Lois and Carolyn, thanks for the beta...you’re the greatest!
Author's Comments: I've kept you waiting long enough for this chapter and the one to follow. Michael learns the news.
Chapter 56 – We Have News, Part 6 Saturday Late Morning…(Day 48) Brian and Paul were on their way from Bri-tin into Pittsburgh to pick up Melanie and Lindsay. “Ok Brian,” Paul began once they were on the highway, “I know it’s a long ride into town, and it’s just you and me. Jason knows the whole story because he talked to Justin, but I only have bits and pieces. So will you please tell me about the Milan account?” “Ok, I’ll make this quick. One of my US accounts formed a joint venture with an Italian company. Because we were the ad agency for the US company, we were asked to make a presentation. I was already driving my staff crazy with Justin in New York, so Cynthia said I couldn’t use any staff for the presentation. She then suggested I ask Justin to come back here and help with the presentation. Then it turned out that Justin had worked on an earlier campaign for the same Italian company when he was an intern at Vanguard.” “That was a stroke of luck.” “It turns out that the owner of the Italian firm was crazy about Justin. Even wanted Justin to marry one of his two daughters…both of whom are now officers of the firm. When they showed up, the women were hanging all over Justin. It was embarrassing.” “I’ll bet. Didn’t they know that he’s gay?” Paul asked with a laugh. “They knew. They didn’t care…that’s what makes it worse. Anyway, we made two presentations. Everybody loved them. But then they wanted us to create another campaign on the spot. Justin and the owner had this argument in Italian. I have no idea what they said. Justin suddenly withdrew all the campaigns from consideration and walked out of the room.” “He can’t do that. You didn’t let Justin get away with it did you, Brian?” Paul questioned. “I know you love him, but this is business.” “He was right, Paul. It would have been a waste of time to create another campaign, when they had already said they loved the two we had already shown them. So I did nothing.” “So then what happened?” “The client, being Italian, had to figure out a way to apologize to Justin, since he believed Justin was the key to getting either of the campaigns, he now wanted, released. So he called his childhood friend who happened to be the director of a gallery in Milan. “What!” “He had his friend hop a flight…fly from Milan to the US … act as an intermediary and give his apology to Justin…and return to Milan. Justin accepted the apology and released the campaigns and we got the signed contract.” “You’re kidding?” “The Director of the gallery saw Justin’s work in the lobby of Kinnetik and invited him to apply for the exhibit. You know the rest.” “Oh my god. That’s an amazing story.” “It gets worse.” “The client is so crazy about Justin…they wanted to make him the ad exec instead of me, believing that he would be easier to work with. His partner talked them out of the idea. Anyway the client seems to be recommending Kinnetik to other international firms. When we open the New York office, we will actually have clients already based there. I’m really excited about things. It’s going to mean a lot of work setting up an office and a residence in New York.” “But fortunately you have Justin to help, even if Gus and Nicky act likes he’s another little kid,” Paul said with laugh. “You mean even if Gus and Nicky think that he exists only for them,” Brian corrected him. “I have noticed that,” Paul remarked with a smile. Then he sought to change the topic, “So we’re picking up Melanie and Lindsay. I’m looking forward to this. Although how are you going to tell Lindsay about you and Justin?” “I think she probably already knows. Gus dropped enough hints about toasts this morning. I’m sure she knows something is up even if she can’t yet connect all the dots.” “Well, don’t worry, I’ll follow your lead once we pick them up. I’ll only talk about what you want me to,” Paul reassured him. “I have to make one stop before I pick them up though,” Brian casually announced. “Oh?” “Justin is insisting that I tell Michael in person about us while I’m in town.” “I remember Michael. Over the years, he has always thought that you were his personal possession. Even back when you were in college, he felt that way.” “We’ve been close since we were 14. That’s a long time! He and Justin are business partners on Rage. In the end, he’ll be happy for Justin and me, but he’ll be pissed in the beginning because he didn’t get a chance to be my best man.” Brian said with a laugh. “While you’re talking to Michael, I better call home and update the moms. I have so much to tell them already.” Paul said with a laugh. “But Brian, I just want you to know I’m here for you if you need me.” “I really did know that,” Brian said with a smile, “Although, I’m learning it doesn’t hurt to hear the words.” *** “Yo, shopkeep!” Brian called out as he breezed into Red Cape Comics. “Brian!” Michael said, in greeting and then scurried around from behind the counter to wrap his arms around his friend. “Yeah…yeah,” Brian grumbled, trying to extricate himself from Michael’s grasp. “Where have you been?” Michael had to ask. “Cincinnati, New York, West Virginia. Justin kicked me out of the mansion, so I thought I would come and visit you.” “What do you mean Justin kicked you out of the mansion?” Michael asked with some concern. Whatever Brian was about to say was interrupted as Brian noticed little footsteps heading in his direction. “Jenny!” he said, and he watched the toddler’s unsteadily run towards him. Brian quickly picked her up. Jenny immediately