Halle grabbed my leg under the table to warn me off making any comment.
Over dinner, Halle and I seemed to block everyone else out and talk. Nothing earth-shattering; we just enjoyed each other’s company. Trip and Mia seemed to get along, while my parents got to know Stewart with Rita’s help.
It looked like we would all work well together. There was no drama, and if Chubby was as easy to work with as Mia reported, then I couldn’t wait to get started.
◊◊◊
Chapter 37 – Gold Medal Game Sunday August 21
After breakfast, I gathered my Lincoln teammates, and we ran around in shorts and t-shirts doing football drills. It was enough to get the blood flowing and allow us to say we’d practiced.
Zoe found us and informed us she’d discovered a place where we could go horseback riding. Phil and Yuri had been learning to ride this summer while they hung out at the Pearson farm. We were taken to a ranch at the base of the mountains where they had trail horses.
It was funny as they explained to us how to ride. Well, not us, really, but Zoe and Roc, who’d grown up riding. They required that we go with a group led by one of the hands. The horses were used to the drill and pretty much did what they wanted to. They had a routine, and the humans riding them could just lump it if they didn’t like it.
It reminded me of when I was little, and we went to a farm that had a petting zoo and pony rides. They put you in the saddle, and then a girl would lead you around. This time, my horse simply followed the one in front of it. Zoe was plainly irritated, but I think she realized that this was better than sitting around the hotel. At least these I didn’t have to feed and clean up after we got back.
◊◊◊
I spent the afternoon with Brook. I was surprised when she took me to a museum that featured Chihuly glass. Their creator, Dale Chihuly, was an American blown-glass artist; some of his pieces might be considered glass sculpture. He had a worldwide reputation, and his works were on display in museums around the world. They happened to have an exhibit of his works.
“I thought you might like this,” Brook said.
“I didn’t realize you were into this artsy stuff.”
“A girl can have more than one interest. My grandmother has an extensive art collection. She has a Chihuly chandelier in the grand entranceway to her house.”
I fell in love with a piece called Sunburst. It looked like a giant ball made from twisty tubes of glass in vibrant yellows and oranges.
It was nice to see another side of Brook. I knew she had a creative streak because of her fashion sense. She just didn’t seem to show it much when we were together. Our thing had always been the adrenaline rushes and finding the next fun adventure to go on. There was more to Brook than met the eye.
That was a good lesson for me to learn. I’d been thinking about my potential girlfriends and putting them into neat little categories. If you’d asked me who would be most likely to go with me to a museum, I would have said Halle without a second thought. I would bet that Zoe, Pam, Tracy, and Beth would all enjoy seeing this.
◊◊◊
In my mind, I’d narrowed the girlfriend sweepstakes down to Brook, Halle, and Zoe. Thinking about it any more wasn’t going to solve anything for me, so I decided to take Pam, Tracy, and Beth out to dinner. I didn’t want to make it a hassle for my security people, so I made reservations at the better restaurant in the hotel.
Beth was the last one to join us for dinner, and when she saw who was there, her shoulders slumped. I gave her a curious look.
“You should have been a dick and just sent me a text,” she complained.
“Dick about what?” Pam asked.
“That we didn’t get picked as his girlfriend,” Cassidy said as she grabbed a chair from another table and joined us.
“I was never considered,” Tracy said.
“You were. I made David consider you,” Pam said.
“Hang on. This isn’t a consolation dinner,” I objected.
“Which one of us is in the running?” Beth asked.
I wouldn’t meet her eye.
“You really considered me?” Tracy asked, stunned.
“And you were found wanting,” Pam teased.
“Like you had a chance,” Tracy said to her best friend.
“Da-vid,” Pam said in a sing-song voice. “Would you marry me if I asked?”
“Yes, Pam,” I said dutifully.
Pam stuck her tongue out at Tracy.
“Please. He knows you’re not serious,” she said to Pam, and then turned to me. “I thought we never had a chance for more than friends.”
“Tracy, if you want to talk about this, we can do it after dinner. That goes for all of you,” I said.
“David gave away my tigers,” Cassidy pouted.
I now understood my mom and dad and their sudden onset of migraines. It took a few minutes, but I appreciated that Cassidy had helped change the subject. It segued from me being a dick and dumping all of them to me being a dick and giving away Cassidy’s tiger cubs. I wondered at what point they became hers. Probably best that I not go down that rabbit hole.
I was also grateful that Beth had brought up what the dinner was about because I hadn’t quite figured out how I was going to bring up that topic. I expect they all had realized that they might not get picked. The ‘consolation’ was that at some time down the road, that might change.
We did have an enjoyable conversation about school. This year, Beth would start to get into the meat of her curriculum to get her pharmacy degree. Tracy surprised me when she announced that she had been accepted at State in their journalism program. She planned to take core classes for the spring semester and then figure out what she would do from there.
Pam announced that she’d applied to UCLA, USC, Pepperdine, and San Diego State. I believe that surprised Tracy more than it did me. It looked like they would have a conversation right after dinner. Guess that let me off the hook for talking to Tracy.
“I’m joining the Marine Corps,” Cassidy announced.
“No, you’re not,” I said, and received a scowl in return. “You’re going to be my security and personal trainer. While you’re doing that, you’re going to get your degree. Once you’ve completed your degree, then we’ll talk about the Marines.”
“But …”
I held up my hand.
“This isn’t up for discussion,” I said, shocking everyone.
Beth looked to be about to jump to Cassidy’s defense until I raised an eyebrow.
◊◊◊
After dinner, I asked Cassidy to go for a walk with me.
“You do realize your dad and I only want what’s best for you. You have a ton of potential and show a lot of leadership skill. I’m sure you would make a terrific officer in the Marine Corps.”
“When did you get so bossy?”
“When I began to care about you,” I said, stopping so I could turn and look her in the eyes. “We talked about this. Going in as an officer is your best route. To do that, you have to get your degree.
“I’m not saying not to join when the time comes. If that’s what you want to do, I support you. I’m just saying do it right.”
“You can’t stop me.”
“You’re right, I can’t. If I decide to do something, you can’t stop me, either, but if you talked to me, I would consider what you said. You could probably convince me if it made sense,” I tried.
“I could always just hurt you.”
“Yes, yes, you could.”
“Okay, fine. You win,” Cassidy said, throwing her hands up.
“You know this is for the best. I’m not just being bossy.”
“It’s okay if you are. I like that you care enough to stop me from doing something wrong. Most people aren’t such good friends,” she said and then took my hand.
“So, David. Why didn’t you pick me as your girlfriend?”
“Because you really don’t want me to. You and I have too good a thing going to mess it up,” I said.