111:Never Say Never

[7:37 PM]LILAH: Call Charlie.  She needs you.

Jon’s heart pounded forcefully against his sternum as he read the text message.  His entire evening had been spent checking his watch and wondering how things were shaking down with Owen.  Theoretically, this dinner date should be nothing more than a pain in Chiara’s ass, but that motherfucker had already given them one surprise, so there would be no relaxing until he had confirmation of the actual outcome.

Murmuring to Jesse that he was going to make a call, Jon excused himself from Captain America, Poison Ivy and Lois Lane to seek out a secluded corner.

God, please let something have gone right for once. 

“Hey.  How was your party?”  It didn’t sound as though she was any worse for the wear, despite the ominous message prompting this call.

“I’m still here, and it’s fine,” he brushed the question aside, carefully scratching his head where the colored hairspray was making him itch.  “How you doin’?  Lilah seemed to think you’d wanna hear from me.”

“That’s a pretty safe bet anytime.”  The smile in her voice went a long way toward soothing his anxiety.  “But she’s overreacting.  Go back to fighting Halloween crime.  You can call me later tonight and we’ll talk.”

This was one of the few times Jon could ever recall being remorseful over having his kids.  After this party, he and Jesse were going to go by and pick up the younger boys for late-night pizza and scary movies to finish out Halloween night.  What he’d rather do is go to the counselor’s house and curl up on the couch with her and a glass of wine, toasting to a new day and life ahead - and finding out what happened at her dinner.

“At least tell me if you got what we needed.”

The sigh that whispered over the line was reedy and perturbed.  “The right topics were discussed, but beyond that, you’ll have to ask Tony.  I just wanted the hell out of there afterward, so I didn’t even stop and talk to him and Lilah, which is probably why she assumed I was looking for a shoulder to cry on.  Either that or…”

When she didn’t continue, he prompted.  “Or what?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe because it turns out Owen’s a psychopath.”

Jesus Mary Mother of God.  For once, his sister-in-law was right on the money. 

“I’m not hanging up this phone until you tell me what fucking happened, Counselor, so talk,” he advised tersely.

“Sorry,” came the quiet apology.  “Nothing like a little dramatic cliffhanger, huh?  Short story is that if I don’t maintain the status quo, he’s going to have me committed and assume control of my finances.”

“So that deal with the boys wasn’t just to discredit you with them.”

“No.  It was so they’ll be willing to go along with putting me away if Owen deems it necessary.  The whole thing was… eerie.  I wasn’t joking about his being a psychopath.  He was casually choosing the first course of his meal while he nonchalantly outlined his plan to destroy my life and keep the good parts for himself.” 

There was no way he was ever going to like this pus-filled bag of scum, but exactly how deep into loathing could Jon sink?  He was sorely afraid that he might find out if the counselor didn’t skewer this guy’s ass tomorrow.   

“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

“When I walked away from dinner tonight, I was so angry that I had, but now I don’t know.  The boys have to be taken into consideration.”

The boys needed to know that this kind of behavior was unacceptable and punishable.  They didn’t need a lesson in acceptance just because this was their father.  It would only muddle their heads, and bring a lot of unnecessary gray into a black and white situation. 

“I’m just gonna point out here that he’s used those kids as he sees fit to get what he wants.  If he wants something else, he’ll use them again – and maybe this time in a way that hurts them instead of just taking advantage.  Do you want that?”

“You know I don’t.”

Disregarding the anger those four words pointed at him, Jon strongly suggested, “Then do what needs to be done.”

The sigh that found its way into his hear this time was lusty and riddled with disgust.  “I’ll make a decision before I go to bed tonight.”

And he wouldn’t be there to influence that decision through whatever means necessary.  It would just be her and the dog rattling around her house, unless she’d had the foresight to make other plans.

“Are you staying at the brownstone?”

“Yes. Where else would I stay?”

“Anyplace,” he flatly countered.  “Your parents, one of your brothers.  Lilah’s.  I don’t care, but the thought of you being alone tonight with that piece of fuck in the city…  I don’t like it.”

“You’re as bad as Lilah with the overreacting.”

Maybe he was.  Maybe Owen would rack up a huge room service bill tonight and nothing more.  That was one possibility, but there were many more available to a man who had no qualms about using all available resources to his full advantage. 

If he’d gotten the slightest inkling that things tomorrow weren’t going to play out the way he wanted…  If Chiara had inadvertently given him the first clue…

Turning into the corner he’d chosen for this conversation, Jon settled an open hand over his hip and tersely informed her, “I’ve picked up a lot of broken pieces because of this shit, and I don’t begrudge wiping away a single one of your tears.  I'd do it again and again, but for God’s sake!  Don’t make me wipe away the ones that can be avoided.  It’s one fucking night.” 

