Dale Jr. sat in the middle of his bed, crossed legged, holding the envelope in his hands. He had been staring at it for over an hour scared to open it. He knew that by opening that envelope it was a final goodbye, there would be no going back, this was real. He looked at the envelope one last time and tore it open.
My dearest Junebug,
Now I know how pissed you are at me right now and I don’t blame you, but you have to understand that there are reasons we kept this from all you kids. Those reasons you will find out if you choose to get to know your sister. That is what she is, just like Taylor and Kerry, she is your half sibling. She is so much like you in so many ways and yet she reminds me of Kelley more than you can imagine. That’s why I know you two would get along wonderfully if you would give her the chance.
I know you want to scream and yell and throw things right now and I wish I was there for you to do just that, but I’m not. I am begging you June, don’t take this out on Teresa or Gabby. If you just take the time to get to know her I know you will understand. Robby is an amazing boy, his father is not around, has never even seen him. I don’t even know who his father is, she would never tell me. Maybe she doesn’t know and is embarrassed, I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter, we‘ve all made mistakes. She has done great with him. She has gone through school, been a single parent, and made it all work all on her own. I had to force her to let me help her and then, she would only let me put money in an account for Robby. I don’t even know if she ever spent any of it. She isn’t here for any of the reasons you think she is, she didn’t want to be in that room today anymore than you did. Hell, probably less.
I wish I was going to be there to see you get married, to see all the kids you are going to have, to just give you the advice that I know you will be seeking. You are strong, smart, and perfectly capable of handling what is about to be handed to you, you just don‘t see it yet. I know it will take some time but you’re going to come into your own and one day be ready to take charge of everything. That’s why I was so hard on you for all those years, I saw the man you could be even when you didn’t. I guess there are downfalls to being on the bottom of a legacy. The media is going to be all over you now, more than they ever were. Just stick to your guns, don’t let anyone walk on you, and be true to yourself above all else. Don’t worry though, I’ll always be with you, always be watching over you. You have already made me so proud.
Take care of yourself and the family, Taylor looks up to you so much. She is going to need you right now. Ter, is going to need all you kids, you know how stubborn she can be. She is going to try and convince the world that she is fine and that you all just need to move on. I agree you do, just don’t let her over do, ok. I love you Dale Junior, I always have, I always will.
Love,
Daddy
Dale wiped at the tears that fell uncontrollably down his cheeks. He flipped off the light and hugged the pillow to his chest and stopped fighting the tears. He fell asleep a few hours later, exhaustion of the past few weeks finally setting in.
The next evening the Earnhardt family sat in the living room waiting for dinner to be served. They decided to wait until after dinner to get into the whole story about Gabby and where she came from.
"I am sorry I couldn’t convince Dale Jr. to come. He isn’t a bad, unforgiving person he just." Kelley said to Gabby as they headed into the dining room.
"I know, I don’t blame him. He just lost his father and now he has to deal with this. I’ve had the upper hand all these years, I knew about all of you, I just thought it would be easier to stay in the back ground. Dale told me all about all of you."
"You called him Dale?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah, I only called him dad a few times. I have parents, parents I love, and honestly, I didn’t always know I had been adopted."
"Look, let’s have dinner and we can talk about this over coffee and dessert." Teresa said setting Robby in his highchair next to Karsyn. They had hit it off right away and were only about 6 months apart in age.
They heard someone clear their throat. "Uh, sorry I’m late, am I still invited to this little shindig?"
All eyes moved to the door way. "Of course you are." Teresa said smiling and walking over to Dale Jr. and hugging him. "I am so glad you came."
Dale nodded and sat down next to Kelley, briefly making eye contact with Gabby. She smiled and went back to making a plate for Robby.
After dinner, they headed to the den with their coffee and pie. "Teresa you sure you want to do this in here. I can almost guarantee that this pie or part of it will end up on the floor." Gabby said trying keep the plate on Robby’s lap steady.
Teresa laughed. "Not real worried about it." Just then Karsyn dropped a piece of her pie on the floor. "See, happens all the time." Teresa scooped up Karsyn in her arms. "Come on let’s get you another piece of pie."
"Oh yeah, happens all the time." Kelley said as she carried the dropped pie to the kitchen to throw away.
Gabby watched as Dale Jr. walked into the room and slowly sat on the couch next to Robby and herself. Dale noticed the Earnhardt resemblance in Gabby but he also noticed a familiarity in Robby, he just couldn’t pinpoint it.
"So, whose going to go first in the interrogation?" Gabby laughed trying to break the ice and make every one a little more comfortable.
"It’s not an interrogation." Teresa said as they walked back into the room. Robby scooted off the couch and sat on the floor next to Karsyn. "I think they like each other." She looked around the room. "Ok, I know you all have a bunch of questions for Gabby and myself and I want you all to feel welcome to ask them, just remember that none of this was ever her fault." She glanced at Gabby.
