Lois and Carolyn, thanks for the beta...you’re the greatest! I would also like to thank everyone who previewed the chapters for me.
Chapter 31 – The Evening Begins Saturday Evening…(Day 62) As everyone was driving away from the riding stables, Gus had his nose pressed against the window. He was longingly watching the horses fade out of view. “I think I’m beginning to like this riding thing,” Brian commented, as he continued driving. “Especially, since we actually got to ride outside this time.” “I like the trails too,” Gus said, leaning over to give Justin a kiss. “Thanks, Jus…” “Don’t thank me. Chuck felt that you’d progressed enough in your lessons to be released to the open trails. I’m really proud of you both,” Justin added. “You know, when you first tricked me into riding the horses, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it. Now, I actually think I like it. We’re going to have to find riding stables while we’re in New York,” Brian said with a smile. “Or, maybe we could get horses?” Gus suggested. “Get horses?” Brian smirked. “What on earth would we do with horses?” he innocently asked. A part of him figured that this day would come, but now that it was here, Brian had to find a way to blame Justin for everything. “See what you started?” he said softly, looking directly at his partner. Justin just shook his head. “Then we could go riding all the time,” Gus continued, making his point. Justin simply smiled as he watched the negotiation continue between father and son. Gus was now on a mission. “I see…” Brian responded. Justin had to wonder how long it would be before Gus wore Brian down, and horses were added to the stables at Bri-tin. “But I was thinking, that maybe I would move my studio into the stable area when we did the renovations. Doesn’t that sound like a good idea, Gus?” Justin asked, while looking over at Brian. “That would give you a lot more space than your current studio arrangement,” Brian said, smiling at Justin. “I have to admit, that really IS an excellent idea.” “No Dad! I like Justin’s studio where it is,” Gus immediately pointed out. “Horses are better,” he added for emphasis. Gus, once again, leaned over to put his arms around Justin’s neck when he finished. “Right, Jus?” Justin simply hugged Gus, but he couldn’t help wondering, how he got involved in the horse-negotiation between father and son. “So you think that we should leave Justin’s studio where it is, huh?” Brian directed his question to Gus, while glancing only at Justin. “It’s perfect…I have my corner for my toys. I get to read to Jus…and everything,” Gus paused to try to see if he could think of other reasons. He just knew there had to be something else that he hadn’t mentioned yet, so he looked with sad eyes in the direction of Justin for help. “Well, I guess, that I could probably manage with my studio where it is,” Justin said with a slight shrug. “If I had to…” Gus immediately smiled at hearing this. He knew that he could depend on Justin. “Okay, Gus, I’ll think about this,” Brian finally said. “And, of course, I have to talk with Thomas before I do anything. He might not like the idea of horses being around all the time. We’ll have to see,” he added. “Thomas had horses when he was a little boy,” Gus was quick to victoriously point out. “What?” Brian asked, quite surprised by this news. “And how would you know that?” Justin had to quickly turn his head to hide his laughter at Brian’s reaction. “Thomas told Nicky and me all about it,” Gus added confidently. “He did huh? Well, let me think about this,” Brian said with a tone of finality. “We’ll see, Gus.” Gus sat back quietly at that statement. His six year old mind was now plotting how to convince Justin that horses were a good idea. Somehow he figured that should be his next tactic. Justin was always the key to everything. “Do we need to pick up dinner while we’re out?” Brian asked. “Or, should we just have it delivered?” “I talked to Teres earlier, and she told me that she was fixing Gus’ special riding meal. I’m sure everything will be ready by the time that we get home. Now that you mention it, I am rather hungry,” Justin added. “What a surprise?” Brian teased, earning a gentle swipe on the arm from Justin. “I’m hungry too,” Gus added from his position on the back seat. “But, Jus, maybe we can draw horses before dinner,” he innocently commented. “Maybe not before dinner,” Justin suggested, “How about after dinner?” The smile on Gus’ face was all the answer that was needed. Brian wasn’t about to let this moment quietly slip by. “Well, I would say that you’ve had quite a busy day, haven’t you, Sunshine? You managed to spend time in town with Debbie and Michael; you managed to stop Gus and me from our very busy day at the office to go riding with you; yet, you still had enough time to plan dinner with Teres. Tell me, Sunshine, when did you find all this time? And did you have time to get any painting at all done today?” Brian teased. Justin decided that the best course of action was to simply smile at Brian, rather than try to answer his question. Gus smiled as he watched the interaction between Brian and Justin. He always thought it was funny to watch his Dad trying to make sure that Justin was painting, and even funnier to watch Justin get around his Dad. “I’m waiting for an answer, Sunshine,” Brian continued for emphasis. Justin found the perfect way to skirt the issue. “We’re home!” he commented as the car pulled into the driveway at the house. In view of the fact that they were now home, he figured he could just ignore the question and simply smile at Brian