From that point on, it was better. I wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but I didn’t do anything horrifyingly wrong, either. It seemed like we’d only been in the air for minutes when Roy pointed me back toward the airport. He took over and landed the plane, all the while explaining what he was doing and why.
Once we were on the ground, he let me taxi the plane to its parking spot, and I helped him tie it down. Then we talked about the flight, and Roy gave me advice. I confirmed that I wanted lessons the next two days after football practice. I couldn’t wait to get my license so I could fly on my own.
◊◊◊
When I arrived home, Dad found me.
“Do you have time to meet?”
“Meet who?” I asked.
“Caryn and the gang. We need to update you on a couple of things.”
“Sure,” I said and looked around. I didn’t see my hound. “Where’s Duke?”
“Your grandmother picked him up. He’s doing a campaign event with Governor Higgins.”
It seemed my Lab was a mover and shaker in the political world. I’d almost forgotten that the elections were this week. This would be the first time I could vote, and if it hadn’t been for Duke and the governor and senate races, I probably would have skipped it.
Dad drove me to our office in the strip mall. We were the first to arrive, so Dad unlocked it and turned on the lights. I put on coffee. It was chilly out, and I needed something to warm me up. Caryn, Megan, and Scarlet showed up with little Carol. I took my daughter so that Scarlet could get organized for the meeting.
“What’s up, Princess?” I asked.
What was up was she needed her diaper changed. I manned up and took care of that. When everything was copacetic, we came back to the meeting. Carol wanted down, so I gave her my car keys to keep her occupied. They went straight into her mouth because she was teething. I’d seen babies put way worse in there, so I didn’t even flinch. What mattered was she was occupied and seemed happy for the moment. I was sure I wouldn’t win Father of the Year anytime soon.
“First, I wanted to tell you that Zander has accepted a deal from the DA. He’ll plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault; agree to a restraining order regarding you, Halle, Brook, and Rita; do 100 hours of community service; and serve two years of probation. The restraining order will prevent Zander or his agents from harming you. It also prevents him and his agents from coming within 100 yards of any of you. And that’s even if you show up for an event, like the Oscars, after he’s already there. Zander can’t drink or do drugs while on probation and must submit to random drug and alcohol testing. The agreement includes stipulations that he can’t leave the state without court permission, and must report to his probation officer twice a month,” Caryn shared.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I complained. “A misdemeanor?”
“In fact, Ms. Dixon is happy that he pled guilty. She said that it helps with the civil suit she wants to file tomorrow,” Dad explained.
“Tell her to go ahead. I’m generally not one who wants to fight it out in court. But after what I’ve gone through over the last several weeks, I want him to suffer a consequence, something more than a misdemeanor charge with no time served. Just please, at least, make sure the restraining order is permanent and that his record won’t be wiped clean if he makes it through probation.”
“Ms. Dixon wanted to float something to get your take on it,” Scarlet said. “Tom Dole suggested that Cal Bell take the lead on a civil suit against Zander. He has a California license, and frankly, the last group of California attorneys we used on this was anything but stellar. Cal is also someone who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and go for the jugular, from what I’ve heard.”
I think my dad and Caryn had called ‘not it’ on that one; they each kept their face neutral. Megan gave me a half-smile. I wanted to instantly reject their idea out of hand. Cal was one of my least favorite people—who just happened to be Pam’s dad and Coby’s granddad.
“Will I have to deal with him?” I asked.
“We’ll try to keep it to a minimum,” Dad assured me.
That meant ‘yes.’
“I want to say ‘no,’ but you wouldn’t have asked me if you didn’t think this had merit. If you’re all on board, then I’ll go along with it, but I’m more than a little reluctant to do this. Just be warned that I reserve the right to cause Cal pain if he is rude or smarts off about Pam or Coby. I also want Ms. Dixon to watch over him and what he’s doing like a hawk.”
“You might have to wait for your mother to finish with him if he does anything to hurt any of us,” Dad warned me.
He was right. Mom had wanted to pound both him and Mr. Fox during the whole fiasco around Pam’s pregnancy and the rape charges. Cal’s threat to ship her grandson off for adoption was more than Mom could handle. I just prayed that his evil side would serve us well when he took on Zander. I hoped I’d also communicated that I would not forget who’d recommended this if it went south.
