Chapter 13

The kids were doing their best to try to be patient while standing on the sidelines, watching their dads rock the house with “It’s My Life”. They were waiting for the signal to come out and join them on stage.

Melissa was watching out of the corner of her eye as little by little the kids were slowly edging out onto the stage. Funny thing was, she wasn’t sure if it was because they were eager for their dads to fulfill their earlier promise of coming out for a few songs, or if they were trying to distance themselves from their mothers. Melissa patted Lani on the arm to get her attention.

Lani turned to see Melissa standing next to her. “What?” she yelled above the music. Leaning closer to Lani so she could hear her a little better, Melissa pointed over her shoulder to the kids. “The kids are getting impatient.” Looking towards the direction the kids were standing, Lani shook her head in agreement as she continued to dance.

David couldn’t control the grin on his face, it was getting bigger and bigger as he watched Tracy dancing and having fun. The last few months he had seen her smile less and less, he had tried talking to her, but everytime he did, she would clam up. It was good to see her enjoying herself again. David’s eyes were following his wife’s hips as she swayed with the beat of “Keep The Faith”. Shaking his head at the silliness of Isabel and Joanne, David continued to watch as Joanne and Isabel, with their hands clasped together, danced around Tracy in a circle, singing at the top of their lungs. Tracy had her head thrown back, and he could see tears running down her cheeks from laughing so hard as she continued to swing her hips back and forth like a belly dancer.

Melissa and Lani were doing their fair share of bumping and grinding too. Hugh took a few steps back towards where Tico was and he noticed the drummer watching his wife. “Looks like they are having fun.” Hugh nodded to the women he was referring to. Never missing a beat, Tico shook his head in agreement. Tico and Hugh were watching their wives having a blast, laughing when one of them would bump into the other causing them to miss a step. Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Hugh looked on as his wife handed Lani a glass of what looked like wine. Well, that explains the little side show, he thought and chuckled to himself.

After finishing “Keep The Faith”, Jon was wiping the sweat from his face when he lowered the towel just enough so only his eyes were visible. Seeing his wife watching him, Jon gave her a wink. Feeling a slap on his shoulder, Jon turned to see Richie standing behind him. “What?” came his muffled reply as he finished wiping his face.

“When you are done making googly eyes at your woman, I think we better bring the kids out. Otherwise, I think they are going to charge the stage in mutiny.” He jerked his head in the direction where the kids were standing.

Jon followed Richie’s nod, laughing as his eyes settled on the kids . From the looks on their faces, he would say Richie was right in the assumption of a possible mutiny. Having no desire for a stampede of angry kids, Jon waved them over with his hand as he informed the guys he was changing up the setlist.

While the kids were getting themselves situated, Jon took one of those rare moments and drank in the sight before him. The audience was really into the show, responding to every song, singing along, their hands were constantly in the air clapping to the beat .The band was on fire tonight, smokin’ hot, if he did say so himself. The guys were laughing and smiling, joking around like they used to do back during the Slippery years. What had him in a great mood was simple: the seventeen balls of energy running around the stage known as their kids and the five crazy women they were blessed to call their wives. He still couldn’t believe they were here. Life was good, damn good!

Seeing everyone was ready, Tico took the cue from Jon and launched into “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”. The kids were all over the stage, dancing and laughing, they were having a ball. The band easily segued into “Dancing In The Streets/ Bad Medicine”, finishing with an incredible rendition of “Shout”.

Richie was having a blast watching Tia and Joseph shaking their butts like Uncle Jon, Joseph had it down pat. The crowd was thoroughly enjoying this rare treat.

Jon noticed a few of the “older women” in the front row blowing kisses and waving at Bobby. Feeling a little devilish, Jon waved Bobby over to his side. Tugging on the front of Bobby’s t-shirt, Jon led his son over to stand next to him as he stepped up to his white microphone stand. “Are you ladies checking out my boy?” Jon asked, laughing into the mic while pointing to the women in question.

Bobby got a kick out of one of the women when her cheeks turned a bright red at his dad’s question. As father and son stood there with their arms around each others shoulders laughing, one of the women threw her bra up on the stage, landing directly on top of Bobby’s boot. Jon threw his head back, laughing hysterically at the horrified look on his son’s face.

Joanne stood off to the side, her arms folded across her chest, watching her son, her baby, waiting to see how he would react to the whole bra incident. It was a little unnerving for her, seeing her son experiencing the same thing she had witnessed countless times with his father.

