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Holiday Happenings
This story is a sequel to “Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad”. You don’t have to read that story first but this story will make more sense if you do.
Brian and Justin are established partners, sharing custody of Gus and raising Brian’s nephews. This is how they I think they would celebrate fall & winter holidays.
I don’t own the characters just the situations.
Chapter 24
Dinner was a lively meal. Brian & Justin enjoyed themselves gently teasing Molly & Mark which earned them dirty looks from Molly and made Jennifer laugh out loud. Everyone praised John’s cooking skills which made him blush with embarrassment. Peter just smiled the entire time enjoying everything about the best Christmas of his life. Tucker sat next to Jennifer and really felt a part of the family. He was well aware that Justin did not really approve of his relationship with Jennifer but he felt like they were making progress.
Brian and Justin had insisted that Jennifer sit at one end of the table opposite Brian at the other end. She felt like a queen. Justin and Molly insisted she wear all her new jewelry. As she looked around the table all she saw were happy faces. It was one of the best Christmas’s of her life.
Even Brian was enjoying Christmas. He sat between his two favorite people in the world, Justin & Gus. Gus was vibrating with excitement over Christmas. Brian could feel the contentment and love radiating off his Sunshine. As he sometimes did, and hated when he did it, he thought about his past life and celebrated the changes in his life and how much happier he was now. He quickly glanced at Justin who gave him a big smile which Brian couldn’t help returning.
Molly was thinking that maybe Mark was the “one”. She felt so comfortable with him. He also seemed to really fit in with the family. She had always loved her big brother; even when he teased her she knew he was always there for her. She envied the love that Justin & Brian shared and was happy just to spend time with them. They brought such a sense of security to her life. She knew they were ready to help with any problem she might have in her life.
Mark’s family was so different from Molly’s. He deeply cared about Molly and her family was a part of those feelings. Whenever he spent time with Molly’s family he could feel the love and acceptance they all had for each other. His family were all like separate entities that occasionally came together before going their separate ways again. Sometimes he felt there was no one he could really count on. Mark often noticed Brian observing him and he knew he was being evaluated to see if he was worthy of Molly. It both worried him and impressed him. Jennifer & Justin were more circumspect but he knew they were also watching out for Molly.
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Christmas morning started early at Ted & Blake’s house. Viola spent the night so that she could be there to see Nina open her gifts. Blake & Ted had a difficult time getting Nina to make a Christmas list. She wrote a letter to Santa that had just three requests. They weren’t sure how to explain to her why Santa would suddenly bring more gifts than ever before. Finally Ted told Nina that since she had been through a difficult year with her mother dying and having to leave her Nana to come live with him and Blake, Santa knew she deserved more gifts this year.
Ted & Blake told her that Santa had a lot of houses to visit so it wasn’t safe to go downstairs before 6 AM to be sure Santa has made his stop at their house. The knock on the bedroom door woke Ted. He glanced at his night table and smiled at the 6:01 displayed on the clock. He poked Blake who was a much sounder sleeper before telling Nina she could come in.
The door flew open and Nina, dressed in a reindeer printed nightgown, ran over to the bed.
“Teddy Man, Daddy it’s after six so we need to go down and see what Santa left us!”
Blake sat up in bed wearing a red T shirt with a snowman on the front. Ted had a green T shirt with Santa. A half-awake Blake told Nina she needed to put on her robe & slippers before they went downstairs. As she ran out of the room Ted reminded her to knock on her Nana’s door so she could go downstairs with them.
Blake hurried downstairs to turn on the tree lights and the gas fireplace. He got back upstairs just as Nina came out of her bedroom wearing her robe and slippers.
Viola came out of her room smiling at a very excited Nina. Ted was standing in the bedroom doorway waiting for the trip down to see what Santa had delivered.
Nina came over and took Ted’s hand.
“Teddy Man are you sure Santa came?”
“Yes Sweetheart. I’m sure he was here because you have been such an extra special good girl.”
