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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from iStockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Sarah Carerra Book 2: Summer Medley

Chapter 2.40 - The Best Day

The alarm on my phone awakened me early on Friday morning. I sighed, but turned it off and climbed out of bed. Unlike most days where I had an appointment for Sarah to get ready for, I had set the alarm for Megan. I quickly showered and dressed in Sarah's clothes, since I still had to leave for the dress rehearsal in a while. But I left the wig off as I made my way to the kitchen.

I tried my best to keep the noise to a minimum as I started pulling out the pots and pans I would need. I had cooked enough with my mom that I felt confident I knew what I was doing. It wasn't until the smell of bacon started wafting through the house that I began to hear everyone else stir. When Dad walked into the kitchen a short time later, he looked shocked.

"Good morning," I told him with a smile while turning back to the eggs I was scrambling. He just stared agog for a moment at the food that I had prepared. Mom was the one who usually did all of the cooking. This was the first time that I had prepared a whole meal for the family, so I understood why he was surprised. I just hoped Mom felt the same way.

Mom was the next to enter the room, still in her robe. She displayed a similar expression of surprise, but I saw the tell-tale signs that she was proud of me. I quickly walked over to where she was standing and gave her a hug. "Happy Birthday," I told her.

She squeezed me back before speaking. "You made all of this?" she asked while gesturing toward the pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast. I laughed but nodded my head. Breakfast was a fairly easy meal to cook. I hadn’t thought she would be quite as surprised as she was.

When she let go of me I handed her a plate and she started to load it with food while I turned back to finish cooking. Dad grabbed a plate next, and soon Austin wandered in with a hungry look on his face. I laughed at how much he piled on his plate while loading one of my own and joined my family at the dining table.

"This is really good!" Austin exclaimed after taking a bite. I laughed even harder than I had been. It was apparent that he totally thought it was going to taste bad because Mom hadn't made it. That actually was a fairly nice compliment coming from him.

"He's right, Honey," Mom said while savoring another bite. "I'm very proud of you. I can't believe how quickly you picked up what I've been teaching you."

I blushed at their compliments and tried to hide it by taking a bite of my own food. Mom was a good teacher.

"What are we doing today?" Austin asked as everyone started to finish up with their food. I perked up to hear the answer too.

"Well Megan still has a dress rehearsal this morning," Dad told us. "But afterward I thought we could go to a movie and do some shopping before going out to eat this evening. Sound good to everyone?"

Other than the dress rehearsal, it sounded like a typical birthday for my family. There was a small stack of presents on the table that we made Mom open before I had to go get ready, and by the time I stepped into Sarah's room to put on the wig I knew that she had already had a great day.

My song was totally going to make it the best birthday ever.

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Dad drove me to the rehearsals again. He wanted to be able to come by and pick me up later so that the entire family was in one car. I was okay with that because it forced him to bring Mom and Austin to hear the song.

I knew Dad was excited to hear what I had been keeping from him for the last two weeks. I'd told him that it was a present for Mom, and that I didn't want him to hear it beforehand, but I knew it had been eating him up inside. At least he hadn't spoiled the surprise and told Mom that I had written it.

"You smell good," Stacy commented when I greeted the band on stage. Holly slapped him with a little laugh.

"She smells like bacon," Connor commented, trying to explain it. I laughed that time.

"Sorry, I made my mom breakfast this morning," I told them. I could see some of them salivate at the thought of breakfast. But we didn't have much time before we had to get to work.

The last dress rehearsal turned out to be the best one yet. We couldn't have asked for a better outcome. Even Kate had a hard time finding anything to complain about. She had a large smile on her face when we were done that was shared by everyone in the building.

I was trembling when my family showed up. I was so nervous about what Mom would think about the song. Earlier I had been sure that she would like it, but now I had doubts. But I had come this far, and I knew I had to perform it for her.

The band and I walked over to where Mom was standing and wished her 'Happy Birthday'. I did the same to keep up appearances because there were so many people in the room that didn't know my true identity. We talked for a bit while people cleaned up their stuff and left. Most of the equipment would be dismantled after lunch so that it could be transported up to Paso Robles later this evening. That would give the band and me time to play the song for my small audience alone.

Soon the only people left in the room were people who knew my secret. My family and the band were there, and so were my assistant Amy and my security men Cole and Mason. Everyone else had gone to get lunch or to prepare for the trip up to the concert.

"Can you guys make sure those doors stay closed and locked?" I asked Cole and Mason while pointing to the two sets of doors that led into the room where the stage had been set up. They nodded and promptly secured the entrances. I led everyone else over to a small area in front of the stage where there were some chairs set up and had them take a seat. Mom had a very curious look on her face. She had no idea what was coming next.

"I have a present for you," I told Mom before reaching up to start unpinning my wig. This was definitely not something I wanted to do as Sarah.

Amy gasped when she saw what I was doing and started to look around nervously. I noticed that Cole and Mason were also looking on, intrigued. They all knew my secret, but none of them had yet seen me without the wig. However this song was from me as Megan to my mom, not from Sarah. They were going to learn who I really was today.

