59:Hot Diggity Damn

By a child’s standards, the hour was late in Edison, New Jersey, which meant Micah Jane and Lucas Bongiovi were sleeping the deep and blissful sleep reserved for the very young.  It was the kind of sleep that parents were grateful for, because it allowed them to practice making babies without fear of interruption.

There would be no more babies in her household, but Lilah was still awash in the kind of afterglow had her wishing this kind of happiness for everyone.  Even her contrary brother-in-law.

“Hey, Jersey,” Lilah crooned, reaching a hand out as Tony passed by her side of the bed on his way to the  shower.  “I love you.”

“Back at you, Bluegrass.  Always.”

That beautiful Bongiovi smile beamed gently down, and she stretched up the tangle fingers into the pelt of chest hair that still held her captivated after all this time.  She melted from the inside out when his eyes shone with that certain light of adoration.  If she wasn’t already determined to do what she was going to do, it might be enough to deter her. 

Pushing first into a seated position and then to her feet, Lilah smoothed reverent fingertips over the dark goatee that was beginning to show the first signs of gray.  “You know how much I hate upsettin’ you, but I’m afraid it’s about to happen just the same.  I’m invitin’ Charlie to Matt’s birthday party on Sunday, since your brother’s purposely bein' stupid.”

“Maybe he is and maybe he’s not,” Tony countered. “But that’s up to him to fix, not us.  Not you.”

“Hogwash.  I know y’all have been keepin’ secrets about him and Charlie. They slept together while she was up in East Hampton, didn’t they?”

With a big sigh, he slowly enunciated, “Whatever happened in East Hampton, stays there.”

“That’s what you think.” 

Lilah saw Charlie just a few days ago and, at the time, sensed the undercurrent of tension between her and Matt.  She also took special note of Charlie’s initial discomfort when Dorothea first joined them. Then saw was witness to the very telling glow of Charlie’s eyes as she found inspiration in the family photos.  Anyone who bothered to look – and Lilah did – could tell that Jon’s mural wasn’t a just another art project; it was a work of heart that she was taking great pains to get just right.

There was also the story of how the mural came to be in the first place, and that didn’t quite ring true in Lilah’s ears.  She hadn’t been part of the Bongiovi family for all that long, but she’d spent a lot of years observing Jon from a fan’s point of view, trying to ascertain just how his mind worked and what kind of person he really was.

Between the two vastly different experiences, she knew – absolutely knew beyond the shadow of a doubt – that he wasn’t going to give someone free reign over the walls of his studio on the basis of a single photograph.  It didn’t matter how nice the photo.  As particular as he was, Jon would demand the artist’s portfolio and have a lengthy, in-depth discussion of his vision and expectations along with all kinds of legal mumbo jumbo and paperwork. 

And if the artist was someone he disliked as intensely as he supposedly disliked Charlie?  She wouldn’t make it to the first step.  Not in a million, jillion years. 

Charlie and Jon were lovers.  Lilah would swear it on a stack of bibles that reached all the way to the ceiling.  If not currently, then at least a couple times while they were in the Hamptons.

“That’s what I think?” Tony asked hooking her elbow and halting her trip to the dresser for a nightshirt.  “Are you getting premonitions again?”

Shaking her head, she smiled up at the man who was her whole world.  His brothers thought her nuts and she’d heard him agree with them just to keep the peace, but Lilah knew he believed in her uncanny awareness of things.  The poor man didn’t have much choice considering that, without it, they never would have met in the first place - much less found themselves happily married with two beautiful babies.

“Not this time.  This time I’m just puttin’ together the puzzle pieces I’ve been given.  Charlie and Jon belong together.  They just need a little more help figurin’ it out, so I’m invitin’ Charlie to Matt’s birthday party on Sunday. “

“Lilah Jane…”  As sweet as her smile was to him, his glower was equally bitter.  “You know you’re gonna piss him off by doing that.”

“I don’t give a flyin’ Fig Newton.”

“Do you give a ‘flying Fig Newton’, that I’m the one who’s gonna catch hell for not stopping you?”

“Oh, baby.”  With that challengingly arched eyebrow, he was so cute that she almost couldn’t stand it.  Lilah’s heart was full of love when she twined her arms around his neck to softly assure, “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t expect that you have a chance in Hades of stoppin’ me once my mind is made up.”

Heavy hands settled possessively atop her hips, and the man who she thanked God and Fate for every day drolly observed, “And that makes me a pussy who can’t handle his woman.”

“Okay, first of all, you are the least pussified man I’ve ever met in my life.”

“Pussified?” Being miffed with her didn’t stop him from tipping his head back with a delighted chortle and subsequently remarking, “Even when you’re stirring up trouble, you can make me laugh.”

Amusing him pleased her now as much as it had the very first time, but rather than repeating something he’d heard a dozen times, she continued with her point.  “Second of all, how many times you think he changed Dot’s mind once it was made up?  Hmm?”

“You might be right about that.”

