2005
They both made it to their final destinations, L.A. and New York City. Opposite sides of the country, and no where near where they wanted to be. But what could they do? She had a career that took her to L.A. half the time and he had a career that took him all over the world, most of the time.
If they were going to make it, they had to be patient and flexible, right? Neither were a trait that either of them possessed. He had zero patience and he will learn that she has even less.
He promised he would call her when he got to New York, and he did just that. She didn't answer the phone, so he left her a message. "Hey, babe - it's Jon. I just got into New York, I said I would call and I am. I hope you had a good flight and I hope you get a good night's sleep. Call me when you have a minute." And he hung up. He hoped she would call back, he really hoped she would.
Beth was back in L.A. She stopped at the market and got a few bottles of wine, because she knew she was out. She could have drank some of the wine she brought back from the Bongiovi Vineyard, but that was a gift for Amanda. She was saving it for her. In and out of the market and Beth was a happy girl. Driving home, in the warm California weather felt good. She was physically exhausted, but her mind was in overdrive. How was she going to focus at work? She can't possibly talk about her weekend at work, the only one she could talk to would be Tammy. And she didn't have that kind of relationship with her. So, she would just have to keep the bliss to herself.
Home and unpacked, she settles in for the night. She throws a load in the washing machine and get her dry cleaning ready to drop off in the morning. She finally looks at her phone and sees that she missed a call from Jon. She thinks to herself 'Wow, that didn't take him long to get home. She looks at the clock, it was 8:00pm her time. So it was 11:00 New York time. Her night went by quickly, cause she was able to keep herself busy puttering about. She grabbed her glass of Pinot and phone and stepped out onto the patio. When she was dialing Jon's phone number, she felt a little bit of panic. What if he lied about his marriage? What if his wife answers the phone? She didn't have time to talk herself out of it because she heard, "Hello."
"Hi. It's me." She says to him, feeling like she's in high school and she talking to her first crush.
"Hi me. How was your flight?" Obviously it was okay because she was calling him. He just wanted to know that she was treated well.
"The flight was good. How was your flight? Did you just land?" Feeling like she needs to hurry because it's so late in New York.
"My flight was good. It helped that I napped. I forgot what it was like to fly commercially. There were a couple of kids on the plane, that didn't want to be on the plane - they were loud at times. But overall, it was good." He didn't want to sound like he was to good to fly commercially, but it was the truth. He can't remember the last time he flew on a plane with strangers.
"Well, you're home - that's all that matters. When is your next show?" she wondered, she remembered he was on the east coast for the next two weeks, she just didn't remember when and where. She didn't feel the need to know all of those details.
"Tomorrow we're playing at the Prudential Center in Newark. I totally forgot about that show. It's a smaller venue, so that will be nice. I have already made plans to get the kids after breakfast tomorrow, so they will hang out with me for the day and then stay in Jersey for the show. I'm excited about that." he tells her, and he means it. He misses his children and he loved knowing they were backstage when he was playing. He liked that he was able to take his children to work with him.
"That will be great, I'm jealous. I hope you have a great day with them and they like the show." she knows the day will be great and if they like dad's music, they will love the show.
"Richie has his daughter here in the city, so she'll hang out backstage, too. The kids will have a good time. Wait till you meet Ava, such a great kid. She looks just like her mother."
Beth never even thought about stuff like that. Meeting the spouses or significant others of the band members, oh wow - would she fit in? His parents, what would his parents think of her, or his brothers? Beth had no family that she concerned herself with. When she went off to college, she left all the drinking and dysfunction behind and never looked back. She has not talked to her family in over 10 years, and if she talks to them before she dies, it will be too soon. She was ashamed and embarrassed by them and vowed she would never live like they do, or be like they are. That's why she is so driven to success and surrounds herself with positive things and positive people.
"How long is Ava in town?" Beth just wondered if she might meet her this upcoming weekend when she goes to New York to see Jon. She would love to meet her, Jon seems to like her.
"She's with Richie while we do the east coast dates. Richie has family that lives in New Jersey and New York, so she will be with Richie and family. He gets her this time every year."
"I look forward to meeting her. I look forward to meeting everyone." Beth thought that might seem to eager and waited for him to shoot her down, but he didn't.
"I can't wait for you to meet my parents. I talked with my mom earlier and told her all about you. She was thrilled to know I have met someone. She was worried I might go into a deep, writing depression once the kids went back to school and the tour ended. I assured her that I was not going to do that and that she would love you." She could hear the smile on his face, and she started to get little butterflies. She'll one day soon meet Jon Bon Jovi's parents? She literally pinched herself, and since it hurt - this is for real, she thought.
