Chapter 37

Beth copies the link to clipboard and then texts the link to Jon.  After that she texts SHE BETTER BE OFF THE PROPERTY BEFORE I GET HOME.

She drops her cell phone into her pocketbook and takes a deep breath.  She knows who the source is.  She has no doubt.  Her thoughts go a mile a minute and what upsets her the most is that she's so far from home and can't do anything regarding Dorothea.  She's not surprised that this is happening.  Dorothea took advantage of her leaving, even relishing in the fact that she ran Beth from her home.  But what Dorothea doesn't know is that she didn't leave because Dot was there, she left because she didn't want to be there with Dot.  Big difference.

Beth's phone vibrates from her pocketbook.  She takes it out and sees a text from Jon.  Angry face emoji starts the you can bet your ass she'll be gone before you get here text.

Beth taps her reply thank you.  I love you.  Her cell phone goes back into her purse.

When she arrives at the airport, she instructs the driver to take her out onto the tarmac.  He's never done that before.  "Are you sure I can do that?"  the young man smiles.

"Yep, follow the yellow line.  You'll be fine."  Beth takes her sunglasses from her bag and slides them on.  When they get to the plane, she tips the driver $100 and makes her way onto her chartered jet.

Beth settles in for her trip, unknowing any of the staff.  The flight attendant gets Beth a bottle of water, per her request and then they all prepare for take off.

Once in the air, Beth gets her laptop out of her bag and gets online.  She checks emails before doing anything.  There wasn't anything too pressing that she needed to tend to.  So, to kill time she Google searches her own name, something she has never done.  First she looks at Google images of herself.  Most of them are from events that she's been at or things relating to Bon Jovi.  As she scrolls down farther, there are images of her in the hospital, images of a bruised and beaten Beth and images of them graveside with family.  She is shocked.  The images of her in the hospital and her bruises are part of police files.  The pics were never released to the public.  She scrolls and keeps scrolling.  She comes upon images of her and Brian.  Images of her and Dalton.  Images of her and Melissa.  Images of her and Dorothea.  When she sees an image of her and Dorothea, her anger starts to boil to the top.  Here she is, on a plane to go home to a house that currently houses the woman that she hates most.  

Beth clicks on a picture of her and Dorothea.  It takes her to the TMZ website.  The picture is from a time in life that Beth has a hard time remembering.  The image is of Beth upclose, laying on a beach.  In the distance there is Dorothea talking to a man that looks like Jon, but his back is to the camera.  The photographer's intent was Beth on a beach.  But it's Beth on the beach not paying attention to the photographer.  That tells her it's either paparazzi or a Jon fan.  There is no story linked to the picture, just more pictures.  Up and down she scrolls.   She goes back to the main page for her images and scrolls through them for a few more minutes.  When she's had enough, she closes the laptop and turns her attention out the window.  She thinks to herself, 'rest up Beth Ann, you have one hell of a fight on your hands once you land.'

Beth's mind starts to calm and as they climb to altitude she's able to drift off to sleep.

Chapter 38

Beth is startled by hands touching her arm.  The flight attendant gently touches Beth to wake her.  "I'm sorry Mrs. Bongiovi, we are preparing to land." 

After a few seconds the fog clears from her head.  Beth puts her seat to the upright position and fastens her seatbelt.  Beth is a little hazy, she can't believe she slept the entire flight.  She looks at her Apple Watch.  It's 5:45pm.  As they ready to land, she digs out the cell phone again and texts Jon that she's about to land.  She knows if she does that he'll have just enough time to shoot up to Teterboro and grab her.

Beth's pilot had to circle the airport for several minutes, waiting for the go ahead to land.  When they were finally on the ground, she deplaned to find her husband standing just inside the hanger door.  He meets her and takes her bags, leans in and kisses her, "Hi babe."  His smile touches his eyes, he missed her.  She leans into his kiss.

"Hi." She whispers back.  "Have you been here long?"

His arm goes over her shoulder and they walk inside, "Maybe 5 minutes if that."

"That's not bad.  We had to wait to land."  

They tossed her bags in the backseat of the Chevelle.  "Do you want me to put the top up?"  he's polite and asks her, hoping she would say no because it's a beautiful evening.

"No.  I could use some wind in my hair.  How are the kids?"  she fastens the lap belt, dropping her pocketbook between her feet.

"Kids are good.  Excited to see you."  he turns the engine over, starting the beast that had a low and sexy growl.

"Where's Dorothea?"  Beth didn't wait, wouldn't wait.  There is no time like the present.  She takes a deep breath, "I hope she's gone."  her tone lacked affect and that was the effect that she was hoping for.