Feeling eyes on him, Bobby slowly turned to see his mom watching him. He was not surprised. There wasn’t much his mom missed when it came to her family. Giving his mom a mischievous grin, he bent down and picked the lingerie off his shoe. “Pretty color, sweetheart.” He flashed the woman the famous Bongiovi smirk as he held the garment in his hands.

Taking a chance, Jon glanced in the direction his wife was standing, hoping and praying she had missed the bra that her son was holding in his hands. Seeing Joanne standing there with her arms folded across her chest, Jon wondered for the briefest moment if he was in trouble. Looking a little closer he could see she wasn’t mad, no, she looked amused. Thank God! The last thing he wanted to do tonight was argue, unless they were arguing over where and when he was going to slip inside his wife. He already knew the answer to that one.

Turning to Richie, Jon was going to say something, but something grabbed his attention. Jon had a grin on his lips as he witnessed Isabel sling her arm around Joanne’s shoulder. In her other hand, she held a shot glass filled to the rim with a gold liquid. Being as he was a betting man, Jon was willing to bet his entire net worth on the glass containing either whiskey or tequila.

Taking the glass from Isabel, Joanne raised the shot in a salute to her husband then brought it to her lips. In one swallow, she drained the glass. She could feel the whiskey burning its way down her throat, coating it while continuing to travel through her body. Joanne could feel the alcohol flowing through her veins, setting them on fire before settling in the pit of her stomach, setting off a warm glow throughout her body. Seeing Jon standing there with a look of surprise sent Joanne into a fit of giggles. Blowing a kiss to her husband, she watched in amazement as his cheeks turned a slight pink. Oh my word, he is blushing. She giggled.

Feeling like having a little fun with the wives, his in particular, Jon turned to Richie. “I think it’s time we brought the ladies out for a little dance. Don’t you?” He tilted his head to where Isabel and Joanne were downing another shot.

Chapter 12

The guys stood there in total shock, each with a different expression on their face. Richie had his hands on his hips, his eyes wide, Hugh was shaking his head back and forth in disbelief, David and Jon each had the goofiest grins plastered on their faces. As for Tico, well, he just started laughing. Watching the kids run towards them, the guys opened their arms wide ready to be tackled.

The wives, Jon’s parents, and an Arena filled with 80,000 fans watched through tears at the reunion taking place right in front of them. It was a beautiful sight to see, and it was being caught on film, thanks to David Bergman.

Tico kneeled down on one knee as Tia raced towards him, yelling “Papa.” Scooping his daughter up in his arms, Tico swung her around, letting the tears flow freely down his face as he buried his face in Tia’s hair. He didn’t care who was watching, he had his little girl in his arms again. Opening his eyes, Tico looked down to see Sam standing there staring at him. Taking one of his arms from Tia’s little body, Tico placed it around his boy’s shoulder. “Hola, hijo (Hello, son.)” Tico’ s voice was full of emotion. Sam just smiled at his dad before resting his head against his shoulder.

Hugh had one arm hung around Rae’s shoulder, the other arm slung around Max’s shoulder. The three of them were laughing at David.

Poor David, the kids were all over him like flies on honey. Tabitha was standing on her dad’s right side with both arms around his neck trying to pull him closer to her so she could kiss his cheek. Gabby was on his left, her arms securely wrapped around her father’s waist, squeezing him so hard David’s ribs were starting to ache. Caleb stood beside Tabitha with his hand casually sitting on David’s forearm. In all the mess, David was trying to balance Eric on his hip. David was grinning from ear to ear.

Ava ran towards her dad with Joseph on her hip. The poor kid was being bounced around like a Mexican jumping bean. Richie plucked Joseph out of his sister’s arms tossing him high in the air, smiling when he heard his son laugh. Tossing Joseph a few more times, Richie finally settled Joseph against his waist before turning his attention to his girls. Giving each one of his daughters a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, Richie stood back to look at them. “So how are my beauties doing?”

Rolling her eyes, Ava giggled, “Dad that only works on Mom.”

Richie’s heart swelled with love for his first born, Ava was more like him than she realized. “Just humor me, okay?”

Giving her dad another hug, Ava chuckled. “Sure, Dad.”

“I missed you, Daddy,” Katie cried burying her face in Richie’s side. Savannah put her arms around Richie’s waist, echoing her sister’s sentiments. “Me too.”

Richie tucked his kids close to his body, his voice choking up from the emotions he was experiencing. “Well, Daddy missed you too. All of you!”

