Jenny needed to speak with someone, so she decided to call for some help. Just as she was pulling into the parking lot to get to work, she pulled out her cell and called Gabe’s mother. The phone rang a few times before someone finally picked up.
“Dorothy?” she called out, “It’s Jenny.”
“Jenny!” the voice on the other end replied. “What a lovely surprise.”
“Something’s going on, and I need someone to talk to.” Jenny said rather bluntly. “Can we meet for lunch today?”
“I’m supposed to meet my sister Grace for lunch,” Gabe’s mother replied, “Would be all right if you talked to her too?”
“No, that would be fine.” Jenny said, “I just need some advice about an issue that is about to get a lot worse.”
“I understand dear,” Dorothy said, “We are here for you, Jenny. We’ll meet you at Dave’s Diner at twelve-thirty. Is that all right?”
“That works for me.” Jenny said as she then said good-bye and disconnected.
She rushed out of her car and into work for the morning. She checked with reception and there were no further messages from her father. While she hoped no one would hear from him again, her gut was telling her otherwise. She knew her father was on his way and the message was just his way of trying to give her a polite heads up. While she appreciated the effort to show good etiquette, all it really did was cause her to panic and think about other worst case scenarios. There was no telling how Gabe and the others might respond, so she needed to speak with Gabe’s mom just to make sure things would be all right. Dorothy had been a mother figure to her ever since Jenny started to date her son. After being with Gabe and being welcomed into his family, she started to let her guard down and actually enjoy being part of a family, despite never talking to what was left of her own. Now that her father was just breaking silence and most likely crossing time zones, it was time for Jenny to finally tell everyone the truth. She was eager to test that truth on Gabe’s mother first, hoping to gauge her response to how he might respond. Lunch couldn’t come soon enough for her she took off as early as her office would let her. She drove down to Dave’s diner and actually beat the two ladies there by a whole ten minutes. While she was waiting, Jenny ordered something strong, whiskey on the rocks. She didn’t drink often but she needed something to ease her nerves. When the two ladies arrived to meet with her, she gave them a big smile.
“Hello.” Jenny said, trying to put on a good smile.
Dorothy sighed. “Well you’re drinking something, which means it’s not a pregnancy.”
“What a relief.” Grace said with a smile as they both sat down.
“Not yet.” Jenny replied, “but I do have an issue that is about to blow up in my face.”
“Is it an affair?” Grace asked.”
“Heavens, no!” Jenny answered in shock.
“Then it can’t be all that bad.” Dorothy said, trying to remain positive.
“It’s my father.” Jenny said as she took another sip of her drink.
Dorothy leaned forward. “I don’t recall you ever talking about your father. Why is that?”
“That’s because my father and I haven’t talked in over ten years.” Jenny answered. “We are very distant, and it looks like he’s found me and might be on his way here to see me.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Is this a bad thing?” Grace asked. “Do we need to call the police?”
“No, it’s not that.” Jenny said as she took a sigh of her own. Based on their questions she realized the truth wasn’t really as bad as she was making it out to be. “I’ve kind of been holding back where I come from on purpose.”
“Give me an example.” Dorothy asked.
“My last name isn’t Kershaw,” Jenny finally admitted. “It’s my mother’s maiden name.”
“Okay.” Dorothy acknowledged. “What is your last name?”
“Mitchell.” Jenny answered.
“That’s a nice name.” Grace said with confidence.
“I agree.” Dorothy said, “There is nothing wrong with that name to be ashamed of.”
“It’s my Dad’s name that turns heads, not mine.” Jenny replied.
“What’s your Dad’s name?” Grace asked.
“Richard.” Jenny replied.
“Your Dad’s name is Richard Mitchell.” Grace said as she looked clearly confused. As Grace asked her question, a young waitress was coming up to the table to take their order and laughed.
“Ha, that’s funny.” The waitress said.
“I’m sorry, dear?” Dorothy asked.
“I just thought that was funny,” The waitress replied. “That her Dad’s name is Richard Mitchell. Same as Evel Dick. That’s so cool!”
Jenny actually turned a shade of white when the waitress said that but composed herself a moment later. “We need more time to check the menu.”
“But we’ll take three coffee’s, thank you.” Dorothy said with a smile. After the waitress walked away from the table she turned to Jenny who was trying to smile and pretend everything was okay. “There is nothing wrong with having a father named Richard Mitchell.”
“Unless people call him Evel Dick,” Grace said with a chuckle.
“That’s the problem; my Dad is Evel Dick.” Jenny said as she drained the rest of her glass right in front of the two ladies. “My Dad is not just a man named Richard Mitchell, he is ‘the’ Richard Mitchell, co-founder and lead guitarist of a band known as The Horsemen.”
“Oh dear,” Dorothy said with a pause. “That’s quite interesting.”
“You think?” Jenny said. “I already have a small idea of what a big fan Gabe is of the Horseman.”
“Oh honey, you have no idea.” Dorothy said as she suddenly felt the urge to order something stronger herself. “That boy started listening to the Horsemen when he was nine years old. He attended his first concert when he was eleven.”
“I attended my first Horsemen concert when I was two,” Jenny said with as she almost felt like crying. “And that was in my backyard.”
“Does Gabe know about this?” Dorothy asked.
“I think you would have heard about it by know if he knew,” Jenny answered. “He’d probably tell the whole world if he knew.”
Dorothy pondered the thought for a moment. “Sounds about right.”
“So, your Dad’s a famous rock star,” Grace said. “What’s the problem with that, and why haven’t you two talked in ten years?”
“I hardly saw him when he was on the road.” Jenny admitted to the ladies, “I used to be allowed to attend shows every now and then, but one day my mother freaked out and banned me from ever going again. Then she passed away and Dad was so upset by it he just took off and we didn’t talk for years. After that and I was too busy at college to even consider trying. We used to be so close, and then just grew apart as the years went on. I’ve grown up and now I’m a doctor, and he’s still a rock star. He’s still on stage doing the same thing he’s done for the last forty years!”
“In other words, he didn’t grow up.” Dorothy replied. “He didn’t step up and be the adult when he had to be, namely when your mother died. You needed someone to be there for you and instead of being your Dad, he chose to run away and hide.”
“Exactly!” Jenny agreed. “I haven’t been able to forgive him for that. So I changed my name when I graduated from Med school and have been working here as far away from him as I could ever since.”
“Oh Jenny,” Dorothy said as she gave her a half hug with one arm. “You can’t pick your family. He’s not a murderer or a bank robber. He just jumps on a stage and plays a guitar. He is what he is. The man who helped bring you into this world.”
“I’m not sure that’s how Gabe is going to see him,” Jenny said as she was clearly worried. “How is Gabe going to respond to this?”
“I’m not too sure about that, dear.” Dorothy replied.
“Will he be mad that I hid this from him?” Jenny asked.
“I don’t think so.” Dorothy honestly said. “But I would recommend talking to him. The only person he should hear this from is you.”
“I guess that is a good idea.” Jenny said, as she appreciated having someone to talk to. “Thank you very much for your help.”
“Of course, dear.” Dorothy said with a smile. “Always here to help.”
Their waitress came back to the table and finally took their order. The rest of their lunch was a lot more pleasant and they talked about other things. Even thought she was engaging in other conversation, Jenny kept thinking about Gabe and her father. She knew that Dorothy was right and first thing when she got home, she was going to sit Gabe down and tell him the whole truth before it was too late.