MAY 2004 Brian Kinney was househunting, something he thought he would never have to do again. Something had happened over this past weekend that had made it clear that while his Loft was perfect for one, and even two, it just wasn’t satisfactory for a family. As soon as that had become clear he had called Jennifer Taylor, his psuedo mother-in-law, to set up an appointment to start the househunting process. “Jennifer, this is Brian. I need to see you tomorrow in your official capacity as a Realtor.” “What do you mean Brian?” “Just what it sounds like, I’ve decided to sell the Loft and buy a house, when's the earliest we can meet at your office?” “Let me look at my schedule, I’m free at 9 AM tomorrow.” “OK I’ll be there.” At 9 Brian was in Jennifer’s office signing the papers to put the Loft up for sale and telling her what he and Justin, Jennifer’s son, were looking for in a house. “First there needs to be at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, the master bath needs to have a very large shower, and a large fenced yard with at least one climbable tree suitable for a tree house. If at all possible it needs to be close enough to Lindsay and Melanie’s house that when Gus is old enough he'll be able to ride his bike between the two houses. A swimming pool and rooms suitable to be an office and art studio would be nice but not absolutely necessary.” “Oh, this sudden interest in buying a house involves Gussy.” “Yes but I’m not ready to tell you why, though I’m sure you’ll hear the story very soon.” Brian said with a grin. “OK I’ve got some houses that might fit your needs, I’ll call you later to set up a time to start looking at them.” So Brian and Jennifer started looking at houses later that afternoon and Brian started thinking back to the day that had started this whole process while riding from the 3rd house to the 4th one. ******* A week ago, Saturday, Brian had gotten a call from, Sonnyboy, his 3 year old son. “Daddy can I have a sleepover with you and Justee next weekend?” “Of course Gussy but you remember what we decided to call Justin don’t you?” “Yes Daddy, can I have a sleepover with you and Un-cle Jus-tin?” “OK Gus, let me talk to your Mommy so we can set up the details.” “You sure it won’t be a problem Bri?” Lindsay asked. “Of course not, Justin and I are always happy to see Gus.” “It was his idea, he wants to have a big boy sleepover with his Dads.” “What does that mean, Linds?” “I’m not really sure but that's what he told me when he asked me to dial your number.” “Well bring him over next Saturday morning and we'll drop him off at your place before Sunday supper.” “Remember Brian he wants to act like a big boy so you'll need to make him a bed of some kind; he doesn’t want to sleep in his portable crib, he made that very clear to me this morning.” “No problem we can make a bed on the couch. Talk to you later Linds.” A week later Lindsay had dropped Gus off, at the Loft, complete with a suitcase instead of his usual overnight bag. “It's what he wanted Bri, he's really taking this big boy stuff seriously, in case he forgets there's something in his coat pocket he wants you to have at lunch time, but see if he remembers first.” ******** “OK Sonnyboy what do you want to do first?” “Big boy stuff Daddy.” “Well we’ll ask Justin what he wants to do then, how does that sound Gussy?” “Gus, Daddy call me Gus, I’m a big boy now.” “All right Gus, hey Justin get in here” Justin came into the living area just then with a huge smile on his face when he saw his Gussy. “How are you doing Gus?” “Just fine Un-cle Jus-tin what do you want to do today?” “Let’s go to the zoo I always like drawing pictures of the animals while you are petting them.” Gus just beamed since one of his most favorite things was to go to the petting zoo. After an hour of sketching Gus with various small farm animals Justin asked the boy “Are you ready for lunch yet Gus?” Gus thought about the question and then startled both men with his answer. “Yes Un-cle Jus-tin, I am ready to eat lunch but lunch is on me.” “Gus there isn’t any food on you.” Brian kidded the boy. Gus just gave his Daddy a look then said “Daddy you are fooling me aren’t you?” Brian just couldn’t help himself and broke out in laughter, “You caught me Sonnyboy.” “I meant that I am buying lunch today, the money's in my pocket.” Gus stated with pride. “Well where're you taking us then?” “It's up to Justee, I mean Un-cle Jus-tin.” Justin asked Gus “How much are you spending Gus?” “I don’t know, you count it for