Chapter 10: Soap Opera

Sunday December 18
Mr. Otsuki had us all gathered for our weekly read-through of the script.

“This week’s first will be the first date. Haru and David’s characters will go to dinner and then a play. We’ve arranged to shoot during an actual stage play here at the university. They are putting on a modern-day rendition of Romeo and Juliet. We’ll film it on Saturday afternoon and evening if needed.

“Because of the change in schedule, we won’t be filming on Wednesday this week. We are losing David again, so we’ll try to get all his scenes in today and Saturday,” Mr. Otsuki explained.

“Where are you going?” Misaki asked.

“My movie, The Royal Palm, comes out this weekend. I have to do promotional appearances, so I’ll be flying to New York for Monday’s promotions and then Atlanta on Tuesday. I’ll be back to do more in LA on Wednesday. We’re having the red-carpet premiere on Thursday. I’ve arranged for you all to be my guests at the premiere,” I announced.

This wasn’t on the same scale as Star Academy. Ari had gotten a call from the studio and basically said I could invite as many people as I wanted. I’d taken full advantage. Kitty had invited the cast and crew from Love Letters, so I decided to do the same for College First. I’d also invited all the people who worked for me here in LA. At the very least, I would have a sympathetic crowd in the seats.

We were facing a crowded field at the theaters. Last week’s releases were Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and La La Land, a musical romantic-comedy/drama. On Wednesday, two more films that were generating buzz—Passengers, a sci-fi romance with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, and Sing, an animated picture—would hit theaters. On Friday, we would face a comedy, Why Him?

It seemed to me that La La Land would be our main competition for the adult market. It looked like they’d tried to hit every genre when describing their film. We were the only spy thriller in the mix. I had a hunch we would do better than expected.

“Who are you taking to lunch?” Haru asked.

“Would you go to lunch with me?” I asked.

I’d talked to my new mentor, Mr. Nomura, before the meeting, and he suggested that this would be the week to ask her. It might have to be Saturday, but I would get it in this week.

We were going nonstop today. Our director was determined to get all my scenes shot before the day was done. Since I was the reason, I didn’t complain. When we finally got a break, Lexi hurried on set and handed me my phone.

“You need to get home right now,” she said, looking worried.

Lexi never seemed to get ruffled, so it was worrisome to see her in such a state.

“What’s up?”

“Call Teresa,” was all she said.

I had no idea why I would need to go home for Teresa. I decided to call her before I rushed off without a good reason.

“Hey, it’s David.”

“My mom has gone over to your house to lay out again. I suspect she plans to seduce your girlfriend’s father,” she warned.

“F-me! You can’t be serious,” I said.

“I’m sorry.”

I found Mr. Otsuki and explained that I would be back in thirty minutes. Lexi had Manaia waiting with the car when I walked out the front door. It was lucky for me that we were only a few minutes from the house. I sent a text to Brook to find out where she was. It seemed she was with the moms, and they were on the way back from shopping. I told her to delay them.

We pulled in, and I jumped out of the car. I ran inside in search of Ian. At first, I couldn’t find him, and then I heard laughter coming from upstairs. In the hall, I found Paulina’s swimsuit. That didn’t bode well. I came to Ian and Ava’s bedroom door, and I could hear them, so I knocked.

Sudden silence.

“Ian, I know you’re in there with Paulina. Your wife and daughter are minutes away. You better wrap this up right now,” I warned.

“Shit!” Ian said.

“Where’s my swimsuit?” Paulina asked.

“It’s in the hall,” I offered.

The door cracked open.

“Give it to me,” Ian said with his hand held out.

I heard the front door open. I decided I wasn’t going to help him cover this up. The only thing I’d prevented was Ava walking in on it. I grabbed the swimsuit and tossed it to him, turned around, and trudged downstairs.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were working,” Mom said.

“I got a call that Ian had a house guest,” I replied. Then I turned to Brook and Ava. “I’m so sorry you had to walk in on this.”

“Walk in on what?” Mom asked.

Ian rushed down the stairs.

