“Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni,” Cassidy clarified. “Daddy was stationed there for almost a year, and my brother and I were there with him.”
Tonkatsu was a melt-in-your-mouth-tender breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet served with a side of miso soup, rice, and a mountain of shredded cabbage. I had to agree with Cassidy, this was good.
I had my language lesson with Hana and Shiggy. Cassidy was somewhat good at it since she’d lived there, but it had been a number of years, so she was rusty. At the end, Brook had a question.
“I hate to impose, but could we join David in his lessons?”
“No imposition. David pays for the food and the lessons,” Hana said, and then blushed. “That is if it’s okay with him.”
I was okay with them joining in.
“As long as you realize I need to get up to speed before my trip.”
I didn’t want them getting us off track.
“What trip?” Cassidy asked. “Can I go?”
I told them about my plans to go to Japan this summer. Brook gave me a half-smile that dared me not to invite them.
“You do realize I’ll be doing commercials,” I said to try to head this off.
“That’s okay. Brook and I can keep busy when you’re working,” Cassidy said.
“You have to get permission from your parents,” I tried, but as soon as I said it, I knew that wouldn’t be a problem for either of them. They were both daddy’s little girl.
◊◊◊
I came home to find Tami and Uncle John in our kitchen.
“Goals?” I asked.
Uncle John nodded.
I had to deal with Duke as he came tearing down the stairs. He must have been on the third floor with the babies. I opened the back door, and he flew by me to get to the back yard. I smiled to see he had his favorite tennis ball in his mouth.
Fritz had installed floodlights that turned on if they sensed motion, so the backyard was bright enough for us to play ball. Dad had said that Mom had finally picked out the replacement fence. I’d hoped we wouldn’t need it after everyone got used to me doing movies. But we still had people show up, so it was decided to go ahead and remove the chain-link fence and put in something more stylish.
Mom had picked out a fence that had brick posts with wrought iron panels. Fritz had insisted that it had to be at least eight feet high and have what was called ‘pinch tip’ pickets, with the little pointy ends on the top. I hoped it turned out as well as the pictures suggested.
Duke and I came back in when he was winded. I got him fresh water because it looked like his mouth had been full of mud the last time he got a drink. When he was done, he charged back upstairs.
We stepped into the office, and Tami handed me her goals.
Tami’s Goals:
Repair my Friendship with David.
Become a Doctor.
Make a Difference.
Experience Life.
“You don’t expect me to help brainstorm with you on the first one, do you?” I asked.
“Of course I do. Without us working together on it, it’ll never happen,” Tami said.
“That’s exactly what I was going to say,” Uncle John added.
I felt sorry for Aunt Bonnie. She would miss him after I killed him. Turned out, that wasn’t the hard one. The last one was the one that had my insides churning.
“So how many guys do you think I need to have sex with?” Tami asked.
Uncle John choked on something, had a coughing fit, and had to leave.
“How many girls have you had sex with?” Tami asked as a follow-up.
“Like I’m falling for that one. Next, you’ll want me to list them and give you details about each. Nope, not happening.”
“How will I gain any experience if I don’t have guidance? I thought that was what this is all about,” she teased.
I nearly shot back a sharp retort but bit my tongue. My first thought was to offer to just show her, but that would have been a bad idea. Then it dawned on me that that was Tami’s plan all along. That realization helped me harden my resolve. The ‘Experience Life’ line was from our breakup last summer.
“Let’s agree that if you feel you need more sexual experience, you’ll get it without feeling the need to share your exploits with me,” I said.
Tami just nodded. I think she was testing the waters and didn’t like where things stood. For now, that was the best I could do for her.
◊◊◊
After Tami and Uncle John left, I called Jack Mass.
“Well, good evening, Mr. Dawson.”
I smirked. He had been extra nice to me recently after I invested a bunch of money with him. Time for me to test that goodwill.
“Hey, Jack. I was wondering if you could help me out,” I said.
“Anything for you,” he said.
“Great!” I said and hung up.
I giggled when my caller ID said it was Jack calling back.
“Okay, I’m a dumbass. What did you just get me to agree to?” he asked.
“That you would forbid Harper from dating Mike,” I said.
“First, I agree that she shouldn’t be dating him. There’s something I don’t like about him,” he admitted. “The only problem is that she won’t listen to me.”
I sighed. It was worth a shot.
“You need to listen to your instincts. He’ll end up hurting her.”
