Chapter 3 - We Gotta Hold On

 

It was finally the day, Beth moved into the house of the vineyard. The movers delivered what she had and set up what they could.

 

When she left Jon in the driveway that day and went to the beach, she did a little soul searching and realized that she loved the idea of running the vineyard. Her office in New York was still open and operating at full capacity, She made Tammy a partner so she would stay in New York. Beth had too much invested to walk away from it 100%.

She spent the day unpacking and cleaning, loving the pictures she hung on the wall. It was time to wind down. She took a shower and grabbed a bottle of water. There was a box that she came across that she wanted to go through. Plopping the box on the bed, she sits Indian style and starts to go through it . There's old wedding invitations, birth announcements, obituaries, pictures of Amanda's children amongst other things. A green envelope catches her eye and she's suddenly reminded of what it is. She opens it and thinks back to the time of life that this was from. Reading the papers, she starts to tear up, as she's reminded of yet another loss. Holding the papers to her chest, she says outloud I can't believe I forgot about this.

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It was a Saturday morning, the air was crisp and the ground was damp.  The sun bouncing off the grapevines was an image that even a photographer couldn't capture. 

As Beth walked the grounds, she took in the fresh air affirming that she’s made the right decision for not only her, but for her life.  Life was all about chances and all about risk; is it living if you live in the shadows of your past?

Other than that email, she hasn’t had any contact with Jon for several weeks. Although it was nice to not fight and argue, she missed him.  She missed him madly.  She knows that he’s been busy with his music and the kids, so she’s certain that he’s not thought much about her.  She did find it odd that he hasn’t tried to contact her though.  The sunrise was her antidote to all her woes of the world and she enjoyed her morning walks.  She needed them and looked forward to them.

She greeted and talked with guests as she did her rounds.  When she was finished with her walk, she made her way to the dining area and had breakfast.  Every morning she has fresh fruit and whole wheat toast, with strawberry jelly.  That’s been her favorite breakfast food for years.

As she sat at her table, she was able to observe that staff and she is pleased with the staff that she has in place.  It was tough when she first took over, but when she gave Tony the reigns and he started to manage; he cleaned house and hired an impressive staff.  The staff was so good, the AWA; American Wine Association requested that they have their annual awards ceremony there.  Beth jumped at that chance, knowing that an opportunity like that is a once in a lifetime and she would be honored to share her vineyard with her co-vintners.  The awards were two weeks away and she was almost ready for them.  She has some things that she wants to do in some of the guest rooms, but other than that, the Bongiovi/Adams Vineyard was ready to greet them all. 

In New Jersey Jon was busy with his music and very busy with the children.  Stephanie was doing good, she’s back in school.  They were able to minimize the publicity damage and she was able to avoid getting into trouble with the authorities.  Jon is still very thankful that Beth was there for her through that.  He and Dorothea have split again, she’s in New York and he’s in New Jersey.  They have equal time with the children, the younger two anyway.  Steph is away at school and Jesse is busy with friends and football.  Both are able to drive and see whatever parent they want, when they want.  They have turned out to be pretty amazing kids and Jon can often see habits that they picked up from Beth, and from time to time that makes him smile. 

Today he’s alone at home, puttering in his office taking care of a few loose ends.  As he’s signing some pictures for a charity, his office phone rings.  “Hello.”

“Jon?”

“Yeah.  Who is this?”

“My name is Scott Tillman; I’m a probation officer for the state of New Jersey.  Do you have a few minutes?” the man asks with a little hesitation in his voice. 

Jon’s stomach starts to turn, thinking that maybe Stephanie did get into trouble but she was hiding it from her family, “Is everything okay?  What is this about?”

Scott clears his throat and says, “Everything is fine.  My call is regarding Melissa.”

Snapping as fast as he can, “What about her?”

“Well sir, she’s up for early release and we are contacting her victims to see if there are any objections or concerns to her early release.”

“Of course there are.  How can she be up for early release?  She’s hardly been there.”

