Sarah saw Midgie waiting at the gate as she left the plane. The flight had been 4 hrs. and she had cried the whole time. She felt emotionally exhausted and numb. Everything she did felt like she was in slow motion.
Midgie ran up to her, taking her duffle, and giving her a hug. "Sarah! It's ok. You don't have to talk about it yet. We'll get you home, Okay?"
Sarah just nodded, mutely.
Midgie kept looking over at Sarah as she drove the short trip back to Breezewood. Sarah had leaned her head back on the headrest as soon as she got in the car and was silent. Her face showed the pain she was going through. Her eyes were red and swollen, and there were dark circles under them, standing out against her alabaster pale skin. As she tried to light a cigarette, her hands shook so bad, she dropped the lighter on the floor.
Midgie lit a joint and handed it to her. "Here, smoke this instead."
"Thanks." Sarah rasped. Her throat was closing up as she held back the tears.
"Please take me to Pete's. I can't face my parents." Sarah whispered in agony.
"That's where we're headed. I called him last night and he's waiting for us."
Midgie sped up as she passed cars on the freeway. She wanted to get Sarah to Pete's apartment and hear what was going on.
"Sarah, is there any chance that Sam will call your house?"
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut. "Shit! He probably will, if he hasn't already."
"That's ok. I'll call them when we get to Pete's. I'll tell them something, anything you want me to tell them, don't worry."
After Sarah had left, Trish stood in front of the door, barring it from Sam. Georgie agreed let him loose, but only if Sam stayed in the room.
Sam paced the floor, angrily, shouting at them both to go get Sarah.
"No, Sam, she doesn't want to be here. What the hell is going on with you two?" Trish crossed her arms and stood against the door.
"She found out something about Gisette and me. She's pissed. If you would just let me go, I can talk to her."
"What are you and Gisette doing now? Haven't you put Sarah through enough? I thought everything was settled between you." Trish shouted at him. "What did you do that was so bad that she left? It had to have been something fucking bad. She has forgiven you for a lot of shit, you know."
Sam ran his hands over his face and when he pulled them away, Trish saw that he was crying.
"I thought I was keeping her from getting hurt again! I didn't know she would think I was shutting her out!" Sam cried.
Trish walked him over to the bed, sitting beside him and holding him while he got control of himself. Georgie sat on the other side of Sam, uncertain of what to do. He had never seen his little brother get so upset.
"What happened? Maybe if you explain it to us, we can help." Georgie offered.
"Gisette may be pregnant." Sam saw the horrified look on their faces. "We don't know for sure. I just found out the other day. And I didn't want to fight with Sarah. We've been getting along so good. So, I didn't tell her. I just thought I could tell her if we found out that it's true. And deal with it, then."
"Ok, so wait. You didn't say anything to Sarah?" Trish asked.
"No, but she figured it out. And she's pissed. Oh god! It might not even be true! Gisette doesn't know for sure. We won't know until she sees a doctor."
Trish was still stuck on the part about Sarah not knowing. "How could you leave Sarah out of this? My god, Sam! Of course she figured it out!"
"I don't know what I was thinking. I just figured that if Gisette isn't pregnant, then Sarah would never have to find out."
"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!" Trish said. "I can see why she was so upset!"
"I need to talk to her!" Sam's whole body shook as he buried his face in his hands. He felt as if his world was collapsing around him. Between waiting for Gisette to start her period and worrying about what to tell Sarah, his nerves had frayed, badly. Now with Sarah leaving him, he was falling apart and he felt out of control.
"I don't know what to do!" He sobbed. "What if Gisette is pregnant? Sarah will be crushed. I can't stand this! I love her! Please tell me what I can do to get her back!"
Trish left to go to her room and came back, holding a glass of whiskey and two Valium. "You need to calm down first. Then we'll make a plan."
"I don't want any fucking pills! I want to go get Sarah! I need her with me, Trish!"
