“You know what that means,” Allen said. “It’s time for Double Puppardy. Each question is now worth two puppies. You’re up next, David. A takin is an animal that is neither a goat nor a cow and found only in the following: ‘A’ … Canada, ‘B’ … India, or ‘C’ … Bhutan.”
I showed everyone in the audience my confusion.
“Welcome to my world,” Billy said.
“I was hoping we would do the lip sync challenge,” I complained as Sheela tried to jump off my lap. “Since I don’t even know what a takin is, and I’m a little sketchy on where Bhutan is … I will guess ‘C.’”
There was a dramatic pause, and I was suddenly handed two more puppies. As I said, they were big, so they had to stack them on each other. I now had a wiggling mass of rowdy mutts who either wanted to lick my face, bark, or escape. One of them managed to bail off and make a run for it. Allen had to rescue my wayward pup and put him on top of the rest.
“You’ve fallen behind, Billy. You need this one to keep the game close. What brush should you never use on a horse? ‘A’ … Fitch Curry Comb, ‘B’ … Dandy Brush, or ‘C’ … Mane Brush?”
“A Curry Comb and Mane Brush make sense. I think it’s the Dandy Brush because it sounds made up. But I’m betting they’re trying to trick me. I say ‘A’ … Fitch Curry Comb,” Billy said.
“You are correct!”
They dumped two squirming fuzzy-butts on Billy.
“You guys are getting big,” he said as they both wanted attention.
There was a barking sound again.
“You know what that means. It is time for Final Puppardy! I will ask you each a question. The one closest to the right answer wins all the puppies. How many trees, on average, do beavers cut down for their winter supply of food?”
We had marker boards to write down the answer. Both Billy and I had to contend with squirming puppies while we wrote. I lost two of them as they made their escape. I wrote down 500.
“Billy, what is your answer?” Allen asked.
He turned his board around, and it showed 25.
“Billy, you said 25. David, what is your answer?”
I flipped mine over.
“David, you said 500. The correct answer is 100. Our winner is Billy! Congratulations!”
Damn!
◊◊◊
The trip to the set of Today’s Wrapup Starring Steve Priest was a quick one. They began filming an hour after Billy Stein’s show in the studio above his in NBC Studio 8-G. I only had time to change clothes before they needed me on set.
“Congratulations on your new movie, and for a couple of reasons. I heard they plan on doing two more. I read the book, and I would have thought it was impossible to adapt it for the big screen,” Steve said.
“Yeah, I’m sure it had to be a daunting undertaking. But they’ve made so many advances in CGI that when I see the final product, I am simply amazed. Of course, we had an awesome director in Jessup Fields, and our producer was Janice Utley, who was astonishing in how good she was. They assembled a team that brought it home with the support of the studio. They made me and my fellow actors, Craig Wild, Bree Steno, Elizabeth Jenks, Ben Doman, and the always amazing Lori Winnick all look good,” I said.
I seemed to be practicing my awards speech.
“From what I’m hearing, it’s a wonderful movie that may rival the recent Star Wars release,” Steve exclaimed. He didn’t give me a chance to refute his bold prediction. “You originally read for another character, at the request of Lori Winnick. But you blew Bree Steno away in your audition, so much that they offered you one of the lead roles.”
“I do owe Lori for getting my foot in the door. She was the reason I even received an audition. When I walked in, I was surprised to learn who my audition partner was. Bree and I had met before at a photo op for some of the modeling work I do for Range Sports. The script said to seduce her,” I said to some chuckles.
“I’m sure you know who Adrienne is,” I continued.
“The Sports Illustrated and Victoria’s Secret model,” Steve said.
“I’d worked with her and learned to do sexy. I figure if you need to know something, go to the best to have them teach you. So, anyway, Bree was simply not prepared for the moves I put on her. So, if anyone’s looking for career advice in acting, it’s that you just never know how far a good kiss will take you.”
“Too bad you weren’t around when I was getting into the business,” Steve said.
“I’m sure, from what I’ve heard, your wife wouldn’t really go for that, now would she?” I asked.
“You also mentioned being a model. Has that helped open any doors for you?” he asked.
“In fact, it has helped tremendously with my acting, but unfortunately, I still have one huge disappointment from my modeling career.”
“Really, what’s that?” Steve asked.
“I’ve always had a crush on Hannah Minacci. I’ve modeled with her, and she’s in my upcoming movie, The Secret Circle. Even with all my charm, I’ve yet to get her to go to Prom with me,” I said, and the audience gave me sympathy.
“Hannah, if you’re watching, give the boy a break,” Steve said, playing along.
“It would help if America would get on their social media and send a quick note to Hannah using hashtag David’s Prom Date. I think she just needs a gentle reminder that she might want to get started picking out her dress and all that stuff.”
“She might kill you for that,” Steve said with a big smile.
He then showed a clip of the movie, we talked about it for a minute, and I was done. I was exhausted from doing five shows in one day. It was even harder than I had imagined because I’d expected Craig to be there to help me out.
◊◊◊
On the way back to Adrienne’s, I’d stopped and picked up sandwiches at Katz’s Deli. When I’d stopped for lunch off Venice Beach, they had bragged about getting their meats and cheeses from Katz’s, so I had to try the original. I called Adrienne to get everyone’s order. Frank and the studio rep were going back to the hotel, but Caryn was joining me. Adrienne also invited the models that she had living in the building.
I was instructed to get pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, and to buy a cheesecake. They told me to skip the fries because they were greasy and limp. I was also to bring assorted salads and matzo ball soup.
When we arrived, I was ready to devour every bit of it, sacks and all. Riding in the car with the smell was enough to make my mouth water. Tyler took my bags from me and stepped into the kitchen. She brought out platters of food with the sandwiches cut up into model-size portions, which brought a tear to my eye. That was until I saw one of the massive sandwiches set aside just for me.
I’d had Caryn order a case of wine, just in case we might have a repeat performance of Adrienne drinking vino. People call me a ‘stupid boy,’ but they forget I was in the Boy Scouts, and I was very much like Duke. If something good happened, you kept going back to that again and again with the hope for a repeat performance. For Duke, it was laying under Kyle, Mac, and Nate’s chairs, hoping something would make its way to the floor. I, on the other hand, hoped for sex. So, like a good Boy Scout, I was prepared. I’d bought wine to help Adrienne get into the mood.
Eating a giant sandwich after a mentally draining day was a mistake. It wasn’t long before I was ready to nod off. Everyone else was trying to drink the case of wine. I knew it was a mistake, but I turned in early.
◊◊◊ Tuesday January 5
I’d set my alarm extra early because I had to be at the Breaking the Day studio by seven. It was snowing out, so I took the elevator down to the pool and swam. I really hated to run on a treadmill, so this was the best alternative for me. When I was done, I hit the little diner next to Tyler and Adrienne’s condo building to get some breakfast. I’d just finished when I received a text from Caryn to let me know our car was out front.