Chapter 60 - Flip The Switch

Beth grabs the vegetables from the fridge and tosses them on the counter. Jon starts to open the packages so they can whip up a quick salad.  

 

Beth reaches for a bowl and they make a salad, neither wanted anything heavy and neither wanted to work too hard.  While she peels a cucumber, she starts to laugh.  She starts to laugh so hard she had tears in her eyes, "Are you going to tell me what's so funny?"  He asks, laughing himself now. 

Beth wipes a tear off of her cheek with the back of her hand and tries to say, "I can see you pushing Dorothea out of bed."  her laughter just as hard.  "I can see the look on your face."

"I was pissed.  I'm half tempted to sue that hotel" he admits, slicing up some carrots.  "They never should have given her a key. "

Beth's laughter was subsiding, her stomach hurt and so did her cheeks, "I can see why they would, she is still your wife."

"I checked in needing only 1 key, no more should have been given." 

Beth starts to dice an onion, "I'll bet that that wasn't in any notes or relayed to following staff.   I can't say that I wouldn't do it myself in that situation."

"It's bullshit,  I shouldn't have to worry who might sneak in my room anymore.   Back in the day, I wouldn't have cared -but I could have hurt her."

Beth could still picture it happening, and she started to laugh again,  "Do you want cheese in it?" she asks him, referring to the salad. 

Jon nods his head and changes the subject, "Are we going to LA tomorrow?"

"I'd like to.  I have a great marketing idea I want to run by Tony, it focuses on family." Beth tells him, feeling pretty proud of herself.

Jon smiles at her, "Ok, what's the idea?  What have you come up with?"

Shaking her head, she says "You can wait and see tomorrow."  Beth gets the salad tongs that are hanging above the stove with the pots and pans and mixes up the salad.  When she finishes that, she grabs the dressing from the fridge. While she's in the fridge she notices some left over chicken beeast, "Do you want chicken on your salad?"

"No.  Is there any Pinot in there?" 

"No, that's in the wine cooler.  I haven't opened a bottle since I've been here" Beth dishes out their salad while Jon picks their poison.  He grabs a Pinot that was made right there at their vineyard.

He pops the cork and grabs 2 glasses, walking behind Beth, he quickly kisses the nape of her neck - giving her chills and making her quiver.  "How about a 2001."  

"Works for me."  They sit at the island and eat their salad and sip their wine.  "How about a walk after we eat?"

Jon reaches over and puts his hand on hers, "Whatever you want to do."

"You haven't seen the place since its been done, we should take a walk."

He takes a bite of his salad and nods his head.  They finish their rabbit food and take a walk of the grounds.   It was Sunday night, so most guests have left.  There are a few people there,  but no one pays attention to who is walking around.  

Guests are playing horseshoes, children are playing on the playground and the buzz about the place is magical.  The white lights that are all around give the grounds a soft glow and makes it feel warm and inviting. 

"You did a great job with the hotel,  this place is beautiful."  They are hand in hand, so he pulls her close and kisses her quick.  "What more do you want to do here?"

She smiles at her rock star and says, "I want to make it more kid friendly.   Sure, its a vineyard but I want it to be a place for families to come."  She rests her head on his shoulder as they walk, "I want it to be a place that we can bring the kids to.  With the exception of that playground, there is nothing for kids to do here."

"What do you have in mind?"

Beth stops him, they are face to face.  She kisses his soft lips and whispers,  "You'll find out tomorrow."

"You're not going to tell me?"

"Nope." She replies and slips away from Jon, but he is quick behind her.  When he gets to her, she's by the pool that's been closed for the night.  "Let's go for a swim!"  Her top comes off.

"Beth, what are you doing?" Jon asks,  almost at a whisper.

Beth unbuttons and drops her capri's, "Skinny dipping, come on!" She's through the gate and in the pool.  Jon stands at the ledge and just looks at her.  "Come on, chicken."

"No, its cold."  He playfully whines, seeing the 

"No it's not." She splashes him with water.   "Get in here."

Jon looks around, seeing no one in sight, he strips and jumps in the pool to join his lover.  They play around in the pool for a while and when he's had enough he tells her, "I've had enough, lets head back."

Beth starts to get cold,  so she doesn't fight him on it. They get out and pull on just the necessary clothes. They both run back to the house with clothes in their hands. Once they get inside, Beth walks over to the fridge,  grabs the remaining wine and they head up to the master suite.  

