Water Ch. 17 - Stick To Your Guns 2011

The girls do not know what to say.  They are equally shocked that Jon just walked in.  What are the chances of that happening.
Still hung on his outburst, Dot says, "Where the hell have you been?  I have tried to call you."
"Where I've been isn't important, what is going on here?" he demands to know.  He is a little pissed to see them together. 


"I needed Dorothea to know that I had nothing to do with your divorce, that I knew nothing about it.  I also wanted her to know that I haven't seen you in two years."  Beth says quite frankly and isn't concerned how her revelation made Jon feel.  She was out there for self preservation.

"And when you do see her after two years, you fuck her?'  Now Dorothea is pissed.  That thought angered her worse than last time.  Why?  Why is this so upsetting to me, Dot thought to herself.

"Dot, the kids are........." Romeo runs up to his his dad.  At 7 years old, Romeo is a smart little guy.  He says, "Hi dad.  When did you come from?"  Jon picks up his son and hugs him. 

"I was at Uncle Matt's house helping him set up a new studio.  I told you I would be here today, and here I am.  Do you want to go to the Parrot for lunch, buddy?"  Jon asks his baby. 

Romeo, getting excited to go have lunch with his dad says, "Can Beth go with us?"  Dorothea throws her hands up in the air and walks away.  Jon looks at Beth and says, "Would you care to join us?  His hopes are high.

She gives Jon the 'why are you doing this to me look' and says, "How can I say no to that little face?"  She reaches up and pinches Romeo's cheek. 

 

Jon puts Romeo down and tells him, "Ok, go get ready to go.  Dad is starving."  Romeo goes over and tells Nick that he had to go home, because he was going to lunch with his dad.  Nick gets out of the pool and runs home.  Romeo goes in to get ready.  Jon and Beth are left there standing alone. 

 

"Beth, why are you here?" he asks her with a sadness in his voice.  "Did you really need to come out here and tell her you had nothing to do with the divorce?"

 

"I did Jon, and do you want to know why?  Because the way we came out here last night was wrong - just wrong.  You should have told me that you had the papers and planned on giving them to her.  I should not have come out here with you under that circumstance."  Beth is progressively getting louder.  "I am thrilled I got to see the boys, but really..........she needed to know that we have not been together.  She deserved the truth, before the media spun everything out of control."  Exhausted, she just sighs.  "I don't want to go through ALL OF THIS again."

 

"Whether you believe it or not, I planned on telling her everything today.  I wasn't thinking clearly when we flew out here, obviously.  I had you with me and those divorce papers were eating at me.  I guess maybe I thought she needed to have them, in order for me to justify being with you again?  Peter drafted those a while ago and I just haven't had the time to get them to her.  I wasn't going to let a stranger give them to her." he clarifies, reaching out to grab her hand.  She steps back and gives him a look, a look that says, 'Your wife just stormed away hurt and pissed and you want to hold my hand?'  "What has gotten into you?"  She walks toward the front of the house, and waits by her car.

 

Jon goes into the house to check on Romeo and Dot is sitting at the kitchen island with a glass of wine in her hand.  He asks her, "Is Romy getting ready?"

 

"Yes, he should be just about ready.  Are you just going to the Parrot?", she acts beaten and broken.

 

"Yeah, unless there is something else he wants to do, or is they something you want me to do?

 

"Are you going back to the city or to the house?"

 

"I'm going back to the house, why?" he asks.

 

"Can Romeo go with you, or will you be spending time with Beth.  Jake and Jesse are away for the weekend and I don't know what Steph has planned.  Just wanted some time to myself, that's all"

 

"I'll take him back to the house with me.  No problem.  Let me know when you want me to bring him back." Jon assures her that he will be fine.

 

"Will you be spending time with Beth?" she's dying to know.  She knows her husband is in love with another woman and there isn't anything she can do about it.  She knows that she needs to let him go, but she doesn't want to. 

 

With a faint chuckle, Jon says, "No, I don't think I'll be seeing Beth."  And he walks away to go get Romeo.  With Romeo in tow, Jon passes through the kitchen and says goodbye to Dot, Romeo hugs her and kisses her and they leave.

 

Outside Beth is waiting by her car.  She can't get out because Jon is blocking her in.  Jon sees her and asks, "You are going to lunch with us right?"  He knows she is, she can't say no to Romeo.  She's never been able to tell any of those Bongiovi children no.

 

"Yeah, I'm going - I hear they have killer fajitas."  She smiles, having eaten there a hundred times.  "I'll meet you there." She says as she walks to the driver door of her car.

 

"Beth can I go with you?" Romeo yells to her.  She looks back at Romeo next to his dad and waits for Jon to answer his question.  "That's up to your dad, honey.  We only have a few blocks to go."

 

'But I want to ride in your car, you have the roof that opens up.  Dads doesn't."  he tells Beth.  He loves her convertible and wants her to put the to down.  Beth is thinking it will take longer to put the top down than it will to drive there. 

 

Jon tells his son that it's okay to ride with Beth.  He gets in his car and Beth and Romeo get into hers.  She puts the top down and Romeo is in heaven.  They make the few block venture to the Blue Parrot and go in.  There is a small lunch crowd in there and yes, there are Bon Jovi fans in there.  The Blue Parrot isn't all that big, so Jon walks in and finds them a seat in the corner.  He sets the table so it's in a way that he can have his back to people.  He doesn't like the attention when he is with his family.  Specially Romeo. 

 

They order and eat lunch over stories of bike riding, rock climbing, camping and horseback riding.  Romeo has been having a great vacation, but he's ready to go back to school.  He tells his dad,"I miss my real friends."  And Jon knows what he means.  Jon tells him that he only has 1 more day and he can go back to day school.  Which really wasn't school, it was more of an organized day care, for older children.

 

When they finish eating, they walk out to Beth's car.  She parked in front on the street and Jon parked in the back - so they were walking her to her car.   Romeo assumes he's riding back with Beth, since her rode there with her.  He jumped right in like he had seen done in movies and cartoons. 

 

"Whoa buddy, what are you doing?  You have to ride with me." Jon says to his little man.

 

"But I want to ride with Beth, dad."

 

"Beth isn't going where we're going."  looking at her to see if she was, or even if she was considering it.  Beth slightly shakes her head no.  "You need to ride with me, come on."  He walks over and pulls the little guy out of the car. 

 

"Well, can we go see Beth where she is going?"  Romeo questions.  

 

Jon quietly says to him,  "I don't know what we're going to do.  Do you want to go see grandma and grandpa?"

 

Beth walks over to Jon, holding Romeo.  She smiles and says, "Bye boys.  Be good.  Jon, thank you for lunch and Romeo, thank you for being my lunch date."  She kisses them both on the cheek and gets in her car.  Jon and Romeo tell her goodbye.  She starts her car and drives away.  Jon stands there holding his son and wishes she would turn around.  Please don't go...........