Richie was sitting on his deck at the table that sat 10 comfortably with his bare feet propped up on one of the chairs at their home in Southern Connecticut which looked out onto Long Island sound in the quiet morning hours with his cup of coffee. All you could see and hear was the occasional boat leaving the marina near his home to head out to open ocean for the day and the seagulls as they dove into the water off the point for food. Dressed in Jeans and a T-shirt with hair still messy from bed he contemplated on his life for the past 18 years. Who would have thought that he Richie Sambora would have settled down and had a fantastic, gorgeous wife 3 amazing kids and feeling that he was home at last. Contentment yea that’s what it is total and complete contentment. Even with the craziness of having 3 kids two dogs and the two of us here it is still content because it is real and it is my life.
The rock star life style of the 80’s is long gone. I am complete here with my wife and children. I was resigning myself to the fact that Ava was going to be my only child and I so wanted more. Teri gave me that gift. That life of the 80’s is one I do not want to go back to. I made mistakes sure and a lot of dumb decisions on who is going to end up in my bed that night I cannot justify it nor do I want to. That was my past. This is my future. Our future Teri and I have discussed both of our past histories, granted mine is way more colorful but it was discussed and then completely put in the past. Where it belongs as Teri said.
Home. With a big sigh and a smile he took another sip of coffee. Their home is an amazing place. His wife Teri was totally open to his ideas once they found what they were looking for. She lovingly calls home “The Compound” we all do. And honestly it fits. There is the main house where he was sitting with its 9 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and a total of 17 rooms. Then there is the guest house has 6 bedrooms that Teri refers to as the dorm when the boys are in residence which is usually when we are writing new material and when we play Mohegan Sun arena or venues in MA and or PA or hell let’s face it whenever they damn well want. The boys are in and out of here a lot. It is nice to have them around even when we are not doing Jovi stuff. They are our family also. It’s nicer to be home than in another hotel room. Which Teri fully agrees with and they boys are always welcome with open arms. Teri has been threatening to have a Jovi flag made up with our latest tour logo and fly it over the Compound whenever the boys were in residence to “warn” the neighbors that they are here again. Kind of like what the queen of England does and he chuckles loving her humor.
And the pool house, Oh the pool house that was so much fun driving Teri crazy when Jon would come up and they would test out new material and sounds in the master bathroom here in the main house….. Well the acoustics ARE the best. And the bathroom is big enough for them to leave their equipment set up all day as we work…..It got to the point where Teri would start complaining and stubbing her toes on the amps which were placed just so for the best sound. After a few months of working in the bathroom I had the idea that we should convert the pool house to a state of the art studio and leave the 4 bedrooms alone upstairs. Heck it was big enough and there was a small area with a fridge and enough room for a coffee pot on the counter what more was there? The boys always took meals with Teri and I and with the kids (or I should say with whichever children happened to be home for a meal and what friends they had with them) except for family dinner night of course the boys yes the friends no and Teri was firm on that, It was our time together as a family. The issue was that Teri wanted that space to be just that. A pool house. Thus the name she would always say then bitch and moan about the amps and guitars in the bathroom. She would lament that there are 7 thousand rooms here and he has to pick their Bathroom. Until one day……
“Ok guys this is what we are going to have to do” Richie said with a look of conspiracy in his eyes. Here is how it is going to roll. We are going to be going over some new material around the time that Teri will want a shower after her workout with CJ she is always in a foul mood cause she says he works her to death. She growls at him and calls him and calls him names but they keep at it. CJ is her trainer and a longtime friend so the growls are in good fun but serious at the same time. We have a gym in the house so he comes here three to four times a week for Teri CJ trains me also which takes a few extra days and I train after Teri on the other days she and I are here. We both train here and at the gyms in town as a change of pace. For me it’s more body building He has helped her lose the weight she wanted to as he has a degree in nutrition and fitness and also to tone her body. She looks amazing. So in about half an hour we start working, she is going to come home and find all four of us here. Now be prepared cause that Pollack temper is going to soar and we are going to have to be ready for anything. “I for one cannot wait to see that temper in action. I hear it’s almost legendary” said Tico from his place sitting on the Jacuzzi tub ledge that fit both Richie and Teri more than comfortable…. Richie smiles at the thought and makes a mental note that they had not had a bubble bath in a few months…..
