A few months later, Tony sat down to dinner with Howard on a sunny Sunday afternoon and hoped that the conversation he wanted to have would not be too horrible.
"Howie...what do you think about Alison being a bigger part of this family?"
Howard froze. He had not said anything about his conversation with Sarah- he hadn't even told his father that she had joined him in the waiting room or that she had cleaned up the house with James .
"So...no too happy?"
"Dad, she doesn't like anything I like. She doesn't want me writing fanfiction or building models of the Enterprise or drawing alien planets. She doesn't like any of the things I do. She keeps saying she'll be my mom someday, and she won't be."
"Why didn't you talk to me about this earlier?"
"I know, I know- Sarah even told me I should. But you were so happy and then you just lost it..."
"My weakness shouldn't stop you from telling me my girlfriend makes you miserable."
"But it did- me talking landed you in the hospital."
"No, no. Just no. I did it because I'm an idiot. You did not cause it."
"Sarah said you had a choice to do something else but chose drinking instead."
"You did not make my bad decision for me."
"I guess."
"And when did you talk to Sarah? I thought you weren't texting as much because you got in trouble at school for it."
"She sat with me while you were in the hospital."
"She did?"
"I needed somebody to talk to. You were so out of it, you didn't know who was with you anyway."
"Wait, who was in the room with me?"
"Uncle James and Alison. Two people only. I went out the waiting room after Alison got there. I asked Sarah to come sit with me. She was great. She even came back after to help clean up the mess."
"Really?"
"Really."
"OK. So she and you talked about stuff?"
"She said I should tell you all the stuff about Alison and that I didn't ever want to call her mom. She said that even if Alison turned out to be an awesome step-mom, she needed to know I'm going to keep calling her Alison. And that's not going to change, no matter how close we all get."
Tony ran his fingers through his hair, "Wow, Howie- I wish you had told me about this earlier. I kind of want to ask her what she thinks about getting married someday and we really should talk about this first."
"Well then talk about it soon. Because Mom is my mom and Alison will always be Alison, not mom. And she'd better get used to Star Trek, because I'm going to be Spock for Halloween this year. I've been working on making ears."
Howard left the table and returned to the library and his homework, a large scale model of the Parthenon with the Elgin Marbles reattached.
Tony called Alison and asked to meet her while Howard was at school the next day.
When they sat down for coffee, he told her exactly what Howard had said. She fiddled with a napkin and told him she needed time to think. Two hours later, she called him and told him she would rather not see him anymore. She wanted to be a full part of the family or nothing at all, and Howard calling her by her first name felt like she was still an outsider. She wished him well before saying goodbye.
He tried to hide the fact that he had been dumped when he picked Howard up from school, but he had never been a particularly good liar when it came to his son. It wasn't long before the boy prodded the reason for his dismal mood out of him. Afraid of what his father might do, Howard insisted that they marathon watch the Star Trek movies until bedtime. They made it through "The Voyage Home" before Howard fell asleep. Tony did not want to disturb him, so he sat on the couch and thought, the menu music looping in the background. He hardly noticed. He picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts.
Hey, Sarah. It's Tony, in case you lost my number or something. Howard talked to me about Alison. She dumped me. We're doing OK. No booze tonight. Thought you would be proud of me.
He deleted the message instead of sending it.
He thought about sending messages every night and deleted each one. It seemed silly to message her so soon. She might think he was just bouncing to her because he'd been dumped and he wanted to avoid that kind of doubt in their friendship. This, of course, made him question even more why he hadn't considered asking her out. The only answer he could come up with hit him while he was tinkering in the lab.
"Sarah's always been something special. Even when I didn't know it. Damn it, why didn't I figure this out earlier?"
He put his project aside and tried to look her up online. She had no social media presence, and he couldn't remember the restaurant she had worked at. He went up to the library and dug through the file cabinet trying to find her resume. Howard stared at him suspiciously.
"Dad, what on earth are you doing?"
"Trying to figure out where Sarah works. But I don't want her to know."
"That doesn't really explain much."
Tony stopped rifling through papers and leaned on the cabinet, "Look, I'm a complete idiot. And you're right. Sarah was more than just a governess. She was a really damn good friend. And I realised that this was exactly how things started with your mom- she was just a part of my life I didn't want to let go of, ever. And I think Sarah could do what Alison couldn't and accept that your mom is always going to be with us."
"So why don't you just text her? I mean, here, I'll do it."
"No! I mean...I want to surprise her."
"With what?"
"I don't know yet. But something."
"By showing up at wherever she works."
"Yep. Do you remember where it was she said she hostessed? Someplace five star."
"This might help." Howard turned his phone to his father. On it was a photograph of Sarah with a birthday card at her hostessing station.
Sorry I won't be able to get this sent in time for your birthday, but it is in the mail! Happy birthday, kiddo- I hope you and your dad have an AWESOME day.
"She sent you birthday texts?"
"Yeah. I sent her ones, too. You said we could keep in touch."
"I know. I didn't, though. I mean, I did for a little while, but I sucked at it."
"She still asks how you are."
"That's because she's a sweet woman."
