Written by Scooplet
Concept by Cheryl and Scooplet
Scarecrow and Mrs. King characters are the property of Shoot the Moon Productions and Warner Bros. Television. No copyright infringement intended. Not for commercial use. Sarah Stetson, Matt Granger, and the other characters not found in the television show are my creation, however, so please respect my right to claim ownership of them—I do not authorize permission to use them in stories not authored by me.
The Eyes of the Father
Chapter Fourteen
Brian and Josh were still teasing Matt as he pulled into the garage at the townhouse late Thursday night. He laughed along with their jests, secretly pleased that the stunt had really come to nothing.
At first the party had seemed like a normal pizza and beer get-together with the guys. Jamie and Jennifer had volunteered their house, as Jennifer had made plans to take the boys to her parents' house before going to Sarah's party.
Brian and Josh had talked Jamie into letting them choose a playlist—songs from Matt's high school and college years. Matt could tell how many beers the men had polished off by how loudly they were singing with some of the tunes.
When the doorbell rang, Matt started for the sliding glass doors near the patio, but Johnson and Gonzales beat him to it. As they had stood there, pretending to be engrossed in some story from Johnson's college days, Matt considered the different ways he could break free. Even Rene came over to block the way. Some partner, Matt seethed to himself.
"…as long as we're not too late for the stripper." Lee's self-conscious chuckle rumbled through the Kings' entryway and soon he was walking into the room with Matt's father.
After Matt greeted Lee with a man-hug, Lee spoke quietly in his ear. "I saw those two boxing you in, Agent Granger. You could use your buddies as a great example at rookie training. There were about three ways you could have cleared out of there."
Matt grinned back. "But they were Agency and likely to leave marks. Sarah would kill me if I ruined the wedding photos with a black eye."
"You thought we were the stripper." Lee winked at him.
The doorbell rang again, but this time Matt truly was trapped. He shot a panicked glance at Lee. "This is not my thing, Lee."
"It won't last forever. If you're uncomfortable, act like you're miserable and maybe the gal will have mercy on you." He looked around. "And if you figure out how to escape, I'll be right on your heels. Amanda will kill me if I sit through a stripper."
"I'm working on it, Lee." Matt started to inch his way towards the sliding glass door again.
A very large cardboard cake had been delivered anonymously to the front door. Several of the men from the Agency, including Rene and Phillip, as well as a couple of guys from the dance class hooted, while Brian and Josh watched it nervously. David sidled over to Lee and Matt.
"I have to get out of here. I can't do this to your mother, Matt. Especially not in front of you."
Not relishing the idea of watching a strip tease show with his father, Matt muttered, "Don't even explain, Dad."
"Poor Sarah."
Matt avoided his father's eyes. He knew he should play it cool and put up with the prank, but other than the occasional nude photos he could not have avoided during his time in the Army, he had never really seen a naked woman up close. At least not a live, naked woman.
Bawdy music began to play from the cake, and Matt looked helplessly toward the door. He felt like he was betraying Sarah. Was it his imagination, or had Jamie helped to hem him in? There was now no one between him and the giant cake. And why couldn't Lee, who had escaped from worse situations than this, have gotten out either? Matt noticed that Phillip had him boxed in on the other side.
The music continued, and Matt prepared for what looked to be the inevitable. He prayed that whoever popped out of the cake would be wearing some kind of clothing. At least underwear or a bathing suit, please God.
Suddenly, the lid of the cake popped open, a large photo glued to its underside. The lid flapped back and forth a little, slowly coming to a stop. The bawdy music suddenly changed to Hall and Oates' "Sara, Smile." Confused, Matt avoided looking at the photo, while the rest of the men started laughing hysterically.
"Aw, Granger. We wouldn't do that to you. You really would kill us in our sleep. Or the Chief would." Johnson was loud and more than a little drunk. Gonzales elbowed him, eyeing the non-Agency guests.
"Look how red he is. Gotcha, buddy!" Rene came up and slapped Matt on the back.
