Supper was ready four hours later. As Gabe had predicted, Michael preferred to have a few burgers instead of fish, so Tom had no problem cooking a few up on the barbecue because that’s where he was cooking the fish as well. Dick had never eaten fish that was cooked this way, so he was looking forward to trying it, especially considering that he caught the fish himself. Cooked with some broccoli and a baked potato, it turned out to be a great meal. Things were rather civil at the table, which seemed really good.
“Thanks again for catching that fish, Dick.” Tom called out. “It was delicious.”
“I still can’t believe you caught it.” Michael said.
“Check it out.” Dick said as he took out his blackberry. Gabe had used his cell phone to take a picture of Dick holding the fish right after they had caught it.
“The picture is a little fuzzy.” Michael said as he squinted to look at it.
“That’s because I put the phone in a zip lock bag.” Dick replied. “I didn’t want to get the thing wet.”
“Why are you pants pulled down?” Michael then asked.
“That’s a long story.” Dick said as he took the phone back. “I’ll tell it to you one day over a beer, about a decade from now.”
“Are you guys cool with a bonfire out there tonight?” Gabe asked. Gabe always loved making a bonfire with Tom and his father and wanted to see if the people at the table were game to try. The look on Tom’s face was all Gabe needed to know he was in. Michael seemed to roll his eyes, but this was going to be way past his bedtime anyway.
Dick thought about it for a second. “I thought we could play a few songs with the guitars I brought.”
Jenny sighed. “I’m not in the mood to hear anything electric tonight.”
“I didn’t bring my electric guitar,” Dick answered as he jumped up from the table and went to the garage where the truck was.
He returned seconds later with two guitars. One of them was the same acoustic that he bought from the record store in town. The other was the blue acoustic that he found in the corner of Jenny’s house.
“Nice guitars!” Michael said, very excited about the prospect of having some music at the fire tonight.
“I know, right?” Dick said, as he was also excited. “I thought we’d play a few tunes by the fire. It doesn’t have to be Horsemen tunes. We could do some oldies like the Beatles or something more adult orientated like Neil Young or Bob Dylan if you guys prefer.”
Jenny’s face had turned a shade of red as she was fuming about something.
“Honey,” Gabe said, as he was a tad concerned. “Are you alright?”
Jenny looked at her father instead. “Why did you take that from the house?”
“Oh, this?” Dick said, trying to act innocent. “I thought you might like to play it by the fire. I thought it would be cool to jam a bit.”
“That’s not mine.” Jenny suddenly blurted out. “And you should have asked before touching it.”
“But Gabe said he didn’t play guitar.” Dick said as he was trying to add things up in his head.
“Uh oh,” Gabe said, as he had no idea where this was going.
“Is it yours?” Dick asked as he made a gesture to Michael.
When Dick asked the question to Michael, it made Jenny even angrier. She got up from the table and took the blue guitar away from Dick. Before anyone could say anything, Jenny held the blue guitar by the neck and then proceeded to smash it on the kitchen table with extreme prejudice. Everyone jumped up from the table in absolute shock, as the body of the guitar broke as did various dishes that were between it and the table. Jenny let out a rather savage scream as she continued to smash the guitar into the table until there was nothing left of it. Dick had considered stopping her but decided to step back and let it go. She needed to let this anger out any way she could. He just looked at her and waited for her to say something.
“What?” She asked.
“That was a tad harsh.” Dick observed.
“Totally.” Tom chipped in.
“Not now, dude.” Dick said as politely as he could.
“Coming from the man who did everything short of torching a three-million-dollar stage, that’s rather ironic.” Jenny said as she tossed the neck of the guitar that was still in her hands onto the floor. “That was Alex’s guitar.”
“Oh shit,” Gabe hushed to himself. Tom was right beside him and heard what Gabe said and nodded in agreement.
“I didn’t…” Dick had a hard time trying to find the words.
“Well of course you didn’t recognize your son’s favorite guitar!” Jenny cut him off as there was still a lot of anger left inside her. “Someone body else probably bought it for you and Mom gave it to him claiming it came from you.”
“Come on, bud.” Tom said, grabbing Michael by the arm, “This isn’t for your ears. Let’s go play some video games.”
“Thank you,” Gabe said, as he was just about to suggest something similar himself.
“Alex practiced on that thing everyday,” Jenny continued, “Alex wanted to be just like you, and you didn’t know this because you were hardly ever around! There was always some 200-city tour to go on or a new album to record and promote. All Alex wanted your attention, Dad. He would have killed someone for a chance to jam by the fire. He had to die in order for you to even notice he was there! You were never there for him or Mom when they needed you most!”
“Now Hold on,” Gabe said, as he felt things were going too far.
“Jennifer Cecilia Mitchell!” Dick shouted at her at the top of his lungs as it echoed throughout the house. For the first time since they had seen him, he was talking to her as her father rather than just some guy who was hanging around.
