The tension in the room was so thick you could cut a knife with it. Jackie still sat shocked in front of Eve. Her mother’s day mug had been shattered on the floor after the revealing news. Eve was still lost for words. She hadn’t intended on that kind of a reaction. Actually, she hadn’t intended on any because she thought it everything would go down like in does in story. Girl finds family, family embraces here and they walk off happily ever after into the sunset of bliss. But instead of a fairytale ending she was listening to the sound of the rain hit against the window pain.
“So… Evelyn… forgive me for my rudeness. How can you possibly be my son’s daughter?” Jackie asked in a shaken voice.
Eve started to fiddle with her fingers, “I don’t know… I mean all I know is that my mom was a teenager, my age actually, when she had me. Any time I asked about him it was always rude and distasteful responses. I had grown up thinking he was a deadbeat dad that wanted nothing to do with us because he was too young for responsibilities. I knew he was religious and that my mom and him only dated for a short while. It wasn’t a big romance or anything.”
“I see… where are you from?”
“Alabama… I’ve lived there my whole life. Please you have to help me figure this whole thing out! I didn’t mean to upset you with my news… I’ve come a long way…”
“Do your parents know you’re here?”
Jackie saw her eyes gloss over as she turned to look out the window, “They don’t care. Frankly I don’t think they’ve noticed I left in the first place.”
“That’s not true. All parents care about their children, whether they display their feelings or not.”
“No, my mom used to care but she doesn’t anymore. She’s a… a drug addict.”
Instantly Jackie placed her hand over Eve’s, “I’m so sorry-”
“She wasn’t using when she met your son. In fact she was very clean for most of my toddler years. It wasn’t until she met her boyfriend did things turn sour.”
“That must have been some life you grew up in.”
“I made it this far.”
Just then the sound of the front door opening and closing caught their attention. Boots clamped against the floor causing the sound to echo the acoustic house. Eve stiffened as the sound made her instantly think of John. Jackie noticed the change in her posture and started to rub her hand. An older man appeared in the door frame leaning against it. He looked from Eve to Jackie with a curious look on his face.
“Harold… this is Evelyn,” Jackie said.
Harold placed a smile on his face extending his hand, “Nice to meet you Evelyn. Jackie I didn’t know we were having visitors. Had I known I would have picked something up from the store.”
“It’s alright dear, she just dropped by unexpectedly. She’s from the local library.”
“Really? I apologize with my attire, it’s raining like cats and dogs out there and I smell like one as well.”
“Oh Harold!’ Jackie laughed.
“Well if you ladies would excuse me I shall go cleanup a bit.”
Harold turned away from them and disappeared around the corner. Jackie turned her attention back to Eve who was starring longingly after Harold.
“Why did you lie?” Eve asked.
“I had too… There is no need creating chaos just yet. Let’s take this day by day.”
“Do you want to test me?”
“Test you?”
“My blood, do you want a DNA test for proof?”
“I can’t test you without having Brian tested. Oh Ducky… how are we going to break this to him?”
Eve leaned forward in her seat resting her arms on her legs, “I don’t know… I don’t eve know what I was thinking coming here. The idea of just waltzing in on someone I don’t know claiming blood relation is just a wild idea.”
“I’m sure you had good intentions. Everyone deserves to know who they are and where they came from…”
“You believe me?”
Jackie tilted her head, “I don’t know what to believe honestly. Just looking at you, you have Brian written all over your face. I don’t want to claim you as a liar. However like I said my son is important so people will say or do anything to meet him.”
“What kind of important person? Is he like an FBI agent?”
“No… he’s a singer. Almost twenty years ago him and his friends formed a band that became successful and still is till this day. He’s been performing and traveling since he was a teenager.”
“That explains how he met my mother…”
“You’re sixteen… so I’m guessing you were born in 1995?”
”Yes, my birthday is October 14th.”
Jackie sucked in air for a moment, “I can only imagine Brian’s reaction to all of this. What was he thinking?” she mumbled to herself.
A guilty feeling rose inside of her, “When do I get to meet Brian?”
Eve’s question broke Jackie’s thoughts, “Excuse me?”
“Brian, when do I get to meet him to sort this out?”
Jackie sat back and crossed her arms, “I don’t know… I really don’t know”
*----------*
Jackie was kind enough to offer Eve a place to stay in her home. She had gotten a mini tour around the ranch styled home before being shown to her room. It had been decorated to look like a beach. The color blue was everywhere and there were so many sea shells. Eve could barely sleep that night. She laid in bed listening to the sound of the rain outside. Thought after thought began to run through her head. She couldn’t believe how close she was to finding her father. And yet he was married with another family. What if he didn’t like her? What if he turned her away and everything her mother had told her would be painfully confirmed? What if, what if, what if…
I wait for the postman to bring me a letter
And I wait for the good lord to make me feel better
I carried the weight of the world on my shoulders
Family in crisis that only grows older
So why’d you have to go
Why’d you have to go
Daughter to father
Daughter to father
I am broken but I am hoping
Daughter to father
Daughter father
I am crying
Apart of me is dying
And these are, these are the confessions of a broken heart
There were some nights when she hated the rain. The roof leaked above her bed, always keeping her up during a thunder storm. She was thankful that the thunder was drowning out the sound of her mother having sex in the living room. Sometimes to make herself feel better she would pretend the rain was her friends. Each drop coming by to visit and then quickly leaving. Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her doorknob jiggling. She pulled the covers over her head to pretend she was sleeping. At 13 years old this was still the same trick she pulled to get out of her mother and her mothers’ boyfriend’s schemes. This time it seemed to not work. She felt the covers being snatched from her. Startled she made a yelp when John stood in front of her nude with a hard on. She backed up against the wall as he tried to pet her head. Thankfully her mother had came in the room wearing a t-shirt.
I wear all your old clothes
Your polo sweater
I dream of another you
One who would never
Leave me alone to pick up the pieces
Daddy to hold me, that’s what I needed
So why’d you have to go
Why’d you have to go
“What the fuck are you doing?” she shouted at John.
John rubbed his hands over his face, “Ah Joyce, I’m drunk as shit.”
Eve looked at her mother, “Stop looking at him,” her mother barked slapping her against the face.
Joyce angrily pushed John out of the room. She lit a cigarette before slamming the door shut to her bedroom. Eve dove under her covers as fast as she could and started to cry. She wished John would disappear and her real father would save her. Save her from all the madness and hurt that she had to endure.
Daughter to father
Daughter to father
I don’t know you, but I still want too
Daughter to father
Daughter to father
Tell me the truth did you ever love me
Cause these are the confessions of a broken
Of a broken heart…
