Where The Grass is Greener
Chapter Ten
Sara was more than livid and Warrick could plainly see that. She was sitting on the couch next to him and she had not moved from that spot in twenty minutes. She was staring down his cousin, Eugene and his girlfriend Yvonne. Their appearances made Sara anything but trusting of them, and her brown eyes turned a shade of brown he had never seen before. They had come into town for the reunion so that Sara could meet Warrick's family. When Eugene saw where Warrick was living, he all of a sudden was out of money, and needed a place to stay. Sara did not like where the conversation was going.
They had just moved in together and were settling in nicely. He and Sara redecorated according to her liking, and when they were through, they felt they had made a home together. Now, there was going to be a domestic disturbance.
Warrick tried to break the very tense atmosphere by serving cold drinks for everybody.
"Her you go babe," he said to Sara, handing her a wine cooler.
She took it without saying a word to him, and she took a sip then set it down. Warrick was in a rock and a hard place. Yes, it was his cousin, but Sara was not having it. She was on to him, and she was about to say so, so he thought it was a good time to start before Sara did.
"Uh," he started. "Eugene, you know, I can take you around the city, help you find a place that's cheap."
"Yeah, but I don't want to run you ragged," he said. "Please, it'll only be until the end of this Fourth of July weekend."
"We can get you into a hotel," Sara said coolly. "There's plenty of cheap ones around here."
Warrick looked down at his feet. He was caught between not wanting to get yelled at and helping his cousin.
He looked over at Sara. "It's only four days sweetie," he said cautiously.
She glared at him then got up and went into the kitchen.
"Excuse me," he said to his cousin.
He entered the kitchen and found her angrily chopping some tomatoes. He observed the way she chopped them for a second. She did it the way a chef would at a restaurant. He was amazed, but had to get back to the subject at hand.
"Baby, I don't want to make you mad," he said.
"Then tell him no," she said, not looking up at him.
"Honey, you know I can't do that," Warrick said, trying to inch closer to her.
"See, now you just made me mad," she hissed. "No, I'm pissed off. He's manipulating you, you know that. We just settled in together and now you want your home wrecker of a cousin to stay with us for a week? No, they can go find a hotel. If they could find their way here fast enough, I'm sure they can find a place to live much faster."
"Sara, you're not being fair," Warrick dared to say.
Sara threw down the knife on the counter, and Warrick was sure that his cousin heard the clang. She gave him her infamous death stare, and he felt his heart speed up.
"I'm not being fair? How am I not being fair?" She asked in a rage. "Coming in, unannounced, before the reunion, claiming to have no money or no place to live is fair to you?"
"C'mon Sara, what's four days?" Warrick asked, trying to stay patient with her.
Sara growled and went over to the stove to check on her noodles. Warrick ran a hand over his face and sighed. He understood where she was coming from, but that still didn't help in his decision. What was he supposed to do?
"Do whatever you want, Warrick," Sara finally said. "I don't care. But let me tell you something right now," she said, turning to him with an angry spirit about her. "If I find anything in this apartment missing or out of place, it's your ass."
Warrick gulped in fear, and made his decision pretty quickly after that.
***
Sara was so nervous about meeting Warrick's family. She felt that she already made a bad impression by turning his cousin away. She told Warrick that it was his decision with a warning. He was clearly afraid of what the consequences would be if his decision to let his cousin stay went south.
Sara was glad that Warrick told Eugene no. He was just a freeloader, Sara could tell. She knew the type.
Sara checked herself in the mirror again to make sure that she looked okay.
"Sweetie, you look good," Warrick assured her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Do I?" She asked.
"Yes," he said, giving her a kiss on her shoulder.
"Oh God, I'm so nervous," she said. "Will they like me?"
"Sweetheart they will love you," he said. "You're beautiful, and smart, and you make me happy. If they can't see that about you, then, that's on them. I love you, and they will love you, I promise."
Sara smiled and gave him a sweet kiss. "Okay, I think I'm ready now."
Warrick took her hand.
They had booked a reception area at a park near Lake Mead. Sara became more and more nervous as she approached the large gathering. She felt out of place already. Everyone turned their attentions to she and Warrick as they approached the barbecue.
She squeezed his hand as they drew nearer. She knew this was going to be something meaningful for both of them. She knew that this would be the first time in Warrick's life seeing his father face to face. He would see the elusive man who made him aware that he was still alive by sending him checks in the mail. Sara looked up at Warrick, who was already looking at her. He leaned down and kissed her, letting her know that everything was going to be fine.
A rather short woman of about fifty came up to them first.
"Hi, I'm Warrick's aunt," she said, holding out a hand. Sara shook it with a broad smile. "My name is Regina Holt-Brown."
"Hi," was all Sara could manage.
"Aunt Gina, this is my girlfriend Sara Sidle," he said. "Sara, Aunt Gina."
"It's nice to meet you," Sara said, her voice quavering from her nervousness.
