“Because my mom played the ‘your punishment will be dealt with when your dad comes home’ card. When I was a kid, that was the worst. I would beg my mom to use the belt because I didn’t want to disappoint my dad. I guess Coby got that one this afternoon and has been shitting bricks. I can’t let it drag on until tomorrow.”
Crystal laughed.
“I’m just glad it’s you and not me having to raise kids.
After hearing about yours, I might pass on having any.”
“You say that until they’re yours.”
“Sorry. No kids,” Crystal declared.
He couldn’t blame her. One kid at his age was too much, let alone five.
Crystal finally had to go.
When he got home, his mom was with the kids in the playroom.
When Coby saw him, he burst into tears. Carol joined him, which set off the other three. His mom rolled her eyes and left him to deal with it.
◊◊◊
His days as the baby whisperer were over. He’d had a good run, but the idea of their dad coming home to deal with Coby was too much. He couldn’t imagine what they thought he would do to Coby, but it must have been awful.
Finally, he’d barked, “Enough!”
Which got them calmed down enough so he could talk to them. They learned to ‘ask first’ before taking anything from the pool house refrigerator and that some things were just for adults.
They also learned that dad’s punishment was to give them all baths and put them to bed. He wasn’t sure if that was for him or his kids. When they were all in bed, David was pretty sure Duke was the happiest. Crying babies was stressful for his kindhearted Lab.
◊◊◊
“That was fun,” David said as he found his parents drinking a glass of wine on the roof.
He took the couch across from them, and Duke crawled up and laid his head in David’s lap to get some loving.
“Better you than me,” his dad said and chuckled. “When your mom would tell you or Greg that, I dreaded coming home. But it seems that having to think about what was going to happen was always way worse than the punishment.”
David thought back, and his dad was right.
“Before I forget,” Rob said. “I talked to Ron about your stock. He’s just solidifying his position on the board. He called Grace to let her know, which made me feel better. I told him that you were ready to sell your shares to him.”
“You’re going to have to find ways to offset your gains,”
Carol said.
“It could be worse. At least these are considered long-term gains,” Rob added.
If you held an investment for over a year, the tax rate was much more favorable. In reality, the extra Ron was paying over the current market was enough to make up the tax difference. It was a good deal.
His parents told him they were flying out for his game at Arizona, and then his dad would join him when he went to Phil’s game the following week. The best part was Lincoln would be playing their hated rival, Eastside.
His dad clued him in that Coach Hope and the boosters planned to retire his jersey at halftime. And the president of the state’s High School Athletic Association would be there to induct him into their Hall of Fame for both football and baseball.
“That sounds nice,” David said.
What could he say? If they’d planned something, he owed it to them to be gracious and accept it.
To change the subject, he told his parents how no one had complained about Duke staying with him for the week.
“He needs a break every now and then. I guess being a celebrity has its benefits. I won’t feel guilty about having him come visit next time,” Rob said.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I’ve started seeing the kids in the oncology ward, and Duke fell into that like a champ.”
“Now I feel guilty. I haven’t taken him in several months,” Carol said. “That program that Alyssa put together for finding real estate buyers and sellers has been a gold mine. I’ve been busy hiring agents to handle all the work.”
“I get that. When you have time, you’ll be back,” David said.
He hadn’t intended to make his mom feel bad. But sometimes, life had other plans.
◊◊◊
David checked on the kids and found that Coby was still awake, so he took his son to his apartment so he could sleep with Dad. The little guy fell asleep almost instantly.
David put in his earbuds and grabbed his tablet to listen to some music while reading a textbook.
He got a notification about Crystal. He jumped onto social media and saw the pictures she’d been tagged in, and it looked like everyone was having fun.
He noted that someone at Sigma Upsilon was streaming a party video feed, so he clicked on it.
It looked like a darkened room as a group of guys were arguing.
“Do you think it’s taken effect yet? I don’t want any of them to remember their good time.”
There was laughter.
“I’m torn because that Emily acts like she’s a virgin …”
That clued David in to what was going on.
He called Crystal.
“I’m sending you a link. I think you have some pledges in trouble.”
◊◊◊
Chapter 13
Crystal was beside herself. Four of the pledges had almost been sexually assaulted on her watch. If it hadn’t been for David, it could’ve been much worse. After talking to her, he’d contacted Lars and some of his football teammates. They’d shown up and helped her get her girls out of trouble.
The police also showed up because of a ‘tip’ on the live stream. Eight Sigma Upsilons were arrested, but she got word they were all out on the street this morning. Someone had some pull to get them released on a Sunday.
The girls were all okay after sleeping off the effects of the drugs. The police confiscated the punch, which looked like where it’d been put.
Something she knew for a fact was that she would work to get Sigma Upsilon removed from campus come Monday morning.
◊◊◊
Coby was sound asleep when David got up. He got ready for the day and finally had to wake his son up.
“Get up. Let’s go get breakfast.”
“Sleep,” Coby moaned.
“I hear you, but Duke gets your breakfast if you don’t get up.”
Coby looked at David to ask if his dad really would feed his breakfast to the dog, and David gave him a raised eyebrow look that got his butt out of bed.
They walked into the main house and found Peggy, Ashley, and Scarlet eating breakfast.
“Look at this. The accomplices.”
“Guilty as charged,” Scarlet said. “We’re just thankful you got to deal with this one.”
Coby giggled when she tickled David’s underage boozehound.
“I don’t think I had my first beer until I was fifteen,”
Ashley said, stirring the pot.
“They say kids these days are starting younger at everything,” Peggy said to join in.
It looked like the moms were treating the daycare booze fest as a nonevent, so he went downstairs to get the rest of the munchkins up. Little Carol was a morning person, but the boys weren’t. She was happy that her dad was there so she had someone to talk to. He learned all about a lost puppy. It was from a book that the daycare was reading to the kids at story time.
His parents took advantage of everyone being at home and went out to eat. David knew Rob hadn’t thought this through because he had no doubt his mom would take him to church.
Peggy and Ashley took the kids down to the playroom while he and Scarlet cleaned up. It gave them a chance to catch up.
“Kent and I are officially going out.”