“David should go to Alabama, they have the best track record over the last several years,” Jess said.
“I think he needs to go to Notre Dame,” Gabe chipped in.
“You think everyone should go to Notre Dame,” Larry teased him.
“Dang right, David would do well to go there,” Gabe said.
“He’s not Catholic,” Mom said.
They all gave her a look. I bit my tongue because they were about to find out what a buzz saw she was if they told her only guys could talk about such things. Apparently, being older kept you from falling into those traps.
“Where do you want him to go?” Gabe asked.
Now I was interested. I had never asked my mom that question.
“USC.”
I looked at Tami and she shrugged. I guess they hadn’t talked about it.
“I guess I never knew you had a preference. Why USC?” I asked.
“They’re a sleeping giant, as far as football goes. They’ll be in the national championship picture again. Bill went there and I think you two made a good team. LA is also where you need to be if you plan on doing more movies.”
Everyone took it in. I was wondering who Mom had talked to about it because I had never heard a coherent football opinion out of her in my life. I wasn’t sure if she could name the four teams who made the National Championship playoffs last year.
“Do we need to start getting our USC jerseys?” Larry asked.
“If my mom says that’s where I’m going, I guess you’d better,” I said with a smile.
“Don’t I get a say in this?” Tami teased me.
“You talk to my mom, and then you two can tell me what I’m doing,” I suggested.
“Smart boy,” Gabe said, and they all nodded.
WHEN WE GOT TO UNCLE John’s farm, there was a huge tent being erected. They were having the reception there. I was happy to see Grandma Dawson supervising. Uncle John was doing the smart thing and just writing checks. He was letting his mom and future wife handle the details. I was a little surprised my mom hadn’t gotten involved.
Grandma Dawson saw me get out of the Jeep with Tami.
“There’s my favorite grandson ... who is still single,” she said, adding the ‘single’ part when she spotted Greg.
“Ha! I knew it! I’m Grandma’s favorite!” I said, dancing around Greg.
Greg went and got Nate.
“I want to introduce you to Nate, your newest great-grandson,” Greg said, totally trumping me.
Mom walked up between Tami and me.
“You know what you have to do to get back into the top spot.”
I grabbed Tami’s hand.
“Come on, let’s get busy.”
Sometimes I question if she really is my best friend.
GRANDMA DAWSON AND Uncle John took me aside to talk to me about the farms. I made it easy on them and told them I was in. I made it clear I wanted to be a silent partner. We agreed I would give my proxy votes to Uncle John. I did this for two reasons. The first was if I kept my voting shares, it was possible for a deadlock. I owned 25% and Grandma 25%, so this eliminated the chance of a 50/50 vote. The second reason was I felt the men doing the farming should be able to make decisions without calling me. By giving Uncle John voting rights for my 25%, it would give him and Mr. Hass a majority but force them to work together. They couldn’t decide anything without the other agreeing. That way if there were ever a disagreement between Mr. Hass and Uncle John, Grandma Dawson would break the tie. It was decided that Mr. Hass would be in charge of the day-to-day operations and Uncle John would be in charge of the books.
Grandma Dawson agreed to put together the business plan we would need to present to the local farm bank for the loan. I asked that they send it to Tom to review for me. Tom would also review the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws.
Mom had worked it out with Kendal and Tom so that I wouldn’t own the farm directly. It was going to be owned by my LLC. They had also worked out the best tax plans and protection for me. The plan was that if anyone ever wanted to sue me, I was just a poor high school kid. Tom’s law firm had a substantial wealth management practice. As the first client in the Entertainment Division, they had used me as the model for future clients.
THE REST OF THE DAY was a blur of activity. Greg and I were ushers for the wedding, while Dad was standing up with Uncle John as his best man. Uncle John’s and Bonnie’s friends started to show up. I was happy to see his old college roommate and my former coach, Doug Engels. He was now the head coach at Triton College, a small private liberal arts college upstate.
“How’ve you been, Coach?” I asked.
“Good. I’ve been busy since I took over at Triton. We could use a quarterback.”
“Who knows? I’m not about to burn any bridges. I might just end up at Triton.”
“You’d almost make my day if you decided to come,” he said. “I was cheering when you made that stop in the State Championship game.”
“They were dangerous. I’m not sure what would have happened if their running back hadn’t been injured. He was one of the hardest runners I have ever seen.”
“He’s enrolling at Indiana this fall. I think they got themselves a solid back for the next four years.”
“How is everything otherwise?” I asked.
“Good. I met a girl and we plan on getting married after Christmas. She wanted to get married this summer, but I’ve been a little busy. Thankfully, she’s patient with me. How about you? You still dating Tracy?”
“Hell, no. I’ve decided to just play the field for now.”
“Look out, they better lock up their daughters if you’re on the prowl. Ahh, to be a teenager again,” he opined.
“Speaking of being on the prowl, I need some dirt on my uncle,” I said.
“Don’t you dare,” Uncle John said as he came up.
The two men hugged each other.
“I don’t know. I think young David could learn a few things from our exploits,” Doug said.
“Careful, his mother’s around here, and she has super-hearing. I want to live long enough to get married.”
“We’ll talk later,” I said, and then left them to catch up.
WE WERE HAVING THE rehearsal dinner at the Moose Lodge. Neither Greg nor I were allowed to give speeches, per Bonnie. Someone had told her about the fun I had poked at Greg. She was taking this whole thing way too seriously. We had to suffer through several speeches about them being the perfect couple and how it was love at first sight.
The only plus was it was informal, so everyone was in jeans. I had on my cowboy gear and Tami had a matched outfit. I felt like we were one of those square-dance teams. Angie got a picture, and I was sure Lily would have it posted on Twitter in record time.
After dinner, we all started to migrate to the other side of the lodge where the dance floor was. I had brought another set of four scotches which the lodge let us bring in because it was a special occasion. Uncle John and his friends had opened the bottles and were comparing them. I remembered when Dad had tried to keep up with his brother during the guys’ weekend last year. I was hoping his friends could keep up or it would get ugly later. Uncle John could hold his liquor.
I had introduced Tami to Mary Vander. She was one of the cute farm girls I’d met while I stayed with my uncle two summers ago. Uncle John had purchased a bull she raised as a 4-H project. She and I had been reacquainted last year at the dance at this very Moose Lodge. I would have been interested in her, but she was dating some guy named Happy or Wimpy, something like that.
The girls were chatting, so I went to find my brother and see what trouble we could get up to. I saw he had been able to get a glass of scotch and was nursing it under the watchful eye of Angie. The band started playing. Greg nudged me in the ribs and pointed his chin across the dance floor at a table of college kids. There she was, the pretty girl with pure blonde hair and bright blue eyes I had danced with last year. She was a terrific dancer and had just disappeared after our last dance.