Sarah's dad was at the restaurant, looking haggard from his night spent in the hospital. He sat down at their table, yawning.

"Grandma's doing ok now. But the stroke has affected her left side. She'll need therapy. Your mom's at home now, sleeping, I hope.

"Dad, why don't you go home? You're not that busy here. I can come in and close tonight." Sarah offered.

Jim Winston smothered another yawn. "Yeah, I think I"ll do that. We can go back up to the hospital later this evening."

Pete spoke up. "I'll come by and help Sarah tonight."

***

Sam reached for the phone as soon as he woke up, dialing the number for Sarah. He sat up, wide awake, as he heard it ring.

"Mrs. Winston, can I talk to Sarah?" He asked as soon as he heard her voice.

"Sam, listen to me and listen good. Sarah is not here, she will not be here all day! She is with Pete! Do not call here!" Jane slammed the phone down, angrily.

She wanted to sleep and she did not want him calling every hour.

Sam set the receiver back on the base, leaning his head back. He had only slept for a couple hours and he felt hung over and burnt out.

After the concert, the band had talked him into going to Tex's room. Thankful that Gisette wasn't there, he had spent the better part of the night getting so wasted that Georgie had to help him back to his room.

He was sure that everyone was still asleep, and he knew he should try to get some more too. They would be on the bus again this afternoon for the three hour drive from Spokane to Portland, Oregon. His last concert before he left Sunday morning to see Sarah.

The concert last night had gone alright, but they still didn't stir up the crowd as much they had been doing a week ago. Sam knew his career was on the line. He had to put more energy into his performance or the band would be forced to find someone who could.

"Just one more show, then Sarah will be back. Everything will be okay after that." He whispered to the empty room.

***

Pete, Midgie and Dave waited on the sidewalk as Sarah locked the door to the restaurant, closing it for the night.

They decided to get a pizza and go to Pete's for the evening. Sarah was staying there again, her mother had told her that Sam had called earlier that day.

Midgie linked her arm through Sarah's as they walked to the pizza shop.

"You know, you and Pete are still the hot topic of the town. Especially since you stayed there last night."

Sarah sighed. "I know, we've decided to let them talk, we don't care. I can't stand to be home and take the chance that Sam might call."

"I think your mom scared him today. He only called once." Midgie said.

***

Sam walked up to the ticket counter at the airport to claim the ticket being held in his name, reaching for his wallet at the same time. He stood, stunned and panicked, when he looked at the empty credit card slot.

Then it dawned on him how Sarah had paid for her ticket. He motioned to Georgie, who had brought him here and was waiting against the wall.

"I hate to ask you this, but, can we put this on your credit card? I think Sarah has mine."

Georgie paid for his ticket and walked with him to the departing gate, where he stopped and extended his hand.

"Good luck, Sam. That's from Trish and I both."

Sam shook his hand, then reached around for a one arm hug. "Thanks, man, I hope I can do this."

When the boarding call came, Sam found his seat and settled in for the long flight, remembering the last time he had been on a plane flying east.

***

Sarah sat, sleepily, in the huge armchair in Pete's living room. She snuggled into the curved sides, sighing. "I love this chair, it's so nice and comfy."

Midgie looked at her watch and then at Dave. It was nearly 2:00 and time to call it a night.

They'd had a good evening, partying and playing monopoly. The game had just ended and everyone was yawning.

"I think we'd better go." Dave said, yawning. "While I can still see out of one eye at least ."

Pete closed and locked the door after they left, and Sarah cleaned up the glasses and ashtrays.

"Did you have a good time tonight Sarah?" He called out from the hall, where he was pulling out his pillow and blanket.

Sarah came out of the kitchen, holding a dish towel in one hand and a dripping glass in the other. She leaned in the doorway, drying the glass, while she watched Pete make up his bed.

"Yeah, I did." She said, thoughtfully. "There were times when I thought about Sam. But I know that I won't have to worry about any phone calls while I'm here and that makes it so much easier."

Sarah took the glass back, putting it in the cupboard, hung up the towel on the oven door, and exited the room.

"Good night, Pete. See ya in the morning. And I promise you, we will go tomorrow when you get off work, and buy a couch." She went into the bedroom and pulled off her jeans, slipping between the covers with a small sigh. She was asleep within minutes.

SUNDAY - JUNE 27, 1976

Sam drove his rental car down the main street of Breezewood, memories going through his mind of the first time he had driven this street. He slowed down in front of Sarah's house and looked closely for any signs of anybody.

It was nearly 10:00 and he thought he'd see someone out. But when he pulled into the drive, he could see the house was closed and there was no car in the drive.

He ran up the front steps and knocked, turning to look around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful sunny day and he saw an older woman across the street, weeding her flowerbed.

He could hear lawnmowers running from other neighboring yards, and saw a group of boys go by on their bikes. But no one was home at the Winston house. He knocked again and waited, but still no answer.

