Disclaimer The following is a work of fiction. Characters, names, situations, events, and locations described in this novel are purely the invention of the author's mind, or are used fictitiously. Any sort of resemblance to people - living or dead, names and locations is purely coincidental. This story is copyrighted and cannot be taken or displayed without the permission of the author. 99 in the Shade by Jan Baxter Stella moved the sunshade a little to prevent even one bar of blistering tropical sun falling on her fair skin. It was hot, very hot, the waiter at breakfast had said it would reach over a hundred and five and Stella wasn't used to heat and sun. She watched Susy jumping in the surf, another small girl of roughly the same height beside her, both shrieking with laughter. It was typical of Susy to find a little friend, she was a bright sunny little girl of almost seven, confident and friendly to everyone. Stella watched with a smile as the two girls ran up the sand towards her. "Mum! Mum, this is Stephanie. She's on holiday here too and she's the same age as me, nearly. She's from America." Stella greeted the child with a smile. Susy jumped up and down again "Mum, will you help us build a sand castle?" She nudged her new friend "My Mum's brilliant at sandcastles." Stella heaved herself up from the sunbed. "All right, but you've got to put on a T-shirt and your hat, Susy. You'll burn otherwise. Do your Mum and Dad know where you are, Stephanie?" The child nodded, seeming as confident as Susy. "Sure, my Dad's over there, I told him I was coming here." Stella got out a T-shirt and Susy's baseball cap and waited for the storm of protest. It didn't come. "Can Steph have one as well, Mum? Then we'll be in a sort of a club. Please?" Anything to keep the hat on the little brown head, thought Stella and dug out another T-shirt and baseball cap. The three of them sat digging, piling the sand up to make a castle and sharing the one bucket and spade between them. The girls chattered about their likes and dislikes, their friends at home and the Spice Girls. When Steph said calmly "Yeah, my Dad met them, I got their autographs." Stella dismissed it as childish boasting. She sat back on her heels, hot and sweaty. "We need some water now, if we make the sand wet it'll stick together better." The American child raised her voice "Daddy! Come help us with this sandcastle!" Stella looked at the child curiously, light blonde hair to her shoulders, bright blue eyes and perfect white teeth. A pretty little girl, looking American somehow. She didn't take much notice of the man in shorts who came up and was instantly handed the bucket. "Daddy, we need some water, will you get some?" The man laughed and duly fetched a bucket full of sea water. "I hope she's not being too much trouble?" Stella barely glanced up, intent on making a wall between two sand towers. "No, she's fine, we're having fun. I gather you're on holiday here too?" The man knelt down alongside the children. "Yeah, ten days. Almost unheard of for me, I work all the hours God sends. And you?" Susy chirped up brightly "Mum and me are here for a week. Daddy had to work but he doesn't like beaches much anyway. We came because Mum won the Lottery. Have you got the Lottery in America?" Steph's dad laughed again, a warm pleasant laugh. "Not the same one, but I know what you mean. Do they still have that weird psychic woman with the crystal ball on it?" Stella looked at him and smiled for the first time, but she couldn't see him very well, silhouetted against the brilliant sun. "Mystic Meg? Oh yes, I think so. I don't watch it unless they've got someone special on, I check the numbers later." Susy babbled on happily, patting the man's knee to make her point. "Mum won a lot, not the jackpot but a lot. We came on holiday with the rest after Mum and Dad paid the car and the house off. Mum won it on the Bon Jovi line." The man hushed his daughter and nodded at Stella. "Bon Jovi line, hey? Like birthdays and stuff? You won on that?" Stella blushed. "Yes, well, I know it's daft for a woman of my age but I really like them. So we have one line of our birthdays and one of Bon Jovi's. I won...well, a couple of hundred thousand. Makes life easier, you know what I mean?" Steph's Dad nodded again. Susy poked his knee "Mum said if she'd won the jackpot, she'd have insisted they got Richie Sambora to present the cheque. He's the man who plays the guitar, you know." Stephanie looked up at her father but