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Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad
Chapter 9
Brian walked in the kitchen door at 5 PM on Wednesday. Justin was just getting a bottle of water from the refrigerator. “Bri, wow you are home early. What a nice surprise. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
Brian looked around the kitchen. “Where’s Alice, I came home early to talk with her.” “Well Mr Kinney you are full of surprises today. I never thought I would lose you to a middle aged woman.”
Brian smirked at his favorite blonde. “I just wanted to talk to her about the Brown’s visit. I want to be sure that everything is ready.” “You don’t need to worry. Between Alice and me we are able to plan for two overnight guests. We didn’t need the Kinney genius.”
Brian came over to give Justin a hug and kiss. “Sunshine, I just didn’t want you to feel like I dumped all this into your lap. I don’t want you to think that I expect you to do the “housewife” stuff. I guess I should have called to let Alice know I was coming home early to tie up any loose ends.”
Justin nuzzled against Brian’s chest. “I know you don’t expect me to be your wife. You and I have discussed the Brown’s visit for weeks. Alice and I went over tomorrow’s dinner menu. You and I can handle breakfast Friday and Saturday, Alice is making banana nut muffins for Friday and corn muffins for Saturday. She told the cleaners to send a third person tomorrow so as Alice said the house will sparkle enough to even satisfy Brian. After we leave Friday morning, Alice will straighten up the Brown’s room.”
Brian gave his partner a quick kiss on the top of his head. “Thanks Sunshine, I know I can always depend on you.” “Brian, we can always depend on each other. We make a great team.”
Brian went upstairs to change his clothes while Justin heated some chicken noodle soup for dinner. When Brian came back he sliced some homemade bread. Since it was another pleasant evening they took their food out on the patio to eat.
“Brian, you are taking the SUV tomorrow right?” “Yes, I need it to pick up the Browns. They are planning on landing at the Washington County Airport sometime around 3:30. Their pilot is going to visit some friends in Pittsburgh while they are here.”
“I need you to take my sketches for the PPG murals to the office tomorrow. I talked to Jason and he is going to put the backing on them so they will sit on an easel at the presentation. You need to confirm that Jason is the one to do the backing. I don’t want it passed off to anyone else.” Brian smiled. “Yes Sir! I will make sure your orders are cared out.”
Justin nodded in agreement. “Good, that is just how things should be.” Both men laughed before they got back to eating their food.
Once they were finished eating Justin moved his chair next to Brian’s and leaned his head on his partner’s shoulder. Brian stretched his arm behind Justin’s chair and absentmindedly ran his fingers through Justin soft blonde hair as they talked.
They discussed the Kinnetik cocktail party on Friday night; the Brown’s visit; Brian was concerned that Justin wouldn’t have enough time to finish working on his PPG presentation before Wednesday. Justin assured him that the sketching, which was hardest on his hand, was done and now all he had to complete was a sample painting, which he had planned and marked off the canvas. Since they had no plans for the weekend after the Brown’s left on Saturday morning Justin was sure he had plenty of time to finish.
Once the sun went down and the temperature dropped they got undressed and into the hot tub. Justin rode Brian’s cock and after they both satisfied, they soaked in the warm swirling water until Justin’s fingers and toe started to prune.
After a quick shower they got redressed and went in the house. While Justin straightened the kitchen Brian headed to the study to check his email. Once he was done in the kitchen, Justin went into the family room, turned on the CD player and curled up in a chair to read. When Brian came in from the study, they brought Justin’s PPG sketches down and put them in the SUV.
As they came back in the house Justin was laughing as Brian lamented having to drive the SUV and warned Justin to be careful if he had to drive the Corvette anywhere. Justin’s cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and got a puzzled expression on his face before he answered. “Hello Michael.”
Brian glanced over at him with narrowed eyes. “Hi Justin. Thanks for answering; I know I’ve behaved badly. Ben and my mother have been on my case. I just got off the phone with Blake. I wanted to apologize to him as well.”
Justin rolled his eyes and had to pause for minute to decide just what to reply. “I’m glad you understand that you have no reason to be jealous of me. I’m happy for Brian to have a good friend like you.” Brian raised his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head in amazement.
