Midnight Whispers
QAF Brian and Justin Fanfiction
Author's Chapter Notes:

Chapter 109 added Tues., 12/25/12

 

Chapter 109:  The Essence of all My Problems

 

            “Justin!”  Mrs. Chanders stood in the doorway with the UPS man and signed for the young man’s delivery.   “Thank you, sir,” she said and took the package and seconds later Justin showed up at her side and she gave it to him.

 

“This must be it,” Justin said out loud to himself.  “Thanks, Mrs. Chanders,” he kissed her and then he ran upstairs to Daphne’s bedroom (the room he’s been occupying during the duration of his stay inside the Chanders’ home).  He flopped down on the bed and stretched out on his stomach and opened the padded envelope and out dropped his husband’s cell phone; and that was one time Justin didn’t hesitate a tad bit invading Brian’s privacy.

 

“My freakin’ gawd - Harold Kinney!”  Justin exuberated.  “Harold Kinney!  Harold Kinney… Harold Kinney… Harold Kinney…” Justin continuously counted the many calls received by and sent to Brian’s cousin (the man he recently met at his father-in-law’s funeral).   Then he read the many texts and listened to the voice messages concerning the elusive Mr. Harold Kinney.  “Fuck!  He’s been Brian’s Harold all this time.  But there’s so much there that doesn’t make any sense.  But FUCK!” Justin cursed.  “I’m sure going to get the bottom of it!” 

 

Justin then sped dialed Harold’s number straight from Brian’s phone.

 

*****

 

            “Cash, credit or debit?”  The cashier at the checkout counter in the supermarket asked Harold when he was making his grocery purchase.

 

“Debit,” Harold then took out his card and swiped it through the machine and keyed in his pin.  He then grabbed his bags and that moment his cell rang.  He quickly got to his vehicle and put the grocery bags on the hood of the car and fished out his cell, peeped the number and then answered it.

 

“What the fuck!”  He was kind of stunned when he saw the number displayed and rushed to answer it.  “Brian?  Is that you?  But how?  I didn’t even know you had your phone in your possession.  Where did you locate it?  Did Roxie find it for you?”

 

“Hello, Harold Kinney!  It’s ME Justin Taylor-Kinney, cuzzzz!  And, DON’T YOU DARE FUCKING HANG UP ON ME, GODDAMN IT!”

 

“Well, You finally figured it all out, Justin; didn’t you?  With Brian’s phone in hand, I guess it was easy for you to conclude that it was me who called you that day I removed Brian from Upsula.   After that brief encounter with me at Uncle Jack’s funeral, I guess you even recognize my voice by now.”

 

Harold stayed on the phone, while he got the grocery bags off the top of the car and inside the vehicle, and then he sat in the driver’s seat while he conversed with Justin.

 

“I certainly do.  But why, Harold?  Why?  Why did Brian and you do this to me?”

 

“I only did it because he asked me to, Justin.  Believe me.  There’s nothing in this for me.  I hated doing that, but Brian said it was what he wanted and that he believed it was for your own good.  And, after all that he’s done for my daughter and me I couldn’t deny him anything.  So, I went along with whatever he requested I do.  But I have a question for you.”

 

“What?”

 

“How come you found me so convincing?  Brian wasn’t having an affair with some guy named Harold.  But he said this would work because for some odd or crazy reason, you already believed he was carrying on with some guy named Harold behind your back.  Who’s this other Harold, Justin?”

 

“I guess there is no other Harold… you’re certainly the only one - I know that now; but that presents me with so many puzzling questions of my own.”

 

“What questions are those?  At this point I’ll answer almost anything you want.  I mean anything other than what I promised Brian I won’t tell.  What do you want to ask me?”

 

“What cousin tells another cousin that he’s in love with him?”

 

“Huh?  What?  What kind of question is that?  I don’t get it.”

 

“I thought that you were Brian’s lover because he used to end all the calls with you saying that he was in love with you.”

 

Harold obnoxiously chortled, “You’re kidding me right?”

 

“No, I’m not fucking kidding you!  And, I dare you rudely laugh at me like that.”

 

“Stop it, Justin.  Stop flaring up at me, especially being you’re the one being the idiot here - not me!  You don’t really think Brian and I were engaging in incest - do you?  That’s absolutely absurd!”

 

“Hey!  I don’t think it makes any sense either, but still that doesn’t answer my question.  Why did all the calls end that way?”

 

“I tell you why?  But out of pure curiosity, you tell me something first.”

 

“What?”

 

“Exactly how long had you been suspecting that Brian and I (or for a better word some guy named Harold) were having an affair?  Please do not tell me that you’ve been vexing with this since your honeymoon?  It was around about that time I placed my first call to Brian.”

