AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Gabe
She is stunning! The last time I saw her, she was just beginning to fill out. She was skinny all her life, but I knew when she filled out, she would be even more gorgeous than she already was, and I was right. Even sitting down, I could see the hips, thighs, breasts, and ass she was carrying around on that gorgeous frame. And her face…time has been more than kind to her, she is more beautiful than any woman has any right to be. Damn, I have missed her. I was supposed to come and fix things up with my dad, and instead, I set any hope of that ablaze with my actions. I thought I had dealt with the anger, but as soon as I stepped through those church doors and saw how everyone was praising him like he was a good man, I knew they didn’t know the man he truly was. I’m going back to the airport so I can head home, and I will never come this way again. There is nothing left here for me outside of my mother, and I will fly her out to me. The car chirps when I press unlock on the fob, and I hear my mother’s voice calling out to me.
“Please stay, Gabe, I haven’t seen you in almost eighteen years. Please don’t leave yet,”
“Mom, did you see what I just did? I think it’s best for me to just leave and not come back.”
“Gabriel, stay. At least stay the rest of the day, and if you still want to go home tomorrow, I will not stop you but please stay until then,”
“Alright, Mom, I’ll stay. But I will be at the hotel, come by when you are free, or I will come to you. I would like to spend some time with you,”
“Okay, Gabriel,” she replies, pulling me into a hug, I hold her to me, missing her hugs, remembering what it felt like to be held by her, and I missed this severely.
“I’ll see you soon, Mom,” I tell her, breaking the hug, getting in my car, and pulling off. My mom said she didn’t know me to be a coward, and normally she would be right, but I cannot handle seeing Soul again, so I am getting the hell out of dodge. I have no idea what I would do if I came face to face with her right now, so the best thing for me is to keep my distance. Being back here is surreal. So much has changed, and just as much has changed. I pull up to the valet desk, an involuntary smile crosses my face as I think about my time as a valet and how that got me here. I hand off my keys to the guy who looks completely star-struck, no matter how long I have been living this life, I will never get used to people being excited to see me. I sign the paper he shakily hands to me to sign and walk inside going straight to my suite. I do not know why I bothered coming back home at all, this was a horrible idea, but I am here now, so I guess I’ll try to make the best of it. I order something to eat, enjoy my meal, take a shower, and lie down to take a nap.
I start out of my sleep and take a second to try to figure out what woke me, and that’s when I hear it again, a knock at the door.
“Coming!” I yell as Ipull myself together and get out of bed to head to the door. I swing it open without checking to see who was there and was still not surprised to see my mother standing there, but I was surprised to see my dad with her. My lips flatten in a disapproving line as I look over at my mother.
“Don’t be too mad at her. I kinda forced her hand. Can we come in?” he asks, and I truly hesitate.
I have put all this stuff in my past, or at least I thought I had, but when I reply, “You here to visit a dead man?” I realize that maybe I am not as over it as I thought I was.
“Gabriel, please,” my mom implores.
“Fine,” I say, moving back, granting them entrance. They walk in, looking around before taking a seat.
“Come here to chastise me for my remarks today?”
“No, I came here to apologize,” he says and takes all the wind out of my sails.
“What?” I say, hardly able to comprehend what I am hearing.
“I was wrong, Gabriel. I was wrong about everything. I shouldn’t have disowned you or tried to make you follow the footsteps I laid out for you. I know it was hard living your life as a Pastor’s kid, and instead of protecting you, I became one of your biggest bullies. It is not fair that people put unfair expectations on you that they held you to a standard you didn’t ask for nor that you should have been judged by. And when you came to me to tell me what you wanted to do, I should have supported you instead of yelling and handing out ultimatums. I have known you and your mother have been in contact all these years, and I know you sent her money. So many times, I wanted to reach out, but pride held me back, and it is something I will forever regret. The word says pride goes before the fall, I let it rob us from years together. Everything you said today was right, I could have gone without how it was delivered, but it needed to be said. I already asked God and your mother for forgiveness, and now I am asking you for it. I know it may take time but I am willing to wait and work for it.”
I stand there, shocked into silence because when I woke up this morning, nowhere in my wildest imagination did I think this or any variation of this would ever happen.
“I uh, um, I don’t know what to say,” I tell him because it’s the truth,
“I understand. Take your time; I will be here. I hope to hear from you before you leave, but if not, I will understand that, too,” he says, standing with my mom to leave. I look back over to my mom, and her eyes are pleading but still understanding.
“Please stay,” I say, and my dad smiles with relief as he takes his seat again.
“You’ve done so well for yourself, I am so glad you went against my wishes. Staying here would have dimmed or even snuffed out your light. Tell me everything,” he says, perched on the edge of the couch in an excitement I didn’t think I would ever see directed at me. I order more food, and for the next few hours, I talk to my parents about most of my time as a recording artist. By the time they leave, I am happy I came after all. So much good has come from this trip. When they left, I hugged my father for the first time in over eighteen years, but it was when my mother was hugging me that she whispered, “Talk to her, parents put unfair expectations on their children, Gabe, and not everyone is as strong or daring as you. Give her a chance,” and with another squeeze they both were gone. I think about everything my mother said and my own situation with my parents when I wanted to do something they didn’t think I should do. Have I done the same thing to her exactly what my father did to me? Personally, I think I set her free, I respected her decision and moved on with my life. One thing I knew for sure is I could never just be friends with Soul, not after what we meant to each other, not after all we’ve done. So completely cutting her off was the best thing for both of us, or I would have been putting pressure on her just like her parents did, and I never wanted to cause her any more pain or grief. But it has been years, and we both have grown, perhaps it’s time to have another conversation. No matter the result, I am done with Willow Brook.
??
CHAPTER11
Soul
I sent the arrangement to the musicians for the new song last week, and I am looking forward to hearing it all come together. I love music. I always have from the time I could do the little baby bounce that all babies do when they hear music they like. Meeting Gabe at camp took my love for music and what that meant in a whole new direction. He was such a dreamer, and those nights when we would lay by the lake, he would tell such grandiose stories about singing to sold-out arenas I could feel the energy, hear the crowd, smell the sweat and beer. He sparked a desire in me that I was too afraid to dream for myself, and once he planted those seeds, they grew like wildfire. There was no doubt in my mind that he would do what he set out to do, he wanted it too bad and was too lasered focused for it to be any other way, so when he got signed to a label, the only things that shocked me was how it happened and how fast it happened.
We were going to do this together. He was supposed to wait for me and he did but when it came time for me to make good on my promise I failed. Fear it seems is not an easy thing to overcome no matter how much you want to defeat it. And no matter how many times I think back on the day that changed everything, I am still disgusted and disappointed in myself.
It takes me a moment to realize that I muscle memory myself all the way to the church and was parked, sitting in the car staring off into space.
Lord, I hope no one saw me sitting here looking crazy,I think as I grab my bag and purse, and head inside. I can hear the music going as soon as I step out of the car. They are in there having a good time, and I move a little bit faster so I can be a part of it.I still got my dream, just in a different package,I think as I push through the doors.