squealed her pleasure and wrapped her arms around Brian’s neck. “How’s my girl?” he continued to talk to her. “She’s usually so standoffish, but you two seem like old friends,” Michael complained. “Jenny and I have seen quite a bit of each other lately, whenever I’ve visited Gus…isn’t that right Jenny.” Once again, Jenny squealed, and then buried her face into Brian’s shoulder. “So you’ve finally come to your senses,” Hunter voluntarily added as he entered the room, “At last you’re getting rid of the bleached blond because you know that I’m right here waiting for you,” he continued to flirt. “What took you so long?” “Sorry kid, you can keep trying,” Brian quipped. “No actually, I just came in to see you, Mikey. I feel like I’ve been neglecting you.” Hunter took this opportunity to decide that the friends would probably like some privacy, so he reached out to Jenny, who willing came into his arms. “Well, JR and I are going to the Diner for a snack,” Hunter said with a smile, “We’ll be back shortly. Can I bring you anything, Brian?” “Thanks anyway. No.” Brian responded. Then he turned his attention back to Michael. “It must be nice having Jenny visit you this weekend,” he continued. “It is. I just wish that she were here all the time. In fact, I wish that Mel and Linds would move back to Pittsburgh,” Michael immediately explained. “We all miss them. But I guess you know that there’s not much chance of them moving back here?” Brian went on to explain. “You were right last year. I shouldn’t have given my blessing for their move to Toronto,” Michael whispered remorsefully. “Don’t be so hard on yourself Mikey. Last year you were almost killed. So your judgment was a little off. But what’s done is done. Now we just have to make the best of the periodic visits with our kids,” Brian suggested. “Easy for you to say. You’ve probably spent almost every weekend lately with Gus,” Michael grumbled. “That’s true. But that’s because my kid adores Justin. It doesn’t matter what I say, in Gus’ mind, Justin belongs to him.” “But you know Gus is crazy about you too?” “Yeah, I do know that.” Brian said with a smile. “I want Mel and Linds to move back here!” Michael insisted with a pout. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what YOU want. Mel and Linds have chosen to live in Toronto. As long as they allow us to see our kids, I don’t see what the problem is.” “ I want to spend time with my daughter every day.” “Then Michael, you and Ben need to adopt another child…this time a little girl. That wasn’t the agreement when you agreed to father Jenny. If you want to be a full-time parent, you need to have your own children…not interfere with the raising of this daughter. I don’t see what the problem is, you can go visit anytime you want.” “Me and Ben can’t keep making trips to Toronto. After all, I have the store to run and Ben has classes and stuff.” “So what’s the problem?” “Things just haven’t turned out the way I wanted them to. I tried to talk Ben into teaching in Toronto, but he doesn’t want to leave Carnegie Mellon,” Michael complained. “With his HIV status and all, I can’t say that I blame him,” Brian acknowledged. “He has tenure and all. He’s worked very hard for all that, so he has a lot to lose.” “But I want to spend more time with my daughter!” Michael complained, paying no attention to what Brian just said. “That should be all that’s important.” “Get a grip, Mikey. Ben is a patient man, but you can push him too far. Why can’t you be content and appreciate what you have? And Mikey, you have a lot! But no matter what, you never seem satisfied. You always seem to want more. If you keep this up, you could lose everything,” Brian cautioned him. Seeing that Brian was not going to agree with him, Michael wanted to quickly change the subject. “I guess you’re right,” he said to placate Brian. “Look, Mikey. I came into to see you because I have news,” Brian said with some enthusiasm in his voice. “Oh?” Michael was not curious. “Yesterday, Justin and I signed a shit load of papers at my attorney’s office. We’re now officially legalized domestic partners,” Brian said joyously, as he waited for Michael’s reaction. “That’s nice,” Michael said, without too much enthusiasm. “Exactly what does that mean? Is that like me and Ben so I could be covered on his health insurance?” he finally asked in hope of dispelling his own confusion. Brian smiled. “Not quite. I did more than sign up for Justin and I to be domestic partners. And he’s been covered by my insurance since he was 17. No, Justin and I signed legal documents to give to each other everything that we own at this moment…and rights to everything that we will own in the future…forever and ever. As of yesterday, Justin and I are legally bound together forever,” he finally explained. Then Brian just stood there smiling. “I can’t believe that you and Justin got married. You swore that you would never do anything like that. Isn’t that why you didn’t get married last year? Of course, I knew that you would never go through with the marriage then. That’s not who you are. That would mean giving up tricking and all. And I know that you would never do that,” Michael responded confidently because, of course, he knew Brian so well. “Mikey, I asked Justin to marry me a year ago. I meant that proposal as I’ve never meant anything else. We would have gotten married then, except we became convinced that Justin needed to go to New York to begin his career,” Brian explained. “But I thought when Justin went off to New York…I thought the little prick was out of our lives. Doesn’t it matter that you keep offering him everything, and he keeps leaving you all alone? I don’t