told him smiling up at him.
"I'm sorry Chrissy. I'm sorry for everything. I know you and mom forgive me. Now I have to get Sara to forgive me so we can start over." he told her pulling her into an embrace.
"How? You live down there and she's up here?" Chrissy asked pulling away to look at her brother.
"If she'll have me, I'll move back up here for her. I'll do anything for her, Chris." he said smiling down at her as Mark and his mother looked on in shock.
"You're gonna move back home?" Christina asked looking up at him.
"If she'll take me back, yes. She's my purpose in life. She always was." he told him looking over at him.
"What about your music and everything you built down there for yourself?" Christina asked still surprised.
"None of it matters without Sara. It never did. I was just too stupid to realize it." he said smiling at his sister.
"Then you should go to her Roger." Mark said smiling at him.
"Where does she live Chris?" he asked looking down at her as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Above the video store in town. It's across from the Inn." she said smiling.
"Thanks sis." he said rushing out of the house.
"Think she'll forgive him?" Mark asked watching him pull out of the driveway.
"She always does. They're too much in love for her not to." Chrissy said beginning to cry as she watched her brother drove down the street towards Sara's apartment. When he arrived at her apartment, he ran up the outer stairs leading up to her door. But when he got to the door, he was nervous. How was he gonna make things right for all he did to her? He finally took a deep breath and knocked on the door. As he knocked, it began to open. He heard her crying so he looked around to find her.
"Sara." he called out gently as she continued to cry seeming not to hear him. "Sara." he said finding her in her room curled up on the floor by her closet with a cat laying next her. She was surrounded with pictures of them from high school and childhood. "Sara, Baby. I'm sorry." he whispered rushing to her.
"Roger, why? That's all I want to know. Why did you leave me?" she asked continuing to cry.
"I don't know Sara. I was 19 and stupid. I thought I could go and make something of myself. I wanted you to make you proud of me. You were always my life. I didn't mean to hurt you. I could never hurt you on purpose." he told her taking her in his arms.
"Roger, I loved you. I was always proud of you. We were gonna spend the rest of our lives together." she said holding on to the front of his shirt crying into it.
"I know Sara. I was stupid. I love you too. I always did." he whispered caressing her hair.
"Roger, did you mean what you said about moving back to be with me?" she asked looking up at him.
"Every word. I'll do anything for you Sara. You're the love of my life." he told her kissing her head.
"But what about your music, your friends?" she asked looking at him.
"Sara, I belong with you. I always have. I can play my music up here. And my friends will understand. They just want to see me happy." he told her as he wiped her tears from her face.
"I don't know if I can ask you to do that. Move back home for me." she said looking into his green eyes that were always kryptonite to her.
"You're not asking. I belong here with you." he told her leaning down to kiss her. The feel of his lips on hers made her cry again. It had been 9 years since she felt his lips on hers and she missed it.
"Roger, I have waited for this moment for 9 years. I played it and replayed it in my head. I didn't know what I would do. And now that you're here, it feels like you never left." she told him wiping her eyes.
"I know Sara. So much has happened since I left. I want to explain everything." he said looking down at her.
"Later. I don't think I can handle it right now." she said pulling him into an embrace.
"Chrissy told me everything." he told her as she pulled away.
"Did she tell you about...?" she started as he interrupted her.
"You losing the baby. Yeah she did. I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you. I... I should have been." he said caressing her cheek.
"No, I'm sorry Roger. I wanted to have your baby, I really did." she told him crying again as he held her to him.
"It's not your fault Boobie." he told her caressing her head.
"I missed you calling me that." she said with a weak smile.
"I missed you Sara." he said holding her close again.
"I love you so much Roger." she told him leaning up to kiss him again.
"I love you too Sara." he said kissing her deeper and more passionately.
"Now what?" she asked smiling at him.
"Marry me Sara. That is, if you still want to." he told her leaning his forehead into hers as he held her face in his hands.
"I still have my ring, don't I?" she said showing it to him.
"I saw that. You haven't taken it off in all this time?" he asked taking her left hand in his while looking into her blue eyes.
"I couldn't bring myself to. I tried but, it meant everything when you gave it me." she said looking down at it.
"So do you still want to marry me?" he asked caressing her cheek.
"Of course I do. Roger, I love you and I always have. You're the only one for me. Since we were 5." she said smiling at him.
