I was a little choked up, but Kendal saved me.
“Is it okay if I sit down with you for a few minutes?”
Mom gave her a tight smile.
“Please join us. We were just about to order dessert.”
She signaled for the waitress, who took our orders.
“I have to ask: did you sleep with Deb Thomas?”
I was so caught off guard I just sat there in stunned silence. Mom and Kendal started laughing at my expression.
“Sorry, but that woman loves you. After I told her what Devin said, and confirmed Adrienne was serious about working with you, she started throwing things at you. They want to sign you to a five-year contract. That’s unprecedented for someone your age. I spoke with Tom, and you normally only see something like that at the end of a career, as a thank you.”
Mom wasn’t sold.
“If he’s that good, are we hurting him by locking him in for so long?”
“I don’t think so. I got her to agree on a graduated scale for their commission based on how much you bring in for them. Anything over $250,000, they’ll only be charging you 10%. Each year you start over, but if you have a huge year, it’ll put a lot more money in your pocket. They have also thrown in some perks that even I didn’t think of. If you decide you want to model full-time, and you pull out of school, they’ll provide tutoring. They’ll make sure you’re eligible for a football scholarship if that’s the route you want to take. They’ll also pay for you to go to three camps a summer that are either modeling- or sports-oriented.
“They want to pay for a personal trainer and weekly treatments at a local spa,” Kendal said, and I gave her a look.
Mom laughed at me and I scowled.
“Next they’ll be requiring that I wear makeup all the time. They already tried that.”
“You really surprised her when you didn’t throw Clare under the bus. Deb was ready to fire her today. Are you willing to have her be your agent?”
“Absolutely,” I said without hesitation. “Mom and I were just talking about me taking more responsibility. Clare will be fine. She knows the business, and she can be a good advisor. After we do a few more of these, I think she and I’ll get along just fine.”
Our server brought our coffee. Normally I don’t go for the taste, but it seemed like the thing to do.
“We need to talk about your role moving forward. If Clare’s going to be there, you don’t need to be. You need to be building your business when you get out of school,” I told her.
“Thank you, David. Tom and I wanted to talk to you about that. We also want to suggest you slow down some for now. You’re booked out through the end of the year, and you also have the church ski trip. We wanted to suggest that you take the month of January off. It would also give me a chance to get going in my new job.”
Mom liked this idea.
“I think that’s great. We haven’t spent much time as a family since football started. I was starting to worry that modeling was going to eat up even more time.”
“Mrs. Dawson, did you want to fly out on Tuesday with David, or take your flight back on Sunday?”
Mom considered the question.
“I think I’ll go back Sunday. I have an appointment on Monday that I cannot miss. You seem to have David under control.” She looked at me and said, “I’ll call Tracy and have her get your school assignments.”
Mom and I had been avoiding talking about her being sick. I would need to take her lead and not talk about it this weekend. We chatted for a while and just enjoyed each other’s company. We all drove back together, found some wine at the ranch, and got in the hot tub. Mom and Kendal were halfway drunk when I called it a night.
Chapter 23 – Diagnosis
Sunday December 8
I GOT UP EARLY AND took advantage of the exercise room. I worked up a good sweat and then took a quick shower and swam laps. I went back to my room, got dressed, and came out to find Mom cooking breakfast. She had an orange juice and French toast, scrambled eggs and ham waiting on me. I kissed her cheek.
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“I was hungry too. In addition, I didn’t want to send you off and have you pass out on me today. Do you know what you’re doing this morning?”
I pulled out my schedule that Sandy gave me. According to this, I was supposed to be pleasing her at this time. I laughed and showed Mom, who just shook her head.
I got out my cell and called Sandy. When she answered, it sounded like someone was hungover.
“Where are you?”
She cleared her throat.
“Who is this?”
“Sandy, you’re supposed to be here right now. Get up and hurry over.”
I could hear her moaning as she hung up on me. I looked at the phone and shrugged.
“I guess my schedule’s shot. I’m supposed to be at the barn in fifteen minutes. This morning is hunting and camping gear. Then after lunch, it’s snowmobiles. I think that’ll be fun. Late afternoon is sledding.” I looked at Mom, and she didn’t seem too excited about any of that. “Why don’t you kick back and relax? Join me for lunch before your flight.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
We both looked up as Clare came rushing in.
“Thank goodness, coffee,” Clare said. She poured herself a cup and smiled at us. “Good morning. We need to leave in a few minutes. Is there anything you need from me?”
“I think I’m good. Mom’s flying out today. Do we have transportation for her?”
“I’ll check on that. You go ahead and get to makeup, and I’ll confirm arrangements for your mom.” She paused and then decided to say, “I want to thank you for having the confidence to allow me to continue to be your agent. It was made very clear that you didn’t have to do that. I really do look forward to working with you.”
“I think we’ll be fine. Just make sure I don’t make an ass out of myself, and I’ll be forever in your debt.”
THE DAY’S SHOOTS WERE uneventful. There were no wolves, or drama from me, so everyone seemed happy. Deb hung around to make sure that Clare and I were getting along. Deb, Kendal and Mom caught a ride to the airport in the late afternoon.
Mom seemed rested, so I was happy. In the back of my mind, I was worried about her appointment on Monday. I had been doing some Google searches, and it could be anything from stress to some weird blood disorder. The one that really scared me was ‘the big C,’ cancer. I tried to keep the unhappy thoughts at bay.
After the shoot, Sandy tried to get me to go with her and her friends to a teen church-group outing. They were going to watch movies in the church basement. I passed, even though it sounded like it would be fun. I decided to stay in and cook Clare dinner as a reward for being nice all day. I think she was shocked I could cook. After dinner, I got Tracy to join me on our video web-chat.
“I miss you, how is everything going?” Tracy asked.
She looked gorgeous as always in her jeans and a tight t-shirt.
“Hey, Trace, I’ve missed you like crazy. We’ve had some interesting things going on here. I even got chased by a pack of wolves.”
She laughed at me.
“Kendal told me that the local wildlife had you cornered at the club Friday night.”
“That they did, but I was talking about the four-legged kind. At the time, I was scared to death. The good news is that one of the pictures is one of the best I’ve ever done. I can’t wait to show you.”
I could hear the concern in her voice.
“Were you in danger?”
“Actually, I was, but the other guy working with me almost bought it. His horse stumbled, and he fell. I had to come back for him.”