Still confused, Matt made an attempt to look at the photo, which had now stopped moving. He rolled his eyes. It was a photo of him and Sarah, looking lovely, but fully dressed, at the grand opening of the museum exhibit she had put together at the International Spy Museum. Her hand rested on Matt's arm. They looked a little like a bride and groom. Even Sarah's dress, which was light-colored, appeared to be white in the grayscale photo. It was a clever gag, but simply that, a gag. And an innocent one. Matt breathed a sigh of relief.
Phillip could not stop his laughing—until he saw Lee's face. He whispered to him, "Aw, come on Lee. You thought it was funny, too, when I told you about it. That's why you brought David."
"But don't humiliate the poor guy. You're louder than you think."
Matt had pretended not to hear the two of them, but he could not avoid Brian and Josh. A little tipsy themselves, they had continued to make jibes the rest of the evening and all the way home from the party. Now they were coming into the townhouse from the garage. When Brian and Josh horsed around a little, Matt grabbed their arms. Still unsteady on their feet, they allowed him to separate them.
"Why don't you two go fight over the bathroom or who's got the floor upstairs or whatever? I'm going to bed."
"Better get your beauty sleep," Brian chortled. "You're going to be busy Saturday night."
Josh shoved Brian. "Enough, man. Now you're getting out of hand."
Brian made a move to shove Josh back, but Matt caught him as he missed and lost his balance. "Just go to bed. Drink some water so you don't have a hangover in the morning."
Matt checked on his two friends before he settled down for the night. Brian was already snoring loudly in the sleeping bag on the floor of the living room. Josh gave Matt a little wave from the sofabed in the exercise room. "Sorry we were so obnoxious, Matt. I hope you had fun somehow."
"It was great. It's nice that such a big crowd showed up." Matt gestured towards Brian downstairs. "I guess he's as much of a lightweight as Lauren."
"Nah. He had two of the margaritas, plus two beers. I stay away from the hard stuff."
Matt nodded in understanding. "Well, good night."
Once in his own bed, Matt checked his phone. Sarah had texted a few minutes earlier: "You still up?"
He speed-dialed her number and smiled when she answered on the first ring.
"Hello, my soon-to-be husband."
"Two more days, sweet thing."
Sarah giggled softly. "Your Texas twang comes out loud and clear sometimes."
"Where are you?"
"In bed in my old room."
"Like I said, two more nights without my sweetie, then…" He could hear her shift in the bed and remembered how it had felt to hold Sarah and fall asleep with her in his arms that one night. Perhaps it had not been the right choice to get under the covers that night—he could have turned up the thermostat—but it had been rather innocent and he had gotten up before anything could happen in the morning. Still, he had been sorely tempted when he had awakened. She had smelled so good…
"…Are you still there?"
"Just letting my thoughts get away from me."
Sarah grinned to herself, but did not respond to his suggestive comment. "I asked how your party went."
Matt told Sarah the short version of the cake prank. "Brian's out cold now, and Josh is feeling a bit sheepish. How was your party?"
"Lots of giggling, sugar, a little alcohol, silly YouTube videos, and loud singing. You would have been miserable."
"Sounds almost like my party."
"Except we had less alcohol and more sugar. Poor Lauren may not get much sleep tonight. When I left your sisters in the apartment, Emma was talking a mile a minute."
"Well, the margaritas and beer had the same effect. But we didn't drool over men on the internet. We drooled over a photo of my fiancée."
"Oh, they did not. They were all cracking up and falling over each other over their silly prank. You're probably the only one who actually looked at the photo."
"So, I'm not sure why we had to go through these rituals. I guess it was to thank our guests ahead of time for coming to the wedding on Saturday."
"It's better than some of the other rituals I learned about in history classes. The bride and groom having to make a racket in an upstairs room while guests partied below, nursemaids hanging around outside the bridal chamber, waiting for the marriage to be consummated…"
Matt quickly grew uncomfortable at the images conjuring in his head. He thought of the video surveillance at the safe house in particular. "I've got the picture. I like my cabin in the woods idea. No one hanging around. And no cameras inside."
"I agree about the cabin. But it was good to let our friends and siblings have these parties. It's giving them a chance to show their support for us. It may not be our style, but we survived."
"You're right. Thanks for letting me whine a little." He also said a silent little prayer of thanks that he did not have the image of some stripper in his head.
