OCTOBER 2012 RING RING RING RING “Hello.” “Brian, this is your mother.” “How are you Mom?” “I’m fine I’m just calling to invite you, Justin, Gus, and anyone else you want to bring, to a Halloween family get together this Saturday at the house.” “OK Mom we'll be there, I’m sure that Gus'll be thrilled to meet his family. Would you like us to bring anything?” “You can bring a dessert if you want but you don’t have to. We'll see you around 3 Saturday afternoon. I haven’t told anyone that I’ve been in touch with you, other than my sister, so it'll be somewhat of a surprise for Claire and her boys when they meet you here.” “OK Mom see you then.” “Good bye Brian.” *** “Justin my Mom just called to invite us to a Halloween party this Saturday to meet Claire and her boys. We can bring a dessert if we want. I’ll call Gus and tell him and have him invite the Munchers.” “Gus'll be very happy to meet his cousins. I wonder what would be considered a Halloween dessert?” “I don’t think there really are Halloween desserts, just regular desserts given Halloween drag.” “How about a couple of pumpkin pies, that's something I’ve never made by myself and I’m sure Gus would love to help me make a pie from scratch. Brian do you think it means anything that Gus likes cooking so much?” Justin Craig Taylor, do you realize what that question implies?” “What do you mean? Why're you trying to keep from grinning?” “Are you implying something about Gus with that question? Do you really care if Gus is gay?” “What're you talking about Brian? Of course I don‘t care if Gus is gay or straight, all I care is that he's happy. Why're you smiling like that?” “Am I smiling Sunshine, don’t I always smile when I’m in the same room as you? How often do I catch you making a dumb comment? We both know that Gus likes cooking simply because it's something to do with you. If you wanted to go fishing every weekend then Gus would like fishing. I'm surprised that you would ask a question like that Sunshine. Everyone would expect me to ask a stupid question like that but no one would expect you to do so. Wait till I tell the ‘boys‘ that Sunshine asked a question without thinking about how it could be interpreted.” “I didn’t mean it that way Brian. You won’t tell 'the boys’ will you? ‘The boys’ is getting to be somewhat stupid considering how old the bunch of you're getting to be. I meant did you think he was likely to take up cooking as a living.” “No I don’t think Gus will become a professional chef. I doubt that Gus'll be gay since the odds are against it. Do you think we need to worry about talking to him about SEX? I wonder if he's started puberty yet, he's getting to that age. I'm not looking forward to talking to Sonnyboy about the birds and the bees whether gay birds or straight bees. Where has the time gone, wasn’t he just born yesterday? Has he asked you anything to give you any idea?” “No he hasn’t and I've my doubts that he will since he's a very private boy in many ways.” “Getting back to the original question, I‘m sure Gus'll help you make a pie and he'll love every minute of the experience. Gus just loves being around you no matter what the two of you are doing. I’m going to go call him now. I love you Sunshine, and it does make me happy when you make a goof to prove that you aren‘t perfect, after all we can‘t have two perfect men in our relationship.” “Brian, you big lovable jerk, I’ll get even for that comment just wait and see.” “I’ll be waiting, my little lovable twink.” *** RING RING RING RING “Hello.” “Hi Sonnyboy, how're you doing?” “I’m fine Dad, do you want to talk to Mom or Mama?” “I’m calling you Sonnyboy, are you interested in going to a Kinney family get together Saturday?” “No I don’t think so.” “What?” “Got you without even trying Dad.” “Sonnyboy you're spending way too much time with Sunshine.” “Dad you don’t believe that, there can never be too much time spent with Uncle Justin.” “Do you want to go or not?” “Of course I want to go, I want to meet my cousins and my aunt and anyone else that will be there.” “OK come here after school Friday so that you can help Justin make a pumpkin pie from scratch. Ask your mothers if they want to come too.” “Sounds great Dad. Baking a pie from scratch; that should be intense. I‘ll see you Friday then Dad.” “Goodbye Sonnyboy.” “Bye Dad.” *** “Mama, Dad just called to ask me if I wanted to go to a Kinney family dinner this Saturday. He also said to tell you that you and Mom are invited as well. I’m going to go to Dad’s after school Friday so I can help Uncle Justin make a pumpkin pie from scratch. I’ll spend the night and you and Mom can join us there, Saturday, and we can go to Grandmom’s together.” “Hold on there Gus. That all sounds great except that your Mom and I already have plans for Saturday night. Since you're going to Brian’s Friday then we'll be able to leave town Friday night instead of Saturday afternoon. We'll have to meet the Kinney family some other time. You go and have a great time and you can tell us all about it Sunday. Have you and Justin ever baked a pie from scratch before?” “No but Uncle Justin is a great cook so we shouldn’t have any problems.” “I know that Justin is a great cook but pies are much harder to make than most people think, the crust especially. I wouldn’t bake a pie again if you paid me. The first and only scratch pie I ever made, back in Home Economics class, was so bad that the memory still scares me to this day, that crust was absolutely horrid and I followed the recipe exactly. Why don’t you and I make some Halloween cookies Thursday night, your Mom and I'll drop them off at Brian’s on our way out of town Friday night, that way you will have a dessert to take Saturday if your pies aren’t as good as you hope.” “OK Mama but Uncle Justin can make anything.” “Have you ever tried his Leg of Lamb Gus? Even Justin admits to not being able to get lamb right.” “Don’t worry Mama I want to bake cookies with you, and if we decorate one just right I might even be able to get Dad to eat it.” “What do you mean decorate it just right?” “Well it can’t look fattening in any possible way. I'll leave