Chapter 60

Why can’t anybody do their job right the first time?

Rachel had spent much of the day finishing up the desserts Carol Bongiovi had asked her to bring for Thanksgiving.  Their earlier holiday festivities with Rachel’s family and the subsequent cross-crounty flight back to New Jersey to join Jon’s family for the actual holiday had left her a bit tired, but still looking forward to seeing his parents and family again.   The goodies were loaded in her SUV and she would have been at Jon’s by now and completely unloaded, warming her hands by the fire with a glass of wine standing by…if the damned gates to her house weren’t stuck.

Again.

Now, she was sitting in her driveway cooling her heels while she waited for Jon to come get her and fuming at the thought that she would be unable to get the gates repaired, or open enough to get her car out,  until after the long Thanksgiving weekend.  As if that little annoyance weren’t enough, Jon was still pulling out all the stops trying to persuade her to hide out in his New York apartment while he spent Sunday evening decorating Dorothea’s Christmas tree with his parents and children.  

Rachel was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t even see him pull up and park on the opposite side of the gate until he was already punching in the numeric code to the pedestrian entrance while she sat there trapped like a rat.   Naturally, he looked amazing.  They’d had the same amount of sleep, which wasn’t much, but he looked ready for a photo shoot while she’d had to apply an inch of spackle just to cover the dark circles around her eyes. 

She made her way to the back of the SUV and Jon’s hand cupped her rear end when he joined her there as she was bent over to retrieve the box of desserts stashed in the rear cargo hold.

“The last time I rescued you from these gates, you took your clothes off for me.  What’s in it for me this time?”

“Pumpkin pie.”  Rachel pivoted and passed off the box to Jon.  “And cookies.”

Accepting the box with a kiss to his lady, Jon offered up a modest pout.  “And the naked part?  When does that come?”

“Not today, love.  Your house is filled with parents and kids and that’s a ‘no-play zone’.

“But… come Sunday night I’ll be all alone in that big apartment.  No kids.  No parents.  And a raging hard on.  Wouldn’t you hate to see it go to waste?”

His wink was meant to be charming, Rachel was certain of that.   She would try to keep her mood lighter than she actually felt the topic merited.  “You’re relentless!  I’m worried about not being able to get my car out of these gates all weekend and your only concern is what you’re going to do with your pecker.”

“Oh, I know what to do with my pecker, baby.  It’s just a matter of convincing you to let me do it Sunday night.”

Later that afternoon, the jammed gates temporarily forgotten, Rachel had finally convinced Carol to take a break and let her tidy up the kitchen before the finishing touches to their holiday dinner were due.  She and Jon were feeling playful with each other while she unloaded the dishwasher and he…"helped"…. mostly just by pawing her every time she bent to remove the clean dishes from the bottom rack.    

“Why is it I’m the one doing the dishes, exactly? 

Jon tugged her against his chest and slid his hands down her back to rest on her bottom.  “Oh no you don’t.  These are your rules.  You do the dishes because you’re the girl, remember?  And I unload the car because I’m the guy.  You make the bed, I take the trash out.” 

He had just slipped one hand under her ass and between her legs when Dorothea walked in, kids straggling in with her along with an unknown man whom Rachel assumed was the new boyfriend, Ted.

It was not how Rachel planned on meeting the woman for the first time.

If she’d been a betting woman, Rachel would’ve put her money on Dorothea feeling the sting of walking into her former home, to find her former husband pawing his new love in her former kitchen.  That guess was based on the flash of a grimace the former Mrs. Bongiovi tried to get under control before she smiled sweetly and chastised her ex-husband.  “Maybe Daddy needed a reminder call that the kiddies were coming over.”

“Maybe Mommy needs to knock.”  Jon offered Dorothea his ‘rock star smile’ before he released his hold on Rachel, but the  presence of his former wife had created a noticeable tensing of his body.  Rachel would bet on Jon being every bit as uncomfortable as she perceived Dorothea to be. 

Romeo rushing into his father’s arms was a merciful distraction from a potentially tense exchange between the two parents.  Jon picked the boy up with an enthusiastic hug and kiss to his cheek.  “Hey there, buddy!”  Then a hand was graciously extended to the dark-haired man accompanying his ex-wife.  “Hi.  I’m Jon.”

