Chapter Seventy-Four

“That was delicious.”  Stephanie sat back in her chair, a hand on her very full stomach.  Joan had made the most delicious roast chicken and twice baked potatoes.  They had no sooner made it in the front door when Joan had informed them that she had made an early dinner and they were just in time.   

Joan smiled, “thank you dear.”  She started to stack the dishes and Stephanie stopped her.  “You invited me into your home and cooked us wonderful meal.  The least we can do is take care of the dishes.”  She gave Richie a pointed look.  “Isn’t that right?”  He looked like he was about to succumb to the long drive and his mother’s delicious home cooking and fall asleep where he was sitting.  She gave him a light nudge on the shoulder.

Richie looked up from his food-induced stupor.  “Huh, what?”  Blinking away the fog of a long drive and a good meal, he noticed the stack of dirty dishes.  He looked up and got her message. He added his plate to the pile, stood and picked up the stack of dinnerware.  “Right, Sweetheart.  You just sit there and finish your lemonade Ma.  We got this.”

Stephanie rinsed the dishes and Richie loaded them into the dishwasher.  “Your mother is wonderful.  She handed him another plate.  “She reminds me of my own and my grandma, all rolled into one.” 

Richie smiled and his dimple winked at her.  “Yeah, she’s a keeper all right.”  He dried his hands on a towel.  “Is there more out there?”  The day had been warm and the sun was still shining so Joan had insisted that they eat in the three season room. 

“A few things I think, and we need some containers to put the leftovers in.”

Joan wandered in with her empty glass in one hand, two other dirty ones in her other hand.  She handed over the glassware and headed across the kitchen to the pantry.  “I’ve got a million containers.  Here.”  She handed Richie a stack with lids.  “That ought to do it.”

“So Stephanie,” Joan said as she started the hot water in the sink and added a squirt of soap “Richie tells me you’re not from California, but from New York.  How did you end up out on the other side of the country?”  She slid a dirty pot into the hot water and wiped down the counters and stove while she waited for an answer.

Stephanie looked to Richie.  She had wondered just how much he had told his mother about her.  Apparently, not as much as she thought.  She turned to Joan, “I lost my husband and son two years ago.  I needed a change of scenery and I ended up in California.”  She watched Joan’s face, afraid she would find pity there.  She couldn’t have been more wrong.  Sympathy colored the older woman’s features and her voice when she spoke.

“You poor dear.”  She shook her head sadly, understanding all too well how hard it is to lose the ones you love.  “I’m sorry for your loss, but California is an awful long way to go for a change of scenery.” 

Stephanie’s smile was a little sad when it came.  “I know, but it doesn’t snow out there.  That was a big draw.  So was the job.” 

They continued to chat while they put the kitchen back in order.  Joan urged them back out to the three season room, the sun had shifted, the shadows grew longer and the view of the Manasquan river was spectacular. 

Stephanie ran a hand up and down her arms, the air was starting to get a little chilly.  She stood.  ”Excuse me for just a minute?”

Richie grabbed her hand as she started past him.  “Where’re you going?”

“Just to get my sweatshirt.  I’m a little chilly.”

Joan waited until Stephanie was out of earshot.  “I like her.  She seems very nice.”  She pondered that thought while she waited for Richie to answer.  She had liked Heather too, in the beginning before she hurt her boy.  Denise, well, she was glad Richie had had someone to lean on when Adam was in his last days.  But this new girl, there was something about her that seemed more real than either Heather or Denise ever had.  Maybe it was the vulnerability she didn’t hide when she mentioned her late husband and son.  Maybe it was the fact that she wasn’t from California and hadn’t yet become jaded to the world.  Maybe it was just because she was brunette and seemed to be the most sincere female Richie had ever brought home.  She looked to her son.  Whatever it was, he was happy again and that was really the only thing that mattered.

Richie stretched out his legs, “she is, Ma.  She’s the best.”  He meant that.  She had become the calm center in the storm that could be his life some days. 

“You be careful with her though.  She’s been through a lot.”  The poor dear she thought again.  Losing her husband and her child.  However does one survive that?

He nodded his understanding.  “I know Ma, I know.”  He knew he had found someone special and he wasn’t about to do anything to fuck it up.  At the sound of Stephanie’s footsteps, he quickly changed the subject.

