Chapter 55

Jon rolled over in bed to pull Lexie close and came up with empty arms. Not opening his eyes he patted the cool mattress all the way to the edge. Cracking his eyes open, he tried to force the blurs of the numbers to turn into something he could read. Getting old was hell. Rolling off the bed, he pulled on his sweats that he had yanked off earlier. They had been playful last night. Lexie calling Romeo her hero all night and teasing Jon. How she had the energy to get out of bed, much less walk to her writing haven, blew him away. He saw her curled up in the over stuffed chair, what had she called it, oh yeah shabby chic, and ottoman.

His eyes were drawn to the flashing courser of her state of the arts computer. When she moved in, as a gift he bought her a state of the art computer, even thought she used her laptop when she thought he wasn't looking. He squinted at the screen and tried to read her form of speed writing. It was a cross between shorthand and speed writing. She had written him a note one time and he had to ask her what it said.

“If you put on your glasses, you could read it.” she whispered.

“When did you wake up?” he asked as he turned and looked at her.

“When you opened the door.” she stretched and sat up.

“Come back to bed.” he held out his hand to her.

“I will in a second, let me save my work and shut it down.” she let him pull her out of the chair.

Watching her save her work and shut it down, the room darkened and the little night light came on. They walked hand in hand back into the bedroom. Crawling into bed, he pulled her close.

“This is why woke up, I went to pull you close and came up empty.” he whispered in her ear.

“I just had this idea and it had to get out of my head before I forgot it.” She yawned “Sort of like when you crawled over me to write that lyric the other night.” She snuggled up close to him.

“But I stayed in the bed.” he yawned and pulled her closer.

“I didn't want to turn on the light and wake you up. You were snoring so loud.” She giggled “You would have been on your own side of the bed if we hadn't landed on the floor that night.”

“Speaking of floors” He started then really heard what she said “Hey I do not snore.”

“Like a buzz saw on steroids.” she giggled and tried to move out of the circle of his arms, only to feel herself pinned with his thigh across her legs.

“Just for that, I won't tell you who our company is for dinner Sunday night.” He rolled her under him and stared down into her emerald green eyes.

“Richie is coming, he told me, he might have his mom and Ava.” She made a face at him.

“And?” He made one back at her.

“And who?” She got serious. Who in his over flowing list of celebrity movers and shakers had he invited to dinner.

“Not anyone important, Dad decided to test a new sauce and they want to meet the new woman in my life. So just my mom and dad.”

“And Richie and his mom and Ava, your mom and dad” She started making a list of all the people in the apartment.

“Matty and Desiree and their kids, it wouldn't be a Bongiovi pot of sauce dinner without family. Lucky Tony isn't in town with his flavor of the month.”

“Jon” her eyes were as big as saucers.

“Yeah?” He questioned her look, she actually looked scared.

“Where are we gonna put all these people?” She pushed his off of her and sat up, mental adding up the people “That's” she counted on her fingers “That's fifteen people, where are we gonna put fifteen people?”

He sat up in the bed and watched her pace.

“Give or take if Dave and Lexi hear about it you can add five more.” He added to her distress.

“Oh my God” she looked up at heaven.

“It's okay, we'll head to Jersey, we can fit one hundred people in the dining room” Jon said, trying to calm her nerves.

“Jersey? As in High Point that Jersey?” She looked at him.

“All we have to do is Salad, Bread and maybe a dessert or two.” he watched her as she began pacing.

“Why don't I add my editor and critique partner” She mumbled under her breath.

“If they like loud Italian families and great sauce add them to the list” Jon told her. Finally noticing her distress he got out of bed and went and took her into his arms. “It's just a little dinner.”

“Little dinner” She gasped “A little dinner would be you me and the kids, this is your parents, My God I have never met your parents.” she pushed him away “Your Mother, oh my God, your mother!!!”

“My mom will love you, as much as I do.” he told her.

“Jon I have read things about your mother on line. She'll eat me alive and spit out the bones.” she gasped.

“My mom won't eat you and spit out your bones, what have you read about my mom?” he sat on the end of the bed and watched her.

“You are her pride and Joy, if she could she would keep you in a Chastity belt around your waist. Dorothea was the only one she let into the golden circle.” She rushed “I D K I'll be a nervous wreck. What if she doesn't like me, Pushes me into the river or sends someone in the middle of the night, puts me in the trunk of a car and I'm never heard from again?” She finally finished and sat beside him on the end of the bed.

He knew he should be mad that she would believe all the lies on the internet, but he could see why she was such a great writer, she did have a vivid imagination.

Pulling her onto his lap and into his arms he tried to calm her fears.

“You'll have me and the kids, and don't forget Richie, you trust Richie?” He asked. When she nodded her head he smiled. “Richie's mom is a love, she's quiet and a true lady. Ava is a mini Richie with a lot of Heather throw in,” when he felt her stiffen a little he rushed on “In the looks department only. Matty is a big teddy bear, you'll be fine.”

There was a tap on the bedroom door and Stephanie poked her head in.

“Everything alright? I heard Lexie, she sounded upset?” Steph asked.

“I just told her about Sunday dinner. She's a little nervous about meeting your grandmother.” Jon told her.

“Oh.” she decided to let her dad handle this problem. When she closed the door she turned an ran into Jesse.

“Everything ok?” he asked her. He too had heard Lexie.

“Sunday dinner with Grandmom B.” Steph told him as she headed toward the kitchen to make get something to eat.

“Oh that would explain what I heard, smooth move Pop.” Jesse laughed.

