Chapter Fifty One

“Dorothea! Hi! Come on in……”

Jenn smiled brightly at the stony faced woman standing before her. Taking a step back, she opened the door wide to welcome her in. Dorothea’s long dark hair hung loose around her shoulders, a knitted beret pulled down snugly over her ears. Her face, pale and drawn, stood out in stark contrast against the dark scarf and coat she had wrapped around herself. Nodding curtly to accept Jenn’s welcome, she stepped into the hallway just enough for Jenn to squeeze the door shut behind her.

“I have Stephanie’s clothes and a few other things she wanted.” Placing the holdall she was carrying on the floor, she looked around her surroundings with a thin smile. “I take it she’s here?”

“She’s just finishing up her soak in the tub – she worked hard today!” Jenn stood awkwardly in front of her, nervously smoothing her hands against the back pockets of her jeans. “She shouldn’t be too much longer….”

The silence hung heavily in the air between the two of them like a suffocating blanket. Dorothea continued to survey the hall with her lips drawn in a tight line while Jenn frantically fumbled for something to say. Jesus Steph, hurry up!

“Em…..I was just making us some hot chocolate………would you like one while you wait?”

A flash of irritation that briefly crossed Dorothea’s face as she checked her wristwatch was gone in the blink of an eye as she replaced it with a softer, albeit grim smile.

“Knowing my daughter’s bathroom routine I may as well, thank you.”

Smiling cautiously, Jenn showed her into the open plan living area. “Make yourself at home; I won’t be two seconds making the drinks!”

Dorothea nodded and sat down stiffly on a recliner, her lowered gaze still taking in the worn but comfortable furniture, the glowing fire in the small hearth and the soft lighting illuminating the room. Moving quickly across to the kitchen, Jenn hurriedly finished preparing the hot drinks, adding an extra sprinkle of chocolate shavings to the frothed milk on Dorothea’s. God knows the woman needs something to sweeten her up!

She carefully balanced the mugs and some cookies on a narrow tray as she moved back into the lounge to set it down on a little coffee table beside her visitor.

“Here you are………it’s really gotten quite bitter out there hasn’t it?” Referring to the weather, Jenn strained to find an ice breaker as she took her own mug and settled into a corner of the sofa.

“We more often than not have snow on the ground at this time of year.” Without removing her coat or hat, Dorothea lifted the mug to her lips in a gloved hand and took a small sip. “Your house is very nice.” Her wandering eyes landed on a large framed photograph sitting on the bookshelf. “Your parents?”

Jenn followed the other woman’s gaze and felt her own eyes mist over as she took in the happy picture of her parents, laughing and hugging each other as they posed for the camera. Feeling a lump start to lodge in her throat, she wrenched her eyes away from the photograph.

“Yes……” She nodded quietly, staring into the creamy chocolate froth in the mug that she cradled in her lap.

“I……..” Dorothea paused as she met Jenn’s eyes for the first time that evening. “I’m very sorry for your loss…”

Raising her head to look across at her, Jenn saw a fleeting look of genuine compassion fill Dorothea’s dark brown eyes. The face that up until now she had only ever seen drawn in tight lines of anger and bitterness, visibly relaxed into a warmer version of the mother she was.

“Thank you, it’s been hard….” She tightened her grip around the mug as she felt her fingers start to tremble. It was always easy to appear bright and cheerful on the outside when her thoughts were kept occupied but the moment somebody offered a token of sympathy, those walls came tumbling down all too easily. She took a deep breath in through her nose in an effort to chase away the tears that were beginning to gather at the corner of her eyes. “But I can’t dwell on the past, it brings no good.”

Her heart nearly stopped as she suddenly realised how that had sounded. Obviously she was referring to her own past but Dorothea’s past was very much at the moment in Jenn’s present. She cautiously raised her eyes to gauge what reaction her words had brought and to her amazement saw a solitary tear fall down Dorothea’s cheek. This was definitely not what she had expected to happen this evening.

“Yes, I can agree with you there but all the same,” Nodding slowly, she made no effort to wipe the glistening teardrop from her cheek. “Our past is our history, without it we wouldn’t be what we are today.” Pausing she took another sip of her hot chocolate before adding, “I know I wouldn’t be the same person…..”

This wasn’t at all how Jenn had envisioned this conversation going when Dorothea had first knocked stonily faced on her door. The woman seated across from her now seemed defenceless and tired. A pang of sympathy for her curled around Jenn’s heart and for a moment it felt as though there was a kindred spirit between them. The spell was broken though by the arrival of Steph, fresh and smelling beautiful from her marathon soaking session in the bath.

“Oh, hey Mom! When did you get here?” She slid across the polished floorboards in a pair of fluffy pink bed socks that formed part of the assortment of clothes that Jenn had left out on the spare bed for her.

Dorothea seemed to snap to attention as she reverted back to the present, rising to give her daughter a tight hug.

“Hi sweetie, I’m here a little while – you enjoyed your bath I guess?”

Jenn watched as mother and daughter embraced; side by side she could see similarities in their features. “I gave you a shout when your Mom arrived!”

Steph released her mother and flopped down on the sofa beside Jenn, her young face fresh and slightly flushed from her bath. “I had my iPod on, never heard you!”

