Chapter 10 - Every Roads Leads Home

Weeks go by and with the help of a gentle and understanding therapist, Beth is finally able to let go of some of her grief and a lot of her pain.  He physical wounds have all healed and lately she's been working on the emotional ones. 

They live separately, as they originally planned and it's working well for them.  The kids understand what they are doing and why, plus Beth makes it a point to stay at least one night when the kids are with Jon.  On certain occasions, Jon and the kids stayed with her at her apartment or they all would hang out downstairs in Jon's apartment. 

Tony had her house packed up and shipped to New Jersey, where she put most of it back in storage.  When Beth met the movers at the warehouse, she noticed boxes that were marked personal.  She had them taken to the city and delivered to her apartment.  She slid them out of the way until one night when she was alone and had nothing to do. 

 

Sipping her wine on the deck, she remembered the boxes.  In the spare bedroom she clicked on the light and pulled the first one into the middle of the room.  Looking around, she found some scissors, slit the tape and opened the box. 

At first glance, it looked like paperwork and pictures.  Removing the top few items she sees that this box is full of the framed pictures that she had throughout the house.  The ones that she left behind because Dalton destroyed all of them.  They were reframed, with a note on the top one.  Don't let him ruin your memories ~ T

The picture that was on top was one of her and Jon at their commitment ceremony.  They are looking at one another and David caught a look between the two of them.  Beth seen the picture and fell in love with it.  When she left Jon last year, she had left all of that behind.  When she decided that she wanted pictures, she just called David and he sent her what she wanted.  He was pro Jon and Beth, but had no idea what had happened.  He was with the band all of the time, but they even kept things from him.

The pictures that were below made her smile.  There were pics of the kids, Jon, his family, the girls and even a shot of the river.  Beth loved living on the river.  She piled the framed pictures up next to her on the floor and continued to look through the box.  She found many things that she forgot that she even had.  Tony went through her house with a fine tooth comb and missed nothing.  Paper after paper, book after book Beth can see that Tony packed the personal boxes with a lot of thought and care. 

 

One box and one bottle of wine was enough for one night.  When she reached the bottom of both, she decided that she wanted to talk to Jon.  He was home with the kids and after checking the time, she thought it was a good time to call.  She gets her cell phone off the kitchen counter and call him.  Two rings later, he answers the phone laughing, "Hey babe"

 

"Hi, what's so funny?"  she asks him, smiling because she loves the sound of his laughter. 

 

"The kids are out back trying to fly a kite.  Jesse gets it up and hands the string to Romy and then it crashes into the ground.  It just about broke a window."

 

"Are you taking pictures?"

 

"Of course.  What are you up to?" he asks her, walking into the house to get a bottle of water.

 

She tells him, "I just went through a box that Tony had boxed up for me.  He reframed a lot of the pictures and packed them up for me to find.  There was a note on one that said don't let him ruin your memories." she chuckles, "Is he the greatest?"

 

"Sounds just like Tony."  Jon tells her.  "Are you coming out down here tonight?"

 

"No, I'll come in the morning after my run.  Plus, I want to stop at the office and grab a few things."

 

"Really?  It's been so long since we've run together." he pouts. "What do  you need from the office?"

 

"Well, you have things to do in the morning anyway. I just need some papers to finish the deal I'm closing next week."

 

"Then you're coming here?"

 

She laughs at him, "You sound pathetic, what's going on?"

 

"I need to go run down to Philly after the kids go to Dot's, and I wanted you to go with me."

 

"What do you need to go down there for?" she asks him.  "I don't see that on the schedule."

 

"Just some football business, it won't take long." he explains.  "Then we can do whatever you want."

"Do I need to remind you what Saturday is?"

"No, babe.  I don't need to be reminded, even though it's not on the calendar." he jokes with her and she doesn't find it funny.