"She's at Molly's."  Jon answered her.  Molly's was a local Red Bank hotel called the Molly Pritcher Inn.  A small but upscale hotel that can provide all that Dorothea needs. "I dropped her off on the way here."  he looks over at her and winks.  He can see her face go from stone cold to pleasantly pleased.  She's in shock, honestly.

"Did you talk to her about that TMZ report?"

He shook his head, "Nope, wasn't going to have the conversation twice.  When you're ready to confront her, we'll do it together."  he puts his hand on her knee.  "Did you eat?"

Beth slides her hand to Jon's, taking it from her knee.  She locked her fingers with his, "No, I slept the entire flight.  Did you feed the kids?"

"They were eating when I left."

"I'll find something at home, unless you're hungry." she squeezes his fingers.  

They worked their way down the turnpike toward home.  It's a cool but beautiful summer night.  Beth doesn't want to give Dorothea the better part of the night so she just gets it out of the way.  "What are we going to do about that story?"  She slides sideways to get a better look at him. 

He can sense that she's upset, but he can also tell that she's not fuming like she normally would be.  "I think we should do nothing."

"Nothing?"  Beth is surprised by that.  "Why nothing?"

He pulls her hand to his mouth, kissing the top of her hand, "I think that if we acknowledge it, it will give her some validity, it will give her pleasure in someway."

"How was she when I was gone?"  That's not a question that she needs to ask, she knows how she was.  She really wanted to know how Jon handled her, while Beth was gone.

He looks over the top of his aviator glasses, "She was fine.  She didn't give me any trouble, except when she wanted to have visitors."

"What do you mean?"

"She had Claire and Cynthia come over to see her and when I didn't let them in, she threw a fit."

"You didn't let them in?"  Beth found that curious.  

"They buzzed the gate and I wouldn't let them in."

"Why not?" Beth laughs.  "Why didn't you let them in?"

"For one, they were bitches when we were married, they went Team Dot when all the shit hit the fan.  And then after that, they have just been miserable bitches."  Jon was getting a little irked telling Beth the story.  "They don't need to be on my property.  If she wanted to hang out, she should have gone to their houses."

Beth laughs.  She can see Jon standing firm and holding a grudge, "You did good.  They are bitches and they don't need to be at our house."

"No good would have come from it."

Chapter 36

Cell phone chimes

Beth grabs her phone and sees it's a text from Jon.  "When are you coming home?"  She looks at it for a few moments and thinks he must miss me or the kids are too much for him.

She hurriedly taps back her reply "later today, why?"

"I miss you and so do the kids."

"Later this afternoon.  My flight leaves at 2.  Can you pick me up?" she tosses her phone on the bed and looks around her hotel room, knowing that she needs to get ready and pack.


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When Dorothea moved into the guest house a few days prior Beth thought that she would be able to handle her being so close.  She quickly learned that she wouldn't be able to handle it.  Hell, she couldn't even stomach it, it made her so mad.  When she and Jon had their pow wow about it in the Walmart parking lot, they made the decision that she would go away for a couple of days.  Not to get away from Dorothea per say, but more less to make the visit pleasant for the kids.

The kids, the younger ones really, aren't up to speed on how the adults feel about one another.  Jake and Romeo are happy that their mom is there, not totally understanding why and even they are confused by it.  Stephanie loves the fact that all of her parents are in the same place, even if it's just for a short period of time.  Jesse has yet to come home.  He disappears frequently and through the aid of modern technology, he didn't need to check in.  Everyone in the family can see where he is.  GPS tracking is God sent to today's parents. 

Beth had argued her point and displayed her contempt for the split second decision that Jon made regarding Dorothea.   They decided together, Jon and Beth, that she would check into a hotel for a couple of days and just let the Dorothea mess run its course.  As Beth packed her bags, she decided that she would go to Los Angeles and see friends.  She spent two nights with Tony and Nina and then she drove upstate and stayed at the vineyard that she started and has since sold.  It was cathartic for her, not only to replace the bad memories with better ones, but she always always always loved spending time with Tony.  He was one of her few genuine friends.  

Her stay at the vineyard was great.  She wasn't sure how she'd feel going back to it after all that happened.  She wasn't looking for it to heal her or to help her deal with how insane their lives had become, she was just looking for her heart and head to be healed, even if only the scabs were very thin.  She learned as she entered her rented room that she has recovered from the trauma that she experienced at the vineyard.  As she tossed her room key on the dresser she looked around the room, still decorated as she had left it, she realized that she is on the road to recovery and that anything that has happened since her days here can only help her more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It only takes Beth a few minutes to pack, considering she didn't bother to really unpack.  Once she's finished with gathering her things, she calls down for car service to the airport.  When they arrive, they ring her and she makes her way down to the ride share car that's waiting for her.  

