Jennifer Taylor arrived at Brian’s loft just before noon. Justin had asked her over for lunch and to ‘discuss something important’. That last part had Jennifer worried. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be involved in anything that Brian would consider ‘important’. “Hi, Mom.” Justin said as he pulled open the loft door to let Jennifer in. “Hi, Sweetie.” Jennifer said kissing Justin on the cheek. “I made some shrimp salad for sandwiches.” Justin said motioning toward the bar. “Would you like some iced tea?” “Yes, please.” “Hi, Jennifer.” Jennifer turned to see Brian standing at the top of the steps leading to the bedroom. “Oh, hi Brian.” Jennifer said with a forced smile she hoped neither Brian nor Justin would be able to see through. “Uncle Bri.” Jennifer was surprised by the sudden appearance of what could only be Brian’s nephew. “I need some colored pencils for my science project.” “Okay.” Brian said nodding. “We can pick some up when we go out later.” “Okay.” John said. “All I have to do is color in my diagram and the stupid thing’ll be done, finally.” “Hey.” Justin said. “It’s not stupid and I think you did a great job on it.” “Yeah, I guess.” John grumbled. “I just wish I could draw like you.” “Don’t worry about it, J.” Brian interrupted. “Your diagram is really good. Better than half the staff at the office can do most of the time.” “You are so full of sh -.” “John!” Brian admonished before he could finish. “Manners.” “Oops.” He said looking sheepishly at Jennifer. “Sorry.” “You know better than that.” Brian said playfully cuffing the boy’s head. “Besides, if Debbie hears you talk like that, I’ll never hear the end of it.” John laughed then looked doubtfully at the lunch Justin had prepared. “What is that?” “Shrimp salad.” Justin said as John wrinkled his nose. “There are cold cuts and cheese in the fridge for you.” “All right.” John said smiling and hurrying to open the fridge door. “Any mustard?” “Top shelf on the door.” Brian said pointing at a small yellow squeeze bottle. “I thought I was gonna get stuck with the ‘dainty’ food.” John said with his pinkies in the air. “Wise guy.” Justin said laughing. Jennifer stared at the ridiculously domestic scene in front of her in silent astonishment. She had swallowed all of her apprehensions when Justin told her he was back with Brian, but she had feared the worst. And, now, well, now she was just bewildered. “So -.” Jennifer finally managed. “Uh, what did you want to talk to me about?” “Oh yeah.” Justin said as he placed a plate of food in front of his mother. “Well, it was Brian’s idea really.” “Oh?” “Yeah.” John said around a mouthful of food. “Please close your mouth when you eat.” Brian said offering his nephew a napkin. John shrugged in apology. Brian turned back to Jennifer. “We’ve all been living here for a while now and, well, it’s getting pretty cramped. So, I thought we’d ask you to help us find something bigger.” “You want to get a bigger loft?” Jennifer asked. “A house actually.” Brian corrected. “A house?” “Uh-huh.” Justin said. “One with room so John will have his own room.” “Or a room period.” John smirked. “Ha ha.” Brian said. “I’d like to find something with enough room to maybe have a home office for myself, a nice studio for Picasso, here, and of course a nice yard, maybe even a pool, for the brat.” John rolled his eyes. “Oh.” Jennifer said shocked. “Uh, well, I could check some listings for you. See what’s available. I could probably be ready to show you some options by Wednesday.” “That’d be great, Mom.” Justin said smiling. “Yeah, that’d be great, Mom.” Brian teased causing Jennifer to chuckle. “Well, that’ll work.” Jennifer said still reeling. “I’ll check things out Monday and give you a call to set up an appointment.” “So, how’s Molly doing in school?” Justin asked. “Oh, uh, pretty good.” Jennifer stammered in surprise at the sudden change of subject. “If she keeps her grades up, she’ll make the honor roll this quarter.” --//-- Brian stared at his lover as they made their way into the realtor’s office where Jennifer worked. Never in his life had he thought that one day he’d be looking for a house for his ‘partner’ let alone with a child to think about. He shook his head to clear it, then opened the door for Justin and went inside. “Justin, Brian.” Jennifer called. “Over here.” “Hi, Mom.” Justin said as he made his way over to Jennifer’s desk. Jennifer lifted her finger as she finished the phone call she was on. “I have some very nice places to show you. We should get going, though.” She added. “I want you to get to see at least the top 5 today.” “Top 5?” Brian asked. “How many did you find?” “Well, it is a buyer’s market right now with the interest rate so low, so I found 10 houses in your price range almost immediately.” Jennifer explained. “They’re all convenient to your work, Brian, and John’s school.” “What about PIFA and the diner?” Brian asked. “Oh, yes, yes. I thought about that as well.” Jennifer said. “Both PIFA and the diner are on the bus line with each of