Jenny had been on edge the entire week and Gabe wished there was something he could do about it. She was hiding something from him, but this wasn’t the time to press her for information. This was the time for him to stand by her and be a supporting partner. That shoulder for her to lean on. He wanted to prove to her he was capable of being support but at the same time respected her privacy and gave her a bit of space. Gabe really had no idea what he was in store for, but he had to keep faith in his partner and stay out of it. He was actually quite relieved to learn that what happened between Jenny and her father wasn’t physical or criminal. It was just bad blood, which in turn gave Gabe a glimmer of hope because he could hope that most issues could be resolved as feelings changed over time. Since what was causing their rift wasn’t anything over the top like abusive behavior or worse, then there was no reason why they couldn’t eventually talk things out and reconcile. For the time being Gabe needed to just sit back and wait for Jenny and her father work things out like adults without his interference. Gabe seemed rather pleased with himself as his brother’s advice was working like a charm. That feeling was short lived when Gabe arrived to work and walked back to the rear of his shop to discover that his brother wasn’t there. Gabe looked around but couldn’t see anyone working for that matter. It was at this moment when Gabe heard laughter, and quickly realized it was coming from his office. Gabe started to walk towards his office when he spotted his brother hanging out in the hall just in front of his own office.
“Tom!” he called out. “What’s going on over there?”
Tom had a big smile on his face and waved him to come over. Gabe didn’t have a clue to what was going on, so he walked down the hall and realized that everyone from workers to secretaries were all currently in his office. Tom looked as excited as a cheerleader before a football game.
“Gabe, I don’t know how you did this!” Tom said to him.
“Did what?” Gabe asked. “What on earth is going on here?”
“You have nothing to do with this?” Tom replied.
“To do with what?” Gabe asked.
“Who’s out there?” a voice called. “Tom, is that Gabe?”
Gabe had no idea who was in there, but he had an accent that sounded vaguely familiar, so he stuck his head through the door opening to have a peek inside. “I’m Gabe and you would be…”
As Gabe stuck his head through the door, it was obvious who was there, but he just couldn’t believe it. In his office, sitting in his chair, having a good yarn with the staff… was Richard Mitchell. The Richard Mitchell: Evel Dick himself. The lead guitar player of this favorite band in the whole wide world.
Gabe could hardly believe it as he walked into the office and offered a hand. “Mr. Mitchell?”
“No, no.” Dick said, standing up to shake his hand. “You can call me Dick. Everyone does.”
“Thank you, Dick.” Gabe said as he looked around. “I’m sorry to be so rude, but what are you here in my shop?”
“I’m here to see you, mate.” Dick said with a friendly smile.
Gabe took a deep breathe and then turned to everyone else. “You heard the man; he’s here to see me. Everyone get back to work!
Gabe really didn’t want to be that kind of boss, but he couldn’t have everyone just sitting around doing nothing all day. Not while he was paying them quite well for the time and labours.
“Everyone?” Tom repeated with a sad look on his face.
“Even you.” Gabe said as he wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Don’t worry, Tom.” Dick said with a smile. “We’ll chat again later.”
Tom cracked a huge smile and waved like a child before leaving the room and going back to work. Gabe hadn’t seen Tom that happy since the day his divorce finalized. He turned to face the guest in his room and rather than seem territorial, Gabe grabbed one of the other seats and let Dick remain in his chair out of good manners.
Gabe sighed deeply, “I’m honored to meet you Mr…”
“Dick.” The old man reminded him.
“Sorry.” Gabe said as he was kind of star struck himself.
“That’s all right, bud.” Dick said as he smiled again. He picked up a picture of Michael that was on his desk. “This your boy?”
“Yes, it is.” Gabe confirmed for his guest. “Michael is a little order than that now. He’s thirteen.”
“That’s a tough age.” Dick said as he respectfully put the picture back in its place. “I remember when my boys were that old. They were all handful and then some.”
“I know,” Gabe said, “I’m really sorry about Alexander.”
Dick was surprised at first and then sighed. “Thank you. You were very young when that happened.”
“I was.” Gabe confessed. “When it first happened, I really didn’t understand how you felt until much later when Michael was born. If I lost him tomorrow that would tear me apart.”
“It did,” Dick conceded. “It still does, just not as much.”
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Dick has been studying Gabe’s desk since he walked in, and he strategically grabbed another picture and showed it to Gabe.
“Is this Michael’s mother?” he asked.
“No.” Gabe answered. “I’ve been divorced for over five years now. That’s they lady I’m seeing right now. She’s a family doctor here in town.”
“A family doctor?” Dick said with a smile. “Does she enjoy taking care of people of this fair town?”
“Yes, she does.” Gabe agreed.
“You have to be like that to be a good doctor,” Dick said as he put the picture back in its rightful spot as well. “Do you plan to marry her?”
“I’m not sure.” Gabe answered, slightly confused.
“But you are living together, right?” Dick asked.
“I’m not sure how that’s any of your business.” Gabe retorted.
That was all Dick needed to hear. He raised his hands to mock surrender.
“Sorry, mate.” Dick said, trying to deflect. “I should change the subject. I hear you are a big fan of the Horsemen.”
“I’m a huge fan,” Gabe said with a smile. Now they were talking about something he could feel more comfortable with. “I’ve seen the band over ten times.”
“Really?” Dick said as he thought about it for a moment. “We haven’t performed in this state that many times.” He recalled.
“That’s true.” Gabe confirmed. “But my brother and I used to take road trips to other states to see the band. We would take a vacation and see a show at the same time.”
