Chapter 5

I had barely slept that night and when I was at school all I could think about was Richie. Would he be like I imagined? Would he be funny like he’s on the interviews? Would he smell good like everyone says he does? What would he be wearing? What would I be wearing? Oh boy… I mentally kicked myself for not thinking about that before, I had to look presentable enough after all he was a celebrity…

***

The rest of the day went smoothly; I had lunch with my friends, finished my classes and I was home by 4 p.m.

Surprisingly, Mary (my “mom”) asked me about my day, she had never done that before.

“It was good, thanks”- I had answered

I went up to my room, took a shower and dressed an old Giants sweatshirt that was almost two sizes bigger than mine and grey leggins. I was really nervous; after all it’s not every day that you sneak out of the house with your best friend and her parents (who didn’t even know half of the story) to go to a concert and, possibly, to meet your idol!

I picked my favorite pair of black pants, a white turtleneck shirt and my white converse and I stuffed into the bag pack. The weather was cold and rainy, besides I couldn’t go to a rock concert wearing a dress and high heels…

I had agreed with Nat that she would be picking me up at 11 p.m. All I had to do was to have my bag pack ready and to tie my sheets tight so that I could jump the window without ending up in a hospital bed.

***

That night, after diner, I helped Mary washing the dishes, made my homework and, by 10.45 p.m. I was already up on my room, allegedly sleeping. I was used to go to bed early so Mary and Carl didn’t really suspect anything.

I looked around my room thinking that maybe a week from that day I would do the same but as me; not has the scarred little girl that was afraid from the world. Maybe.

Mentally shaking those thoughts out of my head, I opened my closet and grabbed a few pillows to put under the covers, so that if Carl or Mary went to my room, in the middle of the night, wouldn't notice I was missing. I chuckled- how many times did I see teens do this kinda stuff in movies?  Apparently too many…- My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of what appeared to be small stones hitting the windowsill. It was time.

I grabbed the ladder that I’d made with sheets and threw it out of the window, knotting the end of it on the windowsill, grabbed my bag pack and slid all the way, down to the grass. Nat was already waiting for me on the other side of the street by the old bench, like we had agreed to do.

“Finally!”- She said

“Sorry, I got here as fast as I could”

“It’s okay. Excited?”

“Yes! And you know what? I’ve never been so excited about a weekend…”-I smiled

“I’m sharing the feeling sistah!”- Nat said, laughing

We were both clearly excited. Not only it was the first time that we were doing a sleepover but we were going to a concert together. A concert that promised to be a night to remember…

Chapter 4

“What?!”- I asked incredulously

“The package is from a Richard Stephen!”

I didn’t think twice, I ripped the package and there were 2 more envelopes.

With trembling hands I opened the first one and there it was, hand written, my answer. I can’t believe it… It said:

            “Dear Jen,

If you only knew, how flattered I am… believe it or not, nobody had ever said something like that to me, ever.

You seem a very intelligent young lady, who, unfortunately, has been through some stuff too soon. Don’t think this is pity from my part but I’m really sorry about your family… and, honestly, I admire you because you seemed a fighter to me, you seemed strong, strong enough to admit what you feel, and what you think.

I’m honored that you have that opinion about me, seriously.

I’m gonna tell you a secret, it’s for people like you that I live for, it’s for fans like you that I work so hard, it’s people like you that make me strong enough to carry on. So, thank you, for the letter, for the kind words, for being my fan and mostly for being my daughter.

(I chuckled between tears.)

I hope I get the chance to see you and talk to you, honestly, I do.

I wanna look you in the eye and I wanna help you If you let me, that is… I’ll send you tickets. Please don’t take this as you birthday present.

Oh and I guess that this letter will be late, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY little girl!!!!

Please, show up.

Love,

Richie” 

Tickets? The second envelope! I opened and there it was… two tickets, front row, VIP, for free –I gasped- VIP?  Oh My God but that means backstage and backstage means Richie and Richie means… Well… Richie… I can’t believe this is actually happening… I must have read that letter a thousand times after Daniel had left. He was so sweet, so genuine, so nice, so truthful… he was everything I’d imagined!

I picked the phone up and dialed that number that I knew by heart, Nat’s.

“Natalie! Jesus you’re not going to believe me!”- I said

“What? Are you okay?”- Nat asked worried

“He answered me Natalie, he cared!”- I said between sobs

“He did? Oh baby that’s great news! What did he say?”

“He said that I was an inspiration and gave me two FREE VIP tickets to their next concert! Can you believe it? He wants to talk to me, personally! I can’t even think right Nat!”

