Chapter 19: Lists, Plans, Decisions

Sunday March 20

I woke up and was startled. I wasn’t used to someone in my bed, other than my trusty hound. Miranda had been staring at me while I slept.

“I think this weekend was a mistake,” she said.

“Why’s that?”

“It made me realize what I’ve been missing. Watching you with your friends while you’re going to high school, and you’re still able do other things, made me wonder if I need to make some changes. My contract is up in a couple of weeks. It might be time to sit down and evaluate what I want out of life.”

“Do you mind some unsolicited advice?” I asked.

“I should talk to your friend Tami and she’ll tell me what to do?”

I laughed at that.

“I wouldn’t wish that on you, but I would suggest you talk to both Adrienne and Kara. They’ve both been where you are at some point in their lives. You’re too talented to just walk away.

“I get it,” I ruminated. “I can see where I’d be struggling if I were in your shoes. I would have a hard time going from job to job and the only person with me was a manager who I found out didn’t have my best interest at heart. It would be lonely as hell,” I said.

“You would never be lonely,” she teased.

“But at what cost?” I asked. “Would I be happy with a string of one-night stands? How long would it take for that to get old?”

She laughed at me, calling me on my bullshit. It took George Clooney like thirty years to give up the constant opportunities for one-night stands. Heck, now-pudgy Leonardo DiCaprio was still doing it in his early forties. What was the trade-off? Being like my brother with a wife and family? Having sex with only one woman the rest of my life? Were those my only options? No, but I was a romantic at heart. I was sure if I talked to my uncle, he’d tell me that I was too young to worry about it right now, even if it felt like the most important thing to me. He would make some smart remark about teens.

“You need to do what’s right for you. I know Kara’s much happier now that she isn’t constantly traveling and has a home base in New York. She’s actually making more money, but that’s partly due to Adrienne having the contacts for the better jobs. Adrienne set her up in the condo with other models. They may change, but it offers her a support group, and Tyler acts like a den mother to make sure everyone’s okay.”

“Adrienne talked to me about it, and I know I want her to manage me. I’ve just missed all my friends from home,” she admitted.

I leaned over and kissed her. Miranda rolled me over on my back and found her favorite toy. I put my hands behind my head as she blew me. I’d be sorry to see her leave today.

Miranda’s car came for her after I fed her breakfast.

Today’s plan was to go to Springfield and watch our seven-on-seven team play in the last day of the tournament. Alan told me they’d played two games yesterday and would play two more today.

Fritz showed up and told me he had time for breakfast. I just shook my head. Mom had made a breakfast casserole. I gave him a plate and let him serve himself, then went back up to my apartment. I grabbed my baseball glove and a ball and changed into sweats in case I got a chance to play a little catch. I didn’t want to do that in my jeans.

Mom and Dad had gone to church. I would have to avoid Dad, since the only reason he had to go was because I’d backed out. Fritz was ready, so we got in the car and drove to Springfield.

“Did Paul get you the video from last night?” I asked.

“I’ve already sent it to Caryn. She’ll take it from there,” he said and then glanced over at me. “I think we need to upgrade your security. If Paul had been across the room, he would never have captured the audio last night. Not everyone will be as naïve as that young woman was. Plus, we aren’t with you 24/7.”

“What are my options?” I asked.

“We could put an app on your phone, but it plays hell with battery life, and if you stick it in your pocket, it’s sketchy at best. They make belts, glasses, pens and hats. I saw a really nice brooch that might work,” he teased.

I thought about what he said. In just the last few weeks, I’d encountered a boxer who’d tried to rob me and now a student reporter who’d attempted to blackmail me. With the crowds that were showing up, it wouldn’t take much of a leap to realize there might be far worse attempts moving forward. All I had to do was think about Baby Dick and his gang, and how the police reacted at first, to realize that having a camera recording the goings-on could go a long way to keeping me out of trouble.

“Why don’t you get the different options and we’ll try them out.”

