Chapter 69 - Driving Blind, I'll Lay It All On The Line For You

With her heart racing and in her stomach, she runs until she runs out of room, with Jon right behind her.  When she stops and faces the wall that’s in her way, Jon grabs her and turns her around, holding her as tight as he can without hurting her. 



She doesn’t fight him, yet she doesn’t embrace him either.  She is numb. She is in shock.  With a little coaxing, Jon works her over to a set of stairs and they sit down.  She’s crying and staring at the floor.  Jon has his arm around her and asks, “Are you going to be okay?”

She doesn’t answer him; she keeps her focus on the floor with a million thoughts going through her mind.  He rubs her back and watches her, with concern.  “Hey.” He gently pokes her, “Are you going to be okay?”

She looks at him, but she can’t talk.  She’s an expectant mother that has just seen life changing reality, in color and she can’t form words, she’s having a hard time with thoughts.  He reads her face, he can feel what she’s feeling – maybe not on her level, but he feels it too.  Not pushing the issue, he sits there with her, arm around her, letting her have her time.  In the time that they’ve sat there, Jon was able to count the number of cables that are crammed in one corner.  Following them, he decides that they are electrical and they illuminate the outside.  Once he’s finished counting them, he moves on to lights that are in the back area that they are in, remaining quiet.

After a few minutes, he looks at Beth and asks her, “Do you want to go home?”  Slowly, Beth turns her head to look at him.  She doesn’t know what she wants to do, she is afraid to move.  This is one of the most memorable times in her life, and she is in some dark room in the back of the Metropolitan Museum, (are you really reading this, or do you just skip to the end to see where I left it?)  tears rolling down her face.

“Can I have your handkerchief please?” she quietly asks him, not making eye contact.  He complies with her request and hands her his handkerchief.  She dabs her eyes and then her nose, “Thank you.  Can we get the kids and go home?  I don't want to see anyone."

Standing up and reaching for her hand, he says, "Of course we can.  I'll take you to the car and then I'll come back in and get the kids."  She takes his hand and he navigates them through the behind the scenes at the Met.  They stop to talk to no one, although all they seen were employees and volunteers that came in to make her night special.  He gets her situated in the car and says, "I'll be right back."  He kisses her hand and leaves her in the car.

Once he's inside, he can see that many guests left in what was just a few minutes, that they were gone.  His family and his friend we at their table, passing around the picture.  Carol and Stephanie had been crying, Jon can see it in their eyes.  The men and the boys are stoic, not sure how to feel.  Two of them are too young to really understand what's going on and what's going to happen.

"Ma, you did a wonderful job, thank you."  He kisses the top of her head.  Looking at his kids, "Come on, Beth is waiting in the car, let's get going."

"Is everything alright?" Richie asks, trying to stay out of Jon's business until he's invited in.

"Time makes everything alright, in the end." was all Jon was going to say.  He needs to get the kids and get Beth home.

"Jon, is Beth okay?" his mother asks.  

Jon looks at her and gives her a slight nod.  "It's a lot to take in, ma."  He has his hand on Romeo's head, planning to lead him to the door.

"I'll take the kids, you go be with Beth.  You should be with her, son."

"Are you sure?"

"Go, go - but please keep me posted.  I know that she is in a place where clear thoughts aren't there, but her heart will follow and she needs to be with you."

"Ma, are you sure?"

"Get."  She points to the door, "GO!"  Everyone else is at the table not understanding what's really going on.  Beth ran out so fast, no one knew what to do.  Jon kisses all of the kids and bolts out to the limo that he left Beth in.  But, Beth wasn't in it.

"Where did she go?" Jon asks the driver.  Looking in the empty car wondering where the hell she would have gone. 

"She got out a couple of minutes ago and hailed a cab.  I have no idea where she was going."

Jon gets in the car and thinks, She doesn't have keys for the NY apartments, there are no friends here in NYC.  He has no idea where she went, none at all.  "Can you just drive, I need to get away from here."  He sits back in the car, trying to wipe the stress off his face, running his fingers through his hair, he says to himself, "She bailed on me again."

{it gets better}