“Well I don’t blame you babe that IS a big thing so! I’m so happy for you”

“I want you to come with me, can you? Please?”- I begged

“Of course baby! Uh… Jen?”

“Gosh!! Yep?”

“How are you supposed to go? I mean… you’re parents…”

“They are NOT my parents! I don’t know… Oh God I can’t lose this…”- I cried harder

“Calm down baby I won’t let anything ruin this for you, I promise. Give me just a sec okay? I’ll call you back!”- And she hung up

This can’t be happening… It just can’t, I don’t have this kind of luck and these amazing things don’t happen to me, they happen to happy people, who have a happy life… The man of my dreams actually answered me and he offered me tickets, FREE tickets, BACKSTAGE tickets… Oh God I think I’m gonna faint! – My thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of my cellphone:

“Hello?”

“Jen? It’s me, Nat”

“Hey, Nat. So did you have any brilliant idea?”- I asked with my fingers crossed – literally

“Actually, yes I did…”

“You did? Oh my, okay spill it!!”- I answered excitedly

“You live on a second floor, right?”

“Uhh… yes…”- That didn’t sound good…

“Okay, then this is how we’re gonna do: I talked to my parents and explained them part  of your situation and they said that they understood, so I used that to our purpose: I convinced them to book 2 tickets to the Bon Jovi concert next Wednesday and they actually agreed to it… and now that I think about it, that was weird… whatever! So, it’s not gonna be backstage or VIP tickets which means we’ll be on our own but they trust us so we’re good. This was the cool thing, now here comes the bad part… You’re gonna have to sneak through the window…”

“WHAT?”- I interrupted her

“Calm down, I’ll take my bike and brother’s so we can get home faster and I’ll be waiting for you near the bench on the other side of the street.”

“But why don’t your parents come here and get me or something?”

“Because they think that your parents gave you the thumbs up to go the concert and showing up like that would be very, very bad…”- She had a point

“Okay, so I’ll sneak. Then what?”

“Before I leave to get you, I’ll tell my parents that your parents gave you permission to sleepover chez moi and I’m just going to get you. Isn’t it a brilliant plan?”- I could practically see her smile through the phone

“It actually is but it sounds risky…”

“Jeeeeeeeeeeeen…”- She whined

“Fine, we’ll do that, anything for Richie!”

Chapter 3

It was my birthday. Birthday.        

Without my family it was just another day, a day spent at school and, after that, at home. Home… Yeah, sure, home.

“I sent the letter.”

“You what?”- Asked Natalie

“I did it, I finally did it Nat!”

“Holly Jesus! You did it? The letter?! Did he answer? Can I read it? When did you do it? How? Hey!! Why didn’t you show me?!”

“Wow! Easy there cowboy! So many questions! Okay… Yes I did it, yes to Richie, I did it and sent it yesterday, how? Honestly I have abso-fucking-lutly no idea, I just did it!”

“Oh My God! Did he answer?”- Asked Nat

“I don’t know, I bet he didn’t…”

“I bet he didn’t… OMG, are you kidding me? You bet he didn’t?! Did you even check the mail before you left the house?”

“No I didn’t…”- I answered

“Why?”

“I don’t know Nat maybe because he’s a Rock Star and he probably doesn’t give a single fuck about my stupid life…? Oh and let’s not forget the little important part of the story where he doesn’t even know me??!!”

Jesus.

“Oh… I see…”

“What?!”

“Nothing, nothing…”- Said Nat

“Oh great! Shut me out…”

“Heck Jen, what do you want me to say?! You sent the fukin’ letter and you don’t even know if he answered you or not cause you don’t even check your mail? I’m sorry babe, you know I love you madly but you’re not making any sense…”

“I’m scared Nat… okay?”- I finally admitted

“Of what sweetie?”

“Of being ignored again, of pouring my soul and my heart to a person who I think of as a God and as a roll model and turns out he’s just a moron like the others, who doesn’t even care. I’m tired of being pulled down. I’m tired of crying myself to sleep without anything or anyone but my pillow to support me. I’m tired of watching you ignoring your own problems to help me with mine. I’m scared of forgetting how it feels like to be loved by somebody. I’m tired of not having a family. I’m tired of being alone in my own tiny world… I-I’m tired of everything”

“Oh baby, you are loved! And you don’t need to be scared cause I’m sure he’s gonna answer to your letter…”

“That’s not the point! I don’t care if he answers the stupid letter or not! I just want him to know what he means to me, that’s all…"

Natalie was my best friend for a long time and, as I said before, she was the only one who knew the whole story. I knew she understood my crazy way of thinking and I knew she was right… It was too immature to send a letter to someone and to not be curious about the answer, but I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that he would actually care! Nobody cared, only Nat but she didn’t understood how hard it was to be me…

Ughh, I’m so selfish!                   