“So, Ma, brunch tomorrow okay with you?”  When he was home, he always took his mother out for brunch on Mother’s Day.  And he always sent her flowers.  He had ordered the flowers before they left California.  Now, he needed to take care of brunch.

Stephanie stepped back into the room and sat down on the loveseat next to Richie and looked back and forth between her man and his mother.  “Brunch tomorrow where?”

Joan smiled as Stephanie got comfortable and Richie took her hand in his.  She wondered if they knew what a sweet picture they made together.  “I made a reservation at Avenue in Long Branch.  I hope that’s all right.”

“That sounds good” Richie replied.

They chatted awhile longer before Joan excused herself.  “My show is coming on shortly, you’re welcome to join me.” 

Stephanie and Richie watched his mother disappear into the house.  Stephanie stood.  “Do you want to go watch television?”

He stood and took her hand, “why don’t we go for a walk instead?”  Feeling the need to stretch his legs and wanting to get her alone for more than a quick minute, he tugged her toward the sliding door that led outside.  Together they ambled down the wooden steps and toward the path that would lead them to the river’s edge. 

The water was placid as they walked, lapping quietly along the shoreline.  The asphalt path was curiously empty of any other people, on foot or on bicycle.  The sun started its decent and was putting on a show of reds and purples for them.  It was almost idyllic.  Richie slipped his arm around her shoulder, “pretty night for a riverside stroll.”

“Mmm hmmm” she nodded and slid her arm around his waist, slipping her fingertips into his back pocket.

He urged her to a stop, turning to face her.  The waning sun gilded her skin and teased the red highlights in her hair.  With gentle fingers he brushed her hair back from her face and trailed those fingertips down her arm.  “Tomorrow’s going to be a hard day for you.” 

She cocked her head to one side. It hadn’t been a question, just a simple statement and his ever present understanding.  “I’ll be okay.”

He slipped a hand into the front pocket of his jeans.  “I don’t want to add to the emotional rollercoaster tomorrow, so here.”  He handed her the small cream colored box.  “Happy Mother’s Day.”

She looked at the box he was holding out and then up to his face.  “But, I’m not-” she started and he stopped her.

“Yes, you are.”  He picked up her right hand and settled the box in her palm.  “You’ll always be Ben’s mother, whether he’s here or not.”

She looked down at her hand, blinking furiously to keep the tears at bay.  With her left hand she turned the small box over, Pandora was embossed in gold on the box.  She unfolded the end and slipped the cotton batting out.  Carefully unwrapping the soft white packaging, the small silver charm landed in her palm.  Without looking at him, she set the box and cotton in Richie’s hand.   Picking up the charm she held it up to better see it.  It was angel wings with a little, creamy white pearl dangling from it. 

Richie stuffed the box and cotton in his pocket and reached out for her left wrist.  “It’s the Guardian Angel, Sweetheart.”  He got her bracelet open and eased it from around her wrist.  Dipping his head he could see the sheen of tears in her eyes.  “Hey.”  He drew her to him, holding her close.  “You know he, they, are both watching over you now, right?”

She nodded her head against his chest.  He was the most thoughtful man, ever.

“Now, you’ll never forget.”  He kissed the top of her head and held her until she was steady again.

Stepping back she sniffed back the tears and threaded the charm onto her bracelet and let him fasten it back around her wrist.  “Thank you.”  She leaned up and pressed her lips to his.  “I didn’t think… I was sure…” she stopped and looked at him.  “Just thank you.  You never cease to amaze me, Rich.” 

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders once more, he turned them and headed back to his mother’s house.  “I hope I never do, Sweetheart.”

She slipped her arm around his waist.  “Remember what I said this morning about no sex, oral or otherwise?”

“I seem to recall you saying something like that.”

 

She slid her fingers into his back pocket again.  “I think I might have just changed my mind.”

He grinned and made a show of checking his watch.  “Would you look at that, it’s bedtime already.”

Chapter Seventy-Three

“Maybe I should drive” Stephanie said as she watched Richie adjust the seat and the rearview mirror.

