The One Thing I'll Never Regret

SS32: "Happy Endings IV—The One Thing I'll Never Regret"

*****

Welcome to "Happy Endings" part four. I originally thought this would remain a trilogy, but didn't want to let these two go just yet—especially now that they're together. And there were a few more things I wanted to do with them as well. Besides, I think these are a couple of my favorite/most beloved characters. Fans of Sara and Melleny out there, as you made the first three installments something to be proud of, this is dedicated to you. I want to make this story a special gift to say thank you so much from me, as well as from Sara and Mel, to those of y'all who've been so supportive through the "Happy Endings" series. That's right, both of ya.

Just kiddin'. And if you don't know who (my) Sara Jane Kelton is, you may wish to read my stories "For Happy Endings It Takes Two"...then "Won't You Smile Awhile For Me"...then "Drowning In The Sea Of Love."

There, Beloved Reader; you're up to speed.

*****

Saturday, March 29th, 2014, 8:27 a.m.

Saturday'd always been Sara Jane Kelton's favorite day of the week. Besides giving her the short break she so very much desired from school and later work, it held some happy leisure memories. In both single and double digits, she belonged to a bowling league and a chess club that met on Saturday mornings and afternoons respectively. But as she entered her 20s, got a full-time job, and interests relocated, she found Saturdays came in especially handy for catching up on sleep.

But as of the last ninety-six hours, suddenly every day was her favorite day. Earlier that week, she and her short-time sweetie Melleny Alison Hayes had discovered their love for one another—almost as if by magic. The stars aligned. Though neither sensed it until recently, they had conquered one-in-a-billion odds. They were soulmates, they were kindred spirits...they were turtledove perfection. A heaven-made match.

Sara lay spooned around Melleny in her lovely king-size bed, window cracked for some refreshing springtime air. Sara was content to utilize Mel as her life-size teddy bear day and night. And Mel'd gladly volunteer to play this comfy role, were it not for her Saturday obligations. Sara was off work, but Melleny was not. The schedule of a massage therapist was not so fixed and predictable as that of a data analyst.

Mel blinked her eyes open to squint at Sara's alarm clock. Oh, drat. Her manager at the parlor expected her today at 10:00. She'd just barely enough time to say a not-so-quick goodbye to her honey, swing by her own place for a shower, and hit the road.

Punctuality was the last thing on Sara's mind, practically holding Mel prisoner in her embrace. A tranquil smile lay upon her face, nose buried in Melleny's frizzy brunette mane. She was technically awake, though still breaking the surface of consciousness. But she could just as easily have fallen back into any wonderful dream.

Well, Mel had to go at some point. She started stirring herself loose from Sara's grasp. But Sara'd have none of it.

"Okay, Saradise...h—...honey?" chuckled Mel. "I do have to get up now."

Sara frowned at the disappointing news. She shook her head. "Mm-mm," she protested, holding on tighter.

Mel smiled at her irresistibility. "No, really, sweetie," she insisted. "I gotta go to work."

Sara wrapped her arms further and tighter. "Mmm...no," she interjected in an infantile tone, like a four-year-old refusing to share her favorite toy. "You're not allowed."

Mel sighed with a smirk. She didn't want to leave, but she also didn't want to get in trouble at work. "Sarachute..." she giggled, taking her wrists and trying to pry her off. "I love you, hon, but I really do have to roll. Seriously, no kidding."

Sara was adamant. "NO," she asserted in her possessive child voice. "You cannot. You belong to me now. You must stay here, so that I may snuggle and sex you to pieces." And she punctuated by firmly locking Melleny's legs in her own.

Mel giggled again. She wistfully stared at the LCD digits and that darn blinking colon. Sara was being adorable on purpose to manipulate her into staying. And nothing would make her happier. She'd sleep the whole day away if she didn't have to make a living.

She tried once more. "Sara, I'm leaving."

Sara's eyes remained peaceful and her voice serene, yet her words strengthened.

"Do not make me hold your coochie hostage, woman," she mock-threatened, but with half a mind to really do so.

It was clear Sara wouldn't let go of her own free will. Mel'd tried the nice approach, but no dice. She'd have to resort to more demonstrative measures. Her sneaky smile appeared. She didn't want to have to do this, but...she reached behind her back.

"Speaking of 'coochie'..." she announced, digging her fingers into Sara's unsuspecting ribs. Sara's grip released as she broke out in guffaws, wriggling on her back.

