“I want you to break into one of the townhouses,” JD said.
Cassidy had a look on her face that said she was glad it wasn’t her that had to do this task. I had to admit, this was crazy. I could get sent to jail for breaking into a house.
“Chicken,” Cassidy goaded.
“If you can’t even do this, how are you going to be convincing on screen?” JD asked.
“What should I do?” I asked.
“Figure it out,” JD said, being totally unhelpful.
I got out of the car and walked around the townhouses. They backed up to my dad’s golf course. At least it was winter, so no one was playing. I identified a couple of ways in and made a decision. I walked back and got into the car, and they both stared at me.
“Drive me to the clubhouse,” I said.
“He’s not going to tell us what he plans,” Cassidy observed.
“Why not?” JD asked.
“That’s just David.”
I kept a neutral look on my face, not giving anything away. After a moment, JD shrugged and drove us to the country club. The girls followed me into the Pro Shop.
“Hey, David. I hear your dad took the day off. Is he okay?” one of the employees asked.
“He just felt a little dizzy today. I bet he’s in tomorrow,” I said, and then got to why I was there. “I need to borrow a wedge. Do you have any that are in rough shape?”
“Let me look in the back. Sometimes we have a few that are left on the course, and no one picks them up. How rough are you looking for?”
“Something you won’t mind me dinging up a bit.”
While he stepped into the back, both JD and Cassidy looked concerned.
“You’re not planning on breaking a window, are you?” JD asked.
I just ignored them.
“If he were doing that, he would use his tactical pen,” Cassidy finally realized.
He came out with one that looked like hell.
“We found this one when we cleaned out the lakes at the end of the year. Will this work?”
“Do you need it back? I can give it to my dad to bring in,” I said.
“No, keep it.”
We said our goodbyes and drove back to the townhouses.
“You two stay here,” I said as I got out and walked around the back.
I stepped up to the sliding glass door in the back and peeked in the window. It looked like no one was home. My training had taught me that most spring-loaded locking mechanisms have a significant flaw: they can fail against upward force.
I leaned the wedge against the side of the house, slipped on my gloves, and grabbed the sliding glass door’s handle with both hands. I looked around again to make sure no one was watching and jerked upward, hard. My effort pulled the door off its track and popped the spring latch to the open position.
I looked around again and, not seeing anyone, lowered the door back onto its track. Now that it was unlocked, I eased the door open until the dowel caught the bottom of the doorframe. After backing the door off a few inches, I slid the wedge through the opening and used the club’s head to lift the dowel out of the track. Then I opened the door the rest of the way.
I quickly stepped through and closed the door behind me. I took a moment to scan the back to assure myself that I’d made it in undetected. Then I turned around and almost peed myself. In the middle of the room sat a cat, staring at me.
‘Meow.’
“Hey, Buddy, what’s up?” I asked.
Frick! I was talking to a stupid cat.
‘Meow.’
“You hungry?” I asked.
He got up and strolled to the kitchen. I followed him in, and he showed me his empty food and water dishes. I filled up his water bowl and then opened the pantry, where I found a bag of dry cat food, so I sprinkled some in his dish. The cat, now having what he wanted, ignored me as he ate. Typical.
I returned to the sliding glass door, put the security dowel back in place, and locked the door. I grabbed the golf club and walked out the front door, making sure I secured the handle as I left.
When I got back in the car, both girls stared at me. Finally, Cassidy couldn’t handle my silence.
“What took so long?” she asked.
“I had to feed the cat.”
◊◊◊
“And then he says with a straight face, ‘I had to feed the cat,’” JD said and burst out laughing.
She had Chubby Feldman on the line, and I heard him laughing too as JD related my adventure in breaking into a home.
“The cat was hungry,” I said to defend myself.
I should know better than to say stuff like that. My mom had roasted me many times. I rolled my eyes when JD, Cassidy, and Chubby all laughed at me.
“David, good job,” Chubby said. “I also like your most recent ‘walk’ video. I forwarded it on to a friend of mine who’s a choreographer, and he has a few suggestions. When I get a chance, I’ll send you a video of what he came up with.”
“Thanks.”
“I can’t wait to start filming. Already, I can tell you’ll be a lot of fun to work with,” Chubby added.
“I just want to do a good job for you, sir.”
“You will. Now go enjoy the rest of your day. I’ll see you at the Academy Awards ceremonies, and I’m sure I’ll have a chance to talk with you at one of the after-parties,” he said and hung up.
Somehow, I got the feeling that last bit hadn’t been just an idle comment.
“I’m hungry,” Cassidy announced.
