Chapter 26: Don’t Forget About Me

Sunday November 22

My wild child loved the snow. Duke was a one-year-old now and still acted like a puppy. He figured out there was ice on the drive and would run full-out, with snow flying all around him, and then slide. I admit it looked like fun, so I had to try it. Precious hated the white, wet, cold stuff. She had taken one look at Duke and me playing, and turned around and went back home. Of course, Duke spotted her and had to roll her. The yowl had us both running for the back door.

We crashed into the mudroom.

“Dry him off and take off your shoes,” Mom hollered from the kitchen.

I found an old towel we kept there just for such emergencies. Duke loved to be dried. It was like he was getting petted all over, and Labs love attention. He followed up getting dried off with going to the kitchen and getting his love from Mom and Dad. Caryn must have still been asleep.

I saw that Mom had bought donuts and Dad had all the Bavarian cream ones on his plate.

“Mom, make Dad share,” I complained.

He just gave me a smug look when she ignored me. I swear he’s three years old sometimes. He licked both of them.

“I’ll remember that,” I threatened him.

“David, you be nice,” Mom warned me.

My cell phone rang to save my dad. I looked and saw it was Zoe. She invited me to go to church with her and then to lunch at the farm. Mom was a little too eager to let me go. I suspected she planned to skip church today.

I think all churches are a little different. My church focused on your becoming the best possible version of yourself. Zoe’s church was more focused on service to the community. I think they both had valid messages, but it explained why her congregation always seemed to be involved in a community project.

When we got to the Pearsons’ farm, Mr. and Mrs. Pearson were bickering again.

“I never said I didn’t want your parents to come for Thanksgiving. I said I didn’t want your mom to help me cook this year,” Mrs. Pearson said.

“Last year was an honest mistake. You know Mom didn’t mean to do it,” Mr. Pearson said.

There had to be a story here. Zoe wanted to go check on the horses, but I begged off. She just rolled her eyes at me and left me with Roc and her parents.

“It wasn’t just the turkey; she tried to kill me,” she said, and then turned to me. “I love my mother-in-law, but she’s getting older. Last year we went to Walmart to pick up some last-minute items. I made the mistake of telling her that I felt like I had a headache coming on. She carries a purse that’s big enough to hide a small child. She rooted around in there for a moment, found a bottle of pills, and gave me one.

“Then I hear, ‘Oops’.

“Now that didn’t sound good, and then she followed it up with, ‘Did you swallow that?’” Mrs. Pearson said.

“Did you?” I asked.

“Of course I did! She’s my mother-in-law, and I’ve known the woman my whole life. She was a nurse practitioner, for cripes sake. If she had wanted to kill me, she could have gotten it done before now. Then she asked, ‘Do you remember what color it was?’

“I told her I had no idea. She just got a concerned look on her face, and said we should probably just abandon our shopping carts in the middle of Walmart and get me home. I don’t know about you, but that sounded to me like there might be a problem. So I asked her what the hell did she think she gave me.”

I could tell Mrs. Pearson was getting worked up. Mr. Pearson and Roc were on the verge of laughing.

“So, what did she give you?” I asked.

“She explained that the pill bottle she picked was called ‘the good pills’. She gathered up all the unused pills they had ever gotten and put them in this bottle ‘just in case’ they would ever need to use them again,” Mrs. Pearson said with the appropriate air quotes. “She explained that I could have taken anything from pain pills to muscle relaxants to my father-in-law’s blood-pressure medicine. I asked her what would happen if I took his medication. She told me I would most likely collapse and pass out, and that with her bum hip she wasn’t sure she could drag me to the car.

“That was when I started to feel a little light-headed, the world did this little spin, and I went down face-first in the middle of the produce aisle,” she said.

“Oh, my,” I gasped.

“His crazy mother grabbed my ankle and tried to pull me out of the store. I’d been to church and had on a dress that was now pulled up around my waist, and my granny panties were exposed for all the world to see,” she explained, while both her husband and son began to laugh.

“Didn’t your mother explain to you about underwear?” I asked.

