140 - The Bitch Is Back

“Jon.”

Dorothea stood in front of them, her arms tightly folded across her chest and the papers she was holding tucked firmly under her arms. From her tone and blatant stare, Jon could tell she was angry, so he simply nodded and acknowledged her.

 

“Dorothea.”

 

“May I have a word with you?”

 

He knew exactly what she wanted to talk about. It was exactly a week ago today that she had called to inform him her plans for Romeo’s birthday party. He loved to bowl, so it was perfect. It was also a great way to spend the morning before they all headed to Philadelphia for the last few shows before a week off.  When he acknowledged that both he and Ariana would be there, well, that’s when the shit hit the fan. To say she was livid would be an understatement. So no, he was not about to rehash the ridiculous conversation. Especially not in the middle of a bowling alley at his son’s birthday party with lurking eyes.  

 

Deciding to nip her little theatrical tête-à-tête in the bud fast, he sternly replied, “Not if it has anything to do with Ari being here.”

 

“Oh, it most certainly does.”

 

“I’ve said all there is on the matter.”

 

“She doesn’t belong here.” Dorothea spat.

 

Realizing this could get ugly fast and not wanting the situation to upstage her stepson’s birthday, Ariana placed a reassuring hand on her husband's shoulder and turned to him. “Jon, why don’t….”  

 

“No! You’re not going anywhere.” Jon’s normally blue eyes were like icy fire when he turned to face his ex-wife. “I’m not doing this with you again. Ariana is my wife. Now if you’ll excuse us, we I have a birthday to get to.”

 

Dorothea opened her mouth to answer him, but quickly stopped when she heard gleeful squeals from the birthday boy himself. Turning, she watched her son running towards them and right past her and his father, who he gave a half- hearted wave to before tugging on Ariana’s hands jumping up and down. 

 

“Ari. Ari. You gotta come see this.” The little boy pulled and pulled, urging her to follow.  

 

“Okay, sweetie.” Ariana tilted her head and shrugged, then took Romeo’s cue and left her husband to deal with Frosty the Snow Bitch. Until now she had been unsure about her being there, but this, this right here, the pure joy of a little boy having her there, that was the only thing that mattered. 

 

Jon waited till they were both out of earshot, then took two steps closer to the women who stood in front of him.

 

“Don’t!” he snarled. “Ever do that again. You got it. No matter how you feel or what you like and don’t like, I am married. Where I go, Ari goes. So, get used to it.”

 

“You pompous, arrogant prick. It’s always about you, isn’t it? What you want? How you feel? Well, listen up mister, you don’t get to tell me what to do anymore and if I don’t want your home wrecker around, I don’t have to deal with it.”

 

“Fuck-you.”

 

“Nice. You kiss your two-bit tramp with that mouth?”

 

Jon had all that he could take. Their conversation went on longer than he had intended, and that last comment had broken the proverbial camel’s back, so to speak. He wasn’t about to let her get away with it either. She wasn’t the only one who could be a vindictive bitch. With a smug look on his face, he leaned in oh so close that not only could she hear him, but she could also feel his warm breath when growled into her ear.  

 

“Oh honey, I do more than kiss her with it.”

 

♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱

 

With the last twist of the knife, Jon left her standing in the middle of the bowling alley with her mouth hanging open and went to join his family and the party. Entering the room, Jake, who was reaching for a handful of Swedish fish, greeted him with a high-five before running off. Giving the room a quick scan, he noticed his ex-sisters-in-law off to one side of the room talking to some mothers who had stayed for the party. Romeo and some of his friends were already bowling, or at least attempting to, since no one had bothered to put the bumpers up for them yet.  

 

On the opposite side of the room, Stephanie and her best friend Ben were busy occupying Matt's two kids. His younger brother and Romeo were friends, so it was no surprise to see him here. At the end of table his brother and father sat chatting. His mother, God bless her, was smack dab in the middle of the room. Just like Switzerland, yapping away with Dez and a few other parents, all while trying to keep things peaceful and organized.

