Chapter 113:  Two Years Later / I Really Believe That You Are In Love!

“Hey!  Give me that magazine!”  Robert Mansfield requested of the merchant at the newspaper and convenience stand on the corner of 57th Street in mid-town Manhattan.  He then paid for the magazine and robustly virtually skipped along the rest of the way to his employer’s residence, which was located inside the luxurious Trump Towers Residential complex at 57th Street and 5th Avenue.

Robert took the elevator up to the 39th floor, got off and almost ran some people over.  He was so full of energetic finesse and in such a rush to get to work.  “Sorry, Harry and Roz, and good morning too.”

“Hi, Bob!”  Harold and Rosalind roared simultaneously.

“Let me get the door unlock for you,” Harold volunteered and then he unlocked the door and let Robert inside, and then father and daughter went on their way.

“Hey, Brian!!!” Robert yelled throughout the condo, and quickly ran into the exercise room.

“In here, Shemar,” Brian nicknamed Robert that because of his uncanny resemblance to the actor (Shemar Moore) who plays FBI Agent Derek Morgan on the popular Criminal Minds TV series.  “I'm in the usual place.”

Robert, the sweltering handsome brown-skinned hulk who is the occupational therapist, located his client Brian Kinney positioned in front of several tall windows, looking out at the breathtaking and magnificient scenery of a New York’s skyline and waterways. The quadriplegic sat inside a state-of-the-art high-powered wheelchair, which was adorned with all the latest advanced technological accessories desgined to make life and the ability to act independenlty as easy as fleasible for any person such as he.

“On the way in, I nearly ran down your cousin and his daughter on their way out to work and school; so, you and I are all alone actually.  So, right away, I can show you the present I got you this morning - fresh off the presses too.  Look!  BANG! There he is again!  That artist whom you are such a BIG-ASS fan of!   You’re going to love this picture of him.  You might agree with me when I say, he’s looking HOTTER than ever before!” 

Robert pulled out a magazine and presented the cover page to Brian.  The therapist put it smack up to Brian’s eyes.  “Like promised, whenever I find something written up on this guy, I’ll bring it to you.  Look, his presence is actually gracing the cover this time.  Moving on up and FAST!  He’s growing more and more famous by the day.”

“And more handsomer than ever too,” Brian thought he was thinking quietly to himself, but it was to the contrary.  Robert heard him loud and clear but didn’t comment on it. So, Brian didn’t know that he spoke those words out loud. 

Brian then salivated and drool fell from his mouth and ran sloppily down his chin, and Robert courteously got a tissue and quickly cleaned him up.

“Contemporary Artists Debut magazine,” Brian mumbled in awe.

“Oh yeah,” Robert raved.  “That’s the most popular artist magazine around, Brian; and Justin Taylor’s face and body is on the cover page!  Justin’s the featured artist of the month, actually.”

“I know how prestige the magazine is.  One of my subsidiaries publishes it.  I own the magazine, Robert!”

“Oh, wow!  This is actually your mag Justin’s in!”

“Certainly is.”

“Then shit!  If you owned the magazine, why didn’t you, or why don’t you still - call the publishers and asked them to arrange for you to meet your hero face-to-face for…?”

“NO!”  Brian was very adamant.

“Why Not?”  Robert asked.

“Ever hear of admiring someone from afar, Shemar?”

“Yeah, Brian.  I guess so,” Robert almost moaned.  Then he thought that maybe Brian was probably just too self-conscious to meet his idol. 

Robert figured if he himself was quadriplegic with a disfigured face like Brian’s he too might shy away from meeting his object of affection as well.   He then figured maybe that’s also the reason Brian doesn’t want Harold and Rosalind to know about the Justin Taylor memorabilia that he’s been collecting for him, and that’s the reason that he has Robert sneak it in and hide it for him before he leaves.

“Crap!  Where are my manners?  Let me prompted that up on a stand for you and you can use that mouth device of yours and turn the pages yourself.  How’s that?”

“Thanks,” Brian answered nonchalantly.  Robert then sat it up for him.  “So now, I’ll let you have your privacy while you entertain yourself reading the article and staring at the photos; while I take a pee, raid your frig, get comfortable on your couch, and watch your TV while I eat your food.  But blow into your whistling device if you need me to come back by this way any time soon.”

“Take as much time as you like, Shemar.  There’s a really big spread on Justin in this issue.  I’ll be preoccupied for quite a while.”

“You’re welcome!  Later!”  Robert started to hurry out of the room just then, so he could go and do whatever he damn well pleased; but he halted himself for a second.   “Shit!  I forgot to mention, but guess what?”

“What?”  Curiosity caused Brian’s brows to arch.

“The newstand owner told me that Justin Taylor is coming right here to the Big Apple soon.”

“What!  He’s coming here to New York City.  When?”

“Well, actually I don’t know the date.  He said it was soon, but he had no specific date yet.  Is there anything else you need me do for you before I go watch TV?”

Brian shook his head, for he didn’t give a damn what Robert does, just as  long as it didn’t interfere with his favorite pastime, which was sitting there marveling at the photos of Justin.  “Bye,” Brian dismissed him and Robert scurried out of there.

Brian then buried himself inside the magazine.   On the cover, Justin was posed sitting tall on a high stool with an easel and other painting supplies to the side of him.  He was wearing an all black ensemble with a long gold chain - black slacks, turtle neck sweater and blazer, which complimented his golden hair and ocean blue eyes and he had a dazzling wide smile that showed off his snow-white teeth. 