"Look I think the easiest thing to do is tell you what I know. I think that will answer most of your questions and if it doesn‘t, we can go from there." She noticed a few of them nod at her and she also noticed Dale Jr. playing with his hands like he would rather be anywhere other than right there. "I was 13 when I found out who my real father was, from what I understand he gave up all parental rights to my mom and my dad. I chose to stay in Georgia with my family than to come here. As I got older, I spent more time with Dale and Teresa, they told me all about you and even though I was curious, I thought it was better if I stayed where I was. I had my own life and Dale didn’t need me popping up in the news. Neither one of us needed the media circus that would have caused." Gabby smiled. "He finally convinced me to let him at least put money into a trust fund for Robby. That was 2 years ago, I know he was giving my mom money to help take care of me and I am grateful for all he did. He probably is the reason I made it through as much school as I did."
"That was all you and how smart you are." Teresa said watching the kids play on the floor.
"Well he made it possible for me to go to whatever school I wanted, I’m sure."
"Financially, maybe, but you got accepted all by yourself."
"School?" Kerry asked, interrupting the conversation between Teresa and Gabby.
"Yeah, I have 2 years left of medical school."
Kelley shook her head. "How old are you?" Kelley asked shocked.
Gabby laughed. "I will be 20 in a few months, I have always loved school and I have always been a couple grades ahead. I graduated high school when I was 16 and was taking college courses while I was there so I had my associates degree by the time I was 18, started medical school right away and will start my residency in emergency medicine as soon as I graduate."
"Wow. That’s pretty impressive, huh, an Earnhardt in medical school. Who‘d have thought?" Kerry laughed.
"I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news but considering Gabby’s age, you and daddy weren’t just dating you were married when he had an affair?" Dale Jr. brought up looking directly at Teresa.
"Yes." Teresa said not trying to hide it anymore. "Your father and I were having a difficult time, a couple of years actually, we all know he wasn‘t the settling down type. We both made mistakes but we worked hard to get past them, to get our lives together and we did. I loved your father, I always will, no matter what happened in the past."
"Have you ever been to the track?" Kerry asked trying to get the topic off of Dale’s cheating.
Gabby glanced at Robby. "Yeah, once, not really my seen you know." Dale noticed how she kept looking at Robby when she talked about the track.
"So you had him when?" He asked wanting to know the full story behind her son.
"I was 16."
"You had a son at 16 and still have made it through college and medical school." Dale was impressed still skeptical but impressed none the less.
"Half way through medical school. My grades were perfect so by taking the college courses in high school I was able to get a 4 year degree in only 2 years and my parents are amazing. They stood beside me the whole way. I couldn’t have done it with out them." She paused. "It wasn’t easy by any means, I have given up a lot but I want him to have a good life, I want to be someone that all my parents and my son can be proud of. I shouldn’t have been pregnant at 16 but I was, there wasn’t anything I could do about that and I don’t regret him at all. He is the best thing I‘ve ever done."
Dale‘s eyebrows raised. Nothing she could do about it? She could have said no he thought, something sounded fishy to him. "What about his father?" He asked looking back to Robby.
"Not in the picture." Gabby left it at that.
Dale saw her jaw clinch and had a feeling she wasn’t being completely honest and knowing that his own father, their father, didn’t know who the father was told him something wasn’t quite right. He could tell he wasn’t going to get much info about Robby’s dad out of her yet , so he decided to drop it. "So what now?"
She looked at him. "I’m going home, going back to school, starting my residency." Teresa eyed Gabby. "I have a life to live as do all of you. We all know he would want us to get on with our lives."
"You’re right he would and he wanted you to closer to him, closer to his family."
"Teresa."
"Just hear me out. If you stayed here we could all be closer to you and Robby. It would give everyone a chance to get to know you and I could see Robby grow up. We can get you into a school here in Charlotte and then you could do your residency at any number of hospitals in the area. It‘s what he wanted."
Gabby sighed running a hand over her face. "I know." The tears welled up in her eyes and she excused herself. Taylor followed her out to the porch. "I’m sorry."
"Why? We all miss him. Just cause you weren’t here doesn’t mean you didn’t care about him." Taylor sat next to her on the step. "I know you are busy with school and Robby and that we have two completely different lives but you are only 4 years older than me and it would be cool to have you here. I love Kelley, Kerry and Dale Jr. to death and I have a ton of friends but it would be nice to have a sister closer to my age around. Go shoppin, hang out. I know you wouldn’t be into much of the same stuff as me but; well even if you decide to go back to Georgia, I hope we can at least keep in touch."
Gabby wrapped her arms around the young girl and realized how much older than her years she really was. "Thank you. I just need some time to think about it." She let the tears fall, actually feeling comfortable around someone in this family for the first time. Four years wasn’t that big of a difference and she felt a connection to Taylor. Her youth had been ripped away from her and in all honesty she was very much like Taylor still.
Neither girl noticed Dale Jr. listening to them at the door. He still wasn’t sure what he thought about this whole situation. His daddy wanted him to give her a chance and he was willing to try but he wasn’t sure he could, at least not yet. He had to deal with the loss of his father, where he would go from here, her and her son weren’t his problem.