“I’ll let him explain,” I said and started for the front door.

Brook grabbed my arm, and I could tell she wanted answers.

“Just come with me. I have to get back on set,” I said, and she followed me out to the car.

“What’s going on?” she asked as we pulled away from the house.

“Your dad spent the afternoon with one of the neighbors,” I said.

Brook rocked back into her seat in stunned silence. I had a nervous laugh bubble up; that earned me a glare.

“Sorry. I was just thinking this is worse than a soap opera. You really should have stayed to see my mom and yours in action. Without either of us there as witnesses, we might not find their bodies,” I explained.

I could tell Brook wanted to get mad at me so she could vent. Then she seemed to deflate.

“My dad really cheated on my mom?”

“Yeah,” I said quietly.

“I don’t want to go back.”

“That’s fine. You can hang out on the set with Lexi and Hana while I work,” I suggested.

When I walked in, I was sent straight in to do the next scene. I nailed it. It was either that or Mr. Otsuki’s one-shot rule. No matter; we moved on. I didn’t get a break until dinner time.

Lexi redirected me from where everyone else was eating and pointed me towards an empty classroom. I found my mom and dad with food for me. Brook joined us before anything could be said.

“You need to hurry up and eat if we’re going to get out of here in time for your flight,” Lexi said, and then left us alone.

Mom stepped over to Brook and took her into her arms. Brook finally broke down and cried. I looked at Dad, and he pointed at the sub sandwich. He was right. I was starving and had to keep my head in the game. It was probably better that Mom handled Brook until I could get through filming for the day. Brook and Mom left us alone.

“How are things?” I asked.

“Not great.”

That was probably the understatement of the year. Then I had a thought.

“Where were you? I would have thought that you and Ian would have been together,” I said, confused.

“Christmas shopping.”

I could see why Dad decided to go alone. When guys shop, we know exactly what we’re getting and don’t want others to distract us. That was why it’s always been almost unbearable to shop with women who seem to want to go into every store and randomly try on stuff. It totally messed with the ‘I’ve got a plan and need to stick to it’ philosophy that Dawson men followed.

“Did you get everything?” I asked.

“Yep,” Dad said with a grin.

“Anything I need to know?” I asked.

“They love each other. Ava is hurt right now, but I expect they’ll work it out. Ian was just a dumbass,” Dad said.

“Do you think it was the first time?”

Dad got a thoughtful look. Then shook his head ‘no.’

“I’m considering asking Brook to come with me on my press tour to get her away from all this for a while. What are your thoughts?” I asked.

“Probably a good idea. It will give Ava and Ian time to figure this out. Brook will also get a chance to absorb what happened.”

Unfortunately, I knew exactly what he meant. That reminded me of my parents and what they’d gone through.

“How is Mom taking it?” I asked.

“It’s brought up some painful memories,” Dad admitted.

I was quiet for a moment.

“How are you doing?” I asked.

I think I surprised him. He looked up, and I saw a haunted expression flash through his eyes. Ian’s infidelity had hit just a little too close to home. It reminded him that he’d had Phil because he’d made a similar mistake. I’ll admit, it had taken me a while to separate Phil from the betrayal my dad had committed. It wasn’t Phil’s fault he was created out of infidelity.

“I just hope that you and Greg never have to go through something like that. Believe me, it’s not worth the moment of pleasure, and it always seems to bite you in the ass.”

“Have you ever...” I started and left the question unfinished.

Dad looked me square in the eyes.

“No. What happened was a drunken indiscretion. I’m not trying to lessen my part in the matter by saying I was drunk,” he clarified. “Think about your relationship with Brook. I know that you’ve probably had numerous opportunities to stray. I would place a large wager that you never have.

“And to answer your question ... it was just the one time,” Dad said to clarify things.

“Why would you think I’d be tempted?”

“I may be your dad, but I’m not blind. You might be shocked to find out I know a lot more than you think about what you and Greg get up to.”

I squinted at him.

“So, it’s true? You and Mom spy on us?” I accused.

“Just like you spy on Coby and the rest.”

