Chapter 8: Bad Thing Happen

Sunday February 16, 2014 – Freshman Year

I slept most of the ride back. When I was about a half hour out, I called Mona to see if she wanted to pick me up. I then called home and Mom answered. I told her Dad was off the hook for picking me up. She laughed and said they forgot they were supposed to come get me. It must suck getting old. They say your memory is the first thing to go.

Mona was waiting for me when we pulled up. She suggested going to her place to talk, but her parents were home. I told her we could go to my place. I walked in the back door and the place was packed. Mona froze when she saw Greg, Suzanne, Beth and Cindy playing cards in the kitchen. I don't think she expected to see anyone from school. I reached down and squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile when she looked at me. I felt her relax next to me.

I walked around the table giving everyone, but Greg, a kiss. I think he was okay with that. Angie and Mom came in from the living room laughing. I pointed at Angie.

"You, evil woman, are dead to me," I said crossing my arms with a 'harrumph.'

Mom came over and patted my cheek.

"You be nice to Angie."

"Mom, she needs to be punished," I said with as much righteous indignation as I could muster.

Angie was trying not to laugh at me. I was pissed. Mom saw the potential for a little fun.

"Judge Mom will hear your complaint after we get everyone dessert," Mom said. Then she noticed Mona. "Hi, my son is a barbarian with no social graces. Who are you?"

I introduced Mona.

For years, whenever Greg and I fought over something stupid, Mom would sit us down and be Judge Mom. If Dad was home he would be the jury. It was actually a smart idea. It made us sit down and think about why we were mad. We had to present our case. You got to talk without interruption, which forced us to hear the other side. Being young and pissed off didn't mean you always listened, but you at least knew where your brother was coming from. It helped me once I calmed down. When we were talked out, then the jury would ask us some pointed questions. If one of us was truly in the wrong, Mom would make a ruling. Most times, we just had a family talk. Think of Judge Judy without the robe ... and not on television.

Mom made me help her while Greg told Angie and the girls what was going to happen. The traitor Mona joined them around the table. Then they started to whisper as Greg helped Angie prepare her case. Greg got up and came over to me so we could talk in private.

"Hey, Angie isn't sure what you're mad about," Greg said.

"She packed my bag for my trip. She went out and bought me thong underwear. That was the only thing I had to wear in my overnight bag."

He started laughing.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Judge Mom is going to have way too much fun at your expense."

I hadn't thought about that. This could turn ugly. Then I thought about Mom needing to get her mind off of tomorrow. I nodded to Greg.

"It's your funeral bro," Greg advised and then went to talk to the girls.

Mom had me make a new pot of coffee while she cut a pineapple upside down cake. It was a recipe that had been handed down for generations. I ran and grabbed my iPad and pulled up the recipe app. I took a picture of one of the plates with cake on it. Mom had the recipe on an index card for me to copy.

While I did that, she and I caught up. I told her about my new friend Harper and how we all went on a triple date Saturday night. She told me Dad had taken her for a romantic dinner. When the coffee was done, I took the pot out to the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, Tom and Mary Dole and Mrs. Glade were all talking to Dad. They already had coffee cups so I warmed them up.

Mom and I brought them all cake. When everyone was almost done, Mom announced that court would be in session shortly. I had stayed in the living room so Angie and her counselors could plot my demise. They all brought chairs form the kitchen so they could enjoy the show. Mom explained to the parents what was going on. Dad just rolled his eyes at me.

When everyone was settled, Mom brought the court into session.

"Angie since you are new to these proceeding I will explain how this will work. The accuser will present his testimony. No one is to interrupt during his presentation. He is allowed to talk as long as he does not start to repeat himself."

That rule had been added when I had said the same thing over and over one time. I thought it was a very important point but some people are sensitive, I guess.

"Then you will get to talk. At the end, the jury may ask each of you questions," she said pointing at the parents to indicate who the jury was.