“Brian and I have been best friends for a long time. I know nothing can ever really change that. Ben and I are having a Memorial Day barbeque lunch on Monday. I’m hoping you and Brian can come. Ted and Blake have agreed to come and Emmett too. I want us to have a nice get together and make up for my bad mood on Saturday night.” Justin did not want to go to the barbeque and he knew Brian would feel the same. He thought about using the excuse of having to work on his PPG presentation but Michael seemed sincere and Justin really did not want Brian to lose Michael’s friendship. “Okay Michael, we’ll be there but I am pretty busy painting so I don’t know if we will be able to stay very long.”
Michael thanked him and Justin quickly disconnected the call as Brian advanced on him. “Sunshine what was that call about and just where will be?”
“Brian, Michael invited us to a barbeque lunch on Monday. It’s kind of an apology effort. Ted and Blake have agreed to go. How would it look if I said no?”
“Justin, I don’t give a flying fuck how it would look. Michael has acted badly and you need time to work on your painting. I am going to call him tomorrow and tell him we are too busy this weekend to come to his stupid ass barbeque.”
The blonde got his determined look. “You are free to cancel if you want but I am going to that barbeque whether you go or not.”
Justin could tell that Brian was counting to 10 in his head and fought hard not to smile. “Sometimes Sunshine you can be quite annoying. I am going to bed.”
Justin made sure to lock up and set the alarm before he went upstairs and did his best to improve Brian’s mood.
To continue his effort of keeping Brian in a good mood, Justin woke up early and joined Brian in the shower for a morning fuck. He even came downstairs and had breakfast with Brian. By the time they kissed good bye; Brian had agreed to attend Michael’s Memorial Day barbeque. Once Brian was out the door Justin smiled, pleased with himself for a job well done.
Justin spent the morning painting in his studio. Happy with the progress he made, Justin headed downstairs around lunch time. He could hear vacuums running so he knew the cleaning service staff was still hard at work. Alice had vases lined up on the kitchen counter and was busy arranging flowers. Justin could see Charlie outside sweeping the patio so he knew cleaning was going on outside as well. He made himself a sandwich and chatted with Alice. When Justin was finished eating he headed upstairs to change his clothes. Alice gave him the guest room flowers to take upstairs.
Justin changed in his “Brian selected” clothing. He did a final check on the guest room before going downstairs. The cleaners had left so Justin walked through the rooms on the first floor to be sure everything looked perfect. He knew that Brian would be unhappy if the house didn’t look good for their guests. Justin felt a little silly for being concerned but Brown Athletics was a very important client for Kinnetik. This was also the first time they had overnight guests that were not family or close friends.
After his inspection tour Justin went out to the kitchen to check with Alice and see how he could help. Justin took the 2 leaves out of the dining room table and then set it for dinner.
Brian called to say the Brown’s private jet had landed at the county airport and they should be at the house in about half an hour. Brian brought them in the front door and Justin came out of the parlor to welcome them. Justin had his country club manners on full display. He gave Donna Brown a hug & a kiss on the cheek and was surprised when Leo pulled him into a hug and said how happy they were to see him again. Brian gave him a hello kiss.
Justin & Brian grabbed the luggage and led the Browns up to the guest room. They left them to settle in and went back down to the parlor. Brian poured some Beam for each of them. He handed Justin his glass and observed. “This is very weird having people stay here.”
Justin smiled. “It does seem strange. We’ve had family stay and Molly and her college friends but the Browns are out first “grown up” guests.” They both smiled and took a slip of their drinks.
Donna Brown came into the Parlor just ahead of Leo. “Justin, that painting in our room is amazing. Is that going to be in your next show?” Brian smirked at Justin who smiled at Donna. “I’m glad you like it. I haven’t decided yet if it will be in the show or not. I was waiting to see what you thought of it.”
Leo spoke up. “Donna LOVES it! She has been upstairs looking at it from different angles, turning lights on and off and kind of raving about how special the painting is. I don’t want to insult you but if you are going to sell it please let me buy it now.”
Justin looked very pleased. “Well you have convinced me not to sell it.” Both Donna and Leo looked very confused before Justin continued. “I painted it as a gift for you. I hung it in your room to see if you liked it. I didn’t want you to feel you had to accept it if you didn’t like it.”
Donna came over to him and gave him a bear hug. “Oh my god, how could you ever think I wouldn’t love it? You know Leo and I are two of your biggest fans. Everyone that comes into Leo’s office comments on the paintings he bought at your last Chicago show. I still haven’t completely forgiven him for keeping them in his office instead of our house.”