Regina took both of her hands and inspected her.
"You're a tiny little thing aren't you?" She said with a chuckle. "Don't worry Warrick, we'll fatten her up."
Sara blushed. Was she really too thin?
"And what do we have here?"
"This is my Uncle Philip," Warrick said. "Uncle Phil, this is Sara."
"Well you are a fine thing," he said, inspecting her as Regina did. "You a little too skinny, but I like you anyway girl."
"Isn't she beautiful?" Regina said to her husband.
"Oh yeah," he said. "Although she could stand to gain a few pounds," he said looking over to his wife. "As you can see, I like a woman with a little meat on her bones." He slapped Regina's butt.
"You'll have to excuse my husband," Regina said. "Anyway, how long have you two been together?"
"About seven and a half months," Sara answered. "But we've known each other for three years."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, and I wish you two the best," Regina said.
"Hey Gina," Philip called. "Come over here."
Regina smiled at them before going over to tend to her husband.
Sara and Warrick found a bench to sit at. Sara met his other aunt, Yolanda Brown, who wasn't as nice as Regina. She gave Sara the cold shoulder and left the table.
"Don't worry about her," Warrick said. "She's always in a bad mood."
"Am I doing okay so far?" Sara asked.
"Sweetie you're doing fine," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Did you find your dad yet?" Sara asked, looking around.
"Nope," he said. "Babe, why don't you go mingle, while I go find out where my dad is?"
"No, honey, I can't…mingle," she said. "Look at me."
"I am looking at you girl," Warrick said. "You're beautiful."
"No, I'm Italian," she quipped. "I feel so different."
"Hey, if my Aunt Gina likes you, the rest of the family should have no problem," Warrick said.
Sara reluctantly got up and began to walk into the crowd of people. She felt really out of place until Regina came to her rescue.
"Walk with me," she said.
They walked around the park.
"So, are you and my nephew…involved?" She asked.
Sara figured she may as well be honest. She nodded shyly. Regina nodded her understanding.
"Does he make you happy?" She asked.
Sara smiled. "Yes, he does."
"I'm glad," she said. "Warrick is a good man. He's been through a lot in his life, and it's good to see a woman that cares about him and that he can make happy. I've never seen my nephew so proud of anything in his life."
"Yeah," Sara reflected. "You're right. There are very few things that he's proud of. I'm glad that he's proud of our relationship. We've been through so much together. Not just as coworkers, but personally as well. I love him so much."
Regina smiled. "Yeah, you look like it," she said with a chuckle. "I remember when I first met Phil. I looked the exact same way you did. Eyes all wide, face glowing."
"How do you keep it alive though?" Sara asked. "I mean yeah there's ups and downs, but how do you keep the love that you felt in the beginning alive?"
"Well, it takes work, patience, and good sex," Regina said. "Lord Jesus. My husband has still got it."
Sara started to laugh Regina was feisty. "Yeah, I don't think Warrick will need any help in that department for a long time."
They walked for a little ways before talking again.
"Do you two plan on getting married any time soon, have kids?" Regina ventured.
Sara could not answer that question. Were they? Marriage seemed so far off into the future, they never really talked about it. It wouldn't be so bad if they did, but when will they?
"I don't know," she said thoughtfully. "We're just trying to take things slowly right now. We just moved in together so…"
"Well, I'm not rushing you, I just wanted to know," Regina said. "Well if you ever do have kids together, Warrick will be an excellent father."
Sara smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."
They walked back to the reception area and Sara met back up with Warrick.
"Sara, this is my dad, Joseph Brown," he said.
"It's nice to meet you sir," Sara said respectfully. "I'm Sara Sidle."
"It's nice meeting you," he said. "Welcome to the family."
Sara smiled and then she looked at Warrick.
***
Warrick smiled at Sara as he watched her get ready for bed and talk about the family.
"Oh my God," Sara said with a wide smile. "I love your family. They're all so great, and they support our relationship. I'm officially a part of the Brown family."
Warrick pulled her to him and he kissed her. "I'm glad that you liked spending time with them. Believe me, they'll be coming around more often."
"That's a good thing," Sara said. "Isn't that what you wanted?"
Warrick sighed. "Yeah, I guess," he started. "But it didn't bring me any closer to my dad."
Sara put a hand on his cheek. "Baby, I'm sorry," she said. "You know that he loves you right?"
Warrick nodded, despite his urge to doubt that statement. When he saw his father, in the flesh for the first time in his life, he really had nothing to say except 'hello'. Warrick figured that it would be futile to bridge the gap in their relationship now. He was thirty-four years old. It was way too late.
"What are you thinking about?" Sara asked, as she got into bed with him.
He looked deep into her chestnut eyes.
"Sara, I promise that I will be a good father to our kids, whenever we decide to have them," he said, caressing her cheek. "Even if I can't promise you anything else, this is one that I will keep. I don't ever want to put my children through what my father put me through."
