Forty-Five

Allegra wasn’t sure how much time had passed, as she approached Richie’s suite, she just knew that the pains weren’t as sharp anymore.  The three glasses of wine she’d drunk while in the casino might have something to do with that, though.   If she’d had the time, she would’ve had three more.   

Of course, then she would’ve spilled her guts to Richie, and that couldn’t happen.  It was bad enough that she fought with Jon, but she wouldn’t be responsible for more arguments between he and Richie.  They had to live together, for all practical purposes, and she would be going to back to New Jersey in a couple of days.   She could play nice until then.

Well, mostly, anyway.  She had to admit this afternoon was going to be a whole lot more fun than she'd originally thought.   Seeing Jon's face turn purple with rage would be very satisfying.

Raising her fist to the suite door, she knocked.  A room key hadn't been high on her list of priorities when she had arrived.  It took only seconds before Richie swung the door wide, concern on his face.  “Where have you been?  I tried to call.”

Her heart lifted at the sight of him, and with a smile, she kissed his cheek.  “I was people-watching down in the casino, and having a glass of wine.  It was loud so I must not have heard the phone.  I’m sorry.”   

Standing back, she took in his almost entirely black outfit:  boots, slacks, shirt, tie and jacket.  The only splash of 'color' was the grey suede of his collar and vest.  “Wow.  Nice ensemble you’ve got going on there.  In case nobody’s ever mentioned it, you’re a fine-looking man, Mr. Sambora.”

“Thanks,” he replied, but he clearly had other things on his mind.  “Baby, you didn’t have a lot of time to start with.  Did Jon piss you off that royally?  You had to cool down before you could even get dressed?”

“Just a little,” she told him with a tiny smile as she went to the bedroom Ava had directed her to earlier.  He followed behind, prepared to ask more questions, and she gently but firmly closed the door in his face.  “I’ll be out soon.  We can talk about it later,”  she told him through the wooden barrier.   

Unless I can find a way to make you forget about it.

She looked around the room and saw, with relief, that her suitcase and overnight bag were on the bed.  Hurriedly putting the contents away, she shucked her jeans and sweater and opened the zipper on her garment bag.  A cloud of white tulle immediately spilled out and caused her to grin. 

It was a gorgeous dress.  The strapless floral beaded bust had a sweetheart neckline and laced up in the back like an old fashioned corset, while the full A-line skirt fell from the waist in yards and yards of tulle, ending at mid-calf.  It had been a little on the expensive side, but she had loved the way it swirled around her when she’d tried it on in the store.  She felt like a fairy princess.

After slipping on the matching white lace panties, Allegra stepped into the dress, shimmying it up over her hips and adjusting it around her figure.  There was only one problem, she realized as she held the front close to her.

“Ava?” she called through the closed bedroom door.

When she’d tried the dress on in the shop, the saleslady helped her lace up the corset back, and she couldn’t reach it on her own.

The handle turned and Ava poked her head inside the room.  “Did you call for me?”

“Hi,” she greeted the girl with a sweet smile.  “I need a little help with my dress, and I don’t want your dad to see me yet.  Could you help me lace up the back?” 

“Yeah, sure.”  She closed the door and stepped behind Allegra, tightening the bodice by tugging firmly on the thin ribbons she found there.

“Just tighten it enough to keep the top from falling.  I still want to be able to breathe,” she told her with a laugh.

“This dress is really pretty.”

“It is, isn’t it?  I was just thinking that I feel like a fairy princess.”  She stood carefully still until Ava had everything safely secured and tied the bow at the bottom.

“Thank you, sweetie.  Would you like to keep me company while I finish getting ready?”

With a shrug, Ava agreed.  “Sure.”

“Your dress is lovely, too, by the way,” Allegra told her as she schooled her hair into a messy knot at the nape of her neck.  The girl wore a short lavender dress with capped sleeves and mid-heeled sandals.  Her long blonde hair flowed loosely around her head, framing a lightly made up face.  “And your makeup is perfect - enough, but not too much.”

“Thanks.  I have to be careful or Dad goes all parental on me.”  She rolled her eyes at the thought of overbearing and unreasonable parents.

Laughing, Allegra assured her, “That’s what dads are supposed to do, and it will likely get worse before it gets better.”  She tucked two sprigs of silk baby’s breath into her hair and reached for the makeup bag.

“Ava, are you sure you’re okay with this?  I know it’s kinda strange…”

“Oh, I’m totally fine, don’t worry.  I’m just glad that I get to be here for it.”  She seated herself carefully on the bed and picked at her chipped blue nail polish a moment before asking,  “Are you in love with my dad?”

The question caught Allegra completely off guard, and she nearly stabbed herself in the eye with her mascara wand.  “Um… Well…  Would it be horrible if I were?”

“Nooo... Mostly because I think he might be in love with you.”

Allegra’s breath caught in her throat and her hand froze for just a second in reaching for the pearl earrings and necklace, which had fallen to the bottom of her makeup bag.  She tried to appear casual when she asked, “Why would you say that?”

Ava shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Maybe he’s not.  It’s just that I heard him and Uncle Jon fighting on the airplane, and Dad said this wasn’t going to be over anytime soon.  He hasn’t really had a lot of girlfriends since the divorce, so I just wondered.”