Beth grabs them a towel and they dry what's still wet.  Jon goes into the closet and gets their robes.  With their robes on, the plop on the bed and talk like two lovers that have been apart for weeks.

Jon pours them a glass of wine, handing Beth hers. He sets the bottle on the night stand.  Facing Beth, he asks, "Babe, are you happy?

Beth is shocked by his question, as it was rather out of the blue.  "Of course I'm happy.  Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking about a few things earlier, and I wondered."

"What were you thinking about, exactly?"

He leans over and kisses her cheek, "What popped out at me the most is you going back to work."

"Why?" She asks, not sure on where this was going to go.

He gives her a half smile and says, " I just want to be sure that you don't spread yourself too thin, and are you doing it for other reasons than just your identity?" 

Beth grabs his knee, "Honey, I'm going back to work to maintain my sanity,  plus I love what I do."

"I know, baby, I know - but are you overwhelmed at home and NEED to get away?"

"Absolutely not.  My work can help our foundation,  while helping me maintain my sanity." She tells him with a smile on her face.

"And what about this place?" He's referring to the vineyard.

Beth takes a drink of her wine, "This place will remain ours and operational.   I have the things I want to do here, and I'll do them a little at a time.  I REALLY want to open my own investment firm."

 

"We can do that.  That's not a problem, when ever you are ready." he winks at her, and grabs her hand.  "Do you want it in the city?"

 

"Honey, I want to open my own firm.  I want to do it myself."

 

"I said you could." he looks at her out of the corner of his eye.  "Do you not listen to me silly?"

 

"Jon, I want to find my space, do all the leg work, decorate it and all that stuff with my own money." Beth tells him, hoping that she didn't come off as unappreciative or rude.  "This is something that I want to do NOT associated to Bon Jovi/Bongiovi.  It's an Adams project."

 

"What happens when we get married?"

 

Beth laughs, "It will still be and Adams project."

 

"You sound pretty set on this."

 

"I am.  I love what I did, I love the challenge and the rush of it all.  It mentally challenges me and keeps me on my toes."  Beth lays back on the bed.  "Isn't there something that you 've wanted to do, other than music?  Another passion?"

 

Jon thinks for a moment and says, "I really like photography and politics."

 

Beth was a little surprised by the politics part, but she was quick to say, "You could be a political photographer."  she laughs at that. 

 

Jon laughs too, her quick response was an avenue he had not thought of.  "I like them both, but I'll keep them separate."

 

"Are you ready for bed?"  Beth questions, reaching over to run her hand up and down his .  back.  "I'm pretty sleepy, the wine wiped me out."

 

Jon stands up and walks to Beth's side of the bed and pulls down the blankets, "Climb in."  He tells her, reaching for her hand.  She takes his hand and her pulls her into her spot.  She slides her feet under the folded down blankets and smiles. 

 

"Are you joining me?" she asks the almost naked man that's standing next to her.  She reaches up and hooks his boxer briefs with a finger and slides them down to expose his manhood.  He watches her, keeping an eye on her hand, dying in anticipation wondering what she will do next.  With the tip of her finger, she ran it down his semi hard member and said, "Isn't it too bad that we have to wait a few more days?" 

 

Jon puts a knee on the bed and tenderly lifts her under the head.  Kissing her, she wraps her arms around him and pulls him down on her.  "Are we having fun?" she asks him, with a coy look on her face and a sparkle in her eye.

 

"If sexual tension is fun, than we are having a fucking ball." he jokes with her.  He reaches down and pulls his boxers back up and rolls over Beth in to his spot, and follows that with, "I can't wait for the day when I can make love with you all day and night."

 

They run down and see Tony, Beth shares her ideas for the vineyard with him and he agrees that they are all good ideas.  He will get the ball rolling for her, and she agreed to go back to California at least twice a month.  The Bongiovi Vineyard is on it's way to being super successful.

 

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Jon and Beth return to New Jersey as planned and as soon as they get home and unpacked, Jon's phone rings.  He picks it up and sees that it's Ken.  He didn't want to answer it, but he knows that Ken was working on some dates, so Jon is assuming that he has a few worked out.  "Ken?" he says as he swipes answer.

 

"Jon, got a minute?"

 

"Yeah, Beth and I just got home and unpacked - what's going on?"

 

"How soon can you get the band together?"

