Jenny didn’t move in until the end of the month, which was three weeks later but Gabe had no issue with that. He used the time to clear space in the house for her stuff and toss a lot of stuff he didn’t like into storage. He also used the extra time to tell everyone including his son and ex-wife the news which gave them time to adjust. Michael was excited and happy for his father and Gabe thought that it was a very mature response coming from a twelve-year-old boy. His ex was a little more resistant to the idea but eventually settled down about it since it wouldn’t interfere with the agreement already in place. So, since there were no obstacles in their way, the move was a go when the end of the month rolled around. Gabe was so excited he came down to the apartment to pack stuff for her while she was working because she was still too busy to do that stuff. Gabe was a carpenter and worked his own hours, so he took every afternoon off that week and spent them at Jenny’s place packing her up for the big move. She was to take care of her personal stuff while he would pack the rest and just box it all away in the living room. That Saturday afternoon Gabe and his son Michael went to the apartment and resumed their work. There were only a few days until the move so they worked through the day, packing up as much as they could. Halfway through the day, Michael stumbled upon something while he was packing up the entertainment center in the living room. He was packing DVDs, videos and came across something in one of the unit’s drawers. He pulled out a handful of records and held them up.
“Hey Dad, check these out!” Michael called out.
Gabe stopped what he was doing and walked over. “Wow. I knew she had a record player attached to the stereo, but I had no idea she actually had a stash of LPs hiding around here.”
“Can we listen to a few of them?” Michael asked. “I mean it would make the work go by a lot faster.”
“I can’t see why not.” Gabe said as he reached over and took the records from his son. Jenny wanted to pack the stereo herself so they could use it while packing other stuff. He flipped through a few albums and then came across a few that really took him by surprise. Some of them were from a classic metal band known as “The Horsemen”.
Michael noticed it and smiled. “Oh man! She likes the Horsemen!”
“Wow, I had no idea.” Gabe said as he took a gander at the records. He had a hard time believing someone as sweet as Jenny was a fan of the classic metal band. Perhaps she had a metal phase when she was young, Gabe thought. After all she only had The Horsemen on LP. Then he came across another Horseman album that completely stunned him as this one was autographed. It was one of the more popular Horseman albums titled ‘Kiss my feet’. Gabe remembered having this LP. His Dad hated it, and he only played it when his parents were at work so he could crank it up and rock out in the living room. He looked down at the autograph, it read:
To Jenny,
Stay in school.
All my best.
Below the message was a single autograph. “Wow.” Gabe said as he showed it to his son. He had never seen an autographed album before.
Michael looked at it. “Whose signature is that?” he asked.
“Dick Mitchell.” Gabe said as he handed it to Michael to look at for himself. Michael looked at it with stunned disbelief. Mitchell was the legendary lead guitarist of the band and one of the bands founding members. He along with lead vocalist Anthony ‘Tony’ Jacoby created this legendary band over forty years ago. They were also the only two remaining original members of the band, still rocking stadiums around the world more the fifty years later. Richard Mitchell, known to his fans as “Evel Dick” was considered one of the founding fathers of heavy metal. Gabe had no idea Jenny was such a big fan of the band. A much bigger fan than he had ever been. Gabe looked at the next album and was again stunned beyond belief. The next album was also autographed, this time all four original members of The Horsemen. Just above their names was the message: Happy Birthday, Jenny.
“Hey, check this bad boy out.” Gabe said, as he turned it around to show it to his son.
“Holy Crap!!!” Michael said as he looked at it. “Can we play it?”
“Not this one. It’s still sealed.” Gabe said as he put the autographed albums to the side and fished out another “Let’s use this one. It’s already opened and it’s the Horseman’s greatest hits.” Michael was excited to listen to any of the albums, so he nodded in agreement and watched with anticipation as Gabe walked over to the stereo and put the album on. The stereo started to boom out a thunderous bass and then the machine gunfire of drums before two guitars joined in and started to slay the room with head banging goodness. Michael even knew the words to the song as it was a cult classic called “Eat my fist”. Gabe remembered the first year it came out. Parents hated it and the band because they thought it promoted violence, but if you read the lyrics, it was more of a message about standing up for yourself and not letting the bullies of life beat you down.
They resumed packing as the music blared on. About halfway through the album, Gabe stopped working and turned to face his son. “Did I ever tell you about the first time I saw the Horsemen in concert?”
“No way,” Michael said as he put down what he was packing. “You saw the horsemen in concert?”
“A few times.” Gabe confessed.
“That’s totally badass, Dad.” Michael said, mocking his old man.
“Thanks.” Gabe said, appreciating the sarcasm. “I was actually invited up on stage the first time I saw them.”
“Bullshit!” Michael said, finding it hard to believe.
“No, really.” Gabe insisted. “It’s true.”
“Are you serious?” Michael asked, in total disbelief.
“Yup.” Gabe said as he picked up one of the albums from the box they had packed. “It was October 1985. I was only twelve years old. My brother had gotten me floor seats for my birthday. We waited in line at the stadiums ticket booth for over fifteen hours to get them. I had taken the time to make a sign, and it was because of that sign that got me invited on stage.”
“What did the sign say?” Michael asked.
“Evel Dick.” Gabe answered.
“So what?” Michael asked. “Everyone calls him that.”
“Back then, they didn’t.” Gabe answered, “Dick Mitchell saw my sign and loved it so much he let security bring me up on stage. He looked at the sign and gave me a big thumbs up for it. Then the crowd started to chant ‘Evel Dick’ for the rest of the night and that was the first time he was ever called that. The name has stuck ever since.”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“Are you friggin’ kidding me?” Michael responded.
“Hey, watch the language.” Gabe replied.
“Sorry.” His son apologized.
‘No problem.” Gabe said, as he understood his surprise.
“Still,” Michael insisted, “You can’t be serious!”
“I am serious.” Gage confirmed, “I was that little kid that gave Dick his infamous nickname. Call your Uncle if you want it him to verify it. He as there.”
“Now that really is badass.” Michael declared.
“Thank you,” Gabe said as he looked at the album. “I guess your old man really isn’t that out of touch with music just yet, eh?”
“I guess not.” Michael agreed. “Does that mean you’ll take me to see the Horsemen the next time they play here?”
Gabe laughed. He walked right into that one. “I can’t see why not. Maybe we should ask Jenny if she wants to go too.”
“Go where?” Jenny asked. She was walking into the middle of the conversation but soon got an idea of what they were talking about when she heard what was playing on the stereo. By now the album was on its tenth track, playing one of the band’s most infamous guitar solos for a song titled ‘My sweet angel’. Before anyone could say anything, she stormed over to the stereo and turned off the record player. Gabe had no idea what was going on, but she turned to face Michael first.
“Can you give me and your father a moment?” She asked his son.
Michael didn’t say anything and quickly vacated the room. After he was gone, Gabe walked over and tried to comfort her, but Jenny backed away.
“I want you to put all this away.” Jen demanded.
“I’m sorry.” Gabe said as he took the records and started to pack them away. “I should have asked before playing them. It was very rude of me.”
“You have no idea.” Jenny said. Gabe could tell by the look on her face that she was visibly upset.
“I had no idea you were a fan of The Horsemen.” Gabe said as he continued to pack them away.
“I’m not.” Jenny quickly replied.
This answer confused Gabe a great deal. How could someone who wasn’t a fan of this band have so many amazing collectables and autographs?
“Where did this all come from?” Gabe asked. “You have autographed albums and special editions that I have only heard of but could never find. Who gave them to you?”
“We agreed to never talk about him.” Jenny replied as she wiped a tear from her face.
Gabe couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t even finished moving in, and he had already broken her one condition she had set for him. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t even know.”
“I know, but no you do.” Jenny said as she walked over and gave him a hug. “Please put those away and never bring them out again.”
“I promise.” Gabe said as he hugged her back. “If it makes you feel better. I could take all this Horsemen stuff to work, and you’ll never have to see it again.”
“No,” Jenny said as she picked up one of the albums. It was the one that was signed for her birthday. “I need to keep them just in case.”
She watched as Gabe packed the albums up and everything else in the room that was remotely close or about The Horseman. He felt bad that just playing a few records would bring up some bad memories for Jenny, but it was better to know that now then to make that mistake after she moved in. Now he knew that the Horsemen were also off limits when it came to Jenny, and despite the fact that he was a huge fan of the band. Something he would have to keep to himself for the time being.
Gabe was true to his word and even politely asked Michael to not mention the Horsemen at all to Jenny. Gabe hadn’t mentioned or heard anything about the Horsemen for months after that incident during her move. Jenny had settled into the house and things got better from there. Gabe was happy to have dinner waiting for her regardless of time she came back, and he was always there to kiss her goodnight. Gabe couldn’t have asked for a more perfect life with the one he loved. It wasn’t until three months after Jenny moved in that Gabe had heard anything about the Horsemen. He was in the shop, working on a few things when the radio made an announcement that shocked everyone in the room. Not only were the Horsemen back, but they were getting ready to go on another world tour to celebrate the bands fortieth anniversary. The radio also announced that the band’s new tour would start at the beginning of the year, just after Christmas. Gabe listened and then got back to work. His brother Tom was there in the shop with him, working on his own project.
“I see that look in your eyes, Bro!” Tom called out. “You want to go see them again when they come to a city near us?”
“Maybe.” Gabe answered, not looking back.
“Dude, why not?” Tom called back. “I hear Michael is a fan, we’ll get him a ticket too. It will be a guy’s night out!”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.” Gabe replied.
“Why not, Bro?” Tom asked as he stopped and walked over to his desk.
Gabe went on to tell Tom everything. About the agreement not to speak to her about her father and the connection it had with the Horsemen albums he and Michael found that day. Tom listened to the entire story and took a deep breath before responding.
“That sucks bro,” Tom said, “I’ve known a lot of chicks who are like that. They get emotionally attached to some song or group when they’re dating someone and then once they break up with that person, they never want to hear that stuff again no matter how classic it is. This is the first time I’ve heard of it being connected to her father though.”
“How did you deal with it?” Gabe asked. He needed a solution so he could get over the conflict he had going on.
“You need to make a new memory with the music.” Tom answered. “Once I was dating this chick that loved the Blackbirds but didn’t listen to anything by them because it was something that reminded her of good times with her ex and that upset her. I took care of that by taking her to see the band in concert. Front row center. Now whenever she hears their songs, she thinks of that show and not her ex. You’ve got to give the music new meaning and she’ll move on.”
“I think this is different.” Gabe countered, “You can’t make someone forget about their father. This one is really bad. I’m not even sure what happened.” Gabe put his tool down and sighed. “I wish I could help but I promised to back off and never talk about it.”
“Then keep your promise, bro.” Tom said without hesitation. “By respecting her wishes, she’ll know she can trust you whenever she chooses to re-approach the issue. Until then, do not speak about any of that unless spoken to about it first. Understood?”
“Yeah, I understand.” Gabe confirmed as he got back to work.
“Now that doesn’t mean I can’t take Michael to the concert.” Tom said as he gave a playful grin as he walked back to his workstation. “Just because you can’t talk or listen to the Horsemen anymore doesn’t mean I can’t take my nephew to the show and have a good time.”
“Thanks bro.” Gabe replied with heavy sarcasm.
“That’s what I’m here for.” He proudly proclaimed.
“I thought it was to work?” Gabe asked.
“Well, that too.” Tom said as he went back to his work.
The two of them had nothing to say as they went about their business, making things in shop to be delivered and installed in houses that were waiting for the new things like counter tops and stair rails. Gabe didn’t get paid too much for his efforts, but he enjoyed the work and got a great satisfaction out of helping people make their houses closer to being a home. He would do the right thing for Jenny. He was prepared to do anything to be with her, whether it be removing a wall to expand the living room or to redo the entire kitchen which wasn’t likely because she wasn’t the cook in the kitchen type. He used the kitchen to make stuff more often than she did. He honestly believed Jenny lived off fast food the entire time she was in med school because there was no way she cooked for herself unless it was just Mac and Cheese or Mr. Noodle. He didn’t mind doing the cooking, because it was something that he liked doing as he found it very stress relieving and like his work, he got a great sense of accomplishment from it. He got a warm feeling in his heart whenever he was able to make something for the people, he loved whether it was Michael, Jenny or anyone for that matter. It was something that was close to his heart, the ability to make something and provide. He made more than enough to accomplish that and that was enough for him. He didn’t have to be wealthy to be happy and when Gabe discovered that, the sooner he was able to do what it took to have just enough rather than more than he needed.
“Something else on your mind, bro?” Tom asked from the other side of the room.
“I’m going to let it go.” Gabe answered. “Respect her wishes.”
“Wise move, bro.” Tom answered. “You won’t regret it.”
“I hope not.” Gabe said as he got back to work.