Chapter 57 Christmas Eve Eve

 Jon woke up slowly to the scents of bacon, coffee, and fresh cinnamon rolls.  Mom O was already up making breakfast, Jon reached his hand out to Colleen’s side of the bed, and only felt cool sheets and no Camo.  Sitting up in bed, they had gotten very little sleep the night before playing Santa’s helpers at the bar.  He had truly forgotten the nicked fingers and sore legs, from sitting on the floor for hours putting dollhouses and bikes together.  Cullen had loaned them the bar to put together toys for the Church Charity and Matt and Tony’s Kids.  Jon even had the honor of putting a bouncy swing together for his soon to be new niece, Abbie.

 

Hearing the door open slowly, he turned his head and saw Allie, Tony’s daughter peaking in the door.

 

“Aunt Camo said to get your lazy butt up if you want breakfast, Granny Maggie said she’s not going to make seconds for those who miss firsts,”  Allie laughed as she ran over to the bed and climbed up to hug her uncle.

 

“Well, I guess we better do what Camo and Maggie said,” Jon started to tickle Allie. 

 

Getting up, wearing loose ND sweatpants, he tucked a giggling Allie under his arm like a football and headed downstairs.  Coming into the kitchen he sat Allie on a barstool and reached for a slice of bacon.

 

“Morning ladies,” Jon noticed Nina and Desi were helping just like Thanksgiving.  All three of the younger ladies were hiding yawns and downing coffee like it was a lifeline.  Jon noticed the coffee urn from the bar was sat on the counter, that’s why they were using the big mugs.  Grabbing his Rockstar mug that he got from his kids a few years ago and filled it to the rim and sipped and refilled before getting him and Allie a plate.

 

Colleen took his plate and added a huge cinnamon roll and bacon, leaning in for a kiss as she handed him the plate. 

 

“Do we have plans for later Camo, or are you four cooking all day?” Jon asked as he split the roll with Allie.

 

“Cooking and shopping,” Colleen told him as she went back to rolling balls of dough and filling pans.

 

“Shopping. Didn’t we haul all we needed up from Jersey,” Jon asked her?

 

“Fresh fruit and candy,” Colleen smacked his butt as he took the plate and headed to the bar.  “Maybe something for my boyfriend, who got to sleep in till eight, while I was wrist-deep in chocolate Chip cookie dough for his cookie fetish?”

 

“Oh, so now you abuse me and tell me you have a boyfriend?” Jon laughed.

 

“Yeah, from what Camo said about him,” Desie ribbed Jon.  “He’s great in the sack.”

 

Jon smiled and puffed out his bare chest, while Maggie cleared her throat going over to Allie and covered her ears.

 

“No talking like this in front of the C.H.I.L.D.” Maggie reproached the giggling ladies.

 

“Oh Momma Maggie, she’s heard worse than that around this family who Fuc…” Nina started saying before she got a momma stick eye from Maggie. “Misspelled duck is in about every other word out of these Bongiovi boys mouth.”

 

“I have a bar of Ivory soap to clean that one out of their mouths.” Maggie went back to dressing the ham to go into the oven.

 

Jon put the piece of bacon back on the plate and grimaced.

 

“I’ll tell my brothers and kids to lose the F word, Mom,” Jon said and then remembered the only time he heard cuss words out of Colleen's mouth was when they were having sex and she was in the throws of her orgasm.

 

“See that you do Jonny, I hate to have to sit you on the stool with a bar of soap in your mouth, and that goes for the rest of you. I know my daughter never cusses,” Maggie beamed at her blushing daughter, whose eyes were on Jonny.

 

Just then Matt and Tony came into the kitchen in about the same morning outfit as Jon.  The girls busted out laughing.

 

“I got some news for you two, No F word out of your mouths or you’ll be eating a bar of Ivory,” Jon smiled.

 

“Wives and girlfriends too?” Matt asked.

“Yes and Kids,” Jon answered.

 

Maggie went to the sink and held up a brand new bar of Ivory soap.

 

“Shi...Shoot,” Tony backed up with a mug of coffee.

 

“Yes Ma’am,” they both said.

 

It was around noon when Jon, Matt, and Colleen left the beach house.  Their first stop was to find a parking spot at a small strip mall.

 

“I need to go in a few of these stores, you two want to find a bench to wait?” Colleen put her crossbody handbag over her shoulder.

 

“I think Matt should go with you, I see a place I want to check out,” Jon told her as they got out of the car.

 

Matt pulled out his phone and shot off a text. “I’m with the sparrow, you follow the eagle.”  Not waiting on an answer, he followed Colleen to a book store, as he watched Jonny walk toward a store a few doors from the book store.

 

Colleen walked to the desk and talked to the clerk, the young woman pulled out a store eco bag and handed it to Colleen. Smiling she looked in the bag and looked at the girl and handed her a credit card.

 

Matt saw a couple of books on Massage and relaxation titles and thought of Desi.  Picking them up, he headed to the counter. Colleen was getting her recite.  “Do you guys do gift wrapping?” Matt handed the books and his card to the young girl.

