“Have him go to State. They have an excellent engineering program, and I’m sure his credits would transfer if he decided he really wanted to move away for school. It would be better that he not live in a dorm until he’s more confident about how college will work. This way, you can keep tabs on him.
“If he finds he can handle the social aspects of college, then I would encourage his going away. But when he’s starting out, he might need a safety net. Call it college on training wheels,” I said.
“That makes sense.”
“I would also not let him go to Princeton. He’d just be setting himself up for heartbreak. He needs to go to either MIT or CalTech, someplace where he isn’t the smartest kid in the room.”
She knew what I was talking about. Dare’s greatest flaw was he assumed he was smarter than everyone else. I was sure that was why he’d been picked on at his previous school, to the point he withdrew into himself. Being surrounded by other brainiacs would be good for him.
◊◊◊
I woke up at three in the morning when Cassidy helped Darius into the room. Someone had drunk too much.
“David, get up. I don’t think Dare should sleep in the top bunk in this condition.”
I chuckled at the thought of him having to relieve himself in the middle of the night and crashing to the floor. It would serve the little dumbass right.
I got up barely in time for him to collapse into my bed. Dare was out before his head hit the pillow. I predicted a hangover come morning. I grabbed a trash can and put it next to the bed, just in case.
“If he gets sick, you have to clean it up.”
“It wasn’t me. He and Brook did shots,” Cassidy explained.
“Then you sleep with him,” I said, pointing at the top bunk.
“How about you sleep with me?”
I was tired, so that didn’t sound entirely out of bounds.
“Fine,” I said and followed her to her room.
Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Cassidy’s room was ten times nicer than the one I was sharing with Dare. It had a king-sized bed, a little sitting area, a huge walk-in closet, and a private bathroom. If I’d known that, Cassidy would have been in with Dare from the get-go. I could at least stretch out instead of being crammed into that bunk bed.
I got into bed and was asleep before she exited the bathroom.
◊◊◊
Chapter 29 – A Mouth Full of Ashes Sunday March 5
Grace, Brook’s grandmother, had sent me across the street to get Brook. Grace wanted to talk to the two of us after her weekly Sunday family brunch. I’d smelled something yummy coming from Grace’s kitchen and figured the sooner I got Brook back to Grace’s home, the sooner I could have whatever it was. Plus, her cousins were being pests and flirting with me.
I knocked on the front door, and Ava answered.
“The rumors are true. Young Mr. Dawson is in town and is only now coming to say hello.”
“Actually, your mom sent me to get Brook for brunch,” I said.
“She’s in the kitchen. Come on back and tell me about winning your Oscar,” Ava said.
I followed her and found Brook looking hungover. Cassidy had told me that she and Dare were doing shots last night.
“What’s your dad doing here?” Ava asked Brook as she looked out the kitchen window and saw his car pull into the driveway.
Brook shrugged. It was probably the right call to not get into the middle of her parents’ problems.
Ian didn’t bother to knock. From the expression on Ava’s face, that was a misstep.
“Ava.”
“Ian.”
There was an awkward silence as they both stared at each other. I could see the tension starting to get to Brook. If I felt it as an innocent bystander, it had to be wearing on her.
“I’m David, and I think you know Brook.”
Hey, I thought we were doing introductions. Brook let out a sigh at my antics. Ian was obviously trying not to smile, but Ava was too wrapped up in her own world to recognize my comedic genius. Last night, I’d been told that my humor was an acquired taste, so I simply chalked up Ava’s reaction to her not having acquired any.
“I’m taking David across the street for brunch,” Brook announced and grabbed my hand.
She must have overheard what I told Ava when I came in. I dutifully followed my ex out the back door. We made it three steps before we heard the raised voices.
◊◊◊
After we had brunch with Grace, she asked us to accompany her to her study for a chat.
“David said you wanted to talk to us. I’ve been puzzling over what about,” Brook said.
“I wanted to start planning the wedding,” Grace said with a straight face.
Give her full props because I was taken aback at first. Then Brook began to laugh at me. I hadn’t realized that Grace was such a prankster.
“You two think you’re so funny,” I said, red-faced.
“So, what’s this really about?” Brook asked.
“This is basically a talk about what you want to be when you grow up and the best way to get there from an education perspective.”
I’d been prepared for this, so I was okay with it. Brook, not so much.
