Chapter 85 - Wherever You Are, You And Me

 

Paul is in the kitchen reading the newspaper when Jon comes dragging ass in.  Paul knows not to be too loud; he can see it on Jon’s face.  “Good morning sunshine, how did you sleep?”

“Fuuuck, I feel like I slept with the dead.” Jon says, grabbing the mug that Paul had out for him.  He pours himself some coffee and sees the Tylenol on the counter.  Picking it up he looks at Paul and says, “Thanks!”  He pops a couple of Tylenol and sits with his friend, head in hands.

“Slept with the dead, not like the dead?”

“I feel like I have been run over, or something.  Why did you let me drink so much?” 

Paul hands the paper to Jon and asks, “Want something to eat?  Maybe some toast?”

“No man, I’m good thanks.” Jon lifts his head and tries to smile at his friend.  “Am I keeping you from anything Paul?”

Shaking his head no, “Have nothing planned.  Just some contracts that I want to read over, but other than that, I’m on mental vacation.”

Jon laughs, “I didn’t know there was such a thing, where do I sign up?”

“You get that when you get old like me.”  Paul gets up and pour them both some more coffee.  “I’m going to get cleaned up, are you good?”

“I’ll be right here when you get back.”  Jon rests his head on his crossed arms.  After a few minutes he gets up and goes to get his phone, he knows that he has to call Beth; he can’t leave the Dorothea thing hanging like it is.  He looks at his phone.  No communication from her at all.  A few missed calls from Dot or the kids, that was it.  Seeing that “Lover” wasn’t on his screen kind of broke his heart.  He found her in his list of text messages and typed I’m sorry.  I love you and I miss you.  Please call me when you want to talk. ~J

Paul and Jon spent the day talking about this and that.  Once Jon started feeling better, Paul could tell that he was opening up more.  He is glad that Jon has come to him, seeking advice or whatever.  Jon usually throws himself in a studio when he is going through something, but this time it’s different.  Paul can see that Jon has something that he needs to work through and he will help his friend as long as he needs him.

Paul decides that they need to go out and do something, so he says to Jon, as they sit in the living room watching Sports Center, “We gotta get out of here, I need to do something.”

“What do you want to do?” Jon asks.  “What is there to do here in the middle of nowhere?”

“There’s lots.  Let’s hop on the bikes and go.  See where we end up!”  Paul loves that idea.  “Do you have leather with you?”

“Always.” Jon says, getting a little excited.  He can’t remember the last time he was on a bike. 

They jump on Paul’s Harley’s and head into town.  As they approach the outskirts, the pass a mini golf course and Jon points at it.  He and Paul go into the miniature golf course and pay for a few games. 

Acting like grown men do with beer and sticks, they have what most would call a silly time, but it was peace for Jon.  He loves to hit things and he loves to drink beer, so the 4 games that they played took them over two hours. 

When they were finished with that Jon had to do the batting cages.  He swung that bat with everything that he had and wore himself out, laughing as he tells Paul, “I’m getting too old for this shit.”  He rotates and massages his right shoulder.

“I know better, I’m too old for that shit.”  Paul jokes with Jon.  “It looked like you were aiming for someone, whose head did you knock off?”

“Nobody and everybody.”

“Have you talked to her?”

“Beth?”

Paul laughs, “Do you think I care if you talked to Dot?  Of course Beth."

Jon shakes his head no and says, "I sent her a text and told her to call when she felt like talking."

"And you expect  her to call you?  You know her better than that.  She's not going to call, she's pissed and you know it." Paul loudly says to her fiend.

"I don't want to call her if she's mad, we'll just argue and that's not what I want."  Jon hands his batting helmet and bat in at the stand.   "Can we go get a bite to eat?

They get back on the bikes and head back out of town, stopping at Paul's favorite rib joint.  They have a great conversation over dinner and the two just relax and enjoy themselves.  "This is exactly what I needed, it's been nice being somewhere that drama can't follow.  No one has really recognized me and talking with you has been very therapeutic.  Thanks again for having me out."

Paul sees a difference in Jon's face since her arrived in Texas yesterday.  He can see that his friend, his boss is feeling better, "Where you able to work anything out?"

