Chapter 106 - The Pieces Fit

"I've never paid for a problem to go away, you know that Beth." he tells her, exhausted and wanting to concede defeat, but he knows in his heart, that that is not the way that a Bongiovi takes care of business.  

"She can't get away with this and she isn't going to blackmail me for something that never happened."

Beth looks up at him and with her hands at her sides she asks, "What do you purpose we do then Jon?"  Beth is just as exhausted as he is, and maybe even more so.  She has the gnawing and nagging feeling that something is about to come down, much bigger than what they are dealing with and she sits with the stress in her shoulders, a burning tightness that she can't shake.  As she looks around the grand room, with no expectation of Jon having an answer, she makes note of the men that she can see hidden outside.  "Here we are with armed men circling our house, our children are under lock and key - if we can make one thing go away, let's just do it."

"No! I'm not playing a show, for a cause that Dorothea attached me too."

"Jon."

"Goddamn it Beth, it's not open for discussion."  he walks over to the window.  "Imagine if we do this, the backlash that we will suffer."

"Like what?" she screeches as she stands up to walk to him, "Could it possibly be any worse than what we are dealing with right now?"

He nods his head without even looking at her, "It could get much worse."

"Worse than being prisoners in our own life?" She stands next to him, grabbing his arm, slightly spinning him around, "How could it be any worse than this?"  She points out the window, drawing his attention to the men that are positioned to protect them.  "You tell me how it can get any worse Jon.  So, we pay off a mortgage for a homeless shelter, where is the harm in that?"

"You just don't get it."

"EXPLAIN IT!" she demands, "Tell me what I don't fucking get."

They are startled by the sound of knocking.  Quickly they both turn to see who the interruption is.  Both are shocked to see that it's Stephanie.  "What's up?"  Jon asks the young woman, pleased to see a distraction.  "is everything okay?"

Stephanie slowly walks into the room.  As she walks, her attention is focused on the smart phone that's in her hand.  Under her breath and with a slight mumble she tells them, "I just got a text from mom.  She says that if you don't play some concert, she's going to the press."  Stephanie stops and looks at her dad with a little bit of disbelief.  "Is that true dad?  You have a concert coming up?  I thought we all were under house arrest."

Jon looks at Beth, Beth looks at Jon.  And in Jon's face, Beth can see the anger as it boils to the surface.  Without even thinking he says to Beth, "See it can get worse."

Beth can see that Stephanie is puzzled and even a little upset.  In just one day their life has went to hell and now Stephanie thinks that the rules only apply to the kids.  She knows that she needs to squash that.  "Your dad doesn't have a show coming up, Rose.  Your mom is just doing her thing.  You know, creating havoc wherever she may go."

"BETH!"  Jon snaps at her.  "Stop."

"Stop what dad?"  Stephanie asks, "What's going on?"  She plops down on the couch, with a heavy sigh she adds, "What's mom doing now?"  

Jon sits next to his daughter and tells her the truth.  The cold hard truth and even informs her how he feels about it all.  

"You can't do it dad.  You can't play that show."

Beth's jaw drops as she is stunned by what Stephanie just said, "you can't let her do this."

"We agree, but we aren't sure how to make it all go away."  Jon tells her.  "We aren't sure what to do Steph."  his hands course through his hair, "She never ceases to amaze us with what she'll come up with."

"This is something that she came up with?  It isn't the assholes that she has hooked up with?" the eldest daughter asks, "This is all so not mom, dad."

Beth, aware of where the conversation may go, tries to put a positive spin on a bad situation.  "THIS is so your mom.  It's just devious enough to be here, but harmless enough to tell us that it's her."

"What does that even mean?" Stephanie questions

Beth chuckles a little, "This is lame enough and weak enough to be all your mom.  If the others were involved, someone would be getting hurt."

"But this is bad, she's going to say that my dad hurt her."

Beth nods, in agreement.  "That's what she's threatening to do."

With a little fire, her step daughter responds,  "Dad, you have to pay her then.  You just have too."

"That may not be the best way to deal with this, Rose."  Jon states, "But let Beth and I worry about it, okay?"

"You have the money!" she replies, "Just put a stop to her."

Jon looks at Stephanie and then looks at Beth, "You two know that money is not the issue here, right?"

"Then pay the damn mortgage for the shelter and let's be done with it."  Beth chimes in, wanting to put an end to something that they can't control.  

Jon stands, pushing his pants down on his thighs, "Stephanie, I have never paid money to make a potential scandal go away - and I don't think that now is the time to start."

"Dad, we have people that want to hurt us, strange men creeping around our house and you don't want to spend a little money to make mom and her bullshit stop?"   The young woman is getting upset.  Beth can't figure out if it's because of the situation or if it's because he mom is behind yet another dilemma that they have to deal with.

"So, let's say I pay her the money and she tells her bullshit story anyway?" he pleads with his daughter, "What if I do give her hundreds of thousands of dollars, which she has on her own and she goes to the press and tells people that she was a guest at this house?"

"Then you'll know that you really helped people that needed your help." the girl reminds her father.