I finished unpinning the wig and set it down softly on a vacant chair before letting my own hair down. Amy was staring at me with wide eyes as I ran my fingers through my hair to help comb it out a bit. Then I stepped back up onto the stage where the band was already waiting for me. I picked up my guitar from where it was waiting near the microphone and placed the strap over my head before turning back to the crowd, and my mom.

"Mom," I said into the microphone, and I could already see tears in her eyes. I had to hold back my own tears for a moment before I could continue. "I wrote this song for you two weeks ago. I didn't go to Emily's house to get away from you that night I found the album. I went to her house so that I could write this song without you hearing it."

I felt a tear run down my cheek now, and Mom actually broke out into sobs. I took a moment to compose myself. "You really are 'My Hero'."

I took a deep breath, and started strumming the guitar. The band fell into sync immediately. The song started with a nice, peaceful chord that continued throughout the entire song. The notes were enough to make another tear run down my cheek.

The first verse talked about that first day I remembered spending with Mom. It talked about how much fun we had. It talked about how much I loved her. I had only been five that day, but I already knew that she was my hero at that point in my life. I could see more tears running down Mom's cheeks to match my own.

Each verse finished by singing about how much those days meant to me. I talked about how happy I had been when I'd spent time with my mom like I had growing up. I told her how they had been some of the best days of my life.

The song continued in the same manner for a couple of more verses where I talked about a few more of those days, and about how lucky I was to have my family and a beautiful environment to grow up in.

Then the song slowed down ever so slightly when I sang a verse about finding the album. I sang about what that had meant to me and about how happy I was that Mom had made it. Then I sang about how much those days meant one last time before I turned toward expressing my love to Mom and making sure that she knew how much she meant to me.

Nowhere in the song did I mention the words 'My Hero', but as I sang the last words and strummed my guitar for the last time, I knew that Mom understood that it was how I felt about her.

She stood up immediately and started clapping and cheering at me. It took me way too long to get my guitar strap over my head and to place it down on the stage before I jumped off the end and ran into her arms. We were both sobbing messes in under a second as we held each other.

"I love you, Mom," I whispered into her ear. "I was surprised when I found the album, but those days were the best days of my life. Never think that I regret any of it. You gave me the chance to be my true self while growing up. I can never thank you enough for that."

She squeezed me tighter after hearing my words, and I knew she didn't know what to say. I knew that she had been feeling guilty about the album over the last two weeks even though I had repeatedly told her I wasn't upset. Now she truly understood just how much it had meant to me.

A knock on one of the outer doors to the room broke our hug and I reached for my wig immediately. I felt bad that I had to hide my true identity again so quickly, but nobody had seen Megan enter. It wouldn't do to let them see her leaving instead of Sarah.

Mom helped me gather my own hair and pin the wig back into place and we hugged briefly again before Cole opened the door to let some of the audio/video guys back in. Instead of going out to eat they had only gone to pick up the food that they were apparently going to eat while dismantling the equipment. I grinned at their inquisitive looks briefly before pulling my compact out of my purse and doing my best to make sure that my makeup was okay.

When I was done I made sure to thank every member of the band for helping me give the song to my mom. Every single one of them returned my gratitude with a hug and told me that they were always willing to help me do something like that.

I left them to start dismantling their own equipment as my family and I headed for the car, and to continue celebrating Mom's birthday.

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"What about this one?" I asked my mom while holding up a nice dress.

She paused looking through the clothes on display to look over at me. "You'd look good in that one," she said as she eyed the dark blue dress.

I let out a short laugh before I could speak. "I didn't mean for me," I told her. "I think this would look good on you."

She shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"Try it on," I encouraged and held the hanger out to her.

"No," she said more forcefully while pushing my hand away.

"Yes!" I replied in kind, pushing it toward her again. She sighed, but she took the hangar. I knew that she was just humoring me as she placed it over her arm with the other items she wanted to try on and turned toward the dressing rooms. I also knew, however, that she was going to look spectacular.

I followed her over to the entrance to the dressing rooms and took a seat outside on the bench next to where Dad and Austin were sitting. Mom took the clothes and entered the dressing room area.

"You should totally see this dress I just picked out for her," I told them. Dad opened his eyes and Austin looked up from where he was playing a game on his phone, but neither of them were excited. This was probably boring for them.

We had left the rehearsal intent on going to a movie, but when we arrived at the theater we learned that the time we had planned to go was already sold out. Instead, we had to get tickets for a later showing. That left us with plenty of time to do some shopping beforehand. Mom and I were excited about that, at least. Dad and Austin were just suffering through it, apparently.

When Mom came out of the dressing room, she was not wearing the dress. I should have known she would chicken out. She was wearing a really nice blouse and skirt though.

