The Time of Our Lives – Chapter 37
Brenda wakes up the next morning with Dylan's arms wrapped tightly around the middle of her body. She closes her eyes for a second and enjoys the feeling of being so close to him.
She shifts her body so that he eases his grip and gets out of the bed. She puts on a shirt and a pair of pants and takes a step toward the door.
'Where are you going?' she hears a sleepy Dylan ask her.
Brenda turns around to see that Dylan is trying to open his eyes, but can't quite get them all of the way open.
'I have to pee,' she says with a smile and leaves the room.
Dylan rubs his eyes with both hands and finally gets them open. He stares at the ceiling in his bedroom , trying to quiet the pang of nervousness inside his body.
'I made the right decision. I made the right decision. I want her here and I want her to be happy. This is not going to be like last time. We're better than that.'
Brenda comes back into the bedroom with a glass of water and sits on the edge of the bed.
'Guess what I have to do today?' she asks him.
Dylan screws up his face at her and says, 'What?'
Brenda smiles broadly and puts her hand on his cheek. 'Nothing,' she says and kisses the end of his nose.
Dylan smiles back at her and pulls her down onto his chest.
'What should we do, you know, besides the obvious?' she asks him.
'How about we get the most uncomfortable conversation with your parents out of the way so that we can pack up your stuff?' Dylan suggests.
Brenda thinks about what he said for a few seconds. 'I grant you that the conversation is going to be extraordinarily uncomfortable, but I can't in good faith say that it is or will be the most uncomfortable conversation I've ever had with them,' Brenda says with a smile.
'Let's not go there, Bren,' Dylan says.
'Okay, well, if we're going to do that today, then maybe we should do that before I eat breakfast,' she suggests.
'Come on, Bren, it's not going to be that bad,' Dylan says as he kisses her head and gets out of bed.
'How about,' he says, pulling her to him, 'we get cleaned up, eat some food, and then just get it over with?'
Brenda reluctantly smiles and then starts to laugh. He pulls her into the bathroom and shuts the door behind them.
The Beach Apartment
'Brandon,' Kelly says as she hands him a cup of coffee, 'how about we go and get something to eat and then find David and make sure he's not going insane or trying to hurt himself?'
'That sounds like a good idea. I'm kind of worried about him,' Brandon agrees.
The Peach Pit
Brandon and Kelly get out of the car and start to walk into the Peach Pit when they see a little blue car whip around the corner and into a parking space.
Brenda gets out of the car laughing when she sees Dylan jump out of his seat and wipe the sweat from his forehead.
'Oh, come on, stop being so dramatic, it wasn't that bad,' she says.
He plays it up a little more and then puts his arm her. They start to walk toward the entrance when they finally notice Brandon and Kelly standing at the door with their mouths open.
'Brenda? What the hell are you driving? Did you steal someone's car?' Brandon asks her.
'No, of course I didn't steal anyone's car, Brandon, don't be silly,' she says. Dylan raises his eyebrows at them as he follows Brenda into the diner.
'Okay, the world is not right if Brenda is driving Dylan around in some random used car,' Kelly says. 'Did we slip through some sort of time warp into the Twilight Zone?'
Brandon smiles sheepishly and pulls her in. They join Dylan and Brenda at a table and order coffee.
'So, are you going to tell us what the hell is going on?' Kelly asks them.
Brenda and Dylan exchange looks and shrug.
'Nothing's going on, Dylan just isn't used to me driving,' Brenda says.
'Can someone get used to that?' Dylan asks. Brenda turns and hits him lightly in the upper arm.
'Okay, go back, start from the beginning,' Brandon says.
Brenda lets out a deep breath and looks over to Dylan for reassurance before she starts to speak.
'Well, after I left the party I went back to Dylan's house. I had made the decision a while ago that I was going to pursue my acting career full time instead of returning to school in the spring,' Brenda pauses and waits for that piece of information to sink in.
Brandon shakes his head and tries to understand what Brenda just said. 'Wait, what?'