My mom had always teased me that I needed to make sure I had on clean underwear in case I ever got in an accident and had to be taken to the hospital.

“I think God has a sense of humor. Luckily, one of the store employees grabbed one of those electronic buggies and got me to the car. Grandma Pearson insisted that I didn’t need to go to the emergency room, that she could take care of me. The plan was to start the turkey when we got home. I’d prepared it, so I figured she could handle putting it in the oven.

“It was probably thirty minutes later when smoke began to billow out of the oven and every alarm we have went off. By then I was able to get to my feet and stagger into the kitchen. If I didn’t have a headache before, I had one now from the insistent beeping of the smoke alarms. I panicked when I saw all the smoke that was leaking out of the oven. I turned on the vent and opened a window so I could see what was going on. I looked in the little window, and the turkey was literally on fire. I tried to open the oven door to put out the flames, but I couldn’t get it to budge. Somehow, my mother-in-law had turned the oven to ‘clean’, and it was the temperature of the face of the sun. On the clean cycle it locks the oven door to prevent injury.

“My husband and Roc pulled the stove out and unplugged it. They had to take it out into the yard. When I was finally able to get the door opened, the turkey was burned on the outside and raw in the middle.”

“Dad always says that you can’t pick your family,” I offered.

“Exactly,” she agreed, and glared at her husband.

I felt confident that she would keep her mother-in-law out of the kitchen.

After lunch, Zoe’s parents and Roc left. Zoe wanted some alone time. I was all for that. It hit me in the middle of sex that this would probably be our last time until I returned from LA. We both seemed to get the same vibe that we wanted to remember every second of what we did together. I changed my approach from ‘just sex’ to something more passionate. If she were the one, I might describe it as loving, but I wasn’t ready for that term yet.

She definitely was reminding me that I shouldn’t forget about her. I know that was what I wanted to leave her with. Zoe Pearson had started to find her way into my heart.

On the way home, I got a call from Brook.

“Hey, guess who’s renting a bunch of snowmobiles?”

“Seriously? When do you get them?”

“Tuesday. The weather’s supposed to settle in and we could have another five inches tonight and tomorrow. Then Tuesday’s supposed to be clear. Mom and Dad are getting them for Wednesday when the family’s coming in, so we get to play.”

“How many are you getting?” I asked.

“Twelve. Mom said I could have a bunch of people out and we’d have dinner. Do you think you could find five other guys to come with you?”

“I’m sure I could. Who do you want me to ask?”

I’d learned that when they gave you a choice, you’d better clear it with them first.

“How about Tim, Ty, Roc, Wolf and Jim?”

“I’ll make it happen. Tell your parents thanks,” I said.

I would have to make sure Wolf had some winter gear. I had plenty from my time in Utah doing shoots for Range Sports. I knew that, riding a snowmobile, you could get cold and wet if you just wore jeans. He could try on my gear. What didn’t fit we could hook him up with at the local sporting goods store. I should probably make sure all the guys had gear. I was sure that Brook would take care of the girls.

I called Brook back.

“Hey, do these snowmobiles come with gear?” I asked.

“Worried you might get cold?” she teased.

“I have stuff, but I’m not sure about everyone else.”

“David, can I give you a tip?” she asked.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Quit worrying about everyone else. I bet they can figure it out. The one thing I had to learn was that even though I have the money to do pretty much what I want, I don’t want my friends thinking I’ll take care of everything. It’s not fair to me and it’s not fair to them. If they don’t have gear, and get wet and cold, I bet it’ll be worth it to have fun. Would you let that stop you?” she asked.

“I get it. I sometimes think I need to look out for everyone, but I really don’t. Thanks, Brook. I appreciate you straightening me out,” I admitted. “I remember wearing sweats over my jeans to go sledding. It helped some, but I had the best time.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll check and make sure there are helmets. I’m sure my parents will want them for Thanksgiving,” she said, and then her voice got sexy. “What are you doing right now?”

“Driving to your house?”

“Good answer.”

As soon as I pulled in the drive, Brook came out of the house and got into my car. She pointed me to an access road that went to the cabins. I was glad she didn’t want to walk. We stepped inside and it was chilly, since they kept the heat down when no one was using them.