"Ooh," I said. I hadn't seen her pick those items out, but they definitely suited her. Dad's eyes perked up at the sight of her, and even Austin complimented her. I knew the blouse and skirt were going to end up in her 'Purchase' pile. She continued to show us different outfits, most of which looked really good, but she still hadn't put on the dress.

I figured she had to be running out of clothes to try on, and when she didn't come out for a long time I knew she was looking at the dress. I stood up and went through the small partition between the waiting area and into the small room that had doors into each dressing room. I didn't see her looking in any of the mirrors that filled most of the walls.

"Mom?" I asked, trying to determine her location.

"I can't wear this, Megan," came from one of the dressing rooms to my left. I stepped over to where I thought I had heard her voice and twisted the doorknob. She hadn't locked the door, and I found her standing on the other side looking into a mirror in the small dressing room.

She looked spectacular!

"Oh yes you can," I told her with confidence. "That looks amazing on you! Here, let me help."

She had her back to me, and the dark blue dress hugged her curves. I reached up and finished zipping her up before pulling her out of the dressing room. She looked uncomfortable immediately at being put on display to the other women in the small outer room.

"Stand straight," I said and she complied, though it looked hard for her to do. I knew what was scaring her. She wasn't used to wearing anything that tight, but she still had the body for it. I motioned for her to twirl around, and she gave me a slow turn.

When she was facing me again, I turned to a woman in her early 20's who had been admiring her own outfit before Mom had come out of her dressing room. "What do you think?"

The girl's eyes hadn't left Mom since landing on her, but she quickly glanced at me before looking back at my mom. "That dress is perfect!" she exclaimed. "I mean, you could possibly even take it in a bit at the waist, but it still looks really good."

"Take it in?" Mom asked incredulously. She obviously didn't believe the woman's statement. She turned toward one of the full-length mirrors to get another look at herself. "No, I can't wear this. I'm too old."

The other woman who was with us laughed and I stepped over and put my arms around my mom.

"You aren't old," I told her. "You're only 36, and you can pull this look off. I promise. Come on, let's show Dad."

I started pulling her toward the door, but she wouldn't have any of it. "No!" she nearly screamed and pulled hard against me. But I held on firmly and dragged her toward the entrance by the hand.

When I got her outside, she stood up straight and rigid immediately, her head swiveling from side to side. She was clearly embarrassed to be seen by anyone else. She looked so nervous standing there. But one thing happened that seemed to make her want to turn and run even more.

Dad gasped.

He had a look on his face that I knew all too well. Boys looked at me like that all the time. I shuddered slightly. I didn't want to think about my parents THAT way.

"Linda!" Dad found his words. "You look stunning!"

Mom relaxed almost immediately, and finally started to listen to somebody. Dad came over and gave her a kiss and a small hug, and she seemed to change into an entirely different person. I smiled at the same time that Austin grimaced at their display of affection. I had told her she could pull off this look!

I spent most of the rest of my spending allowance for the month purchasing that dress and the other clothes she had picked out. Dad wanted to help pay for them, but I wouldn't let him. What was the point of having all this money if I couldn't spend it on the most important woman in my life?

She might have been worried when she first saw the dress, but she was smiling when we left the store.

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Later that evening, I was sitting on the couch in Sarah's room with Mom's head lying across my lap. I was returning the favor that she had shown me the day I wrote her song and was softly caressing her hair as we talked. We'd gone to the movie and even had a nice meal at Mom's favorite restaurant. Then we returned home where Dad had been forced to take a call from one of his other clients, while Austin was in the front room watching TV.

"I love your song," she said while looking up at me.

I smiled back down at her. "I know," I said, causing her to chuckle softly.

"So you really aren't mad about the photo album?" she asked me. I saw the same concern in her eyes that I had seen for the last two weeks when she'd looked at me.

"No," I told her confidently. "Like I told you this morning, those were the best days of my life, Mom. I wouldn't change them for anything. I love you so much! I wouldn't be where I am today without you. All the album did was show me that I've always been this girl that I’ve grown up to be. I'm so glad that you actually made that album. I never would have known how much I truly was Megan while growing up without it. Thank you."

Mom sat up as I reached over and grabbed the album from where it was sitting on the edge of the couch. When I turned to the first page I no longer felt the horror and uncertainty that had filled me the first time I had seen the book. Instead, I felt the love and compassion that having my mom in my life meant. We talked about each picture and what we remembered. I never realized how much those days meant to Mom too.

When we got to the first blank page, I reached for the other item sitting on the edge of the couch. With a smile on my face I turned to Mom and handed it to her. She shook her head, though, and refused to accept it from me. Instead, I placed the edges of the item into the designated spots we had created a short time before when we decorated the page together, and Mom helped me slide in the last piece.

I hugged her closely as we looked at the new photo that had been added to the album. It showed me hugging Mom after I sang her the song earlier this morning. But unlike the little bit of writing Mom had done to describe the day on each of the other pages, this page only had three words, written in my flowing script:

The Best Day.

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Want more Sarah Carerra?
Hear the song that inspired the story at sarahcarerra.com