Stupid Boy: Senior Year - Winter 23

Chapter 23 -- Hardest Goodbye

Monday January 9

My phone rang while I was taking a shower after my morning run. It was my mom, so I quickly answered.

"How is Dad?" I asked before she could say hello.

"He had a rough night. I just came out from seeing him, and he says he's okay."

"And?" I asked.

"He looks shaken. I think he's just putting on a brave face for everyone," Mom said, and I could hear the tremble in her voice.

"I'll book a flight and get home."

"No!" she said emphatically. "Your dad was very clear that he would be upset if you walked out on your obligations. As a matter of fact, your grandmother and uncle are still coming to your place today. If everything wasn't going to be okay, do you think they would leave?"

Not unless my dad asked them to come to make sure I was okay; I left that unsaid. I had to agree that if he were in real danger, they would never leave his side and get on the plane, no matter what he said. I knew I wouldn't if Greg were in the same condition.

"I don't care what Dad or my uncle and grandmother think. Do you want me to come home?" I asked.

She snorted.

"Brook must really have you well-trained."

"Please. You and Tami have been working on me much longer than Brook. Don't put this on her."

"Okay, calm down. I agree with your dad. The doctors have told us he's out of the woods, but they need to run more tests. Greg said he'd keep you in the loop, and your uncle will fill in with the management of your businesses while your dad recovers. And Caryn has delayed her departure to help out."

"Sounds like you guys have been thinking this through," I said.

"I had to do something last night to keep my mind off ..."

"I get it," I interrupted what she was about to say. "Tell Dad that he's in my thoughts and prayers and that I love him."

"Will do."

"And Mom," I said, "I love you, too."

"I know. Just focus on what you need to do there and make us proud."

"Okay," I said, and she hung up.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. As much as I hated it, they were right; I needed to honor my commitments. The production was counting on me to deliver over the next few days so they could wrap up the filming of

College First

.

---

I had just finished a scene when I saw Lexi lurking off to the side, looking worried.

"Set the next scene," Mr. Otsuki ordered, which started a flurry of activity.

Lexi came over to me.

"A Mr. Jason Voorhees is here, and doesn't look happy," she informed me.

Mr. Voorhees was my lawyer here in California, handling the Zander lawsuit. I went to Mr. Otsuki first.

"I need a few minutes."

"Take as long as you need," he said with a look of compassion.

I think he assumed this had something to do with my dad. I didn't feel like sharing what Mr. Voorhees was here for. Actually, I had no real clue as to why he was here and pissed. I thought we had this figured out after Paddy had shown up.

Mr. Voorhees wanted to rip me a new one in the hall, but I grabbed his arm and pushed him into an empty classroom.

"What's your problem?" I asked, letting my anger show.

"You hired me to negotiate this, and I get a call this morning saying that you've settled. I thought you knew better than to do anything stupid like that."

I had to count to ten in my head, or I would do some actual physical damage. The only thing that saved him was that I remembered what a shark he was and didn't need him coming after me.

"You're representing me; you need to save the animosity for Zander's lawyers. I would tone it down a notch if I were you," I warned.

"I can't get your father on the phone, and Ms. Dixon is in court this morning. Zander's people gave me a day to accept the agreement," he explained.

I shook my head. It sounded like Zander's lawyers were trying to mess up the deal because he'd agreed to settle. The longer they could play it out, the more they got paid. The 24-hour deadline was meant to be a red flag and make me back out.

"My dad had a heart attack last night."

Mr. Voorhees didn't even flinch. He was such a bastard. Then again, that was why I hired him.

"What's the settlement offer?" I asked to get this over with.

"I'm not happy with it. There's no cash. Zander's trying to pawn off property to you 'as is.' I strongly advise that you not do that. We have no idea what loans or other liens he has against them. For all we know, you could be upside down in them and owe money," he complained.

"Hang on," I said, holding up a finger.

My mom owned a real estate company. She would know what to do to make sure I didn't pick up a problem property.

"Didn't I just talk to you?" Mom asked when she answered.

"Mr. Voorhees received the settlement offer from Zander, and it's real estate. He's worried that the properties might have liens and outstanding loans against them," I explained, then put Mom on speaker so Mr. Voorhees could hear.

