Chapter 74

“Dad, are you taking us to Mom’s house now?”

Jon turned in his seat, Jake’s earnest eyes shining in the near dark. “No, buddy you’re staying with me tonight.”

“Oh,” he muttered.

Trying not to be hurt that his son asked for the third time that day if he could go back to Dot, he kept his voice even. “Is there something wrong, Jake? I thought you wanted to hang at my house for Christmas?” Jon cleared his throat around the lump in his throat.

His son seemed to sit up straighter. “No, Dad. I like doing our sleepovers. I’m sorry.”

“No need to say you’re sorry, buddy. I just want to make sure you guys have a great Christmas at our house. It’s still your house; you just have two now that’s all.”

He nodded slowly. “Right, our house,” he firmed his lips, trying not to let the lower lip quiver.

Jon turned back around to Richie who drove in silence. Ava had fallen asleep as soon as the car started moving and his older kids were already lost to the Ipods in their ears. He reached over to the radio and found the Christmas channel and sat back. “Thanks for coming with me.”

“Hey, I like the, uh…” he trailed off and winged an eyebrow at Jon. “Um, store. It was fun, actually.”

Jon just laughed. They were so out of practice talking code. Dorothea had always hated when he went out with Sambora. They used to come home speaking a whole different language to cover up the trouble they caused. Now the only code they spoke was dad-speak.

Once upon a time, there was a party happening every moment, and a child’s love had been the furthest thought from his mind. He still went to parties, but he’d take a night with his kids or Tessa over the social whirl he used to enjoy. He let his head rest on the cool window.

Worrying about getting through Christmas was first and foremost right now. Trying to meld his new life into his old life would just have to wait for a bit. Pulling up to the gate, Richie waited for it to swing open.

He heard another deep huff from the backseat and turned to see Jake biting down on his bottom lip. Did he miss his Mom that much? He’d never had trouble taking the kids overnight before.

Letting the rest of the kids pile out of the car and Richie gather a still sleeping Ava into his arms he rounded the car and crouched before his son. “Okay buddy, spill it.”

Tears shone in his eyes, but he still kept silent, shaking his head in answer.

Brushing his hand over his son’s hair he lifted him up and heaved him over his shoulder until the near tears faded into giggles. “Well if you aren’t going to tell me, I’m just going to have to torture it out of you.”

He jogged up the stairs as giggles still melded with a few tears. He dropped him on his bed. Laughter whooshed out as he bounced. “Dad!”

“Oh now he talks!” Crowding in on the bunk he settled against the wall. “Tell Dad everything.”

“It’s nothing. I like Christmas at two houses, I promise. It’s no big deal.”

Determined footsteps ran down the hallway as Romeo blasted into Jakes room and hurled himself on Jon’s thighs, drilling his knees together. With a strangled groan he dragged Romeo up to sit in the curve of his body. “Hey, Romeo.”

“Daddy! Santa!”

Jon laughed and pushed a lock of still blonde hair away from his face. “Pretty soon.”

“No, Santa!” he said louder.

Trying desperately not to laugh, Jon pressed two fingers over his lips. “Of course, Santa will come.” And with that statement, Jake busted into wild tears. Sitting up at the outburst Jon narrowly missed beaning himself on the top bunk. “Jake, what’s wrong?”

“There’s not going to be a Santa!” he wailed.

Not knowing what to do, he gathered both boys in and rubbed their backs. “Santa always comes on Christmas morning. He just has to go to two houses this time.”

“Santa is never going to find us!” He dragged in a shuddering breath, “This is the wrong house! Mama told me he knew that we moved. He’s not going to find us!”

Finally understanding what was going on, he just shushed the two of them. “Oh, Jake of course he’s going to find you.” He thought for a moment, then began again. “He’s come to this house every year since you’ve been born. How could he forget this house? It’s always going to be your home.”

“But, Mom said-“

Knowing it was sticky ground, he still interrupted. “Mom is completely correct, he knows you guys moved. But he also knows that you have two houses.”

”But he’s going to get confused!” Jake said and sniffed.

How did you tell a child of five that Santa didn’t get confused, when Santa really didn’t exist? “Santa’s a really smart guy. Smarter than me, maybe not smarter than your Mom,” he said ruefully. “But smart enough to know that you stay at my house sometimes.”

Romeo, sniffed and curled into his chest, resting his head on Jon’s arm. His bedtime had long since come and gone. After hearing all would be well with Santa he let himself relax against his dad. “Santa will come?” he asked with a big yawn.