"I remember the day we met." he said smiling back at her.
"Yeah, you pulled my hair and called me an icky girl." she said laughing.
"Well you were. I remember the blue dress you were wearing with those light blue shoes and your hair was in long pigtails." he told her laughing with her.
"And you had this cute little bowl haircut that hung down past your ears and a blue and red striped polo shirt with white sneakers and your Cookie Monster book bag." she said laughing running her fingers through his hair as she leaned into him as he sat back against the wall.
"I've loved you my whole life Sara." he said kissing her head as the phone rang.
"Roger, loving you has been my life." she told him reaching for the phone as the cat lay across Roger's lap. "Hello?... hi Chrissy... No, I'm fine. He's still here... we're talking...I'll tell you later. We'll be over in a little while... OK Love you too. Bye." she said hanging up the phone. "She was worried about me. We should go over there?" she said smiling at him with her cat.
"And who's this?" he asked petting the cat.
"That's Davis. Heather and Dustin got him for me. They thought me having something to take care of would help me." she said leaning over to pet the cat.
"And you named him Davis?" he asked smiling down at her.
"Yeah, well it was my way of having you with me. He knows everything about you." she said smiling at him.
"I love you Boobie." he told her caressing her face with his thumb.
"I love you too. Honey Bear." she said laughing as his mouth dropped.
"No one's called me that since you." he said laughing.
"Well they better not have. I made that up for you." she said kissing him before they got up.
"You're not gonna regret this Sara. I promise." he told her smiling at her.
"I know. I love you. How can I regret following my heart?" she told him as he wrapped his arms around her. "We should go to your house. Your mom and Chrissy are waiting." she told him leaning up to kiss him one more time before they left. They took Roger's rental car over.
"You have to meet Mark. He's my roommate down in the city." he told her smiling as they pulled into the driveway of Roger's mothers house.
"He must think I'm nuts the way I flipped out at the house." she said covering her face in embarrassment.
"He knows our history. He told me to go get you." he said leaning over to kiss her before they got out of the car.
"Sara, are you OK?" Christina asked running out of the house.
"I'm fine Chris." she said as Roger put his arms around her and they went into the house.
"Is everything OK?" Mrs. Davis asked rushing over to them as Mark sat on the couch drinking tea.
"Everything's fine Mrs. Davis. Really. I'm fine. Actually we're both fine." she said smiling up at Roger.
"Mark, I want you to meet Sara. Sara, this is Mark." Roger said introducing them as Mark got up to shake Sara's hand.
"It's nice to meet you Sara. Roger's told me a lot about you." Mark told her smiling at her.
"I'm sorry about the way I acted before. I'm not as nuts as I appear." she said laughing.
"That's OK. I understand." Mark said laughing a bit.
"Guys, Sara and I have some things we want to talk to you about." Roger said as Christina and Mrs. Davis smiled and Mark looked on.
"What's going on you two?" he asked sitting on the couch.
"Well, I'm moving back home and Sara and I are getting married." he announced as he and Sara beamed.
"Roger, that's great news." Mark told him happily. He knew Roger had been thinking of moving back home to be with Sara, and he knew how much it meant to him.
"Thanks Mark. I wasn't sure how you'd take it. But I love Sara and we want to be together. This is where I belong. With her." Roger said looking down at him.
"And you should be with her. I'm gonna miss you, but you have to do what you feel in your heart." Mark said smiling at him.
"Thanks for understanding Mark. I'm gonna bring the rental car back on Sunday and rent a moving van to bring my stuff up here." Roger told him as Mrs. Davis, Christina and Sara let them talk.
"That's a great idea Roger. I'm really happy for you." Mark said getting up to hug his best friend.
"Thanks man." he said smiling at Sara.
"Oh guys, this is so wonderful. We're gonna have another wedding." Christina said jumping up to hug Sara and Roger.
"I'm so happy. My little boy is moving back home and he's getting married." Mrs. Davis shouted in joy.
"So am I Mrs. Davis." Sara said smiling at her.
"Um guys, we should really start getting ready for my wedding rehearsal. We only have 2 hours." Christina said wiping the tears of joy from the corners of her eyes.
"Right. Um mom, I'm gonna grab my stuff and bring it to Sara's and get ready there." Roger said looking down at her.
