Status: On hiatus
Lost Rivals
How Can This Be?
Tillie Ilene wandered up to the main entrance of the arena and found that the doors were open. She strode inside and glanced around cautiously. Her eyes fell on Billie Joe tuning his battered blue guitar on the temporary stage that still graced the arena space. He didn’t look up at all while she quickly trotted over to the stage.
Finally he peeked at her from under his longish black hair and gave her a huge smile. “Yay, you came!” He exclaimed happily as he watched her scramble up onto the level that he was on. “Yeah I guess I did, so what do you want to talk about?” Tillie asked while she absentmindedly played with her spiky wrist cuff.
“Tillie Ilene, I know you because I raised you for three years of your life.” He paused for effect.
“No, that’s wrong Billie Joe, how could you have raised me? I had parents but they died. They raised me.” Tillie corrected him.
“Adrienne and I raised you; we named you, that’s how I know your name. I would recognize those eyes of yours anywhere because I see them in my mirror everyday. I recognize those lips of yours because when I'm home and I see my wife, I kiss those exact same lips.” Billie’s eyes bore deep into hers and Tillie felt like she was going to cry.
“Who’s Adrienne?” Tillie stammered, her hands beginning to shake.”
“Adrienne is your mother, Tillie.”
Tillie curled her hands into fists at her side. “Sorry Billie but my mum’s name was Dianne not Adrienne, and my dad’s name was Peter and my last name is Stevenson and I have a brother named Daniel.” Hot tears started to prick from Tillie’s eyes and spill down her cheeks onto her purple t-shirt.
“It was four years before I married Adie when you were born; Tillie and we loved you so much when we saw you in that hospital. But it wasn’t the right time for Adie and I to be married because we were both pretty young and we weren’t planning on having a family so we tried to stay together but things weren’t really working out and we broke up for a while.” Billie Joe started.
He was trying to explain things to a distraught Tillie Ilene who didn’t understand how any of this could be true.
“While we weren’t together,” Billie continued, “Adrienne got together with a man named Peter Stevenson. He thought of you as his own daughter and eventually had Adrienne declared as an unfit mother and raised you with his wife and son. Adrienne had no idea he was married you know.”
Tillie just nodded her head. This was so complicated. She motioned with her shaky hand for him to continue with this enthralling story.
“Anyway, Adie and I got back together and got married because after being apart for so long we realized that we loved each other more than anything and needed to be together and so then…”
Tillie cut Billie off and began to speak. “So you guys just got together and forgot all about me? You let a stranger take care of me and lead me to believe that we were all a family? I thought you said that you and Adrienne loved me!” Tillie cried.
“May I please continue my story, Tillie?” Billie asked looking exasperated.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Right then. So my band wasn’t doing very well and we lived in this horrible building filled with termites and rats because that was all we could afford, plus we lived there with Tre, his ex wife Lisea and Mike, so of course no matter how hard we tried, we could not get you back because we were both declared as unfit parents and even though Peter had in a way broken the law, he had you in a safe stable home and there was nothing we could do about it.”
Tillie nodded, “They were pretty good parents you know, and Daniel was a great big brother to me…until they died, now he’s really sick but I'm still living at home and its okay.”
“I don’t want it to be okay for you Tillie; I want it to be great I want you to really come home, with your real parents; Adrienne and myself.”
“Look, no offense Billie but do you really expect me to believe all this? And even if it was true I can’t just think of you as my dad and move away from my brother.” Tillie retorted to his remark.
Billie Joe shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “I'm not expecting you to call me daddy and come on back to Oakland with me; these things take time I understand that. If you don’t believe it then we can get DNA tests done.” Billie replied.
“If this is true Billie Joe,” Tillie started, “Then why didn’t you and Adrienne come and find me once your band made it big and you were fit parents?”
Billie looked lost for words but once he found them he began to talk again. “Tillie, of course we came to look for you but of course Peter had moved you all away under false names for a while and started a new job with no way of ever finding you again, Adie and I had lost hope of seeing you again, until now, it is such a blessing.”
Tillie felt anger bubble up inside her. This was ridiculous!
“Sorry Billie I can’t do this. My name is Tillie Ilene Stevenson and I will not change that no matter what you say. You left me and that’s all there is to it.” Tillie whispered hotly.
“Okay you need more proof of things well here is some: Adie and I had no idea what to name you, so we thought that we would name you after us. I have two names and so do you. And you are named after me, see Tillie and Billie. Your second name is to do with Adrienne. We didn’t think that Tillie Adrienne matched so we gave you your mother’s middle name of Ilene.
If you don’t believe it then ask your friend. The one you were with the other night.” Once Billie had finished this little speech he looked pretty pleased with himself. He continued on, “Your name should really be Tillena ‘Tillie’ Ilene Armstrong.”