“Why?  You did all the driving around for the last few days.”  He buckled his seatbelt.  “And I like to drive.  Don’t worry.  I’ve been doing it a long time.”  He smiled cheekily at her.  “I’m nearly an expert.”

She set her purse on the floor between her feet.  “I’m not worried you’re going to get us into an accident, just that you might get us lost.  You don’t exactly know where we’re going.”  They had decided to drive from New York to New Jersey and Richie wanted to do the driving.

He started the car and turned to look at her.  “That hurts, Sweetheart.”  Not that she didn’t have a point, but still, it wounded his pride more than a little.  “Besides, we have the GPS and” he pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket “this.” 

She took the paper from his hands while he backed out of their parking spot.  “Where did you get this?”  It was printed directions from her parents’ house to his mother’s.

“Your brother printed it for me last night.”  He pulled into traffic and headed toward the gas station across from the hotel.  “Now you can stop worrying that I’m going to get us lost.”  He stuck his tongue out at her playfully.

“You stick that out, you’d better be prepared to use it” she muttered while she fiddled with the GPS.

He gave her a sidelong leer, “what was that?”

Her mouth quirked up in a smile and she picked up his hand that was resting on the console between them.  “Pretty sure you heard me” she replied as she let the tip of her tongue lightly graze a fingertip.

He turned his hand and cradled her chin in his palm.  “I’ll show you just how well I can use my tongue later, Sweetheart.”

Her pulse quickened at his not-so-idle threat.  “I’d hold you to that, but I’m not having sex with you in your mother’s house, oral or otherwise.”

He pulled into the gas station, alongside one of the pumps and turned the car off.  “Why the hell not?”

She watched as he put the window down and struggled to contain her smirk.  “For the same reason we didn’t stay with my parents.”  No way was she having sex in the same house with a parent running loose.  No telling what could or would be heard or, god forbid, seen.  So nope, wasn’t going to happen.  Sorry.  She watched him, knowing what he was waiting for and nearly let her laugh loose. Taking a deep breath she fought for composure.  “What exactly are you waiting for?”

He frowned as he kept watch for someone to come and pump the gas for him.  “Is anyone working here today?”

She couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer.  “Richie.”

He turned to her.  “What is so funny?”

“Look around.”  She continued to chuckle while he did.  “Notice anything?”

He looked again, understanding starting to dawn on him.  He shook his head and smiled at his own stupidity.  Only in New Jersey is it against the law to pump your own gas.  Nearly everywhere else, it was self-serve.

“”You have to pump your own gas here in New York, Rockstar.”  She laughed again, unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbed her purse and stepped out of the car.  She beat him to the pump by a step.

He covered her hand with his, “I got this.  Why don’t you go in and get us a couple of bottles of water?”  He opened the gas tank, unscrewed the cap and proceeded to fill the tank.

She leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth.  “Sure.  You want anything else?”  When he shook his head she turned and headed into the mini mart.

He was already in the car waiting for her when she got back.  “All set?”  He was itching to get on the road already.  Three hundred miles was no short distance to travel in a car.  He glanced down at the printed directions.  Six hours would get them to his mother’s around mid-afternoon.

She buckled up, put the bottles of water in the cup holders between them.  “Let’s do this.”

~

Shifting in her seat, Stephanie watched the scenery go by out the window, watching for the exit she knew was coming up soon.  “Take the next exit, please?”

“Why?”  Richie glanced up to the rearview mirror, flipped the blinker on and changed lanes.

Stephanie shifted again.  “Bathroom break.”  She’d had juice and tea with breakfast and had downed most of her bottle of water.  Her bladder was protesting its fullness.  Besides, Clarks Summit was the halfway mark and it was as good a place as any to stop and stretch their legs.  And, she leaned over to check the gas gauge.  They could top off the tank too.

When she mentioned the bathroom, Richie realized she wasn’t the only one in need of a stop.  “Okay, tell me where I’m going.”

She directed him off the exit and around into town, pulling into the Sunoco station on the corner.  She had stopped at this particular gas station more than once on a trip through Pennsylvania.  Unbuckling her seatbelt, she stepped from the car with a slight groan and a stretch.  The Nissan Maxima was comfortable enough to ride in, but it was still a car and they had another three hours or so to go.  It felt good to stretch.  It would feel even better to pee. 

