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  Breaking Dylan

  - A Coming Of Age Novel -

  Denise Wells

  Contents

  Copyright

  Disclaimer

  Dedication

  1. Missing The Boat

  2. Successively Unsuccessful

  3. Following The Recipe

  4. Irrelevant Infidelities

  5. By The Title Of A Song

  6. Abstract Direction

  7. You Get What You Pay For

  8. Hardly Getting Over It

  9. Eight Miles High

  10. So Sadly Beautiful

  11. Good News Sleeps Till Noon

  12. The Last Dream I Had

  13. Your Chance Will Come-N-GO

  14. More Than This

  15. Misguided Angel

  16. Escape Should Be So Simple

  17. Straight Up With No Chaser

  18. Like A Sweet Surrender

  19. Always Just Kind Of Blue

  20. The End Of The Rainbow

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  BREAKING DYLAN

  Copyright © 2000 by DENISE WELLS. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  For BW –

  The Fonzie to my Pinky Tuscadero

  1

  Missing The Boat

  Saturday, November 12, 1988

  Well, nothing much exciting happened today - oh except I lost my virginity, broke up with John, and then got back together with him.

  He came over at about 10:00 in the morning. By 10:45 we were in bed, by 12:00 we were having lunch with Mom in this restaurant for wannabe's downtown. She was totally trying to act like a big shot, babbling on and on about absolutely nothing practically the whole time.

  She does that, talks about things that make no sense, all the stupid shit she does at work, just to make herself look important, make her life look like something it's not. The larger the group, the more she'll talk. Luckily today it was just John and I. Less talking. She made us eat es-car-go as an appetizer, and she kept calling everyone honey, even the waiters. I hate it when she pulls shit like that.

  I told her John, and I just had sex. To piss her off, shut her up; see the look on her face. I swear if she hadn't shut up, I would have stabbed her with the snail tongs. The look she gave me was priceless. She just about quit talking after that. John just sat there and smiled - the cat that ate the canary.

  The actual act itself, by the way, was pretty uneventful. I could hear Tommy watching TV in the next room. For me, it hurt - bad. I discovered I'm tiny, and he isn't. I could feel the skin stretching and tearing, and it hurt like hell. He kept moaning my name,

  Dylan, Dylan, oh God, Dylan.

  Pushing harder and faster. I tensed up and dried up, and all I could do was pray for him to get done and for it to be over with. Then, all day long John acted as if nothing different at all had happened - jerk!

  I mean, we had talked about it for like weeks beforehand and he just floated along all day like all we'd done was nothing! So, we ended up getting into a fight, I yelled at him and he yelled at me and then I said, “We're through!"

  And he left. So, I called him a couple of hours later, after I'd cooled off, to say no hard feelings but he was out, so I left a message. Nothing too long, just a quick little, "Hey, this is Dylan, no hard feelings okay? Call me back if you want."

  Mom says it's best to call, but not leave a message if they aren't home. She says you just need to keep calling until they answer, then pretend that was the first time you called and be totally casual about things.

  But, I didn't do that.

  I called, left a message, then waited all fucking night like a fucking idiot for him to call me back.

  So, he calls me at like 1:00 a.m., drunk and irrational, and says, “Fuck no hard feelings,” along with some other really horrible things.

  He apologized when I started crying and told me that he loved me and didn't mean anything by it and would I please forgive him.

  So, now everything is 150% better, and I love him a lot again.

  Sunday, November 13, 1988

  I need to think.

  I have all these thoughts that are swirling through my head that I can’t get straight, makes me feel like I’m drowning except there’s no water.

  I like to lie on my bed when I need to think; dim the lights, burn incense, lie on my back, stare at the ceiling, and think. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with all the blood running to the back of my head, it makes room for clearer thoughts to form in the front. I can figure things out this way.

  Then I write it down.

  Think about it and then write it down. I think it's the only way to stay sane. Get that shit out. Write everything down. This way, when I'm old, I can go back and read all the stupid shit I did when I was younger - bonus.

  John left to go back to school tonight. That’s part of what’s swirling in my head. Why he chose to go back on a Sunday night is beyond me! Why not just wait until Monday morning? He was barely even here two days. I think I miss him already. Maybe it’s because we had sex yesterday.

  You know, the whole losing my virginity thing. That’s a big deal, right?

  We had sex right here in my room. With all my stuff watching. That totally bugs. It's like everything has its own personality or some kind of meaning and it knows, and it's judging me. The white desk in the corner with the paint chipping off, my Dad got that for me when I started first grade, it was way too big for me then, and now it's way too small.

  Maybe that evens it out somehow.

  It's been through a lot of shit with me though. I've written at that desk, cried on that desk, made out on that desk, and yesterday John carved our initials on the side of it so we would never forget the day. He sat there, naked, on my fold-up poker table chair when he carved. He looked so sexy, like such a guy, knife in hand while studiously at work.