 

“Yeah, I guess it was.  It was around about the second week of our honeymoon that I first heard Brian confessing his love to you over the telephone.  Now tell me, Harold, what cousin says that to another cousin?”

 

“One who is an adult while the other is a child, Justin, damn it!”

 

“What?  What are you talking about?”

 

“Hey, I told you at Uncle Jack’s funeral that I am a father.  It was never me on the phone with Brian when he said that, but instead it was my twelve-year-old little daughter.  That’s how Brian and she talk to each other.  Since Brian is my daughter Rosalind’s hero, her trademark greeting with him is:  I’m so in love with you

 

“And, he always,” Harold continued, “Responds back to her:  I’m in love with you too, sweetheart.  It’s totally innocent, Justin.”

 

“Really, Harold?”  Justin found that hard to believe (at first).  “But many times I was sure he was on the phone with you when he said it, because I heard him call you by name.”

 

“Hey I can certainly understand why it might seemed that way to you; but have it ever occurred to you that one person might initially get on the phone and then pass the phone onto someone else, and that person concludes the call?  Yeah, on those calls I would start out on the phone, but Rosalind was usually at my side and asked me to pass the phone to her so she could talk to Brian, and…”

 

“Oh fuck!”

 

“Yeah, Justin - oh fuck!”

 

“Arghhhh, I so fucking messed up!  Didn’t I!  But still why did Brian ask you to remove him from Upsula?  That same day, you called me and then made out like you were his lover instead of his cousin?  Why?”

 

“That was all Brian’s doing, Justin; and like I said earlier, I didn’t want any part of that.  He left you because he had this crazy notion that you would have been the one to leave him.  And, he thought if you believed he ran off with his lover (this Harold guy), you would not try to chase after him and try to persuade him to return home with you.  So, he made me pose as his lover instead of his cousin, simply to set you free (and those were his words not mine).”

 

“What the fuck would make Brian believe that I would leave him!”

 

“He believes it because he thinks you will find him a burden, as well as ugly and useless, and you did divorce him once before - you know.  Brian’s exact words were (believe this or not), he said to me, and I quote:  Justin will leave me because I can’t fuck him anymore!”

 

“You got to be fucking kidding me, Harold!  What part of the wedding vows, when I said for better or worst, in sickness and health, and until death do us part, Brian didn’t fully understand?”

 

“Well, about 100 percent of the married couples on the planet vowed the same damn thing, but still 50% or more ended up divorced anyway, and no one particularly died.  I mean, weren’t it you that divorced Brian during the first marriage, and didn’t you make those same wedding vows to…”

 

“Shut up, Harold!”

 

“Fine, Justin.  I guess everything’s fully out on the table now.  But still I can’t believe you’ve been going through torture for months on months like that, but you brought that on yourself.  Why didn’t you just ask Brian, months ago, who I was?  Oh, Fuck!”  The reason why dawned on Harold just that quickly.  “It was that stupid-ass agreement you made Brian adhere to, wasn’t it? It just simply clouded your good judgment and instilled abnormal amounts of fear in you.  When Brian told me about that agreement, I thought that was the most insane thing I’ve ever heard of.  Justin, why didn’t you just return Brian’s assets to him right off the bat?  You recently gave him back everything, so obviously, you were sincere from the start.”

 

“I wanted a guarantee, Harold.  I was so scared back then.  I was so afraid that I would give Brian all his stuff back and still he might not take me back.  I designed that agreement to guarantee myself some things.  You don’t know all that was going on before I made that agreement with Brian.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Well, for starters, a man named Michael Novotny…”

 

“I know Michael Novotny.”

 

“What?  You know him?”

 

“Yeah, he’s been Brian’s best friend almost all their life.”

 

“What!  Michael knew who you were!  That fucking bastard!  But never mind him!” Justin snickered; but he didn’t want to keep Michael on the brain, so he immediately shrugged it off.  “Well anyway, Michael was battling against me for Brian’s affections.  In addition, your cousin was talking about becoming a pop-smoking, pill-popping, promiscuous playboy, who planned to spend most of his evenings scouting around the backrooms of all the clubs on Liberty Avenue.  All that seemed like a terrible threat to me.”

 

“Hmm, I’m kind of seeing where this is going,” Harold briefly interrupted and assessed.

 

“So,” Justin pardoned the interruption and continued, “I had to find a way to stop it all directly in its tracks.  So, I came up with this solution (the agreement), which I thought at the time was an ingenious plan. And, who knows, had you not come into the picture and Michael had kept his distance, things might’ve worked out just rosy.  That agreement had seemed like such a harmless thing (at the time), as well as the answer to all my troubles.  I never thought it would backfire like this and instead actually end up the pure essence of my problems.”

