Chapter 19

Thankfully, Dad didn’t come back before Mom got home from work that night. I didn’t know what happened to him and, honestly, I didn’t really care that much.

“What were you thinking?” I said as soon as she walked through the door.

Not the best way to start this conversation, I know, but I’d spent hours fuming over this and had worked myself up quite a bit while I waited.

“That’s some way to greet your mother,” she said, setting down her bags and sitting in the chair next to me. “Why don’t you try again?”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. I just found out Dad took a bunch of money out of the band’s account and when I confronted him, he was a total dick about it.”

“Don’t use that language, Charlie. I thought he was just getting a guitar so he could work on music with you. How much do you mean by ‘a bunch of money.’”

“Two thousand dollars! He bought himself a guitar, all right. One of the best money can buy.”

“I see. While that’s more than I was expecting, I think it’s still within your part of what the band makes, and his input will really be helping your entire band, so I think as an investment...”

“I didn’t want his help, Mom. I still don’t. Shouldn’t someone have talked to me about this before you just added him as a signer on the band’s account?”

“I can see you’re upset about it, and maybe we should have mentioned it to you first, but we’re still your parents, Charlie. Sometimes, we’re going to make decisions for your own good without you.”

“How is this for my own good? You were the one who didn’t want me to be like Dad, dropping out of school and living gig to gig. Now you’re saying it’s in my best interest to have him involved. Did you know he agreed with Brent and tried to talk me into dropping out of school and touring over the fall?”

“I know about that and I don’t think you’re being fair in how you described it. From what I heard, yes, he talked to your manager, heard about the plans, and told you he thought it was a good idea. He also agreed to leave it alone when you said you wanted to stay in school like we discussed. He let it drop and hasn’t said anything else about it to you. Right?”

“Yes, but that’s exactly the opposite of what you’ve been telling me, and then you let him get involved. I just don’t understand it.”

“You’re going to have to be a little more flexible, Charlie. We’re in an adjustment period and things are going to be a little confusing for a while. No one was expecting your dad to be here, most of all him, and when he gets here, he finds you’re living his dreams. He’s incredibly proud of you, but it’s going to take him some time to adjust to it. The best thing we can do is be patient with him and try to figure out how this is going to work for all of us. He wants to help you avoid the mistakes he made and be successful. Is that so wrong?”

“I don’t believe that. I think he’s trying to live the life he wanted through me, or maybe even trying to find a way to use me to get his music career going again.”

“That’s not fair, Charlie. Nothing he’s done says he’s trying to use you or live his life through you. You’ve had other people, including your high school choir teacher, helping you write music. Your father’s career may have never taken off, but he made a living for a long time with his music. Instead of instantly jumping to the worst possible interpretation of a situation, you should maybe consider taking his help.”

“This isn’t about him wanting to help me with music. This is about two grand being pulled out of the band account. I can’t believe you don’t see how bad that is.”

“I will admit, that is more money than he said he needed, and I will talk to him about it, but I don’t think it’s worth getting into a fight over. Until he went away, your father provided for us your entire life. Is it too much to ask that we provide for him while he gets back on his feet?”

“It isn’t, but he didn’t take the money from us. Or even from me. He took it from the band account. You helped set all this up, so you know that isn’t just my money. I just ... I just can’t figure out why you’re defending this.”

“I think you’re overreacting. Look, I had a long day and I need to take a shower. I’ll talk to your father and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Okay?”

“Fine,” I said.

It was clear she wasn’t going to budge, and it wasn’t worth getting into a huge fight about. While I was pissed that Dad took out the money, that wasn’t what was really bothering me. Ever since Dad got arrested, Mom had been trying to change things for us. She’d been working hard to give us stability, to the point where she almost put a stop to my playing music for money at all.

Now Dad was back, and it was like she’d done a complete one-eighty. I’d hoped this was some big mistake or maybe Dad had tricked her, but it wasn’t. I’d lost some trust in her, and that made me really sad.

After our confrontation, or maybe after Mom talked to him, Dad avoided me just as much as I avoided him, which worked for me. Our brief confrontation made it clear to me that he hadn’t changed at all. He still had the short temper I remembered and couldn’t care less if his actions affected anyone else.

When it came to the money, I chickened out. Instead of telling the band what my dad had done, I replaced the money with money I’d been saving up in my bank account. I was still giving half of everything I made to Mom, but she insisted I keep the rest. Although I spent some while we were traveling, and had to pay for my car insurance and gas, I’d built up several thousand in my bank account after almost a year of playing music for money. That was now mostly gone, thanks to my father, but I couldn’t let the rest of the band pay for my family’s decisions.

We played on the weekend at the Blue Ridge to a packed crowd. So much so that Chef had to turn some people away or have them wait until the crowd emptied out enough to make room. Saturday, he even moved two extra speakers outside and played music for the people who gathered there, keeping the party going in the parking lot.

It was a great homecoming and it felt wonderful playing in the Blue Ridge again, with the familiar faces out in the crowd. I think we’d also gotten better since the last time anyone here had seen us. Although we’d played here more times than we’d ever played out on the road, I think we’d gained confidence from those different venues, and that people could hear it in our music. Or at least, a lot of the people who stopped and talked to me after our sets said they thought we sounded better.

The next morning I made sure to get out of the trailer and over to the Phillips’ house for breakfast to avoid my dad, I was in a good mood. Playing at the Blue Ridge had really made things feel normal again, even with everything at home.

I let myself in and started pouring some cereal. The first few days I’d come over for breakfast I knocked on the door and waited to be invited in. By day three, Hanna’s mom decided she was tired of letting me in and gave me a key so I could let myself in, with instructions to not bug her unless I needed something. While I liked having breakfast, and most lunches and dinners, with Kat and Hanna’s mom, I think the real reason I kept going there every day was because I felt so welcomed. While I felt my own family was falling apart, being here gave me a bit of that family feeling Mom and I had had before Dad showed up.