Ariana Lilliane Moretti! Why haven’t you answered my calls? Have you seen the news? There are pictures of you and Jon everywhere. Was it supposed to be out so soon? Are there paparazzi in front of your hotel?
“Are you finished?” Ariana asked.
“Yes.”
“Good. Now it’s your turn to listen.” Ari laughed. “Think you can do that?”
“Shut-up and talk.” Cara replied.
“There’s really not that much to say. Someone must have taken the photos of us at dinner and leaked them to the press. Jon’s already working on damage control with his publicist to release a statement, he just has to run it past Dorothea.” There was a hint of something in Ariana’s voice as she said her name that Cara didn’t miss.
“Now, why don’t you tell me what’s really going on with Dorothea?” Cara knew her friend better than she knew herself sometimes. She could hear it in her voice.
“Jon took my phone to the gym this morning instead of his, which is the reason I haven’t returned your calls. Anyhoo, long story short, I answered his and it was Dorothea.”
“You spoke with her?” Cara questioned.
“Uh-huh. I didn’t say much. She was crude and snarky. Some of the rudeness I understand, but there is no need for the other. We will probably never be friends, which is fine by me. I never expected us to. But we are all grown adults and should at least act like it. I said what I needed to say and hung up on her before I said something I really would’ve regretted.”
“Wow. How’s Jon dealing?”
“You know him, he apologized excessively then went into protector mode. She really is the least of our troubles. He’s on the phone with her now so we’ll see.”
“What do you mean by that?”
There was no other way to tell her than to just say it. She knew her friend would be happy for her, so it wasn’t that that worried her. What worried her was if she said it out loud to someone else, it would make it more real. She knew she wouldn’t be able to hide it forever. Running a hand through her hair Ari let a long wistful sigh.
“I’m pregnant.”
“No way!”
“I found out when I got here. After that morning in Toronto and a long list of events that followed, I put two and two together. When I checked in, I took a pregnancy test. Et voila, I’m pregnant.”
“Sweety I know you must have a ton of things going on in that head of yours, but this, this is a good thing. You know that. It means it was meant to be, after all these years. You are where you belong. It’s a blessing from Lili.”
“You’re right about one thing, my head is spinning. It was a shock that’s for sure. Then this happened, with the photos, but I thought the same thing, Lili’s way of telling me to move on.”
“Have you told Jon?”
“Of course, I told him. He was shocked at first, but he’s excited.” Ari paused for a moment. “Cara, you can’t tell anyone. Not even Jonas or Max. Do you understand? We want to keep this as quiet as possible. Especially with this latest news.”
Ari still had a hint of worry in her voice, but she knew Cara wouldn’t say a word to anyone.
“I won’t say a word. Promise. So, what happens now?”
“What do you mean? I’m still going on tour. I’ll just be a little fatter.”
“That’s three months away. Where do you go till then?” Cara knew what Ari needed to do. She was hoping her friend knew it too.
“Jon wants me to go with him.”
“Jon is right. You need to, you belong with him now more than ever.”
“If it makes you happy, I will be going back with him when we leave London so we can find a doctor. That’s as far as we’ve discussed.”
“It’s a start. Listen honey, I don’t mean to cut this short, but a customer just walked in. I love you and will talk to you in a few days.”
“Love you too. Ciao for now.”
Ari looked at the clock on the nightstand and the door that separated them. All seemed quieted over there and she didn’t want to interrupt him. If they were going to make sound check on time she needed to jump in the shower. She grabbed her stuff and headed into the en suite. Jon would come find her when he was done.
♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱
“Goddamnit, Jon, what the fuck were you even thinking?” Dorothea’s voice screeched through the phone.
“Calm down. It was bound to come out eventually.”
“Tell me you just didn’t say to calm down. I will not calm down. You’re a bastard, you know that. We had one agreement. You were not to embarrass me.” Dorothea was yelling, but Jon was not about to give in to her and yell back.
“I told you I wouldn't hide her anymore.” He calmly stated.
“You didn’t have to go straight into the paparazzi den.”
“I didn’t." He firmly stated. "Someone at the restaurant must have called them.”
“Whatever. Now what dumbass? How are you going to explain this one?” His calmness was irritating her beyond belief. How could he be so calm about this? Didn’t he see what this has done? Of course, he didn’t, he was thinking with his little head, not his big one.
“If you can’t be civil then we can talk at a later time. I have already spoken with Ken and Mr. Yetterman. We have come up with something that I think will work.”
“Is that so?” Dorothea practically sneered it and Jon could imagine the scowl on her face “and what is this little plan the king has drudged up?”
“Promise to hear me out, without interrupting.”
Dorothea huffed out a terse “Fine. Go ahead.”
“Ken feels we can minimize most of the questions if we make a statement to the press saying we have been separated for a few months, maybe more and are in the process of divorcing, amicably. As for the divorce papers, they’re already drawn up all you have to do is sign them.”
“Okay and are you going to answer any of the billion questions that are going to get thrown at our family?”
“Haven’t I always answered the questions? That won’t change.”
“What about the kids?” She asked point blank.
“We have kept them away from the kids thus far, it shouldn’t be a problem now. Have the kids even seen the news yet? Stephanie and Jesse already know, we can still keep it from the little ones until after Christmas.”
“What do you think? Of course, the older ones have seen them and so have their friends. Makes for a fun day at school, doesn’t it?”
“So, keep them home, one day won’t hurt them.”
“Sure. You have an answer for everything.”
“Whaddya want me to say? I’ve told you what we should do. Once we make a statement, things will calm down. As for their friends, they can handle them, we are not the first set of parents to get divorced.”
“You know Jon this is all easy for you. You’re not here... again.”
“Dorothea, I’m not going through this again. What’s done is done. I can have Ken draw up the statement and release it or we can wait till I get home in a few days and make it together.”
“I don’t think you want me near the press. Let Ken do it.”
“Please. You wouldn’t say a damn thing.” He knew she wouldn’t talk to the press.
“Really now.” The sureness in his voice irked her.
“Really. I know you have your panties in a twist because of what’s happened today, but that’s not enough for you to go to the press or even what you did today. There was no need for you to talk to Ariana like that. She doesn’t deserve it.”
If there was anything she despised more was how he was so quick to come to her defense. She couldn’t remember him ever being like that with her, maybe in high school.
“Are you telling me I don’t have a right to be angry, mad as hell or even hurt?”
“No, I’m not. What I’m saying is you’re better than that and what you said was uncalled for.”
“Aw, were her feelings hurt? Did she come running to tell you?” Jon heard the bitterness in her voice.
“Cut the crap. As a matter of fact, no she didn’t. She was more concerned with the photos than what you had to say.”
“Well, what a surprise. Is she worried that her image will be tarnished?”
“Is this really how you want to do this? We are all adults; can’t we find some way to be civil if nothing else to each other? She isn’t going away.”
“Funny. That’s exactly what she said.” The line went silent for a moment. “Listen Jon, I will not apologize for how I acted today and maybe in time this will be different but as of right now this is how it's going to be. Have Ken draw up the statement and send it to me so we can get this over with. As for the divorce papers, I will have my lawyer look at them as soon as possible. That is the best I can do.”
“That’s all that I ask. I will give Ken a call now. Do you need me to talk to the kids?” Jon asked.
“Nah. If they want, I will have them give you a call. Goodbye Jon.”
Dorothea hung up before he had a chance to say anything else. He gave Ken a quick call telling him it's ‘a go’ once Dorothea looked over the statement. Looking at his watch he realized the time, if he didn't jump in the shower, they would be late. He hoped Ariana had done the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment