The Time of Our Lives – Chapter 36
The Roundhouse Theatre
Brenda runs onto the stage to take her final bow to thundering applause and a standing ovation. She bows alone and then with the cast as the curtain comes down.
'We did it! This was the best show we've done the entire time,' Chris says and hugs her tightly. The curtain begins to rise again and they quickly grab each other's hands for another bow.
The director comes out from backstage and bows. He leads the cast off of the stage and pulls them into a group hug.
'This has been the best experience I've had with a cast,' he says yelling over the applause. 'You have all made my dream come true.'
They hug each other for a few minutes before being joined by the crew.
Dylan gets up from his seat with a huge smile on his face. He walks down toward the stage followed by Brandon, Kelly, Donna, Jason, and Steve.
They watch the cast members shake hands and hug the people around them. Dylan watches Brenda's face as she meets and greets. He catches her eye and sees the smile on her face broaden. She slowly weaves through the crowd to join her friends.
Dylan helps her off of the stage and puts his arm around her shoulder.
'Brenda, that was better than opening night. You guys were incredible tonight,' Kelly says.
Jason steps forward and pulls Brenda into his arms. 'You really have done it this time, girl,' he says into her ear.
'Every time I see you perform you get better and better,' he tells her. Dylan sees Brenda's face light up even more than it was before.
'Thank you, Jason. Thank you everyone for coming to the last show,' she says.
Dylan kisses the top of her head and pulls her closer.
'You are all invited to the cast party if you want to come and celebrate with us,' Brenda says looking around the group.
'I'm still recovering from the last cast party you invited us to,' Steve says with a laugh.
'Oh,' Kelly says and puts her hand to her head, 'yeah, that hangover was not fun at all.'
'Well, that's what you get for wanting to become caps champion of the world,' Brenda says with a laugh.
'The party is right here in the theatre, so if you guys are up for it, it'll probably start in about an hour and a half. We have to tear down the set and get the costumes back where they belong,' Brenda tells them as the crowd begins to thin out.
'I'm totally up for celebrating the end of this. Hopefully now you'll be able to get some sleep,' Brandon says and hugs her.
'Yeah, right after finals,' Brenda laughs.
'Oh, don't remind me,' Donna says.
'Why don't we go and get something to eat and hang out until the party starts?' Steve asks them.
'Sounds like a plan, Peach Pit?' Brandon suggests.
He sees the group nod their heads with the exception of Dylan. He looks over in Dylan's direction and narrows his eyes a little.
'I'll catch up with you guys,' Dylan says.
The gang begins to leave the theatre and Brenda turns toward Dylan as they walk away.
'So?' she asks.
'Baby, I am so proud of you. This really was the best show out of all of them,' he says and leans down to kiss her.
'Are you going to come to the party or go home like you always do?' Brenda asks him.
'I don't know, Bren,' Dylan whines a little.
'Well, you have time to think about it. I need to go and get changed and start helping with the set.'
'Do you need an extra set of hands?' Dylan asks her.
Brenda looks him up and down and starts to laugh. 'In that suit? You're joking right?'
'Do you want to see my impression of Superman?' Dylan says as he grabs the lapels of his suit jacket and starts to take it off.
'Ooh, maybe later,' Brenda says, raising an eyebrow as she walks back to the dressing room and starts to change out of her costume.
Brenda comes out of the dressing room ready to help and sees Dylan with his jacket off and his sleeves rolled up helping one of the crew members move some of the furniture off into storage. She starts to smile and goes to help gather props and costume pieces.
After clearing the stage of set pieces and taking down any lights that were not needed, the group begins to set up for the party. Tables and chairs come out and are set up while others begin putting out the food. The director rolls a fully stocked bar onto the stage while a crewmember places a half keg on the other side.
Brenda helps Kate set up the stereo and as the music comes blaring out of the speakers they turn to see everyone looking around and admiring their work.
The director begins to pour several shots and hands them out to the crew. Dylan takes a step back and lets the cast and crew have their moment.