understand why you would take him back after the way he keeps humiliating you,” Michael tried to refresh Brian’s memory. “Excuse me? Justin was never out of our lives when he went to New York. He and I were still in a relationship…we were still partners…we just lived in two different cities. We never really broke up. What made you think that we had?” Brian asked. “Surely you’ve seen us together for the last month or so. What did you think was going on?” “You and I used to talk about everything. After all, I am your best friend. Why didn’t you ever tell me what was going on with you and Justin? Why didn’t you tell me that you and Justin were back to being more than a couple?” Michael demanded to know. “I can’t understand why you would think that Justin and I broke up. Didn’t you notice that I was traveling to New York? Although I will admit, you’ve been really busy with your own life over the last year, so I guess you and I haven’t really spent that much time together lately,” Brian said on reflection. “And whose fault is that? I thought that with Justin in New York and Gus in Toronto, you and I would spend more time together. But over the last year you were always traveling…I thought you were doing all this traveling on business,” Michael replied with some hostility. “Since I knew that for a long time you weren’t allowed to visit Gus. But you never returned my phone calls, so how was I to know where you were. It’s a good thing that I didn’t have to reach you because of an emergency or anything.” “If there had been an emergency, you would have contacted Cynthia, like always, and she would have known how to get in touch with me,” Brian reminded him. “So it really didn’t matter where I was. Now did it?” “So did you and Justin get married? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” Michael patiently asked again. “No, Justin and I didn’t get married. Justin and I don’t need rings or vows to prove we love each other. We’re legal domestic partners,” Brian calmly explained again. “Well at least you weren’t stupid enough to marry him,” Michael mumbled. “At least you knew that would be a disaster.” “Mikey, Justin and I didn’t get married because marriages aren’t legal. We’re legal domestic partners because this way, the law sanctions our union,” Brian calmly explained. “I know you only did this because Justin pressured you into it. That’s good that you didn’t get married, so when the twink runs off again, you can easily dissolve this thing that Justin forced you into and move on with your life,” Michael revealed. “Mikey, first of all Justin didn’t force me into this. I wanted this more than he did. He just made sure that we stayed equal partners. He gave me the rights to everything he owns now and in the future too,” Brian said with a smile, remembering Justin’s surprise gesture in his attorney’s office. “Well that’s not very much,” Michael said with a dismissive laugh. “It includes Rage! It includes all his art! And judging by the value of the painting that you have hanging in your office,” Brian said, pointing in that direction for emphasis, “I would say that’s pretty substantial. And as for dissolving this, we would have to go to court to dissolve this. No simple little mutual agreement or divorce will end this. So for all practical purposes we are legally bound together forever. So I would say, we’re definitely more than married,” Brian said with a slight laugh. “How could you agree to something like this?” Michael asked in total disbelief. “Because I wanted our union to be legal. Justin and I will be together forever. That’s the way I want it…that’s the way Justin wanted it too. We’re both very happy. I’m looking forward to growing old with Justin by my side. I love him, Michael. Surely you know that…surely you’ve known that for a long time now. I just came here so you could wish us well,” Brian proclaimed. Michael’s anger finally raged. “That’s bullshit! Growing old! You never wanted to grow old! You have always wanted to die young ever since we were 14. And now what you’ve done has let some little blond twink get his clutches into everything that you’ve worked a lifetime to build. I can’t believe that you did that,” Michael loudly protested. “You know that Justin could care less about my money. He stood proudly by me when I lost everything. Besides, Justin is going to be a success in his own right. He’s a wonderful artist. Surely you know that,” Brian reminded him. “And what about us?” Michael demanded to know. “What do you mean, what about us? I’ll always love you Michael, you know that. You and I are still best friends. Nothing has changed.” “But you promised me more that just being your best friend. You promised that we would settle down together when we were ‘two old queens in Palm Springs’. I had planned to grow old with you,” Michael reminded him. “We’ll always be friends, Michael. We’ll always be there for each other.” “Friends! That’s not enough!” Michael screeched. “Michael, I thought we settled all this a very long time ago. You and I were never going to be a couple,” Brian reminded him quietly. “But you always told me that you loved me and always would. I thought that it meant that after your tricking days were over, that we would be together. I’ve been waiting for you all this time. And now you do this!” Michael protested. “Need I remind you that you’re married? You have a husband and a family. You went on and built a life for yourself. I thought that you were happy. I thought that you loved Ben. Why would you still be holding on to this fantasy?” Brian inquired, completely confused by the turn of events. “I do love Ben, and Ben and I will be always be together as long