"I've whined quite a bit to you on more than one occasion. I owe you."
"You don't owe me."
They were quiet for a moment. Sarah spoke first. "I should go to bed. I might be keeping Daddy awake. Mom can sleep through anything except a sick kid."
"That's radar, not hearing."
Sarah laughed quietly. "Right. I love you."
"Love you, too. And please don't misunderstand me. This is a happy time."
"I know you think that. Good night."
"Good night, sweetie."
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
Amanda smiled knowingly at her husband over her cup of coffee as the two Granger girls walked into the kitchen the next morning, bleary-eyed. They were dressed and ready for the day, but they obviously wanted more sleep.
"Good morning!"
Amanda's greeting was met with polite, but somewhat less enthusiastic replies.
"Why don't you help yourselves to some pancakes, girls? They're keeping warm in the oven. I have some scrambled eggs in there, too."
"Thanks, Amanda. We should eat up before the bottomless pits get here."
Emma giggled at her sister's joke. "Matt eats more than anyone."
Coming down the stairs into the den with a box full of wedding paraphernalia, Sarah caught the tail-end of the conversation. "Good morning, Lauren and Emma." She smiled distractedly as she searched through her box. "Don't bother saving anything for the guys. They're eating breakfast right now, and cleaning up the apartment before they come over."
"How can you look so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Sarah?"
"I slept seven hours. It's going on ten o'clock."
Lee yawned. "You even ran on the treadmill this morning."
"Someone who ate far too much sugar last night kept me up until well past two." Lauren scowled at her younger sister.
"Aw, it's good practice for when you pull graveyard shifts."
Lee stood up from the table and took his cup to the sink. "You're going into nursing, right, Lauren?"
"Yes, Sir." Lauren sat down at the table and took a few spoonfuls of sliced fruit from the bowl in the middle of the table.
Emma sat down and followed her sister's lead.
"Well, if you're anything like your brother, you'll do fine." He watched as Sarah brought another box into the den, and then came into the kitchen and filled a plate with food. "Not that I would ever complain about your appetite, but I thought you already ate."
"I just had a little bit to tide me over. I was waiting for Emma and Lauren."
Amanda went to the refrigerator and took out the pitcher of juice. She sat back down after setting it on the table and glanced over at Sarah. She was secretly glad that Sarah had a healthy appetite once again, but she did not say anything. "Now, we should talk about what's going on today." She pulled out a notepad. "Lee, don't forget that we are meeting Emily, Tristan, and Margaret at the hotel for lunch. They'll be joining us at the rehearsal dinner this evening." Amanda looked at Sarah once again. "You can start decorating the church if you get there for the rehearsal before me."
"Which is at four-thirty. I just brought down the two boxes for the church."
"Cheryl said we can be there at three o'clock. Sharon texted me earlier. She confirmed with the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. They have the room set aside at six-thirty."
Sarah seemed to have a checklist in her head. She swallowed the last bite of pancake and asked, "You called the florist?"
Lee retreated to his office. He had hoped for a little time alone with Sarah sometime today, but it had not looked hopeful. Amanda had stacks of sandwiches in the refrigerator, ready for some outing that had been planned. Sarah was to join the Grangers and the family friends who were in town. Was it lunch at some park near the church? And now she and Amanda were down to business. He read through his emails and had started going over news reports when he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders.
"All those girls in one room just a bit overwhelming for you, Daddy?"
Smiling, he turned to face his daughter. "I was hoping we could spend a little time alone before we all go our separate ways. I have a gift for you."
Grabbing the arm of the nearby chair, Sarah pulled it towards Lee before settling herself on the seat.
Reaching into one of the bottom drawers of the desk, Lee took out a journal and a small jewelry box. "These were my mother's."
Sarah took the box and the journal and set them on her lap. Picking up the journal, she flipped through it carefully. "Oh, this is a treasure. It tells about living in London during the war. And…" She read a few lines more carefully. "…was she talking about working with your father? It says something about a package." Looking up at Lee, she searched his face.