It just reminded me that the elder Dawson clan had no problem watching over the younger generation. I knew that Greg and I would do the same with our little ones.

“You were never tempted?” I asked.

“Of course I was. That’s the thing, though. Even if I am tempted, all I have to do is think of your mom. I admit, there’s stuff about her that drives me to distraction, but the bottom line is I love her. You’ll learn that when you find the one who you want to spend the rest of your life with, it’s different. Yes, there may be better-looking women or ones you’re attracted to. It’s just that a more mature love seems to make all that go away.”

I’d started to understand that with Brook. I suspected she wasn’t as into our relationship as I was. Some of it was her insecurity. Another part was she’d not had the same life experiences I’d had. Brook hadn’t had someone like Tami in her life to rip her heart out multiple times. She’d also not dated nearly as much as I had. It wasn’t an issue with me that her feelings for me weren’t as deep as my feelings for her. Not every relationship was equal. When she achieved more life experience, she would come to realize some of the things I already had. Loving someone like I did Brook made me a better person.

Lexi stuck her head in the door.

“You’re needed on set.”

I nodded, and she left us alone.

“Let your mom and me worry about Ian and Ava. I’ll make sure that Brook has a ticket for tonight,” Dad assured me.

This was one more reminder of how lucky I was to have them as my parents. I wrapped my arms around my dad and hugged him. As I held him tight, I whispered into his ear.

“I probably haven’t said this lately, but I love you.”

We pulled apart, and I felt tears in my eyes and saw my dad had the same.

“I love you too,” he said. “I’ll talk to Lexi and get the flight information.”

There was more I wanted to say, but I had to get back to work.

We got to the airport barely in time. Mr. Otsuki took advantage of every minute I was there. We’d managed to film all but the scenes of Haru and me on our actual date. We would shoot those on Saturday.

Dad had worked his magic and somehow gotten Brook a ticket. Manaia had taken her to the house to pack, and she’d come back with Fritz. He was traveling with us, while Manaia would watch over my mom and dad while I was gone. Lexi was also joining us. Frank, my publicist, would be on call.

Somehow, we got lucky with traffic and made it on time. If you’ve never lived in LA, you have no idea how bad traffic could be. What would take me fifteen minutes to drive back home could take upwards of a couple of hours here. I’d come to appreciate why Lexi had asked to move in with me to avoid the daily commute.

The good news was LAX had valet parking. That was something the rest of the country should look into. Fritz had arranged it so he would be with us the whole time instead of having to deal with parking. It was probably good that he did because even on a Sunday night, the airport was busy, and paparazzi were lurking.

When we were about to board, Brook showed me how much her ticket must have cost. She’d pulled up a travel app, and it showed that a coach ticket purchased last minute was over twenty-five-hundred dollars. When I saw how much first class was, I about fainted. I’d spent less on a flight to London.

We boarded the Airbus A320 and looked back at the coach seating. I was glad I’d spent the money on the upgrade. Our flight would take off at 9:20 p.m. and land in New York at 5:45 in the morning. The airplane was packed, mainly with business types. My goal was to catch some sleep on the plane, and I was sure that even Brook wouldn’t have been comfortable in the back.

Once we got seated, she handed me two pills.

“Take this,” she said.

“Why?” I asked suspiciously.

“It’ll help you get to sleep. If you don’t, you’ll be a mess tomorrow.”

She grabbed a water bottle the flight attendant had left and took two pills herself. I shrugged and trusted she wasn’t trying to kill me. I downed them like a good boyfriend without further comment. By the time we taxied towards takeoff, I’d started to feel the effects. As soon as we got to altitude and I could recline my seat, I was out.

Monday December 19
As soon as we landed, we were driven straight to NBC studios to do their morning talk show. Whatever Brook had given me still had me feeling a little goofy as we drove over. Lexi shoved her tablet at me, and I saw it had Frank’s talking points. I quickly scanned through them to prepare.

