Present

Alise drums her fingers on the table before her, nervousy welling up inside of her.

After her phone call with Axl the other day, they arranged to meet at a small café in the heart of Malibu. The time at which they had set to meet was five-thirty, but Alise is fifteen minutes early. Axl still has fifteen minutes before he would be considered late.

Luckily, it seems Axl doesn't intend to keep Alise waiting long. He enters the café only seconds after Alise sits down. Alise, who had elected to turn to the door every time the little bell would jingle, spots him immediately and flags him down with a small smile.

Axl uses a cane as he makes his way toward Alise's table. He nods at a couple who recognise him and trudges on. When he arrives at the table, Axl props his cane against the edge of the table and pulls off the scarf and fedora he had previously donned. Alise observes every move he makes, noticing distinct similarities between she and him.

Axl finally seats himself across from Alise with a small grunt of relief. Finally, Axl takes a look at her.

"So you're Alise, huh?" He asks, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands on his knees. Alise clears her throat.

"Yes sir," she replies, allowing a small smile to appear on her features. "And you must be Mr Rose." Axl chuckles at her formality.

"Just call me Axl. Mr Rose was my dad."

Alise's smile widens.

"Okay then, Axl. I'm so glad you could meet me. I actually have something really important to talk to you about, and I wanted to talk face-to-face rather than over the phone," Alise says. Her smile shrinks a little as her palms begin to sweat.

Axl, sensing the girl's rising anxiety, stops her.

"Hey, why don't we order something then talk? Maybe you'll loosen up a little. You're getting real tense."

Alise nods, exhaling in relief. Ordering a drink should give her enough time to think about how she's going to tell him. Axl offers her a small smile and flags down a waitress.

The waitress comes to the table with a large smile and happily takes down Axl and Alise's orders. When she leaves the table, Axl settles his gaze on Alise. Alise's palms sweat again, and she knows she has to tell him. He has to know. He deserves to know.

"So what'd you need to talk to me about? You said it was important, so I'm dying to know," Axl asks, folding his fingers together on the table top. Alise's chest tightens, and she clears her throat again, hoping to get some relief. She has to tell him. She can't let this opportunity slip through her fingers, not like her mother did.

"I've been staying with my mom here in Cali while I'm on a modelling hiatus. In my closet, there's a tattered photo album filled with pictures from when she first came to Cali from Florida. You were her first friend here," Alise begins, still anxious to proceed with what she needs to say. Axl squints his eyes slightly but nods anyway. He uses his right hand to rub his chin, but remains silent.

Alise decides to continue. "Anyway, I kept looking through the album, and I couldn't help but notice something...I guess it's like a theme. After 1992 or so, every single picture is of you. Magazine clippings, newspaper clippings, article print-outs, paparazzi photos: they're all of you. There are a lot of more recent ones in there too." Axl furrows his brows in consideration, but he doesn't break the silence.

"I was a little weirded out, so I confronted my mom about it," Alise continues, "She told me all about how you guys met and dadadadada, and then that night, I was up the whole night because there was this one thing that kept bothering me—"

Alise cuts herself off as the waitress comes to the table. The waitress places their orders before them with a brief 'enjoy!' and heads off to tend to other customers.

Axl finally speaks up, "Okay, so your mom has a photo album filled with pictures of me. You asked her about it. She told you about it. Now what was the thing that bothered you?" He takes a sip of his drink, watching Alise swallow harshly, with a curious gaze.

"Throughout my life, there's always been a certain thing missing. I never really questioned it, because it didn't seem important. My mom never mentioned it, and so I didn't think about it," Alise swirls her straw around in her cup, "But that night made me think about it. There must be something about you that my mom fixates on; something that could only be the reason my mom's so obsessed with you."

Alise pauses to sip her drink.

Axl raises an eyebrow, urging her to continue, as he picks up half of his sandwich.

"The following morning, I went into the kitchen, and I straight up asked my mom about it. She answered my question and told me all about it. There was one thing she mentioned that kind of bugged me. I thought, I have to tell this guy! He needs to know!' and I called Slash and got your number from him." Alise takes another sip of her drink to stave off the anxiety building within her.

She's about to tell him. And it makes her palms sweat so badly.

"My mom lied to you, Axl."

Alise reaches for her phone and pulls up a picture of her birth certificate. Axl drops his sandwich on his plate as Alise passes her phone to him. He holds it out in front of him, squinting to see the words. His jaw goes slack as he comprehends what he's just read.

Without a word, Axl passes the phone back to Alise. He watches her for a moment as she shoves her phone into her back pocket and reaches out for her cup. He watches her hands as she brings the cup to her mouth and takes a sip.

She can't be, he thinks. But she's given him the proof. And he knew it back then, but Jenny denied it. And now Axl's not exactly sure what to say.

Alise is his daughter. He's a dad.

Alise studies him apprehensively. She knows he'll need to get used to the idea. Whether he wants anything to do with her or not is up to him, but he needed to know. Her mom's lie was wrong.

To deny a man the opportunity of fatherhood is wrong. Fatherhood is something almost sacred for many individuals. If a man wants to be a father bad enough, and the opportunity is given to him, it is simply wrong to deny him of it.

Alise could understand if her mother had told Axl he was a father, and Axl had said he didn't want anything to do with them; that would be a completely different story. Then, Axl would be at fault and not Jenny, but because Jenny denied Axl of the opportunity to become her father so long ago, Alise had to make it right. The ball's in Axl's court now.

Axl clears his throat, leaning forward slightly.

"So you really are my daughter. Huh. I kinda figured, but Jenny denied it."

Alise fiddles with her fingers under the table, offering the man a small smile.

"I understand this isn't easy to take in, and I understand if you don't want anything to do with me after this, but I needed you to know. It was wrong of my mom to lie to you about me, and she knows it, and we both know it, and I had to make it right," Alise explains, swirling her straw around her cup with one hand.

Axl leans back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. He offers Alise an amused smile.

"I get why she didn't tell me. It's as simple as I was in a rough patch, and she probably didn't want to make it worse for me by shackling me with extra responsibilities—not that you're going to shackle me to anything. I wasn't in a good place physically or mentally to be a dad."

Axl sighs.

"As for wanting anything to do with you, of course I wanna be in your life! But I'm not gonna step on your mom's toes to do it. Besides, it's all up to you in the end. Whatever you decide, she'll go for it probably, and I know I will. I mean, after so long without me, do you really want me there? But again, it's your decision, sugar."

Axl tosses a few bills on the table top and puts his scarf and fedora back on. He grabs his cane and stands.

"Call me if you're sure. I'll pick up," Axl says. He meets the waitress on his way out and hands her another wad of cash. The bell on the door jingles as he leaves.

Alise sighs.

This isn't going to be easy.

——

So, I made a little graphic of Alise's birth certificate on her phone to show you guys. It's a little rudimentary, but this is basically what Axl read:

and this is the certificate up close:

Thoughts?

How well did Axl react to the news? How well did Alise deliver the news? How do you guys think Jenny's going to react when Alise tells her?

Alright, that's the end of this chapter and this author's note. Until the next chapter,

—Juju