Taking care of her bladder, Stephanie washed her hands and stepped out of the bathroom and right into Richie’s arms.  She smiled up at him, “well, fancy meeting you here.” 

He chuckled and pressed a smiling kiss on her lips.  “I think we’ve done this once before” he said remembering the night she walked out of another bathroom and into his arms.  A night that had changed everything.  For the both of them.

Wrapping her arms around him, she gave him a long, tight squeeze telling him that she remembered.  Stepping back she met his eyes and, just like that night, everything around them ceased to exist.  It was just the two of them in standing in the minimart of the small town gas station.

“Excuse me.”

Nudged by a stranger, Stephanie stumbled into Richie, and the moment was lost. 

He righted her, and held on to make sure she had her balance.  “You all right?”

She smiled and nodded.  “Yeah.  I’m gonna get another bottle of water.  Meet you outside?”

He patted her on the ass as she moved by him and the bathroom door opened.  “Two minutes sweetheart.”

~

Back on the road, Stephanie fiddled with the radio. “You don’t mind if I change the station do you?”

He shook his head, “go ahead.”  It didn’t really matter to him what they listened to.  Music was music to him.  Except for that rap shit.  He just did not get it.

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel when she stopped on a channel and the voice of Ratt’s lead singer, Stephen Pearcy, filled the car.

Out on the streets, that's where we'll meet
You make the night, I always cross the line
Tightened our belts, abuse ourselves
Get in our way, we'll put you on your shelf
Another day, some other way
We're gonna go, but then we'll see you again
I've had enough, we've had enough
Cold in vain, she said

I knew right from the beginning
That you would end up winnin'
I knew right from the start
You'd put an arrow through my heart

Round and round
With love we'll find a way just give it time
Round and round
What comes around goes around
I'll tell you why

He couldn’t help himself, he started singing along.  He glanced over at his passenger. She was singing too, not so he could hear her, but he could see her mouth moving.  “What channel is this?”

“Hairnation” she replied.  “Best channel on satellite/xm if you ask me.”

The next song started and he cringed, immediately recognizing the opening guitar lick.  “Can we change this one?”

She shook her head and smiled widely, “not a chance.  This is one of my favorites!”

He tried to block it out, not to sing along, but, as it was one of theirs, it was nearly impossible.  Thirty years of songs were embedded in his brain, no matter how hard he tried to erase 7800° Fahrenheit from his memory.

After the smoke clears
When it's down to you and I
When the sun appears
And there's nothing left but goodbyes
We'll just turn and walk away
How could we let it end like this
Just turn and walk away
Should we seal it with a kiss

It's too late
Now you're out and on the run
It's too late
Held up in love without a gun

Silent night
We hold up our candle light
Silent night
The night our love died
No words to say
And we're both too tired to fight
Just hold me close and don't let go...

The song finished and another one started.   Richie reached out and adjusted the volume before speaking.  “All the songs we’ve written and that one is your favorite?!”  He shook his head in disbelief.

“No” she corrected him.  “I said it was one of my favorites.  I have too many to pick just one.”

He checked his mirrors and changed lanes in anticipation of their exit coming up.  “You really don’t have a favorite?”

“Nope” she said and leveled her gaze at him.  “Do you?”

He thought for a minute.  “Are we talking just favorite song in general, or favorite of the band’s or of my own?”

“All of the above.”

~

The three hours passed in a blur while they listened to the radio and talked.  By the time they got into New Jersey and were on the Garden State Parkway Stephanie had laid her head back against her seat and drifted off. 

It wouldn’t be long now.

Richie slowed for the traffic and reached over, stroking her cheek lightly with a long strong finger.  Her skin was so soft and she was so beautiful.  He was sure his mother was going to love her as much as he did. 

His hand drifted down to where hers lay on her lap.  He laced their fingers together and was surprised when she squeezed his hand lightly.  “I thought you were sleeping.”

She blinked her eyes open slowly.  She had felt him touching her and she had wanted to savor it.  “Drifting in and out really.”  She rolled her head to look out the window.  “We’re nearly there, aren’t we?”

He maneuvered the car into the right lane and exited the Parkway.  “Ten minutes out, Sweetheart.”