Nina lifted her arms so Ted picked her up as they started down the stairs. Blake and Viola walked behind them. Nina took a deep breath as she saw the presents piled around the tree.
“Teddy Man! I never saw so many presents before. Do you think they are all for us?”
Ted gave the little girls a kiss on the cheek.
“Yes Sweetheart. These presents are all for us. Some are from Santa and some are from Daddy and me.”
At the bottom of the stairs Ted put Nina down but she just stood still; looking over at all the brightly wrapped gifts. She looked up at Ted who smiled and took her hand. He walked over to Nina’s pile of presents and sat on the floor with her.
Blake and Viola sat on the sofa and watched as Ted started handing Nina gifts to open. She actually seemed a little overwhelmed so Ted suggested they take a break and let Viola open her Christmas presents.
Viola’s gifts were mostly sensible. An extra set of high thread count cotton sheets. Gift cards for the grocery & drug stores that she frequented and a gift card for her favorite fabric outlet. She also got a new wrist watch and a pale pick cardigan sweater with silver-gray beading down the front.
“Blake and Ted this sweater is beautiful! I love it.”
Ted smiled.
“I have to confess that we got Jennifer to pick out the sweater. Women’s fashion are really not our strength.”
Viola chuckled.
“Well that was an excellent decision. Jennifer is always dressed so beautifully. I’ll have to thank her for the great choice.”
Viola gave Nina a couple new dresses for herself and some new outfits for her dolls. Ted & Blake each got a crocheted afghan. Nina made gifts for Viola, Ted & Blake at school. Each got a refrigerator magnet with a photo of Nina surrounded by glitter. She was delighted when Ted & Blake put their magnets on the refrigerator door.
After the adults had opened all their gifts, Nina sat on the floor with her Teddy Man and opened her remaining Christmas presents. She was left feeling kind of stunned by all the gifts and asked Ted to sit on the couch with her for a while. Blake ran up to her room and grabbed her Teddy bear. Nina clutched her toy and nestled against Ted who covered her with a fleece throw.
With her Teddy Man’s arm firmly holding her close. Nina quickly fell asleep. Blake smiled at his two favorite people in the world.
“I think Christmas tired her out. She was up late last night and who knows how early she woke up this morning.”
Viola got up and came over to the couch.
“Thanks you both for making such a wonderful Christmas for Nina and for me. I can’t remember ever having a better one! I think I’m going up and have a quick nap myself. Blake, I’ll be down a little later to help you with dinner.”
Blake chuckled.
“We actually haven’t even had breakfast yet. I did put some coffee on. Why don’t you take a mug up with you?”
Viola nodded and walked with Blake to the kitchen. She got her coffee and went upstairs. Blake brought two mugs of coffee into the living room. He handled Ted his mug before settling against Ted’s other side and resting his head on his shoulder.
Ted pressed his head against Blake’s soft blonde hair.
“I can’t remember ever having a better Christmas myself.”
Blake turned his head to kiss Ted’s cheek and sighed happily.
Two hours later when Viola came back downstairs; Ted was explaining her new iPad to Nina. It had software that was recommended by the staff at Fort Pitt School to help Nina with her mild cognitive issues. Blake was in the kitchen warming soup for lunch.
After lunch they all played Candyland, one of Nina’s Christmas gifts before Blake and Viola started on dinner preparations. Nina helped Ted set the table. When Mel & Linds arrived with JR, the girls had a tea party with their dolls and Nina’s new china tea set.
A short time later Emmett arrived with Rusty. Much to Nina & JR's delight Emmett brought pink nail polish for their fingernails. Mel accused him of age discrimination so he laughingly agreed to paint Mel, Lindsay & Viola’s nails too.
Once the manicures were done they all sat down to dinner.
