Just One Kiss Chapter 3

"Fine I suggest, upper Mongolia." Jeannette tried to slam the door but he caught it and walked in.

"Miss Pierce, I didn't realize you were having company."

"I'm not Betty, Mr. Bongiovi was leaving immediately." She said with a frosty glare.

"Miss Pierce was kidding, I'll take any room, what ever is easiest to fix."

"Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged." Jon joked with a grin.

"Leave my Mommy alone!" Chantal yelled wrapping her arms around Jeannette's waist.

"Chantal, Mr. Bongiovi was just kidding." She said to soothe her daughter and shot Jon a deadly glare.

"This week was suppose to be just for us Mommy, I don't want him here."

"Come on Sweetie, let's clean up for tea and Betty can suggest an Inn for Mr. Bongiovi."

"An Inn? This place has how many rooms?" Jon asked incredulously.

"I will not allow you to upset my daughter Mr. Bongiovi."

"I'd never do anything to upset her."

"This is my house and I can decided who stays in it and who can visit for that matter. I will have
you barred from the property, if you do not leave now. You can come over for lunch tomorrow at noon if you wish."

"Geez thanks ever so for your kind hospitality."

"Keep it up and I'll have you arrested for trespassing. Good day Mr. Bongiovi." Jeannette left
the hallway to go find her daughter.

"I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow Betty, good day."

"Good day Sir, do you know where the Inn is?"

"I noticed a few in town on the way up here, thank you." Jon muttered to himself as he returned
to his car and set out to find somewhere to stay.

Jon pulled up to Amberley Manour at eleven thirty the next day and rang the doorbell. Betty answered it and looked surprised to see him.

"Mr. Bongiovi, you are early. Miss Pierce and her daughter are still in dance class, they won’t be down until about 12:30. You can wait in the study if you’ll follow me." Betty lead Jon down a long corridor to the formal study and told him to help himself to the bar. She preceded immediately to the dance studio to let her Mistress know her guest had arrived.

Jeannette had no intention of ending her dance practice early and decided to teach Chantal five new steps. While Chantal worked on the new series of movements Jeannette recreated an ambitious dance routine that left her gasping for breath and perspiring profusely. Jeannette downed a bottle of water and repeated the five minute dance number three more times in succession until every step was perfect.

Jon opened a drawer in the study and found a playbill from Damn Yankees. The first thing he noticed was the billing on the front cover, Jeannette Pierce in Damn Yankees. He thought back and tried to remember if he had ever seen an actor take top billing over a play’s title and be in a slightly larger font. Every playbill cover he could remember in his mind had the Play as the most predominate feature. He started flipping through it and found three pages devoted to Jeannette. There was a glossy black and white picture of Jeannette in a plunging black velvet dress with this amazing come hither look that raised his body’s core temperature by several degrees. He started to read the write up and was amazed at how many roles she had played.

JEANNETTE PIERCE
Lola

Jeannette Pierce created the role of Eponine in the original London and Broadway productions of Les Miserables, earning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress as well as The Tony and Drama Desk Award. Miss Pierce has also won numerous awards for her roles in The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, Jekyll and Hyde, Evita, South Pacific, The King and I, Phantom of The Opera, Kiss me Kate and Grease. Before bringing her Lola to the West End Jeannette stared the in revival of Damn Yankees on Broadway wining her 8th Tony award.

Jeannette has won critical acclaim for her performances in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Little Moon of Alban, Arsenic and Old Lace, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, School for Wives, Romeo and Juliet, The Philadelphia Story and Indiscretions. A Fellow of the Royal Shakespeare Company Miss Pierce spent last summer directing the Company’s production of A Midsummer Nights Dream.

Jeannette has turned down several movie roles preferring the stage and spending time with her daughter. Her vocal talents have most recently been heard on Pavorotti and Friends as well as the cast albums of Kiss Me Kate and Damn Yankees. Miss Pierce has recently sung duets with Elton John, Garth Brooks, Sting and Harry Connick Jr.

The last page featured candid shots of Jeannette during the production of Damn Yankees. Jon stared at the list of credits and wondered how old Jeannette was and how she could have possibly played so many roles. Betty came in and Jon stopped her.

"How long has Jeannette been on the stage Betty?"

"I think she started at age 16 and she won the Olivier award for Eponine three days after her
seventeenth birthday. Can I get you anything to eat Mr. Bongiovi?"