“Can you start a fire?” she asked.

I smiled when I saw it was a gas fireplace with an automatic starter. All I had to do was open the flue and turn it on.

“David, fire,” I grunted.

I was sometimes not as funny as I thought I was, or that’s what I’d been told. I personally thought people were jealous of my comic genius. Brook turned on some music and found me a Mountain Dew. There was a big fluffy rug in front of the fireplace. Brook sat down on it and I joined her.

“Halle is such a bitch,” Brook moaned.

That was so unlike Brook that I laughed.

“Why is that?”

“She gets you alone for two months. You’ll forget all about me when you’re gone.”

“Brook Davis, I thought you were a stronger woman than that. I also thought you knew I wasn’t ready to make a commitment to anyone. You have nothing to fear from Halle,” I assured her.

“Bullshit, David. If it weren’t for your stupid ‘no girlfriend’ rule you can’t tell me that Halle wouldn’t have a serious shot at you. You’ll be living under her roof for two months. If I know that girl, she’ll be giving you morning blowjobs just to make your day start better. How am I supposed to compete against that?” Brook asked.

“Okay, let me take those in order. First of all, the ‘no girlfriend’ rule isn’t stupid,” I said as Brook rolled her eyes at me. “Yes, Halle would have a serious shot, but so would you. Do I need to tell you all the reasons I like you? I shouldn’t have to, because you know I care for you a lot.

“Yes, I’ll be living with Halle. Did you know that they have security cameras all over the house?” I asked.

“No.”

I didn’t tell her that Halle and I’d had sex and I was sure it had been caught on the security cameras at their house here.

“I’ll admit that if she gives me a morning blowjob each day, you might have a serious problem. You do know that the little head does most of my thinking,” I teased her.

She leaned over and put her hand on my crotch.

“What are you thinking right now?” she asked.

“I’m thinking that you better bring your ‘A’ game if you want me not to forget about you.”

“Shut up, ‘stupid boy’,” she said, and then kissed me.

Brook was in a playful mood and pinned me to the ground.

“You have to do what I tell you, since this has to hold me for two months.”

“Surely Tracy told you about all the sex toys I have in my apartment. I bet you can figure out how to open the lock and go satisfy your desires while I’m not here.”

“Shut up and make me a happy girl.”

We were naked soon after that. I took my time and brought my ‘A’ game. I needed her to remember me as much as she wanted me to remember her. After spending time with Zoe, I had some serious staying power. We were both a wreck when we were done. I think you could give that ‘two thumbs up’ for mission accomplished.

Monday November 23

I skipped my run this morning and made a pot of steel-cut oatmeal and chopped-up fruit for breakfast. Thinking of last night made me smile. Reflecting a bit more, it seemed each of my special girls, the ones I hated seeing with another guy, were making sure I didn’t forget about them in LA. What they didn’t seem to realize was I never would, and never could, forget them.

I was surprised when Caryn was the first one down this morning. She had taken a couple of days to adjust to the time change.

“Did you make enough for everyone?”

“Yes, ma’am. I wouldn’t send you out on a day like today on an empty stomach.” I turned just in time to see Duke head for the stairs. “Duke! Get back here. Let Mom and Dad sleep.”

I’d have to keep an eye on him because he loved to wake them up.

“So, what are you doing today?” I asked.

“I’m taking the scripts over to Rita James to look at. Then I plan to spend the afternoon talking to Kendal and getting a handle on all your business ventures. She said she’d have the accountant come in and we’ll conference in Tyler. I hope to speak to your grandmother and uncle about the farm Wednesday. Then I’ll catch a flight back to California and spend the weekend with my parents. I’ll see you when you get into LA. Rita said I could stay with her while you’re there.”

“Are you going to confirm with Ari which scripts we like?” I asked.

“Yes. I’ll tell him James Bond, Star Wars and then the Japanese commercial for sure. Is it okay if I suggest a couple more if Rita says they’re good?” she asked.