“You know damn well I am.  Just remind him of it, if he starts fussin’.”

Without bothering to respond, her husband shook his head and headed in the direction of the shower.  Lilah fetched her nightshirt and, once it was settled comfortably over her head, she hopped on the bed and pulled her cell phone into her lap. 

“Hello?”

The tone of Charlie’s voice had the fine hairs at the base of Lilah’s neck standing straight on end, but she tried to pass it off as inconsequential and lightly responded, “Hi, honey.  It’s Lilah.  Do you have a minute?”

A voice crackled over an intercom in the background before her new friend tightly apologized, “I’m sorry, but now’s not a good time.  Caleb’s in the hospital and they’re just now letting us back to see him.  I have to go.”

“Of course.  We’ll be prayin’ for both of you.  Call when you can.”

Popping to her feet, Lilah marched through the bathroom door that was never closed while Tony showered.  “Jersey!  Caleb’s in the hospital.”

“Yeah?  What happened?” he asked, sticking his head out from behind the rubber ducky shower curtain that Lilah adored. 

“I don’t know.  Charlie was just getting to see him so she didn’t have time to talk.  Do you think I should call Jon?”

“You wouldn't mention it if you hadn't already decided to.  Don’t drag me into it, but let me know what you find out about Caleb.”  He retreated back into the steaming shower and the flock of yellow ducks flew toward the wall when the curtain was swept closed.  

“Every husband should know his wife as well as you know me,” she called over her shoulder as she simultaneously returned to the bedroom and scrolled through to Jon’s number. 

“What’s up, Kentucky?”

His salutation was typical of what he usually gave her, but there was an oddness to it.  At least it didn’t make her hair stand up, though.  He might just be distracted by work or composing or whatever he did when nobody else was around, but she’d just see how he responded to some idle chitchat.  That would give her a better idea whether or not she was projecting the tension from Charlie’s call onto him.

“Hey, sweetie.  How are ya?”

“Busy.  What ‘cha need?  Everybody okay?”

“Well, now,” she drawled, reclining against the bright, patchwork headboard and crossing one arm over her waist as she talked.  “It’s funny you should ask that because, no.  Everybody’s not okay.”

“Cut the movie of the week drama and tell me.”

Lilah still had no idea as to what was going on with him, but it was her own fault for seguing into main reason for the call before gathering enough information.

“Charlie’s son, Caleb, is in the hospital.”

One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand…

“Did you talk to her?”

Three seconds’ hesitation and his first question wasn’t about Caleb or what caused his hospitalization, but whether or not Lilah had talked to Charlie.  It was very telling, in her opinion.

“Briefly.  She was just getting to see him, so I’m not sure what happened.”

“Okay.”

She made it all the way to five three thousand before huffing, “Is that all you have to say?”

“What the fuck did you expect me to say?  I’m sorry to hear the kid is in the hospital, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Men could be so damn irritating and just plain dumb sometimes.  Infuriatingly enough, her brother-in-law was the lead dummy more and more lately. 

“You could call and see how she’s doing, dumbass.  Or send a text.  Or freaking well send the kid a pizza.  You spent the better part of week before last with them.  Throw around some of that compassion you have for everybody else in the world except Charlie Del Vecchio.”

“Stop and think about it, Lilah,” he snapped.  “The kid just got out of surgery.  His mother hasn’t even seen him.  She probably doesn’t know how she’s doing, and she sure as fuck doesn’t need to be fielding calls asking her to figure it out.”

Well, now.  If that isn’t the most interestin’ thing I’ve heard all night.  

“I didn’t say anything about surgery.”

“You must have.  I didn’t pull that out of thin air.”

“No, you didn’t,” she quietly agreed as the lightbulb came on to brilliantly illuminate the situation.  “You already knew about Caleb, didn’t you?”

“Goddammit-“

“Jon!”  As hard-headed as the Bongiovi men were, sometimes the only way she could get through to these guys was to yell louder than they did.  “I’m not gonna give you a hard time or make any comments whatsoever.  Just tell me.  Did you already know?”

This was a different playing field for them.  Sincere honesty wasn’t something they did.  The truth usually had to be pulled out like a festering tooth before either of them would let go of it, but maybe this time would be different.  She could hope, anyway. 

“Yes.”

Hot diggity damn.

“Alright then,” Lilah concluded very matter-of-factly, even though her grin was wide enough to swallow half her face.  “When you talk to Charlie, tell her we’re thinkin’ of them, and don’t forget Matt’s party on Sunday.  I’m sure everybody would love to see her again, if you wanna bring her.”

“Lilah, don’t turn this into something-“

“Honey.”  Her voice was deliberately quiet when she interrupted the man on the verge of reading her the riot act.  “I’m not turnin’ it into anything.  All I ever wanted was for y’all to get to know each other.  Whatever happens beyond that is up to you.  I’m out of it.”

As soon as he told her what was wrong with Caleb.  And unless he screwed it up and needed someone to point that out.  Then she might be back in – but just a little.