XX

Jon was finally done clearing up the dirty dishes from the dining room table. He turned off the lights and was headed upstairs to check that all the lights were off, his children asleep and all the doors were closed. He instinctively gravitated towards Richie’s room, but remembered his friend wasn’t alone. Then he saw the door of the playroom ajar and that the lights were on. He found Frédérique sitting on one of the little green chairs, bending over the low table, halfway through a Solitaire game.

“Everything OK in there?”, Jon questioned with concern in his voice, with a hint of inquisition. He was half way through the door, one hand on the door knob.

Frédérique gasped and stood up: “I’m so sorry, I couldn’t…”, she said apologetically while she accommodated her hair over her breasts to hide the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra, which was pointless because it only made Jon notice that even more.      

“…sleep, yeah”, Jon completed her sentence and sighed, “I know, it’s a bitch ain’t it?”. What else could keep her up playing Solitaire at 2 in the morning?. Jon shrugged and offered casually, his head was hanging slightly over his left shoulder:  “Want some wine? It helps”

Frédérique was surprised at the kindness in his voice, he honestly seemed to care, so she immediately felt more relaxed, and comfortable. Before she could answer, Jon continued:

“I recognize a true wino when I see one, and judging by the look in your eyes, you regret not having brought a glass of wine with you upstairs”.

Wow, how does he do that?

“No, please, you entertained quite a lot of guests this evening, don’t feel… you must be tired”. Frédérique struggled to decline, but felt she was fighting a losing battle. She flapped her hand at Jon and smiled politely. “You’re too kind, don’t deprive yourself from sleep just because I’m a mess”

Jon tiped his head to the corridor and spoke softly: “Come on, I got some downstairs”, but Frédérique had seen that tone during dinner and how the people around him responded: it was an order.  He continued: “Not the ones you brought, though, those went dry in a matter of minutes”. And then he flashed her that smile: it was pointless to resist.

Frédérique finally agreed:

“OK, but I get to pick”

…

A little more than an hour later, Jon and Frédérique were playing poker in the kitchen, a quarter of a bottle of wine left.

Jon had dug out just about all her personal information: origin, age, education, job history, her father’s French origin, her mother’s Italian origin, her brothers and their girlfriends, her nephew and the Hotel and Vineyard her family ran, the variety of grapes they planted and had even made some suggestions. If she hadn’t known better, Frédérique could have sworn that he was an expert interrogator – and the most charming one.

Then he asked about Richie’s project and Frédérique briefly commented on it, and also on the big project they were dealing with right now at the studio. Jon commented that he supported a foundation that built houses, and Frédérique became interested and asked for more information. From time to time Jon scratched the tattoo on his left arm. Superman, of course. As they played poker, Jon submerged himself deeply into his monologue about the concept behind the foundation. His voice was exquisite. Frédérique nodded from time to time and wondered at how intense and complicated his mind was, how he found the connection in things that appeared far from having one. He only paused when they stopped to show their cards, or call a bet, then resumed.

Suddenly, Richie entered the kitchen.

“There it is, I’ve been looking for my T-shirt all night long” he stood behind Frédérique’s chair, bent over and put his arms around her shoulders before nuzzling her neck. “Give it back to me. Now”, he said into her ear.

“Oh Lawd, you make me puke” Jon said rolling his eyes. And Frédérique giggled.

“So what were you two up to?” Richie asked, then released her, opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of mineral water. As he waited for their response, he drank.

“I couldn’t sleep and Jon’s been kind enough to offer me some wine”, she stretched her neck and massaged it with her hands, “Mmm, I think it worked”.

Richie finished his bottle of water and said to Jon: "If you're done getting this lady drunk, I'm taking her".

"Go right ahead, knock yourself out", Jon said.

"Thank you Jon...hope to see you soon", said Frédérique sincerely, giving him the honest smile. She moved forward to hug him but Richie took her by the hand and started tugging her behind him. With a grin, he said:

"Sorry man, gotta run", and they were soon out of the kitchen, but Jon raised his voice so he made sure they could hear him:

"Jesus Christ Sambora, please, wait at least until you get to the bedroom"

….