Monday, May 27, 2013

Water Ch. 100 - Water Into Wine



He kept calling and calling, and she continued to ignore it.  She finally turned her cell phone off and lowered the volumn on her answering machine  He would call her cell phone, and then her home phone.  Message after message.........she can't listen to it.  She's running many of his possible excuses through her mind and she has yet to come up with one that she would accept.  She can't live a life like this.  She should be able to know that he can be around Dorothea and she can trust him.  Trust him, how can I trust someone that I literally just met?  The conversation that she's having with herself now, is one she should have had weeks ago, but didn't.  How can she put so much into a man like Jon?  He is wonderful and she knows that he loves her - but to what extent is the newest question.  Did he not love her enough to call her and tell her why he wasn't coming home? 

Jon is back in New Jersey now and Richie is with him.  They had a week of Soul appearances and interviews, so Richie was in town.  This time, without Ava.  The guys are sitting at the table talking and Richie can see that his best friend is troubled. 

"Dude,  what the hell is going on?  You keep calling her and leaving messages.  What happened?" Richie asks his best friend, as a good best friend would do.

Jon looks at Richie with a look of, what the hell do I do and he starts with, "I left her last night at the airport and flew the kids out to Dot.  Beth stayed in the city and went home.  When I got out to the Hampton's to drop the kids off, I sat on the couch in the main living room and fell asleep.  Dorothea left me there all night.  Told the kids to 'leave daddy alone, he's really tired', so the kids never even woke me up.  Dot woke me up about 9:00 and told me Beth had called.  I asked Dot what she had said, and Dot said she just told Beth I was sleeping and hung up.  I haven't been able to get ahold of Beth since I woke up." Jon sounds defeated.

Richie chuckles, "THAT is what has your panties in a bunch?  You're stressing over that?"

"You have no idea what we've gone through in just the last couple of days.  She's pregnant, Richie.  And now she's probably thinking I slept with Dorothea.  She isn't at her New York apartment and not answering or returning my calls.  I believe she went back to LA." He hangs his head.

"Man, you know this won't last.  The two of you are meant to be together.  I assume she's pretty pissed that you.....you're gonna have another baby? Man that is so cool!" Richie smiles his bug smile at Jon and is truly thrilled about it. Richie always wanted more children of his own, but it didn't seem to be in his cards.

"Thanks, we just found out a couple of days ago.  The only one that knows are my parent, please don't tell anyone!  I don't know what to do.  I can't just drop everything and run out there, again.  I'm always the one going after her."  Jon confides in Richie and reads the look on his face.  Richie could not believe that Jon said he wouldn't go after her? 

"So, don't go after her.  Let her know what happened and let her come to you.  I'm sure when she finds out, she'll feel like an ass and come to you.  Women always do that.  Act first and then think later.  And trust me, I know women."

Jon shakes his head a little and says, "I don't know about this one, Rich.  She's a tough one to figure out.  I need to find out if she's back in California."

"I'll call Denise and have her stop by, to say hi.  Her and Beth aren't close, but having her drop by won't seem out of the ordinary.  Hang on, I'll call her."  Richie picks up his cell phone and calls his assistant, Denise Salazar.  Denise agrees to run by on her way to the gym, she'll let Richie knows how it goes.    "Ok, Denise will drop by Beth's, we'll know soon enough if she's back in LA."

Beth and Denise became friendly when ever they were together backstage.  They liked one another and got along pretty good.  Beth wouldn't think that anything was 'up' if Denise just stopped by.  Beth might in fact, enjoy the visit.

Jon and Richie get back to the task at hand, trying to decide on next years uniforms, both home and away.  It was a menial task, but one that football team owners need to do.  The wrong uniforms could make or break a team.  They sat there and discussed colors, logo design changes - but Jon couldn't concentrate, couldn't focus.  And that was starting to irritate Richie.  Richie gets up from the table, "Do you want a drink?  I need one, you are stressing me the fuck out."

"Maybe I should, maybe that will help with the tension I feel between my shoulders.  I'm sorry, Rich - I just can't handle this.  I don't know how to act, I have never been in a situation like this.  I have always been the one chased after."  Jon gets up and looks out the window, he thought he had seen a car pull in, and he did.  It was just more fans stopping by and checking out JBJ's house.  The Shoe in is close to the road, but far enough away so fans can't see in the window.  "Why do they drive by?  There are pictures of this place all over the Internet.  Do they think they are going to see me?"  Jon's getting irritated, by everything.  He knows it's because of Beth and his lack of communication.  He needs to talk to her.  He needs her to know what really happened.

Richie pours them both two fingers of Jack Daniels, hands one to Jon and says, "Bottoms up.  That's the way I like 'em."  And Richie gulped down his drink, with the sound of fire coming from his gut, upon exhale.  "Whoa, I won't do that again.  I forgot how nasty that stuff is."  Jon chuckles and follows suit.  Agreeing that the stuff was bad. 

