Chapter Five

The heart of Kenosha was quiet as Eric drove the Mustang through it on his way to take Jackie out for lunch. While Eric focused on their destination, it gave Jackie an opportunity to once again consider the man that he had become. Remembering the days of the Vista Cruiser and the endless hours spent in the basement, it suddenly clicked that, of the group, she and Eric had never really had that much to do with one another growing up.

While she had been part of the group, her time had mainly been spent with Kelso and Hyde as her respective boyfriends and Donna as her best friend. There had been odd moments of bonding between her and Eric at times, but she had never really considered Eric at any point whatsoever as a potential lover.

It was the convention six months ago that had changed things, she thought as Eric drove into a part of Kenosha she'd never been before. After discovering that he was E.A. Forman, she'd wandered over to his signing table during one of her breaks and was amazed by the mass of people that had queued up to meet him. Stunned by what she was seeing, Jackie hadn't noticed that he'd seen her standing there.

Eric had halted his signings to get up and greet her as if they were long lost friends who hadn't seen each other in years; which was the truth in this case. Surprised by the warmth with which he'd greeted her, Jackie had taken a few moments to gather herself and return the greeting in the same manner. Speaking briefly as it was obvious that there many people waiting, some of them of the female persuasion who hoped to catch the dashing author's eye, Eric had promised to catch up with her at the end of the convention, or before, if it was possible.

Agreeing to do so as well, Jackie hadn't read too much into the promise and had put the thought out of her head as she let Eric get on with what he was doing while she went on with running the convention as the event coordinator. So, imagine her shock when Eric had walked into her tiny, makeshift office at the end of that day. In the midst of finalising everything for the second day of the event, Jackie and her two assistants were completely unprepared for a event guest to just walk in without prior notice and tell the event coordinator that they had dinner reservations for one of Kenosha's exclusive restaurants. Completely flustered, Jackie had scrambled for a moment before one assistant had handed her her coat and handbag while the other one had told her to fun and that they'd make sure everything was good to go for the next day.

That night would be an experience that she would always remember and treasure. Arriving at the restaurant, one of the hottest and most exclusive in Kenosha, you often had to book months in advance just to even get on the wait list for a table. Jackie had been surprised to find a private table for two had been set aside just for them away from the noise and bustle of the main dining area by the owner. Later on she had learned that Eric had known the owner for several years and had first call on a private table any time he was in the area. Until that weekend, he'd told her, he'd never had a reason or excuse to take his friend up on his offer.

It was late when they'd ended up leaving the restaurant that night. Completely full with the copius amounts of food and drink that they'd been served, a very tipsy Jackie and slighty drunk Eric had taken a cab back to the hotel where the rest of the guests had been stayng that weekend. Eric had walked with her all the way back to her room, a true gentleman in every repsect, and had said good night to her after helping her get to the bed before falling onto the floor.

The next day, she remembered with a faint smile, came back to bite her on the ass with a vengeance. She'd slept through the wakeup call that she"d arranged when she'd booked the room and she;d arrived half an hour late to the convention centre. She did manage to catch up with everything, but struggled often at the worst times with the hangover, headache and nausea that often came with recovering from nights like the one she'd had. Luckily for her, Jackie'd had two amazing assistants who were able to help fill in for when she'd needed them to.

It wasn't till lunchtime that Jackie and Eric had been able to catch up. Aside from the being slightly drunk part, both had enjoyed themselves. Jackie had then asked what Eric's plans were, to which he'd replied that the next six months were almost non-stop travel for him with the promotion of his new book. Jackie's heart had nearly broken until Eric had asked for her number so that he could keep in touch.

Jackie had been somewhat hesitant until Eric had explained that being on the road had taken its toll the last couple of years and that he was looking to reconnect and in desperate need of a friend. The fact that he'd picked her had warmed her heart for some strange reason, but she'd thought nothing of it as she'd written down her home address and private unlisted number for him, mentioning that the best day to call would be Thurdays in the evenings.

While she hadn't been able to catch Eric at the end of the convention, she did receive a beautiful bouquet of white and red roses with a note from him the next day at the office. The note had read, 'With love and affection. Eric'. The other girls in the office had needled her mercilously for details, but her friendship with Eric was one rare instance where she had decided not to give anything away.

True to his word, Eric had called her that Thursday from New York; having flown there for a meeting regarding a new book deal. It was several hours before that first call had eventually ended, but it was the first of many Thrusday night phone calls that they had shared over the course of the last six months. In a way, she had saved him but at the same he had saved her; reminding her that there were good people in the world who would never, ever treat her the way other certain people had.