Keeping their hands entwined, she straightened in her seat and flipped down the visor to check the mirror.  She ran the fingers of her free hand through her hair and reached down for her purse.  She popped a breath mint and found her lipstick. 

It had been a while since he had driven to his mother’s, but he recognized all the landmarks.  Another jug handle, a right at the next light and he was pulling into the driveway of a modest two story home.

He turned off the car and looked up at the house.  The house he had bought for his parents when the band had made it big.  He still owned their old home in Woodbridge, but he had wanted to his parents to have a nicer place and when he could afford it, he bought it for them to thank them for always being there, always supporting him, no matter what.

Untangling his hand from hers, he opened his door and with a backwards look at Stephanie he stepped out.  “Come on, Sweetheart.  Ma’s waiting.”

Chapter Seventy-Two

Pulling up to her parents’ house, Stephanie parked behind her brother’s car and shut the car off.  Her sister wasn’t there yet but that didn’t surprise her.  Her family always joked that Jess would be late for her own funeral.  The woman was never on time for anything.  It was just who she was.

Stephanie shut the car off and pushed her door open, pausing to look over at Richie.  They had had a good day.  After their stop at the cemetery she had taken him to the Highland Diner where they fueled up before heading to their first stop on the tour.  She rested her hand on her stomach.  She was still full from the huge breakfast she had eaten.  Then she had taken him to Highland Park. 

There was nothing quite like western New York in the springtime. Especially in her little corner of the world.  For ten days each May, starting right around Mother’s Day, they had a festival to celebrate their most famous flower.  The park boasted 1200 lilac shrubs in 500 varieties over its 150 acres.  Not to mention the Japanese Maples, 35 varieties of magnolias, a pansy bed that was home to 10,000 plants, a rock garden, more varieties of azaleas than she could name.  

There was also a Vietnam Veterans Memorial, an Aids Garden of Remembrance, the reservoir and the Conservatory which, along with the Lilac arches, could be rented for weddings.  It was an amazing park and when everything was in full bloom, the scent was beyond intoxicating.  She loved the part of the park that had all the flowers.  The other part, during the Lilac Festival anyway, was all the food, arts and crafts and music.  The music was mostly local bands, but every now and again they managed to get at least one bigger-named act.  There had only been a couple of local acts there earlier today, but over the weekend she was sure there would be someone more well known.

She pushed herself from the car and shut the door.  She and Richie had shared a pretzel while they wandered through the park.  She had pointed out different things here and there for him and he took pictures along the way, sending a few to his mother.  Every now and then she would stop to smell the flowers and he would tease her, because didn’t they all smell the same?  They had taken pictures of each other and had cajoled one passerby to snap a picture of the two of them.  It had been fun.

Then she had taken him down to Ontario Beach Park and introduced him to the deliciousness that was an Abbott’s Frozen Custard.  Nothing else quite like it in her opinion.  They had shared a chocolate cone with mint sprinkles and walked the sad excuse for a board walk along the shores of Lake Ontario.  She had him walk out on the pier that separated the Genesee River from the lake and down to the lighthouse and back as well.  It wasn’t the Pacific Ocean or the Santa Monica Pier, or even the Jersey Shore, but it was the beach and seaside she had grown up on.

Her only disappointment of the day was that the carousel down at the beach hadn’t been open yet.  She frowned.  It wouldn’t be open until Memorial Day weekend.  Even at 42 years of age she still loved that particular carousel.  It was built in 1905 and still remained in the same place to this day.  It was the only menagerie style carousel in the area that she knew of.

Pulling herself from her reverie she glanced to the front door to see her little niece Bryana with her face pressed to the glass and a huge smile on her little toddler face.  She waved and smiled back and looked up to find Richie standing in front of her. 

“You were a million miles away Sweetheart. Everything all right?”

She nodded and took his hand, starting toward the front door.  “I was just thinking about what a nice day it was today.  I had a really great time showing you around today.”  And she had, too.  The one thing that had surprised her though was the fact that no one seemed to recognize him today.  It had been nice to be able to be out and about and not have to worry about who might be taking a picture or where it might end up.  She opened the front door and they stepped inside.  The girls came running and her brother and sister-in-law hung back, a little uncertain about the man standing next to her.  Stephanie knelt down to hug her nieces.  Here is where the recognition would come and the looks of awe would happen.  But she knew that whatever pictures might get taken here tonight, none of them would end up in a grocery store rag somewhere.

