Chapter 6
Weird and Gross
Eliot lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. A part of her was so confused, you think you know people then they just disappoint you or take you by surprise, she thought. She loved her parents and she saw them as this power couple. Still crazy about each other after all these years. Still teenagers in their affections, still gross to watch. As weird as it sounds, she thrived to have that one day. Kids and a big house, a loving husband that worshiped her. She couldn't be angry that her parents got together and conceived her and her brother, I mean they were the reason for her existence but it was a hard pill to swallow that she may end up like Kelly. Don't get her wrong she loved her aunt. Kelly had always been good to her. She was always around growing up. Her and Brandon had gotten married before her parents even did. They went to her parents cabin together in Big Bear, spent holidays together, took trips together. Her cousin Nate was one of her and Byron's best friends. So was Alyssa even though she was a year behind them. How weird that her father and Kelly had dated? She didn't seem like his type at all. Was it weird for her uncle and mom too? Maybe not considering Dylan and Kelly were older then and Brenda had dated him such a long time before. But how could it not be weird? It was weird for her and she just found out about it. Kelly seemed lonely and sad now days. She had the love of her life and now she lost him. Maybe she had lost both of them? She shook her head quickly thinking the thought of her aunt and her father was even grosser than that time her and Byron heard their parents having sex when they were 11. It's what had caused the birds and the bees discussion. Which led to a period talk in front of her father and brother. That was humiliating…yeah Kelly and Dylan were worse than that.
Byron kicked open the door and threw up a baseball in the air catching it. "Mom and dad said come down and wash up for dinner."
Eliot leaned up on her elbows. "I thought you had a make out…er dinner date with Emma?"
Byron sighed loudly, "She cancelled, something about her grandma Felice coming over for dinner. I swear that lady…she is so mean. It's hard to believe Donna and her are related. Anyway she said raincheck on dinner. So come down." Byron tossed the baseball in the air again, catching it.
"Alright…be down in a minute." Eliot flopped back on to her back.
"Uncle Brandon is here." Byron added.
Eliot sat up quickly, "What? Why?"
Byron made a face at her, "Yeah…so? He always comes over for dinner, I heard mom say something like, she needs to feed her loner brother at least once a week so she knows he isn't eating frozen burritos or something weird like that." Byron shook his head not getting it. "Who eats frozen burritos anyway…shit this is LA you can get a real burrito at any time of night." he shook his head, throughly grossed out.
"Tell them…I'm sick…I'm not hungry…Tell them I moved to Paris."
"You tell them." Byron rolled his eyes at his sister's melodrama and made his way downstairs.
Eliot huffed, great she thought. How was she gonna pretend she didn't know this stuff about her dad and Kelly? Eliot reluctantly made it downstairs and washed up for dinner. Brenda handed her a big bowl of salad to bring to the table as she handed Dylan salad dressing. Eliot sat the bowl down and made eye contact with her uncle.
"There's my beautiful niece, you doing better than the last time I saw you?" Brandon smiled at her as she sat across from him.
"Yeah…I guess." she moved her napkin to her lap and finally made eye contact with him. She smiled a hesitant smile hoping that was enough to stop his questioning. It seemed to work, Brandon and Byron then started talking baseball and try outs. Eliot kept quiet as everyone finally made it to the table and began eating. Mostly chit chat was happening around her. She listened a little but kept thinking about her fathers book. Him going out with her mother, then switching to Kelly, then back to her mom.
"Is this a new chicken recipe Bren?" Brandon commented, taking a bite. "I swear I haven't ate a good home cooked meal since the last time I was here, it's incredible."
Brenda laughed, "That's why I keep inviting you." she batted her eyelashes at him as Brandon laughed, "At least I know my brother isn't eating frozen lard once a week."
Dylan laughed, "Dude…it' been forever since I've had one of those. Man that's all I ate back in high school."
"Gross dad…" Byron said quickly.
"Exactly By…gross." Brenda added with a nod.
"You like the other recipe better Bran?" Brenda asked her brother. "Dylan can't decide which he likes better." Eliot raised her head from mushing her food around her plate. "So I keep switching back and forth."
"What can I say…I like them both." Dylan said with a smile.