Leo came over and put his hand on Justin’s shoulder. “That is so generous of you but I really would be happy to buy the painting. Donna adores it.” Brian had a huge smile on his face. He was always pleased when anyone recognized his partner’s talent and making this important customer happy was a bonus. “Leo, I told Justin he should just give you and Donna the painting as a gift but he still sometimes doubts how brilliant an artist he is. We are both happy to give you the painting, even before you sign your contract extension.”
Leo laughed. “Lucky for you I was already going to sign that extension. I would be an idiot to leave Kinnetik.” Donna finally released Justin from the hug but kept her arm around his waist. “Brian you should raise your rates now that Leo has let you know how much he values Kinnetik advertising.”
Leo managed to assume a shocked expression before all four people laughed. Donna was still expressing her gratitude for the gift when Alice came into the room with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. Brian opened some wine and easy conversation flowed.
Justin and Brian took their guests on a quick tour of the first floor. Brian invited Leo to join him in the home gym the next morning. By the time Alice came to tell them dinner was ready, Brian and Justin were both feeling much more relaxed about their house guests.
After dinner and post dinner conversation Justin and Brian were finally alone in their bedroom. Brian sank down on the bed. “Wow! That was one fucking long evening. I never thought I would say this but I am too exhausted to fuck.” Justin laughed and sat down beside him. “This is a good experience for us. Now we know we really are not equipped to entertain overnight guests.” Both men laughed. They undressed, got into bed and unusual for them they went right to sleep.
The next morning Brian and Leo met in the home gym for a workout. Justin was lying in bed reading an art magazine when Brian came through the bedroom door, full of endorphins from exercising. Brian walked over to the bed picked up a giggling Justin and carried him into the bathroom. Their spirited shower sex more than made up for the night before.
As they walked down the stairs Justin was surprised when Brian took his hand. Once they were downstairs Brian gave Justin a quick kiss before heading to the study. Justin went to the kitchen. Brian had started the coffee maker after his workout. Leo Brown sat at the kitchen bar drinking a cup of coffee. “Good morning Justin. I helped myself to coffee, hope that is Okay.”
Justin filled a mug with coffee and smiled. “Good morning Leo, it’s perfect that you helped yourself. Do you think that Donna will be down soon?” “I expect she’ll be down in about 15 or 20 minutes.”
The two men chatted about the house and the great view of the pond from the kitchen-family room area. Brian came into the kitchen. “Nothing urgent in my emails. Everything should be ready for our meeting.”
The three of them decided on scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast. Justin lined a cookie sheet with aluminum foil filled the pan with bacon and put it in the oven. Meanwhile Brian had gotten out the eggs and cracked them into a mixing bowl. He whisked them and added a little half and half. Justin split some English muffins and arranged those on another cookie sheets while Brian set the kitchen table.
Donna Brown came into the kitchen and Brian poured her some coffee. “Thanks Brian. Can I help with breakfast?” Brian shook his head. “Thanks but Justin and I have it covered. You and Leo should sit down and relax.”
Leo came over and gave his wife a kiss on the cheek. “These two seem to operate as a well-oiled machine. I have enjoyed watching them, it was pretty impressive.”
Brian poured the eggs into a frying pan and Justin stuck the muffin pan in the second oven. Justin took a pitcher of orange juice out of the refrigerator and put it on the kitchen table with some banana nut muffins. “Alice squeezed this juice yesterday and baked these muffins, help yourselves.”
Justin took the bacon & English muffins out of the oven, buttered the muffins and put both things on plates. Brian emptied the pan of scrambled eggs into a bowl and breakfast was ready.
The four of them talked easily as they enjoyed breakfast. Just as they were finishing Alice arrived. “Good morning everyone. Looks like the boys did a good job with breakfast.” Leo laughed at her description of Brian & Justin. “Yes Mrs Simpson, they took excellent care of us this morning. I even discovered that Brian can actually cook, an unknown talent.”
Alice came over and started to clear the dirty dishes off the table. “Mrs Brown, if you or Mr Brown need anything pressed for this evening bring it downstairs before you go.”
Donna shook her head. “I was going to ask if I could borrow an iron. You don’t need to worry about doing our ironing.”
