Pater Familias

By Dwayne Conyers

Family can be a noun... a verb... or a profanity. Political consultant Raymond Isaac Vincent parlayed his life-long relationship with the President of the United States into a successful political consultancy. He is willing to risk losing all he has spent his lifetime building in a desperate attempt at reconciling his four adult children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dwayne Conyers
• Release date: Jul 14, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452380582

Dwayne Conyers

Dwayne Conyers completed his undergraduate studies in the Department of Radio, Television and Film, entering the United States Air Force to command video production teams. A last-minute switch moved him into a highly technical career field where he supported four-star generals, members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and NATO commanders. The highlight of his military career was writing and producing a video for President Reagan that was presented in the Oval Office. He later went on to meet and work for Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. He wrote and produced a plethora of static and interactive videos and briefings. These were widely distributed to over 1,000 offices throughout the Department of the Air Force. Additionally, two US Army Commands and one US Navy Fleet were also appreciative recipients of these materials.Post-military, he graduated top of his class in the Warner Bros. Comedy Writers Workshop under the mentorship of Samm-Art Williams. He also studied screenwriting with Marc Lapadula at the University of Pennsylvania, Luigi DiFonzo at Harvard, Michael Hague, and Carl Sautter via the American Film Institute. Through Lapadula, he obtained representation with Vincent Cirrincione and was assigned an episode of the late ABC series Living Dolls (starring Oscar® winner Halle Berry and King of Queens star Leah Remini). He later accepted an offer to spend a year in the Republic of Singapore where he worked with American, British and Singaporean personnel to produce interactive training videos and computer based training modules.After returning to the United States, he became Executive Producer of independent film “High Point.” He raised the majority of the production budget and arranged foreign and domestic distribution opportunities. His writing continued to win honors, including 2nd Place in the OBS Screenplay Competition (resulting in a meeting with Overbrook Entertainment), a score of 8 out of 10 on the Black List (resulting in a meeting with Film Engine), in addition to honors at the 2010 and 2016 Beverly Hills Film Festival and Cinequest.Since moving to Los Angeles, Dwayne joined Veterans in Film and Television. He was selected by VFT to participate in a writing mentorship with the Writers Guild of America Foundation under mentors including Saul Turteltaub, Jeremy Stevens, Timothy Wurtz, Karen Struck, Marie Weiss, and Brian Anthony.Dwayne is writer and producer of six web series, one of which is “broadcast” via Amazon Prime. Dwayne continues to write, rewrite and polish a variety of feature specs and TV pilots while volunteering his services to help other military veterans through the Writers Guild of America one-year mentorship. His unique experiences in the United States, Europe and Asia – combined with his ability to work seamlessly on both creative and scientific pursuits – promise great value to the evolving entertainment industry.

Book preview

PATER FAMILIAS

by

Dwayne Conyers

ISBN 978-1-4523-8058-2

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Dwayne Conyers at Smashwords

Pater Familias

Copyright © 2010 by Dwayne Conyers

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

* * * * *

PATER FAMILIAS

* * * * *

CHAPTER ONE

IF ONLY YOU COULD SEE YOUR BOY NOW

Raymond Isaac Vincent stared at his Rolex watch as he nervously tapped his foot on the floorboard of the limo. His flight into Dulles International Airport arrived late and the traffic jam on the toll road further threatened to delay his arrival into downtown Washington.

Raymond turned his attention to the cacophony of messages streaming into his Blackberry® PDA. The device chirped and vibrated like a wounded sparrow in its death throes. He sighed as he read, responded to, and deleted another dozen messages from captains of industry, members of the House and Senate, and the White House.

Oh, the days before we were imprisoned by electronic umbilical cords, he muttered to himself.

The limo driver turned and, with raised eyebrows, inquired, Sir?

Just thinking out loud, Raymond replied.

The driver returned his attention to the road and Raymond returned his attention to his PDA. After all, each second of time spent on his incoming messages represented another minute of time he could bill clients at his premium rate.

Umbilical cords, do give life, Raymond reasoned to himself as he set the PDA on the plush seat cushion and cast a wistful gaze through the smoked glass of the limousine.

Raymond’s mind suddenly became transfixed on something outside of the sensory deprivation of his eight-cylinder cocoon. It wasn’t the stampede of late model vehicles surrounding him. Nor was it the rising landscape of buildings owned by foreign governments and multi-billion dollar conglomerates. It was the simple and largely ignored wildflowers growing in the median strip in the middle of the road that captured Raymond’s fascination. Those brief specks of color interrupted the monotonous green of the beltway, providing Technicolor flashes that seemed to demand Raymond’s attention.

Raymond leaned closer to the smoked glass window as if to breathe in the beauty and simplicity that only a Supreme Being could make.

A manmade flower would be a monstrosity, Raymond chuckled to himself, imagining a landscape of concrete, metal, plastic and glass.

