Chapter Thirty-Nine
True to his word, Jareth changed the mattress in Sarah's bedroom. It was now a twin to the one in their chamber, along with the silky soft linens. She couldn't bring herself to tease him about it, considering she herself had become spoiled when it came to Goblin bedding.
New Year's Eve found her, Lily and The Boys bundled against the cold in Times Square. They watched as the ball descended, counting down until the New Year began. Sarah had laughingly told Jareth that the one you kissed at New Year's was the one you would kiss all year long. He threatened to lock them both together in an oubliette until the coast was clear. When the ball finally reached the bottom, Jareth swept her into a kiss that ignited her world. She was dimly aware that Garthan and Lily were similarly lip locked. A pretty young human woman turned to Randel and kissed him thoroughly.
On New Year's Day, they all hunkered down with a stack of pizzas and watched the Twilight Zone marathon. The Ughlánas found the episode 'To Serve Man' particularly hilarious. The phrase 'It's a cookbook' was now being used by them to denote when they detected a lie.
On the 2nd of January, Karen called Sarah to let her know that they were back from Hawaii.
"Karen! Why are you home? I thought you guys were staying until Sunday?"
"Well… we were, but… to be honest, we missed you and Toby. Don't get me wrong, Hawaii was amazing, but I thought… well, since you don't have school until Monday, maybe you can come home, and we'll have a late Christmas dinner and celebration."
"Oh, Karen... you didn't have to do that!"
"Yes, I did. It's just not Christmas without you and Toby. Dad's at the store right now getting all the fixings for a lovely ham dinner. Why don't you see if Jareth would like to come?"
"Uh… yeah. About that. Umm…"
"Sarah? What's wrong? Oh, don't tell me you guys broke up…" Karen sounded forlorn.
"Oh, no…" Sarah responded, laughing. "It's… actually the opposite. You see, I… well, I ended up going to Ireland to spend Christmas with him."
"I thought you were going to see your mother," Karen said, puzzled.
"Yeah, well… her idea of a Christmas visit was for me to just go to her cocktail party. She didn't want to give up a ski trip to 'play Santa to a grown woman'. Anyway, after the party, I went with Jareth back to Ireland to celebrate with him. And… well… we sort of… got married."
Dead silence on the other end.
"Karen? Are you there?"
"Yes… I'm here. Oh, Sarah… really?"
"Yeah, but don't tell Dad yet. We want to tell him in person."
"Okay, I'll wait. Although he'll probably figure out that something's up when he sees the silly grin on my face."
"Married." Robert looked at Sarah in disbelief.
Karen smiled and put her hand over his. "Yes, dear. They're married."
"Are you pregnant?"
Sarah's face went beet red. "Dad! No! I'm not pregnant. God…"
"Well, I'm sorry Sunshine, but… this is a little sudden, don't you think? And… you got married without any of us there to see it. I didn't even get to give you away…"
Sarah smiled at him, "That's just it… we want to have a ceremony, for us. For the family. We thought we could set it for after my graduation."
"But… why do it in Ireland at all? Why didn't you wait until after graduation, as you say?"
Sarah looked over at Jareth with a sly smile, "Well… you'd have to blame the Aurora Borealis for that. Let's just say… it put me in the mood for a wedding."
"So… you're my brother now, Jareth?" said Toby.
"Indeed," he replied. "You are now Lord Tobias Williams of the Goblin Kingdom."
Everyone at the table laughed, except for her father. He was still giving her a dubious look. He then looked over at Jareth. "Karen… maybe Sarah can help you get dinner together. Jareth… why don't we go into my office and have a drink while they get everything ready?"
Sarah tried to interject, "Oh, Dad… you know I'm no good in the kitchen, I…"
Her father's face was like stone. "I insist."
Jareth gave her a soft smile, "Yes, Sarah… go ahead. I could use a libation before dinner."
Sarah watched with trepidation as the men left the room.
Jareth sipped at the very fine Scotch that Robert had handed him. He sat ensconced in a padded leather chair across the desk from Robert, who sipped his own drink and watched him with wary eyes.
"I'd like to get something straight right off the bat," said Robert. "I work in a field where I have heard every kind of lie, every prevarication, every excuse. I would appreciate it if I heard nothing of the kind in the next few minutes."
"I have no intention of lying to you, Mr. Williams. However, there may be some things that I am… not at liberty to disclose."
"Understood. Why don't we start with what you actually do for a living. Yes… Sarah said you run a conglomerate based in Ireland. That might well be true. But that's not all you do."