he shook his head and she carried on piling sand up. "So Richie Sambora's your thing, is he? He's pretty cool, from what I hear." Steph began to giggle and Susy poked her "He is, I've seen him playing, he looks nice." There was a pause. "How come the castle has four towers? It's a neat castle but mine usually have just one." Susy looked up scornfully "It's a Norman castle with a curtain wall. Mum likes that sort. Are you married, Steph's Dad?" He laughed "Sure, my wife's back in the hotel with our little boy, he gets kinda cranky if he doesn't get a nap in the afternoon. We like to eat dinner together, make it a real family thing, and so he has to have a nap. Don't you have any brothers or sisters? Hey, I don't know your names!" Susy giggled "I'm Susy, Susy Adams and I'm an only child because Dad says there's only room for one like me. My mum's called Stella." Stella went red as Stephanie stared at her. "Susy, shut up!" Susy began to protest but the man reached over and shook Stella's hand. "Unusual name, Stella. It means star, doesn't it?" Stella blushed again "Yes, well, my mother had ambitions for me, that didn't come true. I can't sing or dance or anything." Susy, protective and defensive, hugged her mother. "You tell wicked stories, and you make nice castles and you're the most fun Mum of all my class, everyone says so!" The man smiled warmly "Well, there you are! What finer compliment could you get?" Stella hugged Susy briefly. "And you, what's your name? I know this is Stephanie, but I don't know your name." The man smiled and moved under the shade of the parasol, taking off his sunglasses and baseball cap. "My name's Jon. My wife Dorothea is back at the hotel with our son Jesse James, like I said. Nice to meet you, Stella." Stella's jaw didn't make a thud because sand doesn't thud when you hit it, but her mouth fell open in shock. "But....but, you're...I...oh my God!" Susy stared too, then quite happily prodded Jon's leg again. "You're Richie's mate, aren't you? The other man, the one who sings sometimes. Mr. Bon Jovi." Jon Bon Jovi smiled the smile that had melted women's hearts the world over. "I guess I am, and I'm sure glad our birthdays won you guys this vacation. I kind of ignore birthdays now, but if they make someone have a good time, maybe I'll carry on having them. Next time I speak with Richie, I'll tell him to keep a date free for presenting this cheque to you." Stella began to tremble, and Jon patted her hand briefly. His voice lowered to avoid the children, he said "It's cool, we're a family on vacation too, you know? And it's good for Stephanie to have someone her own age to play with, she wears me out with frisbee and stuff!" Gently, he put her at ease and by the time Dorothea rejoined her husband with the little boy, Jon was teaching both girls to play frisbee and much laughter was ringing round the beach. Jon kissed his wife, a pretty ash blonde girl, slim and friendly, and explained how the girls had become instant friends, and with a teasing glance at Stella, related how the Bon Jovi line had won a Lottery prize. Dorothea was warm and approachable and they soon chatted quite normally. Even when Jon invited Stella and Susy to join them for dinner in the pizza parlour at the hotel, Stella didn't go mad with excitement, he really was a normal friendly man. The week passed all too soon and with hugs, kisses and tears, the two girls swapped drawings, pencils and promises of eternal friendship. Susy gave Stephanie her address and they promised to write. After breakfast, waiting for the taxi to take them to the airport, all four of the Bon Jovi family, or Bongiovi as it should be, joined Stella and Susy to say goodbye. Stella almost flew home without the plane's help, Jon Bon Jovi had kissed her, twice, hugged her and said he hoped they'd meet again someday! She couldn't wait to get her films developed to see that it wasn't all some wild dream. If it came out, there should actually be a shot of her dancing with Jon! What a photo to drop in and show her girlfriends! Nick seemed glad to have them home, listened patiently to Susy's incessant chatter and the things she had to show him. He hugged Stella and kissed her cheek. "I missed you both, it was very quiet. Thanks for the card, did you have a good time? Did you make some friends and find some people to hang around with?" Stella took a deep breath and she and Susy grinned at each other. "Well, on the first day, you'll never guess who we met on the beach....."