My oldest son had his own set of problems. He’d managed to fulfill the prophecy of more than one irate mother and gotten his girlfriend pregnant. Angie’s parents had disowned her when they found out. Greg did the right thing and invited her into the family. I wasn’t ready to be a grandmother, but little Kyle was a perfect little boy.
Rob and I talked to them about the timing of the wedding, and they’d agreed to wait until they were out of high school. We’re looking forward to the event. John has agreed to have it on the farm.
If I know Rob’s mother, she’ll have every big shot in the state attending the wedding. Davey Dawson, David and Greg’s paternal grandfather, had been someone people looked to in state politics for years.
Davey’s death had been hard on everyone. You never expect someone as young as he was to leave us, and I know it left a big hole in her life. I knew Rob’s mother saw David as the continuation of the Dawson political dynasty.
I think we all knew it wasn’t going to be Greg, and neither Rob nor John wanted any part of it. I don’t think David has any idea of what his grandma has planned for him. All I know is it’ll be his choice whether he does it or not. I will see to that.
NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR about your cancer, but it did do something for me: it made me reevaluate my life. You quickly realize what’s important to you and what is just bullshit. The illness and the prospect of dying changes you. Family and true friends become very important.
My youngest also faced his own demise, and I faced my worst nightmare when he was trapped after the avalanche in Colorado. One of the absolute worst things a mother can face is the thought of one of her children passing before she does.
For me, my cancer and the avalanche were intertwined. I felt so completely helpless as they searched for my son, while at the same time I faced my own mortality. When they finally found David, Rob went to him. He tried to be chipper about it, but I knew: my son had almost died.
When I was finally able to see him, I could tell he’d changed. He seemed more serious, and I cried when I felt he’d had to start growing up too fast. Something I admire about him is that he seems to be bouncing back. I don’t think he will ever be a normal teen, but for David that’s okay. What I do know is that family will always be there for him, just as it was for me.
I watch my boys, and they’re growing up so fast. Greg will be off to college and David will be a sophomore next year. I know that you do your best to prepare them for what’s to come, but at some point, you have to let them go. Are you ever ready? I don’t know. I just know that we’ll always be family, and that will be enough to get us through anything.
Chapter 1 – I Think You’re In My Seat
Sunday May 18
KENDAL CAME AND PICKED me up after church and brunch. We were meeting Tami, Missy, and Harper at the airport. Tami had gone home with Harper over the weekend; they had stayed for graduation at Wesleyan. The girls were excited about their big adventure. It turned out that they were seated with Kendal and Clare. Did I really want all of them comparing notes?
I boarded first class to find a kid a little older than I was, sitting in my seat. I hate it when that happens.
“Hey, I think you’re in my seat,” I told him.
He pulled out his boarding pass, and sure enough, we both had the same seat number. The new security protocols and scanned tickets were supposed to ensure that this couldn’t occur. The flight attendant came over, saw the boarding passes and cringed. I’m sure she also hates it when this happens, especially in first class. They made me stand in the galley while they tried to figure it out. Looking around, I could tell that the flight was completely full.
They tried to offer me some deal to wait for another fight.
“Look, I have a job! I’ve got to be in San Francisco. I have five other people who are traveling with me on this flight. My reservations were made weeks ago. When was this guy’s reservation made?”
They sent a gate person to talk to me.
“Mr. Dawson, there’s been a mistake. We’re sorry, but you’ll have to exit the plane.”
“I have a modeling job I have to get to. I have five people with me on this flight,” I said, repeating myself. “I have a reservation. Why are you not talking to the other gentleman? When was his reservation made?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said the gate agent, who looked younger than me. "I’m going to have to ask you to exit the plane.”
“If that happens, I’ll be forced to talk to my lawyer.”
“Yeah, right. C’mon, kid.”
“Hang on. My lawyer and agent are on the flight. I think you need to talk to them before you do anything rash,” I said as I started back to coach.
The idiot tried to grab me as I stuck my head through the curtains.
“Kendal, Clare? Can you come up here for a moment?”
They could see I was pissed. They came up and talked to the gate person. Next thing I knew, we had several managers, and then a US Marshal. I guess holding up a flight got everybody’s attention. It turned out that the kid was an employee’s son, and the gate agent had overridden the system to give him the seat. The little shit knew it, too.
Once that was uncovered, he was quickly taken off the plane. The Marshal wasn’t happy because this wasn’t supposed to happen. I figured the airline could figure it out from there and took my seat. The flight attendant tried to make nice, but I was in no mood to reciprocate. I put my earbuds in and tuned everybody out.
WHEN WE LANDED, I GOT a text from Chuck, my security guy. He’d gotten a big SUV and would meet us out front once we got our bags. Devin had reserved an apartment for Tami, Harper, Missy and me. Kendal, Chuck and Clare were staying at the Hilton. Chuck dropped us off at the Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square. The hotel where we were staying was pricey; hence Kendal, Chuck, and Clare were staying elsewhere. We made plans to all meet at our apartment, then go to one of the piers and do some exploring before dinner.
The girls were impressed with the three-bedroom apartment. It was very modern and had a huge window overlooking the bay. The facilities were fantastic. They had a game room with a pool table, and outside there was a deck with plenty of seating and a huge fireplace. I could see snuggling by the fire, overlooking the bay as the sun went down. I also needed to thank Devin and Sandy for taking such good care of me.
The girls wanted to go to Pier 39 to do some shopping, and then find a nice seafood place for dinner. Chuck and Kendal showed up. Clare had to prepare for tomorrow and had begged off. We walked down to the pier and saw the sea lions. They were a noisy bunch. They had floating docks for them to get a little sun. It was funny to see them knock each other off the dock. The girls left Chuck and me to fend for ourselves while they hit the gift shops.
I found a place selling mini-doughnuts and bought a bucket to share. That was a good call. We found a bar with outside seating so we could people-watch. This gave me a chance to talk to Chuck about the coming week.
“My best friend and two of our good friends want to check out colleges this week. I want you to go with them and keep an eye on them. They don’t know their way around, and I’d just feel better if you were there. I know that I’m your number one responsibility, but once I’m at a location I should be safe.”
“I went to school at San Diego State. I have friends that went to both USC and UCLA. Do you know where they want to go?” Chuck asked me.
“I know for sure that they plan to visit Stanford and USC. I’ve seen Stanford, and I’m going to football camp at USC. I’m sure they’ll want to have some fun, too. I brought Tami and her friends as a birthday gift to her. So I guess you just go with the flow and keep them out of jail.”