100 - Pink

Petey allowed her head to fall back against the Escalade’s leather head rest with a silent sigh.  It had been a long day, and it wasn’t even dinner time.

When she’d emerged from the shower, Jon had already been holed with the mysterious Jerry in his study.  Stephanie was finished with her own shower, and her brothers were all roaming the apartment, hungry.  Their hunger was momentarily deterred by Petey’s presence in their home and the dramatically different appearance of her face.  Blowing off the injuries as stumbling into a door, she told them she was there to feed them breakfast.

“Then why are you wearing Dad’s shirt?” Jesse was obviously going to be much more difficult to put one over on than his brothers.  Stephanie smacked him and widened her eyes meaningfully.  He had just been silently ordered to shut his mouth – and had his first course in husband training.

Jesse frowned, but said nothing further.  Intent on making her breakfast promise good, Petey investigated the contents of the refrigerator and cabinets, finding a few eggs and other omelet makings along with a wide variety of cereal.  Somebody had a thing for sugary breakfast food that bore cartoon characters on the box – a tiger, a toucan, a frog and a cuckoo all happily co-existed in the pantry.

“Toucan,” Romeo declared, after climbing into one of the chairs at the table.  His choice was quickly followed up with a “Cuckoo bird,” from Jake.

“You guys eat a lot of cereal,” she observed, removing the boxes from their cabinet and locating bowls and spoons to go along with them. 

“Not all of that’s ours,” Jake informed her.  “Dad won’t let us have the Frosted Flakes because they’re his, and he eats most of the Smacks, too.”

Jon eating kids’ cereal.  Who knew?

Stephanie found granola in behind the cereal and Jesse grabbed the box of Fruit Loops after Romeo got his.  They were all happily munching when Jon and Jerry came downstairs.  From the briefcase he carried, Petey assumed Jerry was a lawyer or accountant.  From the grim look on Jon’s face, she assumed the meeting had not gone particularly well.

“Hey,” she greeted him quietly, without looking up from the glowing coils in the toaster  when he joined her after talking to each of the kids.

“Hey,” he said just as quietly.  “I told Dottie I’d drop the kids off around noon.  Do you want to go with me, or do you want to stay here?”

“I’d rather go home.”  It was cowardly, but she wanted to avoid whatever was putting that detached look on his face.  He was steeling himself for something.

“Not an option,” was his grim decree, and the lines framing his mouth were deep and pronounced.  “You go with me, or stay here in a secure apartment.  There’s no way in hell I’m letting you stay alone in that apartment and we still need to talk.”

It made sense.  She knew it did, but she also innately knew that a bony hand to the face would be less painful than what Jon was going to want to talk about.

“If those I loved were lost

The Crier's voice would tell me --

If those I loved were found

The bells of Ghent would ring –“

Maybe Gavin would let her stay with him for a day or two.  Jon wouldn't like it though, and she was sure he would let her know that in no uncertain terms.  It was a disagreement better left for after the kids went back to their mother’s.

“I still need to go by and get clothes, makeup and my computer and glasses.”  Those would be necessary no matter where she stayed.

He nodded, placing a quick, firm kiss against the side of her head.  “I’ve never seen you in glasses.”

You still may not.

The words stayed in her head and she murmured noncommittally, turning to watch Jon grab an apple before he sat with Jake and Romeo at the table.  Steph and Jess joined them on the opposite side of the table and Petey leaned against the counter silently nibbling her toast, watching them all have breakfast and talk over top of one another. 

This was the side of Jon that she liked best – happy and relaxed.  Content.  He was a good father, and it was plain to see that he loved his kids.  Petey was the tiniest bit jealous of the comfort and closeness between them, and it made her miss her family for a moment.

About that time, Stephanie’s head pivoted around.  “Petey, come sit with us.”  To reinforce the invitation, she scooted down a seat so that Petey could take the chair across from Jon.  He looked at her with an unreadable expression that didn’t give her warm fuzzies.

Petey shook her head.  “Thanks, but I need to go make a couple of calls.”  She escaped to the guest room and pulled out her phone, not really sure who to call, but wanting a friendly voice.   A voice she didn’t have to explain anything to and could just talk to, pretending nothing was wrong. 

She called her mother, who knew nothing but that she'd returned to her life in New York after claiming a bout of hormonal insanity.  At this point, she was fairly certain that nothing she did would faze Teresa Heinz Kerry.  Mom simply rolled with the punches.

“Hey, Mom.  How did the fund raiser turn out?”

Petey spent enough time talking to her about campaign stops and political strategy that she was able to forget the oppressive cloud of dread for a while.  At least until her mother casually asked, "So what's going on with you and Jon Bon Jovi?  Your step-father said he was concerned about your engagement to Daniel."