“That’s enough.” Dick said, in a much calmer tone. He was willing to handle the anger and the tears, but one thing Dick wasn’t going to stand for was something that just wasn’t true. Before anyone else could say anything, Dick left the room and went to the bedroom where his luggage was. He quickly pulled something out of it and walked back into the dining room. He handed a small piece of paper to her.
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“Read it,” he sternly ordered.
Jenny unfolded the piece of paper and looked at it. “What the hell is this?”
“It’s a restraining order.” Dick answered, “Your mother filed it almost seven months before she died. She filed this because I was there, trying to talk to her and comfort her. I wanted to help her and tried to be there to grieve with her. She didn’t want to see me there and filed this to keep me away.”
Jenny looked back at him. “Why didn’t you fight for her?”
“I fought tooth and nail,” Dick replied, “I broke this thing at least three times and was arrested each time I tried to talk to her and to see you. My lawyers spent countless hours in court trying to fight it and I spent enough money to buy a few houses in legal fees because of this piece of paper. I tried to be there for her as much as I could, but your mother kept pushing me away. In the end I decided to give your mother some space with the hopes that she would eventually reach out to me and talk when she was ready. That day never came and I’m sorry about that. There’s a good chance even if she didn’t hurt herself that she may have never gotten over what happened to Alex.”
“And how do you know that?” Jenny asked.
“Because there are days when I feel that I haven’t really gotten over it either.” Dick confessed, as he walked closer to the living room. “I’m not sure if I ever will get over what happened but I’ve been trying really hard.”
“Another excuse?” Jennifer suggested.
“He’s not making excuses,” Gabe countered, “He’s just trying to make sure you have the entire, unabridged story. A restraining order would make it difficult for someone to visit their kid. I should know, I’ve been the recipient of one as well.”
“You?” Jennifer said, rather surprised. “You’re perfect.”
“That’s not true,” Gabe corrected her, “No one is perfect.”
“He’s right, Jenny,” Dick agreed, “I never claimed to be the perfect father and I also never claimed to be the perfect husband. I did the best I could in the situation I was in. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life thinking about what might have been because not trying to live my life as well I could would be an insult to those who haven’t made it this far.”
“I’ve been living my life just well thank you,” Jenny retorted with an ugly look on her face. “You just do what you do best, Dick. Go on the road and never come back for a few years.”
“I’d be careful if I were you,” Dick countered to her rather cryptically. “You don’t want those to be the last words you ever said to me.”
“Wait a second,” Gabe said, as even he thought that was a low thing to saw. “Isn’t that kind of talk a little uncalled for?”
“What are you going to do?” Jenny shot back. “Take a few bottles of pills and bail out on me like Mom did?”
“Never,” Dick answered. “I’m smart enough to know that no matter how bad things get, every day here is a gift. There are many others out there who never had the chances we had, Jenny. Compared to them, we live like royalty and should appreciate what we have rather than gripe about what we don’t have which is mild by comparison.”
“Oh, spare me the heart of gold bullshit!” Jenny chided as she was really starting to get irritated by Dick’s self-righteous comments. “Since when did you give a crap about other people out there? When was the last time you did anything for anyone but yourself let alone those less fortunate?”
“I hate to interrupt again,” Gabe said, “But Dick’s donated tens of millions to various charities over the last few decades. He’s one of the biggest philanthropists in the music industry.”
Even Dick was a little shocked that this answer came from Michael of all people. “How did you know that?”
“Google,” Gabe answered.
“Fair enough,” Dick replied, “But I can fight my own battles. Thanks for the help but, well, you know.”
“Alright,” Gabe said, as he backed away a little.
Dick nodded to Gabe as he backed off, and then looked back over at his daughter and took a deep breath.
“I loved your mother.” Dick started. “I still love her still and I miss her and your brother every single day! Anyone who suggests the opposite is spreading lies about myself and how I feel. I’m touched that you are doing your own thing out here to remember your brother, but that doesn’t give you an artistic license to be such a…”
“Hey,” Gabe called out as he stepped in once again. “You use any kind of foul language with my lady, and you’ll find very quickly where Michael gets that right hook from.”
Dick raised his hands to mock surrender as the point was well taken.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” Dick continued, “I should have rented an armored tank and rolled down the fences to see you, but I thought giving your mother some space would improve her condition. I was wrong. I made a colossal mistake, but it was my mistake, not yours. You never did anything wrong, and no one blames you for anything that happened to your brother or your mother. You were a kid and no one that age should ever be asked to do anything that any responsible adult have a hard time dealing with themselves. I did my best to help and I’m sorry that wasn’t enough.”
“Okay,” Jenny said, as she appeared to be simmering down.
“I’ve never asked for your forgiveness,” Dick added, “And that’s because there’s a part of me believes that I don’t deserve it. What’s important though, is that I’m here and I still want to be a part of your life. I want to be here with everyone while I still got some time left in me.”
“Will you please give that a rest?” Jenny asked, with a tone that was much more polite than the one she was using earlier.