Then had come that last call to let her know that he was on his back to Point Place for New Year's Eve. Her thoughts drifted back to last night and the midnight kiss that she and Eric had shared... Jackie shivered in delicious wickedness as she remembered how the kiss had made her feel. Jackie didn't realise that what she was doing was noticeable as Eric noticed this out of the corner of his eye. "Are you okay, Jackie?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Brought back to the present, Jackie smiled. "Nothing to worry about, Eric," she told him, placing her hand on his. Taking in her surroundings, she suddenly realised that Eric had parked the car at a house that she had never seen before. Jackie felt like Dorothy for a moment: out of Kansas and arriving in the land of Oz without a clue as to how to get there. "So, where are we?"

Eric grinned. "We're having lunch with a friend of you may or may not remember, but he certainly remembers you." Jackie frowned as the couple got out of the car and began walking up to the house. At that moment, two small children came barrelling out of the front door shouting, "Uncle Eric!"

Completely stunned, Jackie could only watch as Eric got down to the children's level with a loving smile and swept the both of them up in one singular motion, causing both kids to laugh and squeal. "How are the terrible two doing today, I wonder?" Eric growled playfully, both kids giggling as he tickled them. Jackie smiled as she remembered how Eric had always wanted kids.

"Who's this, Uncle Eric?" the one in his right arm asked. Jackie was surprised. She hadn't thought that the children had even noticed her.

Grinning as he put them down, Eric told them, "Kids, this my friend Jackie. She and I have known each other a very long time, so play nice." Looking at Jackie, he said, "Jackie, meet Benito and Petra D'Alessandro, two devilish spitfires who I have the great pleasure of being godfather to."

The name D'Alessandro twigged at something in Jackie's memory, but it was lost when she saw who she assumed was the children's mother. "Eric! Finally you are here!" A melodious voice emerged from the woman's mouth with a charming Italian accent as she emerged from the house. Gorgeous to boot and not looking like she'd given birth to two children or was even old enough to have them, Jackie found herself warming to the woman as she lightly scolded her two children in their native tongue while the pair hid behind Eric's legs.

She then stepped forward and proceeded to kiss Eric on both cheeks, causing Jackie to experience jealousy. 'What was this woman doing kissing my man?' Jackie thought angrily. Then it dawned on her what had just happened. 'My man? Burkhart, get a grip! You're acting liking you're a teenager all over again!'

Turning to look at Jackie, the woman asked, "And who is this lovely creature you have brought for us to meet, Eric?"

"Elena, allow me to introduce Jacqueline Burkhart, a dear friend of mine from way back and someone who is very special to me," Eric said, smiling as he made the introductions. "Jackie, this is Elena D'Alessandro, wife to my dear friend Giovanni and mother to these two little hellions who you just met."

Putting out her hand, Jackie suddenly found herself being embraced in the same manner as Eric had only moments ago. After Elena had kissed both her cheeks, the petite Italian woman told her, "Jackie, it is a pleasure to welcome into my home. Any friend of Eric's is." Stepping back, Elena looked Jackie over. "Bella, you are nothing but skin and bone. This will not do. Come. First, you will meet Gio and then we will eat."

Eric grinned as Elena took a stunned Jackie by the hand, barking orders at the children in Italian as she went, and led the way into the house. Following closely behind, Eric could only hoped that Jackie was prepared for what was about to come.

It was as if she had entered a maelstrom. It was the only way that Jackie could describe what she was feeling. The smells and sounds that assaulted her senses as she walked through the door reminded her in a lot of ways of the numerous times over the years spent in the Forman and Pinciotti households.

In this instance, however, it was if Eric had a discovered a place where the two families had met and merged to become what he would later describe to Jackie as heaven on earth: a fusion of the elements of the best of both families that he had found in the D'Alessandro clan.

While the children shot off into other parts of the house, Jackie was dragged by Elena through the house into the kitchen near where her husband was hiding. "Gio!" she yelled, still holding onto Jackie's hand. "Come out of the workshop! Eric is here and he's brought a friend!"

Eric could only keep on grinning as he heard his friend bang, smash and clang his way through the mess he called a workshop. The door suddenly burst open and out stepped Giovanni D'Alessandro. The effect he had on Jackie was the description that Eric would agree with later on: as if a Roman God had stepped down from the heavens and cast a spell over all whose paths he crossed.

Piercing blue eyes, facial features that looked as if they'd been sculpted Michaelangelo himself, a neatly trimmed goatee that sat perfectly; it all came together in that one package. It was also a face that Jackie swore she had seen and met before. Immediately laying eyes on Jackie, Giovanni D'Alessandro roared in delight. "La Sputafuoco! Eric, you wonderful bastardo! You have brought me her! La Musa!"