“Hey there, Justin!”  Brian spoke directly to his picture, “Other than probably at our two weddings, I can’t say I ever seen you look so beautiful before.  You look happy too, Justin.  I know I was doing the right thing when I set you free.  Enjoy your success to the hilt, Mr. Taylor.  You’ve earned it, and like I told you while we were honeymooning at Britin - I knew you could do it, and here you are - YOU’VE DONE IT!  I’m so fucking proud of you!”

Tears then ran down Brian eyes for he was so happy for Justin, but so sad for himself because he could not share his once-upon-a-time husband’s success with him.  He missed his ex-husband more than he ever could imagine he would.  However, he believed had he stayed married to Justin, the young blond beauty would not be experiencing such extraordinary success as he is now, because he might not have pursued his dream at all.

Brian then used the oral device that allows him to flip a page and so he went directly to the pages in the magazine where the actual article was written about Justin.  First, he flipped quickly through the pages trying to determine if there were any photos where Justin posed with other people.  The first few photos showed Justin posed with people whom were marveling Justin’s talent and engaging in deep conversation with him.  Most of those pictures were Justin and other people at an exhibit or some similar event (art showing). 

Brian eyes water up even more when he turned the next page, and saw one photo where Justin stood side-by-side with Lindsay (the mother of Brian’s only child Gus).  That brought back only too many memories and made him mourn so many losses.

Mostly what Brian was looking for was any photo or some other indication that would give him a hint of Justin’s personal life (love life specifically), but he found nothing like that.  He then turned back to the first page of the article and scanned the text looking for some mention about Justin’s sex/love life.  However, there was no mention of Justin’s personal life; other than something that really caught Brian’s eye, and he wept harder as he found himself reading that brief tidbit out loud.

It read:  “If Justin Taylor looks familiar to you, you just might recall his face being often photographed inside the media alongside his ex-husband billionaire tycoon Brian Kinney, founder and once the CEO of Kinnetic Enterprises…”

“Fuck you!  I’m still the CEO!  You dumb bastards!  I dare you refer to me as some fucking has-been!  Ought to make one phone call, and fire all of you from your fucking jobs this damn instant!”

Brian then read the rest of the article in silence.  The article went on the say that the couple had been married twice and stated the duration of each marriage and gave a brief write up on how no one has ever again heard of Brian Kinney after his near fatal accident over two years ago. The more Brian read, the more his eyes tear up.  By the time he finished reading the entire article, he still hadn’t learned anything new about his ex-husband’s personal and/or love life that he didn’t already know.

At some point he came across a sentence that read that Justin Taylor is a very private man, who refuses to talk about his personal life to the media.

Brian sighed frustratingly then and yelled really loud.  “So Justin, do you have a damn lover or not!!!”

Robert came crashing into the room just then, highly alarmed by Brian’s loud outburst.  “Did you call for me to do something for you... are you alright?”

“I'm just fabulous," Brian claimed to be.  "I was just thinking out really loud, Shemar.”

“Did you read the entire article yet?  Did you enjoy it?”  Robert asked as he retrieved a Kleenex from a box nearby and started wiping Brian’s tear-stained face, but he didn’t comment on it though.

“Not too bad of an article on Justin Taylor,” Brian replied,  "But I can’t believe how fast he’s moving up.  This guy is enjoying an incredible career already, and he’s only hit the radar about six months ago!  I’ve never seen anyone in the art world blow up like this before.  Most artists only reach his heights after they’re six-feet under.  But then again with his classy looks and charm, he's an easy sale.  His promoters barely have to do any work at all."

“I know what you mean about that six-feet-under crack,” Robert agreed.  “I once had a cousin who wanted to be a famous artist and he is dead now, and he still haven’t fletched more than $10 for any painting he left behind.  I didn’t read the full article, but I briefly scanned through it on the way over here, and it states that Justin Taylor got a whopping fifteen thousands for a single painting last week.  Damn, is that impressive or what!  That’s about two-and-a-half months’ salary working my job.”

“Yeah, it’s going to get even more impressive than that, Shemar,” Brian stated.  “The publicity in this magazine alone might cause the next Justin Taylor original to sale for double what that one fletched.  Shit, if he keeps soaring the way he does, soon you might only be able to get one of his pieces inside an auction and when that happens…”

“The sky’s the limit?”  Robert asked.

“You said it!”  Brian proudly and exuberantly acknowledged.

“Wow!”  Robert exclaimed as he looked immensely amazed.

“Yeah, you can say that again!  He’s really is impressive.  Isn’t he?”  Brian asked.

“Yeah, sure he is; but that was not what I was saying ‘wow’ to though.”

“Huh?”

“This is one time you should let me put a mirror to your face so you can get a good look at it, Brian.”

“Fuck you!”

“Huh!   No, no, no.  That’s not what I meant Brian!  I’m not referring to the old physical scars there.  But if you don’t mind me saying so:  You were glittering… glowing actually.  You lit up like a flashlight talking about Justin Taylor just then.  Fuck, Brian.  You really got it bad for that guy.  Fuck man!  Wow!  Brian!  I really believe that you are in love!”

“Shut the fuck up before I fire your ass!”

“Umm… sorry,” Robert appeared shocked, for he had never known Brian to flair up at him like that before; and felt so bad for the man.  So badly, that he vowed to himself that he won’t rest easy until he finds the perfect way to make it up to him.  And, he thought with Justin Taylor arriving in New York City sometime soon - it might not be too hard thinking of a way he could make it up to his Brian.

And, later that day when Harold and Rosalind came home, Robert persuaded father and daughter to put tremendous pressure on Brian to encourage him to get his face fixed.