2013
A large chunk of the gang walked into the Buy More together but separated after passing through the sliding doors: Sarah, Ellie, and K.D. went in search of last minute supplies for the baby nurseries while Chuck, Morgan and Devon went to help Jeff and Lester set up for their regularly scheduled Buy More performance. After their big break in Germany fell through...mostly because the record executive was actually a mental hospital escapee, Big Mike took pity on the duo and agreed to let them play one song a month, on the least busy day of the week, at a time when the store was basically dead.
On her own side mission, Sarah guided the women to a part of the store that had nothing to do with baby care to where her target was studying the back of a DVD case. As he glanced their way, Sarah casually stopped and picked up a movie case to look at.
"Showgirls?" K.D. questioned, confused by the choice. "Doesn't really seem like a movie the baby would be into." She stared off contemplatively then amended, "Although, babies do like boobs."
"Nine o'clock," Sarah said quietly then discretely motioned toward the stranger with a nod of her head.
Completely oblivious, K.D. blatantly shot her stare in the direction that her sister guided her toward and corrected, "That's more nine-fifteen-ish."
"Go talk to him," Sarah directed.
"Heck yes," agreed Ellie. "He's cute!"
"Pass," K.D. answered.
"Why?" her sister asked.
She reassessed the man then replied, "He looks like he likes Nickleback."
"He could be really nice."
"He could also live in his mother's basement. We know nothing about that guy other than his already established love for Canadian rock bands, the fact that he's seriously considering buying a DVD copy of Battlefield Earth, and his shoes probably match his shirt because he planned it that way. Hard no."
"There's a new physician's assistant at the hospital I can set you up with," Ellie suggested.
K.D. took a moment to think about the encouragement she'd received from everyone to talk to various men in the week since she'd arrived. The strangest being from Casey, who thrust a folded piece of paper at her that had a phone number written on it (with no name) and a grunted, "He's tactically sound."
"Are you all trying to get me to put down roots so I'll stay here?" she asked.
A flash of guilt covered both of the other women's faces and Sarah replied, "Maybe."
"And the fact that I'm looking for a place to live here isn't convincing enough?"
"I've had lots of places to live," Sarah reasoned, "and I moved out of them and on from them with zero difficulty. Then, I found Chuck and no matter how hard I tried, no matter how many offers to leave came up, I just..." All the high points of her relationship with her husband replayed on fast forward through her mind and she smiled the smile of a woman so in love that the beauty of it spread to her companions and became contagious. Then she finished simply, and with a slight mist of joyful tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "...couldn't."
With actual tears in her eyes, Ellie shot forward to hug the surprised woman and exclaimed, "I'm so glad you couldn't!" She pulled away, wiping at her eyes, then cleared her throat and explained, "Sorry. Hormones."
Still not quite completely accustomed to the closeness of the group, K.D. side eyed Ellie and asked, "You good?"
"Yeah. Continue."
K.D. turned to her sister and questioned, "And, you think if I'm tied down by a fella, I'd be more apt to stick around?"
Sarah shrugged and reiterated, "Maybe."
"Hate to break it to you, but I've up and left lots of guys. Like, so many. A number that's so high, I'm uncomfortable speaking it out loud because you'd think less of me."
"Because they weren't right for you. They weren't your Chuck."
"Who's to say Finger Eleven over there would be?"
"Who's to say he wouldn't?" her sister countered.
Their conversation was ended when the beginning chords of "I Want To Know What Love Is" filled the Buy More and, wearing leather pants and his 'JEFFSTER!' shirt, Lester stepped up to the microphone that stood on a small, structurally questionable, homemade stage. "Hello, Burbank!" he practically screamed even though the room was silent and there were, maybe, three other customers present that weren't with Chuck and Sarah. "We are Jeffster and we are going to rock your worlds, rock your souls, and rock the yet to be conceived children presently resting in your loins!"
"Oooooh. Hello," K.D. said and abandoned the conversation in order to focus on the music makers.
With her face scrunched in confusion, Ellie commented to Sarah, "I don't know if that just caused the vomit taste in my mouth or if it's from pregnancy reflux."
In shocked disbelief, Sarah nodded slowly as Chuck and Morgan arrived to stand with the women to watch the performance. She shook free of her astonishment when it seemed like her sister was gravitating toward the stage and grabbed the hem of her shirt to pull her back to the rest of the group.
"When you inferred that I wanted you to be tied down by a fella, I didn't mean Jeff or Lester," Sarah commented. "They're the type of guys that would literally tie women down...in the not good way."
