DISCLAIMER: I do not own Beverly Hills 90210 or any of the characters involved in this story
A/N: Before you read this, I have to administer a warning for all the Brenda/Dylan fans reading. You are NOT going to like this chapter at all. I warned everyone several chapters back that they were heading for some very rough times. Well, the storm hits full force in this chapter and it hits hard. I Just thought you should be prepared.
In the early hours of the morning, Brandon lies flat on his back. The arm of Lucinda Nicholson is wrapped around his chest, as her warm body is curled up with him. The morning light is just beginning to seep through the bedroom window when Lucinda awakens and looks at the time on the clock, then rolls over to get on top of Brandon. She tries to wake him up by slowly kissing his neck.
"Good Morning, Mr. Walsh. This is your wake up call." Lucinda says in a soft and seductive voice as she smiles and rubs her hands on his bare chest.
"So early?" Brandon asks groggily as he slowly awakens.
"Well, if you want to make that task force luncheon with the chairman of education in California, you'd better get up and get a move on." Lucinda says as she caresses Brandon's face and kisses him passionately on the lips.
"To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure I ever fell asleep." Brandon replies as he breaks away from the kiss.
"Mmmmm, could our three times last night have something to do with that?" Lucinda asks as she lies back down and rests her head down on Brandon's chest.
"Maybe." Brandon says with a glowing grin. "It certainly makes me a little reluctant to want to get out of bed, that's for sure."
"Well, in that case, I have just the thing to get you going." Lucinda says as she leans in and kisses Brandon passionately again.
"I sure wish I could take you to this luncheon." Brandon says as they break from kissing.
"Somehow I don't think that would do either of our standings with the University any good." replies Lucinda.
"I know. I know." Brandon replies with a sigh in his tone.
"Don't look so sad." Lucinda says. "Just pray that I can get the grant approval from the NEA to complete this documentary, then I can kiss University life good-bye. And then, you and I can go anywhere we want. Especially if this film does as well as I think it can do."
"You really think it can be that big, huh?" Brandon asks.
"Brandon, this has the potential to be huge, I mean we are talking a fortune here if I can get one of the major networks to air this during prime time. I've pitched the idea to several network executives who have already said they'd strongly consider airing the documentary. Plus I already have ideas for more movies after this. The problem is getting a grant approved for a few million dollars." says Lucinda.
"A few million dollars? To make a documentary?" Brandon asks with surprise in his voice.
"Brandon, for me to get the kind of quality video I need to make this documentary what it needs to be, it can't be just me showing up to these native tribes with a personal handheld camcorder. I'll need a full video crew, sound, everything. Those don't come cheap." Lucinda explains.
"I know, but a few million dollars? That's a lot of money." Brandon says with doubt in his voice.
"Brandon, think of the possibilities. If this documentary gets aired in prime time and gets the exposure I think it can get, the potential is endless; not just for supporting my cause, but to make enough money that I'll never have to teach another class again. And just think if you're with me? Me the famous documentary film maker, and you the promising young politician? We'd make quite the pair." Lucinda says in a seductive voice.
"I must admit the idea is intriguing." Brandon says.
"Yeah, but before any of this can take place, one thing needs to happen first." Lucinda says.
"I know, I know, you need the money to fund it." says Brandon
"No, before that." Lucinda says as she looks up into Brandon's eyes. "You need to get out of bed." she says as she begins to tickle Brandon who starts laughing hysterically as he falls out of bed and Lucinda tumbles on top of him as she lets out a wild and playful scream.
Scott and Brenda walk into the Peach Pit and sit down at one of the booths. Suzanne is working behind the counter and rolls her eyes as these are clearly two people she doesn't like as both of them have given Suzanne a piece of their minds recently. Furthermore, Brenda is too suspicious of Suzanne's actions and as long as she's involved with Dylan, Suzanne won't be able to move forward with her plans for fear that Brenda will learn the truth and expose it to Dylan. So Suzanne's entire hopes rest around Dylan and Brenda breaking up.
"Thanks for meeting me here, Scott. I really need some good advice, and you've never steered me wrong in the past." Brenda says.
"Hey, no problem, Brenda. You know I'm always here to listen when you need to talk." Scott replies.
"Listen, I got a problem." Brenda starts to explain.
"Is it Dylan?" Scott asks.
"Well, I'm still having problems with Dylan if that's what you're asking. But that's not the issue here. I have another problem I have to deal with first." Brenda says.
"What's wrong?" Scott asks.
"Look here." Brenda says as she pulls the envelope with Stuart's card out of her jacket pocket a. "Read this."
Scott begins to read the card where Stuart asks to meet Brenda at the fondue restauraunt. Meanwhile Nat comes out from back in the kitchen and sees that Suzanne is reluctant to go over and serve Scott and Brenda. He slowly walks up to her.