“Hey Jennifer, can I come in?”- Asked Daniel.

Daniel was Ashley’s brother. He was shy but he wasn’t an ass like his sister. He was actually sweet.

“Hi, yeah sure…”- I answered

“I’m sorry to bother but this came with today’s mail. It’s addressed to you…”

“Oh…”

“Here”- He handed the letter to me

It was a normal package, not to big but certainly bigger that the ones I used to receive. The package was anonymous.

“Who is it from?”- I asked Daniel

“I’m not sure… the man who made the delivery said that it was from the U.S… New York more precisely…”- He answered

“New York?!”

Oh… of course it wasn’t from him… He lived in L.A, so…

“Richard Stephen…”- Said Daniel suddenly

Chapter 2

“Richie! Richie wake up, dude!”- Obie screamed

“What the fuck? What’s your problem man?”

“1^st: it’s half past 2 p.m. ; 2^nd: there’s something you should see. C’mon, get your ass out of that bed, now!”- Obie commanded

Richie got up, showered, and brushed his teeth.

“What’s up Ob?”- Richie asked

“I was here checking the fan mail and…”- Obie started

“You woke me over fan mail?! Seriously?”- Richie interrupted

“Calm down man, you need to read this! It’s from yesterday.”- Said Obie while handing the letter to Richie.

“Dear Richie,                                                                   April 10th 2001

I’m not writing to say “I Love You” because I know you hear that a lot. (Richie chuckled)

I’m sorry if I am bothering you, I know that you’re probably busy and you’ll never read/answer this, but it’s okay.

I’m not doing this for fun or just to pass time, I’m doing this because, tomorrow is my 16th birthday and I need someone to talk to (besides my best friend, that is),  I need you to know a couple of things.

When I was 10, me, my mom and my brother (only the 3 of us because my dad left us when I was only 2 years old), we were coming from the best night of my life, it had been my 1st concert ever, a Bon Jovi concert, when suddenly we had a car crush. I was the only survivor. Since then, I’ve been “jumping” from foster-families to foster-families and it’s been a hell. I don’t fit in here. Nobody understands my situation, my dreams and my mind.

Please don’t feel sorry for me, because of all this.

 (Richie’s eyes widened)

Maybe you’ll think that’s stupid from me to say all this to you, but understand that I needed to do this.

You’ve been my idol since I can remember. I love the band and your solo work. But mostly I admire your capacity of sharing your money and your fame, your sadness and your happiness with us, your fans.

Please understand that I mean no disrespect to you, your family or the band, but to me you are more than a musician, more than a guitar-player and more than a philanthropist. To me, you are the father I never had. My role-model. My hero.

Love,

Jen.”

When Richie finished reading the letter, he looked at Obie and said:

“Can you find me this girl?”

“Yeah man, here’s the address”- Said Obie while handing Richie the package that, only a couple hours ago, had been wrapped with the letter.

“What am I supposed to do with this man? I just go there, knock on the door and say “Hi, I’m Richie and I wanna see Jen ‘cause she says I’m like a father to her?!” C’mon man, cut me some slack will ya?!”

“Yeah you’re right… that would be too much, even for you!! What should I do, Rich?”- Obie asked

“She said It was her birthday right? So, I’m gonna answer her, and send her some tickets to our next concert!”

“For the April 13^th one in New Jersey?”- Obie asked

“Yup! You think she’ll come? Yeah, she’ll come… Gonna answer my “daughter”, see ya in a bit Ob”

           

            “Dear Jen,

If you only knew, how flattered I am… believe it or not, nobody had ever said something like that to me, ever.

You seem a very intelligent young lady, who, unfortunately, has been through some stuff too soon. Don’t think this is pity from my part but I’m really sorry about your family… and, honestly, I admire you because you seemed a fighter to me, you seemed strong, strong enough to admit what you feel, and what you think.

I’m honored that you have that opinion about me, seriously.

I’m gonna tell you a secret, it’s for people like you that I live for, it’s for fans like you that I work so hard, it’s people like you that make me strong enough to carry on. So, thank you, for the letter, for the kind words, for being my fan and mostly for being my daughter.

I hope I get the chance to see you and talk to you, honestly, I do.

I wanna look you in the eye and I wanna help you, if you let me, that is… I’ll send you tickets. Please don’t take this as you birthday present.

Oh and I guess that this letter will be late, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY little girl!!!!

Please, show up.

Love,

Richie.

