Contents
Chapter 9
Overview
Bret frames the last untainted moment of his youth: a quiet Mulholland weekend with Ryan Vaughn before the fall’s violence. The visit is defined by unhurried sex, secrecy, and Bret’s unease about Robert Mallory. Debbie’s calls trigger Ryan’s class resentment, and Ryan’s silent departure exposes asymmetry and foreshadows the coming rupture.
Summary
Bret opens by identifying 1981 as the year that hardened him, then recounts later weekends (1982, 1991, 2008) that seemed hopeful but were shadowed by memories of blood, surveillance, and secrets tied to Robert Mallory, Julie Selwyn, and Buckley. These recollections set the stage for the pivotal September 1981 weekend with Ryan Vaughn at the empty Mulholland house.
The weekend begins easily: Ryan announces he will stay over, and both anticipate sex. After a swim and shower, they initiate an intense, methodical encounter driven purely by desire. They plan for it, experiment, and alternate roles, creating a relaxed, sensual rhythm that erases Bret’s fixation on Matt Kellner.
Their days revolve around bed, pool, football, Z Channel movies, and music. Bret ignores calls from Susan and his mother; Debbie’s concern escalates. To hide Ryan’s car from a possible visit by Debbie, Bret swaps garage spots. In the Jacuzzi, Bret tests Ryan’s reaction to Robert Mallory, admits attraction, and withholds Susan’s secret about Robert’s past, while their arousal quickly resumes.
On Sunday, Debbie’s repeated messages agitate Ryan, who, after several beers, vents contempt for their wealthy classmates, including Thom and Susan, framing them as sheltered and consequence-free. Bret defends Thom, but the dispute stalls; Ryan’s resentment signals a divide Bret hadn’t registered.
Ryan apologizes with sex that night. By morning, he leaves before the housekeeper arrives, without waking or kissing Bret. The silent exit, and Bret’s sudden fear that he cared more than Ryan, marks the end of innocence and the threshold to the season’s impending disappearances and violence.
Who Appears
- BretNarrator; recalls later years and centers on a 1981 weekend of intense sex with Ryan, hiding fears about Robert.
- Ryan VaughnBret’s classmate and lover for the weekend; sensual, confident, later drunk and resentful toward wealthy classmates; leaves without goodbye.
- Debbie SchafferBret’s concerned girlfriend; repeated calls heighten tension and trigger Ryan’s outburst about privilege.
- Robert MalloryNew senior and looming threat; subject of Bret and Ryan’s Jacuzzi talk; Bret withholds Susan’s secret about his past.
- Thom WrightFriend discussed as possibly getting close to Robert; becomes target of Ryan’s class-based contempt.
- Susan ReynoldsFriend whose secret about Robert Bret keeps; her calls go unanswered as Bret hides the weekend.
- RosaHousekeeper/cook whose premade dishes provision the weekend; expected Monday morning, prompting Ryan’s early exit.
- Bret’s motherAbsent in Greece; her call and Jaguar facilitate Bret’s cover for Ryan’s visit.