Thanks Lois for the beta...you're the greatest!
Author's Note: This is the final chapter of Superheroes. A warm thank you to everyone for reading this story.
Chapter 23 – The Missing Pieces
Later that Evening…(Day 14)
Brian and Justin arrived back to the loft with Gus. Gus and Justin showered together; then Justin immediately fell asleep on the bed. Brian gave Gus a glass of milk and an Oreo cookie. Gus, dressed in his pajamas, settled into Brian’s arms on the living room sofa, while Brian read him a story. Eventually Gus fell asleep, and Brian carried him back to the bed, settling him next to Justin.
Brian walked to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of Beam. So much had happened today; he had so much to think about now that everyone was asleep.
Brian was trying to process all the facts he had learned this weekend. There were so much, so many little details he couldn’t believe how many he had missed. Listening to Justin at Debbie’s told Brian so much. Now he had to take it all in.
First, Justin had a meeting next week in Ohio about a potential exhibit. Brian was beginning to see that except for the location, the Santa Barbara exhibit wasn’t as unusual as it had originally seemed. Justin was willing to showcase at any gallery, not just in New York City.
Second, Justin was doing freelance design work, successfully in New York City of all places. Justin had a website for his freelance work. Justin had created his own path to success, on his own terms.
Third, Justin Taylor Artist also had its own website with all of Justin’s work catalogued, including the original owners.
Fourth, Justin had an agent, who now performed the legwork of getting Justin into gallery exhibits. True, Justin has not been offered a solo show yet, but he was constantly showing in joint showcases, and his work tended to sell out at each show.
And Justin had an agent…now that Justin had an agent…maybe he didn’t have to really be in New York anymore. Maybe he just needed to be able to get to New York, when he had a meeting or an exhibit.
Brian wondered aloud, “How could I have missed all this?”
Brian took another swig of his Beam.
He turned around to his computer. His first stop was the Taylor Design and Graphics website. There Brian found out that Justin had designed the website for several up and coming companies, many who Brian was familiar with. One of those sites looked very familiar. Brian scanned the Adz Week website. There it was. One of the websites that Justin had designed was nominated for a Bronze Quill award for innovative website design. There was already a lot of industry buzz about the site.
“Fuck! Justin when are you going to stop keeping things from me,” Brian whispered to himself with a smile.
Brian then logged onto the Justin Taylor Artist website. He scanned through and saw the art that was the history of the artist. He recognized most of the paintings. Justin would usually show him pieces that he was working on whenever Brian visited New York. Brian was grateful for these previews for Justin’s art seemed to sell as quickly as he produced it.
Brian followed the timeline to the most recent art and found the information about the Santa Barbara Exhibit. Brian couldn’t believe he was willingly looking for information about the bane of his existence. Brian looked at the recent paintings, especially the ones that showed California ownership. These had to be the paintings that Justin had done since the Santa Barbara show, and Brian noted the experimental quality to the works. Brian was also amazed at the sheer number of paintings that Justin had completed in the last few weeks. He likewise noted the number of paintings left to be done, for Justin had listed those under WIP.
While Brian was searching, he stumbled upon a thumbnail image of a painting that he found interesting. He was about to click to enlarge the image, when he read the adjacent information first. This was one of the Santa Barbara paintings. According to website, he already owned the painting. Brian thought that was an interesting development.
Brian was about to investigate further, when a half asleep Justin walked past him into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Dressed in pajamas with tussled hair, Justin looked hot and Brian had to try and restrain himself.
“Are you still working?” Justin asked with a yawn.
“Not exactly,” Brian answered.
“Oh.”
“You know I found a painting online that I really like.”
“That’s nice,” Justin remarked, hoping that things would end there, and he could go back to sleep.
“Ah Justin, what is this?” Brian asked innocently.
“What?” Justin asked, starting to move in Brian’s direction.
“Wow! Imagine that! According to this website I already own the painting. How is that possible, Justin? I’ve never even seen this painting before. If it was already in my collection, wouldn’t I sure as hell know about it?”
