Chapter 9
Jesse rushed into the house followed closely by Richie. The five foot nothing mother hadn’t waited for him when the helicopter landed and he’d had a hard time catching up with her in the unfamiliar darkness.
Inside, he looked at the laundry room as he entered and then the kitchen. To his right was the den where Jesse was now sitting on the couch beside a smaller version of herself. In a recliner beside the couch was a young girl he estimated to be about eighteen or nineteen. She was sleeping peacefully.
“How is he?” asked Richie as he set his bag down.
“He’s burning up,” frowned Jesse as she felt his hand on her shoulder. “I need to wake him and give him some more medicine.
“If he’s sleeping, leave him alone. His body is fighting whatever he has,” reminded Richie. “I take it that’s Carly.”
Looking over at her sleeping babysitter, she said, “Yeah.”
“Why don’t you go change and I’ll wake her so she can go home?”
“I was going to take her in the morning.”
“Okay, then she could go climb into a bed.”
Jesse brushed her son’s hair off his forehead and gave him a kiss. Turning to Richie, tears began to stream down her cheeks. She wanted to say something but words wouldn’t come.
Richie stood, took her hand, and led her with him into the kitchen. Wrapping her in his arms, he held her close as she cried. He rubbed her back gently and played with her hair.
When she seemed to be calming down, he said, “Stevie is going to be okay. You’re home now to take care of him. Go change.”
Jesse looked up at him and gave him a teary smile. “If you want a shower, the bathroom is right over there,” she pointed out. “And there’s a closet behind the door where I keep the towels.”
“I just got a partial shower,” he teased.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ll get a shower later, after I take care of you and Stevie. While you’re changing, I’m going to wake Carly.”
“Tell her to go up to the extra room.”
Richie nodded and she started to go but she stopped. She put her hands on his sides, stood on her toes, and gave him a quick kiss…then disappeared to the front of the house.
Richie went back to the den where he shook Carly. “Hey, Carly. Wake up.”
Carly woke suddenly. “I’m not asleep!”
With a chuckle, Richie said, “Its okay. Jesse’s home and Stevie’s okay.”
Shaking the cobwebs of sleep from her mind, she asked, “Where is Jess?”
“Changing. Go on up to the guest room and get some real sleep.”
“Thanks.” Carly got up and started to leave but turned back. “Will you be here in the morning or are you just a dream?”
“I’ll be here in the morning.”
On her way up to the guest room, Carly passed Jesse who was wearing pink lounging pants with stars and a pink camisole. “You look good,” smiled Carly. “Richie’s going to like that.”
“I hope so.”
“See you in the morning.”
Jesse watched the younger girl go upstairs before going back out to Richie.
“Is he still asleep?”
“Yeah, he is. What do you want to do?”
“I’ll just let him sleep there and I’ll crash in the recliner.”
“Baby,
you can’t get a good night’s sleep in a recliner.”
“But....”
“No
arguments. Take Stevie and go climb into bed.”
She knew he was right but there was so much she hadn’t told him. Stubbornly,
she said, “I’ll be okay right here.”
Richie decided not to fight with her and chose a different path to get her to go to sleep. Taking a seat on the end of the couch, he reached for her hand. “Come here then,” he smirked.
She moved to him and he pulled her into his lap. Putting the recliner up, he shifted so that Jesse could get comfortable in his lap. “I’ve been looking forward to holding you in my arms all night.”
Jesse nestled her head on his shoulder but her eyes were on her son. This was so familiar, probably because her father used to do the same thing to get her to go to sleep. Right now though, she was worried about her son and she didn’t want to give in to sleep so that she could take care of him.
Richie ran his fingers lightly over her arm knowing that she was focused on Stevie. He had to get her mind off of the little boy in order for her to relax and get some sleep. “Tell me about the house.”
“I’ve lived here since I was three or four but it’s been in my dad’s family for several generations.”
“So your dad’s family is from here?”
“Yeah, but I’m the last of his family…and Stevie.”
“What about your mom’s family?”
“They were from Fernandina Beach, Florida. My dad met her when he was fourteen and they were down there on vacation. When he was fifteen, he ran away from home to be with her. That’s when he got a job working for .38 Special as a roadie and got into following groups. He usually knew someone with the road crew and could get tickets.” Jesse tried to stifle a yawn but it escaped anyway. “I’m sorry.”
“Why did your mom leave and only take your brother?”
“I only know what my dad has told me,” and she yawned again. “I really don’t remember much about my mother or my brother. Frank is most likely only my half-brother. Daddy seems to think she was fooling around with one of the other roadies and that she took off with him.”
“Did he ever go after her or try to find her?”
“No. When my mother dumped me with a neighbor, I was sick and they ended up taking me to the ER. I was admitted to the hospital and stayed there almost a month. They never figured out what was wrong. I just ran a really high fever and was really tired.”
“How old were you?”
“Around five.”
“Same as Stevie.”
“Yeah.”
Richie knew then that she was scared that the same thing would happen to Stevie. Instead of trying to sooth her fears, he hugged her close and began to sing softly. She needed her rest so she could focus and be clear-headed if something was wrong. In just a few minutes, Richie felt Jesse’s body relax and noticed that her breathing had slowed….she was asleep. He continued to hold her, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. He wanted her but he would have to go slow. He’d added another piece of the puzzle to the woman who’d stolen his heart.