"Are you going to go take their order or are you just going let them sit there all day?" Nat scolds.
"Sorry Nat, I was just thinking." Suzanne says.
"Well think later. Those are two of my best customers, not to mention two very good friends of mine. They shouldn't have to wait around." Nat says. Suzanne nods reluctantly as she slowly walks over to the table where Brenda and Scott are sitting at. As she slowly inches toward them, she can start to make out their conversation more and more
"This card is from Stuart?" Scott asks
"Yep." Brenda replies.
"And he wants to take you out on Friday?" Scott asks and Brenda nods. "Well did you tell him no?"
"I tried to call him last night to tell him I wasn't interested, but his number's been disconnected. So I have no way to get a hold of him. He just expects me to show up on Friday night. And this morning, I got a box of candy. So that makes flowers, a giant teddy bear, and candy I've gotten from him in the course of just a few days. Scott, what am I going to do?" Brenda cries. "I just want him out of my life period."
At that moment Scott holds up his hand to Brenda, to tell her to hold the conversation, as he sees Suzanne coming over to their table.
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. What would you like?" Suzanne asks as she takes out a pad and pen.
"Weren't you always getting on me about slow service?" Brenda asks, purposely taking a verbal jab at Suzanne. Scott snickers.
"I'm sorry, but I had other things to attend to." Suzanne says.
"Yeah, I can see how busy you are." Brenda says snickering as she and Scott look around and see that there are no other customers in the Peach Pit at that time except for them. Suzanne just looks at them with annoyance.
"What would you like?" Suzanne asks almost grimacing to keep from lashing out.
"Nothing for me." Scott says.
"Yeah, me either. We just came to talk." Brenda says.
"Funny, I thought that's what they invented the telephone for. And I thought diners were for eating." Suzanne replies snidely. "I guess I better read up on my etiquette."
"Not to mention your manners." Scott replies, as Brenda snickers.
"Come on, Scott. I think we can find a better place to talk." Brenda says as she and Scott both get up leaving a scowling Suzanne just standing there. Scott hands Brenda back Stuart's note and she throws it in the trash container on their way out the door. Nat immediately walks over to Suzanne.
"You want to tell me what that was all about?" Nat asks
Suzanne shrugs. "You got me. They said they didn't want anything." Suzanne says.
"Uh-huh." Nat replies, as he stands there looking skeptical. "Let's get one thing straight right now. Those two are very good friends of mine. They've been through thick and think with me and every time they come through that door, I want them to feel as welcome as possible. If you have any problems with either of them, you keep it outside my diner, you hear? As long as you're working here, you will treat both of them like they're your best friend, capeche?" Nat says sternly as Suzanne nods. Nat returns to the kitchen leaving a scowling Suzanne there steaming with anger.
Suzanne caught enough of the conversation with Brenda and Scott to get the jist of what is going on. She walks over to the trash container where Brenda threw the note in, takes a look around to make sure nobody is watching her and grabs the note out of the container. She then quickly goes into the ladies room to have some privacy and read the note. As she's reading it, she hears Brenda and Scott talking outside through the open bathroom window. She locks the door to make sure nobody else comes in and goes over by the window to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"So before I can make things right with Dylan, I have to take care of this whole Stuart situation." Brenda explains.
"I understand." Scott says.
"So what do you think I should do to make him get the message that I'm not interested?" Brenda asks.
"Well, I have an idea, although you might not like it when you first hear it." Scott says.
"I'm all ears." Brenda replies.
"I think you should meet him at the Fondue restaurant on Friday." Scott says.
"What?" Brenda asks.
"Just so you can tell him that you are in love with Dylan and you have no interest in ever seeing him again and to tell him to stop sending you gifts." Scott says.
"Scott, gosh, I don't know." Brenda expresses with doubt in her voice.
"Brenda, hear me out. Last year, when I wanted you and I to be a couple, as long as you were silent and didn't say anything, I still held out hope that it would eventually happen. But that night on the beach, when I gave you the bracelet and you told me no, that killed any and all hope I had of it ever happening. Believe me, as long as you stay silent, Stuart's going to think he has a chance. But if you confront him, make it clear and firm where you stand, if he's a normal guy, he'll get the picture." Scott says.
"Stuart Carson is anything but normal, Scott." Brenda says.
Scott bites his lip as he thinks for a moment. "You want me to go with you? That way he doesn't get any kind of ideas." Scott volunteers.
Brenda shakes her head. "No, thanks though. This is my problem; I need to deal with it on my own. And you're right. I need to be firm and assertive with Stuart and tell him straight up that there's no chance of it ever happening."
"Are you going to tell Dylan about this?" Scott asks.
