Chapter 82

Hearing Della’s voice was a pleasant surprise and another surprise was the way that she sounded. Gone was the tentative, sometimes even sullen way that she used to be on the phone. Her voice was soft, confident, and more mature instead. It made me think of when we were together for a second, and I felt a little twinge, but Sylvia was still on my mind now. I asked, “Hi, Della, what’s up?”

“I have a couple of questions. Are you going with anyone?”

“Wow, that was sudden. No, not right now, why?”

It sounded like she turned away from the phone, and I heard her say, “He says that he not going with anyone.”

Whoever she was talking to said something that I couldn’t hear, then she came back and said, “What about the girl you brought along when you picked Desi up?”

“We’re not going together; we’re just friends. What’s going on?”

She turned away again, and repeated, “They’re just friends,” then she continued, “The Grange is putting on a big dance in two weeks, and they’re supposed to have a hot band this time. Do you think that you might be free?”

“Why, do you need a date?”

“It’s not for me, it’s for this gorgeous redhead sitting next to me who’s too embarrassed to ask you herself. Here, talk to her.”

There were some muffled sounds, then a very subdued, “Hi Pete, its Denise. Do you, umm, have a minute?”

Hearing her voice after talking to Della made me think of Cantil, and I realized that I missed the people there, but the brash, foul-mouthed Denise who I knew wouldn’t have been embarrassed to talk with anyone. It sounded like some things about her had changed for the better, so I said, “Hi, Beautiful, what’s this crap about you being embarrassed to ask me something? I thought that we were better friends than that.”

“I’m, uhh, sorry, I didn’t want to, umm, bother you in case you were going with someone. It would sure be great if you would like, uhh, go to the dance with me if you aren’t, and you aren’t busy.”

“Are you kidding? I would love to go to the dance with you. When is it?”

“It’s on Saturday night two weeks from now. Is that okay?”

“Yes, I, umm, think so.”

“Why are you hesitating, do you have something else going on?”

“No, but I have a new job, and we have to work on weekends sometimes.”

“Really? What kind of job?”

“I’m sort of in a TV show.”

“What! Which show is it?”

“I’ll make you a deal. You tell me why you want me to take you to the dance, and I’ll tell you about the show.”

Mom got on the intercom just then, and asked, “Are you up, Pete?”

I asked Denise to hold on for a minute, and I answered, “Yes, Mom, I’m on the phone.”

“Call them back later, I need to talk to you now. I’ll be right out.”

Denise said, “I heard. She sounds angry. Call me back later,” and she hung up.

Mom came in a minute later and said, “Okay, what went on last night?”

“Why, did Amy say something?”

“Amy left for the office early, but your sister has been acting strange this morning, so I know that something is going on. Is she okay?”

“Yes, she’s fine, but I promised her that I wouldn’t say anything.”

Mom’s eyes narrowed, then she said, “I don’t want you violate a confidence, but you’d tell me if she wasn’t all right, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course, I would, Mom. She’s fine. She just got into something that was a little over her head, but it came out okay. I think she learned a lesson, as a matter of fact. Believe me, I wouldn’t have promised to keep quiet if it was something serious.”

“And it wasn’t something that Amy could have stopped from happening?”

“No, Mom. There wasn’t anything that Amy could have done, it was all Erin. You know how she gets when she’s, umm, curious about something.”

“It had something to do with sex, didn’t it?”

“Believe me, Mom, everything is okay.”

Mom was quiet for a while, then she shocked me by saying, “Am I failing you kids as a mother, Pete?” with a pained expression on her face.

It surprised me, and it took me a second before I could reply, “No, Mom, of course not. You’re a great mother. Why would you even ask that?”

“Because I don’t feel a part of your lives like I used to, and I just realized something. You just told me that Erin had a problem, and the first thing I did was ask why Amy didn’t handle it. That was stupid of me, and it shows that I haven’t been paying attention. I know that you and Amy talk a lot, and I know that she talks with Erin. Amy has been more of a mother that I have.”

“You’re not mad at her, are you?”