"I look forward to it." Repeating herself, with a little less eagerness. "What do you think they all will think of me?"
"They all will love you. No doubt." There he goes with his confidence again. She doesn't doubt it, but she really wonders what everyone will think.
She has only known this man for a couple of days, and no one will see what they see. Those looking in might blame her for the divorce. She can't let that bother her. She knows that she didn't destroy his marriage, he and Dorothea did that. She knows that she isn't a home wrecker, the home was wrecked before they even met.
"Aren't you home yet?" Beth asks, not sure how far he lived from the airport.
"I'll be there in about 5 minutes, thankfully traffic isn't bad. Why? Do you need to go? Am I keeping you from doing something?"
"No, no - I was just trying to figure out how far you lived from the airport."
"In good traffic, 15 minutes to my place in New York. That's where I'm going. I have an apartment in SoHo. The kids are in Red Bank with their mother, so I decided I'd go into the city - as opposed to going all the way out to East Hampton." He knows they never discussed his living arrangements and at this point, it's really not her business. She needs to trust what he says is true. She needs to trust a man that millions of women want. She needs to trust Jon.
Trying to make small talk, Jon asks her, "What does your day look like tomorrow?"
She laughs, "From here, it looks like its going to be long. I brought work home for the weekend, and didn't touch it. It's on the kitchen counter, where I dropped it Friday."
"What do you mean by long. How late will you be in the office?" Is what he meant to ask.
"I should be there no later 7:00, I make it a rule to get out of there by then. I will give Deloitte 12 hours and no more." He detects contentment in her voice.
"How long have you been with them? They're quite a big firm." He gives her a hint that he knows about what she does, he's a millionaire for gods sake.
"I've been with them since I got out of college. Almost, I'll be 36 in October, so almost 10 years. Had my Master's done and went right to work." She felt like she was bragging and didn't want him to think she was. But he quickly changed the subject by saying, "You're 36?" She couldn't detect what he was getting at. Was he insinuating she was old? Was young but looked old. Too young? What did he mean by 'You're 36?'
She said "In October, I will be 36 years young. How old are you?" He laughs when she says that. He thinks to himself, 'Here I have one that doesn't even know how old I am. I like this.'
"I just had a birthday, so I'm just 43. Not old, just older." He tells her and waits for her response.
Being a smart ass, she said "Hmm, I thought you were older."
Jon laughed at that too and asked her, "What made you think I was older? Do I look older than that?'
Felling like a ditz, she said "No you don't look older than 43, I just thought you were. Basing my thoughts just on what I have seen and heard in the media." Meaning all of his awards, his philanthropic endeavors, all the movies he was in and everything else that he's been involved in. She just thought he would be older.
"Well, I'm only 43, does that work for you?" she can hear he's getting out of the car, she heard a door slam and she heard him say, "Nope, I'll be driving tomorrow. Thank you."
"Your age doesn't matter, are you home now? I thought I heard a door close." Not wanting to tie him up on the phone when he's trying to get in the door.
"I am home, the street is empty, that's nice. There are usually a few women outside my door on any given day. None tonight. That must be the trick, come home in the middle of the night." he chuckles because he thinks he's funny.
Jon manages to get his bags and himself into the building without incident, without dropping anything - including his phone. He says hello to the woman at the desk and heads to the elevator. Beth is still in his ear. Pushes the button for his floor and asks her, "Do you have a place here in NY? Since you go back and forth so much?"
"I do not, although I should. I think I'm there more than I'm here. I like being here more though, so that might be why I haven't anchored myself in New York yet." the reason sounded like a good one to her, and it made sense. She loves L.A., she loved the weather and the people. Being in investing, she got her house in Malibu for a steal and when and if she decides to sell it she will triple what she paid.
"Have you looked for a place over here? There are some nice ones in Manhattan and surrounding areas?"
Ding. The elevator door opens and Jon walks to his place. She can hear that he's fumbling for keys. "Do you need to get off the phone so you can get in?'
"I should get off the phone, I need both hands - plus my call waiting was going crazy this whole time. I can't imagine who keeps calling at this hour. Can I call you tomorrow?" he hopes he can talk to her tomorrow and the next day and the next day...........
"Yeah, tomorrow is fine. You have my cell and office numbers, right?" she's pretty sure he did, she gave him a business card a while back.
"I do have all of your numbers, even the one you just called me on. This must be your home phone?" sounding like he was a detective and he's just found a clue to a mystery.
"This is my home land line, I only have it for my security system. I called from it because my cell was going to die."
"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow. Sleep well sweety."
"You too."
They hung up and their weekend was officailly over.
