Chapter 107

Sara obeyed the instructions of the stewardess, looking groggily out of the window and wondering why nothing looked familiar. She blinked a few times, then looked again. No. Definitely not Newark. She looked at her watch, confused to see it was eight thirty, then remembering she’d changed her watch to New Jersey time before she’d settled down to sleep. So where the hell was she, then? Completely baffled, she turned to the guy sitting on the aisle in her row.

“Um - sorry - where are we? I was asleep.” She said apologetically, and he gave a wry smile.

“You didn’t miss much. We’re coming back into Glasgow.”

“What?! Why?”

“According to our fearless pilot, there’s some kind of minor technical fault, and he wasn’t happy to continue with the flight. We got about an hour and a half out, then he turned back.”

“Aw, hell! So what are they going to do? Get us another plane?”

“They haven’t said. The last announcement said the ground staff would update us. This is a joke, really - I have a meeting tomorrow afternoon, and I need to get back to prepare. Hope you didn’t have anything urgent waiting for you.”

Sara’s face fell as she whispered her answer. “Just my boyfriend. Dammit! I need to…..oh, shit! I’ll have to call him when we land.”

The guy gave her a sympathetic smile, but Sara didn’t see, as she’d turned to the window, fighting tears as she wondered if some higher power didn’t want her getting back with Jon. ‘Screw you’ she whispered, aiming it at the ‘higher power’. No way she wasn’t getting back to Jon. Not a chance.

They landed at Glasgow airport just after two in the afternoon, local time, and as they taxied in, the pilot came back over the speakers to explain that, yes, there was a technical problem with the aircraft, and he hadn’t been comfortable to continue with the transatlantic flight. He’d spoken with the ground staff, and they were going to have to bring in a replacement aircraft, as the problem with this one wasn’t easily repaired.

The bad news, though, was that the replacement aircraft was in Berlin, and wouldn’t be available until the following day. At that little tidbit of information, Sara got a surprised look from the guy near her as she spat ‘fuck!’ rather loudly, but she didn’t care. Her rarely seen temper was rising fast now, but she knew enough to keep herself in check - no point in yelling at the staff who couldn’t do anything. All that would achieve would be to ensure she ended up at the end of the list for any help in getting home. She could feel her head aching, though, as she fought down the rage. Besides, she thought, when did she ever show emotion, except with Jon!

Once they were parked at the gate, the attendants asked everyone to remain seated, as a member of ground staff was coming aboard to inform them of the arrangements which had been made. A worried looking man appeared at the front of the plane, holding the mic, and he explained that the airline had arranged hotel rooms and meal vouchers for everyone, and that these would be distributed as they deplaned. A bus would take them to the hotel, and bring them back next day, and they should get to Newark at the scheduled time of one thirty in the afternoon. Just one day later than intended!

Feeling numb now, Sara followed the crowd off the plane, collected her paperwork and bags, then took the bus to the hotel. Only once she was safely in her hotel room did she pull out her cellphone to call Jon.


Out in New Jersey, Jon and the band were in the middle of a song when Jon felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Irritably, he yanked it out and glanced at the display, then looked again in surprise, holding up a hand to the guys as he answered the call and they looked on in confusion. They’d never known Jon to answer a call in the middle of a session before.

“Hello?”

As usual, Richie was nearest to Jon, and he saw the shocked look on his face as he heard the voice on the other end. Richie could hear the cursing from where he sat, and it was certainly a female voice - it almost sounded like Sara, but she was on a plane somewhere, so it couldn’t be.

“Whoa, baby, slow down, slow down. Calm down, darlin’. Come on. What’s happened? Where are you?”

Sitting on her hotel bed, Sara was in floods of tears. The second she’d heard Jon’s voice, she just couldn’t hold it back, and she knew she was almost incoherent, but she couldn’t stop. His words steadied her a little, but while the sobbing eased, the rage didn’t.

“It’s not fucking fair! I’m in Glasgow, Jon. Fucking Glasgow! We got delayed - didn’t leave until eleven, then the fucking idiot pilot turned back. Some problem with the plane. Incompetent assholes couldn’t even find us another plane. Know when they’re flying us home? Tomorrow. A full fucking day late, Jon. And that’s assuming the fucking stupid plane comes in from Berlin on time, which would be a fucking miracle with these moronic bastards. A full day……” Her voice trailed away into sobbing again, and in the studio Jon stood up, walking out of the room, holding a hand up to the guys again, asking for a minute.

