Chapter 8

Jon woke the following morning a little groggy. He looked at the clock, which read 9:25. He lay in bed a minute to think before dragging himself out of bed. Was yesterday just a dream or was it really a wonderful evening? He sat up and found the note his daughter had left him on his side table from the night before. He smiled thankful he had something to confirm his reality. He got up slowly feeling the familiar creaks and cracks of his body. He stopped by the bathroom, and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like been run over by a truck. His hair was a mess, even worse than usual, his eyes were red with circles under them, and even after a decent night’s sleep, he looked tired. “God you’re getting too old for this shit,” he said to his reflection. He splashed some water on his face trying to make him look more presentable. After not much improvement he made his way through his bedroom in search of coffee. As he passed his daughter’s door he noticed her empty bed and assumed she had gone in search of breakfast, and he wondered if there was anything to eat.

As he made his way down the stairs he heard someone at the piano in the living room. As his bare feet hit the cool floor at the bottom of the stairs the smell of coffee overtook his curiosity and he headed for the kitchen. Pleased to see that there was a fresh pot waiting for him, he grabbed a mug and poured himself a cup. He added the necessary cream and sugar and took a sip. “Perfect.” He made his way out of the kitchen and towards the living room. As he passed the family room he heard the TV on. He poked his head inside and saw Ava sitting on the couch watching the latest Disney Channel sensation. Kids that age were amazing. Not only was she up, but she was dressed and ready for the day.

“Morning Ava.” Jon said from the doorway.

“Morning Uncle Jon. Do you mind I have this in here?” She asked showing him a bowl of dry cereal.

“Not at all, but is that all you could find?” Jon asked, and when she nodded he shook his head at the thought of his sparse kitchen. “Is your dad up yet?”

“Not yet and I didn’t want to wake him so I came dawn by myself. Is that ok?”

“Of course that’s ok, you know you can always treat this like your house. How about I go find Steph and I’ll see if I can try to make you guys a real breakfast?”

“Ok. I think she said she went to play the piano.”

“Thanks sweetie I’ll go check it out.” Jon said turning for the door.

“Oh and Uncle Jon my daddy was right.” Ava said smiling.

“Right about what Av?”

“Well I told Daddy that he’s a mess in the morning, because his hair’s all messy and he looks grouchy. And he said that you look worse. But you don’t look grouchy.”

“Gee thanks Ava.” Jon said to a smiling Ava.

He turned down the hall and followed the music. He couldn’t quite make out what song was playing but it sounded familiar. He knocked on the door as he opened it, and the music stopped immediately.

“Morning Dad. I didn’t expect to see you up this early.” His daughter said as she rose from the bench to give him a hug.

Jon welcomed the hug and gave her a kiss on her temple. “I was surprised I was up too. What were you playing?”

“Oh you know, a little bit of this, a little of that.” Steph said and sat back down at the bench, and started to play some light music.

Steph was the only one of his four children that showed any interest in music, which they bonded over. From the time she was three or four Jon had her with him at the piano. He had given her informal lessons and Dave, the official piano guru, had helped her when she was old enough. But with no formal training or wanting to perform in her dad’s shadow she always kept her musical passion quiet.

“Steph you know you sound really good. Is that something I know?” Jon asked curious of his daughter’s musical interest.

She stopped for a minute and thought. “Let’s see do you know this one?” She looked at her dad with a smile. He nodded accepting the challenge. Her fingers found the keys and the all to familiar intro to “Runaway” filled the room. He laughed and let her continue to play on. After a few bars, she began to sing along. “On the street where you live, girls talk about their social lives, they're made of lipstick, plastic and paint, a touch of sable in their eyes. All your life all you’ve asked when’s your daddy gonna talk to you, you were living in another world tryin to get your message through.”

“No way, not my little girl.” Jon said as he moved to the piano and the music stopped. “You sound beautiful, but my little girl’s not gonna be the girl from that song. I wrote you tour own song, and you still come back to this one?”

“Oh dad its just a song. Anyway now that you’re up can I talk to you about something?” Steph asked with a little bit of fear and worry on her eyes.

“Stephie what’s wrong are you ok?” Jon asked worried about his daughter. “Something’s not right.”

“No, Dad, I’m ok I just wanted to talk to you about something.” She said trying to smile.

“You sure everything’s ok?” She nodded. “Well as long as you’re sure I told Ava I would make the two of you breakfast. But if you want to talk now, I’m sure she won’t notice if I don’t come back right away.”

“Nope breakfast sounds great!” Steph said, and headed towards the door.

“Why don’t you pick something out, and I’ll be in, in a minute.” Jon said as he grabbed his mug. And with a simple “K, Dad” she was out the door. Jon let out a deep breath. Something about the look in his daughter’s eyes had him concerned. He headed down the hall, worried about what was on his daughter’s mind.

“Ready kido? I think Steph’s picking something out for us.” Jon asked Ava who hadn’t moved since he left.

