The Many and the One Read online

  THE

  MANY

  AND

  THE

  ONE

  A YEAR ZERO BOOK

  by

  Donald Wells

  Published by Year Zero Publishing

  Visit Donald Wells’ official website at

  thebooksofdonaldwells.blogspot.com

  for the latest news, book details, and other information,

  or contact the author at [email protected]

  Copyright © Donald Wells, 2012

  e-book formatting by Guido Henkel

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  ALSO BY DONALD WELLS

  SEX POEMS FOR VIRGINS

  (A Poetry Compilation)

  THE MANY AND THE ONE

  (THE FIRST BOOK IN THE OCEAN BEACH ISLAND SERIES)

  DOUBLE OR NOTHING

  SINS & SECOND CHANCES

  (THE SECOND BOOK IN THE OCEAN BEACH ISLAND SERIES)

  T H E F I X - I T MAN

  DRY ADULTERY, WET AMBITION

  (THE THIRD BOOK IN THE OCEAN BEACH ISLAND SERIES)

  DROPPING MY SHORTS

  (a collection of four short stories)

  OF TONGUE AND PEN

  (THE FOURTH BOOK IN THE OCEAN BEACH ISLAND SERIES)

  AS A SOUL, MOLESTED

  (A Poetry Compilation)

  ALL GOOD THINGS…

  (THE FIFTH BOOK IN THE OCEAN BEACH ISLAND SERIES)

  THE

  MANY

  AND

  THE

  ONE

  PART ONE

  1

  At the age of eight, he falls in love.

  While sitting in class on the first day of school, he sees an angel appear. Her golden hair is as luminous as a halo and he might have mistaken her for human, except for the eyes.

  The angel’s eyes are blue, but they are blue the way the sun is hot, the way pain, hurts.

  Jason Reynolds looks into those eyes and falls in love.

  The teacher smiles at the angel. “What’s your name sweetie?”

  “Lindsay Parker,” She answers.

  A notebook slips from the angel’s grasp, opening and spilling its contents. The classroom erupts in laughter as the children find amusement in the angel’s misfortune.

  Jason rushes to her side and helps gather her papers. On one of the pages he reads, My Star—by Lindsay Parker.

  Jason takes the sheets gleaned from the floor and hands them to the angel, who stuffs them back into her notebook.

  The angel smiles at him. She is so beautiful he nearly faints.

  To his dismay she’s taller than he is, but to his delight, she speaks to him.

  “Hi, what’s your name?”

  “…Jason,”

  “Thank you Jason.”

  “Sure,” He answers, and then simply stands there, staring at her the way Adam must have gazed upon Eve.

  Something strikes him in the back of the head and rouses him from his trance. Jason looks down; he sees a paper airplane and knows just who threw it.

  “You missed a page squirt.” Derek Stern says, mischief flashing in his dark eyes.

  Lindsay looks past Jason to Derek, Derek winks at her and Lindsay blushes. Jason feels his heart sink as he witnesses this exchange; he also feels his temper rise and starts toward Derek.

  “Jason!” The teacher calls. “Go sit down, and Derek, no throwing things.”

  Jason obeys and walks back to his seat among the neat rows of wooden desks. The teacher soon settles the classroom and the new school year begins.

  * * *

  That evening, Jason lies atop his bed, staring out at a full moon. His mother enters and sits beside him, while tousling his blond hair.

  She is a beauty, early-thirties with dark brown hair and pale gray eyes; her hair holds fine, precocious streaks of white, while her eyes exude a premature wisdom.

  “You seemed quiet at dinner sweetie, is anything wrong?” Marjorie Reynolds asks.

  Jason looks up at her with eyes that could be her own.

  “No mom.”

  “Okay, just checking,” She picks up a sketchpad from the bed. “What’s this?”

  “I was just drawing.”

  “It’s really good. Who is it, a girl at school?”

  “No! I was just drawing an angel.”

