They sat out back and continued their conversation until the kids arrived home. When they heard the sound of children running and screaming, they went inside and said hello to his parents, whom visited for a moment and then they were off as fast as they had come in.
Romeo couldn't find Beth so he started to yell her name. "Beth!" And each time there after, he got a little louder. Beth chased him down and swooped him up when she caught him upstairs running through all of the rooms looking for her.
"I'm right here." she nuzzles his neck and kisses it. "How are you?" She hugs the little boy and sets him back on his feet. "Are you ready to go to the beach?"
"Yes" he says, as he nods his head vigorously and smiles his big bright smile.
"Let's get our bathing suits on and get ready to go." she takes his hand and leads him down the hallway to his bedroom. On the way, they run into Jesse and Jake. Beth tells them, "We're getting ready to go to the beach boys, get your bathing suits and stuff together."
Jesse stops and gives her a deflated look, "What beach? I don't want to go all the way out to the Hampton's just to go to the beach."
"We're going to go down the shore Jess. No reason to go all of the way out there." Beth explains as she walks backwards into Romeo's room, with Romeo dragging her.
"Can we go to Point Pleasant?" Jake asks with a huge smile on his face. Jesse's smile is close to follow.
Beth says back to the boys, "Ask your dad where we're going." And she's out of sight helping Romeo with his bathing suit and his bag.
Jesse and Jake get all of their stuff together and run downstairs to wait for everyone else. Beth sends Romeo downstairs so she can put her bathing suit on and get her things together. As she's walking to her room, she sees Stephanie is getting ready too. "Are you about ready, Rose?" Beth says at her doorway.
"Yep. Just looking for my sunglasses. Once I find them, I'm ready." Stephanie responds to her future step mother, her buddy.
Beth taps her hand on the door frame and says, "OK, I'll see you down stairs in a few." And she takes her leave to get ready.
In the master bedroom Beth digs out a few bathing suits and tries to decide which one to wear. Over the course of their relationship she has learned what Jon likes and she's also learned that what he likes attracts attention, so she's going to take the modest route today. It 's family day at the beach and the string bikini's aren't the best of choices. She puts on a watermelon colored bikini that's acceptable for family time. She didn't own a one piece, never has.
As she walks out of the bathroom, Jon is in his closet grabbing his swim suit. "Any idea what beach we should go to?" he asks her as he stumbles, putting his foot into his suit. "The boys want to go to Point Pleasant, what do you think?"
"I don't think I've been there."
Jon stops and thinks, "Hhhmm, I think you're right. I don't think I've ever taken you down there. It's a nice beach, but it defeats the family beach day."
"What do you mean?"
"It's like Seaside. They have the amusements there too."
"Oh. Well, isn't that what the boys want to do?"
"It is, but it takes them away from the beach, plus I don't have any staff on today to walk the boardwalk with them." he ties the string of his suit and adds, "I can't do it."
"I could." Beth tells him. "That might be fun."
Jon walks into her and says, "You're little buddy is too small for that yet. What are you going to do with him?"
Beth quickly loses her smile, she has waited for this day. They are supposed to build the biggest sand castles with the new buckets she just bought.
"Oh man. Ok, we need to find a compromise." she plops down in the chair. "I don't want to disappoint them, Jon. Jesse and Jake really wanted to go to Point Pleasant."
"If we go to Point Pleasant then you're going to have to do the boardwalk. And if you leave Romy behind, he'll be crushed. So, what do you want to do?"
"You're no help."
"If I had known that we would need Pete, I would have called her." he slips his feet into his flip flops and sits next to her. "I'll talk to the boys, we'll just go to Belmar and spend the afternoon there, like you wanted." He puts his hand on her knee and she tucks a finger under his watchband. That's her thing, when they are close and she can touch him, she slides a finger under his watchband. And when they're in bed, when applicable, she tucks her hand in his underwear.
"Thanks. I hope they aren't upset with me."
He stands up and takes her hand, "Let's get this show on the road. I'm sure they're waiting at the door."
Together they walk down the stairs and just as Jon expected, three of them are waiting at the door. Stephanie Rose is in the kitchen, waiting at the island, picking at the vegetables that Maria was trying to prepare.
When Maria seen Jon and Beth she asked, "When would you like dinner ready?"
Beth looks at Jon and shrugs her shoulders. Jon looks at his watch and says, "It's 1:00 now, let's plan for 7:00?" he looks at Beth and she shakes her head yes. That will give them a few hours at the beach with the kids.
"Take it out of the oven when you get home, should be perfect by then." She smiles at the two of them, "Rack of lamb and fresh veggies."
Beth asks, "That's it, just take it out of the oven?"
"That's it. I'll put it in just before I leave and it will be ready when you get back, if you're here by 7:00."
"Thank you, Miss Maria." Jon says, as he leans over and kisses her on the forehead. "Rose, are you ready to go?"
"Why do you guys call me Rose?" The teenager gets up and grabs her bag. Hiking it on her shoulder, she says, "No on else calls me that."
"Beth started it and it just kind of stuck, kiddo. Sorry, that's your new name." Jon jokes with his baby girl. "Let's get out of here."
The three of them meet the other three at the door, and they all loaded into the Escalade and went on a short trip to Belmar Beach.
They managed to find a piece of the beach away from the biggest crowd and they all claimed their personal spots. Beth made sure that all five children, including Jon, had sunblock on. She protected her own skin, naturally she would protect theirs as well. And as soon as they all are gooped up with SPF 50, Romeo heads to the water on a dead run, with his daddy right behind him.
Jesse and Jake chased after dad and the 'boys' in Beth's life played in the water for what felt like hours. She's sitting there watching the four of them and thinks to herself, I could watch them all day long.
"Aren't you going swimming, Rose? Oops, I'm sorry. I know you don't like that." Beth covers her mouth and waits for Stephanie to respond, if she does at all.
"I don't like it when my dad says it." Stephanie confesses to Beth. She's laying on her belly, so she lifts her head to look at Beth, "That's what you call me. No one else has ever called me that before. My nickname has always been Steph." she puts her head back down. "I like it when you call me Rose. That's OUR thing." Beth can't let Stephanie see that she has just made her cry. To Beth, that was the ultimate form of acceptance and that made her feel like she could rule the world.
"Then we will just keep it as our thing." Beth is smiling inside and out, feeling a little anxiety about it. But she doesn't let it get to her. She leans back on her hands and is watching the Bongiovi's play in the warm water of the Atlantic Ocean. Watching them and sitting with Stephanie, Beth can really ask for nothing else.
Jon is home and they all are together.
Stephanie is right. The only one who should call her Rose, is Beth. Maybe Beth can talk to Jon about that when they get a minute alone.
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