“Not at all, I love Amy, but watching over Erin is not her responsibility, it’s mine. I’m mad at myself for not being closer to all you kids.”

“But we’re growing up, Mom.”

“I know, Dear, and you and Amy are almost there, but your sister isn’t. She’s just fifteen. That can be a difficult time for a girl, and I should be paying closer attention to her.”

“You know how hardheaded she can be.”

“Yes, I do, but she still needs direction, and I’m afraid she might resent it if it comes from Amy. I’m her mother. It has to come from me.”

I said, “Maybe you’re right, Mom,” and I hugged her.

She left, and I began to understand why Erin hadn’t taken Amy’s advice about some things as I watched her go. I shook my head thinking about how complicated girls were.

I called Denise back, and we talked about what was going on with the family. She said that the twins were growing like weeds, and that Curt had moved out and was living with his girlfriend. Della was going steady with a college guy, and Desi had buckled down and was doing well in school, but she stalled for a while when I asked why she wanted me to take her to the dance before she said, “I have a problem at school, Pete. You know that I had an attitude problem in the beginning, and it’s taken a while for the kids to warm up to me. A bunch of us were sitting around in a burger place after school one day. There was a TV there showing a program where an actress was being interviewed about her part in a new TV show, and I mentioned that I knew her. Nobody knows who my mom is, so I couldn’t tell them how I knew her, and I guess that the kids thought I was lying, especially since they interviewed another girl a little later in the program. It turned out that she was the girlfriend of the first actress, and they started really getting on my case when I said that I knew her too. One of the girls with us doesn’t like me, and she’s been telling everyone that I’m a liar and a name-dropper every since then. They’ll be convinced that I’m not if I show up at the dance with you.”

“Me! Why me? How will that convince them?”

“Because you’re famous!”

“What? How am I famous?”

“Are you kidding? You’ve been in the papers a million times. First, when you caught that drug dealer, next when you and Erin saved those people in the burning car, and when those pictures came out in the tabloids, showing you, Kristen Baker, and Robert DeLucca together after that. You’re probably one of the most famous guys who’s ever been around Cantil.”

It took a minute for what she said to sink in, and I have to admit that I was flattered, but I was also a little peeved when I found why she wanted me, and I said, “So, the only reason that you want me to take you to the dance is because I’m famous?”

“Well, that’s part of it, but, umm, mostly because I haven’t seen you in a while and it gave me an excuse to ask you to spend some time with me.”

I was feeling better now, and I said, “Okay, you just said the magic word. I’ll keep in touch and let you know about things at the studio.”

That triggered a bunch of questions about the TV show, and we ended up talking for over an hour. It was noon before she hung up, and I heard noises in the den when I went into the house to get something to eat. I looked in and found Mom, Dad, and Amy sitting around the coffee table talking to a young woman.

Dad saw me standing there, and said, “Come on in, Son, I was about to call you.”

The girl stood up and looked at me when I entered the room. There was something familiar about her, but I couldn’t place her until she said, “Hello, Peter.”

It was no high school girl, it was Gail Adams, the lawyer from Mister Martin’s office. I had met her in Amy’s office. She was wearing a tailored business suit then, and her hair was pulled back. She was wearing slacks, her medium length hair was lying in soft waves that framed a very pretty face, and she had a frilly white blouse on this time. It was only open to the second button, but I could tell there was plenty under it just like last time.

I said, “Hello, Miss Adams, it’s nice to see you again.”

She replied, “It’s nice to see you too, Peter,” and she stuck her hand out.

He grip was strong, and her blue/gray eyes never wavered until I relaxed my handshake. As pretty as she is, there was something forceful about her. I thought to myself that she would probably be daunting in a courtroom.

Surprised at the gathering, I commented, “Does anyone here know that it’s Sunday?”

It was Dad who answered, “Yeah, we all know what day it is, but something has happened, and it concerns you. Do you want to tell him what’s going on, Amy?”

Amy started with, “Do you remember when I told you that Solotronics had said that they wanted you to be a part of their ad campaign, Pete?”

“Yes, I remember you telling me about it at your office that time.”

