Chapter 17: Dinner at Seven

Julianna was chastising herself. She said the dinner was going to be nothing fancy, yet she had laid out a beautiful table on the back deck. The air was still, so she had lit candles. She had put on a CD of her favorite summer tunes, and it was playing softly in the background. She had agonized about what to wear, too. She had finally decided on a long, flowing skirt and a peasant blouse. She left her hair loose and her feet bare. Silver hoop earrings and bangles were her only jewelry. Checking the clock for the hundredth time -- cut it out, Jules -- she slapped the thick steaks on the grill and went back into the house.

The duo arrived for dinner promptly at seven. They could smell the steaks as they approached the gate, and the aroma got their mouths watering. Passing through the gate first, Jon called out, “Hello the house!”

Julianna came out, carrying a tray with wine glasses and a small cooler. She put the tray on the table, and descended the three steps to the yard. Richie’s eyes went wide as he watched this magnificent creature float towards them.

I’ll see you in my dreams
Gypsy woman

Julianna met the pair halfway. She gave Jon a friendly hug, and twin pecks on the cheeks. “Nice to see you again.” She eyed the two bottles he carried. “Thanks for the wine.” She saw Richie was staring at her, and she blushed. He was carrying a third bottle of wine, and a bouquet of flowers – all but forgotten as he took in the sight before him. Gently taking the flowers from his hand, Julianna gave Richie a far more personal kiss. Jon looked away, with a grin on his face.

“Thank you for the flowers, they’re beautiful,” she said softly.

“Oh – er – you’re welcome. Darlin’, you look absolutely stunning,” he answered, still feeling tongue-tied.

Julianna dropped a sassy curtsy. “Thank you.” She took Richie’s arm, and started for the deck. “Three bottles of wine with dinner – should I be concerned that you guys are going to get me drunk and have your way with me?”

The two men exchanged a glance, hesitating just enough to make Julianna blush. “Honestly, you two. Let me get a vase for these flowers. Richie, flip the steaks, would you? I’ll be right back.” Jon and Richie laughed as Julianna turned her back on them. Julianna shook her head and flipped them the bird as she went into the house.

Long after the steaks were eaten, the three bottles of wine were gone and the candles burned low in their holders. Julianna’s cheeks ached from all the laughing. The two men, friends for half a lifetime, regaled her with stories from their younger days. They shared some of the pranks they’d played on each other through the years.

Julianna took mental notes. “I’ll have to remember some of these – I still owe my brothers for the last prank they pulled on me.” She told Richie and Jon about how she and her brothers often recorded CDs of the songs for the shows Julianna was working on. It helped her when she was revising or reviewing the choreography, and sometimes she used the CDs in rehearsals, if the principals weren’t dancing the scenes. For one rehearsal, where they used the CD, halfway through her brothers had substituted the real versions of the songs for ones with dirty lyrics. Julianna, being the way she is when she’s working, was concentrating on the dancers, not the lyrics. When her dancers stopped their routine and looked her, she tuned back into the lyrics, mortified. Everyone had a good laugh about it afterwards, but she hadn’t thought of a good enough payback for them yet.

Richie and Jon burst out laughing as Julianna described the lyrics her brothers had sung. Richie elbowed Jon, saying, “You should do that next time we have a sound check. See if anyone is really listening.”

Jon laughed. “Yeah, maybe.” He turned to Julianna. “So, tell us about this property – how’d you come by it? It’s really nice.”

Julianna smiled. “It’s been in my family for many years. Some great-great-grand-uncle or something built the original cottage here long before my mother’s parents’ parents thought about coming to America. The house you guys are staying in is where my brothers and I were raised. Mama and Papa built it after they were married.”

“Why’d they move?” Richie asked, propping his chin on his hand. I could watch her all night.

“Well, when they first opened the restaurant, after us kids graduated college, they spent so much time there, they decided to move closer, to cut down on travel time. My parents gifted the house and land to me when Mark and I got married.” She shuddered a little. “Thankfully, they put everything in my name, so I avoided that particiular little nightmare when I divorced his ass. I can’t even begin to imagine what that would have been like.”

Jon and Richie exchanged glances. Both were curious, but neither wanted to ask. Julianna saw their faces, and laughed ironically. “Go ahead, ask. If I can assume most of what I’ve read about your – uh – situations is true, then I know your stories already; it’s only fair that you know mine.” She had tears in her eyes.

Jon cleared his throat. “That’s OK, babe, you don’t have to say anything. We were just curious, that’s all.”

“Yeah,” Richie joined in, covering her hand with his. “We can see that it’s still painful for you to talk about.”