"Good Afternoon" the driver says to Beth as he takes her luggage, "You're going to the airport right?"

"I'm going to Sacramento Executive Airport."  she confirms with him so he doesn't take her to the cities metropolitan airport.  "I'm flying privately."

"Very well."  the young driver says, punching that information into his G.P.S.  "What time does your plane take off?"

Beth kind of chuckles, "My personal pilot leaves when I get there." 

The driver looks over his shoulder at her and asks, "I assume you're famous, but I'm sorry, I have no idea who you are."  His face turns a few shades of red, his embarrassment couldn't be hidden.

"I'm married to Jon Bon Jovi." she says to him, looking at him over the top of her sunglasses.  "So, I'm not famous, my husband is."

"Oh my." he softly says, "I know who you are."  Beth can see a concerned look wash over his face, "you're the one that's been in the news lately."

Beth is shocked.  "In the news, what do you mean?"  She hasn't a clue what he's referring to.  It's been weeks since she and Jon talked with Savannah.  It's been weeks and she shouldn't be the topic of anything news related.  

"You're all over the news out here."

"For what?"  she's in disbelief.  She takes her phone out of her pocketbook, opens a web browser and types in her name.  

Beth Adams Bongiovi files for divorce from rocker husband Jon Bon Jovi was the first story that popped up in her Google search.  Beth taps the link and reads the story that was posted yesterday.  

Beth Adams Bongiovi is rumored to have filed for divorce from rocker husband Jon Bon Jovi.  Sources close to the family say that after several years of turmoil  and insurmountable loss, Beth can no longer stay with rocker, JBJ.  She states that they have irreconcilable differences.  Beth and her rocker husband have 2 children together.  Beth was seen this week with longtime friend and confidant Tony Bongiovi in Los Angeles, while JBJ was at home in New Jersey with his ex wife Dorothea Hurley Bongiovi.  We reached out to the rocker and his wife for comment, but our requests went unanswered.  TMZ

Chapter 39

"Why wouldn't you let them in?"  Beth HAD to know.  "surely they were here to see Dorothea and not you."

"Doesn't matter.  They can see her when she's not here.  That's bullshit.  Stay in my guest house and then have guests over.  Nope."  he rattles his head like he's a crazy person.  "They can see her off my property."

"Are they really that bad?" Beth can only claim to know Dot, the others are strangers to her.

Jon shoots her an are you kidding me look.  "When you get the 3 of them together, it's like toxins ooze from their pores.  All are independently evil, but you get them together and it's madness."

"What do they do?"

"I remember a long time ago, when Romeo was a baby, Dot and I were having problems.  She cheated and they kept her secret, even lied for her.  When I finally discovered her affair, not her only one, mind you - but when I discovered it, I learned that Claire and Cindy helped her with cover stories.  They all supposedly went to Vegas and L.A. for a girls trip and in all reality, it was Dot and her trainer."

"No shit."

"Oh yeah, they lie just as much as Dot ever did.  But what was funny about it is, both ladies tried to sleep with me on many occasions and Dorothea never believed me when I would tell her about it."

"Seriously?  You never told me about that."  Beth is starting to feel a little giddy, finally a distraction from the shit storm they were just handed.  "Tell me."  She smiles her crooked smile, in anticipation.

Jon thinks for a minute and tries to figure out why he's never told her about Claire and Cindy.  "There were a few times, but the one that comes through the most is one Christmas in St. Bart's.  We all were shit faced drunk, Don and Claire had the bungalow next to Dot and me.  I knew I had had enough, so I excused myself and went to bed."  He's now starting to feel uneasy about the story, realizing why he never mentioned this to Beth.  "I woke to someone going down on me."  He ended it right there.  He didn't need to say anymore, Beth's jaw drop was all he needed to see.

"You have got to be kidding me!"  She exclaims.  "For real?"

He shakes his head yes.

"Do I know Claire?"  Beth isn't sure who Claire is, she needs a little clarification.  

"She's on the Polyprep Parents Committee with you."  he can't look at her now.  He knows she's going to figure out who she is.

Beth is silent for a moment.  Her eyes squinting with her thoughts.  "Claire Carpenter?"  She's blown away, "Miss everything has to go my way, Claire?"  Jon can see that the thoughts are making sense to her.  "Oh my God, what did you do?"

"I punched her in the head." he says as a matter of fact.  "And that was just reflex."

"You hit her?" Beth is amazed.  

Jon gives a playful laugh, "it was on accident.  I didn't even know what was going on.  I woke up drunk with someone's mouth on me.  Reflex."  