“I understand your concern and while she has only been here for a short period, our doctors think that she is rehabilitated and no longer poses a threat to anyone.”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Jon loudly replies, getting up to pace the floors before he wipes the top of his desk of all it’s contents.  “She better not get out.”

“Mr. Bongiovi, what are your concerns if she does in fact get out?” Mr. Tillman asks, not very familiar with the case. 

“My concerns are that she’s crazy and will come after me, my family or Beth.  Who thinks that she’s fit to get out?  Can I talk to this person?”

“You are more than welcome to attend her parole hearing, Mr. Bongiovi.  I’m calling you to get your input as to how we should proceed with her.  Her psychiatrist says that she is no longer a danger to herself or anyone else and feels that she could blend well, back into society.”

Enraged by what he has just heard, he asks, “When is this hearing?” 

“Two weeks from today, at 9am.”

“Where?” he is so pissed, on the verge of being scared.  

“It’s at the psych hospital in Trenton.”

“I’ll be there.” And he hangs up the phone.  With his cell phone in his hand, he looks out over the lawn and immediately thinks about Beth.  He’s worried for her now, even though they are no longer together.  At Melissa’s trial, they found it hard to determine who she was after.  Was it Beth that was the target, or was it Jon?  To many, it looked like she tried to become Beth and to others it looked like she was just chasing after Jon.  Regardless, Jon now feels that she’s a threat to both of them and his family.

Scrolling through his contacts, he finds her name and calls her.  It rang twice and she answered it.  “Hello.”  He could hear her smile, and that made him smile.

“How are you?” he asks, in a calm and I need to talk to you voice.

She perks up in her seat, resting her elbows on the table, “I’m fantastic, how are you?  How are the kids?” her heart is racing and her palms are sweaty.

“We’re all doing good.” She can hear him sigh, “Sorry to bother you, but I just got a phone call from the people that are housing Melissa.”

“Yeah?  What for?” she asks him, having no idea what was coming next.

His voice goes hollow and tells her, “They want to let her out.”

“WHAT?” she loudly asks, forgetting that she’s surrounded by guests.  A few looked at her and she got embarrassed, dropping her head.  “What are you talking about?” she whispers.

“They feel that she is rehabilitated and want to let her out.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Do you think I would kid about something like that?”

Beth drops her tone, “Jon, it’s just an expression.  When are they letting her out?”

“She has a hearing in 2 weeks at 9am.” He informs her.

“Two weeks from today?” she questions him.

“Yes.”

“In Jersey?”

“Yep.” 

“Well, why did they call you and not me?” she wonders out loud.

He sits at his desk and leans back.  He’s soaking up the sound that is her voice, loving every syllable that falls out of her mouth.  “They are getting feedback from her victims, I’m sure they’ll call you.  I just wanted to give you a heads up.”

“I’m glad you did.  Thank you.” She’s sincere with her gratitude while she searches her memory bank for something important to talk to him about.  She knows that he knows all that’s going on in her life.  She still works very closely with Tony.  He’s made a couple of commercials for her and often they get together to brain storm.  The vineyard, over the years, has grown at a rate that surprises everyone.  But anything that has that name attached to it does well.  She can’t think of anything…..she’s completely blank.  Her heart is still racing and keeping her on the phone – while her brain is screaming HANG UP!! 

“It was my pleasure.” He tells her and she can see the look on his face as he does.  He’s pulling out the Old Italian charm and she can feel it.  “Totally my pleasure.”

There is a long silence, both wanting to talk but neither wants to risk the rejection.  So with her heart in her throat, she says, “Okay, thanks for calling.  Bye, Jon.”

He said nothing.  He couldn’t talk; the heart that is in his throat is far too big.  She said the word, part of the word.  She used part of the final word.

“I’ll keep you posted.” He finally gets a few words out, but is quickly quieted with her response.

“Thank you, but there’s no need.  I’ll contact the mental health division of the prison system and get what information that I need.”