The ride up to the cabin was a lot more peaceful than Dick thought it was going to be. The closer they got to their destination; the more Dick was able to be himself without any fear of being noticed or watched. Every stop at a gas station or to get something to eat the old man got a little more comfortable with the situation. He actually started to show signs of enjoying the little break away from the fame and fortune. We’ll, maybe just the fame. Gabe could tell the rock icon he grew up admiring was content to just be one of the guys for a change. Even Tom let up on the Horsemen Q and A for a while which was much better for all of them as Tom could tell both people in the main seats were starting to bore of it. It wasn’t until they were almost an hour away from the Cabin that Dick brought started talking about the band again. He put in the other CD that he had bought at the mall, one of the earlier albums. It was likely one of the albums that Gabe and Tom listened to all the time when they were kids.
After listening to a few songs, Dick turned down the volume so he could speak to them. “I talked to Michael yesterday about a few things. He told me that you guys went to a lot of my concerts. He also said that you guys actually traveled to other states when we didn’t take the time to come by here. How many shows did you guys actually see?”
“I don’t remember.” Gabe lied.
“Sixteen.” Tom answered. He was confident Gabe knew the answer but didn’t want to seem that obsessed about it in front of Dick.
“That’s a lot of shows,” Dick confessed. “Thanks for helping me fund my divorces. They were a tad expensive.”
“I’m sure they were worth every penny.” Tom said with a laugh. He too had experienced a few divorces in his lifetime. Like Dick he had gone through the process twice, as opposed to Gabe who only had one ex, but she chirped enough at him to make up for four of them.
“Michael also told me something interesting,” Dick started, “He said that you came on stage the first time you saw the band.”
Gabe didn’t want to bring it up, but Dick was forcing his hand. “I did.”
“He also said you were the kid in San Jose with the Evel Dick sign that started everything.” Dick said with a laugh. “How ironic is that?”
“It’s definitely an interesting coincidence.” Gabe admitted.
“Did you ever tell anyone what happened after you came on stage?” Dick asked Tom, “About what happened backstage?”
“He didn’t tell me.” Tom confirmed.
“I don’t think he told anyone.” Dick guessed.
“You would be correct,” Gabe said as he never looked Dick in the eyes and kept looking forward. “I really don’t like to talk about it.”
“Well after he came on stage with his sign and started a whole phenomena that would later result in tens of millions of dollars in future income for myself and the band, I invited him backstage to hang out while we finished the show. I wanted the band to sign the poster for you, so I didn’t want you to disappear back into the crowd.” Dick paused for a moment. “So, I had one of the Roadies escort you backstage where all our kids were hanging out during the show.”
“He didn’t tell me that part!” Tom said, shocked Gabe had kept that detail to himself all these years.
“Yeah. I was there for the better part of an hour.” Gabe confirmed.
“That’s why you said you were sorry to hear about Alex.” Dick said as he recalled their first conversation. “You were saying it just for me. You were saying it because you knew him. You met him that night at the concert, didn’t you?”
“I met a lot of kids that night.” Gabe answered.
“I heard that as well,” Dick said as he playfully slapped Gabe on the shoulder. “I know everything that happened that night.”
To both men’s surprise, Gabe pulled the truck over to the side of the road and came to a complete stop. “You’re not going to tell Jenny what happened that night, are you?”
“I don’t have to. She already knows.” Dick answered.
“You told her?” Gabe asked.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“I didn’t have to.” Dick countered. “She remembers what happened because she was there with her brother. She knows everything.”
“That’s impossible.” Gabe said.
“Unless...” Dick added.
“Unless…” Gabe thought about it for a moment and then looked back at Dick with stunned look on his face. “It was her.”
“Bingo.” Dick said with a wide grin.
“Can someone please explain to me what the hell you two are talking about?” Tom suddenly said to them both. He really didn’t like the idea of being out of the loop on anything regarding the Horsemen.
Gabe didn’t respond but instead pulled back onto the road and kept driving. Both men were very quiet for the next several minutes and Tom was waiting for someone to say something. Finally, Gabe broke the silence.
“Are you going to tell her it was me at the concert?” he asked again.
“That would be rather rude of me,” Dick replied. “I think you should tell her and soon. Because Michael has been bragging about that story and it’s just dumb luck she hasn’t been within ears reach of it yet.”
