Chapter Five

They arrived back at the studio a little early, and took up residency in a nearby coffee shop until it was time for Jon’s interview. Once the waitress served the coffee’s, Jon leaned back in the corner booth they were in and stretched out his legs.

“Wow,” it came out as a gush of air, “what a day huh?” he asked. She’d been quiet the whole way back, and he knew she had to be still chewing over how her parents acted.

She cradled the mug in her hands, staring at it and nodded. “Yeah... tell me about it. I can’t believe I was so stupid in the first place. I don’t do this Jon. I’m not this sort of girl. I just don’t fail.”

He leaned over and tipped up her chin with his finger. “Hey – who said anything about failing here? Alright this is not the best situation for either of us, but it’s not failing Callie.” His eyes searched hers until she nodded.

“Yeah but if I hadn’t been so insistent, so it seems we wouldn’t of never got into this position. I’m really sorry. We’ll get the annulment and all this will go away.” If only she could reverse time and not have had that last drink... or five. God. Her father always had the most effective ways of crumbling her confidence. He really did.

Job chuckled. “Sweetheart, I’ve done some pretty dumb things in my life… OK none of which was getting married...until now... but seriously we’re both so early in our careers right? This will all blow over eventually and people will just laugh ten years down the track. Trust me.” He took a swig from his cup and rubbed his forehead. This hangover seemed to be a stickler. He was still amazed that she went from ball breaker to a sad sack of shit in less than ten minutes. Her father may have known best but still was no reason to treat her the way he did. If it was his father, he probably would have taken a swipe at him.

She knew he was trying to make her feel better and it helped, a little. “I bet you have. My father does love to over dramatize things. You should see him in court, I guess that’s why he wins so much.”

“Well, can’t say I would have let my old man speak to me the way he spoke to you.
But then my old man isn’t as lethal as he was. We’ll work it out, I promise.” He took a long draw on his coffee, “So you wanted to be a doctor huh?”

She half heartedly laughed, the sadness in her eyes was too obvious.

“Yeah – but my family all went to law school. It was just the done thing. So off I went.”

Jon curled his fingers further around the mug and slid it in close to him. “But a doctor is a respectable career? I’d say more so than a lawyer.”
He was never going to understand, and that was ok. Not many people did. If she’d gone to med school, she wouldn’t have received the financial help from her father so willingly and a number of other perks. Some could say it was blackmail, but Pierce called it a little incentive. Typical lawyer thinking.

“I know it’s ok. I do love law believe it or not. It gets a little tricky when you start talking about defending guilty people but more so – it’s pretty good. What about you? Always into music?”

“Yeah,” a smile spread across his face. How could it not, music was his passion.

“Always been tinkering around with bands and guitars and just decided to try and make it pay me money… its early days yet but we’re doing pretty well.”

“And the girls seem to loooove you,” she teased.

He snorted and lifted his cup. “Jealous there are we wifey?”

She nudged him with her boot under the table. “I told you stop calling me that!”

He chuckled and took another sip. The truth was he only did it to get the reaction he did from her. It was cute. In a line-up he probably wouldn’t have gone for her, she was gorgeous but she would have never have been the type of girl that threw herself at the likes of him. And that made it all the more attractive, he decided.
“Ok so how about Mrs Bongiovi?” he asked with a smirk. She slapped him playfully.

“God what a mouthful, Callie Bongiovi?” she asked out loud before shaking her head. What would being married to him even be like? She wondered. A nightmare, she tried to convince herself. If the lobby was anything on signs to come, she didn’t want to be a part of it.

“Yeah, not the best name. My stage name is Bon Jovi, so Jon Bon Jovi.” He said proudly.

“Isn’t that your band’s name?”

“Yup, and I’m the front man.”

“That’s a little presumptuous isn’t it, calling it after yourself?”

“It’s my band. I can name it what I want. Besides it was the record company that decided not me.” He muttered defensively

She held her hand up, “Ok I know, I know… just sayin that’s all.”

Jon looked at the clock on the wall, “shit we need to jet…time to go and face the shitstorm.” He popped up and waited for her and took her hand.

“C’mon then.”

Her belly was a knot of nerves, she had no idea why. It wasn’t as if she was the one being interviewed. But it was the fact that it was all about to come out. What they’d done, how stupidly, juvenile and irresponsible they’d been – Officially, and everyone would know.

When they arrived at the small radio studio which was nestled behind where the coffee shop was, Jon noticed her squeeze on his hand grow tighter. He squeezed hers back and smiled before Richie came busting out the door.

