004

“Say hello to the new member of the Bon Jovi PR team!”, John stormed into the kitchen, lifted his sister up from the stool she was sitting in, and spun her around in the air as he kissed her forehead. June made her astonishment evident by letting out a nervous giggle. What the hell was going on?

“What? How?”, his mother left her coffee cup on the kitchen island and stood up with a  furrowed brow as she observed the brother and sister’s interaction in front of her eyes.

June’s father, on hearing the noises coming from the kitchen, left his spot by the fireplace in the living room and joined the rest of his family.

It was the first week of January, 1989. Judging by the way it was starting, that year would be one of deep changes in June’s life, starting with John’s announcement. And it didn’t even end there: he’d be moving to New York City to be closer to the band’s headquarters.

Once John was finished explaining, his father was the first to speak. “Congratulations, son. As long as you’re happy, we are, too”.

“Speak for yourself”, June’s mother couldn’t hide her displeasure.

“Mom”, John spoke patiently. “You can drive there, it’s a while, but there’s no need to fly…”, he approached her and rubbed her arms as he continued patiently “…and I promise I’ll come back as often as I can”. Even when their mother vocalized her objections to their decisions, in the end she always ended up accepting them and adapting to the new circumstances. This time it wouldn’t be any different.

“How did we manage to do this?”, later that night June stood by her brother’s door, leaning against the frame and crossing her arms as she spoke with a soft and meaningful voice. “You’re suddenly changing jobs, moving to another city and I didn’t even have a clue?”

John chuckled softly as he lay on his bed, legs crossed at the ankles and one arm under his neck. Without moving a hair, he opened his eyes and looked askance at his sister, then padded on the space next to him on the bed. June obeyed and laid down, imitating her brother’s position. They both remained silent for a couple of minutes, looking at the ceiling. Their lives were about to change forever.

“I dunno…it was just part of my job at the beginning, another band, another concert, another backstage party. But they were different, Jon is different. He’s a really cool guy”

“What, you felt attracted to him?”, June teased her brother trying to keep a straight face, only when she felt him turn his head to look at her lips curled into a mischievous smirk.

“Whatever…we started talking and then we met at-“

“And when did you kiss?”, June was not able to keep it serious this time and laughed out loud.

“OK, you wanna hear the rest of the story or not?”, John asked with mock annoyance.

“Yeah, yeah…”, June giggled again and took a deep breath to recompose herself, “I’m sorry, go on”

John waited for a long moment until he made sure his sister would be taking it seriously. “Anyway, then we met at a football game when I was in New York for another event and he asked me to come to a party that night”, this time John chuckled, “Man, that was one hell of a party”. John paused and continued. “Then we just kept in touch, with his touring and my job and all we met at different places. He explained a lot of things to me about the music business, ya know? Despite the madness, his head’s in the right place if you ask me. He might be a musician and a rockstar, but he’s a business man at heart, he knows what he’s doing”. John sighed. “And he’s not precisely happy about the way things are going right now, they’re kinda getting…out of control. Out of HIS control”.

June listened carefully and nodded or hummed from time to time to let her interlocutor know that she was following.

“He’s planning on doing some changes, and he wants people he can trust by his side”.

“Enter John, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess. But your lips are sealed”

June made the gesture of turning a lock at the corner of her mouth and throwing the key away, then asked with a slight frown. “What about your job…Mr. Miller?”, June moved to lay on her side, supporting her upper body on her elbow so she could look at her brother’s face. He corresponded by looking into her eyes.

“He’ll have to understand. This is what I’ve always wanted”, John emphasized by lifting the hand he had placed on his stomach, “I can’t miss this opportunity”, he turned his face back to the ceiling, as if looking through a window into the future. “It’s now or never”.

June nodded silently and sighed. After a long silence she finally spoke. “I’m gonna miss you, asshole”

John smiled warmly and lay on his side, too, then hugged his sister. “I’m gonna miss you too, crazy girl”.

The first two months without John at home proved to be tougher for June than she’d expected, but she adapted quickly, always keeping in mind what time zone John was in and talking on the phone for hours when they could catch up, which didn’t happen as often as they’d like to. June’s dad was a grounded and positive person and thankfully enough, Michael was there for her. Her mom, on the contrary, was having a much harder time, but in the end they all helped each other pull through.

One day on April over the phone, John convinced June (and their parents to allow her) to come over and stay in California with him for a few days. He knew she’d always wanted to go there and see the beach, and he’d be there for a Bon Jovi show in L.A., so it was the right time and place.

June was thrilled by the opportunity, but she needed Michael by her side, though. It took some convincing, anyway, since Michael wasn’t adept to traveling, but despite his reluctance and with the hope of acting in June’s interest, he finally agreed. So did her parents, on the grounds of John keeping an eye on the young couple and taking responsibility for their safety.

The couple arrived in L.A. the day before the show, so John, as part of the PR team, was all over the place: on the phone most of the time, coming and going to the venue, radio and TV stations.

Even when Michael had been insisting on having sex for a while now, June wouldn’t budge about waiting until her 18^th birthday. Of course she loved Michael, but she wanted it to be meaningful and special, not in a car parked in some dark corner of the park by the lake. At the hotel in L.A., Michael would be sharing a room with John, and June would be in a separate room.

That afternoon, though, while she was taking a nap to overcome jetlag, Michael knocked on her door. June sleepily padded towards the door in her pajamas, and before Michael even uttered a word, by the look on his face and her own feelings, she knew it was time. He silently took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. After pulling away, they looked into each other’s eyes, she took his hand and silently invited him into her room.

At 8.42 in the evening the phone rang.

“Hello?”, June reluctantly answered.

The tone in June’s voice was all the clue John needed to realize what was happening. He cleared his throat before he asked as casually as he could.

“What’s up? I thought you’d gone out since Michael’s not in the room, so I take it he’s with ya now”. There wasn’t a reply and he didn’t wait for one. “Will you guys come down for dinner?”

June hesitated for a second and thanked God Almighty for the close bond she shared with her brother.

“Yes, we’ll join you in maybe…half an hour?”, June tried to keep it natural as well and looked at Michael, who was laying by her side with his eyes closed. He nodded silently.

“Sure, just let me know when you’re ready, OK?” John answered breezily.

“Yeah, OK”

Before hanging up, John couldn’t help himself. “You OK, June?”

“Yes, John. I’m perfectly fine. We are perfectly fine”.

“Good”, John nodded and hung up.

During dinner and thanks to their good relationship, John and Michael were able to surf through any discomfort the afternoon situation might have provoked. That night, however, Michael slept in the room he shared with John. They were both grateful that nothing in their relationship had changed after the afternoon events, but as soon as he turned off the lights, Michael spoke with a grave voice.

“I love her, John. I promise I’ll take care of her”.

John chuckled softly. “Sonofabitch. You’d better”.