"At any time, you two can decide that you want to settle out of court. My ruling will be final. Do you agree to have Judge Mom hear your case?" Mom asked us.

We both said yes.

"Please begin, David."

I got up to tell my tale of woe. I put on my best hound dog look that got a chuckle out of the girls in the back of the room. I might have overdone it a bit.

"I come before this most magnificent court to plead the injustices forced upon my person," I said.

Flattering the court had won me a number of cases. Bribes also worked on occasion. You had to be careful if you tried that. Sometimes it would backfire on you.

"My dear future sister-in-law, whom I love and trust, offered to pack my bags for my weekend trip. Being the innocent boy that I am, I trusted her completely," I paused for dramatic effect. I pointed to Angie. "The accused packed inappropriate underwear."

I gave a big sigh. I opened my bag to make the big reveal. It might have gone better if the variety pack of condoms had not fallen out and rolled on the floor. All eyes were glued to the pack and not the three thongs I had in my hand. The look of amusement on everyone's face told me I was a goner.

I turned to Angie.

"Do you wish to settle out of court?" I begged.

"Oh no, I think I need to have my name cleared."

"David, please hand the jury Exhibit A," Mom said pointing to the condom box.

I thought about arguing, but I knew that Angie would just present it when her time came. I handed the box to Mrs. A. To my horror she opened it and started to sort through them. She held up the ribbed packet.

"What kind is this David?"

"Those are ribbed ... for her pleasure."

She handed it to Mr. Anderson and winked at him. Beth about died and the room erupted in laughter. He pocketed the condom with a nod of thanks to me.

"Let's get back to the heart of my case," I said as I held up the thongs. "This is what was packed for me."

Someone in the back, I think it was Cindy, shouted out, "Make him try them on."

My face went red. There was no way that was happening. I decided to cut my losses and rested my case. Angie got up to present her defense.

"As a loving sister, I offered to help poor David by packing his bag. Tami called me and told me that David was going to Wesleyan for a sexy weekend. She commented on how cute his butt was and that the women would appreciate it if it was shown in its best light.

"In an effort to help him I also bought him naughty condoms. I would suggest that if you counted them that there might be some missing from the box. So I contend that the underwear helped him and did not harm him in any way."

"They ride up your butt," I complained.

I saw Dad counting the condoms. Mom put a stop to that line of questioning.

"As a parent, I do not want to know if my virginal son lost any condoms over the weekend."

There were some snorts from the peanut gallery. Dad smiled at her and put the box down.

"Does the jury have any questions?" Mom asked.

They all seemed to have a grasp on the case. Dad took them to the office to deliberate.

"Angie, we can still settle this out of court. Just admit that you are evil and I can make this go away," I offered her.

I think she thought she had the better case.

"How about you admit that I'm a loving sister to you and you babysit Kyle five times as community service," she countered.

"Will you admit to being evil?" I asked.

She smiled and shook my hand.

Mom went and got the jury.

"Angie and David have decided to settle out of court. Angie admits to being evil and David agrees that Angie is a loving sister and agrees to babysit Kyle five times."

Everyone seemed to agree that sounded like a fair settlement. I had been watching Kyle about once a week anyways so I was fine with my community service. I went over to Dad to get my condoms and stuff them in my bag. He hugged me.

"Your mother needed that. Thank you," he said as we both looked over to see her smiling.

Tom stopped me before I could go get Mona and head up to my place.

"Tomorrow is President's day and you are off from school. Could you come down to the office and meet with us?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"We want to plan out the next few months and talk about the opportunity Adrienne is proposing."

We agreed on a time and I caught Mona's eye. We headed to my place.

Mona was surprised when I took her out back and up to the apartment. She didn't know that was where I lived.

"This is handy," she commented.

She sat on the couch with a leg curled under her butt. I went into my bedroom to drop off my bag. The apartment was chilly so I turned up the heat and put on a sweatshirt. I found her looking at my pictures on the wall. Kendal had put up about twenty pictures in exchange for allowing some of the employees at the law firm to have some of the photos for their personal use.