"Zander would have to pay off the loan before the deed can be transferred to another owner. A mortgage has a 'Due on Sale' clause preventing just that. That basically means that if the title changes hands, they get paid first. They want to ensure that the new owner can pay the loan. They make the new owner apply for and get a new mortgage to eliminate that worry.

"As far as liens, encroachments, and the like go, I can send the addresses to my title company and ask them to do a quick search. If there are any, you would either have to accept them, or Zander will have to clean them up," she explained.

"What about value? We have to either reject or accept this deal today," Mr. Voorhees said.

"You don't have time to do a full appraisal. The best I can do is what's called a 'desktop appraisal.' It's what banks use to help with loan decisions. It takes recent sales from public records and does a calculation. The only time I have a problem with that type of appraisal is if the home is unique in some significant way. I use it to help make sure we're getting the value right when listing a home, and I then make adjustments based on location, condition, upgrades, and such. My investors also love it as a quick way to figure out what they should pay for a property," Mom said.

"Do you have a list?" I asked Mr. Voorhees.

He handed it to me. Zander had an apartment in LA, which was listed as his personal residence. Then there were four more all around the world: New York; Mykonos, Greece; Monte Carlo, Monaco; and Whistler, British Columbia in Canada.

"What the heck?" I asked as I read it.

"What's wrong?" Mom asked.

"Two of them are in Europe, and one is in Canada," I told my mom.

"When do you have to know?" Mom asked.

"End of business today," Mr. Voorhees reminded her.

"I think my son just made up work for me to keep my mind off my worries," Mom complained. "I'll have to make some calls to see what I can find out. Send me the list."

Mom disconnected; I took a picture of the paper Mr. Voorhees gave me and texted it to her.

"I would've had to go to my office and scan it. I didn't even think of using my phone like that," Mr. Voorhees said, showing he was old.

I took a few minutes to explain how this had all come about. Mr. Voorhees had heard of Paddy and asked for his number. He had other cases that could use a 'fixer' to move things along. I didn't want to piss Paddy off, so I declined. I was much more scared of Paddy than I was of Mr. Voorhees. Plus, I didn't really care what Mr. Voorhees thought of me. When this was over, we were done.

---

Manaia had been sent to pick up my family from the airport, so when it came time for everyone to go to lunch, I boarded one of the buses with Lexi. Paradise Cove Beach Café had blocked off their patio dining area to accommodate our group. They had tables set up in the sand with big blue umbrellas over them.

I was happy to see my family had arrived before we had. Uncle John and Grandma Dawson showed my grandfather's influence when they greeted everyone and made them feel welcome. Lexi had seen me acting similarly at different outings, and she was intently taking it in.

She and my Aunt Bonnie grabbed a table while Uncle John, Grandma, and I mingled. I wasn't surprised when my grandmother joined the production staff at one table, and Uncle John found my mentor and joined him and the older actors. I sat with the younger actors, with Misaki and Haru seated on either side of me.

I waited for the waitstaff to get drink orders before I stood up to talk.

"We have a saying: 'I want to be your favorite hello and your hardest goodbye.' I looked forward to working with you all, and when I joined the cast, you accepted me, even though I was an outsider. Now that our time is coming to a close, I know I'll miss all of you. I've made some great friends. That's why I think that quote is appropriate and why I wanted to invite all of you to lunch today.

"I also wanted a chance to single out a few people and thank them ..."

I made a point to thank each person individually. Mr. Nomura had pointed out that publicly recognizing each person and making them feel special and appreciated was important for morale and team-building. This dovetailed nicely with my dad's philosophy of 'praise in public and chastise in private.'

When I was done, they came and took our orders. Then Mr. Otsuki addressed the group.

"I know many of you wanted to be a part of this shoot so you could experience American culture. I hope we captured some of that in our filming. I admit I had many misconceptions about what to expect. And I was more than a little nervous about having an American cast as one of the leads. I was worried that David's free spirit would cause problems. He was 'freer' off set than I probably wanted," he said, and got a good laugh.

I admit I might have freaked them out by going skinny-dipping and doing some other similar activities. My Japanese castmates were a lot more conservative regarding stuff like that.