"Yeah, I know what I gotta do"  Jon states, not going into it any further with Paul.

"Well, when are you going to do it?"

"Tomorrow.  I'll fly home tomorrow and take care of everything."

"Are you sure?"

Jon leans back in his chair and takes a drink of his beer, "I have to try.  I know she's pissed that I left without saying goodbye, she's pissed about Dot and I'm sure she's pissed that I haven't called."  As he finished his statement, his phone alerts him that he has a text message.  Taking his phone out of his pocket he sees that it's a text from Beth.  Opening it and reading it was a dagger to the heart. We'll talk when you get home.  He reads it twice and shows Paul, "Do you think she's pissed?"

"Yep.  Looks like you have your work cut out for you."

 

 

Back in New York Beth and Dani make it to Beth's apartment and Dani is in awe.  The floor to ceiling windows let the sunshine shine in, giving the apartment a warm and cozy feeling.  Dani looks at Beth, "What the hell does your LA house look like?  Anything like this?"  Dani is amazed by the décor and the vibe in Beth's place.

 

Beth laughs at her, "My house in LA is quite opposite this one.  This is my professional house, LA is home, well it was home."

 

"I pick this apartment." she tells Beth, "This place is gorgeous, I love it."

 

Beth sits on the couch and says, "You are more than welcome to stay here as long as you need.  I ask that you keep it looking at it is, right now.  There is a lady that comes in once a week and cleans top to bottom, just because I hate dust.  You can sleep in the 2nd bedroom, it's clean and ready to move in.  Let's go look a it."  Beth get up, thinking Jesus, I just sat down and leads the way.

 

The second bedroom is quite big.  It houses a king size bed, a vanity and a large dresser.  It has a private bathroom and walk in closet.  The closet is full of Beth's shoes, but she'll move them before Dani needs the closet.  "This is really nice.  It looks like it came from the pages of a magazine."

 

"It's not been used much, I think the last person to sleep in it was Stephanie and that was a long time ago." Beth tells her, "And before her I think the last person before that was Brian's mother when she came to visit."

 

"Who's Brian?" Dani is a little puzzled.

 

Pointing to the picture on the dresser, "That's Brian.  We are in Hawaii there."

 

Dani looks at the picture, looks at Beth, looks back at the pictue, "Okay, who is he?"

 

"He's an ex fiancé."

 

"And you have his pictures out, does Jon not come in here?" Dani is surprised that Beth has pictures of an ex laying around and that Jon doesn't mind. 

 

"I have pictures of Brian all over and Jon has seen them all."  Beth is tired, she sits on the edge of the bed and tells Dani, "We were engaged along time ago, he died in a car accident."

 

"Oh, I'm so sorry.  He's a great looking guys!"

 

Beth smiles, "He was gorgeous, he was the love of my life until I met Jon."  Beth is feeling a little anxious, talking about it.  Looking at the duvet on the bed, she runs her hand over it, distracting herself.  "Brain was easily the yin to my yang.  When he died, I wanted to die.  I had never felt so low as when he left me."

 

"How long did you know him?"

 

"Years.  We worked together at Deloitte and fell in love.  He was such a wonderful person, a great man."  Beth feels herself getting a little misty eyed and adds, "Loving him was so easy, being with him was the best thing ever.  My life with him was so much easier."

 

"Easier?  What do you mean?  You live the like of luxury with the sexiest man on the planet, what is wrong with that?"  Dani is mystified, how could Beth have any complaints?

 

"It's not a walk in the park being with Jon.  Every move we make is analyzed, photographed and in the public eye.  We can never go anywhere as a family and not be noticed, our heartache gets adopted by his fans and then it's taken over the top.  The only thing EASY in my life is loving him and his family."

 

"Wow, I never really thought about how tough it could be."  Dani sits next to her on the bed, "Have you ever wanted out?"

 

"I've wanted away from the lifestyle, but never away from him or his family.  When I did get away from the lifestyle, I missed them so much."

 

"Does it balance out at all?" Dani wonders, "Does the good make it worth the bad?"

 

"Absolutely!  I've learned to manage the 'outside' and am able to keep it at a minimum, that helps a lot.  It allows us more private and family time."