the biggest one without frosting, he'll notice that it has no frosting but won't notice that it's the biggest one. Has Dad always been so worried about gaining weight?” “Yes Gus that was always one of Brian’s lesser faults. He would worry more about gaining an ounce than most men would worry about gaining 10 pounds. That's about the only one of his faults that Justin hasn’t been able to help him get rid of though. But don’t tell your Dad that I said he's improved himself in any way. I wouldn’t want him to think I’m getting soft in my old age.” “Mama you aren’t old.” “I know Gus it's just an expression. Go finish your homework. What am I talking about? Did you even have any homework to bring home?” “Uncle Justin told me once that someday I would probably have some class that I would find hard, I’m still waiting though. I’ll go find something to do.” *** “That was a lot of fun Justin, I hope they taste as good as they look.” “Well Gus, you and I made them so of course they'll taste as good as they look. Once they cool down we can put the whip cream on top and then wrap them and put them in the refrigerator until tomorrow.” “Aren’t you surprised I didn’t call you Uncle Justin?” “No Gus I’ve been expecting it ever since you went from Mommy and Daddy to Mom and Dad. You're growing up, as much as your Dad doesn’t want you to. It wouldn’t hurt to call him Daddy once in awhile though, even when you have children of your own Brian will want to think of you as his little boy at least some of the time.” “Justin I really would like to call you Papa.” “Gus you know I’m not ready for that, don’t ask me why since I don’t have a good answer. I just know I’m not ready for that. Justin, or Uncle Justin; just know I love you and will do anything I can for you whenever you need it. Just one thing though, enjoy yourself tomorrow but don’t monopolize all of the conversations.” “I’ll try Justin but you know I learned from the best and it's hard not to talk and fill in those awkward gaps.” “Gussy you're smiling as you make fun of me aren’t you?” “Yes Justin I’m smiling.” “Hey guys, how did the pie baking go?” “We've two beautiful, baked from scratch, pumpkin pies Dad. All we have to do it put the whip cream on them.” “Good you left something for me to do then.” “No.” “What do you mean no, Sunshine?” “Gus and I want them to be perfect so you can’t just slop a pile of whip cream on the pie and spread it out.” “Sunshine you wound me, I can put whip cream on a pie in a decorative manner. I’m not the cooking cretin you think I am.” “Brian your way of using whip cream isn’t all that culinary so just go get ready for supper.” “What did that mean Justin?” “Nothing Gus, I was just kidding around with your Dad.” “Oh, I get it, well I’ll go get ready to eat as well. Dad we did make a skeleton pie for you though.” *** “What the hell is a skeleton pie?” “Just an empty crust covered with a cinnamon and sugar mixed with a little melted margarine to hold it together.” “Does he really expect me to eat cinnamon and sugar covered pie crust?” “No Brian he was pulling your leg, we had extra crust and he made it for himself, Gus knows you wouldn’t be caught dead eating something so full of empty calories.” “He does, does he? This isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but one sliver is more than enough to prove a point.” “Yes it is Brian but he won’t be happy to know that I won the bet.” “When will I ever learn? Why do the two of you feel the need to get me to eat more than I want to eat.” “We love you and don’t want to see you shrink away to skin and bones. No, I don’t think that is it; we just like pushing your buttons.” “I’m not sure which of those is the bigger insult Sunshine?” “Do you think he really knows what I meant about the whipped cream, Brian?” “I doubt that he has any real idea, just that it had to do with the two of us outside of the kitchen.” “I don’t know why I said it though. You know that I love how you use whip cream.” “Of course I do Sunshine. But you have to admit that if I can decorate your body with whip cream I am capable of decorating a pumpkin pie with whip cream as well.” “It isn’t the same and you know it Brian, I want to impress your family so the pies need to be perfect. When you spray whip cream on me it doesn’t matter how it looks since it doesn’t stay there long enough to be noticed plus the fact that only the two of us ever saw those decorations anyway.” “Justin you don’t have to worry about impressing my family. Mom already thinks you're great, Claire'll be crying buckets as soon as she finds out about Gus and the boys were little monsters so I doubt that anyone will care if the whip cream isn’t perfect.” “I know all of that but I still want the pies to be perfect. Call me petty but I really want to impress them Brian.” “Petty don’t worry so much, the important Kinney already loves you and all of the others will be in love with you by the time we eat those pies.” *** DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG “Are you expecting anyone Justin?” “No but we'll know soon enough since Gus is already on his way to the door. That boy can make more noise than a herd of elephants. But then what would we expect since he has feet the size of elephants.” “Well you know what big feet means Sunshine?” “Brian Kinney you know better than that old wives tale.” “I don’t know Justin who has the bigger feet in our relationship?” “Look you long footed Irishman you’ve never complained about my attributes even if I have short stubby feet.” “Who said I was complaining?” “Gus is pretty much perfect, how did we get so lucky with him?” “Well Sunshine he's as much a Kinney-Taylor as he's a Peterson-Marcus.” “That's supposed to explain it?” “Yes, Justin it is. He's a Kinney-Taylor and he's pretty much a perfect son what don’t you see?” “Brian have I told you lately that I love you?” *** “Hey Sonnyboy who was at the door?” “It was Mama, she brought the cookies we made last night.” “Cookies, what cookies?” “Mama and I made jack-o-lantern cookies just in case the pies didn’t turn out; Justin.” “Justin?” “Don’t worry about it Brian, Sonnyboy is growing up. Gus I’m wounded, you didn’t think I could bake a pie.” “Justin we didn’t mean anything. Mama just felt that pies are harder than people think and she just thought that if we made cookies then we had a backup just in case. