Chapter 2: Frenemy

Saturday August 27
Brook and I had finally planned some time together. The only problem was that my security was Cassidy. If it had been Paul or Chuck, I could have told them to guard the door or something. Cassidy was more hanging out with us than guarding me. At least she let me drive my Demon. Paul and Chuck were a little too possessive of my new car.

I pulled up at the Davis estate and honked.

“You better let her have shotgun,” I told Cassidy as I saw the look on Brook’s face.

“Next time, you might want to go to the door,” Cassidy suggested as she got out of the car to let Brook in.

The Demon was a two-door, so Cassidy had to squeeze into the back. It didn’t have the same room the Charger had.

“My mom is starting to wonder if it’s a good idea that you’re my boyfriend with the way you honk and expect me to jump and run to the car,” Brook shared.

“Next time you talk to your mom just remind her that I’m David Dawson,” I said with a straight face.

“It’s a good thing that I know you or we wouldn’t last very long,” Brook said, shaking her head.

“Did you see Don, the new guy?” Cassidy asked Brook.

“You do know he’s Destiny’s brother, right?” Brook shot back.

“He’s kind of cute. David, do you think he’ll ask me out?” Cassidy asked.

“If I get him to ask you out, will you allow Brook and me to have our day together?” I asked.

She smiled and nodded. I checked, and my phone had connected with the Bluetooth they’d added to my car. When I’d gotten it, it only had a driver’s seat and no bells and whistles, since it was a prototype car. Dad and the Sullivans had helped finish it out for me.

“Call Don Crown,” I said and moments later could hear the ringing through the car speakers.

“David?” asked a sleepy voice as he answered.

“Sorry to call you so early, but I need you to do something for me. I need you to ask Cassidy Hope out on a date,” I said.

“I don’t think she even knows who I am, plus her dad might not be happy with that,” Don worried.

I realized that I’d dodged a bullet. If he’d said something negative, I might have one unhappy girl. Plus, she’d put him down in the hall.

“Uh, Don? You’re on speakerphone and Brook, and Cassidy are in the car,” I warned him.

“Oh ... uh, hi!”

“Don, just ask her out already,” I said.

“Oh ... okay.”

We all waited.

“Don?” I prodded.

“Sorry, I was trying to figure out what we would do tonight,” Don admitted.

“Why don’t you let her decide? Just ask.”

“Cassidy, would you go out with me?” Don asked.

“What do you have planned?” Cassidy asked.

“Cassidy, just say ‘yes,’ and when he wakes up later, he can call you,” I said.

“Yes,” Cassidy said.

“I’m not really sure what there is to do here. Maybe you could help me,” Don said, wising up.

“We’ll go on a double date with David and Brook,” Cassidy said.

Brook and I just looked at each other. I’d forgotten about Coach Hope’s rules.

Cassidy chatted with Don all the way to Lincoln Flight School. Brook had a training session with Roy Tyro, our instructor. He was also going to get me started.

“Hey, Brook, David and...” Roy said as we walked in.

“Cassidy,” Brook supplied.

“Cassidy,” Roy said as he shook her hand too. “I’m going to take Brook up so she can log some hours in the cockpit. While she does that, I want to throw the two of you into the flight simulator and run you through some tutorials to familiarize you with things. My hope is that it’ll help you get started and save you money on me teaching you one-on-one.”

He set us up in one of the flight simulators and suggested I get Laminar Research’s X-Plane software. Roy told me that it could save me several hours of flight instruction. Cassidy joined me as my copilot. Brook and Roy left so she could go fly.

Cassidy and I ran through several tutorials and started to get bored.

“Let’s skip to actually flying,” she suggested.

I agreed, and we jumped several tutorials and went to the one at the end where you took off and landed your plane. On my first attempt, I was glad this wasn’t real. I didn’t get the plane up to speed and crashed into a fence at the end of a runway. The next attempt I gave it plenty of gas but jerked the yoke back, and the plane ended up trying to go almost straight up, stalled when the airspeed dropped and exploded on the runway.

“You suck,” Cassidy observed.