OMG Its a new Snowball Chapter,

Things in the townhouse were slowly settling down, school had started, sports and club meetings. Thursday and Friday nights found the family at the football field. Jake's game was on Thursday and Jesse's on Friday nights. That only left her the weekend and the first three days of the week to write.

Saturday, Romeo thought she should spend the day with him, “It's only fair Lexie, you and daddy spend Fursday and Friday with Jakey and Jesse, I get Saturday.” , it was hard to argue with that logic.

Stephanie took care of her when she did get to lock herself into her writing studio, Jon had made for her. He turned a small dressing room, that had been Dorothea's, into an office with all the bells and whistles. He had added a door to the hallway, so if she was needed she wouldn't have to take the long track as she called it.

Jon came in from his last meeting of the day to find pizza boxes and take out tins on the table. Stephanie was coming downstairs, stopping when she saw her dad.

“I'll get the boys fed, can you get them cleaned up? I just took Lexie her dinner, she's working.” Steph grabbed the paper plates and took them to the table.

“She been in there all day?” Jon asked as he headed to the stairs.

“No, she had to go talk to Romeo's teacher. She got home and put him in time out and set the timer.” She pulled out napkins and silverware.

Jon stopped half was up the stairs and came back down. “She had to go see Romeo's teacher?”

“Yeah, Mrs Harper called to talk to you, but you were in a meeting and was not to be disturbed. Lexie went, as she was on the list.”

She opened the tins of rolls and salad, the last tin she knew was dessert. That one she put in the fridge.

Jon took out his cell and sure enough there was a missed call from Polly Prep. “Damn, I had it on silent.” he muttered under his breath. Turning he took the stairs two at a time. He started to go right into Romeo's room, but thought better of it. “I better find out what I'm walking into first.” he headed into the bedroom and knocked on the door to Lexie's studio.

“Come on in Jon.” She called out.

“How did you know it was me?” he came in and walked up behind her and kissed her neck.

“I write mystery novels Jon, I'm paid to notice things like the sound of foot steps and smells.” She sighed as he brought his hands up and massaged her shoulders.

“Really,” He slowly felt her melt under his hands.

“No, Stephie told me when she brought my dinner up, that you just pulled in the garage.” She laughed and turned her chair and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Jon laughed and kissed the top of her head.

“She told me you had to go see Romeo's teacher.” Jon felt her pull back and look up at him.

“Mrs Harper said she called your cell and your office number.” she said as she reached for the envelope that she had tucked into her blotter. “You have to sign this when he goes back.” She handed him the envelope.

“He got into a fight?” He said as he lowered the letter he'd been reading.

“Well, he landed one punch.” She told him.

“With Mikey Thompson, Mikey and Romey have been best buds since preschool.” He read the rest of the letter.

“It seems that Mikey repeated something he head his parents say about Your Ex and blackmail and that you're new girlfriend is a Bitch.” she explained what wasn't in the letter. “I didn't know Romey knew what that was, but he decked Mikey, for calling me a bitch.”

She looked up at him and tried not to smile. “I had a hard time putting him in time out.”

“I bet, but he knows fighting doesn't settle problems.” he reached over her an grabbed a pen off her desk and signed the letter and tucked it back in the envelope. “I guess I need to go have the talk.”

“He's waiting on you to get home.” She picked up her empty plate and headed to the door to the hall. “Don't be too hard on him,” She grinned at him. “My hero.” the giggles started, Jon reached out and tapped her on her butt.

She laughed at his love tap and headed downstairs to put up her dishes and see the kids, she knew she was done writing until Jon went to see.

Jon listened to her laugh all the way down the stairs. Turning he headed to Romeo's room, knocking before he entered. The lights were off, but the lamp on his desk. He sat there head down, the timer the only noise in the room.

“Lexie's mad at me.” he whispered.

“Did you do something to make her mad?” Jon asked as he walked over and sat on the bed.

“I punched Mikey.” He whispered.

“So you had a fight?” Jon tried to put on his family stink eye.

“Yes Sir, but I had to Daddy.” Romeo finally looked at his dad. He knew that he would get the mad daddy eye.

“You know fighting is a bad thing?” Jon reached out and turned the chair so Romeo was facing him.

“Yes sir, but Mikey called Lexie a bad word, I told him to take it back and he said it again. The next thing I knew, Mikey was on the floor holding his eye and crying and the teacher sent me to the office.” Romeo explained in a rush.

Jon tried not to laugh at the rushed explanation, seems like all his kids had the Bongiovi trait. What was he going to do, here he was supporting Lexie, but he knows that fighting was wrong.

“Well Romie what should we do?” Jon asked him.

“Lexie put me in time out till you got home. That's punishment, right?” He looked up at Jon with those big brown eyes.

“That was Lexie, I think you and I need to go in to your class and apologize to the teacher for fighting and take your punishment from Polly Prep.” Jon got up and walked around the room picking up hand held games and iPad. “One week electronic free, should do it.”

“Starting today?” Romeo asked, as Jon pocketed his electronics.

Jon thought about it, it was Monday.

“Starting today to next Monday. Now go wash up and get ready for dinner,” He looked down as his youngest child.

“Yes sir.” Romeo jumped up and headed to the bathroom.

Jon juggled all the junk he picked up around the room and took it to his bedroom and deposited in his closet then followed Romeo to wash his hands for dinner.

~~~~~~~~~

Sorry for the delay, many of you know I have been very sick since the last post. I'm in rehab and might go home this Friday, first time since December 9th.  So enjoy the chapter.