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” “Gus I’m just pulling your chain. The pies turned out fine but if they hadn’t then the cookies would have been a great backup. We will take the cookies and the pies tomorrow since we both know that your Dad would have a fit if we left either of them here to tempt him.” “Sunshine, talk about wounding someone.” “I’m not falling for it Brian.” “He's figured me out Gus, I’ll give you a bit of advice Sonnyboy, avoid falling in love with a twink with a brain.” “Huh?” “I think the pies have had time enough to cool Gus, let’s go put the whip cream on them.” *** “Brian, Gus are you ready to go yet?” “I’ve been ready for hours Justin, Dad is the one who takes forever to get dressed. Why is that?” “Do you want the long or short answer Gus?” “I’m ready, I’m ready, lets get this show on the road. Did I really say that?” “I can’t wait to meet my cousins, do you think they'll like me?” “Of course they'll like you Gus, everyone likes you once they get to know you. But Gus the only thing I know about my nephews is that they're 6 or 7 years older than you so that'll affect how they deal with you. They'll like you that's a given but they won’t have that much in common with you. Don’t expect too much from them. You might want to take an umbrella though.” “Why would I want to take an umbrella Dad?” “If I know my sister she'll be crying buckets as soon as she figures out who you are.” “You really think Daniel and Joshua'll like me Dad?” “Yes Gus, they'll like you, I haven’t been in their lives for over 10 years but don’t worry about it they'll like you.” “Gus why don’t you take the pies and cookies out to the car, we'll be there in a few minutes.” “OK Justin.” “What do you want to tell me Sunshine?” “What do you mean Brian?” “Obviously you sent Gus ahead so we could be alone, so what do you want to say?” “Well just in case something is said today, you've been in your nephew’s lives.” “What? Strange I don’t remember having anything to do with them.” “Oh what the hell, I’ve been sending them Christmas and Birthday cards signed Uncle Brian for years. I knew it was something you would want to do if you actually thought about it.” “Is that all?” “Well I usually included some money or gift certificates in the card. I also sent gifts a few times.” “Like what, just in case I’m thanked for something in particular?” “I did tell them to keep it a secret when I first started sending them the cards. I think they enjoyed the idea of keeping a secret from their mother and Grandmom. I sent Daniel a case of condoms for his 18th birthday since I had reason to believe he needed them. Either he didn’t use them or they failed since he became a father not too long after that birthday. I still like the idea of you being a great Uncle.” “Justin Craig Taylor you get way too much pleasure from that bit of information.” “Yes I do. You do realize that before you know it we're going to be grandfathers.” “I’m never going to be old enough to be a grandfather, well I suppose I’m never going to admit to being old enough to be a grandfather no matter how many children Gus produces.” “Speaking of Gus, we probably better get going before he gets worried and comes back.” *** “Hi Grandmom, where do you want me to put these pies and cookies we brought?” “Pies and cookies, you didn’t need to bring so much.” “We had to bring them Grandmom since we couldn’t leave anything in the house to tempt Dad.” “Augustus Brian you're walking on thin ice.” “I know Dad but you love it when I tease you, just not as much as you love it when Justin teases you.” “That ice is starting to crack Sonnyboy.” “Oh Dad you aren’t fooling anyone.” “Pies or cookies would have been plenty, why both?” “Well Joan, Gus and his Mama were betting that my pie baking might not work out as well as I hoped so the cookies were an insurance dessert. I haven’t tasted the pies so they might still be right about needing the cookies.” “They certainly look perfect Justin. Gus just put them on the counter in the kitchen. I’ve got a roast and potatoes in the oven, Claire is bringing a green bean casserole, Daniel and his wife are bringing cabbage rolls while Joshua wouldn’t tell me what he's bringing. He said he wanted at least one item to be a surprise. We certainly will have plenty to eat.” “Have you told my cousins anything about me Grandmom? I hope that they like me.” “No Gus I haven’t said a word to any of them, I want it to be a surprise and don’t worry they'll more than like you. They have grown up into responsible young men, which was a surprise to me and to their mother.” “How's my big sister doing? I really shouldn‘t have dropped her from my life but that's water under the bridge. Where are all of these old cliches coming from. Justin you have corrupted me.” “Claire is Claire, she cries for any good reason and for any other reason as well. I thought she was going to drown little Jessica Marie the first time Julie let her hold the baby.” *** “Well baby brother to what do we deserve the honor of your presence?” “Claire I invited Brian so be nice. We're going to have a happy family reunion and if you can’t behave then you can go home.” “Mom, I see my brother for the first time in over a decade I’m entitled to snark at him a little. Joshua is bringing in my casserole and the 5 loaves of bread he baked, each is a different type of bread. They look good but who knows how they'll taste? He's taking Adult Living at school and one of his projects was baking bread. He got an A so they probably will be good.” “Where are Daniel, Julie, and the baby?” “Running late like usual but they should be here soon.” “Hi Grandmom, and it is you Uncle Brian. I remember you always drove a Jeep. Daniel just pulled up, they'll be here in a second.” “Then I'll wait to introduce everyone at one time.” “Well Brian how have you been?” “I’ve been happy, something I never really