Water Ch. 69 - Father Time

The morning was as beautiful as anything Beth had ever seen. She woke up before Jon and quietly made her way to the bathroom. She was getting good at using objects along her route, to get where she needed without using the cumbersome crutches. She brushed her teeth, put on her robe and made her way to the kitchen. She wanted to surprise him with breakfast in bed. He deserved it and she wanted to do that for him. It's the least she could do for him, she thought.

In the kitchen she was greeted by a cheery staff. "Good Morning, Miss Adams. What can we get for you??" Asks the head chef, Andre. "We have anything you could possibly want, just name it." Beth stood there and thought for a moment, and decided Jon would like an omelet with fresh veggies and some cheese. A side of lean ham and wheat toast. They could share a carafe of orange juice and a pot of coffee. Beth ordered herself her daily fresh fruit. Once she gives their breakfast list she asks the steward to please bring it to the state room, as she was unable to carry it herself. He agreed and she went back to the room. She grabbed a book and stepped out onto the front deck and sat their and tried to read. She couldn't get her mind off of last night. She was so happy and yet she has hesitations. Was it talking about Brian that made her feel this way? Shaking that off, she gave reading the Bill Clinton book one more try. When she was finally able to get interested, she heard a faint knock at the door. She made her way over to answer it and asked the steward to place the tray on the bed,. He did as asked and quietly disappeared.

Knowing how he likes to be woken up, she works her way over to his side of the bed, drops her bathrobe and sits on the edge of the bed. She gently shakes him, "Jon, honey, breakfast is here." She leans over and kisses his face. First his cheek, the corner of his eye, his forehead and works her way down his nose to his lips. Landing right where she was planning on going.

He rolls onto his back, putting his hands behind his head and smiles at the naked women sitting on the edge of a bed. "Mmm, good morning." he says.

She leans over and kisses him, and asks, "Are you ready to eat? I had breakfast made, with coffee and orange juice."

He looks outside and says, "Lets go eat out on the deck, it looks gorgeous out there." He sits up, running his hands down her back and pulling her to him. "Will that work?"

She looks outside and shakes her head yes, and says, "You have to carry the tray. I'll meet you out there. I wanna put my suit on and catch some of those rays." She gets up and makes her way to the dresser and pulls out her suit. Jon gets up and uses the rest room. On his way outside he grabs his cigarettes and the breakfast tray.

They both sit at the table and start to eat their breakfast. Beth has her bathing suit on and Jon is just in a bathrobe. Both are kicking back and relaxing with each other and soaking up the sun. Jon breaks the silence with, "How did you sleep?"

Beth looked at him and honestly said, "Not very well. I've been up for a while already. How did you sleep?" She asks.

He chuckles, "When I got out of the shower, you were dead to the world. So, I snuggled in with you and fell asleep, that's the last thing I remember. I don't think I woke up at all. How come you didn't sleep so good babe?"

"I'm not sure if it's that we talked about Brian or if it's just the culmination of the last few days, but I slept very bad. In and out all night long." She admits to him, not really wanting Brian to be an issue in their relationship.

Jon wonders, "Was it pain or was I to blame?"

"No, my mind just wouldn't shut off, I guess. My pain has been pretty mild actually. I know I went right to sleep, the sex and shower helped with that, I guess it just wasn't enough." she winks at him, "you'll have to try harder tonight."

He smiles and tells her, "I accept that challenge, are you up for it?"

"Baby, I'm up for it whenever you want to give it to me." she can't wait for tonight.

Jon tops off her coffee and gives her the sugar. Beth thanks him and starts to eat her watermelon and pineapple. Her favorite breakfast food and Jon is loving his veggie omelet, buy he has to ask, "Why am I eating ham? I'm a sausage guy. Specially at breakfast."

"I want you to eat better, we both need too. Just because we live the jet set lifestyle doesn't mean we have to eat like it." she's not sure how he's going to handle that, and she doesn't care. She wants him healthy and happy. Next she might work on the cigarettes.

Joking with her, he says, "If I have to eat healthy I have to stop eating you, cause you're too sweet to be healthy.."

Giving him the 'really' look she says, "That's the corniest thing you have ever said. And I should taste sweet, as much fruit as I eat." She leans back and puts her legs on an empty chair, lifting her face up to face the sun. It's warm and the breeze off the ocean makes this moment perfect. And we all know, perfect moments never last very long.

Jon stands up and takes the bathrobe off and sits back down. Beth sees that and cautions him on sunburn, but he claims that he's Italian and he doesn't burn, he tans. Ok, she warned him. He too puts his feet up on an empty chair and puts his head back. Both are sitting there drinking coffee, enjoying the morning in the sun, living the life of luxury.

Beth turns her head to the left and looks at Jon. She has some questions about his divorce and she thinks now is a good time to ask, so she says, "What is Dots hang up with the divorce, really?"