 

“Yeah, that is more too often the case, Justin.  Those things that seem so harmless on the surface can be the most lethal deep down underneath.  It’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing - forgive the over used cliché, but I think it best serves to get my point across.”

 

“Well, thanks for the pep-talk, Harold, but let’s not wander away from the ultimate question:  Where is Brian?  Where do I go to collect my husband?”

 

“Sorry, I can’t tell you that.”

 

“Why the fuck not!”

 

“I gave him my word.”

 

“Harold, Brian needs a lot more now than just someone’s useless word.  He needs me!  And, maybe more now that ever before we need each other.”

 

“I agree with you one hundred percent, but it has to be Brian’s decision.  It’s his call, Justin.  I can’t make that decision for him.”

 

“No, no, no, Harold; don’t do me this way.  Tell me where my husband is.  I’m begging you.”

 

“I can’t Justin.  The best I can do is keep in touch and give you updates on Brian’s condition; and even that has to be done without Brian’s knowledge.”

 

“Why are you being so stubborn, Harold?  You are as bad as him.  Does that behavior run through the Kinneys’ genes or something!  Do you think I will harm Brian in someway?”

 

“No, Justin, just the opposite.  I believe you are probably the best medicine for Brian, but like any other medication, the patient has be susceptible to it; and unfortunately that’s not the case with Brian where you are concerned.”

 

“You can’t be so sure of that, Harold.  Brian says a lot of things that often mean the opposite of what he really feels.  So, there’s only one way to be absolutely sure.  Tell me where you are, and let me come out there and meet face-to-face with my husband?”

 

“Justin, if Brian had almost any other illness besides a brain hemorrhage, I could risk that and I’d definitely would say: Come on down and give it your best shot,” Harold paused there and sighed heavily before he continued.  “But Justin, this is Brian’s brain we’re talking about.  He already has several ruptured aneurysms.  So, if you were to come here and get him all riled up and that caused additional ruptures resulting in Brian’s condition becoming fatal, I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”

 

“Harold, please?”

 

“I’m sorry, but I can’t risk it; and you should be concerned as well.  Bye, Justin.  But if I see it practical, I just might call you from time to time with regular updates on his condition, provided if anything ever were to change, but I’m not promising you anything though.”

 

Harold then abruptly disconnected.

 

At first notion, Justin wanted to press redial and pester Harold, but instead he dropped the phone on the mattress and remained on the bed and engaged in deep thought for a while, and after he sort out a few things inside his head, he called the detective. 

 

“Hello, Mr. Taylor-Kinney?”

 

“Just call me Mr. Taylor, Mr. Templeton,” Justin let the detective be the first one to know his new preference.  “I’m just calling to inform you that I’ve decided to abandon the search for my spouse, and therefore, I longer require your services.  So, just drop your final bill in the mail and I’ll send the payment.”

 

“Thanks, Mr. Taylor.  It was nice doing business with you; and please feel free to keep my number in the event you should require my services again in the future.  Just pick up the phone and call.”

 

“Will do, Mr. Templeton, will do.”

 

Justin disconnected with the P.I., and then made a call to Melanie.

 

“Justin sweetie, what’s up?”

 

“Melanie, I’m not calling your as a friend right now, but as a client.”

 

“Yeah?  Do you need some advice regarding a legal matter, Justin?”

 

“More than that even.  Melanie, I want you to start divorce proceedings for me right away.”

 

“Are you sure, Justin?  I thought you said that you were waiting for Brian to take action.”

 

“I changed my mind, Melanie.  Brian has been dragging his feet much too long regarding this matter.  So, I think it’s best that I take over now.”

 

“Okay, Justin, I’ll get it underway immediately.  However, I need to be able to know Brian’s whereabouts to serve him the final divorce papers.”

 

“Thanks, Melanie.   Do you think there’s away that you (on your own) can locate him for that purpose?  And all costs you incur locating Brian, feel free to bill it to my account.”

 

“Sure, Justin.  In fact, I’m guessing Brian is using the same lawyers that he always has, and maybe the complete procedure can be conducted through them.   Umm… am I still to assume you don’t want a divorce settlement?”

 

“No, divorce settlement, Melanie.  I don’t want anything from Brian.”

 

“Okay, then I’ll hop right to it.  Is there anything else you need done?”

 

“No, that’s just about it, Melanie.  You take care of everything however way you see fit though.  I trust your ability.”

 

“You’re welcome, and Justin, I’m so sorry.”

 

“Bye for now, Mel.”

 

“Bye, Justin.”

 

“Ehhhhh,” Justin released a deep huff and puff, and then he hopped from the bed, went downstairs to join Mr. and Mrs. Chanders, and then the three of them then left the house together and went to the hospital to visit their newborn.

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