“You pack better than I do,” she told me.
“They showed me how when I got those expensive clothes last fall. I try to avoid wrinkles because I hate to iron.”
She got dressed, we said our goodbyes, and I went back to bed.
Wednesday April 23
WE GOT TO THE HUNT club by eight and they had breakfast ready for us. I would have to tease Dad about these perks. He needed to talk to the country club about feeding him two meals a day. I was starting to get addicted to the tea. It was much better than what we got in the bags at home. When we were about done eating, Kat appeared. We went and changed into our hunting clothes. Devin took Kat and me to the skeet range for some instruction. Colin took a lot of pictures until we started to hit the targets. He then took us to the section where they had live birds.
Colin wanted something big enough that it would show up in the photo, so they used pheasants. Devin took us aside and gave us a pep talk.
“This is just like shooting the clay pigeons. Lead the bird the same way and you’ll do fine.”
I was up first. Once Colin was set, I readied my shotgun. We’d been taught to keep the barrel pointed down and our finger off the trigger until the clay pigeon was in the air. When they released the pheasant, it startled me because it made so much noise taking off. I lined it up, shot, and saw it cartwheel out of the air.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to kill it,” I told everyone.
I don’t know what I was thinking. What did I expect to happen if I pointed a gun at a bird and shot? I’d never killed anything before and was feeling guilty. To Devin’s credit, he didn’t laugh at me. He could see I was disturbed.
“Was that your first?” Devin asked.
“Yes. I’m sorry, I’ll do better next time,” I told him.
“There’s no better or worse. Don’t worry about it. The first time can be a little jarring. Do you think you can do it again?” he asked me.
I got a grim expression on my face.
“Yes, sir, I think I can.”
“Good, let’s do this so you get the nerves out of your system.”
I did four more in a row and hit all four birds. Kat took to it like a duck to water. Once we’d each killed five birds, they brought them and laid them out in front of us. We posed for several shots with the birds. I was worried that the birds would go to waste. The manager of the hunt club assured me that they sold them to a local restaurant.
I was glad when that was over. We traveled back to the park for the next two shoots. The hiking and rock climbing were very much like studio work. For the hiking, we went to several locations and just acted it out. We also had several wardrobe changes.
The rock climbing was staged as well. We were no more than three feet up the cliff face. Colin would simply either lie down or squat so it looked like he was below us.
When we were done, Kat gave me a big hug.
“You are nice to work with. I wish to do again,” she told me.
“Ford is having a model camp in August in New York. Why don’t you see if you can go?”
“I will see. Thank you for being patient. I learned much from you.”
I wished her well, then packed up and went to the hotel. We were driving down to London tonight so we’d be ready for tomorrow. We got to the hotel by nine o’clock. I ordered some food from room service and then called Greg. It was three o’clock there.
“Hey, it’s me, did Mom make it okay?” I asked Greg.
“Yeah, she did, but I have some bad news: Granddad died. Before you do anything, Mom is insisting that you stay and finish your job.”
“Okay, but what happened?”
“They didn’t tell you the whole story. Granddad fell down a flight of stairs and hit his head. Today’s surgery was to work on that. It was worse than they thought. Mom’s going to stay with Grandma for a while. She and Uncle Jim need to decide whether or not she’d be better off in an assisted-living place.”
“That sucks. How’s Mom taking it?”
“Not well. Probably like you or I would take it.”
That hit home. The funeral was set for Saturday. I would be flying back then so I’d miss it. I suddenly really missed my family. When room service came, I just picked at it. I was tired and went to bed.
Thursday April 24
I WOKE BEFORE MY WAKE-up call and reflected on the loss of my granddad. What I discovered surprised me. I wasn’t grieving because I would never see the man again; I barely knew him. I had only seen him on average once a year for a few hours. My grandparents’ last trip was a prime example. I don’t remember saying more than ten words to him, and he was there for two days.
I also realized that it was a two-way street. I really hadn’t made an effort to get to know him. What I was grieving for was my mom’s pain. I wished that I could be there for her. What Greg had told me, I knew was true. Mom was proud of what I was doing, and she had the rest of my family to support her. But for my mom, I needed to make more of an effort. Maybe I could talk her into taking me to see Grandma this summer and we could connect.
I wanted to get my head clear if I wanted to do a good job today. The best way I could think to do that was to run. Clare had hired security for London, so I called her room.
“This is Clare,” she answered.
It was obvious I’d woken her up. Oh, well, too late now.
“Hey, it’s David. My granddad passed away yesterday.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, do we need to get you back for the funeral?” she asked.
That was not what I expected.
“I appreciate your concern and the gesture. I’ll be staying to work. What I need is to get my head on straight for today, and to do that I want to run. Do you have a security person that knows the area who could run with me?”
“Let me make a call to find out and I’ll call you right back,” she told me.
I had changed into my running clothes by the time Clare called back.
“Be downstairs in fifteen minutes. Colin will meet you and introduce you to the security detail. He’s planning on taking pictures while you run.”
“Tell him that this is therapy for me, so I’m not planning to pose for him. When I run, I’ll totally ignore him.”
“I’ll let him know.”
I went downstairs and got a bottle of water and a banana. I was just finishing both when Colin showed up. He took me out to the front of the hotel. There was a motor scooter with a driver and another gal who must be my security. I went up to my running partner.
“Hi, I’m David. I hate to be a jerk, but what kind of pace do you keep?” I asked her.
“Don’t worry, I can keep up with you,” she said.
Well, we shall see.
“Okay, I’ll set a pace, and then I need you to lead me for about five miles since I don’t know the area. Have you stretched yet?”
“No, do you mind if I do?”
“No, I haven’t either.”
We both stretched. I noticed that she was six or seven years older than me and looked to be in good shape. I set a nice pace, not wanting to kill my guide. She led me from our hotel to Potters Field Park, right next to the River Thames. She led me to the Tower Bridge and crossed the river to the north side. Then we ran west along the river. We jogged past the Tower of London. The route was nice with a lot of historic interest. The streets were treelined and had fantastic views. We ran all the way to Big Ben, which was located at the Palace of Westminster. I had to choose to run around the palace or cross the river. I decided to cross the river so I could start working my way back. On this side, I saw that giant Ferris wheel called the London Eye.