Page 106 - Where the Dream Ends ebook

Marc Erdrich

to Brian’s mother, who was an accomplished pianist herself.
Whenever Gary came to visit, his mother asked him to play
for her. Brian figured that made up for his own lack of musical
talent.

During the summer, Brian’s garage was a focal point for the
neighborhood kids to hang out in the evening. They listened
to top forty tunes on the radio and danced, which was ironic
since Brian wasn’t much of a dancer and was not really in touch
with the latest music. But the kids liked having a place to hang
out, and Brian did like to slow dance, especially with the two
girls who lived next door and thought of Brian as a brother
plus, allowing him certain intimacies without the commitment
inherent in boyfriend-girlfriend relationships.

On his occasional overnights, Gary remained aloof to the
activities that took place on these summer evenings, preferring
to stand quietly on the sidelines. On this particular evening,
however, Brian could tell that Gary was particularly miffed by
the presence of a young woman who was new to the group and
who occupied Brian’s attention for most of the evening. Later,
lying in their separate beds at opposite ends of Brian’s long,
narrow upstairs room, Gary was silent while Brian talked in-
cessantly about the new girl. As he drifted into a blissful sleep,
the last thing Brian heard Gary say was, “I’m really happy for
you.
Several weeks later, Brian mustered up enough courage to
call the girl, and they went on a date. Before long they were
seeing each other regularly. Of course, this meant he had less
time to spend with Gary. When September rolled around, he
saw him in school every day and spoke to him on the phone
regularly, but there was clearly a change in their relationship.

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