"Hey, Gio," Eric said as he wandered into the kitchen. "Been a while, my friend." It was then that it all came together for Jackie. The night that they'd gone out to dinner, the restaurant had been called Elena's. Eric had gotten a table for them, despite how exclusive it was. Halfway through the night, the owner had come over personally to speak with Eric while Jackie had been more focused on the delicious food and drink that they had been served. She didn't remember how much she'd eaten or drunk that night, only that it was a lot. Now, she stood in the home of one of the most celebrated and reclusive chefs in the world.

Jackie turned to look at Eric. "Oh, you are so going to pay for this."

After Eric had introduced Jackie and Giovanni properly, Elena had then grabbed Jackie's hand again and proceeded to take her on a tour of their home. After they had gone, Giovanni looked at Eric and flashed him a perfect grin. "She must be special, Eric. This is the first time you have ever brought anyone to my home for us to meet properly. She must be very special."

Eric smiled. "She is is special, Gio. The last few years haven't been the best for her. When I saw Jackie six months at that convention, it gave me the opportunity to reconnect. When the Seventies ended and the Eighties came calling, the old gang drifted apart in all different directions. Of the group, though, she's really the only one who stayed in touch with Point Place. Jackie stayed in touch with Mom and Dad. She's always been Red's favourite. Mom loves her as well and could never stop talking about her when I was home on visits, rare as they were."

Giovanni eyed Eric. "So, tell me what's changed, my friend." He gestured for Eric to sit down while he went to the counter, got out two bottles and two glasses and poured a glass of bourbon for Eric and a cognac for himself. Taking off his jacket and placing it on the back of the chair, Eric took a seat as Giovanni handed him his drink before joining him at the table.

Swallowing a mouthful, Eric let out a deep breath before he spoke. "I've been feeling lost for the last couple of years," he finally said. "It started when Dad had his hip accident. When I returned home, that's when I realised that neither him or mom were young people any more. They might be only hitting their sixties now, Gio, but they won't be around forever and that's when I also realised that I was missing out on so much more than I thought. I'd been so busy enjoying my life that I'd forgotten to keep in touch with those who mean the world to me."

"After Donna and I fell apart, I'd decided that I needed to focus on myself. For the most part, it's gone extremely well. I've invested the royalties from my books quite well to the point that I don't have to work again if I wanted to. But, I've started to realise that I'm still missing the one thing in my life that I've always wanted: someone to love and raise a family with."

"When I ran into Jackie at that convention six months ago, it was like I was seeing her for who she truly was for the first time. She wasn't that bratty, bitchy teenager anymore who'd dated two of my friends. She'd grown and matured, left the Seventies behind as a fond memory, to become who she was really meant to be. After that weekend, I kept in contact with Jackie because I liked what I saw that night when I took her to dinner at the restaurant and I wanted to get to know her better and I wanted her to know me. The real Eric Forman."

Giovanni was surprised. When he and Elena had first met Eric, it had been clear from the start that Eric had been suffering for many years. It had been taken a few visits, many meals and many drinks before his friend had been comfortable enough to let down his guard and let them in. He remembered the damage that the ex had done the last time Eric had seen her and the toll it had taken on him emotionally.

Taking a sip of his cognac, Giovanni asked, "So, what are your plans then, Eric? Have you told La Musa yet that you are in love with her?" Eric looked at Giovanni with a surprised look on his face. Love? He honestly didn't know how he felt about Jackie, but he knew that it was more than just feelings of friendship that he felt for her and that he wanted to explore it further.

With a smile of knowledge on his lips, Giovanni told Eric, "You may not realise it yet, my young friend, but the way that you look at La Musa is the same way that I look at my Elena. And, like you are now, is the same way that I was when my wife and I were courting all those years ago. You will know when you know and that is all there is to it." Draining the last of his cognac, Giovanni stood up. "Now, we will talk no more of the affairs of the heart, Eric. It is time for the affairs of lo stomaco to be spoken about. Come with me and see what creations I have come up with to challenge La Sputafuoco on this glorious day."

After Elena had shown Jackie the rest of the house and the property that it sat on, the two women sat down at a table that Elena had prepared when she'd learned that Eric had been coming over with a friend. Whoever this woman was that not only had bewitched her way into her dear friend's heart, but could also entice her Gio into creating an entire new menu of delights and challenges for even the most ardent food lover, was someone she had to know more about.

"So Jackie," Elena said as she handed over a glass of red wine, "how do you know Eric and my Gio?"

Smiling, Jackie took the glass and inhaled the aroma of the precious liquid. "I've known Eric since I was fourteen," she told Elena. "I had started dating one of Eric's friends and I was a year behind the rest of the gang in school. I felt like an outsider for a very long time before I was accepted by everyone. Eric was really one of the first to do so. We had some moments throughout our teenage years, but nothing that really connected us together in the same way that I did with others in the group."

