She blinked a couple of times and then seemed to shake herself. Mom looked at me and then at Bev.
“When will news of this get out?” she asked Bev.
“They plan to make a statement Monday morning.”
“Then I’ll call Tami’s mom to see when she can get her home this weekend. We can then gather everyone together so you can explain it to them,” Mom decided.
“Why should I be the one to explain?” I asked because there was something in the tone of my mom’s voice that instantly pissed me off.
“Because you need to apologize for what you did.”
“This isn’t helpful,” Dad said, trying to head off whatever this was.
“What do I need to apologize for?” I asked, ignoring Dad.
“I told you they hadn’t done what you suspected. You should have believed your friends. They told you nothing happened.”
“Just like …” I began and then bit my tongue.
I was about to say, “Just like Dad told you he never broke his marriage vows.”
Somehow, I managed to stop myself before it came out. Once said, I could never take it back, and it would profoundly hurt my mom.
“Say it,” Mom challenged.
“Both of you stop right now,” Dad said.
“No. I want to hear what he has to say for himself.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Only family could get under your skin like this.
“You know, what pisses me off is that I’m always the one you think needs to apologize. Both Tami and Alan lied to you about the last thing you thought I needed to apologize for. You always take Tami’s side.”
“For good reason; you were wrong. Your friends wouldn’t lie to you about something like that. Instead of acting like a complete ass, you should have taken them at their word.”
“You know what, it’s easy to look at it now and armchair quarterback. You saw how hard I took it when I found out. It made me sick to my stomach,” I said.
Mom had been at the strip mall and saw me throw up when I learned about it. Recognition started to come over her face.
“You act like I’m some kind of unfeeling monster,” I powered on. “I didn’t take the perceived betrayal of my two best friends lightly. I was devastated to find them naked in my bed and a used condom in the bathroom.
“What did you do when you learned what happened? You told me I had to apologize, or I was grounded. I would have thought you, of all people, would know what something like that felt like.”
Aw, shit. Dad gave me a hard look. I knew I’d gone too far. Poor Bev Mass hadn’t come to our home to be a part of something like this. My mom sat there for a moment in stunned silence. She looked at me and then surprised me.
“I’m sorry. I admit, I never thought about it like that. At the time, I was so wrapped up in my own problems, I didn’t see how you must have felt. To me, it was obvious that Alan and Tami would never do something like that. I just assumed you were being stubborn. Yes, I remember how you reacted when Megan told you. I’d always intended to talk to you about what was going on.
“David, I’ve never thought more of Tami than you. I can see how you might think that, but you’re my baby boy. Sometimes I forget that you’re just that, a ‘stupid boy’ and not a man. I don’t mean that to sound the way it came out. You act the adult so much that I forget that you’re just figuring all this stuff out. I don’t always remember that things that seem obvious to me sometimes do so only because of my experience that you don’t have yet.
“I want you to know that even though you decided not to tell me sooner, I’m proud of how you worked within the system to get this resolved. Bev, thank you for helping him,” Mom said.
“I think I pissed him off at times, but he was patient and pushed when it was needed. The arrest would have never happened if it weren’t for David. He’s responsible for getting a monster off the streets,” Bev said.
“Are we good?” I asked my mom.
“We’re good,” she said.
Dad looked like he’d gone ten rounds. He just stared at us and didn’t seem to know what to say. Mom smiled at him, and he chuckled. The poor man should never try to get between Mom and me when we went at it like that.
I felt like the barrier that had been built over the last several months had finally been breached. I felt like Mom and I could move on from this and get back to where we had been. Now all I had to do was tell Alan and Tami. I wondered how bad that would be.
◊◊◊
Tonight was date night with Halle. She’d decided we needed to go to State where they were having a movie festival. They were showing a Japanese movie from 1954, Seven Samurai. It was three and a half hours long and surprisingly good.
Unfortunately, we were recognized in the lobby after the movie and had to sign autographs. I watched how Halle handled it. She’d lived with her mom all her life and had watched Rita being approached and how she dealt with fans. I was gracious and spent fifteen minutes doing it. Everyone wanted to know about Star Wars. Some even said they planned to come out to the game tomorrow.
I’d done five interviews during the week. The most recent one was on our big country station. They planned to have a live remote at Washington because Eve would be playing a free concert. I just hoped people showed up.
◊◊◊ Saturday March 12
The plan for the day was I would arrive at Washington around noon, and the events would start at one. They planned to have different attractions and activities going on throughout the afternoon. Eve would play for about thirty minutes around two, and the baseball game would start at three.
Coach Diamond had called my dad yesterday and said they expected that maybe a thousand people would show up. Kendal and Megan agreed to help me sign pictures. Frank had had a canvas Star Academy banner made. There were also life-sized posters of my movie roles in Star Academy, The Secret Circle, and me as a possible young Han Solo.
Fritz drove us in the SUV and planned to look menacing all day. When we arrived, we found they had set up a stage right behind center field. Washington had a wide-open area behind the baseball field that they used for football practice. Behind right field was a food and beverage tent, and behind left field was the petting zoo and games for children. They had a little carnival-like thing going on.
Our area was beside the stage, and I was happy to see our decorated school bus was next to us. Sun, Brit, and several volunteers were there. I had several duffle bags full of extra clothes that I gave as a donation to kick things off. Mr. Orange was all smiles when he arrived with brochures and some of his staff to help.
Fritz and I set up our stuff, and then he left to park the car. I found Coach Diamond and Mrs. Sullivan in the food tent. As we talked, people started to arrive. Next to the food tent, the country station pulled up a van with huge speakers that blasted out their music and what was on the air.
I moved quickly to my station because there was a line forming. It looked like maybe fifteen people wanted a picture and autograph. I was a pro at this now and figured I could knock this out in no time. While I signed photos, the radio station interviewed me.
“We’re at Washington High where they’re having a fundraiser for the booster club and the Homeless Coalition. There are all kinds of activities for all ages. Later today, a singer who grew up close by here, Eve ‘Country Girl’ Holliday, will give a free concert. Also in attendance is local phenomenon and movie star, David A. Dawson, who is signing pictures and meeting his fans. I have David with me right now.”
“Hey, thanks for having me on. I want to invite everyone out today. Washington High is a rival, but my former offensive coordinator, Coach Diamond, is now their head football coach. He’s a great guy, and when he came to me and asked me to help, I had to show up. They’re raising funds for their sports teams and could really use your support.