Chapter 88

He was jolted awake by the ringing of the phone.  With a pained howl of protest, his hand flew to deflect sunlight streaming through the dingy little motel room’s ripped curtains.  His lip snarled nastily at the instrument, once the caller’s identity was determined. 

It was the Old Man.

Again.

Felix had been avoiding his calls for almost three weeks now, but the bank account was starting to get a little thin.  He was going to have to talk to him sooner or later.

“Yeah?”

The other man’s voice was impatient, and he clearly wasn’t any happier than Felix.  “Why haven’t you been in touch?  You haven’t told me anything in weeks!  I have to turn on the television to find her at a basketball game?”

“I’ve been busy.”  Felix whined, forcing out a cough to gruff up his voice.

“You’re paid to give me weekly updates!  If you’re too busy to answer your phone, then I may be too busy to make the transfers to your bank account.”

The Old Man was a pain in the ass.  Why had he agreed to this stupid gig, anyway?  Oh yeah.  His features distorted in a sneer.  The pussy.  At least he’d managed to have a LITTLE fun behind his back.

“There haven’t BEEN any updates.  She doesn’t fuckin’ DO anything but hang out with her family or that band.”

“Don’t give me your attitude, you two-bit hack!  Either you start keeping up your end of this arrangement, or  I’ll dump your sorry hide back in the same place I found it.  She obviously does SOMETHING or she wouldn’t be on television, now would she?  Who’s the man she was with?”

Schoolboy reprimands didn’t sit well with Felix, and he bit his tongue to withhold the string of expletives that automatically sprang to his lips. 

Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face, Felix. 

“The guitar player.  Her boyfriend.”

Felix would have to give Mr. Sambora a call to thank him for putting his precious Sunshine on display for the world.  It was so much easier to keep track that way. 

Calling HER was out of the question since the little bitch had changed her phone number after last time.  The memory of her shrieking, ‘how did you get this number?’ still brought a smug smile to his face.  Stupid woman was unconscious forever, so of course he’d pilfered her pockets for anything interesting.   Her phone was right there in her coat pocket, and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing touch. 

The image of blazing blue eyes sent a tingle of anticipation down his spine.  

There was so much more fun to be had…

“Why is this the first I’m hearing about a boyfriend?  When did that happen?”

If he’d wanted to gossip about somebody’s boyfriend or girlfriend, he would’ve stayed in high school.  Jesus, he HAD to get a different gig.

“I didn’t know you wanted a detailed report every time she took a piss.  You told me to keep an eye on her, and that’s it.”

“Listen, you ungrateful wretch, I can do without the sarcastic commentary.  Just tell me where she’s been and who she’s been with since the last time we spoke.”

♥♫♥

“Hey Dad, how are ya?”

“Hi Johnny.  You wanna talk to your mother?”

Jon laughed.  It seemed like the only time he called his parents’ house, he was eager for his mom to help with the crisis du jour.  His poor dad didn’t even imagine that he was calling for him.  Evidently they could benefit from some father-son bonding.

“No, Dad, I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh.  Okay, what can I do for you, son?”

Dot’s disapproving face was lodged firmly in his mind, and Jon knew he had to take care of the most important thing first.

“We’re having Easter dinner over here at the house.  You and Mom are coming, right?  Matt and Desiree will be here, and Tony’s bringing his girlfriend.”

“Your mother hasn’t mentioned it, but then again, I’m usually the last to know,” he said drily.  “I’m sure we’ll be there.  We don’t want to miss a chance to see our family all together.  That’s a rare occurrence when you’re in the middle of a tour.”

“I know, I know.  That’s why I’m making an extra effort this weekend.”

John, Senior drew a breath to speak, but stopped.  He finally asked the question that was on his mind.  “Will it just be you and your brothers’ families, or will Therese and her family be joining us?”

The door doesn’t get open any wider than that.

“I thought it would be just us, if that’s okay.  But speaking of Therese, I did have something else I wanted to talk about.  Do you have a minute?”

“Of course.  What’s on your mind?”

Allegra may come unhinged, but he couldn’t hold his curiosity any longer.  Ever since she’d told him about the other Frannie, a ton of crazy reasons for hiding his dead aunt’s existence popped into his mind – usually right when he was in the middle of doing something else.  It was screwing with his concentration and he needed answers, whether she was ready for them or not.

“I found out you had another sister, besides Therese.  Why didn’t I know that?”

“Who told you?”

“Aunt Therese told Allegra, who asked me about it.  I felt like an idiot because I didn’t have a clue.”

“Well, what do you know now?”

“Her name, and that she was a nun who died in her early twenties.” 

And that she got knocked up by a priest.

And that their baby has been raised as your other sister’s child.

Allegra really WOULD kill him if he took it upon himself to drop that bombshell.  No, it was the secrecy around Frannie’s existence that was screwing with his head, so he’d stick with that.

His father was quiet for a moment, then emitted a deep, weary sigh.  “Johnny, I never tried to keep it a secret, there was simply no reason to bring it up.  What’s done is done, and living in the past is of no use to anyone.”

Plainly stated, but true to form for the elder Bongiovi.  The mafia had nothing on him when it came to being close-mouthed.  Maybe it was the Marine training, or pure Italian obstinacy, but for as long as Jon could remember, everything in their family had been on a ‘need-to-know’ basis. 

Hell, he’d been sixteen before he knew how his parents had met. 

It was his Junior year in high school, and he was doing an English assignment – for once in his life.  Something about Valentine’s Day, if he remembered correctly.  Anyway, one of paper’s elements was how your parents met, so he’d asked.  After grilling him for fifteen minutes, John Senior had finally spilled the story of how he and Carol met while they’d both been enlisted in the Marines.