Beth ponders that for a moment, knowing how he is when he's drunk and sleeping and even when he's sober sleeping.  She can't help but laugh.  "What did Claire do?"  Beth now has to know the entire story.  

"She gathered her things and went to where she belonged, I assume.  It wasn't too long after that and Dot came to bed."

"Did you tell Dot?" Beth loves a story that could possibly hurt or embarrass Dorothea, loves it.  "Did you tell her husband?"

Jon smiles, as her smile was what he needs in his life, "I did tell Dot.  She called me a liar."

"She did not!"  Beth is in disbelief.  "Did she really?"

Jon nods his head yes.

"Did you tell her husband?"

"No.  I figured my rejection would serve as a bad enough punishment"

"Did Dot ever come to believe you?"

Again, he shakes his head no.

Beth absorbs the conversation that she's participating in, wondering what she would have done.  "You told her about it, she didn't believe you and she remained friends with her?"  She asks, rather confused.  "That is pretty messed up."

"That was my life with Dorothea." he gives her a quick wink, "that's mild compared to what Cindy did."

Beth was ready for more trash talk, especially if it was about Dot.  "What did she do?  Don't tell me she took advantage of you too?"

"Oh no, wasn't me."

Beth is engaged and leaning on his every word, "I've met Cindy a few times.  She never acted like she cared much for me, but I never let it bother me.  What did she do and to who?"

She sees a look come over Jon's face that is rare to her.  She thinks it's almost a look of fun sarcasm, something that she doesn't get to see often.  He shifts in his seat a bit, "It was right after I met you.  She was at a show and came backstage with Dot."  He clears his throat and pretends to have issues remembering the details.  "I don't even remember why Dorothea was even there, but they were backstage and Cindy managed to get Richie's attention."

"And."  Beth is on the edge of her proverbial seat, "What did she do to Richie?"  Beth can hear herself sounding a little protective.  "What happened?"

He pauses before he confesses a little unknown secret that the band had, "She claimed to have gotten pregnant."  He zips his lips and waits for the reaction that he knows is coming.

Beth sits silently for a moment.  Jon looks at her from the corner of his eye.  She quints, thinking.  He can see that she's bouncing around the timeline in her head and there it was, "Why have you never told me about this?"  He's sensing a bit of anger.

"It really wasn't talked about."

"But you're not saying that Richie didn't sleep with her.  Richie slept with Cindy?"  The amount of disgust that she felt couldn't be expressed adequately  with sound, she had to animate what she was saying.  "Richie slept with Cindy?"  She shakes her hands in disgust.

"He did."  Jon turns on the turn signal to exit the highway.  As he looks over his right shoulder he can see that Beth is still processing what she's just heard.  "They had quite the affair.  It was hot and heavy for a while."

"You guys never told me about her."  Beth is in disbelief. 

Jon drops his hand on her leg, "There really wasn't anything to talk about."

Stay: Chapter 35

Stay: Chapter 35: The day ended up being quite peaceful.  The guest house is far enough away from the main house and it's on the other side of the garage...

Stay: Chapter 34

Stay: Chapter 34: Modern advances in technology let both Jon and Beth know when the gate to the driveway has been activated.  In unison their phones alerted ...

Stay: Chapter 33

Stay: Chapter 33: Healing truly comes from within and the sooner that Jon and Beth let that happen, the sooner that their lives can get better.  Neither of t...

Chapter 33

Healing truly comes from within and the sooner that Jon and Beth let that happen, the sooner that their lives can get better.  Neither of them want to admit that there are issues still, or elephants as Beth likes to call them.  The trauma and the heartache that they faced alone and together was enough to break even the strongest of couples, but they seem to manage to hang onto one another.

They spent a few days at home with the family before either of them started back into the daily grind of running a large household, several businesses and managing one of the biggest rock bands in the world.  

Sunday's are the best day of the week.  For the Bongiovi clan, that meant lazy breakfast and a day without a schedule.   Jon and Beth are on the back patio having coffee when Beth's cell phone rings.  That's not alarming as her phone rings quite a bit, but the name on the caller I.D puzzled her.  As she picks it up she says to Jon, "Why is Dot calling me?"  She gives him a look.  "She knows better than to call me."

"Gimme it." he demands, with his hand held out and the look of an angry lion on his face.  "I'll take care of it."

Beth hands him the ringing cell phone and sits back to observe.

Jon swipes right, phone to his ear, "This better be good."

Jon hears, "Dad?"  Beth watches the disgruntled look melt off of his face.

"What's up Rose?"  the surprised dad questions.  "What are you doing at your mothers?"