expected. How've you been Claire?” “Hey Grandmom whose Jeep is in the driveway?” “Daniel bring your family into the living room.” “Sure Mom, what's going on?” “Claire, Daniel, Joshua, Julie I want you to meet Justin and Gus.” “Uncle Brian it has been a lot of years but you still look the same.” “I can’t say the same about you Daniel, you really have grown up since I saw you last, you too Joshua.” “I have to say Uncle Brian that there's no doubt who Gus is, he couldn’t look more like you, except for that blond hair. I thought you were gay?” “Yes Joshua I’m gay and Justin is my partner of over 10 years. Gus is our son and thus your cousin.” “Joshua why don’t you and Gus go set up the dining room for supper, that'll give you a chance to get to know each other.” “Sure Grandmom, come on Gus it's this way.” *** “Claire I’m surprised.” “Why Brian?” “I introduce you to my gay partner and my son and you haven’t burst into tears yet.” “Funny Brian, but give me time; I do have to digest this information. The tears'll come; have no doubt about that. Where did you get a son? You‘ve been gay much longer than that boy's been alive.” “Since I was born gay that's very true. Do you remember Lindsay Peterson?” “A blonde you dated in college, she was here at Daddy’s funeral wasn’t she?” “Yes to both. She wanted to have a child and she wanted me to be the father so I provided some sperm and she was artificially inseminated. Gus was the result. I never expected to have much to do with him but from the instant I saw him, the morning he was born, I haven’t been able to imagine not having him in my life. I met Justin that same early morning and haven’t been able to get him out of my life since then.” “Brian.” “Don’t worry Sunshine you know what I mean. I never expected to love anyone and it took me almost a year to admit to myself that I loved this beautiful man. Then we had some problems, mostly due to my fear of love, but 10 years ago Gus made us realize what we really wanted. It's amazing to think that a 2-year-old knew how to get two stubborn men to admit to themselves what they wanted. While I had my reasons to stay away from you and Mom I shouldn’t have deprived you of knowing Gus. He's a wonderful boy and I've no doubt that none of you'll ever regret having him in your lives.” “Claire at least try to control yourself, you don’t want Gus to think something's wrong with his aunt do you.” “Mom you know I can’t help myself, I cry for no good reasons why wouldn’t I cry when I hear my asshole baby brother grow up right in front of my eyes. God Brian he has to be a wonderful young man if he has caused such changes in you.” “While Gus's been a big part in making me somewhat human Justin had the most to do with it.” “Daniel do you have anything to say?” “Uncle Brian you put me on the spot. I’ve never been quick at thinking of what to say like Joshua is but I’m glad to see you. You’ve obviously have good taste in men.” “Daniel Joseph Brunswick what the hell does that mean?” “Mom don’t worry I’m not gay, doesn’t Jessica prove that. I had a gay roommate last year at Pitt and we talked a lot about what we found attractive in other people. Justin would be very high on Peter’s list of good looking guys.” “I do at that Daniel but I often wonder what Sunshine sees in me so I question his taste in men.” “Brian Shawn Kinney would you quit embarrassing me.” “Probably on the day I die, you get quite the attractive shade of red when you're embarrassed. Daniel aren‘t you going to show your daughter to us. Justin gets a lot of fun out of me being a Great Uncle so I suppose I should at least get the enjoyment of meeting her.” “That's no problem Uncle Brian I love showing Jessica to people. My wife Julia, over there, who prefers to be called Julie, comes from Nova Scotia, thinks that if she gave me half a chance I would show our daughter to every stranger on the street. Jessica Marie was born on May 17 so she's 5 months old and is my pride and joy. Julie bring her over here so Uncle Brian can see her.” “Uncle Brian, you don’t mind do you? Here's your grandniece. Do you want to hold her?” “Uncle Brian is fine with me Julie. I haven’t held a baby this small since Gus so I’m out of practice.” “I’m not worried Uncle Brian, from the way Uncle Justin is watching he would catch her before she hit the ground if you actually dropped her.” “She's a doll Julie. Daniel it looks like you brought a nice addition into the family. How did you two meet?” “I was an exchange student here, for a year, and we met at the café where we both were working. We started dating and well we weren’t as careful as we thought we were being.” “I swear Uncle Brian I was using the gift you sent me for my birthday but one must have failed. I can’t say that I’m unhappy about it considering how wonderful Jessica is.” “What birthday present?” “Oops don’t worry about that Grandmom. Julie why don’t we go see how Joshua and Gus are doing in the dining room. You can give Jessica to Mom whenever you get tired of holding her Uncle Brian.” “Oh I think that Uncle Justin needs to hold his great niece for awhile.” “Yes Brian that sounds good to me, I was wondering how long it would take you to make that connection.” *** “Gus how old are you?” “I’m 12, how old are you Joshua?” “I’ll be 18 next month. I’m a senior at Sitting Bull High. Daniel is almost 20 and a sophomore at Pitt.” “How old's the baby, I’ve never been around a baby before. All of the people in my parent’s circle are gay so there haven't been many children in the group over the years, right now I’m the only one.” “Jessica's 5 months old and has been a godsend to Daniel, even before she was born she caused him to straighten up his act. He was living a wild life, which is why Jessica was conceived in the first place, but once he accepted the fact that he was going to be a father he became almost a different person. There's no doubt that he'll graduate from Pitt while that certainly wasn’t likely before then.” “I barely remembered Uncle Brian, before tonight I hadn’t seen him in over 10 years and we never saw him much before that. He just didn’t want to do anymore with