“As usual…” Dorothea looked wryly at Jenn while smiling fondly at her eldest child. “You will learn Steph is permanently attached to that thing.”

Jenn smiled back politely, her mind was spinning, this whole situation was a little too surreal to take in.

“Yeah Mom, whatever!” Steph stuck her tongue out cheekily at her mother, her crystal blue eyes twinkling. “You should see what Jenn has on hers – nada!”

“Guilty as charged!” Jenn shrugged and grinned back at her. “Just think of all the fun you can have updating mine.”

“You better believe it!” Laughing at Jenn, Steph took on a more serious tone as she looked across at her mother.  “So Mom, is it really bad at home? Are they everywhere?”

The laughter lines suddenly disappeared from Dorothea’s face and the strained weary look clouded it once more. She nodded grimly, “Pretty much but don’t worry honey, I’m sure this will all blow over in a few days.” She smiled reassuringly at her casting a quick sideward glance at Jenn, “It should be okay to come home in a few days.”

“Is Daddy okay? I haven’t talked to him since he called Jenn this morning.”

If an atomic bomb had just dropped on the house it wouldn’t have been able to blow apart the tension that suddenly gripped the room when Steph mentioned her father. Dorothea’s smile seemed frozen on her face as Jenn felt her stomach turn inside out. As much as Dorothea was making an effort to be civil, an actual mention of him in front of the woman he was leaving her for was pushing the boundaries a little too far. In fact Steph might as well have just pushed them off a cliff.

“He’s fine.” The icy undertone was firmly back in Dorothea’s voice as she set her mug down a little harder than was strictly necessary on the coffee table, the bang making Jenn jump. Getting to her feet, she crossed over to kiss her daughter on the cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow okay?”

“Sure Mom. Thanks for bringing my stuff over.” Steph gave her a quick hug from her position on the sofa, her face slightly apprehensive as she felt the atmosphere in the room change.

“Jennifer will see me out, don’t you come outside after your bath, you’ll freeze. I love you.”

“Love you too Mom.”

Dorothea turned to walk out the room, a nod at Jenn conveying a silent order to follow her. For a millisecond, Jenn thought about taking the cowardly way out and just waving goodbye. Yeah, that so wasn’t going to happen. Steeling herself, she followed the swish of Dorothea’s long coat and the click of her heels out to the front porch, grabbing a coat on the way. Once outside, the wind whipped Dorothea’s loose hair around underneath her hat, the cold instantly making Jenn’s teeth begin to chatter.

“Let me make one thing very clear.” Dorothea swung to face her once the front door has slammed behind them. “I am prepared to be civil for Stephanie’s sake and for her sake only. My kids are my life and they will always take priority over whatever other feelings I may have.”

Jenn stared at her dumbfounded. Five minutes ago this woman had been chatting amicably to her over hot chocolate and now she had turned into a version of the Ice Queen that C.S Lewis would be proud of. “I…..” She opened her mouth to speak only to be silenced by a gloved finger that Dorothea held up.

“Be under no illusions that you and I will ever be anything more than acquaintances. As far as I’m concerned you are an employee of my husbands and I shall only ever deal with you in a professional manner.” Sparks flew from the dark pupils of her narrowed eyes as her words sliced through Jenn’s brain.

Jenn’s teeth stopped chattering with the cold as a fiery anger welled up within her.

“My family is going through HELL at the moment and you” Dorothea vehemently jabbed a finger in Jenn’s direction, “have had more than a small part in making that happen!”

That was it. Jenn could control herself no longer as she unleashed the fury that was about to make her explode.

“Hold on one fucking minute Dorothea! Who the fuck do you think you are to come over here to MY house and speak to me like this when I am the one currently taking care of YOUR daughter?!” Her body shook, no longer in response to the bitter cold but from anger. “How’s about you be under NO ILLUSIONS that your marriage break down has ANYTHING to do with me? Because from what I know, you and Jon were over LONG before I ever knew anything of him.” 

She gasped for air as her heart pounded in her chest. “If you’re looking for someone to blame, take a good long look in the mirror before you start throwing daggers in my direction because I can tell you one thing for sure here and now – I will NEVER take any crap from you – EVER!”

Dorothea had the grace to look momentarily stunned at her outburst. Amidst her angry thoughts, Jenn guessed few people had ever spoken to her like she just had. And she wasn’t finished yet, not by a long shot.

“Do you think you’re the only one in the world that’s ever been dealt a crappy hand? I’m sorry for your troubles but I came over here for a JOB! For a chance at a new start in life and I will NOT apologise for that. I will NOT apologise for falling in love with the man that happens to be your ex-husband and also happens to be my employer as you so nicely put it!”

Dorothea stared at her long and hard before laughing dryly, a sneer forming on her face, “Quite the speech Jennifer. Such a shame really considering not two days ago Jon, who by the way is still legally MY husband, told me he’s not sure if this ‘thing’ you two have going on is serious or not.” 

Smirking as Jenn’s face fell; she turned on her heel to go to her car.

 “Sounds to me like you’ve fallen in love on your own honey.”

Seasons Greetings!

Seasons Greetings!

Wishing all of my wonderful readers a peaceful and happy time with your friends and families wherever in the world you may be.

