Jenny had a very hard day at work, but she really felt like the real work was going to come when she sat down to speak with Gabe. She was afraid that Gabe was going to be angry at her for not telling the truth and that could cause him to not trust her, spoiling a good thing they had. Jenny was afraid that this rift could ruin their relationship. To ease the pain, she decided to surprise him with some ice-cream, chocolate syrup and peanuts. His mother would always make a sundae for him whenever she wanted to make him feel better or break bad news to him. Things were very quiet in the house when she got home. She opened the door and while most of the lights were off, the kitchen was as bright as a museum and there was some chatter going on.
“I’m home!” she called out, “Gabe, are you there?”
“In here, Jenny!” Gabe called out. He came out of the kitchen to greet her with a smile and a big hug. “It’s good to see you. How was your day?”
“It was alright.” she answered.
Gabe looked down and realized she was carrying something. “Let me get that for you.” He grabbed the grocery bag from her and looked inside. “Supper is in the kitchen. We ordered Indian food. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course, I don’t…” Jenny paused for a moment. “We ordered Indian?”
Gabe looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Well, Um…”
Jenny suddenly realized something and stormed past Gabe and into the kitchen. Dick was in there, eating butter chicken and rice. “Oh, my Gaud!”
“Hey there, Princess.” Dick said with a smile.
“What are you doing here?” Jenny asked him.
“I’m eating dinner.” Dick answered.
“Did you just invite yourself over?” Jenny asked.
“No,” Dick said with an innocent smile. “It was Gabe’s idea.”
Jenny spun around and gave Gabe an angry glare he was happy to say he hadn’t seen yet in all the time they had been together. She wasn’t even this angry when he and Michael found her Horsemen collection. Gabe could see over Jenny’s shoulder that Dick was mouthing the words “Sorry, Dude” to him, clearly apologizing for tossing him under the bus.
“You invited my father over for dinner?” Jenny repeated.
Gabe decided to take the bullet for Dick just this once. “I did.”
“Was he just waiting here for you when you got home?” Jenny asked, eager to know as much about their encounter as possible.
“No, no.” Gabe said as he backed up a step. “He came to my office, and we talked there.”
“Oh, you had a talk.” Jenny repeated as she seemed to not be handling it very well. “I’m sure you all just had a good yarn and became good buddies.”
“Well, that is what you’re supposed to do when you speak to someone’s father.” Gabe said respectfully. “I mean he is one of the people responsible for bringing in the love of my life into this world.”
“Good comeback, mate!” Dick suddenly chipped in. Jenny turned around and gave him a glare of his own. Dick raised his hands. “Sorry, I’ll stay back and let you talk.”
He realized helping Gabe really didn’t help him at all and he needed to give the kid time to swim on his own. Tossing him a life preserver at this moment would only make him look worse at this point.
“You know how I feel about this.” Jenny said as she tried to make Gabe realized the pressure she was under with him there.
“Actually, I didn’t.” Gabe honestly answered. “And one reason why I didn’t is because I wanted to respect your space and privacy. Dick and I didn’t talk very much about you anyway.” Gabe then lied. “We spent most of the afternoon talking about the Horsemen and our sons.”
“Oh,” Jenny hadn’t thought that they might have a few things in common to speak about besides her. She looked over at her father and then back at Gabe. “Where’s the Tandori chicken?”
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“Over here.” Gabe said as he pointed to a small box. “We didn’t forget. I know it’s your favorite.”
There was a long silence after Jenny took a seat at the table. Gabe could understand the kind of discomfort she was feeling. She was at a table with her estranged father for the first time in over a decade and she really didn’t know where to start. Gabe understood this and decided to break the ice with something nice to talk about rather than force something they both might not be ready for.
“So, Dick,” Gabe started, “I hear the Horsemen are planning a tour. Is that true?”
“That we are,” Dick confirmed, as he was happy to talk about anything. “The Horsemen are touring to celebrate our fortieth anniversary as a band. I was here to let you guys know because I wanted to invite you to come and see some of the shows, especially the last one which is going to be in New York.”
“You’re touring just for an anniversary?” Jenny asked, pretending she was somewhat interested in the conversation.
“There’s more than that.” Dick said as he put down his fork. “This is going to be my last tour. I’m retiring.”