"No thanks Betty, I think I can make it till lunch."

"Mommy can we stop now, I’m getting tired and hungry. "

"Sure Sweetie, you did a great job today. I’m proud of you, your form has improved so much."

"Thanks Mom you still take my breath away when you dance you’re so good."

"Thank you dear, go take a fast shower, change and we are having lunch in the dinning room."

"Oh yeah, Mr. Bongiovi is here, do I have to be nice to him?"

"No, but you must be polite."

"Why? He wasn’t very polite to you."

"Chantal, we are better than that and thus will act accordingly."

"Yes Mommy." Chantal dashed out of the dance studio and up to her room.

Jeannette glanced at her watch and was pleased to see it was 12:20. By the time she was ready it would be one and she would have made Jon wait for an hour. She hoped he would actually get fed up and leave, although she sensed he was as stubborn as she.

She hadn’t really noticed until she was brushing her hair but Jeannette had gone for a very sexy look for lunch. She’d dug out a sheer burgundy bra and matching panties, a pair of tight black jeans and a sheer burgundy top that she tied at her waist exposing her flat stomach. She slid her feet in to black mules, headed downstairs and straight in to the dinning hall. Chantal was already sitting at her spot to her Mother’s right and Jeannette laughed when she noticed the place for Jon had been set at the other end of the table for twenty.

"Betty as much as I like where Mr. Bongiovi’s place has been set, could you move it to mid table then bring him in."

"Yes Miss Pierce."

"Momma what do I call him?"

"Whatever you wish my dear."

"Interloper?"

Jeannette started laughing and gave her daughter a wink of approval. "It certainly fits, but let
that be our pet name for him."

"Fine I’ll call him Mr. Bongiovi."

The door opened and Betty escorted Jon to his place at the dinner table. Jon sat down and smiled at the little girl who seemed to be studying him and didn’t reciprocate his smile. Despite his best efforts Jon, couldn’t help gazing at Jeannette who looked so good Jon wished she was lunch. He thanked Betty for bringing his drink to him and set about to change the silence in the room.

"So Chantal what are you doing this afternoon?"

"After lunch, Betty was going to help me work on my special project for Mommy until Tea Time.
After tea Mommy and I always spend time together until dinner."

"Sounds like a full day. Do you think I could help you instead of Betty?"

"No thank you Mr. Bongiovi. Mommy pass me the salad dressing please."

Jeannette passed her daughter the home-made dressing before speaking to Jon. "The countryside is really quite pretty Mr. Bongiovi, you might want to take a drive this afternoon."

"I did not come out here Jeannette to see just the English Countryside, I came to see you."

"Well Mr. Bongiovi, sometimes when you invite yourself somewhere you unfortunately find out you are not welcomed. I wished you well didn’t I?

"Mommy you aren’t going to force me to spend time with him are you? This was suppose to be our week and now he wants to horn in on it. Mr. Bongiovi go home I don’t want you here!"

"Jeannette are you going to let her speak to me like that?" Jon asked.

"Mr. Bongiovi, I am not going to force my daughter to do something she does not want to do. She is not being rude, as she is only expressing her feelings. So to answer your question, yes, I will allow her to speak to you in that manner. If you don’t like it, you are free to leave."

"Mommy, I've lost my appetite may I be excused?"

"Chantal, you’ve barely touched your lunch. Just because Mr. Bongiovi is here, does not mean
meal time rules can be ignored. If you want to be excused you know what you must do."

Chantal sighed and started to eat her chicken so she could leave. She thought Mr. Bongiovi was good looking but she didn’t like how he spoke to her Mother so she decided to be as indifferent to him as possible, hoping he’d take the hint and leave her alone. Jon and Jeannette were silently glaring at each other until Betty interrupted them.

"I’m sorry Miss Pierce, but you have a phone call from across the pond. Will you take it in the study?"

"No Betty, I’ll take it in here if you could bring me the portable. I always find it easier to turn down job offers when Chantal is in the room, to remind me why I’m taking a break." She said to Jon.

Betty brought her the phone and she turned it on. Jon couldn’t help watch as Jeannette walked around the room bringing visions of how they met right back into his mind. Their eyes met, Jeannette shot him an icy glare but her body betrayed her as Jon noticed with interest that his attention cause her nipples to harden.