me.” With that he reached into his pocket to get the money but couldn’t since his Mommy had pinned it to the fabric. Justin reached into the pocket and unpinned the bills and counted it out and told Gus “Well big spender let’s go to Debbie’s Diner” “Yes that sounds like a big boy place to me” Gus squealed. So the three of them wound up eating at the Liberty Diner which to Gus was Debbie’s Diner. Deb, of course, had been thrilled to see her Sunshine, Gussy and Brian. “What brings you guys to my humble establishment?” " Well Gus wanted big boy food and we couldn’t think of a better place could we Brian?” Justin answered. Deb gave Brian and Justin menus and then sat down next to Gus and read him the part of the menu she thought a 3 year old would find interesting. “Well what're you guys having?” “I’ll have my usual” Brian said. “Me too” came from Justin. “I’ll have a usual too” stated Gus. Gus just stared at his Dads and Debbie when they started giggling. “OK honey I guess I'll have to start you a usual, how about a Corndog and French Fries?” “OK Debbie” After eating and introducing Gus to the few people in the Diner they knew, Brian and Justin took Gus back to the Loft for a nap. “But I don’t need a nap I’m a big boy now.” Gus pouted. “Well you might not need a nap but I sure do.” Brian told the boy “Let’s go lay down on the bed, Justin wake us up in an hour so we can do some more big boy stuff before supper.” “Sure Brian.” The next activity was playing in the park down the street from the Loft. Gus and Justin ganged up on Brian when they played tag and Gus was thrilled when Uncle Justin pushed him higher in the swing than he had ever gone before. But he really liked slipping down the slide sitting between Daddy’s legs. Eventually even big boys get tired so they went back to the Loft for supper. “What do you want me to make tonight Gus?” Justin asked. “How about chicken noodle soup?” “With lots and lots of crackers?” “Yes lots and lots.” After supper they watched TV for awhile until Gus started yawning. “Looks like it's time to make a big boy bed on the couch.” Brian told his little family. So Justin went and got some bedding from the linen closet and Brian got an extra pillow from the bedroom and they put together a bed for Gus. “Gus you go to the bathroom and get ready for bed, everything you need is in there, holler if you need any help.” “Oh Daddy big boys don’t need help getting ready for bed.” “You'd be surprised Sonnyboy.” Brian said very softly so that only Justin would hear the comment. Justin of course just grinned at his lover. In a few minutes Gus returned to the living room ready for bed. He got into the makeshift bed and was asleep in seconds. The men watched him for a few minutes to make sure he was sleeping then put an ottoman next to the couch so that Gus couldn’t roll out of the bed. They then went to the bathroom themselves to get ready for bed. Justin made sure that the bedroom was closed off from the rest of the Loft but he did leave one panel slightly open so that they'd be able to hear Gus if he woke up during the night. Brian and Justin had intended to go to sleep but they were very loving men and pretty soon they were involved in their usual amorous activity; though they did try to stay quieter than normal because of the youngster asleep in the other room. Eventually they finished and soon both were sound asleep. Brian woke during the night and went to the bathroom, when he got back to the bed he noticed that there were two blond heads instead of the usual one on the right side pillow. He just got into bed and made sure that they were all covered by the duvet. After he woke up in the morning he woke up his two blond cherubs by pulling the duvet off of them and tickling their feet. “Gussy why are you in bed with us instead of in your big boy bed on the couch?” “Well Daddy I thought I heard the night monsters up here with you and Un-cle Jus-tin so I snuck up so I could protect you from them. I didn’t see them so I decided that I better sleep with you in case they showed up later.” “What a brave boy you are.” Justin said. “What do you want for breakfast?” “Pancakes Justee” “OK they'll be ready before you know it, Brian why don’t you give Gus a bath before breakfast.” Brian took his son into the bathroom and got him into the portable bathtub without any problems. “Daddy I can wash myself you can go help Un-cle Jus-tin make breakfast.” “No Gus I can’t; Justin likes to cook all by himself. I’ll just get cleaned up myself while you finish