Meanwile…
Teri is in the hallway with her PA and best friend Gloria(or one of her girls which she fondly refers to them as) They are whispering and giggling. “I know Rich has something up his sleeve and I think it’s about the studio. I personally am all for it but have loved stringing him along for a little bit.” As the girls walked down the hallway they heard voices coming from the bedroom. Looking at each other and tip toed toward the open bedroom door. Disappointed that no one was in the massive master suite they then realized it was coming from the master bathroom. Silently Teri motioned for Glor to go into the room that is referred to as Richie and her closet. This room is a dream comes true for Teri. She and Richie designed it themselves it was bigger than an average bedroom and had rows and rows of clothes his and hers racks of shoes and drawers and an island in the middle for Jewelry, Richie’s hats and more drawer space. I even have to admit that I was not in the least upset when Teri and Gloria arranged my clothes by color and then labeled the area for red and green which of course I cannot see. It HAS made my life easier here at home where there is no one doing my wardrobe like on tour. Admittedly, Teri will help any time I ask and I do if the colors match. But, at home I try to do this for myself. I will say it’s because want to do it myself. Which I do. The idea was ingenious. Rich musses to himself while waiting for Teri to enter the bathroom. There are no bureaus or dressers in the bedroom. We put some couch tables and a sitting area complete with comfortable chairs a couch and a Television over the fire place which opened the whole suite even more.
As the girls whispered what they were going to do Teri crosses to the bathroom door and she calls over her shoulder. “Glor I am just going to hop in the shower I wish Elsa left those towels in the closet so I can just jump right in oh well its only us I am going to throw my clothes in the hamper and take that shower…then we can try on the stuff we got this morning. I am thinking the new White Capri Jeans will go perfect with that black top with the buckles across the shoulders and I can wear it tonight when we go on our dinner date with our men” and she opens the door a bit Oh and grab those black wedges the ones with the silver on them with some silver jewelry it would look perfect….” And opens the door some more.
Meanwhile they guys are all panicked they have no idea where to go where to hide. The plan was great but no one thought Teri was going to come into the bathroom NAKED…. Jon is in the shower as the glass wall and tile make a great box for singing without being overpowered by the drums and band that loudly. But right now there is nowhere to hide in there. The look on his face is priceless. He loves Teri as a sister and seeing her naked is not something he wants or needs. Richie is in a corner where he has room to move around when the music gets into his soul. T is just sitting back on the tile around their massive Jacuzzi tub laughing at the issue as there is absolutely nothing they can do. David has his keyboard between the two sinks on the vanity and is desperately looking for a place to hide.
“You know Glor I think that eyeliner you wanted to try is in the bathroom come on in and you can try it out while I shower. As the girls slowly open the door they look at the scene and dissolve in laughter. Teri is fully dressed and sliding down the door jamb laughing so hard she cannot stand up. Gloria is laughing so hard she has to hold her sides with tears falling from her eyes. She almost cannot breath due to the laughter. The face on the boys is priceless. Thank goodness Glor remembered to take the camera off Richie’s bedside table and start shooting pictures of all the shocked expressions.
As Teri catches her breath she says….” Ok enough I give up you win change the pool house into your Connecticut studio the sooner the better. Double soundproof please. “We do have neighbors to be nice too” Richie walks toward the door and Teri and helps his sneaky wife up and wraps his arms around her….. Teri winks at Gloria as she turns to hug and thoroughly kiss her husband but not before breathing in his scent on his neck which is the best smell on the planet to her. And that is how the studio came to be… Memories.
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