HOME RUN Chapter 17: Justin: ~~~~ He was waiting at the booking desk when it opened. “Sir, it’s Christmas Eve. It’s a restricted service and all the flights to New York are sold out”, the booking clerk had informed him. “Fuck”, Justin muttered under his breath. It looked like his plans, like him, weren’t even going to get off the ground. “Wait a minute. How close can you get me?” “Get you where?” “To New York. How close can you get me to New York?” The clerk brought up a new screen on the computer. “Well, the first flight out I can get you on will take you as far as Pittsburgh. It’ll get you there around 1:30 local time, if that’s any good”. Justin did a quick calculation. “Can I arrange a car to be ready for when I land?” he asked. “Sure, we can do that for you. Though it’s going to be pretty late by the time you get to New York”, and he took Justin’s credit card to make the payments. Justin knew it really was a long shot. It would be a very long drive to New York from Pittsburgh, but he was heading for the Empire State Building and only hoped Brian would still be there when he arrived. Sure, he could wait until after the Christmas holidays and go and find him then, but something told him that this was the right time; that if he didn’t do this now, then it might never happen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Settled in his seat, Justin put on the headphones and tried concentrating on the in-flight entertainment, hoping to avoid having to speak to anyone. It was no use, in his mind he kept going over what he was going to say to Brian when he got there. “Fuck, what am I gonna say?” How was he going to explain just turning up out of nowhere and going to search for Brian at the Empire State Building for Chrissakes? “What is this, some fucking movie?” Some ridiculously romantic quest in order to try and rekindle a relationship that ended nearly 10 years before? And Justin couldn’t help but wonder if this was some fool’s errand he’d embarked upon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Justin thanked the gods that seemed to be on his side. He’d made sure he was first down the steps from the airplane and, only having hand luggage, was out of the airport with the minimum of delay. The car was fully gassed and waiting for him. “I must be out of my fucking mind”, he thought as he threw his rucksack onto the back seat and headed for New York. Brian: ~~~~ They’d had a leisurely afternoon and although it had been extremely late by the time they'd got to bed, Brian and Gus had been out shopping again that morning. Brian hadn’t mentioned the telephone conversation and Gus thought it best he didn’t say anything either. They’d wrapped their Christmas presents to each other in their rooms and these were now placed under the tree. There was one other present they’d bought, which Gus had placed inside a Christmas card and written on the envelope: “Mom & Mama”. They’d been to the Botanical Gardens and purchased a gift certificate. When they got home to Pittsburgh, they would redeem it for a young sapling and plant the tree in the garden: A permanent memorial to Lindsay and Melanie. Now, wrapped up well against the cold, they headed out for something to eat before the main event of the evening. Justin: ~~~~ Much to his astonishment, Justin had virtually a clear run all he way to New York, despite a light dusting of snow and only stopped to re-fuel the car, use the restrooms and pick up some refreshments, which he consumed whilst driving. Taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike, he couldn't help but remember back to when he and Brian were last in New York together, following the time he’d run away after fighting with him; after Brian had thrown him out of the loft for not setting that damned alarm; allowing the place to be robbed. Christ, was he really that same kid back then, the kid that had taken Brian's credit card in the hope that he might come after him? A kid so scared he hadn't even dared step outside the hotel once he'd got there. He hadn't even thought any further than that at the time, but what would have happened if Brian hadn't turned up looking for him? He could have ended up anywhere, maybe even on the streets, if the card had just been cancelled; If Brian hadn't given a fuck about him. But he had come to find him and they’d made love in the hotel room. And Brian had taken practically this same route that Justin himself was now taking from Pittsburgh to New York. Before it was Brian coming after him; now it was his turn and it seemed that his life was turning full circle. Brian: ~~~~ They'd treated themselves to a meal at an Italian restaurant and Brian had looked on with pride as Gus ordered off the menu, knowing exactly what he'd wanted. "Too many meals at the Novotny's", came to Brian's mind and he smiled to himself, remembering with affection how many meals Debbie had provided for him as a kid, all those times he'd just turned up there, seeking sanctuary from the bullshit going on at home. And, having finished their meal, it was just after 8:00 when they arrived at their destination. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Gus, it’s getting pretty cold up here”, complained Brian, stamping his feet and wrapping Gus’s scarf snugly around the boy's neck before thrusting his own hands deep into his pockets. They’d been up on the observatory deck for nearly three hours watching the lights over the city and trying to make out the different landmarks and Brian couldn’t think what on earth was keeping Gus up here. But he kept making excuses for not wanting to go down and Brian suspected it was just a ploy to stay up as late as he could on Christmas Eve, and he ruffled the boy’s hair and smiled. Justin: ~~~~ Luckily, he knew where he was going and parked the car as close as he could, but he only had enough change to put an hour on the meter. If he couldn't find Brian in that time then he probably wasn’t going to tonight. He’d then have to decide what he was going to do. If he didn’t get back to it, he’d have to call the rental company later for them to come pick it up and he’d just have to pay whatever fine there was. Brian: ~~~~ “Gus, it’s gone 11:00. It’s going to be so late when we get home. I should never have let you stay out this long”, and Brian was trying to get him to the elevator and off home. Gus had a wonderful time up on the observatory deck, but he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. At the back of his mind, he’d sort of hoped that Justin would have read the letter and realised where his Dad would be on Christmas Eve. With one final look over his shoulder, he headed towards the elevators with Brian. Justin: ~~~~ Justin grabbed his rucksack from the car and ran the rest of the way along Fifth Avenue to the Empire State Building, rushing in the main entrance and gasping for breath as he skidded across the floor. Passing through the security check, he headed down the escalator to the Observatory Ticket Office. Thankfully, at this late hour and on Christmas Eve, there was no one else around, which meant he didn’t have to queue to purchase his admission ticket. Hurriedly, Justin now retraced his route, following the directions to the 2nd floor in order to redeem the ticket and take the elevator. Arriving at the 80th floor, he still had to get up to the Observatory and he looked at his watch. “Christ, was it that time already?” and he wondered would Brian and Gus still be there at this late hour, or would this insane journey all be a complete waste of time. It was just after 11:15 and the Observatory elevator doors were closing. “Hold it, please”, he called and the doors opened. “You’re darned lucky”, the operator said, as Justin stepped in. “This is the last one tonight”. And he pushed the button and they started to move upwards. Brian: ~~~~ The elevator doors opened as Brian and Gus approached and Brian stood back to let the blond pass, without looking at him. But instead of walking by, the man stood in front of him and, realising someone was blocking his path, he looked up. “Hello, Brian”, said Justin, softly. To be continued.