Chapter 1

One day, I woke up really early, it was 7 a.m. and I only needed to go to school at 8 a.m. I wasn’t sleepy enough to go back to bed so, I showered, got dressed and, by the time I was downstairs to eat breakfast it was, already, 7:45 a.m. As usual, Carl wasn’t speaking to me and my “sister”, Ashley, was gossiping a new boy from school. Thank God she wasn’t from my school! I ate as quickly as I could and went to school.

When I arrived, my best friend, Natalie, was waiting for me by the lockers. How I loved that girl, she was the only person that really knew and understood me she was also the only person that helped me through the hardest time of my life: my family’s death.

“Hi!”- said Nat, excitedly

“Hey Nat”

“So, how are you?”

“I’m fine, babe, thanks! How about you?”- I asked

“Same! So tomorrow’s your birthday! What’re you gonna do to your 16^th birthday?”

“Honestly? I don’t know! I would take you to my place for us to spend some time together but my house sucks, as you know!”- I explained

“Yeah… well let’s go to the movies or something!”- Suggested Nat

“Okay, okay!! But there’s something I gotta do first! You know what I’m talking about, right?!”

“Wohhhooo!!! You’re gonna write a letter to Sambora!”- Nat teased

“Stop okay? you know I really need to do this Nat…”

“I know sweetie, I know! And I’m sure he’s gonna answer you!”

“Yeah… doubt that but okay… Well let’s go! French, right?”- I asked

“Yup babe, French!”

“Okay, s’go”

The French class passed as quickly as it came and in the end of all the classes Nat’s boyfriend, James, asked for her to talk to him for a bit, so she excused herself and told me that she would call later.

I went home with my mind always focused on the letter that I was about to write to my idol. What do you tell to the person that you most admire in the whole world? What do you ask? When I got home, I already had my mind settled, I was gonna tell him everything! After all he was my idol, and I owed him that, so I jumped to bed with a paper and a pen, and started writing:

Dear Richie,                                                                    April 10^th 2001

I’m not writing to say “I Love You” because I know you hear that a lot.

I’m sorry if I am bothering you, I know that you’re probably busy and you’ll never read/answer this, but that’s okay.

I’m not doing this for fun or just to pass time, I’m doing this because, tomorrow is my 16^th birthday and I need someone to talk to (besides my best friend, that is) and  I need you to know a couple of things.

When I was 10, me, my mom and my brother (only the 3 of us because my dad left us when I was only 2 years old), we were coming from the best night of my life, it had been my 1^st concert ever, a Bon Jovi concert, when suddenly we had a car crush. I was the only survivor. Since then, I’ve been “jumping” from foster-families to foster-families and it’s been a hell. I don’t fit in here. Nobody understands my situation, my dreams and my mind.

Please don’t feel sorry for me, because of all this.

Maybe you’ll think that’s stupid from me to say all this to you, but understand that I needed to do this.

You’ve been my idol since I can remember. I love the band and your solo work. But mostly I admire your capacity of sharing your money and your fame, your sadness and your happiness with us, your fans.

Please understand that I mean no disrespect to you, your family or the band, but to me you are more than a musician, more than a guitar-player and more than a philanthropist. To me, you are the father I never had. My role-model. My hero.

Love,

Jen.

Introduction

Meet me, Jen, a 15 year old girl that lives with her foster-parents, Mary and Carl, in New Jersey.

I always had problems at home, with my foster-parents. They were always fighting over stupid things. Most of the times, I was the cause of all that “hell”. My foster-dad, Carl, and I, we never had a “normal” father/daughter relationship… everything bad that happened, it was always my fault! He was never happy with my grades although, I was one of the best students in my class and he would always make me uncomfortable around him and my new “family”. 

Of course, I found my “shelter” from this life, music… God how I loved to listen to music! It always “saved” me from all those bad moments… Listening to my favorite band, Bon Jovi, always calmed me in a wonderful way!  Listening to Jon singing, Richie playing the guitar, Dave on the Keys and Tico on the drums… what an amazing feeling I used to get!

My love from Bon Jovi came from a long time ago! My real mom used to say I was a fan since I wasn’t even born, but I remember so well to jump on my bed listening to “7800º Fahrenheit”… I had CD’s, DVD’s, posters and much other stuff, but that’s not what I wanted… no. All I could ever dream was that ONE day that I would be able to tell each and every one of them how much their music meant to me, in every meaning of the word… I wanted to tell Jon how beautiful his voice was, how inspiring their lyrics were! And to Richie… all I wanted was to tell him how much I admired his person, not only the artist but the HIM, the man. I wanted to tell him how inspiring his life was to me, his experiences, his dreams, his way of thinking and the way he used to express himself… all I wanted was to confess to him that he was like a father to me. My role-model.