Disclaimer:All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
GIFTS
Chapter 21: Daddy's Legacy
She got up and began pacing the studio floor. He could see the pain in her eyes and knew she needed to tell her story. Clearly, she had held it in for a long, long time. Her father had let her down. He knew the feeling well.
"My mother and I lived back here in Georgia. Daddy didn't want us in Detroit or Philly or Los Angeles, said they weren't the kinds of places for a wife and a child. Momma believed him at first, but then the stories started filtering back to her of the drinking and the drugging and the womanizing, and it took its toll on their marriage. One day, she just left. She left him and she left me, too. My grandparents finished raising me and daddy always sent money home to help, but I didn't see him much, till he bought this bar anyway. He took ownership of the bar and built the apartment and the studio. Every chance I'd get I'd be over here hanging out with him as much as I could. That's where I first picked up a microphone, Edward, right over there on that stool".
She continued her story.
"Pretty soon, daddy's lifestyle ruined his career. Alcoholic drug abusers aren't real dependable, and he started missing sessions. Or, if he did show up, he was too wasted to record the artists. Slowly but surely, nobody wanted daddy in their studio anymore and he became a full time bartender. By then, I was old enough to waitress for him so he didn't have to keep anyone else on the payroll. Little by little I watched the light go out in my daddy's eyes. When he died, the estate sold the bar, but it was written into the sale that I always have a permanent job, a permanent home in the basement apartment, and I retain ownership of the studio and all of daddy's tapes and memorabilia. Daddy's legacy to me".
She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Edward. I really didn't mean to unload on you".
She looked him directly in the eyes. "I guess I find you easy to talk to. I have only one close friend, and I don't date. It's a lonely life. I work, and then I come down here to my studio and I play daddy's tapes and I try my best at singing. When you walked into The Bar, and you knew that music, it was like my daddy had sent you to me. You're like a gift, Edward".
Authors Note: Bella's father had his "heyday" in the music business before she was born. The artists she mentioned were being recorded in the seventies, and she wasn't born until 1987. By then, he was still in the business, but on his downhill slide.