Rehashing or listening to her apologize would potentially get him upset again. He wanted to enjoy the rest of his birthday.
“You’re really fine?”
What was it with girls not believing what he told them?
“Yes. I’m really okay.”
Crystal appeared at his side and whispered in his ear.
“She’s number four.”
David couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. He might as well quit trying to figure out women. Crystal was either a mind reader, or Mr. Happy’s swelling gave him away.
◊◊◊
When it was time for the fireworks, David put sound-deadening headphones on his children. The Queen Mary staff had put down a big blanket for the kids to sit on and arranged deck chairs in a semi-circle for all their moms and David.
When the first test firework went up and boomed … the little ones were in their moms’ laps. Allen beat Dawson to his mom, so Dawson settled for his dad.
Then the show began, and it was fun to watch the kids’ startled looks change to wonder. David had to admit that sitting on the top deck of the Queen Mary was the best spot he’d ever watched a fireworks display from. They had an unobstructed view out over the water. It was also the best show he’d ever experienced.
After the grand finale was over, Dawson looked up at David.
“Ice cream, Dad.”
A fun fact about ice cream is that it never breaks your heart.
“And cake,” David added with a big smile.
◊◊◊
Before going straight to the aft deck, David made a stop at his room, where he changed into more casual clothes for the party. It also gave him a chance to remove any remaining glitter.
When he arrived, he saw that the aft deck had a stage with band equipment. In front was a dance floor. Across the rest of the deck were large round tables with white tablecloths. In the back was a bar. The waitstaff was moving through the crowd, taking drink orders.
His mother found him.
“Say a few words, and then they’ll bring the cake and ice cream out.”
David didn’t hesitate. He went to the stage and grabbed a microphone.
“As you find your seats, I saw a mic and decided that since it was my birthday, and you are a captive audience, I might sing a few songs.”
“Please, no!” Wolf called out.
“Okay, fine. I understand that they’re bringing out goodies, so get comfortable while I give a few thoughts.”
David waited a moment as most everyone took their seats.
“When I was contemplating getting a year older, I did a quick search on teenagers. I hadn’t really thought about it, but the concept is relatively recent in a historical sense. Not so long ago, there was no bridge between childhood and becoming an adult. Kids had to work to survive.
“The ‘teenager’ emerged in the middle of the 20th century. The US economy became industrialized, and children began to work in factories; there was a movement to change that. Their solution was compulsory education. Between 1920 and 1936, the share of teenagers in high school more than doubled, from about 30 percent to over 60 percent.
“It made me realize how lucky I am. If I were born a hundred years earlier, I would have grown up working on a farm and never been given the opportunity to be where I am now in my life.
“I look at my children and can only imagine what opportunities will be available to them when the time comes,” David shared.
Then he took a moment to gather himself.
“I am truly blessed. I’ve been told that I have a lot of my grandfather in me. I remember the funny guy who loved me best,” David said as he smiled at Greg. “And looking out at this room, I know he would be proud of me. He was the one that passed down to my father and then to both Greg and me that you never know what could happen if you connect with people.”
David then took some time to point out prominent people in the room. While he was doing that, he recalled that fateful summer he spent at his uncle’s farm. It helped him grow up. He learned that the world didn’t revolve around him, that he didn’t ‘deserve’ anything. He’d learned the phrase ‘If it is to be, it is up to me.’ Those ten simple words had changed his life.
When he thought about it, life was about adapting and taking on the challenges you faced. David would never say, ‘This is how you’re going to get through life the best: you should blame everyone else when things don’t go right.’ Or, ‘I should always get my way.’ He would never teach that to his kids. It wasn’t how to live a happy life.
David loved what he did, be it sports, acting, modeling, or going to school. Football was a good example. The sport was a simple game that was hard to execute. It was a totally imperfect game that you were trying to do as perfectly as possible.
Football was the ultimate blame game. If you had a lousy game, everyone from the press to fans to your head coach pointed fingers. It would be refreshing if someone would actually say, ‘I didn’t get the job done, and we collectively didn’t get the job done.’
That was a cultural change that would have to occur on the USC football team, he realized. The players were viewing football as a team sport if he heard, ‘Hey, we gotta get better.’ It wasn’t, ‘I have all the answers,’ or ‘You guys all screwed it up, not me.’ That was how teams lost. And that attitude carried over to all aspects of life.
His uncle saying, ‘If it is to be, it is up to me,’ didn’t mean he had to do it all on his own. It was about personal responsibility, for sure, but there was also such a thing as group responsibility. Everyone working towards a common goal could do anything. Looking out over the room, he realized that his uncle’s words had been the catalyst that made all this happen.
But he wasn’t done. To this point, winning a national championship at USC had been a vague goal. David had now made up his mind that he would make it happen. Thinking of it in that way made the goal solidify in his mind. He was done playing by others’ rules or limitations. He didn’t get to where he was by letting others stop him.
◊◊◊
On his way back to his family’s table, David spotted some interesting movie-executive types at a table in the back. Paul Andon, the studio exec who handled his Star Academy movies, The Secret Circle, and Love Letters, was joined by Jessup Fields. Jessup directed both the Star Academy franchise and The Secret Circle. Next was Kitty Ellis, who filled in for Laurent Vance to direct The Royal Palm. She also directed Love Letters. The last person was Chubby Feldman, who directed his James Bond movie.
David slid in beside Kitty, put his arm around her, and kissed her cheek.
“Of all the women here, you pick me to hit on,” Kitty teased.
“You are my favorite director,” David said.
“You’re just having flashbacks to Laurent yelling ‘do it again’ for the fiftieth time,” Kitty said.
David chuckled. Laurent wanted someone else instead of a relatively new kid. He wasn’t given a choice because the studio wanted to bank off the box-office success of the first Star Academy movie.
“As much as I hated his vague direction, he made me a better actor,” David conceded.
“I have your next project,” Chubby said, which amused everyone at the table.
They were all well aware David planned not to make any movies until after he graduated.
“I’m listening,” David said, surprising them all.
“Wait, if you are thinking about another movie, I’ve been green-lighted for a romantic comedy that needs a lead,” Kitty jumped in.
David waved her off. They all knew that one of Chubby’s films would make him ten times what a romantic comedy would.
“Sorry, but if Chubby has something, you have to listen,” David explained.
“Marvel has a new character …” Chubby said with a big smile.
David began to bounce up and down. That was a franchise you wanted to act in if you could.