Happily Ever After...

Hearing Josh call him dad had Richie pulling him close for a hug. They walked into the kitchen both smiling and talking at the same time. Leana gave a huge sigh of relief and smiled at the sight of them together.

They sat at the table long after dinner was done, sharing stories of Josh’s youth and of Richie’s early days of running around with the band. As they rose from the table Richie thought of something, “Josh, you’ll meet Ava tomorrow.” He turned to Richie, “Ava?” Richie nodded, “your little sister.” Josh smiled, “oh, that’s right, you have a daughter too. I almost forgot.” Richie clapped a hand on his shoulder, “that’s okay; we’ve thrown a lot of stuff at you tonight.” Josh nodded, “yea, I think I’m gonna go to bed and let it all sink in.” He kissed his mother and headed upstairs.

Richie helped Leana put the kitchen to rights and then they both went into the living room. The tree was still lit and they sat on the sofa, enjoying the quiet. As they sat there Richie thought about all he had gained in the last few days. He blew out a quiet breath and Leana looked up at him and was surprised to see a tear trail down his cheek. “Rich, what’s the matter?”

He wiped the tear away and took Leana’s hand, “I was just thinking about everything baby. Do you know you have given me the greatest gift I have ever gotten? For the first time I feel like my family is complete. Tomorrow my son and daughter will meet and, after more than 20 years, we will celebrate the holidays like we should have all along.” Leana hugged him, “it’s a lot to take in, I know.”

Richie stood, walked to the tree and turned to face Leana. “Baby, with all that happened between us, I can hardly believe that we’re here, about to celebrate the holidays not only with our family, but as a family. I can’t begin to describe how I feel. My heart is so full it’s ready to burst out of my chest.” Leana got up and went to him, wrapped her arms around him and looked up into his face, “I’m glad you’re so happy.” He leaned down and kissed her, “there’s only one thing that could make me happier.” Leana’s eyebrow rose in curiosity, “really, what’s that?” He slipped a hand in his pocket, “if you would marry me darlin’.”

Looking up into his face she knew he wasn’t kidding. She looked down and saw the ring he was holding, the stone glistening in the soft light from the tree. She looked back to his face, “yes Rich, yes I’ll marry you.” He slid the ring on her finger and tipped her head back so he could see her face, “I love you darlin’.” A tear slid down her cheek as she looked into his eyes, “I love you too Richie.”

****

Answers and Starting Over

“Richie.” He turned his head at the sound of his name off her lips. Leana was still sitting in the chair, her eyes bright with tears. “How could you have thought that? I never wanted anyone else. You were more than good enough for me then," she paused to wipe at her tears, "you still are.”

Josh watched as Richie tugged his mother up out of the chair and held her close. He could see that they loved each other and now he felt bad about how he had talked to Richie. Clearing his throat he spoke again, “I’m sorry Richie. My mom was right; it was none of my business.” Leana sniffled as Richie loosened his hold on her. He turned to face Josh, “it’s all right Josh.” With his arm still around Leana they sat down on the couch and Josh sat in the arm chair. The three of them talked for a long time and Josh was surprised to find out that Richie never knew Leana had been pregnant. He turned to his mother at that point, “why didn’t you tell him?”

Leana explained to him that she had tried but that was the night they broke up and she felt it better that he didn’t know. Josh nodded his head, now he understood why she had done what she had and, looking over at Richie, he felt his anger at him slip away. Watching the two of them together he realized that for the first time, he felt like he had what all his friends had had growing up. He had a family.

Standing and stretching Leana hugged Josh. “I hope you and Richie can at least be friends now honey.” He hugged her back and looked over at Richie and smiled, “I am sure we can mom.” She sniffed one last time and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, “okay” she looked at her two men, “how about some dinner?”

Richie and Josh watched as Leana left the room before turning to look at each other again. This time, Josh spoke first, “I really am sorry I jumped all over you like that.” Richie just shrugged it off, “it’s okay, really. It’s done and over with now. Let’s move on, okay?" Josh nodded, “how about if we start over again?” Richie smiled, “sure” and he stuck out his hand, “I’m Richie, it’s nice to meet you.” Josh took his hand, “I’m Josh, it’s nice to finally meet you, dad.”