Julianna snorted. “Like it wasn’t for you? Anyway, the tears,” she said, wiping them away, “are self-directed anger, not sadness. It’s fine.” Julianna took a deep, steadying breath, and launched into her story. “Mark Valentino and I met my last year in grad school. He had transferred from another school halfway across the country, and was very shy.” She looked at Richie. “You’ve met my family; we are the opposite of shy. In fact, we can’t stand to see anyone hanging in the sidelines. I made friends with him. He and I were in the same PhD program, and had many of the same classes. Once he came out of his shell, he was irresistible.” She pulled a face. “That should have been my first clue, but, I was just as taken as everyone else. He got invited to countless parties and he always brought me with him. We had unofficially become a couple, and one day woke up just assuming we’d always be together. The summer after graduation, he proposed. We had lots of good times, but he never stopped being the party guy.”

Julianna stopped to upend one of the wine bottles, looking for another drink. She sighed, and put the empty bottle back down, frowning. “Soon after we moved in up there, I started working to found Bring It On. I bought an apartment in Manhattan, and split my time between here and there. The company was my life’s dream and my passion. Mark and I still went out to parties, but I could tell his attentiveness to me was forced. I chalked it up to the long hours I was working. Fast forward eight years.” She smiled sadly at their expressions. “Yes, eight. Now you know what the pity-party was for. Anyway, we were sharing space, but not really living together, if you know what I mean. He was producing a show for TV and traveling to the west coast pretty frequently. I actually suggested he take an apartment out there, so he’d be more comfortable. I know, I know. Naïve. Stupid. Idiotic. You’re not thinking anything I haven’t called myself in recent months.”

Julianna stood. “I’m sorry, to tell the rest of the story, I need something more to drink. You guys want?”

“Sure,” Richie said. “Want some help?”

“Nah, I know where everything is,” she said with a wink.

After Julianna disappeared into the house, Jon turned to Richie, shaking his head. “Man, I can see what’s coming. We have more in common with her than we thought. Too bad it’s all shit stuff.”

“No kidding," Richie said. "Jesus, no wonder she doesn’t want to get into anything serious now. I gotta wonder, though, how much of that is the dual-coast thing, and how much is the rest of it.”

Julianna came out of the house with a pitcher of margaritas and three frosty glasses. “I’ve had enough wine. Have you had enough of the story? Or would like to hear the end of it.”

Richie chuckled. “We have a pretty good idea of how it turns out, but we’d like to hear the rest of it, if you still want to tell it.”

Julianna poured the drinks and took a healthy gulp of hers. “OK. You asked for it. Anyway, we have the long-distance marriage thing going on, but it appeared to be working for us. I’d fly out there, or he’d come back here, and things were like they were in the beginning. That old ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ bullshit I guess. Eventually, the show Mark was working was cancelled, and the next show was being shot in New York. He sold the apartment in California, and moved back here. I was ecstatic. We were ecstatic. For about a year. During the final run of one of BIO’s most popular shows, I was working 20 hour days -- not at all unusual for me. Things were starting to get strained again, but I thought we were working through it. One night, I left the theater early, planning a surprise romantic evening with Mark.”

Richie reached for Julianna’s hand. She grinned at him, grateful for the support. With a squeeze, she finished her tale. “I was the one who got the surprise, though. The house looked still, but there were sounds coming from my bedroom. I went back to investigate, and got quite an eyeful. Mark was in bed, in MY bed, with another woman. There were six other bedrooms in that house, yet he chose our bed. I think that hurt more than anything. It took them a few moments to realize they weren’t alone. When the bastard finally looked up and saw me, I calmly told him to pack his shit and get his ass out of my house, and to take his slut with him. That was the last time I set foot in there.”

She exhaled slowly, and took another long drink, emptying her glass. “That’s pretty much the whole sordid story. The divorce was final 18 months ago, but I still can’t stand to go into that house. It’s totally redecorated, I know lots of good set designers who owed me favors. Anyway, when I delivered the pictures yesterday, I nearly had a panic attack in the driveway. You did get them, right?”

“Yeah,” Richie said. “I got them, thanks. I do have to say, again, that I had a hell of a time with your family. They’re really great. Everyone was so nice. Have you always been close?”

“Nice subject change, Sambora,” Jon said, laughing.

Julianna laughed, and started to relax. That may have been the margaritas, but she thought it was more the company. “My family is pretty great. I wouldn’t have gotten through the last couple of years without them.” She stood abruptly. “I have had far too much to drink tonight. Don’t mind me while I walk around the yard for a minute – I need to get my blood moving.”

Richie also stood. “Why don’t you give us a tour of your studio? We're impressed with what was done up at the house – I’d like to see how your private studio compares.”

Julianna smiled. “I’m glad the one at the house is working out for you. I’ll say I drove the engineers cra-a-azy because I wouldn’t go over and check out the work myself. They had to wait for Nicky, one of my brothers. He handled the technical stuff in my studio, too. The acoustics are amazing. C’mon, you gotta hear this.”