'If you will all raise your glasses, I have a toast to make. To all of you who put your blood, sweat, and tears into this production, I just wanted to say how eternally grateful I am for all of the hard work you did to make this the best run I've ever been a part of. Last but not least, to Joe, Kate, Chris, and Brenda, I can die happy now that I have fulfilled my dream. Thank you and Salute!'
The group collectively takes their shots.
'Let's get this party started!' Chris yells.
Brenda walks over to where Dylan was hiding in the shadows and pulls him to her. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her tight.
'I'm going to take off, Bren,' he says to the top of her head.
Brenda nods and lifts her eyes to meet his. 'I know. I have to stay for a little while,' she says.
Dylan nods his head and kisses her forehead. 'Be careful and call me if you need a ride,' he says.
Brenda smiles at him. 'I'll be alright. I'm not staying long so I'll see you in an hour or so, okay?' she says.
Dylan nods his head and hugs her one more time. He walks off of the stage and passes a crowd of people coming into the building for the party. He goes over to the Peach Pit and joins his friends.
Dylan sips his coffee as he listens to Jason talk about his experiences in L.A. and how different they are from his experiences in London.
'You guys can go back over anytime, I think they're done cleaning up and everything,' Dylan says when Jason finishes.
Jason smiles and puts his hands together. 'This is the best part of a show,' he tells Donna.
'The after party?' she asks him.
'Yup, the after party and the last goodbye to the show,' Jason says. 'I hope Brenda and the rest of the cast will let me watch as they say goodbye. Everyone does it differently, but I can't wait to see how they do it,' Jason explains.
Brandon turns and looks at Dylan as everyone else gets up and starts to move toward the door.
'D, are you alright?' Brandon asks him.
Dylan turns and meets Brandon's eyes. He nods slowly and sips his coffee. 'Yeah.'
Brandon nods back and gets up to join everyone else. Dylan throws some money on the table after a few minutes and drives himself home.
Brenda spies Brandon and Kelly walking toward her and starts to move in their direction.
'Hey, guys, I'm glad you came back,' she says with a smile.
Jason and Donna join the group hand in hand.
'Where's Steve?' Brenda asks. Donna immediately points and everyone turns to look in the direction she was pointing.
'Ah, fresh prey,' Brandon says as they see Steve trying to woo several of Kate's high school friends.
Brenda starts to laugh and everyone else joins in as Chris joins the group holding his script.
'Brenda, we're ready, are you?' he asks her. She stares down at the script and then back up at him and slowly nods her head.
'This is it,' Jason whispers to Donna. 'I wish Sean was here to see it.'
'Brenda, can I be an innocent bystander and watch?' Jason asks her.
'The more the merrier,' Chris says. Brenda shrugs, goes to her bag, pulls out her script, and follows Chris, Joe, and Kate outside to the parking lot.
The four of them stand in a circle around a metal barrel. Brandon and the gang stand several feet behind them as they talk quietly to one another.
Joe holds his script above his head after a few minutes and says in a loud, clear voice, 'In memory of Nick.'
All of a sudden Joe's script erupts in flames as he tosses it into the barrel in front of them.
'In memory of Honey,' Kate says and lights her script.
'In memory of George,' Chris says.
Brenda takes a deep breath and pauses a few seconds after Chris throws his burning script into the barrel.
Choking back a few tears, she says, 'In memory of Martha.'
Brenda lights her script and watches it burn for a few seconds before tossing it into the barrel with the others.
They stand, holding each other, staring at the burning barrel.
Donna turns to see a tear roll down Jason's face as he stands with his mouth open watching them.
'That is the most intense thing I have ever seen,' he says quietly.
Brandon, Kelly, and Steve exchange confused looks with each other before turning and going back inside.
The glow of the ash in the barrel lights up the faces of Joe, Kate, Chris, and Brenda as they cling to each other for dear life.
'It has been a pleasure to have worked with all of you,' Joe says.
'I have learned more during the course of this play than any class could ever teach me,' Kate says.