“As long as I’m not a rapist, emotionally challenged or baby abandoner of some kind. If you find one where I get to make love to Kate Upton, I’ll pay to do that role. That reminds me, get on Frank about flooding her Twitter account with Prom requests. I think I’m starting to wear her down.”

“You live in a fantasy world. There is no way that you could get Kate Upton to even take your call, let alone go to Prom with you,” Caryn challenged.

I got out my phone and called Adrienne.

“Hey, boss. Can you do me a solid?” I asked.

“David, how did you get my cell number?” she asked.

“That new girl who answers your phones isn’t very bright. I explained I was a VIP model and needed 24/7 access to my agent. I might have sent her a few pictures.”

“Of you or me?” she asked.

“Adrienne, please tell me she’s gorgeous and bi. We could have so much fun,” I suggested.

“Someone has to turn 18 before I’d even consider that. Now what do you want?”

“I need to talk to Kate Upton,” I said.

“There’s no way I’m giving you her number. It’s bad enough that you stalk her on Twitter. She’d never talk to me again if I did that.”

“Then three-way us in.”

“Why?” Adrienne asked.

“I have a new manager and she doesn’t believe I can get Kate Upton on the phone.”

“David! You have to have a better reason than that,” Adrienne complained.

“What if I can get her in a movie?”

“My young friend, you are so full of it.”

“You’re so mean to me. Hang on, and I’ll three-way in someone.”

While I dialed, Mom and Dad came downstairs, to the delight of Duke.

“What’s he doing?” Mom asked Caryn.

“I told him he couldn’t get Kate Upton on the phone. He wants to take her to Prom,” Caryn explained.

“Hey Fritz, this is David,” I said when he answered.

“Halle just stepped out to go to school.”

“Actually, I need to talk to her mom. Is Rita around?” I asked.

“Hang on,” Fritz said.

“What’s up?” Rita asked.

“Hang on. I need to three-way this call in to Adrienne,” I said.

“Adrienne, the model?”

“Yeah, hang on.” I said, and did my phone magic. “Adrienne?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Good, I have Rita James on the line. Rita, I need to talk to Kate Upton, and Adrienne said she might be able to get her on the line if I could find her a movie role. I thought we could write her into our movie,” I suggested.

Mom made me put the phone on speaker so everyone could hear.

“You got me on a call with Adrienne so you could flirt with Kate Upton?” Rita asked.

Mom glared at me, but I was on a roll.

“When you say it that way it sounds kind of bad. If Adrienne could get Kate on the line I think I know how I can make this work,” I offered.

“This I have to hear,” Rita said.

“Adrienne, it’s your call,” I said.

“Okay, hang on.”

Caryn sat in what I was sure was awe of my skills. Either that, or she thought I was a complete nut. I probably shouldn’t ask her which.

“Hey, Stalker,” Kate said.

“Hey, Prom Date, I need to know what color dress you’re wearing so I get the right corsage.”

Mom leaned over to Caryn and whispered.

“I taught him that. Just assume the sale.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Adrienne said you might have a movie deal for me,” Kate said.

“Yes. We can talk about the Prom later. I have Rita James on the phone. She has me in a movie coming up, and I wanted to pitch you an idea we just kicked around. I play a baseball player that’s in high school and we need a hot teacher. Think Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher. In this movie there are a couple of love scenes. Rita assures me that the nudity will be tastefully done. Real artsy stuff. So what do you think?” I asked hopefully.

“Well, I don’t know about the nudity and love scenes, but we might have something for you,” Rita said.

“Sorry, but I think the nudity would increase sales dramatically. I don’t want us to rule anything out until we test it. We could do it both ways and see what works,” I suggested. “You ready to do a movie with me?”

“Is he telling me the truth?” Kate asked.

“We might have a small role for you if you’re available,” Rita said.

“Okay. Call Adrienne and set it up,” Kate said, and I jumped up and down and did a fist pump.

“Kate, before you go. We need to lock down Prom. It’s only a few months off,” I begged.

“Why don’t you take me and my boyfriend to dinner when we’re in LA? If you can get him to agree, I might do it,” Kate said.