"Hello."

"Jeannette darling, how serious were you about taking a breather?"

"Deadly serious Martin, so the answer is no."

"But Jeannette they want only you, Universal wants to bank role a remake of Damn Yankees
the movie."

"Martin tell them to ask Madonna, she likes taking on roles others made famous. I’m not interested and you are interrupting my lunch, Good day and good bye." Jeannette turned the
phone off and sauntered by Jon to put it back in the hall.

"Mommy, I’ve eaten half of everything can I go now?"

"Yes Chantal, you may be excused."

Chantal didn’t waste a second making her hasty retreat leaving Jon and Jeannette alone at a table for twenty minutes of deafening, awkward silence. Jon was the first to break the silence.

"You know Jeannette, I guess just showing up was not a good idea but I had to see you again."

"So where does your wife think you are?"

"I don’t have a clue, we are divorced. It’s been almost two years."

"Oh." ( There goes my refusal to be the other woman. God he’s handsome.) "What about your children?"

"They are with their mother, I’ll be seeing them soon."

"I don’t think my daughter liked the way you talked to me."

"Sorry, about that, you got defensive and I went on the attack. Why don’t you show me around the property."

"I did have plans for this afternoon Mr. Bongiovi, but I suppose I can give you a quick tour for an hour. Just let me go find a jacket."

"Yes even in pleasant weather, a sheer bra and top could be chilly."

"I wasn’t planning on going out Jon, I was actually going to do work in a rather warm area of the house." She lied.

"Oh "

"You know Mr. Bongiovi, one of the most frequent complaints about Americans is their
obtrusive know it all nature. Do any of you ever think before opening your mouths or are you all genetically predisposed to meddling?"

"I might ask you if all Brits are snobs then or is it just those Aristocrat wanna bees with country estates?"

"Wanna bees ? Thank goodness my daughter’s vocabulary is not tainted by slang. Mr. Bongiovi, if you are looking for reading material, I’d suggest the Oxford Dictionary. Enriching your vocabulary would bode well with Chantal. She has little tolerance for her intellectual inferiors."

"This is bad on so many levels, I suggest we start this again. Hi I’m Jon, I’m a singer song writer
and I can’t get you off my mind. If you give me half a chance, you will discover that I’m a pretty decent guy, a loyal friend and when my defences are up, I’m pretty snarky. I have no desire to hurt you or Chantal. I just wanted to get to know you both better. I don’t think it was mere coincidence that brought us together again. I enjoy keeping my personal life, private and I trust that you don’t want to be in the tabloids either. Countless people can attest to my integrity and humanity. I’m not a bad guy Jeannette, I’m really not. "

Jeannette knew in her heart that he was speaking the truth but she still feared that she may fall for him and that could only lead to disaster. She finished her tea and stood up.

"I’ll be down in a few minutes."

Jeannette walked into the room a minute later with her sunglasses on. She hadn’t changed her top but had applied more lip gloss.

"It is kind of warm out there, just needed my sunglasses.

"Ah, well I’m ready." Jon replied pulling his sunglasses out of his jean pocket.

Her breasts were still distracting him and her shiny lips seemed to be calling his name. She led him through the house to the kitchen door and out to the herb garden. They walked in silence until they reached the formal gardens. Jeannette sat down on a wrought iron bench and he joined her.

"So where did you study theatre?"

"I didn’t Jon, I was thinking about what you said earlier. Hi I’m Jeannette, until Friday I was an international star of the stage. I’m one of the world’s best musical singers. I’ve been on the stage since I was sixteen. I finished high school by correspondence and I never fit in when I was actually in school. I would have liked to study at Oxford but the roles just kept coming in. Rhonda, convinced me that I already had what theatre majors would kill for and I let the subject drop. I can count my real friends on one hand and they all work for me so... I don’t know. I don’t kill puppies and while I must admit I have quite the diva attitude, I don’t normally freak out on people in the service industry. My daughter means the world to me and I’m not very good at relationships."

"Jeannette, I’m not asking you to marry me. I just would really like to get to know you. I have to be on stage in Canada on July 6th. This will be a short visit, I promise."

"Fine, I guess getting to know you better wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world." she replied with a smile.