"Yes. You know all about that—I'll never forget the expression on your face when we told you." His eyes twinkled at the recollection of sharing the story with Sarah and Matt for the first time so many months ago. He grew thoughtful and sat back in his chair after a moment. Lee seemed nonchalant, but Sarah thought she detected a little moisture in his eyes. He passed a hand over his face, and then his mood brightened once again. "I thought since you're starting with the Agency soon, it was a good time for you to be able to read her journal. I'm hoping you might find a little wisdom on those pages. Not as good as having Mum for a grandmother in person, but…"
It was Sarah's turn to tear up, but Lee put a hand out. His words were gently teasing. "Now before you start getting too sentimental, look in the box."
Obediently, Sarah opened the box. Inside was a delicate pearl bracelet. The pearls were not large, but the clasp was old-fashioned, lending a classic look to the piece.
"I'm pretty sure the story goes that Dad gave that to Mum when they found out they were expecting me. It's in the journal. Mum did not have many pieces of fine jewelry—your mom has most of what she did have. I have their wedding rings. Someday we'll give you all of that. But for now, your mom and I thought you could wear the bracelet on your wedding day. We had it restrung and the clasp was re-soldered, so you should get years of wear out of it."
"Oh, Daddy. It's beautiful. Thank you for these treasures. I love them." She sat, staring down at the pearls that now graced her wrist.
"It's my pleasure."
"You know, this can be my 'something old.'"
"Now, it's not even a year older than me." Lee pretended to be affronted, but Sarah was already throwing her arms around her father.
"You know, something old, something new…"
"…something borrowed, something blue." Amanda spoke from the doorway. "I guess you'll wear those lovely sapphire and diamond earrings Matt gave you. And you're borrowing the combs we'll use to keep the veil in your hair. Jennifer plans to bring them today." She came in and managed a quick three-way hug before returning to the kitchen.
Sitting back down in the chair, Sarah put the bracelet away carefully and then looked through the journal once again. "This really means a lot, Daddy. Thank you again. I'll ask Matt to take this back to the townhouse and put it in a safe place."
The front doorbell signaled the end of their father-daughter time.
"That would be Matt and the other guys." Sarah rose from her chair and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Daddy. Like I said, I'll always treasure these things."
Lee pretended to busy himself with his computer, but he made sure Sarah heard him before she left the room. "I love you, too, pumpkin."
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
Later that evening, Lee pulled the BMW sedan into the driveway on Maplewood. While Lee helped Amanda from the car, Matt whispered to Sarah in the backseat. "I have something for you."
"And I have something for you." As Sarah got out of the car, she glanced over at Matt's sisters and his two friends, who were walking up the stairs to the apartment. "Let's go into the living room in the house. Mom and Daddy said something about going straight upstairs to bed."
"Brian and Josh said they'd visit with the girls for a few minutes to give us a little time." He held the door to the house open for her.
"And I'm sure they didn't mind driving back from the rehearsal dinner in your car." Sarah laughed a little as she walked inside.
He grinned back at her. "Nope. Brian likes driving the Charger. You know, I think Brian and Lauren may be getting pretty serious with their dating thing, although Emma and Josh are taking it slow."
"Emma is still pretty young. But I really like Josh with her. They complement one another. She's more mellow around him and he opens up more with her there."
"Yeah. I guess you're right. He's open with me, so I don't notice it as much." He went to the side table and turned on a lamp before turning to her. "You know, it was pretty neat to meet Lady Farnsworth. She's the kind of person that made me want to be an operative. She's a real professional. Old school—classy and uses her brains."
"But knowing you, I'm pretty sure you also wanted to be an operative because of the action. Emily had her hands full with my dad when he first started out. He wanted too much action."
"Your mom says that she had some close calls with Emily, too." He sat down next to Sarah on the couch and took her hand, fingering her ring. "You looked lovely today. It was just the rehearsal, but I can't tell you how I felt, watching you walk up the aisle to Debussy, and then standing with you at the front of the church."
"It's really happening." Her eyes shone as she looked back at Matt and placed her hands on his forearms.
Matt took a deep breath, sighing a little as he exhaled. "Oh, I love it when you look at me like that." He kissed her gently.
Footsteps on the floor above them reminded Matt of the reason he had come inside the house. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a velvet-covered box. "I've been saving this for a wedding present."
