Grabbing her soda from the soda machine, Monica stands and turns around and see Jon. He has a small, I'm here for you, smile on his face. She smiles back and mouths, "Thank you." When he gets to her, he does what feels natural to him and he reaches out and hugs her. He can feel her let go, just a little bit.
"How are you doing?" he whispers to her, with his mouth at her ear.
"Better now. Thank you for coming." she replies, with a heavy heart. Seeing Jon made her tear up a little bit, confirming what she thought about him this morning. She liked him, really really liked him and having him show up to be of support to her, made her realize that he might be the one.
"What can I do for you?" he asks, willing to do whatever she asked. He can't even begin to imagine how she feels. She almost lost her dad today.
She shakes her head, slightly, letting him know that there isn't anything that he can do. "You being here is more than enough. Did Richie tell you?"
His lips are still right next to her ear, so he gently tells her, "Yeah, I stopped at his house after I seen you weren't home. He's with your mom now."
"I'm glad he brought you. That's my Richie." she lets her arm squeeze Jon a little bit, hoping that he can feel how happy she was that he was there.
"Your mom told us about your dad. It's great that he's going to be okay."
She shrugs her shoulder, "It's going to be a long recovery, but yeah, he will be just fine once everything is healed."
Jon grabs her shoulders and pulls her back a little, "But he's going to be okay. His recovery will be tough, but it will be worth it."
"He looks alot worse than he is, but damn, I was scared. I was sleeping when my mom called, I'm shocked I made it here." She sits down in a waiting room chair and takes a deep breath. "That's my daddy." Her tears start to flow. Jon sits next to her and puts his arm around her, guiding her head to rest on his shoulder.
"It's going to be okay, he'll get through this and so will you." He turns, kissing her head. His heart aches for her, he wants to make her feel better. What is it about her that's so different than all the others? There weren't many others, but from all of the women that Jon knew - she was different. Was it because she was older? On her own and totally independent? What is it? he asks himself.
Monica sits up straight and puts her hand on Jon's leg, "I better get back up there, are you coming?" she stands up, and he stands right behind her.
"If you want me too, of course." he quickly replies.
She takes his hand and leads him to the elevator. She has butterflies in her stomach and she knows it's because of the kind hearted man that took her breath away just hours ago. And here he was, being the shoulder to cry on. Where has he been hiding, she thinks to herself. He's dressed in blue jeans, just tight enough for a sheet of paper to pass between him and the jeans, a blue tank top and a long leather jacket. His sunglasses are on the top of his head, holding back his long frosted hair. He is everything that her dad didn't like, and everything that she wanted. If she seen him just in passing dressed like he is right now, she would have chased him down. She laughs a little bit and says, "Why didn't Richie introduce us long ago?"
Jon squeezes her hand and tells her, "I haven't known Rich that long. He just joined my band." The elevator doors opened and they got on. Monica pressed the button for the 4th floor and the doors closed. She quickly kisses Jon on the lips and then acts shy after she does it. Jon smiles at her and asks, "What was that for?"
"Just for being you."
They make their way back into Monica's dads room, where Richie was sitting with Monica's mom telling her all about the gig he just landed with Jon and his band. Richie often had a happy and carefree look on his face, as he was happy most of the time. He was a jokster and a dreamer, which made him a great best friend for a gal that didn't have a big brother. Monica and Richie were siblings, at heart. Jon watched the interaction between them and Monica's mom and he no longer wondered if Richie and Monica had been intimate. He could see Richie look at her like he was looking at a little sister.
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Weeks go by and they went by very fast. Monica's dad was recovering at a great pace and at home. Jon and Monica were inseparable, except for work. She was at Richie's every time that they practiced and went to all of the shows that they played.
The band was doing great and on the verge of recording their first album. A few weeks earlier they took a trip down the shore and did a photo shoot, with Monica as a photographer. Her photographs were amazing and Joe decided to use them for album art, once they have it cut.
The guys were struggling over what to put on their first album. It was the topic of conversation for many hours and the five of them all had ideas of what they wanted on it - but only one could make the final decision, and that was Jon. Jon needed to pick the songs and get the record made, as soon as possible. The buzz about him and his band was being heard around the world, with the success of Runaway. People demanded more from Jon and Joe was going to be the one that gave it to them. The PowerStation was getting on the map, with Bon Jovi as the tour guide.
See, I knew Richie dragging Jon to the hospital with him was a good thing. Monica needed him.
ReplyDeleteBon Jovi is about to take on the world.