They both made it to their final destinations, L.A. and New York City. Opposite sides of the country, and no where near where they wanted to be. But what could they do? She had a career that took her to L.A. half the time and he had a career that took him all over the world, most of the time.
If they were going to make it, they had to be patient and flexible, right? Neither were a trait that either of them possessed. He had zero patience and he will learn that she has even less.
He promised he would call her when he got to New York, and he did just that. She didn't answer the phone, so he left her a message. "Hey, babe - it's Jon. I just got into New York, I said I would call and I am. I hope you had a good flight and I hope you get a good night's sleep. Call me when you have a minute." And he hung up. He hoped she would call back, he really hoped she would.
Beth was back in L.A. She stopped at the market and got a few bottles of wine, because she knew she was out. She could have drank some of the wine she brought back from the Bongiovi Vineyard, but that was a gift for Amanda. She was saving it for her. In and out of the market and Beth was a happy girl. Driving home, in the warm California weather felt good. She was physically exhausted, but her mind was in overdrive. How was she going to focus at work? She can't possibly talk about her weekend at work, the only one she could talk to would be Tammy. And she didn't have that kind of relationship with her. So, she would just have to keep the bliss to herself.
Home and unpacked, she settles in for the night. She throws a load in the washing machine and get her dry cleaning ready to drop off in the morning. She finally looks at her phone and sees that she missed a call from Jon. She thinks to herself 'Wow, that didn't take him long to get home. She looks at the clock, it was 8:00pm her time. So it was 11:00 New York time. Her night went by quickly, cause she was able to keep herself busy puttering about. She grabbed her glass of Pinot and phone and stepped out onto the patio. When she was dialing Jon's phone number, she felt a little bit of panic. What if he lied about his marriage? What if his wife answers the phone? She didn't have time to talk herself out of it because she heard, "Hello."
"Hi. It's me." She says to him, feeling like she's in high school and she talking to her first crush.
"Hi me. How was your flight?" Obviously it was okay because she was calling him. He just wanted to know that she was treated well.
"The flight was good. How was your flight? Did you just land?" Feeling like she needs to hurry because it's so late in New York.
"My flight was good. It helped that I napped. I forgot what it was like to fly commercially. There were a couple of kids on the plane, that didn't want to be on the plane - they were loud at times. But overall, it was good." He didn't want to sound like he was to good to fly commercially, but it was the truth. He can't remember the last time he flew on a plane with strangers.
"Well, you're home - that's all that matters. When is your next show?" she wondered, she remembered he was on the east coast for the next two weeks, she just didn't remember when and where. She didn't feel the need to know all of those details.
"Tomorrow we're playing at the Prudential Center in Newark. I totally forgot about that show. It's a smaller venue, so that will be nice. I have already made plans to get the kids after breakfast tomorrow, so they will hang out with me for the day and then stay in Jersey for the show. I'm excited about that." he tells her, and he means it. He misses his children and he loved knowing they were backstage when he was playing. He liked that he was able to take his children to work with him.
"That will be great, I'm jealous. I hope you have a great day with them and they like the show." she knows the day will be great and if they like dad's music, they will love the show.
"Richie has his daughter here in the city, so she'll hang out backstage, too. The kids will have a good time. Wait till you meet Ava, such a great kid. She looks just like her mother."
Beth never even thought about stuff like that. Meeting the spouses or significant others of the band members, oh wow - would she fit in? His parents, what would his parents think of her, or his brothers? Beth had no family that she concerned herself with. When she went off to college, she left all the drinking and dysfunction behind and never looked back. She has not talked to her family in over 10 years, and if she talks to them before she dies, it will be too soon. She was ashamed and embarrassed by them and vowed she would never live like they do, or be like they are. That's why she is so driven to success and surrounds herself with positive things and positive people.
"How long is Ava in town?" Beth just wondered if she might meet her this upcoming weekend when she goes to New York to see Jon. She would love to meet her, Jon seems to like her.
"She's with Richie while we do the east coast dates. Richie has family that lives in New Jersey and New York, so she will be with Richie and family. He gets her this time every year."
"I look forward to meeting her. I look forward to meeting everyone." Beth thought that might seem to eager and waited for him to shoot her down, but he didn't.
"I can't wait for you to meet my parents. I talked with my mom earlier and told her all about you. She was thrilled to know I have met someone. She was worried I might go into a deep, writing depression once the kids went back to school and the tour ended. I assured her that I was not going to do that and that she would love you." She could hear the smile on his face, and she started to get little butterflies. She'll one day soon meet Jon Bon Jovi's parents? She literally pinched herself, and since it hurt - this is for real, she thought.
"I look forward to it." Repeating herself, with a little less eagerness. "What do you think they all will think of me?"