Jon smiled back at her and leaned forward leaving a soft kiss on her forehead. He smiled once more and Jeannette couldn’t stop herself from leaning in to kiss him. Jon captured her lips in his and left a long, soft and gentle kiss on her lips. He moved away first, he wanted to kiss her senseless but knew that wasn’t what they needed.

"I hear Oxford is overrated anyway." He teased.

Jeannette laughed, "So there is a break in the tour."

"Yes, the tour was suposse to be over but we added a few dates, the tour is over July 15th with two nights in Madison Square Garden."

"Would you like the rest of the tour?"

"I thought you had plans?"

"My plans were to curl up with a good book until tea time."

"What time is tea?"

"Four, you should know Chantal and I take tea time very seriously."

"Pinky fingers up and all?" Jon grinned.

"Yes, it happens automatically when you hold a fine bone china cup instead of a mug."

"I’m partial to coffee myself. In fact, I don’t think I could function without it."

"I don’t mind a good cup of coffee but give me a cuppa any day."

"Cuppa?"

"Cup of tea, I love my tea."

"Spearmint but not peppermint."

"Yes, although there are many other teas I like. Jon would you like to join us for tea? I’d invite you to spend the rest of the day but Chantal might not react well to our special time being interrupted."

"I understand and I’d love to join you for tea, thank you for the invitation."

"You are welcome, so how about we continue the tour?"

"Sure, but I’d be just as happy staying here and continuing to talk."

"Jon, I’m very good at walking and talking at the same time but if you're not...."

"I watched all seven seasons of The West Wing and I’ve perfected that skill."

"I loved that show. Wait you were on the last season."

"Yes playing myself on the Halloween episode."

Let’s go."

Jeannette and Jon made it back to the conservatory moments before four. Chantal was already sitting in her favourite chair and was surprised and disappointed to see Mr. Bongiovi was still there.

"Good bye, Mr. Bongiovi. " She said with a grin.

"Actually darling, Jon is going to stay for tea."

"I promise I’ll leave afterwards, I wouldn’t dream of infringing on your special time with your Mom."

"Fine."

Jeannette knew by the look on her daughter’s face that she wasn’t thrilled but she would be polite and answer any questions Jon may ask her. He had decided to not press her or overwhelm her with questions, even though he wanted to know about her. Betty came in with the tea cart which had a three tier silver plate of tea sandwiches, scones and petite fours. A large silver dish was filled with clotted cream and two large silver tea pots held perfectly boiled water.

"Jon, if you’d prefer coffee...."

"Oh no, tea is fine with me. What kind is it?"

"Whatever kind you’d like."

She pulled a large mahogany box off the bottom of the tea cart, opened it and presented it to Jon. Jon counted quickly and there were twenty types of loose leave tea in the box. He was overwhelmed by the selection.

"Umm what is the kind they put in tea bags?" He asked.

"All teas can be put in a bag but it tastes much better loose. I suppose you are referring to the generic kind most Americans think is tea? That’s orange pekoe and we never drink it." Chantal answered as though any idiot knew that.

Jeannette smiled softly, "Jon, what kind of coffee do you drink when you have a choice and aren’t just after the caffeine?"

"A good full bodied dark roast but I’ve also never met a chocolate coffee I didn’t like."

"That’s my favourite coffee. Chantal likes apple spice and Earl Grey tea the best. The selection I
offer you are all favourites of mine. I’m in the mood for lemon Darjeeling today. I suggest you try the plain Darjeeling."

"I’ll defer to your judgement."

She removed the three tins they had selected from the box, grabbed three silver tea strainers and then placed a cup and saucer of tea in front of him. Chantal gave him a plate, napkin and butter knife. Jeannette placed a generous pinch of loose leaf tea in Jon’s strainer and poured ¾ a cup of boiling water over it. She fixed Chantal’s tea then her own before telling him what type of sandwiches they had and serving him a few. When the tea was sufficiently brewed she dropped a tiny bit of milk into her tea and offered it to Jon. He accepted the milk and tried the tea before deciding on sugar.

"I think a teaspoon of sugar would be good."

"It is called a lump." Chantal corrected and pointed out the silver bowl of cubed sugar and tiny silver tongs.

"One lump then please." Jon replied and smiled at Chantal.

He noticed that she put two lumps in her cup and Jeannette didn’t add any. Jon tasted his tea again and found it to his liking. Jeannette offered him a taste of her tea and while he didn’t mind it, he thought it needed sugar.

