Things were going well at the club and both Cathy and I were making money, so that January (1996), we decided to take a little vacation and visit my Dad and Step-mom in Washington. They lived in a little border town called Custer and My Step-mom was a border inspector for the FDA. My brother went up the same week, so we had a blast hanging out altogether for the first time in ten years. My step-brother John came over one night too with his new wife and her son and we played darts just like when we were kids. During the trip, Darin, Cathy and I took a drive into Vancouver BC. I have to say, Vancouver is one of the prettiest cities I have ever been to. Additionally, since it is on a very select list (3) of cities outside this country I have been, it felt very much like a great vacation and I think both Cathy and I loved it. During the trip, Cathy became pregnant, though we would not be sure for weeks Cathy seemed to know right away.
Returning to LA, I had work to do to get ready for 1996 at the club. I had also just finished my second screenplay (and first by myself) called "the job". It was a crime story in the vein of Pulp Fiction told from a number of different people's viewpoints. To say it was not formulaic is a huge understatement. Even my more adventurous friends in the industry told me that no one would ever make this film. They were correct. On January 30th, I had asked a bunch of folks to meet me at the club (it was closed for lunch) to do a read-through of my new script. As we sat down to read, one of the owners came in and nervously asked me why we were there. When I told him, he said "Oh. We are closing the club today and handing it back over to the landlords."
I was devastated by this turn of events. I had worked hard and brought us back to some level of profitability and even returned some of the money the investors had put in which they were certain to lose before I took over. In my weak state, I did not see the owners manipulating me either. In the end, they closed owing me over 4000 bucks and I had just found out for sure that my first child was on the way. One owner dropped off the face of the planet, probably ending up either dead from drugs or (hopefully) turning his life around and leading a happy and healthy life. I never saw him again. The other owner, Philip, continued to make me think that he was going to open one more club and that I could be a part owner. He strung me along for weeks and got me to do all I had done for him in opening the other clubs, but this time for free. I felt like such an ass when I figured out that he was just using me. It was a hard time and would not be the last very similar situation.