the family than he had to, which was why it was a surprise when he started sending me and Daniel cards at Christmas and on our birthdays about 5 years ago. But when I heard your name it really made the point that he and Grandmom weren’t close when you were born.” “What do you mean?” “If Uncle Brian and Grandmom had been getting along when you were born there's no way you would have a name like Gus. Grandmom was much more religious in the past and she insisted that her grandchildren have Biblical names. Heaven help anyone who would prefer to be called Josh instead of Joshua. I’m Joshua Mark Brunswick by the way and my brother is Daniel Joseph.” “I’ve always been called Gus but my official birth certificate name is Augustus Brian Peterson-Marcus. The only time I’ve been called Augustus is when I’ve been in 3 name trouble.” “I certainly know about 3 name trouble Augustus.” “Gus is what I prefer Josh.” “I’m sorry but I wouldn’t use Josh in front of Grandmom and you're stuck with Augustus, baby cousin. I’m finally not the youngest and I’m going to use the power that gives me. Don’t worry though I'll probably be the only one to use Augustus. Hey Daniel, you two get tired of old folks talk?” “Joshua you haven’t been corrupting our young relative have you?” “Julie I’m wounded; besides Daniel's the corruptor of the family.” “You keep forgetting that I was the one who did the seducing. I wanted him much more than he wanted me at first. Of course maybe I picked the wrong Brunswick brother since Joshua you look much more like your Uncle than Daniel does and all I can say is he's one fine looking older man. Gus have I embarrassed you?” “No I’m just trying not to laugh.” “Why?” “Don’t let Dad hear you call him an older man. He's so afraid of growing old and getting fat it's funny. The only person who dares say something like that to Dad is Justin. I don’t know if I’m going to get use to calling him Justin instead of Uncle Justin, it just doesn’t sound right to me.” “Is he really that vain, he didn’t seem like it to me in the few minutes we talked?” “Vain isn’t the word so much as fear, Daniel. He really fears aging. He's always been there for me, so has Justin but sometimes I think he regrets having me around since I represent the passage of time.” “What's it like having gay fathers?” “Joshua they're just my Dads I have nothing else to compare them to. I know that they love me with all of their beings and both would die for me in a heartbeat. As far as I can tell they lead a very boring suburban life, they almost never kiss in front of me and other than some strange sounds coming from their bedroom I've no idea what they do that makes them gay. I know that they love each other as much as is humanly possible. I love both of them and my mothers as well. I'm a very lucky boy; I have four parents that love me, a lot of my friends at school can’t say that.” “Well guys we have everything set up all we have to do is bring the food from the kitchen and call in the old folks and young Uncle Brian.” “Dad's going to adore you Julie.” *** “This roast's perfect Joan, what is your secret? I’ve never had any luck with lamb of any kind.” “No secret Justin; I just sear it before I put it in the roaster and I don’t put too much water in the pan. Roast lamb is the only cut of lamb that I’ve ever thought was worth the price over the equivalent cut of beef.” “Julie these cabbage rolls are great as well. I would never thought of having them as a side dish though.” “Thanks Uncle Justin, they're something we have back home all of the time. I guess that they were a way of having cabbage dressed up to be more desirable than just plain old boiled diced cabbage. Your pies look delicious.” “Well I hope that they are, they're the first ones I ever made from scratch. I just hope that the crust's OK; I’m not really worried about the pumpkin though I don’t think I will ever bother with a raw pumpkin again. It has to be easier to just use a couple of cans of pumpkin pie filling. It took Gus and I a long time to get it properly prepared.” “But Justin it gave us more time to talk about what's going on in our lives, I thought you liked doing that.” “Of course I do Gus.” “Well Gus why don’t you go cut the first pie and give everyone a piece of your masterpiece. Remember I only want a sliver.” “Dad you have to eat more than a sliver or else you have to eat a cookie with the sliver.” “Sonnyboy are you giving me an ultimatum?” “I guess I am Dad, which will it be a full piece of pie or pie and cookie?” “Cookie and pie, that way you can tell your Mama that I ate one of her cookies. But Gus give me the one you forgot to frost.” “OK Dad. Everyone else want pie?” “Justin you have nothing to worry about this pie, crust and all, is delicious.” “Thanks Claire.” *** “That was a wonderful meal Mom, I’ve not eaten so much in a long time.” “You can say that again. That's my goal to get Brian to eat 3 full meals in a row. It hasn’t happened in over 10 years but I always have hope.” “Justin I’m not that bad.” “Yes Brian you are, a bagel's not a full meal. A cup of coffee with a pound of sugar is not a full meal.” “Since this is a Halloween party, of sorts, why don’t we tell a story about something that really frightened us.” “Thanks Daniel for getting me off of Justin’s Brian doesn’t eat enough obsession.” “No problem Uncle Brian it looked like you wanted to change the conversation.” “Just what I need, more allies for Brian.” “Why don’t you start this adventure off Gus?” “Sure Daniel.” *** “Three or four years ago Dad picked me up from school, it wasn’t one of my normal weekends with Dad and Justin but something had come up and Mom and Mama asked him to get me and let me stay that weekend while they went out of town. We got to the house and Dad went ahead but I was right behind him though I had stopped to pick up a advertising circular from the mail box. I heard a loud noise and when I got into the house I found Dad lying on the floor of the foyer with Justin sucking at his throat. “Uncle Justin what happened to Dad, why's he lying on the floor? Did he fall? Why're you sucking on his throat?” “No Gus, Brian