Fritz smiled and pointed to the glove box. Inside was a Lincoln High baseball cap, a Cross pen with what looked like a black onyx stone, black-rimmed glasses, and a black leather belt. I tried on the glasses and smiled. I glanced in the mirror, and a certified, card-carrying geek looked back at me. Fritz just smirked. I put on the baseball cap as well for good measure.

Springfield had four fields set up for games. Our first was against the host school. I strolled over and saw there were a few college scouts wandering around. Alan waved at me.

“David! David, we’re over here!” he called.

Well, there went my plan just to blend in. Coach Rector smiled when he saw me. Trent, my backup, slumped. I wasn’t here to play, but to lend moral support.

“Trent, you’re the man today. I thought I’d see how you’re coming along,” I said.

Alan told me they’d split yesterday. Bloomington had taken the first game and they’d beaten Mt. Vernon. Their last game was against Trinity. Coach Rector wanted to win the Springfield game, where he’d coached at last year.

Springfield won the toss and deferred, meaning we got the ball first. Trent dropped back and promptly threw the ball into the dirt. Coach Rector called a hook to Wolf to help his young quarterback’s confidence. Trent let fly with a ball that sailed over Wolf’s head. That’s hard to do.

“Coach, call time out!” I called.

Coach Rector gave me a look, but called time, and the team came over to the sideline. Coach Hope was watching from the stands, and I’d seen him almost jump out of his skin on the last throw. I jumped over a low fence and ran to the huddle. I saw the referee coming, but I ignored him.

“Trent, do your drop, plant your feet, and release the ball over your front toe. You’re not setting your feet,” I told him.

“Coach, only players or coaches on the roster can be on the sideline,” the ref said.

“This is David Dawson. He’s on the roster,” Coach Rector said.

The ref pulled out his list.

“Yep. Sorry about that,” he said.

“Okay, let’s all settle down. Same play. Keep running it with tempo until they stop you,” I said.

Everyone looked at Coach Rector.

“You heard him,” he said, sending them out onto the field.

I’d done this with Wolf last year when we played seven-on-seven ball. He was a big target and it should be an easy pitch and catch. When I said ‘with tempo,’ it meant to hustle and line back up and go again as soon as they could. The hope was that the defense wouldn’t have time to figure out how to stop Trent and Wolf.

Trent seemed to settle down and Wolf did what he did best: make a big target and catch the ball. Six plays later we were up 7–0. Springfield came right back and scored. You could just tell that this was going to be one of those games where the last one with the ball won.

Trent was getting better. He hit a couple of long ones to Roc, and Ty made a spectacular run on a short pass to make it 28–all. Trent also missed some easy ones. The experience playing in the seven-on-seven games would benefit him greatly.

We had the ball with just a few seconds left. Coach Rector called time out and the guys came over. Coach looked at me.

“What’s the call, Dawson?” he asked.

I smiled, then got my game face on and called the play.

“Trent, look for Wolf as he drags across the back of the end zone. Put the ball up where only he can get it,” I said, and then turned to Wolf. “Catch it and get down. You don’t want them to have a chance to knock it loose.”

I now knew what Coach Hope felt when he called a play and had to watch it unfold. Trent took the snap and pump-faked to Roc in the corner. That was all that was needed to get the defense to react. Wolf got a little separation and Trent let it fly. The Springfield defender grabbed Wolf as he went up. That was what Connor had been working with him for. He’d been building up his strength so he could jump with a defensive back hanging on him. Wolf powered up and carried the defender as he caught the ball. He went to one knee and it was called a touchdown.

In the second game we just outclassed Trinity. They’d lost all their games. It gave us a chance to play some of our younger players to give them experience.

On the way home, there was a text from my mom that I was to come home instead of going to dinner at Zoe’s. I called Zoe and gave her the news. She was disappointed, but said she would see me at school. When we arrived home, I found Ari Gould in my kitchen talking to Mom, Dad and Caryn.

“Good to see you, but why are you here?” I asked.

“I have some good news. You might want to sit down for this,” he said with a smile.

I looked at Caryn and she shrugged, so I sat. Ari must not have told anyone what his news was.