Rita and Adrienne gave me some grief and then exchanged phone numbers.

“I need to start planning Prom. This is a done deal,” I said after we hung up. “We should call Greg and tell him.”

“Leave your brother alone,” Dad said.

“Be sure to call Tyler and remind her that I get a finder’s fee,” I told Caryn.

I was late for school, so I asked my dad to explain it to her.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I heard the first period bell. I ran straight to the gym to let Coach Diamond know I was there. Wolf and I shot the shit and lifted.

Yuri came in and started lifting as well. I looked over and saw him looking troubled, so I ambled over to talk with him.

“Great game on Saturday,” I opened with.

He looked up at me with a frustrated face.

“Yes, after the first quarter! It took that long for me and the defense to get it together!”

I sat down and motioned for him to sit up from his bench press.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that too.” I wasn’t going to sugarcoat things for him; he didn’t need that and he didn’t want that! “You’re just missing one thing, Yuri.”

He arched one eyebrow at me. I’d have to learn how to do that.

“The only thing you’re missing is self-confidence. It’s the one thing you should have already, given the way things are.”

“What do you mean, Mr. Quarterback?”

I rubbed my hands together, warming to the subject.

“Well, think of this for starters: you’re the defensive captain of a team whose next game is to repeat as state champions! No team gets to that point on offense alone. No team!

“Second, if you didn’t notice, the last game your entire defense voted for you to be the sole captain, both in the game and at the coin toss. Look at the guys you have on that defense. Do you think they didn’t know what they were doing when they insisted on it?

“Third is to look at your track record over the last few games. Three playoff teams. Playoff teams!

“In the first quarter, over three games, three teams scored a total of 23 points. In the second through fourth quarters over those same three games, those three playoff teams scored a total of 17 points. Seventeen points over nine quarters. And in the last game, in the state semifinals, your defense shut the other team out completely,” I said.

Yuri looked like he was going to counter that, but I stopped him.

“Yeah, I know I figured out that back’s loose ball-security, but it was you and your defense that caused two of his three fumbles, once you knew what to look for, and both fumbles led to scores for us.”

I looked at him.

“Think about it. Your defense has a record any defense in the state would be happy with, and most would kill for. And you’re the unanimously-elected captain of that defense. As a sophomore,” I pointed out.

I stood and started walking away, but I stopped and looked back at him with a smile.

“So, defensive captain, if you have any more problems with self-confidence, just let me know!”

I turned and walked to the locker rooms. Damn, that felt good!

After my shower, Coach Diamond stopped me before I went to my next class.

“Stop by Coach Hope’s office before practice.”

“Anything I need to worry about?” I asked.

“No. Now get to class.”

I wondered what he needed to talk about, but quickly forgot when I went to my AP Trigonometry class. Ms. Lowden gave everyone a quiz and afterward asked Halle and me to come to her desk. She wanted to make sure we were ready for our final on Friday. I was fine, but Halle seemed to need some help, so Ms. Lowden offered to tutor her to get her ready.

The rest of the day followed the same pattern. All my teachers wanted to make sure I was prepared for Friday. Coach Zoon and Mr. Dutton actually gave me study guides for their classes, which I thought would be a big help.

After my last class I went to Coach Hope’s office and he was just leaving it.

“Our meeting has been changed.”

I followed him towards the office. We found ourselves at the office of Mr. Hicks, our Athletic Director. I found my dad, Tom Dole, and Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan in his office. I didn’t have long to wonder what was happening, because Mrs. Sullivan, the head of the Booster Club, got up and addressed us.

“I wanted to get the core group together, and invited Mr. Hicks to attend, to discuss some enhancements to athletics at Lincoln High. The first concerns fitness and conditioning. I’ll let Tony explain what he’s thinking.”

“I’ve been talking to Coach Mason, David’s quarterback coach, about getting the team ready for next year. David came to me and gave us some good ideas. I talked to Coach Mason about them and he had an alternative solution. It’ll cost some money, so I called Mrs. Sullivan to see if the boosters would help.

