“What should I do?” I asked.
“I don’t know, David. What do you want to do?” Mom asked.
“Seriously? You just gave me Uncle John’s psychologist response,” I said and then mimicked his voice. “So, how does that make you feel?”
“I thought you didn’t want me running your life,” Mom said with a touch of warning in her voice.
“Maybe I’ll call Tami,” I said, joking.
“That might not be a bad idea,” Mom shot back.
“Fine. Be no help,” I said and sulked.
“Bless his heart,” Dad said, mimicking Grandma Felton.
I put my earbuds in and ignored their laughter. I needed Greg to move back in so I wasn’t the only target for their amusement.
◊◊◊
When I got home, I took the boys for a walk in the stroller. Duke came along to protect them from evil squirrels. We strolled to the park where I pulled out a blanket, and the three of us watched Duke chase his ball. The warm sun did its magic, and we all took naps.
“Your mom said I would find you here,” Tami said, scaring the crap out of me.
Coby fussed, so she sat down and picked him up.
“Did she tell you what they pulled on me?” I asked.
“Yes, but maybe you should tell me about it in your own words.”
“It was the whole ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ ploy.”
“I thought it was more than that,” Tami prodded.
“If you already know, why am I telling you?” I asked.
“Because I know you. If you talk it out, you’ll figure it out.”
“I thought I just told you, and you figured it out,” I observed.
“Smartass.”
“No, I get it. I need to go through the process, or I won’t buy into it.”
“We’ve been pushing for you to do so for a while. When you’re picking your college, you need to consider more than which has the best football program. If you decide you want to be a movie star, you’re not going to want to go somewhere that’s focused on engineering or hard science. On the other hand, if you decide you only want to play football, you’re not going to want to go somewhere they expect you to go to class. Today was just your final wake-up call that you can’t keep putting this off,” Tami suggested.
“Maybe I’ll go to a liberal arts college and just get a well-rounded education.”
“If it were anything like the class schedule you picked, I would have to say, ‘No.’ I mean seriously, rock music appreciation?”
“But I like rock music,” I said to defend myself.
“I like kitten videos, but you don’t see me taking a class on that.”
“They have a class like that? Dang it, I want to take that. All those AP classes make me learn things,” I complained.
“Poor baby.”
We both knew I was just throwing a fit.
“What are you doing home?” I asked to change the topic.
Tami recognized I was done talking about what she’d been sent to do, so she just smiled.
“We start classes tomorrow. I was home to hang out with my mom and boyfriend,” she said and her smile got bigger. “OMG! You didn’t even flinch when I used the ‘B’ word. What happened? You don’t love me anymore?”
“I guess my love for you has finally changed. I want to see you happy. That’s not new, I’ve always wanted that. I also want Tim to be happy. If you two going out makes that happen, great,” I said and meant it.
“I didn’t think I would ever see the day,” she admitted.
“Not to jinx this or anything, but why do you still wear my promise ring?” I asked.
“David, I’ve never said I didn’t love you. I said that I wanted to be your last love. This reminds me that we might still have a future. I hope you know that even if I end up marrying Tim and we live happily ever after, you will always hold a special place in my heart.
“I never wanted to hurt you. As hard as it was, I did what I thought was best for both of us. I hope you realize that,” Tami said.
“Same here. Like you and Tim, I don’t know what the future will hold for Brook and me. She’s a good fit, and I’m looking forward to seeing what our future’s like. Who knows what ‘someday’ holds?”
“Do you want me to take it off?” she asked.
“That’s up to you. I just wondered.”
The boys woke up and were hungry, so Tami helped me get them in the stroller. She hugged me and kissed my cheek.
“Make me proud,” she said and walked to her car.
I felt like I’d been letting everyone down. They’d been pushing me to figure out where I was going to school. Pam was the first one to say to heck with it and start picking colleges, assuming I wasn’t going to the same one she was.
I saw the logic in thinking long-term to help me make shorter-term decisions. Now I just needed to figure it out.
◊◊◊
When I got home, I fed the boys and gave them their baths. I put them down for naps while I cooked dinner.
“I got an interesting call while you were out,” Mom said as she checked to see what I was cooking.
“What’s that?”
“It was from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They have a boy who would like to meet you and go to one of your football games.”
“I’m fine with that. You might want them to talk to the school and find out if there are any rules we have to follow. Coach Hope has been acting grouchy enough. I don’t need him upset about something like this,” I said.
“I’ll take care of it,” Mom said.
Reflecting on what the Make-A-Wish Foundation represented—fulfilling wishes of very sick kids—my issues didn’t seem quite so big.
◊◊◊ Wednesday August 31
Today, my badass girlfriend was finally going back to school. She had served her three-day suspension for getting into a fight with Destiny. Not in a million years would I ever have imagined Brook Davis would get into an actual fistfight. I couldn’t ever remember her even getting into a verbal confrontation before.
Her cheerleading coach, Pam Lowden, had made both Brook and Destiny come in yesterday afternoon to lay down the law. If they even looked cross-eyed at each other, they would be off the team. It had the same effect it would have had on me if Coach Hope had made a similar threat to Alan and me. I would put a smile on in public, but he might get a butt-kicking off campus.
Paul pulled up to Brook’s home, and she came bounding out. Her mom stepped out after her.
“No fighting!” she called and then waved at me.
Brook got in.
“Just drive,” she ordered Paul.
“I take it you talked with your mom this morning,” I said.
“She’s decided I’ve gone over to the dark side or something. I swear you’d think me getting into a fight was a daily occurrence.”
“You’re just lucky it isn’t David’s mom on your butt. Now that woman can make a believer out of you,” Paul said.
“You’re such a wimp,” I told him.
At one time or another, all my security people had experienced the wrath of my mother. It might have been for not putting a toilet seat down, eating the last cookie, or allowing Mexican bandits to try to kidnap me. I contended that they’d only had to endure her moods for a short time, whereas I’d lived it. Paul didn’t have a snappy comeback, so I focused on my girlfriend.
“What’s the plan for today?” I asked.
“Ignore her as much as I can. I won’t give her the satisfaction of getting under my skin again.”
I had my doubts, but if that was how she wanted to play it, I would be the dutiful boyfriend. Even if it meant I had to throw my body between them when they launched themselves at each other and tried to remove more hair from each other’s heads.
When we pulled up, I saw Destiny holding court with the JV cheerleaders.
I also saw my half brother with Jill Lacier, his new girlfriend. Her joining the ranks of Lincoln High had been interesting. If I’d been my brother, I might be suspended for fighting on more than one occasion if it hadn’t been for my little ninja, Cassidy. She’d made it her mission to make sure everyone knew that Jill and Phil were going out, and they had best back off with their advances.