"Absolutely not." Brenda answers. "Dylan and I have had enough trouble lately. The last thing he needs is to know about this. No Scott, only my parents, Brandon, and you know about this whole Stuart thing, and I intend to keep it that way. I'll take care of it Friday night and that will be the end of that, and Dylan and everyone else won't be the wiser for it."
As Suzanne listens in on the conversation between Brenda and Scott, she opens the note from Stuart and begins to read it once more. Suddenly she smiles, then snickers, then begins to outright laugh. An idea begins to articulate in her head. She sees a clear opening to perhaps put the final nail in the coffin and end Brenda and Dylan's relationship for good.
At the task force luncheon, Brandon makes conversation with several people there when Dean Trimble comes up and jumps in and pulls Brandon aside to speak with him privately.
"Thanks Dean, you saved my neck there. I was beginning to think they had some sort of hidden conspiracy going." Brandon says.
"Well, it doesn't help that you came here alone." Dean Trimble responds. "Didn't my secretary explain to you that this invitation was for you and a guest?"
"Yeah, she did. It just didn't work out." Brandon says, cutting short any long and detailed explanation.
"Well, it doesn't have to be your future wife or anything. But next time, I would highly recommend that you bring along some sort of female companion with you to one of these things. It just looks better, for appearances sake." Dean Trimble says.
"Gee, I had no idea this task force was going to be so focused on mere appearances." Brandon says.
"Take it from me, Brandon. In this business, everything is about appearances." says the Dean as he notices a familiar face and leads Brandon over to him. "Josh…" he calls out. "You know Brandon Walsh, don't you? Brandon this is Josh Richland, he's the chief editor of our university newspaper."
"Yes, I know, we met." Brandon says.
"Yeah, in fact we almost became best friends." Josh says as he shakes Brandon's hand.
"Well, I'll leave you two power mongrels." the Dean says as he walks off to attend to other guests at the party.
"So who are you here with?" Josh asks Brandon.
"Flying solo." Brandon replies.
"Handsome guy like you? Who'd have thunk it." Josh says.
"What's it to you, Josh?" Brandon replies.
"Hey, you're big news around the Condor. I mean, I've never seen a freshman move up the ladder as fast as you." Josh says. "It's got me curious. That's why I'm going to be doing the feature story on you myself. I hope you don't mind but I'm going to be interviewing some of your teachers and friends to get a better insight into the great man."
"Well, you can lay off the great man bit. I'm just a student trying to make a little noise." Brandon says.
"Yeah, that's what they all say." Josh says sarcastically, clearly letting his skepticism show.
"What are you after, Richland?" Brandon asks.
"The truth, Walsh, the truth." Josh answers. "Nobody can be as perfect as you. Even boy scouts have their dark secrets. And I guarantee you that before this is all over, I will find out yours."
Brandon doesn't respond but just glares at Josh as he wonders why it is that he seems to have it in for him so bad.
"So how do women have any power if monogamy is rejected in these cultures?" Kelly asks to Lucinda as she, Brenda, Donna, and Andrea sit in Lucinda's class.
"That's a good question." Lucinda answers. "These Guatemalan tribes that I just mentioned, the ones that practice polygamy, in these tribes a man will choose several wives, each of whom serve a different purpose. There is one who cooks, one who runs errands, and one whose there to provide emotional support. But the only one who is considered his equal, is the one he shares a bed with."
"So you're saying that sex gives women power?" Donna asks.
"As a matter of fact, yes." answers Lucinda. "It's happened time and time again over the millenniums and throughout history. Take the Trojan War for instance, that conflict lasted generations; they fought for the desire and lust over Helen of Troy.
"So what you're saying is that sex is a real power that women have that they shouldn't be ashamed to admit?" Kelly says with a smile as she is clearly intrigued by Lucinda's teaching.
"Nicely put, Kelly. I don't think I could put it any better myself." Lucinda says. "Okay, that's a good place to stop for today. I'll see you all on Monday."
The class picks up their things and begins to leave as Brenda, Donna, and Andrea, begin to walk out. They notice that Kelly is hanging around the class room.
"Hey Kelly, you coming?" Brenda asks.
"No, you guys go on, I'll catch up later." Kelly says. Brenda shrugs as she, Donna, and Andrea leave. Kelly then walks up to Lucinda's desk.
"Lucinda.." Kelly says to get her attention as Lucinda packs up her tribal artifacts that she brought for display for the lecture that day.
"Yes Kelly?" Lucinda asks.
"I just want to let you know how much I really enjoy your class." Kelly says.
"Well, I really enjoy having you here, Kelly. You provide a lot of intuitive insight and you definitely bring a lot of passion and energy into each class. It's a real pleasure having you here." Lucinda says.
"Thanks, I really think more women should be taking your classes and hearing about your travels to other cultures. It would really make them stop and think about their lives a little more and how they take so much for granite." Kelly says.
"Well, if all goes well, there might be millions of them who will get to learn about it." Lucinda says.
