Chapter 53 - Live Before You Die



It was only two days before Dorothea called Jon to tell him the details of her fathers service.  They have planned a service at a local funeral home, with the scattering of his ashes in the ocean directly after. 

 Dorothea's parents have a special place in the Keys that they love, and that will be his final resting place.  Saturday is the day that the services are planned for. 

 

Jon is in his studio while he gets the call.  With his head being in several other place, he scribbles the detail on the back of a piece of sheet music, telling Dorothea, "I'll be there, do you need anything?  How are the kids?"

 

"Stephanie isn't doing to good.  It's hit her pretty hard.  The boys are fine, they're boys." Dot tells him, with little to no affect.

 

"How are you doing?" Jon questions, truly concerned.

 

Dorothea takes a deep breath and says, "It's hard to believe that I just seen him at Christmas and now he's gone."

 

"Did they determine what happened?"

 

"The autopsy showed that he had a heart attack and was dead before he hit the cement wall." he can hear the lump in her throat.  It's getting hard for her to talk about it now.

 

"Then he went fast and didn't suffer.  There's comfort in that, Dot"

 

"I know, I'm glad that he didn't suffer and that he went fast, I just can't believe that he's gone."

 

"I know.  You'll get through this.  How's your mom?" he asks, hoping that the kids aren't surrounded by people that aren't functioning from the shock and the loss.

 

"Mom's is doing better than I would be doing.  But I think that she's in shock."

 

"What about the rest of the family?"

 

"Everyone that's here is in shock, but okay.  When are you coming down?" she wants him there, she wants him close.  She needs the rock that he used to be for her. 

 

Jon's quiet for a moment while he runs his schedule through his head.  He can't think of anything that he or Beth has scheduled, "I'll be down the day of the service." 

 

"Not before?" Dot asks, a little upset.  "I thought you might come down the day before for the visitation?!!"

 

Jon tries really hard not to snap at her, but she was starting to whine and he didn't like that, "You said nothing about a visitation Dorothea.  You said a service at the funeral home and then the scattering of his ashes.  You said nothing about a visitation the night before."

 

"Please don't yell at me." she cries.

 

He can picture her, sitting on her mother's couch with a smirk on her face, she knows how to play the sympathy card and if it were under different circumstances, he might not let it slide.  "I'm sorry, I just need you to give me all the info, so I can prepare and take care of what needs to be taken care of up here."

 

"Like what?" she sarcastically asks, as if it were her business.

 

"Dorothea, I'll see you the day after tomorrow.  Kiss the kids for me please."  he says, having his fill of the conversation already.

 

Dorothea can hear that he's getting upset, "What do you need to take care of Jon?  Your kids are here?"

 

"Goodbye Dorothea." he calmly says, and then he ends the call.  He can't believe that she can still piss him off like she does.  And it's only when she thinks that she needs details of his life.  The life that he has away from her. 

 

Unable to concentrate on what he was doing, he gets up from the control panel and heads into the house.  As he's walking across the yard and in front of the garage, he's startled as one of the garage doors open.  The stall was empty, so he looks up the driveway and sees that Beth is home from her day of shopping in the city with Amanda. 

 

Amanda was in town for her big launch and she had some free time so the girls made a lunch date and did a little shopping.  Beth loves the hustle and bustle of NYC and it's even better when she can take it in with her best friend of a hundred years.  Beth needed the girl time more than anything.  She had a great day telling her friend all about the last year and a half of her life.  The things that weren't in the press, the things that mattered.

 

Jon walks over and opens Beth's door for her, "What are you doing home so early?"  Beth steps out and throws her arms around his neck, she kisses him and smiles.

 

"I spent all of your money, so I needed to come home."  She lets him loose and opens the back door of her BMW.  "They don't give a girl like me credit at the trendy stores."  She jokes, grabbing bags and handing them to him. 