“Sara.” He said quietly, trying to break through the sobbing, just repeating her name until he heard her snuffling at the other end of the line, the crying easing off a little.

“What?” She bleated pathetically, but Jon was relieved to hear her voice sounded a little more like the Sara he knew - obviously the outburst had drained away her rage. At least some of it.

“Sara. I love you. Nothing else matters, baby.”

“But I won’t be back until……”

“Nothing else.” He interrupted firmly. “I’ll be here, darlin’, whenever you get back. Hell, if you have to get a boat and row home, I’ll be waiting at the shore for you. Don’t cry baby, please.” He grinned, knowing how to put a smile back on her face. “But you can feel free to say ‘fuck’ as often as you like, darlin’.”

That did raise a soft chuckle, and Jon thought quickly, calculating times in his mind.

“Where are you now?”

“In a hotel. They……” another soft giggle, “……the fucking airline put us in a hotel overnight, just by the airport.”

“Baby. Leave your phone on for a while, will you? I’ve got an idea.”

“Okay, Jon.”

“Are you okay now?”

She sighed, but she just sounded tired and sad now. “I’m fine, baby. Sorry - I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

“You didn’t. Besides, if you can’t yell at me, who can you yell at? I’ll call you back soon, okay? We’ll get you home, baby. Trust me.”

“I do.” She blew out a breath, the sound gusting across the phone. “Okay, I’ll let you get back to the guys, Jon. Say hi to Richie for me? I need coffee and chocolate, I think. After I’ve washed my face. Damn, I hate to cry. I feel like such a fool.”

“Well, you’re not a fool, Sara. I’ll call you back, let you know if my idea works, okay?”

“Okay, baby. Bye.”

Before he returned to the studio, Jon called his pilot to ask him if he’d be able to fly over to Glasgow for Sara, bring her back home. The pilot hesitated before answering.

“I’m really sorry, Mr Bon Jovi, but I’m out of town, so I wouldn’t be able to do it until tomorrow. I’d be able to leave at…..eight tomorrow morning, but that wouldn’t get me to Glasgow until sometime in the afternoon. Then I’d have to wait another few hours before I could fly back.”

“Ah, shit! I was hoping it would be quicker if you could do it. Dammit. Okay, thanks anyway.”

Jon ended the call, racking his brain for any other way of getting Sara back quicker than the scheduled airline. Nothing came to mind, and he reluctantly dialled her number, to tell her the bad news.

“Jon? That was fast.”

“Yeah. Bad news I’m afraid, baby. I thought I could’ve had the plane come over to get you, but my pilot’s out of town, and he couldn’t even get over there until tomorrow afternoon. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Jon. It’s fine, honestly. I’ll still - so long as there are no more delays - make it in time for the show, I think.” She paused, then continued firmly. “No, I don’t ‘think’. I will be at the show, Jon, come hell or high water. If I have to swim, I’ll be there!”

“Darlin’, there’ll be other shows.”

“I know that, but your kids are going to be there, and I promised to come. And I will, Jon. I’ll be there.”

“You’re one determined girl, aren’t you, darlin’? Well, you get yourself back here, and I can help out with the cumming part.”

“I’ll hold you to that, baby. Okay, I love you, I miss you, and I will see you tomorrow, even if I have to get a cab straight from the airport!”

“I love you, too, Sara. Call me as soon as you know what’s happening. I don’t think I’ll be able to collect you, though - we’ll have soundcheck in the afternoon.”

“It’s okay, Jon. You go, finish whatever you’re doing, and I’ll talk to you later.”

Jon clicked off the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket as he returned to the main studio. The four guys were sitting around talking, and all looked up expectantly when he came in.

“Everything okay, Jon?” Richie asked, and Jon gave a twisted grin.

“Yeah, I guess. That was Sara. She said to tell you ‘hi’.”

“Isn’t she on a plane?”

“She was. It turned back to Glasgow, and she’s not a happy lady.”

“So I heard. I didn’t think she knew words like that!”

“Oh, she does. She just doesn’t use them. She won’t be back until tomorrow, now.” With an effort, Jon got his mind off Sara and back onto what they’d been doing. “Okay. Where were we?”