Chapter Fifty Two

The car wheels spun in a shower of gravel as Dorothea turned the car around and tore off up the drive. Jenn stood on the porch staring after her, fists clenched as her chest heaved for breath. She was so furious she couldn’t even think straight. What a bitch! What a complete fucking cow!

Dorothea’s parting words had stung her more than she’d thought possible. Fumbling in the pockets of her coat, she pulled out a forgotten packet of cigarettes. Forgotten until now that is. Oblivious to the freezing temperatures around her, she hunkered down on the wooden steps of the porch and took a grateful drag of her cigarette. Fiery hot blood pumped around her body making her limbs tremble. What the hell had just happened? She’d never expected her relationship with Dorothea to be easy but she had seriously underestimated exactly how bitter she was.

A chink of light spilled out onto the porch from behind her, a small voice breaking through her anger.

“Jenn? Are you okay?”

The worry and concern was evident in the teenager’s voice and Jenn guessed from the lack of volume control her altercation with Dorothea had that poor Steph had heard more than a little of it. The guilt seared through her as she turned to face her with a bright smile.

“I’m fine, just having a sneaky smoke; I’ll be back in a minute okay?”

Steph nodded, “Okay……do you want another hot chocolate?”

Jenn smiled gratefully at her. She was such a great kid; it was hard to believe she had been raised by what seemed like the bitch from hell. “That’d be great, thanks.”

As the door clicked shut behind her, Jenn turned back to staring at the dark landscape in front of her. As the harsh exchange came back to her, she mulled over Dorothea’s parting words. What exactly had Jon said to her? Amidst the anger and mounting frustration, a wave of uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach. Maybe she was right, was she being taken for a fool?

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

“I’ll see you and raise you another thousand.”

“Fuck you man!” Jon growled in frustration as he stared at the hand of cards he held.

“C’mon Jonny, either you got the cards or you don’t!” Richie goaded him from across the table as he confidently clicked together his column of chips. He was kicking these guy’s asses tonight and it was driving Jon insane. David eyed the two men with amusement from his central position at the table. They’d been playing for a few hours now and he’d lost all his chips quite a while earlier. Stifling a yawn he topped up everyone’s wine glasses as Jon glared stubbornly across at Richie.

“Screw you……….fuck it, I’m all in.” He pushed the remainder of his chips into a messy heap in the middle of the table.

“On their backs, what you got?” David took a sip as he looked expectantly at both of them.

“Trips, Kings!” Jon smirked as he laid his cards on the table and folded his arms with more than a little confidence.

David blew out a low whistle, “Nice! Rich? What you got man?”

Richie stared at Jon’s cards silently, his dark eyes giving nothing away. He idly rolled a chip through his thumb and forefinger, the distant tick of a clock providing the only background noise. Finally, he gave a small sigh and looked regretfully at Jon.

“That’s a bitch Jonny……….” His sober expression changed into a triumphant grin as he flicked his cards flat on the table. A pocket pair of Aces – that matched perfectly with the Ace of Clubs already dealt in the flop. “Come to Papa!” He sniggered at Jon’s disbelieving face as he scooped up the pile of chips for the winning hand.

“Unbelievable!” Jon looked on in disgust as he watched Richie gloat over his win. “You’re a cheating fuck Sambora, you know that?”

“Nah, you’re just a bad loser Jon, suck it up my friend!”

“Bite me……” Shaking his head, Jon took one last rueful look at his losing hand before reaching for his drink. “Sucks when you can’t even win a game on three fucking Kings, good job I didn’t take up gambling as a career.”

“I dunno………” David looked thoughtful for a moment before holding up a finger. “Might not have been so bad, I’d have made a kick ass lead singer while you cleaned tables at Caesar’s!”

Richie chuckled, “I can see it now……..David Bon Bryan……..it’s got a ring to it Lemma!”

David agreed nodding, smirking at Jon. “Better looking too!”

Jon gave up sulking; he could never keep a sour face on too long with these guys around. “You’re a pair of jackasses!”

“Ahhh but handsome jackasses you gotta admit!”

“I’ll leave that to the ladies to decide!” Leaning back in his chair, Jon laughed as he rubbed at the grizzle starting to form on his jawline. “We need to do this more often guys, it’s been a laugh.”

“And profitable too!” Richie winked, still sniggering to himself over his winnings.

With a small laugh as he started to gather the deck of cards together David retorted, “On second thoughts, I don’t wanna see you guys again for a long time!” Randomly shuffling the cards, he raised an inquisitive brow at Jon. “So are you gonna tell me about your new lady that I keep hearing soooooo many great things about”, he rolled his eyes in Richie’s direction, “Or am I gonna have to drag it out of you?”

At the thought of Jenn, a warm smile crept onto Jon’s lips. He’d been so busy catching up with the guys he hadn’t even thought to call her this evening. He quietly lodged a mental reminder in his soggy alcohol infused brain to call her first thing in the morning.

“Aw shucks Rich, he’s blushing like a second grader!” Chuckling David leaned across to poke Jon in the ribs, “You got it bad Jonny!!”

“Wait till you see her Lemma, you’ll understand then I’m tellin’ you man!” Richie nodded knowingly, “She looks particularly good wearing Kidd’s shirts!”

Jon smirked, his eyebrows raised in smugness, “Yeah and you keep telling people about that and she’s gonna bust your ass!”

“So it’s serious then?” David posed the question as he leisurely laced his fingers behind his head, scrunching the bouncy blonde ringlets of hair.

“Well considering she’s minding my daughter while all this divorce shit blows over, yeah man…” Jon paused to look him in the eyes, “…..I’d say at this stage it’s pretty serious.”

David blew out a low whistle through his teeth. “You gonna let the press know?”

“Fuck no!” Jon angrily slammed his hand down on the table, making the poker chips clatter. His cheeks coloured slightly as his temper rose again. “I’m not giving those fuckers any more than I have to.” 

“They’re gonna find out sooner or later Jon, you’ve gotta realise that!”

“Yeah well they’re not gonna find out from me, that’s for sure!”

His jaw jutted out defiantly, his nostrils flaring as he stubbornly threw back the rest of his wine. Of course he was aware that it was inevitable that the latest part of his personal life would become public knowledge but for the moment he had enough crap to deal with.

David and Richie exchanged looks as an awkward silence descended on the table. David merely shrugged his shoulders while Richie grimly cleared his throat.

“Jon, we’re on your side man, but you know how this shit works, you gotta be one step ahead of these fuckers.”

“I know Rich, I am ahead of them, at least for the moment.” With a heavy sigh, Jon rose from the table, “I’m sorry guys, it’s been a hell of a day.”

David stood up to collect his coat. “It’ll be alright Jonny, you just gotta ride the storm out a little longer, you know where I am if you need me.” He laid a comforting hand on Jon’s shoulder, “I’ll see myself out, call me in a few days okay?”

“Yeah man, thanks…..” Jon smiled tiredly at his friend. He knew he was lucky to have these guys in his life and more importantly that no matter what; they’d always have his back.