Jake cozied down and tossed his shoes over the edge. “Of course he is,” he said matter of factly. “Dad said,” he finished and settled his head on the pillow an answering yawn to Romeo’s.

Jon just laughed. Oh for it to be this simple all the time. He stayed with his boys for a bit, enjoying the sleepy jibber-jabber of the two of them, and finally just Jake. He’d miss the day that just his words would be enough to soothe.

He eased back from Romeo, letting him drop onto the pillow. The twin bed was plenty large enough for the both of them. Biting back a moan he backed out of bed and stood, feeling every inch his forty-four years. Taking the time to say goodnight to each of his older children he went back downstairs.

Richie was in the family room with a bottle of wine and an extra glass on the end table by the tree. The fireplace roared and the tree lights twinkled as Richie stared out into the night.

“Hey Rich, did you put Ava to bed too?”

He turned away from the window. “Hey man. Yeah, she was beat. It was a long trip over from Heather’s yesterday. She’s just getting her bearings.”

Jon poured himself a glass of wine and dropped onto the leather couch. “Damn, it was a long day.”

Richie lifted his glass, “Fun day, even it was only with the baby chicks.”

“I agree.” He took a long swallow and let the cool, clean taste wash away some of the ache. He’d said it a million times in interviews, but it was true. He didn’t like being alone at times like this. And knowing Tessa was so close didn’t make it any easier.

“Thinking about Tessa?”

“Hmm?” Jon glanced over to his friend.

“Thinking about the little shop owner?”

Jon gave him a crooked smile, “That easy to read, huh?”

“We’re not the kind of guys to be alone for Christmas, my man.”

“What, are you readin’ my mind?”

“You know that I can. Why should it be a surprise?”

Emptying his glass and refilling Jon settled back. Now that all the family stuff was done for the night, it just made him miss her all the more. “I love her something stupid, Rich.”

Richie dropped onto the suede couch across from him, “Something stupid, huh?”

Taking a deep swallow he nodded. “Part of me wishes it was a fling. I could deal with that easy enough.”

“I don’t know her that well, but she doesn’t seem fling material to me.”

“No, she’s forever material.”

“And that’s a problem for you?”

Sipping contemplatively he stayed quiet for a moment. Was it really a problem for him? Or was it just the circumstance? He was at the point where he couldn’t imagine life without her. “Truth of the matter is, it’s Dorothea that is giving me the biggest headache about it.”

Richie rested the glass on his stomach and leaned back into the couch. “Is she jealous?”

Draining his glass he leaned forward and refilled again. “She’s never been the jealous type before, but then again we’ve never really split up before.” Twirling his glass, he watched the pale gold liquid swish to the edge before he took another drink. “But she wanted the divorce.”

Richie nibbled on his thumb then laced his fingers around the glass. “Just because Dot didn’t want to live with you anymore, doesn’t mean she doesn’t want you anymore.”

“It was more like she was disappointed in me. Christ, it felt so not wifely. She just had this hard look on her face like I was some asshole picking up a younger chick to make myself feel better.”

“Sounds like jealousy to me.”

“It seems so tacky to introduce my ex-wife to my what? Girlfriend? Christ,” he muttered and drained his glass again.

“Did you bring her up?”

”Huh?” he slid suddenly blurry eyes Richie’s way. “I was talking about Christmas and making plans and wanting to do all this stuff with the kids and she guessed.” Restless he stood and went to the window. “I wanted to wait until after the New Year to break it to Dot, but I really wasn’t expecting her to freak about it.”

Richie sat up, “She freaked?”

“Well, as much as Dot does,” Jon said ruefully. “She did say she didn’t want Tessa anywhere near our kids and there’s my problem.”

Richie smoothed his fingers over his throat in thought. “Now you know I’d side with you for almost anything, Jonny, but I think she’s thinking more about the kids than anything.”

His grip went white-knuckled on his glass. “And I get that totally. But you didn’t see her face when I mentioned Tessa. I’m not stupid enough to think I can introduce her to my kids yet, but shit.”

“She’s just playing Mama Bear. It’ll be alright when she meets her. Tessa’s a real woman, not a girl…you know what I mean?”

Setting his empty glass down, he dropped onto the couch and stretched out. “I know,” he yawned hugely. “I just don’t want to mess any of this up and it’s so outta my control right now.”

“Nothing worse than that,” Richie muttered and finished his own glass. He got up to head to bed when he heard Jon’s deep breathing. Leaving the room quietly he stopped in the hall when he spotted Stephanie on the stairs.

“Well shit,” he said and sat next to her.

“Oh Uncle Mookie,” she said and tipped her head onto his shoulder. “Christmas officially sucks.”