The familiar-looking box piqued Sarah's curiosity. Oh, yes! She had another one the same color upstairs. She opened this box and looked inside. Nestled in the satin lining was a sapphire and diamond necklace, the stones and pendant matching the earrings Matt had given her the night of the museum gala. "Oh," she breathed, taking out the necklace. "It really is very nice. I can wear it tomorrow with the earrings." She leaned over to Matt and kissed him. "Thank you, my love." She handed him the necklace and turned around, lifting her hair so he could place it on her neck.
Once the clasp was fastened, Matt bent his head to kiss the nape of Sarah's neck. His hand came up, but he pulled it away again, feeling the familiar tremor that came with resisting the urge to carry things further with her. Just one more night, Granger. Keep this sweet and innocent.
Seemingly oblivious to his brief struggle, Sarah leaned towards the side table and opened the drawer. She took out another jewelry box, this one tied with a simple satin bow. She turned back to Matt. "This is for you."
Matt untied the ribbon and removed the lid from the box. Inside were studs and cufflinks for Matt's tuxedo. Rather than the usual enamel or mother-of-pearl, the jeweler had set a lapis lazuli stone in each sterling silver piece. Matt held them under the lamp in order to admire them.
"I hope they aren't too showy. I had them custom-made so they would sort of match my sapphire earrings. The jeweler used dark stones and polished them up a bit so they would look okay with a tux."
"Sarah, I love these. Blue is my favorite color. They're not showy at all. In fact, I love how they're not quite as fancy as the black ones I've been wearing. They have a Texas feel."
"Oh, good. I'm so glad you like them. I was hoping you'd think they were sort of a Texas thing."
"As I said, I love them. What a great gift." He held them closer to the lamp and admired them again. "Thank you, sweetie." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. After making sure the set was stowed carefully in his jacket pocket, Matt stood, pulling Sarah up with him.
She ran her hands over his jacket, enjoying the feel of the leather and then slipped her hands inside and around his waist. "Mmm. You know, I love it when you wear this jacket. Your aftershave smells so good with the leather."
Matt let out his breath. His voice was husky. "Oh, what I'm feeling for you right now, Sarah Stetson."
Feeling him trembling slightly, Sarah regretted being quite so affectionate. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize." He kissed her hair and held her closely. "Tomorrow night will be very nice."
"I love you."
"I love you, too." His arms relaxed in their embrace. "I really should go. Brian or Josh will start knocking on the back door or your parents will come downstairs."
Sarah stepped away from Matt and picked up her box. "I'm going to feel so elegant with the jewelry you and Daddy gave me."
"You will be the most beautiful bride ever."
Sarah followed Matt to the back door. "You're not biased, though."
"Nope." He tipped her chin up with his finger so he could kiss her more easily. "Sleep well, Beloved. I will see you at the altar."
"I'll be there." She smiled softly at him. "Just one more…"
"…day." He returned the smile and stepped out into the chilly night.
After Sarah locked the door and set the alarm, she went to the stairs. She could hear male voices outside on the driveway and then the sound of the Charger as it started up.
A shadow moved at the top of the stairs. Sarah came around the landing and saw her father and mother standing outside her bedroom door. They were in their robes, ready for bed.
"We thought we'd say goodnight." Lee's voice was gruff.
"Thank you again for the gifts, Daddy." She gestured to the diamonds and sapphires about her neck. "Matt gave me a necklace to match the earrings."
"It looks lovely on you, sweetheart." Amanda embraced Sarah, smoothing her hair before she pulled away. "We want you to know how proud we are of you. The wedding is going to be perfect."
"Thanks, Mom. You had a big part in that."
"Cheryl helped, too."
"Well, we should let you get some sleep. Love you, pumpkin."
Suddenly Sarah felt an overwhelming emotion rise up inside of her. From now on, Matt would be her closest family. She would not be losing her parents, but things would never be quite the same. Her eyes glistened as she reached for the two of them at the same time. "I love you both, so much."
Then she was pulling away, stepping into her room before she began crying and creating a scene. But as she glanced back to see her parents go into their bedroom, she saw her father's arm wrapped around her mother's shoulders.