Relatively Famous (5 page)

Dani sat on her bedroom floor, rooting through school folders and tossing nearly everything into the trash. She was keeping a few things, but nothing school related. Notes that Sam had passed to her in class with up-to-the-minute gossip, photos from her locker, and, of course, her yearbook would all be saved
.
She definitely wasn’t go
i
ng to save any of the scandalous articles or tabloid photos.

It had been more than two weeks since the paparazzi nightmare and subsequent phone call from Mark’s assistant. But Dani was still forced to tolerate whispering and pointing around school. Sam was probably right. With no public statement from Mark, it would all soon be over.

“Hey, I have to run,” Sam said. “My mom came home early
,
and she wants to hear about the last day of school. Talk to you later!”

Dani lay down on her bedroom floor and flipped through the pages of her yearbook, stopping on a picture of Charlie Migg.

So far, Dani’s romantic history was pretty limited. She had never had an official boyfriend, but there had been a few kisses over the past year. While slow dancing to Lifehouse with Charlie at the school’s “Winter Blast,” Dani had been taken off guard by a rather sloppy kiss. She hadn’t been that interested in kissing Charlie, but her choice had been either to cause a scene by kissing him or to cause a scene by pushing him away. At that moment, two-thirds of the student body had been engaged in swapping spit, so it seemed the smarter choice just to kiss him back. She was hoping her love life would improve this year.

The phone rang again
,
and Dani rolled over onto her back as she picked up. It was probably her mother calling to see what she wanted for dinner. “Hello, Dani McKinley, who is no longer a loser freshman, speaking.”

“Oh, um, Dani? Danielle?” Dani heard a man’s voice.

“Sorry. Yes, this is Dani. Who’s this?”

“This is,
a,
well, this is Mark Ocean.”

Dani paused. “Mark Ocean? You’re my, uh. . .” she faltered.

“I just got off the phone with your mother. Leila?”

“Yes, I know my mother’s name,” Dani quipped. “Why are you calling me?”

Mark cleared his throat. “I guess she told you that I called a few weeks ago when I thought this was all a mistake. About being your father.”

Dani corrected him. “She said your assistant called to say that you weren’t my father.” Caller ID began frantically flashing Leila’s cell number. Dani ignored it.

He continued. “Yes, my assistant. I should have called
you
myself
,
but I was too shocked. I’m sorry about that. Put yourself in my place. I had no idea that Leila had a baby. That
I
had a baby. You, I mean. That I had you. I haven’t spoken to Leila in years
,
but I thought she would have told me if we had a daughter. I panicked when I heard about you, Dani, and I didn’t know how to handle it. But listen…over the past few weeks, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you
,
and so I called your mother
,
and she told me that it’s true. I’m your father
,
and she explained why she decided not to tell me. I can’t say that I blame her for her decision, but I’m a different person now
,
and I’d really like to get to know you.”

Dani sat paralyzed as she listened to the speech, staring blankly at her ceiling. “You’d like to get to know me?” she repeated.

“Yes, I would. I’m your father, after all. I’m not asking you to move here, but I thought maybe you could come out to California for a week or so and stay with me.” Mark sounded hopeful. “I’ve got a premiere coming up
,
and it might be fun for us to go together. I’ve got a big house. There’s plenty of room and a pool, too. I could send you a plane ticket. First class.”

“Oh,” she managed, still in significant shock. “Well, what did my mom say?”

“She said it would be up to you, but I know school got out today
,
so this might be a great time to meet each other. I don’t want to interfere in your summer, though, if you already have plans.”

Dani blinked her eyes. She didn’t know what to say. Call waiting began beeping again.

“Dani? Are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Look, I know this is out of the blue
,
and I understand if you need time to think about it. You’re probably mad at me and think I’m a horrible person, but I didn’t know about you, Dani. I didn’t know!” Mark’s voice choked up. “But I know about you now
,
and I’d love to meet you. Why don’t you take a few days and think about coming—”

“I don’t need a few days. It’s all I’ve been thinking about.” Dani said. “Send me the ticket.”

Chapter 11

Dani rifled through her dresser drawers, preparing for her trip to California. She couldn’t believe that she was going to Los Angeles for the week. Leila knew that there was no getting around Dani and Mark meeting, so she hadn’t dared to put a stop to the trip. Mark still hadn’t spoken to the press, but he had assured Leila that he would handle the media once Dani was in L.A.

Sam sat perched on Dani’s desk chair, her legs crossed and hands clasped tightly in an attempt to contain her excitement. “Oh, my God! Oh, my God, Dani! What are you packing? What are you going to wear on the plane? The first outfit your father will see you in should be just right. You want to make a good impression, don’t you? Ick!” Sam gasped at the brown, sleeveless cotton dress that Dani was pointing to. “No, you are not wearing that ridiculous thing.” Sami’s blond bangs fell into her eyes as she stood up and marched across the floor toward the closet.

“I’m not in the mood right now, Sam. I just want to pack and get out of here. Get this over with.”

Sam frowned. “Well, if you’re so grumpy about it, why are you even going? I’d kill to be you right now! Loosen up!”

Dani folded a red tank top and sighed. “I’m not going because I
want
to. Now that I know this man is my father, I have to find out
more
about him. See what he’s like. But it doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to it. And I’d be perfectly happy to trade places with you so you can hang out with Mark.”

“I guess I can understand why this is hard for you, but just promise me you’ll keep an open mind, okay? This may be the best thing ever to happen to you.”