I would like to take this time to thank you all very much from the bottom of my heart for being a part of Jon & Jenn's story as without you they would exist only in my imagination.

Thank You!

Emerald Isle
25th December 2011

xxxx

Chapter Fifty

The rest of the day passed quickly at the farm. With a full barn of horses and just Jenn and Steph to do them, free time was a rarity. Once the initial shock of Jon’s call had worn off, both girls found working pushed any dark thoughts to the back of their minds and before long they found themselves feeding and rugging the horses up for the night.

“Quite a day huh?!”

Jenn ran her hands under the tap in the feed room as Steph finished stacking the buckets.

“Yeah you can say that again!” Steph groaned as she stretched out the muscles in her back, “I think I’ll be able to qualify for Iron Woman if we keep this up!”

Chuckling Jenn clapped a hand on her back, “Get used to it honey, these horses are here to stay!”

Together they flicked off the lights and locked up the barn before trudging up the path to Jenn’s house.

“Do you wanna borrow some clothes of mine to get you by for the few days that you’re here?”

Steph shook her head as she kicked off her boots at the back door, “Thanks but Mom said she’d drop by later with my stuff.”

Jenn’s heart nearly stopped at the thought of seeing Dorothea and she swallowed with some difficulty. With everything that was going on she was quite sure she was Dorothea’s least favourite person in the world right now.

“Coming here? But isn’t there a bunch of reporters camped outside your front door?”

She kept her head down as she peeled off the layers of scarves and fleeces she’d been wearing all day hoping Steph wouldn’t detect the nervousness in her voice.

“Oh yeah but they won’t bother my Mom, she’ll just act like they’re not there and drive on by them!” She laughed as she tugged off her coat. “I don’t think there’s any reporter in the world who’d be brave enough to take on my Mom!”

“I don’t doubt that”, murmuring quietly under her breath Jenn moved into the kitchen. Summoning a bright smile, she swung the door of the refrigerator open and gestured to the empty shelves.

“Any chance she’d bring dinner as well?”

~~~~~~~~~

Jon slumped back in his chair wearily massaging the creaks in the muscles of his neck. After spending the entire day holed up in the apartment on the phone, he was exhausted. Richie had braved the streets earlier to confirm that there was indeed a gang of reporters staking out the sidewalk. So that meant going for a run definitely hadn’t been an option and his in house gym held no appeal today whatsoever. Resigned to being held captive a little while longer, he’d thrown himself into conference calls with his lawyers and management team. Eventually they’d come up with a plan of sorts that although Jon wasn’t very happy about it, seemed to be the quickest way of getting the media storm to blow over.

Tomorrow morning, his lawyers would release a formal statement to confirm divorce proceeding are underway through the mutual consent of both parties. Doug the senior partner in the law firm had advised Jon that to stop any further intrusion into his family, simply by quelling the rumours and actually giving the media the information they were digging for, should in theory make them move on to somebody more exciting. It was the whole ‘in theory’ part that Jon wasn’t thrilled about but he didn’t exactly have a huge array of other options available.

Hearing movement from the floor beneath him he swung himself off the chair with a groan and stuck his head out the office door.

“Rich? That you?”

“Yeah man.” Richie’s voice carried faintly up the curved staircase. “Come on down and see who I found wandering around!”

Scowling Jon made his way downstairs to the living area. He really wasn’t in the mood for company but that all changed when he saw a familiar mop of blonde curls bouncing around his kitchen.

“Well shit Lemma! If you aren’t a sight for sore eyes!”

Grinning widely Jon clasped his old friend’s hand and clapped him on the shoulder in a brotherly embrace. It felt like an age since he’d last seen him.

“Hey Jonny, good to see you man!”

David’s grin stretched from ear to ear as he shook Jon’s hand. Behind the smile he quickly took in the tired creases under Jon’s eyes and the pale pallor draining his skin.

“So the sharks are circling huh?” David grimaced and looked sympathetically at his friend. “Rich filled me in on the way over here.”

“You got that right!” Shrugging as he pulled some beers from the refrigerator, Jon attempted a weak smile, handing an icy bottle to each of them. “It was gonna happen sooner or later but hey!" A glimmer of a twinkle returned to his blue eyes as he twisted off the cap and took a slug, “You two lived to tell the tale!”

David snorted as he lifted his beer to his lips, “Don’t worry my bank account still has the scars to prove it!”

In recent years Jon had watched both Richie and David go through painful divorces. Richie’s split from actress Heather Locklear had been splashed all across the papers while David had managed to keep the details of his somewhat quieter. Back then he’d always offered a shoulder to lean on whenever his friends had needed one but at the back of it all, he’d been comfortable in the thought that he’d never himself have to endure it. Turns out he’d gotten that one badly wrong.

Moving into the lounge the three men kicked back and distracted themselves with catching up on David’s news. While they all regarded the band as their day job, each of them nearly always had various other projects on the go while the band was between records. The last tour had ended over a year ago and they were all starting to get a bit antsy.

“So? Is it time to go back to work yet Boss?” David raised his brows questionably  at Jon from his lazy slouch on the sofa.

“I wish Lemma, I really do, but with all this fuckin drama”, Jon jerked his head at Richie, “We haven’t been able to get any goddamn shit done!” His earlier mood lift at seeing David was rapidly evaporating.

David frowned and settled back in the sofa with a sigh. “Well hurry your asses up before I get fat and old! I never thought I’d say this a year ago but dammit I’m getting bored!”

“Brother you are fat and old!” Taking a swig from his beer, Richie grinned lazily at him.

“Take a look in the mirror jackass!”

Rolling his eyes, Jon shook his head chuckling at his friends. These guys were just what he needed right now and for the moment at least he was done with the rest of the world. Reaching into his pocket he slid out his cell phone and did something he rarely if ever had done before – switched it off. The idea of being completely unavailable to the rest of society except for the two guys in this apartment had never felt so good.

Slipping the phone back into his pocket once the screen descended into darkness, he threw the rest of his beer down his throat and heaved himself off the chair.

“We’re gonna need more beer.”