“Coach Mason pointed me to the National Strength and Conditioning Association. A rather legendary Strength and Conditioning Coach, Boyd Epley, founded it. Mr. Epley is considered the touchstone to the foundations of all the modern fitness programs found in football today. He was at Nebraska in the 60’s and 70’s and helped turn them into a national powerhouse.

“They offer different types of certifications. The one that Coach Mason recommended was The Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, or CSCS. It’s for professionals who design and implement strength-training and conditioning programs for athletes in a team setting. He suggested that Ms. Kim and Ms. Grimes get their certification. I talked to both of them and they would both agree to do it, even to the point of agreeing to stay here for a period of at least two years after they get their certifications, assuming we pay for their training.

“In the meantime, we need something now. I’d like to hire someone to come in and help us implement a program for all athletes at Lincoln High. I would then like whomever we hire to come back periodically, check our progress, and make any tweaks that are needed. Of course, Ms. Kim and Ms. Grimes would be involved in all of this and eventually take over the program. Coach Mason tells me that this is the quickest way for us to get the results we need. He assures me that they can help players like Jim and Johan put on the bulk needed without endangering their health and without losing speed or agility. They can also help players like Ty with their speed work,” Coach Hope said.

I always believed in getting professional help when you needed it, so I was an easy sale. Mr. Hicks was worried about what all this would cost. I found it amusing when he was fearful that he might have to pay Jill and Becky more if they had certification. The condition that they would stay on for a certain time after they got certified would help, I thought.

The next topic made me perk up.

“I’ve been in contact with Coach Rector, the defensive coordinator for Springfield. As some of you know, Coach Zoon is leaving us. I think David can attest that Coach Rector is one of the best high school defensive coaches around. The only problem we have is that he’s asking for more money than we have budgeted. He has agreed in principle if we can come up with the funds. He’s promised to stay at least two years and to groom his replacement when that time comes.

“I think I have a solution to at least next year’s money situation. I’ve found a replacement for Coach Diamond, who’s leaving us to be the head coach at Washington, and this replacement has volunteered his time. Coach Mason has agreed to take over as offensive coordinator. I’m not sure David’s going to be happy with the change, because Coach Mason has told me that he’ll no longer be running the ball,” Coach Hope said.

“I’ll just play defense,” I said.

“Dream on,” Coach Hope said then turned back to everyone. “Please remember that nothing is finalized and what I just shared with you is not for public consumption as of yet.”

Mrs. Sullivan took over the meeting after we all agreed.

“The Booster Club has five facility projects that have been proposed for the coming year. I wanted to come to you to see how you thought we should prioritize them. The first project is seating for football games. We can currently accommodate five thousand fans, six if we add temporary end-zone bleachers. We’d like to double the amount of seating. We would also like to build a much larger press box.

“The second project would be to replace the hospitality tents with a pole barn. The idea would be to also have storage for tables and chairs, plus a permanent kitchen big enough to handle the crowds we’ve been getting.

“The third project would be to upgrade the baseball field. We talked to Mr. Herndon and he suggested that the infield should be skimmed off and the proper dirt be put down. The baseball mound would be redone with clay. The stands have seen better days, and we’d like to add to and replace them.

“The fourth project is the swimming pool. It needs to be drained and resurfaced. I’ve also been told that the equipment should be upgraded. There are some options to greatly reduce the amount of chemicals we need to use.

“The final project is the track. We’d like to remove the old cinder track and put in a new state-of-the-art synthetic track surface.”

It didn’t take long to come up with a plan. The first project was the baseball field. They thought they could have it ready for baseball season. Then the football-related projects were given the next highest priorities. The pool and track would be tackled over the next couple of years. Mrs. Sullivan wanted to talk to me before she left.

“I was wondering if you might be persuaded to make a donation to the booster club. For the football projects we need to put together plans to present to the school board, and we need working capital to do it.”

“Of course, how much do you need?” I asked.

She told me and I sent Caryn a text to take care of it.

“My manager will send out a check today. If you ever need anything, let me know.”

“Thanks, and one more thing: are you going to save me a dance at the awards banquet?” she asked.