“Says the boy who’s spending a fortune on a vacation,” Caryn shot back.
“You’re open to doing some commercials?” Saul asked.
“Yes, he is,” Caryn said, and my dad nodded.
I guess they’d been talking without me around. I just shrugged, and Saul smiled for the first time since I told him ‘no’ about
Since I felt I owed them all an explanation, I told them my reasons. When I was done, even Saul acted like he was on board. I suspect he realized I was on the verge of finding a new agent. We spent quite a while talking about what we would want to say to the
“Okay, Princess. Order us some tickets because we need to do this fast. They need an answer,” Saul said.
Caryn about took him out, but my dad grabbed her wrist. Someday she’d get smart and hire Cassidy to teach Saul a lesson.
“I don’t think Saul should go,” Frank said.
Thank God he said it and saved me from doing so. Saul would just throw gas on the fire. I didn’t want him anywhere near those discussions.
“What did you say?” Saul asked, stunned.
“He’s right,” Mom said, and by her expression and tone, there was no way Saul was going.
I think even he realized it. When my mom made a decision, you would have to be suicidal to challenge her. Of course, I tried it regularly, to the horror of my dad.
“Who should go?” Caryn asked.
“You were there with me, so they know you,” I said to dad.
“I can’t. I’ve taken too much time off work the way it is, and we’re going on vacation next week.”
“Sorry, but I can’t either,” Mom said.
I looked at Uncle John, and he shook his head. I could tell Caryn didn’t want it to be only the two of us. Suddenly, inspiration hit. I held up my finger while I made a call.
“Hey, is Ms. James in?” I asked Fritz when he answered.
“Which one?”
“The cute one,” I said.
I heard the phone bang against something, then Halle came on.
I smiled at the others, held my finger to my lips, and put the phone on speaker.
“You think I’m cute?” she asked.
“No, I want to talk to your mom,” I said.
“Do you have a death wish?” Halle asked.
“I want to ask her out on a date,” I said.
Halle giggled, and then you could hear her call her mom. “David wants you to go on a date with him.”
“Hello?” Rita answered.
“Can you go to London with me and help me tell Disney and Lucasfilm that I don’t want to do their
“Are you crazy?” she asked.
“That’s what I want to know,” Saul said.
“Is that Saul?” Rita asked.
“Sorry, you’re on speakerphone,” I said and filled her in.
I’d already talked to her earlier today, and we’d weighed the pros and cons. She was very pro on the issue, so I’m sure she was shocked by my decision to turn it down. My mom finally talked her into going with Caryn and me.
Caryn found we could make a flight to London tonight, but we had to get moving. Saul agreed to set up a meeting. Since I hadn’t officially said no, it was decided to tell them I wanted to discuss some concerns.
Caryn hurried off to her place while I packed. While packing, it occurred to me that Moose would kill me before this was over. It looked like I would miss the next two games. We would play Eastside on Wednesday and Mt. Vernon on Saturday. I’d already told him I was leaving for spring break Friday night, and he’d given me a ration of shit for that. I would be in the doghouse when this was over, I was sure.
Maybe I should have my mom go talk to him. Then again, if I wasn’t in trouble yet, she could get me there in a hurry. Maybe I should ask my dad to call him!
No, I’d just been told how to handle a problem: do it in person. But Moose needed to know ASAP that I wasn’t going to play Wednesday. That, and I wasn’t dating him.
On the way out of town, I thought again about my coach. I made Fritz turn around, and we stopped by Moose’s house so I could tell him I had to do what was right. That was why I would miss a game. I believe in the end that was the best decision, but let’s just say he wasn’t happy. He understood what I needed to do, which was all that kept him from killing me. Moose was big on personal responsibility and commitment. I’d made the right choice to do this myself.
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Chapter 26 – Three’s A Crowd Tuesday March 22
Traveling to London with Rita James was an experience I’ll never forget. When we landed after the seven-hour-plus flight, and with the six-hour time change, it was about 11:00 a.m. local time. All I wanted to do was go to bed and get about eight hours of sleep.
As soon as we got off the plane, Rita made me go to the men’s room to wash my face and change my clothes. She reminded me of her lovely daughter, who had picked out my wardrobe for me when I lived in LA. Jeans and a t-shirt weren’t cutting it if I was to be seen with her.
