Lois and Carolyn, thanks for the beta...you’re the greatest!
Chapter 50 – Storm Clouds (Sidebar) Early Evening…(Day 47) Ben walked his bike into Red Cape Comics. “Michael,” Ben called out as he entered the comic book store. “Ben, I’m surprised to see you,” Michael said, looking up to greet his partner. “I was on my way home, but I wanted to drop by to see if you’d heard anything from Mel and Linds?” “Melanie called not too long ago. Everyone was at the airport,” Michael said joyously. “With the traffic, they should be at Mom’s in about an hour.” “I know they’re flying this time, but how are they getting to Debbie’s from the airport,” Ben asked as he put his bike in the office. “Brian arranged for a limo for them,” Michael explained. “Well that was nice of him. I’m sure it makes things easier, especially since Melanie and Lindsay are traveling with two small kids and all their luggage,” Ben acknowledged. “Maybe...” Michael said, with a complaining undertone to his voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ben asked. “I just think that Brian should have picked them up personally from the airport. Especially since one of the two kids they’re traveling with happens to be his. Brian has to realize that he has responsibilities. He can’t just focus all his energies on his business,” Michael complained. “Anyway, where the hell is Brian?” “Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh? Brian appears to have managed to juggle his business and still see Gus. After all, he took Gus to Cincinnati with him. C’mon Michael, cut Brian some slack here. Brian works really hard. He made arrangements to make things easy for Melanie and Lindsay, what more do you expect of him?” “I expect him to remember that he has responsibilities. He can’t just do what he wants to do. I’m his best friend, and he neglects me the same way that he neglects Gus. I want things to be the way they used to be when Lindsay and Melanie still lived here, and me and Brian and the guys used to occasionally hang out together. Now everyone is so busy we hardly even see each other. I miss things being the way they used to be,” Michael explained. “Once upon a time, your whole world consisted of Brian, Ted, Emmett, and Babylon. You would work during the day and hang out during the nights at Babylon. But you grew up, and so did your friends. Now they each have lives of their own with new priorities…and so do you,” Ben said calmly. “I thought you had moved beyond all this a long time ago,” he added quietly. “I have. I have you and Hunter and JR now. I really do like the life we have,” Michael conceded. “Then, what’s this rant all about? Besides, you see Ted, Emmett, and even Brian at Sunday dinners. I don’t see the problem,” Ben quietly pointed out, now making himself comfortable on one of the stools next to Michael. “My daughter lives in Toronto, and I live in Pittsburgh. That’s the problem.” “Michael, when you agreed to be JR’s father, you knew that Melanie and Lindsay were going to be the parents. You knew that JR wasn’t going to live with you. We have seen JR every month for the last year since she moved away. Mel and Linds have made sure that you stayed involved in JR’s life. From what I can tell JR is growing up healthy and happy. What more do you want?” “I want to be more involved in my daughter’s life. I grew up without a father, I don’t want that fate to befall my daughter.” “How can you think that she’s growing up without a father? You see her constantly.” “I’m not Brian. I’m not content to be a drop-in dad. I want to be more. I want to interact with my daughter on a daily basis. I can’t do that with the present arrangement.” “If you felt that way, why did you so readily give your blessing to Mel and Linds to move to Toronto?” “I wanted my daughter to be safe. Mel and Linds convinced me a year ago that things weren’t safe here in Pittsburgh. I couldn’t argue with them, considering the fact that I was almost killed here. Brian tried to tell all of us that we were overreacting, but we wouldn’t listen. Carl said the same thing, and we all told him that he didn’t understand. But now I’m not so sure that I didn’t make a mistake, giving them my blessing to take JR away.” “Michael, surely you see that this isn’t a decision that can be easily reversed?” “Why not?” “For starters, it’s been a year. Melanie and Lindsay pretty much cut their ties with Pittsburgh…except for the family. They quit their jobs, sold their house, and started to build a new life in a new place. You can’t ask them to give up everything that they’ve spent this year building…no matter how much we might miss them.” “Melanie and Lindsay could move back here and start over. They could find new jobs again HERE. Then life could be like it once was. ” “And what are Melanie and Lindsay supposed to do in the meantime? How will they live? Where will they live? They have two small children to support and raise, how will they do that if they disrupt their lives again?” “You know that Mel and Linds could stay with us or with Mom until they found jobs and were back on their feet. And as I said, one of those small children that Mel and Linds have to support is Gus. So Brian would help out. We could even help out too.” “Michael we’re just getting by on my salary at the moment. Sure we can cover the added monthly costs to visit JR, but there isn’t much extra in our budget. Also, Hunter is getting ready to go to college. We have to think about that too. We’re doing all we can. I can’t support two households. The money just isn’t there.” “If we move to Toronto, we would only have one household to support, and then I could be a part of JR’s day to day life,” Michael challenged. “How would we live, Michael?” “What about teaching in Toronto? You could switch universities.” “Michael, I’ve explained all this before. I have tenure at Carnegie Mellon. That’s job security that I need especially because of my HIV status. To move to a new university would mean a cut in pay for me. You and I ran the numbers, I just don’t see how we can do it right now?” “I could open another comic book store. I’m sure I can help out.” “Remember, you and I went over the numbers