Chapter 63

The driver silenced the motor, then exited to open the van door. The kids piled out and raced toward the front door of the estate. Jon exited first, then offered his hand to Katie. No one greeted them at the front door since Jon had requested no full time staff be present during their stay. Cleaning staff and an evening meal service would be offered daily. But Jon thought it best that they have the run of the place considering this was their first time vacationing all together. When he had been married to Dot they had employed a full time housekeeper, nanny and cook on occasion. But since living on his own in the penthouse, he didn't feel the need of daily staff. He had a cleaning service for the penthouse, but found anything more too self serving, especially since he traveled so much.

Katie stepped on to the cobbled drive and followed Jon up the front steps to the porch that ran the full length of the house. She noticed the hefty carved teak front door, smoothly polished slate tiles on the floor, and an abundance of light spilling through various skylights located in the main foyer. Jon let her take it all in, enjoying her exploration as he watched her.

"Jon, this is incredible. What a beautiful place. Have you stayed here before?" She asked as she spun around.


"Not this particular estate, no. But I have stayed at others located within the resort. I think we will be really comfortable here. There is room enough for everyone." He said as he led her into the main great room area.

The house was an open concept, with the center part off the foyer opening up to skylights three stories up. Around the open area there was a great room, gourmet kitchen, dining area and a wall of sliding glass doors leading to the back lanai overlooking a large expanse of grounds that gently sloped down to the ocean. The second and third floor contained the bedroom suites, eight in total. The kids were already up the stairs picking out their bedrooms. There was a main staircase leading up to the second and then third floor. Jon followed Katie to the lanai where the main pool, kiddie pool and hot tub were located. Carved teak chairs and tables were scattered around, and a bar/bbq area ran the length of one side of the lanai ending next to the main pool. There was a stone walkway that wound its way through the grounds down to the private beach. After a brief look around Jon took her hand and led her up the two flights of stairs to the third floor. There were three doors off the main hallway, each leading to bedroom suites. At the end of the hallway were double doors, separate from the main area. Jon opened the doors and led Katie into the master bedroom suite. Not overly large, but very well decorated in earth tones, the suite appeared both private and welcoming. There was a full spa bath attached to the bedroom, and sliding glass doors leading out to a private balcony overlooking the grounds, complete with an amazing ocean view. Not finding words, Katie walked around checking out the room. She had to admit, it wasn't lavish, but it was very well done, understated beach luxury, complete with the perfect accessory, the Pacific Ocean. She went out to the balcony taking a few moments to breath in the ocean air and enjoy the view. Jon came up behind her, putting has arms around her waist. He kissed her softly on the neck.

"So what do you think, baby? Think you can stand it for week?" Jon inquired.

Katie shivered slightly at the feeling of his lips on her skin. "Yeah, cowboy, I think this will do just fine." She said, turning around in his arms. She planted a kiss on his lips and said, "We better check on the kids and make sure no one wandered off yet."

"Good idea. But don't worry too much. The doors all lock and there are fences around all the pools. Not that that will stop the boys from finding some sort of trouble." He laughed.

As they left the master suite, Jon stopped at the door closest to the suite, opening it to a smaller bedroom suite. "You can make yourself at home in the master bedroom and I will take this one." Jon said as he poked his head in for a quick look around the room.

Katie realized he had thought of everything. There really was plenty of space for everyone, including separate rooms for each of them. She had briefly wondered how they would arrange that, knowing they needed to be respectful of the children who would be present.

"That sounds fine, but I really don't mind the smaller room at all. It is far from a hardship." Katie stated as she looked around the room. She spotted a door on the opposite wall and opened it, finding it actually connected this bedroom with the master suite.

Jon laughed, "Nah, this is perfect for me. Besides, as you can see, you can't escape that easily." he said, as she closed the door. "I plan on coming over for a visit, or ten, so be prepared." He said with a Cheshire grin.

Just then a small blur entered the room and attached itself to Jon's leg. Romeo was followed by Jake. "Daddy!!!!!" Romeo screamed as Jesse stopped short in front of Jon, his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face.

Jon pried himself from Romeo's grip as best he could, "What seems to be the issue?" He asked, his voice stern. He knelt down in front of Romeo, who's face was red and teary.

"Dad, he does NOT get the top bunk! Tell him! He is too little." Jake said as Romeo proceeded to wail, "I am NOT a baby, Jake. YOU are a baby."

Jake let out a sigh and shook his head. "Dad....!" he exclaimed.

Jon turned to Jake, "Did you call him a baby?" Jon asked.

Jake's face took on a guilty look. "But Dad, he is too little for the top!" he said, arms crossed this time.

