Music City (10 page)

Alex admired her attitude. “Shelly, Tracy found a letter in your fan mail a few days ago from someone in North Carolina claiming to be your brother-in-law.”

Shelly visibly paled and sat down on the sofa.

Tracy smiled, “I told you to sit down
, Momma.”

Shelly spared a glance toward Tracy. “You know, most of my life, I have expected someone to find me... or just to appear. I really
and truly have, ever since I left. When it didn't happen while I was touring so much, at the so called ‘peak’ of my career, well I guess, I just figured it never would, so this is kind of a shock. It's not like I've hidden from them, I just left.”

Tracy sat down beside her and took the letter from the envelope he carried. As she read it, he put the information Alex had collected that afternoon on the coffee table. Vani sat on the other side of Shelly, Derek and Alex sat on the sofa across from them.

Alex filled Vani and Shelly in on what he had shared with Tracy and Derek earlier that afternoon. When he finished, and Shelly had looked at each piece of paper several times, Tracy asked, “What do you want to do Momma?”

Shelly straightened, “Well, I guess I’m flying to North Carolina,” she said.

Vani looked at her in alarm, “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

Shelly shrugged, “Why not? I'm certainly not going to ignore this. If the media gets hold of this, we’re
looking’ at a big ole hot mess. I have a good name here, and in this business, how would I look if people knew or thought I had abandoned my family?”

Vani stood, “They abandoned you Momma, you didn't abandon them.”

Shelly shook her head, “Either way, it won’t matter. When your Daddy and I got married, we legally changed my name to just plain ole Shelly Shepard. He paid people to seal the records of our marriage, the name change, as well as my birth record. I'm actually surprised you were able to find my birth certificate, Alex. I tried to get a copy of it many years ago, and the records department in North Carolina couldn’t find it.”

Alex nodded, “You can’t seal anything from the federal government, but it was buried pretty deep. I don’t think a reporter would ever be able to get it.”

Shelly shook her head, “No, I’m sure they've tried over the years. I’m a celebrity, and you well know, being a celebrity, the press thinks that anything about me is news worthy. It won’t matter what the truth is, they’ll put their own spin on it and like I said, they’ll create a huge mess and probably make me out to be a really bad person.”

Alex stood and stretched his back, “What do you want to do Shelly? You do realize they just want money?”

Shelly nodded as she ran her hands through her hair, a sure sign she was stressed. The multiple bangles adorning her wrists jangled their own tune, “Yes, I realize that, but you know what? It’s only money. If a little money can help them out, and keep me out of the grocery store tabloids, it’s worth it.”

Derek spoke up, “There is no guarantee that they won’t go to the press anyway, especially after you confirm that you are who they think you are.”

Shelly shrugged, and threw her arms to her sides, the bracelets continued their melody. “I don’t have a choice. I won’t do this on the phone or through the mail. I’ll do it in person. I’ll just tell them that the well is only so deep and this is it. End of discussion.”

Alex sat back down and toyed with his wristwatch, spinning it around his thin wrist, “Actually Shelly, I think you’re probably right. The best approach probably is the direct one. Vani, can you draw up a contract that says they won't come back on your mother for more money later?”

Vani nodded, already making notes on the pad of paper she seemed to always have in hand. Derek spoke up, “I don’t think a contract is a good idea, a contract will give them proof of who you are. A contract would be something tangible and legitimate that they could take to the press.”

Shelly nodded her agreement, “
No contract. A contract wouldn’t matter a hill of beans to them anyway. The best I can hope for is to talk to them, if they think I’m trying to buy their silence, it will be worse. As far as they are concerned, I do have an obligation to them, they’re my blood and a contract won’t matter one way or the other.”

Shelly stood, “Let me make a few calls and get this trip lined up. If I can get everything arranged for tomorrow, are y’all available to go with me? Alex, Derek, of course I will compensate you for your time, I think I would feel better if y’all were with us.”

Alex and Derek both nodded their agreement, and watched as Vani and Shelly flew into action.

