New Guy [Digs]

[Eddie Digby]

Digby was a little on edge, hearing the words 'music' and 'father' in such a context. He tried not to think about his dad, he really did. But sometimes... he couldn't help it. In his head, dad = musician, dad = bad father, therefore musician = bad father. But he had to push that away now. Gabe had made a point of saying 'better father,' which certainly helped quiet Digby's prejudice. Still, though, it was hard to think objectively with this one, and it took him a moment to respond.

He put on a smile, a small smile, small enough that it wouldn't seem fake or forced. "Parents look out for their kids," or, at least, the good ones did. The ones that didn't leave them to go chasing after the same dreams Gabe was talking about. "I'm sure they're just worried for you. The music industry is... hard. Hard to stay grounded in, as far as I've heard." He wanted to tell the guy not to do it, that family should always come first, that it could be one or the other, but not both - but he couldn't do it. It wasn't his place to crush dreams. And he certainly had a bias that kept him from being a level opinion.

"Having a family and being a successful musician seem hard to reconcile," he admitted, carefully. "But that's going by what you see in the media," he lied, "Maybe they just aren't putting their families first." Rockstars were selfish people. It was a stereotype Digby had agreed with without questioning it. But he still liked music. ...Some musicians seemed to have happy families, he realized. But he didn't know why some did and others didn't. He didn't have any advice there.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe gave a dry laugh when Eddie suggested parents looked out for their kids. His parents definitely cared, but they cared more about how Gabriel lived up to the 'family name' than his happiness. "My parents have never supported me... I don't know why I expect that to change," he noted, his voice trailing off into his glass as he took another long gulp of the alcohol.

He hated to admit that Eddie had a point about musicians and their families. Though honestly having a family of his own wasn't something Gabe could accomplish at the moment anyway. Gabriel was still young and searching for love. Hopefully someday that dream would come to fruition, but at the moment all he had was his guitar and parents who want him to be a business man or a pastor.

"I care about my family more than anything," Gabriel noted, thinking mostly about his 4 year old niece. "Honestly I do. But it's really hard to stay close to them while pursuing a dream they constantly try to rip me away from." Sometimes Gabe thought if it weren't for his niece he would stop trying. He'd just stop picking up calls from his brothers and parents. "I love them too much to ignore what they say and I hate that about myself," Gabe added with a laugh.

[Eddie Digby]

It was hard for Digby to tell if Gabe was exaggerating or not. Surely they supported him at some time... maybe not in this particular pursuit, but perhaps in something else he was passionate about. Parents - even the worst of them - had a bond to their children that made them want to see them happy. Eddie guessed that these parents just had a narrow view of happiness, and it was focused around the future and stability. Being a musician didn't hold much promise for either of those.

Eddie was starting to feel out of his depth. Advice was usually something he was good at, but this was an interesting case. "...I think doing what you love is important. And I think your family should support you in that." He could tell that the advice he wanted to give - to distance himself from them, make it clear that their behavior was alienating him and then give them time to change their view - was not going to go over well. Luckily, Gabe laughed, and Eddie hoped that that would be the end of that. He really didn't know what to say. He might just need to choose a side. Either be willing to live without his family, and let them know that, or be willing to give up some of what he loves for the sake of familial harmony.