~~~~~~~~~

Jenn stared out the window through the darkness at the marbled moon crescent as she absentmindedly rinsed off the dinner plates. After they had polished off a frozen pizza that Jenn had eventually unearthed from the depths of the freezer, Steph had gone to soak in a hot bubble bath to take the stiffness of the days riding from her muscles. Jenn had purposely kept the television off all night in case there were more media reports circling and instead had apparently appalled Steph by the meagre content of her iPod. A birthday present from Karen, she had never really taken the time to put much on it except for the few old battered albums that had been knocking around her car at the time. 

Steph had produced her own device with a flourish and nimbly shown her a brief overview of what she claimed to be nearly two thousand songs. When Jenn had shook her head in amazement Steph had thrown her eyes up to heaven and told her to ‘get with the times’. That was the trouble with keeping company with teenagers, they always made her feel so damn old.

Smiling to herself she set the plates to dry and flicked on the coffee machine to froth some milk for hot chocolate. The bitter cold of the day had seeped into her bones and a milky hot chocolate at night had never failed her yet to get some warmth back in them. Just as she was taking the milk carton from the refrigerator, the headlights of a car swinging into the drive shone through the pulled blinds of the living area.

Trying her hardest to ignore the steadily increasing beat of her heart, Jenn calmly poured the milk into the frother and headed for the front door. Wiping her hands on a towel, she paused in the hallway as a silhouette appeared behind the frosted glass of the door and gave a loud, sharp knock.

Taking a deep breath, she called down the hall to the bathroom, before striding over to open the door with more confidence than she knew she possessed.

“Steph! Hurry up – your Mom’s here!”

Chapter Forty Nine

By seven am the following morning, Jenn was happily working her way through feeding the barn of horses. Hooves impatiently banged stall doors and heads anxiously bobbed up and down snorting and blowing as she methodically worked her way down the aisle giving each animal its own personally assigned feed. Just as she was finishing Steph came breezing in the side door carrying two Styrofoam cups of Starbucks coffee.

“Morning! I picked these up on the way to warm us up!”

Turning from the trolley of feed she’d been pushing, Jenn gave her a grateful smile. “You absolute star! It’s freezing out there! Let me just feed this last guy and we’ll have them in the office. I turned on the heater in there when I came in so it should be nice and toasty by now.”

“Sure!”

Swinging back around to feed the last horse, Jenn nervously bit her lip. Jon had assured her that Steph was completely fine with their relationship but still this was the first time they’d met with it being out in the open. Emptying the bucket of feed into the grateful horse’s trough, she returned the feed trolley to the feed room and followed Steph into the office.

“I grabbed these as well, they looked too good to leave behind!” Steph shook some fresh croissants onto a plate from a paper bag and offered them to Jenn as she flopped into her chair behind the desk.

“Mmmnn thanks!” Sinking her teeth into the still warm pastry she groaned as the buttery flakes melted in her mouth. “These are so very bad but just so damn good, yummy!”

Leaning back in her chair, she cradled the steaming cup of coffee with her fingers, feeling the warmth seep into them. Blowing gently on the lid to cool it down she looked across at Steph who was happily devouring her own croissant.

“So how was your weekend?”

Tugging a piece off the pastry, Steph waved her head dismissively. “Pretty boring, sent off the application forms for the long distance course, hung out with the family, that kind of thing! How was yours?”

Jenn swallowed nervously, Steph wasn’t gonna make this easy on her. “Yeah good, got to see a bit of the city for the first time……” She trailed off unsure of whether to divulge more information on her exact whereabouts.

“Cool, did Dad show you around? We’ll have to go shopping together someday!” Steph sipped at her coffee innocently from her curled up position on the sofa. “Did you meet Richie, Dad said he was back in town?”

“Um yeah……” Jenn blushed and focused intently on chasing some crumbs around the table with her finger. “I did, he’s very nice.”

The sound of a small giggle coming from the corner snapped Jenn’s attention back up and she caught Steph trying to hide her laughter behind her coffee cup.

“Oh God I’m sorry Jenn!!” Trying to compose herself, Steph beamed across at her. “You’d be no good as an undercover cop!”

Jenn narrowed her eyes, looking suspiciously at the teenager. She chose to remain silent, her face impassive as she waited for her to continue.

“Dad finally came clean about you two – I’m fine with it, honestly!”