Jon turns his head to the right and says, "I don't know how to answer that, honestly. There really wasn't one thing she was hung up on, it was many different reasons with only one reality. She doesn't want to get divorced, period. But everything involving our lives was her excuse. Peter has taken care of everything, now we just wait the required time and it's done. I'm giving her everything she wants, except the kids. We will have joint custody." He exhales, he can't believe he said it all on one breathe.

"What do you mean, everything she wants?" Beth asks, unaware of what Dot thinks she wants.

"She wants the New York apartment and the Hampton house. She can have ten. She tried to get my share of the Blue Parrot and I shot that down. I get the bar, the New Jersey house and the Nashville house. All the money that I've made over the years allow her a nice alimony check every month and I'm required to keep life and health insurance on her."

"But what about the money that you have? Does she get half of it all? What about future warnings? Does she get a claim on that?" Beth is all about money, that's what she does for a living. She can suggest shelters and accounts to hide money if he needs.

Jon lights a cigarette and takes a drink of his coffee, and says, "Back in the early days, I was screwed over really bad and that taught me to protect my money. Jon Bon Jovi has a nice income, but the business of Bon Jovi is where it's all at. It's protected from Dorothea and her lawyers. I made that money, she didn't. I agreed to pay the expenses on everything every month and give her $50, 000.00 a month in alimony. If she can't make it off a 50G's than she needs to get herself another rock star. Cause this dude ain't doing it. He pauses to see the expression on Beth's face, and he's not surprised that she doesn't have one. She looks at him blankly and wonders, is it really going to be that easy?

"So you're telling me that this divorce is a done deal? You're sure this is what you want? Be honest Jon, not that I think you haven't been, but you two have been together a very long time. That has to be hard?" She says with as much compassion as she can muster.

He reaches over and grabs her hand and squeezes it and begins with, "The divorce was filed before I met you. She forced my hand. I came home from a tour of Europe a day earlier than she expected and I caught her in bed with a guy that used to teach at her dojo. That wasn't the kicker, the kicker was that I had Stephanie and Jesse with me. I knew right there that that was the end. She has tried to reconcile., but I won't fall into it again. Plus, I don't love her anymore." He feels a little better about putting that out there for her, he wants nothing more than to ease her mind of anything and everything. Jon loves Beth and he wants to be an open book, just like he wants her to be an open book.

Curious, Beth asks, "Will she dictate when you can see the kids? Will it be a hassle for you?"

Without hesitation and with a firmness he replies, "If she tries that, she will live to regret it. No one comes between me and my children. No one!"  He said that in a way that Beth believes it to be true.  And looking back at the relationship that Dot had with her children, for the little bit that Beth was with all of them - she thought that maybe the kids were too much for Dorothea to handle alone?  Jon has to add, "So, don't be surprised if I have the kids alot.  I plan on having them as much as I can once the tour is over."

"When is this tour over?  I know you mentioned a couple of cities, but is that the end?" she trying to figure out what's going to happen in his life, which in turn will help her plan hers.

"I have a fundraiser in Chicago and one in Detroit, and that's the end of my tour.  I'm not exactly sure of the dates, but I know they're next week sometime.  Do you want to go?"  Looking at her, knowing her answer, but he had to ask anyway.

She stood up and stretched a little bit and walked over to a lounge chair, to lay down and soak up more sun.  He watches her walk and loves every thing that he's seeing.  "Hey, you're getting pretty good at walking with that thing." 

Beth looks back at him, "Are you looking at my ass?" And she laughs.  "Or are you checking out this hot piece of plaster on my leg?"

"The plaster, always the plaster.  I would never look at your ass, are you crazy." He walks over to her and while leaning over her, he gives her many good morning kisses and many many more.  "Do you want to go to Detroit and Chicago with us?"  He sits down next to her.

She has thought about that question before he asked it the second time, and she thinks she'll go, but she needs to get home and see a doctor about her leg before she does anything and agrees to go anywhere.  "I'll go, but don't hold me to it.  I need to get home and see a doctor about the leg before I can schedule anything, or plan anything." 

"Ok, well we'll wait and see what the doctor says, and hopefully you can go with us.  We could do some shopping in Chicago, head out to the Pier.  That would be nice." he continues to tell her, "I can't tell you the last time I was on the Pier.  I love it there.  Detroit on the other hand, I can live without."

"I love Chicago too.  I go there quite a bit for work, and make it a point to hit Michigan Street.  I love to shop, when all the shops are close together.  Detroit, I go there for work, but not very often.  Mostly just to train some new investors that just signed on with Deloitte.  I don't like it either."  she sees that they have even more in common and she loves it.  She loves that they share common interests and common places.  The man is turning into Mr. Right - really fast.

Changing the subject and taking the conversation back to where it already was this morning, Jon getting up and laying on the lounge chair next to Beth, still naked, says, "Let's talk about Brian.  I need you to tell me more, babe.  I see that he is still very much alive in you and I want to help you with that.  Is that okay?" he cringes slightly because he knows that Brian is a sore subject for her, sore because her heart is still broken.