The two of them continued with the Soul business that needed to be tended to, when Jon remembers he had laid a few tracks and he wanted Richie to hear them.  ""Oh shit, I can't believe I forgot - I put down some new tracks with some lyrics for the next album, wanna hear them?"  Jon walks toward the door that leads into the control room of the studio.  Richie follows him.

Sitting in the chairs that they have sat in, time after time, the two of them know what buttons they need to turn on, turn up and control.  Jon cues up "Summertime", and for some reason, he's a little nervous, maybe a little embarrassed.  Jon knows that the songs he 's recorded and written already are not the normal for Bon Jovi.  But Bon Jovi needs to change some things up a little bit.  Richie liked Summertime, in fact, he added a few lines - changed a note or two and laid down some guitar.  Jon and Richie were in the studio working on the Lost Highway album and both of them lost all track of time. 

When Richie heard what Jon had recorded for 'Seat Next To You', he was speechless.  He couldn't believe that Jon came up with the lyrical gold on his own.  "Jon, where did THAT come from?"  Referring to the lyrics for the song.  "Those lyrics can apply to anyone in every situation.....asking for someone to save a seat.  Makes me think of heaven."   Richie is impressed, but he knows that good lyrics deserve great music, and he tells Jon, "When we get done with the interview and photo shoot with the guys today, we're finishing this song.  We can get it written and have Dave and Tico lay there parts tomorrow."  Jon sees Richie's excitement and feels bad that he isn't sharing it.  Usually, the two of them share in this, but not today.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles Beth is unpacking her suitcase, like she's done for what seems like a million times in the past month or so.  And she's thinking, as she puts her luggage in storage, 'I won't be getting you out for a while.'  With the unpacking done, she puts her clothes in the laundry and goes to find a snack.  She isn't hungry, but she knows she has to eat.  In the kitchen, sucking on a GoGurt, she decides to start making a list.  She needs groceries and a few things around the house.  When she finishes that, she walks through the house and sees the remnants from the Bongiovi visit.  She missed the kids already and she wondered what Jon was going to tell them.  Will he be honest or will he make something up?  That broke her heart.  She had just made plans with Stephanie for a girls day and her dad ruined that for both of them.  She needed to shake the loneliness and the heartbreak off and try to make the rest of her day productive.  She was heading back to work tomorrow to bury herself in the numbers and the headache of spending other people's money.  Maybe she would call a meeting with her staff, and explain what's been going on with her.  As a VP at Deloitte, her personal life has been pretty secret.  She needed to be more open and personable with her staff.   She wanted everyone to feel important  at Deloitte.  At the very least, she will pull something good from this terrible experience.  She will become a better person, and help as many as she can - she needed to be more receptive to other people thoughts and feelings and she needed to stop keeping people at an arm's length.  She was going to be a mother, and other than Tammy, she was all alone. 

She finished her yogurt and went to clean up a little bit.  She splashed water on her face, brushed her teeth and decided she would go into the office for a little bit.  Shoes on, bag and keys in hand, cell phone on again and in her bag - she heads to the door.  Reaching for the lock, the doorbell rings.  She's startled, she jumps and she thinks real quick to herself, 'There's no way he's here this fast.'  And she runs the time through her mind.  The doorbell chimes again.  Beth unlocks the door and opens it and is happy to see Denise standing there.

"Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?"  Beth asks, smiling.

Denise prepared her lie before getting there, "I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd stop by."

"Come in, come in."  Beth steps back and Denise comes in.  Beth leads her to the living room and the sit down.  "What a pleasant surprise.  How are you?"

"Is this a bad time?  I see you have your purse and keys in your hand, do you want me to go?"  Denise asks, seeing that Beth looks like she was leaving.

Beth puts her keys and purse on the coffee table and says, "I just got back from New York, I was going to head into the office for a little while. You're good, can I get you anything to drink?" 

Denise declines a beverage and asks, "What were you doing in New York?  If I would have known you were going to be there, I would have gone with Richie."

"Richie is in New York?" Beth questions, a little shocked.  She had no idea. 

"Him and Jon are doing appearances and stuff for their arena football team.  PR.  I didn't need to go. Thankfully, I just wanted to stay home and be normal for a while."  Denise starts to tell her, "It's bad enough that we leave next weekend for a six country European tour.  I am ready for an off tour year."

"Next weekend?'

"Yeah, didn't Jon tell you?"

"He told me yesterday that he had to leave, but didn't say when.  I guess I assumed it wasn't right around the corner."  Beth is certain that Denise can hear a little bit of anger in her voice.  "How long is it?"

Denise can sense something, "You just came back from New York?  How come?  The tour is only 2 weeks, it's just the traveling that makes it suck."

"We flew out there yesterday after having the kids here.  I flew home today because I have had enough of the rock star lifestyle.  I have had my fill."  Beth chuckles, trying to lighten the mood, but Denise knows her well enough and has heard enough about Beth to know that something is up.

"Are you going to tell me what's really going on?"  Denise is done playing nice.  She can see it all over Beth's face that she needs to talk.



