CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

JUSTIN

“So why can’t Rage and Zephyr rescue JT from Siren’s evil clutches?” Michael asks.

“Because their relationship isn’t the same as it was at first.”  I look up from the storyboard I’ve been working on.  “JT’s not some helpless little twink anymore, always needing Rage to come swooping down to save him.  They’re married now … they’re partners … equals.”

“So who’s this Siren?” Ben enquires, coming in with JR in his arms.

“She’s a kind of witch,” I reply, “beautiful, but evil.  She has this amazing voice that makes you believe anything she tells you, so you lose all sense of reality.”

“Ah.”  Ben sits down at the table beside Michael and setting JR in his lap.  “Like the Sirens from the Odyssey?”

“Yeah, just like that.  She’s secretly in love with Rage, but her voice won’t work on him because he can block it out with a jamming device Zephyr designed.  So she goes after JT instead and persuades him that Rage is neglecting his super-hero obligations and it’s all JT’s fault.  So JT leaves Gayopolis to start a new life alone.”

“We could always let JT develop some super-powers of his own,” Michael suggests.  “Rage could sort of impregnate him with some of his abilities.  Or maybe he could meet a kind of mentor … some kind of Obi-Wan-Kenobe character who teaches him how to meditate or something … so he could see through Siren’s illusions.”

“Mm.  Maybe.”

“Juss?”  Gus is sitting beside me, making his own drawings on a sheet of paper.  They mainly consist of little stick-men dressed in red and white, kicking a football around with big smiles on their faces.  “Why don’t Rage and JT have a baby?”

We all stare at him.  “Um … because they’re both men, Gus,” I explain.  “You need a man and a woman to have a baby.”

Gus gives me a look so much like his father does that I nearly choke.  “I know that … duh … but they could find a lady to have their baby, like Dadda did.  And then if the lady was married to another lady, then the baby could have two Mommies and two Daddies like me.”

I realise my mouth is open, and shut it hurriedly.  “Well …”  I look helplessly at Michael and Ben, who are both pop-eyed at the statement.  “I’m not really your Dad, Gus.”

“Nooo… I know that … like I know Mommie isn’t my mommie the same way Momma is.  I came out of Momma, not her … like JR came out of Mommie.  But she loves me anyway, and I love her.  And Dadda loves you, and so do I.  And you love me.  So that makes you my Daddy too, doesn’t it?”

Michael gives me a get out of that one, smartass grin.  I have no idea how Brian would react to such an idea, let alone Lindsay.   I swallow hard, and then turn to look down at the confiding brown eyes.   “Gus, I’m proud that you think of me as another Dad.  And knowing that you love me makes me very happy, because I love you, too.  And I’ll always be here for you, however old you get.  But I don’t think I’m old enough to be called ‘Dad’ yet … I’d much rather you went on calling me ‘Juss’, the way you always have.  Nobody else calls me that, so it’s kind of special.”

“Okay.”  He grins at me.  “I’m glad I gave you a name, because you gave me mine.  Dadda told me Mommie was going to call me Abraham,..” - he scrunches his face up comically - “but you liked Gus better.”  He leans over and hugs me.  “You can be my Juss.”  He scribbles some more.  “But why can’t Rage and JT have a baby?”

“Well,” Ben replies, leaping heroically into the breach, “protecting the world from all the bad guys is a full-time job.  And so is bringing up a child.  I guess it wouldn’t really be practical for Rage to be a father yet.  Not until he’s done with being a super-hero.”  I give him a thank you smile.

Fortunately Gus seems happy with that explanation.  “That’s why I can’t live with Dadda, because he’s so busy all the time.  It wouldn’t be practical.”  He nods agreement.  “But I get to stay with him when he’s not working, for holidays and things.  Then he has time to look after me.  He’s promised me a pony when I get older!”  He glances at his sister.  “I expect he’ll get JR one too, if she wants.  Or she can ride mine … as long as she isn’t a pest.”

“I’m sure she will be, Gus,” I laugh.  “I’ve got a little sister too, and she’s a real pest.  Her name’s Molly, but I call her Mollusc sometimes, just to bug her.”

“That’s a funny name … why did you call her that?”

“It means things like slugs and snails … or clams.  Slimy things with shells.”

He giggles.  “Your sister’s like a slug?  That’s so gross!”

I ruffle his hair.  “Of course she isn’t.  But that’s how brothers and sisters tease each other … it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other too.”

We’re interrupted by the doorbell ringing.  “That’ll be Linds,” Ben says, getting up to answer it.  He opens the front door and Lindsay hurries in.  “Oh, Ben, I’m sorry I’m running late,” she gasps.  “The others were going for a Christmas drink and they wouldn’t take no for an answer!”

“Hi, Linds.”  He kisses her cheek.  “Everything’s fine … we’ve fed Gus, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Oh, thank you.”  She comes over, pulling off her gloves, smiling at Michael and me.  She’s a little flushed, and her eyes are a little too bright, and I wonder fleetingly how much she’s had to drink.  But then I realise she’s driving, so she must be okay.  She’d never be reckless enough to endanger Gus.  “Hi, Sweetie!”  She leans down and kisses him on the head.  “Watcha drawing?”

“The Arsenal,” Gus answers, and I grin at the stress he puts on the article.  He’s taken Boot’s lessons very much to heart.  “Juss is drawing too.  I thought he should make Rage and JT have a baby, so it could grow up with two Daddies like me.  But that wouldn’t be practical.”

Lindsay seems to freeze for a second, while I cringe inwardly.  “You only have one Daddy, Gus.” 

There’s an awkward silence.  “Gus knows that, Linds …” I say hurriedly.

“Why?” Gus interrupts me, looking up at her curiously.  “I have two Mommies, so why can’t I have two Daddies?”

“Well, Mommie isn’t your mother in the same way I am.  You really have only one mother and one father, Gus,” Lindsay lectures him.

“I do too have two Daddies!”  Gus’ bottom lip juts defiantly.  “Dadda and Juss live together like you and Mommie used to.  So how come Mommie can be my mommie but Juss can’t be my Daddy?”

“There’s more to being a parent than just living together,” Lindsay replies, and her voice has a chill I’ve never heard before.  “Your Mommie and I are married … we raised you together.  She’s been part of your life every day since you were born, and Justin … hasn’t.”

“He has,” Gus insists, his voice beginning to quiver.  “And Juss loves me, so he is my other Daddy, even if he wants me to keep calling him Juss because he’s not old enough to be called Daddy!”

Lindsay looks furious.  “I don’t have time to stand here arguing with you, Gus,” she snaps.  She grabs his arm and hauls him to his feet.  “Go and get your coat and scarf, right now.”

She gives him a push, hard enough to make him stumble a little.   Michael, Ben and I avoid each other’s eyes uncomfortably, and I think it’s a relief for everybody when JR, picking up on the tension, starts whining fretfully.  We all start trying to hush her while Lindsay stands tapping her foot angrily until Gus comes back with his things.  She bundles him roughly into his coat, winding his scarf around his neck, and then takes a secure grip on his arm.  “Now come on.  Say thank you to Uncle Michael and Uncle Ben for taking care of you.”

“Thank you,” Gus repeats, his voice subdued and reluctant.  But he turns to me and throws his free arm round my neck, kissing my cheek fiercely.  “Bye, Juss.  I love you!” he says clearly, and despite my discomfort with the whole situation I can’t help but feel a little thrill of pleasure at his defiance; his refusal to be bullied into denying what he believes, and defending someone he loves, even from his own mother.

His father would be proud.

TBC