The Perfect Fan

By David J. Rouzzo

The Perfect Fan is a tale of drama as a young boy grows up, discovers music, and falls in love.

The Perfect Fan tells a heartfelt story of a man reaching for his dreams with the guidance of his parents. Follow Jonathan as music carries him through bullies, tragedies, amazing opportunities and the pursuit of love and family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9780359296170

Book preview

Fan

Chapter 1

Get away from that creek, Jonny! Mom yelled. She always did when I’d wander a little too close to the old creek by the woods in our backyard.  She would get nervous and a bit dramatic, but like any young boy, I only heeded warning for so long before I’d be found right back where I was told not to be.  I couldn’t help it.  The creek had dozens of tadpoles. I wanted so badly to catch and play with them like my older cousin was able to do, but the creek was deep and rapid enough to sweep me right off my feet.  At 6 years old, I was caught up in wanting to have all the adventures of a 15-year-old teenager.  Mom knew better than to let me wander too close, but I still managed to make my way to the edge of the dirt overlooking the dirty water every chance I got.

I finally made it into that creek one day, and sure enough it swept me right under.  I tried my hardest, but I couldn’t stand up.  Thankfully, mom was right there to pull me out before I choked on too much of the water.  Never had I seen her splash around in that creek before.  To be honest, I always thought she was just as terrified of going in it herself.  But once I went in and that water knocked me over, she jumped right in and grabbed ahold of me.  You would think I’d have learned my lesson that day, but just a week later, I couldn’t help but want to go back down to the creek.

That’ll be enough, Jonny. She said, annoyed at my begging her to take me down to the water.

But Maw, Stevie gets to go down there all the time when aunt Kathy brings him over.  Why can’t I just catch the tadpoles with him? I begged and pleaded my case, as if I had grown ten times stronger in just that one week since the water had last swept me up.  But mom, she just looked at me and shook her head.

What am I to do with you, boy? She asked with a smile.  She motioned for me to go and play and reluctantly, I did.

Two weeks later, I woke up with so much excitement.  It was my birthday, and I was very excited to reach the age of seven.  Perhaps now I can go catch tadpoles, I thought. I walked into the living room where mom sat on the couch with a big smile on her face. This is it, I thought, I’m finally going to get to go to the creek! I suppose all young boys tend to think they are growing up a lot quicker than they truly are, but the truth of the matter is I hadn’t grown much at all.

Why don’t you go look at what we got for you on the old side table in the dining room? Mom said with a smile.  For a moment, I forgot about the tadpoles and the creek. I rushed into the dining room and found myself staring at a small aquarium full of small frogs.  Mom walked in the room behind me and placed her hand on my shoulder.

You aren’t the only one growing up around here. Mom told me, looking at the frogs.  These little ones were wandering around by the creek last night and I thought they’d look really nice in your new aquarium.

I suppose I should have been happy about the frogs, and honestly, I was – but what I wanted more than anything was to go to the creek and catch them on my own.

Why can’t I go to the creek, Maw? I asked.

You’ll be swept right up like you were a few weeks ago, Jonny.  You just aren’t quite big enough yet.  Mom tried to explain, but I didn’t like it.  I brushed quickly away from her arm and stormed off to my room.  I didn’t understand why it was taking so long to be able to do the things I truly wanted to do, even though mom did get me my very own frogs to play with safely in the house.  She walked into my room and sat down next to me on the bed.

I know you want to play in the creek, Jonny, and I’m sorry you don’t get to yet.  You’re growing up, son, and before you know it, you’ll be able to catch tadpoles all you want.  Until then, I thought you’d like to play with frogs.  Maybe we can put your new aquarium right here in your bedroom? Mom suggested.  I looked up at her and nodded with a smile.  After all, it didn’t sound so bad, having my very own pet frogs in my room.

Yes Maw, right on my dresser! I said with excitement.

You’ll have to take good care of them.  Feed them and keep their aquarium clean. She insisted.  I nodded in agreement.  I was excited to have my very own pet frogs, and for a moment I had forgotten all about the creek.

My pet frogs kept me entertained for a good while as I’d watch and play with them.  I’d spend small moments of each day chasing them with my finger around their aquarium, and occasionally pulling a couple of them out to let them hop on the dresser.  While it never quite made me stop wanting to go to the creek, it created a nice distraction for me from time to time. Mom always did little things like this when she could, and as a young boy I rarely appreciated them half as much as I should have.  Still, when it came to my frogs, I reached a growing point in my character that caused me to start seeing at a young age the different ways mom showed her love.   I struggled to see that with my father, as he worked long days and aside from supper, we didn’t see much of him.  I can tell you easier now than I could back then just how much dad loved us.