"Ah, that's better!" Sighing with satisfaction, Mel swung her legs off the bed, pushing to her feet. She stretched, yawned, and grinned at her susceptibly ticklish girlfriend.

Sara smirked up at her. "You's mean," she commented, altering the grammar to play up her immature whimsy.

"Oh, I's mean, huh? Be thankful I didn't do 'This Little Piggie' on you, Miss 'Touch My Tootsies And I'll Hit The Ceiling'!" Melleny impishly grabbed at Sara's feet under the covers, making her emit little shrieks and kick at her hands.

"All right, hon, I really do have to go now. I have to get home and hit the showers."

"But you can shower here! And, uh...perhaps I can join you," smiled Seductive Sara.

"And that is precisely why I must get outta here now if I'm to have any hope of getting to work on time. Besides, Sarakeet, I don't have a change of clothes here."

Sara let out a small whine, but permitted. Mel chuckled.

"Aw, sugar, the parlor's only open till two on Saturdays," she assured her. "Before you know it, we'll be...doing...whatever the heck we're gonna be doing tonight!"

Sara beamed at her passionately. "I can't wait, Love Of My Life."

Mel blew her a kiss. "See you then, Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me."

Sara filled the temporary void by taking a pillow and squeezing it extra tight. She smiled ear to ear, even as she heard the front door slam two minutes later. She didn't know this measure of happiness existed before now.

*****

Saturday, March 29th, 2014, 8:53 a.m.

It was the first Saturday morning since she and Mel'd officially declared their love. It seemed opportune for some sort of celebratory activity. And yet, try as she might, Sara found herself unable to think of something to do on her own. To this point she'd been sleeping alone in her own bed, going to work five days a week and dozing in the other two. But waking early on a Saturday was somewhat novel. She loved being able to stay up on non-work nights. And it wasn't that she didn't want to go to bed; she just relished the extra time for chores or other activities. And she'd been spending so much time with Melleny, her girlfriend's sudden albeit necessary absence left Sara feeling disoriented. She of course loved Mel, missed her when she was away and cherished their every shared second. And each of the few times they'd slept at her home, they'd gotten up together and departed together. And today, when Mel left without her, it almost felt as if a part of Sara'd jumped up and gone too.

There was precipitation in the air, left over from the night before. Sara's windows were cloudy, as was the gentle Midwestern spring sky. She was supplied with a fun idea. So many days before, Sara arrived at work in the a.m., exited the car and slung her backpack over her shoulders. She'd take a sec to close her eyes, breathe in nature's perfume and think, Oh my gosh, what a gorgeous day. I wish I didn't have to work so I could play outside. Of course, when weekends arrived, and she didn't have to work, and could've enjoyed the beautiful dawns outdoors, she just slept right through them.

Well, now she actually had an early morn on which she was both off work and awake. Not willing to let it get away, she stepped outside.

It was very lightly drizzling. She was in her lavender jammies—her "lammies," which just happened to have pictures of sheep printed on them—and barefoot. Channeling her inner ballerina, Sara pranced, skipped and leapt through the grass like a forest sprite. She painted her feet with trails of cool dew and leftover rain, singing to herself. She jeté'd, she pirouetted, she somersaulted, she handsprang, she cartwheeled.

"Hey...if we can solve any problem..." she half-whispered and half-crooned through her lawn aerobics. Melleny had inspired her song choice. "...Then why do we lose so many tears?...Oh, so you go again...when the leading girl appears..."

Oh, this was such great fun. Sara danced over the yard in a hundred patterns while the birds cheered on her merry performance. As she was wrapping up the song, her dance was brought to a halt. Her foot came down on a muddy spot, and she slipped and plopped on her bum. But she wasn't hurt. Right now one of the birds could've dropped a present on her head and she'd have just laughed.

Finally, she'd had enough pajama partying and went inside to shower and get dressed.

*****

Saturday, March 29th, 2014, 10:42 a.m.

"Hello! J.D. here."

"Yo, Davis! S.K. here! How's my best buddy?"

"Yo, Kelton! Ah, been worse, can't really complain...yourself then?"

"Oh, you know me; just enjoying the beautiful life. Listen, dude, you busy today?"

"Not extremely."

"Tops! Wanna go to the mall with me? I'm flying solo and I need something to do, and besides, there was something I wanted to rap with ya about."

"A'right, sure. So, like, maybe half an hour?"

*****

Saturday, March 29th, 2014, 11:16 a.m.

