Chapter 6
“Tonight has been so awesome,” bubbled Ashley.
“It has been,” smiled Jesse dreamily as she looked in the direction of Richie’s dressing room. “Thank you for talking to him.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re no good at being innocent. Besides, Richie told me what you did.”
“You’re welcome. What did you two talk about before dinner?”
“He asked me to join him in London.”
“Oh…my …god! You ARE going, aren’t you because if you don’t you are certifiably insane! And don’t even try to use Stevie as an excuse!”
“He wants me to bring Stevie with me. Ash, I don’t know. It’s London, a whole other country.”
“Yeah, it is, and you’ve never been before. You should GO!”
A pair of arms wrapped around Jesse from behind as a voice said, “Remind me to thank you later, Ashley.”
“You two are soooo cute together,” beamed Ashley. “Chalk one up for me.”
Richie laughed as Jesse shook her head. “You’re the one who is insane.”
“I take it you told Ashley about my invitation.”
“Yes.”
“And I’m going to convince her to go.”
“It’s NOT that I don’t want to go, it’s just….”
“It’s just what?” questioned Ashley. “You deserve to be happy, Jesse, and to have fun. You didn’t do anything wrong when you got pregnant. That was TOTALLY his fault!”
“Now is NOT the time or place for this,” glared Jesse as her phone rang. Recognizing the ring tone, she quickly answered it. “Carly, what’s wrong?.....How high?.....I’m coming home. For now, take some wash cloths and get them wet…keep them cool and put them on the underside of his wrists and the back of his neck. Also, call Dr. Terry. His number is on the refrigerator. Call me back after you talk to him.”
As she closed the phone, Richie, who was still holding her, asked, “How high is his fever?”
“A hundred and four and he’s throwing up. I have to go home,” she insisted.
“Hold on, Jess,” insisted Ashley. “Carly is going to call Dr. Terry. Wait for her to call you back to tell you what he said.”
“I have to get back to him though and it’s going to take me three hours….at least!”
“Jesse, come with me for a minute,” insisted Richie as he moved away from Ashley to have some privacy. He brushed her hair back and lifted her chin to look in her eyes. “I know you’re worried but you need to calm down. You won’t do him any good if you’re upset.”
“I need to get to him, Richie,” she whispered, tears threatening to fall.
“I agree but listen to my suggestion. Stay for the show.”
“Richie!”
“Shh, listen,” he cut her off putting his finger on her lips. “After the show, I’ll fly you home. It’s going to take you three hours anyway so you might as well enjoy the show. I’ll get Tony to find a helicopter to fly you home.”
“I
can’t pay you back.”
“We’ll talk about that later.”
“Richie, you want me to join you in Charlotte for the weekend, you want me to fly to London for part of the tour, and now you’re going to pay for a helicopter to fly me home. I don’t want to be beholden to you.”
“You won’t be and I won’t pressure you for anything you don’t want to give me.”
Jesse’s phone rang again and she quickly answered it. “What did Dr. Terry say?....are you going to be okay with him until I can get home?....Thank you. Look, Richie is going to fly me home after the show so that I can stay…yeah, he’s being extremely sweet….Is that Stevie? Let me talk to him.”
Richie whispered, “I’ll be right back.”
Jesse nodded her head as she said, “Hey, baby boy. You don’t feel good, do you?.....I know. Look, it’s going to take me a little while to get home but I’m coming, okay?....I love you too. Guess who I’ve been hanging out with?....No, not just Auntie Ash. I’ve been hanging out with Richie…yeah, he’s really cool and as soon as you’re all better, you’re going to get to meet him too.” Richie returned and Jesse said, “Baby, someone wants to say ‘Hi’ to you.”
Richie took her phone, “Hey, Stevie. Your mom said you weren’t feeling well….I’m sorry, buddy. I hope you get better soon. Here’s your mom back.”
“Baby, I want you to go back to sleep, okay. I promise, as soon as I get home, I’ll come check on you. Give the phone to Carly….Carly, text me if he gets worse…see you soon.”
As Jessed hung up, Richie said, “Tony is working on a flight and Ashley went with him to help.”
“You are being so sweet. Thank you so much for everything.”
“You’re welcome,” he whispered as he wiped a stray tear. “Why don’t you go check out the opening act? Get your mind off what is going on with Stevie.”
“I don’t know. Is their guitarist as sweet and good looking as Bon Jovi’s?”
“No where close!”
“I think I’d rather hang out backstage a little longer…if you don’t mind.”
“Not in the least. Come with me. I need to do a couple things before we go on.”
With his arm around her, the two made their way towards the stage area where Richie’s guitar tech was waiting for him. That’s when he finally introduced her to Jon since he’d taken his dinner in his dressing room to do some work.