I did eventually reach the age where I was able to go and play in that creek.  By then, cousin Stevie had lost interest in tadpoles and was more interested in the girls his age who lived down the street from us.  Aunt Kathy and cousin Stevie would come and visit, but Stevie also went for walks to visit the girls.  At that age, I didn’t see what the fuss was about.  The girls in our neighborhood would sit and read or go for walks – and not the fun kind of walks where you explore woods and find adventure.  No, they went for boring walks where all they did was talk and giggle, usually at cousin Stevie and the older boys in the neighborhood. 

I can still recall the day of August 8th, 1994.  I was ten years old, playing in the creek and pretending I was an adventurer on a journey through the jungle.  It was a hot Friday afternoon, so I could stay outside later than usual because of the weekend.  I traveled along the creek for a couple of houses when I saw Brittany Emerson sitting on a swing in her yard, reading a book.  I knew Brittany from school.  We shared a homeroom and rode the bus together.  We would play together from time to time when we were younger, but between the ages of 8 and 9, we drifted apart.  Brittany wasn’t into playing cowboys or pirates anymore like we did in younger years.  Her interests had changed more to reading and playing with her pet dog.  I stared at her for a moment, recalling times we had spent together and wondering how cousin Stevie managed to get along with girls so easily as a teenager.

My thoughts of reminisce were soon interrupted, as I heard music playing from further down the street. I wandered along the creek through the back yards of our neighborhood, unrestricted as most kids my age were able to be back then.  It was in many ways a less dangerous time, and children had more freedoms.  Moms and dads didn’t have to worry as much about their kids being snatched up by somebody and if we got lost, the neighborhood cared enough to work together to find us. 

I wandered along, paying no mind to the distance I was traveling from home.  My focus was strictly aimed at finding where the music was coming from.  As I got closer and the music grew louder, I found myself becoming more and more intrigued.  The sound of guitars singing through the trees that surrounded me mixed perfectly with the rhythm of the drums beating.  I felt as if my heart had abandoned its own rhythm to match up with that of the bass drum.  The closer I got, the harder the beat echoed throughout my chest.  I was drawn in.  I followed the music to a garage down the street and stared through a window at five musicians, creating an amazing sound together. My mom and dad were both big fans of music and so I had heard a lot of it throughout the 10 years of my lifetime, but I had never experienced it like this before.  I watched on at the way they moved, amazed at the way their fingers knew how to play the perfect notes at the exact right moments, rolling across the necks of their guitars and over the keys of their piano with ease.  The drummer shifted between the drums quickly while maintaining rhythm the entire time.  It seemed like an illusion that I couldn’t quite follow with my young eyes and was even harder to believe.  To some people, this was perhaps just a group of people making noise, but to me it was magic in the making.

I could have stayed and watched them create that beautiful music for hours, but as the evening faded into night I knew mom would worry if I wasn’t home soon.  I made my way back down the creek towards home.  As I walked past the yard of Brittany Emerson, I saw her in the garden, pulling a few flowers and arranging them together in a bouquet.  She threw them up into the air and danced in circles as they fell around her.  I laughed at how silly that seemed to me like most young boys would do and continued my short journey home.

Arriving home, I walked into the house to see that my father was passed out on the couch after a long day of work while mom was cleaning up the kitchen.  She smiled at me as I walked up to her.

And what have you been up to, Jon? She asked me.

Just walked along the creek, Maw. I answered.

Well, go and get yourself cleaned up and ready for bed. She replied, looking in at dad while he slept.  Be careful not to wake your father.

Yes Maw. I agreed, slowly making my way towards the bathroom to clean up for bed.  I was careful walking past my father as mom had instructed.  There were times as a child I missed the joy that comes from father and son activities like playing football out in the yard or fishing together, but it never bothered me too much.  At that age, I was still just a little boy who liked exploring the outdoors and going on whatever adventures I could possibly find.

Chapter 2

As the school year started and I headed into the 5th grade, I found myself a bit nervous about going to a new school.  Our town had two elementary schools, and we all merged together for the middle school.  I didn’t make friends easily it seemed, and the thought of losing the friends I did have to others had crossed my mind from time to time.  My fears came true with most friends as it turned out, but there were three who remained by my side for the first few years. 

Jimmy Roberts was the chubby one of our group, always making jokes about how much he liked to eat food.  Still, he didn’t eat nearly as much as Mason Akers.  Mason could eat twice as much as the rest of us put together, but the kid never gained a pound.  Skinny as a twig, we often found ourselves wondering where he stored everything he ate. Kyle Mathers wasn’t around as much as the other two, but he spent time with us when he was able to. He spent more time hanging around with the jocks, talking about football and baseball.  His father was a professional football player, and our entire school knew Kyle would follow in his father’s footsteps.