didn't fall I was just practicing my Dracula act for Halloween.” “OK but can you let him up now so that I can close the door and keep the cold out?” “Give me a second Gus to adjust my cape.” “You aren’t wearing a cape Uncle Justin what're you talking about?” “Part of the practicing, I’m pretending that I’m wearing a cape so I have to pretend to adjust it before I can get up.” “Dad you're OK aren’t you? You're breathing very heavy.” “I’m fine Sonnyboy, go ahead and take your books to your room. We'll close the door.” “It was amazing how much Justin was acting like a vampire, he even left a mark on Dad’s neck. Hey Justin I just thought of something, if you were practicing to be a vampire how come your costume was of a Mummy?” “The costume shop sent him the wrong costume and it was too late to change it when we noticed the mistake.” “Justin are you OK?” “What do you mean Joan?” “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone get so red so fast.” “It’s nothing I blush when I get hot, I mean I turn red from overheating, I mean it’s warm in here and that causes me to turn red.” “Now why're you crying Claire?’ “Oh Brian he's so cute. How did you get so lucky in love?” “I don’t have a clue.” *** “Daniel it's your turn.” “OK Gus, last year at this time I got some information that scared me more than anything in my life. Julie told me that we were going to have a baby. I was 18 and a freshman in college and I was going to be a father. I was scared out of my wits. I certainly wasn’t a good student and I'd been quite the rowdy brat all of my life. All I could think of was how could this have happened, what did I do to deserve this punishment. But after a while of just thinking about myself I looked at Julie and realized that she was just as afraid as I was. Just like that I became an adult, I'd caused this situation by my behavior and it was up to me to make things right. I proposed right then and there. I knew without a doubt that it was the right thing for us and that we would be happy together. I immediately started buckling down on my schoolwork since I knew I had to be able to provide for my family once I graduated. While my father has been great about supporting Joshua and me, financially, I knew that I couldn’t count on him forever. Other than money he hasn’t been in our lives since he and Mom divorced; even during her unfortunate second marriage. Then this last May when Jessica was born I knew that I'd made the right decision. She's such a joy and Julie and I are so happy together. So while I was scared to death when Julie first told me it has turned out wonderfully. “Joshua it's your turn.” *** “When I think of something that scared me all I can think of was what happened at Grandpa’s funeral lunch. It wasn’t at Halloween but just the thought of it scares me. I don’t know why it had such an effect but even now my arm hair is standing on end. I guess it's so scary because I was so young since I was only 6 at the time. Uncle Brian I still get nightmares because of you telling Daniel and me that you had Grandpa’s head in that bowling ball bag. I know that you didn’t but for whatever reason it really affected me.” “Joshua I’m sorry I certainly didn’t mean anything, I was just so, I don’t really know what I was feeling, and the two of you were so rambunctious and that was just the first thing that popped into my head.” “Don’t worry about it Uncle Brian, I suppose I should ask a shrink why it affected me so much but then I really don’t care that much. It isn’t like I think about it every day.” “Julie, your turn.” *** “Mine is similar to Daniel’s in that it deals with finding out I was pregnant. I was so worried about what my parents would do and say. Fraser Halifax isn’t the most liberal man in Nova Scotia to say the least. I was pretty certain that he would disown me. That's part of the reason I took so long to tell Daniel about my condition. I really don’t know why I thought that they would take it so badly but I certainly did. After I told Daniel and he told the family that we were getting married I had to tell someone my fears about my family and the obvious one was Grandmom. I expected her to condemn me for behaving immorally, after all I was the one who seduced Daniel, and to tell me to accept whatever punishment I received from my parents. I was so surprised when all she did was comfort me and to tell me that no matter what my parents did I was now a part of the Kinney family. That was such a comfort to me.” “Well Julie I’m not quite the intolerant monster that Brian and Claire remember from their childhoods. It certainly would be hypocritical of me to condemn you for premarital sex and getting pregnant since you certainly weren’t the first in the family to do so. Daniel was conceived before his parents were married, Claire was conceived before her parents were married and my oldest brother was conceived before our parents were married. I found that last part out when I was helping Gus with his genealogy project last month. Mother always claimed that Joseph was an early birth; but a 10 pound baby at 6 months who did she think she was kidding?’ “After talking to Grandmom I finally got the courage to call my parents and give them the news. I expected shouts and tears but all I got was congratulations. Then they showed up here in Pittsburgh the next day. I really thought I was in trouble then. I don’t know why I ever doubted them because they were great that day and have been ever since.” “Well your Dad scared the crap out of me. I thought for sure he was going to knock my head all the way to Nova Scotia but all he wanted to know was if I truly loved you and if I was going to take care of you and the baby to the best of my ability. Once I convinced him that I would he welcomed me to the Halifax family.” OK Grandmom I guess it's your turn.” *** “Well there have been many things that have scared me in my life. Most had nothing to do with Halloween. Halloween was never a holiday that we did much with since it really isn’t a religious holiday. I have to say that something that happened several weeks ago really scared me. What