"Take the fucking pills, Sam! You can't go anywhere like this." Trish shouted. "You're a mess! I told you, when you calm down, we'll decide what to do."
She watched as Sam reluctantly took the pills, then motioned for Georgie to join her by the door.
"Sam's in bad shape." Georgie said, worriedly.
"Yeah, well, he has good reason to be." Trish agreed, watching Sam. "He's got to calm down, I've never seen him like this."
"I think I'll stay with him tonight." Georgie looked at Trish. "Maybe you better bring that bottle over. I think I need a drink, too."
Trish left and came back with the bottle of whiskey and two glasses. "I'm staying with him, too."
MONDAY - JUNE 21, 1976
Sarah held back the tears until she saw Pete. She fell into his arms, sobbing, and he scooped her up in his arms, carrying her to the couch. He sat and held her, rubbing her back, as she cried into his chest.
Midgie sat in the chair opposite the couch, shaking her head. "I don't know what happened." She whispered to Pete. "She hasn't talked about it."
Pete leaned back on the couch, letting Sarah soak his shirt with her tears. Finally, her crying slowed down, and she sniffled.
Midgie jumped up and ran to get a tissue, settling for paper towels, when she couldn't find any.
"Thanks." Sarah sat up and blew her nose. She laid back against Pete's chest, hiccuping.
"I left him. I couldn't take anymore." She said softly, as the tears started again.
"We're here, baby. It'll be ok." Pete said, soothingly. "You just sit here and rest."
"I think I'd better call her parents." Midgie went to the wall phone in Pete's kitchen to make the call in private.
She returned a few minutes later and sat back in the chair. "I just told them that you are here. I told them that if Sam calls, you can't talk right now." Midgie watched as Sarah nodded. "I also made some coffee, when it's ready, I'll bring you a cup."
Sarah sat up, her crying under control for the moment. "I'm sorry for all this. Midgie, I know it's early and you had to get up in the middle of the night to come get me. I just couldn't take anymore of it."
MIdgie reached out and took Sarah's hand. "It's alright. Are you ready to talk?"
Sarah began to tell them all that had happened, stopping to explain things further when they questioned her.
"Do you mean to tell me that he was with her, dancing, and forgot about you?" Pete was angry, Sarah felt the tenseness in his body.
"I don't know what it is that's between them. But they got so wrapped up in each other...." Sarah's lips trembled and she was close to breaking down again.
"That is fucking insane." Pete said, angrily. "I knew I should've gone to Cleveland and kicked his ass!"
Sarah put her hand against his chest. "Tex, he's the drummer. He took me back to the hotel and Sam showed up there..." She continued her story, ending with that last terrible bus trip, and seeing the silent communication between Sam and Gisette.
"Pregnant? She's pregnant?" Midgie gasped in shock.
"They think so, but they're not sure yet. She's going to see her doctor. That's where I decided that I'd had enough." Sarah started crying again and Pete pressed her head against his chest, his hand smoothing over her hair.
The phone rang and Midgie jumped up to answer it, coming back with a guarded look. "That was your mom. Sam called and he sounded really upset. She told him that you couldn't come to the phone. She's getting really anxious to see you."
"I guess I'll have to go home, or she'll be over here." Sarah stood up, reluctantly. "Thanks, guys, I'm so lucky to have you both."
Midgie stood up too, hugging her friend. "Hey, what else do we have to do in the middle of the night, right, Pete?"
Pete looked at the clock. "It's almost 8, I have to pick up Becky pretty soon and take her to work." He looked down at Sarah in concern. "I can call and cancel if you want me to go with you."
Sarah shook her head and sighed. "No, I have to do this alone."
Trish watched Sam's restless movements as he slept. His face showed his pain even in sleep, he rolled from his back to his side, his body twitching as he mumbled Sarah's name. She looked at the clock and did the calculations. It was 5:30 in Salt Lake City, so it was 7:30 at Sarah's. She hoped Sarah had made it home and wondered how she was doing now.