'Of all of the plays I have had the privilege to be a part of, this one was the most gratifying,' Chris says. 'You guys made George bearable for the time he was around and I will never forget it.'
Brenda lifts her head slightly and looks at all of them. 'I just wanted to say that I have never cared about anything more than this play up to this point in my life. There have been so many things that I thought were important that I now know were just not. I have loved and hated this woman for so long and I can't tell you how much having the opportunity to be her for this short time has open my eyes to pathways I never knew were there. Thank you for helping me to be a better person.'
The four of them squeeze each other for another minute before pouring water on the ashes of their former lives. They wipe their tears, compose themselves, and go back to join the party.
Brenda grabs her things and works the room saying her goodbyes. She stands before her friends and watches Steve and Jason do a shot at the bar.
'Okay, guys, I'm going to head out. I'm exhausted,' she tells them.
Brandon puts his arm around her and says, 'I'm really proud of you, Bren.'
Brenda smiles and hugs him. She waves goodbye to her friends and leaves the theatre. She stands outside in the parking lot staring at the front of the building for about five minutes.
She kisses her hand and blows it toward the building, gets in the car, and drives over to Dylan's house.
Brenda pulls up the driveway to Dylan's house and sees him open the door as she shuts the car off.
She walks up to him and smiles, staring at his lanky frame in the doorway.
He grabs her hand and pulls her inside. Brenda opens her mouth to say something, but Dylan puts his finger over her lips and shakes his head.
He grabs her bag and puts it on the floor. He puts his hand over her eyes and carefully leads her deeper into the house. He slowly removes his hand from her face as she stares at the dining room table.
The candles on the table flicker as she sets her eyes on the beautifully laid out table settings.
'First we dine,' Dylan whispers in her ear. Brenda smiles up at him as he moves around her and pulls out a chair for her to sit in.
She sits down and watches him pour sparkling cider into the glasses on the table. They eat in near silence as Brenda steals glances at him throughout the meal.
'Dylan,' Brenda starts to say.
'Not yet, Bren,' Dylan says with a smile on his face. He picks up the dishes from the table and brings them into the kitchen. He returns with a small wrapped box draped with a beautiful gold bow.
'Dylan, really, you,' Brenda tries to get out.
'Sssssssh,' he says and puts his finger up to her lips.
She takes the box from his hands and stares at if for a few seconds. She looks up at him and sees him nod her head and then begins to untie the bow.
She unwraps the box and opens it to reveal a key ring with two keys on it. She lifts the keys out of the box and stares at them with confusion.
'Bren, I know that you've decided that this is your last semester at school and that you want to pursue acting full time. I don't want to ever experience the feeling I had the night of the talent show when no one knew where you were or what happened, so this gift is two-fold,' Dylan says and stands up.
He puts his hand out for her to grab and pulls her out of her chair. He opens the back door to the house and reveals a small blue car parked in his driveway.
Brenda's mouth drops as she stares at the car with a big red bow on it.
'Dylan, you bought me a car?' Brenda says with disbelief.
'Well, it's a used car, but it's good and sturdy and runs like a dream. I don't want you to worry about getting anywhere if I'm not around and I don't want you to have to play car tag with your parents anymore,' he explains.
'Oh my God,' she says and takes a step toward the car.
Dylan smiles and lets out the breath he had been holding. He was afraid that she might get upset or angry with him for trying to control her or something. He grabs Brenda's hand and pulls her around to the driver's door and opens it for her.
She sits down and takes a deep breath. 'Wow, I can't believe you did this for me,' she says.
Dylan kneels beside the door and smiles at her.
Brenda puts the key in the ignition and starts the car. It purrs to life and Brenda turns her head toward Dylan with a huge smile on her face.
She turns the car off and gets out. She wraps her arms around him and squeezes him tight.
'I love you, Bren, and I just want to ease your way a little,' he says to her.
'Thank you, Dylan. I love you more than you could ever know,' she says. He leans down to kiss her and pulls her as close as he can.
Brenda drops the keys in her hand and puts both of her hands on the back of Dylan's head.
'Whoa,' he says.