scared me was the realization of how poor a mother I was to my children. A few weeks ago a grandson that I didn’t even know existed showed up on my doorstep asking if I had a son named Brian. Later that night it sank in, my son had such a horrible childhood that he was afraid to let me know that he had fathered a child for fear of what I would do to that child. I was so happy when Gus called and let me know that Brian was willing to talk to me. I’m so glad that we've been able, at least, to be in the same room with each other. I’m delighted that Brian has allowed Justin and Gus to become part of our family despite everything I did wrong in the past. “Claire your turn.” “I think that Jessica needs to be fed and put down for a nap. You'll excuse us everyone? Gus would you like to help?” “Sure Julie, but I’ve never done anything with a baby before, so you'll have to tell me what to do. Dad how come I never got a younger sibling?” “Gus the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania only allows one child for every four homosexuals so you filled the quota for the family.” “Dad I know better than that. That wasn’t even an attempt at a good excuse.” “Gus it just didn’t work out for you to have a younger brother or sister. You have an older sister in Molly. Maybe Daniel and Julie will let you be Jessica‘s big brother.” “Would you two think about that?” “Sure Gus every little girl needs a big brother to look out for her.” “Come on Gus, I’ll show you how to changer her diaper.” “Justin are you all right. You're as white as a sheet now?” “I must have eaten too much Joan. Maybe I should go to the bathroom and splash some water on my face.” “I’ll show you the way Sunshine.” *** “Justin he didn’t mean anything, after all he doesn’t know anything.” “I know Brian but it still hurts so much. Maybe you should think about having another child?” “It's too late for that Justin. Besides he has a little sister now.” “You go back to the others, I just want to sit for a while and get my composure back.” “Justin we can go home when ever you want to go.” “I’ll be OK Brian, go back before they start thinking that you are taking advantage of me in your childhood bedroom.” “Sunshine!” “Gotcha!” “I think it's more likely that they will think you are taking advantage of me in my childhood bedroom.” “You think they figured out what was going on in Gus’ story?” “Not until you started blushing. Sunshine you can jump me in the foyer anytime you want, just make sure I’m alone first.” “Brian.” *** “What did I miss?” “Nothing Brian we decided to wait, is Justin OK?” “He’s fine; he's been overly worried about making a good impression on the family. I told him that the important Kinney already loves him but he still insists that he has to impress the rest of you.” “Brian, you scamp.” “Thanks Mom. While my guys are out of the room I think I‘ll tell my story, I really don‘t want either of them to hear it. It would hurt their view of the perfect Brian Kinney. You don‘t mind waiting, do you Claire?” “Of course not Brian, this should be quite the story if you don’t want Gus and Justin to hear it.” “I never intended to fall in love. I didn’t believe in love but while I didn’t admit it to myself for a very long time I fell in love with that beautiful young man the instant I saw him. I didn’t know that I had and I fought the idea tooth and nail for months. I finally admitted to myself that I could love Justin and that he really did love me and then the horror of his bashing pushed all of that back behind my internal walls. We had to start all over and since he didn’t and still doesn’t remember everything about that night it was a harder fight than the first time.” “What bashing?” “That's another story Daniel for another time but I want you all to swear to never say anything to Gus about it. We decided years ago that there was no reason for him to know about it and I don’t want him to know about it.” “Sure Uncle Brian we won’t say anything, I don’t know anything but I won’t say anything.” “Thanks Joshua.” “Anyway I first met Justin the night, well the early morning that Gus was born. I just intended for it to be just another night of sex, I'd been doing that for years and I thought I was happy just tricking every night. Finding out that Gus had been born and going to see him at the hospital changed the way I looked at the world. Justin and I went back to the Loft and had sex all night long, he wore me out which never happened. I pushed him away but he wouldn’t listen and before I knew it I expected and wanted him in my life. I just wouldn’t admit it to him or myself. Then his father found out that he was gay and threw him out of the house. So Justin wound up living with me. I loved it and I hated it. I was use to living by myself and I had very set routines. Then I behaved like a complete idiot and almost lost him forever. I don’t remember if it was before or after Halloween but I do remember that Jack-o-lanterns were still outside of people’s houses. I had left the Loft and Justin had gone to his sister’s birthday party and while the place was empty it was broken into and pretty much anything of value was stolen. I was so angry and guilty but being myself I let the anger cover up the guilt and I had to blame someone so I blamed Justin. He couldn’t remember if he'd set the alarm or not so I blamed him for letting thieves steal my possessions. The cops never caught them so obviously they were professionals and they might've gotten into the Loft even if the alarm was set. What I really feared was what would've happened if he had been home when they broke into the place. So instead of being an understanding friend I told him to take his stuff and get out. I thought that he would go to Gus’ mothers’ house for the night, or even to his parents. I really expected that he would come back to the Loft after I had time to cool down. Instead the little twink stole my credit card, booked a flight to New York and away he went. Luckily his best friend had enough sense to tell me what he'd done. I of course denied that it was my problem while I was planning how to find him before anything