“There were several urgent-sounding messages on the answering machine when I went to work this morning. They want to meet with us. The odd thing is that they want to do it tomorrow afternoon, and they want you to be there. Are you sure that you don’t know anyone from that company?”

“No, I seem to remember seeing their name somewhere, but I don’t remember where, and I don’t remember anyone telling me that they worked there.”

“Well, I thought that this could be very important, so I called Miss Adams. She agreed and came here this morning to talk about it.”

Amy nodded to Miss Adams, and she looked serious when she said, “I looked into them a while ago. Solotronics is a large electronics company based in China. They manufacture and supply parts to customers all over the world. But I can’t seem to find a connection that would tie them to you. I was hoping that you might be able to shed some light on the subject.”

“Gee, I wish I could.”

“Hmm. Something is very odd about this. This could be a huge contract, and they seem to be set on you being their spokesperson. You are a handsome young man, but Amy tells me that you have no modeling experience. How do they even know about you?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Adams, I have no idea.”

“Well, there’s even more. This could be a big deal, and large companies like theirs don’t call people on a Saturday night and leave messages. There are negotiations first. Their people typically meet with agents to set ground rules before there is ever a meeting with the principals, but Amy says that she never even heard from them until now. Someone is pushing hard for this, and I don’t know who. I’ll try to reach someone in the morning and see what I can find out.”

The house phone rang just then. Mom said, “That’s probably Myrna Devon,” and she headed for the phone.

My cell phone also rang a few seconds later, so I got up and went to the living room to answer it. It was Marla, and her voice was surprisingly subdued when she said, “Hi, it’s me.”

I answered, “Hi, are you having a good time?”

“Yeah, umm, Tammy and Monique are both terrific, and this area is beautiful. The store is almost ready, and I may have even found a place to stay.”

“Oh, that’s, uhh, great. When are you going to move?”

“The store should be ready in about three weeks, but I’ll be spending a lot of time down here interviewing people.”

“Are you coming back today?”

“Yes, we’re going to have some lunch, and we should be back around four.”

I was thinking about what happened with Erin and Kelly last night, and I stuck my head back into the den and asked Amy if she was going to be around at four o’clock, and I asked Marla, “Could you stop by here on the way in?” when she nodded.

“Why, do you miss me?”

“Yes, but this isn’t about that. I’d like you stop by here before you go home.”

“Why, is something wrong?”

“Nothing to worry about, I’ll tell you about it when you get here.”

She said that she would, so I went back to the living room. Everyone was huddled together, earnestly talking, but I was hungry so I excused myself and went in to make something to eat. I was getting a bowl out to scramble some eggs when Erin came in, flopped into a chair, and sat looking at the floor.

I asked, “Do you want some eggs?” She nodded, so I grabbed a couple more. I was standing at the sink, whipping them with a fork, when she came up behind me and put her arms around me. I waited for a while until, in a small voice, she said, “Are you mad at me?”

“No, I’m not mad at you, I love you.”

“I umm, saw Mom go to your room this morning.”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything, but she knows that something happened, and she’ll probably ask you about it. What you tell her is up to you. Just remember that she loves you.”

“I will, big brother, thanks.”

“I’m still a little upset about the marijuana.”

She was quiet for a minute, then, “I bet that you’ve smoked pot.”

“Not that much. Besides, I’m a guy, Sis. No one is going to take advantage of me.”

“I know. I’ll be careful from now on.”

I turned around and held her to me for a while, then I asked, “Umm, Sis, what about the sex thing? Are you still curious?”

She immediately answered, “Don’t worry, Petey, last night wasn’t any fun. There’s plenty of time for that. I promise that I’ll talk with you or Amy before I do anything dumb again.”

I know that she meant it right then, but I wasn’t convinced. I suspect that she would do whatever she thought she could handle, and knowing her, she probably thought that she could handle almost anything.

I stuck my head back into the den after we ate. It was empty but I could hear Amy talking on the phone in her room, so I went there. She stopped talking, covered the mouthpiece with her hand and looked up at me. I asked, “Can you come to my room when you finish?” She nodded, and I went out to my place and sat down.