Tillie's mouth gaped open in shock.
Why had she agreed to come and talk to him?
Finally he peeked at her from under his longish black hair and gave her a huge smile. “Yay, you came!” He exclaimed happily as he watched her scramble up onto the level that he was on. “Yeah I guess I did, so what do you want to talk about?” Tillie asked while she absentmindedly played with her spiky wrist cuff.
“Tillie Ilene, I know you because I raised you for three years of your life.” He paused for effect.
“No, that’s wrong Billie Joe, how could you have raised me? I had parents but they died. They raised me.” Tillie corrected him.
“Adrienne and I raised you; we named you, that’s how I know your name. I would recognize those eyes of yours anywhere because I see them in my mirror everyday. I recognize those lips of yours because when I'm home and I see my wife, I kiss those exact same lips.” Billie’s eyes bore deep into hers and Tillie felt like she was going to cry.
“Who’s Adrienne?” Tillie stammered, her hands beginning to shake.”
“Adrienne is your mother, Tillie.”
Tillie curled her hands into fists at her side. “Sorry Billie but my mum’s name was Dianne not Adrienne, and my dad’s name was Peter and my last name is Stevenson and I have a brother named Daniel.” Hot tears started to prick from Tillie’s eyes and spill down her cheeks onto her purple t-shirt.
“It was four years before I married Adie when you were born; Tillie and we loved you so much when we saw you in that hospital. But it wasn’t the right time for Adie and I to be married because we were both pretty young and we weren’t planning on having a family so we tried to stay together but things weren’t really working out and we broke up for a while.” Billie Joe started.
He was trying to explain things to a distraught Tillie Ilene who didn’t understand how any of this could be true.
“While we weren’t together,” Billie continued, “Adrienne got together with a man named Peter Stevenson. He thought of you as his own daughter and eventually had Adrienne declared as an unfit mother and raised you with his wife and son. Adrienne had no idea he was married you know.”
Tillie just nodded her head. This was so complicated. She motioned with her shaky hand for him to continue with this enthralling story.
“Anyway, Adie and I got back together and got married because after being apart for so long we realized that we loved each other more than anything and needed to be together and so then…”
Tillie cut Billie off and began to speak. “So you guys just got together and forgot all about me? You let a stranger take care of me and lead me to believe that we were all a family? I thought you said that you and Adrienne loved me!” Tillie cried.
“May I please continue my story, Tillie?” Billie asked looking exasperated.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Right then. So my band wasn’t doing very well and we lived in this horrible building filled with termites and rats because that was all we could afford, plus we lived there with Tre, his ex wife Lisea and Mike, so of course no matter how hard we tried, we could not get you back because we were both declared as unfit parents and even though Peter had in a way broken the law, he had you in a safe stable home and there was nothing we could do about it.”
Tillie nodded, “They were pretty good parents you know, and Daniel was a great big brother to me…until they died, now he’s really sick but I'm still living at home and its okay.”
“I don’t want it to be okay for you Tillie; I want it to be great I want you to really come home, with your real parents; Adrienne and myself.”
“Look, no offense Billie but do you really expect me to believe all this? And even if it was true I can’t just think of you as my dad and move away from my brother.” Tillie retorted to his remark.
Billie Joe shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “I'm not expecting you to call me daddy and come on back to Oakland with me; these things take time I understand that. If you don’t believe it then we can get DNA tests done.” Billie replied.
“If this is true Billie Joe,” Tillie started, “Then why didn’t you and Adrienne come and find me once your band made it big and you were fit parents?”
Billie looked lost for words but once he found them he began to talk again. “Tillie, of course we came to look for you but of course Peter had moved you all away under false names for a while and started a new job with no way of ever finding you again, Adie and I had lost hope of seeing you again, until now, it is such a blessing.”
Tillie felt anger bubble up inside her. This was ridiculous!
“Sorry Billie I can’t do this. My name is Tillie Ilene Stevenson and I will not change that no matter what you say. You left me and that’s all there is to it.” Tillie whispered hotly.
“Okay you need more proof of things well here is some: Adie and I had no idea what to name you, so we thought that we would name you after us. I have two names and so do you. And you are named after me, see Tillie and Billie. Your second name is to do with Adrienne. We didn’t think that Tillie Adrienne matched so we gave you your mother’s middle name of Ilene.
If you don’t believe it then ask your friend. The one you were with the other night.” Once Billie had finished this little speech he looked pretty pleased with himself. He continued on, “Your name should really be Tillena ‘Tillie’ Ilene Armstrong.”
Tillie's mouth gaped open in shock.
Why had she agreed to come and talk to him?