Jenn blew out a long breath, an embarrassed smile escaping her lips. “Good! I’m sorry if you thought we were sneaking around….”

“Don’t worry about it!” Shaking her head in amusement, Steph grinned across at her. “You should have seen Dad’s face when I told him I had already pretty much worked it out anyway – it was priceless!”

Jenn rolled her eyes as she set her coffee down and turned to power up the computer. “I should have known we wouldn’t be able to pull the wool over your eyes!” Pausing for a moment she turned back to Steph, her eyes brimming with relief and appreciation, “Thanks Steph, it means a lot to me that you’re okay with this.”

Rubbing her hands together briskly in an effort to nimble them up, she motioned for Steph to join her behind the desk. “Right! Back to business! We need to sort out accommodation of sorts for our Florida base; we’ll be down there in no time. Come and have a look at some of the places I found!”

Steph squealed with excitement as she pulled a chair up beside her. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as they travelled down the list of condos Jenn had pulled up on screen.

“Gosh, it’s really all starting to happen isn’t it?!”

Leaning back, Jenn watched thoughtfully as Steph scrolled down the pages of Palm Beach properties.

 

“Yeah…………it sure is!”

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

“Fuck!!”

Jon slammed the phone back in its cradle and pushed back off the desk on his leather exec chair. It wasn’t even gone ten in the morning yet, and he had pretty much been on the phone constantly for the last two hours. Nobody in the office could explain to him who had leaked the news but the media had been hounding them all morning. Dot had rung him first thing after she had dropped Steph off at the farm to inform him that there was a small army of cameras beginning to set up outside the gates of the house and had told him in no uncertain terms to stay away. He’d understood that but it was pissing him off royally that his family were practically being held hostage in their own home.

For the moment it seemed the reporters had nothing concrete to go on but his lawyers were advising him to make a statement about it as soon as possible. Groaning he leant forward in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose with his forefingers. His head was pulsing with an impending headache not helped by the litre of coffee he’d already consumed this morning.

“Hey man, how’s it goin?”

Richie padded barefoot into his office, blinking blearily at him. His hair heaped in a tousled mess on his head indicated to Jon that obviously he at least had no problem sleeping last night.

“Just fuckin great Rich.”

“Anything new come out since last night?”

“Not that I’ve heard but they’ve already camped outside the house in Jersey. Dot’s not too happy needless to say.”

Richie shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered over to the window to gaze down at the street below. “Anybody hanging out down there?”

“Dunno, not been down there.” Getting up to join his friend at the window, Jon stared grimly at the traffic. “I’d say it’s a fuckin good possibility though.”

“Whatcha gonna do now then?”

Without taking his eyes off the traffic, Jon set his jaw in a determined line and spoke with gritted teeth. “Try fix the whole damn mess.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Jenn was standing in the middle of the sand arena, a woolly hat and scarf wrapped around her head in an attempt to keep out the biting cold as she watched Steph canter around her on one of the horses. She nodded in approval as Steph deftly changed directions and performed a perfect flying change.

“Good! Now work him in around the corner and try some counter canter. Remember keep your weight to the inside and guide him with your legs.”

Her cell phone buzzed from her hip distracting her from watching her pupil perform the complicated movement. Swearing as she fought to pull off her glove to answer the phone she smiled when she saw Jon’s name flash across the screen.

“Morning handsome!”

The tone in Jon’s voice wiped the smile off her face as she listened.

“Hey baby, we’ve got a situation. Could Steph stay with you for a few days?”

“Well of course but what’s wrong?” She motioned to Steph for her to carry on as she turned to walk to the far corner of the ring. A rock of lead settled in the bottom of her stomach as Jon filled her in on what had happened. “Shit, how’d that get out?”  

“I dunno but it won’t be long before they manage to find out more, I just need to figure out how to stomp this out before it gets out of control.”

“Well, do you need me to do anything?” Jenn instantly felt stupid asking but she was at a loss as to what to say or do.

“Just try keep Steph under the radar until this blows over, Dot’s got the other kids under wraps but I don’t want Steph’s routine messed up because of this shit. Dot’s happy for her to stay with you until we sort it out.”

Jenn raised her eyebrows at the last part. Somehow she found it hard to believe that Dorothea would be happy about her daughter staying with her ex-husband’s new girlfriend.

“You’re sure she’s okay about that?”

Jon paused a moment before replying, “Well she’s not ecstatic about it but she agrees that for the moment it’s the wisest thing.”

“Jon are you okay?” She could feel the tension in his voice and wanted nothing more than to crawl into the phone and hug him.

He laughed drily, “I’ve been better baby but yeah I’m okay. I’ll call you later when I know more. Is Steph around?”

“Yeah hang on, she’s just riding, I’ll hand you over.” Walking over to Steph, she took the horse’s reins as she passed her cell up to her. “It’s your Dad; he needs to talk to you.”

She backed away to give her some privacy as Steph tucked the phone under her ear and nudged the horse forward on a loose rein.

“Hey Daddy, what’s up?”

Jenn bit her lip and watched from a small distance as Steph walked the horse in a large circle, her normally cheery face serious and worried looking as she listened to her father talk. Jenn felt a stab of anger hit her as she thought about the whole situation. The poor kid had only just come to terms with her parents splitting up and now it looked like the whole world knew about it. A few minutes later, she saw Steph hang up the call and walked back over to her.