I gave her a hard look, and she just smiled.

On the next try, I got off the ground and started to have some fun. All of a sudden, a buzzer started to go off.

“What the hell’s that?” I asked.

Cassidy looked at the red flashing light.

“Proximity alert,” she read, and then we were hit by a huge jet that was landing.

Over the next half hour, Cassidy and I died in several spectacular ways. It was almost like the simulator was trying to kill us. We ran out of gas, lightning hit our plane, we slammed into a mountain, and the list went on.

Finally, Cassidy had had enough.

“Let me try,” she ordered.

I quietly sat and waited to die as she took off and calmly flew the plane. She could even get us landed. We bounced a few times, but we lived through the flight. She gave me a look like I was an idiot. I calmly took off my headset and stomped out of the simulator.

As I exited, I heard laughter coming from an office. I made a beeline to it and found several young guys who looked like they were in college. The group was in front of a computer terminal.

“Sorry, man. They pulled that trick on us when we started. When we heard a newbie was going to use a simulator, we couldn’t help ourselves.”

It turned out they were students at State who were taking a flying class. From the terminal they were at, they could cause problems to arise in the simulated flight, and you had to figure out how to solve them.

“At least I know about every way I can die now,” I said.

“Believe me; there are many more. Sorry about that. I hope you’re okay with the prank we pulled.”

“I’m good,” I said. “Would it be okay if we were actually able to fly for a while?” I asked.

“We’ll leave you alone. Have fun,” they said, and then packed up to go back to school.

I went back in and found Cassidy flying.

“This isn’t that hard,” she offered.

“I guess not everything comes easy for me.”

“I’ll help you learn,” she offered.

I thought about telling her what the college kids had been doing but decided against it. I’d give her this one.

Since no one would plan the date, I took control. The four of us went to a new seafood place over in Washington. Mary Dole had told me about the place after Tom took her there. They flew in fresh Alaskan crab legs for Saturday night. I called, and they were booked up until I told them who I was. They said they could get us in if I agreed to have my picture taken and put on their wall.

I drove to Don’s house first because Brook made some veiled threats about what would happen if she saw Don’s sister. I figured we needed to calm things down some because Brook wasn’t generally like this. I’d driven my mom’s Cadillac because it was the best double-date car. When Don got in, he looked worried.

“My sister is freaking out. I let it slip that we were double-dating,” he said as soon as his butt hit the seat.

“Relax. We aren’t going to try to turn you against your sister. I bet if she’d cool down she would find that she and Brook have a lot in common. They might even become friends.”

“I don’t know. She’s used to being the one in charge. It’s driving her nuts that Brook is the head cheerleader,” he explained.

This reminded me of Tracy during her freshman year. Maybe I could get her to talk to Destiny. Life did not revolve around high school. I didn’t understand why she was making a big deal out of it. Then again, I was a guy.

“Hey,” I said to change the subject, “I have a feeling tonight is going to be pricey.”

I saw Don struggle for a moment.

“I only have sixty dollars on me,” he said.

If we got the Alaskan crab legs, it would be that or more per person. I hadn’t even thought about how much it would be until just now. Brook and I tended to do whatever we wanted without worrying about how much it cost. Cassidy and Don were typical high school kids. I was impressed he had sixty dollars. When I was a freshman, I was lucky to have five on me, so I understood where he was coming from.

“Tell you what: I’ll get tonight. If you and Cassidy hit it off, then you pick the restaurant next time, and you pay. There are several places we could all eat for under thirty,” I suggested.

“We can go back, and I can ask my dad if he can loan me some money.”

“I appreciate you saying that. Normally I don’t go for expensive places, but it sounded good, and I didn’t think. This is my mistake, and I’ll make it right. Just think this is normal that we trade off.”

“I’ve never had Alaskan crab legs,” he admitted.

When we got to Brook’s place, I was a gentleman and went to the door. Ian answered.

“She’s almost ready,” he said, and let me in. “I want a full report about the new place you’re going to. One of the professors in my department went, and she loved it. I thought we might invite your parents to go with us.”

