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I let my hands slide up as my palms pressed into my eyes. What was I supposed to do? How could I walk away from an opportunity like this? Saul had alluded to the fact that there could be consequences if I did that. Joyce Heart, the president of Lucasfilm, had told me she had a long memory. When she said that, it was in the context of keeping me in mind for other roles if I didn’t get this movie. I imagine that was a double-edged sword. If I disappointed her … well, that wasn’t something I wanted to find out.

“David, are you okay?” Mom asked as she touched my arm.

I pulled my hands away from my face and blinked. Was I okay? Not really. I wasn’t ready to give up on my dreams. The real question was, could I still make it work if I did this? I realized that this was too big for me to decide without help. I looked at my dad.

“This is too big to decide on my own or even on our own. We need to get some help with this,” I said.

“That’s why I’m here,” Saul said.

“We know that, and we want your advice. In fact, we’re counting on it,” Dad said.

“It’s not just the movies. I have to consider football and baseball,” I said.

“Don’t forget what comes after,” Caryn added.

I looked around the table.

“What do we need to do?” I asked.

Caryn smiled and launched into manager mode.

“We should make lists of who we should talk to, create plans for different options, and then reach a decision as to what is best,” she said. She then turned to Saul. “How long do we have to respond?”

“They’d like an answer tonight. I can probably get it delayed a day or two. They want to get David on set in the UK for the Rogue One cameo.”

Caryn helped us make a list of who all we should talk to. For football, I wanted to speak with Bud Mason and Bo Harrington. I would call Lucas Kite for baseball. Caryn made a list of Hollywood people from Rita James to Chubby Feldman. We added Ms. Dixon because she would have to look at the contract, and she was a sharp woman. I added Governor Higgins, and of course the rest of my family.

It was decided I would take tomorrow off from school so we could cover all our bases. I wanted to be in the discussions with the key players with Mom and Dad there as well. I was happy when Saul volunteered to make some calls for us.

We went back and forth about one name in particular: Joyce Heart. Dad was for it because he felt she would be more forgiving if she were a part of the process. Saul didn’t want us to show our hand until we decided. Caryn, Mom, and I all were on the fence, and the decision was put on hold until we got more input.

◊◊◊

We finally called it a night, and I took my hound up to my apartment. He’d come home from his weekend at Peggy’s parents’ house and was all wiggles when he saw me. I needed some unconditional love. I also wanted something I hadn’t sought in a long time: advice from my best friend, Tami.

Tami jumped onto video chat, and I talked for nearly forty-five minutes. I explained everything as I saw it and what we had planned to do to help me decide. I was surprised when she just listened. Finally, I asked for her opinion.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“I think you have a big decision and you’re working to figure it out,” she said.

“Come on, Tami. You must have an opinion.”

“My opinion is you have a big decision to make,” she said and then held up her hands because she knew that I was frustrated with her nonanswer. “I honestly don’t think I have the right to do more than give you moral support. If I thought you were about to do something rash, I might have a different opinion. You’ve decided to get advice from people in the know, and I can’t see how I would be able to give you anything better.

“I do think you might want to talk to the lady in charge who made the offer, once you’ve got an idea what you want to do. And I wouldn’t just give her an ultimatum or tell her your final decision. From what you’ve told me, you like and respect her, and she seems to feel the same way about you. I wouldn’t want to damage that relationship. Personally, I would want to talk to her directly, face to face,” Tami concluded.

I leaned back in my chair and blinked a few times. I took a moment to wrap my head around the new Tami. Had she just indirectly said that I knew best? When had she decided that she didn’t have all the answers? Not that I felt she was a know-it-all; it was just that she knew me better than anyone else and how I made questionable decisions at times. I believe the best advice she ever gave me was that my first instinct was usually wrong. It stopped me and made me think before I decided something instead of just doing.

Tami wasn’t one who liked silence.

“If you want to call and tell me what you’ve decided, or what your options are after you’ve talked to these people, then do so. You’ll figure this out.”

She could tell I didn’t know what to say, so she changed the topic.

“Want to hear about Cue Ball?”

“You make him sound like an evil villain in an Austin Powers or James Bond movie.”