“Hey man, finally I get to meet the wife.”

Jon laughed as Callie rolled her eyes. “Callie, meet my best man in the world, Richie Sambora.” His deep jersey accent rolled the r.

“Hi Richie, pleased to meet you.”

“We met last night little Darlin’, obviously I didn’t make the impression I hoped.” Richie waggled his brows.

“It’s called alcohol and I can’t remember any of it, so I apologize, evidently I was going to marry your keyboardist.”

“David? Oh god, Callie, Callie…” Richie dragged her under his arm and pulled her in tightly. “I’m already upset you didn’t choose me, since it was me that saved you from your boring ass friends. I dragged you into our party and this is how you repay me? By marrying him? Jeesh.”

Jon snapped his head around. “Wait, it was you that snagged her? I wondered what happened. Obviously I can’t remember a thing…. How on earth did we get married?”
Richie laughed loudly as he led them inside. “Oh children, what am I going to do with you two huh?”

“Fu- shut up Richie.”

“Oh he must like you Callie, he didn’t cuss…”

They were boys alright. Her older brother Daryl had been through this phase, he was close to thirty now but oh... she remembered it all too well.

“So what happened? And how in the hell did you drag me away?” Callie asked terrified what the answer may be.

Richie like David jingled as he walked along, several trinkets dangling from various positions on his clothes and hair. The purple tights and loud zebra print shirt he had on screamed rock star along with his freshly spiked dark mullet. “We were in the bar and you were with your, ah friends. You looked bored as shit. So I said to Jonny I’d drag you away – there wasn’t that much talent in the place anyway, and we wondered with all those suits you were with, if you were just as stiff. But you weren’t. “He stopped at the studio door where Doc was waiting inside with the DJ.

“So – we drank, a lot evidently and you were a riot. Let me say that much girl, you were a hoot.”

Jon rolled his eyes, damn he wished he could at least remember, he remembered pieces of the night. Dancing, kissing and laughing but he just couldn’t remember the marriage part at all.

“Anyways, you said you wanted to do something crazy... that it had been far too long since you had, and David said ‘get married...we’re in Atlantic City’, and the whole thing transpired from there. You and Jonny here were all over the dance floor. And Jonny doesn’t dance, he sucks at it… but he was too busy sucking face with you to care. We looked around after awhile and you were both just … well gone. So we figured you’d gone to do the nasty, but obviously you pit stopped the chapel on the way huh?” Richie grinned broadly.

“Alright – alright we get the picture Rich, come on Doc look’s pissed.” Jon shoved the door open and walked in forcing a smile for the DJ. Doc’s face tightened when he saw Callie follow in behind them.

“So what happened?” he hissed as the DJ walked back around to get set up for the show.

“Relax man, it’s sorted. No need to worry. All taken care of.” Jon whispered.

“Really? So this will go away? Just like that?” Doc asked eagerly.

“Uh huh – it will go away.” Jon confirmed looking back at Callie. The sadness in her eyes now, back at her home and the coffee shop, played on his mind. She looked so deflated. He wanted the Callie he woke up next to, back, the one with fire and stubbornness.

“Good, great. Go get ‘em Jonny, Runaway is climbing up those charts.” He said excitedly.

“Alright Doc.”

Callie sat down in the room opposite the studio, separated by a large glass window she could still see right in and the audio came out into speakers in the room. Richie stayed out with her.

“What, you don’t go in too?” she asked looking up into his deep brown eyes.
“This one’s for Jonny, he does most of the interviews. He’s good at it. Hates it, but he’s good at it. Doc wants him to stand out a bit as the front man for now.”
She just nodded as the DJ introduced Jonny and the interview began. Doc stood a few metres away from him, watching intently.

“So Jonny, welcome to KWRBB first things first. I hear a congratulations is in order.” The DJ swung around in his seat, his voice matching his animated actions.
Jon laughed nervously. “Thanks. Yeah, I got married last night.” His eyes met hers and she smiled briefly, the whole thing just seemed surreal to her.

“Did I hear correctly this was a spontaneous decision and you both are regretting this and will be filing for grounds for annulment?”

Callie watched Doc nod, and Jon nod back before his eyes held hers as he spoke. He paused leaning into the mic, “No, that is not correct. I got married because I’m in love and it was for all purposes intentional. We love each other.”

Callie’s eyes popped open and her jaw dropped. Her heart banged against her chest so loud she swore to god everyone in the room could hear it. What the hell had he just done?