You Don't Know Me | A Andy Gibb What If Story

Chapter 6

Days went by again. I distanced myself from Andy mentally. On my way to work, I tried to focus on what was in front of me for the day. No Violet, no Andy just my work.

I left it on an  "oldies" station and was vibing to the soft rock of the 70s. And guess who had to come on? Andy.

"Nope not today," I remarked as I flipped the channel.

I don't know how to feel about the whole situation. I wanted Andy to feel like a normal human after the last 3 years of his life being hell. It wasn't easy facing the music on his own. I'm sure it was also difficult to face his family as well knowing what you did to yourself.

I had some paperwork to file at work. I was just a secretary at IBM Computers.

There were some new computers coming out and Apple Products were trying to compete with us.

The idea of computer technology growing was immensely fascinating.  Everyone said by the year 2000, we'd have flying cars. I'd believe that when I see it.

While finishing up some secretarial business, I received a phone call. 

"IBM Computers this is (Y/N) how may I direct your call?" I answered kindly.

"Hi it's Violet," Violet spoke over the phone.

"Hi Violet is something wrong?" I asked her.

"No no, I was just worried about you. You know I know you've been worried about me and I'm fine," she reassured.

Violet was still like a lost puppy in a sense. 

"Violet, you are doing amazing in your progress. Of course, I'm going to be worried about you," I told her.

You could hear her voice turn happy.

"Thank you for being there since day one. It's been crazy but I'm glad to have someone like you," she told me.

We conversed for a few before I hung up and headed home.

Like every day when I've been at work or running errands, I play my answering machine.

"First message: Hi again it's me. I'm sure you can tell by the accent. Call me when you can. Thanks. Bye," Andy's voice came out of the machine.

I sighed. I realized I should call him. Whether or not I'd be leaving a voice message would be another thing.

I got comfy and settled and decided to ring Andy back.

After the sixth ring, it picked up. Crap.

"Uhm hello?" Andy's accent heavily came through the phone.

I froze. I thought it would go to voice message.

"Hello? Hello?" he said.

"Hi Andy I-I uhm it's me," I spoke nervously.

"(Y/N)?" he replied shocked.

I swallowed hard.

"Y-yes," I replied as I twirled the phone cord in my hand.

"I was beginning to think you died," he commented.

I sighed. I had been ignoring his calls for over a week. I shouldn't have done that to someone like him. Especially just coming out of rehab. 

"I feel really bad how things went at the dry cleaners. I really wanted us to be friends but I felt like I was overstepping," I remarked.

I could hear him sigh. It sounded like the same sigh that he gave to the Lifetime Interviewer a week prior.

"You didn't overstep at all. I was just in shock that someone like you treated me so kind and didn't get starry-eyed at the concept of me being Andy Gibb," Andy confessed. 

I shook my head as if Andy could see it.

"I get that but you also should be open to people in general caring about you. You are only human after all," was all I could say.

I bit the inside of my cheek out of nervousness. I didn't know what he would say next.

"Which is why you gave me the care package secretly," he remembered.

"Duh," I replied.

"I feel stupid for not giving you enough credit I mean you were so kind at the center and Violet is so lucky that she has someone as caring as you in her life," he told me.

I smiled like he could see it.

"Sooooo," I remarked.

"Can we start over with everything I mean let's start back to when we first met at the center?" he asked.

"I would love that Ralph," I told him.

He chuckled.

"Don't call me Ralph anymore. I'm Andy and I shouldn't let that mess up anything like a normal friendship anymore," Andy told me.

"Andy or Andrew?" I joked.

"Andrew?" he asked chuckling once more.

"That's your real name isn't it?" I asked.

"Yes, Andrew is. No one calls me that anymore," he replied.

"Well I just did didn't I?" I teased.

"My goodness, you're a self-taught comedian too? Violet must always be in stitches," he remarked.

"Laughter is the best medicine. Or so I've heard," I told him.

And so, for over an hour, we talked. We talked about things that we didn't discuss when Violet and him were at Betty Ford.

He was shocked to find out that I had 2 older siblings. An older brother and sister. My brother Josh was in the military while my sister Catherine had a cake shop on the east coast in Pennylaviana. And my parents live in Canada which is a boatload of unanswered questions about why they moved there 6 years ago.

Andy was a fun person to talk to. If you never heard of the Brothers Gibb or grew up in the shadow of the "Saturday Night Fever" rage, you would never know he was a superstar and teen idol all grown up. He still had that shy demeanor to him as well. I noticed that every week at the Betty Ford Center. He was a recluse and hermit most of the time.

Perhaps, there was a desire to live and learn. Perhaps we could teach each other in this friendship. I was always trying to live 2 years in the future when maybe I needed to be taught to live in the moment and see what's right in front of me.

The phone call lasted far longer than I anticipated. By the time we hung up, it was well after 5. 

I took a sigh of relief. My nervousness had disappeared after talking with Andy in a new perspective.

"Maybe this isn't just a lesson to Violet," I thought to myself.

Only the stars knew what lessons I would be taught in the coming days.