Chapter 137

The next morning, Jon and Sara headed off early, riding down to the airport in a long, black limo. On the way, Jon decided he should broach the subject of his mom, torn between loyalty to her and the desire to warn Sara.

“Darlin’ - I should probably tell you a bit about my folks. Well, my mom certainly.”

“What? You already told me she was a marine.”

“Yeah. Thing is, babe……….well, just don’t be too surprised if she’s a little, uh, a little……. Ah, shit. A little drunk.”

“Drunk?” Sara repeated flatly.

“Drunk. I’m sure she won’t be, baby. Just sometimes she maybe has a little too much. I just didn’t want you to be shocked, just in case.”

There was a worried look on Jon’s face, and Sara gently turned him to face her, kissing his lips lightly.

“Thank you. I’m sure she’ll be fine, babe.”

Privately, Jon wasn’t so sure, but he let the subject drop as they arrived at the airport, getting across and settled side by side on the plane for the flight down to Florida. Laughing, Sara vetoed Jon’s suggestion that they spend the flight in the bedroom at the back of the plane.

“No way I’m meeting your parents after that.” She told him with a stern look. “What is it they call it? Mile High Club?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, maybe on the flight home. IF you’re a very, very………bad boy.”

“Count on it, darlin’.”

Jon raised his arm onto Sara’s shoulder and she snuggled closer, laying her head on his chest as they talked. After Sara’s heads-up, Jon had called Richie, and Sara could hear the grin in Jon’s voice as he told her how excited Richie was that Linda was moving in.

“I hadn’t realised how worried you were about him.”

“Hmmm? Oh, yeah, I guess I was. Heather hurt him a lot, and Denise wasn’t the person he’d hoped she’d be. Linda, though, she’s different. She’s……..well, she’s normal. I think she’s going to be good for him.”

“I think so too.”

Sara subsided into silence, then Jon squeezed his arm around her a little tighter.

“D’you want coffee, darlin’?”

“Silly question. I can get it.”

“I’m closer.” Jon pointed out reasonably, standing and walking off to the galley, leaving Sara gazing out through the window.

The flight wasn’t all that long, and they were only on their second mugs of coffee - this time Sara had fetched them - when the pilot warned that they were approaching the airport. When they disembarked the plane, another limo was waiting for them, whisking them from the hot tarmac and out onto the highway. Jon pulled his cellphone from his jeans, and dialled his mom.

“Hey mom - it’s me. We just landed and we’re on our way. Be about twenty minutes.” He paused, listening, then grinned at Sara as he spoke into the phone again. “He is? Great. Well, see you soon. Bye mom.”

Putting his phone away, Jon grinned at Sara again. “My brother Matt’s here, too.” He realised that Sara - not being a fan of the band - wouldn’t know the fanclub related stuff, so he explained. “Up until the end of the tour, my mom was still running the fanclub, but she’s retired now and Matt’s taken over.”

“Your mom ran your fanclub? That’s so sweet. Keeping it in the family.”

“Yeah. She started it way back, just when we started out.” Jon laughed. “I don’t think she actually expected to still be doing it now. She’d had enough, though, and Matt and I decided to keep it going ourselves - Matt runs the day to day stuff, but I stay involved.”

“Because you’re a control freak, like me?” Sara teased.

“Hey! No! I prefer to say I’m ‘hands on’.”

“I know you are. And I know where I’d like your hands ‘on’.”

With a grin and a growl, Jon’s lips attacked hers, his hands groping her jokingly for a second, giving a groan as Sara’s hand slid up his thigh, coming to rest at his crotch, her palm rubbing gently over him. They pulled apart suddenly as the car stopped.

“Shit.” He gasped, feeling like a teenager getting caught making out in the backseat of his parents’ car. “We’re here!”

“Oh, hell!” Sara blurted, smoothing her shirt down again, and they both broke into laughter as their eyes met.

Getting out of the car, Jon held out a hand, pulling Sara to her feet. He looked down into her eyes, seeing a hint of trepidation, and he tilted her chin up to gently kiss her lips.

“I love you.” He said softly. “Just remember that. They’ll love you, too.”

“I hope so. I love you, too, rockstar.”

“Okay. C’mon then. Into the lions’ den!”

“Oh, thanks for that! I was just starting to relax!”

Laughing, Jon grabbed her hand, leading her to the house, just opening the door and walking in.

“Mom? Dad? Matt?” He yelled, and Sara couldn’t suppress a giggle - for a forty-something multimillionaire rock star, he just sounded like any other guy going to visit his parents.

“There’s no need to shout, Johnny.” Came a voice from a doorway off to one side, then a petite blonde woman walked out to greet them with a taut smile.

“Hi mom.” Jon grinned, hugging her, then releasing her again and turning to Sara. “Mom - this is Sara. Sara Holland. Sara - my mom.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs Bongiovi.” Sara said softly, holding out a hand.

For long moments, the older woman just looked at Sara, her eyes flicking over the girl her son had brought to meet her, until Sara was starting to feel like an insect under a microscope. Just as she was about to speak again, Jon’s mom smiled a little more genuinely, shaking Sara’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, too, Sara.” She turned to Jon. “Your dad and Matt are out back. Either of you want a drink?”

“Please, mom. Sar - d’you want coffee?”

“I’d love some. Can I help at all?” This directed at Jon’s mom, whose smile broadened a little at the offer.

“I’m fine, dear, but thank you.”

As his mom headed off toward the kitchen, Jon looked at Sara with a grin, grabbing her hand. “She likes you.” He whispered.

“You think?”

“Oh, yeah. She - well, she wasn’t always Dot’s biggest fan, but you, she likes. Not that I blame her in the least. Let’s go introduce you to the rest of the clan.”

Jon’s dad and brother were sitting outside, and Jon introduced Sara to them both, then his mom brought out a tray with coffee and they sat around a pretty wrought iron table, the family getting to know Sara. They visited with the family for a couple of hours, and Sara went into the kitchen with Mrs Bongiovi - or Carol as she had now told Sara to call her - to help fix more coffee. While the women were out of earshot, Jon’s father and brother grilled him gently about Sara, and the reasons for his split from Dot, but they didn’t push it too much - they could see he was happy, and they liked the look of Sara.

In the kitchen, Sara was slightly shocked - even though Jon had mentioned it - when Carol started to talk about Dorothea, bitching about - among other things - how she smoked too much, especially around the children, and Sara finally realised that the orange juice Jon’s mom was drinking maybe wasn’t just orange juice.

When they left, Sara was surprised to be hugged by all three members of the Bongiovi family, and she waved as they headed down to the car, feeling exhausted from the tension of the meeting. Inside the car, Jon turned to look at her.

“Well? Did you survive?”

“Just about.”

Jon grinned. “What did mom say, when you were in the kitchen? You looked a bit shell-shocked when you came back.”

“I was just surprised, I guess. She was talking about……about your wife. I’m glad you warned me.”

“Let me guess. Dot smokes too much, right?”

“Uh-huh. Among other things. I like them, though, Jon. Really.”

“They like you, too. But that’s it - duty done - so now we can get outta here and get to the hotel.”

“Are you tired?” Sara joked.

“Nah. I’ve just had enough of sharing you. I want to get you alone.” He smirked. “Naked and alone. Naked, wet and alone.”

“Works for me.”

They sat in a comfortable silence as the driver took them to the hotel, Sara running through the ‘meeting the family’ thing, knowing that she wouldn’t tell Jon everything his mom had said. Even if he and Dot were divorcing, there were some things he didn’t need to hear.