"Can't make up your mind dad? Like having your cake and eat it too?" Eliot's tone was cold…short.
Dylan looked at his daughter oddly as the table silenced. "Yeah why not?" he spoke truthfully with a shrug. "Why choose when you can have both, your mom is a fantastic cook."
Eliot glared at her father. "So typical." she said under her breath.
Dylan looked at Brenda, who in return looked at Dylan. They didn't know what this was about. "Don't you think that's cheating the system, you have to like one better than the other, like chocolate or vanilla…long or short hair…blonde or brunette…" Eliot's voice was icy.
Dylan set down his fork and looked at his daughter, "Are we still talking about chicken?" he said clueless.
"NO! she yelled, "I lost my appetite." Tears filled Eliot's eyes as she got up with a huff. She threw her napkin on the table and ran up the stairs.
Dylan looked at Brenda, "What was that about?"
Brenda shrugged, "No clue everyone knows brunettes are better than blondes." she smiled joking. "Finish eating guys…I'll go talk to her." Brenda gently got up and followed her temper tantrum teenager up the steps.
The three guys looked at each other in silence. "Women." Byron shook his head as he began devouring his plate again. Brandon and Dylan looked at each other.
"Blonde or brunette?" Dylan repeated lost looking at his brother in law confused.
Brandon took his hand and clasped it on Dylan's shoulder, "Byron is right…women. I'll add to that…teenage women…Alyssa is like a different person these days." he shrugged and took a fork full of food, Brandon laughed out loud, "Maybe she wants to go blonde…do you remember when Brenda dyed her hair blonde and it was that awful orange color?" Dylan joined in laughing as he nodded his head amused.
"She still looked hot...if I remember correctly." Dylan smiled at the memory.
Byron looked at his father than his uncle, "I love me some blondes." he smiled. Emma was blonde.
"Me too." Brandon sighed dreamily. "Me too my nephew."
Dylan chuckled, "I'll rest my case…why choose…blondes, brunettes, red heads…girls who make damn good chicken?" the guys laughed as they went on eating. Guys were guys, they didn't have a clue.
"Eliot can I come in." Brenda knocked on her daughters door.
"Mom…please just go away." she said tearfully.
Brenda opened the door, "Not gonna happen sweetie." Brenda came in and sat on Eliot's bed, "What's going on?"
Eliot sat silent. She debated telling her mom she knew everything. She sighed defeated and reached into her night stand drawer and pulled out her fathers book. She looked at Brenda as she did so.
Brenda gasped, "How did you find that?" Brenda whispered. She reached for it and gently brushed her hand over the leather cover. She smiled opening up the first page reading over her dedication.
"When you guys were in France, I found it in the study." Eliot spoke quietly.
Brenda breathed out a laugh, "Oh man…I haven't seen this in forever."
"You've read it?" Eliot asked surprised.
Brenda looked at her daughter with a smile, "Of course…your father wrote this book for me. Well he started it a long time ago but he made it into a book for me. He gave it to me when he asked me to marry him." Brenda shook from her happy memory, "You've read this?" she asked a little surprised, it was very personal.
Eliot cleared her throat, "Well…sort of. I started reading it, now I don't know if I want to."
Brenda smiled, "Too weird…gross, how far did you get?" she laughed amused.
Eliot sighed, "The Spring dance…you moving to Minnesota."
Brenda nodded, "Ah…the good old days…I didn't move by the way." she kept her smile. "I get it's weird though. AHHH my parents have sex. AHHH." Brenda mocked being a dramatic teenager, with her hands up.
"It's not that…it didn't gross me out at all. Actually it's sweet."
"But…" Brenda added.
"I skipped ahead and I know about Aunt Kelly."
Brenda now nodded, "Oh I see. Weird?" she understood, and with Aidan it must be really weird.
"Very." Eliot said shaking her head, "and Gross."
Brenda laughed, "I thought so too. Look Eliot me and your dad were young. We weren't ready to settle down. Guys are idiots sometimes and they think with the wrong head if you know what I mean, him and Kelly were a mess back then."
"He wasn't that young mom."
Brenda tilted her head to the side, "We were in high school. It was the summer before senior year. We were really young El."
