Lois and Carolyn, thanks for the beta...you’re the greatest!
Chapter 23 – A Few Random Thoughts Late Friday Night…(Day 61) Once Emmett had left to go to bed, Lindsay and Melanie just sat there for a while, without saying anything to each other about what they had just heard from him. They were just starting to realize, what a really big deal this was. It was all beginning to sink in. A 17 year-old Debbie had started it all with the lie. Now, 35 years later, it was ending with both Daniel Devore and Michael being confirmed as father and son. And the Liberty Avenue family needed to be there for Debbie…as she has always been there for them, and as much as possible to be there for Michael too. All of this came back to Lindsay and Melanie in their silence as they reached out to touch each other’s hand for support. Then finally, Lindsay was able to speak. “Can you imagine?” she said haltingly. “It’s pretty hard to believe,” Melanie whispered, mindlessly squeezing Lindsay’s hand. There was comfort in the familiarity of each other’s touch. “Do you think it’s really true?” Lindsay asked, looking into Melanie eyes for answers. Melanie nodded, “Brian wouldn’t persuade Emmett to tell us, unless he was sure it was true. Em may love to share gossip, but Brian only deals with facts. He only deals with brutal honesty, whether you want to hear it or not. No, he must have felt that this was important for us to know. You know how he feels about Michael, and you know how he feels about Debbie! He doesn’t want us asking any questions…and he clearly doesn’t want us choosing sides.” “Yes, I…I know that,” Lindsay confirmed. “I think he’s asking a lot.” “Debbie told a lifetime of lies to give Michael a myth of father. You know, he’s always felt that he missed out on so much not having a dad. I know that’s part of the reason he wants to be so involved with Jenny,” Melanie suggested, as she considered the implications of what she’d learned. “I wonder what the whole story is about Debbie and Danny Devore. It must have been a great love story,” Lindsay suggested, allowing her romantic sensibilities to take over. “You mean like you and Brian?” Melanie teased, “That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?” “No, even at six years old, there are no secrets between my son and me,” Lindsay pointed out, completely missing the point that Melanie was trying to make. “Except for the fact about you wanting a life with Brian…and your hopes that the three of you could someday be this little happy family,” Melanie fired back. “I wonder if Debbie ever entertained those thoughts.” Lindsay brushed aside the obvious dig. “Probably not,” she pointed out, “For if she had, she would at least have told Daniel the truth at the beginning to see what would happen. Judging by the fact that she didn’t tell him about her pregnancy in the beginning, I would say that she never pictured any kind of chance for a future for them. I guess she must have accepted that he was really gay. That ended all hope.” “She was one of the smarter ones, wasn’t she Lindsay?” Melanie pointed out. “Debbie never saw a chance for them to be a family. So I guess in her mind once Daniel said goodbye, she accepted that he would never return to Pittsburgh.” “She was almost right. He didn’t return for 31 years. No wonder, she felt it was safe to make up whatever story she wanted to. No wonder, she believed that the truth would never come out. It does seem that if you tell a lie often enough, you really do start to believe the lie instead of the truth,” Melanie reminded her. “Let it go, Mel. You and I are trying to get past all that,” Lindsay quietly reminded her. Melanie looked at Lindsay as she made the last remark. She had not intended any dig at her partner…she was merely stating general observations. The fact that Lindsay chose to personalize her statements revealed some measure of her partner’s guilt. Melanie didn’t want to go there right now. Melanie continued, “Still this whole thing must be very hard for her. Debbie has always put a lot of stock in the truth. I guess it goes to show that no matter how long it takes, the truth will eventually come back to haunt you.” “Debbie was just a teenager when she perpetrated the lie. It must have taken a lot for her to sustain it all these years…just as it must have taken a lot for her to finally tell the truth.” “I’m sure it did.” “You know that Debbie’s decisions…a lifetime ago didn’t just impact Michael…it impacted all of us,” Lindsay suggested. “How so?” Melanie asked. “It’s true that has Michael now knows that he has a father that he never knew he had, but there’s more. Now Hunter and Jenny have another grandparent…someone new for them to get to know. A grandparent that’s a drag queen…and a world famous one, at that.” Lindsay remarked. “How does a kid deal with all this? Jenny’s just a little baby, but Hunter is old enough to cope with the true reality.” “That’s just it…they don’t have to deal with this. They’ll just meet Danny someday and get to know him and somehow magically interweave him into their lives. The only judgments that Jenny and Hunter will make, will be based on how Divina or Danny treats them…not how the world feels about his lifestyle.” Melanie explained. “You’re probably right…” “I just wish that I had known about this sooner,” Melanie remarked pensively. “Why?” “Then I might have made other choices.” “You mean, if you had known that Michael’s father was a drag queen, that you might not have chosen him to father Jenny? You mean that you would have chosen Brian instead?” Lindsay asked with a laugh. “There was no fucking way I would have chosen Brian.” Melanie teased, “But I might have chosen Ted or even Emmett. You never know!” she added with a laugh. “I do feel that we possibly, might have had…just a few misconceptions…when we originally chose Michael to be Jenny’s father,” Lindsay innocently remarked “A few!” Melanie said with a laugh, “A lot of what we originally believed when we chose him has just sort of gone by the fucking wayside,” she added throwing up her hand in mock frustration. “This new revelation about his father is just one more thing. We’ll get used to it. There’s no use fighting it. And, I must admit that I’m looking forward to meeting Danny Devore.” “I wonder if we’ll be able to see the resemblance,” Lindsay asked. “I wonder what Danny Devore looks like. I’ve seen lots of picture of Divina. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any pictures of Danny Devore. I wonder, once the makeup is removed, does he look like Michael? Hell, I wonder how much he and Jenny will look alike.” “I wonder if we’ll we ever get to meet him,” Lindsay asked. “Especially, if it’s true that Michael has sworn that he’ll never speak to Debbie again. “Then too, we don’t know if Danny has forgiven Debbie either. He may feel the same way that Michael does. Things could really be a mess, at least for a while.” “I’m sure that Brian won’t let that happen,” Lindsay whispered. “I know that you have a lot of faith in Brian …you always have…but, I’m just not sure about this time…” “Let’s not be the voice of doom and gloom, just yet,” Lindsay suggested. “We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?” “Yes, we will. Hopefully, we’ll get to see Debbie tomorrow. I also want to try to see Ben and Hunter. I hope I can figure out some way for them to see Jenny. You know how much she adores them.” “And I want to try to talk to Michael. I’m really worried about how he’s dealing with all this.” “I know.” Melanie agreed. Then she shook her head as if it was too much to consider. “I think that it’s late. I really need some sleep. This has been some night!” “You’re right. It’s really going to be hard to sleep tonight. I can hardly wait for tomorrow. “And, we also have that appointment… with Elizabeth.” “I know,” Melanie said softly. “Let’s get some rest.” And as they head upstairs, a moment of tenderness passed between them.