Hell Week,  Chapter 4
Rating:  PG 13

Brian’s internal clock woke him at six, the same as it had done every day for years.  It seemed that the older he got, the less he slept, which was fine with him.  He figured he would get all the sleep he needed once he was dead.  Right now, he was very much alive and wanted to get out from under the blond lump that was pressing on his chest.  Justin slept like a baby, his mouth slightly open, hair fanning out over Brian’s body, tickling him. They must have fallen asleep immediately after they had made love, but Brian didn’t remember shifting position in the middle of the night.  It was always like this it seemed.  He would start out on top but somewhere along the way, Justin always landed on his chest in the morning.  God only knew when or how this happened, he never remembered or really cared, it was just curious.    

Moving Justin off him and slowly crawling to the edge of the bed, he grabbed his sweat pants, threw them on and made a beeline for the bathroom in the hallway.  After a much needed piss, he went to the kitchen to see if he could scrounge up some decent coffee.  Hopefully Melanie kept something more potent than the decaffeinated shit Lindsay preferred.  

Walking through the living room, he noticed a lot more this morning than he did last night.  Although the place was comfortable and the pieces of furniture were in reasonably good shape, it was not the kind of setting he liked or was used to.  The minimalist in him rebelled against anything that was not necessary, and there was plenty of that in this room.  Pillows, picture frames on tables, figurines, bowls filled with potpourri; all the paraphernalia he never liked around was making him itch.  One entire wall was taken up by family pictures in frames of different sizes and shapes.  Walking over to have a closer look he saw that he was in a lot of the pictures. There was a picture of the night Gus was born, with him holding the baby and Justin and Michael to the side.  Then there were the many different portraits of Gus and Jenny that were taken every year on their birthdays at the photo studio downtown.  A yearly ritual the kids had to endure for ‘posterity’, Mel and Lindsay said.  There was a picture of him and Justin dressed in their evening wear, taken the night of their wedding rehearsal dinner, shortly before they announced the wedding was off.  There were pictures taken at Mel and Lindsay’s wedding, with George and Emmett at the Shickel mansion.  More pictures of Lindsay’s family, her sister with her current husband.  And of course, the disastrous Bris that never was; there were at least 3 pictures from that nightmarish day with Mel’s family gathered around the Rabbi and holding poor innocent Gus before the intended mutilation.  <i>Thank God I put a stop to that shit! </i> Then of course there were the pictures of Michael and Ben, Hunter and his family, Debbie and Carl. There was even one of Vic Grassi, in his famous Hawaiian shirt.   It was a who’s who of Melanie and Lindsay’s life and all the people they loved.  Finally, he saw the one picture that he was searching for, a picture of him and Justin, taken that winter afternoon in New York, in front of Cartier.  The day they had decided to make it official by buying the most beautiful rings the store had to offer and exchanging vows in private, after the hottest fuck in the men’s bathroom, fully aware that every clerk in the place knew what they were doing.  

<i>Fun times</i>, he thought to himself as he left the rogues gallery and kept on moving towards the kitchen.  Opening one cupboard after another he finally saw a small package of Starbucks House Blend.  Thank Christ!  He prepared the coffee maker and waited for salvation.     

Around nine, after several cups of coffee and reading every online newspaper article that was pertinent to his business life, Brian closed his laptop and decided to explore.  He poked his head into the room and saw that Justin had not moved.  Taking the stairs two at a time,  he looked in on Gus and saw that he too was still fast asleep.  He grabbed his t-shirt and his shoes and made his way out to the garage, where he chose the Saab, four-door Sedan.  He left the Subaru SUV for Justin, in case he got up before Brian got back.  The Saab was definitely not the kind of car he would ever own, but he supposed that in the world of Muncherville, it was a cool car.  

When Melanie and Lindsay decided to move to Canada, many years ago, they researched all the suburbs to death and decided on Rosedale.  It was considered one of the most desirable and wealthiest neighborhoods in Toronto.  Rosedale was unique in that is was surrounded by beautiful ravines and parkland, making you feel as if you were far from the city when in reality it was just a few minutes from Toronto’s major business, entertainment and shopping district.  They liked the fact that it was so close to the city in case their jobs took them into town.  They also liked the fact that the homes were older and the families more established and not so transient.  


Rosedale was an older suburb of Toronto, with larger homes and more property on each lot.  There were many mansions built in the early nineteen-hundreds, Victorians and Tudors, that had been restored on the inside, to modernize them, but on the outside all the minute details that came with the original property still remained.  Here and there were a few modern homes, but for the most part, it remained a historic site.  Many people from other parts of the city would take drives around the neighborhood to look at the houses and try and replicate them elsewhere. 

They had fallen in love with Rosedale the week they had come up to house hunt.  The real estate agent had hesitated to show it to them, because the homes were more expensive than in other areas, not because they were a same-sex couple.  It was refreshing to have someone discriminate because of money and not sexual orientation; made them feel like every other person on the planet.  Of course the agent had no idea who she was dealing with; Melanie Marcus, the queen of saving money and making the best ‘deals’.  After much thought and many consultations with their financial planner, Ted Schmidt, it was determined that they could afford to buy a home there, much to everyone’s delight.     