"Dad, something has happened."  the young lady starts to say,  "But everyone is okay."

John sits straight up in his favorite Adirondack chair, alarming Beth.  "Are you hurt?"  The frantic dad brain kicks in.  "Is Jesse hurt?"

"Dad, calm down, everyone is okay."  Stephanie can picture her dad, the brow wrinkled.

"I'm calm, what happened?"  his fingers go through his hair, he reaches for his phone to see if there was something that he had missed on his.  Nothing.  

Stephanie spent the weekend with her mother, after Dorothea made her feel guilty for staying away.  She didn't really want to go, but Dot had a way of twisting the kids and their feelings.  "Mom and I went to Macy's this morning and when we came back, someone had broken into the house.  Jesse isn't here, he's with Todd."

"Everyone is okay?"  he frantically asks, "How's your mother?"

"Dad, we're fine, they just trashed the house.  Mom wants to know if she can stay in the guest house."

"Here?"  His jaw drops.  "This guest house?"  He looks at Beth, a little crooked.  Beth is now starting to get concerned.

"Yeah dad.  She says she won't feel safe in a hotel."  He can hear that even though she thinks it's a terrible idea, he also knows that she's now worried about her mom.  "I'll stay back there with her if that will make you feel better."  His martyr daughter, throwing herself on the sword for her self absorbed mother, begging her over entitled father to show compassion.  

"Steph, you know that's not a good idea."  his butt slides to the edge of his chair, "None of that is a good idea."

"She's my mom!"  Stephanie is about to get upset.  She's looking at her mother, seeing her as almost helpless.  

Ever since the divorce and the final split, Dorothea has made it a point to try to get the world to feel sorry for her, starting with her own kids.  Through the milestones that come in life, Dorothea is stuck back at being married to Jon Bon Jovi.  The man that she's convinced she made.  Without her, he would have/be nothing.  If she could just get the rest of the world to believe that.  Even she forgets that there was another woman in the mix, way back in the day. The mix that was thrown together and made the best rock band ever.  

Jon doesn't like the way that the conversation feels and he knows that he's just seconds away from being Stephanie's hero or her worst enemy and he needs to decide, in a split second, who he can handle being mad at him.  Beth or Stephanie.  

He decides.

"Bring her here.  I'll talk to Beth and work this out."  with every word his heart races and his head drops.  "Make sure everything is locked up tight.  I'll send someone over there to take care of the mess."  He knows he's in a lot of trouble.

"Thanks dad."  the phone goes dead. 

Jon tosses Beth's phone onto the table.  As soon as it landed, "Why is she coming here, Jon?"   He doesn't have the opportunity to respond.  "JON, why is she coming here?  She's not coming here Jon."  Beth stands, stepping into his personal space, looking him in the eye.  "What happened?  Did she break a fucking nail?"  Beth steps passed him, "What did you just do?"

After a long and deep cleansing breath, "Her house was broken into and she doesn't feel safe."

"So the solution to that is to bring her here?"  Beth barks at him, feeling her blood pressure rise.  

Jon knows when to fight and when to wait.  With the history that the two of them share, he knows what she's going to do next, so he waits for his timing to be right.  He knows that after she blows up she'll head into the house and grab the cigarettes that she thinks are hidden.  She'll come back out onto the patio and smoke a cigarette before she mumbles one word to him.  He takes his place back in his favorite chair, in his favorite place with his favorite person.  He waits.  He's tempted to join her, the urge to smoke is quite powerful in moments like this for him.  For her too, but he's able to control his urge.  He loves the way her Marlboro Light smells.  He watches her smoke her cigarette and even though he can see that she's pissed, ready to blow a gasket and ready to kill him, he can't help but think that she's super sexy smoking that cigarette.  

When she has had enough, she tosses the cigarette into a potted plant and then takes a gulp of her orange juice.  She needed those seven minutes to calm her nerves, talk herself out of killing him.  Calmly she asks him, "Why is she coming here?"  she can't make eye contact with him.  She knows what she'll see if she does.  She knows that she'll see his compassion and his forever forgiving soul, and she doesn't need to see that right now.

Jon leans forward and places a hand on her knee.  Quietly he states, "Her house was broken into and she doesn't feel safe there."

"Send the cops." Beth is quick to fire back.

"Then we have the press to deal with." Jon reminds her.

"So." Beth could care less.  She has taken on the press before and she's not afraid to do it again.  "There is no reason for her to come here."  She starts to pace a little, "No reason at all."

"Beth!" he snaps shooting her a pretty deep version of the stink eye, but she doesn't stop.