“You okay?”

Steph nodded glumly as she handed the phone back down to her. “Yeah I’m alright.” Sighing she leaned forward over the horse’s neck to rub the top of his head.  “This is where you get to see the part of my life that really sucks.” 

Chapter Forty Eight

Shadows danced up the wall above the fire crackling merrily in Jenn’s living room. A spark made her jump as a glowing cascade of embers arched out from the grate before fizzling out against the fire guard. Cursing herself for being foolish enough to use the damp logs that she had ‘borrowed’ from the stack behind Paul’s house, she reluctantly put down her book and unfolded her legs to hobble stiffly over to give the fire a poke.

Straightening up she glanced at the small antique clock that had once sat on her parent’s mantelpiece in Ireland. Its dainty fingers pointed towards nearly six pm, the darkness outside issuing a stark reminder that winter had arrived in full. She moved to the windows to drop the blinds and flicked on the tall lamp to illuminate the room, keeping the black night outside at bay.

Sunday night had crept up on her all too soon. It had been barely an hour since Jon had dropped her home after spending what had been left of the weekend with him in the city yet she already missed his company. Wandering into the kitchen she filled the kettle from the tap and switched it on, a weekend of fine dining and more than a few bottles of wine had her hankering for a good old fashioned cup of Irish tea.

Leaning back against the counter, she stretched and smiled as she thought back on her past hours spent with Jon. She had worried for him yesterday when he’d gone to see his kids, the tension had been wrought all over his face. Thankfully it seemed to have gone well and she had been more than a little relieved when he told her he’d levelled with Steph about their relationship status. That had been playing on her mind more than she’d realised.

A soft click and whoosh of steam signalled the water was boiled and she dropped two teabags from her stash of Irish tea into the teapot with a generous slosh of boiling water. Leaving it to brew for a few minutes, she set about making some toast when the sound of an incoming message on her cell bleeped across the room. A grin broke out on her face when she retrieved the phone from behind a cushion on the sofa. Karen’s text was brief but to the point.

Skype me! I’m pissed! Xxx

After loading a tray with tea and buttery toast, Jenn padded barefoot to the kitchen table where she had set up her laptop. Settling down in the chair, she hit the Skype button and took a sip of the scalding tea while waiting for the call to connect. Moments later, Karen’s face magically materialised in front of her.

“Hi sweetie! How are you?”

“Hellooo honey! I’m good! Well right now I’m more than good actually!”

Karen’s face momentarily blurred on the screen as she moved a glass of wine in front of the screen.

“See? THIS is why I’m so happy!”

Laughing Jenn grinned back at her friend. She had been about to tease her for drinking so early when she realised the time difference. It was late in the evening in Ireland and judging by the rosy flush in Karen’s cheeks, the wine had been opened a while ago.

“Some things never change I see! How’s Mark?”

“Hang on, you can ask him yourself! MAAAAAAaaaark!”

Karen’s shriek made the speakers on Jenn’s laptop vibrate as she summoned her husband to the screen. “Here he is – say hi Mark!”

Mark’s round and flushed face suddenly filled the screen making Jenn giggle out loud.

“Heeeeey Jenn! How’s my buddy doin?”

“Hi Mark! I’m doing good thanks, you’re looking well!” She stifled back a laugh as Mark collapsed on the sofa beside his wife, beaming into the webcam at her.

Pausing to take a slug from his beer can which he then rested on his rotund belly, he shook his head at her.

“I’m not talking about you! I know you’re fine! I want to know how my other buddy is!”

Confused Jenn wrinkled her eyebrows, “Who??”

Karen threw her eyes up to the ceiling and shifted the laptop in her direction, not quite before Jenn caught the dig in the ribs she gave Mark with her elbow, “He means Jon! Apparently they’re best mates now!”

“Ohhh I see!” Jenn nodded slowly in acknowledgment grinning. “He’s fine Mark, I’ll tell him you were asking for him!”

“Good!” Mark’s muffled response came from somewhere out of Jenn’s view. “Tell him to come back and see me sometime soon!”

Karen sniggered and threw a withering glance in her husband’s direction, “Yeah Mark, I’m sure that’s top of his priorities! Now go away, I wanna talk to Jenn!”

Jenn could hear him groaning no doubt from another well aimed dig by Karen. “Jesus woman, will you stop that – I’m going!” His face briefly filled the screen once more, “Bye Jenn!”

Still laughing, Jenn waved back at him, “See you Mark, mind yourself!”

Karen glared at her husband’s retreating back before she resumed concentrating on the webcam.

“Soooo?”

“So what?”

Karen took another sip from her wine and glared menacingly at her. “Don’t play all coy with me Jennifer O’Neill! Give me all the news!”

Shrugging Jenn gazed back at her, a small smile playing on her lips, “Oh you know, same old, same old!”

“No I don’t know! Tell me everything! Go!”

Over the next half hour or so Jenn filled Karen in on all the goings on since they’d last spoken. Karen squealed with delight when Jenn got to the part about how she had first met Richie in Jon’s kitchen.

