Monday, July 18

1:40 am

Suite

Ducked out of the bar early to come back up for my nightly date.  Thought I'd do things up romantic for a lovely and semi-dirty conversation with my lovely and very naughty Wife.  I had some roses and champagne and candles sent up to my room and had the steward light a fire in the fireplace even though it's the middle of summer. (I cranked up the AC, ha ha).  

I bet the hotel staff is wondering what the Hell I'm up to.  Probably doing a lot of wink-wink/nudge-nudge about the Rock Star bringing some woman (or three) back to his room.

Little do they know, ha ha.

Anyway, so I'm lounging here in my bathrobe, sipping at this $300 bottle of bubbly, listening to a little Frank on the stereo and staring at my iPad, waiting for the appointed hour to open up Skype.

And my phone rings.  It's Dorothea.

My Son is an idiot.

I TOLD Jess to be good this weekend, to have fun but not get into trouble, since he finally made it out of the doghouse with his Mother.  I thought he got that message loud and clear.  Apparently not, because Momma is NOT amused.

Though technically Jess didn't "get into trouble."  He went where he was supposed to go, checked in when he was supposed to, was home in plenty of time for curfew.  There were no calls from the Cops and no bail money was required.

This falls into one of those gray areas.  What Jess did isn't illegal. (Well, maybe it is under some kinda State licensing law but that's the shop's fault).  But it sure didn't make Dorothea happy.  At ALL.

Seems Jesse and his buddies all decided to do a little male bonding last night.  They were hanging out at the beach house together, watching the bikinis and having a few brews, and decided to make one of those High School Buddies Pacts.

Then they all went out and got tattoos.

I got nothin' on this one.  I can't say I'm really all that pissed.  It's a tattoo.  Lots of people have them nowadays.  Dorothea and I both have ink, though we didn't get ours until we were adults.  Yeah, it would have been nice if Jess would have asked/warned us he was gonna do it (which Dorothea probably would have forbidden), but he is sixteen, after all.  A man in most ways.  

Just not necessarily when it comes to common sense, ha ha.

So D puts Number One Son on the phone and the first words out of my mouth were "Please tell me you didn't ink a girl's name on your body."

Jess kinda chuckled -- I could hear D in the background asking him what was so damned funny -- and said "No, Sir."

No SIR?  He was totally buttering me up.  Yeah, the Kid knew I'd be on his side.  Or at least stay neutral. 

He wasn't wrong.

So I told him to spill the story, the whole thing.  He did.  It was pretty simple, just what Dorothea said.  It was one of those Buddy Pact things, something you do when you're young and standing on the edge of independence, something to remember the moment by.  Jesse, Jeremy, and a couple other guys went and got inked together, then went back to their beach house and hung out.  No big deal.  It's not like they were smoking crack and banging hookers, for Christ's sake.

It's about Brotherhood.  I get that.

And in all honesty, I don't really think it's that big a deal.  

But I sure as fuck ain't gonna say that to Dorothea, ha ha.  Or to Jess.  

Yep, I'm taking the Switzerland route on this one.  Totally neutral.  Besides, what's done is done. 

And I gotta admit, when Jess told me what his tat is, it made me smile.

He got the Superman shield, above his ankle.  

That's My Boy.


5:40 pm
Balcony

Sitting out here enjoying the gorgeous view.  The Aegean Sea.

Wish Cate was here to see it.  I sent her a photo, but a picture doesn't do it justice.

It's almost lunchtime back in New York, almost dinnertime here.  I talked to her this morning and we have our date again tonight.  My romantic plans didn't quite come to fruition last night after my unexpected conversation with Dorothea and Jesse.  Cate and I still had our date, but we ended up talking more about Jess and the other Kiddos than about us.

The Perils of Parenthood, ha ha.

And I still haven't gotten her naked on Skype.  Beginning to think that might be a lost cause.  Probably the best I can hope for are the occasional accidental peek-a-boob views.

Oh Well.  The tour's almost over.  I'll be home soon and I can see Cate's tits up close and personal any time I want.

Two more weeks.  Then it's over.  The day I thought would never come is finally almost here.

Kind of a shame.  The last few nights have been great.  We've finally gotten it together again, the Boys and I.  After all we've been through this tour, we're finally getting back to where we like to be.  Up there on that stage, playing for us.  The fans may think it's for them and of course it is, but there's a little piece of these last few shows that have been just for us.

Gonna miss that when it's over, even though I'll be the one leading the charge out the door, ha ha.

We all need to go home and just BE for awhile.  See our families, figure out how to be Daddies and Husbands and Joe Schmoes again.  Then after awhile we'll get itchy again, start writing and thinking about the next record.  It's inevitable.  Happens every time.  Even back after the Jersey Tour, when we pissed and burned out and not even talking.  We brought it back.

We can't help it.  It's what we do.  It's in our blood.

I'm glad Cate will be here for our last show of the tour.  She's been such a trooper, with me being gone and tired and half-crazy for the past year and a half.  She understands; she's used to it considering what she's done in her own career.  She deserves to be at the party too, when we pop that champagne and celebrate.

Though she won't be drinking champagne, I have a feeling.  Sparkling water.  Or grape juice.  At least I'm hoping.

Tomorrow we'll know.  She's taking her pregnancy test tomorrow morning.  Not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight, thinking about it.

It will be Cate's birthday when she's here.  Kinda fitting, Our last show = Her birthday.  Her present is she gets her husband back, ha ha.

No, I need to think of something special to get her.  When I was home last I came up with the idea to remodel the upstairs office out at the Jersey house for her.  But I never got around to making the calls.  So that's obviously out as a birthday present.  Maybe Christmas.

I've bought her so much jewelry I don't have any ideas in that department either.  And she's not really a Jewelry Girl.  She wears her rings and a watch and a chain, but unless we're dressed up to go out she doesn't really wear the sparkly stuff.

I gotta think of something or I'm gonna be way behind in the gift department.  I still owe her a honeymoon, for fuck's sake.

Maybe I'll have to pick some brains for ideas.  Not mine, obviously -- it's empty.

But first I'm going out to eat.  Real Greek food, by the sea.