91 - I Go To Extremes

“You lived to tell about it,” Jon said with a smile, brushing his knuckles gently over Petey’s cheek. 

She leaned against the door of her locked apartment and smiled up at him.  The Great Basketball Outing was complete. They’d swung by Mercer Street a few minutes ago to drop off the kids, where Stephanie was going to reign over the chaos while Jon delivered Petey home.

“I lived to tell about it,” she concurred, eyes twinkling. 

She’d actually had a great time.  From the time they'd left the apartment until the kids had been returned to it, each of Jon’s children had taken a turn in making their own indelible mark on her heart.  They were sweet, considerate and well-mannered, despite Jon's claims that the demons inside came to surface while they were out of the public eye.

Petey had laughed, telling him he was lucky that they had everybody fooled.

Stephanie had chatted with her as a long-lost friend, effusively thanking her again for the fuzzy blue scarf that she was wearing.  Petey had been right about the color.  It was an exact match for Stephanie's eyes, making them even more pronounced than usual.  The teen also shared an disdain for her father’s negative impact on Petey’s ‘fashion funk’, lamenting that she hoped it wouldn’t be a permanent thing.

Remembering the 'Democrat' comment from Jon, Petey decided it was best to let Jon out of the doghouse and offer her rationale for tonight's understated look.

“It’s my first time out with your Dad,” she explained while they were in line at the concession stand.  Dinner was being provided courtesy of the food vendors at Madison Square Garden.  The youngest Bongiovis were all about the junk food, and it gave Jesse an excuse to wander away alone with his date, so Stephanie, Jon and Petey had amiably agreed to go along with the plan.  They were most currently on a mission for popcorn and pretzels while Jon, Jake and Romeo watched the half-time show.

“I didn’t want people to think he’d been claimed by the undead, or was converting to the alternative music scene.”

Stephanie made a rude noise.  “Daddy’s become so stuffy in his old age.  He used to be this big, rebellious rock star who didn’t care what anybody thought.  I mean, have you seen pictures of him in the eighties?”  She stepped forward as the next patron was served.  “It's clear that he didn’t care what anybody thought.  He needed somebody to shake him up, and I’m glad it was you.”

Petey’s cheeks had colored at the girl’s matter-of-fact words, and she returned the sentiment with a saucy grin.  “Well, if there had to be a female version of Jon, I’m glad it was you.  There’s enough of your mother in there to keep you balanced, so the world won’t suffer too greatly.”

"My mom likes you."

"I like her, too."

The vendor took their order and money, and while he was rounding up the items on their list, Stephanie pulled a handful of napkins from the dispenser.  "I may not always agree with Mom, but she is a very good judge of character.  She told me a long time ago that most people's sparkle washes right off, so you have to be careful not to get too dazzled by it."

"Your mother is a smart woman."

The vendor plunked down the popcorn, and Stephanie tossed a piece of popcorn in her mouth with a satisfied nod before picking up the boxes.  "Yeah.  I'm glad you two get along.  It's making this a whole lot easier. Well, that and the fact that she's dating my Uncle Tony."

Gathering up the pretzels and drinks that completed their mission, Petey quirked an eyebrow at the girl.  "Is that completely bizarre for you?"

"Well..."  Stephanie wrinkled her nose thoughtfully, weaving her way through the crowd in the mezzanine.  "It sounds very Deliverance, but it's actually not so bad. His being at the house doesn't feel weird, and at least we know he's not a jerk.  And he makes Mom smile.  It's nice to see her smile again."

"You're a very mature young lady, you know that?'

"It's a curse," she tossed over her shoulder as they began to descend the arena stairs.  "All these brains and beauty too."

"Tell me about it," Petey sighed dramatically, and they both laughed.  

Her ‘moment’ with Jesse wasn’t so much heart-warming as it was crisis management. 

He and Ashley had their heads together, talking quietly during the first quarter of the game.  From all observations they were the perfect, blissful teen couple.  That was, until Ashley’s shoulders went stiff and she leapt to her feet, causing their entire group’s heads to turn her way.  “You’re such a jerk!” she cried, her lip quivering as she maneuvered her way out of the aisle and raced up the stairs to the mezzanine level.

Poor Jon looked as shell-shocked as Jesse, and someone had to do something.  Petey put her mouth to Jon’s ear.  “I’ll go see if there’s anything I can do.  She’s probably headed to the ladies’ room.  Talk to Jesse.”

His relief was palpable, and he stood, juggling their seating while Petey followed in Ashley’s footsteps.  The girl had a bit of a head start on her, but she could just make out her coppery curls through the blessedly thin crowd. 

I’m glad this didn’t happen at half-time, or I’d never find her.

As she suspected, Ashley darted in the restrooms by the concession stand.  The stall door was just slamming shut as Petey ducked her head in the room. 

I realize these are teenagers, but there has to be a logical solution to whatever the problem is.  Right?  I can do this.

“Ashley?” she called, tapping in the metal stall door.  “It’s Petey.  Are you okay?”

That’s great.  Most inane question in the world.  Obviously she’s not okay, or she wouldn’t be locked in a bathroom stall… crying?  Great.

After much poking and prodding, it turned out that Jesse had been busted looking at the Knicks City Dancers’ butts while Ashley was talking to him.  The girl’s feelings were understandably hurt by the insensitive behavior.    Petey sympathized with her and, again after much poking and prodding, convinced Ashley to go back and talk to Jesse.  The boy did the smart thing and apologized profusely as soon as he saw her.  Apparently even his dad had told him he was a jerk.

