Jon arrived yesterday morning baring more news she wasn’t prepared for. Ariana was pregnant. Boy, he didn’t waste any time. The ink on the damn divorce papers wasn’t even dry, and he dropped this on her. How could he? Divorce, girlfriend and baby all in the matter of three months? What else could possibly happen? They went from being the poster couple for marriage longevity in the rock-n-roll business, to this week's page six news.
It was bad enough they told the kids about the divorce before Christmas. Now he wanted them to know about Ariana and the baby. She had put her foot down on that one real quick. And of course, there was an argument that followed. When didn’t they argue these days? How much did he think they could take in at once, let alone process it all? Steph and Jesse seemed to handle it okay, but they were older, they understood more.
Two more days, that’s all she asked him. To give them a somewhat happy Christmas. Then he could tell them about Ariana but not the baby. It is only a matter of time before she starts showing and the entire world would know. She would like to wait till then to tell them.
Glancing up from her book, she saw the two wrestling for the ball. Actually, Jake was sitting on top of Romeo, trying to pull the ball from his hands.
“Jacob Hurley! Get off your brother now.”
“But Mom...”
“No buts, now....” Dorothea's words trailed off. She was distracted by what she heard coming from the television that was playing in the background. A local news reporter was showing pictures of Jon in a local jewelry store sometime today, but he was speaking about Ariana’s recent stay in the hospital. Speculating about her being in an accident to her being pregnant. Reaching for the remote, Dorothea lowered the volume and called to her daughter.
“Steph, would you take the boys inside and get them something to eat?”
“Really, mom?” The girl removed one of her earbuds.
“Please!” Dorothea’s plea was a desperate one.
“Fine!” Stephanie huffed. “Jake, Romeo, who wants ice cream?”
Stephanie shot her mother an annoyed glance. If she was going to interrupt her vacation by making her babysit those two little monsters, then she would not make it any easier on her mother. The boys dropped what they were doing and rushed towards their sister, shouting me... me... me. By the time they reached her, the television hosted a full-size photo of Jon and Ariana outside the London restaurant a few months back and the reporter was back to talking about Jon’s new girlfriend.
“Look Mommy, Daddy’s on tee vee hugging and kissing a pretty lady.” Romeo said innocently.
“No wonder why they're getting a divorce.” Jake mumbled.
His snide remark didn’t go unnoticed by Dorothea, who slumped her shoulders and buried her face in the palms of her hands. Blowing out a very long, exasperated breath, she simply spoke her daughter’s name.
“Stephanie Rose! Please.”
Hearing the deflated tone in her mother’s voice, Stephanie tried to hurry her brothers along the best she knew how.
“First one to the kitchen gets two scoops.”
Romeo was the first to jolt running and shouting at his brother to catch me if you can, but Jake didn’t bite, he just stood and watched the screen. When Steph gently put her hand to his shoulder to move him along, he defiantly shrugged her off, telling her to leave him alone.
The segment jumped back into the photo of St. Luc’s Hospital, and Dorothea quickly reached for the remote to shut it off. When Jake turned and looked at her, she could see the sadness in his blue eyes.
“Come.” She patted the empty chair next to her. “Sit down, Jake and we can talk.”
“Forget it. I’m outta here.” he snapped before running toward the back of the boat.
She wasn’t worried about where he could go, so she just let him be. Much to her liking, Jake was just like his father and she knew he just needed to be alone for a bit to process what he had just heard and seen. When he was ready to talk, he would come and find her. Hopefully, it will be before Jon gets back.
♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱
They spent the morning enjoying some much-needed father and son time. Starting with a five-mile run along the beach, just as the sun began to rise. Then it was off to a snorkeling lesson, which was fun, but after an hour of looking at fish, they both had had enough. Jesse had pointed out a little hole in the wall restaurant during their run along the beach, so they grabbed a bite to eat before heading off to town to shop for some last-minute Christmas gifts they both needed.
Jon listened as Jesse monopolized most of the conversation, which was fine with him. It was a pleasant change to sit back and listen to his son talk about what he thought was the be-all-and-end-all problems of a fourteen-year-old. It wasn’t until they stopped in one of the local jewelry stores that the genuine conversation started. While Jon looked from one case to another for something for Ariana, he eyed his son, checking out the promise rings. Casually making his way over to where he stood, Jon stepped alongside of his son and peered over his shoulder.
“Whatcha lookin’ at?” he simply asked.
“Startled, Jesse fumbled at his words. “Oh. Um. Nothing.”
“Them there...” Jon pointed to the rings inside the case. “ain’t nothing, son.”
“It’s just there’s this girl.” The young boy's face turned pink from blushing. “Forget it.”
He started to move away from the case, but his father caught his arm. “Uh-huh. Spill it.”
“Remember that girl I wanted to ask to the party?”
“Yeah. The one I told you not to yet?”
“Well, I asked her anyway. Then plans changed, and we had to leave to come here and I couldn’t take her. I wanted to get her something. Kinda, I’m sorry I bailed on you.”
“I see. Those are pretty pricey bailing gifts. Are you more than friends with... does she have a name?”
“Laney. And yes, the party was gonna be our first official date.” The use of air quotes around official had Jon fighting back a laugh.
“So, this is a dual gift?” Jon asked.
“I guess you can say that.”
“Wanna know what your old man thinks?”
“Sure.”
“I think those rings are a bit much for...” Jon held up his air quote fingers. “I'm sorry I missed our first date. I would go with something a little less committal and more along the lines of appreciation with a touch of I think you’re neat.”
“Really, Dad? Neat? Who says that word anymore?” Jesse nodded his head in disbelief at his father. Running his hand along the glass encasements, Jesse continued to question his father as he moved around the store.
“So, what did you get Ariana?”
“A cross, so far, but I wanted to pick up a little something else.”
Jon answered as he pointed to something from the case he stood in front of. A middle-aged man approached the counter to assist him. Retrieving the item, the man handed Jon the emerald cut ruby ring.
“Mengah! That’s not little, Dad.” Jesse peered over his father’s shoulder.
“Too much?” Jon asked.
“You tell me. I haven’t met her yet. Is it something she would wear?”
“Not in a million years.” With a smile and a nod, Jon handed the ring back to the gentleman and started for the door.
Stepping out into the warm, sunny day, the two headed back to the dock where the dinghy waited. Jesse found it strange that his dad had stopped to look at one of the local street vendors' tables before moving on.
Climbing into the small vessel that would take them back to the yacht, Jesse couldn’t get over the uneasy feeling he had since they left the store. He was debating just how to or if he should even broach the subject with his father.
With the mid-afternoon sun glaring down upon them, Jesse looked across the boat to his father and, like the warm wind blowing in their faces, he threw caution at it and shouted over the sound of the boat's roaring motor
“Dad, is Ariana having a baby?"
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