  “I don’t see any wings.”

  “They’re invisible.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, it’s time for bed sweetie, put on your PJ’s and brush your teeth, dad and I will be up soon to kiss you goodnight.”

  Marjorie rises to leave, but at the threshold she turns.

  “Jason, honey what’s the angel’s name?”

  He grins shyly, while gazing downward. “Lindsay.”

  Marjorie smiles, “That’s a nice name for an angel.”

  * * *

  Ten years later, Ocean Beach Island, New Jersey, Tuesday, September 15th, 1981

  Jason sees the slap before he hears it, but as the sound of it reaches him he thinks he can almost feel it. Every head in the diner turns to look at Derek and Lindsay and although he’s sitting five booths away, Jason can still make out the scarlet mark spreading on Derek’s face.

  Jason sits across from Paul Martinez and Paul’s girlfriend Simone, and smiles widely.

  Paul turns around in his seat. “Did Lindsay just slap Derek?”

  “Yes she did, and God I hope that means what I think it means.”

  Lindsay had been talking to her friend Marcy when Derek entered and slid into the booth. He and Lindsay spoke for a few seconds and then she reached across the table and slapped him.

  Jason watches as Derek and Lindsay stand and glare at each other.

  “So I made a fucking mistake, I’m human, okay?” Derek shouts.

  He is darkness, raven hair and ebony eyes, eyes that glint from a face that’s absolutely perfect, atop a body that’s flawless. Nearly every woman in the diner looks him over in carnal speculation, and a few, in remembrance.

  Lindsay turns to walk away. “You made your last mistake.”

  Derek grabs her left arm and begins pulling her toward the exit as Lindsay grimaces in pain while trying to break free.

  “Derek stop, you’re hurting me.”

  Jason bolts out of his seat. “Let her go!”

  “Mind your own damn business.” Derek tells him.

  All eyes stare at the three of them, most belonging to their fellow students. The Beach Club Diner has been an after school haunt on Ocean Beach Island for decades, it reeks of grease and the salty tang of the nearby sea.

  Jason takes Lindsay’s other arm. “You’re hurting her Derek, keep it up and I’ll hurt you.”

  For a moment, Lindsay stands bordered like a river amidst dissimilar shores, and then Derek releases her and Lindsay steps away from him, and closer to Jason.

  “I’m sorry baby. I didn’t mean to hurt you. But Lindsay, we’ve been together a long time, are you going to throw that away over one mistake?”

  Lindsay gasps. “One mistake? Derek I caught you with Emily, you can both go to hell.”

  From the back, one of the jocks shouts, “Whoa, screwing your girlfriend’s best friend, that’s cold Derek.”

  The diner erupts in laughter and Lindsay turns red.

  “We can’t talk h
ere.” Derek says. “I’ll call you later, all right?”

  Lindsay settles back in her booth and says nothing.

  Derek sighs, and after giving Jason a foul look, he walks out.

  “Are you all right?” Jason asks.

  Lindsay looks up with sad blue eyes.

  “Yes, thank you Jason.”

  “Don’t mention it. I’ll see you around, okay?”

  Lindsay nods at him and he gives her a smile in return, across the booth, Lindsay’s friend Marcy gazes up dreamily at Jason, unnoticed.

  “Bye Jason,” Marcy says, as Jason turns to leave.

  Jason nods goodbye and walks back to his booth.

  Paul grins at him. “I bet that made your day.”

  “What? Am I happy they’re breaking up? Damn straight, but I hate seeing her sad.”

  “Are you going to ask her out?” Simone Diaz says, her brown eyes expressing concern.

  “Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

  “Jason, they just broke up after being together for a year, she might not be over him—”

  Simone is interrupted by Lindsay’s appearance.

  “Hi, can I join you guys?”

  “Absolutely,” Jason says. He slides over and Lindsay sits beside him. Rarely has he been this close to her, yet having her at his side feels as natural to him as water must seem to a fish.