That announcement seemed to get their attention. Jenny was a little too stunned to say anything, so Gabe spoke up instead. “I don’t understand, Dick. You look in great shape, I think you got at least a few good tours left in ya.”
“Thanks for the compliment, kid.” Dick said as he nibbled a bit more on his butter chicken. “While music will always be a part of me, and I might write and record some more, I’m confident that my road days are coming to an end. I need to slow down and take care of myself.”
“Are you alright?” Gabe asked, sensing something in his answer.
“I’m okay.” Dick answered. “I’m just getting too old for this kind of stuff. Jumping around on stage is for the young. I need to slow down and try to enjoy life before it all ends. I’m still surprised I made it this far with all the crazy things I’ve done.”
“You mean like that belly flop you did at your third mansion from the second story balcony into your pool?” Gabe suggested.
Jenny couldn’t help but laugh when he said that. She remembered the jump because it was at one of her birthday parties. Her father had tried to dive into the pool from the second-floor balcony but misjudged the distance to the water and his belly slapped on the water and it hurt for weeks afterwards.
“That was a loud slap.” She said with a giggle.
“I didn’t hear it,” Dick honestly added. “My belly hurt like hell afterwards. I missed four shows and couldn’t laugh without pain for weeks!”
“What about the pyro accident in Toronto?” Gabe then asked.
“Ouch. That was a nasty one.” Dick said as he unbuttoned the cuffs on his left sleeve and rolled his arm up to his elbow. There were still scars from the burn he took on his left forearm. He had been burned badly on his arm and half his torso when the fireworks build into the stage went off underneath him.
“That had to hurt.” Gabe said as he looked at it in awe.
“Take the belly flop and multiple it by twenty.” Dick answered. “I was off the road for half a year because of that incident. All because one roadie forgot to put tape down on the ground to warn us where one of the pyro stations were. It was a major pain in the ass because it burned off all the calluses off my left hand. I had to rebuild them for several months after I was cleared to even hold a guitar again.”
“Wow.” Gabe said as he took all the info in. He still couldn’t believe he was having dinner with a rock god that he had worshipped since he was a kid. But to Jenny he wasn’t a rock icon, it was just her Dad. She wasn’t impressed with the hoopla of his career as she knew the real Richard Mitchell.
“Well, maybe I should get going.” Dick said as he pushed his plate aside. “I going to head back to the hotel.”
“Nonsense,” Gabe said as he almost forgot who he was talking to, but it was just habit for him. His mother and father taught him better than that to let someone crash at a hotel, especially if they were family. Instinct kicked in before Jenny had a chance to say anything. “We have a guest room. You’re more than welcome to stay here.”
“Really?” Dick said, somewhat shocked. “That’d be awesome! It saves me from having to put up with groupies who are already camping outside my window. Thanks, Gabe!” Dick gave his daughter’s boyfriend a warm hug and a pat on the shoulder before walking out to the car to grab his bag. He had packed a very small bag just in case. As he went out to get it and dismiss the driver still waiting in the limo, Jenny gave Gabe a glare that almost gave him the impression that he might be sleeping on the couch tonight.
“Really?” Jenny asked, “Was that necessary?”
“Sorry,” Gabe said with a smirk and a shrug of the shoulders. “Force of habit. Just the way I was raised.”
Jenny took a deep breath. “I don’t know if this is what we really want.”
“It’s what he wants,” Gabe confessed. “He talked to me and Tom about how much he misses you. He wants to spend some time with you and mend bridges. He’s here to make peace, not bust our balls.”
“Is that an exact quote?” Jenny asked, aware of her father’s lingo. It would be something Dick would say directly to Gabe and his brother.
When she asked him that question, this was when Jenny realized something: Gabe wasn’t angry at her, like she was afraid he might be. Dorothy was right, again. It was almost as if he understood why she had kept certain secrets to herself and wasn’t bothered by it. If he was upset about it, he wasn’t showing it and Jenny thought it might be a good idea to take the win and put up with her father for a few days before he flew back to wherever his new tour was going to start.
“He only stays here for a few days.” She told him.
“Okay.” Gabe said but he knew that could change based on how well the two of them got along under the same roof. If things get worse, she could hoof him out as soon as she can or things could get better, and Dick could stay a little longer. Gabe had no idea what was going to come of this, but it was something that he had to try for Jenny because this was not a burden anyone should have to carry around alone.