"What do you mean?" Kelly asks with curiosity.
"Well, I'm trying to put together a documentary about my travels and about the different roles of women in all these tribes in South America, Africa, and Asia and compare them to the roles women have in modern day North America. It started out as my thesis, but the more I got into it, the more I found out that this was my true calling and I wanted to share my findings with as many people as possible." Lucinda says.
"So that's why you took up teaching?" Kelly asks.
"Yes, but that's only going to do but so much. I mean not that I don't love teaching, but I only get to share my experiences with you and whatever other students sign up for my course. But if I get the grant to fund this documentary, I could share it with millions." Lucinda says.
"Wow, that would be awesome." Kelly says with excitement.
"Yeah, but unfortunately I'm not getting my hopes up. What I have in mind would cost a lot of money to do, money I just don't have. And I've just been writing grant proposal after grant proposal. But so far, I've come up with zilch." Lucinda says.
"Yeah, but this kind of film would surely make a lot of money too. I mean you're talking about something that the majority of this country probably knows nothing about and would be fascinated to learn about. Surely it could make millions if it ever took off." Kelly says.
"Yeah, Kelly, it would." Lucinda says. "But you need to have money to make money. And until I either get a grant or find somebody who would be willing to financially back this project, then I'm afraid it's just going to have to remain a dream."
Kelly looks at Lucinda with both admiration and a feeling of helplessness. She admires Lucinda's work and dearly wishes there was something she could do to help, but she knows this is one situation where she is powerless to do anything.
Brenda pulls up in her car to the restaurant downtown where Stuart asked her to meet her in his note. Except for her parents and Scott, nobody else knows about this dinner, not even Brandon. Brenda is wearing a nice black dress as this fondue restaurant is supposed to be pretty elegant.
Her high heels clank on the asphalt as she slowly makes her way toward the front entrance of the restaurant. She has already planned out word for word what she's going to say to Stuart as she's been practicing her speech in the car on the way over. As Brenda gets to the front door, sure enough she sees Stuart standing there at the front, in a suit and tie and his hair perfectly combed. Stuart locks eyes with Brenda and begins to smile.
"Good Evening, Miss Walsh." Stuart says politely as he reaches out to take her hand. "I'm so happy you decided to join me this evening." Stuart says as he takes Brenda's hand and tries to kiss it but Brenda snatches her hand away.
"Cut the Prince Charming act, Stuart. The only reason I came here tonight is because I didn't have your phone number anymore. Otherwise I would have told you right off that bat….." Brenda starts to rant.
"Shh, Shh, Shh." Stuart says trying to get Brenda to calm down. "Okay, Brenda, I can see where this is going. I just ask one thing and one thing only. Just have dinner with me and hear me out. At the very least I owe you a major apology for what happened between us. If when all is said and done, you still don't want to talk to me, I promise I will leave here tonight and you will never see me again."
"Why can't we just skip the whole dinner thing and jump right to the part where you leave and I never see you again?" Brenda asks.
"Well you're here, I'm here, we're both dressed for it, and I really do want to make things right with you Brenda. That's all I'm asking, just stay and have dinner with me. I'm not asking for a second chance or for us to get back together or anything. Just let me try to make things right with you once and for all. Please." Stuart begs.
Brenda looks at Stuart with a great deal of skepticism in her eyes. Her mind is telling her to just turn right around and walk away. But something keeps her there. "So all I have to do is have dinner and then I'll never get another gift or letter or even a Christmas card from you again?"
"Yes, I promise." Stuart says.
"Okay, but I have to tell you, Stuart, my mind is made up. And there is absolutely nothing you can say or do here tonight is going to make me change it." Brenda says.
"That's fine, Brenda. At the very least I'll know that the last time I ever saw you, I treated you to a nice meal rather than you yelling and screaming at me." Stuart says. Brenda sighs and rolls her eyes.
"Fine whatever." she answers. "Let's just get this over with."
Brenda and Stuart both walk into the restaurant.
Back at the Peach Pit, the place as moderately full as Nat and Suzanne are going over some business behind the counter.
"Nat, I don't mean to question your decisions, but I've gone over the numbers three times. Do you realize that when you shut the Peach Pit down to have Andrea and Jesse's wedding reception, it cost us almost in the four figures?" Suzanne says.
Nat turns to look at Suzanne. "Look, I don't care how much it costs. Andrea is a friend of mine and if she wanted to have her wedding reception here, then I'm going to have her wedding reception here, and I don't care what it costs." Nat says in an upset tone.
"No need to get angry, Nat, I was simply pointing out that….." Suzanne says.
"I know what you're trying to do, Suzanne, and I don't like it." Nat says. "Let's get one thing straight. I run this joint. You're the assistant manager. That means I'm number one in the decision making process, and you're number two. And as long as I am number one, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. Friendship is more important than making a few bucks, you got it?"
