I shook my head to keep from getting angry again. It was better to let some time, maybe a lot of time, go by so that my emotions wouldn’t feel quite so raw. I wondered if there really would be a someday.
Then I thought about what Cal had done to me. My Christian charity had worn thin. I simply could not find any forgiveness in my heart for him right now. The sad part was I had rather liked him. I really liked his daughter. If it hadn’t been for her, I probably would have gotten in my car and dragged both Cal and Mr. Fox into a dark alley by now. I just couldn’t fathom how anyone would be so vindictive towards the father of their grandbaby. The only answers I came up with did not put Cal in a good light.
I let the run help focus me for the day. I dropped into the zone where I could figure everything out. Unfortunately, the answers weren’t forthcoming, so I focused on my breathing. I concentrated so I could relax and let the tension wash away. I said my little prayer: ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’ I couldn’t change Cal, but I could change how I reacted to him. I needed to make him understand I wasn’t going to just lie down and accept his attacks unchallenged. Too many people relied on me for that ever to happen.
◊◊◊
When I stepped out of the shower, I started to plan my day. In my head, there was a to-do list, and at the top of the list was to talk to my friends. I was surprised when the first person I wanted to call was Tracy. She and I had gone through a lot, and I knew she’d tell me what was going on before I called Brook, Zoe, or Halle.
“How’s your vacation?” Tracy asked as she answered her phone.
“Sucks. All I’ve done for the past two days is deal with this stuff.”
“What did you do this morning to get my dad upset?” Tracy asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him since yesterday.”
“I think Kendal called him. He was ranting about company exposure and how could they be so stupid.”
I decided Tracy didn’t need to know and changed the subject. She and Pam were best friends.
“How’s Pam doing?” I asked.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Tracy, what do you think? Pam and I have been friends for a year now, and not just friends. She’s carrying our baby.”
“I understand, David. It’s just, I don’t know. Pam won’t talk to anyone, and I can tell this is tearing her up. Everyone’s on her about the restraining order, and the comments are starting to get nasty. There’s been talk about kicking her off the squad so you can play.”
“I’ll get the word out for everyone to back off. Kicking Pam off the squad wouldn’t work anyways. The order says I have to stay at least 100 yards away from school grounds, so it won’t matter if she’s there or not. I need you to be her friend. Do you have any extra pepper spray or a Taser you could give her? I don’t want her to get hurt,” I said.
“I’ve already taken care of it. You’d be amazed at how the snapping noise of a Taser will get a crowd to back up. You need to talk to your friend Yuri. He’s been the most vocal, and if he doesn’t back off, I might zap him.”
“Let me call him before you do that. If he smarts off later today, you have my permission to make him flop like a carp out of water. If you do it, I want to see the video,” I said, which made Tracy laugh.
People didn’t realize that Tracy would throw down if you got her pissed. For that matter, so would Pam. Tommy Cox would attest to that. They had kicked the shit out of him when he’d puked on them last year. It had brought a smile to my face as they alternated between kicking him in the nuts and spraying his face with pepper spray. The poor bastard didn’t know which end to cover up. Personally, I would have covered my jewels. After all, I was a guy, and even blind guys get laid.
“If I can talk Mona into having a party Saturday night, will you come?” she asked.
“That would solve my dilemma with Brook. She’s my date to the dance, and we have our costumes ready. As much as I need to talk to Pam, can you talk to her and ask her not to go?” I asked.
“Will you pony up for the booze?” Tracy asked.
“No! I’m in enough trouble as it is. I’d be willing to contribute for decorations, food, and sodas,” I said, and then had an idea. “Tell Mona that I’ll take care of everything. She just needs to get me access to her place Saturday afternoon.”
“I’ll tell her,” Tracy said. “I’ve got to get going. Please tell me if you need anything. Pam may be my best friend, but so are you.”
“I would never put you in a position to test that friendship. Can you tell Pam that I’m not mad at her? I’m sure her dad’s behind the mean stuff that’s going on. Tell her I’ll do whatever she wants as far as the baby’s concerned. I mean anything.”
“You’d marry her?” Tracy asked, sounding shocked.
“If that’s what Pam wants, then yes,” I said. “Does that surprise you?”
“No, not really. I guess after what’s happened, I was afraid you’d be annoyed with her.”
“I’m guessing she thinks the same thing. Pam and I aren’t supposed to talk right now. I’ll do everything to help her with our child. I hope that she and I can raise him without a lot of drama,” I said.
I heard Tracy giggle.
“So, you think it’s a boy?” she asked.
I smiled. I guess it just slipped out that that was what I’d hoped for.
“Of course it is, I’m a Dawson,” I said as if that explained everything.
Tracy just laughed at me and hung up. I was sure that little tidbit would make the rounds today.
◊◊◊
I called most everyone and talked to each of them for less than a minute. The simple message was: ‘leave Pam alone, and Mona’s having a party Saturday night.’ Well, she hadn’t actually confirmed that she would, but I had volunteered her house. I was sure her parents wouldn’t mind. The one person who didn’t answer their phone was Yuri. I left him a message that warned him if he acted like a little jerk, Tracy would Tase him. I made a mental note to have someone remind him but got busy doing working off my to-do list.
The next item on my agenda was to go to Tom’s office and make phone calls under Frank’s supervision. I started with all my moneymaking ventures. Kendal gave me a full list of names, and I sat in the conference room and talked to every one of them. I was happy to see that all the firms I represented were comfortable with me, for now. Dakora and Jade warned me that I had a clause in my contract that if I were charged, they could cancel it. I had Kendal confirm that and passed the information on to Don Rigby and Roy Thompson. I knew for certain that their primary interest was making money. If Cal shot the golden goose, they would take a hit financially.
After I made those calls, I’d had enough of playing nice. I stepped into Ms. Dixon’s office to talk to her. I explained what I thought had happened with the letters that were sent out, and why I thought the contact information for the recipients had to have come from Rigby, Thompson and Associates’ files. I also explained the potential for me to lose income because of it.
“If we can prove that Cal Bell used company resources to hurt your business, we’ll have a major case against them. The problem is finding proof. I suspect they have a file or folder for each client on their server. Where I work, there’s software that shows who has accessed a file. The weakness in this kind of system is if there are hard copies of your records in the office. If that’s the case, they could be copied, and no one would be the wiser.