Alice smiled. “Please don’t worry about me bring overworked. Housekeeper is almost an honorary title when you work for these two. My schedule is wide open today. I am happy to press your clothes. If you need anything washed out I can do that as well.” “I appreciate it. I’ll bring down what we need ironed before Justin and I leave.”
Leo and Brian were gathering what they needed for their meeting at Kinnetik when the doorbell rang. Justin answered, a young man was standing on the front stoop. “Good morning Justin. I just wanted to let you know I am here whenever you are ready to leave.”
“Good morning Marty, glad to see you. I guess you are done classes for the summer.” Marty breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. “My last exam was yesterday. So when Louie told me you needed a car today I jumped right on it.” Justin told him they would be out soon.
When he got back to the kitchen Brian gave him a quick kiss goodbye and left with Leo. “Alice, Marty is our driver.” Alice nodded. “I’ll make him a sandwich with some of the left over prime rib; put a couple of these banana muffins in, along with some chips, an apple and a couple bottles of water.”
Justin noticed that Donna looked a little confused. “Marty is a college student working on his MBA at Pitt. During his school breaks he works for his uncle who owns the limo company we always use. He’s one of our favorite drivers and Alice has kind of adopted him.”
A few minutes later Justin & Donna were getting on the town car and on their way to the Carnegie-Mellon Museum. Marty was delighted with his delivered lunch.
Justin and Donna spent a leisurely few hours touring the museum. After their museum visit, the limo delivered them to the base of the Duquesne Incline which they rode to the top of Mount Washington. Donna was thrilled by the view as the Incline made its way up the side of the hill, the car adjusting to stay horizontal during its rise. At the top they strolled down the street to Le Mont to meet Brian and Leo for lunch. The meetings at Kinnetik had gone very well so both men were in a good mood.
Leo had been at the restaurant before with Brian but this was Donna’s first time. The clear day allowed an unobstructed view of Pittsburgh below.
After lunch Brian and Leo headed back to Kinnetik; Justin and Donna were picked up in front of the restaurant. Justin settled back in the seat. “Always great food at Le Mont. It is one of our favorite restaurants. We are headed to the Bloom Gallery now; it’s the nicest gallery in the city."
Marty dropped them off in front of the gallery. Once they were inside Justin asked the person on duty at the front desk to let Sidney know Justin Taylor had stopped by. Justin and Donna were strolling thru the first exhibit when Sidney joined them.
He grabbed Justin in a hug. “Justin! It has been a while since you have graced us with your presence. You are looking wonderful as always.” “Sidney, this is a friend of Brian and mine, Donna Brown. Her husband is one of Kinnetik’s biggest clients and they are staying with us for a few days. I wanted her to see the best gallery in Pittsburgh and I’ve wanted to see the student exhibits.”
Sidney shook Donna’s hand and told her it was nice to meet her. He guided them over to the student exhibits and started to explain them. Justin glanced around the gallery and was surprised to see some dust in the corners. He felt the exhibits could have been placed better and there were a few burned out light bulbs. Justin knew that Norma Bloom had handled the business end of the business and he felt sorry that Sidney and the gallery obviously missed her.
Sidney moved them into the next room where there was an exhibit of a local artist’s camera work. She specialized in flower photos that she manipulated with software to give them a surreal look. Donna was fascinated with the images and Justin found them interesting but he also noticed the wall paint touchups that didn’t quite match and the too shinny floor finish which distracted the eye away from the photographs.
Sidney noticed Justin looking around. Donna moved away from them fascinated by the artist’s work. “Justin, I can help notice that you can tell that the gallery is not up to Norma’s standards.” Justin felt sorry for Sidney and was annoyed at himself for being so obvious. “Sidney I know it must be hard for you, missing Norma so much and having to do everything by yourself.”
Sidney’s eyes filled with unshed tears. “So hard! We complemented each other so well. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep the gallery open. My children have no interest and I am just not making enough money to hire a really good manager. It is really kind of a catch 22, no chance of turning things around without a top flight manager and with things the way they are no money to hire that manager.”
Justin felt really bad but he couldn’t really think of anything useful to say so he just gave Sidney another hug. Donna had found a couple things she was interested in buying so Sidney took them back to the front desk to transact business.
On the way back to Kinnetik Justin kept thinking about Sidney Bloom and how sad it would be if he closed the gallery. Sad for Sidney himself but also sad for Pittsburgh to lose a first rate art gallery.