"Hey-O!" Chuck exclaimed. "Let's not go telling everyone our personal business, honey." He laughed and looked at the sisters but when they showed they weren't amused, he returned his interest to the stage.
"The heart wants what the heart wants, Sam," K.D. argued. "You wanted me to make a long-term commitment to Burbank? You should have been more specific."
"You're trying to teach me a lesson," Sarah acknowledged. "I get it. Let's not make this a real thing."
"Too late. I've already made meaningful eye contact with the cute one," she said just before she winked and fired a finger gun at whoever she was referring to.
Watching Lester gyrate while Jeff stared off in the distance, at nothing in particular, Ellie cringed and asked, "I almost don't want to know but, which one is the cute one?"
Morgan and Chuck agreed simultaneously, like it was common knowledge, "Jeff."
"Really?"
"Have you ever looked into that dude's eyes?" Morgan asked. "It's like getting lost on a stormy sea but on a completely sunny day."
Chuck nodded then added, "And then, suddenly...you're found."
"You guys talking about Jeff's eyes?" Devon questioned and put his arm around Ellie's lower back. "There's a shade of blue L.L. Bean could make some money off of."
When the song was complete, Jeff and Lester barely paused to revel in the slow, and completely unexpected, clap they received then rapidly started to put their equipment away. K.D. finished her round of applause, broke her shirt free from Sarah's grasp, then made her way to the stage where she stood until Jeff eventually glanced down at her.
She smiled and flirtatiously requested, "What's your story, sideburns?"
Jeff looked around, to make sure she was speaking to him, then answered simply, "I'm Jeff."
"I bet you are."
Completely oblivious to the fact that a woman was talking to his best friend, Lester saw Jeff's lack of movement and ordered, "Let's get moving, Jeffrey! We've only got ten more minutes left in our lunch break and it took me eight to get into these pants. Every second counts."
He finally locked eyes with K.D. so she smiled and gave him a short head tilt then complimented, "Solid pipes there, fella," purposely using the term 'fella' and hoping Sam heard her.
She didn't have to wonder for long if the word made it to her sister's ears because, right after she released it, Sarah appeared at her side and notified, "We have very few rules but one of them is unspoken because it should never have to actually be said out loud. We don't flirt with Jeff and Lester."
"But Sarah, you know what keytar players do to me," K.D. countered while still smiling at the less-than-dynamic duo. "And the other one sings. Flip a coin, boys, because I'll go home with either one of you, right now."
As Jeff and Lester scrambled to find an actual coin, Sarah mumbled to herself, "What have I done?"
She didn't intend for anyone to hear her but Chuck put a comforting arm over her shoulders in a show of support and consoled, "She's probably just messing with you."
Lester realized he had a quarter in his pocket and the pair took turns, frantically trying to squeeze their hands into the tight space to retrieve it. "Turn me upside down and shake me like your life depends on it, Jeffrey. Maybe it will slide out if you put enough force into it," Lester ordered. "For the love of God," he yelled, "someone, please give us any metal currency you have."
"Are you guys looking for a drummer?" K.D. asked after they finally had a coin to flip but had gone from 'Best out of three' to 'Best out of eleven' since Jeff kept winning. She added, "Because I'm loving your vibe and I am down."
Chuck scoffed playfully and, in an attempt to put Sarah's mind at ease, he noted, "I bet she can't even play the drums." He glanced down at his wife and his expression slipped into one of worry when he asked, "Can she?"
2022
Perched on the high stool of a downtown bar, Sarah was clad in a dress that didn't cover much while stirring her drink with the same look of casual disinterest that she displayed on the evening she spent with Leslie a few weeks prior. The difference being, she wasn't there to gain the attention of any men (well, men she didn't know) so when several approached her, Sarah instantly sent them on their way with either a, "Nope", "Not interested", or "I'm married," before they could offer to buy her a drink or even introduce themselves. Finally, after waiting for what felt like hours, she had an outbreak of goosebumps when a hand brushed the hair from her left shoulder to the other side of her head, with fingertips that trailed across her back, before she felt warm breath at her ear.
"Is this seat taken?" Chuck asked softly.
She smiled then slowly spun on her stool to face him. "It is. I'm saving it for my husband."
"Your husband is a very lucky man."
Sarah shrugged and replied, "One could argue that I'm pretty lucky myself."
"In the future, if there's ever a need to realistically say which one of us is the lucky one in this situation, it's always going to be me." He looked her up and down then complimented, "You look, absolutely..." Chuck leaned forward and kissed her neck. "...incredibly..." Another kiss but to the opposite side. "...astonishingly..." His lips were pressed to her jaw. "...breathtaking."