She closed her eyes and quickly prayed for strength and wisdom for dealing with motherly concern and curiosity.  "We're kind of seeing each other.  He's part of the reason I came home.  We were arguing."

"Arguing so much that you engaged yourself to another man?"  Her mother was a shrewd woman, and she wanted her daughter to know she wasn't buying the fluff.

"Mom, it's complicated and I'd really rather not go into it now.  All I can tell you is that I love Jon and he says he loves me.  Can you just trust me, please?  I'll give you the whole story sometime soon."

Teresa let out a quiet, "Hmpf," before reminding her daughter, "I've tried my best to let you do your thing since you left Pittsburgh, Patience.  You may be a grown, intelligent woman, but I'm your mother and I love you.  That means I worry about you every single day.  Things aren't right - I feel it in my bones - and that makes me worry even more.  Keep that in mind when you're planning on when to tell that story."

So much for pretending nothing was wrong.  Now she had a paternal guilt trip to deal with on top of everything else.  A tiny sigh of frustration eked itself out, and Petey assured her mother, "I love you, too, Mom.  It will be very soon, I promise."

☠ ☢ ☠

Two hours later, she was piled in the Escalade with Jon and all of his kids, pulling through the gates at Dorothea’s house.  The children immediately opened the doors and slid out, ready to resume their usual lives – computers, iPads, toys and video games. 

Even when the back doors slammed shut, Jon didn’t open his own door yet.  He just looked at her inquisitively.

She’d been fairly quiet during the trip, only speaking to Stephanie a few times, or talking to Jake or Romeo as they continued to test her memory.  Jon didn’t have much room for judgment, seeing as he hadn’t said much himself.

“You coming inside?”

Petey didn’t have any interest in either the outrage or sympathy that waited in the big house on the river.  Dorothea would either be unhappy that her children were at risk because of Petey or sympathize with Petey’s injuries.

Tony’s Durango was in the drive, too, and he would logically want to ask about her work intentions.  She needed to talk to him about her job, but she wasn’t ready to do it yet.  Things were too far up in the air with Daniel somewhere out there.

“I’ll wait here.” 

The gates were closed and security cameras were all over the property.  It wasn’t like she was in danger within the confines of the Bongiovi compound.

He frowned unhappily, but refrained from expressing his displeasure beyond that.  “I may be a little while.  Dottie and I need to talk over a few things.  Are you sure?”

Turning sideways in the seat, she tucked one foot under her bottom and got comfortable.  “I’ll be fine.  Take your time.”

After watching her for a few more seconds, he finally nodded and eased the door open.  “I have my phone.  If you need me, call or text.  Or come in.”

All in all, he was gone about an hour, returning to the vehicle looking more disgruntled than when he’d left.  She assumed that Dorothea wasn’t happy with him for some reason.  Or he wasn’t happy with Dorothea. 

Her eyes flicked over the navy blue Durango. 

Or did something happen with Tony and Dorothea?

Petey couldn’t help but cover his forearm with her hand after Jon had buckled himself in.  “Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

He had no more than glanced at her and Petey dropped her hand away, stung by the coolness of his voice and his actions. 

Don’t take it personally.  It’s just how he is.

“Jon.  Did something happen inside?”

The engine fired to life, and he forcefully put the SUV into gear and maneuvered the car toward the gate.  “It doesn’t matter.   You still wanna stop by your place?”

Now she was torn.  She wanted to make her escape, but he needed her.  He would never admit it, but he did.  Staying with Gavin was no longer the priority it had been a couple of hours ago.  Petey would stay with Jon.

“Please.”

He was completely closed off as they drove down the narrow two-lane road that would ultimately take them back to the parkway.  His right hand was on the wheel , left forearm along the edge of the window as he leaned against the driver’s door.

Steeling herself against his aloofness, she leaned toward that side of the vehicle, too, and placed a light hand on his thigh.  “I love you, Jon.”

The grooves in his forehead became even more pronounced and, she wouldn’t have believed it possible, but he grew tenser.  Then he tried to shift away.  “I know.”

Steeling herself hadn’t worked.  That more than stung.

That hurt.

It took everything she had to keep from snatching her hand back, but Petey determinedly left it resting casually on the muscular denim coated thigh.  She didn’t pet him or squeeze, but she refused to retreat.

That’s where she was now.  They were approaching her building an hour later and neither had said much of anything during the ride back to the city, listening to classic rock on the satellite radio.  She’d resolutely held her hand planted in place until her shoulder was stiff and he finally wriggled in his seat, practically shaking her off.

“I can’t stand this any more,” she blurted when they were parked in front of her building.  “I don’t know what’s eating at you, but I can’t take the tension any longer.  Either tell me what’s wrong or put it behind you.”

