PepperTide

“I have a person-to-person collect call for Jimmy Pepper from Hank Pepper. Will you accept the call?” the operator asked.

“You must have the wrong number,” I said.

“Jimmy? It’s me—Dad. I saw you on Johnny Carson last week. You were so funny—I died laughing.”

“Well, nice hearing from you...call again sometime.”

Jimmy Pepper doesn’t want to think about his father—the man who abandoned him and his brother and sister eleven years ago. As a result, they were all placed in separate foster homes: Jimm...