Brenda stays quiet and lets it sink in a little further. After a few seconds goes by, the light bulb goes off over Brandon's head.
'You're not going back to school?'
'That's right, I'm going to finish out the semester and drop out,' she says again.
'Wow, that's something I didn't expect,' Kelly says.
'So, Dylan and I talked about this already and last night when I got to his house from the party,' Brenda begins and then looks over at Dylan.
'I decided that I wasn't going to be driving her ass around and that her borrowing a car from someone to go where she needed to go was inconvenient, so I went down to the lot and picked something up,' Dylan says nonchalantly.
'Picked something up?' Kelly says, 'Dylan, you bought her a car.'
'You bought her a car, that car outside?' Brandon asks sounding a flabbergasted.
Dylan shrugs his shoulders again and lets them work it through in their own heads.
Brenda smiles as Nat comes over to the table.
'Good morning, good morning, what can I get for you?' he says happily.
'Nat, it's totally a pancake day,' Brenda says, closing her menu and handing it to him.
'You got it sweetie, Dylan?'
'Just a few eggs, Nat, thanks,' he says.
'And for you two?'
Brenda and Dylan stare at Kelly and Brandon, who haven't moved an inch since sitting down.
'Uh, Nat, just get them the usual or make something up,' Brenda says with a smile.
Nat walks away from the table completely confused and shaking his head.
'So, you're dropping out of school and you're free as a bird because you now have a car you can drive around,' Brandon restates.
'Right, see, that wasn't so bad,' Brenda says as she turns and smiles at Dylan.
'Yeah, well, these guys are nothing compared to, you know,' he says, raising his eyebrows and then taking a sip of his coffee.
Brandon again stares at Dylan in confusion when another light bulb goes off.
'Oh my God, you have to tell Mom and Dad, don't you?' he asks Brenda.
'We're going over there as soon as we're done here. I thought a little dry run on you guys might help,' she says with a smile.
'Dry run, Bren? We are not even close to reacting anywhere near the freak out Mom and Dad are going to have when you tell them,' he says.
'Well, I'm pretty sure that this will not freak them out as much as what else we have to tell them,' Brenda says staring at Dylan the entire time.
Kelly's eyes light up and open wide as she grips the table with both of her hands and scans the Brenda's fingers for a ring. 'Bren?' she says impatiently.
'I've asked Brenda to move in with me,' Dylan says staring back at Brenda, 'for real this time.'
Brenda smiles at him as he grabs one of her hands and laces his fingers with hers.
Brandon stares at them with his mouth open for the second time that morning. He immediately stands up and starts looking around.
'Brandon, what are you doing?' Brenda asks him.
'Looking for the phone, I'm going to call the funeral home and warn them that they're about to get two bodies,' he says quickly.
'Brandon, sit down and stop being so dramatic. I'm old enough to make my own decisions, including when to move out of my parent's house,' Brenda says indignantly.
Brandon sits slowly and smiles to himself. 'Okay, Bren,' he says calmly. 'Kel, pack your bags, we're getting out of dodge. This town is going to be a crater after my mother explodes.'
Kelly starts to laugh at him and pats him on the shoulder. 'Now, come on, Brandon, be realistic. I'm pretty sure your parents don't want you or Brenda in their house for the rest of your lives. You're going to have to move out eventually and Brenda here is just paving the way,' Kelly says.
Nat comes over to the table with their food and sets it down in front of them.
'Bon appétit!' he says with a smile and walks to the counter.
'Merci!' Brenda responds and picks up her fork.
Brandon does not speak throughout the entire meal. He picks at his plate, taking a few bites here and there. He doesn't actually lift his head at all until he sees Brenda start to get up.
'See you guys later,' Brenda says as she walks toward the exit.
'Good luck, Dylan,' Kelly says.
'Thanks,' he says and follows Brenda out of the door.
'Come on, Brandon, talk to me,' Kelly says.
Brandon looks up at her and shakes his head a little.