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Debbie would never admit it but she was glad to have an easy day. After hosting everyone on Christmas Eve she was glad to only have to prepare dinner for four people. Ben and Michael brought a salad and some wine with them. Debbie made her special lasagna and Michael’s favorite banana cream pie for dessert. They were all looking forward to the big party the next day at Brian & Justin’s house.
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In Washington Township when everyone had finished eating Justin announced that they would wait a while before dessert.
“Mom and John since you prepared this delicious dinner for us you don’t have to do cleanup. Brian and Gus you guys should go check out those trains until we are ready for dessert.
Peter, Molly and Mark will clear the table. Tucker can load the dishwasher and I will put away the leftovers.”
Gus and his Daddy quickly headed to the basement before Justin changed his mind. Jennifer & John took seats at the kitchen bar and observed cleanup. Once the table was mostly cleared Molly made her mother a mug of herbal tea.
Peter kept busy telling Tucker what he was doing wrong while loading the dishwasher which amused everyone but Tucker. Peter started each comment with “Alice likes…”; there was no doubt who taught Peter the “correct way” to load a dishwasher.
Jennifer eventually took pity on Tucker and tried distracting Peter.
“Peter Honey, did you or John talk to you Mother today?”
Peter shrugged.
“She told us the line for the phone would be too long today. She is going to call my cell tomorrow.”
At the mention of Claire’s name Justin stood up.
“Oh my god. Claire sent a box earlier this week. I forgot about it. I’ll go get it now!”
Justin ran up the stairs to the studio and grabbed the box from Claire that he had stashed in a cabinet. He hurried back to the kitchen.
“I’m so sorry guys. I put this in a cabinet and forgot all about it.”
John chuckled.
“Mother did email and ask if the box she sent us got delivered. I’ll let her know you hid it from us. It’s not like that is going to change her opinion of you!”
Justin rolled his eyes as he handed the box to John, who grabbed a knife to cut open the packing tape. There were two wrapped gifts inside the box. Each gift had an envelope on top, one addressed to John and the other to Peter.
Both boys ripped open the envelopes and read the enclosed two page letter from their mother. Peter quickly scanned through the letter before handing it to Justin.
John & Peter looked at each other with strange expressions on their face. Jennifer looked over at Justin who looked up from the letter and smiled at her before turning his attention to the nephews.
“So guys what do you think?”
John shrugged and let Peter answer first.
“Well it is the first time Mom has ever admitted to doing anything wrong and she even kind of apologizes.”
John chimed in.
“Well not really an abject apology but it’s a start I guess.”
“John you know it is a big concession from Mom to admit she did anything wrong. We need to meet her halfway on this.”
John shrugged again.
“I guess you’re right. At last she is accepting some responsibility for all the crap we had to deal with.”
Jennifer held out her hand and John smiled and passed her his letter from Claire. She quickly read it before she got up and gathered John & Peter in her arms.
“It seems to me that Claire is starting to realize what her mistakes have been. That is hard for anyone but especially hard when a mother realizes she has hurt her children.”
She glanced quickly at Justin, still feeling some guilt for her son having to leave his home. Justin smiled at his mother.
“You really do need to try and meet your mother halfway as Peter said. I hope with all my heart that this will work out for all of you. Remember that we are always here for you and Claire really has no one. She stands to be the big loser here. I hope you can be the better people and start to forgive her.”
She gave John and Peter each a kiss on the cheek.
“Now open your gifts so we can see what you got.”
Both boys ripped open their gifts and pulled the contents out of the box. They each got two pillowcases. John’s was embroidered with soccer balls, players & a trophy. Peter’s had a couple boys in caps & gowns along with books, rulers & a blue ribbon. All four pillowcases had a small “ck” embroidered below the other things.
Jennifer examined the pillowcases.
“This embroidery is really well done. They were obviously customized for the two of you. I wonder how Claire was able to purchase them. I guess it was something she found on-line.”
John chuckled.
“I’m pretty sure Mom did the embroidery herself. She used to do a lot of this kind of stuff. She was very good at it. I remember she worked hard on a tablecloth and napkins for the grandparent’s anniversary. Mom was really proud of the gift.
