Chapter 17

David cringed when he saw his agent was calling.

“This is David.”

“I wanted to check in and see how filming is going. Is there anything you need?”

“Besides limiting the gratuitous nudity they seem to want in every other scene? No, I’m good.”

“Which you’ve embraced like a trouper. They’re very pleased with your performance. So much so that they’ve asked me to find them special guests for sweeps week, and I’m to help them cast your wife and girlfriend,” Kendrick shared.

“Good for you. But why are you telling me?” David asked.

“Because you’ve been so accommodating, they said you get to approve the talent.”

David couldn’t help but chuckle. Back in the day, before he got into acting, that would’ve been code for using the ‘casting couch’ to fill the role.

“The problem is, most of the women I know in the business wouldn’t do it. A smutty soap isn’t how they want to be seen,” David predicted.

Kendrick actually snorted.

“Have you seen the numbers? Your smutty little soap came out of nowhere to take its time slot after you showed the world your backside this week. There’s talk of moving the show to just after prime time when the kiddies go to bed. For that reason alone, you can pick anyone you want. Trust me,” Kendrick said.

‘Trust me’ was one of David’s pet peeves. Whenever someone had to tell you to ‘trust’ them, you were being conned. So, he decided to go for it.

“I want Kate Upton as my wife and Adrienne as my girlfriend ... and I expect nudity.”

“I was thinking of actors, not supermodels.”

“Trust me. They won’t have to do much acting,” David said as he bit the inside of his mouth to avoid laughing.

“I don’t know how to get hold of them,” Kendrick tried.

“I’ve got their numbers, and I’ll message them to you after I hang up,” David said.

“Oh,” Kendrick said, sounding less than excited.

David knew his agent was just giving him lip service. He was sure Kendrick already had some ‘up and coming’ actresses under contract who needed ‘exposure.’ Hiring someone like Kate would eat into his profits since she had her own representation.

“Better yet, I’ll call them and convince them to do it,” David said, acting overexcited.

“No!” Kendrick barked and then toned it down. “No, I’ll do it.”

After he got off the phone with his agent, David called Adrienne and filled her in on the prank he was pulling on Kendrick.

“I’ll get Kate to play along. Can we ask for special treatment?” Adrienne asked, getting with the program.

“Demand a trailer and personal chef. And only chartreuse M&M’s. Oh, and a masseuse. Acting can be so stressful,” David said dramatically.

“What if they agree to our terms?”

“Then, welcome to LA!”

“I’ll record the call so you get the full effect,” Adrienne promised.

“You’re the best. Now I have to get to class,” David said.

As soon as he was off the phone, he sent Kendrick their contact information.

When David got to the airport, he found some late additions to his group. Tami had arrived, claiming a free trip home was always welcome; Alex and Chloe had decided to go; and Coach Thomas had some recruits to visit in the Midwest.

The flight was packed, and his children were already fussing. David helped them settle in, then went into the cockpit and closed the door. He was surprised to see Stirling, the copilot from his trip to Colombia, along with another pilot he didn’t know.

“I thought you never wanted to fly with me again,” he said to Stirling.

“Well, I was a touch stressed out at the time. I still can’t believe you got us off the ground.”

“If you’re worried about stress, be aware that we have eight children under five in the back, and I predict they’ll be howling when their ears adjust.”

“Is it too late for me to bail?” Stirling asked.

“I’m afraid so.”

The pilot, who’d introduced himself as Ernie, talked to the tower and got them in line for takeoff. When it was their turn, he lined the plane up with the runway and released the brakes. They began to pick up speed. At liftoff, David heard Dave yelp, which was quickly followed by all of them starting to cry.

Once they’d reached altitude and set their course, someone started pounding on the door.

“I think we’re being hijacked,” David said with a serious face.

“Should I call it in?”

“If everything goes south, please do,” David said as he got out of his seat to deal with his children.

He opened the cockpit door, and his mom handed him Dave.

“Ears,” he complained as he rubbed them.

“Look at me,” David said, and when he had his son’s attention, he opened his mouth and moved his jaw back and forth. “Like you’re yawning.”

He did it like his dad and smiled.

One down, four to go...

Once they landed, David went back to help with the kids. He got them all free and with their moms, then finally made his way to the exit. Tami and Crystal were waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

“I wanted to let you know I reserved the banquet room at Monical’s,” Tami said. “We need to get there by nine.”

“Great idea! I planned on going there at least once. I haven’t been since high school.”

“What’s Monical’s?” Crystal asked.

“It was what we thought was the best pizza in the world when we were growing up. It’s where we used to go after games,” David said.

Tami’s phone made a noise. She checked and smiled.

“My mom’s here. I’ll see you there,” she said and took off.

“We need to hurry if we’re going to make it by nine,” Crystal said, looking at her phone.

