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Chapter 14
The alarm went off at six-thirty AM and Richie reached across her to cut it off. Looking down at her as she continued to sleep, he smiled. She was exhausted so he decided to let her sleep a little longer.
Getting up, Richie pulled the covers tight around her and headed upstairs to get Stevie up. To his surprise, the little boy was already up and dressed.
“Good morning, Richie,” bubbled the little boy as he jumped up on his bed to be eye-level with the rocker.
“Good morning to you too. What are you doing up already?”
“My alarm clock went off.”
“You have your own alarm clock?”
“Yes sir. Mama says that school is my job and I need to learn to be responsible and get up on my own.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Yes sir.”
“Let’s go downstairs then and I’ll fix you some pancakes,” answered Richie holding out his arms.
Stevie jumped into his arms excitedly, “Oh boy!”
Holding on to him, Richie carried him downstairs where he set him down in the kitchen. “Get me the milk and a couple eggs.”
The two worked together to fix breakfast. As they were finishing, Jesse wandered in. Richie handed Stevie his plate of pancakes and then took Jesse in his arms rubbing her back as he kissed her on the forehead.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he greeted.
“Morning. Did you cut the alarm off?”
“You slept through it. Want some coffee?”
Jesse grimaced, “Eww! Love the smell, can’t stand the taste.”
“How about some orange juice then?”
“Better…but no caffeine.”
“You’re NOT having Mt. Dew for breakfast.”
“Okay!” she conceded. “Orange juice then.”
“There’s a plate for you,” said Richie pointing to the extra plate of pancakes as he poured her a glass of juice.
Jesse picked up the plate and went to sit with Stevie at the table. “Good morning, baby,” she greeted as she gave him a kiss.
“Good morning, Mama. You look different this morning.”
“Really?”
“You’re eyes are smiling.”
Jesse blushed and glanced up at Richie who gave her a wink. “I guess it’s because I’m happy.”
“And Richie made you happy?”
“Yes, sir, he did.” Jesse took a sip of the juice Richie had handed her and looked at Stevie’s shirt. “Where did you get that?”
“Uncle Tony gave it to me.”
My Mom went to see Bon Jovi and never came back!
“Cute,” she said.
“But you DID come back, Mama…you just brought Bon Jovi WITH you,” teased Stevie.
“Yeah, I did. Richie and I are taking you to school this morning.”
“No, I’d rather ride the bus,” said Stevie quickly.
“Why?” questioned Richie who was just as curious as Jesse about his response.
“Because I want to show off my shirt and tell them who gave it to me.”
“I need to take care of some business at school and I want to talk to your teacher,” insisted Jesse.
“Can’t you do it later?”
Richie looked at Jesse. “We could get some other things taken care of first.”
“Stevie, are you SURE you don’t want us to take you to school?”
“Yes ma’am.”
Jesse looked at Richie for an answer. She had no clue which older kids were calling him a bastard and she was afraid to let him ride the bus.
Seeing her confusion, he said, “Let him ride. We’ll go by this afternoon.”
“Thank you, Richie,” said Stevie.
Jesse looked at her son, his eyes dancing with admiration as he looked at Richie. Telling him Richie would one day be his father was going to be the greatest gift she could give him. “Eat up, baby, and I’ll pack your lunch.”
As the threesome ate breakfast, Richie told him about going to London. The little boy was so excited and Jesse couldn’t help but get excited too. She couldn’t remember her son ever being this happy. It was definitely long overdue…for them both.
“Richie, do you think I could have a pizza party tomorrow for lunch at school?”
“What’s so special about tomorrow?” asked Richie.
Stevie tucked his head, “Nothing special…I…”
Richie quickly realized what was going on and said, “Sure. Jesse, we need to let his teacher know what we’re going to do. Do they sell ice cream at your school too?”
“Yes sir.”
“How about some ice cream too?”
“Please!” Stevie jumped up and hugged Richie. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome. Now, take your plate to the sink and go brush your teeth.”
“Yes sir.”
Jesse was already up and fixing Stevie’s lunch when the boy put his stuff in the sink and scurried off. Richie came behind him, set his stuff down, and put his arms around her from behind.
“He’s excited, baby.”
“I know and I’m okay with the pizza party.”
“You’re worried about him riding the bus.”
“Those kids could be on the bus,” she whispered.
“Is Stevie one of the first ones on the bus?”
“No, he’s in the middle of the route.”
“Do you go out with him to meet the bus?”
“Yes.”
“He’s going to ask me to go out too. The kids are going to see me with you; they’re going to know who I am; and he’ll be popular.”
“I’m not much of a mother if I didn’t realize what was happening in the first place,” she frowned.
“Stop punishing yourself,” he whispered in her ear. “Stevie didn’t want to upset you so he didn’t tell you.”
Stevie came bouncing back into the kitchen. “Mama…” he stopped seeing Richie hold her and asked, “What ‘cha doin’?”
Without letting go of Jesse, Richie grinned, “Holding your mom. What are YOU doing? Your teeth brushed?”
“Yes sir. Mama, can I buy lunch today?”
“No sir! I just finished packing your lunch. Besides, Richie is going to do the pizza party and ice cream tomorrow…that’s enough.”
Stevie pouted and Richie said, “Hey, not cool, buddy. That’s blackmail and your mom’s right.”
“Sorry Mama.”
“It’s okay. Here’s your lunch. Go get a jacket and let’s get ready to go out to wait for the bus.”
“Yes ma’am.”
The couple watched Stevie do as he was told and when he disappeared into the playroom, Richie turned Jesse in his arms.
“We need to get ready. We have a lot to do today.”
“What about Tony and Billy?”
“They have something to do too.”
“When do we have to fly to LA?”
“Thursday.”
“That’s tomorrow. How are we going to do the pizza party?”
“The flight isn’t until late…midnight, I think.”
“Oh, okay. When will the package be here?”
“Probably today. Go get dressed while I go talk to Tony and Billy.”
“Yes dear,” she smirked.
Richie laughed, “That’s more like it.”
Jesse stood on her toes and started to give him a kiss but was interrupted, “Get a room!”
“Got one,” shot Jesse quickly kissing Richie. “Glad to see the peanut gallery is awake. Are you this lazy when you’re on tour?”
“Ha! Ha!” sneered the massive bodyguard but he gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Get dressed, ‘Outlaw’. You’re looking more like a tramp than an outlaw this morning.”
Jesse stuck her tongue out at Tony and headed to her room to get dressed.
“Want some breakfast?” asked Richie laughing at the two.
“We’ll grab something on the road.”
“I need one of you to hang out here to get the package Nikki is sending me today for Jesse.”
“I’ll stay,” offered Billy.
The three men sat at the table sipping coffee and talking about the plans for the day. Stevie came in to give them a hug and then Jesse appeared.
“Come on, Stevie, the bus is in the driveway.”
“I’m coming, Mama. Uncle Tony, will you be here this afternoon?”
“Sure will, with a surprise for you from Richie, Billy, and me.”
“Cool!”
The horn blew and they all headed out the front door. Richie stood with his arm around Jesse’s shoulder as they watched Stevie get on the bus. As it pulled away, Richie turned to Jesse as they were going inside and gave her a kiss, all for the benefit of the older kids who were clearly looking out the windows.
Inside, Richie said, “I’m going to change.”
Their day had begun.
