146 - Hey Baby

Sorry...  It's been a busy few days....  

Jon brushed a distracted kiss over her mouth and shoved the familiar black cap on his head.  “Rich is coming by to pick me up, and we’ll swing by and get Henry and the Senator.  Then we’re headed to Dottie’s so we can pick up the boys and Tony.  Teek, Dave, Matt, Pop & Obie should be waiting for us there, too.  From there, it’s off to Asbury Park.”

Arching her pierced eyebrow, she turned from applying her makeup in the bathroom mirror to give him the once-over.   A gray, long-sleeved Henley was topped by a black t-shirt and both were paired with jeans. The rock star was gone tonight, leaving him to rock the Jersey casual look, and it suited him to a tee.  Then again, the man could wear a leisure suit and make it look good.  “What?  Is Richie bringing a bus?”

“No, smartass.”  Her dry speculation earned a swift swat on her butt.  “I think he got a limo of some kind.  Stretch Hummer, knowing him.”

“Ohhh,” was her sarcastic drawl as she went back to crafting a sparkling spider web over her right eyelid.  It probably should’ve been a bat considering the vampire-style jacket she was wearing, but she had on the cobweb leggings with her pink leather skirt, so it would be okay. 

Yellow cat-eyes batted innocently at his reflection behind her.  “I see you’re going low-profile tonight.  That’s good.  Anything conspicuous might stick out in a bowling alley parking lot, you know, and draw attention that a celebrity is there.”

“Seriously?  You’re going to bust my chops over a limo when you’re all Impy does Manhattan and you’ve left yourself in the hands of a Fairy Gaymother?  You’ll be lucky if he doesn’t show up with a black pumpkin coach.”

The notion of that made her dimples dig deep.  How cool would that be?  Her mom and Carol may not think so, but she was pretty sure Stephanie would be as enamored with it as she would.

“If only I were that lucky.”  Capping off the glittery eyeliner, she tossed it in her makeup bag and pivoted to see him instead of his reflection.  “It’s been kind of a long day, and considering that I won’t be getting drunk as a skunk with your daughter in attendance, I’ll take my fun where I can get it.”

Their intention to make a press statement had fallen by the wayside when they heard the Channel 2 news anchor’s latest spiel.  The beautiful blonde’s face had been emotionless when she imparted her latest breaking news.

“Sources reveal that the man who died after the shooting last night at Angelina’s Ristorante on Staten Island was Dr. Daniel Lewis, age forty-five, of Pittsburgh.  Dr. Lewis  was a tenured professor of Electronics and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.  The point of interest here is that, although he suffered a gunshot wound in his right hand, Dr. Lewis did not die of a gunshot wound. Coroner’s reports indicate the cause of death as electrocution.  This story becomes curiouser and curiouser, as we are still researching the connection between this professor and rocker Jon Bon Jovi.  More information on this breaking story as it becomes available.”

At which point, Jon had offered up a pithy curse and declared, “Screw it.  I’m not wasting my time with a statement.  They’ll find out what they find out.”

Their primary concern, and what had prompted them to consider making the statement in the first place, was Tony.  Neither had wanted him suffering speculation of murder when, in reality, he had been the savior of the day.  This latest blurb had taken the black cloud from over his name, and Petey was inclined to agree with Jon.

“I’d rather not deal with my multiple personalities just yet anyway.  They still haven’t mentioned my name, or our engagement, so let’s keep it that way until after we’re married.  It will limit the amount of unwanted wedding guests congregating outside Dorothea’s gates.”

“Agreed.  I’ll have my publicist issue a short statement about our marriage next week.”

With that out of the way, a big chunk of their day should have freed up.  Somehow that didn’t happen.

Between calling Tony to let him know the change in plans, following up with calls to Jon’s lawyer and publicist and fielding calls from the friends and family from last night…  One or the other – or both of them – was on the phone all afternoon. 

At one point, Petey would love to have witnessed the scene objectively.  It had to have been something out of a movie.

Jon was seated on one end of the couch, and she was on the other with her bare feet stretched out far enough to push against the side of his thigh.  Each of them was on the phone with their respective mother and it was the equivalent of a verbal tennis match.

“Yes, Mom.  I’m fine.  No, I’m not reciting anything in my head.  Really.”

“I’m fine, Mom.  She’s fine, too.  She wanted me to invite you to her bachelorette party tonight.”

“Tell Henry to stop obsessing.  He and John should go out with Jon and his friends tonight for the bachelor party.  They’re going bowling.  I gave Henry’s number to Jon’s brother Tony, so he should be calling if he hasn’t already.”

“Yes, Petey really wants you to come.”

“Yes, Jon really wants them to come.  Did Chris and Andre make it in or have they decided to wait until tomorrow?”

“First of all, you’re not an old woman.  Secondly, Teresa is going, so you won’t be the only mother there.”

“I don’t know what Gavin has planned.  I just told him to make it work, so anything is possible.”

“It will be you and Teresa, Dottie and Steph, Desiree, Petey and Petey’s friend Gavin.  Yes, the gay boy.”

“Mother, whatever it is will be fine.  He knows there will be a teenager in attendance.”

“Yeah, he’s a little flamboyant, but Petey loves him.  Me?  Uh, well…  He’s growing on me.”

“Sorry, Mom, it’s my bachelorette party.  I’m not going as a Senator’s daughter, I’m going as me.  That means there’s lots of pink and black involved and more than a little glitter.  In deference to you, however, I will refrain from wearing the zombie contact lenses or spiked collar.”

“I don’t know what you should wear.  Why would you ask your heterosexual, nearly-fifty-year-old son that?  Wear whatever you want.  You want me to have Teresa call you?”