“One would hope so, Brian,” Justin said with a smile. Justin was now fully awake.
Brian reached over and pulled Justin to him over at the computer.
“Come to me, I want an explanation for this,” Brian demanded with a smile. “How did I get this painting?”
Brian pointed to the specific painting on the screen.
Justin’s only comment was, “Fuck!”
“Is that the same ‘Fuck’ that you use every time I find out something you don’t want me to know?” Brian asked teasingly.
Justin knew Brian had him trapped. He had no choice but to come clean and hope for mercy. Justin knew Brian was going to love his discomfort once again. So Justin began.
“I sent the painting to you from Santa Barbara.” Justin finally said, kissing the Brian’s neck. Justin hoped that the mention of the dreaded city would let the matter drop.
There was not a chance in hell of that happening, for Brian was now relentless.
“If you sent it, how come I haven’t received it?” Brian asked. “Melanie got her painting, and Michael got his painting. Where’s my painting, Justin?” Brian demanded to know.
“It will turn up eventually. They all seem to always do that lately.” Justin said with a laugh.
“Justin, this isn’t funny,” Brian demanded anxiously. “Where’s my painting? Do you think it got lost?”
“Will you calm down? Your painting isn’t lost. I sent your painting to Bri-tin. I’m sure if you check with your caretaker, you will find out, the painting is there,” Justin explained, returning to kissing Brian’s neck.
“Why did you send it there?” Brian asked with surprise.
“I wanted you to be at Bri-tin when you saw it,” Justin said tenderly.
“Why?”
“When you see the painting you’ll understand why,” Justin explained.
“I saw the small image. I was just about the click on the larger image,” Brian explained.
“Why don’t you wait and see the actual painting?” Justin suggested as he kissed Brian again. “It’s only a few more days. You’ve waited this long. I want you to experience the painting properly. You know how I feel about that sort of thing.”
Brian looked at Justin completely baffled. Brian took another look at the thumbnail image on the website.
“Don’t get too excited Brian, I was experimenting with a new technique. So it doesn’t look like my other stuff. This is kind of different. I hope you like it when you see it.”
Then Brian began to run his fingers gently over the image on the scene.
Eventually he found his voice to try to share what he was feeling.
“It’s a beautiful painting, Justin, I can tell that just from the jpeg,” Brian commented with a sigh, placing both hands over his heart. “God Justin …”
Brian then pulled Justin into a tight embrace and kissed him passionately, eliminating all need for words.
“Brian, did you not hear me tell you not to get too excited about the painting? Did you not hear me tell you that the technique was new? This is why I don’t tell you things because you don’t pay any attention to me,” Justin teased.
“Is there a note attached to my painting?” Brian asked, in way that reminded Justin so much of Gus. “Melanie and Michael got notes attached to their painting from Santa Barbara. So is there a note attached to my painting?”
“Brian!”
“Well, is there? It’s a fairly simple question, Sunshine.”
“If I answer this will you stop asking questions and come to bed? Some of us have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Brian said nothing but nodded yes.
“Alright, there’s a note attached,” Justin whispered with a smile. “Now will you come to bed?”
Justin finished his water and settled back into bed, while Brian took a quick shower and changed into pajamas. Brian crawled into bed and gently ran his fingers through the soft blond hair of the sleeping Justin.
As Brian leaned down to kiss Justin’s cheek, he whispered, “What’s the title of my painting?”
A very sleepy Justin turned slightly and said, “You’re unbelievable…do you know that?”
“I know,” Brian said with a smile. “What’s the title?”
“Talisman of Time,” Justin whispered, drifting off into sleep.
“Talisman of Time,” Brian echoed in a whisper. “Wait a minute, Justin, that doesn’t tell me anything.”
Justin just smiled as he fell asleep.
“This isn’t over Sunshine,” Brian whispered with a smile, as he too settled down and prepared for sleep.
Author’s Notes: Look for the sequel, “Talisman Of Time” to begin posting in a few weeks. Be sure to read the sidebar/sequel “Meanwhile In Toronto” when you get a chance. Thanks for staying for the entire ride.