“I think they’d love it, but Dad and I will be on recruiting trips for the next several weeks. Why don’t you plan for some time after Thanksgiving when football’s over?” I suggested.

“That makes sense. I’ll talk to Rob and firm things up.”

I always called my dad, ‘Dad.’ Hearing someone call him ‘Rob’ felt weird.

“You ready?” Brook asked as she came downstairs.

“I think your dad is done laying down the law,” I said as I winked at Ian.

Brook just ignored me and kissed her dad’s cheek. When we got to the car, I saw Don had moved to the back. We made it to Cassidy’s and Don braved going to the door by himself. While he was gone, I explained about dinner and how I felt bad about putting Don and Cassidy in an awkward position.

“I sometimes forget, too. I’ll pull Cassidy aside and explain it to her, so she doesn’t feel uncomfortable ordering tonight. Maybe Don can spring for Monical’s next time.”

That was perfect. I hadn’t been there since I’d been back.

Cassidy had on a summer dress. She must like Don, to go girly. She even had a hint of makeup. My mom had been spending time with Cassidy, helping her with things like that.

We arrived at the restaurant, which was in the middle of the old downtown. It wasn’t very big, but it looked like it was packed. I dropped everyone off and went looking for a parking place. As I walked back, I was recognized and stopped to talk to a couple of people. I found Don outside, waiting for me.

“They said it’d be about ten minutes.”

“I see they abandoned you.”

“I take it they’re good friends.”

“Best friends. When our families went on spring break, Brook invited Cassidy,” I said.

“I thought she was your security or something.”

“I think if anything ever went down, Cassidy would protect Brook and leave me high and dry,” I admitted.

“Where did you go on spring break?” Don asked.

“We rented a boat and explored the Caribbean. I’m glad we went. It was exactly the break I needed.”

“I went to my grandparents’ and had to help my granddad clean out the garage and paint their house.”

“I bet that was fun,” I said, smiling.

“It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. My granddad’s cool, and my grandma can cook up a storm. I think the best part was my sister stayed home, so I didn’t have her to boss me around all week.”

“I have a big brother. Once he figured out I could take him, he hasn’t bossed me around much.”

“I don’t think that works with a sister.”

He might have a point. We were called in.

The restaurant was a two-story building where they’d taken the second floor out, so there were lofty ceilings. Where you came in, there was a hostess station with a big aquarium holding lobsters. I saw a couple talking to their waiter, picking out which ones they wanted to eat. The walls were exposed brick and lined with booths on both sides with a row of tables down the center. We ended up with a table that was close to the front, and our server came right over.

“Good evening, I’m Mark, and I’ll be your waiter tonight. I’m assuming you’re here for our special, Alaskan red king crab legs. We have them flown in just for Saturday nights. They’re sold by the pound. Most people start with a pound, and if they want more, we bring out a platter to the table so you can share.”

We all agreed that sounded like a good plan. After he took our order, I went around and talked to everyone. I found a few football players who’d come to our camp, and I remembered several people that I’d met at our fundraiser/baseball game in the spring.

When I came back, I found they’d brought us cheesy garlic rolls. Not the best breath-factor item for a date, but they were great. Our food finally came, and they arranged it for a photo. They had Don and me sit next to each other, and I was startled when Cassidy hopped into my lap.

“If you think you’re stealing my boyfriend, I’ll just steal yours,” Brook teased as she sat on Don’s knee.

The picture turned out great. I had them send it to Lily so she would post it on my social media accounts.

I’d never had Alaskan red king crab before. It was almost sweet, with a little salt taste, and you would dunk the meat in clarified butter. I was hooked. We ended up ordering five more pounds. I think Mark was impressed that we could eat nine pounds of crab legs between the four of us.

We went back to my place and watched a movie. It seemed like Cassidy and Don liked each other. I simply enjoyed Brook’s company, so I didn’t pay close attention. I would have rather have just spent time with Brook alone, but for Cassidy, I was willing to help out.