“Ted Hunter.  Good to meet you.”

The two men shook hands and Romeo began to scurry down Jon’s leg, no longer content to be confined in his father’s arms.   Jon ruffled the boy’s hair before returning the polite greeting and introducing the couple to his new love.   “Good to meet you, too.  This is Rachel Braden.” 

The women exchanged politically correct pleasantries with Rachel complimenting Dorothea on her children, which she figured was always a good way to go.   Dorothea had assured Rachel that she’d ‘heard great things’ about her.  She assumed Jon’s ex knew her story, it would seem logical that Stephanie had told her of the death of Nick and their children.   The meeting was painless and brief, with Ted explaining they were just dropping the kids off before heading to his family’s for the holiday and needed to be on their way.

While Jon walked them to the door, Rachel was left to ponder her own thoughts.  She looked out the window above the kitchen sink and considered the two people who had designed and built the house she was now considering home.   There was something unusually sad about the demise of the marriage between the two high school sweethearts.  She wondered if Jon ever thought of the dreams and years he had shared with Dorothea and if it seemed as sad to him as it did to her, beyond the splitting up of their family. 

And then there was his ex-wife….Rachel couldn’t help but notice the irony in the fact that the man who brought her so much happiness had been the same man Dorothea had thrown away. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Jon’s chin on her shoulder and hands on each of her hips.  “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

Head dropping back to his shoulder, Rachel placed her hands over his before answering.   “Mm….I was thinking it’s true what they say about one man’s trash being another man’s treasure…..”

Jon stood still for several minutes, content to simply feel the warmth of Rachel’s body while he absorbed her words. 

His mind reminisced over the Thanksgivings he had shared with Dorothea, many in this very house.   The good memories with her were abundant, that was a certainty.   She had been an important influence on his life – so much of who he was as a man was formed by her.  When he looked back, he didn’t know if they had actually shared the same philosophies or if they had just grown together so much they were without knowing who they truly were as individuals. 

Jon reflected on their young beginning, the promises they’d made and the bond they shared.  Their breakup in the early years of his career had ultimately led him to women who didn’t share the same basic foundation he shared with Dorothea.  After so many years together, he knew what to expect with her and he hated change.  There was no doubt he had loved her deeply, and would always love her deeply.  But their relationship was based on the feelings they’d had as kids.  Time and maturity had changed them both, enough that neither of them were completely satisfied with the other.  

And now… Now he had Rachel.   She’d gotten under his skin from the first time he saw her.  There was a fragility about her that was intoxicating when meshed with her strength and Jon couldn’t get enough of her.   He’d never get enough of her, he was sure of that much.

His hands slid from her hips to wrap around her waist and he pulled her tightly against his chest.  “I love you, Rach.”  His quiet words were followed by a brush of his lips against her neck. “And maybe that will somehow be enough… maybe if I love you, like I know you love me, you’ll be able to focus on all that you have, and not all that you’ve lost.”

For a guy who made a living putting words to music, Jon wasn’t always the most eloquent with his sentiments when it came to love.  He was more the kind of guy who showed his love rather than spoke of it outside of lyrics to some song.   He wanted to be the guy that swooped in and rescued her heart from the mangled mess her life had been when he found her.

And she couldn’t even be bothered to return the effort by meeting his small request and join him in the City after he decorated a silly Christmas tree with his kids?  How could she deny him such a simple thing?  More importantly, why would she want to?

Wrapped up in her own thoughts without realizing his, Rachel didn’t trust herself enough to speak what was in her heart.   Instead, she wrapped her pinky finger around his and squeezed hard for a few seconds to gather her thoughts while his words hung in the air

Rachel turned in his arms, seeking the reassurance she always found in his eyes.  He needn’t have spoken the words, everything she needed to know she found when she met his gaze.  It was Thanksgiving, and there was so much to be thankful for.   Life was short, uncertain.  Why would she willingly spend one moment away from him?

Stepping up on her tip toes, Rachel took his face in her hands and clung to his neck before kissing him.  “I think Sunday night with you in New York City sounds like a beautiful way to spend an evening.”