  The chairs not even mine. I borrowed it once from the old next-door neighbor and then never returned it. All they ever used it for was so big fat assed cigar smoking slobs could drool nacho cheese sauce on it; they'll never miss it.

  The rest of my stuff is all on bookshelves, which I am proud to say I built by myself. Plywood and cinder blocks, baby. I spray painted the cinder blocks red and the plywood white. I tried to make everything in my room either white or red.

  The cinder blocks look cool; the plywood doesn't. I was going to try and paint stripes on my walls, or some kind of mural using only red and white, but Tommy pointed out that if they mixed together, it would make pink. We both hate pink and don't want it in the house. Plus, Mom said it was dumb to paint the walls in a rental house, it just pisses off the landlord.

  My goldfish - the third one in like three months - he just sits there swimming in his big, glass bowl on the top shelf. I say he, but I don't even know if he's really a boy. Do fish even have a sex? Or is it gender? Does he know I had sex? Does he care? He's my only pet; his name is Axel.

  Yes, after Axel Rose. Only the world’s most radical rock star lead singer. Second only to Jon Bon Jovi. And maybe Joe Elliott. But we all know I was not going to name my fish Jon. And I don’t like the name Joe. So, Axel it is! It totally amazes me how fast my goldfish always die. I should just start numbering them instead of naming them.

&nbs
p; I know one died because I put too much red food coloring in his water, apparently that's bad for the fish, but the other two died for no reason at all. Sometimes I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that they can't be pet, hugged, or cuddled with. I try to talk to them sometimes, to compensate. I figure talking is supposed to work with plants, so I'm thinking it will work with fish too. But they die anyway.

  Everything dies eventually though.

  Right?

  I have this bright orange cup on my desk that holds my pencils. It says,

  A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.

  Mom always laughs at it. I don't really understand it. I always wonder if the fish do.

  That's everything in my room of red and white. Everything that watched me have sex. Except for my teddy bear. She just sits all slouchy in the corner of the room. Large and pink, with matted, dingy fur and a bad back. The only pink thing in my room. The only pink thing in our house. She's a present from John. He won her on our first date.

  Did I tell you about our first date?

  I totally loved it - one of those perfect summery kind of days, right before John left to go away to school. We went to the carnival, the little one down the street across from Vons, the kind they can set up and take down in less than two hours. We ate cotton candy, drank Peppermint Schnapps out of a flask, rocked the seat on the Ferris wheel, screamed in the haunted house, and made out in the mansion of mirrors – John kept trying to lick all the sticky off my face.

  I couldn't tell if that was gross or sexy. John won the teddy bear throwing little white balls through the mouth of a saber-toothed tiger. I named her Pinky, after Pinky Tuscadero. I always wanted to be Pinky Tuscadero; big red hair, tight pink jumpsuit, gum that snapped in her mouth, and Fonzie at her beck and call.

  Because let's be real, every girl should have Fonzie at her beck and call.

  Saturday, November 19, 1988

  I miss John like crazy. He's called me twice already this week to see how I'm doing and to tell me that he loves me. He is so incredibly sweet, and I can't believe how lucky I am. Did I mention that we named his penis Stanley? John says it's because it's a great big power tool. He's a dork, but he's right!

  A bunch of us went to dinner for Wendy’s birthday tonight. Her Mom gave her money to pay for everyone. It was a totally cool place called Marley's - very Jamaica-mon. Total island fruit smells, waterfalls, and happy music. It made me want to go to Jamaica.

  Just me and John.

  We could totally take off and live on a deserted island, and people would wait on us hand and foot, and I would drink umbrella drinks all day and dance to Reggae all night, wearing bikini tops and grass skirts.

  Only I would wear bikini tops, not John. But I would dig it if he was in a grass skirt. He’s got good legs. Something about playing rugby for so long. But I guess if the island is deserted no one is waiting on us hand and foot, but you totally get what I mean.

  Wendy was totally grilling me about John. She wants to know all about the sex. I don't want to tell her. I've been putting her off for like a week now. It makes me feel like an asshole. I mean, we used to talk about it all the time, which one of us would lose it first, how it would feel, all that shit.

  We must've rented everything from Little Darlings to Last American Virgin like fifty million times to prepare. We swore whichever one lost it first would tell the other one all about it. But, I know that if I tell her she's going to totally talk shit about it.

  She's already been talking shit about John all week. I think she's jealous that I've had sex and she hasn't. I can tell, even though she won’t admit it. She thought she was going to lose it first. This is totally going to hurt our friendship. Too bad, too sad. I can't control how she feels. She’s being a bitch, not my problem.

  Then Trav pulled me aside and told me he can't believe that I have stayed with John for so long, especially since he is away at college and all. I told him that's what true love is all about. He snorted at me!

  Just like the pig he is.