Sunday August 28
When I came down for church, Mom told me we were going to Uncle John’s instead. Chuck drew the short straw and was our driver. Dad claimed shotgun, and that left me in the back talking to my mom. Somehow, we got onto the topic of religion.

“The way I see it, the Old Testament is about loyalty and keeping your word. Period. The New Testament is about love and sacrifice. And when I say love, I don’t mean sex; I mean compassion, understanding, tolerance, forgiveness, sacrifice, and patience,” I explained.

“Okay. So how do you fit that into your everyday life?” Mom asked.

I thought about it for a moment.

“I think religion gives you a moral compass. It helps you make better decisions.”

“What about faith?”

“Faith alone can’t accomplish a thing. But faith in combination with inspired and thoughtful action can move mountains. You can help people if that’s what you genuinely want to do, but you need to provide inspiration and motivation to make that happen.

“My pet peeve is when people throw up their hands and say ‘God will provide’ or ‘He will decide.’ God gave us free will. If he were going to run our lives, he wouldn’t have let us decide for ourselves,” I said.

I think Dad had heard enough.

“I talked to Caryn. They’ve arranged your recruiting trips.”

“Our first one is next weekend, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Wisconsin. We’re leaving after your Orange/Blue game to drive up. It looks like Tim and Wolf’s dads will be joining us.”

“I call shotgun!”

I could imagine them putting the three of us in the back row. Wolf, Tim and I were big boys, and it would be cramped.

When we got to my uncle’s farm, Bonnie had brunch ready. Once we were done, Uncle John looked at me.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested.

I looked around, and everyone stared back at me. Crud! This was some kind of intervention.

“Fine.”

We headed along the fence row in silence. I wasn’t falling for the talking-first game. If my uncle had something to say, he needed to get the ball rolling. He glanced over at me with a sly smile.

“There’s no doubt you’re a Dawson.”

“Was there ever any?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“No,” he said and then got to the point. “I thought it might be time we took a step back and looked at the big picture. You’ve been going nonstop for three years now. You’re about to enter your last year of high school and need to start thinking about what comes after.”

“Where do you want to start?” I asked.

“Where do you see your life going? What legacy do you want to leave?” Uncle John asked.

“What do you mean?”

“If you could look back on your life, what would you like to accomplish?”

“I can’t even decide whether I want to play football, baseball, or do movies after college. I have no idea what the future holds,” I said.

“They’re just a means to an end. You could skip all that and merely live off what you’ll make in the next year and a half, with the movie deals you have in place. I think if you’re honest with yourself, you don’t have to do any of those things. You could retire and get married. Give Coby a bunch of little brothers and help them find their way.

“I guess what I’m asking is, regardless of which path you take, what’s the final destination?” Uncle John asked.

“I want to look back and see that the people closest to me all achieved their dreams. I want to see that all the little ones have grown to their full potential. I want to feel that I have helped others. I want to look back and see that I made a difference. I can’t really see me sitting around and just enjoying life. I want to feel that I was useful.”

“Is there something specific you want to accomplish?”

“You mean like bring peace to, and end hunger for, the world?” I asked.

“Good. Pick one and think about what it would take to accomplish it. Think about how it would change your life goals. How would it affect your friends and family? Who would you have to bring into your Circles of Trust? Do you see where I’m going with this?” Uncle John asked.

“Why do I need to think about this now?” I asked.

“Because it will help you decide on what college you attend, whether you play college ball or focus on your studies, do you continue making movies, and so on. My dad sat me down when I was your age. Everyone knew your dad didn’t want to follow your grandfather into politics, and it was put to me that I was the successor.

“I think that if I hadn’t had those talks, I’d be in politics right now. I will give my dad credit; he never pushed me into anything. Now my mom was another story. While I love her to death, I want you to know that you don’t have to follow her grand plan of you being the governor, senator, or president someday, if you don’t want to. Your dad and I can have a talk with her and slow her down,” he said.

“So, what do you want me to do?” I asked.

“Slow down and give your future some serious thought. I’ve watched you take on one thing after another, and you’ve been smart enough to ask for help when needed. I think you know that, whatever you plan, you won’t do it alone.