'I'm sorry, I just hate to see Brenda continue to trip over herself. I know that it's probably a good thing for her right now, but what about next month, next year?' he says.
'Brenda is going to have to make her own mistakes. If the two of them want to make a go of it for real this time, then things have to change. We'll just have to sit back and keep the couch warm just in case,' Kelly says.
'Yeah, I guess,' he says and throws his fork onto his plate.
Casa Walsh
Dylan and Brenda sit in the car after pulling up the driveway.
'Are you ready for this?' Dylan asks her. 'We don't have to do this today you know.'
Brenda nods her head. 'Yeah, I know, but the sooner we do it the better.' Brenda opens the door and gets out of the car.
The Campus Café
Kelly and Brandon enter the café on campus after hearing from the boys on David's hall that he headed down here. They scan the café until they see him at the counter paying for a yogurt.
'David,' Kelly says loudly and starts to wave at him.
He turns his head slowly toward her and then drops it quickly. She walks toward him and stands next to him at the counter.
'What do you want, Kel?' David asked, dejected.
'Come on, David, I just wanted to see how you were doing,' she says. 'You're not answering your phone.'
'Well, Kelly, I'm mad, frustrated, annoyed, disheartened, hurt, depressed, and I just want to be left alone,' he spits at her.
'With all of those healthy emotions, you bet, no problem,' she spits back.
Brandon steps up to David and tries to get his attention.
'David, we know this is not exactly ideal, but you need to look at this as just another phase of your relationship with Donna. She loves you, that you know, you either have to weather this storm or move on without her,' Brandon says.
'I know, Brandon,' David glares at him, 'that's what I'm trying to figure out. I don't think I can watch her run around with that guy and I don't think I can just move on to someone new. I'm just torn and I need some time to deal with it.'
'David, we are more than willing to give you that time, but you have to promise me that before you even have a second thought about doing something stupid that you will call me. I am not joking in any way,' Brandon says.
'I hear you, now leave me alone, both of you,' David says and walks out of the café.
Casa Walsh
Dylan jumps out of the car and catches up with Brenda. 'Bren, wait,' he says quickly.
He grabs her arm and turns her around.
'What is it?' she asks with concern.
'Okay, hear me out on this. Brandon might have a point,' Dylan begins.
'What do you mean?'
'Maybe we should ease your parents into this and tell them only one thing at a time,' he suggests.
Brenda's immediate gut feeling rises within her body and she tries as hard as she can not to get angry.
'I know what you're thinking,' Dylan says quickly, seeing the color rise in her face, 'and I know that you want to just get it over with, but let's be real here. Let's tell them about school first, then little by little you can start bring stuff over to my house and when the semester ends, they'll be in a better state of mind to handle our other news.'
Brenda stops herself and listens intently to what Dylan is telling her. The pleading look on his face tells her right away that maybe Brandon did have a point about their mother exploding.
She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. She looks back up into his face and nods her head once.
'Okay,' she says.
Dylan eyes her carefully to see if maybe she was just pulling his leg.
'Okay?' he asks skeptically.
'Yeah,' she says with a smile, 'okay.'
Dylan furrows his brow and tries not to move a muscle. He's not quite sure what just happened and he's not sure it was real.
Brenda puts her hand on his arm to reassure him.
'You're right and Brandon is right. If we do it that way, then you are just here for support of my decision to leave school. If we tell them about school and us moving in together, then they'll think we've reverted back to our retarded high school way of thinking and not see us as mature, responsible adults who can run our own lives,' Brenda says.
Dylan puts the back of his head to Brenda's forehead. 'Are you feeling alright? Where's my Brenda?' he asks her.
Brenda smiles at him and shakes her head. 'Come on,' she says and leads him up to the house.
David's Dormitory
David enters his room and throws his books on the desk. He sits on his bed and puts his head in his hands. He tries as hard as he can to wrap his head around what Donna had told him over the phone, but struggles to make heads or tails of it.