Sara trolleyed to the mall, singing along with Bob Dylan. She wasn't a huge Dylan fan, except for this song. Besides the obvious reason, she also loved harmonicas.

"Sleeping in the woods by a fire in the night...drinking white rum in a Portugal bar..." Sara crowed in her best Dylan-y voice, "...Them playing leapfrog and hearing about Snow White...You in a marketplace in Savanna-la-Mar...

"Sara, Sara...it's all so clear, I could never forget...Sara, oh, Sara...loving you is the one thing I'll never regret..."

She entered, meeting up with her long-time best pal Jake at the massive food court.

"I'm feelin' kinda Kung Pao," Jake mused. "Whaddaya think, Chicken Licken?"

"Ah, good on ya, love!" affirmed Sara. "You're speaking my language!"

Picking up some chicken and eggrolls, they chose a table and sat.

"So what's up?" asked Jake.

"Wuhll..." muttered Sara, mouth stuffed with her beloved favorite food. She paused to chew, remark, "Damn, that's good," and swallow. "Tastes like chicken. Anyway—

"Turns out in just about another week or so, 's gonna be Mel's birthday."

Jake regarded her with arched eyebrows and a wary expression.

"I am definitely not gonna be able to get your girl Velette back here in one week, if that's where you're headed."

Sara laughed. "No, no, babe, that's not it. Although yes, Jake, thank you for that, for the bazillionth time. Nah, I just thought, you did such an epic job on my birthday, maybe you could help me find something cool for her."

"Oh, nice, a'right," Jake agreed. "Well, why don't you tell me a little about her, and we'll go check out the stores, and see what we come up with."

They clinked their disposable cups together.

Another half hour later, Sara was somewhat regretting asking her dear friend to help her get Mel a birthday present. But she certainly didn't want to tell him that now.

"I, uh...I forgot how serious you are about birthdays, bro," she chuckled, as they exited their eighth outlet empty-handed.

"Heck, sis, I can't help it if these places don't have good enough stuff," Jake replied matter-of-factly. "Melleny deserves something truly special. Besides, if you'd bought everything you liked, your credit card bill'd be on fire."

"Oh, look: Hallmark!" Sara pointed. "We're guaranteed to dig up some treasure there!"

"Ah, yes," Jake followed. He too was a fan of Hallmark, and so just kidding as he quipped, "When you give enough of a crap to give the very best crap."

Sara almost collapsed on the floor laughing. "Ja-ake!" she exclaimed. "You better hope they couldn't hear you!"

Hallmark Gold Crown indeed offered a fine array of presents, objets d'art, collectables, stuffed toys and other playthings, gourmet candy, signature greeting cards, wrapping paper and additional goodies. Jake tagged at Sara's side as she gave everything a quick eval, and compiled a list of possibilities. They passed the stuffed animals section.

"Aw, look!" Sara said, pulling a toy from the shelf. "Is this cute or what??"

As Easter was approaching on April 20th, the featured display reflected so. Sara was showing Jake a bunny rabbit with a basket attached, and a button on its belly which instructed, "Press me." When she pushed it the bunny played a tune that went, "I like carrots and eggs, I like carrots and eggs," twitched its head back and forth, and pretended to put eggs into the basket. "Don't you think she'd like that?"

Jake smiled. "It is cute...I'm not sure it's a great idea for Melleny's birthday, though."

"Why not?"

"Well, I mean, just if you're asking my opinion, I used to know a guy who was born on Halloween. And his birthday presents usually always came in the form of candy...or costumes. Or pumpkins. It got pretty old pretty fast. After a while he almost started to hate his birthday. 'Cause everyone thought it was okay to give him something, y'know, we all get on Halloween. It was like his birthday wasn't really that special at all."

Sara's face drooped. "Aw, that's lousy. Everyone deserves a little special attention on their birthday. Well, Easter's on a different date every year...but I do see your point."

She returned it to the shelf. It looked to Jake that putting it back made her a little sad.

"Well, I mean, don't let me make the decision for you, babe," he added. "I mean, I don't wanna just steamroll over you. If you like it, you should get it—for you, if not for her. Or your family. Or her family."

Sara cheered up. "Okay!" She snatched it right back off the display rack.

Much as Hallmark offered, Sara didn't unearth anything she liked as much as the bunny, or that just said "Melleny" to her. So for the first time, they left with a purchase. But Sara still needed to find that special present for her lovey-dove.

