Ch 41

Oh crap, Sarah thought, how am I going to get out of this one? Sarah stared at the shocked houseguests and her slightly less shocked parents. She looked down at herself and was relieved to see she was at least back in normal clothing.

"Sarah! I didn't hear you come in," Karen said smoothly, recovering well.

"Oh, sorry, I came in the back door," Sarah said just as smoothly. Her father shook his head and stood up to give her a kiss, giving her a Look as he sat back down.

"Sarah, I don't think you ever met the Parkers," Karen said, gesturing to her guests. "Todd, Rachel, this is my stepdaughter, Sarah." Sarah could tell the Parkers wanted to say something about her sudden appearance, but were restraining themselves. Sarah bit back a giggle as she sat down. "It's nice to meet you," she told them.

"Nice to meet you, Sarah," Mrs. Parker said, giving her a strange look. "How-" She stopped herself, then spoke again. "Karen, Richard, it was a lovely evening, but I think we'd better get going." Her husband jumped up as he agreed.

Sarah stayed in the living room while her parents walked the Parkers to the door, and looked up to see them staring at her.

"I don't know whether to yell or laugh," Richard said as he sat back down on the couch. "What the hell kind of entrance was that? You could have warned us."

"Sorry Daddy," Sarah said with a grin, "I didn't know you'd have company." She couldn't hold it in any longer, and burst into laughter. "Oh god, I'm so sorry," she managed to say, "but their faces! Oh god!" Her laughter was infectious, and as much as they tried to hold it back, her parents started laughing too.

"Well," Richard finally said, wiping his eyes, "I think it's safe to say we won't be seeing much of the Parkers anymore."

"Oh, Dad, I'm so sorry-" Sarah started to say, but Karen interrupted her. "Don't apologize, you did us a favor, I never like them much anyway!" That sent them all into another fit of laughter. When they finally got themselves under control, Richard turned to his daughter. "So…I'm assuming you're here with some explanations?"

"Yes," Sarah said, then she thought of something. "Is Toby here?"

"No," Karen answered, "He's staying at a friend's house tonight, he'll be home tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," Sarah said. She took a deep breath. "Well, I have some news for you..."

"Wait, don't tell me," her father cut in, "In addition to marrying some fairy king, you've also discovered that you can sprout wings and fly." He was joking, but part of him was preparing to hear something equally crazy.

Sarah smiled. "No, that's not it…although that's something you should talk to Jareth about," she added, thinking of his owl form.

Richard narrowed his eyes, then decided to let that one go for the time being. "Okay, so what's the news?"

"We're getting married next week, instead of next month," she told them, and they both sighed in relief.

"Is that all? I thought you were going to tell us another crazy story," her father said.

"Yeah, well, I have a couple of those for you, too." Sarah said, and then spent the next few hours talking with her parents, explaining everything that had happened, from the moment she met Jareth at the bar, to Julie's illness, to her wedding, and even about Merelinda. Her parents understandably had tons of questions, and Sarah answered them all as best she could. By the time their conversation finally slowed, it was late, almost early morning, but Sarah could tell that her parents were handling this well, and she was grateful.

Sarah yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. "I think I need to get going, I need to get home and go to sleep."

"You can stay here, you know," her stepmother told her, yawning as well.

"I know," Sarah replied, "but I'm going to have a ton of things to take care of when I wake up, and I'd rather just be home." She thought of something. "My car is still here, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes, it's right where you left it," her father replied. Sarah realized she didn't have any idea where her keys were. She felt around her pockets, and heard them jingle. She smiled. Thanks, Jareth.

Sarah remembered something she had wanted to ask her parents. "Hey, by the way, did you get the crystals I sent you?" Her dad rolled his eyes. "Yes, we got those damn hallucinogenic balls."

"And we appreciated the fact that you let us know you were okay," Karen cut in, smiling at Sarah. "They kind of freaked out your dad a little," Karen whispered not so quietly to Sarah. She laughed as her dad rolled his eyes again.

Sarah said goodnight to her parents, promising to call the next day, then she got in her car and started for home. "But only for five more days!" she whispered to herself, already looking forward to being back in the Underground; she felt that was where she really and truly belonged. She had explained that to her parents tonight, and she could tell they were doing their best to understand. She appreciated that.

When Sarah got home, she opened the door to her apartment and looked around. It felt like more than just a few days had passed since she'd been here. This apartment seemed to belong in another life.

She saw the light on her answering machine blinking rapidly, and on the way to her bedroom, she pressed the play button. There were four messages. Three were from her parents, and the first two must have been right after she and Jareth had left, because they sounded pretty worried. She laughed at the third message, though, hearing her father say, "We got those goddamn balls you keep sending us. What in the world's wrong with a telephone?"

The fourth and final message was from James Waimo, her boss, politely telling her that she was fired for not showing up to work and not bothering to call.

"Good riddance," Sarah mumbled as she climbed into bed. She missed having Jareth next to her, and she fell asleep with him on her mind.