Epilogue

Monday May 15

I met my dad, brothers, and uncle for breakfast before leaving. My bags were all packed, and I would be meeting Fritz and Lexi in Chicago for our flight to London. Filming for Devil May Care would begin on Wednesday. Chubby Feldman had warned me that I’d better be ready. Their schedule would be tight to get all my scenes done by mid to late August when I had to leave to go film Star Academy‘s next two movies.

We requested to eat upstairs in my other restaurant, Our House, so we could have some privacy. After we’d been served, Uncle John kicked off our meeting.

“How are you feeling, David?”

I glanced over at Greg.

“He can’t help himself, can he?”

We both smiled at my uncle.

“Funny. Now answer the question.”

“Honestly, I’m torn. On the one hand, I can’t wait to get on with my life. Lexi sent me our shoot schedule for the Bond movie, and we’ll be in London, northern India, and Hong Kong, all places I’ve wanted to visit.

“I’m also looking forward to going to college and playing ball,” I shared.

“What’s the other hand?” Uncle John asked.

“I’m leaving my family behind. My kids are just starting to discover the world as they become surer of themselves. By the time I see them again, they’ll be almost two,” I said.

“We’ll all take good care of them,” Dad assured me.

“If I didn’t know that, I couldn’t go,” I admitted.

“You’re not thinking of backing out, are you?” Uncle John asked.

“The thought had crossed my mind, but you taught me what it means to be a man of my word. Until Coby was born, I had no idea how quickly my son would take over my heart. Leaving has been harder than before because I know that as soon as I get back, I’m off to Oklahoma. It won’t be like I can just drive home and see them,” I said.

“You’ll have to work on getting your jet certification so you can fly to Malibu when you get homesick,” Greg said.

“How’s this making you feel, Rob?” Uncle John asked.

“Like David, I’m of two minds. It will be nice to finally get these two out of the house, but it’s a big step. I know in my heart that having my two older boys off to college is a measure of success, and I know that they’ll both be okay. But I used to look forward to coming home each night and spending time with them. If Carol didn’t have David’s kids to look after, I would worry about her,” Dad said.

“She’d just focus on you if they weren’t there. You should thank me,” I said.

Greg snorted out a laugh as he tried to hold it in.

“Thanks, I think,” Dad said.

“What about you, Greg?” Uncle John asked.

He got a sad look.

“For me, it won’t be so bad. Losing Angie hurt, but she’s made it clear that her leaving was best for all of us. Without Melanie’s help with cooking and cleaning, and Ms. Lawrie to help watch the kids—thank you, David, by the way—I would be overwhelmed. While I’ll miss you guys, I think I’ll be just fine,” Greg said.

“Especially with your love life looking up,” I said.

“What’s that?” Dad asked.

“Shut it, David,” Greg said.

“I heard that David struck out with Joey, and she settled for you,” Phil said to spill the beans.

“You’re into a guy?” Uncle John asked as his eyebrows shot into his hairline. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I just always assumed...”

Dad, Phil, and I just about fell out of our chairs, laughing at Greg.

“Thanks, I’m not going to miss any of you assholes,” Greg said.

“What am I missing?” Uncle John asked.

“Joey is our personal trainer, and she isn’t a guy,” Dad said to illuminate for my uncle.

“Oh, sorry,” Uncle John said.

“She’s smoking hot, too,” Phil added.

Uncle John took that in and smiled. Then he turned his attention to my youngest brother.

“Are you looking forward to coming to visit?”

“My mom is,” Phil grumbled.

“And you’re not?” Uncle John asked.