“Yeah,” Gabe chipped in. “It’s not like you’re dying or anything.”
Dick didn’t confirm Gabe’s off hand remark but by remaining silent he wasn’t exactly denying it either. The old man just stood there and waited for someone else to say something. Finally, Jenny was the one to speak up since they were now entering her field of expertise.
“How long have they given you?” she asked.
“No more than a year if I don’t seek treatment,” Dick answered. He looked at how they were both was staring at him and could tell what they were thinking. “I didn’t come here for your pity. I just wanted to see you again and meet the dude that you were shacking up with to see for myself how serious things were getting.”
“Are you going to get treatment?” Jenny asked, disregarding his last statement as she was too focused on the medical details.
“I haven’t decided yet,” Dick honesty replied, “I’m still thinking about it.”
“I hope you do,” Jenny replied. “A lot of people are afraid to get treated even though it could extend their lives by years, maybe decades. A lot more wouldn’t be as afraid if you led by example. Don’t be that guy who is afraid to get treated when dying of what you have isn’t going to be any prettier. If you’re going to go down, do it like a Horsemen and go down fighting.”
Dick smiled a little as he realized that she was quoting an old song from one of his earlier albums. “I’ll think about it.”
“Wait a minute,” Gabe called out. “How did you know we were dating and even living together for that matter?”
“I have a private investigators following all my kids.” Dick said, much to Jenny’s shock which was evident by the look on her face. “After Alex died, I hired them for all of my children to make sure they didn’t get into trouble. Whenever something was going on, I was always kept in the loop and took appropriate action when it was necessary.”
“Bullshit,” Jenny said, as she couldn’t believe he would do something like that to all his kids.
“How do you think you managed to avoid getting kicked out of medical school after that incident with the foot?” Dick said with a grin on his face. “It wasn’t your plea for leniency that convinced the Dean to go easy on you. It was my fleet of lawyers and a four-million-dollar donation to the school that made that incident go away.”
“Is that so?” Jenny asked.
“That is so,” Dick confirmed. “Who do you think also paid for college?”
“I did,” Jenny corrected, “I worked my fingers to the bone to pay for that tuition and I also took out student loans that I have been paying back for years.”
“Those loans were paid off the minute you graduated,” Dick countered. “I paid the bank off with interest.”
“Then what have I been paying for the last twelve years?” Jenny asked.
“The bank has been putting your payments into a college trust fund in your name.” Dick answered.
“Whose trust fund?” Jenny chided back at him.
“Your children’s trust fund,” Dick replied. “So, when you have kids they won’t have to take out any loans to go or have to work their asses off like you did to get whatever education they want.”
“I can’t believe it,” Jenny said as she needed to sit down. Gabe walked over and helped her to the couch.
“I’ve always been here for you Jenny.” Dick said to her. “Even if I had to do it from behind a curtain, I was always looking out for you.”
“She needs a moment,” Gabe told Dick with a stern look on his face. “I think you should join Tom and Michael outside and set up the fire.”
Dick was about to respond but thought better of it.
“Alright.” Dick said, but before he went to the door he walked back into the table and grabbed the other guitar that hadn’t been smashed on the table. “I’m taking this with me just in case she decides to trash something else.”
Jenny laughed a little about that as she watched Dick go outside and to join the others near the bonfire. Despite all the rage and hate she had for what happened in the past, the thought of not having another parent on this planet no matter how imperfect, was enough to make her cry. Gabe sat down beside her on the couch and held her as tight as he could and just let her get it all out. For the first time since Dick came to town, he finally had a moment where he could understand what his fiancé was going through. Gabe remembered the day he found that that his father’s countdown to death’s door had begun. While the old fart lasted a lot longer than the doctors had predicted, the end still came for him. It eventually does for everyone, but no one seems to want to ever face that, even the people who treat the sick. Jenny sat there in his arms and had the longest cry she’d had in years. Even Gabe couldn’t help but shed a few tears for her despite his best efforts to be strong.
“We’ll talk to him about it when we get back into town.” Gabe offered, “Maybe by then he’ll be willing to hear us out and fight this.”
“Thank you,” Jenny said as she agreed with his game plan. It seemed like the best way to get to the old man since they had already hashed out so much on this trip so far.
“It’s alright,” Gabe said as he gave her a hug and kissed her brow, “Take all the time you need. Freshen up in the bathroom and I’ll going to join the guys at the bonfire.”
“Okay,” She said again, unsure of what else she could say.
“I hope you’ll join us.” Gabe said, as he gave her one more hug. “But don’t feel rushed, the night is young.”
“I’ll be out soon,” Jenny replied, “Give me a moment to clean this up.”
“I can help with that,” Gabe offered.
“No, go out with them.” Jenny told him, “I’ll be fine.”
Gabe decided not to say another thing and left the room to join the boys outside. Jenny picked up the pieces of the broken guitar and placed them on the couch in the living room. She decided to take care later, much like her feelings about what was going on with her father. She needed time to herself to think about it more.