Questions

For long moments the only sound in the hallway was the ticking of the clock. Richie and Josh stood there, looking at each other, not speaking. Finally, making the first move, Richie held out his hand, “hi Josh, it’s nice to meet you.” Josh took his father’s hand “it’s nice to meet you too.” Josh pulled his hand back to take off his coat and Richie helped him take his things to his room. They walked back to the living room and sat down, still not having said anything more than hello.

Josh looked at the man sitting across from him, his father, the man who hadn’t cared enough when his mother was pregnant to hear her out, to stand up and take responsibility, to be there at all. Sure he had his step-dad until the divorce, but he could have cared less about Josh. He was definitely not a kid person. There were so many questions he had wanted to ask, but now that he was here, in the same room as Richie, he didn’t know where to start. He didn’t want to offend the man or hurt their relationship. His mother was finally happy again and he didn’t want to do anything to change that.

Richie studied the young man sitting across from him he could tell something was bothering him by the way his green eyes got all stormy, just like Leana’s. He finally broke the silence and it was as if he could read Josh’s mind. “What do you want to know? You’re not going to offend me, so ask me anything.” Josh’s leveled his gaze at Richie, “anything?” Richie nodded, not breaking the eye contact, “anything.” Josh took a breath and pushed forward, “Why didn’t you care enough about my mother to stay with her?”

In the kitchen Leana was getting worried. She hadn’t heard a peep from either of them since she left them in the hall and they said hello. Maybe this wasn’t going to be a good thing after all. She heard part of what Josh asked and headed into the living room, coming around the corner in time to see Richie wince. “Josh! That’s not your business” she admonished. His cheeks pinked, but he held his ground, “why isn’t it? He made you miserable and I want to know why getting to be rich and famous was more important to him than you being pregnant. I want to know why he thought you weren’t good enough for him when he made it big, why he thought he could find someone better than you.”

Richie sat watching the two of them, running a hand through his hair. He had known this wasn’t going to be easy, but he had no idea that it was going to be this hard. “Leana, don’t.” She looked over at him, “Richie, he shouldn’t be asking you questions like that. It’s not his business.” Richie shook his head, “why not? He’s right you know, well at least partially anyway.” He turned his gaze from Leana to Josh, “I never thought your mother wasn’t good enough for me, I thought just the opposite in fact. I never thought I was good enough for her.”

Leana sat down hard in the armchair. Richie had never told her that before. He had apologized for what had happened, but he hadn’t every really explained to her why he had done what he had.

Richie turned his attention fully to Josh, “I broke up with her because I thought it best if she found someone worthy of her. I was going on the road again and didn’t know what was going to happen. She deserved to be with a guy who would be there for her, not a guy like me who was gone more than he was home. She deserved more than I could give her and I thought breaking up with her was the right thing to do. I can see now I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

The Meeting

In the days leading up to Joshua’s arrival, Richie pestered Leana to no end for information about him. He asked every question imaginable, “how tall is he? When is his birthday? Is he colorblind like me? Does he have a girlfriend? Am I going to like him? Is he going to like me?” That last one caught her by surprise. She turned from the cookies she was baking to look at him. “You’re nervous aren’t you?” He shook his head, “no, I’m scared shitless.” She went and wrapped her arms around him, “trust me, you’re going to love him and he is going to like you. How could he not, he’s just like you.”

Richie let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding, leaned down and gave Leana a kiss, “thank you.” She kissed him back, “for what, talking you down? Just relax Richie, you and he are going to get along fine.” She moved back to the cookies and the doorbell rang. She looked over at him, “could you get that please?” They weren’t expecting anyone until the following day so she was surprised when she heard Richie call out to her, “Leana, could you come in here please?”

Richie had opened the door and found himself looking into a very familiar pair of green eyes. Joshua had come a day early, as a surprise for his mother. He hadn’t expected to find Richie at her house, he should have though. She had told him that they were seeing each other and it had become serious over the summer and into the fall.

“Who is it Rich, what do they want?” she asked as she came around the corner. He didn’t say anything, couldn’t find his voice. “Rich, did you hear m..?” She stopped when she saw who was at the door. “Josh, you’re early! Why didn’t you let me know you were coming, we would have picked you up?” She hurried over and hugged him. “It’s good to see you honey.” He smiled and returned the hug, “it’s good to see you too mom, but if I had told you I was coming it wouldn’t have been a surprise.” Leana laughed and hugged him again.

