Meeting My Mother

“Thomas, I’m so pleased you could make it.”The elderly solicitor came from behind his desk and gripped my hand.”Sit down, dear boy, please sit down.”John Smithson had been a part of my life for as long as I’d had a life. I was now eighteen-years-old and had been a household name ever since I’d written a song two years previously. I’d made a complete pain of myself by pestering every record company in London. None of them would even listen to it, much less buy it. So drastic action was called for and it had been old John who’d ridden to my rescue.He’d shown interest when everyone else had only shown ignorance. He’d walked with me around the local pubs listening to all the groups, most of whom were fucking awful.John had spotted the talent of Billy, the lad I chose to be the drummer for the one-time group that I’d planned. I wanted to record my song with musicians of my own choosing, pay them a flat fee, and then send them on their way.It took us a month to find the others, Jimmy the lead guitarist, Lenny the rhythm guitarist, and his brother, Crazy Pete, a genius on the bass guitar.It had been John who warned me that my trust fund wasn’t bottomless, although it was index-linked as a guard against rampant inflation.”I’m going to have to do some creative accounting, Thomas,” he laughed as we sat enjoying a well-earned drink after the recording session. “We’ve got through a whole year’s allowance in just three months.””Don’t worry, Mister Smithson.” I was high with pleasure, the song was still running through my brain. The session had Ataşehir Escort gone better than either of us had hoped; just six takes and it was in the bag, “We’ll make millions, I promise you.”We did! Thanks to me pestering disc jockeys, it was given airtime and a month to the day of the recording session, it entered the charts at twenty-eight. The following week, thanks to it’s continued exposure, it went to number three and then, Hey Presto, the very next week, I had a number one hit on my hands. It went top in America, Japan, Russia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden… you name it, it was massive, a huge hit and an even bigger earner than I’d ever imagined.I was just sixteen years old.~~~~”Have you cleared your diary, Thomas?” he asked as I sat down.”Yes.””Right.” He made a pyramid of his fingers and touched his forefingers to his lips, the way he always did when he was thinking, “I’d like you to hear me out before making any comment.”I nodded. “Okay.””As you already know, you are the product of a wealthy man taking advantage of a young and vulnerable girl whose mother was in the employ of your father’s family. I feel for you, Thomas that you’ve never met your father. But, those are his wishes, andI have to respect them. I fear you never will meet him.”He reached for the intercom and ordered two coffees and looked down his nose at me as I lit a cigarette.”They’ll kill you one day, you know.””Probably, yes.”The lovely Joan, his secretary, brought in our coffees. Just a hint of a smile in her eyes betrayed Ataşehir Escort Bayan the fact that she’d left me in her bed that morning when she got up to go to work. Her face didn’t alter even when I stroked her thigh, unseen by John, of course.”There you are gentlemen,” she said briskly. “Will there be anything else, sir?””No thank you, Joan.”We waited until she’d closed the door behind her delectable frame.”Now, where was I? Oh yes… well, as you know, you’ve always been well provided for, as has your mother. Although you’ve never known your mother either, I can tell you that I’ve been in constant touch with her for the last seventeen years.”My ears pricked up and I sat up in the chair. “Has she been here?””She’s often sat in that very chair, Thomas,” he smiled. “And I can tell you that she is a delightful young lady.”He consulted some papers and then looked at me above his glasses.”Your father has asked me to tell you, now that your eighteenth birthday is tomorrow…” He hesitated. “He’s asked me to tell you that she was just sixteen-years-old when you were conceived.””Sixteen?”He nodded. “Yes, a few weeks short of her seventeenth birthday.”He waited again as I blew my nose and sipped my coffee. “Jesus Christ.””Exactly, Thomas,” he said softly, “Your mother has been here at least once a month since she came of age and every month she has asked the same question: how is Thomas?””So, why hasn’t she been to see me?””Because your father had forbidden it, Thomas. It was made clear to Escort Ataşehir her that if she tried to contact you before your eighteenth birthday, her allowance, as well as yours, would cease to be paid immediately.””But why? Why do that? It doesn’t make sense.””It doesn’t have to make sense, it was his wish, his demand if you like. Anyway, as you know, I’m retiring tomorrow and my last job will be to hand over everything I have for you and your mother.” He smiled again. “You have a choice. You can meet her here in my office, I would leave you both alone of course, or I can give you her address. I should inform you that I’ve already asked your mother the same question.””What did she say?” I was wildly excited, I was actually going to meet my mother.”I need your answer first, Thomas.””I think I’d like to meet her at her home.”Yet again, the kindly old man smiled. “That was her answer, too.”It was a lot to take in. A hell of a lot had happened recently. At sixteen, I’d left yet another pair of foster parents, the last in a long line of nice, caring people who’d had their care thrown back in their faces by a wild youth with a chip on each shoulder. I’d got a nice little flat where I loved to surf the internet and I’d earned myself millions of pounds by writing one song. But this put them all in the shade, I was actually going to meet my mother!”Right, Thomas,” he said and held out his hand, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh, and by the way,” he grinned again, “we’ve finished for the day so you may as well take Joan somewhere nice this afternoon.”The somewhere nice turned out to be a pub around the corner from her Kensington flat where we ate a beautifully cooked steak, washed down with copious quantities of red wine, and then we continued with more red wine in her flat.Joan wasn’t in the least bit surprised when I asked her what my mother was like.