"You look good in these. Is modeling fun?"

"Sometimes. So what did you want to talk about," I said as I sat down on the other end of the couch.

"I've been thinking about the party. I hope you don't think I do that kind of thing all the time."

"No, I didn't think that at all."

She was looking at me trying to figure something out. I finally took pity on her.

"Hey, just say it. I won't judge you."

"It's just hard to trust guys. Every time I have been with a guy he has bragged about what happened."

"I haven't talked to anyone about ... anything."

She blushed. I think she knew she was the one that let the cat out of the bag about our evening when she talked to her friends. We also didn't make it a secret when we came back to the party.

"I know. I've talked to Tracy and she said I could trust you. I just don't know how to ask for what I want."

"Why don't you just tell me and we can work it out from there."

"All right, here goes. I want to do things with you, but I don't want to date you. I would like our time to be private. When we were together at the party, you let me do my little dance and did not attack me. I think we could explore some things together."

"Are you thinking we would just hook up and then just be friends?"

She nodded.

"You do realize that is just a fantasy, right?" I asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"In my vast experience," I said as I winked at her to let her know I was joking. "Sex changes things. If we were to start spending time together I would develop feelings for you. I might even fall for you. You are a special sexy lady. I wouldn't want to start something without you knowing that this would probably happen."

"That is one of the things I'm worried about, but in the reverse. The other thing is I'm worried you would think I'm easy. I don't want you to think badly of me."

"Are you hooking up with every guy you date?"

"NO!"

"There you have it. I don't think you're easy. I never did."

"I was worried. I just threw myself at you. I figured that was why you insisted on wearing a condom. I really have only been with two other guys."

"The condoms are as much for your protection as mine. I have a daily reminder of what can happen even if you think things are safe. Don't get me wrong, I love my nephew to death. But, I'm just not ready for that kind of responsibility."

She smiled at me and scooted over so that she could snuggle with me. She put her head on my chest.

"Alright, I'm going to put all my cards on the table. I like you a lot. If I thought you were even close to looking for a girlfriend, I would be all over you. I also know that I don't want to be your rebound girlfriend. I also don't want a serious boyfriend. I know it is cliché for the quarterback to date the cheerleader. I'm not interested in that. Tracy is much more socially conscious than I am. From what I have seen, you don't really worry about that either."

"No, not intentionally. I'm too much of a people pleaser at times, but I'm not trying to be the king of the hill so to speak," I said. Then I went for the heart of the matter. "Are you going to be fine with the other girls I spend time with?"

"Are you going to be fine if I spend time with other guys?"

"No, I would stop what we are doing if you hook up with someone else."

"Thank you for being honest. I think most guys would say that it would be okay, but if it happened, would act like jerks."

I just shrugged.

"It doesn't seem quite fair that you get your cake and eat it too. How do you justify the double standard?" she asked me.

I thought about it for a moment. I had agonized over this in the past. I was comfortable with my position now. I decided to be honest.

"I have thought about this a lot. This is just how I'm wired. I get very jealous when I think of someone I'm with, spending time with someone else. The other thing is I wouldn't want to intrude in your happiness. I'll not be the guy that snakes another guy's girlfriend.

"I also am not going to turn my back on my friends. If we can spend time together and help each other out, I think that is great. I also sometimes find someone and we want to do things together as a one-time thing. That is why I'm not looking for a girlfriend. My brother went a different route. He dated one girl at a time for a few weeks. I can't seem to walk away from women like he could."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I need to think about this," Mona said.

We both stood up and she gave me a hug and left for home. I went back down to the house. Cindy was feeling neglected so we snuck back up to the apartment for a little while. We came back down to find Kyle throwing a fit.

"Let me fix this," I told Angie as I took him from her.

I walked him around the house talking to him in soothing tones. He settled down and was soon out like a light. Angie took him from me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She took him upstairs and put him down. The teenagers all played Monopoly while the 'rents got tipsy on wine. I teased Beth and Tracy that they would have to drive their parents' home. Greg ended up cleaning us all out. When the game was over, Beth took me aside.