Raymond retrieved a bottle of water from the limo’s mini-bar. With each sip he thought about those simple things in his life that seemed to whiz by much faster than 65 miles per hour. He reached into his eel skin briefcase and extracted his Palm Pilot. He brought up a digitally scanned photo of his father, Ray Vincent Sr.

Raymond chuckled. It looked as if his father could barely stand still long enough to be photographed. There was always a sense of urgency about that man. He was always on the verge of taking off to some destination. No one ever knew exactly where that destination was, or how exactly he might manage to get there. It would be a secret that Raymond’s father would take to his grave.

The elder Vincent literally worked himself to death in his never-ending flight from the poverty and hopelessness that enslaved previous generations of his family. Even after having achieved middle-class success, it was as if the fear of economic relapse prevented him from pausing to enjoy what he had worked so long to achieve.

Raymond commiserated over his father’s comparatively simple life of pinching pennies despite having thousands in the savings account. While Raymond traveled the globe multiple times, it seemed that his father was satisfied to prefer a simple middle-class existence in Long Island. Even after he had retired and his sons grew up and left home, the sum of his journeys were between the kitchen and the living room. Raymond could not comprehend how his father could have been so satisfied with what seemed to have been such a dull life.

If only you could see your boy now, Raymond thought half-aloud as he gazed at his dad’s picture.

Raymond held the Palm Pilot closer as he studied the look in his father’s eyes. It was as if his father was constantly balancing a mountain of ideas in his mind. Raymond wondered if his dad had ever stopped to appreciate the wildflowers during his early morning and late evening commutes on the Long Island commuter rail.

You worked so hard to put Benny and me through school, Raymond said to the portrait of his father.

Raymond paused to calculate how many months had passed since he and his brother, chief of staff at an Arizona hospital, had engaged in a round of golf at Ben’s Scottsdale country club.

Where Ben was the studious son, Raymond had ambitions higher than his academic abilities could take him. Raymond finessed his life-long friendship with the current occupant of the White House into the premiere consultancy in the Capitol.

Raymond laughed as he considered how dependent the President had become on his advice.

The man won’t even take a crap without asking me, he thought to himself.

The buzzing of his PDA returned Raymond’s attention to reality. He read with raised eyebrows that his son Ray Jr. would be arriving in the District that afternoon.

Raymond returned his attention to the digital photo collection in his Palm Pilot. He flipped to the photo of his oldest child. His daughter Angela was born while Raymond was in Vietnam, serving side by side with future President of the United States Henry Breaux. On two occasions, Raymond saved his life. In that decades that followed, Breaux’ repayment of that debt added wealth and prestige to Raymond’s political consultancy.

Angela grew up to become a teen one-hit-wonder during the 80’s. She parlayed that into a successful career in Hollywood that eventually led to an executive position with a major studio.

Raymond advanced to the digital photo of his son Ray Jr. Like Raymond’s father, his son had that same restless energy.

That same drive.

That same ambition.

What Ray, Jr. did not have was the settling influence of a family. That troubled Raymond. He wondered if that might have been his fault.

Perhaps if I had been a better husband, a better father... he wondered aloud. Perhaps, if I had set a better example...

Suddenly, Raymond’s rapid stream of thought was interrupted as the driver announced, We’re almost there, sir.

Raymond selected the next photo on his Palm Pilot. His son Tony had followed his Uncle Ben’s path into medicine.

I need to call that boy, Raymond thought to himself.

Tony was not yet into his teens when his mother left Raymond for another man... a man who would later murder her and spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Raymond pressed a button and the screen returned to the photo of Ray, Jr. Older and almost pragmatic about the tragic loss of his mother, Ray Jr.’s his way of internalizing the pain and dealing with the grief was to pour himself into the relentless acquisition of wealth.

Like father, like son Raymond muttered to himself.

Raymond wished his two sons, Shelby’s boys, were closer. In reality, they were as different as he and his brother Ben.

As the limousine slowed to a stop, the driver lowered Raymond’s window. A secret service agent leaned inside and silently took inventory of everything inside.

Raymond produced his credentials. The agent gave a thorough review of the documents, and then returned them to Raymond.

Thank you, sir, he said. You may proceed.

The window raised as the driver followed directions to his assigned parking area.

Raymond placed his gadgets into their compartments in his briefcase and made an attempt at focusing his mind on the meeting that was soon to commence.

* * * * *

She had long flowing blonde hair the color of harvested wheat. Her ancestry seemed Scandinavian... suggesting that she hailed from somewhere in the Midwest. She couldn’t have been any older than 25. Judging by look of youthful innocence on her face, she was probably younger than that.

Clutching a black leather portfolio bearing the White House seal to her over-exposed cleavage, the aide jerked her head to swing her hair over her shoulder and extended her hand to Raymond.

Welcome to the White House, she said as if welcoming a school bus loaded with young children on their first trip to Disney World.