as he lives. But you and I both know that Ben isn’t going to live forever because of his HIV status. I figured by the time Ben died, you would be ready to stop tricking and settle down with me. Then you and I would spend the rest of our lives together in Palm Springs. You promised we would always be there for each other. Now what am I supposed to do, when Ben is gone? Now I’m going to be all alone. How could you do this to me?” Michael recounted so Brian would understand. “I have loved you since I was 14. If it hadn’t been for you and Debbie, I wouldn’t have made it through my childhood to have a chance to grow up. But I have always loved you like a brother. You’re my oldest and dearest friend. But Michael, I’m IN LOVE with Justin. I admit, I never thought it would happen to me. I don’t even know when it happened. I just know that he’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with,” Brian said in his own defense. “You and Justin don’t see eye-to-eye on anything. Why would you risk everything you’ve worked for on a little blond bubble butt? You could have had anyone you wanted,” Michael reminded him. “I know that. And the one I wanted was Justin. And I finally got him. He belongs to me…and I belong to him. I may be having some trouble getting my son to understand things…he seems to think I did all this, so he and I could share Justin.” Brian explained with a gentle laugh. “So what happened to the no bars on the window or no locks on the doors? What about being free to leave?” Michael challenged. “That’s over! I may have been stupid enough to let him walk away from me before. But I promise you that I will fight with everything I’ve got to never let that happen again. I know he drives me crazy. But he understands me; he’s done things for me that you’ll never know about. And I’m just beginning to understand how much he really does love me. He IS the person I want to build a life with,” Brian said emphatically. Michael finally started to calm down and see the big picture. “Why him? Why him and not me? I’ve been waiting for you for a lifetime…ever since we were 14?” Michael had to ask the eternal question, one more time. “I can’t answer that. What I can tell you is that it simply IS him. It’s ALWAYS going to be him. And I’m willing to gamble everything I have now or will have in the future on that one simple fact. He’s it for me, Michael. I know as surely as I’m standing here, I’ll never again feel this way about anyone. He changed everything. And I’m sure when you have time to think about it, you’ll realize that I’m right.” “I can’t believe that you let him work some magic spell over you,” Michael declared softly, “JT has no superpowers, if you will remember?” “I remember,” Brian added with a smile, realizing that Michael’s mind had to convert everything to a comic book reference to try to understand the incomprehensible. “Look, I came here hoping that my best friend would wish me and my new legal partner well. I had no idea that you still harbored these feelings. I thought we were done with this discussion a long time ago. I’m disappointed that you still feel this way. I would have thought that you wanted me to be happy. I see that I was wrong,” Brian whispered sadly. “I do want you to be happy. But Justin isn’t going to make that happen. Can’t you see that? No matter what you think, Justin doesn’t understand you…not the way that I do. Justin will cause you nothing but grief. Haven’t these years taught you anything? You won’t be happy until later when you and I are together in Palm Springs,” Michael reminded him one more time. “But if you can’t be happy for me that’s ok. You go on with your life, and I’ll move on with mine. I always thought we would be there for each other. I always thought we would take care of each other…like best friends do. That’s what we always promised each other. But if that’s not possible, I can understand. Either way, I have a life to live with Justin, and I intend to live it. And you have your own life to live too. So you take care now. Goodbye Michael,” Brian calmly said, and he turned to walk out of the store. Hunter returned to the comic book store at that moment, carrying Jenny Rebecca in his arms. “Goodbye Hunter, I’ll see you around.” Brian said, as he was leaving. He stopped for a moment to rustled Jenny’s hair. And then Brian was gone. “What was that all about?” Hunter asked, taking in the tortured look on Michael’s face. “Nothing,” Michael said sadly. “Look, can you watch JR and the store for me for a bit. I’m going to the Diner.” “Sure,” Hunter responded easily. When Michael had left the store, Hunter reached for his cell phone to call Ben. *** Brian returned back to the car after meeting with Michael. Paul could see that Brian was upset. “I don’t have to ask how things went,” Paul quietly stated. “Just give him some time. You have to admit your news can be a bit of a shock, especially when you take into account the bullshit you’ve spouted over the years,” he added with a laugh. “Maybe, I guess you’re right. I was really convincing, wasn’t I?” Brian managed to say with a slight laugh. “Everybody bought the bullshit except Gus and Justin, but that’s not what this is about. This is about people moving on with their lives, but not wanting me to have the same chance for happiness in mine…I’m supposed to remain the same. That’s bullshit!” “Are you going to be all right?” Paul quietly asked. Brian thought for a minute and then smiled and said, “Yeah. I’m going to be fine. Fuck ‘em all!” “Let’s go get Lindsay and Melanie,” Paul suggested, “So we can party at the mansion.” “Party at the mansion, huh? Let’s!” Brian agreed, allowing a smile to break through.