While I loved New York, driving through the narrow streets always put me on edge. It didn’t help that the taxi drivers were certifiable. They said the best thing that ever happened to Chicago was that it burned down. This allowed them to make the streets wider. I was glad that Lexi had distracted me with the talking points. I didn’t need to be on edge as we white-knuckled it through our taxi ride.

We had a whirlwind schedule this morning as we attempted to do three shows. When we walked in, I was grabbed and pulled into makeup. Seated next to me was Katerina, the pop star. Yep, only one name, like Adele or Drake. Katerina had sung the theme song for our movie, and the studio planned to release it as a single tomorrow. I assumed that they had combined our appearances to promote both the film and her song.

“This gig is about as good as an anaconda up your ass,” she announced, not looking happy.

I glanced over and gave her the one-raised-eyebrow look.

She then launched into a monologue about the hassles of traveling from LA to New York to make it in time for this press tour. I put my earbuds in and turned on music while the guy did my makeup. This girl was crazy town.

When everyone was ready, they wanted me to do a casual interview with their whole morning cast and Katerina. We were introduced, and we discussed the movie and her song release. Everything was great up to that point.

“How is Canada?” I asked Katerina.

She’d famously announced that if a particular person won the election for president, she would move out of the country. If I’d thought about it for even a moment, I would never have asked. It was probably something she’d said in the heat of the moment. My somewhat sleep- and drug-addled brain had wondered how she liked it up north.

She glared at me.

“When I was there to shoot Star Academy, I found I liked Canada a lot,” I said, trying to backtrack.

“That’s right. You did announce you would be moving,” the female host interjected. “Have you done it yet?”

Katerina went into full pop-star meltdown and called me some colorful names, flipped off the two hosts, tore off her mic, and stormed out. I just grinned and shrugged my shoulders in disbelief.

“Was it something I said?” I asked.

That got the two hosts laughing. The director was pointing at the teleprompter, trying in vain to get someone’s attention. I could see they weren’t going to be able to read it, so I did.

“Up next, we have...”

At commercials break, the director told me I could come back anytime. I found Lexi with her ear plastered to the phone.

“He’s right here,” she said and shoved it at me. “It’s Frank.”

Frank Ingram was my publicist.

“I debated whether I should come with you. Now I wish I had,” he began.

“So, this is bad?” I asked.

He was silent for a moment before answering.

“You know, it probably wasn’t. Even though it was a ‘live’ broadcast, they had a delay and bleeped out most of the foul language. I’m sure that clip will be shown at all your upcoming interviews. Let me ponder how to spin this so we get maximum exposure for you and the film without turning this into a political debate. The last thing we want to do is go down that rabbit hole. You would just end up making everyone mad because each side would think you were supporting the other. We have to be careful,” Frank explained.

There was nothing I wanted less than to cause our movie to lose viewers because of my misstep. I hadn’t even thought of that angle when I asked her. She’d made the statement to express her political views. And I could see how people might infer that I was also trying to make some sort of statement when all I’d done was ask out of interest. I would rather have everyone believe I was naïve than that I was stirring the political pot. People took that kind of thing way too seriously.

When I got off the phone, a representative from the show stopped me.

“CNBC would like to interview you today. Can we set something up?” she asked.

My first thought was, ‘Hell, no,’ but I bit my tongue.

“Call my publicist. He knows my schedule and arranges all this for me,” I said with a smile plastered on my face. “I had a great time. Thank you for having me, but I need to get going. I have a few more of these to do today.”

She nodded, and I gave her Frank’s contact information. I quickly walked to where Lexi, Brook, and Fritz had waited.

“That went well,” I announced.

The next interview was done without Katerina. She’d pulled a no-show. They had a clip from her video, so I told them to play it, and I would talk about her talent. It turned out to be a good interview because I was able to make fun of my singing in the movie. Frank had always told me that if I poked fun at myself, it made me more ‘relatable.’

It wasn’t until we left the building that the media first accosted us. When I say media, it wasn’t the usual paparazzi. We were talking actual news trucks with cameramen and reporters wanting the scoop on Katerina’s meltdown.