"Hmmm." She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. "Keep doing what you're doing and our date night is going to have to be cut incredibly short so I can take you home."
"Hmmm," he echoed then moved his mouth to be positioned just below her ear. "What a compelling argument to keep doing what I'm doing."
She pulled back to look him in the eyes and, with as wide of a grin as he'd ever seen on her, she suggested, "We should go."
"Yes, we should."
"Hey, buddy!" Morgan called behind Chuck then clapped his hand down on the taller man's shoulder, startling the pair apart before Sarah's head fell forward in defeat on her husband's chest. "Glad you finally made it. What are you drinking? First one's on me."
Sarah straightened up, slid off her seat, then hugged Chuck's arm to her body while he stretched his lips into a frustrated smile and greeted, "Hey, pal. It's kind of late. I think we might just go home."
"Go home?" his small friend repeated. "You can't do that. The show hasn't even started yet."
"Yeah, but I've seen this show before and there's another show," he tilted his head toward his wife, "that I never get tired of and I would much rather spend the rest of my night experiencing."
"The rest of your night?" Sarah questioned. "That might be enough time."
Thinking about everything that could happen in a period of time that might be long enough and, with the same forced smile, Chuck declared, "Gotta go!"
Morgan stopped them and reminded, "You need to keep up appearances. How do you think they'd feel if you left?"
"Look at my wife. I think they'd understand," Chuck argued.
"No, he's right," Sarah countered just as the band took the stage. "We need to stay and be seen."
Completely aware of the disappointment he felt, because she was right there with him, she pressed a kiss to the arm she continued to embrace before he asked their friend, "Out of curiosity, how long would you say is long enough to stay in order to check the block on 'Keeping up appearances'?"
"How's everyone doing tonight?" Lester asked the cheering (you read that right) crowd of people standing in front of the real, full blown, stage at the Hollywood bar where Jeffster had a regular gig. Instead of coming off as creepy and a cause to grab the nearest bottle of pepper spray, his voice had a cool, mellow tone to it that was darn near soothing. He continued, "This first song is very special to me because it's the song we played just before I met my beautiful wife." As if he had a sudden epiphany, he said, "Wait a minute," to prevent the music from starting then turned to his left where Jeff stood at his keyboard. "Jeffrey, this was the song we played just before you met your wife as well, is it not?"
"It is indeed," Jeff confirmed.
"How fortuitous that my best friend and I were able to connect with the women of our dreams to the same soundtrack. Proof that life truly is beautiful, folks. I want you all to take a second to grab the one you love but, if you don't have someone you love, do me a favor and use this song as the catalyst to fuse your life with that of a stranger who might end up altering the course of your existence for the better. You take that person, and you get to the dance floor, and you have a slow sway on us."
On que, Chuck escorted Sarah to the dance floor. He kissed her hand then pulled her in as close as she could possibly get before he pressed his forehead to hers and they closing their eyes; already subtly moving to the music that hadn't even started yet.
Once again, they were startled apart by Morgan when he bumped into them, holding onto to a very pregnant Alex, before he asked, "Isn't this so much better than going home, guys?"
Chuck's facial expression definitely did not match his words when he agreed, "So much better. So many things I wouldn't rather be doing, right now."
"Your mom has the kids," Sarah reminded after Alex pulled her husband away with an apologetic smile since she saw the moment he interrupted. "There will still be plenty of time when we get home."
Chuck was almost pouty when he pointed out, "Plenty isn't the same as enough."
"We'll just have to go for quality over quantity then," she flirted and saw his eyes dance with delighted excitement. "Besides, if we're being honest, it's never really enough time when we're alone."
"Personally speaking, I'm still mad we only get about seventy more years together."
"Seventy?" she repeated incredulously. "You're being incredibly optimistic about our life expectancies."
He leaned back to gesture to her body then pointed out, "I've got a tremendous amount of motivation to stay alive. Worst case," he joked, "with all the progress they've made in science and technology, they'll probably be able to pull our subconsciouses from our bodies and put them in jars, next to each other, for the rest of eternity."
She looked almost offended, "This is that 'cozy, little, two-bed, two bath cell' all over again. If they're pulling our sub-consciouses then they're going into the same jar."
"That's the most appealing forever I can think of," he smiled then leaned forward to kiss her, which she eagerly welcomed.
Lester picked up the electric guitar he'd spent years learning to play and said, "Here we go..."
Then they hit the opening of "I Want To Know What Love Is" and the crowd, mostly dressed in JEFFSTER! shirts, went wild. Behind Jeff and Lester, a steady beat was pounded out on the drum set, with the stage lights occasionally reflecting off the diamond ring on K.D.'s left hand.