Chapter 124

“So, you let him off the hook?” Fran asked when her and Kim were talking on the phone the next day.

“Yes, Fran.” Kim’s voice carried a warning. She didn’t wanna justify her behaviour towards Jon every time she was talking to her best friend. Fran stayed silent for a few seconds.

“Ok, you are going to easy on him…..”

“That’s all I will say about it, Kim.” Fran told her when she could hear Kim taking a deep breath.

“Fine. Your opinion.” Kim tried to stay calm.

“Good.”

“Soooo, ….the kids are visiting this weekend, right?” Fran was biting her tongue and tried hard not to jump into a fight about it. She knew that her hormones were probably adding a little to her feelings towards Jon.

“Yes, Jon is throwing ball with Jake and Romeo on the patio.” Kim immediately jumped onto the change of subject.

“I thought his leg was still hurting?” this time Fran sounded a bit worried. Kim smirked.

“Well, he is a good patient today and sat down for it. I’m a little worried though they might throw the ball down onto the street and hit someone.” Kim explained and smiled when Jon spotted her sitting on the couch in the living room and indicated at his leg and the chair.

She blew him a kiss and he made a big gesture in catching it, causing his two sons to look at him like he was nuts.

“Kim?...Kim? Are you still there?” Fran’s voice made her turn away from the windows.

“Uhm…yeah, sorry. I got a little distracted.”

“Do I wanna know?” Fran asked giggling.

“Nope.” Kim laughed.

“So, how are you and the baby?” she tried to focus on their conversation again.

“Oh, we are both fine. A little annoyed maybe about the fact that my husband won’t let me do anything at all.” Fran told her with a little laugh in her voice.

“I love you too, darling.” Kim caught Richie’s voice in the distance and laughed.

“Well, that’s what you wanted right? And I have to tell you it’s kinda nice that I don’t have to listen to you telling me every day how horny and frustrated you are.” She told her best friend the moment Steph walked down the stairs to get something to drink. The girl looked at her irritated.

“It’s Fran, Steph.” Kim said chuckling.

“Oh, tell her I said hi.” She said before vanishing upstairs again to continue with her preparation for her first week as a senior in High school.

“Steph says hi.” Kim passed the greeting on.

“That’s sweet. Is everything ok?” Fran found it a little odd that Kim explained herself immediately.

“Well,….” Kim made sure Steph was really upstairs in her room.

“…I think she realized Jon and I weren’t completely on the same page the last couple weeks. She is smart and has a radar for it. I simply don’t want her to worry about anything. You know how teenagers are.”

“Oh, yes. I know. I know all about it. Ava is driving everybody crazy about her outfit for the first day back at school. I started to take pictures with my mobile to keep track. All Richie is saying ‘You look beautiful, babygirl’. That really frustrates her.” Fran laughed.

“So, is she with you this weekend?” Kim asked and watched Jon and the boys walking into the kitchen to get some juice.

“No, Richie dropped her off last night. But she didn’t wanna leave. She is worried she might miss something about the baby.”

“Awww, that’s sweet.”

“Yeah, she is totally excited about it. It really pisses Heather off, though.” Fran informed her.

“Is she giving her a hard time about it?” Kim asked concerned and got Jon’s attention with that question.

“I hope not. Or I will go over and kick her pretty little ass.” Fran sounded aggravated.

“Don’t. Not at seven months pregnant. Send Richie.” Kim smiled when Fran laughed at her words.

“Well, we’ll see about that. Kim, I need to go. My….uhm…husband wants my full attention suddenly….” Now Fran sounded distracted. Kim laughed.

“Ok, ok…don’t tell me. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye, Kim.” Fran hung up. Kim shook her head laughing even more.

“Is she ok? And the baby?” Jon asked and handed her a glass of juice.

“They are fine, but she is still mad at you.” Jon sighed.

“Maybe that changes after she got the baby.”

“It surely will. She’ll be in after-birth bliss. She can’t stay mad at anyone. But that means you need to avoid her for two more months.” Kim told him.

“When is her due date again?”

“November 12^th. You should really remember this, Jon. Richie will get very anxious around that time.”

“I know, I know. At least we are back from South America at that time.” Jon was quite happy that the birth fit right in the little break before the Japan leg of the tour would start.

“Well, first of all you have tons of stuff to do on that break… as your schedule states and second, I’m sorry to tell you this, but Jason was born nearly four weeks before being due.” Jon looked at her shocked.

“But, but….oh, god…does Richie know that?”

“Probably not. And if I were you and wanted a focused guitarist for the South America gigs, I sure wouldn’t tell him.”