Jareth raised a brow, "I believe this would fall under… not at liberty to discuss."
Robert nodded, "Yes, I figured that. Look, I am under no illusions here, Jareth. I've dealt with military men before… they all have an air about them. A dangerous air. You have that air in spades. What I want to know is… what are the chances that you're going to leave my daughter a widow?"
Jareth chuckled, "That is highly unlikely, Mr. Williams. I am not… active duty. More like a reservist, if I had to give it a name." He swirled the Scotch in his glass. "I am not a mercenary. Nor am I a member of British Intelligence. Yes… Sarah told me of your suspicions. You could say that I was once part of a special forces operation. And the men in that operation have become like brothers to me."
Taking another sip, he continued, "While I was… in the field, I realized that the men in my unit would perform much better if they had the assurance that their families would be taken care of in the event of… a disaster. Your country… you at least try to take care of your soldiers and their families, however imperfect the system. But then… you have the funds to do so. Not every nation does. I had inherited a small fortune and an investment brokerage, so… I decided to put that fortune to work for the men in my unit. Through some smart investments, I was able to build our compound in Ireland… one where the wives and children of the men could live in safety and comfort, and I eventually branched out into different ventures so that the retired members had a viable way of supporting their families outside of the Army. I dare say that I was successful in that endeavor. And again, while I am not on active duty, I do stand ready to defend my Kingdom, should it be needed."
Robert looked at him for a few moments, then nodded. "Fair enough. My next question is one that didn't seem to come up the last time you were here. How did you meet my daughter in the first place? How does the CEO of a multinational company meet an English major at university?"
"We didn't meet there. We met here. At the park near your home." Jareth took another sip of Scotch. "I was here on leave, visiting friends. I happened to be at the park when Sarah was there, playing with her dog. She was wearing a costume, acting out a fairy tale."
Robert frowned, "She hadn't done that since she was…"
"Fifteen," Jareth finished for him. "She was fifteen." He could see the horror on Robert's face. "I assure you, Mr. Williams, our first meeting was quite innocuous. The fairy tale she was acting out is one that is very familiar to children where I'm from. I was intrigued that someone from America would even know it and asked her about it."
"At fifteen? You met her that long ago?"
"Indeed. Although, it must be said…" here, Jareth chuckled, "She was a bit of a brat." Robert laughed. Then Jareth continued, still chuckling. "To be fair, she thought me an arrogant ass. She wasn't wrong. At any rate, I was impressed by her imagination. She had a good spirit, even if she was a bit… naïve. We chatted for a bit about the origin of the fairy tale before she had to go home."
He took another sip of his Scotch. "Years later, it turned out that we had… mutual friends. One of them practically dared her to write me a letter. She didn't think I would remember her, but I did. I was surprised that she reached out to me. We corresponded for months before meeting up again in person when I was in town last year." At this, Jareth could feel his expression becoming soft and loving. "To say I was surprised at how much she'd changed would be an understatement. I remembered a petulant teenager… she had grown into a lovely, thoughtful, and charming woman. She, quite frankly, stole my heart."
He looked back at Robert, "Even then… she wasn't quite ready for a romantic relationship. I knew that. I was content to build upon our friendship until she decided whether she wanted something more. I know it seemed… quick, our marriage and all, but… it really wasn't. At any rate, she had agreed to marry me on Samhain… your Halloween. While she was with me for Yuletide, she expressed her wish to get married then and there, and… I wanted to lock her down I suppose. I didn't really want to give her the chance to change her mind. Not that she would, but… as I already knew that I wanted to marry her, I was only too happy to go along with her wish."
"But… she's so young…"
"She's older than her mother was when she married you, is she not?"
Robert looked at him with a little shock. "You're right… I didn't think of that."
"I understand your concern. While Sarah is quite sophisticated in her own way, she has also been… somewhat sheltered. I can only say that while she does hold some views that will likely change as she gets older and wiser… as she is now, she is quite able to keep herself on equal footing with me. It's one of the qualities about her that drew me to her to begin with." At Robert's understanding nod, Jareth gave another quiet laugh, "Besides… I think I would serve another tour of duty in Hell rather than risk her wrath. It's quite magnificent."
"I'll bet," said Robert, laughing himself. "I get the feeling that you're a good man, Jareth. I could tell that by how she looks at you. It's just… I guess I still see her as my little girl and can't let it sink into my head that you see her very differently. I can't explain it. I can only say that… someday… if you have a daughter, you'll understand exactly what I mean."