instead. “Well, let’s get inside,” Justin quickly suggested. Brian and Justin waved to Thomas as they got out of the car. Gus, on the other hand, hurried into the kitchen to tell Teres all about his riding adventure on the open trails. Brian and Justin followed Gus to say a quick “Hi” to Teres and to check on the status of dinner. They indicated that they were going upstairs. Teres simply nodded, so she wouldn’t interrupt the story that Gus was already in the midst of telling. Thomas had also joined them at this point and was also listening to Gus. Brian and Justin realized this story was going to take quite awhile, plus they sensed that somehow Gus was going to try to convince Thomas that their stable needed horses. Oh yes, Gus was going to be busy for quite awhile. Brian and Justin headed upstairs…leaving Gus chatting away with Thomas and Teres. “C’mon…we’ll go shower together, it’ll be faster,” Brian said, nudging Justin up the stairs. “It never has been before,” Justin teased in response. “This time will be different,” Brian teased as he wrapped his arms tighter around Justin. When they finally reached the upper level, Brian leaned down and kissed Justin passionately. “C’mon, it’s been a long day and I’ve missed you. If we hurry and shower, maybe there will be a blowjob in my future?” Brian suggested. Justin smiled one of his full wattage smiles, and simply said, “Maybe….” “I could definitely get into that,” Brian said, now pushing Justin along toward the shower. “Let’s not waste time.” *** Later that evening, back at Debbie’s house in Pittsburgh, Lindsay and Melanie were busy helping Debbie with her makeup. “It’s been awhile since we’ve done this,” Debbie said quietly. “Try not to move, Deb,” Melanie suggested. “I want to get this mascara just right.” “I still don’t know why you’re making such a fuss. At this point, Carl has seen me everyday. Believe me…he’s well aware of what I fucking look like.” “This isn’t for Carl…this is for you. You should feel like a princess. You should feel beautiful,” Melanie added. “And you’re going to get a chance to see an old flame…the old love of your life…it’ll be good to have him suffer and realize what he’s lost,” Lindsay said with a wistful tone. “Lindsay, honey, I know that you mean well. But, Danny Devore wasn’t the love of my life. The love of my life is downstairs, and his name is Carl Horvath. Danny is simply someone I once cared about…who happens to be Michael’s father. After all, it was a long time ago. Now, he’s simply an old friend,” Debbie explained. “How can you be so calm about this?” Lindsay asked. “I’m calm because when you get to be my age, you learn from your mistakes,” Debbie revealed. “I couldn’t hold on to Danny all those years ago, any more than you can hold on to Brian now. They both made other choices. They each seemed to have found what they needed to make their lives complete. Danny has the fame he originally wanted. And, now he’ll get a chance to know his son…he may actually be ready to be a father now. I’m not sure that 35 years ago would have been the right time for all this to happen. Brian, on the other hand, clearly doesn’t want to miss a moment in his son’s life. One look at Gus, and he suddenly started making changes in his life to be a good father. He’s chosen to share the experience of his son with Sunshine. We all make choices!” “I see that,” Lindsay reiterated as she looked over at Melanie. “Good. It’s just like you chose to move to Toronto with Melanie,” Debbie suggested. “You two seem to have the life there that you’ve always wanted.” “Sometimes life gets a little off track,” Lindsay said with a sigh. “Everything is okay between the two of you, isn’t it?” Debbie asked. “We’re fine,” Lindsay lied. “Ah huh…” Debbie challenged. “So, which one of you plans to tell me the real reason for all these visits back here to town?” “There isn’t much to tell,” Melanie suggested, hoping to close down the subject quickly. “Besides the most important thing at the moment is getting your blush just right,” she added, reaching for one of the brushes to add the finishing makeup touches. “The fucking blush can wait. This is about family,” Debbie insisted. “So tell me what’s going on. You know I love you both, and I’m here for you.” Lindsay and Melanie looked at each other and sighed. They both realized that they couldn’t hide the truth any longer. “Of course, we’ve been coming into town once a month so that our kids could spend time with their Michael and Brian…but we’re also seeing our old counselor, here in Pittsburgh,” Lindsay finally admitted. “She’s trying to help us to help make our relationship better,” “Are things that bad? Are you going to separate again? I know that these last weeks have been difficult for you…there really have been a lot of changes for everyone,” Debbie remarked. “No, we’re not separating,” Melanie pointed out. Lindsay had to let out a sigh of relief when she heard Melanie actually say the words. “We’re working on things while we’re still together. We still love each other. We just have to figure out how to be with each other better.” “This is important to both of us,” Lindsay quickly added. “So that’s why all the frequent trips back here?” Debbie noted quietly. “Okay, but you do know that you two can always move back here. There’s no shame in admitting that you made a mistake, you know?” “We know that you’re here for us,” Melanie said, giving Debbie a gentle hug. Debbie tried to pretend to shake off the hug. “Easy now,” she teased, “Let’s not ruin my makeup.” The three women shared a moment of laughter. “Please don’t say anything