The Seven Pieces of a Feuilleton

Chapter 14

He had just returned from dinner with his girlfriend when he received a call which caused him to feel significantly older than he had a minute before.

"Brandon! I've been trying to get through to you for hours! Where have you been!"

"Bren, it was dinner with the Silvers. You know that. Happens every Sunday."

"I hope Jackie didn't cook."

"Of course not. Mel did."

"That's good," Brenda had giggled.

"I didn't realize Mel's cooking amuses you so," Brandon had replied drily.

"No it's not that. It's - Dylan, stop," she had laughed, "Dylan, I'm trying to talk to Brandon -"

"Brenda?" her brother had asked. "Everything going okay over there? You seem a lot more giggly than usual, which is saying something."

"Fine, fine, everything is fine," she had responded cheerily. "Better than fine. The Baja air in this mega suite will do that to you."

"The Baja air. Right."

"The Baja air and giving the right answer to an incredibly important question!" Dylan had happily called out.

"Brenda." Brandon's jaw had dropped. "Oh my God. Did you -"

"Yes!" she cut in. "I said yes! Brandon, we're engaged!"

"Mom and Dad are going to kill you," he had laughed.

"Oh, hush," she had scoffed at his joke. "This isn't like last time. We just turned twenty, Bran. Loads of people marry at twenty."

"And I doubt your sister's gonna want to elope in Vegas," added Brenda's new fiancé.

"Fuck no. We're having a beach wedding. I've already decided that. I'm going all out this time."

"All out?" Dylan had murmured. "I know something you can go all out for."

"Hello. Older brother, still here," a disturbed Brandon had reminded them.

"Well we have tons of people to tell, but of course you had to know first, so love you and see you soon!"

"Before we tell anyone else, I think we need to celebrate a bit more with your fine ass on -" Brandon had heard Dylan say before Brenda ended the call.

Somehow, Brandon had managed to keep the secret from Kelly, who found out the same time everyone else did.

He had just returned from lunch with his two brothers when he received an entirely different call.

"Brandon, can you come over?"

"Bren, what's wrong?" He had instantly engaged in protective mode. "Is it your stitches? Are you in pain?"

"No, I'm fine; I mean, just - I need your help with something."

"I'll be there in ten."

It took longer than ten minutes with LA's notorious traffic, but Brandon had soon arrived at his sister's apartment.

She had led him inside, locking the door behind them.

He had looked around to see everything she owned in boxes.

"I'm moving out," Brenda had said. "Dylan can have the place. I don't care. I just need to go somewhere else, anywhere else that doesn't have all these fucking memories. I'll be fine, as long as I can escape that."

Brandon had noticed her gaze drifting to the room that they had all prepared for the baby's nursery - the baby his sister had buried only the previous week.