Gramps and Grandmother thanked her but were pretty subdued about it. They never were people who praised anyone. Anyway sometime after that we were at thier house for some special dinner; a birthday or something. Mom asked Grandmother why she wasn’t using the tablecloth and napkins she had made for her. Grandmother said she had no use for those things and wasn’t interested in anything that made more work for her. She said she had no interest in ironing anything, certainly not cloth napkins when paper worked better anyway.
Grandmother told Mom she donated the tablecloth and napkins to the church rummage sale. We left before dinner; Mom cried all the way home. After that she never embroidered another thing.”
Peter nodded.
“I kind of remember that. As we left Gramps was yelling at Grandmother asking what she had done to upset Claire.”
Jennifer was wide eyed.
“The more I hear about Joan Kinney the more I dislike her. What a horrible thing to do to Claire after she went to all that trouble to personalize that gift for her parents. I would have treasured something like that if I got it as a gift.”
Jennifer examined the pillowcases more closely.
“Claire really does seem to have a gift for embroidery. This is excellent work. My agents are always looking for gifts to give buyer and sellers at closings. John you should ask your mother is she has time and wants to embroider things to sell.
I could buy some things and send them to her. Once she is finished she could send them back to me. After they are sold I can save the money for her. By the time she is released she could have some cash to help get her life started again.”
Justin came over to look at John & Peter’s gifts.
“This does look well done. Mom, do you really think some of your agents would buy stuff like this?”
“Yes I think they would. I would buy some myself as gifts for customers. People really like something that is handmade like this. Claire really does have a gift for doing this type of work. I tried embroidery but nothing I ever did looked like these pillowcases.”
John smiled at Jennifer.
“That’s a nice offer Grandmom. I’ll talk to Mother about it and let you know what she thinks. It seems like a good opportunity for her but you know Mother is not a big fan of Uncle Justin.”
Justin pretended to look shocked.
“I had no idea. I really thought Claire disliked Brian more than me.”
Peter laughed.
“Oh no Uncle Justin! You are a clear winner of most disliked by Mom. You are a close second for Grandmother but Grandmom Jen is at the top of Grandmother’s hate list.”
Jennifer smirked.
“Well I did work at getting to the top of that list.”
Everyone was laughing when Brian & Gus appeared. Gus announced that he thought it was time for dessert. Brian glanced at the pillowcases.
“Where did these come from?”
Justin answered.
“Claire sent these to John & Peter. She embroidered them herself and sent some nice letters.”
John handed his letter to Brian who quickly scanned it.
“Hmm. I remember Claire used to do embroidery a lot. She was pretty good at it but didn’t get any encouragement from Joanie or Jack.”
Justin smirked.
“John was just telling us about that. So who’s ready for pie?”
Gus led the way with a resounding “I am!” and everyone else agreeing with him.
After dessert Gus’s eyes were drooping. Even though he suggested more time in the train room his Daddy told him it was time for bath & bed. There was an attempt at pouting but Brian scooped him up and took him upstairs.
Since the dishwasher was full, John & Peter rinsed the dessert dishes and stacked them before saying they were going up to their rooms. Molly and Mark said they were tired and went up to the Sorority House.
Justin smiled at his mother.
“You are being a good sport about Mark spending the night Mom.”
Jennifer shrugged.
“Molly is an adult, she can make her own decisions. Since you and I are both in good sexual relationships without benefit of marriage I think it would be hypocritical to question Molly about her relationship with Mark.”
“Mom that was a little TMI for me.”
“Oh Justin please! I had to accept my seventeen year old son having lots of sex with his twenty eight year old lover. You need to stop thinking of me as asexual.”
“But you’re my Mom!”
Jennifer patted his cheek.
“I got to be your mother by having sex, quite a bit of it actually. Tucker and I are going to our room. Don’t start conversations you don’t want to finish.”