"What I discovered is that people here basically have good hearts. As you can see, David has his family here today, and we all met his mom and dad. They've all shown the importance of family, which I think you would agree is important back home.

"You've all done a good job, and I expect the series will be popular when it airs. I want to thank David for being a gracious ambassador and host, and I want to thank the rest of you for your hard work and dedication," Mr. Otsuki concluded.

It was interesting to note what people ordered for their meals. The Japanese wanted burgers or barbecue; the Midwesterners ordered seafood; and Lexi, the California girl, wanted a salad. She was the only one who didn't want to try something they wouldn't ordinarily eat at home. I guess she was home.

---

Can I just say that the rest of the day sucked? Mr. Otsuki worked us nonstop. I finally snuck outside to hide for a minute. I took in the blue sky and checked the weather back home. Even if I hated what I was doing right now, I might as well be doing it in California.

I called my mom to see if she had any news.

"Your dad is doing fine and should come home tomorrow," she assured me.

"That sounds great."

"The doctors have a whole list of things that have to change. I don't think he's too happy about some of it, but he promised me that he'd do it so he would be with us for a long time to come."

That was a huge relief.

"I checked out the properties for you. Either Zander has expensive taste, or the cost of living here is ridiculously cheap," Mom shared.

I three-wayed her in with Mr. Voorhees. Zander hadn't paid his property taxes on the New York condo and owed condo fees on three of them. Other than that, they were clean, so I directed Mr. Voorhees to accept the deal. He still wasn't happy, but grudgingly agreed when my mom pointed out she knew where he lived. I decided she was one woman who should never get Paddy's number. She might have him off a few people.

When I returned, I was in a better mood and began to enjoy acting the rest of the afternoon and evening.

---

Tuesday January 10

Mr. Voorhees had arranged to meet me at lunch to sign the settlement with Zander. Last night, between scenes, I'd researched the properties I was obtaining. The more I learned, the happier I was to take the deal. Zander had put some thought into where he'd bought property.

The apartment in New York was in the Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca, so called because it is in the Tri(angle) be(low) Ca(nal). It might be the best place to live in the city. He owned a light-filled loft-type apartment in a rehabbed industrial building. Tribeca is in lower Manhattan and is noted for being an exceedingly affluent section of the city with low crime, tons of transit, superior schools, and easy access to the waterfront.

Whistler, British Columbia, is a two-hour drive from Vancouver. Whistler and Blackcomb used to be two separate world-class ski resorts but have combined to become the largest ski venue in North America, with 8,100 skiable acres. It wasn't just the size, it was the topography that made it amazing. On a single top-to-bottom run, you could drop 5,200 feet--the second-longest vertical drop for a ski run on the continent.

If Whistler was the ultimate winter ski vacation, Mykonos Island in Greece looked to be the party destination for the summer. It was Greece's answer to Ibiza, Spain, where the rich and famous went to play. By day, there were 25 beaches packed with bronzed bodies. By night, there were superclubs where you could get your party on until dawn.

The adrenaline junkie in me was intrigued when I found a website that showed other activities besides soaking up rays and partying--not that those weren't fun. Some alternatives listed were mountain biking, flyboarding, wakeboarding, wakeskating, speedboats, fishing, and SCUBA diving.

The one property that seemed out of character for Zander was in Monte Carlo, Monaco. That just seemed to be more of a grown-up type of destination. Not that the young and rich didn't go, especially when they held their annual Grand Prix race. It just looked to be more cultured than could be expected of Zander. I'd watched enough James Bond movies to dream of going, though; I think the casino was featured in three of those films. And I saw the appeal of its location on the French Riviera, with sun-kissed beaches and the blue waters of the Mediterranean.

Monaco intrigued me. Some random facts I learned were that it was a principality, coffee was expensive, you didn't tip, children learned English in elementary school, and it was very hilly and about the size of Central Park in New York. Of all the properties, this was the one I most wanted to visit.

The final property was Zander's condo in LA. When I looked the address up, I got a happy surprise: it was within walking distance of the USC campus. That wasn't what I expected of all the places in LA for a Hollywood playboy to live. He'd requested a six-month lease-back so he would have time to find another place. I thought it would be perfect timing because I could ask Tracy to move into it when she went to school in the fall.