 

That’s when he spotted her. He had been worried she might be sitting off in some corner by herself, but she surprised him once again. She was sitting on the camel-colored leather loveseat next to Jesse in front of one of the gigantic television screens that was set up. They had an audience, too. Surrounding them were some of other older siblings that had accompanied their younger siblings and their cousins. From the high-spirited laughter and cackling, he could tell they were in the middle of some sort of game. Walking past his mother, he placed a small kiss on her cheek so he wouldn’t have to hear her later if he hadn’t and made his way to see what was going on.

 

“Whoo Hoo! Touchdown!” Ariana exclaimed.

 

“Lucky catch.”

 

“Heck no. It was a sweet pass, and you know it.”

 

“What’s going on here?”

 

“Hey Uncle Jon. Jesse’s getting his butt kicked by a girl.” 

 

“I’d watch who you call a girl, Doug. She doesn’t take lightly to it.” Jon took a seat on to the armrest and smiled back at him. “Forty-niners vs Giants. Jesse man, how could you?”

 

“Gee Dad, Cut me some slack. I’d like to see you do better.”

 

“Not. A. Chance.”

 

“Chicken.” Jesse screeched as he moved side to side like that of his player running down the field.

 

“Damn right! And I’m not afraid to admit it.” Patting her knee, Jon stood and gave her a wink, “Don’t embarrass him too much in front of his friends, we have to spend the next week with him.”

 

“Not making any promises. Now move it, you’re in my space.”

 

♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱

 

Dorothea took more than a moment to compose herself. The man infuriated her beyond belief, so much so sometimes she wanted to strangle him. One thing she wasn’t about to do was let him get the last word. Hell no! She’d planned this party. She’d raised those kids by herself all these years. Who was he to waltz in and decide he wanted to play daddy with his new trophy wife? Pregnant trophy wife, for that matter. 

 

Adjusting the hem of her designer sweater over her hips, she exhaled before stepping over the threshold and into the party room. She couldn’t recall just how long she’d been gone, but things seemed to be well underway. People dispersed around the room, doing their own thing. Which was good. Maybe they hadn’t noticed she wasn’t there. The downside to all of that was her guest got to witness Ariana with her children. She was sure her sisters would have a lot of questions for her later. Yes, they were fully aware of who Ariana was. After having spent most of their annual sister weekend away listening to their sister talk about her. It was that same weekend Dorothea decided to come clean and tell them just how long little miss roadie had been servicing her ex-husband.

 

Her ex-in laws and family had also arrived, and boy did that irk her as well. Though she and Carol had not always seen things eye to eye, she had known these people her entire life. Knowing now that they knew about their son’s relationship with Ariana didn’t make having them here any more pleasurable.

 

She let her eyes scan the room until she found Jon standing at the back of the lane waiting his turn. Smiling, she waved to family and guests as she made her way through the busy room towards him. Channeling her best death stare, she calmly strode across the room. For those that were watching, she appeared normal and calm, but a few select individuals knew this Dot wasn’t a force to be reckoned with. As she reached Jon, she cleared her throat to speak to him, but was rudely interrupted by several taps on her shoulder. Whirling around, she found herself face to face with a pair of deadly green eyes belonging to none other than — the whore. Dorothea was about to release her attack on her but was instead firmly ‘shushed’ by her.

 

Ari’s voice started out as a low, even growl. To bystanders, they seemed to have a calm, normal conversation, though nothing could be further from the truth. 

 

“This time I’ll do the talking, and you’ll just smile nicely and nod your head, understood?” Grinning falsely, Dorothea shifted her weight from one foot to the other and did just that. “See now? That wasn’t so hard, now, was it?"

 

"You have something to say, then say it!" Dorothea gritted through her fake smile. 

 

"You don’t like me. I’m good with that. You wanna call me names to make yourself feel better, go right ahead. But what I will not let you do is ruin this special day for that sweet little boy. I'll never understand why a mother would purposely go out of her way to create a spectacle for everyone to see, but that's your burden to bear.” Raising her hand, Ari gently set it on her shoulder. “So, I’ll say this nicely one last time. I'm here to stay. This family… is now mine too, and I will do whatever it takes to keep them happy. So, the next time you want to make a little scene, you best be ready, because I won't back down ever again."

Ariana didn’t give her a chance to respond. She simply smiled and turned her back towards her and watched Jon as he was about to throw the ball down the alley, backwards between his legs.