Jon and Richie flew to Philly and made their appearance, took care of business and were on their way back to Red Bank when Jon's phone rang.  He took it out of his coat pocket and seen that it was Stephanie.  Immediately answering it, he says, "Talk to me gorgeous."

"Dad, stop.  Can I talk to Beth?  She's not answering her phone."

"Steph, she's not with me.  I haven't seen her or talked to her all day.  I'm sorry."

"What do you mean dad?  Where is she?"

"I think she's back in Los Angeles.  I'm not sure though, like I said I haven't talked to her.  What's up?" he asks her.  He doesn't want to have this conversation with her, but he can't avoid it either.

"Dad, why would she be in L.A.?  What did you do?" she's getting angry at her dad now.  She feels like he's playing a game with her.

Jon knows he has to be honest, because that's what he would want from Stephanie.  "She called my cell phone this morning and your mom answered it.  I assume she's mad about that and the fact that I slept on the couch last night.  But, I haven't talked to her.  So, I can't say for sure.  What's up, is everything okay Stephanie?" He firms up his voice, letting her know that he's still her dad.

"Dad, you have to fix this.  We are going shopping this weekend." Stephanie is now talking to her dad like she might talk to a friend that she's pissed at. "Never mind, I'll keep calling her.  Maybe she's done being mad at you and will talk to me?"  Stephanie hangs up the phone and tries Beth again.

Beth is sitting there with Denise, playing catch up and get to know you.  She hears her phone vibrate and looks at who it is.  Stephanie, 4 times - so she answers it.  "Hi Steph, how are you?"

"I'm fine, where are you Beth?"  She hits her right out of the gate.

"Stephanie, I am back home in L.A., what's up?"  Beth asks her, genuinely concerned.

"My dad said that you were mad because my mom answered his phone.  Beth, he was passed out on the couch and my mom told us all to let him sleep.  With the way mom is, we listened to her.  She's being really weird lately.  I don't know why she would have answered his phone, she did it to be a bitch to you.  Don't be mad at dad, please.  He was just exhausted and passed out on the couch.  I covered him with a blanket around midnight.  When we got back from that stupid play, we could hear his snores from outside.  Please call my dad."  She's pleading.  Stephanie really likes Beth and she isn't ready for her to be out of her life. 

"How about I think about it?  Will that work?  I have alot on my mind and I have company right now.  Can I call you back?" Beth tries to calm Steph down a little bit and she succeeded.  They hung up the phone and Denise had the look of 'what the hell is going on' on her face.  So Beth told her.

"Beth, let me tell you this, Richie is my best friend and my employer, and I know alot about you and Jon.  And I can tell you this, you are way off base if you think anything happened last night.  That is not the Jon that he's become since before he met you.  He loves you, all of you.  Even all of your quirks.  And I hear you have alot.  But anyway, nothing happened with Jon and Dot last night.  There would be a better chance of me having sex with Jon, and that will NEVER happen.  Call him.  You really need to call him."

"It just always seems to be something when it comes to Dorothea.  I know they are getting divorced and it's to be final in a few weeks, but he never called.  That's what pisses me off.  I woke up in my apartment alone.  No call, nothing.  I was crushed."  Beth tried to get Denise to understand, but she sees that's not happening.  "Can I tell you something in confidence Denise?"

Denise nods her head yes and tells Beth, "Of course. I am legally bound from saying anything that happens in the bands life, or the branches of their life.  You're protected.  What's up?"

Beth takes a deep breath and slowly begins to tell Beth that her and Jon just found out that they were pregnant.  The look on Denise's face was all she needed to see.  Denise smiled SO big, it made Beth think that Denise acted like it was her that found out that she was pregnant.  She hugged her and congratulated her.  "How did Jon take the news?"

"Jon gave me the impression that he was excited and thrilled about it, but then he does a disappearing act and sleeps over at Dorothea's.  I don't understand that, that isn't acceptable, Denise."

Denise takes her friends hand and says, "Please don't make any decisions or change you life course over this.  I know in my heart of hearts that nothing happened.  It's just as Stephanie said.  And Steph would not lie about it.  Call him.  I'll leave and finish my errands and when I leave, call him. Please, for me.  The two of you belong together."

Denise gets up and makes her way to the front door.  Beth is behind her and she tells her goodbye.  As Denise walks away, she hollers to Beth, "CALL HIM!"

Beth waves and goes back inside.  She grabs her phone ans picks it up.  She pulls up Jon's contact and presses send, but hangs up right away.  She can't do it, she's not ready.  She isn't ready to go to NYC and pretend that this didn't happen.  She needs to clear her head and get HER life back in order.  Being the girlfriend of a rock star wansn't easy in anyway, and she didn't like the feeling that she was the one that had to sacrifice. 

A few days go by and Stephanie called Beth again, while she was at the office.  Beth was a little shocked, but Steph must have needed to talk.  Beth gave her her phone number for that very reason.



 

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