Chapter Twenty-Five: Visiting Family

Jareth was careful to never press any advantage. He had determined that he would wait until Sarah felt comfortable enough to make the next move. His hope was rekindled when she confessed that she was falling in love with him, but he restrained himself carefully, and so the months dragged on.

"Sarah," Jareth's voice came softly by her ear.

"Yes, Jareth?" She twisted her neck around so that she could look into his face.

"It's been a year." He stroked her hair gently.

"Has it?" They were sitting in the shade of the peach trees, Sarah leaning her back against his chest, and Jareth leaning his back against a tree. "What about the seasons?"

"There are no seasons here, Sarah."

"Oh. No, of course not." She turned away from him and looked at the grass by her feet. "When can I leave?"

"As soon as you want." His voice came in a husky, low tone.

"How long can I stay?" Her heart thudded against her rib cage.

Jareth hesitated. She needs to have this chance, he told himself. She needs to be able to choose. "As long as you want."

Sarah turned and stared at him, searching his eyes and finding nothing but a sad sincerity. "As long as I want?"

Jareth nodded. "Take the crystal with you. When you're ready to come back, just call to me. I'll come fetch you."

"What about the wish? I thought it was binding."

"It was."

"What do you mean 'was'?" Sarah pulled away and sat across from him.

"Love changes things, Sarah." Jareth explained, never taking his eyes off her. "You may go and stay with your family as long as you like."

Her eyes grew wide as the implications of his words sank in. "Thank you, Jareth!" She pecked him on the cheek and ran off, vanishing in mid-leap.

He watched her go and then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "As long as you're happy, Sarah." He whispered to the peaches that had fallen to the ground around him. "That's all I want."

***

Sarah was overjoyed to see her family again, and her family felt likewise. Even her relationship between her and her step-mother seemed to have smoothed over. After spending a few days just with her family, and her dog, Merlin, she tried calling up some of her old friends from high school, but could only manage a few minutes of strained, awkward conversation before making up some excuse and hanging up the phone.

One day, two and a half weeks into her visit home, she was out to lunch with her mother, who had happened to be in town. "It's just so weird to come back," Sarah confided over her deli turkey sandwich. "Everything feels so different. It's like trying to wear a sweater that's too small."

Her mother nodded understandingly. "That's how I felt the first time I came home from college. Everything seemed so backwards, and I couldn't make it fit the way I was used to." She sighed. "But that's part of life, Sarah. Growing up means changing, and whenever you change, it changes your perspective of the world around you."

"But then how do I know where I belong?" Sarah asked with a frustrated huff.

Her mother shrugged. "You belong with someone you love." She winked conspiratorially, "as long as you have that, nothing else matters." She sipped at her iced tea. "So, tell me more about Jareth."

"Mother." Sarah chided, but couldn't keep from smiling.

"Oh, come on! I want to know! Did he ever ask you out again? Did you say 'yes'?" She was just about hopping in her seat.

"Well, no. He didn't." Sarah answered, somewhat sulkily. "I kind of scared him off, I think. I mean, we're still good friends, but, I don't think he'll ever ask me out again."

"Well, then, are you going to ask him out?"

Sarah rolled her eyes at her mother.

"Sarah, listen to me." Her mother leaned over the table and gave her as serious a look as Sarah had ever seen on her face, "this is the voice of experience talking. If you have found a guy who loves you enough to back off when you ask him to, and still hang around being your friend and taking care of you, and if he really truly makes you happy, grab him! You'll never find that kind of guy again."

Sarah sat back in her chair and considered the options: stay at home and live a normal life on earth, going to college and everything, or go back to Jareth and the goblins and the labyrinth, with occasional visits home to see her family once a year. "But how can you just give your whole life over to someone?" She asked more to herself than to her mother.

Her mother shrugged. "Trusting isn't easy, but if you don't try it, you'll never get anywhere."