Turning to focus all of her attention on the girl, the counselor in Allegra came to the surface and she decided to deal with the only thing more important than her and Richie’s feelings – Ava’s.  “Forget about your dad, and forget about me.  How do you feel about him having a girlfriend?  Is this crazy hard for you to deal with?  Because, other than your dad, you’re the only one I would break it off for - without a second thought.”

A look of surprise immediately registered on Ava’s face and her big blue eyes sought out Allegra’s.  “Really?  You would do that?”

“Yeah, I would.  I hope you don’t want me to, but I would.”  She made room next to Ava on the bed and sat down with a quiet 'whoof' of tulle, placing her hand on the girl’s shoulder.  “And do you know why?  Despite everyone’s best intentions, women can come and go in your dad’s life pretty easily.  But your relationship with him – well, that’s forever, sweetheart.  I won’t do anything to jeopardize it, because there’s nothing in the world that should come between a father and daughter.”

With a light squeeze, she asked, “So, what do you think?  All you have to do is say the word and I’ll take off this dress and head back to New Jersey.  But…”  Allegra pointed at her and warned, “Keep in mind this is a one-time offer.  You can’t  say okay now and expect to get rid of me later when you get mad about something.”

She could see the wheels turning in Richie’s daughter’s mind, and waited for her answer.  Allegra meant what she’d said, and, if Ava wanted her gone, she would turn and walk away right now – no matter how bad it hurt.   Unlike Jon, this young girl deserved a say in her father’s life.

Not wanting to admit how much she appreciated the consideration Ava merely shrugged, “It’s okay with me, I guess.  Dad told Uncle Jon he’s happy, so you can’t be too bad.”  She followed her words with a cheeky little grin.

Standing, Allegra patted her on the face and chuckled.  “Yeah, you’re definitely your father’s daughter.  Same smart-aleck sense of humor.”  She reached down and slid her strappy white heels onto her feet, rich red toenails providing a striking contrast to all the white.  Holding her arms out to her side, she did a slow twirl.  “Okay, be honest, how do I look?”

Studying her with a critical eye, Ava finally proclaimed, “You make a beautiful bride.”

♪♫♪♫♪

David handed the envelope to the limo driver.  “Give this to him right before he gets in the car,” he instructed, checking his watch.  “Which should be in about five minutes.”

He paced back and forth in front of the two stretch Hummers that he’d hired for the occasion.  The first one would transport all five of the band members, plus Allegra, Dot and Lexi.  Kelly had called at the last minute, saying that something had come up and she wasn’t going to be able to join them in Las Vegas.  The eight kids would all ride in the second Hummer.  He figured it would was best if they didn’t witness the initial explosion of Jon’s head.  There may be fallout and he didn’t want them getting sprayed. 

David rubbed his hands together in anticipation.  He may get fired over this little stunt, but damn if it wouldn’t be worth it.  He’d laughed to himself the whole time he’d been making plans, finding it increasingly funnier as the time neared.  Teek and Huey were going to laugh their asses off when this all went down, but Dot?  Well, she was a wildcard.  Depending on her mood, she could either think it was as funny as the guys, or kick his ass halfway across the country.  It was worth the risk either way.

A head of shaggy hair and sunglasses caught his eye.  Aha!  His prey had arrived.  Dressed semi-formally, as instructed, along with the rest of Bongiovi clan, he was closely followed by Tico and Hugh. 

He ducked into the back of the Hummer and settled in next to Lexi.  “It’s time, baby.  Sit back and watch the master plan unfold.”

Lexi sighed.  “David, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I hope it doesn’t cause you to lose your curls.  Our wedding pictures just won’t be the same without them.”

♪♫♪♫♪

“Sir, you and Mrs. Bongiovi will be in this vehicle and the children may join the Bryan children in the second vehicle.”

Jon saw that Stephanie heard the driver’s instructions and watched her gather the little ones, guiding them in the direction of the other Hummer.  He handed Dorothea into the back seat and was prepared to join her when the driver spoke again. 

“Excuse me, sir, but this is for you,” he said, handing Jon a white linen envelope with his name on it.

“Thank you.”  He seated himself next to Dot and took silent inventory of the vehicle.  David, Lexi, Hugh, Tico.  No Richie or Allegra.  He hoped they weren’t going to try and bail because Allegra was in a snit.  She hadn't answered her phone when he'd called.

“What’s in the envelope, Boss?”  David asked

“I don’t know.”  Jon pushed his finger under the seal, and extracted a simple white card bearing the image of two intertwined doves.  His eyes immediately skimmed over the ornately imprinted message.

Richard Stephen Sambora

and

Allegra Francis Castanelli

Request the honor of your presence

Graceland Wedding Chapel

Saturday, March Sixth

at three in the afternoon

The top of his head started throbbing the way it did when his blood pressure got too high.  Like spikes being pounded into the crown of his skull - from the inside.  Jon stared blindly at the invitation, waiting for the pain to subside and let him know he would live a while longer.  Over the echoing ‘lub-dub’ of the pulse in his ears, David’s voice filtered through, saying, “There’s Legs and Richie.”

Jon lifted his head and zeroed in on them: Richie was all smiles, decked out in a dark suit and tie, escorting Ava on one arm.  On his other arm was Allegra, wearing her own shit-eating grin -- and a foofy white wedding dress.

Over my dead goddamn body!