"Well Nat, that's admirable. But have you ever stopped to think that maybe it was business decisions like these that got you into financial trouble in the first place?" Suzanne asks. Nat bites his tongue to keep from telling Suzanne where to go. Before they can argue anymore, the bells on the front of the door ring and Dylan walks in with Erica. Both Nat and Suzanne put on a smile and pretend as if nothing happened.
"Hey sweetie, how was the arcade?" Suzanne asks as Erica comes running up to her.
"Oh it was fantastic. I got the high score on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Erica says.
"That she did, of course she only went through about 20 dollars in quarters to get there. But hey, we'll ignore that part." Dylan responds with a smile. At that point, Nat walks off to handle other customers.
"Thanks again for taking her, Dylan. I promised I'd take her myself, but a few of our waitresses called out sick, so you know, duty called." Suzanne says.
"Hey, not a problem." Dylan says. "It was my pleasure. Besides, I was able to brush up on my Donkey Kong skills." he jokes.
Erica looks all around the Peach Pit at the people sitting in the diner as if she was looking for one person in particular. "Dylan, where's Brenda?" Erica asks.
Dylan laughs for a minute as Suzanne butts head. "Oh sweetie, I'm sure Brenda had other plans for tonight." Suzanne says.
"You always say that, Mom. And I haven't seen Brenda in so long. I really miss her." Erica cries.
Suzanne looks at Erica and frowns as Dylan reaches over and brushes the hair out of her eyes. "Don't worry about Brenda. We'll see her again at some point, I promise."
"I wish she'd hurry up. I mean, no offense mom, but I kind of like having another girl to talk to." Erica says.
"Well you got to talk to Kelly the other day." Dylan suggests.
"Yeah, but it's just not the same. I mean Kelly is nice and all. But I like Brenda better." Erica says as both Dylan and Suzanne kind of chuckle at how cute Erica is when she mentions that.
"Listen.." Suzanne says as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out some quarters and lays them on the counter in front of Erica. "Why don't you go play the juke box?"
"Okay." Erica says with a grin as she grabs the quarters and rushes over to the juke box.
Dylan sighs. "I guess I really should try to get in touch with Brenda and make things right. I mean I think we started to get back on kind of the right track at the wedding reception. But I didn't want to push things. Maybe it's about time I take the next step; ask her out for coffee or something." Dylan says.
At that point, Suzanne, not liking what she's hearing from Dylan, reaches into her apron pocket and pulls out the envelope and note that Stuart sent to Brenda, that she dug out of the trash can the other day. She knows she has to do something before Brenda and Dylan make up.
"Oh that reminds me…" Suzanne starts as she hands the envelope to Dylan. "Could you give that to Brenda when you see her?"
"What is it?" Dylan asks.
"I don't know. It's something she left on the table when she and Scott were in here the other day." Suzanne answers.
"Really?" Dylan asks. "Brenda was in here with Scott?"
"Yeah. They didn't stay long, and they didn't have anything to eat. It sounded like they just met up to talk about something important." Suzanne replies
"Yeah, I bet." Dylan says. At that point, one of the other customers down on the other end of the counter asks for a refill on his soda.
"Will you excuse me for a minute?" Suzanne says, politely dismissing herself. As Suzanne walks away Dylan contemplates whether to open up the envelope addressed to Brenda and read what's inside. It's already been open and the card is just sitting there inside of it, so it wouldn't be like he was opening it for the first time.
After twenty seconds of debating, Dylan takes the card out of the envelope and begins to read it to himself and sees where Stuart has asked Brenda to meet him at the fondue restaurant down town at Friday at 7. Dylan looks at his watch and sees that its 7:30 and immediately jumps up off his stool and starts to head for the exit.
"Hey, going so soon?" Suzanne asks to Dylan as she pours coffee for another customer.
"Yeah, I just have something I need to take care of." Dylan says as he bolts out the door. He knows exactly where the restaurant is and he plans to drive by there to see if Brenda actually showed up.
Suzanne watches Dylan leave with a devilish grin on her face. Her idea thus far has worked just like she thought it would. She knew Dylan wouldn't be able to resist opening that note and seeing where Stuart had planned on taking Brenda. That's why she set it up to have Dylan take Erica to the arcade after school and drop her off at the Peach Pit, so that she could lay the note on him right about the time that they'd be having dinner. She had the feeling that as soon as Dylan read it, he'd take off for the restaurant. And sure enough, he did.
Brandon and Lucinda are curled up on the couch at Lucinda's house. He is watching TV, while she has her legs intertwined with his and is eating some fruit. He is flipping through the channels while she finishes off the fruit.
"Oh yeah, just in time for the NHL saves of the week." Brandon says as he comes to the sports channel.