She hugged the girls tight and got good squeezes in return.  “Oh my gosh, you guys are getting way too big for me.” 

Little B smacked a kiss on her cheek.  “I’m 3 now Auntie Steph.  I’m a big girl.”

Stephanie picked her up and, with Richie’s hand at her elbow, stood with the little girl in her arms.  “That’s right, you had a birthday last month.  Did you get the presents I sent?”

The pretty little girl with the dark curls and big blue eyes nodded her head and leaned back, “I wearing the dress!” 

Stephanie looked down at the little purple shirt dress with Tinkerbell on the front of it.  “Well, so you are.  I’m glad you like it.”

She nodded her head and wriggled to get down.  “Dolls too” she yammered as she ran back toward the family room. 

Stephanie wrapped her arm older niece Serina.  She was eight now and getting so tall.  “Hi sweetie.  If you get any taller you’ll pass me right by.”

The shy girl with the dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes smiled.  “No I won’t.”

Stephanie nodded, “one day you will.  How was your birthday?  Did you get your gifts too?”  Her brother’s family all had April birthdays.

Serina nodded, “I did. Mommy’s going to take me shopping so I can use the gift card and I made a bunch of designs with the fashion plates.”  She hugged her aunt again and raised wary eyes to the man standing behind her.  “Who is that?”

Stephanie reached back and took Richie’s hand with one of hers and Serina’s in the other and walked toward the kitchen where her brother and sister-in-law were standing.  She looked down at Serina, “this is my” she looked up at Richie and then back at the girl, “boyfriend, Richie.”

Serina looked up at him thoughtfully for a long moment.  When he smiled at her, she smiled back. “Hi.”  The commotion at the front door drew her attention had her scurrying around through living room and squealing, “Marissa’s here!”

Stephanie smile at Richie, “that was Serina.  She’s 8 and easily distracted.”  She turned to her brother, “this is my brother Chris and my sister-in-law Marie.”

Chris shook Richie’s hand, “hey man, nice to meet you.”

Marie on the other hand, didn’t move, didn’t say a word.  She just stood there, star struck, until Chris nudged her.  She blinked, turned a very unflattering shade of red and laughed.  “Hi.  I’m Marie.  It’s nice to meet you.”

Just then Jess and Frank and the kids made their way from the front door to the kitchen.  “Hi” Jess sing-songed.  She set her things down and her mother took the bottle of wine she offered.  “Sorry we’re late.”  She turned and wrapped Stephanie up in a hug.  “Missed you.”  Easing back she smiled, “now, introduce me to your man.”

Stephanie made the rest of the introductions.   Jess wasn’t quite as star struck as Marie had been.

“Hi, I’m Jess.”  She shook Richie’s hand.  “It’s nice to meet you.”  She leaned in and pecked his cheek and leaned up to whisper in his ear “you’d better be taking good care of her out there.”  She stepped back and he nodded his head. 

“No worries there darlin’.”  He had a good thing going with Stephanie and he wasn’t about to do anything to screw it up.

She smiled.  “Good.”  She cocked her head and looked at him, a wicked grin spreading across her face.  “Can we get tickets to the next show you do around here?”

Stephanie rolled her eyes and shook her head.  Leave it to Jess to throw that out there.  “Jess?!”

Richie just laughed, he liked this Jess.  “I’m sure that can be arranged.”

Introductions were finished, drinks were poured and the group each went in different directions, the men going outside to grill the chicken for dinner, the girls settling in the sun room to chat. 

“Oh my God,” Marie said in between sips of wine.  “I can’t believe you’re really dating Richie Sambora.”

Stephanie watched out the windows as the man in question tossed a football with her brother, brother-in-law and the kids.  “You know Marie, sometimes I can’t believe it either.”

 

 

 

If you're interested, here are links to some of the sights described in this chapter:

 

Highland Diner

Highland Park - there's a link on the left for the Lilac Festival

Ontario Beach Park - scroll about halfway down and you'll see the carousel

Abbott's Frozen Custard