The house Melanie and Lindsay had bought was modest but large enough for their family with a guest room to spare.  Over the years many improvements had been made, and Brian and Justin never failed to contribute in some way or another.  When they came to town they hardly ever stayed for more than a day or two, and more often than not, would stay at a hotel rather than impose on Melanie and Lindsay.  This week would be the first time that he and Justin stayed longer than forty-eight hours.   And it would be the first time they would be spending most of their waking hours in the suburbs.  

Spying a Starbucks, Brian stopped and decided to get a double shot latte for himself and one to go, for Justin.  He bought a few muffins for Gus, and a pound of Espresso Roast and a bean grinder to take home. Starting the day with mediocre coffee was not his idea of fun; nothing could ruin his day quicker than that.  Getting back in the car, he decided to drive by the school and see how far it was from the house.  This way he would be sure to get Gus to practice on time with no bitching from anyone.   

The Canadian-American High School was a private school run by many Americans who had moved to Toronto in the late Nineties.  There were several Canadians on their Board of Directors, but the majority of the people who ran the school were American.  They tried to cater their program to the American educational system so that when the students transferred back to the United States they’d have an easier time with the transition.  Aside from maintaining extremely high standards in academics, they made it a point to try and teach most sports that were played in America, as well as the fun activities that were associated with each sport, like cheerleading and school dances.    This is why Melanie and Lindsay had picked this school for Gus.  They knew that he would be going to College in the US.  It was something all four parents had agreed on.  It only made sense then to try and make the transition from one system to the other as easy as possible.  The perk for Gus was that he would finally be able to play American football.   Something he had wanted to do for a long time.  He wasn’t even sure he would like it, or be good at it, but he wanted the opportunity to see for himself.  

Brian drove up to the front of the school and parked the car.  It looked much like any other high school he’d ever seen.  The only difference was that two flags were flying on the twin poles in front of the entrance.  One was the Canadian flag and the other American.  There were several cars parked in the lot, but not any kids walking around because it was still summer vacation and they weren’t due back for another three weeks.  The only ones who would be coming this week were the kids trying out for the football team.  Putting his car in gear he looked at his watch and headed back home.

The smell of bacon was in the air when Brian pulled into the garage.  Entering the kitchen through the side door he saw Justin busy at the cooking center and Gus sitting at the counter waiting patiently for his food.

“Greetings, serfs and vassals,” Brian announced as he gave Gus a peck on the top of his head, handed him the bag of muffins and moved over to plant a big wet kiss on Justin’s lips while handing him his latte.

“Hey,” Justin said.  “I didn’t hear you leave earlier.  Where’d you go?”

“I decided to explore a little.  Also, had to make a Starbucks run and buy supplies for the rest of the week.”  He dug into the bag and brought out the pound of coffee and the bean grinder.

“Here,” he said, handing the packages over to Justin, “see if you can find a container for this.”

“I went by your school Gus; looks pretty nice from the outside.  I also timed the ride.  It’s exactly eighteen minutes, from door to door.”

Gus looked at his father and said, “It is pretty nice.  We took the grand tour last April and I think it’ll be okay.  A few of my friends from middle school will be going there too, so I’ll already know a few people.” 

“Are any of them going to the camp?” Justin asked as he put a plate of bacon, eggs and slices of cantaloupe in front of Gus.  

“Austin is,” Gus said, picking up a piece of fruit and biting in to it.

“Austin?” Brian said as he swiped a piece of bacon off Gus’ plate.
 
Looking at Justin, Brian asked, “Can I have some of that?” 

“Sure, give me a minute.”

“You know,” Gus said, “Austin Lehigh.  He and I have been best friends since we moved here.”

“Oh, right, Austin. He lives near here?”

“A few blocks over.  His dad’s a doctor and his mom’s a nurse.”

“Are they straight?”

“Yup,” Gus said as he chewed his food slowly.  

Justin finished frying Brian’s eggs and placed them on a plate with four strips of bacon and two pieces of whole wheat toast, dry.  

“You want some fruit?” Justin asked.

“No thanks, Sunshine, this is good.  Aren’t you eating anything?”

“I had some just before you got here.”  Justin walked over to the microwave and nuked his latte.  

“Lindsay called while you were out,” Justin said.  “Her mother’s doing really well and they think she’ll be moved out of intensive care by this evening.”

“That’s good news,” Brian said.

“How come Grandmother had a heart attack Dad?  I thought only fat people had those?”

“Not true son,” Brian answered.  “Some of the skinniest people have heart attacks too.  It’s all in the genes.”

“Are you ever going to have one, Dad?

“I hope not, Gus.  My blood levels are checked every year and they’re pretty good, although if your Daddy J doesn’t stop feeding us like The Three Little Pigs, we’ll all have a heart attack!” 

“Come on, Brian,” Justin said, “you know you only eat bacon once in a while.  A little bit of anything can’t be too bad.”

“You’re right,” Brian said.

“Gus, are you all set for this afternoon?  Do you have the right clothes and your football cleats?”

Gus looked at his father and said, “Cleats?”


	Authors Note:  The suburb of Rosedale does actually exist, and most of my descriptions of this town are accurate and true.  The Canadian-American High School, however, does not.  There is no such school in Rosedale and my descriptions of the school are based on several schools that I have attended when I lived outside of the United States.  As most expatriates know, there is always one school in most foreign cities where Americans send their children, hoping to retain some of the flavor of their country, as well as the educational standards.
 
TBC