"She doesn't need to fucking come here Jon.  She can go to a hotel, she can go to hell for all I care." she's on the verge of screaming at him.  She's not sure why, but she went full on bitch in a hurry.  "She has a family that she can stay with."  Beth forgets that Dorothea's family pretty much wrote her off when she got involved with Dalton and his crew.  Dot had burned all bridges, with pretty much everyone she ever knew.  She learned quickly where her allies stood, as she tried to topple Jon and his crew.

"You know she has no one now."  he tries to sternly remind her.

Beth turns on a heel, pointing to him, "RIGHT THERE, correct, she has no one - including us!"  She's louder now.  Loud enough that she was startled by Brianna when she popped out onto the patio.

"Mommy" was all that Beth needed to compose herself.  She walks over and picks up her baby girl, kissing all over her face.  Brianna laughs and tries to get away, "Mommy, stop."  Beth continues to kiss her, laughing.

"How did you sleep, princess?"  she asks the young girl, as she sits her in a patio chair.  "Did you sleep good?'  The controlled Beth asks,

"Yep." the little one tells her mom as she sees her daddy.  She smiles from ear to ear when she makes eye contact with her daddy.  Jon walks over and picks her up, tossing her up over his head.

Kissing her, he tells her "Good Morning."

"Are you hungry, Bri?"  Beth asks her, tucking away her cigarettes and lighter.  "Do you want some pancakes?"

Chapter 35

The day ended up being quite peaceful.  The guest house is far enough away from the main house and it's on the other side of the garage, so it can't even be seen from the main house.  Jon and Beth, with all the kids except Jesse spent the day playing games and just chilling out. 

As it got towards evening, Jon whispers to Beth, leaning over to her on the couch, "I'm going to head to the studio a bit, do you mind?"  He kisses the side of her face, "Unless you want to go with me?"

Beth looks at him and thinks for a second, "What do you plan on doing there?  Are you going to be a long time?"  She wonders, only because if she went, she doesn't want to be stuck there all night.  "If it's a quick in and out, I'll go."  She melts onto him, kissing her favorite feature of his, his chin.  She continues, "But if you plan on staying for a while and need time there, I'll stay home."

"I can do either.  If you want to go, let's go."  his arms go around her and he holds her tightly.  "I can do in and out or I can stay there all night, but if you want to get out and go with me - let's do that."

Her tension leaves her body as he holds her, she loves how soothing his voice can be.  "Do you know what Pete is doing?  Is she back from church?"

"I haven't seen her, but Steph is here.  She can watch her brothers and her sister."

"Don't assume that Jon."  Beth nudges him with her elbow.  "She may have plans."

Reaching passed her to get to his cell phone, "I'll text her." he plays with her.

"Jon, seriously."  Beth smirks at him, "Get up and go ask her."

"A text will work, watch this."

Jon taps out a quick text to his daughter and then sets the phone on the back of the couch.  He settles back into his position of the loving husband and cuddles with his wife.  The little ones are watching a movie, kicked back on their bean bags, bowls of popcorn resting on their bellies.  The other two are  assumed in the game room doing what boys do when there is no schedule in place.  From the outside looking in, there isn't anything wrong in Beth's world - other than the ex wife just a few hundred feet away.


The run into the city was a pleasant one, as pleasant as N.Y.C. can be at 8 pm.  On their drive the two of them made good use of the free time and just talked.  Beth's hand on top of Jon's on the gear shift.  She's sitting sideways in her seat and can't help but soak up every detail of the face that's next to her.  The face of the man that she's loved so hard, the face of the man that's hard to love.  Loving him is expensive and she's seeing that.

"Why is Dorothea in our guest house?"  her tone flat, but alive enough for him to know that that question needs to be answered, honestly.

He looks over to her, "How do you want me to answer that?"

"Honestly."

With his eyes on the road, Beth can see his grimace, she feels his hand twitch under hers.  "I reacted to the tone in Stephanie's voice."  Was all he said.

Beth processed that for a moment and didn't like that it was just so blunt.  "She's panicked for far less and the end result has never been as strong as the solution to this problem."  She wiggles a little in her seat, but never loses contact with her husbands hand.  "Don't you think that this is a bit much, even for us?"  Her tone showing no empathy.  She's has never been empathetic when it comes to Dorothea.  Even from the very beginning.  Sure, the two women attempted to form some type of a relationship in the best interest of the children, but it never worked.  Neither woman was able to see the other for what they were worth.  "We've never stooped to this level of vulnerability, Jon.  Do you really think that this is a good idea?"

"What's the worst that can happen?  She has no one and she is the mother of my children."

"Now she's your house guest!"

"And....?" he asks a question that doesn't even need to be answered.