Before they knew it, they were disembarking from a private plane that had just landed at the Fuquay-Varina Airfield near Shady Spring, North Carolina. A large black SUV with tinted windows sat ready for their use. Alex climbed into the driver’s seat, with Shelly beside him. Vani, Tracy and Derek sat comfortably behind them.

The address was easy to find, and although Alex had gotten an aerial photograph of the home, none of them were prepared for the level of poverty they saw as they drove. When Alex parked the SUV in front of the ramshackle house, he looked at Shelly. “I don’t think all of us should go in, do you?”

Shelly shook her head, “Probably not, but we’re all goin’ in.”

With that she opened her door and jumped out. She looked over her shoulder at the trio in the back, “Y’all comin’?” she asked.

As Billy Joe Thompson looked out the curtain to see who had pulled up, he swallowed, hard. He never expected her to show up on his doorstep. He had sent the letter, really not expecting to hear anything. He hadn’t said a word to Dottie or BJ. He hoped the Shepard woman didn’t demand to see her Momma, because Billy Joe didn’t want to tell her he had no idea where she was. Dottie was going to be madder than a wet hen, he knew that much. No time to fill her in now, there were one, two... oh my, there were five people walking toward his front door.

“Dottie?” He called, “Get decent woman, we got company.”

Derek, Alex, Shelly, Tracy and Vani took in the scene as they walked from their vehicle to the porch of the small neglected house. The house itself looked crooked, the shingles, or what were left of them, were faded from black to gray. More shingles littered the area around the house than did the roof, evidence of a recent wind storm. The shutters hung crookedly next to the dirty windows, and one window was broken and replaced with black plastic and duct tape. The paint was mostly peeled off of the clapboard siding; what paint was left suggested the house might have been green at one time.

Chickens squawked and flapped their wings, getting out of the way. There was no grass in the area in front of the house
, it really couldn’t be called a yard or a lawn.  What it looked as though grass hadn’t grown there in several years. A few dandelions dotted the area, and a lone cedar tree stood sentry in the center. Several chickens lazed about under the cedar, a few taking advantage of the dirt readily available to give themselves a dust bath.

Old cans, bottles and other remnants of broken glass lay sprinkled among the shingles and the chickens. Various auto parts lay discarded closer to the porch where a cat lay scratching its ear.

As they picked their way through the area to the porch, Vani groaned, “If I had known we would be walking through land mines, I wouldn’t have worn my favorite Jimmy Choos.”

“Hush, Vani, it’s only dirt, it’ll wash.” Shelly admonished her daughter, though she wondered at her own choice of wardrobe. If she ruined her beautiful wheat colored
Versace suit, she was not going to be happy.

The
y picked their way carefully up to the front porch of the house, carefully stepping as they went.  Shelly straightened her jacket and knocked heavily on the wooden screen door that vibrated with each knock.  They could hear footsteps inside the home, and what sounded like a male voice talking to a female voice.  The female sounded confused and surprised that anyone would be visiting them.  “Is it the landlord, Billy Joe?” They heard her ask, “Or that no account friend of yours?” 

Billy Joe answered the door.

“Can I help y’all?”

Dorothy peeked from behind Billy Joe, “Are y’all lost or something?”

“Billy Joe Thompson?”

“
That’s me.”

“I’m Shell
y Shepard.” She motioned to her group, “These good folks are my friends. We’d like to speak with you and your wife, please.”

He
was thinking of what he was going to say since he saw her get out of her car.  Everything he had thought about saying evaporated from his mind.  He opened the door wide and pushed the screen door open toward them, “Come on in then and have a seat.”

Dottie
stepped back and stood with her mouth gaping open when she saw the five well-dressed strangers enter her house.  She knew she was blushing, she was embarrassed for such fine looking people to see her home.