Fritz said a bad word when he saw them camped outside the studio.

“I’ll call Frank,” Lexi said, and quickly was on the phone.

“Does this happen often?” Brook asked as she eyed the press.

We’d retreated to the back of the lobby when we saw what awaited us.

“Sometimes. In LA, it’s more the gossip types wanting to get a picture. I imagine this bunch wants to make news with my slip-up,” I explained.

“Frank says to ignore them for now and go to your next interview. He’s in touch with them, negotiating your appearances,” Lexi said.

“That doesn’t sound ominous at all,” Brook offered.

She was right. I might have just touched the third rail and fried our movie.

Fritz sent a text, and our car pulled up. Lexi and Brook climbed in first, and when Fritz had them safely in the car, he came back and got me.

“Should Katerina keep her word and leave the country?”

“What’s your take on the election?”

“What’s your opinion on today’s text from the president?”

The press continued to shout questions as Fritz made a hole to the car. I plastered a strained grin on my face as I made my way. Everything inside me wanted to stop and make some kind of comment. If I let them go on much longer, the talking heads would just fill in their own narrative and ignore what I finally said. I had one foot in the door of the car when I stopped and turned around. Fritz glared at me, but I gave him a look to give me some room.

“Back up,” he ordered.

I gave them my best winning smile.

“Hey, I think everyone has gotten what happened this morning all wrong,” I started but was drowned out by a sea of questions.

If I ever was inclined to go into politics, this would surely cure me. I’d thought the paparazzi were irritating. The press was ten times worse. I just stood there as they shouted questions. I’d learned that silence wasn’t your enemy. They wouldn’t show two minutes of me smiling at them as they made fools of themselves. They would only show the sound bite that would be put on the news. I needed to make it short and sweet.

Then I felt a hand grab my back and looked behind me. Lexi handed me her tablet. I read it, and my smile got bigger. I gave it back.

“Would it be okay if I commented?” I asked.

Then I waited for them to calm down.

“I’m David A. Dawson, and this morning, I was involved in an unfortunate incident. I incorrectly assumed that Katerina was serious when she said she planned to move to Canada if her chosen candidate didn’t win the presidential election. Apparently, I missed the sarcasm in her statement. What you need to know is that I’ve visited Canada a few times, both on vacation and while filming Star Academy, and absolutely fell in love with the place. The people are friendly, and I enjoyed my time there. All I wanted to know was where she’d decided to settle. My plan was to follow up by asking if I could come to visit.

“I think she took it wrong, which was obvious by her reaction. I sincerely apologize if I offended her in any way. My intention wasn’t to interject politics into my movie-premiere tour, which is The Royal Palm, and is in theaters this weekend. I believe it’s the best movie coming out,” I concluded with my shameless promotion.

I ducked into the car, and Fritz followed me. We were soon on our way.

“Good job, Lexi. I wasn’t quite sure what to say.”

Frank had sent me a note that said to do my innocent boy routine and compliment Canada. He also said to plug the movie. I added the sarcasm shot because I’d thought since Katerina had caused this mess, she should have to clean it up.

On the ride over to the next studio, Lexi pulled up a video of the press harassing Katerina.

“When are you moving?”

It started with that and went downhill from there. The reason they ran the video was that she burst into tears. Great! I was now the scoundrel who made her cry.

Finally, we arrived at the final morning talk show, and they wanted to talk about it. I basically gave them the same line about how it was all just an innocent mistake. I gave them a toned-down freezing-wet-puppy look, which quickly had the host defending me. Maybe I had finally figured out that expression.

I captured a video clip of my sad eyes as I said I was sorry and sent it to my mom. I attached a note that next time she wanted to yell at me about something to watch this clip. It’s best I not repeat what she sent back.

When the last morning show was over, we were driven to the airport to fly to Atlanta. I was scheduled to be on the Rayna Kelly Show. The show was unique because it was an hour format that had only one guest; in this case, me. This wasn’t something I’d done before, and I was a little nervous. I usually could charm my way through a three- to five-minute segment without getting into too much trouble.