  “Did you really catch Derek with Emily?” Paul asks. He’s all long limbs and curious eyes.

  “Paul! That’s none of your business.” Simone says.

  Lindsay smiles politely at Paul and turns to Jason. “I want to thank you again for helping me with Derek, and I have a favor to ask.”

  “Anything Lindsay, what is it?”

  “I was wondering if you could help tutor me in algebra, say tomorrow, around four?”

  “Sure, where at, the library?”

  Lindsay hesitates for a brief moment, in which, she flashes a glance at Simone.

  “No, if you don’t mind, could you come to my house?”

  “Your house? Sure I could do that.” Jason says, proud of himself for not salivating.

  Lindsay stands. “Great, I’ll see you then, goodbye Simone, Paul.”

  After Lindsay leaves, Jason grins across the booth at his friends, until his face hurts.

  * * *

  The following afternoon, at 3:52, Jason, smelling of soap and toothpaste, rings Lindsay’s doorbell.

  Lindsay lives in a section of the Island derisively, though aptly, known as The Squares, a low-income housing development built with alternating red and black shingled roofs, which from the air, resemble the squares on a checkerboard.

  Although most of the buildings are apartment houses, many, such as Lindsay’s, are small single family homes, but in a community as affluent as Ocean Beach Island, “The Squares” is on a par with the wrong side of the tracks.

  “Thanks for coming over Jason.”

  “Anytime,” He says.

  The house feels cool and there’s the hum of air-conditioning.

  “Do you want something to drink, a soda?” Lindsay asks.

  “Sure,” Jason says, and she hooks her finger, making that little gesture that says follow me. Jason watches her as she walks.

  Her ass looks so good. Those jeans look as if they’ve been painted on her.

  Lindsay heads down a short hallway and turns right, as he follows her through the threshold she spins around. Jason stops short, colliding softly against her, there’s a scent of roses about her and the warmth of her body, along with the view down her blouse, makes his heart race.

  Lindsay smiles. “Oops, sorry, I was just going to say we could have beer instead of soda, my parents won’t be home until nine.”

  “Beer’s fine.” Jason says, when in truth, he thinks beer is vile.

  Lindsay hands him an open bottle of beer while gesturing for him to sit at the table.

  “I appreciate you helping me study, algebra’s so hard.”

  “Anything for you Lindsay, anytime,”

  “You’re so smart that I knew you could help me, besides, I like you, you’re cute.”

  Jason grins. “You think I’m cute?”

  “I think you’re very cute, but maybe it’s just the beer talking.”

  “Then I’ll have to get you drunk and see what happens.” He says, and Lindsay laughs.

  Laughter turns to silence as they sit in the cramped kitchen. Dozens of pots and pans dangle from hooks in the ceiling. Plaques and ribbons from numerous cooking contests sit on shelves, alongside recipe books and bric-a-brac of all sorts. In the air, a faint cooking smell lingers, a strange mixture of cinnamon and onions.

  Jason glances over his beer bottle at Lindsay as she looks elsewhere.

  Jesus, but Lindsay’s fine, long blond hair, eyes bluer than the damn ocean, and the face of an angel, and those tits, I’d love to lay her down on the floor right now and have my way with her.

  “Do you want to do it right now?” Lindsay asks, startling him and bringing him back to reality.

  “What?” He says, and for a moment he thinks she’s been reading his mind and will now proceed to strip naked and lie on the floor.

  “Study Jason, are you ready to study?”

  “Oh yeah, yeah,”

  Lindsay grins. “What did you think I meant?”

  “Nothing, I was just daydreaming about something.”

  “Uh huh, let’s go up to my room, it’s more comfortable up there.”

  Jason smiles, “After you.”

  * * *

  Lindsay’s room is on the second floor of the two-story home and is as crowded as her mother’s kitchen, yet here, the paraphernalia consist of record albums and the biggest collection of stuffed animals and dolls that Jason has ever seen.

