Junior Year Box Set

Halle went home, and I had Fritz give Dad and Greg a tour of some of the tourist spots in LA. That left me alone with my mother. We first tried to sit on the back patio off the living room to relax and have coffee and tea, but the paparazzi drove us inside. We instead settled on the roof.

“Greg told me that Angie was upset that I didn’t get her a ticket for tonight,” I began.

“Is it because you don’t think you can trust her?”

“I swear to God, I am never telling my uncle anything ever again.”

“I thought we talked about this. You and your brother will talk about your little darlings. I wouldn’t be surprised if you shared those conversations with your wife. You’ll figure out that if you want to keep them in line, you need to have a united front.”

There was no use getting mad. They were going to tell each other everything, whether I wanted them to or not, and it didn’t matter if I complained. This was one of those instances where I’d lost the battle before it even began, so why fight it. It also meant that if I didn’t want them all to know, I should keep my mouth shut.

“You are aware how irritating it is that you all know anything I tell any of you.”

“It saves us having to dig it out of you,” she responded.

It really wasn’t that big of a deal because we talked about almost everything, anyway. I hadn’t started keeping things from my parents until my mom shut me out about what was going on with my dad about Phil.

I just took a sip of my tea.

“Why didn’t you get Angie a ticket?” Mom pressed.

“It never crossed my mind. If she was upset, she could have told me, and I would have seen if we were able to get another ticket. So don’t put all this on me,” I said, getting defensive.

“Calm down. Someone needed to watch your niece and nephews. Angie’s just complaining because Greg got to go to Canada and now LA.”

“Maybe we could send her somewhere …” I thought but apparently said aloud.

“David,” Mom warned me.

“Fine. There’s nothing I can do about it now, anyway.”

“You were right, to begin with. This really isn’t your problem. Let Greg deal with his wife,” Mom said, and then got a big smile. “Tell me about Kelly.”

My head was going to explode.

“How do you know about her?”

“Fritz showed us the videos.”

“What?”

Mom about fell out her chair laughing.

“You should see your face.”

“That’s not funny. He told me that even I couldn’t see the videos. I can’t believe he would show them to you,” I complained.

“He didn’t. I called your hotel room, looking for you, and she answered. I took a shot that she was there with you. When Fritz called your dad about starting to video in your hotel rooms, we made sure they would never get out. I just was giving you a hard time,” she explained.

“I should have known better,” I said, and then smiled. “Paybacks are hell.”

“You might want to be careful there,” Mom warned me. “So, who is she?”

“You remember M.E., the batgirl?” I asked, and Mom nodded. “Kelly’s her friend.”

“… and?”

“Nothing.”

“So, she’s not the one?” Mom asked.

“I doubt it.”

“Well, then which one are you going to pick?” Mom asked.

“For what?”

“For your girlfriend.”

I blinked at her, and she gave me a disgusted look.

“Listen, Mister, I know you, and I can tell you’re starting to think about it again. I figured you probably need my advice about who it should be.”

In my opinion, my mom enjoyed tormenting me just a little too much. No way in hell would I ever ask her advice about my love life.

“Before you reject my offer of help out of hand, who was it that warned you about Tracy?” Mom asked.

“Who was it who kept saying I would end up with Tami?” I shot back.

“That will happen. I would bet my beach house on it.”

Of course, she didn’t own a beach house, but I just shrugged her prediction off as wishful thinking.

“Just for giggles, who should I date?” I asked.

“Brook Davis,” Mom said confidently.

“I’m sure you’re dying to tell me. Why Brook?”

“The two of you have a lot in common. If you think about it, you’ll agree with me.”

She was right. There was a lot to like about Brook. I just hoped that my mom’s recommendation didn’t ruin her chances. No teenage boy wanted to date the girl his mom picked for him.

I was never so happy to see Greg come up the stairs.

“We’re back,” he announced.

I jumped up and put my hand up for a high five. He looked confused but didn’t leave me hanging.

“I’m tagging out. It’s your turn,” I told him.

You could see him deflate right before my eyes. When Mom got in one of these moods, you had to just grin and bear it. I caught Dad coming up the stairs.

“You don’t want to go up there. Greg is taking one for the team.”

“Oh,” Dad said and followed me downstairs.

Smart man.

◊◊◊

I had Paul take me to Halle’s. I was surprised when she and Bandit were waiting for me at the door.

“How did you know I was here?” I asked.

“Bandit told me. When the car pulled in, he jumped off my lap and ran to the front door. I think that cat likes you better than he does me.”