“Okay,” came her soft agreement, and with it, his relief.  “You’re right.  Nana and I will go to Luke’s.”

“Thank you.  Now wear something pretty to the Crowne Plaza.  You and I are going out after.”

“We are?”

The pleasure in her voice made him smile.  “Well, yeah.  It’s time the world got to meet the woman I love.”

“That sounds… really good,” she murmured.  “I’ll look forward to it.  Have fun with the boys, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Dropping the phone into the purple suitcoat pocket of his costume, Jon turned to rejoin the party and find his son.  He didn’t have to look far, because Jesse was standing there with curiosity in his Penguin-smudged eyes.

“Who were you talking to?”

Great.  Jesse was the only one of the kids who didn’t know, and that was totally Jon’s fault for not having taken the time to do it.  Not that he could’ve until after the weekend with Noah and Caleb, then there was football last weekend, and this weekend was Halloween.  Excuses abounded, but the bottom line was that Jon dropped the ball. 

“Chiara,” he said, meeting his son’s gaze.  “Noah and Caleb’s mom.  For one reason and another, I haven’t gotten around to telling you, but she and I have been seeing each other.”

“She’s the ‘woman you love’?”

The bulky padding of his Penguin costume made his football playing child look even larger, and when Jesse crossed his arms, it was a little intimidating.  If Jon didn’t allow grown men to intimidate him, though, he sure wasn’t going to let his own son do it.

“She is.”

“What about Mom?”

Of all the things to ask, that one never would have crossed Jon’s mind.  “What about her?”

“Does she know?”

The pancake makeup that was beginning to get tight on his face cracked as Jon’s forehead furrowed.  “That I’m dating Chiara?  Yes.”

“And she’s okay with it?”

Technically, no, she wasn’t.  She thought Jon was an idiot, but that was because she didn’t understand the whole story – which reminded him that he’d issued an offhand invitation to Owen’s fiasco to her a couple of weeks ago.  He should probably see if she actually wanted to go.  She may as well get the full show.

“Jess, where are all these questions coming from?  Is there a reason you think your mom wouldn’t be okay with it?”

His son frowned uncertainly.  “Can I be honest?”

“Always.”

“Well…  I thought you and Mom would end up back together.”

What in the hell had he and Dorothea done to perpetuate that thought?  It was never a consideration as far as Jon knew.  She wanted the divorce.  He gave it to her.  Last time he checked, there wasn’t a return policy on those, and Jesse wasn’t the type to indulge in flights of fancy.  If Jon had to choose three of his children who might harbor reconciliation hopes, none of those three would’ve been Jess.

“What made you think that?  Did Mom say something?”

“No.  Not really.  You guys were just married for so long, I figured maybe you only needed a break.  That sooner or later, you’d figure out that you made a mistake.”

Oh, Jesus.  He was not the person who could gracefully make everything hunky dory in this kind of situation.  This was going to turn out badly.  Like, his son was going to end up being the Penguin, looting and killing.

“Jess…”  Clamping a wide hand over the solid muscle of his son’s shoulder, Jon squeezed.  “If I did anything to encourage that thought process, I’m truly sorry.  As far as I know, your mom meant it when she asked for divorce.  She’s given me no reason to believe otherwise, and while I didn’t expect to find someone else so soon, I’d wager to say your mom isn’t upset about it.  Are you?”

“Kind of.”  Blue eyes like his own darted to a distant spot before finding Jon’s again.  “It’s nothing to do with Charlie, but it sucks to have to face reality.  My childhood is really gone.”

Hooking an arm around the boy’s neck, Jon pulled him in for a back-thumping hug before easing back to gently remind, “Kid, you’re twenty years old.  Every twenty-year-old’s childhood is gone.  You’re grown-up and blazing your own path now, and the only things left of your childhood should be unrealized dreams, untouchable memories and your family.  You’ve got all that.  Mom and I will always be here, we just aren’t going to be here together.”

“With Charlie.  Since you love her, are you going to marry her?”

Not according to the woman herself, but if Jon decided that’s what he really wanted, he bet he could make it happen.  It might take some creativity, but he was a frigging songwriter.  Creativity flowed through his veins.   

“Never say never,” is what he told his son.  “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know better than to rule anything out.  If it happens, you gonna be okay with it?”

“Yeah.”  Jesse’s grin split his pale penguin face.  “At least I know I like her kids.”