  No one would ever doubt this was a girl’s room, pink on top of pink.

  Her bed is the first thing Jason spots upon entering the room. It’s on the left side, while a bookcase and a desk cover the right side of the room.

  Jason stands in the doorway, gazing at Lindsay’s bed.

  Lindsay gives a nervous cough and rushes to the desk to grab her algebra book.

  “Okay Jason, show me why X plus Y equals Z so I can pass that damn test on Friday.”

  * * *

  “Enough! Jason I think my head will explode if you fill it with any more equations.”

  “Okay we’ll take a break, besides there’s something I want to ask you.”

  Lindsay swivels around and faces Jason, leaning forward in her chair until her delicate lips are less than a foot from his own suddenly dry mouth.

  “Ask away.”

  Jason looks down at her breasts and then forces himself to look into her eyes. “Lindsay I…”

  “Yes?” Lindsay says, with a nearly imperceptible smile.

  Jason finds her eyes even more distracting than her breasts and shifts his gaze onto the textbook lying open on the desk.

  “What I wanted to ask,” Jason begins, and is relieved to find that his voice doesn’t tremble. “I wanted to ask if you and Derek are really over.”

  “Yes, I never want to see him again.”

  Jason meets her eyes. “Good!”

  “I’m glad you’re happy about it. I wasted a year of my life with that bastard.”

  “I am happy; you’re too good for him.”

  “Jason,”

  “Yes?”

  Lindsay leans closer. “Is there another reason you’re glad that Derek and I broke up?”

  “Yeah, there’s another reason.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s this.” He says, and kisses her, holding her, and for the first time, he feels complete.

  I love you Lindsay. He thinks, and for a moment nearly gives voice to it, but he keeps it inside, as he has for ten years.

  They separate and Lindsay favors Jason with a curious gaze, while uttering one word. “Wow.”

  Jason stands, Lindsay also rises and again they kiss, but this time, deeper and l
onger.

  She takes his hand and leads him to the bed, she then turns and looks up into his eyes.

  “When did you get taller than me?”

  “I grew over four inches this summer.”

  A devilish smile crosses Lindsay’s face. “I bet I can make you grow a few more inches.”

  She unbuttons his shirt and Jason feels a tremor run through his body. When she removes the shirt he takes it from her and tosses it onto a rocking chair near the left side of the bed.

  Lindsay raises her arms over her head. “And now it’s your turn.”

  At first, Jason doesn’t understand, then realization dawns. It’s his turn to take her top off. With tremulous hands he grasps the bottom of her blouse, peeling it upward. The backs of his fingers slide along the soft, warm flesh of her hips and abdomen, every inch higher feeding an escalating thrill. A sense of unreality sweeps over him as the blouse glides pass the delicate lace of Lindsay’s bra, obscuring her face.

  Am I really about to have sex with Lindsay? This is unfreakingbelievable,

  The blouse slides over her mane of blond hair and Lindsay flings it onto the rocker, seemingly taking delight in the untidy way it hangs off the chair.

  She places her hands behind Jason’s head and guides his face down toward her breasts.

  “You’ve been looking at them all afternoon. I thought it was time you were properly introduced.”

  Jason’s face hovers less than an inch from her breasts. He kisses the top of both of them.

  “It’s nice to meet you two.”

  They laugh, and Jason raises his face from her cleavage and kisses her again. Lindsay reaches behind her back and unhooks the catches; she then slides the bra from her body.

  Jason stares goggle-eyed at the now naked breasts and, without thinking, he reaches up and cups them in his hands.

  “They’re so soft, and kinda heavy,”

  In a tentative voice, Lindsay asks, “Am I going to be your first?”

  Jason’s eyes dart from side to side. Shit, what do I say? If I tell her the truth she might think I’m like a kid or something.

  “Are you a virgin Jason?”

  Jason shakes his head from left to right in the universal gesture of no, and answers “Yes.”