Jon uses his foot and slides out a chair for Beth to sit in. "Please sit." And she does what she's asked.
"Babe, what's going on?" She's nervous because his behavior is unlike any that she's seen so far, she has no idea what is going on with him.
"I'm just going to say it....Dorothea hired a private investigator to dig into your past. She came over this morning to 'inform' me of his findings. She wanted me to have all the facts before I made life changing decisions. When in reality, she did it just to be nosey." And he waits.
Beth is calm, sitting across the table from the father of her baby, and she thinks to herself he investigated me and now Dot did? "What did you guys think you were going to find out about me? You checked me out and now she has!?! Are all of you that paranoid?" She shoots Jon a look that he knows isn't good. It's a look he's not seen before and he expects it to be followed up with something. Beth, logical and level headed knows that getting upset isn't good for her or the baby, but she can't control it this time. She feels that a very thick line has been crossed. She looks at Jon and really doesn't know what to say. She feels violated, betrayed and embarrassed.
Jon gets on the defensive and tells her, "I would have checked you out either way. I can't afford to take chances, look at what happened with me and Doc." He lights the cigarette he's been holding and looks at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, I just need something to take the edge off."
"THE EDGE OFF OF WHAT?" she screams at him. She can't take it, she isn't playing the damn game.
"Not so much an edge, I just need to debrief. She drives me crazy. She went off at the mouth about you and thought she had a ton of inside information that I didn't already know. The fact of the matter is, she wasted my time and my money and that pisses me off. Can we just forget that she was even at the house today?"
Beth can't see how to forget this. To a degree she understands the concerns that they both might have when it comes to a stranger being around their children, but they both did it. And Dorothea did it looking for dirt. Dorothea did it out of spite.
"I can't believe how pissed off I am about this. I truthfully feel violated, Jon. She had no business. I mean, did you tell her you checked me out?" Beth is really confused and a little upset. She knows Jon did it for valid reasons and she knows Dot did it with no good intention. "So, now that she knows all that she can about me, will she back off? Will she leave it all alone?"
Shrugging his shoulders, he says honestly, "I don't know. I'm shocked that she did even this. She knows me well enough to know that I had you checked out."
"I didn't sign up for this crap Jon. I can understand the need, but for her to come to you with her hush hush bullshit is wrong. Why couldn't she come to me? What did she say she found out?" Beth stands up, and finishes the conversation with, "Forget it, I don't want to know. If she told you something and you have questions, you'll ask. I'm going to bed." And she heads in the house and up to their new bedroom.
Jon finds her in the bathroom getting ready for bed. He chuckles when he sees her face all covered in bubbles from her cleanser. "I do have one question." Beth looks up at him, startled.
"What's that?"
Looking at her in the mirror he asks, "Why did you cut yourself off from your family?"
"Jon, I told you why. Did Dot tell you something different?" she asks, looking back at him in the mirror.
"No, I was just thinking about it, So, I thought I wold ask, If you don't want to talk about it, we can leave it alone. But at some point, I do want to discuss it. Family is important to me, you know that." And he turns around to get undressed. Beth finishes her routine and he goes in and brushes his teeth, naked.
In bed, Beth turns to him and says, "Jon, I walked away from my family because they represent everything I never want to be. I had no support from them the entire time I was growing up. My education, I busted my ass for. My career, I can thank no one but me. Both of my parents are heavy alcoholics and my brothers were following in their footsteps. When I graduated, I was out of there and I never looked back."
"And you've had no contact with them since you left?" he questions her, with question in his tone. Doing the math, he figures it's been years since they've seen one another. "Don't you want to tell them about the baby?"
"Hell no. I don't want to tell them anything. Jon, I'm serious, they are toxic. I don't want them in my life or our baby's."
"How do you know that they still that bad? Maybe something has changed?"
"I have cousins that I talk to back home in Chicago, and they are still just as bad. They will never change and I can't stress it enough - I don't want them in my life." Beth felt the need to emphasis that because if Jon stayed true to Jon fashion, he would try to mend the gap and put his family hole. He would want to know his in-laws and have them know him and his family.
"I understand, I really do - I just can't imagine not having my parents in my life."
"Don't you think we should give them a chance? Maybe see it they want to get to know us, all of us?" He asks, and his intentions are the best. But he can see it in her face that it isn't even an option. He knows her well enough to know that he needs to leave this one alone.
He grabs her and pulls her to him, and he wraps his arm and leg around her. Holding her tight, as she fights to get out - he says, "Do you really want to get away?"
"No, but I want to breathe." So he lets go a little and she's able to look up at him. "You know, you can be a pain in the ass sometimes." And he kisses her.
"No matter what it takes or how hard I have to work, I plan to make it my mission to make you happy. I want nothing more than for all of us to be together." he tells her and she can see it in his eyes. "I"m sorry that Dorothea brought up hurt feelings and bad memories. But we will get through this, as long as we communicate."
"I know we will, it just seems like she's always weaseling herself into our happy and our monumental moments. Clear back to our first 'date'. When is she going to let us move on, when is she going to move on?" She asked her question in a way that Jon knew he didn't have to answer, the questions were open ended.