“I received a contract for you to play the young Han Solo,” Ari said.

That was huge. I thought my face might crack, I smiled so big.

“Wow,” was all I got out. I was stunned.

“Of course you need to fly out next week to film your cameo in Rogue One. The studio is really excited and will want you to do a small press tour when you get done filming,” Ari said.

“We just made plans for a vacation,” Mom said.

“You’ll just need to change them. This is the big break every actor looks for. After this movie, you can just print money,” Ari predicted.

“What all is David expected to do?” Caryn asked.

Ari pulled out the contract.

“You’ll leave to shoot the Rogue One part this Thursday. They want you to work with CGI and a dialogue coach through Monday, and then you’ll shoot the rest of the week,” he said, and then flipped the page. “In April you’ll start the press junket the second week, and return around the first of May.”

That would mean I would miss our vacation and most of the rest of the school year. I could see the lines on my mom’s forehead deepen, a sure sign she wasn’t happy. Ari flipped through a couple of pages.

“Next fall you’ll have to go to the UK a couple of times for about a week each so they can map your body for CGI, and they want you to do some voice work for a cartoon based in the Star Wars universe,” he said, and then found what he was looking for. “Here it is. You would be expected to be in the UK the last week of the year ... and ... you would be done August fifteenth,” he said as he pointed to a line in the contract.

Ari looked up and smiled.

“That would give you about a week before you had to fly to New Zealand to do the two Star Academy movies.”

“They want him to lose the rest of his school year this year and be gone for eight months. That would mean he wouldn’t graduate,” Caryn said.

That had my mom’s full attention.

“We would get him tutors, and we could look into him graduating early or getting his GED,” Ari suggested, and then he noticed the looks on my parents’ faces. “I know this is sudden. Part of the reason I flew in was because I want to stress what this could potentially mean for your son. I also want to be clear what turning it down might mean.”

“What about the James Bond movie?” I asked.

“We only have a letter of commitment, because of the problems with Daniel Craig. The tentative shoot schedule will be for next summer. All we have to do is give them notice, and they’ll let you out of the agreement. Star Wars is a sure thing,” Ari said, then he laid out the fee schedule.

Star Wars was one of the very few franchises where they could guarantee a profit. They’d offered a payout schedule when different milestones were met, and an eighth of a point. Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the third movie to break the two billion mark. No one knew what these spin-off movies would do, but if it hit two billion I would dance all the way to the bank.

I felt the enormity of the situation for the first time. I could actually retire before I hit 20 if I did this. It would also mean that I might never play football or baseball. This was happening too fast. I’d planned it out such that I’d have at least a year before I needed to start firming up what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I leaned forward and cupped my face in both of my hands with my elbows on the table. It felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest.

“David,” my mom said tentatively.

I let my hands slide up as my palms pressed into my eyes. What was I supposed to do? How could I walk away from an opportunity like this? Ari had alluded to the fact that there could be consequences if I did that. Joyce Heart, the president of Lucasfilm, told me she had a long memory. When she said that, it was in the context of keeping me in mind for other roles, if I didn’t get this movie. I imagine that was a double-edged sword. If I disappointed her ... well, that wasn’t something I wanted to find out.

“David, are you okay?” Mom asked as she touched my arm.

I pulled my hands away from my face and blinked. Was I okay? Not really. I wasn’t ready to give up on my dreams. The real question was could I still make it work if I did this? I realized that this was too big for me to decide without help. I looked at my dad.

“This is too big to decide on my own or even on our own. We need to get some help with this,” I said.

“That’s why I’m here,” Ari said.

“We know that, and we want your advice. Actually, we’re counting on it,” Dad said.

“It’s not just the movies. I have to consider football and baseball,” I said.

“Don’t forget what comes after,” Caryn added.

I looked around the table.

“What do we need to do?” I asked.

Caryn smiled.

“We should make lists of who we need to talk to, put together plans for different options, and then come to a decision as to what we want to do,” she said, going into manager mode. She then turned to Ari. “How long do we have to respond?”