the houses I’ve chosen.” “Oh, good.” Brian said. “Well, then, let’s get started.” “We’ll take my car if you don’t mind.” Jennifer said. Brian chuckled trying to picture all three of them trying to squeeze into the ‘Vette. --//-- Two hours and six houses later, Jennifer stopped in front of a two-story colonial style house. It wasn’t new, but it looked very nice. And, very big. “Wow.” Brian said as they walked up the front walk toward the porch. “This is nice, Jennifer, but -.” He looked around the neighborhood. It looked like breeder central. “Fear not.” Jennifer said with the hint of a smile. “I took the liberty of inquiring about the ‘tolerance level’. The area is pretty much mixed when it comes to straight and gay couples.” She pointed to the house on one side of the house. “This house is owned by a young professional couple. They’re straight; no children.” She then pointed to the house on the other side. “This one is owned by a gay couple. Richard, owns his own construction company, I’ve met him before through work. His company did some renovations on a house that the office acquired about 6 months ago. His partner, Elliot, is an interior designer. They’re a very nice couple. I met them when I spoke to the previous owners before listing the house.” She moved on toward the door pulling the key out of her brief case. “This house was originally a kind of two family home to the previous owner’s.” She explained. “A lesbian couple lived here with their two children and the children’s father and his wife. One big happy family from what I gathered when I talked to them.” Brian was impressed. He hadn’t expected Jennifer to think about that aspect of house hunting for he and Justin. And, he had to give her points for making in through her spiel without looking uncomfortable once. Jennifer then continued on to he front door and unlocked it revealing the expansive foyer. “The house has nine rooms on two floors – four upstairs including master bedroom and bath. There is a ready-made den next to the master bedroom and is accessible through the hallway as well as from the bedroom. That leaves two other bedrooms. One will be perfect for John. Lots of closet space, a great desk built into the wall, and it’s big enough for a full size bed. The other bedroom could be used as guest room or even a spare room for Gus when he comes to visit.” Jennifer said. “There are five rooms on the first floor including a formal dining room, large kitchen with breakfast nook, and sun room.” Jennifer then turned to Justin. “I want you to see it first.” “See what first?” Justin asked surprised. Jennifer motioned for them to follow her. She opened a set of double doors to reveal an amazing sunroom. Justin’s breath caught. The room was bathed in soft sunlight with windows on nearly all sides. “Oh, my God.” Justin said. “It’s beautiful.” Brian smiled at the look on Justin’s face knowing that the young man would claim the room as his studio. And, Brian had to admit it was perfect. “What about the yard?” Brian asked looking out into the backyard through the sunroom’s large windows. “Well, let’s check it out.” Jennifer said smiling as she lead the two men out the door. The backyard wasn’t enormous in any sense of the word, but it was definitely big enough. A gazebo was the centerpieces of left side of the yard but left plenty of room for a play area for John. Brian nodded approval and Justin moved around the yard inspecting all he saw. On the right side of the yard was modest pool. It wasn’t Olympic size, Brian noted, but it was big enough to have a bit of summer fun with the ‘family’. Brian could almost picture Debbie sitting in a brightly colored flower print swimsuit with some manner of gaudy fish earrings hanging from her lobes. He smiled to himself. “So, how much?” Brian asked trying not to wince. “It originally listed at $240,000.” Jennifer stated. “But, if one were to make a solid bid of $210,000, I’m sure the owner’s would sell.” Jennifer smiled. “Hmm.” Brian said. “$210,000, huh?” Justin looked at him pleadingly his eyes moving in the direction of the sunroom. Brian smiled. “Well, Jennifer, I think you just made a sale.” Justin threw his arms in the air mouthing the word ‘Yes!’. “Excellent.” Jennifer said. “I’ll send the owner’s your bid and start the paper work immediately.” Brian frowned. “When I hear back from the owner’s, we can meet for the marathon signatures on Friday.” Brian smiled. “Sounds good.” Jennifer started toward the door. “Oh, I need to list the loft, too.” Jennifer stopped a turned toward him. “I’m thinking you can help with that, right?” “Of course.” Jennifer said. “Great.” Brian said. “Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight and we can discuss it?” “Okay.” Jennifer said surprised that the offer came from Brian and not Justin. “Won’t be anything fancy.” Brian countered. “Just take out. And, bring Molly.” “All right.” Jennifer said as she gave Brian an honest to goodness smile. And, Jennifer was happy to note that the smile felt good, too. End chapter 3.