Chapter 5

Frannie was at her wits end. Sophie had been screaming for the better part of the morning and no matter what she did, Frannie couldn’t get her to settle down. She had just laid Sophie in her crib to scream it out when the doorbell rang. Oh God, who could that be? She was a wreck. She was still in her pajamas, her hair she was sure was going every which way. At least she had managed to brush her teeth. Frannie checked the peephole. Shit. It was Jon. She took a deep breath, smoothed her hair as best she could and unlocked the door. “Hi Jon, what brings you by?” He looked at her through the crack of the door. She looked worn out and he could hear Sophie squalling from somewhere in the house. “I wanted to talk to you.” He paused, “did I come at a bad time?” Sophie’s screams picked up and Frannie shut the door. He heard the chain slide out and the door opened, “come in. I have to go get her.”

Jon stepped in and shut the door behind him. He followed the sound of Sophie’s screams. He came upon her room and found Frannie pacing the room with her trying to soothe her. “Hey, can I help?” As soon as Sophie heard his voice she started to settle down. He took her from Frannie and walked with her, her cries slowly calming to whimpers and then finally she fell asleep on his shoulder. Frannie looked at him, exasperation showing on her face. “How did you do that and where the hell were you about four hours ago?” He held back his laugh, not wanting to wake Sophie. “I told you yesterday I have a way with the ladies. Seriously though, I have no idea. Maybe she just needed to hear a different voice or be held by a different set of arms. I have no clue.”

At that moment Frannie didn’t care, she was just glad that Sophie had stopped crying and was finally asleep. She looked down at herself and then over at Jon, Sophie sleeping against his chest, “would you mind staying with her while I shower?” He sat down in the rocking chair and waved her off, “go, we’ll be fine.”

She showered and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt as quick as she could. She was pulling her hair back as she walked down the hall and stopped in the doorway of Sophie’s room. Jon had laid his head back against the rocking chair and had his eyes closed as he gently rocked Sophie. The long line of his exposed throat made her mouth water. She shook her head and as quietly as she could she backed away and grabbed her sketch book from the other room. When she got back he had moved slightly and had his lips pressed against Sophie’s head. Frannie got the basic sketch done before he noticed her in the doorway. He stood and motioned Frannie into the room. “Should I put her down?” Jon was whispering, not wanting to wake her. “Go ahead; worst that could happen is that she will wake up.” Jon laid Sophie in the crib and covered her. Thankfully she stayed asleep. Frannie grabbed the monitor and they headed out to the living room.

Motioning for Jon to have a seat on the sofa Frannie set the monitor on the table and sat down next to him. “Thank you. She would probably still be screaming if you hadn’t stopped by.” Jon smiled at her, “glad I could help. Can I see what you were drawing?” She handed him the book, “it’s only just a rough sketch. You caught me before I could finish it.” He looked down at the sketch and immediately wanted it for his own. With just a few swipes of her pencil she had captured a rare moment for him, where he totally let his guard down. He looked up at her, “if you were to sell this how much would you get for it?” Confusion crossed her features, “what… why would you want to know that?” He smiled at her, “because I want this and I am willing to pay for it.” She shook her head, “I couldn’t let you pay for it. Give it here.” He handed her the book, she put her initials in the lower right corner and tore it from the book “here” she handed it to him. He put his hand over hers and, while she trembled at his touch, it wasn’t out of fear this time. “I’ll only take it on one condition.” She brought her eyes to his, “wh-what’s that?” He rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand, “that you let me take you to dinner this week.”

Frannie swallowed hard, she hadn’t been out in so long. She wanted to, but she was afraid. She looked at him, he was waiting expectantly for her answer. “I would like to Jon.” She paused and he sensed a ‘but’ coming on. She continued, “but I don’t have anybody to watch Sophie. I haven’t ever left her before so I don’t have anyone.” He smiled at her, “I know a girl who would be more than happy to baby-sit for you.” She eyed him warily, having a feeling she knew where he was going with that. “Really? Who?” He stroked his thumb across her hand again before smiling at her, “my daughter, Stephanie.” She met his gaze, “I don’t know Jon, let me think about it okay?” “Okay, but I did come here to talk to you about something.”

Frannie sucked in a shaky breath “what did you want to talk about?” He continued to hold her hand and she didn’t pull away. “I asked you the other day about bringing someone over to see your work. Any chance I could get you to change your mind?” Frannie thought about it, “am I correct in assuming you are talking about Tico?” Jon smiled and nodded his head, “yeah, I am.” Frannie returned the smile, “why do you think he would be interested in my work?” “Because other than the band and golf, he has a passion for art and I think he would like what he would find in your studio.” Frannie stood and paced, thinking about it before turning to Jon. “How about you bring him to the Art Alliance? I have to go see Joan, the curator as I owe her some work. I am sure we could work something out.”

As Jon started to agree Sophie started crying again. “Hold that thought” Frannie told him as she headed down the hall. Frannie picked up the crying baby, changed her and brought her out to the living room. All the while Sophie had not stopped crying. After trying to feed her with no luck and walking her, Frannie didn’t know what to do. She shifted Sophie so she was lying in her arm instead of up over her shoulder and slipped her knuckle in her mouth. Sophie stopped crying and was gnawing in her mother’s knuckle. Frannie felt the hard little nubs on her gums. She looked up at Jon, relief clearly showing on her face. “What is it?” Jon was curious to know what had stopped her this time. Frannie smiled, “she’s teething. Why didn’t I think of that earlier?” After applying some gum soother and finally getting her to eat, Sophie was content enough to go back to sleep for a while.

When Frannie came back Jon was slipping his jacket on and getting ready to leave. He looked over at her, “So, what about dinner this week?” Frannie took a step closer to him, “when?” He mentally ran through his calendar, “Friday?” She took one more step, “you’re sure about Stephanie baby sitting?” Jon nodded his head, “absolutely. How’s 7:30?” Frannie took one last step and she was standing right in front of him by the door, “7:30 is fine. Where are we going?” He shook his head, “you’ll just have to wait and see.” Frannie scrunched her nose, “if I don’t know where we are going, how am I supposed to know what to wear?” Jon thought about that for a minute, “how about this, no jeans. Does that help?” She just sighed and hung her head, “I’ll figure something out.” With his finger and thumb Jon lifted her chin and searched her face, “are you all right with this?” She was determined to do this, “I’ll be fine Jon.” While keeping his eyes on hers he leaned in and lightly touched her lips with his. He was glad that she didn’t flinch. When he pulled back he searched her eyes and found a storm raging within. Good. “I have to be in Philly the next couple of days, but I will see you on Friday.” She nodded and as he left she shut the door behind him, forgetting to lock it.

As if in a daze she sat down on the couch and touched her lips with her fingers. He kissed me.

She was actually looking forward to Friday.