“They’d like an answer tonight. I can probably get it delayed a day or two. They need to get whoever is doing it in the UK for the Rogue One part of it.”

Caryn helped us make a list of who all we needed to talk to. For football, I needed to talk to Bud Mason and Bo Harrington. I could call Lucas Kite for baseball. Caryn made a list of Hollywood people from Rita James to ‘Chubby’ Feldman. We added Ms. Dixon because she would have to look at the contract and she was a sharp woman. I added Governor Higgins, and of course the rest of my family.

It was decided I would take tomorrow off from school so we could cover all our bases. I wanted to be in the discussions with some of the key players, and I wanted Mom and Dad there also. I was happy when Ari volunteered to make some calls for us.

We went back and forth about one name in particular, Joyce Heart. Dad was for it, because he felt she would be more forgiving if she were a part of the process. Ari didn’t want us to show our hand until we decided. Caryn, Mom and I all were on the fence, and the decision was put on hold until we got more input.

We finally called it a night and I went to my apartment with my hound, who’d come home from his weekend at Peggy’s parents’ house. He was all wiggles when he saw me. I needed some unconditional love. I also wanted something I hadn’t sought out in a long time: advice from my best friend, Tami.

Tami jumped onto video chat, and I talked for nearly forty-five minutes explaining everything as I saw it and what we had planned to do to help me make the decision. I was surprised when she just listened. Finally, I asked her opinion.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“I think you have a big decision and you’re working to figure it out,” she said.

“Come on, Tami. You must have an opinion.”

“My opinion is you have a big decision to make,” she said, and then held up her hands because she knew that I was frustrated with her non-answer. “I honestly don’t think I have the right to do more than give you moral support. If I thought you were about to do something rash, I might have a different opinion. You’ve obviously decided to get advice from people in the know, and I can’t see how I would be able to give you better advice than what you plan to get.

“I do think you might want to talk to the lady in charge that made the offer, once you’ve got an idea what you might want to do. I wouldn’t just give her an ultimatum or tell her your final decision. From what you’ve told me, you like and respect her, and she seems to feel the same way about you. I wouldn’t want to damage that relationship; and personally, I would want to talk to her directly,” Tami concluded.

I leaned back in my chair and blinked a few times. I needed to wrap my head around the new Tami. Had she just indirectly said that I knew best? When had she decided that she didn’t have all the answers? Not that I felt she was a know-it-all, it was just that she knew me better than anyone else and how I made questionable decisions at times. I think the best advice she ever gave me was that my first instinct was normally wrong. It stopped me and made me think before I decided something instead of just doing.

Tami wasn’t one that liked silence.

“If you want to call and tell me what you’ve decided, or what your options are after you’ve talked to these people, then do so. You’ll figure this out.”

She could tell I didn’t know what to say, so she changed the topic.

“Want to hear about Cue Ball?”

“You make him sound like an evil villain in an Austin Powers or James Bond movie.”

“Well, he is an evil villain, isn’t he?” she asked with a hint of a smile.

I just shrugged.

“He was pissed, as you might have guessed. I heard Damion calmed him down and told him you had nothing to do with it. I’m not sure if he believes it, but his brother confirmed you never even came into the apartment, and that Jim was the one who had planned it all.

“Jim left Luke a bottle of rubbing alcohol to give Mike once they’d had their fun with him. I saw him in the cafeteria at lunch, and he’d gotten the permanent marker off his skin. He looks a little goofy bald, though,” Tami said.

“I hope Mike isn’t down wit’ O.P.P. anymore,” I said as I gave Tami my gang signs.

‘O.P.P.’ was a reference to the song the football team had played for him. She must not have thought much of my gangsta rep, because she laughed at me.

We talked about a few other topics, and then she needed to get to bed. I would have to think some more about how Tami’s and my dynamic had seemed to change. Maybe there was hope for us being best friends again. I certainly felt better about it.

I don’t know why I did it, but something told me I should. I called Jeremy Pike, the psychic, whom I’d met doing the press tour for Star Academy.