She and Georgie had stayed in Sam's room all night, listening as he alternated between crying spells and anger. He had finally fallen asleep about 3, emotionally drained and exhausted. Georgie was curled up in the bed with his back to Sam, sleeping soundly through the restless movements.
It had been a long night for them, and she was tired also, but she didn't want to leave Sam. He had scared them both, with his shaking body and exhaustive, emotional mood swings. He would get angry and pace the floor, shaking his fists and pounding the walls. Georgie had to restrain him a few times, to keep him from destroying the room. Finally he had collapsed on the bed.
She got up and stretched her back, wandering over to look out the window. The sun was rising over the mountains, it's bright light peeking over the tops, spreading into rays of yellows, oranges and reds, with the blue sky visible under it, promising to be a beautiful day. Trish wished she had her camera to capture the beauty. Everything looked so peaceful and serene, no one would ever suspect the cyclone of emotions that had swirled through this room during the night.
"I'm calling her." Sam mumbled from the bed.
Trish whirled around at the sound of his voice. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."
But Sam had already started dialing the number. Trish watched him, closely.
"Hello, Mrs. Winston. Uh-h-h.." Sam closed his eyes and laid his head on the pillow. He had no idea what to say to Sarah's mother, he had been expecting Sarah to answer.
"Yeah, can I talk to her, please?" Trish watched Sam's face start to crumble and knew what the answer was.
"Please, tell her..... please, I need to talk to her." Sam's voice was thick with unshed tears.
He listened for a couple seconds, then hung up the phone. He picked it up and dialed the number again. The phone rang and was picked up, then Sam heard the dial tone, indicating that the phone had been hung up.
"She won't talk to me." He wiped the tears that now ran down the side of his temples and onto his damp pillow.
Georgie sat up beside him and yawned, loudly, and stretching his neck. "I think you need to give her some time." He advised as he looked at Sam. "And.....I really don't think you're in the right frame of mind to talk to her."
"I just need to hear her voice. I need to talk to her." Sam stood up and went into the bathroom and slammed the door.
Trish looked over at Georgie with a curious look. "Is this how you got when I left you before?"
"Not as bad, I knew you would come back to me." Georgie sighed. "Sarah's isn't coming back, is she?"
"No, I don't think so. Gisette gave her such a hard time, and then Sam....." Trish shook her head. "No, she's gone. Sam is going to have to face it."
They both heard the loud knocking sounds on their door, next door. Trish jumped up and opened Sam's door, looking down the hall. Gisette stood outside their door, her hand poised to knock again. She was dressed for traveling and her suitcase sat on the floor beside her.
"We're over here." Trish said.
Gisette walked to stand in front of her, her eyes looking worriedly into the room behind Trish.
"Is everything alright? I heard a lot of noise last night." She pointed to the room across the hall from Trish's. "I could hear it in my room."
Trish gave Gisette a cool look. She wondered just what Gisette had heard. "Yeah, everything's fine. Are you leaving now?"
"Yes, I should be back by the end of the week. I'll call to let Georgie know when." Gisette made a move to enter the door, only to be blocked by Trish. "Is everything alright?" She directed her question at Georgie, who was standing behind Trish.
"Have a good trip." Trish slammed the door in her face. She turned to see Sam glaring at her from the bathroom.
"I need to talk to Gisette." Sam said. He pushed her aside and opened the door, calling out to Gisette.
Gisette turned and saw Sam, standing in the door. His face was pale and his eyes were bloodshot and puffy. His hand shook where it rested on the door frame. She had never seen him look so bad. She walked to him and put her hand out to touch his arm.
Sam pulled away from her touch. "You better fucking call me and let me know, you understand?" He growled.
"Of course! I was planning to, but, Sam, are you alright? What has happened?"
"Sarah left me because of you." He ground the words out.
Gisette saw the hurt in his eyes. "Sam, I'm sorry......" She said, sadly.
He closed the door in her face, then laid his head on it. "God, I hope she's not pregnant."