Sara took his hand in hers and she squeezed it. "I love you."
"I love you too," he said. He leaned over and kissed her. "You're beautiful."
Sara smiled.
Warrick couldn't keep his eyes off of her. She was beautiful, and she had blossomed over the months into the goddess she really was. He never thought that he would ever be in a relationship so deep and loving with Sara. It seemed impossible. His love for her snuck up on him. The more he understood her, the deeper he fell for her. His every thought was about Sara. They had been through some rough times both individually, and together, and finally they could count on each other.
"Hey," she said sweetly, kissing him on the cheek. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," he said.
Sara nodded and she got up out of bed. "Do you want some coffee?"
"Yeah, sure," he said.
He followed her into the kitchen, which was now overrun with her cow collection. He would strangle her if she bought another thing cow for the kitchen.
"Oh honey," she started as she took out a bag. "Look at what I found at Tuesday Morning the other day."
She pulled out a stuffed cow. Warrick thought he would scream.
"No Sara," he said firmly. "No more cows in the kitchen."
"What are you talking about? It's for our room," she said. "And it's MINE. If you touch this cow you're a dead man."
Warrick just shook his head.
"It was so cute, I just couldn't resist," she said with a smile. "Oh, but I did find a tin can to put in here."
"Dear God," Warrick grumbled to himself.
After a few minutes, he could smell the coffee brewing and Sara was milling around the kitchen. He observed her as she began to reorganize her cows. She looked beautiful in the satin nightgown that she owned. It was a form-fitting pastel green color and it looked good on her. He looked at her body. She had a great body, and a beautiful figure. She bent over to look for something. She wasn't wearing any underwear. That was one thing that he noticed when they started living together: she rarely wore underwear with her outfits. She only owned a few pairs of panties, and the rest were thongs of all different designs and colors. He wasn't complaining, but it just surprised him. She didn't seem like the thong-wearing type.
He went over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He planted a kiss on her neck.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Nothing," he chuckled. "I'm just kissing you."
She turned around and she kissed him passionately. His hands hiked up her gown so that he could feel the skin of her thighs. She moaned and let the straps fall down her shoulders. Warrick picked her up and carried her to their bedroom.
He laid her down on the bed gently and continued to kiss her. He ran his hands through her hair and she wrapped her legs around him. He moved to her neck and began kissing it. She craned her neck for him so that he could have better access. He kissed her all the way back up to her lips and they kissed deeply again before pulling away and looking at each other.
"Wow," she said breathlessly. "You are just full of surprises."
Warrick caressed her thighs and kissed her again before getting up. Sara looked slightly taken aback at his suddenly leaving her, but he came back as quick as he left, holding something behind his back. He knew that it was as good a time as any to take their relationship one step further.
Sara was looking at him with concern, and he decided that it was time to start.
"Sara Elena Sidle," he started.
Sara's brown eyes grew wide. "Yes?"
"Will you marry me?"
She was overjoyed. "Yes!" Before he knew it, she had pounced him and kissed him. "Yes! Yes, I would love to marry you. Oh my God!"
Warrick smiled and he opened a ring box, revealing a diamond ring inside. He took it out and put it on her finger. Sara was so happy she could hardly contain herself. She kissed him passionately.
"I love you," she said in between kisses. "I love you, I love you."
Warrick was glad that he finally got the courage to ask her. He had been trying to decide the right time to ask for weeks, waiting for the perfect time. He was going to surprise her, but he couldn't wait.
"I can't wait to be your wife," she said quietly. "You are already the perfect husband."
Warrick kissed her again and she responded with a passionate, sensual kiss of her own. Never had he felt so sure of anything in his life.
***
They walked into work hand in hand and they told the rest of their coworkers the news. Sara showed off her engagement ring to Catherine, who was impressed. Sara couldn't stop smiling, she was so happy. Until the very moment, the last seven months had been a blur…almost as if it never happened. They were things that she preferred to forget, but she realized that remember the past helps shape a better future, and it truly was a better future for Sara.
She never thought the day would come when she uttered the words: 'I'm getting married'. She never thought that it would happen. And she was pretty sure that her parents didn't think so either. They thought that she was going to be a lonely, stubborn childless woman…and for a while, Sara thought the same thing, until the morning she asked Warrick to have coffee with her. That was the morning everything changed for her, for the better. She realized that she owed her life to Warrick. She would be much more than just a devoted wife to him. She would be his lover, confidant, friend, coworker, and eventually, the mother of his children. The thought made her heart skip a beat.
"Sara, are you with us?" Catherine asked, her voice bringing Sara from her euphoric state. "Uh, yeah, I'm okay, just thinking."
"You should be," Catherine said. "We've got a lot of planning to do."
"I know, but I only got engaged last night," Sara said with a smile. "Cool the brakes Cath."
Catherine bounced with excitement. "Oh my God, Sara's getting married. This is going to be so much fun!"