“But a lot of what you’ve done has happened by chance. Think about it. I called a friend and the next thing you know you’re going out for football. Someone saw you, and suddenly you’ve been contacted to model. The football and modeling lead to you meeting someone who recommends you for a part in a movie. While filming a movie, you’re sent to a hitting coach who leads to you being on the Under-18 USA Baseball Team.

“I know that we’ve taught you to put yourself out there and opportunities will happen. You’ve done an excellent job of seizing those opportunities and making the most of them. What I want to point out is that you might want to start purposefully creating the opportunities that lead you to where you want to go instead of just letting things happen,” Uncle John explained.

It had worked out so far, but I saw his point. My problem was, what senior in high school knew what they wanted to be when they grew up? I would bet if you asked 100 forty-year-olds if they ended up doing what their teen selves planned, it would be a tiny number that had. Either things happened, or they discovered through life’s experience that what they thought they wanted didn’t work for them.

When I thought about what my uncle had said, it didn’t matter if I did movies, played baseball or football. I think I understood better. What he was asking wasn’t how I planned to get there, but where did I want to end up. From him working with me on my life goals, I could see where even if my path took some unexpected turns, I could still get where I wanted in the end.

This all tied into my Circles of Trust, too. If I knew my ultimate goal, it would change who ended up closest to me. It would never affect my family and closest friends, but it would help me identify the types of people with whom I needed to cultivate relationships to help me reach those goals.

I could also see how this fit with his talk on the Alpha Male and how he could lead. The big lesson from that was that I could do more with delegating than I could by trying to be in control all the time, which was the first instinct of an Alpha Male.

I chuckled when I realized that our guys’ weekends all had a purpose. He had been leading me to this point. It wasn’t about what I wanted to do when I grew up; it was about what would be my legacy. Would I leave a lasting mark, or would I fade into the sunset as so many people did? Fading into the sunset wasn’t all bad. If I could help my family and friends achieve their goals, what would it matter if anyone remembered me?

I hated my uncle. Why did he have to open my eyes to this? I was happy just doing what I was doing and letting what came next, come.

I knew that I would miss too much if I continued down this path. I think that was why people like Matt Damon became activists for causes they believed in.

It wasn’t about charity work, either. I’d watched my dad work to make Greg and me into self-sufficient young men. He’d spent time with us talking about absolutely everything; taught us to cook and take care of ourselves. He’d stepped up and helped me with my businesses. I wouldn’t be half the person I was now without his patience and guidance.

I’d been given a great opportunity and a support system to help me do anything. The question was, what did I want?

“I don’t think I can figure this out this afternoon,” I admitted.

“You may never figure it all out. What I want you to do is start thinking longer term. Stop reacting to things and create a plan. You have the framework in place with your Circles of Trust and life goals. If you add the long-term to your thinking, it’ll make you realize what matters and what doesn’t. Not every opportunity that comes your way fits into what you want in the long run.”

On our ride home, I talked to my parents about it. I noticed they didn’t offer any advice, they just listened.

“What should I do?” I asked.

“I don’t know, David. What do you want to do?” Mom asked.

“Seriously? You just gave me Uncle John’s psychologist response,” I said and then mimicked his voice. “So, how does that make you feel?”

“I thought you didn’t want me running your life,” Mom said with a touch of warning in her voice.

“Maybe I’ll call Tami,” I said, joking.

“That might not be a bad idea,” Mom shot back.

“Fine. Be no help,” I said, and sulked.

“Bless his heart,” Dad said, mimicking Grandma Felton.

I put my earbuds in and ignored their laughter. I needed Greg to move back in so I wasn’t the only target for their amusement.

When I got home, I took the boys for a walk in the stroller. Duke came along to protect them from evil squirrels. We went to the park where I pulled out a blanket, and the three of us watched Duke chase his ball. The warm sun did its magic, and we all took naps.

“Your mom said I would find you here,” Tami said, scaring the crap out of me.

Coby fussed, so she sat down and picked him up.

“Did she tell you what they pulled on me?” I asked.

“Yes, but maybe you should tell me about it in your own words.”