"Hey, how did your talk with Mona go?"

"It was okay. She needs to think before deciding if she wants to hang out with me. I'm not the typical guy."

"No, you're definitely not. Do you want me to talk to her?"

"Only if she comes to you. I don't want her to feel pressured. I like her a lot. I don't want to lose our friendship over this. I think we could be more, kind of like you and I are."

"So you're not looking at her as a potential girlfriend?"

"Let's not rule anything out, but, if I had to answer that right now, the answer would be no. I kind of got pushed into going out with April. I knew I wasn't ready for anything, and I'm sure she sensed it. I don't want to make that mistake again. For now, I just want to have a little fun. I think I'm done falling in love ... at least, for a while."

"Good. Wait 'till college before you get serious."

I gave her hug. The party broke up and everyone went home. My Mom gave me a hug.

"Thanks for letting me be Judge Mom, today. I had fun. I'm glad that you and Greg get along so it's not necessary for me to be a judge anymore. I think justice was served today."

"Yes, I got her to admit that she is an evil girl. In any future cases, she can't claim innocence. We have established that she is devious and mean."

"Yeah, right, just keep living in that fantasy world. You forget she gave me a grandchild."

I sighed knowing that trumped a lot of my cards. Then I brightened and Mom gave me a dirty look.

"David Allen Dawson, you will NOT be getting a girl pregnant just to win your cases. Judge Mom would not be pleased."

I just winked at her and dodged her when she tried to swat my butt. I made a hasty exit before things got worse.

Monday February 17, 2014 – Freshman Year

I found myself in the conference room at Tom and Kendal's offices. I noticed my butt picture had been replaced with my wolf picture. I found the fridge in the cabinet and got myself a Coke. I heard someone clear their throat.

"May I ask what you are doing?" She said.

I turned and she was in a business suit with her arms crossed over her chest. She had dark hair pulled up off her shoulders. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties. I gave her a winning smile.

"My Uncle Tom said he had some work for me. I snuck in to get a Coke."

"Those are for clients only. Now let's go find your Uncle so that you are not wandering around bothering people."

Just then Tom and Kendal walked in. Tom had heard the end of the exchange.

"What was young David doing?"

"I caught your nephew taking a soda."

I sat down to watch the show. She gave me a dirty look.

"Listen David, we have a meeting with a client in a few minutes. Why don't go hang out in your Uncle's office," she said.

Tom gave me a wearied look. I kept quiet. Kendal sat down next to me and opened a folder and pushed it in front of me. It was my latest financials.

"David, I would like you to meet Angelina Hargrove. She is the newest member of our team. She will be mentoring Kendal. I must apologize to you, Angel. I called you to this meeting and didn't tell you who the client was. If you look at the picture on the wall, you might recognize David Dawson."

"Well hang me! I made a fool out of myself," she said as she came over and shook my hand.

I just laughed at her. I think Tom was a little hung over. Before Kendal could start going over my financials, Tom held up his hand to stop her.

"We are waiting for one more. Before we get started I want to tell David what Angel will be doing and get you updated on Eve. Angel comes to us from Juke Records. She started out promoting the label to radio stations to increase air play for their artists. She also worked in talent acquisition before her latest position which was talent development.

"She'll be working with Eve Holliday. She, Kendal and Eve went and met with Juke Records. They didn't tell us anything we hadn't heard before. Eve needs to write some songs. They did like the sound of her voice. She has talent. We have her working with a voice coach. Angel requested some of the things she has written, and she has some suggestions to make them more commercial."

"Eve must trust you a lot. She doesn't let just anyone look at her music," I said.

"We get along very well. She is a great girl with a lot of potential. I hear similar things about you," Angel said.

Dad came in the room. I was a little surprised to see him. I didn't realize he was interested in my modeling work. Mom had been more involved up to this point.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to drop David's Mom off at her appointment."