Jon shook his head, "Jakie, you know that sets him off. Yet you insist on doing it constantly. Yes, he is too young for the top, but we can handle this in a much more productive way. Now apologize to your brother and lets sort this out." Jon said, exasperated. Romeo wiped his nose on Jon's pants leg as he glared at Jake. Jake glared back at him, finally saying, "Fine. I'm sorry. Ok?" Then Jesse stuck his tongue out at Romeo, who started wailing again.

"Jake! If you don't stop tormenting your brother and apologize you will end up with no bunk and will be in my room for the whole week." Jon reprimanded loudly.

The threat worked as intended and Jake gave Romeo a hug, then apologized. "Fine. I'm sorry, Romeo. You're not a baby." Jake said, then sulked as Jon led them out of the room to the other bedroom at the end of the hall. The furthest bedroom contained two bunk beds.

Jon picked Romeo up and sat on the bottom bunk. "Ok, buddy. This is the deal. You can't sleep on the top bunk. You have to be 6 to sleep up there. So you have two choices. You can sleep on the bottom bunk. Or you can sleep in my room." Jon offered to Romeo.

After a quick sniff and rubbing his nose on Jon's shoulder, he finally agreed. "Ok, Daddy. I will sleep here with Jakie." He didn't want to appear like any more of a baby by choosing to sleep with daddy.

"Now that is being my big boy." Jon said, planting a quick kiss on Romeo's head as he stood up and planted Romeo on the bottom bunk. He gave him a quick tickle causing Romeo to squeal. "That's more like it. I see the smile." Jon said. Giving Romeo an affectionate pat on the rump, he then left the room.

Katie was waiting in the hallway, a smile on her face as she listened to the exchange between Jon and the boys. She loved the fact that he was just a regular guy, scolding and playing with his kids, just like any other dad.

The driver finished bringing in the bags and delivering them to the proper rooms. Jon and Katie headed downstairs where Jon tipped the driver. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it."

"No problem, sir. Enjoy your stay. Just give a call to the club house when you want any transport." The drive said as he tipped his hat and exited the house.

Jon made his way to the kitchen and opened the gigantic stainless refrigerator. It had been stocked to overflowing with anything they might want. Spotting the beverage drawer at the bottom he grabbed a soda and motioned to Katie, who nodded. He handed her a soda, and they made their way to the lanai where they sat overlooking the ocean. The sun was making its way towards the ocean's edge, turning the far clouds brilliant shades of red and pink. It had been a long day of traveling, but Katie had to admit the view made all of it worthwhile. She silently reminded herself to mention coming back here alone with Jon sometime.

They sat and enjoyed the view until the noise level rose and the kids started spilling out onto the lanai.

"Mom! You are not going to believe my room, it has it's own bathroom! And my own bathtub! And TV! OH, and my computer, the Internet works!" Sophia exclaimed excitedly. She was followed closely by Brandon, "Mom, can Jesse and I share a room, there are games in every room!" Brandon rattled on.

Katie laughed. "Yes, of course, as long as Jesse wants to."

Jesse nodded, and proclaimed, "Yessss!" Then he insisted, "Brandon, lets go play pool. There is a whole game room."

Brandon's eyes got big as he said, "Whoa, cool!! Lets go!" And the boys were off.

Stephanie then came down and sat on the chair next to her dad. "How are the accommodations, sweetie?" he turned and asked.

"Mmmm, their fine." she said, uninterested.

Sophia piped up, "Steph, lets go check out the beach."

Steph shrugged and said, "Yeah, ok." As she stood up and followed Sophia down the meandering path. The path was lit with softly glowing lights along the entire length that were just starting to come on as the sun made its descent.

Jon sighed at Steph's obvious lack of enthusiasm. Katie noticed and said, "Jon, don't worry. She will be fine. It just takes time. She didn't choose this, don't forget." She reminded him.

Jon tilted his head and smiled slightly at her, "I know. You're right." He knew it wasn't Steph's job to make this easy on him. He just had such high hopes for this week. He had a lot on his mind, and this week was going to be pivotal, he had a feeling. One way or another.

Stephanie had taken the lead on the path down to the beach. Sophia watched her posture, her head hanging, shoulders tensed. Sophia knew what was wrong with Steph. She just didn't know how to break her out of it. Sophia remembered how she had felt when her mom and dad had separated, then later divorced. The helplessness, the anger. It ate away at her. But she loved her parents, and in the end had accepted that they were still her parents and loved her, even if they weren't married any longer. Now seeing her parents separately every other week, she could only imagine how Steph felt since her dad traveled so much. There were weeks she didn't see him. But then again, that was how she grew up, Sophia knew. She figured it must be hard when he was around for Steph to feel she had to share him now with someone other than her mother. She understood, but also hoped Steph would break out of it soon because she didn't want to spend the whole week stuck talking to herself. A friend would be nice to hang out with, she thought.

