Chapter 21

TWENTY-ONE

NYC Ballet’s star ballerina injured during rehearsals

“But the show goes on,” says head chorographer of the New York City Ballet, Nicholas Lodinski in a statement released to the press last night.

The famous ballet is currently rehearsing for their summer run of the Sleeping Beauty and last afternoon the company’s biggest star, Georgia Wilde (24), passed out after spraining her ankle. Wilde was given the very rare title of Prima Ballerina two years earlier and since then she has been the main attraction of the company and according to Lodinski one of the biggest reasons the theater still sells out every night. “Everything about Georgia is outstanding; her talent, her devotion and of course her beauty, and we are very privileged to work with her, however health comes first and at this point the only wise decision for us was to give her the rests she needs to recover. She is taking the summer off and we are looking forward to her return in Autumn.”

Fellow company member and a good friend of Wilde, Yasmin Carter, was asked to replace Georgia in the role of Princess Aurora. We wish the beautiful ballerina all the best and hope for a quick, full recovery.

Jon closed his laptop and looked up at his wife, who was the first to tell him about Georgia’s injury. “Remember the girl we met in the gallery last week? I heard she injured herself yesterday…”

As soon as he got the chance then, he opened his laptop and found the message he just read on the New York Times website. He was thinking about the fight he had with her last night and he felt guilty. He shouldn’t have treated her the way he did. He stood up and pressed a quick kiss on Dorothea’s cheek.

“I have to go,” he said.

She turned around at him in surprise. “Where are you going? Dinner’s almost ready!”

Jon shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sorry, I have a meeting in New York about the European tour, thought I told you.”

She shook her head firmly. “No you didn’t, will you be back tonight?”

“No, I think I will stay in New York, I expect it to take a while…”

“I’d prefer if you told me earlier…”

“I’m sorry, okay? Won’t happen again,” he snapped at her and walked out of the kitchen.

Well that was a great move, he thought to himself as he slammed the front door behind him and checked the time. It was nearly seven, if he hurried he could be at her house by half past eight. He needed to see her.

***

By the time Georgia reached the door she was out of breath and tears were burning in her eyes out of frustration. Yasmin had just left, Charlie wouldn’t come back until the next day and she didn’t expect anyone else, so whoever it was that made her stumble all the way to the door, would need a very good reason for it. She opened and couldn’t believe who she was looking at.

“How the fuck did you get up here,” she said and leaned against the doorway to avoid putting her weight on her ankle.

“I told the doorman I was your friend Charlie, he didn’t seem to recognise me…”

“I’m sure that has more to do with his bad memory than you wearing a hat and sunglasses,” she said as his attempt to disguise himself seemed weak in her eyes.

“It did the trick,” he said and then they stood there for a few seconds until Georgia turned around and started to hop back inside her house. He tried to assist her by grabbing her elbow but she pulled her arm away from him.

He followed her back in through the hallway, that led them right in to a huge open space with a kitchen, a dining table and at the far end, in front of three ceiling high windows, a living. But he didn’t stop until he reached the doorway to her bedroom where he stood to watch her roll back on the bed. He took his time to look around the spacious bedroom and she looked at him while he did. She loved her bedroom. The walls were pained in a very light shade of lilac and everything else was white. Except for the floor, that matched with the living room/kitchen and hallway. Dark vintage wood. Then he stepped in a little further and tossed a pack of cigarettes on the bed.

“Thought you might be short on these after spending the day in bed…” he said.

She bend over to grab the package on her nightstand and shook the last cigarette out of it. “You thought that right,” she said and lit it.

The room smelled a little of cigarette smoke, but most of it seemed to have gotten away through the open window, in front of which the curtains danced softly in the freezing winter wind.

“Listen,” she said, dragging at her cigarette, “The fact that I am now here in bed with this fucking ankle doesn’t mean I want your sympathy, because I don’t and I am still mad at you anyway.”

He raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips.  I thought I was mad at yóu.”

“You were just so full of yourself, again, that you didn’t even notice I was mad at you as well…”

He laughed a joyless laugh. “I ain’t the one telling my friends about us, George.”

“No, I know that. I am. And it’s been all over the media since hasn’t it?!”

Jon sighed.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have come here,” she said.

“You know what…” he replied. “maybe I shouldn’t have.”

She watched him turn around, and he disappeared behind the door as he closed it. Soon after that she drifted off to sleep. Not because she wanted to, but because it had been how she had spent the most of her day thanks to whatever the doctor had given her against the pain.

***

As Jon stood alone in the living room he knew he couldn’t leave her behind like that. She could barely move and even though she would never admit it, she could really use some help. Besides, he didn’t come all the way from Jersey for this. He threw a couple of the colourful cushions on her black couch aside before he sat down and looked around. The room was basically a huge T-shaped loft on the top floor of an old factory. It had a very high ceiling with a kitchen and dining table in the back, two doors in the white wall on his right side, behind one of them she was asleep and he assumed her bathroom was hidden behind the other. She stuck a map of the universe and it’s planet on the wall between the doors. The long brick wall on his left was unpainted, and cd’s were piled up against it. Books and magazines were scattered all across the room and underneath the glass coffee table in front of him laid a pair of designer heels. Around the huge dining table behind him stood a collection of eight randomly picked chairs, most of the seats were covered with floral and Aztec fabrics. All in all her house was  an organised mess of a lot of things that somehow came together in a perfect way.  Just like Georgia.

***

About two hours later Georgia wasn’t even surprised when she woke up from him entering the bedroom again.

“I hope you had a great time on your own sneaking around my place while I was unconscious…” she said as she crawled up and rested her back against the wall behind her. She looked a sleepy, adorable mess.

“Actually I did the dishes, did your wash and ironed…” he said and she laughed.

“I’m serious,” he said and Georgia’s eyes grew wider.

“Wait… I just had Jon Bon Jovi doing my dishes and ironing my wash and I wasn’t even there to see it?!”

He chuckled amused. “If you are lucky I might do it against someday, although I prefer seeing your panties on you, or on the floor…”

 You ironed my underwear?!”

“It was the most fun part!” he said spreading out his hands in defence.

She laughed. “I can’t believe this…”

In the silence that followed they stood and looked at each other and then Georgia pulled the comforter back. Without saying a word he kicked of his jeans and stepped in, pulling her in his arms. With his stomach against her warm back.

“Jon?”

“Hmm..”

“I’m so scared…” she whispered with tears in her eyes that she didn’t show him. He stared at the curtains still moving in the now dark room and caressed her hand and wrist. He couldn’t tell if she was still only talking about the future of her career or her future in general. Whatever it was he could relate to the feeling.