"Brandon, if I wanted to watch sports every night, I could have stayed with my ex-husband." Lucinda complains. Brandon clicks the TV off at that point.
"That's fine I'm not really in the mood into watch TV anyways." Brandon says.
"Aww, is something wrong?" Lucinda asks in a whiney voice as she starts to rub her hand on Brandon's chest.
"You might say that." Brandon says.
"Poor Brandon." Lucinda says as she snuggles up to him. "Is it anything I can fix?" she asks as she starts to kiss his neck.
"Yeah, you can quit teaching and be my date to the chancellor's social outing this Saturday. Dean Trimble pretty much told me today in no uncertain terms not to show up without a date. The thing is I have the perfect person to bring along, I just can't be seen with her." Brandon says.
"Oh, you know I'd love to go with you." Lucinda says. "But…"
"Yes, I know, I know. We've been through this already." Brandon says. "Knowing my luck, I'm probably going to wind up bribing my sister to go with me."
Lucinda grabs Brandon's hand and nuzzles up to him some more. "Actually, I think I have a better idea. Do you know Kelly Taylor by any chance?"
"Know her? She's my sister's best friend." Brandon replies.
"Why don't you ask her?" Lucinda suggests.
"Kelly? I don't think so." Brandon says.
"Why not? She's one of my best students." Lucinda says.
"Well no offense, but I think I know Kelly a little better than you do, and rubbing elbows with the upper echlon of academia is not something she would enjoy."
"It doesn't hurt to ask." Lucinda suggests.
Brandon makes a face, and then nods. "Yeah, it could work." he says. "The more important question here, is will you be jealous about me being out with Kelly?"
Lucinda smiles as she climbs up onto Brandon's lap facing him. "You should have heard the lesson I have today. In certain parts of Guatemala, men may have several wives, each of whom serve a different purpose. But only the one who sleeps with him is his equal." she says as she begins to unbutton Brandon's flannel shirt.
"So what you're saying is….." Brandon asks with a peculiar look on his face.
"As long as you come home to my bed at night, I don't care who you go out with during the day." Lucinda says with a seductive smile as Brandon reaches around her back and caresses her and the two begin to kiss and make out passionately.
"You know, I just might be able to get use to this whole Guatemala way of living." Brandon says as Lucinda pushes him down on the couch and climbs on him and the two continue to kiss and undress.
"Come on, Brenda. Try some of this fondue. Everyone loves it." Stuart says as the two of them sit in a corner booth at the restaurant. There is a large steaming pot of fondue sitting in front of them on a very hot stove plate. Some bread is off to the side.
"It's not the food I have a problem with, Stuart. It's the company." Brenda says as she continues to sit there looking bored beyond belief.
"Brenda, as long as you're here, can't you even at least try to make the most of it?" Stuart asks. "Come on, smile."
"I'll smile when you pay the bill and I walk out of this restaurant and never have to look at you again for the rest of my life." Brenda says.
"Okay, Okay." Stuart says. "I was going to save the big surprise for later, but since things aren't going anywhere, I'll tell you now."
"Tell me what?" Brenda asks wide-eyed and clearly angry.
"Brenda, my dad is expanding his company and starting this new housing project in New Orleans and guess what, he's letting me head it up." Stuart says with a big grin on his face. Brenda just scoffs. "That's right, and here's the kicker, he's going to let the company be named after me. Brenda, I'm going to have my own company. My name's going to be on a building in New Orleans." Stuart says with a gleaming smile.
"That's wonderful, Stuart." Brenda says sarcastically. "Now if I ever go to New Orleans, I will know exactly which building to stay away from." she says as Stuart's smile disappears. "Do you mind telling me exactly why you think that I would give a damn?"
"Well, I was kind of hoping maybe you'd want to come with me." Stuart says.
"You what?" Brenda exclaims.
"Brenda calm down please." Stuart says as he reaches across the table to grab Brenda's hand.
"No I won't calm down, Stuart. If you think you can just woo your way back into my life by showering me with cheesy gifts and a fancy dinner and try to swoop me off my feet and have me live happily ever after with you in New Orleans, then you're a bigger idiot than I thought you were. I have a life here in L.A., and more importantly, I have a boyfriend." Brenda says.
At that point, Dylan comes walking into the restaurant, looking horrible underdressed as he's wearing a plain white t-shirt, leather jacket, and blue jeans while all the men in the restaurant have on suits and ties. He looks around the restaurant to see if he can spot Brenda and Stuart.
"Excuse me, sir. Do you have a reservation?" the hostess at the front counter asks. Dylan scans the restaurant from right to left, finally spotting Brenda and Stuart in the back corner.
