Water Ch. 81 - Only In My Dreams

It's been a long time since Beth woke to the smell of bacon, but when she did, she loved it. Sitting up in bed she sees that her rock star isn't in bed next to her. Looking at the time and seeing that its 10am, she tries to hop out of bed. She quickly learned she wasn't hopping anywhere. Her stomach muscles, back muscles and thighs are sore, lets not forget her leg. The loving that her and Jon shared last night worked it's toll on Beth, and her body. Slowing her pace a little bit, she manages to get out of bed and into the bathroom before Jon learns that she's awake. She's in the bathroom, going to the bathroom and he walks up to her and kisses her and says, "Good Morning beautiful!"

"Jon I'm on the toilet!" She snaps at him.

"So. You're still beautiful on the toilet. Come on, I made breakfast." And he exits the bathroom. Beth finishes her business, which included washing her hands and brushing her teeth. She pulled her hair up into a bun on the top of her head.  When she was done, she walked into the kitchen that smelled so good and she couldn't see Jon. But she did notice the French doors on the patio were opened.

Walking out onto the porch, she was blown away by the layout that he did for her, for breakfast. There were flowers everywhere, fresh cut. Beth's senses were in heaven. "Jon, this is beautiful. How long have you been up?" She looks over the food and sees all of her favorites.

Jon pulls out a chair for her and she sits. "Thank you!" She reaches back and taps his hand. "This is amazing! I love it.  Thank you."

"It took me a while to get this patio furniture cleaned. Damn woman, don't you come out here? It looked like several years of grime on the stuff. The cover wasn't even on. Looks like it had blown off." He tells her, critiquing her patio furniture.

She smiles and says, "I'm sorry. The last time I was out here, I had dinner with Brian. That's how long it has been." She lowers her head, suddenly hit with a little bit of sadness.

Jon sees that and takes her hand, "Do you want me to take this inside. I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"No, no this is fine honey. Lets eat. Looks like you have been busy, it all looks delicious." Beth says as she's buttering a slice of whole wheat toast.

Jon sits next to her and pours her a cup of coffee. She smiles at him and then winks. "Do you want some bacon? It's actually turkey bacon. I can't eat the real stuff." He chuckles, "I'm getting old." And he pats his belly.

Sipping her coffee, looking over her cup at him, she says, "For a man you're age, you're looking pretty good. I'd love some bacon. That fruit looks fresh, did you go to the farmers market down the hill?"

He nods to say yes, but his mouth says, "I had it delivered. I seen it last night when we were coming home and decided them I would make you breakfast. Do you like it?"

"Are you kidding me? I love it. It's all so beautiful and it smells so good." She takes a bite of her toast and is pleased by the freshness in the bread. "What bakery did you get the bread from? It's delicious!"

He doesn't want to let her in on his secrets, so he can play this card again. So he lets her believe that it came from the farmers market. "Do you want some melon?" He asks as he hands her a bowl of mixed fruits; watermelon, honey due and cantaloupe - mixed with pineapple. She takes the bowl and scoops some onto her plate and hands it back.

"Thank you for this Jon. It's so wonderful. My favorite breakfast foods and my favorite man, what more could I want?"

She's starting to feel a throb in her broken leg. It seemed to have come from no where. A little alarmed, she asks Jon if she could put her leg up on his chair.

"Of course, put it right here." He's patting his right leg. Beth lifts it up and sets it there and Jon takes off her sock. He looks at her toes and starts to rub them. "Are you okay?" He looks a little alarmed now.

"I just have this throbbing that came from nowhere. It kind of hurts." She confesses, knowing how this is going to go.

He places her foot off to the side and stands up, "What do you need me to get you?"

She thinks for a minute. Going over her discharge instructions there was something about a throbbing pain. Damn it, what was it? "Can you get me one of each pill. The pain pill and the blood thinner. I don't remember what Dr. Timpson said about throbbing pain. So I'll just take both."

"Be right back. And he went into the house to get her medication, like a bat out of hell. In her cosmetic bag on the bathroom counter, he doesn't see pill bottles. He stands there a second and looks around and still can't see them. He heads back out to the patio and asked Beth where they were. Together they deduced they were in his bag. He went back inside and dug the bottles from the bottom of his bag. Relieved, he took them out to Beth and opened one at a one, giving her her pills, one at a time.

"Babe, can you get me some water?" He agrees and starts back into the house when the alert goes off on his phone. He is in the Beth state of mind, all he can think about is making her better, and comfortable.

He yells back to her, "Can you get that? See who it is."

"It's a text message from an unknown number." Beth begins to tell him. "It says, she has 2 living sisters and 1 living brother. Father deceased, mother alive. All live in Chicago." Beth drops his phone. She can't believe what she just read to him. That text message was about her.

Jon appears with a glass of water in his hand and the look of fear on his face. He hands her the water and she takes the pills. She is looking at him and shaking, thinking what is he up to?

Jon talks first. He can see that she's getting upset and he doesn't want that to happen. "Let me explain."

Pointing to his phone, "Who is that? Jon, who is that?" She asks him, loudly.  He is on the verge of seeing her Irish temper and it won't be pretty.

"It's a guy I hired to find out all the details about you that you keep leaving out." he confesses.

"Leaving out, what the hell do you mean leaving out, Jon?' she barks back at him.  She cannot believe what she just heard.  He hired someone to check her out?

In his own defense, Jon says, "You never talk about your family, or your past really.  I want to know more about you and where you're from.  I want to know ALL about you, Beth."

