It's Got a Beat, Mr. Jones

At Least You're Honest

Bobby was standing in front of Mary's house. Mary was at the hotel taking a nap and Bobby had Odette with him. Audra was standing beside him.
"You gonna, like, come in or something?" She asked.
Bobby sighed and nodded.
Audra opened the door and walked in. Bobby followed her. Audra's father, Joe, was on the couch. He gave Bobby a dirty look then stood up and left the room. Audra glared at the door to the kitchen.
"Sorry, he's a dick," She said shrugging.
Bobby stared at her surprised.
Audra shrugged. "I'm not gonna lie," She said.
"Audra, is that you?" Melinda's voice shouted down the stairs.
"Yeah, mom!" Audra shouted back up.
There was some noise as Melinda walked down the stairs. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Bobby.
"What's he doing here?" She asked.
"I'm here to apologize," Bobby said.
Melinda bit her lip. Bobby took a deep breath.
"I did a very horrible thing. I shouldn't have been in that state in front of other people," Bobby said, "least of all Mary's parents."
Melinda laughed slightly. "You are a smart boy," She said. "I thought you would be. That's all Mary's ever been interested in."
Bobby stared at her for a moment. He was slightly confused with what was going on. Melinda smiled and gestured to the couch. "Come, sit down," Melinda said.
Bobby sat down on the couch. Melinda sat down beside him.
"How'd you meet my daughter?" She asked.
"Um... Well I first met her while I was on tour with Jeff Riley, you know the guy that she ran off with, and I didn't really talk a lot with her then. Then the band broke up and I didn't see her again until we were on a bus and I recognized her," Bobby said.
Melinda smiled a little. "How'd you get married?" She asked.
Bobby frowned slightly. "I got her pregnant," He said quietly looking down at the top of Odette's head.
Melinda nodded slightly. "I thought as much. Odette looks a little too big to be just a newborn," She said. "Would you have married her if you hadn't gotten her pregnant?"
Bobby was silent for about a minute. "No, probably not..." He said very slowly. "I would still be high if it hadn't been for Odette." Bobby kissed the top of Odette's head.
Melinda stared at him. She sighed. "At least you're honest," She said. Her voice sounded a little sad and a little disappointed.
"I love Mary," Bobby said. "I really do."
Melinda smiled at him a small smile. "I can tell," She said.
Bobby smiled gratefully at Melinda. Melinda reached out to hold Odette, and Bobby passed Odette over to her. Melinda and Bobby began to talk about many different things. Audra was starting to get bored. She wanted to watch television, but she felt it would be rude to turn the set on while her mother and brother-in-law were speaking. She looked up at the clock on the wall.
It was four twenty-nine.