Justin turned off the lights, checked that the fire screens were closed, set the alarm and went up to read Gus a bedtime story. Gus had had a long and exciting day so he was asleep before Justin read 3 pages of the story.
When Justin went into the master bedroom Brian had candles lighted and a fire burning in the fireplace. He had pulled their comforter & some pillows in front of the fireplace. Two glasses of champagne were on the table and a naked Brian was sprawled on the comforter.
Justin smiled.
“I guess playing with the new trains didn’t tire you out as much as it did Gus.”
“Trains make me horny, Sunshine!”
Justin chuckled.
“Brian, breathing makes you horny.”
“As long as I’m looking at you everything makes me horny.”
Justin dropped his clothes as he walked over to where Brian was waiting. Brian pulled him into a tight hug as they kissed and explored each other’s bodies. It was a long time before they finished their lovemaking and crawled into bed. They slipped on boxers before drifting off to sleep so they were prepared for Gus’s morning visit.
Gus had a very long and busy Christmas day so he did not appear until Brian and Justin were up and dressed. He was a little disappointed to not have his normal snuggle time with his fathers. Gus was looking forward to breakfast made by Grandmom Jen and more train time with Daddy. The new train room was his best Christmas present by far.
When Brian, Justin and Gus arrived in the kitchen, breakfast production was in full swing. Jennifer was preparing her brioche French toast for the pan, while Tucker cooked some sausage patties with brown sugar. Molly was using the juicer to make fresh orange juice and was cutting up some fresh fruit.
Justin sent Gus upstairs to make sure John & Peter were awake. While Brian preparing 2 mugs of coffee Justin got busy setting the table. Jennifer got the first batch of French toast in the pan just as John and Peter appeared with a giggling Gus being carried over John’s shoulder.
There was some debate about who would sit next to Grandmom Jen but Tucker insisted on sitting on one side and Justin claimed a son’s right to sit beside his Mother. Gus contented himself on sitting between his cousins. The adults & as well as Mark & Molly all enjoyed mimosas with breakfast. John, Peter & Gus had plain orange juice but drank it from champagne flutes.
After everyone ate their fill; John & Peter, with an assist from Gus, cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. Mark headed home to spend time with his brother who was visiting his parents. When clean-up was complete Gus was thrilled when John & Peter asked to see his trains.
Molly said she always wanted trains so she would like to see Gus’s new train setup as well. Gus’s smile went from ear to ear as he led the way down to the train room. Brian said he would relax with Papa, Grandmom Jen & Tucker while Gus showed off his trains.
When the younger members of the household had disappeared Justin turned to Brian.
“Are you sure Gus knows how to run the trains on his own?”
Brian grinned.
“I bet Gus knows more about operating the trains than you do Justin.”
Justin just shrugged which made Jennifer & Tucker laugh. Jennifer smiled indulgently at her son.
“Molly wanted trains but Justin had no interest in them at all. He was always more interested sketching the Christmas tree and decorations from the time he could first hold a crayon.”
Emmett and his kitchen staff showed up around noon. Rusty came along to provide mostly moral support. They commandeered the kitchen to prepare for the party that night.
Gus & his cousins along with Jennifer, Tucker & Molly watched TV in the media room. Justin spent time painting in his studio and Brian checked his emails in the study.
By 6 PM everyone was dressed for the party. The kitchen was a whirlwind of activity as Emmett& his staff made their final preparations. Brian had arranged for two shuttle buses to make trips between the Kinnetik parking lot and the house. The lobby of the Kinnetik building was open and there was munchies, coffee and hot chocolate for everyone waiting to board one of the buses.
The first bus was scheduled to leave Kinnetik at 5:45. The first guests, the Gardners, arrived a little after 6. Brian, Jennifer & Gus walked to the entrance hall when they heard the doorbell. Josh spotted Brian and ran over to hug him.
“Uncle Brian! Thank you so much for the trip to Disney. That is so cool. My cousins couldn’t believe I got that Christmas gift from you.”