with Ted about a second comic book store. In the best of circumstances, it would be years before the second store would pay off. We would also have some other issues being Americans running a Canadian business. It’s a nice idea, but the numbers don’t work...at least not at this point.” “If only Rage, the movie had been a success. Justin should have handled things better when he was in LA. He may not have needed the money, but we could sure use it. If the movie had been made, we would have enough money for everything we ever dreamed of.” “We’re not doing so badly. We have the house. We have Hunter. We see JR every month. My counts are good. I’ve been able to stay off the cocktail. You’re making a success of this store. I would say we’re doing okay. ” “We are doing okay,” Michael finally confirmed. “But I think while Mel and Linds are here, I’ll at least mention to them the possibility moving back to Pittsburgh.” “Michael, if you bring this up to Mel and Linds, they’re going to see this as your attempt to interfere with their lives. You remember the custody fight. I think we should keep things on good terms with Mel and Linds.” “If Brian had bought a house in town instead of a mansion so far away, Melanie and Lindsay could stay with him while they find new jobs and everything. But Brian is so far away that even I haven’t seen his house. But I’m sure that Brian would help them buy a new house. All Lindsay has to do is ask; after all, Gus is Brian’s kid too.” “Brian pays child support for Gus, Michael. Which is more than we do, I might add?” “Like you said, Brian can afford it, and we can’t. I’m sure Brian could be persuaded to pay more. I’m sure if I asked him he would, and then Mel and Linds could bring the kids back here.” “Michael, I’m warning you. Let Melanie and Lindsay have a nice visit with us this weekend, so they will be willing to come back next month. I’ll admit that seeing JR once a month isn’t perfect, but by complaining you could mess everything up. Take a moment and look at all that you have.” “But…” “You know Michael, once before I told you not to get involved in something. You didn’t listen to me then either.” “When was that?” “Back when Justin was becoming involved with Ethan.” “I did listen to you, but Brian was my best friend. I didn’t want to see him hurt. It was my job to make sure that he always knows the truth.” “Did you also tell him the truth about how unhappy Justin was before that all happened. You and I talked about how sad Justin seemed. Did you mention that to Brian too?” “No, why would I?” “Because you were Brian’s best friend, and you might have seen something that he was unaware of. You were aware of truths that Brian couldn’t grasp. You might have helped both your best friend and your business partner at the same time.” “Justin was an ungrateful little prick. Why should I have helped him? He had Brian doing everything for him, but still he wasn’t satisfied.” “Why didn’t you just stay out of it?” “Because I didn’t want Brian to get hurt?” “But don’t you see, your interference hurt Brian more than anything Justin could have done. You pushed Brian so hard, that you ended up being punched because of it. Sometimes you just go too far.” Michael stopped for a moment and remembered the one time that Brian actually hit him. Beginning of flashback. “Do you believe the nerve of that little twat?” Michael immediately started to gripe. “Showing up here with his new boyfriend. I told him to stay the fuck out of our lives.” “Why did you do that?” Brian innocently asked. “After what he did?” Michael started to raise his voice. “He didn’t do anything. We were never happily married. He was always free to go…so was I,” Brian said calmly with a shrug. “You’re just saying that. He’s a selfish little shit,” Michael started to rant. “Be quiet, Michael,” Brian tried to interrupt. “He used you, and he took from you, and he never gave back a thing!” Michael continued to rant, with his voice getting louder. “I said, be quiet!” Brian insisted more strongly. “And this is the thanks you get for saving his life! If you ask me it wasn’t worth it! You might as well have left him lying there…” And with those words, Brian had heard enough. He turned slightly and immediately swung his fist and punched out Michael. End of flashback. “That was different,” Michael finally said softly. “How is that different, Michael? You wanted things to be different. You thought you had the power to change things. You wouldn’t let events take their own course, in their own time. In the end, you created a lot of unnecessary problems and unwanted heartaches. And in the end, a lot of people ended up being hurt…including Brian. You created a lot of upset, and after everything was said and done, Brian and Justin still ended up together.” “Maybe.” “I don’t want to see you make the same mistake with Melanie and Lindsay that you made with Brian. Michael, you need to come to terms with how things are and make the best of a really good situation,” Ben suggested patiently. “Look, I know that you don’t feel the way I do about this. After all, JR isn’t your daughter.” “That’s unfair, Michael, you know how much I love JR.” “It’s just not the same!” Michael said, grumbling his displeasure. There was a pause in the conversation, so Michael took his opportunity to change the subject. “We should get ready to go over to Mom’s. Everyone should be arriving soon.” “Sure,” Ben finally said, realizing that nothing had been resolved. He continued to hope that Michael would think about things, but somehow Ben was beginning to doubt that would happen. Ben let out a deep sigh, for he knew that storm clouds were now brewing on the horizon. Ben walked into Michael’s office to pick up his bike. While he was there, he spent a moment looking at the painting that Justin had sent to Michael a little over a month ago. “Superheroes,” Ben said softly to himself, “Sometimes they never learn.” Ben took one more moment to take in the painting, and then he quietly turned and walked his bike back into the store where Michael was waiting. “I think it’s time for us to go,” Ben finally said. Michael turned out the lights and locked the door.