That sobered them both up. I spent the next forty-five minutes being interrogated by my uncle and mom. Dad came home, and Mom kicked me out of the office. I wanted to hear what had happened with Phil but thought better of it when Mom gave me a look.
I was actually glad they made me tell them. Well, that was my story, and I would stick to it.
◊◊◊
I watched Hollywood Central, and they had a woman on named Bridget Anderson who turned out to be the woman I had kept away from Rachel this morning. She explained how I had tried to attack her with a deadly weapon. There was absolutely no mention of her grabbing Rachel, and the video only showed me with my Bo staff under her chin. It turned out Bridget Anderson was the head of a women’s organization that wanted to be the voice for women who had been sexually assaulted by athletes.
I called Frank Ingram and told him what had happened. I got chastised for not telling him sooner. I wondered how many lessons I would learn this week. I needed my own film crew to follow me around for stuff like this.
◊◊◊
I drove to Halle’s house and found that she wasn’t there. Rita was the one that wanted to talk to me, and it looked like she wanted to do it without anyone else around. It was still hard for me to believe that I knew her. While Adrienne had been a fantasy of mine forever, Rita was different. She just seemed unattainable, for some reason. I’m not sure I could even explain why. The reality differed quite a lot from what I had created in my mind. Rita was very approachable, and all the wonderful qualities that came across in her movies were there in real life.
She led me to the living room and had tea ready. A hot cup of tea somehow felt right.
“How’s your first scandal going?” she asked.
“You make it sound like I’ll have many more.”
“David, it’s the nature of the business. I’ll say you picked a particularly nasty one to be your first. What you need to keep in mind is that eventually, this will be behind you.”
“My uncle says it’s part of growing up,” I said.
“Unfortunately, he isn’t too far off the mark,” Rita said and looked sad. “You’re lucky it’s happening now.”
I scoffed.
“I don’t feel lucky.”
“Okay, imagine this: your first movie’s in theaters, and you’re in Hollywood doing your press tours when this is announced. Instead of having your friends and family around you, and the support of the local press, you’re now laid bare before an international audience. That was what happened to me when it was leaked I was pregnant with Trip,” she said.
“You were about my age,” I stated, and thought about what she must have gone through.
“Fame is a double-edged sword. You can either rise up and face the challenge or let it slowly tear you apart. I’ve talked to Frank, and we have some ideas on how we can help you get past this when we get you to LA. That is, if you’re willing to be seen with an old lady like me?” Rita said with a mischievous grin.
“I wouldn’t have to date you or anything,” I said with a mock pout, and then brightened. “I’d be willing to do the whole Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore routine if I had to.”
I actually saw Rita James shoot hot tea out of her nose.
“Warn me if you’re going to say something like that again,” she said, as she got up to go get a towel.
“Do you think we should tell the kids together, or do you want to do it alone?” I asked.
I was rewarded with a towel in my face. Rita kicked me out and grumbled something about “ungrateful shit.” I think I’ve started to wear her down. It’s only a matter of time before the wedding plans can begin. I wonder what my mom will say when I don’t marry either Beth or Tami. I would guess that Rita James will be okay. I can’t wait to break the news to my brother. If he was jealous about my upcoming prom date with Hannah Minacci, he’d literally have kittens when I announced my engagement to Rita James. I might as well either go big or stay at home.
◊◊◊
Chapter 31 – No Practice, No Play Friday October 30
I’d been ordered to get dressed up today for the meeting with Pam to discuss the care of our child. Mom drove, but my dad didn’t come because he had to work. We went directly to Ms. Dixon’s temporary office she’d rented ‘for the duration.’
“I wanted to talk to you before we meet with the other side this morning,” Ms. Dixon said after we’d settled in. “I want you to be aware of what you’ll be up against. You might be looking at a quarter of your future income going towards child support. In your case, that could be substantial. Other options would be to make a lump-sum payment or a series of payments.”
“With David paying that kind of money, he should have full access to see his child,” Mom said.
“That’s a separate issue. There’s no guarantee David will have visitation rights. Part of the reason I believe they made the abuse and rape allegations in the first place was to put a cloud over his character and thereby affect his future access to his child. Even a charge which was later found to be false might have done some real damage to David’s chances of being granted access. Don’t be surprised if they try to use visitation as a lever to pry more money out of you,” Ms. Dixon said.
“I still think that if Pam and I could sit down and talk, this whole matter would be resolved in a short time,” I said.
“I’ll tell you one thing, I’ll not put up with any games. I will see my grandbaby,” Mom said.
“That is my goal. We’ll work towards getting David liberal visitation rights and keeping the child support to a reasonable level,” Ms. Dixon said.
I couldn’t believe how different my life was from my brother’s. When Angie became pregnant, her parents weren’t happy, but there was never a bunch of lawyers involved. This had started to get out of hand.
“Let me explain the process,” Ms. Dixon continued. “We’re meeting today to see if we can come to an agreement. If this falls apart, the other side will have to prove paternity. You’ve stated several times that you think you’re the father based on statements allegedly made by the mother. Paternity can be established in a few different ways. The first is that you can sign a form called an ‘Acknowledgment of Paternity.’ Basically, it says that you agree that you’re the father. You and Pam will sign it and have it notarized, and we’ll file it with the state. When the baby’s born, you’ll be listed as the father on the birth certificate.
“The second method is you voluntarily have DNA testing done. Both parents and the child will submit samples, usually a simple cheek swab. This must be done after the baby’s born. If the results come back that David’s the father, it will be made official. If they come back as inconclusive or negative, David could still become the legal father by using the first method.
“The third method is through court-ordered DNA testing. If you defy the court order, there can be consequences. Worst-case scenario is you would be found to be the father anyway, and you could do some jail time.
“Quite frankly, if this attempt at negotiation doesn’t work out, I would suggest that we get our family-law practice involved. They will most definitely opt for option three because of the money involved. There will be a lot of fighting, you’ll end up in family court, and the net result will be that you’ll have to pay twenty to twenty-five percent of your income towards child support. I know that’s not what you want to do, so we have a big incentive to make this go away, and fast.
“The unfortunate part is they know this. If I read the other side correctly, they’re out for their pound of flesh, and the meeting today will be to provoke you into doing something rash. So, keep your cool,” Ms. Dixon said.
“From what you’ve said, I shouldn’t sign the Acknowledgment of Paternity. Will my public statements hurt me?” I asked.