“Damn, I never thought of that.” Gabe said as he suddenly started to speed up.
“Slow down trooper.” Dick said nervously. “You can’t tell her about it if we’re all dead.”
Gabe did as he was told and slowed down to the legal speed limit. The old man was right, as getting there alive was the first step to getting a chance to talk to her about it. Things were quiet again until Dick finally wanted to talk about it again.
“Tell me about Alex.” Dick asked. “What was it like to hang around him during that time, when I was on stage?”
“He was a character.” Gabe honestly answered. “He really was the life of any party, which was quite a feet for someone his age.”
“How long did you talk to him?” Dick then asked.
“About a half hour before I left the room.” Gabe answered. “Things started to get a little too hectic for me, but my overall impression of him was quite positive. He was kind, even hospitable to me when I came back there. Alex loved the sign and had a feeling the name was going to stick. I learned that night that your kids were just like us. They just wanted to hang out with their buds and have a good time.”
“He wasn’t doing any drugs around the other kids, was he?” Dick then asked. Tom remained silent in the back seat, absorbing all the information that was coming his way.
“I didn’t see anything.” Gabe confessed. “If there was any around, they likely waited until we left to do anything. All they did in front of us was drink and even I got my hands on a brew that night. I took a few sips and then poured the rest out into the plant beside the couch when no one was looking. At that time, I didn’t like the taste of it.”
“Good for you. That was a slippery slope I’m glad to hear you never traveled.” Dick replied. It was interesting to hear a different perspective about his son so many years after he died.
“I really liked him.” Gabe then said. “I was very sad the day he passed away. My Dad thought I was a dumb fan that was overreacting, but I really did know the person they were talking about on TV. It may have only been a few hours, but that was long enough to get to know him a bit.”
“I know Gabe.” Dick said as he patted him on the shoulder.
“I still can’t believe you never told me!” Tom finally responded from the backseat. The two men in the front laughed and it was pretty quiet for the rest of the trip. Dick was almost asleep when Gabe poked him in the arm to wake him up.
“Wake up, Dick.” He whispered. “We’re at the cabin.”
“Great.” Dick said as he started to open his eyes. He was surprised to see they were still on the road. He had expected them to be off the pavement and onto some dirt road before the got up to the cabin. After Gabe pulled into the driveway, which was another giveaway, Dick stepped out of the truck and stretched before realizing what was before him. Gabe was really selling him a line about the cabin. Once he saw that they were talking about, Dick couldn’t help but laugh his ass off.
“You bastards!” he called out.
It turns out the cabin that Gabe had spent all day describing to him was not as primitive as he led Dick to believe. The so-called cabin was almost as big as his home in town, which had plenty of space for all five of them to shack up into. It was also hooked up to the grid since it was near the highway to there would be no need to warm up by the fireplace or pack things in a cooler to keep refrigerated. Even Jenny and Michael were having a good laugh at Dick’s expense. They didn’t play along but kept quiet while Gabe led the old man to assume the worst. He turned to Jenny and Michael.
“You guys knew this too?” he called out.
“Yeah,” Michael said with a grin. “Sorry about that.”
“That’s alright.” Dick said with a deep sigh of relief. “Did you guys actually build this place with your Dad?”
“That part is true,” Tom said as he started to take stuff out of the back of the vehicle. “Took us three years on and off when we weren’t working. It was like our little project on the side.”
“It’s amazing,” Dick replied. “I’m truly impressed.”
And it was amazing. With several rooms to sleep in and even a room to watch television, the cabin in the woods was no where near as primitive as Dick had originally assumed. It gave him a sense of hope that at least the weekend wasn’t going to be as slow and boring as he thought it might be. That way Dick could sit back and wait for Jenny to talk to him if he wanted to. He wasn’t going to wait long as some things needed to be discussed, whether she wanted to or not. Dick felt guilty when he thought about it but knew it had to be done. Jenny and Dick needed to mend the bridge and meet halfway across it while they still had time. The first night had gone without a hitch. He never talked to Gabe since the conversation they had about Alex in the truck. Even Tom was respectful not to bring it up afterwards and the old man appreciated the courtesy. It wasn’t something he liked to talk about much, but he had a feeling that a lot of stuff no one wanted to talk about was going to come up that weekend. It was only a matter of time before someone said something to light the powder keg.