Shelly could see that the woman was obviously embarrassed, and Billy Joe looked like a child caught doing something he knew he was not supposed to be doing. So, she decided to skip introductions and get right to the reason for their visit.  She assumed that Dorothy knew what her husband had sent, so she didn’t see the point in rehashing it.
“First of all, I realize that you believe I am some relation to you and your family.  If that is the case, please tell me who you think I am, and who my family is.”

Billy Joe
started to speak, but Dorothy slapped the side of his head, admonishing him, “Oh Billy Joe, what in the world have you gone and done?”

Billy Joe stammered,
“Dottie, I didn’t do nothin’ I was just tellin’ her that we needed money.  We ain’t got nothin’ and she’s got everthing….”

“
Just be quiet.  Billy Joe, you ain’t no smarter than them chickens out there in the yard.”

Billy Joe wasn’t going to be quiet so easily, he continued,
“But Dot… she looks jus like you, even BJ said so, and what with your sister that runned off, it has to be her.  It’s gotta be. She should be a helpin her kin out.”

Dorothy folded her arms over her chest, “Shut up, Billy Joe, just shut your trap.  You don’t know nothin’ about nothin’. ”  She looked at Shelly, “Miz Shepard, I’m real sorry about this fool here, he ain’t got no manners and he ain’t got no sense.  I’m real sorry he bothered you.  I ain’t got much, but could I offer you a glass of water or something?”

Shelly shook her head, she believed the woman’s outrage and didn’t think she was involved in her husband’s attempt at bribery.  “No thank you, we’re fine.  But, could you please explain to me why you would think I was related to you.  I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

Dorothy shrugged her shoulders and sighed.  “I don’t rightly know either, Ma’am.”  She unfolded one arm and pointed her thumb toward Billy Joe.  “That would be a question for this big lug here, I don’t know where he got this notion.”

Shelly looked directly at Billy Joe who was standing with his hands in the pockets of his ragged jeans, his head hanging low like a scolded child.  “Mr. Thompson, would you care to explain this to me please?” She asked.

Billy Joe looked up at Shelly and shrugged his shoulders,  “Me and my boy, well, we lost our jobs a few weeks back, and when we come home, Dot here, she was a lookin’ at this magazine that had your picture on the front of it.  I noticed that it looked a lot like her when she gets all dolled up.  My boy, BJ, well, he done thought the same thing, so since her big sister runned off when Dorothy weren’t nothin’ more than a little girl, I figgered that you must be her sister what runned off, so I wrote the letter.  I never figgered you would come here.”

Shelly wanted to hear more, but didn’t want to give herself away, “I really don’t understand what you’re talking about, Mr. Thompson, and how that concerns me?”

Dorothy spoke up, “Oh you idiot, is that what this is about, I done told you, Mayelynn run off when I was just a wee bitty little thing, I don’t even remember what she looked like.  Ain’t
no way this fine lady here is Mayelynn Taylor.”  She slapped at his head again for good measure.  “You really are a fool, Billy Joe Thompson.  Now, apologize to these folks for whatever it was you said in your ‘letter’ so they can get on their way and you can get back to lookin’ for a job.”

Dorothy was obviously steaming, but Shelly needed to hear more, just to know that her siblings were okay if nothing else.  She held up her hands, “Please, let’s get this misunderstanding all cleared up now, so it doesn’t happen again.  Mr. Thompson, why do you think this has anything to do with me?”

Billy Joe swallowed, and then looked up at Shelly.  “Dottie, er, Dorothy here is my wife, she has a older sister named Mayelynn who ran away, and then two other sisters, younger than her, Kate and Mandy. The boys are Eric, Harry and Seth. Eric died when he was a little feller, about four maybe, but the rest of ‘em are all livin’ hereabouts with their families.”

“And th
is involves me…. How exactly?” Shelly questioned.  “You mentioned in your letter that you were taking care of my mother?  Sir, my mother died in childbirth, and I was raised by my Mother’s Aunt in Nashville, so you can see why I would be so concerned when I read that you have been taking care of my mother.  Where is your mother, Dorothy?  What is her name?”