“Don’t worry about it. If I see something I want, I usually just buy it. I wanted to get you something as a ‘thank you’ for all you’ve done for me.”
Caryn ripped the paper off the box.
“You could have waited until Christmas,” I teased.
She opened it and smiled. Caryn was always playing tunes on her phone while she worked, so I bought her a pocket speaker system that used Bluetooth. Despite its small size, it sounded great. All she had to do was connect to it with her Bluetooth and hit her playlist. When I ran across it in one of the gadget stores, I knew it would be perfect.
“Thank you, that was very thoughtful,” Caryn said.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here so you can go home.”
◊◊◊
I guess I was moping around because Rita sent me to the beach house. Fritz wished me a Merry Christmas, and I was alone. In the mood I was in, it was in actuality a good thing because it gave me a chance to sit back and reflect. From the outside looking in, I’m sure most anyone would trade places with me. That was until they felt the crushing responsibility. I was supposed to be at home, tossing my big brother into a snowdrift. Instead, I was in LA, all by myself. I suddenly realized what I needed: I called Tami.
“You home yet?” I asked.
“Yeah, Mom came and picked me up. How’s LA?”
“It’s been a learning experience. I can see how people let it go to their heads and get into trouble. It’s also a job. I’m currently on the roof of a beach house, looking at the waves, feeling sorry for myself,” I admitted.
“Missing home?”
“This will be the first Christmas I’ve not been with my family. I guess I’m a little homesick.”
“You could send me a ticket. I’d be willing to suffer with you,” Tami teased.
“I must sound like a real baby, complaining about my lot in life as you freeze your ass off.”
“No, I get it. Remember, I was the one that talked you into sending me a plane ticket last year so I could come home for Christmas. There’s something about this time of year that makes you want to spend time with family and friends. I’m sure you’re feeling left out because everyone else has their own thing to do,” she said.
“Do you think it’s worth it, though?” I asked.
Tami knew what I was thinking; she understood me better than almost anyone. She took a moment to contemplate her answer.
“You’d regret it if you didn’t do it. Remember when I predicted big things for you once you grew up? Well, David, you’re having to grow up sooner than you want to. If you were older, this wouldn’t be a big deal.”
“You’re right. It’s just that it’s so different here. Everything I do seems to be under a magnifying glass. Why do people even care what I do? I’m just a small-town kid who caught some breaks.”
“You’re being a baby,” Tami teased. “It all goes back to that ‘doer’ thing. Most people aren’t like you, they find reasons not to succeed. You, my friend, refuse to be stopped. If you find you don’t know something or can’t do it, you figure out how to overcome. Don’t think I haven’t been watching you. I’m sure you’ll figure this out too. You simply need to find balance.”
“I don’t understand what you just said,” I confessed.
“Consider what’s going to happen moving forward. I bet you’ll look back on a day like today and realize what a gift it is to have some time to yourself. There’s a reason people are starting to know who you are and why it seems like your every move is watched. You’re special. You’ve been special for a while, and people have watched you. This is simply on a larger scale. How did you handle it before?” Tami asked and then laughed.
“I bet you didn’t even realize it, did you?” she asked.
“I’m still confused,” I admitted.
“I’ve seen you. Something that stands out is the time I picked you up at the airport. I watched you walk out and not even notice that everyone was looking at you. It was the same way at home. You need to learn to block it out and live your life,” Tami said.
“Halle said I had to be aware of everything I do.”
“Yes, but if you’re being you, what’s there to worry about? You’re a good man with a huge heart. That’s why people like you. If you’re just being you, you’ll be fine,” Tami explained.
“And if people get the wrong idea about something?” I asked.
“Decide if it really matters. I’d bet that it doesn’t.”
“I dunno. Somehow it seems like I’m moving from one crisis to another, that I have to deal with every little thing.”
“Like the fight or the sharks?” Tami asked.
“Yeah.”
“The fight was one thing. That has consequences I wouldn’t even know about, so I won’t speculate. The sharks were a different story. Why did you even agree to do the interview?”
“Because I thought I was supposed to. Because it’s part of being a celebrity, and the press asked.”
“So?”
This was worse than talking to my uncle. Then I laughed.
