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.”