Water Ch. 26 - Something For The Pain 2011

Beth gathers what she needs to catch up on the work she missed while she was running away from Jon.  Her Mac and a few folders and she plopped herself in the middle of her bed.  Turned on the TV for background noise and it was just about time for the news.
Forgetting for a moment the wonderfully terrible weekend she just had, she thinks she wants to watch the news.  Headline in New York City is Jon Bon Jovi's Mistress - really?  Nothing else happened in New York or the tri-state area that they could report about?  She grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. 


She managed to get a few reports done and put together a couple of portfolios' for perspective clients and called it a day.  She had enough number crunching and reports for the day, it was time to eat dinner and rest. She had been trying to read the latest Patricia Cornwell novel, but couldn't get into it.  So that was her goal, she was going to read that tonight.  She went into the kitchen and grabbed a can of soup out of the pantry.  She wasn't much in the mood to eat, but she knew she had to.  She sipped her soup, standing at the kitchen sink and she's reminded of an article she read once.  It stated single people when they eat at home alone, they do so at the kitchen counter/sink.  She was part of that statistic.

She finished eating, rinsed her bowl and spoon and put them in the dishwasher.  Went into her room to decide what she was going to wear into the office tomorrow.  She loved her skirt suits, but lately it's been chilly in the office because the air conditioning has been too high, always is in the fall.  So, she settled on a pant suit, with pink pin stripes.

All she needed to do now, was make it through the night.  And she knew it was going to be tough.  She had turned all her ringers off and made herself inaccessible to everyone, she prayed there wasn't an emergency.  She didn't want that surprise phone call ruining what was left of her night.  She settled in for the night.  Hopped into bed and started reading her book.  Patricia Cornwell was her favorite author and she could easily get lost in her books.  Her writing was that in a way that you could picture what she was describing.  Jon used to love when Beth would give her the readers digest of the book. Because he simply didn't have time to read novels.  From time to time she could get him to read a self help book or a biography.  He liked his news in print and that was just about all he would read.  They used to lie in bed together at night and read before turning out the lights.   

 

Unless there was something else they wanted to do.  Her mind started to wander, out of the book and into the things that her and Jon would do, when they didn't want to read.  She shook her head, she needed to stop doing that.  She is going to make her self crazy and that's what makes her week. Keep focused Beth Ann, you can do this.  You 'shook' him once before and had to get yourself through losing the baby, this is a piece of cake.  You got this! was all the pep talk she needed.  She hoisted her herself up and put her attention back to the words written on the pages. She got so into the book, she almost forgot about Jon and the passed weekend. 

 

She was startled when her buzzer went off indicating that someone needed her attention.  No one made it to her floor unless they were buzzed up.  She walks to the speaker and holds the button.

 

"Yes?" she says into the box.

 

"Miss Adams, it's Brian down at the front door.  There is a delivery down here for you.  Would you like me to bring it up for you?" he politely asks, and he knows it's an odd time for a delivery.  But, it is New York City.  

 

"Could you please Brian."  She hopes he will.  She didn't want to go down in her pajama's.  Although her pajama's are ones that she could wear to the store, if she felt like being a bum - but not today.

 

"I'll be right up, ma'am."  She lets go of the buzzer and goes to get her robe from the bathroom.  She puts it on and walks to the door and waits for Brian to emerge from the elevator.   

 

He gets off on her floor and walks to the door.  Watching through the peek hole she sees he's headed to her door.  She opens it and says, "Hi Brian, thanks for bringing it up.  Is the press still down there?" she asks, hoping they will all be gone before morning.   

 

"No ma'am, they are gone.  I shooed them all away earlier." handing her her package.  "I don't want that stuff in front of my building.  Makes us look bad."  He's right, when reporters hang out in front of someones house - it looks bad.  Regardless. 

 

"Thanks for everything.  I appreciate you bringing this up here."  She looks at it, it has no return address but she would know that handwriting from anywhere.  "Who delivered this Brian?  Did you see who it was?"  She speaks with authority in her voice.

 

"A black car dropped it off about 30 minutes ago.  A driver for someone." Brian was getting nervous, thinking he's getting into trouble.  "Miss Adams, I made them verify your full name and address before accepting the package.  I wasn't going to just take in some random box"  He's making his way out the door. 

 

"Thanks again Brian."  She closes the door and locks it behind her.  She shakes the package and it doesn't make a sound.  What could this be?  What is he up to?  She takes the box into the kitchen and gets a knife to slit the tape.  She pulls the top off the box and there is tissue paper covering what's in the box. 

She lifts off the tissue paper and sees something she thought she had lost years ago.  Something she thought was gone forever.  Her eyes started to tear up. She picks it up and brings it to her face.  She thinks it smells like her daddy.

She stands there and just cries and cries.  Eventually her hurt turns to anger and she is now pissed off.  Why would he send this to me now?  Why did he even have it?  Why is he torturing me like this?  Why??? All questions she needs answers to.

 

 

She took the baby blanket that Tico had made specially for McKenna into her room and laid it on the bed.  She went to her closet, with tears rolling down her face, and grabs the box of things that she had saved from McKenna's anticipated arrival.  The box contained many things.  From the positive home pregnancy test to the memoriam card from her service.  There wasn't much that she didn't have.  They were sent flowers and foods when they lost her and Beth dried some of the flowers, but the other stuff she had to dispose of.  And for the longest time she had beaten her self up because she thought she misplaced this blanket and now she knows Jon had it all this time?  How can it still smell like him?  They used the blanket in a photo shoot, for 10 minutes - how could it still smell like him?  It was in Mc Kenna's room with many other things that they needed to get cleaned and checked before she arrived and that blanket went missing.  Tico had that made for her baby. 

 

She wanted her baby buried with that blanket and she thought she lost it.  God damn you Jon Bon Jovi.  That was her blanket, not yours.  She should have been laid to rest with that blanket.