David had to skip his last two classes to make it to the airport because of the time change and long flight. Otherwise, they would have been landing close to midnight.

“Let’s grab our rental car and go straight there. We can check in after,” David decided.

It was late for eating pizza on a school night, so David figured the place would be empty. But when they pulled up, the parking lot was full.

“It looks like the gang is all back,” David said, looking around as he walked in.

“These are all your friends?” Crystal asked.

“Yeah, most of them. It’s hard to believe that I haven’t seen a lot of these people since graduation,” David said.

A moment later, someone spotted him. His brother Phil walked up and hugged him. It looked like Phil had brought the current football team. David also spotted many of his old teammates who’d graduated. The one person there he hadn’t expected to see was Alan Douglas.

David acknowledged him with a nod and held up one finger to communicate that he had to say hello to everyone first. Alan nodded back and sat in a booth.

For the life of him, David couldn’t fathom why his ex-friend was there. The last time he’d seen Alan was at Jeff’s grave when Alan told him the best of them had left. Tami had brought them together in the hope that they could reconnect.

Tami, Jeff, Alan, and David had been the Four Musketeers growing up. David had been the social butterfly, Jeff was the glue that held everyone together, Tami told them what to do, and Alan would fly off the handle with crazy ideas. When their glue guy died attempting to save a classmate, Alan no longer had a filter on his crazy. It had eventually culminated at the graveyard with Alan showing no remorse for all the things he’d done to people ... well, mostly David.

Tami had tried to assume Jeff’s role as peacemaker, but in the end, she’d had to admit that David had no choice but to cut ties with Alan. David had done so, making him wonder why Alan was here tonight.

It had taken almost an hour to say hello to everyone, and David was famished. He grabbed a plate, filled it with pizza, and went to find Alan.

“I bet you’re surprised to see me here.”

“I would have never guessed,” David admitted. “Why are you here?”

“Sit down and eat while I catch you up,” Alan said.

David wasn’t surprised when Tami pushed in after him to witness whatever this was.

“You have my full attention,” he said.

“I’m sure it will come as no surprise that I got kicked out of Michigan. I won’t go into details, but my parents wanted to have me committed when all was said and done. They decided I was mentally ill,” Alan said.

“I probably wouldn’t go that far,” Tami interjected. “But time with a good psychologist or psychiatrist would do you a world of good.”

David kept his mouth shut because Alan never reacted well if he thought they were ganging up on him.

“They recognized that I wouldn’t go voluntarily, so we reached a compromise. I enrolled in Emotions Anonymous, aka EA, a twelve-step program for people with issues,” Alan said.

“Is that like AA, Alcoholics Anonymous?” David asked.

“It is. EA asked AA if they could use the twelve steps and twelve traditions as the cornerstone of their recovery program. It’s not intended to replace a doctor’s help, but they were the ones who helped me see that I should seek that. With the combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and some good drugs, I’m not as anxious or making snap decisions nearly as much.

“I got my act together enough to enroll at Western Michigan University this last semester,” Alan said.

“Are you here because of the twelve steps?” Tami asked.

“Yes. I just finished step eight. That’s the one where you list all the people you’ve harmed and become willing to make amends. I’m now on step nine, where I talk to each person, apologize, and try to atone for what I’ve done. But I have another purpose, too. I want to be upfront about it so that when I ask for a favor later, you don’t think the only reason I’m apologizing is to get something from you,” Alan said.

David played that scenario out in his head and agreed that would be precisely what he thought.

“I know that now is not the time or place for what I need to do, but you both blocked me, so I had to find a way to see you in person,” Alan said.

David looked at Tami.

“You blocked him?”

She shrugged.

“That right there shows me how much damage I did. When Tami’s done with you...” Alan trailed off.

“You’re right. I’ve made her so mad that she screamed she never wanted to see me again. But Tami gave me a second chance,” David said. “Because of that, I’m not sure I want to hear your BS, to be honest.”

Alan chuckled.

“I get it. Lisa Felton actually nailed me with her phone when I approached her. At least neither of you has punched me.”

“Tami would flick you in the forehead,” David said.

Alan reached for the spot and rubbed it out of habit.

“She did get me there a lot.”

“Let me sleep on it,” David decided.

“I’ll wait and see if you work it out with David before I decide,” Tami said.

“I deserve that. Please let me prove I’m sincere.”

“I need more pizza and want to say goodbye to a few people. You can call me; I’ll unblock you,” David said.

He and Tami slid out of the booth. When they were out of earshot, he turned to Tami.

“What do you think?” David asked.

“You called it. He’s full of it, but he wants something from you. It would be better to let him think you forgive him because he’s the last person you want mad at you.”

“I thought that was Lexi,” David quipped.

“Let’s call it a tie.”

“Or my mom,” David added.

“That’s a given. Your mom might actually take you out of this world,” Tami said with a smile.