"They all will love you. No doubt." There he goes with his confidence again. She doesn't doubt it, but she really wonders what everyone will think.
She has only known this man for a couple of days, and no one will see what they see. Those looking in might blame her for the divorce. She can't let that bother her. She knows that she didn't destroy his marriage, he and Dorothea did that. She knows that she isn't a home wrecker, the home was wrecked before they even met.
"Aren't you home yet?" Beth asks, not sure how far he lived from the airport.
"I'll be there in about 5 minutes, thankfully traffic isn't bad. Why? Do you need to go? Am I keeping you from doing something?"
"No, no - I was just trying to figure out how far you lived from the airport."
"In good traffic, 15 minutes to my place in New York. That's where I'm going. I have an apartment in SoHo. The kids are in Red Bank with their mother, so I decided I'd go into the city - as opposed to going all the way out to East Hampton." He knows they never discussed his living arrangements and at this point, it's really not her business. She needs to trust what he says is true. She needs to trust a man that millions of women want. She needs to trust Jon.
Trying to make small talk, Jon asks her, "What does your day look like tomorrow?"
She laughs, "From here, it looks like its going to be long. I brought work home for the weekend, and didn't touch it. It's on the kitchen counter, where I dropped it Friday."
"What do you mean by long. How late will you be in the office?" Is what he meant to ask.
"I should be there no later 7:00, I make it a rule to get out of there by then. I will give Deloitte 12 hours and no more." He detects contentment in her voice.
"How long have you been with them? They're quite a big firm." He gives her a hint that he knows about what she does, he's a millionaire for gods sake.
"I've been with them since I got out of college. Almost, I'll be 36 in October, so almost 10 years. Had my Master's done and went right to work." She felt like she was bragging and didn't want him to think she was. But he quickly changed the subject by saying, "You're 36?" She couldn't detect what he was getting at. Was he insinuating she was old? Was young but looked old. Too young? What did he mean by 'You're 36?'
She said "In October, I will be 36 years young. How old are you?" He laughs when she says that. He thinks to himself, 'Here I have one that doesn't even know how old I am. I like this.'
"I just had a birthday, so I'm just 43. Not old, just older." He tells her and waits for her response.
Being a smart ass, she said "Hmm, I thought you were older."
Jon laughed at that too and asked her, "What made you think I was older? Do I look older than that?'
Felling like a ditz, she said "No you don't look older than 43, I just thought you were. Basing my thoughts just on what I have seen and heard in the media." Meaning all of his awards, his philanthropic endeavors, all the movies he was in and everything else that he's been involved in. She just thought he would be older.
"Well, I'm only 43, does that work for you?" she can hear he's getting out of the car, she heard a door slam and she heard him say, "Nope, I'll be driving tomorrow. Thank you."
"Your age doesn't matter, are you home now? I thought I heard a door close." Not wanting to tie him up on the phone when he's trying to get in the door.
"I am home, the street is empty, that's nice. There are usually a few women outside my door on any given day. None tonight. That must be the trick, come home in the middle of the night." he chuckles because he thinks he's funny.
Jon manages to get his bags and himself into the building without incident, without dropping anything - including his phone. He says hello to the woman at the desk and heads to the elevator. Beth is still in his ear. Pushes the button for his floor and asks her, "Do you have a place here in NY? Since you go back and forth so much?"
"I do not, although I should. I think I'm there more than I'm here. I like being here more though, so that might be why I haven't anchored myself in New York yet." the reason sounded like a good one to her, and it made sense. She loves L.A., she loved the weather and the people. Being in investing, she got her house in Malibu for a steal and when and if she decides to sell it she will triple what she paid.
"Have you looked for a place over here? There are some nice ones in Manhattan and surrounding areas?"
Ding. The elevator door opens and Jon walks to his place. She can hear that he's fumbling for keys. "Do you need to get off the phone so you can get in?'
"I should get off the phone, I need both hands - plus my call waiting was going crazy this whole time. I can't imagine who keeps calling at this hour. Can I call you tomorrow?" he hopes he can talk to her tomorrow and the next day and the next day...........
"Yeah, tomorrow is fine. You have my cell and office numbers, right?" she's pretty sure he did, she gave him a business card a while back.
"I do have all of your numbers, even the one you just called me on. This must be your home phone?" sounding like he was a detective and he's just found a clue to a mystery.
"This is my home land line, I only have it for my security system. I called from it because my cell was going to die."
"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow. Sleep well sweety."
"You too."
They hung up and their weekend was officailly over.
Looking forward to Beth meeting his family and Ava.
ReplyDeleteWonder who kept calling Jon while he was talking to Beth?