Chapter 22

A week passed before Jon can even blink, he’s so happy having the kids around that he and Mika barely see one another. They travel with him and Mika travels with the roadies. She doesn’t mind really because Jon talked to her before they showed up so she knows he’s trying to keep things calmer for them right now.

The afternoon is floating by as everyone is sitting backstage talking and laughing, Romeo is still climbing all over his uncle Richie when Dorothea walks in the backstage area. She saw Mika and instantly got pissed about it.

“Jon can I talk to you?”

”Sure Dorothea.” Jon got up realizing she’s pissed just by her tone. He’s damn well not going to let her mess this up for him and Mika.

“What are you thinking? Bringing another woman around my kids. You can’t do that they need stability in their lives.”

“Hold the fuck up. Let me see if I get this straight, you the woman that walked away from a 28 yr relationship is preaching to me about stability for our kids. That’s right Dorothea, OUR kids not yours. They had stability they had everything until you walked out. So don’t you dare come in here and preach that shit. Mika is around them because she is part of the road crew and Steph has become friends with her.” Jon then stepped into Dorothea’s personal space and grabbed both her wrists in a hold he knows will neutralize her karate skills so he doesn’t have to worry about her swinging at him.

“Jon you can’t just bring girls around the kids.” She said quietly but with a warning tone in her voice.

”Dorothea, don’t make a scene. You broke my heart remember, you cheated; you walked out on our marriage. I signed the divorce papers against my own desires. Don’t fuck this up for me. You don’t have the right.”

”Jon.” She started in again.

“NO chill the hell out. Dorothea please don’t mess this up for me.” He pleaded with her. Hoping she still had some feelings for his well being.

”You really like her don’t you?” She softened of course, as mad as she is that he had someone around the kids, her only reason for anger was that it proved he’s starting to move on. As nice as her life was now, deep down she’ll always regret that he will never call her Dot again, that he’ll never come home to her again. She messed up the best thing she ever had. No matter what she knows she can’t begrudge him some happiness.

“Yes I think I could fall in love with her.” Jon admitted to his ex wife knowing full well he's way beyond thinking about loving Mika, he's already there. He then lets go of her wrists knowing that she’s ok now.

“Ok I’ll behave.”

With that Jon and Dorothea walked back into the room with the kids. But by now Mika has left, she did not want to be on the receiving end of Jon’s ex-wife’s tantrum.

Jon and the kids say their goodbyes and they leave.

“Where did Mika go?” Jon asked Richie.

“Don’t know she just said it wasn’t the place for her and left.”

”Alright I’ll see you later man.” Jon got up, turned to the door and left the backstage area and started walking around trying to find Mika.

He knew that having Dot walk in and immediately getting up to talk to her had probably hurt Mika, he also knew that she has no idea what he talked to Dot about so he has to find her to tell her.

Jon finally came across Mika sitting outside of the arena, looking out at the lake that the arena butts up against.

“Hey you, I’ve been looking for you.” Jon smiled softly.

“Why?”

”Well because you’re my girlfriend and I want to talk to you.” Jon answer wondering how much trouble he’s in for talking to his ex.

“Are you sure? I mean I’m just part of the road crew.” She said making Jon realize she must have heard him as he began talking to Dot and took it wrong.

“Hold it. Mika how mad are you at me for what you think you heard?” Jon knew that at this point in his life, after having been with women enough to realize they tend to jump to conclusions so he’s just going to cut across the river and get to the other side now.

“I’m just part of the road crew how can I be angry?”

”Damnit Mika I told you that is the way the kids would know you before I was ready to admit to deep feelings, then and only then would they know you as my girlfriend. Now they figured it out, the older ones anyway. What you heard was me dealing with my ex in a way I see fit. She has no rights to my life now so why tell her something else that’s going to make her even madder.”

“I’m mad because you didn’t admit to being with me.”

”So you’re mad at me for protecting you from her anger.” Jon asked pointedly.

“Her anger doesn’t mean anything to me. I need to know you’re in this.” Mika told him.

“I thought you understood my views on when my kids know about us.”

”I’m not talking about the kids – I’m talking about the rest of the world.”

“Can I win with you at all? I seriously am feeling like the answer is no. You don’t want to love
me completely, you want to take things slow, you’re scared to commit fully to me, you won’t even have sex with me but yet you want the world to know we’re a couple. Which is it? Are we a couple completely or not?”

”Jon I’m not having sex with you until the Dr. proves you’re clean of disease. As much as I think you’re a great guy I’m not dying to have sex with you.”

“Baby I have no problems using condoms.”

”Good cos when we find out your clean you will be using them but I’m not going there until we find out.”

“You’re serious? I’ve never had a woman require I get tested before.”

”Yes Jon I’m serious. I know you were with Dot forever, but you’ve let it be known you aren’t perfect and if she was cheating on you then you may have been infected by her. Not to mention what you may have done since then.”

”I’ll admit I did get stupid when she broke my heart.”

”Did you use a condom?”

”Yes the only woman I haven’t used one with is my ex wife.”

“Jon did you cheat on your wife?”

“No. Now if you ask if I cheated on that same woman when she was my girlfriend the answer is yes. Once I made that solemn vow I honored it. I was not always the perfect boyfriend.”

“What changed? It was still Dot.”

“Yeah but if I swear in church that I’m gonna do something. I do it.”

“But you got married in Vegas.”

”Only the first time Mika. After we got married there, we flew back to Jersey called all the guys in the band and had a wedding in our church back home two days later. My mom organized it.”

“So do you ever see yourself getting married again?” Mika asked fearing he’ll say no now that he’s had more time to get to know her.

“OH Lawrd – hell yeah.”