"And because she likes you."
"Maybe, maybe not. She liked me quite a while ago. Who knows, she's probably got a new boyfriend or something."
"Nope, just her rats. Jack and Sally. And they are doing well."
Tony returned his attention to the photograph, "You can see some of the letters on the menus behind her...can I take this to the lab? I want to enlarge it..."
Howard was shaking his head, smiling, "Fine, Dad. Just bring it back soon- I have to let her know how my Parthenon project went."
It took Tony a few hours to hunt down the restaurant. Then he had to decide what to do for her, what he wanted to tell her, and if he could do anything to convince her to move closer.
Two weeks later, Tony and Howard dressed in their suits and drove to the city. The restaurant was fancy- more so even than Tony had expected. When they stepped up to her station, she gasped in surprise.
"Tony! I didn't see your name on the reservation list. Hi, Howard!"
"That's because it's under AJ Hinkelbright."
"You are one strange bird, boss."
"Ah- not boss anymore. Just Tony."
"Alright, Just Tony. Ellie will be your server today. I hope you enjoy your dinner."
"Will do."
She did not notice him whispering to Ellie as she took care of the couple next in line.
Not long later, the next hostess came to relieve her, "You're on break, Sarah- Mr Stark requests you join him."
"But I have another half an hour before my break."
"Not anymore. Go see what the man wants."
When she settled, still surprised, at his table, Tony was grinning from ear to ear, "You made it! Great! Take a rest, order something to eat."
"I still have hours on my shift."
"Nope, you don't. Felicity's been tipped nicely. And I bought this place a few days ago, so management's not going to give you any trouble."
Her jaw just about hit the floor, "You what?"
Howard giggled, "Bought. Dad bought it. We've been super busy."
"Boys, what on earth is this all about?"
Tony reached across the table and took her hand, "Sarah, I've missed you. Really missed you. I haven't felt like I honestly needed someone in my life like this since...well, it's been a long time. I want you to come spend time with us again. I know you like having your own space, but still... Can I make one of your dreams happen? I found this..." He showed her a picture on his phone, "And it's right near me. Or it is now. It wasn't when I found it."
She flipped through the pictures of a realtor's listing for a little log cabin, "This is...is this my late grandmother's cabin?"
"Yeah. It's on a quiet part of the mountain about a mile from the house. There's a woodpile in the lean to. There's a little red barn and it's ready for your chickens and goats. The woodshop is even there and your mom and Serge helped me get the hand-turned tools that were your grandfather's. It's all there. The breakfast nook, the window bench, the fireplace, even the old lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The water's even pumped by windmill."
She was speechless, "The mining company..."
"Got a damn good price for the land. Please, Sarah. Come back to the mountain. Howie tells me you want to paint and write- whatever job you want, I'll make it happen. But I need you to be a part of my family."
"Tell Dad what you said your dream job is."
"A gallery. Something small that the artists all partially own. And outside of the city."
Tony took his phone back and made a call, "Hey, Rhodey- can you do some scouting for me? I need a small gallery out of New York City for Sarah. Yeah, we're at dinner. I'll call you back later."
She started laughing, "You're serious? All this...holy hell, this is a lot to take in."
"Are you happy?"
"God, yes...you bought the restaurant? Just so you could make sure I would have the time off to talk to you?"
"Pretty much."
Howard was still beaming, "Will you come live by us?"
"Yes- of course! You moved my grandmother's cabin- how can I not?"
"So when can I call for a moving truck? Now? Because we can get you in your new house tonight if you want to."
She hesitated, "No, I think I have to wait."
"Why?"
"Because there are penalties if you break your lease."
He shook his head, "And what does that matter? I'll gladly pay any fine."
"But I'll get a bad reference..."
"Sarah. Stop. You're never going to have to rent again. You don't need a good reference."
She let that news sink in.
Ellie returned and they ordered dinner before continuing their conversation.
"So...is it moving day? And don't worry about giving your two weeks here. I hear the owner is very understanding."
"Yes. But I'm not going to need a truck- just get a trailer we can hitch to the back of the Volvo. I don't have much stuff."
He lifted his glass, "To dreams, Sarah- let's make some come true."
Howard raised his, "And to family, however we find it."
Sarah clinked her glasses to theirs, "Yes, to dreams and family. You guys are amazing. Honestly amazing."
After dinner, Sarah left the restaurant, giddy. They picked up a trailer and packed her apartment, certain the tabloids would run wild with the news that Tony Stark moved someone out of a shabby flat on a street known only for drugs and shootings.
Sarah, however, had no plans to ever see those tabloids- there was no reason to stop by the gas station in the morning. She would wake early, make her first cup of coffee in the very first house she ever owned, but also the house she had always felt most at home in. She would wander, awe-struck, through the woodshop, her grandfather's tools ready for the fine and exotic woods stacked neatly on the racks. And she would watch her first sunrise from her own little front porch. And then it would be time to start the day, her best friend and his son walking up the stone driveway to greet her.
When she saw them coming to her house on foot for the first time, everything felt right. Everything always had felt right in the little cabin in the woods, and it still did, even in a different woods.