"Have you started school yet Chantal?"

"No, because of my birthday, I have to wait until September."

"When is your birthday?"

"January fourth."

"Oh my oldest son’s birthday is in February."

"What’s his name?"

"Jesse James."

"Oh."

"Chantal I was joking around earlier when I said I could arrange for your Mother’s death. It wasn't' a very good joke and I’m sorry if I scared you. I have four children and I really like kids."

"Do you have any daughters?"

"Yes, my eldest is Stephanie, she’s 15. Jesse is 13, Jacob is 6 and Romeo is 4."

"Romeo? He’s not going to like you when he gets older."

Jeannette couldn’t help laughing and Jon joined in.

"Mommy says you are a singer like her but you don’t act."

"Actually I do act, I really enjoy it but I don’t get much time to do it. I make records and then go on tour to promote them. I sing Rock and Roll songs not musical theatre songs."

"Mommy has won many awards, I bet she is a better singer than you."

"Chantal! That is not very nice."

"I haven’t heard your Mother sing so I couldn’t comment on that."

"Sing something Mommy."

"Chantal, now is not the time or the place."

"Please Jeannette." Jon asked with a grin.

She had half a mind to pick one of his songs and murder it but her pride wouldn’t allow her to. She thought for a few seconds and started singing Nessun Dorma. Jon’s jaw dropped as her beautiful voice filled the room and left him speechless.

"Wow, your Mom just kicked my butt." Jon said to Chantal.

"I told you, Mommy sing your love song. Mommy sings me this really pretty song every night before I go to sleep when she’s home."

"Actually Sweetie, Jon wrote that song."

"Really?"

"Mother knows best." Jon replied wondering what song it could be. "Start it Jeannette and I’ll join you."

She gave her daughter a look that was ignored and meet by a wide grin and a large smirk had formed on Jon’s mouth. She took a deep breath and started singing

It's hard for me to say the things
I want to say sometimes
There's no one here but you and me
And that broken old street light
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words when I

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me

Jon couldn’t get over how amazing the song sounded and almost didn’t want to ruin it by joining in but a promise was a promise so he joined her
I never knew I had a dream
Until that dream was you
When I look into your eyes
The sky's a different blue
Cross my heart I wear no disguise
If I tried, you'd make believe
That you believed my lies

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me

You pick me up when I fall down
You ring the bell before they count me out
If I was drowning you would part the sea
And risk your own life to rescue me

Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words when I
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me

When I couldn't fly
Oh, you gave me wings
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me

Jon and Jeanette were smiling and staring into each others eyes and about to kiss when Chantal started clapping.

"Wow, that was great. You sound really good together, my tea is getting cold though."

They both laughed and went back to the tea. Jeannette thinking that if she wasn’t careful she’d loose her heart and Jon wondering how he could get her to sing many more duets with him.

"Do you like M & M’s?" Chantal asked.

"I love them but I don’t think there should be blue ones."

"Me too, green is my favourite colour."

"That is my favourite too."

The questions continued until there was no more tea or food left. Jeannette didn’t have to say very much. She sat back and sipped her tea watching. She was happy to see Chantal slowly open up to him and when Jon said he should get going Chantal asked if she would see him again.

"That is up to your Mom, but I’d love to see you both again."

"You don’t have to go home?"

"Not for a little while."

"Jon, why don’t you come over for lunch tomorrow and if it is OK with Chantal you can stay for tea again."

"Chantal?" Jon asked.

"Fine, I can show you my room if you’d like."

"I’m looking forward to seeing it. Good bye."

"Bye Mr. Bongiovi...Jon."

"I’ll walk you to your car Jon. I’ll be back in a few minutes Sweetie."

"Kay, I’m going up to your room."

They walked out to the car without a word. Jon opened the door, sat down , fastened his seat belt and turned to look at Jeannette. "Thank you so much for today, it was very kind of you to be so gracious considering how I acted yesterday."

"You are welcome, I had fun today. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow Jeannette."

"You can call me Jen, Jon."

"Sweet dreams, Jen, give that adorable girl a hug for me."

"I will, drive safely."

Jon couldn’t have contained the huge grin on his face as he drove away. He turned on the radio and sang along with it, all the way back to the Inn. He had a few days to convince Jen that she wanted to see him again.