I came in the back door and crouched down as I prepared for my hound, Duke, who by now was barreling at me. He was overly excited, with his tongue hanging out to slobber all over me.
“Hey, buddy. You miss me?” I asked as I wrapped my hands around his broad neck and rested my head on top of his.
Duke needed a bath. He smelled musty, like he’d been digging in the back yard again.
“Unca David!” Mac, Kyle, and Nate yelled all at once.
Duke knocked Mac down. I swear that Labs have no feeling in their tails. That thing was a weapon.
“Bad doggie,” Mac said, sitting on her butt with her hands on her hips.
I scooped her up and gave her a hug.
If people hadn’t realized I was home before, they did now. My house was full of family and friends. It looked like they’d gotten into my swag bag.
“You should have your portrait done with all the kids,” Grandma Dawson said, holding up the card for the artist to do my portrait.
Sitting in the middle of the table was my Oscar.
“Where did you get that?” I asked.
“Lexi dropped it off while you were doing interviews,” Dad said.
“Enough grabbing stuff!” Mom announced. “Sort it all out. The small stuff like jewelry, perfume, skin care, crayons, and such can be divided. If I hear any fighting, I get it. The big-ticket items you have to ask David about.”
What the heck? This was like Halloween when the adults sorted through the candy after the little ones had gone to bed. I glanced through the stack, grabbed the car rental card, and handed it to Pam.
“Use this to get your car for school,” I told her.
That earned me a sweet kiss. Pam scampered off to give Tracy the good news.
While everyone gathered in the kitchen, I found my kids in the living room. The advantage of their being mobile was that all I had to do was sit on the floor, and they all came to me. Dawson needed some one-on-one daddy time, so I was holding him, talking softly, when Pam came to me with a sheepish expression.
“Did you even look at this?” she asked.
“It said you could rent a car for a year.”
“It’s for platinum-level rentals. The website’s list of cars at that level included Bentley, Mercedes, and Bugatti. You could lease a Mustang for multiple years for what this is worth.”
That, in a nutshell, told me everything I ever needed to know about Pam. Instead of taking the windfall, she was looking out for me. I knew that if it had been Greg’s wife, Angie, I would never have been the wiser until she showed up in a quarter-million-dollar car.
“Thanks, go pick something else out,” I said, taking the card.
“There’s nothing left.”
“You poor thing. I’ll just have to buy you a gift,” I said, playing along.
“Coby said he liked an outfit I saw at the mall, but my mom said it was too expensive.”
It sounded like she didn’t see anything in the swag bag she wanted, so she was trying a different tack.
“Our son does have good taste. If he liked it, then I say you go back and get it,” I suggested.
“You sure?”
She had a debit card that I’d given her. Its primary purpose was for anything the kids might need, but I made it clear that she could use it for personal items as well. Megan kept me up to date on what Pam used her debit card for. She also kept me up to date on the ones I’d given my mom and dad, Peggy, Scarlet, Ashley, and Cindy. My dad never used his. Pam was a close second, so I didn’t begrudge her buying something for herself.
“Since you’re my favorite,” I assured her.
Pam would be sure to tell the others who the ‘favorite’ was.
◊◊◊
Chapter 26 – Weirdo Tuesday February 28
The alarm went off and sounded like a truck was backing up over my head. My travel back and forth to and from LA in such a short time seemed to mess up my internal clock. I lay there, stretched out, face down, as I let out a moan of frustration. It felt frickin’ early.
I rubbed my eyes and then blinked them open. It was too bright, which meant I’d seriously overslept. That might explain why my alarm had to wake me up. I attempted to roll over to get out of bed but couldn’t move. My legs were pinned to the bed, as though someone had dumped a bag of concrete mix on them.
I looked over my shoulder and spotted my hound, Duke, sound asleep, having a puppy dream. It must have been the one where he chased a squirrel because he made soft growling noises, his front paw twitching as he ran in the dream.
“Duke, get off me.”
All that company last night must have worn the poor boy out because he didn’t stir. I lifted my legs up, which caused Duke to slide off of them. He slipped off the end of the bed bonelessly and made an ‘oof’ sound as he landed on the floor, making me cringe. I put my feet on the floor and looked at my hound. Duke’s head came up, and he gave me the ‘what were you thinking?’ look.
“Sorry, buddy,” I said as I hoisted myself up and smothered my face in my hands, trying to clear out the morning cobwebs.