His closed face gave away nothing and he unbuckled his seat belt as though she hadn’t spoken.  “Let’s go get your stuff.”  Without waiting for her agreement, he slid from the vehicle and circled the hood, where he met her on the sidewalk. 

“Jon.”

“No, Petey.”  He gave a slight shake of his head and gestured for her to go ahead of him into the building.  “One thing at a time.”

She grumbled, shoving frustrated hands into her coat pockets as she stalked by him and scurried up the stairs, not bothering to wait.  Petey needn’t have worried.  Jon was right behind her and hit the landing for her floor only seconds after she did. 

Shoving into the apartment, she made it a point not to look at the mess in the living room.  She fastidiously ignored the blood on the floor, the tainted paperweight, the books and papers strewn everywhere and the hole in the plaster wall.  There was a Polaroid image implanted in her mind already.  A whole album of them was unnecessary.

Head down, she picked her way through the rubble and into her bedroom.  Jon was swearing under his breath about the mess when she darted through the bedroom doorway.  Unbelievably, Daniel hadn’t trashed the bedroom.  It looked just like she’d left it yesterday.

Underclothes, clothes, toothbrush, contacts, glasses and tennis shoes were stowed into an overnight bag.  She then reached under the bed for her messenger bag with the laptop and slung it over her shoulder.  Makeup she could live without for now. 

When she returned to the living room, Jon glared at her and kicked the glass poker paperweight with his toe.  “This what you hit him with?  Just like the one you gave me?”

Color crept into her face, but she lifted her chin defiantly.  “Yes.”

She despised whatever was going on inside his head.   It was making his jaw tight and the lines around his mouth deep.  He was angry and sullen.  The sullenness had lasted nearly all day and she had reached the end of her patience with it.

“Dammit, Jon, this isn’t my fault,” she snapped, dropping her bags on the floor.  Climbing over the books and debris she kicked the paperweight aside and planted her feet wide, facing off against him.  “Stop treating me like I’ve done something wrong.  If you want rid of me and my baggage, have the balls to say it already and I’ll go stay with Gavin.”

His eyes widened, then narrowed, causing furrows to appear in his forehead.  “First of all who the hell is Gavin?”

She threw up her hands with exasperation.  “That’s what you choose to focus on? Good God.”  Petey rolled her eyes.  “He’s a friend who thinks you have a great ass.  Now can we move on?”

He growled, pushing a frustrated hand through his hair, chin dropping to his chest.  “That’s exactly what we have to do.  Move on.”  Jon’s voice dropped low even as he lifted his face to the ceiling.  “God, I didn’t want to do it this way.”

The words knotted her stomach in the worst possible way.  Her toast was adamant about making its reappearance, but she forcibly swallowed the bile that wanted to usher it out. He was really putting an end to this.  She couldn’t believe it, but he was.  Three days after declaring his love, he was going to take it back. 

“Listen.  I already told you I’m not a romantic guy.  Sambora is the one who will write you love songs and serenade you with them.  That’s not me.”

Not only was he putting an end to it, he was pushing her toward Richie.  That was disgusting, and made her feel slimy. 

“I’m an obsessive, workaholic prick most of the time and nobody who has looked past the hair, teeth, eyes and ass should want me.”

Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes, and she put a firm lock on her emotions.  He had to do what he had to do.  Crying about it wasn’t going to change anything, and she wouldn’t embarrass herself that way.

“But if you can overlook that…”  Jon’s hand slipped down into his pocket, and he pulled out a black leather jeweler’s box.  “… I’d like you to marry me.” 

Her heart stopped beating and her lungs became paralyzed.  She was sure she must have slipped into an alternate universe.  She’d been ready for a break up, but instead he said he wanted her to marry him. 

The box opened with the ‘snap’ of its spring hinge, the sound drawing her eyes as he revealed the most gorgeous ring she’d ever seen.  

Petey let her breath out and felt the painful resurgence of blood through her heart.

The fine detailing was stunning.  A brilliant center stone was flanked on each side by unique, trapezoidal diamonds that were just unusual enough to appeal to her.  They, in turn, were bracketed by a series of small round diamonds trailing down each side of the split platinum band.  All of that worked together to provide the perfect foil for the gorgeous center setting that was exquisitely perfect. 

The large, radiant-cut diamond easily weighed in at three carats, if not more.   That would have been stunning enough, but this particular diamond was…

“It’s pink,” she murmured, still dumbfounded.  He was proposing to her with a pink diamond engagement ring.

For the first time since early this morning, Jon allowed his lips to curl up just a bit.  “Yeah, it’s pink.  I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate.  So whaddaya say?  Will you marry me?”

 If you're into the visual aspect, you can find a picture here