His grandmother changed the conversation to less contentious topics. President Ellison excused himself and seemed to be headed to the bar.
David then gathered the Illinois assemblage and joined Senator Hatley and Governor Blackfarmer where they were talking. David wasn’t done stirring the pot.
“Governor Blackfarmer, one of my charity efforts when I was in high school was to help the homeless. I’ve seen that it likely will become a huge issue here, and so I would very respectfully suggest that you might want to get a handle on this soon, sir.”
“We are working on just that right now,” the governor said dismissively.
“I hope so, sir, because I know two things. The vast majority of homeless would prefer the safety of a roof over their heads. The humanitarian aspect alone makes it a worthwhile endeavor. The second is that it’s your businesses and homeowners who tend to both vote and fund campaigns. If I had people living in boxes on my sidewalk, endangering the safety of my customers and or family …” David left the rest unsaid.
David saw that he’d hit a nerve.
“Then why don’t you put your money where your mouth is and build shelters,” Governor Blackfarmer snapped.
“Or he might run for governor,” Governor Higgins shot back to support David.
That made the other men chuckle, which clued Governor Blackfarmer in that he’d made a misstep. Grandma Dawson smoothed everything over, and the rest of the discussion went well.
After they were done, David took Ms. Dixon aside while his grandmother stayed to talk to everyone.
“Did you want to make some money while you’re here?”
“What did you do this time?” she teased.
“I’m hoping nothing. My new girlfriend’s father is an agent, and I have to go to breakfast with him. I was wanting you to join us.”
“I get paid, plus you buy me breakfast … I’m in.”
David muttered something about greedy lawyers.
He then found President Ellison and his wife before they left the bar.
“I’m meeting some of the athletic personnel, including USC’s athletic director. Would you have time to pop in and say hello?” David asked.
“I would.”
◊◊◊
Jaxson Pettis sent a text to let David know that the USC contingent was in the Grand Salon. David checked the map on his phone to find out where that was. When he entered the room, he found where everyone was. He’d wondered why the ship felt empty. They were watching the ending of Love Letters.
The studio had arranged to show both of his movies. The second Star Academy film would begin in about thirty minutes.
When the lights came up, Bear spotted him standing by the door.
“There’s the wimp!”
David flipped off his teammate, which drew chuckles. As he scanned the room, he saw many people who worked on his films, actors, models, and students and teachers from USC. He also saw Tim and Wolf sitting with his old high school coach, Tony Hope.
Jaxson saw who David was with and had a quick conversation with the man next to him. They hurried over, followed by the USC football staff.
“I had no idea that you know President Ellison,” Jaxson said.
“David, being who he is, gave us pause concerning his eligibility when he was in high school.”
“I hope you worked everything out,” the man who Jaxson was with said.
“Sorry, we haven’t met,” David interjected.
“I’m Brent Allison, commissioner of the Pac-12.”
David noted that all the coaches except his head coach were there.
“Is Coach Clayton around? I was hoping to introduce him to President Ellison,” David said.
“He … uh …” Coach Farrow started to say.
“My bad, I forgot he had another engagement,” David said, remembering his promise to his athletic director not to trash his head coach in public.
“David, if you don’t mind, I’d like a word with your athletic director and commissioner,” President Ellison said.
“Events like this should be used for networking. I ought to say hello to everyone before the next movie starts,” David said.
“As always, it was good to see you again. I hope you find time to have some fun,” President Ellison said.
“And it was nice meeting you, sir,” David said to Mr. Allison.
When they left, the coaches all looked at David.
“Of course he knows the NCAA President,” Coach Farrow said, shaking his head in wry admiration.
◊◊◊
“Hey, dickwad! You flunked out yet?” David asked.
“Bite me, loser,” Brad Hope, Cassidy’s brother, fired back.
Coach Hope just shook his head as he grabbed David and gave him a hug.
“I see you’re causing trouble, like always,” Coach Hope said.
“You’ve gotten bigger,” a deep voice said behind him.
David turned and found Johan Bauer, Zoe’s husband and former center for David in high school.
“And you got smaller,” David said.
“Not playing ball does that to you.”
The lights dimmed.
“Hey, enjoy the movie. There’s a dance tonight. I’ll see you all there,” David promised.
He slipped out as the opening of his Star Academy film began. He definitely did not need to see it again.
◊◊◊
David spent the afternoon talking to everyone. He was relieved when Crystal sent him a text that his mother said it was family time.
At first, he’d been amazed that so many people would be at his birthday party. Then when he saw who all was there, it made sense. David had made many friends in several sectors, including business, politics, modeling, acting, baseball, and football. Seeing them on the ship made him understand how many lives he’d touched, and they, in turn, had connected with him.
Crystal found him and took him toward the exit gangway of the Queen Mary.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“To get your present.”
David walked out to find his closest friends and family surrounding what looked to be a car under a tarp. He began to bounce up and down, which got the little ones excited.
“Show me! Show me!” he said like Mac would if she thought she was getting a pony.
“Before he pees his pants …” his mom said.
David groaned at the reminder of what had happened when he was five. He honestly didn’t remember it, but the story sure got repeated enough times while he was growing up.
“I think I see a wet spot,” Tami said, pointing.
“Stop teasing me and let me see,” he implored.
Phil and Greg grabbed two ends of the tarp and pulled it off.
“Holy … uh … cow … is that my car?” David asked.
“We sent it off to Hennessey Performance to make it a bit faster,” Uncle John said.
David had gotten a customized car, a Ford Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV that a family had traded in. David had bought it because it had three rows of seating and could also handle off-road racing.
When he first got the Demon, he’d considered sending it to Hennessey Performance to change it from a 707-horsepower supercharged HEMI V8 Hellcat engine to one that was rated at over 1000 horsepower. At the time, David had a hard time wrapping his mind around adding more power. The Demon was almost more car than he could handle already. This looked like his Demon, but …
“They went over the whole car and upgraded everything they could mechanically. Your car is now street safe and rated at 1032 horsepower,” Dad said.
“They suggested that you would need larger tires, so they referred us to a body shop. They added a widebody kit …” Uncle John droned on.
David quit listening and began to walk around the car to take it all in. It had been painted cardinal red with gold racing pinstripes—cardinal and gold were USC’s colors. Even the wheels were gold.
“I told them to change the doors,” his mom said.
She walked over and pulled on the handle. Instead of swinging straight out, the gull-wing door rose like a high-end supercar’s would.
With the door open, David got a good look at the interior. It was also cardinal red with gold accents and stitching on the leather.