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“It’s perfect. I mean it this time. Don’t change a thing. We can tweak these other stanzas, but the chorus will remain as it is.”
After the contentious conversation with her brother, Caleb’s words were a balm to her tattered nerves. She tried to let go of the remaining tension as they settled into their routine. She’d found a better path to follow, and so had Jacob. If the two of them could turn their lives around, so could Andrew. She had no control over her brother’s choices, though, so she tried to push it out of her mind and concentrate on the music.
They worked for an hour, and the entire time thoughts of her conversation with Andrew made it impossible for her to focus. “Caleb, would you mind if we stopped now? I can’t keep my mind on this. I need to call Jake to find out what’s happening with my dad.”
“No problem.” He had his computer open to his music app. “Why don’t you go call him, and I’ll continue with the composition while things are fresh in my mind?”
She rose from the piano bench. “I’ll make the call from my room so I don’t disturb you.” Caleb nodded absently, and she headed to the kitchen to grab her phone on the way down the hall to her bedroom. Once she closed the door behind her, she made the call.
“Hey, Theresa,” Jacob said. “What’s up?”
“Are you at work?”
“I am, but I can spare a few minutes.”
“Good. Drew called me today, and I was hoping you could fill me in on a few details.”
“Oh?”
She gave him a quick summary of her conversation with their older brother. “Is Dad in the hospital, or is he at home?”
“I have no idea, but I’ll look into it this evening. I haven’t spoken to either of them for weeks now, and it’s kind of been … a relief,” he said, his tone steady.
“I know exactly how you feel. When you talked about how you’ve been flooded with all kinds of feelings since you began therapy, it’s the same for me. Drew’s call stirred the pot. I have a lot of anger and a ton of resentment rising to the surface, and I’d like it all to go away. I want to be at peace. Unfortunately, my resentment spilled out while I was talking to Andrew.”
She perched on the edge of her bed. “The question is, what will it take for all of that anger to go away? Do I need to see Dad in person and say goodbye to gain that peace, or is it healthier to walk away?”
“The million-dollar question,” he quipped. “Tell you what, Ter, if I come up with the answer, I’ll let you know. If you’re the one who comes up with the perfect solution, you let me know. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“When Dad was diagnosed, I did some research,” he continued. “People can live for around five years with congestive heart failure with the treatments available today. It’s been a year and a half now, so I’m guessing he’s at home. I know he quit working, but I don’t think he’s at death’s door yet.”
Then why had Andrew made that call today? She suspected it might’ve been due to demands their dad was making on him. Her oldest brother must be under a lot of added stress. Naturally, he’d want her to take over the domestic stuff. “Call me when you know something about what’s going on.”
“I will. Also, I don’t believe for a minute Mom left us willingly. There’s no way she had an affair, and her version makes more sense. She was too cowed by Dad. He had her completely under his thumb. As isolated as we were, how would she even have met anybody, much less had an affair? She didn’t work outside the home, and she had three children to look after. Plus, Mom didn’t have a car.”
“I know. I never gave what Drew said about her a second thought.”
They said their goodbyes and ended the call. Sadness for what she’d never had as a child threatened to engulf her, but then she thought of her boys and how close the three of them were as a family. She had an amazing man in her life, and she was getting to know her mother again. Her life was on track.
If Andrew needed help, he’d have to figure out a better way to make that happen. Looking into in-home nursing care near her dad was the best solution for her, and Caleb was right. No way would she voluntarily throw herself in front of that busload of abuse ever again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Great session, everyone. We’re set to record the new single with Columbia next Friday morning. So, we’ll meet at their recording studio at 9:00 a.m. The information you’ll need is in the folder you’re about to get,” Caleb said as he closed his laptop and shut off his electronic keyboard.
“Our concert tour launches in a few weeks. These are your travel packets, including band ID badges, our complete itinerary, and the route.” He handed the folders to Jeffery to pass out. “We’ll caravan to Dallas for our first concert, arriving on a Thursday.”
Caleb slid his laptop into his backpack. When their tour set out, they’d have two motor homes, an equipment truck, plus a van, and this time, he’d travel in the same RV as Theresa. He’d already bought a few games he thought Charlie and Jeremy would enjoy.
Everyone began gathering their things, chatting with each other and making plans to go out for beer and burgers now that their rehearsals had come to end and the weekend had arrived.
“Woo-hoo, it’s Friday! See you at the bar.” Brad, one of their guitarists, fist-pumped and strode for the door, eliciting laughter from the rest of the band members.
“Are you and Theresa joining us for dinner tonight?” Cookie slung her purse over her shoulder and placed her hand over her baby bump. “We’re meeting at O’Toole’s. My husband is already there saving a table for us.”
“Theresa,” he called to her across the studio. “Are we going to join everybody for dinner?”