Thirty minutes passed and Richie decided Jesse was sound asleep. Carefully, he put the recliner down and adjusted her in his arms before standing up. He made his way through the house to the front where he found a bedroom. He put her down gently and pulled the covers over her.
Going back out, Richie found Stevie was waking up. “Hey Stevie,” greeted Richie when he saw the little boy sitting up. “How do you feel?”
“Hungry. Where’s my mom?”
“I just took her to bed but when she got here, she gave you a kiss. Would you like me to fix you something to eat?”
“Yes sir.”
Richie reached down to feel the little boy’s forehead. “Do you remember what Carly gave you last?”
“The orange stuff.”
“Do you feel like coming into the kitchen with me?”
“I guess so.”
The little boy got up and took Richie’s hand to lead him into the kitchen.
“What would you like to eat?”
“Mama usually makes me scrambled eggs.” Seeing his chance to get something he didn’t normally get, he added, “And she fixes me a coke.”
Richie gave him a knowing smile. “You know, my mom use to give me coke too when I had been sick and I do the same thing for my daughter. Does your mom have any coke in the house?”
“I think so…in that cabinet down there.”
Richie looked in the cabinet and found a bottle of Coke. Before fixing it for Stevie, he set the little boy on the counter near the stove and said, “You’re going to have to help me out because I don’t know where anything is.”
Stevie pointed where everything was and as he watched Richie gather the things to cook with, he asked, “Do you like my mom?”
As Richie was pouring the coke, he smiled, “Yeah, I do. She’s pretty cool.”
“She’s the coolest mom EVER!” beamed Stevie.
“Would you mind if I dated your mom?”
“What does that mean?”
“It means me taking your mom to places like dinner or a movie or a special event.”
“Can I go too?”
“Sometimes, sure.”
“That would be really nice because Mama doesn’t do that kind of stuff.”
“You mean your mom doesn’t go out with guys?”
Stevie shook his head. “No sir. She says I’m the only guy in her life. She takes me to movies and we do stuff together though.”
Richie smiled, “You should be the most important man in your mom’s life and I don’t want to change that.”
“Will it make Mama happy?”
“I hope so.”
“Good, because even when Mama smiles, she still looks sad.”
Stevie was extremely perceptive and Richie smiled. As they had been talking, he’d been working on making scrambled eggs and toast. Now it was ready and he needed to serve them. “Where are the plates?”
“Over there.”
Richie went to the cabinet Stevie had pointed to and got two plates. Then he put some eggs on Stevie’s plate along with a piece of toast. Helping Stevie down, he handed him the plate and they went to the table to eat continuing to talk, mostly about school.
After the two had finished, they worked together to clean up the kitchen and then went back to the den to watch a little television. Richie found something suitable for Stevie to watch and they sat in companionable silence, Stevie in Richie’s lap.
After the first show, Stevie began to yawn and Richie said, “You probably should go to bed.”
“Will you tuck me in?”
“Sure.”
Richie followed Stevie through the house and as the little boy started up the steps, he asked, “Don’t you want to sleep with your mom?”
“No sir. She only allows me to sleep in my bed. Besides, she doesn’t sleep that much.”
“How long does she usually sleep?”
“Auntie Ash always tells Mama that three hours isn’t enough and I’ve never seen my mom sleep. She puts me to bed and is up when I get up.”
Richie shook his head. No wonder Jesse was so tired.
“Mr. Sambora, do I have to go to school tomorrow?”
“No, you don’t. You and I can hang out some more and you can meet Tony and Billy. I even think I’ve got a couple surprises for you tucked in my bag somewhere.”
“REALLY?”
“Yeah. Who is your favorite in the group?”
Sheepishly, Stevie answered, “Tico,” then quickly said, “But I like you too.”
Tousling his hair, Richie said, “It’s okay that Tico is your favorite.”
“Who are Tony and Billy?”
“They are the guys who help protect me when fans get a little too excited to see me.”
“Was Mama too excited?”
Richie laughed, “I surprised her so she didn’t have a chance to get too excited.”
As Stevie settled into his bed and Richie covered him up, the little boy asked, “Are you going to be my father?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“Well, all of my friends have their fathers around to do things with but I don’t. When I ask my mom about him, she won’t tell me anything.”
“I’m sure your mom has her reason for that, Stevie, and as for being your dad, I’d love to be your dad but right now, I want to get to know your mom…and you, a little better. If you need someone to talk to, like a dad, you can come to me whenever you need.”
'Thank you.” Stevie was quiet for a minute, then said, “Sometimes, at school, the older kids call me a really bad name.”
Richie knew what that name was. “Have you ever told your mother?”
“No sir. It would only make her more sadder.”
“Do you understand what that word means?”
“I asked my teacher and she said it meant that I didn’t have a father.”
“Not exactly. It means you were born without your mother and father being married. You have a father…he’s just not around.” Richie’s heart was breaking for the little boy. The situation he was in wasn’t his fault but yet he was the one being punished. “You go to sleep now and we’ll talk more about it tomorrow but remember…you have NOTHING to be ashamed of and if you need me, I’ll always be just a phone call away.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Where are you going to sleep?”
“Probably in the chair for now.”
“There’s a bed in the playroom that Mama uses sometimes.”
“Thanks…but Tony and Billy are going to need a place to sleep too. See you in the morning.”
Richie tucked the little boy in a little tighter and turned out the light. Headed downstairs, he decided to get a shower and maybe by then the other three would be there. He wanted to talk to Ashley, maybe get some answers to the questions that he had.