to anyone. Our process is difficult enough. I really don’t want everyone to get involved. It really is between just Linds and me. We’re working on things…together,” Melanie begged. “I understand,” Debbie said quietly. “Even though it’ll be fucking difficult, I’ll keep your secret. The two of you being together and happy is best thing for my granddaughter, and that’s really all that I care about.” “Thanks Deb,” Lindsay added, “Mel and I couldn’t do this if we had to contend with Michael’s interference. You know how he tends to over react to things.” “I do know how my son is. He still likes to be in control of things…after all, his daughter lives with both of you,” Debbie reminded them. “We know that Michael is still the father, but we are still the parents. We have to be given some latitude to have a life. He really can’t completely control our lives,” Melanie reminded her. “We’ve made every effort to make sure that Jenny spends time here with everyone. But after the fiasco he created just after Jenny was born, we need to keep Michael out of our private lives. And since he’s already dealing with his own breakup with Ben, and now the arrival of his father, I don’t think Michael can handle anything else,” Lindsay added, clearly supporting her partner. “You’re probably right,” Debbie admitted quietly. “He’s still trying to make his world okay after Brian moved forward with his life. You’re right. He’s already mad at us all because we’re happy about Brian and Justin. He’s having a hard enough time trying to let go of his childhood fantasies. You do what you have to do,” she said with a sigh. “No one understands that better than me. On this one, I happen to think that you’re right. But you’ll let me know if you need anything.” “Yes…Debbie,” Lindsay said. “Now let’s be sure that you’re ready…after all, you have a very special date ahead of you tonight.” Debbie smiled. “Yes, Jennifer and I get to hang out together…with Carl. It’s a fucking chance of a lifetime.” “Do you know if Jennifer is seeing anyone?” Lindsay gushed, always the romantic and looking for tidbits of gossip. “As I told Sunshine earlier today, she hasn’t said anything to me one way or the other. She never even mentioned if she was bringing a date tonight. There’s been too much going on for me to deal with, I guess, so the subject hasn’t even come up.” “So… the night really will be interesting…in more ways than one,” Melanie said with a laugh. “That’s for fucking sure,” Debbie agreed. “And what do you two have planned for the evening?” “We’ve had a rather busy day. I thought that we would have a date night too. I picked up a few videos while I was out. It will be nice to just be alone together,” Lindsay said with a smile. “That sounds like a plan. Have you heard from Gus?” Debbie asked. “No, our son seems to have forgotten all about his mommies. Whatever is going on, he appears to be having too much fun with Brian and Justin to even think about us. Maybe we’ll get a chance to talk to him before he goes to bed tonight,” Melanie said hopefully. “Boys will be boys,” Debbie teased. “From what I’ve heard, Gus spent the day at the office with Brian. I’m sure that he’ll have a lot to tell you when you see him tomorrow. At least you know that whatever is going on, he’s having a ball. You know how much he loves spending time with his Brian and Sunshine.” “Probably so…” Lindsay said sadly. “Sometimes, when I watch Gus with Brian, I do get a sense of what I may have deprived Michael of all these years,” Debbie said with a touch of sadness in her voice. Then letting her voice return to normal, she added, “But what’s done is fucking done…” There was a moment of silence between everyone. “There!” Lindsay said, “Now you look beautiful,” she added, holding up a mirror so Debbie could see herself. “I wonder if Carl will even remember that I once looked like a princess,” Debbie said wistfully. “This will surely remind him,” Melanie insisted with a supportive smile. “You look pretty.” “He’ll probably be too captivated by Divina Devore,” Debbie teased with a laugh. “He’ll probably forget to even look at me. Besides, from what I’ve heard, the club is pretty dark.” Melanie couldn’t let that comment stand without challenge. “Debbie, the rumors that I’ve heard would indicate that Divina Devore is getting ready to retire. She’s not the young, beautiful drag queen on the edge of stardom that she once was. I’m sure that she’s simply an aging drag queen. Carl may be fascinated by her performance…but you’re the one he wants to come home to. Besides, he has never shown the slightest interest in dick…unless there’s something you’ve neglected to tell us,” she added with a laugh. “I would have to say that this is more of his fascination with a celebrity. You remember how crazy he was about Drew Boyd,” Lindsay suggested with a laugh. “He’s still he crazy about my favorite stud-muffin…but I do get your point!” Debbie said with sigh. There was a knock on the door. “Okay,” Carl said as he entered. “My girl was already pretty enough. I’m sure that all this,” he motioned around the room, “Was just so you ladies could chatter away behind closed doors…with no male-ears present,” he teased. “Look at her, Carl. Isn’t she beautiful?” Lindsay asked. “Do the words…like a princess still come to mind?” Debbie asked, leaning over to gently give him a kiss. “Those work for me,” Carl teased. “But Sweetheart, it’s time for us to go. We still have to pick up Jennifer.” “I’m ready….let’s go,” Debbie said, taking Carl’s arm. Debbie and Carl quickly said their goodbyes, leaving a gushing Lindsay and Melanie behind.