“Yes, I am. Who might you be?”
“I’m Terri. Your mom and I get treatments together most days. She talks about you.”
“I’m glad she has someone to go through this with. How are you doing?”
“Better, but not great,” she said, and she took a deep breath. “Let’s not talk about that. I want to know about your three girlfriends. Is Adrienne really taking you to Prom?”
I caught her sincerity and played it straight. We talked about my undying love for Sunny, Kara and Adrienne. I explained how it was impossible to choose between them. Terri needed something to take her mind off herself for a few hours. I was more than happy to provide a diversion.
When the party ended, I spent time with Mom and Dad.
“I see you have a new admirer,” Mom said, trying to get a rise out me.
“Yep, they just keep throwing themselves at me. It’s the bane of being a Dawson,” I bemoaned.
“I hear that. Your mother never understood the trials the fairer sex puts us through,” Dad added in support.
“You both could die tonight if you’re not careful. Terri’s my friend, and you’d better treat her with respect. I brought you into this world, and I can take you out,” Mom said as she glared at me. Then she turned on my dad. “Brave words, Buster.”
Dad gave her a sheepish grin. I winked at her, and she couldn’t keep her mock anger in place.
“See, Dad, she loves us, just like all the other girls.”
“Leave me out of it. She already has me on a short leash. I don’t need to be neutered, too. I would avoid any car rides in the near future if I were you. That’s how King lost his balls. Dumbass fell for the old ‘Let’s go for a car ride’ scam.”
King had been my dog when I was ten. Nope, I wasn’t going to the vet.
“If only it was that easy,” Mom said thoughtfully.
I didn’t like the direction of this conversation. Luckily, Dad changed the direction. Not that I thought it was much better.
“Tell us what happened to Tracy.”
“To be honest, I can’t figure her out. Deb Thomas and Tom got it into their heads that I needed a celebrity faux-girlfriend, that the real one I had was bad for my image. Tom took it upon himself to talk to Tracy about it,” I said as my shoulders slumped.
“The worst part was that Tracy and I had already talked about it. I told her that I wouldn’t give her up for my job. We were on the same page, and then she talks to her dad. She didn’t even have the guts to tell me to my face. She made Kendal do it,” I said, getting up and starting to pace.
“Then after I got home from the hospital, it got worse. I was getting pressure to capitalize on my fifteen minutes of fame.”
“What are you talking about?” Dad asked.
“The managing partners at Tom’s firm had talked to Ford, and they wanted me to fly out to New York. They had a media tour set up and were lining up jobs. They wanted me to go full-time.”
“I thought you were taking time off,” Mom said.
“I am taking time off. Kendal and Tom took care of it. We also talked to Devin Range. Range Sports has been a big help. I did another ad for them. They’re doing a campaign on ‘David Approved’ clothes. They’re the ones I was wearing during the accident.”
I made the wise decision to tell my folks everything at that point. I shared with them what Tom had said when I confronted him about Tracy. They were disappointed with Tracy when they learned of her jumping into the sack with Luke. I then told them about the talk I’d had with Tom. Mom can be a mother bear protecting her cubs if you went after her children. I was surprised when she remained calm. She wasn’t happy, but she wasn’t acting out.
That was when Dad took over. I think with Mom being sick, he must have taken charge. He’d been involved with the security issue. Now he took the lead with this. He called Tom Dole, and they talked for over an hour.
While that was going on, Mom took me to her bedroom and had me give her a massage. She put on shorts and a t-shirt. I’d given her massages before. I wasn’t quite ready for what I found. She had lost a lot of weight. Mom told me not to do it too hard because she would bruise. I took my time and was gentle as I could be. She had a lot of tension built up. A couple of spots were painful, and I cringed when she would cry out. However, she told me that it felt a lot better afterward. I finally had her so relaxed that she was sound asleep when I was done.
All Dad would say was that he and Tom had an understanding.
Chapter 5 – Ringer
Saturday January 18
MOM AND DAD WERE IN the kitchen making breakfast. It’s a little disconcerting to find your mom smoking weed. I made a cross at her as she blew smoke at me.
“It’s either this, or I don’t eat,” she explained.
I gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“I better not get tested positive from a contact high.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. I knew she was in a good mood. There was a knock at the door. I was surprised to see Terri and Chuck together. Terri walked in like she owned the place, which told me that my parents must have adopted her. Chuck sniffed the air and gave me a dirty look.
“Chill. It’s medical marijuana for my mom.”
“Oh, I guess that’s okay. What’s the plan for the day?”
“I don’t know about you, but I need to eat.”
He nodded.
“I could eat.”
Chuck followed me into the kitchen in time to see Terri take a hit. Dad was making biscuits and gravy. I grabbed a coffee for Chuck and got OJ for Terri and me. She gave me a sly smile when I sat down.
“What’s the plan for the day?” I asked Mom.
“This morning Terri and I have a treatment. Today’s a heavy day, so we won’t get done until around one. Then it’s time for my nap. Why don’t you take Chuck running and see the campus?” Mom offered.
She pulled out a map of the Stanford campus. She pointed to where we were.
“Here’s the apartment complex. If you follow Campus Drive, it’ll take you on a loop around the heart of the campus. The stadium is here,” she said pointing at the map. “Your dad tells me there are a lot of pretty girls playing soccer on Saturdays.”
He just gave her a dismissive wave, not wanting to get her started.
“You better be careful, David. Those college girls will eat you alive. You might want to come back here and take me to dinner instead,” Terri suggested.
“This trip is all about seeing my parents,” I said, trying to slow her down.
“Eh, we’ll see you in a couple of weeks. Take Terri out tonight.”
I could tell that the fix was in. I just smiled and said, “I would love to.”
“You are such a wuss,” Chuck said under his breath.
“Don’t worry Chuck, I have a date lined up for you, too,” Mom informed him.
“But ... but ... I’m working. Plus, I have a girlfriend,” Chuck stammered.
Poor guy, he didn’t know who he was dealing with. She gave him a ‘mom glare’ and he snapped into line.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Who’s the wuss now?”
“David Allen Dawson, you be nice to Chuck. He’s a guest,” Mom scolded me.
“Yeah, be nice to me.”
“Chuck, don’t test me,” Mom shot back.
I gave him a smirk. I think Mom was enjoying playing her role as a mom. Dad had breakfast ready and we ate. When we finished, Dad took the girls to their treatment. I went to the spare bedroom and found I hadn’t brought my workout gear. I came out of the bedroom and told Chuck my problem, so he took me to a local sporting goods store. I found the Range gear and got what I needed. I also bought Chuck a set of gear because if he was going to be with me, he should be wearing it as well.
There was a little ‘David Approved’ sign with my picture next to their ski apparel. I pointed it out to Chuck who just rolled his eyes. When we got to the cash register, we picked the line with the best-looking college girl. How that happened, I have no idea. She rang up our order, and I handed her my Range Sports card. When she ran it, the total changed to zero.