Jenny was in her office when word started to get around town that her boyfriend and his son were hanging out with a rock icon. She was sure Dick had stayed home and spent the day veggin’ on the couch until lunch. She had no idea that he had been wandering town and being out there for everyone to notice. She should have known better as her father had never been the kind of person to hide from the limelight. It was just after the lunch break when things were buzzing around the office, and things got worse when Jenny came into the staff room to see what was going on. She looked at everyone who had stopped talking to her and tried not to stare at her, hoping not to offend her by what they were talking about.
“What is it?” Jenny asked, hoping it was something else, anything else but what she feared.
“It’s Gabe.” her fellow doctor and friend Gina said. “He’s been spotted hanging out at a restaurant with Horseman guitarist Dick Mitchell!”
“Oh, that.” Jenny replied, trying to keep her cool.
“Wait, how does Gabe know Dick Mitchell?” one of the receptionists asked, hoping to get the scoop during her break.
“The old man is here to visit me.” Jenny replied. “He’s just hanging with Gabe while I’m at work.”
“How the hell do you know him?” Gina asked.
Jenny took a deep breathe. “He’s my father.”
The hush in the room was so sudden it was hard to miss. Jenny was aware this was going to get out there eventually so it there was no point dancing around it. Just rip it off like a band aid and get it over with. A few people started talking to themselves. But it was her friend Gina who felt the need to ask for more information.
“Why is your name Kershaw then?” she asked.
“It’s my mother’s maiden name.” Jenny answered, “I was born Jennifer Mitchell; my mother was Debbie Kershaw before she married Dick Mitchell.”
Jenny really didn’t feel like talking about it to anyone, as just departed the room without any notice. She went back to her own office and closed the door behind her. Now every time she heard someone whisper or saw every person that stopped to look was now going to be about her. It was the way life was when she was in high school and even at the beginning of college until she changed her name. Everyone thinks your Dad is so cool, and it’s easy to say that when you’re not the one who has to put up with the overgrown child who lived his dreams and never grew up. She couldn’t handle it back then and it was something she didn’t want to handle now. Moments later, there was a knock at the door.
“Go away.” Jenny called back.
The door still opened anyway, and Gina walked in. They had gone through medical school together and she was the reason why Jenny had moved to this town; this was her hometown, and they were best friends.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“I was afraid you’d stop being my friend and become a fan.” Jenny answered. “That’s what always happened when I told someone.”
“Well, you’re wrong.” Gina said as she sat down in the chair in front of her desk. “You’re also wrong if you think I’m going to let you use your newfound status to get out of working for the rest of the day.”
“Is it wrong to want to start over again?” Jenny asked.
“You can’t hide from the past, Jenny.” Gina answered. “As you can see it’s all coming back. If there’s a reason why you wanted to run away from all that, the only want to handle it is to confront it and seek closure.”
“That life took my brother and my mother away from me.” Jenny said, “I left because I was afraid it would take my life too.”
“Wait… that was your mom, the second wife?” Gina said as she recalled the news about the death of Dick’s second wife.
“That’s right.” Jenny said. “And guess who found the body?”
“Oh no,” Gina said as she held her hands to her mouth. “How old were you when that happened?”
“I was fourteen.” Jenny answered. “Alex died almost year before that. My mother couldn’t handle it and eventually she gave up. My parents had been separated since Alex’s accidental overdose and she took me away from him afraid that I would do the same thing. She was depressed, angry and just didn’t know how to take it. She swallowed two bottles of pills and layed down to sleep and never woke up. I was the only one in the house. I called the police and for days the press, fans and countless others camped outside while I was inside trying to get over the fact that my mother had just committed suicide. Dad was in another country when it happened, and it took him at least a day to get back. I didn’t want to talk to him because I thought everything that had happened had been his fault. To give me some space, Dick sent me to private school where I was able to complete high school without having to interfere with his career. When he met his third wife, I didn’t want anything to do with him then, and I travelled all the way over here to go to Pre-med. That’s when I started using the name Kershaw.”
“I can understand why you didn’t want to talk about it.” Gina said as she sat back and gave out a deep sigh of her own. “I wouldn’t want to talk about something that tragic with anyone either.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth.” Jenny said as she relaxed for a moment. “And now Dick’s in town. It’s not surprising that he and Gabe are getting along so well. I can only imagine how his son is going to react to hearing that my Dad is a rock icon.”
“Hey, anything that helps you win brownie points with Gabe is a good thing isn’t it?” Gina asked, “I mean you love the man, don’t you?”
“I do.” Jenny confessed.
“And he loved you long before he knew the truth, didn’t he?” Gina then asked as it was obvious where she was going with this.
“Yes, he did.” Jenny answered.
“Then what’s the problem?” Gina retorted. “He loved you long before Dick was in the picture. To him, all this is just icing on the cake. He loves you for who you are, not where you came from.”
“I know.” Jenny agreed.
“Go home, after work I mean.” Gina said with a smile. “And realize that the people there love you for who you are, not who you’re related to.”
“Thank you,” Jenny said, aware her friend was right.
She could tell Jenny was still troubled by the history they were talking about. “Do you need me to book some time for you with Glenn?”
Glenn was the resident psychiatrist. Jenny pondered it for a moment. “Yeah, sure. Get me some time for Monday. That will give me the weekend to think about it more before I speak to him.”
“Alright, I’ll make the appointment. In the meantime…” she gestured to the door. “It’s time to get back to work, girl. No special treatment, not even for the daughters of rock royalty.”
Jenny smiled as she realized Gina was the one person she could have turned to without worrying about losing her as a friend. She picked up her stuff and followed her friend out the door to get back to work. Regardless of what happened, she was still Dr. Kershaw and there were people there to see her because they were sick, not because of who her father was.