your bath.” Brian shaved while Gus played in the bathtub more than he actually washed himself. Brian then gave Sonnyboy his clothes for the day and made sure he had no problems getting them on. They then went into the kitchen area where Justin had breakfast ready. After eating two pancakes, an egg and some bacon along with a glass of milk Gus thanked his dads for breakfast and went over to the TV. “What do you want to do this morning Gus?” “Lets watch cartoons Daddy.” Brian turned the TV on and put it on the Cartoon Network. While Justin was cleaning up the breakfast mess Brian stretched out on the floor and watched cartoons with his son. Suddenly Gus climbed on top of Brian and started rocking up and down and saying “Giddyup horsie”; after a little while he pushed himself off, then he climbed back on and started over again. After about 10 minutes Gus tired of the game and lay down next to his Daddy and was soon fast asleep. Justin had been watching the whole time thinking what a cute picture he could make out of the scene he'd just observed. “Brian what brought that on?” “Beats me.” Justin sat down on the couch and started reading the Sunday paper while Brian continued to watch the cartoon show, pretty soon he was sawing logs along with his little boy. At 11:45 Justin woke up his two big boys and asked them what they wanted to eat for lunch. “I want to have Cowboy food” “Well what's Cowboy food Gus?” Justin asked. “Beans and wieners and BBQ Beef, pardner, don’t you know anything?” Brian kidded Justin. “I doubt we have any of that in the house, I’ll go down to the store and get some.” Justin returned to the Loft in 20 minutes, “Pittsburgh is not a hot seat of Cowboy food Brian. I had to go to 3 places before I was able to get the fixins.” They proceeded to eat and Brian was amazed at how much Sonnyboy was able to eat, maybe he really was becoming a big boy. “Well pardner it's time to pack up your suitcase so we can take you home. Where do you want to go on the way?” “Let’s go to the park again Daddy.” So they stopped at a larger park, than the one in Brian’s neighborhood, that was close to Mel and Lindsay’s house. Gus was thrilled to be playing with his Dads again but before he knew it Uncle Justin said “Well Gus we have to get you home before your Mommies come looking for us with a posse.” “Un-cle Jus-tin I had so much fun with you and Daddy on my sleepover, when can I do it again?” “We’ll talk to your Mommies and let you know Sonnyboy.” Brian answered. They then drove the few blocks to the Peterson-Marcus house and dropped Gus off. “Give me a call later tonight Linds after Gus has time to share his adventures with you.” “OK Bri, you two take care” Brian and Justin had dinner at their favorite restaurant and then went to Babylon for some dancing. They got home around 9 PM and found that Lindsay had left a message on the phone machine. “Call when you get home Brian” “You get ready for bed and I’ll call Linds.” Brian told Justin. “Hi Lindsay what’s up?” “Did anything happen last night that you forgot to tell me?” “I don’t think so.” “Where did Gus sleep on his sleepover?” “He started out on the couch but sometime in the night he came into the bedroom to protect Justin and me from the night monsters and he decided to stay in our bed to be better able to protect us from them.” Brian said with a laugh. “Is that all?” “What are you getting at Lindsay?” “Well Gus composed a little song about last night and has been singing it over and over.” “A song, he didn’t sing anything to us.” “Get Justin so he can hear it too and I’ll have Gussy sing it to you.” “OK, hey Justin come hear Gus sing a song about last night.” Brian hollered towards the bedroom. “In a minute.” When Justin got to the living area Brian put the phone on speaker and told Lindsay “Justin’s here, let’s hear our son’s singing.” “Daddy and Uncle Justin are ready to hear your song Gus.” Brian then heard his son singing the following little ditty. “Daddy and Justee play horsie Daddy and Justee play horsie And Daddy was the horsie And Daddy was the horsie” Brian heard a thump behind him looked back and saw that Justin was rolling around on the floor in a fit of laughter, he could also hear Lindsay and Melanie laughing over the phone. As the meaning of the words sunk in Brian just started saying OH MY GOD over and over. Finally reason took hold and he told Lindsay “Don’t worry I’ll start looking for a house in the morning.” Then for one of the very few times in his life Brian Kinney blushed scarlet.