Richie shut the door and moved farther into the hall, leaving mother and son to greet each other. A flash of jealousy rushed through him as he watched them hug and get reacquainted.

Leana looped her arm through Josh’s and walked to where Richie was standing. She looked at Josh; it was like looking at Richie 20 years earlier. She moved so that her two men were standing facing each other. She looked at Richie, “Rich, this is your son Josh; and to Josh, this is your father, Richie Sambora.”

She headed back to the kitchen, leaving them to get to know one another, to find their way as father and son.

Tears, Apologies

Leana stayed on the floor long after full dark had settled outside. Her head ached from her crying jag and after finding some aspirin she went back into the living room. Opening the TV cabinet her fingers sought out the pull for the drawer and, in the back were several videos labeled simply “J.R.” She pulled the first one out and put it in the VCR. She wrapped herself in a blanket and curled up in the corner of the couch, pressing play on the remote.

Her first purchase after having the baby had been a video camera and she had captured every moment she could. She had caught his first steps, his first words; his first guitar. The tears trailed down her face and she ached for all that Richie had missed. As she watched, she didn’t hear the door open.

Richie had walked the beach trying to make sense of what Leana had told him. How could she not tell me? The longer he thought about that time, the more he remembered, remembered what an ass he had been. He remembered Leana trying to talk to him but he didn’t want to take the time to listen. He was more interested in the band than anything else. That was why he broke up with her. But still, she should have gotten in touch with me. I deserved to know. He sighed and shook his head, no I didn’t. After the way I treated her, I didn’t deserve anything from her.

Richie walked back to her house and slipped quietly inside. The only light came from the tree that they had lovingly decorated that afternoon. He heard the TV and, after slipping off his coat and shoes, he padded into the living room. He stopped when he saw what was on the screen. He looked around the room, his eyes landing on the small shape huddled in the corner of the couch. He couldn’t see clearly but he could hear her sniffling and he knew she had been crying. He didn’t move but just whispered into the near dark, “is that him?”

Startled, Leana dropped the remote and looked up, “You came back? Yeah, that’s Joshua.” Richie watched, fascinated. The little boy looked so much like him, dark hair, easy smile, lanky build; the only difference was his eyes, they were green like Leana’s. He walked over and sat down next to Leana, “why didn’t you tell me?” There was no anger now, just sadness over what he had missed.

Leana sucked in a shaky breath, “I tried, but you didn’t want to listen to me.” Richie opened his mouth to say something and she stopped him, “just listen to me now, please.” He nodded his head. “The night you dum… broke up with me I tried to tell you. You were so wrapped up with the band you weren’t hearing a word I said and then you told me to get out. Besides, if you had known what would you have done? Give up on your dream? I wouldn’t have let you do that. You worked so hard you deserved what was right around the corner. You didn’t need to worry about a baby then. I loved you and thought I was doing what was best at the time.” She looked at him and could see the pain and sadness in the chocolate depths of his eyes, “I’m sorry Richie; I should have told you. I should have made you listen to me. Can you forgive me?”

Richie glanced at the TV again, the little boy wasn’t so little anymore. He looked back over at Leana, “we’ve been seeing each other since the summer, why didn’t you tell me before now?” She wiped her face, “I didn’t know how to tell you Rich, and, honestly, I was afraid to.” He looked back over at the TV, “does he know me; does he know that I’m his father?” Leana reached out a tentative hand and grasped his, he didn’t pull away. “He does. I made sure of that. He knows what happened between us as well.” She looked up at Richie, catching his eye with hers, “he wants to meet you. He’ll be here for Christmas.”

Richie pulled his hand from Leana’s grip, “come here” he whispered as he pulled her close to him, dragging her across his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder, “I can’t begin to tell you how sorry…” he stopped her, “don’t baby, I know now.” They sat in silence and watched the tape to the end. Richie found it was like watching himself at times, not only was the resemblance so uncanny, the boy’s mannerisms and facial expressions were startling similar as well.

They sat that way long after the tape had finished and Richie shut the television off. The lights from the tree bathed them in their soft glow. He looked down at Leana, her head was resting against him. He could see the shadows under her eyes and they were still a bit puffy. He stroked her cheek with his fingers. He dipped his head and she raised hers slightly, their mouths meeting, tongues dancing slowly, one over the other.