The end result was that they were holding hands by half-time, and disappeared up the stairs when Petey and Stephanie went on their popcorn run.  After they safely returned Ashley to her family, Jesse thanked Petey with an embarrassed duck of his head.  She smiled and nodded without comment.

And the younger boys?  Well….  They were completely infatuated with Petey’s memory, when she, not realizing it, starting quoting game statistics that she'd seen flipping through the program.  Each of them would take a turn letting her look at a players’ stats, and then quizzing her.  She thought if she played it just right, she would be able to convince them that she could read minds, too.

Then there was Jon.

He hadn’t been overly affectionate, but she had the feeling he just wasn’t that kind of guy.  However, every time he looked at her, his eyes were affectionate.  Add that to the fact that he held the door for her, rested the hand that wasn’t holding Romeo’s possessively in the small of her back when they walked, and periodically inquired, “Okay so far?”. 

Well, she couldn’t have been any more pleased with a dozen roses and moonlight serenade.  Petey was comfortable with him and his kids in a way she hadn’t expected, mostly because they didn’t act like her presence was awkward.  It was as though they’d done this very thing a dozen times, and it was the most natural thing in the world.

“My kids think you're pretty cool,” Jon was saying, his eyes twinkling with the same vibrancy as hers.  “I’m pretty sure if it came down to choosing between me and you, that Ro and Jakey wouldn’t even have to think about it,” he teased playfully. 

She shrugged with pretended indifference.  “What can I say?  I had them at Optimus Prime.”

His relaxed, unfettered laugh washed over her and filled her soul with sunshine.  It was hard to believe that a mere week ago, she was pushing him away and running.  For once in her life, she was thankful to be part of an actively political family.  If he hadn’t found her at that fundraiser, she would have still been struggling to deal with Daniel on her own.

“Jon?”  Her face screwed up into a frown of confusion.  “I was so anxious and excited about going out with you that I didn’t stop to consider the wisdom of it.  If those photographers happened to get pictures of us and Daniel sees them, he might release the other pictures of us.”  Shaking her head, she quietly berated herself.  “I should have thought of that.  Dammit.”

“Baby,” he chuckled, angling her face upward.  “The lawyers and their legal shit won’t happen until Monday, but Daniel is on a short leash in the meantime.  He breathes a word of something deemed unacceptable, or makes any unexpected moves?  Well, let’s just say he won’t be saying anything at all for a while.”

“Oh my God!  You are mafia!”

Cue the nerd laugh.  It pissed her off that he found that so amusing.  “You have got to get past the mafia thing,” he told her, still chuckling.  “I’m just a man who knows how to pay for a service – any kind of service.”

“But how can you be so sure he won’t say anything?”

Jon smirked with more arrogance that one human being should possess, and folded his arms casually.  “His cell phone service has been inexplicably interrupted, so those pictures aren’t going to multiply anymore.  His computer may also find itself with an unfortunate destructive virus.  It will take him a couple days to get all that shit straightened out, and by then he’ll find himself slapped with an injunction.”

“You’ve been a busy boy,” she murmured, not quite as convinced as he.

“I have, indeed.”  Searching lips brushed softly against hers.  “I almost hope the moron sees some pictures from the game.  I’d love for him to get in my face so that I can shove that piddly-ass ring down his throat."  He sighed longingly.  "But I won't.  It will be waiting on his desk come Monday morning, along with an very personal ‘fuck you and stay the hell away from my girlfriend’ note.”

“Jon, I don’t know if you realize what you’re doing.” Petey shook her head worriedly.  Daniel was teetering on the verge of being psychotic.  “He’s smart enough to be really dangerous under the right circumstances.”

“Baby,” he chastised.  “I’ve got this.  Relax.” 

“Okay, okay, if you say so.  But there’s no reason to taunt the man.  Do what has to be done and let it alone.”  She slid a hand inside his jacket to rest over his heart.  “Please?”

“You worry too much.”  Dipping his head, he stole another kiss.  “I need to get back to my place and the kids.  Talk to you tomorrow?”

“Sure.”  For some reason she couldn’t shake, Petey was nervous.  Perhaps it was just the thought of Daniel as a loose cannon for another thirty-six hours.  Or perhaps tonight’s adrenaline finally had drained itself, leaving her shaken.  Whatever it was, she didn’t like it.

“I had a good time tonight,” Jon was saying as he waited for her to unlock the door.  “Thanks.”

Stepping inside the darkened apartment, she allowed her nerves to be overridden by a smile of pleasure.  “No thanks necessary.  I had a good time, too.”  The wall switch clicked softly and the bulb in the ceiling bathed her in its light.  “Be careful on the way home.”

Sneaking in one last peck, he started down the stairs, extending a wide-spread hand behind him in farewell.  “See ya, Sugar.”

Leaned up against the doorjamb, she watched his tawny head disappear in the stairwell.  “See ya,” she whispered after him, unconcerned that he would never hear her.  “I love you.”

Stars in her eyes and fuzzy kittens in her heart, Petey closed the heavy door, fastening the dead bolts and chain before spinning to lean against it.  She smiled sappily, heavily reminiscent of those crazy romantic comedy movies, and thought that she was living the wrong person’s life.  Somehow, along the way, her textbook of a life had become a fairy tale featuring one rock star Prince Charming.  She was as stunned as anyone.

“Well, don’t you look like the besotted fool that you are,” the haughty, venom drenched voice observed from the comfort of her pretty pink sofa.

Petey sucked in an audible breath and flattened her back against the door. 

Oh sweet Jesus!  How did he get in here?