Brenda smiles and leans down to pick up the keys off of the ground. 'Dylan, does this car need two keys? What's the other one for?' she asks, staring at the second key on the ring.
'Um, no, just the one,' he says with a smile. 'Let me show you where this one goes.'
Dylan takes her hand and leads her around the house to the front door. He slides the key into the door and opens it.
Dylan takes a deep breath and looks at her face. Her eyes have started to tear up and he sees her trying to stay calm and composed.
'I know it didn't quite work out last time, but the circumstances are different this time and I really want you to be here with me,' Dylan says with hope in his voice.
Brenda gulps trying to clear her throat enough to speak.
'You want me to move it with you?' she finally gets out.
Dylan grabs her hand and squeezes it tight. He leads her into the house, taking the keys with him.
He places the keys into her hand and kisses her forehead.
'Bren, I can't think of anything I want more,' he says.
The Beach Apartment
Kelly and Brandon enter the apartment leaving Donna and Jason outside in front of the door.
'So, does she seem happy with him?' Brandon asks Kelly.
Kelly stares toward the door and sighs.
'You know, Brandon, I really hate to say this because David is family, but I don't think I've ever seen Donna laugh so much or sing,' Kelly says.
'Sing?'
'She sings while making breakfast, while in the shower, while getting dressed, it's the most noise I've heard out of her, ever,' Kelly says.
'I never thought I'd say this, because I was hoping that David wouldn't be stupid enough to screw this up, but good for Donna. It's about time someone made her happy,' Brandon says.
'I hope she stays that way,' Kelly says skeptically.
'Let's not worry about her anymore tonight,' Brandon says, wrapping his arms around her.
'Oh,' Kelly says putting her arms around his neck.
'We haven't had much time to spend together lately with all of the craziness going on,' Brandon says as he kisses her neck.
'You're right, we haven't,' Kelly says, moving her head to expose more of her neck for him.
Outside the Apartment
'Thanks for coming with me tonight Jason,' Donna says.
'I had a great time, thank you for inviting me. It's too bad that Sean and Lily couldn't see the final show. I know that Sean was kind of mad that he wouldn't be able to make it,' Jason says.
'Well, I'm happy that you had the night off to spend it with me,' Donna says as she squeezes his hand.
Jason lifts his hand to caress her face and says, 'Donna, you don't know how happy I was when you called the other night. I was almost jumping up and down when you told me that you wanted to explore our friendship further.'
Donna smiles and leans in to his hand. 'I really do, Jason. I'm ready to move on with someone who is not David. I just want to have fun and be stress-free for a while,' she says.
'I promise, no stress and lots of fun,' he says as he leans in to kiss her. She willingly accepts his lips and puts her hand on the back of his head.
Dylan's House
Brenda smiles up at Dylan with tears in her eyes. 'I think that this has to be one of the most incredible days of my entire life,' she says.
'I love you, Bren,' he says and leans down to kiss her. She kisses him passionately back and before she knows what is happening Dylan's shirt is completely unbuttoned and halfway off of his body.
He moans in her mouth as she starts moving her hands up and down his back. She takes his belt off with ease and throws it on the floor. Dylan starts to kiss her neck and take her shirt off as she unbuttons his pants and drops them to the floor.
Brenda starts to laugh a little and feels Dylan smile into her skin. He removes her shirt and steps out of his pants. He picks her up quickly and moves them to the couch as fast as he can.
He lays her down and in an instant she pulls him by the waist on top of her.
The Beach Apartment
Brandon puts his arms around Kelly's waist as she slowly walks them backward to her bedroom. They just make it into her room before the front door opens and Donna comes in.
Donna closes the front door and moves through the apartment to her bedroom. She starts humming to herself as she walks down the hall.
Brandon and Kelly turn toward the door at the same time as they hear Donna singing to herself.
Brandon starts to laugh as Kelly tries to shush him by putting her hand over his mouth. He backs her up to the bed and lays her down gently.
'Trying to shut me up, huh?' he says with a smile.
'Come closer and I won't have to try,' she says.