The walkway opened directly on to the beach where the waves lapped gently against the warm white sand. There were more lounge chairs and soft lights illuminating the beach edge. Steph deposited herself into a chair with a deep sigh, slouching into the cushion. Sophia did likewise next to her, determined that she was going to have a talk with Steph. After all, how could she be so miserable in such a fabulous place, Sophia thought.

Letting a few heavy seconds tick by, Sophia finally spoke up. "Steph, can we talk for a bit?"

Stephanie looked over at her and shrugged, "Sure, I don't care."

Sophia leaned forward in the chair and proceeded on. "Ok. Just hear me out, ok?" Steph nodded slowly, her face conveying no emotion.

"Listen. I understand how you feel. And don't tell me I don't. I really do. I've been there. I told you that. I am sorry if this is drawn out, but I have some things to say. I think I can help you a little." Sophia offered, waiting for a reaction.

Steph kept her eyes on Sophia, offering no input. At least she didn't get up and leave, Sophia thought, as she continued. "Ok, I'm gonna to tell you what happened when my mom and dad divorced. I don't think you need to hear what I think YOU should do or feel. But maybe hearing what I went through will help a little. The first thing I felt was anger at them. I was so mad at my dad for having the affair. I was so mad at my mom for letting him, and then for finding out. I thought maybe if she pretended it wasn't happening it wouldn't matter. For some reason it was easier to blame her than him. Well, she wasn't going to listen to me and she made him leave. That just made me even angrier at her. At first my dad didn't come around that much, or talk much when he did. But eventually we could talk more again. I think he didn't know what to say because he knew it was his fault. Men are weird that way." Sophia declared, then went on."My mom tried to talk to me, took me to therapy, all that junk. I just wouldn't listen. I was so mad. One night a few months after my dad moved out, I was suppose to be at soccer practice, but forgot my cleats. My friend's mom drove me back home to pick them up. I don't think mom heard my come in, but I heard her. She was in the living room. She was going through old photo albums. And she was crying. I mean sobbing, tears, gasping, the whole works. I remember watching her for a minute, but not knowing what to do, so I grabbed by cleats and left. She never knew I saw her. But it was that day when I realized that she didn't choose for this to happen. I had never seen her so sad. I realized it had been a long time since I had seen her smile. From that day on I decided all I wanted was my parents to be happy again, so I could be happy again. And if that meant them being apart, so be it. I still don't understand all they were dealing with. The choices my dad felt were ok to make. But I also realized that life happens and we don't always get a say in what way it goes. Especially as kids."

Steph jumped in, "So everything was just all ok after that? Just poof and it was all better?" She asked, her voice tinged in sarcasm.

Sophia shook her head, "No. I won't say it was all ok. I was still mad at my parents in many ways. But I also realized it wasn't going to change. At least from that point I was able to talk to them about things more. Seeing my mom so upset, I realized they were also feeling angry and hurt, maybe even my dad. At that point I actually got mad at my dad. But I did talk to him, even yelled at him. That was the beginning of things getting better because I think we stopped keeping things bottled up. It still took a long time. And I still sometimes envy kids that have one set of parents, don't get me wrong. But it is what it is. I can't change it. I still have my life that I can control. So I don't know, but things just aren't so bad anymore. Matter of fact, they are pretty great most of the time." She admitted to Stephanie, who was looking down at her hands in lap. "Steph, one other thing. Even beyond your parents splitting up, once you get past being upset at what THEY did to YOUR life, you will realize that they deserve to be happy. You will want them to be happy again. Your dad is an awesome guy. I really like him a lot. My mom loves him. And he loves her. I know that still upsets you a lot. But my mom is really a great lady. She isn't trying to ruin your life, nor is your dad. But they do deserve to be happy, too. You can decide to stay mad as long as you want. Or you can decide to accept that life isn't always about us, and start being happy again." Sophia finished.

She sat for a moment more, then stood up and walked down to the water's edge. She turned around after a few minutes and saw Stephanie walking back up the path towards the house. She stayed on the beach for a bit longer, then made her way back, realizing she was starving. Stephanie was nowhere to be seen when she got back. Jon said Steph had turned in for the night. Katie and Jon were still sitting on the lanai, but Sophia decided to grab a bite to eat and check in on the computer. She had to tell all her friends how amazing this place was.

Chapter 64