Most of us weren’t so fortunate to have someone pave the path for us as we saw it.  There wasn’t anything exciting about where our fathers worked. Factories and offices were boring to us, and certainly weren’t anything we looked forward to doing when we grew up.  Mason wanted to grow up to pilot airplanes, something he had been obsessed with since kindergarten.  Jimmy Roberts wanted to become president of the United States.  I however struggled to settle my mind on any specific goal.  There were just so many different possibilities, but nothing had ever really stuck out to me more than anything else.  I enjoyed going on adventures around my neighborhood, but that isn’t exactly a way to make a living.  Still, at ten years old you have plenty of time to figure out your future, and I suppose I was more focused on figuring out who I was right then.  The world around me was quickly changing, and as we transitioned into our 5th grade year, I watched my friends start talking to girls more and stop worrying about things like airplanes or how neat it would be to be the president. 

My life began to change even more during our spring vacation from school that year.  Everyone was excited about our week off, and the guys made plans to visit my house during the break.  It was nice having friends over, as I was able to do from time to time.  My mom enjoyed seeing me make friends and welcomed their mothers to visit as well.  Her and the other moms would sit and enjoy cold drinks on the front porch while my friends and I ran free through the neighborhood.  We always stayed on the street I lived on, but that little street felt like a big world of freedom to us at that age. 

Roaming around by the creek, we laughed as we caught frogs and tadpoles and pretended to be pirates seeking treasure. 

Arr!  Look what I found! Mason shouted.

Tread carefully! I warned Jimmy.  Could be a trap!

A trap?! Mason repeated.  How dare ye accuse me of treason! He raised a stick into the air and charged towards us.  Quickly, I grabbed another stick from the ground and raised it up against his.  The three of us found ourselves battling out a playful sword fight that spanned a few yards.  We battled our way into the backyard of Brittany Emerson, but I did not see her outside when I glanced towards the house.

Keep him busy and I’ll go find the treasure! Jimmy yelled.  He charged into the wooded area across the creek as Mason and I continued to battle.  After a while, Mason’s stick splintered into several pieces and he dropped it to the ground.

I’ve got you now! I declared, holding mine towards his chest and declaring my victory.  Mason’s mind was somewhere else however, as he looked around with confusion.  Brittany Emerson walked up to us.  She had been watching us from the garden.

What are you boys doing out here? She asked.  I looked at her and shrugged.

We’re just messing around. I answered her.

Can I play? She asked.  I looked at her, surprised that she wanted to join us.  Mason’s eyes were focused out into the woods.

Hey… where’s Jimmy? He asked.  I looked at him with concern.

Jimmy! I yelled out into the woods.  The silence we heard left us feeling alarmed, and we decided we needed to go and find our friend as quickly as possible.  Mason, Brittany and I all charged out into the woods trying to find Jimmy and calling out for him.  We came to a sudden stop when we saw something laying on the ground in the distance.

Jimmy? I asked, terrified that something awful had happened to our friend.  I charged full speed to see what was on the ground and stared in terror when I arrived beside it.

Look at all that blood… Brittany said, slowly walking up beside me.

I think I’m going to be sick. Mason gasped, turning away from the disgusting site in front of us.  I stared in shock as this was the first time I had ever seen blood or experienced real death.

What happened? Mason asked, refusing to look back.

It fell. Jimmy said, quickly walking towards us from the trees ahead of us.  He pointed up beside us at a ledge.

Jimmy! I proclaimed, happy to see that our friend was safe.

Where did you go? Mason asked.

I found a path that leads to the higher areas of the woods like that ledge up there.  There’s a river and everything!  That deer was up on that ledge and it must have slipped and fallen.  I think it tried to limp away but couldn’t get very far.  It looks like birds or other animals have been eating it. Jimmy explained.  Brittany looked up at the ledge.

I want to see the river! She said with excitement. I looked at Jimmy and Mason and then at Brittany.  I wanted to see the river, too, even though I was concerned about how far we had wandered from the house.

Let’s go see it. I suggested, despite knowing it wasn’t the best idea.  We headed towards the river, which luckily wasn’t very much farther from where we had gone to.

The river was long and seemed to go on for miles.

I wonder where it leads to? Mason asked. 

I bet it goes far! Jimmy replied.  We skipped a few rocks and stuck our feet in the water but didn’t stick around for too long.

We should head back. I said, realizing the sun wouldn’t be out too much longer.

Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Brittany agreed.  We followed the river, trying to find our way back to where we came from when we soon realized that we might be lost.

Did we miss the ledge? I asked.

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