"Mr. Dawson and I recently had a discussion. The result is that I asked Mr. Dawson to become more involved in David's career," Tom said answering the question I had in my head.

"I believe you know Kendal," Tom said as Dad shook her hand. "This is Angelina Hargrove, the newest member of the team. Angel has a varied background that will be a good fit here at Rigby, Thompson and Associates."

Dad took a seat next to me while Kendal passed out a set of financials to everyone at the table.

"As you can see, David did very well with his New York trips. He was able to cover Mrs. Dawson's medical treatment to date. We would like to suggest that a portion of the money that David earns be put into a separate account dedicated to that treatment," Kendal said.

I jumped in before Dad could say anything.

"Go ahead and do it."

Dad just nodded.

"We have been looking for medical coverage that makes sense for Mrs. Dawson. I apologize for being presumptuous. We would suggest that you look for other employment."

"I love working for the Park District. I have been wrapped up with the care of my wife, but it is time I pulled my weight. I can't have David supporting the family and paying his Mom's medical bills. If you have any suggestions, I'm open to them."

"I'm on the board for The Dunn's. They have a golf and tennis center. The current manager of that section wants to retire. If you like, I can get an interview set up," Tom told my Dad.

"Yes, thank you. That sounds like a terrific opportunity," Dad said.

I knew Dad would do well in that setting. People liked him, and that was key to running any service operation.

Kendal got back to the financials.

"We would like to set up two other accounts, one for college and another for a car. We know that David's goal is to play college ball. We also know that he could get hurt. If he gets a full ride, then he could use the funds as a down payment on a house."

I had a big smile on my face.

"That sounds fine to me," Dad said.

"We have gotten your taxes back from the accountant. As you can see, we had set aside enough funds to pay this year's bill. The accountant made some recommendations. The first is that you pay yourself a salary instead of just pulling funds out of your LLC. Another suggestion is that you begin to donate money to charities. I know you want to support your educating teen mothers' program. We could move the funds to that. We need to setup a non-profit for that. Donating money to charities can reduce your tax burden."

"Yes, I want to do that, but my Mom has some ideas also. She wants to help cancer patients. She is probably not going to want to do anything over the next few weeks while she goes through chemo. Can I have her contact you when she is feeling better?"

"Actually, if we setup a nonprofit with your Mom at the head we may be able to get some grant money to help. The government prefers to give their grants to women or minorities."

"If that is the case, could we put Angie in charge of the teen moms nonprofit?" I asked.

"Good idea," Tom said as Kendal made notes.

"Let's talk about your modeling. The first issue we have is that Ford went ballistic over your New York trip. I didn't tell you about it, because we were seeing how things shook out. Adrienne did not sign her contract last Monday. I think Deb Thomas has all but guaranteed that this will be her last contract.

"Ford caught wind of the type of payday you and Adrienne pulled in," Tom continued. "They demanded their cut. I actually got to be a lawyer and point out some relevant case law. They eventually backed down when I pointed out the language in your contract, and the fact that they had not procured the business, caused them to back down.

"The other factor was that Adrienne booked several jobs last week. She agreed to give them a small piece of it and Deb Thomas finally agreed. By the way, you are getting a piece of it also because it was your contacts that produced the work. We also get a cut because we are stepping in to facilitate everything for Adrienne. We are in negotiation with her to do her back office work when she opens her new company."

Tom looked at his calendar.

"She will be free of her obligations with Ford on August 17."

"So how bad are things with Ford?" Dad asked.

"Don't worry. They are not going to shoot the goose that laid the golden egg with Range Sports. As long as Devin is happy, David can do no wrong," Tom assured my Dad. Then he changed topics. "Kendal, could you go over David's current commitments and what we have proposed."