“Noooooooo!” Her hands flew to her face as she giggled in excitement. “Oh my GOD Jenn!! That is MORTIFYING!!”

“Who are you telling?” Jenn laughed back; even now she could feel herself blushing at the memory. “I nearly died!”

As the giggling subsided, Karen grew serious as she took another sip from her glass. Pulling the laptop closer so that Jenn could see her clearly, she posed her next question.

“So aside from all that – how are you? Really?”

Jenn dropped her gaze and focused instead on the letters on her keyboard. She was quiet for a moment before she looked back at her friend.

“I’m okay……” Sighing, she idly traced a finger around the keys. “I guess I haven’t really had time to sit down and really think about things……..”

“Thinking is sometimes over rated but just make sure you keep some time for yourself okay?”

“Will do……..I miss you Kar” Jenn smiled sadly into the camera, tears suddenly threatening to spring to the surface as a pang of home sickness hit her. She was really enjoying her new life but somehow home was never far from her thoughts.

“Miss you too babes, I gotta get to bed,” yawning Karen shifted forward in the sofa and planted a kiss on the screen. “Talk soon yeah?”

“Promise! Love you!”

The screen flashed and went blank as the call was disconnected. Jenn sat staring at it for a few minutes, her mind thousands of miles away still in Karen’s living room. Smiling again as she remembered the night she brought Jon to that very house she snapped the lid shut on the laptop. Even though it had only been a few months, it felt like half a lifetime ago.

~~~~~ 

“Mom, will you just PLEASE stay out of this!”

Jon paced up and down the hallway of his apartment, grimacing as his mother ranted down the phone at him. He’d known damn well that once she got wind of this, there would be no shutting her up.

“I will NOT stand back and watch you RUIN your life Jon! She is the MOTHER OF YOUR CHILDRED! Of my GRANDCHILDREN!”

Gritting his teeth, Jon resisted the urge to slam his fist into the wall in front of him.

“I am well aware of that Mom, but this topic is NOT up for conversation!”

“I am not one of your employees Jon! I am your MOTHER!”

“Mom, I’m tired, I’ve had a long weekend and I’ve got a lot of things to take care of this week, I’ll call you in a few days.”

Without waiting for an answer he ended the call with an exasperated growl. “Jesus Christ!”

Stomping into the living area, he threw himself down on the recliner opposite the sofa where Richie was sprawled. Richie took in the stony storm brewing on his face and quietly raised his eyebrows at him.

“So Carol’s not happy I take it?”

“When the fuck is she happy?” Kicking his boots off, Jon rubbed the temples of his forehead wearily. “As usual I’m the fuckin bad guy!”

“Give it time man, she just needs to get used to the idea that’s all.”

Jon scowled as he grabbed the television remote to flick through the news channels, an even bigger frown creasing his features as he encountered nothing but advertisements. Giving up he stopped on a random channel and let the remote skid across the polished surface of the cherry wood coffee table.

 

“You know what? All in all I’ve had a pretty good time this weekend, hell even my talk with the kids went great and then the devil incarnate rears her blonde head to spoil it all! Dammit anyway!”

Richie smirked over at him from his comfortable lounger. “Your Mom will never change Jonny; you should know that by now!”

“Hmph!” Jon merely grunted at him as he folded his arms and hugged them to his chest, “I’m telling you man, thank fuck for Jenn, that’s all I gotta say!”

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments watching the seemingly never ending reel of recorded segments promoting everything from cars to women’s razors. A young and polished blonde reporter eventually showed up on the screen, a dazzling white smile flashing across her face as she introduced the entertainment round up of the show. Clips of various Hollywood starlets flitted across the screen as the reporter filled her audience in on who was dating who and who’d been seen where and with whom.

“And they call this shit entertainment!” Jon grumbled as he stretched forward to try and grab the remote off the table which lay just out of his reach. “Rich hand me the damn…..”

His next words were stopped mid flow as the plastic looking blonde moved smoothly onto her next headline.

There are unconfirmed reports circulating tonight that long time rock star Jon Bon Jovi has split from his wife of nearly twenty years. Jon and Dorothea who have four children together have been together since high school. The ‘Bad Medicine’ rocker has been touted by many over the years as being the unofficial poster boy for marriage, living a seemingly successful personal life in New Jersey unmarred by scandal. A rep for Bon Jovi could not be contacted.

Jon’s jaw just about hit the floor as he stared wide eyed at the television as the reporter ended her segment with another dizzying smile. Richie leaped off the sofa to grab the remote and killed the power to the screen. He looked grimly down at his friend who was still staring blankly at the black screen.

“Sorry bro, you got more than your Mom to worry about now.”   

Chapter Forty Seven

Jon sucked in a deep breath before knocking lightly on his eldest kid’s bedroom door. Steph’s voice came through lightly from the room.

“Yeah?”

Swinging the door open, Jon smiled softly at the sight of his daughter sat cross legged in the middle of the floor surrounded by a chaotic mess of papers.

“Hey baby………whatcha doin?”

“Trying to decide what course I’m gonna study………I’ve gotta be enrolled somewhere by next week before Mom has a meltdown!” Rolling her eyes at him, she got to her feet to give him a hug.

