191 - Happy Birthday Baby

July 4, 2010

Red Bank, New Jersey

 

Ariana shifted slightly in her sleep to pull the blankets further over her head before tucking the corner between her leg like she always did. Officially, it was her birthday for one entire minute, and he was torn between waking her up or letting her sleep so he could continue to watch her. He’d been itching to give her her gift. His plan was to surprise her with it tonight at the party, but here, now, it was just them and it felt like the perfect time.

 

As usual, he had no clue what to get her. Lord knew she wouldn’t let him buy her jewelry, hated anything sparkly that would clash with her jeans and tees style. Clothes could work–he could even get back all the ones she stole from him. A quick call to Andie and she’d have a whole new wardrobe, but he liked his ass just where it was and a new wardrobe at this stage of her pregnancy was sure to guarantee him an ass whooping.

 

Maybe he should just let her sleep. They had a big day ahead of them. A big party filled with lots of surprises, surprises she didn’t know about. Yeah, his gift could wait. It may get his ass out of the doghouse later.

 

“Hmm.” she sighed contentedly as she snuggled further into the warmth of him. “How long have you been watching me?”

 

“Oh, you know” he tucked the fallen curl behind her ear “a minute or twelve.”

 

“What time is it?” she whispered sleepily.

 

“Birthday time, Miss Fourth of July.” he said, bringing his head down to hers, capturing her lips with his.

 

“Yay me,” she mouthed into the kiss. She was not a fan of birthdays. Never was really. They’d always reminded her of what she lost so she could be here. A constant reminder of the worst day of her life.

 

Breaking the kiss, he tried not to notice the water that pooled in her eyes that she didn’t dare shed. “I have something for you.” he smirked.  

 

“I’m really not in the mood.”

 

“Not that silly,” he flicked the tip of her nose. “I have your gift.”

 

“You know I didn't want anything.” She shifted from his embrace and sat up against the pillows.

 

Doing the same as she did, he held out his hand and waited for her to hook hers with his. “Hear me out for a second.”  

 

She nodded.  

 

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the last two days about what to get you. You know you are not the easiest person to shop for.”

 

“That’s because everything I need is right here.”

 

“It wasn’t always that way.”

 

“Jon, I don’t want to rehash the past.”

 

“Neither do I. We’ve come a long way, and I wanted to give you something to sorta represent that.”

 

Ari’s eyes shifted between him and her huge belly. “I think you did already.”

 

“Could ya just let me finish?” She didn't reply. Instead, she scrunched her nose and rolled her eyes at him. “I know how much you hate this day, but if it wasn’t for this day, there’d be no you. No, us. I’ll let you in on a little secret. From our very first doctor’s appointment when we found out you were due in July and again when you told me you were having a girl, I’ve hoped and prayed she would arrive on this day. Still do.” 

 

“Jon…” Her fingers trailed and sifted through the ends of his hair as he kissed her stomach.

 

“There’s still time, Lily bug.” he whispered to his daughter before he crawled out of their bed. She watched him pad across the room and through the room’s alcove that connected to the nursery.

 

“You know, your naked ass parading around really isn’t a fair gift. I see that every day.” When he strolled back into the room with the guitar she’d given him for Father’s Day strategically placed, she couldn't help but to tease him a little more. “Oooooh, my very own naked cowboy.” 

 

“I see some things never change. Always a little smartass.” Nudging her legs, she crisscrossed them the best she could so that he could sit. “Now, back to the important stuff. With nothing to get you, I figured the next best thing would be to write you a song.” holding up a single finger, she held back her thought. “Yeah, I know, been there, done that, but this one, well… just listen.”

 

Fumbling a little at first, he picked out the melody until he found the chord he was looking for and let his whisky voice serenade her. Effortlessly, the words slipped from his lips like he’d been singing it to her for an eternity. When in all honesty he had only finished it mere hours ago. 

 

Once the idea of writing her a song popped into his head, he knew just what the title would be. It had come from a comment she had made the other night regarding him and Johnny, and the more he thought about it, the truer it was for them as well.

 

In an empty room or a downtown bar

‘Cross the universe, there’s no place too far

Yeah, wherever you are, you and me

Thick as thieves

 

Well, it ain’t always pretty, sometimes it got rough

Could have thrown the towel in and just thrown our hands up

Seems like we've always been and always will be
Thick as thieves

Oooh… oooh… oooh….

 

In a world without faith, you're what I believe

When they’re stacking the deck,

You’re the card up my sleeve

In my hour of need, you and me

As thick as thieves

 

hmmm… hmm... hmmm

 

Now if I robbed a bank, you wouldn’t care

You’d come sit on my lap in the electric chair

And when they flipped the switch, ha, we’d just kiss

I know nothing’s gonna stop us now

You, me, us on the edge and never looking down

Oh, what’s a boy to do, it’s classic me and you

Lucky you, I say lucky me

We’re thick as thieves

Woah, ooooh ooooh, thick as thieves

Wwoah, woah, girl

 

For no other reason than he was concentrating on not fucking up, he never looked up at her until he played the last note. He knew he made the right choice of sharing it with her now when he saw her sitting there with her arms crossed over her belly, her green eyes glimmering with the tears she refused to let escape. Setting the guitar down against the nightstand, he hopped over her into his spot and back under the covers. Reaching for the light, he drew her into him and whispered against her hair. 

 

“Happy Birthday, Crash.”

♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱

 

Ari couldn’t have asked for a better birthday. Surrounded by friends and family, both old and new, and even though she asked that Jon not make a big deal, she was happy that for once he did not listen to her. One of her big surprises was that Jon had flown Carmela in from Italy so she could make her favorite dessert. Yes, there was a birthday cake, but she enjoyed her birthday zabaglione the best.  

 

They kept the rest of the party low key. Your typical summer holiday barbecue. Music playing on the speakers, kids running and playing in the pool. Brothers, both old and young, up to their usual antics. Jon and his dad manned the grilling while Carol, Dez, and Cara fussed about in the kitchen. She had tried to help, but was immediately banned and told to go sit outside and enjoy the fun. Being typical uncles, Matt, Tony, and Obie, occupied and tormented the kids, both in and out of the pool.

 

She spent time with Max, whom she realized she missed more than she thought. After telling her how generous Jon was, he wouldn’t let her talk about business, expect for telling her everything was going well. She promised that when they came to town next week, she would stop in and check on things. Maybe even spend a few days there.  

 

Jon’s shows were close enough that he could fly in and out. Nicole seemed to like that idea a lot. The only problem, two of the four kids would be with them, so she would have to clear it with them first. Hanging around an old pub versus a five-star hotel was an easy decision for her, but she realized not everyone felt that way. 

 

She had one serendipitous moment and slipped away for a private moment to the dock. Looking out into the water, she thought of Sal and Lili and how much they would have loved it here. The river was empty sans the barges for tonight's festivities, so she didn’t stay long. Jon sought her out and met her on her return to the party and asked if everything was alright. She simply kissed him and told him never better.

 

When the sun finally set, Romeo began asking when he could go set things up for the fireworks. She hadn’t seen him this excited and determined since he wanted a dog. Speaking of Meatball, that dog seems to grow by the minute. Watching him run and play with the kids had her curious about how he would be when they brought Lily home.

 

Lily — it was quite humorous watching two grown men, one being her husband, the other, said Godfather, each taking turns fussing over her belly, promising her unborn child the moon if she came into the world today. 

 

Just as Romey had promised her, the fireworks were spectacular. When all was said and done and everyone had gone home, Lily Francis proved she was as stubborn as both her parents, and did not arrive, and Ari was okay with that.