happened. My friends decided that the best way to find Justin was to drive to New York and search the city. It would've been so much easier, and cheaper, if I had just flown on my own but then I wouldn’t have had the hours of him sitting on my lap and making out while Mikey drove the Jeep home. I found him in a mid-price hotel when he used my credit card again. The little twink was hoping that I would come looking for him instead of sending the police. Then he played a card right out of the Brian Kinney deck, he seduced me. That was the beginning of the end, I knew that I wasn’t going to get him out of my life, he didn’t want that and I didn’t want that. I did manage to get him out of the Loft by making arrangements for him to live with Debbie Novotny. He was in my life but only on my terms, at least that is what I told myself. Well Claire I guess it is your turn.” “My story certainly isn’t as interesting as yours Brian. Hi Justin feeling better?” “Yes thank you Claire. I’m sorry for having to leave like that. Did I miss anything?” “No Sunshine, just my boring story about never being afraid of anything.” “A story you didn’t want me to hear?” “Claire why don’t you tell your story.” “He really has tamed you Brian hasn’t he?” *** “I remember the first time Brian stood up to Daddy. I have never been so afraid in my life; I really thought that he would kill Brian. Brian was 14 or so and had been invited to a Halloween party. Daddy came home just as Brian was getting ready to go and he objected to the costume Brian was wearing. He said something about no son of his wearing a fairy outfit where people could see it.” “It was a gladiator costume, what was fairy about that I asked him, my answer was a slap across the face.” “Slaps across the face were nothing new but it was new when Brian swung back. Why did you do that?” “I finally had somewhere I could go it if got too bad. Mikey and I were best friends by then and I knew that I could always go over to his house and lick my wounds. I just decided that I wasn’t going to just take it any more. While he was still bigger than I was I knew that I was going to catch up soon.” “He beat the crap out of you though.” “Where was I? I don’t remember any of this.” “I’m sure you were in Church Mom you were always in Church.” Claire answered her mother. “No wonder you hated me so much Brian.” “I didn’t go to the party, I would have had to say that I'd been in the gladiatorial ring to explain away the bruises I got. It was worth it though, in the future he only tried to hit me when he was really drunk and he was never as dangerous when he was drunk than when he was just in a bad mood.” “Brian I should've done more to protect you, I was your big sister, but I was afraid that he would hit me too. I just did my regular routine and burst into tears.” “I never expected anything from you Claire.” “That in itself says a lot Brian.” “I guess it does.” “Putting a baby to bed is a lot more work than I thought Dad.” “Most things turn out to be more work than we think they'll be Sonnyboy.” “Well I guess it's my turn to tell a story.” “Go ahead Sunshine.” *** “I’m going to warn all of you that my story is horribly scary. It's the scariest thing I’ve seen in my life and I still have nightmares about it. I don’t know how I will get to sleep tonight after I tell it to all of you.” “Justin quit being a Drama Princess.” “Yes dear.” “Justin Craig Taylor, just tell the story.” “The first Halloween after we moved into our new house was in ‘04. Gus was four and really knew what Halloween meant for the first time in his life. He wanted to go trick-or-treating all by himself. Well of course that wasn’t going to happen in this universe but Brian did agree that we would get costumes to wear while we took Sonnyboy around the neighborhood. I could've been knocked over by a feather when he agreed to that little concession, but then he very seldom can say no to Gus. Gus knows this so I've no fear of telling it in front of him since he doesn’t take advantage of it very often. Anyway Brian told me that he would take care of ordering the costumes and for me to not worry about that detail. My job was to decorate the house and yard. My mother and Deb agreed to man the candy bowl while we were out. The costumes were delivered on the 31st and the bags were clearly labeled Gus PM, Justin T, and Brian K. I want all of you to look at Brian and think what would be the perfect Halloween costume for him to wear. Dracula, of course, is the obvious answer what with his height build, coloring, and hair. I could tell through the bag that his costume had a cape so I just figured that he was going to go as Dracula. I put the costume bags on our bed then I went and got Gus from his mothers. When I got home I put Gus’ costume on him, I wondered how his costume fit with the Dracula theme. While I was dressing Gus I heard Brian come home and go into our room. I wondered why he started cussing but then Brian has been known to cuss for no reason. For such a sweet man he can have a very foul mouth. My costume didn’t seem to fit with a Dracula theme either but a werewolf is a Halloween staple. I figured that maybe it was the only thing they had in my size.” “Justin don’t tell them the rest, I'll never live it down.” “Quit being the Drama Princess Brian, that's my job in the family. So I‘m standing in Gus‘ room dressed as a werewolf, Gus is dressed as a lumberjack, play axe included. Brian is outside in the hall. “Justin the god damn shop sent the wrong costume, I’m not going out in public in this monstrosity.” “Brian it's too late to get anything else and you promised Gus that we would take him trick-or-treating. It can’t be that bad, I promise I won’t laugh. Gus you won’t laugh at Daddy will you?” “Daddy I won’t laugh I promise.” Then the most horribly frightening thing I have ever seen in my life walked into the room. Brian‘s costume had a cape all right but instead of a long black silk cape it was short, red and had an attached hat. Believe it or not, and I still have problems believing it, there stood Brian Shawn Kinney dressed as Little Red Riding Hood.”