Remembering the good times and the bad times from back then, a touch of sadness had entered Jackie's smile, Elena noticed as she sipped her wine. "So many memories from back then. So many regrets, too." Jackie shook her head and pushed away the dark feelings. "Then the Eighties rolled around and life moved forward. That was when I made a vow to not repeat the mistakes of the past."

"When I ran into Eric six months ago, it was like seeing a whole new side to a person who I had never realised was there except for when I needed a shoulder. He took me out that night and that's when I met your lovely husband, not actually knowng who he was at the time or the fact that he and Eric have been long time friends."

Elena smiled as she remembered how she and Gio had met the godfather of their children. "We met Eric in the summer of '86. He was travelling through Italy as part of a fact-finding holiday and got lost driving though the countryside. I was on my way home to give birth when my car had broken down and he pulled over to help me. Gio was frantic with worry when he couldn't find me, so imagine his surprise when a strange car drives up to our farmhouse, driven by a strange man who he had never met or seen before."

The memory made Elena laugh even now. "Ah! Poor Eric! He thought that Gio was going to kill him. When I saw what was about to happen, I screamed at Gio help me inside as I had no plans to give birth to our children in the dirt instead of the bed where many generations of D'Alessandro children had been born before them, including Gio."

"Eric had waited around to make sure everything was alright. After I had given birth to Petra and Benito and it was explained to Gio what had happened, Eric had gone to pay his repsects and leave us to have our moment as a new family. Gio wouldn't hear of it. He proclaimed Eric to be a member of the family and that should anyone have an issue with his choice of godfather for his children, then they would have to settle the matter in the traditional manner."

"Now, Gio and I may come from the Italian countryside, but a lot of the old traditions have most definitely fallen to the wayside over time. That includes the settlement of disputes if a peaceful resolution can not be found. As patriarch of his clan, Gio's word is law and only a foolhardy person would challenge it. Needless to say, no one did and Eric was immediately accepted into the D'Alessandro clan with open and welcome arms."

"I remember hearing about that trip from Eric's parents," Jackie said, drinking some more wine. "I do know that what was supposed to be a three month trip ended up being twice as long. Kitty was upset because because Eric missed her birthday and Red was angry because Kitty was upset. We all wondered what had happened. The only other thing that I remember is that when Eric came home, he somehow managed to avoid getting Red's foot caught in his ass."

Elena laughed. "Yes, Eric did mention that this was a possibility. At the time, Gio was in the process of expanding his restaurant business from Europe to the United States. Never having heard of Wisconsin, Gio decided to fly back with Eric when his trip was finished to scout possible locations. Eric had offered Gio use of his apartment in New York while he conducted his business dealings and Eric worked on his novel."

"After his return, Eric had invited his parents to New York as a way to apologise to his parents and to introduce them to Gio. Initially, they thought he had, as you would call it, 'come out of the closet'." Jackie giggled, imagining what the Formans' faces would have looked like when faced with the prospect of a gay son. "Anyhow," Elena continued, "once introductions had been made and Eric's parents had been informed of how Eric and Gio had met, things calmed down pretty quickly. Gio won over Eric's parents when he cooked dinner for them that night."

Remembering the month that Kitty had gone all out cooking nothing but Italian food for dinner and all the leftovers she and Brooke had wound up with later on as a result, Jackie finally had an answer to a mystery that had plagued them for sometime. It was shortly after, she remembered, that Eric's second book, his first fiction novel, was released. Titled 'The Last Duke of Milan', the book had been a murder mystery thriller and had given Eric his first number one bestseller. As she recalled, she'd often wondered how he had been so accurate with the detail in the novel. Jackie grinned as she realised she now had an answer and couldn't wait to share it with Brooke when she had the chance.

Elena finshed off her glass of wine and looked directly at Jackie. "My dear girl. We need more wine and I think I know of where Gio may have hidden a bottle or two away. Come, bella, let us hunt for the good stuff and then you can tell me more about yourself while we drink it before Gio finds out!" Enchanted by the Italian woman's zest for life, Jackie laughed as they both stood up and she found herself being led into all kinds of mischief.

It had been nearly an hour since the girls had disappeared before Eric and Giovanni started to worry. With the culinary masterpieces almost ready, Giovanni didn't want anything to be ruined and Eric was concerned that Jackie may have offended Elena somehow. Finally forced to go searching for them, it only took them ten mintues find Elena and Jackie.

Eric was checking one of the greenhouses where his friend grew his own produce when he heard two very distinctive giggles coming from the building where Giovanni stored the wines that accompanied his creations.

Poking his head in through the door, Eric wasn't sure what he'd expected to find, but what he found was even more surprising, but as priceless: Elena and Jackie sitting on the floor, each with a glass in hand filled with wine, three empty bottles with another half empty and the girls acting as if they were long-lost lifelong friends who just found each other after years apart.

With a grin on his face, Eric called, "Hey, Gio! I think you're going to enjoy this!"