“It was the whole ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ ploy.”

“I thought it was more than that,” she prodded.

“If you already know, why am I telling you?” I asked.

“Because I know you. If you talk it out, you’ll figure it out.”

“I thought I just told you and you figured it out,” I observed.

“Smartass.”

“No, I get it. I need to go through the process, or I won’t buy into it.”

“We’ve been pushing for you to do so for a while. Picking your college needs to be more than which has the best football program. If you decide you want to be a movie star, you’re not going to want to go somewhere that’s focused on engineering or hard science. On the other hand, if you decide you only want to play football, you’re not going to want to go somewhere they expect you to go to class. I think today was just your final wake-up call that you can’t keep putting this off,” she suggested.

“Maybe I’ll go to a liberal arts college and just get a well-rounded education.”

“If it were anything like the class schedule you picked, I would have to say, ‘No.’ I mean seriously, rock music appreciation?”

“I like rock music,” I said to defend myself.

“I like kitten videos, but you don’t see me taking a class on that.”

“They have a class like that? Dang it, I want to take that. All those AP classes make me learn things,” I complained.

“Poor baby.”

We both knew I was just throwing a fit.

“What are you doing home?” I asked, to change the topic.

Tami knew I was done talking about what she’d been sent to do, so she just smiled.

“We start classes tomorrow. I was home to hang out with my mom and boyfriend,” she said, and then her smile got bigger. “OMG! You didn’t even flinch when I used the ‘B’ word. What happened? You don’t love me anymore?”

“I guess my love for you has finally changed. I want to see you happy. I also want to see Tim happy. If you two going out makes that happen, great,” I said and meant it.

“I didn’t think I would ever see the day,” she admitted.

“Not to jinx this or anything, but why do you still wear my promise ring?” I asked.

“David, I’ve never said I didn’t love you. I said that I wanted to be your last love. This reminds me that we might still have a future. I hope you know that even if I end up marrying Tim and we live happily ever after, you will always hold a special place in my heart.

“I never wanted to hurt you. I did what I thought was best for both of us. I hope you realize that,” Tami said.

“Same here. Like you and Tim, I don’t know what the future will hold for Brook and me. She’s a good fit, and I look forward to seeing what our future’s like. Who knows what ‘someday’ holds?”

“Do you want me to take it off?” she asked.

“That’s up to you. I just wondered.”

The boys woke up and were hungry, so Tami helped me get them in the stroller. She hugged me and kissed my cheek.

“Make me proud,” she said and walked to her car.

I felt like I’d been letting everyone down. They’d been pushing me to figure out where I was going to school. I think Pam was the first one to say to heck with it and start picking colleges assuming I wasn’t going to the same one she went to.

I saw the logic in thinking long-term to help me make shorter-term decisions. Now I just needed to figure it out.

When I got home, I fed the boys and gave them their baths. I put them down for naps while I cooked dinner.

“I got an interesting call while you were out,” Mom said as she checked to see what I was cooking.

“What’s that?”

“It was from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They have a boy who would like to meet you and go to one of your football games.”

“I’m fine with that. You might want them to talk to the school and find out if there are any rules we have to follow. Coach Hope has been acting grouchy enough. I don’t need him upset about something like this,” I said.

“I’ll take care of it,” Mom said.

Thinking about what the Make-A-Wish Foundation represented—fulfilling wishes of very sick kids—my issues didn’t seem quite so big.

Wednesday August 31
Today my badass girlfriend was finally going back to school after serving her three-day suspension for fighting Destiny. Not in a million years would I ever have thought Brook Davis would get into an actual fistfight. I couldn’t ever remember her even getting into a verbal confrontation before.

Her cheerleading coach, Pam Lowden, had made them both come in yesterday afternoon to lay down the law. If they even looked cross-eyed at each other, they would be off the team. It had the same effect it would have had on me if Coach Hope had made a similar threat to Alan and me. I would put a smile on in public, but he might get a butt-kicking off campus.

Paul pulled up to Brook’s home, and she came bounding out of the house. Her mom stepped out after her.