Chapter 47 - Running On Into A Cold Night

Drunk enough, Jon pays his tab and heads back up to his room.  His mind and heart are all over the place right now, but he reminds himself that he has a job to do. 

 He needs his rest so he can give Moscow the show that they are expecting.  The show they deserve.  Playing in Moscow is a big thing for the bands on this tour, it will open doors for them later on down the road.  They are making history, and Bon Jovi is the biggest name in the play bill.

 

He gets to his room, throws his coat over a chair and looks at the phone.  The red message light is not blinking, that tells him that Monica didn't call back and leave a message.  That pisses him off.  He stands there and looks at the phone for a minute and decides if he should call her or not.  He doesn't know.  Being drunk is only confusing him even more.  Who was that?  If she's pregnant, is it even my baby?  He sits on the edge of the bed and slides off his cowboy boots.  Running his fingers through his hair, he lies back and lets the room start to spin.  He closes his eyes and the spins get worse, but he toughs it out and lets himself fall asleep. 

 

BANG, BANG, BANG!  Jon can hear it, but he can't make it go away.  "JON!" he can hear a voice through the door.  "JON, OPEN THE DOOR!"  He can now detect that it's Richie.  He opens his eyes, just enough to see daylight.  That hurts his eyes.

 

"Go away!" Jon yells back to him, hoping that was all that it would take.

 

BANG, BANG, BANG "God damn it Jon, open the door.  It's 4pm.  We need to get to the arena for sound check." 

 

Jon lifts his head and immediately lays it back down.  The pressure and the pounding are worse than he ever remembers.  But he remembers why he feels this way.  He's awake and crawling out of bed to let Richie in.  He slides the chain off and opens the door, walking away he can smell Richie's cologne and says, "What the hell are you wearing?  Smells like you rolled around in an incense factory."

 

"Stetson.  Come on, get ready.  The car is waiting."  Richie closes the door behind him and watches Jon walk into the bathroom.  He can hear that Jon is taking a piss, so he hollers to him, "What's the hair of the dog?"

 

"JD." Jon answers him.

 

"Alone?" Richie laughs, "Did you drink alone?"

 

"Yes.  Do you have to talk so loud?" Jon snaps at him, opening his shave kit to get some pain killer out.  With 4 in his hand, he swallows them with a gulp of water.  "Everyone is downstairs already?"

 

"We're the last ones to leave." Richie informs him.  He can see Jon at the sink brushing his teeth, "Why didn't you come get me, I would have had some drinks with you."

 

"I wanted to be alone."

 

"Is everything okay?" Richie is shocked by Jon's tone.  "You seem pissed about something, man."

 

Jon spits in the sink, "Everything is fine."  He finishes what he needs to do.  He runs a brush through his hair, freshened his deodorant and pulled on the jeans that he dropped on the floor last night.  Grabbing his jacket, he tells Richie, "Let's go."

 

They meet the guys downstairs and the other three could see that Jon wasn't in the best shape.  No one was going to mess with him, the look on his face told them to leave him alone.  The ride to the arena was quiet and Jon can't wait to get the show behind him.  That makes it one day closer to being home.

 

In the arena, the other bands have finished sound check - it's now time for Jon and his band to run through it.  They go through it, the same as last night.  Jon didn't add anything new to the set list for tonight.  He never gave the set list a thought until they made copies and taped it to the floor. 

 

Backstage waiting for their show time, Jon takes out his trusty notebook and starts to put pen to paper.  The rest of the band is in the corner, bullshitting about what they have seen and what they want to do while they are in Moscow.  It's another 2 show city, so they should be able to get some sights in tomorrow, if they don't sleep all day.

 

His notepad on his lap, he writes:

 

I was lost, then I found you

Never thought it would be this way

I showed you my heart, left it unguarded

Like a thief in the night, you stole it away

 

Now you're gone, the pain goes on and on

I still hear you whispering to me through the shadows of the night

 

Love lies, you're just a victim of the headline

You're running on into a cold night

You're just a number of the love lies

 

He couldn't write anymore.  He needed to shift his focus from feeling sorry for himself and pissed off to the gig that he's getting ready to do.  He feels better, the medicine kicked in and eased his headache.  He takes a look around and eyes catering, getting up, he decided he needs to eat.  The rider for Bon Jovi was an endless supply of cold cuts and cheeses, with fresh fruits and vegetables.  There was a plethora of all.  He made himself a plate, grabbed a can of Jolt and went back to his chair and started to eat.   The rest of the guys followed suit and ate, with Jon.