Standing there with a huge smile on his face, arms wide open, Jon watched his brood fast approaching him. Sabrina ran past her siblings, jumping into her dad’s waiting arms, nearly knocking him on his ass. Laughing, Jon hugged his daughter tight. “Hi, baby girl.” Within seconds, Jon and Bri were surrounded by the rest of the kids, exchanging hugs and kisses.

Eric kept tugging on his dad’s right arm. “Dad,” he repeated over and over. Leigh Anne was bouncing from one foot to the other, she was understandably excited to see her dad again. “Hi, Daddy.”

Bobby and Michael each stood on opposite sides of their father, a smug look on their faces while affectionately slapping him on the back.

Time stood still for those few precious moments while the guys enjoyed being swarmed by their families. Even though it had only been six weeks since they had seen each other, it felt like a lifetime. All too soon, Obie was speaking to Jon through his earpiece, gently reminding him that the band still had a show to finish. Knowing Obie was right, Jon reluctantly put Sabrina down on the floor, then turned to his kids.

Michael knew what his dad was going to say, so he beat him to the punch. “Time to go back to work, huh, Dad?” Nodding his head, Jon gave his kids a real smile, the one reserved only for his family.

Slapping his father on the back, Michael leaned close to his dad. “I think the audience has seen enough of our mushy side. Don’t you?”

Rustling his son’s hair with his hand, Jon gave a heartfelt laugh. “Nicely put, Michael.”

Walking over to where his wife was standing, Tico handed Tia over to her mother. Giving Lani a gentle kiss on her lips, Tico softly caressed her cheek. “Hola, my beautiful, Kailani.” Giving her husband a sweet kiss on the lips, Lani playfully swatted him on the ass. “Go finish, my love.” After a high-five from Sam, Tico walked back to his drum kit.

Hugh brought the kids back to stand next to Melissa. Leaning over he gave her a kiss, which he tried to deepen when he put his hand on the back of her head, but Melissa wasn’t having it.

Pushing against her husband’s chest, Melissa shook her head. “Uh uh, not happening here, big guy. Now go finish so we can continue our little party later.” With an uncharacteristic pout on his lips, Hugh walked away.

Laughing as she watched her husband advance towards her, Tracy could read the want so blatantly written on David’s face. Without warning, David took Tracy in his arms crushing his lips against hers in a mind blowing kiss. Hearing the moan that escaped her lips almost had David taking her right then and there. With Herculean effort, David reined his passion in before he gave the fans a show they weren’t expecting. Pulling away from her husband’s lips, Tracy tried to remember how to breathe, even her knees were shaking. Giving his wife a hug, David spoke softly into her hair. “Hi, sweetcakes.” Placing a kiss against her temple, David stepped back. Satisfied with the rattled looked on his wife’s face, David walked away whistling.

Most of the kids were either walking off the stage, or they were already offstage, with one exception: Joseph.

Joseph had the audience in hysterics watching him running away from his daddy, hiding behind the drum riser, or underneath David’s keyboards. Joseph refused to leave the stage. Seeing no other way to wrangle her son, Isabel hesitantly stepped out on the stage, stopping in front of Richie’s microphone. When the fans spotted her, they started screaming and calling her name. Doing her best to ignore the crowd, Isabel wanted to get off the stage as soon as possible. Placing her hands on her hips, Isabel wasted no time in getting Joseph’s attention. “Joseph Adam Sambora! Quit running away from your father and get your butt over here. Now!” There was no mistaking the irritation in her voice.

Joseph knew by the tone of his mommy’s voice he was in trouble. Crawling out from under his Uncle David’s keyboards, Joseph allowed his daddy to pick him up. Bending down, Richie picked his little boy up, giving him a hug. “Come on, Speedy,” Richie teased the child. Seeing the sad look on his boy’s face, Richie held him close to his chest. “Hey now, little man, why are you so sad? When I am all finished playing here, you and I will play hide and seek when we get back to the hotel. Okay?” Richie hated to see his son looking so sad.

Hopeful eyes looked up at him. “Promise, Daddy?” Giving Joseph a kiss on the forehead, Richie promised his son.