"Hey, there's Aromaworks up there," Jake pointed. "Think she'd like some perfume?"

Sara shrugged. "Worth a shot."

But even the mall could be perilous. Someone lurked in their path, waiting to strike.

"OH NO," Sara whispered. "Oh, crap."

"Okay, whatever you do, don't look them in the eyes," advised Jake. "Do not, show, fear. They can smell fear."

"Uh-oh." Sara began to panic and indeed show fear. "I think she saw us."

"All right, don't freak," Jake told her. "I know a trick to get around them."

Eye contact was abruptly made. Sara was scared. Her heartbeat quickened anxiously.

"Just let me handle it," he uttered as they grew nearer.

And sure enough, once they got within five feet of each other...

...It happened.

"Excuse me!" said the cheery kioskist. "May I ask you a question about your private bathing habits??"

Sara opened her mouth to scream and covered her ears, but Jake stuck to his plan. Opening his eyes wide with a gasp, he pointed above and behind. "OHMYGOD, WHAT'S THAT?!" he shouted.

The kioskist turned to look behind her, where he was pointing. As she was distracted, Jake grabbed Sara's hand and they ran! Valiantly, they eluded the creature unscathed.

Fifteen feet out of range, Sara laughed. "You are a genius!" she guffawed.

"Survival of the fittest, sis; gotta learn to think on your feet."

An even more cheerful Aromaworks employee greeted them.

"Good afternoon, friends!" she grinned. "Anything we can do for you today?"

"Well, maybe," said Sara. "I'm looking for a birthday present for my girlfriend."

"Oh, how fun!" commented the associate, whose nametag indicated she was called Muffy. "Well, I'd be happy to show you around and share some of my personal favies!"

Muffy took them on a tour, giving them a number of options to try. She spritzed Sara with scents until she began to run out of (prudent) spots on her body. Like Hallmark's assortments, while each was charming in its own way, none really seemed to capture the essence of Melleny. Until Sara spotted one that stood out against the others.

"That one looks interesting," Sara pointed.

"Oh, yes!" said Muffy. "This one's quite unique; it was actually marketed to us by a local resident, here in town. It's called Torrid. Passionate and haunting, bordering on..." She glanced to and fro, leaned in, and lowered her voice to a whisper. "...Erotic."

Jake and Sara exchanged intrigued glances.

"Well, that sounds a little naughty...but appropriate," said Sara. "May I?"

"Of course!" As Sara'd run out of spots, Muffy spritzed her own wrist. Sara took a sniff. Just as with Panda Express' Kung Pao, her eyeballs rolled straight back in her head.

"O.M.F.G..." she breathed. "Jake, bro, no kidding, you have to smell this."

Jake gave a whiff. It had a similar effect on his olfactory senses. The only word he produced was, "...Damn."

"I think we have a winner!" Sara grinned, spreading a contagious smile to Muffy's lips.

"I'll say!" Jake tossed in. "You give Melleny that, she'll put you in her will!"

That was good enough for Sara. "I'll take one!" she beamed.

*****

Saturday, March 29th, 2014, 1:54 p.m.

Winding up perhaps the lengthiest, most expansive mall visit either of them ever paid, Sara made another purchase for herself. One of the cutest, most adorable pairs of buckle Clarks she'd ever seen brought her bag total to three, and started to weigh her arms down. Jake, who'd only made a single buy—a high-tech clock radio that did everything except predict the future—offered to carry the shoes for her.

They next passed by Rax 4th Avenue, the two-story northwest anchor.

"Ooh! Dude, we gotta drop in here!" Sara announced.

They traversed Rax till reaching the section of the women's department that resembled Vicki's Secret, where Sara found the person for whom she was looking.

"Hey, there she is!" she declared.

Her hot salesperson pal Rachel looked up to see her with a cordial smile. "There she is indeed." Sara strode up and threw a nice tight hug on her. "Rache, my B.F.F.F. Jake," she introduced. "Jake..." she gestured. "...You heard me say her name."

"Oh. Lovely to meet me," Jake said, holding out his hand.

"Likewise, I'm sure you're sure," said Rachel, turning it palm up and low-fiving.

"Rachel's married to a gal named Holly who teaches in middle school," Sara told him.

"Oh," said Jake. "So, you're...and-and she's...and...and you know each other, and..."

Luckily, Sara and Rachel knew what he was trying to say.

"Oh, yeah. Little lesbian secret for ya, Jake," informed Sara. "We all know each other."