Chapter 133 - Say Hello To Goodbye

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?"  Richie asks his bandmate, his best friend, as he walks through Jon's hotel suite.  "You've been quiet since Monica left, is everything okay?" 

 Jon doesn't respond, which raises a small red flag for Richie.  "Hey man, talk to me."  Richie jests with a small exhale, "Is everything okay? "

"I never should have let her go."  Jon mumbles, looking out the window, staring at nothing but unable to look away.  He's in a daze.

"Let her go?"  Richie laughs.  "Did you have much say?"  Again, Jon doesn't respond.  "If memory serves Jon, you told her to go."

"I didn't think she would, did you?"  Jon turns his head and looks at Richie, "Did you ever think she'd jump on a world tour with Rick Springfield?" 

Richie moves in toward Jon, and with a sympathetic look he asks, "Would you really have wanted her not to go?  She's living her dream Jon."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Don't begrudge her this Jon." Richie can see the writing on the wall.  Jon misses her.  Misses her madly, never thinking they'd ever be apart for any big lengths of time.  Richie sits on the window ledge next to him, "Have you talked to her about this?"

"No." Jon snaps, feeling a little embarrassed about pouting, but he knows he's in touch with his emotions.

"Call her."  Richie smacks his leg and walks to the mini fridge.   "Where is she, anyway?"

Jon walks over and helps himself to the mini bar.  They're held up in their suites waiting for the show tonight.  They're in Dallas, headlining a D.A.R.E. concert, for one night only. "She's in Japan."

Richie was slightly shocked by that.  He's not a Rick Springfield fan and didn't get a run down on Monica's schedule, "Japan? No shit."  Richie's really happy for her.  "When she told me she was going on the road with him, I thought she'd stay in the U.S."

"She agreed to a world tour." Jon cracks the tiny metal cap on the small bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand, and gulp the one shot drink down. 

Richie follows suit and cracks open his vodka, after he drinks it, "When's the last time you talked to her?"

"Tuesday." Jon admits.  Today is Saturday.  He hasn't talked to his wife in 4 days.  "She called from his car on their way to the airport, as they were leaving Rome."  Richie can feel is tone.  

"His car?"

Jon nods, "Yeah, they'll be over there for a week and then they go back to France."

Richie kind of chokes on his next sip of vodka, "When is she coming back?"  

"I don't know.  She don't know."

"Well, her contract should have an end date."  

"They just added dates to the end and she doesn't know when she'll be back yet."

Richie sees that Jon's pissed, but isn't sure why.  He did, afterall, encourage her to follow her passion, do what she desires.  He just never thought it would take her away for so long, so soon.

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Backstage after the D.A.R.E concert, Jon plops down on a couch and is greeted by Doc.  "Great show Jonny, you kicked ass out there!"  Doc is smiling ear to her, sweat pouring from his pores like water, "You guys were amazing!"

"Thanks.  Find me a phone."  Jon replies with authority."

"Ok, okay."  Doc hops to his feet, "I'll get you one."  And off Doc goes.  Jon takes the towel and wipes his face, dries his bangs and just takes a minute to decompress.  The show was hard, the crowd was hard - but he was able to pull it off.  He was able to woo the crowd and by the end of the show everyone was Bon Jovi fan.  He leans back and watches the the craziness of break down unfold.  People were shuffling, hustling and all tried to avoid Jon.  They all could feel and see the mood that he was in.  His posture says get away and his facial expressions say the same. 

Doc reappears, "Hey, the plugged a phone in in your dressing room."  Doc points down the hallway, "It's there whenever you're ready."

Jon nods, gets up and leaves the common area.  He needed to call Monica.  His afternoon conversation with Richie has whirled in his head all evening.  He found himself almost forgetting words, words he wrote.  He lost focus, but didn't show it.

In his dressing room, he dialed the number she had given him.  It was written on the side of his brand new Nikes, a place where he was sure not to lose it.  The phone rang three times.  No answer.  He slammed the phone down in a fit of anger.  After calming down, he dialed again.  "Hello?" Says the voice he's been dying to hear.

"Babe, is that you?" His heart races.

"Hi honey, how was the show?"  As she asks Jon can hear the smile on her face.

"It was good.  How are things in Japan?

"They're unbelievable, a world unlike the Bon Jovi world."

"Is that good?" He's curious, maybe a little concerned. 

Monica giggles, "This is another all access film, literally all access.  He wants his fans to see every aspect of his tour life, and I mean every."

"Like what?"

"I have to set cameras up in his shower, capturing him in the shower."

"MONICA!"

"Honey, relax.  Waist up. Kid Bop rated."

"Unacceptable. " he bellows at her, feeling himself get enraged, unsure why.  "You can't do that."

"Jon!  Knock it off!"  Monica bellows in return, "I don't dictate your job."

"That's unprofessional."

"It's what he's asked for, what he's paid me for."

Jon slams a fist on the table, images of Monica editing shower footage she captures in his mind, "Monica,  please don't.?!?"

Monica has no idea what's going on with him.  She's missed him like crazy and can't believe their phone call is going the path that it is.  "What's the big deal Jon?  I got images of you guys in the showers,  you were okay with that."

"What will people say?  Jon Bon Jovi's wife videotaped Rick Springfield in the shower?" He asks her with sarcasm, "What will people think? "  That thought pushed him over his edge.  Without a thought, he dramatically cradled the phone back to its receiver. He grabs the whole unit, pulls the cord from the wall and throws it.