She takes her hand away from his in response to what he just said.  "And?  And?"  He can hear that she's getting upset.  "And what the hell, let's just invite our biggest ever problem into our safe space!  And.........fuck you, Jon."  She just reached her maximum capacity for the stuff that she tolerates and never should.  "You invited trouble into our house."

"I think you're over reacting."  He tries to place his hand on her leg and she quickly pushes him away.

"I think you are over reacting to her bullshit situation.  She can go to the Four Season, she can go to a homeless shelter for all I care.  She is NOT staying Jon."

Jon is mildly regretting asking her to come along for the ride.  He did not want to spend their evening doing now what they are doing.  Fighting.  "Did you want to come with me to give me a bunch of shit because of Dot?"  His anger level rising along with hers.

"Are you kidding me?  This is the 2nd to last thing that I want to do." she admits and that makes her angrier.  "Fighting about Dot, about her being at our home, it shouldn't even be happening.  She shouldn't be at our house, Jon.  Our HOME!"  

They hadn't quite made it to Interstate 95 on the Garden State Parkway when Jon decided he wasn't taking her attitude and this fight into the city.  It would be a waste of time and they would get nothing accomplished that way.  Jon takes the exit to get onto Highway 9 and finds a place to park.  He settles with the Walmart parking lot.  He slams the car into PARK and turns to her in his seat.  Upset.  "Look, what's done is done.  She's there for a couple of days.  We can do what you fear would happen, or we can just get through these couple of days and move on."  He made it sound like she had options, but she didn't.  "I'm sorry that I did this.  I'm sorry that you're mad at me but that doesn't change the fact that it happened.  Dorothea is at our house for a couple of days.  We can fight, like she's hoping we will or we can show her that we are strong enough to handle this."

"But I'm not!!!!" she admits with eyes burning from the tears that have started to well in her eyes. "Here we are AGAIN, fighting about something that shouldn't even be a THING in our lives.  We should not still be fighting about your ex-wife."    She has to look away, she can't let him see her fall weak again.  Her mind is in overdrive and her blood pressure matches, in her mind she thinks that this has to be yet another bad dream.  Another time that she wishes she could wake up from.

"We shouldn't be arguing about her, you're right.  So let's stop this shit right now and accept she's there for a couple of days."

"I can't do it." she mouses, opening the glove compartment searching for tissues.  "I thought I could, but I can't and I shouldn't have to."  She wipes away the tears, "We shouldn't."  Her gaze fixes upon some seagulls flying over trash in the parking lot, he thoughts she gets lost in. 

"What do you want me to do?" he quietly asks her, knowing the answer to his own question.  "Do you want me to send her packing?" He's certain that she is going to say yes, but instead, she says nothing.

Chapter 34

Modern advances in technology let both Jon and Beth know when the gate to the driveway has been activated.  In unison their phones alerted them to it.  Beth snatches her phone off the table and dismisses the alert, glaring at Jon.  She lost.  She hates that she lost.  What she hates even more is now she has to at least be civil to Dorothea while she was on the property, as long as her children were there.  Beth would never do anything to hurt or upset the kids on purpose.  Her will is about to be tested.  

Together, Jon and Beth walk out to the covered driveway, the little ones are in the back yard with Pete.  As the black car stops before them Jon mumbles, "Be nice."

Beth mumbles back, "Fuck off."  

Jon shoots her another look.  Him and his looks!

The car door opens and out pops a chipper Stephanie, "Hi dad, Hi Mom."  She says to Jon and Beth.  Beth winks at her, not sure if the Hi Mom was intentional or if it was just a dig at her mom, but she didn't care.  She knows where she stands with Stephanie and that's all that matters.

"Where's Jesse?"  Jon asks his grown daughter as she be-bops passed them.

"Todd's.  He said he'll get a car later to come home, he wasn't ready."  Steph gives her dad the only details that she has and disappears into the house. 

Dorothea emerges from the car, looking a little worse for wear.  "Jon, Beth."  she manages to get her signature hello out.  "Thanks for having me."  she says quite off handish, sounding like she was deserving of their generosity.  "I hope it doesn't cause an issue between you two."  she doesn't make eye contact with either of them, flattening her dress over her thighs.  "Are the boys here?"

Jon looks to Beth, Beth to Jon.  "They are, but why don't I take you out to the guesthouse and you can get settled in before they know you're here."  Beth suggests, adamantly to her husband's former wife.  

"Yeah yeah, sure."  Dot condescends.  "Whatever you say."

The driver hands her the things that she brought with her in her rush to get away from the city.  "Dorothea, you are here against my wishes, please don't make me the bad guy and send you packing."  Jon is quick to say, to avoid a confrontation with her and his wife.  

