XXI
Dylan sat in the apartment he bought after moving out of the Crane mansion.
Once Fox had decided to marry and move out, Dylan had to find another place to
stay. So, he found a job and bought his own place. It wasn't fancy or spacious,
but it was a decent source of shelter. "Fox sure has changed a lot since he's
married Theresa." Dylan thought to himself as he smiled. "He's one lucky devil
to snag a woman like Theresa. Too bad I didn't meet her while she was single."
Dylan got up to grab a beer from the fridge. When he sat back down, he
contemplated his own love life. "Love," He murmured. In some ways, love was
still a foreign concept that Dylan couldn't comprehend. Like Fox, Dylan was
criticized heavily by his uncaring family. All the relationships he had with
woman were short and filled with no significance. All the women Dylan dated
were ritzy upper class members who were looking for one fun-filled night. Dylan
was their source of "fun," and he was somewhat proud of his popularity. Along
with Fox, Dylan was popular. His good looks and charm won over every girl at
boarding school.
Dylan sighed. He still had a knack for making any woman he talked to blush.
Although he liked to flirt, there were times when Dylan wondered if he would
settle down like his best bud Fox. "Will I ever find love like he did?" Dylan
wondered. He got up and went over to his phone. "I think I'll bother Fox." He
said. "I need to talk to someone."
~*~
The ringing telephone awakened Fox from his tranquil nap. He rubbed his eyes
and yawned. Little Ethan still remained asleep in his arms. Fox got up and
grabbed the telephone. "Hello?" He said sleepily.
"Hey, Foxy boy, guess who?" Dylan said enthusiastically.
"Dylan," Fox said stretching carefully so that he wouldn't disturb Little
Ethan. "Hold on a sec. Let me put Little Ethan in his bed before he wakes up."
"Sure thing daddy-o." Dylan replied.
"Daddy-o?" Fox said rolling his eyes. "Dylan, shut up."
"I thought you were putting the little man to bed." Dylan replied.
"Be right back." Fox said putting the receiver down. Once he carefully laid
Ethan down, Fox picked up the phone. "What exactly do you want, Dylan?"
"I wanted to bother you." Dylan replied. Fox imagined Dylan grinning boyishly.
"You know, if I could reach through this receiver I'd knock you up side the
head." Fox said irritated.
"Oh, touchy today aren't we? What happened, you didn't take your nap today? I
know how you get cranky when you don't get your nap." Dylan said jestingly.
"Dylan, somehow you've managed to become more annoying throughout the years."
"Ouch." Dylan replied. "That hurt man." Dylan said so miserably it
prompted Fox to apologize.
"I'm sorr~"
"Okay, I lied." Dylan interrupted. "Like you[i] could hurt my feelings. Ha!"
"Fine, dill pickle." Fox replied smirking.
"Hey," Dylan said offended. "Not fair. I [i]hate that nickname. You know
that!"
Fox laughed aloud. Back in boarding school, when Fox and Dylan were in the 4th
grade, Fox poured pickle juice all over Dylan at lunch. Some people called
Dylan "Dyl" for short. After the pickle juice incident, Fox took Dylan's
nickname and began calling him dill pickle. Dylan was teased so bad that he
often initiated a lot of fights. In one particular fight, a girl who was twice
his size taunted him. He refused to fight the giant girl and ended up getting
whooped in front of everyone. Dylan appeared so traumatized by the event that
no one every mentioned it. On a few occasions Fox called his friend his old nickname
to get him to shut his mouth.
"I know you hate that nickname," Fox replied.
Dylan sighed. "Can we get serious for a minute?"
"Hey, you were the one who started the foolishness." Fox replied. "Besides,
you're just trying to change the subject."
"That event scarred me for life." Dylan said.
"Whatever!" Fox scoffed. "That's just a bunch of b/s."
Dylan began laughing. "Okay, okay, but I really need to ask you a serious
question." Dylan tried to sound as solemn as possible.
"What is it?" Fox asked intrigued by the tone of Dylan's voice.
Dylan took a deep breath. "How well does Theresa perform in bed?" Dylan managed
to say before he burst out into laughter.
Fox rolled his eyes. "I should kick your ass."
"Ha!" Dylan said. "Okay, okay, okay, enough games. I need to ask you a serious
question."
"If you pull another~"
"I'm being very serious this time." Dylan interrupted. "I was thinking about
how you've managed to find love. Do you believe I'd ever be able to find love
like you have?"
"Sure," Fox said. "Why not? It's possible Dylan. Are you thinking about
settling down?"
"I dunno," Dylan replied.
"Well, Dylan, you can find love. You just have to be open to it."
"How can I be open to it if I've never been exposed to it? I don't know what
real love is."
"You'll feel it Dylan. Deep down you'll have this overwhelming feeling. It's
scary, it's thrilling, it's soothing- it's wonderful. When you look at that
special woman she ignites all of that within you, and you feel like you'll go
crazy if she's not by your side. I can't imagine my life without Theresa," Fox
admitted. "She's my world. She's my life."
"I think I'm gonnna cry," Dylan said pretending to tear up.
"Dylan I'm serious." Fox said. "Theresa is everything to me."
"So you really think I'll find a woman to love?" Dylan asked. "Despite the fact
that I have no idea what real love is."
"You'll find it if you look for it. It's easy to get fooled though." Fox
frowned. "After all, I thought it was love when I saw Whitney singing in the
club. That wasn't love. I was foolish then, but after awhile I realized Theresa
was the one I loved. It's not easy Dylan. You've got to keep your eyes open, or
you'll miss a great opportunity."
"Hm." Dylan said contemplating Fox's advice. "Thanks, man."
"No problem." Fox replied.
"All right," Dylan replied. "I'll talk to you later."
"Bye." Fox said. He stared at the receiver and smirked. "Looks like Dylan
is ready to sow his wild oats."
~*~