"Sure. Right now we have two shoots scheduled with Range Sports. Your first shoot will be in England. You fly out April 20 and return April 25. You will be going to the Northwestern part of England to a place called Langdale. This is in the Lake District National Forest. It is supposed to be gorgeous. Then on May 19 thru 23 you will be in Napa Valley. The fall shoot has not been set yet. They would like to squeeze in an extra shoot between Christmas and New Year's. That would be back at the ranch. We have been careful to schedule around your other commitments, like football, and tried to make sure you were not in school. We don't want you missing a bunch of school like you did last semester.

"Mr. Hill has patiently been waiting for you to start the flyer ads again. He said he would even do it this evening, if you were willing."

I felt bad. I had promised that I would start again at the beginning of February.

"I don't have anything else going on. I could do it after this meeting if he has everything ready."

Kendal pulled out her phone and was dialing as she stepped out of the meeting.

"Ford has been getting inquiries. We have been holding them off. I think you need to do something to make them happy."

"What about the shoot with Adrienne?" I asked Angel.

"That is the weekend of March 8."

I pulled out my iPad to see what I could do. Baseball was coming up and I still was planning on doing some more football tournaments.

"I hate to be a prima donna, but the only time I can see doing it would be Sunday afternoons. They would need to do it close to home also. I really can't miss any more school."

"If they need a full day, I'll talk to your Mom and you can do a full Sunday," Dad offered.

"We will talk to Ford," Angel said.

She looked at Tom to indicate she was done. Kendal came back in.

"Mr. Hill said he would take David the rest of the day. I told him you have school tomorrow so he wouldn't think he could keep you till all hours. The only problem is I have an appointment at 2:00," Kendal said.

"I can do it. I would actually like to see that side of the business. I might have to fill-in in the future also," Angel said.

"One last thing," Tom said as he plugged his notepad into the big screen on the back wall. "Double-Book wants to buy the rights to all these pictures."

Tom put up a slide show of all the pictures we did with book covers in mind. Dad about fell out of his chair when he saw photos of me all made up. Everyone in the room was trying to keep a straight face.

"Why are they coming to us?" I asked.

"Oh, wise one, who always makes me write the contracts so he owns the resale rights?" Kendal teased me.

"Oh, that would be me, so how much are they offering?"

Kendal slid the offer letter over to me. Dad was reading over my shoulder. We both gasped when we saw the number.

"What does that work out to?" Dad asked.

Kendal pulled out another sheet. This showed their company getting 10% off the top, me getting 25% for getting it under contract and then splitting the rest three ways with myself, Kara and Adrienne. She then slid over two sheets that showed Kara and Adrienne agreeing to let Tom work out the details.

"Why would they spend so much for these pictures?" Dad asked.

"Because they will use them over and over again, and Adrienne is in them. They also think that Kara could end up being a big draw. They can Photoshop the pictures to pull out or insert people and different backgrounds," Tom answered.

"I say do it," I said, and Dad nodded yes.

"Okay, good meeting, now go make us all more money," Tom said giving me my marching orders.

Dad went to the hospital. Angel went to her office to wrap up what she needed to finish. I stood up to stretch and Tom and Kendal had me sit back down.

"Ford has made a request," Tom started. I could tell he was uncomfortable. "They want you to have a public girlfriend."

"If you are this uncomfortable, this must be good," I joked.

"Lindsey Fletcher."

She didn't ring a bell so I Googled her. She was cute. She had done a sitcom as a child for eight years. She was now 16 and had not done anything for the last two years. I looked up at Kendal and Tom with a confused look on my face.

"Look up Bill Fletcher," Kendal offered.

Bill was her father and agent. He was your worst nightmare as a father getting too involved. He demanded script changes and control of her look. There were reports of him being banned from some sets.

My life was complicated enough. I didn't need another faux girlfriend, especially one with a father like that.

"I don't think so."

They both looked at each other and nodded.

"I will take care of it," Tom assured me.

Mr. Hill was happy to see me. I introduced Angel to everyone. We were able to get three sessions shot before I was done. I think Mr. Hill wanted to do one more, but I was tired. Keeping animated and doing the same pose over and over again is mentally draining.