Beth rests her head on the hairy chest that she loved so much, Jon running his fingers up and down her back. He uses just enough pressure so that it doesn't tickle and but it's light enough so that it feels so good to Beth, so good - he puts her to sleep.
Jon gets on the defensive and tells her, "I would have checked you out either way. I can't afford to take chances, look at what happened with me and Doc." He lights the cigarette he's been holding and looks at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, I just need something to take the edge off."
"THE EDGE OFF OF WHAT?" she screams at him. She can't take it, she isn't playing the damn game.
"Not so much an edge, I just need to debrief. She drives me crazy. She went off at the mouth about you and thought she had a ton of inside information that I didn't already know. The fact of the matter is, she wasted my time and my money and that pisses me off. Can we just forget that she was even at the house today?"
Beth can't see how to forget this. To a degree she understands the concerns that they both might have when it comes to a stranger being around their children, but they both did it. And Dorothea did it looking for dirt. Dorothea did it out of spite.
"I can't believe how pissed off I am about this. I truthfully feel violated, Jon. She had no business. I mean, did you tell her you checked me out?" Beth is really confused and a little upset. She knows Jon did it for valid reasons and she knows Dot did it with no good intention. "So, now that she knows all that she can about me, will she back off? Will she leave it all alone?"
Shrugging his shoulders, he says honestly, "I don't know. I'm shocked that she did even this. She knows me well enough to know that I had you checked out."
"I didn't sign up for this crap Jon. I can understand the need, but for her to come to you with her hush hush bullshit is wrong. Why couldn't she come to me? What did she say she found out?" Beth stands up, and finishes the conversation with, "Forget it, I don't want to know. If she told you something and you have questions, you'll ask. I'm going to bed." And she heads in the house and up to their new bedroom.
Jon finds her in the bathroom getting ready for bed. He chuckles when he sees her face all covered in bubbles from her cleanser. "I do have one question." Beth looks up at him, startled.
"What's that?"
Looking at her in the mirror he asks, "Why did you cut yourself off from your family?"
"Jon, I told you why. Did Dot tell you something different?" she asks, looking back at him in the mirror.
"No, I was just thinking about it, So, I thought I wold ask, If you don't want to talk about it, we can leave it alone. But at some point, I do want to discuss it. Family is important to me, you know that." And he turns around to get undressed. Beth finishes her routine and he goes in and brushes his teeth, naked.
In bed, Beth turns to him and says, "Jon, I walked away from my family because they represent everything I never want to be. I had no support from them the entire time I was growing up. My education, I busted my ass for. My career, I can thank no one but me. Both of my parents are heavy alcoholics and my brothers were following in their footsteps. When I graduated, I was out of there and I never looked back."
"And you've had no contact with them since you left?" he questions her, with question in his tone. Doing the math, he figures it's been years since they've seen one another. "Don't you want to tell them about the baby?"
"Hell no. I don't want to tell them anything. Jon, I'm serious, they are toxic. I don't want them in my life or our baby's."
"How do you know that they still that bad? Maybe something has changed?"
"I have cousins that I talk to back home in Chicago, and they are still just as bad. They will never change and I can't stress it enough - I don't want them in my life." Beth felt the need to emphasis that because if Jon stayed true to Jon fashion, he would try to mend the gap and put his family hole. He would want to know his in-laws and have them know him and his family.
"I understand, I really do - I just can't imagine not having my parents in my life."
"Your parents supported you and took an active roll in your life. Mine ALWAYS called me fat and stupid and said I would never amount to anything. I believed it, for the longest time too. And then it hit me one day, I wasn't going to let the echo of their voices in my head ruin the best life I could make for myself." she rolls on to her side and faces him. "My dad used to tell me that I wasn't wanted, that all they wanted was boys. My mom used to tell me that I would never be good enough for any man. Ha Ha, I wonder what she thinks now when she sees me on the news and in the newspaper? Not good enough for any man, but I am currently laying in bed with Jon Bon Jovi." Beth laughs about that.
"Don't you think we should give them a chance? Maybe see it they want to get to know us, all of us?" He asks, and his intentions are the best. But he can see it in her face that it isn't even an option. He knows her well enough to know that he needs to leave this one alone.
He grabs her and pulls her to him, and he wraps his arm and leg around her. Holding her tight, as she fights to get out - he says, "Do you really want to get away?"
"No, but I want to breathe." So he lets go a little and she's able to look up at him. "You know, you can be a pain in the ass sometimes." And he kisses her.
"No matter what it takes or how hard I have to work, I plan to make it my mission to make you happy. I want nothing more than for all of us to be together." he tells her and she can see it in his eyes. "I"m sorry that Dorothea brought up hurt feelings and bad memories. But we will get through this, as long as we communicate."
"I know we will, it just seems like she's always weaseling herself into our happy and our monumental moments. Clear back to our first 'date'. When is she going to let us move on, when is she going to move on?" She asked her question in a way that Jon knew he didn't have to answer, the questions were open ended.
Beth rests her head on the hairy chest that she loved so much, Jon running his fingers up and down her back. He uses just enough pressure so that it doesn't tickle and but it's light enough so that it feels so good to Beth, so good - he puts her to sleep.
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