Dani shoved a stack of clothes into her suitcase and zipped it shut. “Things were fine before I found out about him. I don’t
need
him, but I can’t very well ignore him either. Besides, it’s only for a week, so if it’s a disaster, at least it will be a quick disaster.”

She surveyed her room. She wouldn’t be gone that long, but she was going to miss her bedroom. She loved this room, and Leila had slaved over its design, scouring the Internet for a good deal on the Tommy Hilfiger pattern that Dani begged her for. Well, it would be here when she came back.

“I’ll miss you, Dani. Try to have fun.” Sam looked at her hopefully. “Call me all the time. I want all the juicy details. And take a gazillion pictures of Mark for me. I have to go
,
so give me one last hug.”

Dani wrapped her arms around Sam and dropped her cheek onto her best friend’s shoulder. “Bye, buddy,” she whispered.

“Bye back.” Sam pulled away and blew kisses as she backed out of the room. “Don’t look so sad. I’ll see you in a week.”

Dani peered out the window to the backyard. She didn’t know what she was feeling. She wasn’t full of excitement the way Sam thought she should be, but nor was she bowled over with dread, despite Leila’s constant insinuations that Mark probably had the parenting skills of a tree stump. She would just wait and see what California brought her.

“You busy?” Alan popped his head into the room. “Your mom is going to take you to the airport in about twenty minutes. You all packed?”

Dani continued staring out the window, but nodded. “Just about.”

“I’ll take your bags downstairs for you if you want,” Alan offered.

“Sure. Thanks.”

“Hey, there,” Alan walked over to Dani and touched her shoulder. “This isn’t so bad, you know. How are you and your mother doing with all this?”

Dani shrugged. “Okay, actually. I get where she was coming from and why she didn’t tell me. I’m not even mad at her anymore. But, I mean, what am I supposed to say to this man? Mark doesn’t know anything about me
,
and he’ll probably think I’m a total dork.” She sighed. “It’s fine. Everything is fine. Actually, I’m sure he’s a very nice person.”

“You know, I wouldn’t blame you for having conflicted feelings about Mark. No one expects you to do cartwheels over this revelation. It’s all right if you’re angry with him. Just because he didn’t know about you doesn’t mean that you can’t still be mad at the situation. This is a very confusing hand you’ve been dealt
,
and there is no right or wrong way to react. Anger, fear, resentment…all totally understandable.”

Dani crossed her arms and spoke sharply. “I’m not angry at him! That’s ridiculous. What do I have to be angry about? This is excellent news, Alan. I finally have a father.”

Alan took a step back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s not like you and my mom are married! That’s obviously not what you want, right? If I’m angry at anyone, it’s you.” Dani tossed her hands up in the air.
So much for not feeling anything.
“Come on, Alan, you’re not my dad. You’re my mom’s boyfriend. You’ve been with my mother for ages now
,
and I don’t see you making any plans to change that.” She ignored the hurt that was beginning to shadow Alan’s face. “Now I have a
real
father.”

Alan put both hands on his hips and cocked his head to the side. “That’s not fair, Dani. I never said I was a father to you—”

“Well, you’re not! So what do you care? Oh, wait a minute?” Dani put her hand to her mouth in mock surprise. She knew she was getting out of control, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Are you jealous of Mark? That’s it, isn’t it? You’re jealous that she had a serious boyfriend who got her knocked up—”

“That’s enough!” Alan cut her off.

Dani sidestepped Alan and picked up her suitcase and carry-on bag. “ I’m leaving,” she responded.

“Do not leave like this, kiddo.” Alan worked to soften his voice. “I don’t know why you’re picking a fight with me.” His voice was baffled and hurt. “I love you
,
and I love your mother and there’s nothing I want more—”

“Tell Mom I’ll be in the car.” Dani stormed out of her room, down the stairs, and out the front door.

Chapter 12

“I guess this is it.” Leila stood with Dani at the security gate entrance and hugged her tightly. “I have a million things to say to you and to warn you about, but I know you don’t want to hear them.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom. Back a week from tomorrow
,
and I promise I will still be the same daughter who left you.” She pulled back and looked at her mother. “Nothing is going to change.”

Leila touched Dani’s cheek. “Everything has already changed.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true. But that’s all right. You are a smart young woman, Dani, and I know you’ll be fine. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mom. I better go.”

“Call me when you get there.”

Dani nodded. “I already told you three times that I would.” She picked up her bag. “Bye, Mom.”

“Bye, Dani.”

“Mom, please don’t cry!”

“I am not crying!” Leila sniffed. “This dusty airport is irritating my eyes.”

Dani laughed as she turned to leave. “Okay, whatever you say. I love you.”

She made her way through security and headed toward the departure gate. Each time Dani peeked back, she saw her mother, waving and dabbing her eyes.

**********

  Dani exhaled and unbuckled her seatbelt. The plane ride to California hadn’t been too bad, especially in First Class. Dani retrieved her bag from the overhead compartment, and stood patiently in line with the other passengers to exit the plane. This was the moment.

She had spent most of the flight thinking about meeting her father for the first time. Should she hug him? That didn’t feel right. And shaking hands was just ridiculous, although Dani had already decided that this was a possibility. Leila’s only advice had been to do whatever she felt comfortable doing, which didn’t help her at all. Dani shuffled behind a large man in a tweed suit and did her best not to start hyperventilating. After reaching the public waiting area, she scanned the crowds for Mark. Surely he wouldn’t be late, would he?