“I was just thinking about you,” Jeremy said when he answered. “You’ve had something suddenly come up.

I smiled. Was he just bullshitting me? He laughed at my silence.

“I get it. That sounded pretty cheesy, even for me.”

“Yeah, it made me think you were putting me on,” I admitted.

“It’s good to be skeptical. How do you prove the unprovable? I could just be a guy who’s luckier than most at guessing. In a lot of ways, it’s like believing in God. Not that I compare myself to God, but I see his hand in what I do,” Jeremy said.

“I may have made a mistake calling. I don’t really believe in this stuff,” I said.

“I understand that, but something made you call. Why don’t you tell me what’s up and I’ll see if I can shed some of my unique light on it.”

“In other words, what do I have to lose?” I asked.

“Exactly.”

I spent thirty minutes explaining what was going on and what my options were as I saw them.

“Remember when I told you that the obvious path might not be the best?” Jeremy asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I never saw this as a real possibility. Sometimes in life, an opportunity will come up that’s unexpected. I feel like this is one of those. I see that this could be a life-changing chance. What you have to be cautious about is that if you take this path, it will close off opportunities down the road. Things that you may have done, you won’t be given the opportunity to do if you take this.

“Like I said, I don’t think this is a bad choice, but you need to figure out what you’re giving up if you take it. I do see this as a much easier path for you. The other path will have more struggles, and you will experience heartbreak. Then again, you’re young, so I think heartbreak is a given,” he said.

“So, what should I do?” I asked.

“This is going to sound weird. Whatever you decide, you need to begin to focus on the people you want to have around you. You need to find out what their desires are, and help them achieve those goals. It is only through them that you will truly achieve your destiny,” Jeremy said.

“Should I do the movie, or should I pass?” I asked.

“Look at it this way,” he suggested. “Are you ready to step into adult life, or do you want to wait? You’re capable, and this opportunity will lead to more, much more. Waiting will be more of a struggle, but it will have its own set of rewards.”

“What about my love life?” I asked.

“That’s a whole different discussion. You’ve already met someone who could make you very happy. But there are several someones now and in your future. When the time comes, you’ll know. I’ll just say it’s no time soon, even though you might disagree at some point. You wouldn’t be a teenager if you didn’t think you knew what’s best,” Jeremy said.

“Now you sound like my uncle,” I quipped.

“If that’s the case, you should probably listen to him.”

“Whatever,” I said, playfully dismissing that idea.

“One last thing. I want you to listen to this, if nothing else: have your mom go in for checkups regularly. If, and I stress this, if she has a recurrence, it has to be caught early. If not, you might lose her.”

That sobered me up. Mom would be in for a checkup tomorrow, if I had anything to say about it. I knew she saw her doctor periodically to make sure the cancer was gone, but I wasn’t aware of how often. Now I had something else to worry about.

Monday March 21

How do you tell your mom that a psychic told you she needed to get her cancer checked out? “I called 1-900-Clair[voyant] and she said...” Nope, not happening. I’d get Dad to do it. Armed with my plan, I went to the kitchen with my bouncy hound.

Mom and Dad both looked tired as they drank their first cup of coffee.

“Dad, Mom has looked a little tired lately. When was the last time she had a checkup? You know ... for...” I left it to hang.

Mom slowly turned on me and gave me the ‘death stare.’

“When was the last time you were checked?” Dad asked.

“I’m perfectly fine. You two can just back off,” Mom announced.

“She should get checked before we go on vacation. Who knows what kind of doctors they’ll have down there,” I suggested helpfully.

“David Allen Dawson!” Mom barked.

“He’s right. I couldn’t go and worry about you the whole trip,” Dad said.

“I think I need to go run,” I said as Peggy came down with Little David.

I could hear the start of the argument as I left. I felt bad, but I also loved my mom too much to leave something like this to chance.

When we got outside, I told Peggy I needed to think. She agreed to take Duke with her and Little David. She has been around me enough to know I’d put my earbuds in and zone out. She knew better than to try to run with me when I did that, because I would set too brisk a pace and might run forever.