The Sky and the Stars - Tom and Sarah Kazansky

-6-

"The warden threw a party in the county jail

The prison band was there, and they began to wail

The band was jumpin', and the joint began to swing

You should've heard them knocked out jailbirds sing 

Let's rock

Everybody, let's rock

Everybody in the whole cell block

Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!"

"That's him!" cried Carole, mid-song and only partially into the microphone.  "Isn't it?!"

"Yeah, that's Tom."

"Oh, Honey, he is fine!"

Okay, that might have been fully said into the mic for all to hear. But Sarah was feeling warm and buzzed and honestly didn't care all that much in that moment. 

They sang and danced until their throats were hoarse and limbs exhausted. 

"Well ladies, thank you for this," Carole said at the end of the evening. "I needed it. I love my boys, but I needed some girl time!"

"Thank you for arranging it," Charlie agreed. "It was great."

"Agreed," added Sarah. "We've all been working hard, good to have some fun."

Maybe it was the fairy lights, the low hum of voices, the music, and maybe all that with a bit of the 'fine'  blond man sitting at the bar, but Sarah wasn't quite ready for the evening to end yet.  "You go on ahead. I think I'll stay a little longer." She liked Tom's company, and she could enjoy that without 'getting involved', without breaking her own rules. 

"I'll call when I get home to let you know." She hugged them both. Once they were gone, she met eyes with Tom across the bar. He patted the barstool next to him. 

"It looked like you were leaving," he said as she approached. 

"Yeah, I wasn't ready to go yet."

"Well I'm glad. Let me buy you  a drink."

"Thanks but I've already had my quota tonight. You go ahead though."

And he didn't push her, didn't say 'aw, come on' or 'you're no fun' or anything like that. He just nodded and enjoyed her company along with his own drink. "So who was all there?"

"Me, Carole, Goose's wife, and Charlie, your instructor."

"Yeah I recognized her. Our instructor and Maverick's girlfriend."

"Apparently."

"I would never date an instructor."

"I would never date anyone from work, period," she stated. "That gets way too complicated very quickly."

"Has it happened before?" he asked. When she didn't respond right away, he added, "I don't mean to pry, it just sounds like it has."

"No, that's okay. Yeah, it has actually."

"What happened?" His tone was gentle, and she knew that he would respect her wishes if she decided not to tell him. But she felt safe to do so, to open up to him. 

"My ex and I were quite serious. We moved in together - my mom was thrilled. Thought I was going to marry him. And honestly, so did I. I was moving up in the field and apparently wasn't putting that same effort into our relationship. It felt like he wanted me to not focus so much on my work and furthering my career. I broke it off and moved out and am back living with my parents. He got word spreading quickly around the workplace and a lot of people thought I was a bitch for breaking his heart."

"Sarah, no. I'm sorry anyone ever said that."

"Thanks. I almost left the department. But then this opportunity came up so here I am, starting fresh. Including a new set of rules to live by."

"Well it sounds like he doesn't deserve you, and you deserve a hell of a lot better than him."

"Thanks. And I know I had enough self respect to end things, but what people said still hurt."

"Of course, I'm sorry."

"Thanks  for listening."

"Anytime." And by the way he said it, she knew he was being fully genuine. 

"Anyways, that's how I got here. And how about you? How did you get here?"

"My dad was almost always absent, and if he was there he ignored me, so I've always been driven to be perfect. It's gotten me into a bit of trouble over the years, but it led me here. But it can also mean I can come off as cold and unfriendly."

"Your 'icy' personality," she joked again.  "Well I know that's not true."

"Thanks Sarah."

"I'm sorry about your dad. I've always been close with my parents - it's just me and them."

"Ah, and after my dad finally left, I was the only boy: it was my mom and two sisters and me."

"Nice. I see where your respect for the ladies comes from."

"They're my world on the ground. I think about them every time I go up in the air." 

"I bet."

Things were winding down here, both could feel it. 

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but can I give you a ride home?" he asked. 

"Why would I take that the wrong way?" Now he looked a little flustered but she understood: he didn't want to make it seem like he was just trying to take her home and to bed.  "I'm kidding, thank you, I appreciate it. That would be lovely."

So Tom led the way out to his car and drove away with Sarah giving directions. 

"Can we take a little detour, actually? If you don't mind?" she asked as they were nearing a turn off she had discovered her first weekend here. 

"Not at all, you point the way."

And so that's exactly what she did. 

(I'm watching Val's documentary on Amazon Prime (super interesting!) and in it he talks about how there wasn't a lot to Ice's character on the page, so he came up with a backstory for him and why Ice comes across as so arrogant. I love the making of more fully-developed characters, Val!

As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))