Gilbert's New Girl

The following Monday, Tucker called me at work. Neither of us made a habit of calling the other at our place of work, but I was half expecting an apology from him. The previous evening, we had gone downtown to rent a movie and I wanted ‘The Bodyguard’ mainly because I have a thing for Kevin Costner. Tucker dismissed my choice as being a ‘chick flick’ and talked me into renting ‘Wyatt Earp’ which also starred Mr Costner. I’m not a big fan of westerns, but I suppose it was an okay movie, but the thing that really made me mad, was that Tucker fell asleep about twenty minutes into it, and snored his way through the next two and half hours. Anyway, I thought the call was my apology, but instead Tucker gave me some garbled story about Becky Collins being in town.

‘Is Mary Jane with her?’ I asked, but Tucker wasn’t sure. ‘I didn’t see her, but she might be here. I don’t know Amy, Becky kind of took me by surprise, you know?’ Yes, well I guess Becky had a knack for turning up when you least expected her. ‘Did you tell her about Tally?’ I asked, wondering if I could get word to Gilbert at Food Land. Tucker said he told Becky that Gilbert had a new girl. ‘She just laughed and said she hadn’t come here to check up on Gilbert’s love life. She didn’t seem bothered Amy, but this might be tough on Tally.’ For once, Tucker and I were in total agreement. How does a seventeen year old girl cope when she’s confronted with her partner’s ex-lover and the mother of his child? Well, when push came to shove, Tally coped beautifully; the same could not be said for Gilbert.

When Gilbert first heard that Becky was in town, he seemed a little nervous, but excited at the prospect of Tally meeting his daughter. However, when Becky turned up at our house alone, Gilbert could not contain his disappointment. According to Becky, the nearly fourteen year old Mary Jane had grown tired of moving around like a gypsy. ‘She decided that she wants to stay with my Grandma permanently.’ Becky said with a wry smile. There was something about the way Becky was acting that seemed a little forced, maybe even a little false. She seemed to be trying so hard to sound happy and cheerful but it just didn’t ring true, you know? And she seemed not to notice the look of confusion on Gilbert’s face. ‘Mary Jane’s reached that age where she needs a little stability in her life. She’s made friends in Ann Arbour and she likes going to a regular school…..’ Becky’s voice tailed off as she finally saw Gilbert’s expression. He was glaring at her as he said, ‘Why did you come here, Becky? Mary Jane’s the only thing we’ve got in common and for you to be here without her doesn’t make sense to me.’ Becky stared at the floor, and when she raised her head again, her eyes were brimming with tears. Her voice now sounded shaky as she said, ‘Gilbert, I need to talk to you in private.’

Tally and I got up and left the room without waiting to be asked. In the kitchen, Tally seemed merely curious about what Becky might have to say to Gilbert privately, but I felt frantic with fear. A fear I could not justify, a fear that seemed irrational, but knowing that did not lessen its impact. Tally obviously sensed my distress and naturally she assumed that I was concerned for her. ‘Becky doesn’t make me feel insecure, Amy. I know Gilbert loves me, and I trust him, so don’t worry about it. I’m sure she just wants to talk to him about money or something like that.’ I tried to smile, but my face felt frozen. God, even if it was just money that would be bad enough. There had never been a set arrangement between Becky and Gilbert about money. Becky never asked, and she never expected Gilbert to contribute financially for Mary Jane, but Gilbert sent money whenever he could. Becky cashed his checks and made sure Mary Jane wrote a thank you letter to her father for the new coat or the personal stereo, whatever the money had paid for. Still, I felt money was not what was on Becky’s mind. I was terrified that Becky wanted back into Gilbert’s life. I was afraid because I didn’t know if Becky still had enough of a hold on him to threaten his future with Tally, and the last thing I wanted was to see Tally hurt. Nor did I want to see Gilbert hurt, and if anyone had the power to hurt him it was Becky Collins.

Gilbert and Becky’s private talk was over within ten minutes; at least the talking part was, but there was still the aftermath to deal with. Gilbert’s face was ashen and his hands were trembling when he came into the kitchen for his car keys. ‘I’m gonna drive Becky back to the trailer park, I won’t be long’ he said, but his eyes did not meet mine or even Tally’s. I said nothing. I couldn’t speak for the boulder that had suddenly lodged itself in my throat, but Tally’s voice sounded normal as she reminded Gilbert to wear his heavy jacket. ‘It’s freezing out there tonight.’ Gilbert looked so dejected as Tally kissed his cheek, but he managed to hug her for a moment before heading out the door. ‘Do you think he’s okay?’ I asked, finally finding my voice. Tally nodded her head and said, ‘He’ll be fine, Amy; and if he’s not, I know how to calm him down.’ Oh, the confidence of youth! Tally had no idea of how deeply Gilbert had loved Becky and yet she genuinely believed that whatever heartache Becky inflicted on him, that somehow, she could magically kiss it better. I wished I had her faith.

The drive to the trailer park on the outskirts of town took approximately fifteen minutes, say twenty in bad weather conditions, so to get there and back I would have expected Gilbert back within forty five minutes. An hour went by and there was still no sign of him returning and my imagination was going into overdrive, but still Tally remained calm, her belief in my brother unassailable. When we finally heard Gilbert’s truck pull into the driveway, he had been gone for over two hours. I was a nervous wreck, but Tally acted like Gilbert had just gone out five minutes ago to post a letter. She never asked him why he had been gone so long, or what he and Becky had talked about, she just rubbed his cold hands in her warm ones and said she would make him coffee. The only way I can describe Gilbert’s manner is to tell you he looked stunned, but he never said anything until after Tally handed him a mug of steaming hot coffee.

‘Becky’s sick, really sick and she came here because she’s going into hospital soon for surgery. The doctors’ have told her she has a fifty-fifty chance of survival and she needed to talk to me about Mary Jane, about what’s going to happen if she doesn’t make it through the surgery.’ Gilbert sounded dazed as he told Tally and I what Becky had said to him. ‘She wanted to see me, you know? In case she doesn’t make it, and she needed to be sure I was willing to help out financially in taking care of Mary Jane.’ Tally frowned as she listened to Gilbert, unsure of what this meant for them, for their future, for her. ‘Is Mary Jane going to come live with us if Becky…..you know? If she doesn’t make it.’ Gilbert shook his head slowly. ‘I don’t think so. Mary Jane doesn’t know how sick Becky is, she’s gonna tell her when she gets back to Michigan. I think Mary Jane is gonna want to stay with Nana. I might be her father, but I’ve never been much of a Dad to her. Still and all, Nana is gonna find it a big strain financially, so I’m gonna have to do more to support Mary Jane.’ Tally smiled and kissed Gilbert’s forehead. ‘We’ll do whatever we need to do’ she said softly, ‘Mary Jane’s your daughter, and she’s going to need you.’