Chapter 22

Jon was thinking, Thanksgiving will be the first real holiday, since Dorothea’s death.  Taking the kids to the Hamptons house, just might be what they needed. His mom might kill him, but it just might be worth it.

“I think the kids and I might like that for a change.  I’ll ask them in the next few days and let you know.”  Jon smiled to himself, he would make sure, and the family would start a new tradition.

“Good,” Colleen got up from her desk and went into the bedroom. 

“I was wondering,” Jon shifted on the bed, here he was feeling like a horny teenager again.  “What’s on your schedule for homecoming?  I got a letter about chaperoning the dance, and I was checking to see if you would be my date?”  See, that wasn’t so hard.

“I’m the one who made sure you got the letter.”  Colleen laughed.  “I would be happy to be your date.” 

Jon laughed, he forgot, she had said she was on the homecoming committee. He never went to his prom or high school dances, he was working playing in bars, with anyone who would let him sit in.  This was going to be his first time attending a school dance.  Do they still get corsages, damn I’ll have to ask Jake.

“Then it’s a date.”  He reached over and grabbed his laptop and brought up his calendar and added the homecoming dance to his already over jammed calendar.

They talked a little longer, and made plans to go to dinner. Hanging up Jon went in search of Jake.

The Homecoming game for Poly Prep was becoming a family affair. Jesse and Stephanie were coming in to help out Colleen on Saturday, for the game. Jon spent the time between the night they made plans for the dance, taking to Stephanie and Jesse.  He made arrangements with Stephanie, just in case things went the way he hoped it would go. Jon had arranged for a car to pick Colleen up, from home, and take her to the school.  She had to be there early, to help set up, and Jon had told her that he would make sure she got home.

Jon walked into the auditorium that had been transformed into a Walk in Paris.  The art students had turned the room into an outdoor Paris café, with a silhouette of the Eiffel Tower, set up for photos.  The music, was anything but Parisian. 

“Not like the Paris you’ve been to?”  Colleen asked as she found Jon walking around.  She had worried over what to wear, most of the teachers went all out, dressed in their Sunday best.  Sunday best to her, was well worn pajama bottoms, topped by a faded college tee shirt she had found in a Goodwill bin.  That was where she found the fifties style dress, she had cleaned and wore tonight.

Jon turned, she was beautiful.  It was the first time, he had seen her all dressed up.  Most of the time, she was dressed more casual.

“No, it’s a little flatter.”  Jon laughed.  “Smells better, that’s for sure.”

Colleen joined in his laughter.

Soon the dance started.  Jon and some of the other fathers, did a sweep of the parking lot, then walked the halls.  He and Colleen actually danced during the chaperone dance. We, maybe dance wasn’t what Jon did, more of a sway and rotate in a circle. They even had their picture taken in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Once the dance was over, and Jon made sure the boys went home with Stephanie, he helped Colleen and the others clean up.

It was about one in the morning, when the driver pulled up to Colleen’s home.  Jon got out, told the driver he would call.  Taking the bouquet of roses from the driver, he turned as the driver pulled away and walked Colleen to the door.

Chapter 21

Jon walked in on the discussion at hand a little stunned “How do you know Colleen’s dad?”  Jon looked at his dad, like he was crazy.

“I didn’t know you knew my dad?”  Colleen was just as shocked as Jon and Mrs. Bongiovi are.

“I met him at the club, where we were member for years.  He loves his beer and golf.” Mr. Bongiovi put the left over in the fridge and turned to look at the three shocked faces.  “What, I wasn’t sure my golf partner, was the same as Colleen dad.”

“You could at least have told me.”  Mrs. Bongiovi told her husband.

Mr. Bongiovi laughed.

“This isn’t funny John.”  Mrs. Bongiovi said, sounding like a spoiled child, who had her favorite toy taken from her.  If she had stomped her foot, the image would suit her mood.

“I called Cal from the kitchen, and I asked him, if his daughter was a teacher at Poly Prep.  Until then, I wasn’t sure.”  He stopped laughing at the stink eye, he got from his wife.  Living with his wife was going to be rough tonight.

Carol Bongiovi made one of her dramatic exits, leaving father and son staring wide eyed.

“I’m sorry Colleen, I don’t know what is going on with my mom.”  Jon leaned on the counter watching his mother’s exit.

Mr. Bongiovi just shook his head.  He knew when Jon, had told his mother about Colleen coming to lunch, her mother bear attitude would come out.  Every woman was a gold digger, in his wife’s eyes. 

                                 

Since Mr. Bongiovi felt he was the cause of this last melt down, of his wife, he would have to go fix it.

“It was nice meeting Cal’s little girl.”  Mr. Bongiovi said as he gave Colleen a hug and headed past Jon to leave the kitchen.

“It was nice to meet you Mr. Bongiovi.”  Colleen said with a smile as she folded the kitchen towel and placing it on the counter.

Mr. Bongiovi stopped on the way out of the kitchen, and turned to Colleen.

“Call me Mr. B Colleen, that’s what my friends call me.”  He smiled when she said she would. 

“She’s a keeper.”  Mr. B said as he passed Jon as he left the kitchen.

Jon nodded, his dad was right, she was a keeper.

Colleen was ready to leave, way before Jon was.  Not knowing what Mr. Bongiovi said to his wife, but not long after Jon and Colleen joined the family out on the porch, Mrs. Bongiovi used a headache to leave the family to wine and conversation.

The ride back to Colleen’s home was quiet, the girls seemed to understand that Miss O didn’t want to talk about what happened at lunch.  That night Jon called once they got settled. The twins were settled in with a movie and a bowl of popcorn, Colleen was prepping for tomorrow’s class when her cell rang.

“Hey, you just getting home?”  Colleen asked.  When she and the girls were leaving, Jon was still rounding up his kids to leave.

“Yeah, you’d thought that the older ones could remember where they put their keys, whereas the younger ones couldn’t find their game systems.”  Jon said as he leaned back in his office chair.

“See that’s where the twins were so easy to get to the car, they came empty handed.”  Colleen laughed.

Jon joined her in her laughter.  He could hear the girls in the background.

“Hey you wouldn’t let us bring ours.”  The twins yelled from the living room.

“Listen, I’m sorry about my mom. She’s,” Jon stopped, what could he say?  She hated Dorothea, she was going to ruin his career. She would lose him fans, no woman wanted their hot rock star to be married. 

“Protective of you?”  Colleen finished for him.  “I could tell, she doesn’t like me.”

“She was like that when Dorothea and I got back together, I guess protective is a good definition of my mom.”  Jon wasn’t surprised that, Colleen being a teacher, understood his mother. “She just needs to get to know you better.”

Colleen wasn’t too sure about that, the woman almost ran from the room, after hearing that her husband knew her dad.

“If you say so.”  Colleen tried to sound enthused.

“I wondered if you had plans for Thanksgiving.”  Jon wanted to make sure, this family dinner, hadn’t scared Colleen off.

“I’ll be in the Hamptons, It’s a family tradition.  We have a huge dinner at the bar and then watch the football game.  Why don’t you and the kids come, that is if your family doesn’t do a big dinner?”  Colleen closed her school planner and opened her family planner.  Colleen wondered how her brother and the regulars, would handle Jon and his family, probably better than his mother handled her.