SF Chapter 80: Daily Life
A few days later, Dani was playing golf with his father and his friends.
Daniel ended up enjoying the game, even though he had initially found it boring. As for his father's other hobbies, he still doesn't like them or bother going along - like fishing or camping just to stare at the sky with a telescope.
"Oh, damn it," Jay muttered, annoyed after missing a shot.
Hugo, one of his friends, laughed. "You're getting old, Jay."
"We're the same age," Jay shot back.
"Yep, the age of stones," Dani mocked, stepping up for his turn.
He made a great shot. "See that? Suckers!" he pointed at his father and the other two. "Who's the newbie now?"
"Daniel!" his father scolded, even more annoyed.
"What, Jay? He's just like you," Hugo remarked, shifting the blame for the attitude onto Jay.
"At least he has good taste in clothes," Shorty, Jay's other friend, commented.
Dani smiled. "Thanks, Shorty. And great recommendation on that store you told me about, by the way."
"Oh, look who showed up," Hugo said, noticing a familiar face arriving in a golf cart.
"Hey, Scott, thought you wouldn't come," Jay said, already moving in to hug his old friend.
"I wouldn't," Scott agreed, "but I managed to convince my granddaughter to come along."
Scott then introduced them. "Jenna, this is Jay, Hugo, and Shorty - friends of your grandpa," he pointed at each one.
"And that's Jay's son-" he was about to introduce the only young guy in the group when his granddaughter interrupted him.
"Dani?" she recognized the boy.
Daniel looked at her. "Jenna? Long time," he smirked, stepping in to give her a hug.
"Yeah!" she smiled back. "I loved your movie," she added.
"Good taste!"
Scott looked between the two of them. "You two know each other?" he narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, we met... at a party. Just danced a little," she lied.
"Oh, boy..." Jay muttered, already imagining what had probably happened.
"Come on, Jenna," her grandfather called her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let's not get in the way of their game. There's a better spot where I can teach you how to play."
She went with him, somewhat reluctantly.
"Thankfully, my granddaughter is in another state," Hugo said with a laugh.
Daniel glanced at his father. "In my defense, I didn't know she was Scott's granddaughter."
[Daniel commentary]
"Would I have stopped if I'd known Jenna was the granddaughter of one of my dad's friends?" Daniel wondered.
"...probably not. And it was a prom party. Chances are she would've done it with some other guy if not me."
"So better with me, right?" he reasoned.
[Commentary ends]
Daniel muttered near his dad, "And we just danced... alone..." he paused, "...without pants," making his father scoff.
"Jay, Daniel," a man called out from the other side, approaching them. He was accompanied by two other colleagues.
Dani asked his dad, "Who are they?"
"Executives from Warner," Jay replied.
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After the game, father and son were sitting on the couch in the Brentwood house.
"With Warner, that makes three out of the five major studios interested in acquiring the adaptation rights for the Percy Jackson books," Jay revealed, referring to what they'd talked about on the golf course.
"Ugh, they keep asking about the third book..." Daniel made a face.
"With only two books, it'll be difficult to negotiate a big production, Daniel," his father warned, looking at him.
"And we don't have the capability to produce a movie of that scale, not if you want it done properly."
"It's one thing to make small and mid-budget films, another to handle a blockbuster - especially one that requires a significant amount of visual effects and all that crap stuff," Jay finished.
Dani nodded. "Okay. As long as they make an amazing movie, I don't mind giving up part of the monetary value."
"But dad, Percy Jackson is the most demanding thing I write. Way harder than Wimpy Kid or any movie script. I don't think I can finish the third book this year..."
"Unless I focus only on it. Well, I almost finished Juno, and Wimpy Kid Book 6 is with the editors," he muttered. "The Hungover is just an idea..."
Daniel stood up as he noticed who had just walked into the room. "Mami Gloria, I'm going to the spa. Want to come too?"
He completely changed the subject, tossing aside what they had been discussing.
"Phil, Alex, and my friends, Penny and Lexi, are going as well," he added.
Gloria hugged him in delight. "Ay, of course I want to go!"
Jay just shook his head and went upstairs to his room to take a nap. He had absolutely no interest in going to a spa with all those people.
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"Oh, hello, Dani," Mary, the spa attendant, greeted him as she quickly came over.
"Hey, Mary," Dani said, giving her a hug. "From this group, I think the only one you don't know is Lexi, my friend. The rest have all been here before."
"Oh, isn't she the one who plays Anna on The OC?" one of the girls nearby exclaimed.
"Lilly," Mary warned gently. The spa had a policy of keeping everyone comfortable.
"Sorry," she quickly apologized.
"It's okay. It's nice seeing someone recognize me," Alexandra said with a smile.
"Lexi, I think you two saw each other at the premiere, but I might not have introduced you," Daniel remarked. "This is Gloria, my stepmother."
Penny, who was standing nearby, had already been introduced on another day at this same spa.
"Mother, I don't like the word 'step,'" Gloria corrected him.
"So Alex can call you grandma?" he asked.
Gloria pinched him. "Don't be cheeky, Dani."
Lexi crossed her arms and joked, "Is his father better?"
"Jess (yes)," Gloria played along. "So don't lose hope, girl."
"Oh, no, no, we're just friends," Alexandra quickly denied.
The Latina just narrowed her eyes a little but said nothing.
[Gloria commentary]
Gloria was sitting in one of the spa chairs. "I know exactly what kind of 'friendship' Danielito has," she said, using air quotes on the 'friendship'.
"He's too much of a Don Juan. He inherited Jay's charm," she finished, praising her husband.
[Commentary ends]
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