 

The small talk over 'dinner' was minimal.  They went through last nights show and each had suggestions and criticisms. Getting ready for their show, they do their team pack and they band chant and wait for the introduction. 

 

Bon Jovi hits the stage and gives Moscow and the rest of Russia shows that they will never forget.  It was a long week behind the iron curtain, but they managed to behave, do their best job possible and get on to the next country - where they had a week of shows. Jon has had no communication with Monica.  He's wanted nothing more than to talk to her, but he wasn't calling her back.  He didn't hang up the phone and let it all end there.  She knew where he would be and when, she could have called him just as easy as it would have been for him to call her.  And not only that, his career was what's most important to him.  His focus needed to be on the band.  There are a lot of people depending on him being his best at all times, and Jon Bon Jovi won't let his road family and his friends down.

 

When the Bon Jovi jet landed in Newark, they all were able to breathe a sigh of relief.  Back home on American soil with a small break in front of them.  They all missed their families and wanted to see what was going on back home. 

 

Jon had his car at the airport, as did Tico.  Dave and Alec hopped a ride with Tico and Richie rode with Jon.  That didn't make Jon happy, but no one knows what went on with Monica and no one will, as far as Jon is concerned.  Jon doesn't wasn't to take Richie home, taking Richie home takes him passed Monica's house and if she was on schedule - she was home yesterday.  He doesn't think that he can handle seeing her just yet.

 

Pulling into Richie's driveway, Jon can see out of the corner of his eye that Monica's car was in the driveway.  She is home.  His heart jumps and the lump in his throat grows, he has to look away.  Richie gathers his things from the backseat of Jon's car, just as he does that Runaway comes on the radio.  Jon reaches up and turns it off, "What are you doing tomorrow?" Jon asks him as he closes the door.

 

"I don't know yet.  Do you want me to call you?" Richie asks him, because he knows there's a reason why Jon asked that question.

 

"I guess.  I have some new songs I need some help with."  Jon admits to his right hand man.  "I think you need to add the finishing touches."

 

"Okay man, I'll call you tomorrow."  Richie walks away and Jon sits there for a minute. 

 

He can't decide if he should stop at Monica's.  They haven't talked in 2 weeks and their last conversation ended badly and he has no idea what to do.  Did she go to the doctor?  Is she pregnant?  All of these thoughts are running through his head and with that happening, he's getting angry again and the decision to stop at her house has been made.  He backs out of Richie's driveway and goes home.

 

He was happy to be home.  His mom was sitting in the kitchen when he walked in, he walked up to her and gave her a big hug.  "I misses you, ma."

 

She hugs her son so tight and loves that he missed her, "I missed you too honey.  When did you get home?"

 

Jon sets his stuff on the stairs and tells him mom, "About an hour ago.  I dropped Richie off and came here."  Jon can smell that his mother made spaghetti and his mouth was watering.  He wanted food made in America, by his ma.  "That smells great, is it ready?"

 

"Yes dear, sit down.  I'll get you some.  Do you want a salad?"

 

"No thanks.  Just lotsa pasta and sauce."

 

"Meatballs?"

 

"Pops made meatballs?" Jon asks, very pleased to know that.  "I'd love some."

 

Mrs. B brings her son a large plate of spaghetti and a tall glass of milk.  She sits across from him, "You've lost weight, son."

 

"The food was bad, ma.  It sucks trying to eat healthy on the road."

 

"Eat up, there's plenty more where that came from."

 

"This hits the spot.  You and great food are all I need right now." he admits to his mother, he really did miss ma and her cooking.

 

"Where is Monica?"" she asks, unaware of what's been going on.  Jon didn't want to tell his mother all the sorted details while he was so far away.  He's not sure that he's even going to tell her at all.

 

"Home." was all he said to her.  Mrs. B knew when to leave it all alone.  Jon ate his dinner, took care of his dishes and kissed his mother on the cheek.  "I need a nap.  Will you wake me in a couple of hours?"

 

"Yes dear."  She hugs her son, "I love you and I'm glad you're home."

 

"Me too, ma.  Me too."  He grabs his things off the stairs and takes them to his room.  Looking around, he feels like he has been gone forever.  He dropped the bag on the floor and threw his leather jacket on the chair.  He looked at his bed and convinced himself, you need to shut it off and rest.  He took off his shirt, throwing it in the pile of laundry that he left on the floor.  Dropped his jeans and just stepped out of them.  Pulling back the blankets, he slowly climbs into bed.  His mind is going a mile a minute and his heart isn't far behind.  He lays there for quite sometime before he fades off to sleep.