Jon and Tony pulled in with twenty pizza, enough salad to feed an army. They had left Matt and Colleen at the grocery store with the fruit, nuts, and candy for the Magi gift bags for the kids at the church for midnight mass, along with dessert for tonight’s pizza fest.
Tony went and got the older kids to help unload the van.
“Hey old man did you buy out the malls?” Jesse said as he looked in the back of the van.
“Oh good pizza,” Jake loaded Romeo up with pizza boxes. “You just miss Uncle Matt and Camo seems the cake got dropped. They headed back to the store.”
Stephanie came up and bopped her dad in the butt. “So tonight’s the night. Got your knee pads ready?” She grabbed the bags of salad laughing.
“Who told you kiddo?” Jon asked as he grabbed another bag of Salad.
“The Aunts were upstairs, Aunt Nina was pulling out Uncle Tony’s gear bag out,” Stephanie said as the headed into the kitchen.
“Just as long as Colleen doesn’t know,” Jon said as he followed her to the kitchen. “Oh yeah and don’t tell Maggie, Cullen told me she would ruin the surprise.”
“I’ll tell the aunts,” Stephanie headed to the stairs.
“I think my mom dropped that cake on purpose,” Colleen told Matt as they stood inline again.
“Not a fan of store baked items hum?” Matt looked around at the people in line.
“I think she was hoping you all would eat the fruit cake she made at Thanksgiving, that no one touched,” Colleen moved up and waited her turn next.
Matt watched She pulls out the black card, not seeing if it had her name or Jon’s on it. Only one cashier gave her a problem using Jon’s card, and that was at the mall.
“G. or J.?” Matt asked Colleen and pointed to the card.
“G,” She said holding it up.
“If you get flack, I’ll pay for it,” Matt didn’t want a scene like earlier.
Moving up to the register she watches the cashier scan the cake and bags it.
“Twenty-five ninety-nine,” The cashier says as I hand her the card. “Can I see some id please?”
‘Oh no, here we go again,’ Matt thought, as Colleen took out her license.
Colleen pulled out her New Jersey license. Matt smiled when he saw it said Colleen Ann Marie Bongiovi. Colleen was smiling a little smirky smile, as she showed the new card to the cashier.
“Thank you Mrs. Bongiovi,” The cashier ran the black card and handed it back. Matt grabbed the receipt and the bag while Colleen put her card away.
As they walked out Matt couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
“Did you see the look on her face when she saw the name match,” Matt laughed all the way to the car. “I can’t believe you have a Bongiovi name already.”
“Thank your brother for that, he pulled some strings,” Colleen said as she put the cake in the truck. “It matches my black card, when I use my charge card I use my New York ID.”
Matt smirked as he headed back to the house again, it was just like his big brother to be nine steps ahead of the curve.
There were people everywhere eating dinner. Jon and Colleen sat on the steps near the front door.
“This what I love, a huge family gathering,” Colleen said as she balanced her plate on her lap. “It makes a house a home.”
“Around sixteen people in a house can do that,” Jon told her as he sipped his wine. He was still in his ugly Christmas sweater, but he changed to black sweatpants, to cover the ring box in his pocket. He remembered the night he sat in his office doing a zoom call with the kids and asked them what they thought about making Colleen a permanent member of the family. It was quiet for a few seconds when Jon thought he had finally shocked his kids. Stephanie was the first to talk, telling the boys what he had seen while they were at school. Jesse nodded and Jake looked at Romeo and they held up their thumbs. “We vote yes and add about time.” Stephanie and Jesse agreed to Jon's excitement and pride that they all wanted Colleen in the family.
They had finished dinner, Jon knew it was time.
“Before everyone goes down for movies in the basement, can I get everyone in the living room,” Jon yelled over the noise of family all talking as one. “I got something that I want to say.” He watched the room fill up with all of them looking at him like he was stalling. “Pull up a spot of the floor, make sure Mom and Pop O. have a seat on the sofa please, Kids on the floor.”
Jon held Colleen up in the doorway to the kitchen, holding onto her pinkie finger.
“Let me get my camera,” Tony yelled. “He usually does this on Christmas Eve.”
Jon waited while Tony got his camera. Once he rejoined the crowd, he nodded to Jon.
“This is a new tradition for the Bongiovi’s, a new start for us. This includes tomorrow night joining the O’Sullivan at Midnight Mass,” Jon paused to all the moans and groans. “Yeah, Midnight Mass.”
He caught Stephanie’s eye and winked. Stephanie tossed a pillow at him, which Jon caught and dropped on the floor.
“Colleen?” Jon turned her to face him and let her hand go. “Close your eyes.”
Colleen turned to him and cocked her head, but closed her eyes. Maggie gasped when Jon put the pillow to use, pulling the box out of his pocket and opening it as he dropped to his knee.
“Open your eyes.”
Colleen gasped as she looked down into Jon's eyes.