Isabel stood by the microphone, watching father and son interact with each other while Richie carried him over to her. “Hi, honey,” Richie greeted Isabel as he placed Joseph in his mother’s arms. Richie planted a scorching kiss on her lips. Isabel felt the blood pounding in her veins, her body swaying as her husband’s tongue assaulted hers in the most erotic way. Pulling back from his wife’s delectable lips, Richie softly caressed the side of her neck. “Don’t be too hard on him, Bel. He just got excited.” She could not think one coherent thought with Richie touching her like he was, and he knew it! Isabel mumbled something close to “Ok,” or at least that’s what Richie thought she had said. “Thanks, honey. I will make it up to you later,” he whispered in her ear, giving it a little nip. Richie escorted his semi coherent wife off the stage with Joseph wrapped in her arms.

While Joseph had been entertaining the audience, Jon made his way over to where his woman was standing. He did a quick scan of her body, his eyes enjoying what he was seeing. When he got to Jojo’s feet, his eyes widened; there gracing her feet were his favorite heels, he called them his “I am getting laid” shoes. Bringing his gaze back up to his wife’s face, Jon met his wife’s eyes staring back at him. Joanne was having a hard time reading her husband’s face. She couldn’t tell if he was mad that the kids had interrupted the show or not. Reading the worried look in her eyes, Jon wrapped his arms around Joanne’s waist gently pulling her closer to him.

“Hi, baby,” he spoke softly next to her ear before kissing the side of her neck, just below her ear. His special spot. He could feel her pulse beating against his lips. Enjoying the feel of being wrapped in her Jonny’s embrace, Joanne had her arms around his waist. “God, I have missed you, Jonny,” she moaned. Brushing her lips across his jaw, Joanne relaxed against her husband’s body. Cupping her face in his hands, Jon stared into the eyes of the woman who he loved with every fiber of his being. Lowering his head, Jon pressed his lips against Joanne’s, his tongue stroking gently over her bottom lip, patiently waiting for permission to enter her warm, moist mouth. Joanne eagerly granted the request, opening her mouth to her husband. As their tongues dueled it out for dominance, Jon felt the fire stirring in his lower region. Knowing he would have to wait and finish later, he pulled his lips away from hers. Putting his forehead against hers, Jon smiled down at her. “We will pick this up later, baby.” Dropping a kiss on her nose, Jon gave her a quick hug before walking away to resume the show. Giving the signal with his hand, the band blew into “Summertime.”

Chapter 11

Stepping away from his microphone stand, Jon grabbed the towel laying in front of Tico’s drum riser to wipe the sweat from his face when the stage went black. What the fuck?! Jon thought, immediately looking behind Tico’s drum set to the crew standing backstage. Even though he could barely see anything onstage, the backstage area was completely lit up, giving him a perfect view of the crew. Not one crew member was moving, or even attempting to rectify the problem, instead they all stood there with their arms folded across their chests watching the stage. 

 

“What the fuck is going on, Jon? Why the hell is the crew just standing there?!” Richie asked pointing his finger towards backstage.

 

With a shrug of his shoulders, Jon just shook his head back and forth while the veins in his neck looked like they were ready to explode. “No idea, man. I do know one thing, though: we will be getting a new crew for the next tour!” Jon yelled loud enough for the crew to hear, his voice coated with anger.

 

Turning his attention back to the audience, Jon started walking back to the front of the stage. As he walked he was trying to figure out what to say when to his complete surprise, his dad walked out on the stage, only to stop in front of his white microphone stand. A single spotlight was shining down on the elder Bongiovi.

 

“What the hell is going on?” David asked no one in particular.

 

John Sr. stood in front of the microphone looking out at the thousands of people who had come to hear their boys play. “So this is what it looks like from up here?” he quipped, causing the audience to laugh.

 

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, John Sr. continued, “Good evening everyone, I am the original John Bongiovi. Yes, ladies, this is what Jonny will look like when he hits his 70s,” joked the elder Bongiovi as he did a slow turn so the women could get a good look at him from every angle, he even shook his ass a little. Seeing amusement on Jon’s face, John Sr. turned to the audience once again. “If he is lucky,” he said with a wink. The women were absorbing every word out of the senior Bongiovi’s mouth like a sponge.

 

“Is it me, or is your dad trying to steal the ladies away from you?” Richie teased with a slap to Jon’s shoulder.

 

David, Tico, and Hugh slowly made their way across the stage to stand in the middle beside Richie, not once taking their eyes off of Jon, who was now standing next to his dad. Seeing his son standing next to him, John Sr. chuckled, without even realizing it, Jon was just mere feet away from his family.

 

“Tomorrow is Father’s Day in the United Stated, unfortunately the boys will not be able to celebrate the day with their families back home.” A loud ‘aww’ spread across the Arena.