“Jon’s mom is going to join us, I think, and his sister-in-law Desiree.  Would you mind calling Carol so she doesn’t feel odd about being a mother at a bachelorette party?”

“There’s a car picking up Dottie and Steph at the house.  Be over there about six and you can ride into the city with them.  And, for God’s sake, be nice to Dorothea.  I don’t know what’s going on with you, her and Tony, but can you get over it until after the wedding?  Don’t make Petey deal with the drama.  She’s dealt with enough already, don’t you think?”

“Gavin said seven o’clock, and we’re all meeting here.”

“Thank you.  And thank you again for stepping up yesterday.  We both appreciate it.”

“Great.  I’ll see you then.  I love you, Mom.”

“Good.  Don’t be a mother tonight.  Just be you, and have some fun.  I love you, Mom.”

Petey shook her head and rolled her eyes at the memory.

“What?” Jon demanded, parting her knees so that he could stand between them.  Casually draping his hands over her hips, he looked down his nose with amusement.  “What are you rolling your eyes at?”

“Our mothers.  It’s really not fair that I’m stuck with both of them tonight, you know.”  She wrinkled her nose with mock disgust.  “You’re getting off easy.  You already knew John and your dad is no big deal.”

“Well,” he countered.  “Your mom is no big deal and mine will be trying extra hard.  Last night put things in perspective for her, I think.  Now you get to experience my real mom instead of whoever has inhabited her body for the past week.  Plus, I have Jake and Romeo.  I’ll be pulling my hair out by the end of the night.”

Chuckling softly, Petey pushed gently against his chest so that she could slide off of the vanity, her Victorian boots clicking when her feet touched the tile floor.  “Fine, play the exasperated father if you want, but you secretly love every minute of it.”

“Yes, girl genius, I do,” he instantly agreed with a wide smile.  “There’s nothing in the world like my kids.”

Petey’s own smile faded a little and she murmured, “You’re a good dad.  No question.”

“Hey.”  Hooking a finger under her chin, the humor drained from his face to be replaced by a cloud of concern.  “What just happened?”

She hadn’t actively been thinking about it but, ever since he’d asked if she wanted children, it had been a lingering question in the back of her mind.  Maybe it was her biological clock ticking.  Maybe it was just the thought of them having their ‘own’ family.  She couldn’t explain it, nor could she get away from it.

The timing for this particular topic sucked, but it had to be addressed.  Soon. 

Might as well get it out of the way.

“This is lousy timing, but you and I need to talk about something and it really can’t wait.”

He frowned.  To his credit, he didn’t shy away.  Instead he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her back on the counter.   “I can’t say that I’m excited to have any conversation that has that kind of lead-in, but okay.  Talk.”

Pulling a quick frown, Petey slid a palm behind the charms hanging from his necklace.  Their cool weight warmed in her hand as she thumbed through the precious metal hearts that bore his children’s names. 

“I have a doctor’s appointment next week,” she began, tracing the engraved ‘Romeo Jon’ on one of the hearts.

“Yeah?  Check-up or is something wrong?”

With a shake of her head, she assured him, “No, nothing’s wrong.  It’s my regular three-month visit to the gynecologist.”

“Three month visit?”  The question was laced with confusion.  He was likely more familiar with an annual schedule. 

“Mmhmmm.  It’s time for my birth control injection.”

“Oh.”  Now he got it.  “I’m gonna guess you’re having second thoughts about it this time?”

“Kind of.”  She sighed and let her forehead fall to rest on his shoulder.  “I’m not saying that I definitely want a child…”  Her stomach fluttered at the thought of having a baby inside of her.  “But this stuff takes a while to get out of a woman’s system.  Conception isn’t viable until six months to a year after discontinuation.”

“Sounds like you’re quoting the brochure,” he teased softly.

She was.  “It’s what I do.  Get used to it.”

“I’m already used to it.”  Jon curled light fingers over her shoulders and took a small step back, forcing her to look at him.  “So you’re telling me you want a baby.”

“No.  I’m asking your opinion on whether I should get the injection this time.”

“Do you think you might want to have a baby?”

She pulled another frown and let her gaze wander to the shower stall behind his left shoulder.

“I don’t know.  Maybe.  It’s kind of haunted me since we talked about it.  You said you’re too old to do this again, but I see how much of a daddy you are.  It’s almost effortless for you, despite your dramatics about the boys.”

“Stop staring out into space and look at me,” he commanded, tone gentling when he once again had her eyes.  “I’ll be honest.  I’ve thought about it a few times since we first talked about it.  It’s been haunting me a little bit, too.”

What did that mean?  That he wanted one?  That he didn’t want one? 

“What does that mean?” she asked quietly.

“It means…”  His finger barely touched the outline of her carefully applied spider web and one corner of his mouth twitched upward.  “…don’t get the shot.  If we’re both thinking maybe, then we should be prepared in case maybe becomes yes.”

Her heart beat faster, which was stupid really.  They’d essentially done nothing but agree to use a different form of birth control.

But you’re giving yourself the option of a baby.  With him.

“After next week, you’ll have to wear condoms when we have sex.”  With threatened his post-marriage ‘anytime, anywhere, any way rule… that could prove to be an unwanted burden. 

He, however, was oddly unmoved by her warning. “Yeah, I figured.”

“So…”  She was still having trouble wrapping her head around this.  A monumental decision of this nature hadn’t been on her docket for today.  They had kind of decided they might want to have a baby.  A  baby!  “…it’s a definite maybe, then?”

The other corner of his mouth turned up and his brilliant white teeth flashed with affectionate amusement before he touched her lips in a soft kiss.  “Definite maybe,” he murmured.

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