---

Lexi was talking to my Aunt Bonnie when I came down for breakfast.

"Where are the two farmers?" I asked, referring to my uncle and grandmother.

"Sleeping. They had no chores to do, so they slept in."

I looked at my phone, and it was 8:30. The two-hour time difference meant they were seriously catching up on their sleep. I felt they'd both been up late last night worrying about my dad.

"What's your plan for the day?" I asked.

"Lexi was telling me about the Malibu Country Mart. I thought I would drag John out of bed, make him go shopping, and then take me to lunch."

"Both Mom and Brook went and enjoyed their day. You might need to feed Uncle John a beer or two as a reward," I suggested.

She gave me a look.

"I have a bone to pick with you. That cat you gave us is a terror. His yowling sends the dogs running to the house. Even the cows think he's a menace and clear out when he becomes a bully."

"I hear it's supposed to be a nice day," I said to try to change the subject.

I hated to say it, but there will be no take-backs for that cat. My mom would do unspeakable things to me if he were returned.

Lexi scoffed at my blatant attempt. I rubbed my temple with my middle finger to signal her to back off.

"David," Aunt Bonnie scolded, and then asked, "Will you be home for dinner?"

"He'll be late tonight. He might get home around three in the morning, based on what they need to film today," Lexi shared.

I'd learned to trust Lexi's estimates. She had a knack for looking at the daily storyboard and figuring out how long we would be. While I loved that she could do that, it depressed me when she said I was in for a marathon day.

Manaia came strolling in and found the bagels. I had to get over my bread fascination before I went home. I would soon be cutting back on the carbs to get into top shape.

"Make me one, too. Then we need to get going," I said, looking at my phone to see what time it was.

The lack of a commute was the principal benefit of staying just five minutes from Pepperdine. Besides it being a great house, the location made the rent on this place worthwhile.

I'd been educating Manaia on the more delicate points of bagel eating. Lexi was a lost cause: she put butter and grape jelly on hers. I'd adjusted the toaster, so it now browned the bagels to perfection. With just a schmear of cream cheese and a sprinkle of red onion and capers, we were good to go. We'd included a California flair by adding sliced avocado and sprinkling it with a bit of salt and pepper to enhance the flavor. I was starting to understand why everyone here ate so many avocados. Besides being full of 'good fats' that helped with your cholesterol levels, they were tasty.

---

I had time to myself in the afternoon. There were a series of scenes with Haru and the other cast as they discussed my character, which gave me a chance to return a few calls. One was from my mom, saying I had to call Caryn. When I called the office, Megan answered.

"I was about to call you. We got a bill from a Pádraig O'Malley," she said and told me for how much.

Fixers weren't cheap.

"Pay that one right away. He helped resolve the Zander mess," I said.

"What did he do, break his legs?" Megan joked.

I barked out a laugh. She'd come pretty close to it.

"No. He's what's called a 'fixer.' He helps move negotiations along," I explained.

"Dare is mad at me," she said to change the conversation. "He wanted me just to give him the money. At first, I thought he wanted to buy stuff from those Russians, but I talked to his mom."

"Oh, my God! You told on him?" I asked.

"You do realize what a pain in the butt he can be?" she asked.

"No, I get it. I just love that you called his mom. I bet he wasn't happy about that."

"He wasn't. He finally admitted to her that he had found a guy who worked at State in their engineering department. The guy has some parts that Dare wants to buy 'off the books,' so to speak."

"Where does he find these guys?" I wondered aloud.

"All I know is that he's a persistent little shit. I'm about ready to hand him the money out of my pocket to get rid of him."

"Well, I'm starting to get intrigued by what he's up to. I'm also not happy that he keeps bothering you. Give him the money," I said, then had an evil idea. "You can make him jump through as many hoops as you want to get the cash. Have some fun with it."

That seemed to make her day. Megan was a great gal, but I had a feeling that Mr. Dare should have played nice with her. I'd just given her permission to jerk him around. He needed a lesson on how to get your way in a business setting. I was confident that Megan would 'teach' him a few of those lessons.