 

Placing his hand on Jon’s shoulder, John Sr. gave it a comforting squeeze before addressing the crowd again. “If you wouldn’t mind indulging me for a few more minutes, there is a gift I would like to present to the guys.” The audience screamed their approval. With a beaming smile and a nod of his head, John Sr. thanked them.

 

Turning his back to the audience, the senior Bongiovi directed his attention to the four men standing in the middle of the stage, asking them to come join him and their brother. Doing as they were asked, Richie, David, stood next to Jon, Hugh and Tico next to John Sr. Once they were all standing together with their backs to the crowd, John Sr pointed to the large screen hanging above Tico’s drums.

 

“Watch.” was all the elder Bongiovi said.

 

Suddenly, the screen came to life with images of all their kids taken at various stages of their lives. There were images of birthdays, holidays, and vacations, some with their dads, some without.

 

The guys just stood there watching, laughing at a few of the images, shaking their heads in disbelief at other images. As they continued to watch, the lumps in their throats began to grow as they watched and realized how much they had missed out on with their kids growing up. Unshed tears glistened in their eyes while the images continued to play out before them. The screen switched to all the kids sitting inside a plane goofing around, even the wives were visible in the background laughing and waving at the camera.

 

“Like to know how someone was able to get Tracy on video without losing their life,” David joked. The guys all agreed.

 

When the video first started to play the crowd was screaming, but now they were silent, enjoying a rare glimpse inside the private lives of their favorite band.

 

When Bobby popped up on the screen, the girls went nuts! Jon wore a proud smile on his face upon seeing his eldest son. Bobby looked exactly as he did at 20 years old, except Bobby’s hair was a little shorter than his had been at that age. He was definitely a chip off the ol’ block.

 

“Hi, Dad. Hi, Uncles. You are probably wondering why Grandpa interrupted the show. Don’t be mad at him, Dad. This was all our doing, Grandpa was just doing us a favor. You see we had this idea on what we wanted to give you for Father’s Day, but we weren’t really sure if we could pull it off or not. Since you are watching this video with your brothers, and 80,000 of your closest friends, I would say we accomplished our goal.”

 

Bobby leaned to the side of the screen, waving. “Hi, ladies.” Again the girls screamed.

 

“Your boy is something else, Jonny,” Tico laughed as he slapped Jon on the shoulder.

 

Laughing right along with Tico, Jon couldn’t agree more. Yes, his son was indeed something else.

 

The group standing on the side of the stage were laughing at Bobby’s antics on the screen, they were also getting antsy. The wives had tears running down their faces as they watched the different play of emotions cross their husbands’ faces. The wives had no idea about the video, it was just as much as surprise to them as to their husbands.

 

Directing his attention back to his dad, Bobby smiled. “This gift is for you and our uncles. We are proud to be known as the kids of Hugh McDonald, Tico Torres, David Bryan Rashbaum, Richie Sambora, and Jon Bon Jovi, or Jon Bongiovi.” When Bobby announced each uncle’s name, their kids appeared on the screen waving, as well as slowly emerging from their hiding spot on the side of the stage, watching and waiting for their dads to notice them.

 

The screen once again showing Bobby’s face with a smile a mile wide. “Happy Father’s Day to all of you. We are truly blessed to have you as our fathers.”

 

As the screen went black the lights onstage slowly came back on while “Home” by Daughtry filled the arena.

 

The men of Bon Jovi stood there, overcome with emotion, a little dumbfounded by what they had seen, and trying to figure out why the hell Daughtry was playing over the loudspeaker. The deafening roar of the crowd had the guys spinning around in bewilderment. Looking at eachother, then the crowd, the guys were trying to figure out what had the audience so riled up.

 

Richie noticed a young woman in the front row crying and pointing to him, she was also yelling something, but he couldn’t make out what she was trying to say to him.

 

John Sr. had seen the young woman trying to get Richie to turn around. Going over to stand between Jon and Richie, John Sr. placed a hand on each of their shoulders while nodding his head in Tico, David, and Hugh’s direction. Motioning the other three men over, John Sr. tilted his body forward so they could all hear him. “I think you are supposed to turn around.”

 

Not completely sure what was going on, David was the first to turn around.

 

“Well son of a bitch.” David’s voice was choked with emotion.

 

Hearing David’s voice choking up, the other four men turned around. They could not believe what they were seeing! There, standing no more than 30 feet away from them on stage, were their kids!