“Colleen Ann Marie O’Sullivan, I love you, you came into my life when I needed you the most. You pulled me off the ledge and brought happiness back in my life. My kids love you and they think I came alive when I met you.” He had rehearsed this a million times in the last four days. “I want to go to bed knowing that you’re mine and wake up loving you more each day. I want to protect you, and be the man you turn to when you need me the most. I want to grow old with you,” Jon watched her eyes mist over with tears. “I want to show you the world, write you love songs, and show the world that your mine. I know we hadn’t talked about marriage, but I’ve thought about it for weeks. If you say it’s too soon, let me show you why it isn’t. Colleen, will you join your life with mine and be my wife?”
Colleen looked at the canary diamond ring to Jon’s eyes. She could see the love in his eyes. As her tears rolled down her cheeks, she nodded her head and whispered yes.
Jon stood up and took the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger. It was a perfect fit. Pulling her close, he leaned in and softly kissed her, sealing his proposal.
Tony was so busy making a video and Nina was snapping pictures. Jon’s kids jumped up off the floor clapping with the rest of the crowd. Colleen's mom and dad were the first ones to get to the couple.
“Oh, oh, oh my goodness,” was all that Maggie could say, she hugged Colleen.
Cullen slapped Jon on the back and welcomed him to the family.
“I’m a new grandmother again,” Maggie opened her arms to Jon's kids. “And I didn’t have to change a diaper on these four.”
Colleen laughed as she hugged Stephanie. Then pulled the three boys into a group hug.
Much later after the champagne and cake, the kids headed to the basement for Christmas movies, popcorn, and soda. The adults sat in the den talking.
“What does your mom say about this Jonny,” Maggie asked Jon, knowing the hell that she had made at Thanksgiving.
“Dad knows, I thought I would call them tomorrow and wish them a Merry Christmas and tell them then,” Jon sat holding Colleen's hand.
“At least you won’t be calling them like the last time,” Matt laughed.
“Last time?” Colleen and her mother asked at the same time.
“You know how I got married the last time, no one knew but me and Dorothea, not even Matt knew and he was my head of security.” Jon answered. “I had the number one album, we were on a sold-out tour, and I just said let's go to Vegas and get married.”
“Oh yeah I remember reading something about that,” Maggie said. Colleen had told Jon, her mother googled him.
“Well, I woke them up on the east coast and asked them if they wanted to talk to their new daughter in law. My mom didn’t speak to me at all, handed the phone to dad and said talk to your son,” Jon looked over at Cullen, he knew that his dad had told him about how they found out I was married.
“Your dad told me it took Carol to the end of tour to speak to you,” Cullen added his knowledge to the story.
“Boy we had it easy, didn’t we Nina,” Desi asked Nina.
“Yeah, but she took over the wedding plans, it was more than Tony and I wanted,” Nina said.
“Well Carol will be dealing with me and Colleen, I’ve planned this since the day we adopted Colleen,” Maggie told them. “This red hair doesn’t stand for a walk all over me.” Cullen patted her arm to calm her down.
“I didn’t know you were adopted, Colleen,” Nina told Colleen.
“My parents died in a car crash, mom and dad were my aunt and uncle, and they adopted me when I was almost two. They are the only mom and dad I remember.” Colleen got up and went and hugged her parents.
Much later Jon and Colleen were finally alone. Jon pulled her close and just held her in his arms. “You don’t want to go to Atlantic City tonight?”
“And kill both our mom’s,” Colleen put her hand on his chest and pushed him down on the bed. “I see an outdoor wedding, with water in the background and lots of flowers.” Colleen pulled the ugly sweater over his head, when it started to flash and sing Santa Clause is coming to town, Colleen started to giggle.
“So a spring wedding, outdoors, a field day for the paps babe,” Jon said as he leaned back on the bed as Colleen undressed. His sweats starting to tent.
“I said it was a dream wedding. We can use tents,” Colleen said as she slowly lowered her jeans, letting them drop to the floor and stepping out.
“Tents,” He looks down at his own tent. “That could work.” Sitting up he began to stand and add the sweatpants to her jeans. His hands go to her shirt and slowly take it up over her head.
Colleen was standing a demi bra and a tiny pair of thong panties in Christmas red and green. “These new?” Jon asked as he ran his hands around her waist.
“Something that caught my attention today at the mall,” Colleen allowed Jon to pull her close.
“I think it caught my attention too,” Jon lowered his lips to hers.
There came a loud knock on the closed door.
“Shit” Colleen groaned.
Jon laughed. “Your mama thinks you don’t cuss,” Jon kissed her again.
“Hey daddy, grandma is on the phone and she is pissed,” Stephanie called through the closed door.
“Fuck,” Jon groaned.
“I’ll share my soap bar with you,” Colleen laughed as she tossed Jon his sweatpants and grabbed her robe.
“Be there in a second Steph, tell her I’ll call her back in a second.” Jon said as he looked at Colleen. “Rain Check?”
“Rain Check,” Colleen smiled.
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