Eliot got up quickly, "What? Dad and Kelly went out in high school?" She yelled loudly.
Brenda got up quickly, "You said you skipped ahead."
"Skipped ahead to when he cheated on Kelly with you…at the wedding. Oh my god." Eliot began pacing.
"Shit." Brenda whispered. She closed her eyes, Dylan was going to kill her. "Eliot…ELIOT stop. Sit down." she said sternly. Eliot obeyed.
"Ok…look…I know this is weird…I know this is confusing and hard to understand."
"Mom…isn't it weird for you? Wasn't Kelly your friend? I've been crying my eyes out over here thinking about Audrey and Aidan…and the same thing happened to you." Tears fall from Eliot's eye. "You took him back."
"Oh baby." Brenda took her face into her hands, "I know what your going through. Just hear me out okay, I love your father, I have never loved any man the way I love him. Eliot he is my everything."
"Mom…" Brenda interrupts her.
"He loves me more than anything in this whole world. I know that…that book shows that. People make mistakes Eliot. Your father made a mistake. Sometimes you have to learn from them. I'm telling you that a lot happened in the span of time I've known your dad. Did it hurt me he went out with Kelly, of course…I was heartbroken, it tore me up inside." Eliot cried harder. "Honey…he came back. Sometimes you have to let them go to do what they are going to do, experience what they're going to experience. To make their own mistakes, if they come back, they were always yours."
"And if they don't?" Eliot looked at her mom. Pleading for honesty, for got up again.
"Then…they never were." Brenda said honestly. Eliot wiped her face and breathed out.
"And you and Kelly? You were friends again?"
Brenda looked down sadly, "Kelly was my best friend…after..not so much." Brenda didn't sugar coat it.
"Oh my god mom." Eliot spoke calmly for the first time all night. She sat on her bed exhausted. "And Uncle Brandon? He knows all this?"
Brenda smiled a sad smile, "Yeah…another story another night. Believe me." Brenda sat beside her and picked up her book. "I guess you'll read it in this though, you going to finish it?"
"I don't know if I want to. It's just to much."
Brenda exhaled, "I know…I hope you do because it really is a beautiful story, one with a very happy ending. This book right here is so special to me. It's told from your fathers words, his thoughts, his inner most feelings, it made me love him more. It made any apprehension about our future, our love, disappear. Your dad asked me to marry him but he wouldn't let me answer until I read this book. You and Byron were a year and half old. I'm so proud of your dad, he was such a private person. He wanted to marry me the minute I found out I was pregnant with you and your brother, but he also knew I had my doubts. Read it, and we'll both be here to answer any questions you have, explain whatever you need." Brenda leaned in and hugged her daughter. "I love you so much, you're going to be okay baby. I know it doesn't feel like it…but you will."
Eliot closed her eyes, "I love you too mom, thank you." she whispered.
Brenda smiled softly as she left Eliot's room. As she walked to the top of the stairs, Dylan was coming up. She stopped and stared at him. He smiled at her meeting her at the top.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah…everything is great." She leaned in and kissed him gently. "Did Brandon leave?"
"Oh yeah…he said he'll call you tomorrow. The kids are with him this weekend, he said he had stuff to get together. He said thank you for dinner."
Brenda nodded absently. "Should I go in and talk to her? Did I do something to upset her? She isn't gonna dye her hair blonde is she?" he made a face.
Brenda laughed, "No…and no…let her be. We girl talked and I have something to talk to you about." Dylan raised his eyebrows curiously. He took her hand softly and led her to their bedroom. Brenda went in and sat on the bed while Dylan closed their bedroom door. He slowly walked over and joined her. Brenda took his hand this time looking into his eyes.
"When we were in France, Eliot found Journals D'amour." Dylan's face fell, nervousness in his eyes.
"She read it?" He asked horrified.
Brenda smiled at him before turning serious again, "A little…she knows about Kelly."
Dylan exhaled and got up, he paced a little stopping to look down at his wife, "Damn it." He breathed. "Bren…She's."