Surprise?

Sitting on the couch with their wine Richie and Leana chatted about the upcoming holiday and the party they were planning. Glancing over to the fireplace Richie noticed that there were three stockings hung on the mantel, just as there were at his house. He looked over at Leana, “you hung a stocking for Ava? You didn’t have to do that.” Leana set her glass down and stood, he had just given her the perfect opening. It’s now or never. She moved over to the fireplace, running her fingers over the stocking. “It’s not for Ava, Richie.” He stood and went to her, stopping her fingers, “if it’s not for Ava, then who?” She looked up at him; he could see the storm of emotions swirling in her eyes.

He knew something had been bothering her for weeks now, but she never said anything. “Are you pregnant?” The question came out on a whisper. He was afraid to hope for that, but he had to know. She shook her head slowly. “No Richie, I’m not pregnant.” Her voice was sad and her heart ached for the words to tell him.

He pulled her into his embrace. “Tell me what is going on darlin’. I know something has been bothering you for a while now. Just tell me and we will get through it.” Leana rested her head against his chest, “I’m not sure I can. I don’t know … I can’t find the words.” A tear slid down her cheek as Richie lifted her chin to look at her. He was worried now. What could she possibly have to tell him that could be that bad?

Leana pulled herself from his embrace and turned back to the stockings hanging on the mantel. She steeled herself and decided she was just going to tell him. “This third stocking is for Joshua, my… our son.” She felt him stiffen behind her, “what did you just say?” The question came out on a strangled whisper.

She turned to face him now, “I said that stocking is for Joshua, our son.” Richie stepped away from her, “What do you mean our son?” He couldn’t understand. How could she have had his child and not told him? How could she do that to him?

Looking at him Leana could see that he was, as she knew he would be, stunned by the news. She reached out to touch him, but he stepped farther away from her. “Richie, please, just listen to me.” He just shook his head, grabbing his coat and shoving his feet into his shoes. “How could you not tell me? How could you keep my child from me?” He walked out.

Leana watched him leave and dropped to her knees on the floor, the sobs wracking her body. She had hoped he would have let her explain but now, as she watched him leave she thought I lost him again.

Together Again

The lights were finally on the tree. They had spent the last two hours untangling the strings and making sure they all worked and now they were finally on the tree. Richie looked at Leana, "tell me again why we're doing this and not using my decorator." She smiled and reached to wipe the smudge of dust off his cheek, "I like doing the decorating myself. Besides, it was fun watching you traipse up and down the stairs carrying all the bins of decorations." He groaned, "don't remind me. I'll be lucky to be able to move tomorrow thank you very much." Leana smiled and laughed, "Aw poor baby. Do you need to go lay down now?" He stuck his tongue out at her, "smart ass!"

Leana stepped back and looked at the tree; it took up the entire corner of her living room. She had wanted it full and boy, was it ever. It was beautiful though. She glanced at Richie; he was adjusting the angel on top. "Is it straight?" She nodded, "it’s perfect."

They continued for the next hour hanging the ornaments and stringing the garland, Christmas music playing in the background, Richie humming and singing along. He tried to cajole her into singing with him, but she knew better. Her voice was better left for talking. She couldn't carry a tune in her pocket.

After the last ornament was hung, Leana stacked the bins so they could be put away tomorrow and Richie went to pour them each a glass of wine. Leana stood gazing at the tree. It seemed hard to believe that after more than 20 years apart, here they were about to celebrate their first Christmas together as a couple, again.

Richie and Leana had found each other that summer purely by accident. They had once been madly in love but Richie had broken it off right before Bon Jovi hit it big with Slippery When Wet. They hadn't talked since until one warm July evening when he was out walking on the beach and she offered him a drink.

Leana's job had brought her to LA and by sheer coincidence she had rented the house three doors down from him. They had talked and worked out their differences and were making a go of it again. But, Leana thought, there is still one thing he doesn't know and I have no idea how to tell him.

She looked up as he walked back into the living room, how do you tell someone he has a child; a son that is 21 years old; a young man that looks so much like him it scares you. How do you explain why you never tried to contact him, never let him know that his first child was a boy; that Ava wasn't his only child?