"No, I'll just be a minute." he tells the hostess as he walks right past her and straight towards Brenda and Stuart's table. The rage and anger in him begins to grow. After Brenda has made him feel guilty about having Kelly stay with him and the whole thing with Suzanne, he now begins to see what he thinks is the whole picture. She was just looking for an excuse to dump him so she could run back to Stuart. As he gets closer to the table, he picks up on the last little bit of conversation they are having with Stuart trying to convince Brenda to come to New Orleans with him.
"I'm telling you, Brenda. New Orleans is great. With Mardi-Gras and Burbon Street, it's like non-stop festive down there. And with the money, I'll be making, you and I could get a nice little Southern Mansion by the gulf. It would be perfect, and you could finish school up down there." Stuart says. Before Brenda can tell Stuart to shove it, Dylan comes walking up to their table and stands over them and coughs really loud to get their attention. They both turn away and look up at him.
"Dylan?" Brenda says softly with a stunned look of disbelief on her face.
"You know, I've never really been a fondue man. The whole idea of playing in other people's cheese spread doesn't really float my boat. But what the hell, I'll try anything once. You guys mind if I join you?" Dylan says as he sits down next to Brenda and puts his feet up on the table. He turns his feet slightly to look across the table at Stuart.
"How'd you know I was here?" Brenda asks.
"Oh that's not really important, is it?" Dylan replies. "What's important is that I found you, and now we can all be together to celebrate this momentous occasion." Dylan says. "Exactly what is it we are celebrating again?
"What do you want, Dylan?" Brenda asks.
"Oh I just thought I'd drop in and see just exactly what you've been trying to push me out of your life for, and I must say, Bren, it ain't a whole hell of a lot." Dylan says, snickering as he looks at Stuart. "So go on, don't let me interrupt your talk about planning for the future. You know the whole southern mansion thing? It's very quaint. I guess you'll have a cook and a maid and all that and a nice little view of the bayou. Should I start calling you Scarlet?" Dylan mockingly says to Brenda
"Look, why don't you leave her alone." says Stuart.
"Shut up, Stuart. You're not even here. And as far as I'm concerned you're nothing but a zit on the ass of progress when it comes to talking about things that are relevant." Dylan says.
"Dylan, I came here to tell Stuart that I never wanted to see him again. He's been sending me gifts for the last few days, and I wanted to set the records straight that I want nothing to do him."
"Sure you did, Bren." Dylan says sarcastically. "I mean what better way to tell a guy to piss off than to have a nice little candle lit fondue dinner with him to soft romantic music." Dylan says trying to be obviously sarcastically as he grabs a piece of bread, puts it on a fork, dips it in the fondue and eats it. "Mmmm, not bad."
"Look, you don't understand." Brenda says.
"You're right, Brenda, I don't understand." Dylan says as he stands back up and slams his hands down on the table with force and leans over to talk to her. "I don't understand how it is that you can sneak around and have fondue with billionaire boy douchebag here and it's totally okay. Yet I just try to help out an old friend by taking Kelly in when she doesn't have a place to stay and you rake me over the coals about it and give me the cold shoulder for weeks. " Dylan says raising his voice as the rest of the people in the restauraunt start to take notice.
"Dylan, stop it. Lower your voice." Brenda says.
"Or what, Brenda? You'll stop not talking to me? In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to fix our relationship here. But that's kind of hard to do while you sneak around with moneybags here." Dylan says. "I can't believe you, Bren!" he says, continuing to get louder
"Dylan, you're making a fool out of yourself. Now sit down and be quiet." Brenda says getting visibly embarrassed.
"No Bren, you're making a fool out of me. You've been trying to make this all about me and everything I've ever done wrong to you when you're the one who's trying to boot me out the door so you can run off to New Orleans with this twit. If you wanted me gone, Brenda, all you had to do was say the word and I would have left." Dylan says loudly. The hostess has come over to Dylan.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The hostess says.
"Yeah, and I'm going to have to ask you to shut that hole in your face. I'm talking to my girlfriend here, so back the hell up." Dylan yells at the hostess. By this time the entire restaurant is looking in their direction.
"Get out of here, Dylan. Now! You're making a scene." Brenda says sternly as she grits her teeth, letting Dylan know that he's treading on very thin ice.
"Oh give me a break, Brenda, this isn't a scene." Dylan says as he glares at Brenda. He then looks over at Stuart. In an instant, he grabs the put with the fondue in it, by the handle and throws it onto Stuart as the majority of it hits his face and his chest, and some goes down his shirt. Stuart stands up and screams at the feel of boiling hot cheese fondue against his face and chest burns painfully. Dylan then kicks over a food tray that is set up right next to the table he's at as many people in the restaurant gasp. Brenda covers her face in embarrassment. Dylan pulls out his wallet, grabs a few large bills from inside of it and flings it at the hostess.
