Then I felt a hand grab my back and looked behind me. Lexi handed me her tablet. I read it, and my smile got bigger. I gave it back.
“Would it be okay if I commented?” I asked.
Then I waited for them to calm down.
“I’m David A. Dawson, and this morning, I was involved in an unfortunate incident. I incorrectly assumed that Linzy was serious when she said she planned to move to Canada if her chosen candidate didn’t win the presidential election. Apparently, I missed the sarcasm in her statement.
“As it happens, I’ve visited Canada a few times, both on vacation and while filming
“I think she took it wrong, which was obvious by her reaction. I sincerely apologize if I offended her in any way. My intention wasn’t to interject politics into my movie-premiere tour, which is
I ducked into the car, and Fritz followed me. We were soon on our way.
“Good job, Lexi. I wasn’t quite sure what to say.”
Frank had sent me a note that said to do my innocent boy routine and compliment Canada. He also said to plug the movie. I added the sarcasm shot because I’d thought since Linzy had caused this mess, she should have to clean it up.
◊◊◊
On the ride over to the next studio, Lexi pulled up a video of the press harassing Linzy.
“When are you moving?”
It started with that and got worse from there. The reason they ran the video was that she burst into tears. Great! I was now the scoundrel who made her cry.
Finally, we arrived at the last morning talk show, and they wanted to talk about it. I basically gave them the same line about how it was all just an innocent mistake. I gave them a toned-down freezing-wet-puppy look, which quickly had the host defending me. Maybe I had finally figured out that expression.
I captured a video clip of my sad eyes as I said I was sorry and sent it to my mom. I attached a note that next time she wanted to yell at me about something to watch this clip. It’s best I not repeat what she sent back.
◊◊◊
When the last morning show was over, we were driven to the airport to fly to Atlanta. I was scheduled to be on the Rayna Kelly Show. The show was unique because it was an hour format with only one guest; in this case, me. This wasn’t something I’d done before, and I was a little nervous. I usually could charm my way through a three- to five-minute segment without getting into too much trouble.
Rayna was noted for her wide-ranging topics and a propensity for making her guests cry. Not in a mean way, but more that she dug deep and, before the hour was over, emotions seemed to bubble up. Brook bet me five bucks that I would cry before it was done. My girlfriend was a loyal watcher and had little faith that I would hold up under Rayna’s questioning. I also discovered that the rest of my cast had turned down the opportunity to be on the show for fear of what she might uncover.
Frank had given me a ton of talking points in the hopes it would cover almost all topics Rayna might bring up. His best advice was to just be me. I seriously thought I was back in Cuba and listening to Laurent Vance, my evil director, tell me that I wasn’t getting it. What the heck did ‘just be yourself’ mean?
In the first fifteen minutes, Rayna put me at ease and gave me softballs to field regarding the movie. It was similar to what I’d done earlier today, except in an extended format. When we went to a break, she smiled at me.
“You’re doing great. I can see why you got the role in the movie. You come across as a natural and aren’t hard on the eyes.”
That put a smile on my face because Rayna was an attractive woman. She’d been on TV since she was much younger and had gone from a childhood star to doing this talk show. She was in her mid-20s and one of the ‘top 30 under 30’ in Forbes Magazine last year. Each year they ran an article supposedly identifying younger people who showed a ‘burning desire of youth to reinvent the world.’ Her talk show hit an eclectic range of topics from world hunger to the latest fashion trends.
When we came back, she changed gears on me.
“I understand you come from a political family.”
“Well, I don’t know about
“I think you might be the next Dawson to venture into that realm,” she suggested.
“If my grandmother has her way, I will. Right now, I’m not too sure.”
“I hear you’ve already dipped your toe in the water. You helped your local Homeless Coalition achieve a zoning change; assisted your state’s governor and one of your senators in a get-out-the-vote campaign; and most recently got your dog elected mayor. Was all this a dry run for when you decide to run for office?”