 

“Yes sir, if you want to wait.” The young girl said as she rang up the order.

 

“Matty we can pick them up after the next shop,” Colleen told him.

 

It was agreed they would be back in about thirty minutes, then they exited the store.  Jon watched them leave and move to the next store.

 

“Ok, Tony, you can come out from behind the post,” Jon laughed.

 

“What gave me away?” Tony stepped out from behind the post that he stood by.

 

“Ah, I knew Matt wouldn’t let me walk away unguarded.” Jon tossed him the bag with the black bikini he had picked out for Colleen.  She only had a one-piece suit packed for the rest of their holiday.

 

Tony caught the bag and followed Jonny into the book store that Colleen and Matt had left.  Tony was shocked when instead of the biography section Jon had detoured into the romance section.  Pulling a list out of his pocket, Jon read the titles and checked the list. Pulling out several books Jon moved to the counter and paid for the books and then handed the bag to Tony.  This went on as they made it to a few more stores till Tony’s phone beeped.

 

“They’re ready to head to another mall,” Tony told his brother.

 

Jon tossed his keys to Matt to have him drive his car, and he rode with Tony to the mall.  They ended up parking on opposite sides, Jon crammed his hat on his head and kept his sunglasses on.

 

Planning on meeting them in the food court at two-thirty, the first place Jon made a beeline for was Victoria Secrets.

 

“Books, bikini and bloomers, Big brother?  You need to expand your alphabet some,” Tony laughed.

 

“You think you might want to add to Nina’s wish list too?  I bet you might find bloomer shopping as much fun as just being my pack mule,” Jon tossed over his shoulder as the shop's bells rang to show a new shopper.

 

From Vickie’s, they headed to a music store that showed they carried vintage LP’s. There Jon pulled out his cell, he had been having a hard time finding all the ones that were destroyed when she was robbed.  If this showed a bust he had a member of the bands on speed dial. Finding two he hit speed dial.

 

“Hey Beatle Paul, this is Jon Bon Jovi, I need a favor,” Jon said into the phone.  “I’m having a hell of a time finding a Meet the Beatles on Vinyl for my Girlfriend’s collection.”

 

“I know of a shop in Piccadilly I’ll have them look for you Mate, and global it to you,” Paul McCartney told Jon.  “When am I going to meet your bird, man?  Before the wedding, I hope.”

 

“That’s great, and I’ll see about a stopover before we head home from the rest of our holiday,” Jon told his buddy. They talked a few minutes while Tony paid for Jon’s purchases, and they were off again.

 

“Colleen is gonna shit a brick meeting you buddy BP,” Tony said as he followed Jon to another store.

 

“You think?  There are so many I want to introduce her to, I want her to be a part of this side of my life,” Jon checked his watch, then headed to the new age store.

 

Tony raised his eyebrow seeing Mister Allergies walking into a store he could smell before hitting the door.

 

Soon they were in the food court waiting on Matt and Colleen to appear.  Jon had ordered a coffee and hot chocolate at Starbucks and found a table. So far so good, he hadn’t been fan covered or harassed for pictures. Wearing the ugly Christmas sweater and bah humbug ball cap must have worked.

 

Tony sipped his hot chocolate and wishing he had made a car stop with all his bags, which the clerk helped him load into a Santa sack size bags so Colleen couldn’t see where they had been.

 

“When are you going to pop the question?” Tony asked as Jon scanned the crowd.

 

“Tonight after dinner, have your camera ready,” Jon pulled out his phone and sent a text to Matt. ‘Where are you two, it’s almost three and Camo’s hot chocolate is getting cold?’

 

‘In line, when will this hell be over with?’ Matt texted. “Hey Camo JBJ has a hot chocolate ready for you,” Matt told Colleen.

 

“Oh good, I need it.” She finally got to the register to pay at the sex shop they saw on the store list. “Give me your basket to pay for and we’re done.”

 

They headed to the food court. ‘Stand up so we can find you two’ Matt texted. Seeing a man in the ugliest Christmas sweater and ball cap motioning to them. They wove between the tables to get to them.

 

“Great disguise big bro,” Matt accepted his cup of coffee from Tony. “See you got the free Santa Sack over by the gift wrap kiosk.”   Matt lifted the heavy bag.

 

“The only way to shop little bro,” Tony laughed.

 

“Just one more store them I need to get home to help with dinner,” Colleen told Jon.

 

“Why don’t we pick up Pizza for dinner?  Your mom needs a break from cooking as that’s all y’all will be doing tomorrow,” Jon reached for her hand and rubbed her ring finger, thinking about the time he’ll ship that canary diamond on it.

 

“I’ll call mom, you order the pizzas,” Colleen told him.

 

That done they split up and headed to the cars.

 

The Bongiovi telephone service got around so that everyone knew but Colleen what was going to happen after dinner. Plans were changed and champagne was put in the bar fridge to chill.