She takes her leg off of his chair and stands up, walking over tho the dried up pond that she never tended to.  She's deep in thought and then it hits her, "You're checking me out before the press does.  You're afraid there may be something in my past that will embarrass you, aren't you?"  She's really pissed now, and with the rise in blood pressure come a stronger throb in her leg.  She begins to pace.  "You could have asked me anything Jon and I would have told you, ANYTHING!'  This is wrong, just wrong!!"  She gets a little lightheaded and decided she better sit.  She sat on the pond wall and put her head in her hands, shaking her head back and forth - in disbelief. 

"Regardless of what you believe, I did it for my own reasons, the press have nothing to do with it.  When we get married..."  She cuts him off at the word married.

"Married, what are you talking about?  Married.  Jon, what are you doing?  Do you have a brain bleed?" she's getting even more irate and isn't in the mood for this conversation.  But she knows it won't end here.

With all the arrogance that he has in his body, and the ego the size of the US, Jon tells her, "I intend to marry you, Beth."  Looking her dead in the eye.

"Well, wouldn't you think I would have a say in that?  And that's getting off the subject, Jon.  You're paying someone to check me out.  Who do you think I am?" she demands answers now.  She hasn't kept anything from him, ever.  "Do you think I'm after your money or something?"

"Let's calm down and talk about this, like adults Beth.  No need for sarcasm."

"Adults don't hire people to spy Jon.  If they have questions, they ask.  They don't look to others to get the answer, Jesus." She can't believe he's done that.  She's baffled.

"Honey, I want to know about your family.  Where they are, where you're from.  What you were like as a child.  That kind of stuff.  I don't care if you were ever in trouble with the law or if you had bad grades in school.  If we're going to be together and have a family, I want to know all that I can about you.  Not just the stuff you want to tell me."

"My parents were assholes and my siblings followed in their footsteps.  I don't know and don't care where they are!  Happy?" '

 

Jon gets out of his chair to go sit next to her on the pond, and as soon as he gets close, she gets up.  She's looking around at the neglected landscape that is her back yard and thinks of Brian.  This place would never look like this if Brian was still here, we would have had this place in full bloom by now.  Beth loved the outdoors.  She always has.  Her and Brian would come out on the patio and garden for hours on the weekend.  Why did she let it go?  Were the memories too painful for her to be out here alone? 

"Beth, I didn't do this to upset you, you have to believe me?" He runs his fingers through his hair, several times.  He gets up and walk over to her, putting his hands on her shoulder.  Her back is to him, and when he touches her, she lets her head drop.  She is baffled by this act of cowardice, that's the only word she can think of.  "I want you to know something here, Beth - I do nothing without considering all involved.  If I thought for one second that this would upset you like this, I never would have done it."  he squeezes her shoulders and kisses her head.  Drawing in the scent of her shampoo, the smell he has fallen in love with. 

Turning around, she asks the rockstar, "What all have you found out so far?"

He's a little shocked by her question, he thought she was going to chew his ass some more.  "All I have learned is your birth date and place, property you own, tax history and where and what property you own, plus what you read today.  That's all."

"Damn Jon, isn't that enough?  What else is there to know, now?" she goes and sits back down.  The throbbing in her leg is the same, no relief from the pain killer or the blood thinner.  She was getting a little worried.  When she sat down, she put her leg back up on Jon's chair.

"Are you okay?" he kneels down next to her, putting his hand on her lap.  She takes his hand.

"Jon, there is one thing you should know about me, in this little bit of time we've known each other, I will tell you anything you want to know.  Anything!  I have nothing to hide." she flat out tells him, and she means it.  "Do you have any idea how pissed I am right now?  It's kind of like you're spying on me.  That isn't right."

"I'm sorry.  I'll call him right now and tell him to stop.  I'll tell him I no longer need his services, is that what you want.  Will that make you happy?" he's pleading now.  He knows he made a huge error in judgement and he really feels bad.  "But know this, know that I want to know everything about you.  I want to absorb the knowledge that is you and know it all.  Your good, your bad and your family.  Looking long term , our children are going to want to know your family.  My children will want to know your family.  What happened with them Beth?  I can see you're bitter about it.  Talk to me!"

With the grace of an angel and the patience of a saint, Beth looks at Jon and asks him, "Do we really need to do this right now, Jon?  I have had the longest week of my life and would love some mental down time.  Some serious mental down time."  She brushes some bangs off his face and continues, "I will tell you anything you want to know, just not now.  Deal?"  She grabs a handful of hair, as if to play with him.

He smiles at her, leans in, kisses her and says, "Deal." 

He stands up and grabs his phone and replies to the text message that got him into trouble, with a simple Services are no longer needed.  Check will be mailed by weeks end. jbj.  He shows it to Beth and presses send.

"How much is my information worth, Jon?" she laughs because how many people can say something like that.  She takes a bite of watermelon and hands Jon her coffee cup for a refill. 

"I was paying him $500.00 an hour to get your information.  And he said it wasn't easy at first, but didn't say why." Winking at her, he continues with, "Any idea why you were tough to find?"

"Jon................"

He sits back down in his chair and says, "Ok, Ok you win.  I'll leave it alone."  He pours her more coffee and hands it back to her.  "How's your leg doing?  Are you in pain?"

Beth doesn't like to admit weakness, or the fact that she may need someone.  And she knows that she can't keep living like that if she were to have a life with Jon.  Jon is a very compassionate man and he likes to be needed and prides himself on being helpful.  So, Beth does what she has to do, she admits that she's in pain, more than normal.  He immediately kicks into panic mode and she can't help but laugh at him.  "I'll be okay, relax.  I think it just hurts worse because you have elevated my blood pressure."  She taps him with her foot, under the table.

There was a few minutes of quiet, while they finished their breakfast, and had some coffee.  Jon loves watching her, whatever she's doing.  He loves when her hair falls loose and cascades around her face.  He loves the way she's always licking her lips and fidgeting with her clothes.  Her actions make him think of an angel and he knows that they were meant to be together.