Brenda got up and took his hands, "It's okay, she was weirded out by the whole thing but she's okay Dylan. She's not going to hate you." Brenda knew Dylan was thinking just that. When you have kids you never want them to know you aren't perfect. Or that their parents love wasn't perfect. "I told her that I hoped she would finish it and read it all. I told her our story was beautiful and that book made me fall more in love with you than ever before." Dylan softened as Brenda wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. She leaned in and kissed him softly.
"It's just so personal Bren…are you sure her reading it is a good idea?"
She kept her closeness and talked softly, "I do. Baby she is going through something right now that she will remember forever. She lost her first love and I think maybe…our story might help her in some way. For her to know its okay to forgive people, to open up and share your feelings, She is so much like you. She keeps to herself, half the time we can't get Byron to shut up while Eliot has always been quiet and a mystery. I think it will be good for her to know that this kind of pain can sometimes be beautiful. Don't you think?"
Dylan took a deep breath, he thought for a moment. "I guess you're right. She'll talk to us though…about things that bother her or questions she may have?" Dylan still seemed worried. He knew Brenda was right, and even though the book was written and made only for Brenda's eyes at the time, he kind of liked the idea of his daughter knowing more about the real him. It was both exciting and scary.
"I told her we were here for her. And if she needed us we would explain, answer questions…what ever she needed." Brenda stared into his eyes. He looked down and made his way back to the bed. He sat down thinking. He nervously ran his fingers through his hair. Brenda flopped down next to him, "Baby…what are you so afraid of?"
Dylan looked into her eyes, tears subtly filled them, "That maybe…when she reads the real me…she'll look at me differently? I don't want her to look at me differently Bren." He looked down trying to hide his emotions.
"Dylan…she will look at you differently." he looked up quickly alarmed, she placed her hand on his cheek, "She'll look at you like an actual person Dylan…strong, sensitive, caring, romantic and sweet. She won't just see you as her father baby…she'll see you as a man who over came life's hardships and got the life and family he always dreamed of. She'll see two teenagers that tried to fight obstacles to be together, she'll see two people that fought their feelings and became best friends, she'll see that no amount of distance and time can come between two people that love each other…she'll see what true love looks like Dylan…and that's something I don't ever want to protect her from."
Staring into Dylan's eyes he relaxed, taking his hand to her face he kissed her with feverish passion. His tongue dancing with her deliciously. His hands grabbed her hips, pulling her to the middle of the bed as he laid to her side, picking up her leg at the thigh, he hitched it forcefully around his hips as he ground into her. "I want you." he whispered against her lips.
Brenda smiled against his mouth, his lips went to her neck as she giggled, "I can see that." Brenda closed her eyes feeling his wet lips and tongue glide across her neck effortlessly. "Lock the door." she breathed.
Dylan leaned up looking into her eyes, a naughty smile spread across his face. He leaned in kissing her hard before getting up and going to their bedroom door. Brenda took her shirt quickly over her head, unsnapping her bra, as Dylan locked their door. When he returned Brenda was wiggling out of her jeans and underwear as Dylan stood at the foot of the bed. He watched her with hungry eyes as he unbuttoned his jeans, taking the zipper slowly down and pushing them down his hips. Seconds later he was over her again. Kissing her, licking her, tasting her, touching her, something he had done a million times over. Dylan kissed up her thigh, her hip, stopping at the raised lightened scar above heaven. He traced it with his fingers, then with his mouth. He kissed along it slowly, closing his eyes thinking back to when the twins were born. This sexy little scar from Brenda's c-section had become his favorite part of her body. He kissed up her navel…her chest, making his way back to her luscious lips. As he looked deeply into her eyes, she smiled at him. He pushed into her then, a groan leaving their mouths as he buried his face into her neck. He moved slowly in and out of her, his lips to her ear, "You were you, and I was I, we were two before our time." His face came to look at her.
"I was yours before I knew, and you have always been mine too." Brenda whispered back.
So Brenda and Dylan know about the book. I know no Diary entries this chapter but there will be lots next. Some Aidan and Dylan interaction hehehe…and more about Kelly and Brandon's break up to come. Also a flashback sequence when Brenda finds out she is pregnant. Thats all in store for you in the chapters to come. Also a look into poetry at the end, that poem has some deeper meaning but it wont come out just yet. Please review or I wont show you…evil grin! I mean how are you liking this? It's so different than anything I've done!