He lifts his head and stares as the phone. He reluctantly gets up, dials the phone, and is relieved when he hears a voice on the other end.
'Hello?'
'Dad?' David says quietly.
'David, what's wrong?' Mel immediately says after hearing his son's voice.
'Does your insurance still cover me?' David asks hopefully.
'Of course it does, what's the matter? What happened?' Mel asks impatiently.
'I think I need to talk to someone,' David admits. 'I'm not doing so well and I'm scared of making a bad decision.'
'I'm coming to get you, just stay right there,' Mel says quickly.
David hangs up the phone after listening to the dial tone for a few seconds. He puts the phone back on the cradle and sits back down on his bed. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly trying to calm his heart rate.
The Beach Apartment
Donna puts the finishing touches on her makeup as she hears the doorbell ring. She jumps a little and then laughs out loud to herself. She skips to the front door in her bathrobe and opens it to find Jason standing on her doorstep in a very nice suit.
'Good early evening,' he says and kisses her on the cheek.
'Good evening,' she says. 'I'll be done in just a moment.'
Jason steps into the apartment and patiently waits while Donna goes back into her bedroom. Donna puts her dress on and looks at herself one last time in the mirror before walking out to meet Jason.
'Wow, you look incredible,' he says.
'Thank you, are you ready to go?' she asks him.
'Lead the way,' he says motioning toward the door.
She walks ahead of him and then closes the door to the apartment after he steps out. He walks toward the car and opens the door for her.
She smiles and gets into the passenger seat.
'So, where are we going for dinner?' Donna asks with excitement.
'Ah, that is a surprise, my dear,' he says with a wink and continues to drive.
Jason pulls the car up and Donna's eyes open as wide as they can get.
'Jason,' she starts to say.
'Ah, no protesting, I want this to be a magical evening, and we're going to start it off right,' he says as he gets out of the car and gives the keys to the valet.
The door opens and Donna steps out, staring up at the beautiful 'Spago' sign.
'My dear,' he says, offering her his arm. She puts her hand around his arm as he leads her inside.
Casa Walsh
'Well, this is a nice surprise, I wasn't expecting you to be here today,' Cindy says as Brenda and Dylan sit in the living room with glasses of water.
Brenda smiles at her mother and glances sideways at Dylan. 'There's something I wanted to talk to you and Dad about,' Brenda begins.
Cindy's face drops a little as she registers the tone in Brenda's voice.
'Um, okay, sweetie, let me go and get your father,' she says and leaves the room.
'And it begins,' Brenda says to Dylan.
'It's going to be fine, just tell them everything and let them digest it for a while,' he says rubbing her upper arm.
'Yeah, right,' she says as her parents come into the room.
'Brenda, Dylan,' Jim says, shaking Dylan's hand and kissing Brenda on top of her head.
'Hi Dad,' Brenda says.
'So, what do you need to tell us?' Jim asks, sitting down next to Cindy.
'Well, I received a call from one of the directors at Actor's Equity and he told me that once my application is officially approved that there were plenty of jobs lined up for someone like me to really make a go of it,' Brenda says.
She sees her father start nodding his head slowly and watches her mother grip both of her hands together across her lap.
'I really feel that this is my calling and that this is a perfect opportunity to get my career off to a good start, that I want to start right away,' she says slowly.
'That's wonderful sweetheart, you really are very talented and I think you are on the right track for a fantastic career in acting,' Jim says.
'Well,' Brenda says apprehensively, 'there's a little bit of a catch to this situation and that's what I wanted to talk to you about.'
She sees confusion in both of her parents face and glances sideways toward Dylan. He puts his hand on the small of her back to reassure her as she continues.
Brenda quickly lets out a breath and decides that she just has to blurt it out and let it hang in the room in order to get through this.
'I'm going to finish out the semester at CU and then drop out to pursue my acting career,' she says quickly. She tries as hard as she can not to drop her eyes to the floor.
Cindy leans toward Brenda in her seat and says, 'You're going to what?'