“Cool. I’m ready Uncle Jon.” Ava said turning off the TV and giving him a quick hug as she passed him.

He found the girls in the kitchen already making breakfast. Steph had a frying pan out over the stove, and Ava was mixing what looked like pancake batter. “Hey girls, I thought I was making you breakfast.”

“I thought I’d give you a hand.” Steph said as she took the bowl from Ava. “Are pancakes ok with you?”

”Whatever you girls want sounds good.” Jon said as he set down his coffee and moved over to the stove. “Why don’t you girls get out some juice and some plates and I’ll make these.” Jon offered.

The girls set right off to work, as he focused on the pancakes. Cooking was never a skill he managed to accomplish. A cooking success usually involved a microwave; even then there were often many casualties. After a few successful pancakes he turned back to the counter to get his coffee mug. He was surprised to find it refilled and turned to look at his daughter. She was sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen with Ava deep in conversation. There were three places set, with silverware, plates and a glass of juice. He was also surprised to see a mug in his daughter’s hand. He looked down at the pan, and noticed the neglected pancake starting to burn. He quickly flipped it and looked back at his daughter.

“Hey, Steph, when did you start drinking coffee?” Jon asked.

“Oh I dunno a while ago, maybe like a year and a half ago. Why, do you not want me drinking it?” She asked uncertainly.

“Not at all. Who am I to deprive you of a good kick of caffeine in the morning? It would be a little hypocritical of me wouldn’t it? I can’t live without this stuff.” Jon said and was happy to see his daughter looked a little less tense. “Thanks for the refill.” She smiled, as he took another sip and put his attention back to his pancakes that were slowly dying. He put the best looking ones on a plate and went over to join the girls. “I think this is as good as they’re gonna get,” he said putting them down.

They ate, and enjoyed small talk about school starting in a few weeks and what they did on the summer breaks. He and Richie had only finished their latest tour a month or so ago, so the girls had spent most of their summer with their mothers. As he tried to wash down a pancake of unique consistency, the house phone rang. His daughter immediately rose to answer.

“Sit and eat, I’ll get it,” he told his daughter and kissed the top of her head as he passed. He walked to the far end of the kitchen and looked at the caller id before answering. The number came up blocked, and he could only imagine who was calling.

“Hello,” Jon answered.

“Jon?” the woman’s voice on the other end asked.

”Yes, who is this?” Jon asked unable to place the voice.

“Oh, sorry Jon its Heather. I was trying to get in touch with Ava, but they’re not answering the house phone and Richie’s phone is going straight to voicemail. I was hoping they were with you. I didn’t wake you up did I?”

It was Richie’s ex. Having kids solidified the fact that you would always have contact with your ex. After the six divorces they had been through as a band, it never seemed to get easier.

“No I was up, and they are here. What can I do for you?” Jon asked.

“Is Ava around so I can talk to her?” Heather asked.

“Sure hold on a second let me get her.” Jon said. He walked back to where the girls were sitting. “Ava sweetie it’s your mom, she wants to talk to you. Are you all finished?” he asked looking at her empty plate.

“Yeah thanks Uncle Jon, they were better than when Dad tries to make them,” she said reaching for the phone.

“You know what why don’t you go outside and talk to your mom, it looks like a beautiful day. And when you’re done why don’t you wake up your dad, it think it’s about time he woke up, what do you think?”

“Ok, I’ll do that. Hi, mom.” Ava said as she walked across the kitchen and out the slider.

“What do you say Steph are you about done with these pancakes?” Jon asked.

“Yeah, but they weren’t that bad.”

“Nice try, ok what do you say, I’ll pour us another couple cups of coffee, and you can tell your old man here what’s on your mind?” Jon offered, and grabbed the mugs.

“Ok dad I’ll get the dishes.” Steph said getting to her feet.

“Nah, we’ll leave them for Richie to deal with if he ever gets up. Now what kind of talk are we having here? Are we gonna need comfy chairs or will the barstools do?” Jon asked adding sugar to their mugs.

“I dunno Dad, maybe the living room?” Steph asked getting to her feet to grab her mug.

“Lead the way darling,” Jon said following his daughter down the hall.

They settled into the oversized couch next to each other. Jon turned to face his daughter. “Ok Steph, what’s up? Something’s been a little off since I picked you up yesterday.” His daughter had that fearful look in her eye again, that Jon had never seen. “Stephie what’s the matter?” Jon said putting grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.

He looked at his daughter and saw tears forming. Jon took his daughter and gave her a hug, rubbing her back. He could feel her tears soaking through his shirt onto his shoulder. “Shh, tell me what’s wrong and I can fix it. It’s gonna be ok.”

Steph pulled back and looked at her dad through her tears. “I don’t know how to say this,” tears still falling down her cheeks.

“Steph, you can tell me anything, that’s what I’m here for.”

She took a deep breath. “Daddy can I come live with you?”

Jon looked at her in shock. He had no idea how easily 7 words could affect him so severely.