"Roger, it's our place now." she told him smiling up at him.
"Sure sweetie. But don't be late. I remember how you two always were." Mrs. Davis said laughing.
"Mom, we were only 15 minutes late for yours and dad's 20th anniversary party." Roger said smiling down at her.
"It was a surprise party Roger. And you and Sara came in at the same time as mom and dad." Christina yelled at him as everyone laughed.
"Yeah well I apologized for that." he said kissing Sara's head. "I'm gonna grab my stuff OK Boobie?" he said smiling at her.
"Boobie? I haven't heard that in years." Christina said laughing.
"What's Boobie?" Mark asked confused.
"It's Roger's little pet name for Sara. He always called her that. It was nauseating." Christina told him laughing.
"And what was Sara's pet name for Roger?" he asked as Roger put his hand over his face.
"Honey Bear." Sara said laughing as she squeezed Roger's side.
"Honey bear? That's what Joanne calls Maureen." he said laughing.
"That must have been interesting." she said laughing as Roger leaned down to kiss her.
"Not as interesting as what Maureen calls Joanne." Roger laughed.
"What's that?" she asked, curious.
"Pookie." Roger and Mark told her in unison.
Sara rubbed Roger's arm, bringing his shirt up over his bicep. "You actually got it." she smiled looking up at him.
"Yeah, I did." he smiled looking over at his tattoo.
"I like it. It's better than the one you used to draw." she smiled caressing his arm with her delicate finger tips.
"What one he used to draw?" Mark asked curiously.
"When we were younger, Roger used to talk about getting this cool celtic tattoo. He used to use a marker to draw it on his arm whenever he used to perform." she explained looking over at him.
"Um... guy, my rehearsal, remember?" Christina said looking over at them.
"Right, sorry sis. I'm gonna go upstairs now and get my stuff so I can get changed at your place." he said laughing as he ran up the stairs.
"Sara, can I talk to you for a minute?" Mark said as they went into the kitchen.
"Sure Mark." she said looking at Mrs. Davis and Christina before following him.
"Listen, I'm really happy you and Roger are getting a second chance. But he has HIV and needs to make sure he takes care of himself and Roger's not great at taking care of himself. He needs supervision taking his meds and stuff." Mark started as Sara looked at him.
"Mark, I read everything I could get my hands on regarding HIV when I found out he was diagnosed. He needs to take his meds at a certain time everyday and he can't get sick and I know him. I love him and I lost him once I don't want to lose him again. I'll take really good care of him." she told him smiling.
"OK, I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into." he said smiling back at her.
"I appreciate that Mark. I have loved Roger my whole life. Literally. I would do anything for him." she said smiling up at him.
"I know. I'm really happy for you guys. I'm not looking forward to him moving out, but he deserves to be happy and he always said he was the happiest when he was with you." he said looking at her smiling.
"That was when we were both the happiest." she said smiling back at him.
"So, how did Roger propose to you in high school?" he asked smiling at her.
"Well he proposed to me for graduation. We were sitting on the beach with our friends just hanging out. Dustin and Heather were making out and me and Roger were on the lifeguard stand just talking and he looked down at me and asked 'Why don't we get married?' I looked up at him and asked him if he was serious and he pulled out a small box from his jeans pocket and it was a ring. He said he couldn't have been more serious. So of course I said yes and he put the ring on my finger." she said with tears filling her eyes showing him a small diamond ring on a thin gold band.
"That's beautiful Sara." he said as Roger came into the kitchen.
"Is everything OK in here?" he asked walking over to Sara and putting his arms around her.
"Mhm, everything's great. I was just telling Mark how you proposed to me graduation night." she said looking up at him.
"Oh yeah, on the lifeguard stand at the beach." he said holding her closer.
"I didn't know you were such a romantic Roger." Mark teased smiling at him.
"Yeah well, my girl always brought it out the best in me." he said kissing her head.
"We have to start getting ready for the rehearsal. Are you ready to go home?" she asked looking up at him.
"Yeah, I'm ready Boobie. Are you OK with staying at my moms alone Mark?" he asked caressing Sara's arm.
"I'm fine Roger. Don't worry about it." Mark told him smiling.
"Thanks Mark. I'll see you at the church." he said smiling at him before he and Sara left to go home.