 

"For what?" Jon can feel some anxiety building.  He just buried his father in law and took a break in Napa - why does Ken need the band together now?

 

"I got a call today from Microsoft and they have an anniversary coming up.  They want Bon Jovi to play their event.  The new CEO is a huge fan."

 

Jon sighs, "When is the anniversary?"  Hoping that it's 6 months out.

 

"This weekend."

 

"Are you kidding me?"  Jon walks down the stairs and to his office, he needs to check the calendar.  As he passes by the kitchen, he sees Beth in there cooking something, so he stops.  "Do you have anything planned this weekend?"

 

Beth turns around, with her finger in her mouth, tasting her spaghetti sauce, "Me?"

 

Nodding, he says, "Yes you."

 

"Who is that, and why?"  Beth asks him, wondering what is going on.

 

"Ken has a show he needs the band at, this weekend.  Do you, or do we have anything planned?"

 

Beth shakes her head no, "The kids come home on Sunday, other than that, I don't know of anything, but I haven't looked at the schedule."

 

"I'll go look. Do you want to go to Atlanta this weekend, if we have nothing else going on?"

 

Beth just nods and Jon walks away, as he continues his conversation with Ken, he asks him, "What does this gig pay and how long does it have to be?"

 

Ken clears his throat, "They agreed to the million dollars, and would like a 90 minute show."

 

Jon isn't feeling this show, but he agrees to it just because it was Microsoft.  "YOU need to call the band, I'm not doing it.  If any of them say they can't do it, let me know - otherwise email me all the details so I can get travel working on it."  Jon instructs his friend and his head PR guy.

 

"Will do.  Tell Beth Ann hello for me please."

 

"Sure thing."  The call is ended.  Jon is at his desk and looks at the calendar, the calendar that holds the pieces to the Bongiovi life and household.  Jon sees that the weekend is free and it's always easy to get in and out of Atlanta, so the flight details will be easy.  So, he writes; Microsoft, Atlanta 90 min. anniv.  He sits there for a few minutes and looks out at the river.  He will be so glad when winter is over and they aren't confined by the bitter cold and the massive amounts of snow that they seem to be getting.  He wants to walk with his kids, play with his kids and run without adding an extra layer.  Why do I stay in New Jersey, he asks himself out loud.

 

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The weekend comes.  Jon and Beth fly to Atlanta with David.  Richie will meet them there and so will Tico.  Jon planned the setlist on the flight down, asking Beth, "Can you think of a song that I should add?  I have a 10 minute gap that I want to fill with songs that aren't hits."  He hands her the setlist that he's been chicken scratching on and making notes.  She sees all the popular ones and the anthem songs.  She wasn't a fan of most of what was on there. 

 

Giving it some thought, "Why don't you add Captain Crash?  That's always a fun song - everyone seems to love it."

 

He ponders that for a few seconds and adds it toward the end of the list.  "Okay, I need two more.  What would you want to hear?"

 

Without hesitation, she says, "Let's Make It Baby."

 

"You and 10 million other people." he laughs.  "And you're not helping by the way."

 

Beth releases her seatbelt and climbs on Jon's lap, "What song do you want to play?  Is there one that you stopped playing for whatever reason that you would like to add?"

 

His gut response was, "Something for the Pain."

 

"Add that one, or ask Dave what he thinks.  Maybe something from your solo album?"

 

"What one?"

 

"Staring At Your Window, I love that one!'

 

He looks at the setlist and sees that it will fit, but he adds it as an audible, "What else?" 

 

"One of my favorites is These Days."  As soon as Jon hears her say those words, he adds it to the list.  He had forgotten about that one, and he liked her choice.

 

"One more, you're doing good." he winks at her.

 

Smiling at him, "How about Thank You For Loving Me?"

 

"Yep, that's a good one."  He added it to the list, the set list is complete, and he will ask the guys what they think when they arrive in Georgia.

 

Backstage, when they get there, Jon sees that NONE of the riders to the contract have been met.  He is pissed.  He demands a brand new toilet seat at every venue he plays at, he demands fresh fruits and various other foods - all of which were missing.  He sits on his backstage couch and plots his game plan.  Microsoft dropped the ball, and they dropped it hard.  Jon is considering a whole set list change to none of the hits and just the random songs that he and the guys want to play.

 

Fuming, he sits there in silence while Beth talks with David.  Beth can see that his fuse is shirt and she doesn't want to be the spark that lights this one.