Machine by Normandie Alleman
29
Bridger
I’d grown much morecomfortable with the Barnes family, but I wasn’t looking forward to my first meeting with them since what I did in my spare time had come to light.
But Dynassy and I had hashed things out ourselves, and decided we wanted to be together no matter the cost. Now she wanted to talk with her brothers and sister about the subject without Lucinda present. Nick and Eden had invited us all down to their home in Fresno, which was several hours away.
Lucinda had made it clear how she felt in the papers, and I wasn’t sure how the rest Dynassy’s family was going to feel about me now. I was embarrassed to see her little sister and Nick’s soon-to-be wife, Eden. I knew how respectable women felt about my line of work—they usually found it degrading, a practice that was against women.
I didn’t expect Nick to be thrilled either, seeing as I was dating his sister, but guys generally tended to have a more favorable opinion of porn. Lots of guys would’ve been jealous the first time they heard about it, but I had the feeling that a professional athlete of Nick’s caliber had the opportunity for all the women and sex he wanted. But the guy had been recently converted into a family man, so I didn’t expect him to be a big fan, especially now that he had a daughter to think about.
Wasn’t that every guy’s worst nightmare? That their daughter would be in porn? Any daughter of mine would be required to wear a turtleneck and long pants everywhere she went the minute she hit puberty. Hypocritical, sure, but I never claimed to be perfect.
When we arrived at Nick’s Fresno mansion, to my surprise the Barnes crew greeted me like I was a regular person rather than as the devil I’d been portrayed.
“Hey, man.” Leo was the first person I saw, and he offered up a fist, which I bumped with my own. Nick shook my hand while juggling one of the twins in his other arm. I assumed it was the boy, Albert, because he was dressed in blue, but in this day and age, in California, you could never tell. I recalled hearing Eden say that nowadays it was more politically incorrect to put your baby in blue and pink, but that she was determined to get away with it, using the excuse that it was the best way for her to tell her infant twins apart at a glance.
“All the new baby clothes are either green or yellow these days. I’ve been waiting my whole life to put my little munchkins in pink and blue, and it’s almost impossible to find.”
Eden was cordial, and Ivy was the most standoffish, although she was perfectly polite. I got the feeling that she was the one holding back, reserving her judgment and being protective of her sister.
“So what’s the big meeting about today?” Ivy asked.
We all sat down under a tent, poolside, where a lady who I assumed worked for Nick came out and offered us some drinks. I chose a longneck.
It was late afternoon, cooler for a summer day, a nice change from the sweltering ones we’d been experiencing, so it was enjoyable to sit outside. Leo went over to the side of the pool, sat down and sank his feet into the water. Eden and Nick both held a baby until Dynassy took the one Eden was holding and bounced her on her lap while we talked. The sweet coos from the baby lightened the mood. You couldn’t help but smile back when a baby smiled at you. Dynassy’s eyes met mine as she watched her niece coo and bat her eyelashes at me. I definitely wanted to make babies with that woman.
Dynassy opened the conversation. “So, we’ve got to figure out how to do some damage control with the public, but also how to deal with Mom on this thing with Bridger, and we wanted your ideas.”
“I think we’ve got to figure out how to get Mom off our backs in general,” Ivy said.
“I also wanted to apologize to all of you,” I said. “I should have been honest from the start about my business. I never intended to hurt any of you, or damage your careers by being associated with what I do. That’s on me, but I just want you to know I did it because I love Dynassy. I was afraid the truth would end things between us.”
Eden looked at Nick when I said that I loved his sister, and he winked back at her. Those two were so in love, and I hoped some of their happiness would rub off on me and Dynassy.
“That’s sweet, Bridger, but how are you guys going to do this? Lucinda may be a bitch, but she’s right that we have a family-friendly brand, especially me and Leo.”
“I know, Ivy. Bridger is going to distance himself from Luv Machines. He’s trying to split the company with his partner. Keep the rights to his invention and give up the video rights.”
Ivy looked doubtful.
“Look, I’m going to distance myself a little as well. My brand isn’t the same as your brand. Plus, you and Leo are getting older. You’re no longer teenagers. You’re both over eighteen, so technically adults, regardless of your fan base. Nothing Bridger has been doing is illegal for you to see,” Dynassy explained.
“That’s true, sis,” Leo said to his twin.
Ivy made a face. “Look, I just want to know how to get Mom off our backs more.”
“What do you mean?” Nick asked.
“I mean that Leo and I hardly ever get a say in our careers. She sets up the schedules, and we’re supposed to just dance, sing…do whenever she wants us to.”
“I knew you guys would come around eventually. I’m just surprised it took you this long.” Nick shook his head.
“Do you feel the same way, Leo?” Eden asked.
Leo picked up his drink. “I could do with a bit more freedom, I guess. I mean, nobody wants their mom telling them what to do when they get to be my age.” But he wasn’t all that convincing. Ivy seemed to be the driving force behind their discontent. Leo was just too laid-back to get too worked up.
“You’re an adult. The best thing you two can do is get your own agent. Mom will have a fit, but it will be in your best interests. I wish I’d done it sooner,” Nick said to the twins. Then he turned to Dynassy. “And I recommend you stay as far away from Mom as possible. When she gets mixed up with your relationships, it’s the biggest nightmare that can happen to you.”
Nick glanced over at Eden, who nodded. “He’s right.”
“Well, that may be, but it’s not always that easy. I mean, you live four hours away from her, have gotten out from under her as your agent and manager, and you have your own family. Plus, Bridger and I being a public couple had a lot to do with the ‘Barnes Family 4th.’ We met during the preparations and the filming of the backstory stuff, then we trotted him on stage like he was some sort of prop, and that’s what left us open for this story about his other business in the first place.”
“When you say ‘other business,’ you’re not talking about how he’s also a mechanic, are you?” Nick asked. “Tell me about that job, Bridger.”
“Well, I don’t spend a lot of time working on the adult film business.” I tried out the words “adult film,” hoping that would make it sound better, but it sounded just as bad, maybe worse—like a comb-over.
I trudged on. “I’ve worked at Sal’s shop as a mechanic, usually around forty hours a week, for the past couple of years.”
“Man, why do you do that?” Leo asked. “You’ve got to be making bank.” He slid all the way into the water.
“Yeah, but I wanted to keep busy. My partner handles the majority of the creative side.”
“Which is why it won’t be too difficult for him to change gears. We just need to buy some time for Bridger to get this sorted out, and I need Lucinda to not be all up my butt about it while he does it.”
“Hey, who cares if Bridger does porn, or makes porn, or watches porn? He’s a single dude. What the fuck do we care?” Leo asked.
“I think you’re missing the point,” Ivy griped.
“Maybe. Who wants to have a cannonball contest?”
At that point, the conversation split off into a few different ones, and Dynassy went inside to change Annabelle’s diaper.
After she left, Nick said to me in a low voice, “Hey, Bridger, Dynassy told me a little about how you got into that business, and I’m really sorry you had to go through that man. Shitty luck, is what that is.”
For a second, I bristled. That wasn’t really Dynassy’s story to tell. But then I remembered that the Barnes family came as a package, and Dynassy had probably been trying to make Nick see the true story. In a way, I was grateful for that.
“Thanks, man.”
I wasn’t sure what else to say, and fortunately Dynassy came back outside, handed Annabelle to Eden, and joined me and Nick.
“Hey, you two, as for dealing with Lucinda, I think I know a way we can get her off your back…”