 

"Did you leave anything in the city?  Looks like maybe you had to come home because you bought everything, not that you ran out of money." he laughs as she continues to slide bags on his arms. 

 

"Hush it.  Your mother's birthday present is in there, as well as their anniversary present.  I saved you again." she mocks Jonny, she loves mocking Jonny.

 

He looks at her and smiles, "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

 

Beth laughs at that, "I guess we'll see when you get the American Express bill.  Do you love me lots and lots and lots?"  She leans in and kisses his cheek.  "Let's get these in the house, I bought you something."

 

"What?"

 

"You'll see." she teases as she walks away.  He follows her into the house.

 

"Are you leaving your car out here?" he asks, referring to in front of the house.  "You opened the garage door, but didn't pull in." 

 

She opens the front door and says back to him, "I thought we would go get a bite to eat.  Aren't you hungry?"

 

Kicking the door closed behind him, after they walk in the house he needs to know, "Do these go upstairs?"

 

Beth turns around and stops.  She thinks for a minute, "I guess they can go upstairs in the guest room."  She walks up to him and plucks a couple of bags from him.  "Right this way baby cakes."  And she starts up the stairs.  Jon is right behind her.

 

"What has gotten into you?" he asks, as he takes one step after the other.  "You are in a great mood, you're beautiful."

 

Beth smiles, but doesn't let him see.  "Whatever do you mean?"

 

"You're beaming."  he responds at the top of the stairs, stopping.  "Did you meet Mr. Right when you were gone?"  Beth laughs at that.  She leads the way into the guest room and turns the light on.  She steps out of the way and Jon sets the bags on the bed.  With his arms no longer loaded down with bags, he slides his hands around her waist, and smiles at her.  "What happened while you were gone?"

 

She wraps her arms around his necks and gives him a quick kiss.  "Nothing happened, it was just nice to see Amanda.  It was nice to get out and be a woman again."  She kisses him again.

 

"I heard she has a big show coming up.  Do you plan on going?"

 

Beth shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know.  I want to, because she is my friend, but you know how I feel about that stuff."

 

He nods his head, "I do."

 

"I guess it depends on what happens in Florida, have you heard anything?"  She exhales, happy to be in his arms.  She had a wonderful day with Amanda and she's hoping that she was going to have a great night with Jon.

 

"Dot called just before you got home.  They have a visitation on Friday and the service on Saturday.  His ashes are to be spread in the Keys somewhere."

 

"When are you leaving?" she asks, as fast as he gets the information out of his mouth.

 

Shrugging, he says "I'll leave Friday afternoon, I guess.  Do you want to go?"

 

Beth breaks the embrace and heads out the door, "Babe, you know I can't do that." 

 

Jon can tell that Beth isn't happy that he's going to Florida without her but she understands it.  In no way is she upset or even worried, she just knows that his visit down will not be as cut and dry as it should be.  "You can go to Florida with me."

 

"No, I'll hang out here and take care of some things that I've been putting off."

 

He thinks that's funny, "What are you going to take of?"

 

She takes his hand and leads him downstairs, "What do you want to eat?"

 

"You want to go now??"

 

"Are you not hungry?" she asks, knowing that he was in the studio the whole time she was gone and she also knows that he hasn't eaten a thing. 

 

"I could eat."

 

"Well, what sounds good?" she asks as she opens the door and gets a bottle of water, "Do you want anything out of here?"

 

"No.  Let's take a drive down the shore and eat somewhere on the way."

"I like that idea, although it's the dead of winter not much will be open." She reminds him.  She knows where he wants to eat and she really doesn't think it's open.

"Let's go to the hotel and eat then.  I could eat a fillet, fish sounds good'"

Beth likes that idea.  The Molly Pritcher was a great hotel and an equally great place to eat. "Want me to change?"

"No."  In a silly sounding voice, he tells her. "You look great!"

"Let's go.  Think we'll need a reservation?"

He chuckled, from his belly, "Us?  I don't think so."