  He said I was a fool. I think he's just upset because he and I never had sex, he totally wants me, it's sooo obvious. I can’t believe I ever dated him! Some guys are such dorks!

  I gave Wendy a huge bud for her birthday, so we smoked it on the way home. Wendy's got the perfect car for getting stoned in, and the windows are tinted so people driving by can't tell what you're doing. Plus, everything is automatic, so you can move the seats and windows up and down or back and forth with the simple touch of a button. That's my favorite thing to do when we get stoned in her car. Modern technology never ceases to amaze me.

  Wendy made me keep all the windows up tonight though cause it was raining and she started freaking out about her hair. She totally thinks that rain makes her hair frizz. I don't tell her that everything makes her hair frizz.

  I totally felt like a Cheech and Chong movie where the whole car fills up with smoke, and you can't see out the windows.

  So, I go, “Eh man, theese car eez fillin' up wid smoke man, lay off da doobie man!"

  My Cheech accent was perfect. Maybe it was my Chong accent. But whatever, it’s never been that good.

  We started laughing so hard she peed her pants!

  Tuesday, November 22, 1988

  I got a card from John today. On the cover it said –

  My world is just too full that’s all. . .

  My nights are full.

  My whole life is so full that there’s no room for you.

  I never think about you.

  I never wish you were here sitting next to me just

  being quiet or maybe tickling or hugging.

  I never jump at the phone hoping it’s you calling,

  or stay up late because maybe you’ll stop by.

  So if you think I do any of that stuff . . .

  You’re just a foolish beanie head.

  Then you open it, and it says –

  LIES! LIES! I’M TELLING YOU LIES

  And inside he wrote –

  I’m here, you’re there.

  I’m sinking in a mire of self-pity.

  I pity myself for missing you.

  You are so warm and I am so cold.

  Your gentle innocence is the thought of warm coffee,

  that pushes me through chilly days and cold people.

  Forgive me for who I am.

  For I love you for what I cannot be.

  Love, John

  Ok, sure, so he gets a little intense sometimes, but I fucking love that guy.

  Thursday, November 24, 1988

  John was supposed to come home today for Thanksgiving, but he's not going to. He says he'd rather work this weekend and come down next weekend for his birthday. That's cool I guess. I miss him though.

  He left me this message saying, "Hey baby, it's the J-Man, listen, I'm not coming down this weekend, something's come up, I gotta work. I'll be down next weekend though, for my birthday, I'll call you then. Remember to get me something that I'll like. Oh yeah, and put a great big bow on that sweet ass of yours, and I'll untie it with my teeth. Who loves ya baby? That's me! Late."

  He is totally the coolest!

  Went to Dad's for T-Day dinner. He ordered the whole thing from Vons, and it sucked! Grocery stores know nothing about food!

  We used to have the best Thanksgivings when I was a kid. I remember one year when the Grandparent's from Mom's side came over. Dad got up before the sun even came up and started cooking and cleaning. By the time I woke up the whole house smelled like pumpkin pie. Dad makes the best pumpkin pies. He would make Tommy and I these little ones, I always had mine for breakfast. Tommy always saved his for later. Those were the best days ever.

  Now it's like the holidays all suck. Ever since Mom and Dad got divorced. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, it's been over a year, but I'm not. Half the day with Mom, half the day with Dad. Everything is so rushed, hurry to enjoy time with Mom, so we can hurry to enjoy time with Dad. I wish we could go every oth
er year or something. Then Tommy and I might like the whole thing more. Nobody ever asks us what we want. That's because they are all dumb fucks.

  Dad and I got really high after dinner, and I guess that made up for it. I think Tommy was more stoned off the second-hand smoke than Dad and I were. He just sat there staring blankly at the TV, looking like a giant, red Mr. Potato Head with the sleepy eyes snapped on; it was pretty cute. Every so often he'd just start giggling for no reason.

  I love my little brother!

  Daddy sent me home with some killer weed - it's weird sometimes, him as my drug connection, like maybe too close for comfort. Like he shouldn’t be the one we get it from, like that makes it too easy or something. I don’t know. Wendy says her parents would KILL her if they knew she smoked out. I guess this is why we all love my Dad. He totally doesn’t care.

  He's all, "Dill, I feel better knowing that you are getting drugs from me and not off the street, that way I know that you're not getting shit."

  Plus, this way, I never have to pay for it myself!

  Sunday, December 4, 1988

  John came down for his birthday, and we christened Mom's car if you know what I mean. We had dinner with his parents, they ADORE me by the way, then drove up this secluded fire road by their house and did it in the passenger seat. Reclined the seat, propped my legs on the dash and just went at it.

  Sex is getting better I think. It didn't hurt this time. John had told me to try loosening myself up with a cucumber, and I think it's working. I've been taking one into the bathroom with me as often as I can. I get it wet, ease it in, then see how long I can make it stay there.