Rum and Coke

“Ellie, are you sure you want to do this?” Adam asked as he watched his “daughter” pack her things into Mark’s Suburban.

“Yes, for the billionth time, I’m sure. Daddy, why can’t you just support me like everyone else?” Ellie huffed as she put the last of her bags in the back of the SUV.

“I just- I don’t want you to get hurt with what you find.”

Ellie sighed and looked into his clear blue eyes. “I understand what you’re feeling and what you’re going through, but, no matter what I find, I will always think of you as my father. You’ve been there through it all, ok? You have always been the first adult that I turn to when things get sticky. Don’t worry, daddy. When all is said and done, you’ll be the one I turn to. You’ll be the one I call home. Okay? So wipe those tears.” Ellie said the last with a smile as she hugged her surrogate father.

“Isn’t it me who’s supposed to be giving the pep-talk?”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Since when has anything in this family been normal?”

Adam smiled down at Ellie. “Call me. Everyday. I don’t care if nothing special or interesting happened. Just call. My cell’s always on me and I’m always willing to listen.”

“You drive a hard bargain, but I’ll do it. Take good care of my theatre house. I expect it to still be standing come the end of August.”

Adam’s smile widened as he embraced Ellie one last time. “I can’t make any guarantees.” He replied before placing a kiss on her forehead. “You’re going to be great, My Angel…and if he’s a total asshole to you, call me and I’ll beat him up.”

“Daddy, you’re almost fifty.”

“I can still hold my own.”

Ellie shook her head and pushed him away before sticking her tongue out. “Old Man.” She said before going over to her uncles.

“Hey, Jitter,” her Uncle Jared said as he pulled her into a large hug. “You forgot Izzy,” he said, motioning to the black hard-shell case that housed her black Fender. It was her first electric guitar.

Ellie smiled at him. “Thanks, Uncle Jared, I would be lost without her.”

“Are you sure you want to do this, Hellion?” her Uncle Kale asked.

“I’m sure. Mom said that he’s in California, so that’s where I’m going.”

Kale nodded his head. “Let me give you two things first.” He said as he brandished out a long black velvet box. “This is your mom’s engagement ring. She thought that I got rid of it a long time ago. I put it on this chain so that you can wear it around. Hopefully, the idiot will see it and recognize it.”

“Thanks, Kale.”

Only Jared saw the hurt look that flashed across Adam’s face.

“This,” Kale went on, showing a simple business card, “is the address of our old house in Santa Monica. And this,” he said, holding up a match box, “is where your mom used to work. It’s also the place where your parents met. Just don’t go there at night, ok? You can use your sleuthing skills…or just find a place to stay- it’s open right now. Just put the bill on my card.” He gave a deep sigh. “Call. Ok? I’m going to miss you.” He said while giving her a big hug. “Now go. Go make some noise. I’ll be watching for you on the news.”

“Thanks Uncle Kale.” She turned to the others as Mark laid on his horn. “God, I’m going to miss you guys. Keep an eye on each other, ok? You’re the only family I still have. I-I’ll see you in August. Bye!”

~*~

“I don’t know if this is a good idea, Shads,” Brian told his best friend over the phone as he drove down the PCH. He had no destination in mind, he just knew that he had to drive for awhile to clear his mind.

“You were all for it last week. What happened?”

“We’re not in our twenties anymore. They don’t want us anymore.”

“The posters have already gone out…wait, what happened last night?

Brian closed his eyes for a second. “A lot of shit.”

“What did Michi say this time?”

“That I was abandoning her and Brian.”

“Where did this come from?”

“Because Michi got wind that you were bringing Kay.”

“Does she not realize that my daughter is taking over for Val when she retires?”

“I don’t know! You actually expect me to understand women?”

“Well, you’ve been married to her for the last seventeen years or so…”

“That’s a little low. I bet you still don’t understand how Val operates half the time.”

“Yea, you got me there.”

“Thought so. Back to me, now. I really don’t understand her. I mean, she was fine with us touring all those years, and we’re only going to be gone for three months. We’re not even leaving the damn country!”

“Dude, that was seventeen years ago and you didn’t have a wife or a kid.”

“Well, Val was fine with you being gone! And you left her with a kid that was less than one! Mine’s sixteen for crying out loud! If I was going to inflict any damage on him, I would have done so by now!”

“Calm the fuck down. Where are you?”

“I’m on the PCH.”

“Yea, because that’s not vague at all.”

“Hang on, Fucker,” Brian growled, pulling over to the side of the road. He looked around, noting the familiarity of my surroundings. “Fuck,” He muttered under my breath, his eyes landing on the house to the right.

“So, you know where you are?”

“Yea, I’ll talk to you later.” He didn’t even wait for Matt’s reply before he shut his phone off. Sighing heavily, he killed the engine and stepped out of his truck. “Holy fucking hell, out of all the places I could be at, why did I end up here?”