“Now that’s cool,” Dick said as he appreciated the effort. “So, if you’re a big fan, I assume you know a lot about me.”
“I’ve read a bit of stuff.” Gabe confessed.
“Alright, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” Dick asked.
“Why not?” Gabe replied. He wasn’t really sure where he was going with this but decided to play along.
“So, I’ve been married three times…” Dick started.
“Four times if you include the incident in Vegas,” Gabe corrected.
“That’s right, but that one was annulled so it never happened.” Dick said with a smile. “What happened in Vegas, stayed in Vegas that year.” He paused for a moment. “What was the name of my second wife?”
“Wasn’t that Debbie Mitchell?” Gabe asked.
“It was.” Dick confirmed. “But what was her maiden name?”
Gabe paused for a moment. “I’m sorry but I don’t know.”
“We’ll get back to that, mate.” Dick said with a smile. “Do you know the names of all my children?”
“All of them? I’m not sure.” Gabe said as he started to recall. He knew Dick had five or six kids but that didn’t include any possible illegitimate kids that he could have conceived on the road. That’s what made it such a tricky question.
“I know them.” A voice called from the door.
Gabe turned to see Tom was still there.
“Alright, hotshot,” Gabe said, eager to take the heat off himself, “Let’s hear them.”
Tom walked back in and sat down in the chair beside Gabe. “Well first there was Logan. He was the only kid you had with your first wife.”
“That’s correct,” Dick confirmed. “Continue.”
“When you remarried, you had two more. Alexander and Jennifer.” Tom said as he was counting them all on his fingers. “Then you had three more with your last wife, all boys.”
“Do you know their names?” Dick asked.
“Greggory, Chester and Albert who we all call Prince Albert.” Tom said with a smile. He seemed very proud of himself as he was just as big a Horseman fan as Gabe was.
“Now here’s a chance for some bonus points.” Dick said as he was setting up the next question. “Do you know the maiden name of my second wife Debbie?”
“Sure.” Tom said. “She was Debbie Kershaw before you married her.”
There was a pause in the room. Dick never responded to the answer immediately. He wanted to see if it would sink in their heads where he was going with this, but it turns out they needed a little more guidance to get there.
“That is correct.” He paused again for another moment. “You guys don’t see the connection, do you?”
The two men sat there and looked at him, but still rather stumped. The fact that Dick was there was likely preventing them from using their brains properly. It happens when fans get star struck.
“My wife’s maiden name is Kershaw,” Dick continued, “And my only daughter is named Jennifer.”
“Oh shit!” Tom said as he finally clued in.
“There’s the response I’ve been waiting for.” Dick said with a smile.
“I’m still not there.” Gabe said as he was trying to put it together. He thought about it for a few more seconds and it came to him: Jennifer Kershaw. As in Doctor Jennifer Kershaw, as in his Jennifer Kershaw, the woman that he was living with had the same last name as his second wife. The same woman who was worried about her …
“Oh shit.” Gabe finally repeated.
“There we go.” Dick said as he was happy to see everyone was finally in on the joke. “Now that we’re all on the same page, you’ll realize that me asking about you shacking up with your girlfriend is very much my business. Is this the part where I’m supposed to ask what your intentions are with my daughter?”
The two men stood there in stunned beyond belief. Gabe tired to speak first but couldn’t the words.
Tom tried instead. “Well, Sir…”
“Whoa, whoa.” Dick said as he held up his arms. “Before we continue, I should make it perfectly clear that I come in peace. I’m not here to be a shit disturber or to bust your balls. So, relax… at ease, gentlemen.”
The two men let out a huge sigh as they both breathed a little better and tried their best to relax. Gabe was the first to speak.
“Regardless of who you are, I’m very pleased to meet you.” Gabe said as he tried to be civil to the man his girlfriend was for some reason on bad terms with. “Jenny has talked about you, just not about who you were.”
“What did she say about me?” Dick quickly asked.
“Well, all she mentioned was that you two were not close and she never talked to you that much.” Gabe confessed. He couldn’t believe he was telling this to her father, but the conversation had been rather friendly, and he wanted to keep it that way. “I know it’s been a while since you two have talked at all.”
“It has,” Dick said as he sat back into Gabe’s chair and gave out a deep sigh of his own. “I miss her, I really do. I get a long with all my boys pretty well, but she’s the one that got away.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Tom said as he was aware of the details as well. “I realize things had gotten tough before your second marriage ended.”
“She was also the other one that got away,” Dick said as he knew what Tom was talking about. “I was on tour when she passed away. It wasn’t the best time to not be there.”
“What happened to her?” Gabe asked. He was aware that Dick’s second marriage ended due to Debbie’s death rather than divorce which hadn’t fully finalized. While there were rumors about her passing, nothing was actually confirmed publicly.
“She never got over Alex’s death,” Dick started, “Regardless of how much I tried to help her, but she never found a way to do it and just gave up. I used my music and my mates to get over what happened to our boy.”
“And that’s why you wrote my sweet angel.” Tom said. “That was your way of grieving his passing.”
“What about Jenny?” Gabe asked.
“What happened to Jenny I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.” Dick confessed to the two men. “She went through a lot in less than half a decade, that being the loss of her brother and her mother. The fact that she managed to turn herself around, go to medical school and have a good life for herself is more than what any Dad could hope for. I’m very proud of what she’s done here.”
“You should tell her that.” Gabe said to the old man. He was taking a chance to say something like that, but he felt it was his duty to say it for Jenny.
“You’re right, I should.” Dick agreed. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m famished. Any good places to get something to eat around here?”