"Jon, I appreciate you allowing me into your home."  she smiles sarcastically, "well your guest home."

"Don't make us regret it any more than we already do."  Beth gently adds, through her teeth.

Jon leads the way, Dot right behind him, "There is no reason for you to be in my house.  Do not go into the house for anything."

"We're changing the codes."  Beth states as a matter of fact, having this idea right at this second.

"I mean it Dorothea.  Don't go in the house.  You have all that you need out here, however, if there is something that you need, there are many cars in the garage, feel free to take yourself to the store."  Jon enters the code on the guesthouse key-less door handle 1.9.8.3., saying the numbers out loud.  "Don't take my car or Beth's."

Beth is a little taken back by that.  She doesn't even try to hide her disgust or even her unwillingness to go along with this chapter, "How long do you intend to stay?"  Her arms fall hard at her side, "This is only for a couple of days.  You're only here long enough to have your place fixed and new security put in."  Her arms go up along with her anger, "THIS is only for a couple of days!"  
Dot can see that Beth is at wit's end, but she refuses to care.  One part of Dorothea is happy that she's creating trouble for Jon and his wife, because she is no longer his wife.  "This wasn't my idea, this is all on Stephanie."  Dot instantly snaps, "This was all her."

"Then why are you here?  Could you not have come up with anything better?  I'll be more than happy to put you up at the Four Seasons."  Beth cat calls right back, "At MY EXPENSE!  I mean after all, you have no source of income other than alimony."

"Beth."  Jon says to her, as if she were a child.  As fast as he says her name, their eyes lock and she can see that she just crossed an imaginary line.  "Why don't you go in the house.  I'll be there in a minute."

"I'll stay."  she's firm in her response to his order.  With an attitude she didn't even know she possessed, she responds, "Let's get her all situated and then we will go in the house."  Beth rips open a closet door.  "There are clean linens in here."

Jon watches what's happening in his guest house and is having a hard time figuring out how they got to this point in his life.  His wife and ex wife were under the same roof again, he is very uncomfortable with the situation.  

Chapter 32 - Feels Something Like Healing Time

Beth rolls over and yawns, the sunshine  blinding her sleepy eyes.  Gently she reaches over and feels that her husband is not there.  She slowly sits herself up, eyes gazing the room, "Jon?" she mumbles with a yawn.  She can't hear him doing anything.  The villa is dead quiet.  When she hears nothing back, "Jon."  she tries again as she rises from the bed.  She rubs her eyes as she patters to the bathroom.  She glances around the room, but can't see a note. 

After using the bathroom and brushing her teeth, she makes her way to the kitchen area and pops in a coffee pod.  As her cup brews, she wanders back into the bedroom and finds her phone.  She only had 13 text messages and 4 missed calls.  She swipes up to see who she missed.  Several texts from the kids, just saying hi and asking when they woulld be home.  The missed phone calls were from numbers not stored in her phone. She writes them off as spam.  The most recent text that she received was from Jon.

I went for a run.  Let me know when you're up and we can head into town. Love you!

She drops her phone on the bed, off to get her coffee she thinks, 'Why is he running without me?"  Beth, unconsumed by her thoughts grabs the newpaper off the kitchen counter and takes it out on the lanai with her. There isn't any better way to start your day than with a newspaper, sunshine and fresh coffee. 

She's deep into the society pages of Honolulu when Jon appears, scaring the shit out of her.  When her brain registers who it is she smiles, "Hi gorgeous."  she says to him with a smile on her face.

Jon bends over and kisses her, "You're the gorgeous one.  How'd you sleep?  He asks, taking his running ball cap and tshirt off.  "When I left, you were sawing logs."

She continues to smile at him, "I slept better than the dead, I think.  How did you sleep?  Why are you up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep."  He says to her as he heads into the suite.  "I can only watch you sleep for so long."  He picks on her.  He heads inside and grabs a bottle of water from the fridge, "What do you want to do today?"

She takes a sip of her morning heaven, "I don't care.  When are we going home?" 

Jon takes a seat next to her on the lanai and chugs his  bottle of water.  Once he's done he exhales loudly, "I was thinking today,   What do you think about that?"  He shoots her a wink. 

At first Beth is a little stunned.  When she gives it a quick thought she decides that that might not be a bad idea.  "Are you serious?"  she questions with a smile.  "I think I like that idea.  I woke to several texts from the kids, I think they miss us."

"Then home we go.  I'll call and have the plane ready.  When do you want to leave?"

She leans over, wipes sweat beads from his furrowed brow and says, "You are the best husband."

They spent what was left of their last morning packing and saying goodbye to their newest slice of heaven.  They were prepared for the very long flight home.