“But Dad, that doesn’t explain why Nana and Pops never mentioned her.  Frannie was their CHILD for Christ’s sake!”

“Don’t you dare imply that they didn’t love that girl – or that any of us didn’t!”  His father barked unexpectedly.

Jon blinked his eyes a couple of times, stunned.  His father hadn’t yelled at him in thirty years. 

Ashamed by his outburst, John Senior hesitated before quietly revealing, “Johnny, your Nana had a nervous breakdown after Frannie’s death.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“No, I am most definitely not kidding.  She absolutely lost all interest in life after Frannie passed, refusing to eat, sleep or leave the house.  Very rarely did she even get out of bed, but you could hear the heart wrenching sobs all through the house.  Tears would pour from her eyes until there were just no more left to cry, and exhaustion would claim her.   When she woke up,  she’d stumble down the hallway to the bathroom, past all the family pictures of Frannie, and it started all over again.”

“My God, I had no idea…” Jon breathed.

“In the interest of her health, we had to quit talking about Frannie altogether, and Dad took the pictures down in hopes that it would help her move on.  It took almost a year, but she finally came back to us about the time little Frannie started walking.  I’m still convinced that she thought it was HER Frannie reincarnated.  Regardless, we never spoke of her again to preserve my mother’s sanity.”

Did my hard-ass father just sniffle?

John Senior cleared his throat noisily and concluded, “That’s why you never heard about your Aunt Frannie.”

♥♫♥

It had been a glorious week.  Six days.  Whatever.

Allegra was sure she’d never been this happy in her life.  A soft smile stole over her lips as Richie noiselessly pumped his fist in time to the music pulsing from his headphones. 

She was so far in love…  Well, it was just stupid how much she loved this man.

Their time together had been nothing short of idyllic, and even though she was anxious to return to work, she didn’t want this flight home to end.  It would be so much nicer to get lost in the memories…

Like reliving the rest of the leisurely Wednesday that they’d spent swimming, sunning and making love.

Or savoring Thursday, when they’d gone to Seattle and gotten her tattoo updated.   Jack had remembered them – including how well Richie tipped– and took excellent care of her.  The entire time he worked on the little dove, Richie’s fingers were familiarly woven into hers, palms rubbing intimately.  Occasionally, he’d lean forward to whisper quietly in her ear, alternating between sweet words of love and sexy words of lust that made her color with a combination of embarrassment and desire.  They’d flown home and made love for half the night.

Friday was the holistic spa for the Somatic Trauma Therapy.  Richie had been so optimistic that it would help her heal from the attack that she’d HAD to give it a try. 

It was… interesting. 

A certified trauma therapist had led her through the initial stages of the ‘healing process’, saying,  “As you are guided to become curious about sensations in the body, neural pathways begin to open; held shock/trauma energies can begin to discharge from the nervous system one manageable step at a time.”

Allegra snorted quietly.  What a load of crap.

And of course they wanted her to schedule a series of these appointments for the most ‘effective resolution to her issues’.  Fortunately she wasn’t local and could bow out gracefully. 

While her neural pathways were being roto-rootered, Richie had been immersed in an essential oil massage. 

Every Twilight Zone moment of psychobabble dripping from that trauma therapist’s lips was worth it in the instant that he exited the treatment room. 

He glowed. 

Bizarre, but true.  The air of tranquility and relaxation that surrounded him glowed a beautiful shade of bronze, making him appear as a burnished god descended from a Greek mountaintop.  He’d never looked healthier or happier, and Allegra would gladly schedule fifty more appointments to keep him this way.

Of course, he’d been effusive about the effects of her treatment, saying he could tell a difference right away.  Once the appointments had been scheduled, they’d spent a fair amount of time talking about his belief in the positive effects of nature on the human body, personal healing and spirituality.  Considering that conversation, she believed he perhaps could tell a difference.

SHE still thought it was a crock.

The basketball game that night was probably counterproductive to their spa treatments.  As he predicted, the press was crawling all over the arena, but much to her relief, they never showed the slightest interest in the woman seated alongside Richie Sambora. 

Her attention may have been otherwise occupied though.

Richie never stopped touching her at any point during the evening – hand on thigh, holding hands, arm around her shoulders – but his concentration was riveted on the bouncing ball from the instant that whistle blew.  His muscles bunched and held tight every time the Lakers took a shot, and wouldn’t relax until the ball either swished through the net or bounced ineffectively to the floor. 

When they scored, his face would light up like a kid at Christmastime, and he’d turn to her with a grin  saying, “Did you see that?  What a helluva shot!”

On the flipside, a missed basket would result in a tighter grip on whichever of her body parts was closest, and a frown, accompanied by incoherent mumbling.

It was adorable.

They didn’t make it to the bedroom that night before she let him know EXACTLY how adorable she thought it was.  The Hummer turned out to be pretty roomy…

Her return to work on Monday put them on this Sunday flight to New Jersey, so Easter dinner had been rescheduled for Saturday.  Although she’d been nervous at the thought of a holiday dinner with his mother and daughter, Richie seemed to be in seventh heaven surrounded by, as he called it, ‘all his best girls’.  His affection for each of his girls was evident, and it eased the way for talking and laughing as though this particular family had dinner together every weekend. 

Allegra really felt like she was fitting into his life, and that he was happy having her there. 

Things couldn’t be any more perfect.

“Baby?”

“Yes, sweetie?”  Her eyes on him were as adoring as any of the million zealots who called his name every night.

Heat radiated from his fingers, warming the skin in the hollow of her neck before he touched the small gold cross that lie there.

“Where’s the cross I got for you?”  He frowned in concentration, staring intently at the little gold emblem.  “I can’t remember the last time I saw you wear it.”