"Yoohoo! Are you looking for Jim?" Sam turned at the womans voice. The neighbor from across the street was smiling up at him from the sidewalk.

"Actually, I'm looking for Sarah. Do you know where I can find her?" Sam stepped down to stand beside her.

"Sarah moved out a couple days ago. She lives with Pete, now." The woman looked at him, curiously. "Do you know Pete?"

Sam clenched his jaw and looked over at Pete's house. "Yeah, I do. Can you tell me where his apartment is?"

Sarah put the bacon in the frying pan, and pushed down the lever on the toaster. The kitchen was aromatic with the smells of coffee, and bacon.

Pete sniffed the air as he came in and poured a cup of coffee. "God, it smells good."

Sarah agreed. "I'm glad you have some food here now. I can't believe how bare your cupboards were."

"I heard the phone ring early this morning, was it your mom?" Pete got the plates from the cupboard, and pulled out the forks for their breakfast.

"Yeah, Grandma is still doing ok, Mom is going back up to the hospital today. Dad is taking her up there, then going in to the restaurant later this afternoon."

He leaned on the counter and watched Sarah as she flipped over the bacon. "I see you raided my drawers."

Sarah looked down at her outfit and laughed. She had dug through Pete's drawer and found a pair of boxer shorts and one of his tee shirts.

"It was so hot in here, after I took my shower, I found something cooler. Don't you have your air on?"

Pete laughed out loud, "I don't have air conditioning! I live over a garage."

Sarah crossed over to his front window. "Then let's open....." She stopped as she looked out the window. "Do you know anyone who owns a black Ford Thunderbird? Nice car......"

They both heard the sound of footsteps running up the stairs and they headed for the door, standing together when Pete opened it up.

Sam leaned on the doorjamb, his arms folded across his chest.

His eyes raked over the couple in front of him. Pete in only his cutoffs, his hair was tousled like he had just gotten out of bed and Sarah, in what were obviously Pete's clothes.

He could smell the bacon that Sarah was making for their breakfast. Sam felt the fire of his anger burn through his veins.

"Well, this is a cozy sight. You didn't waste any time, Sarah." Sam said through clenched teeth, he jerked his chin to Pete, who stood behind Sarah with his arms crossed on his bare chest.

"Sam." Sarah stood, frozen, to the spot. She could see the tenseness in his body, and the muscle tightening in his jaw. She knew that behind his sunglasses, his eyes were hot with anger.

"How did you find me?" Sarah asked, breathlessly.

"Were you hiding from me?" Sam growled.

"Well, no, it's just........" Sarah floundered for a minute, then her courage caught up to her. "No, I'm not hiding. I just had to get away from your phone calls."

"I was trying to talk to you. But now I see what's going on and I can't believe how fucking stupid I was. I should have known all along. You came back and went right into Pete's bed. What a fucking fool I've been. And you paid for this happy reunion with my fucking credit card!"

Sarah looked at him, sharply. "Wait right here."

The air between the two men was static with blazing hatred as they both stood facing each other. Neither said a word, they knew to say anything could cause an all out fist fight.

Sarah ran into the bedroom and picked up her purse, digging his card out from her wallet. She saw the necklace in the bottom of her purse and grabbed it, too.

"Here. I didn't use the card for anything else. But I thought you owed me that ticket." She took his hand, too upset to notice how badly he was shaking, and put the card into his palm, then laid the necklace on top of it. Her voice cracked. "Take this too, it's obvious that it has no meaning behind it. It was all lies. Our story was built on lies and it ends here."

Sam stared at the items in his palm, not really seeing them, then he closed his fist around them. "It definitely ends here."

Sarah closed the door, her knees buckling as she heard his feet, heavy on the steps and then the sound of a car door, being slammed shut.

The car spun gravel as it backed out and the tires screeched, leaving a trail of black on the street.

Pete walked her to the couch to sit down.

"It's over." Sarah said, numbly.

"It's over, baby. He won't hurt you anymore." Pete held her while she cried, the scent of burning bacon filling the room.

"The bacon!" Pete deposited Sarah on a cushion and ran to turn off the burner.

Sam flew down the freeway on his way to the airport. His hands were still shaking and his heart was thundering in his chest, radiating pain through his body.

He pulled over to the berm of the road and stopped as he concentrated on his rapid breathing, trying to slow it down. The pain in his chest intensified and he held his hand over his heart.

Then he heard the crack, it echoed around inside him, punching through the muscle and slamming into his bones. His heart was cracking apart, the jagged edges felt like razor blades, slicing his insides.

Now he fully understood what Sarah was trying to tell him on the first day they had met. You do hear the sound of it, and the pain is intense.

But as he sat there, he knew what was real and what were lies. He knew because he was the one who had told those lies. And it was those lies that drove Sarah into Pete's arms.

He punched the steering wheel, then laid his head on it, biting his lip as he tried to control his sobs.