"There, now that's a scene." Dylan says angrily as he takes off out of the restaurant leaving Brenda there with an angry look on her face as her lips sneered. She sits there with her arms folded and her face cold as stone for several seconds before grabbing her purse, putting her jacket on and standing up. Stuart has ripped off his shirt to where he is wearing nothing but an undershirt on and is trying to wipe the fondue off with napkins.
"Stuart, do me a favor. The next time you get the urge to shower somebody with gifts. Call the make-a-wish foundation." Brenda says. "The next gift or phone call I get from you, I'm going right to the police and filing a restraining order, you got it?"
"Yeah, okay, I got it, Brenda. Sheesh" Stuart says, deciding not to fight it anymore. Brenda storms out of the restaurant both angry and embarrassed by what just happened. She doesn't know how Dylan knew that she was there. But she can't believe that he would just burst in and make a scene like that. But then again, Dylan's never been one who has shied away from making an ass out of himself even in the most upscale of places. All she knows is one thing, she's had it with the drama and wants nothing more to do with it.
The following day, Dylan has showed up at the Peach Pit early and is on his way in. Brenda comes pulling into the parking lot and parks right next to Dylan who stops and looks at her. She had gone by his house and saw he wasn't there, and figured the only other place he could be at this early was the Peach Pit. Brenda jumps out of her car, and grabs a box that is in the back seat. She marches up to Dylan and shoves the box into his chest.
"What's this?" Dylan asks.
"I packed that up last night after I got home. It's a collection of everything you've given to me and everything I have that reminds me of you. I don't want it anymore." Brenda says as Dylan looks in the box briefly to see old gifts that he bought her and some pictures of him and her that she had framed.
"Does this mean….?" Dylan asks.
"Yes Dylan, it means what you think it means. It is over between us. Over for good." Brenda says. Unbeknownst to either of them that Suzanne is inside the Peach Pit getting ready to open up and heard the arguing outside, so she opened up the back door just a crack to listen in.
"Perfect Brenda, congratulations. I guess this means that now you're free to go off and elope somewhere with what's his face." Dylan argues.
"Dylan, you're more of an idiot than Stuart if you think that's what I really want. For the record, I went there last night to set the record straight with him once and for all." Brenda exclaims.
"Right, Bren. Whatever you say." Dylan says in a disbelieving tone. "Just remember this, I'm the one who was trying to help out a friend. You're the one who was sneaking around with an old boyfriend behind my back. Spin this anyway you'd like, but facts are facts."
"Yeah, well the good news is now you can take in all the poor unfortunate women with no place to stay. So call them up, invite them all over. Suzanne, Kelly, hell maybe you can finally go after that bimbo at Palm Springs you liked so much."
"God, I can't believe you would bring that up. Bren, that was like four years ago. What do you have like an engraved memory of every time I've ever even looked at another girl?" Dylan says.
"No, Dylan. But take it from me, I'm going to remember what happened last night for a very long time. Your behavior was totally juvenile and you made a total jack ass out of yourself." Brenda says.
"So what was I supposed to do, huh? You tell me! I'm just supposed to sit back and do nothing while you get it on beneath the sheets with Stewie the scumbag?" Dylan yells prompting a hard slap in the face from Brenda. The two of them stand there looking at each other, a tear rolls out of Brenda's eye.
"Is that what you really thing I was doing, Dylan? You really think that's what I'm all about. I have slept with one person my entire life, and that's you." Brenda says as tears roll out of her eyes. "Enjoy your memories, Dylan. They're all you got left." Brenda cries in a soft voice as she turns around and marches back toward her car.
"Bren, come on, wait a second." Dylan says as he closes his eyes and tries to calm his nerves. But Brenda keeps on walking and gets in and takes off down the road. An angry Dylan takes the box of stuff in his hand and throws it up against the brick wall of the Peach Pit in anger as stuff goes flying everywhere. He walks off in a huff, leaving the scattered stuff all over the Peach Pit parking lot.
From inside, Suzanne grins and then begins to smile deviously at everything she heard outside. She got what she wanted. Brenda and Dylan are no more as a couple. And can now move forward with her plan.
On the outside, the wind starts to blow some of the pictures away. A picture of Brenda and Dylan together that was taken several years ago lands in a mud puddle next to the half heart amulet that he bought her for Christmas as the mud and the water slowly begin to blur out the picture until it eventually isn't recognizable anymore.
TO BE CONTINUED
A/N: Well, that's that. Yes they are broken up. All I can say is that this is part of a very long term plan I have that has been mapped out not just for the rest of this season 4 story, but for the season 5 one that follows this one. Hopefully you'll continue to keep reading. This is just one bump in a very VERY long road.
As always reviews are welcomed and appreciated.
Also, I have put a new poll up on my profile page. I'm curious as to what brother/sister relationship everyone likes the best in this sage. There are four choices. If you have a second, please go and vote in the poll.
Thanks.