Squeezing her tightly he dropped a kiss on top of her messily tied up hair. Releasing her he wandered over to her bed and sat down on the side of it, gazing in amusement at the scrunched up pages torn off the various notepads.

“Not an easy decision huh?”

Sighing she flopped back to the floor leaning her head on his knee.

“Nope, I just can’t see past the horses right now so I dunno what direction I should go in with all this!”

Jon dropped a hand to gently squeeze her shoulder, “It’s up to you honey, just make sure it’s something you’re interested in, don’t do it just for the sake of it, your Mom has your best interests at heart you know?”

Tipping her head back, she smiled sweetly up at him, her bright blue eyes mirroring his own.

“I know! It’s not all bad; some of these courses are actually kinda neat!”

“Good!” He nodded in approval, “So have you got a few minutes to talk to your old man?”

Steph swivelled around on her knees to face him, draping an arm over his thigh. Her young face, smooth and fresh gazed up at him.

“You’re not that old Dad!” The sides of her lips twitched slightly, “Yet!”

Jon chuckled at the impish look on his daughter’s face, “Thanks Steph, good to know!”

His face grew serious as his heart began to pump a little faster. He had a pretty good relationship with Steph and the thought that he was possibly about to endanger it frightened the hell out of him.

“The thing is Steph, firstly I want to apologise to you….” He swallowed hard as she looked him with a degree of confusion in her eyes.

“For what?”

“For not being here when your Mom told you about……” He hated saying it out loud but was saved by her interruption.

“About the divorce?” Her eyebrows lifted in apprehension and then relaxed as he nodded.

“Yeah…..I should have been here for that….” His voice was gruff with emotion as his gaze dropped to the floor.

“Dad……. it’s okay………I’m fine with it!”

Now it was Jon’s turn to raise his eyebrows as he looked at her in surprise, “You are?”

Leaning back on her hunkers, Steph blew an errant strand of hair out of her eyes.

“Well…..yeah….obviously it sucks but it’s not like we didn’t know it was coming.” Shrugging her shoulders she fiddled with the edge of the eiderdown hanging off the bed. “To be honest, I’m kind of relieved…….does that make sense?” She looked up worriedly at Jon, her teeth anxiously biting her bottom lip.

He gazed sadly at her, “Yeah it kind of does………..I know it hasn’t been easy on you kids these last few months.” Reaching a hand out to her, he pulled her into his arms on the bed, squeezing her tight to him. “And for that I will always be sorry.”

Steph wrapped her arms around him, snuggling her head into his chest. “I love you Dad, more than anything, I just want you and Mom to be happy again and if splitting up is what it takes then that’s okay by me.”

Jon’s heart felt like bursting with sadness as he held her tight. “I’m so proud of you, you know that?”

Sitting up, she kissed him sweetly on his face, her eyes beginning to glisten. “Okay, okay you’re gonna make me cry! Moving on!”

She grinned at him and slid from his arms back to the pile of forms on the floor. “Next topic of conversation please!”

“Actually there is something else we need to talk about….” His stomach was doing somersaults again and his mouth had gotten incredibly dry.  “It’s to do with Jenn…”

Steph’s eyes widened in concern, “Is she okay?”

Lifting his hands to calm her, he shook his head, “She’s fine. It’s nothing like that.”

“So what then?” She looked at him in puzzlement as she waited for Jon to continue.

“Well, I’m not quite sure how to tell you this but I need you to know something about me……and her.” He looked up quickly to try and gauge her reaction. He was expecting to see anger on her face not the small smile that was forming on her face.

“Dad, you do know I’m gonna be seventeen in a few months right?” Steph folded her hands in her lap and looked patiently at him.

“Uh…..yeah…..but….” Jon’s mind was whirling in confusion.

“So that means I’m not a little kid anymore!” She rolled her eyes at him as she stated it in a very matter of fact manner.

Jon furrowed his brows in concentration as he leaned back on the bed and waited for her to continue, confusion still rattling his brain. He had no idea where this was going.

“Dad, I know! “

She shook her pretty head at him as she went on, “I’ve known there was something going on with you two ever since we came home from buying the horses, I’m not stupid you know!”

His jaw practically hit the floor as he looked at her in shock. “You have? How?”

Grinning at him, Steph winked and shrugged her shoulders, “It’s a girl thing Dad, we just know these things!” Bending over to shuffle some papers into a pile she glanced back up at him, “But I’m glad you’re telling me about it, the guessing game was starting to drive me a little crazy!”

Jon blew out a long breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. The realisation that his little girl was growing up was really starting to hit home.

“And you’re okay with it?”

Continuing to stack her papers into a haphazard pile she nodded, “I had to think about it for a little while but the more I’ve gotten to know Jenn, the more I’ve grown to like the idea. She’s pretty cool you know?”

Chuckling quietly he nodded in affirmation, “Yeah, I do know that……”

“Good!” Straightening back up, her smile faded as she posed her next question at him, “Does Mom know?”

The relief on her face was clearly evident as Jon nodded, “Yeah, your Mom knows.”

“I’m glad, that was worrying me a bit, there’s just one other thing though Dad….” She fixed him with a look that Jon recognised all too well as one she’d picked up from her mother.

 “Don’t screw it up okay?”