 

"Is Jon going to be okay with me crashing here?"

 

Beth stands up and starts to leave the bedroom, "Dani this is my place.  He doesn't get to decide, but he'll be fine with it.  He's not a big bad ogre."

 

"I know, but some men don't like freethinking and free willing women, trust me, I know."

 

"How do you know?"

 

"My ex controlled everything I did.  It's not easy when you're an independent woman and a free thinker.  He controlled every fucking thing, and that would piss me off - specially when he was away and I needed money or something."

 

"You had to ask him for money?" Beth can't wrap her head around that, she would never be with a man that tried to control everything.

 

Dani looked up at her, "Yeah, if he was away ion business and I needed money I would have to come into the city and get it from someone in his office.  I had no bank account access or anything."

 

"God, I'm glad you got away from him, but I'm sorry it cost you so much."

 

"McKenna was my saving grace.  I believe she was sent to me to be my guardian angel, she came into my life and shown me that I could be happy.  I didn't need to waste anymore time on a man that treated me like a whore."

 

"You're not a whore."

 

"I know, but there was a while at the end that I questioned it.  I mean, I know that I'm smart, I know that I'm pretty and I have a great personality - that's' why he kept me for so long."

 

"Kept you?"  Beth leans on the doorway, looking at her friend with question, "Kept you how."

 

"He was gone all the time, I stayed home and  did nothing.  I waited for him, longed for him.  And as the days went by, the times that he came home were very few.  He would call and say I'm in Spain and tomorrow I have to go to Paris.....I was a kept woman that kept his place clean and made sure everything went okay.  And then when I got pregnant for McKenna - at first he was excited, or looking back, maybe it was fear but either way, the result was that I lost both of them and here I am.  Pretty messed up, huh?"

 

"Let's not dwell on it.  I mean really, look - you have a new career and a new home.  The best revenge is to be successful and happy."

 

"And that I will be."  Dani gets up and follows Beth out of the bedroom.  They go into the kitchen and Beth gets 2 bottles of water from the fridge.

 

"There's a deli/grocer at the corner that's open late, I walked there very late and was never worried.  I'll let the doorman know that you'll be staying here.  You'll have a parking spot in the garage and as you know, work is just a few blocks away."

 

"Yep.  It all sounds to good to be true, I am beyond appreciative, Beth."

 

"Just take care of it and you can stay as long as you need to get on your feet."

 

Dani hugs her and says, "I know I can never repay you for your generosity, but thank you so much!"

 

Beth laughs, "You haven't worked for me yet, save the hugs and the thank you's."  she leans against the counter, feeling her feet were swollen, "I'm going to head back to Jersey, do you want to go or do you want to stay here?"

 

"I don't care.  I can do either."

 

Beth says, "Well, decide.  I need to get this baby to bed."

 

"I'll stay here, if you don't mind." Dani decides, wanting to be less of a burden to Beth.  "I can get my car tomorrow."

 

"Make sure you go to the corner and get food, do you need money?"  There is no food here."

 

"I have a few bucks, I'll be fine."

 

Beth reaches in her purse and pulls out the wallet that's over loaded with receipts, credit cards and cash.  She hands Dani a hundred dollar bill and says, "Get what you need for a couple of days.  We can, I'm sorry, or you can go grocery shopping at Whole Foods up the street when you want."

 

"Thank you."

 

"Okay, I'm out of here, call me or text me of you need or want anything."

 

They say goodbye and Beth leaves.  As she drives out of the city, she runs through her mind the personal things that she has left in the apartment, reminding herself that she and Jon removed all of her personal papers from there months ago.  She just need to reassure herself that there is no account information or personal info in the apartment.  There isn't.  She packed it all and to it to Red Bank when she put the house on the market.

 

Beth is in New Jersey, having a snack and getting ready for bed.  Her day was long and her feet are killing her.  She forgets that the Choo's hurt her feet after a long day, with the swelling.  She just wants to get into her bed.

 

 

The boys in Texas head back to Paul's house and head to the man cave.  Sports Center until bedtime, which wasn't very long.  Jon still feeling the affects from his hang over, he calls it a night early.  Paul can see that he's thinking too much and that maybe a good night sleep will do him some good.