A fairly horrified Brian gave a Josh an awkward pat on the back and mumbled. “You’re welcome.”
Happily Josh moved on to give Grandmom Jen a hug. Bill smiled at Brian.
“I think lording your gift over his cousins gave Josh just as much pleasure as the gift itself.”
Brian laughed just as Justin walked in from the kitchen and was immediately caught up in a hug from Josh.
The next guests through the door were a squabbling Michael & Debbie. She was letting her son know how annoyed she was that he insisted on driving down to the house instead of taking the bus from Kinnetik.
They were followed by an annoyed looking Carl and an exasperated looking Ben with JR in his arms. JR was wearing her new princess dress & tiara. As soon as JR spotted Justin she held out her arms.
“Uncle Jus. Look I’m wearing the dress you and Uncle Bri gave me!”
Justin told JR she looked beautiful as he took her from Ben’s arms. She hugged him tightly around the neck and kissed his cheek.
“I love my princess doll and dress. Thanks you lots!”
Michael was always annoyed by how much his daughter loved Justin.
“JR! Justin doesn’t have time for you right now. He needs to pay attention to his guests.”
JR screwed her face into a pout and refused to release her grip on Justin.
“It’s okay Honey. I can still say hello to people with my favorite girl in my arms.”
Michael walked over and attempted to take JR from Justin. She smacked her father’s arm as he reached for her and loudly announced “NO!”
Michael looked close to tears as Brian laughed and Debbie shook her head.
“For fucks sake Michael just leave her alone. Justin doesn’t mind holding her and JR is happy with him.”
Michael looked uncertain about what to do or say. Brian gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
“Bar’s out by the kitchen Mikey. As long as you’re not the designated driver go get something to drown your sorrows.”
Ben spoke up.
“I’m the DD tonight so let’s go check out the bar while JR gets her Uncle Jus time. I’m sure there are non-alcoholic drinks for me.”
Ben took a reluctant Michael’s hand and walked towards the kitchen. Debbie rolled her eyes as she gave Brian a hug and kiss on the cheek. Carl shook hands and whispered in Brian’s ear.
“I think I am going to need a lot to drink to get through this night!”
Debbie had moved on to greeting Jennifer and Carl dutifully followed behind her.
The first bus from Kinnetik arrived. JR was delighted that just about everyone who came in remarked on her beautiful dress. She was a happy as could be accepting compliments while safe in Uncle Jus’s arms.
A jealous Michael continued to watch from a distance. Ben came up behind him
.
“Mike, leave her alone. She is having a great time and Justin doesn’t seem to mind holding her.”
Michael just shrugged and attempted to be less obvious about watching JR being held in Justin’s arms.
Ted, Blake, Nina & Viola were on the first bus to arrive from the Kinnetik building. As soon as JR spotted Nina she asked Justin to put her down so she could play with her friend. Nina was also wearing her Princess dress & tiara.
Brian burst out laughing when he saw Ted & Blake wearing their capes & crowns. He wasn’t surprised that both men had caved to Nina’s request to wear their king & prince accessories. Brian was a little surprised that Ted didn’t seem the least embarrassed or self-conscious.
JR & Nina each took one of Ted’s hands and pulled him toward the kitchen so they could see what they wanted to eat. Blake just shrugged and followed them as Jennifer came over to say hello to Viola. The other bus passengers were being greeted by Brian & Justin.
Most Kinnetik employees brought a friend or significant other and a few brought children. Justin made sure all the kids knew about the game room. He had spoken to John & Peter earlier about them monitoring the game room and coming to get him if there were any issues.
Jennifer complimented Viola on her sweater. Viola chuckled and gave Jennifer a quick hug.
“Ted told me that you picked this sweater out for me. It is beautiful and I love it!”
“I knew Ted was honest just not that honest. I’m glad you like the sweater.”
Debbie came over to Jennifer & Viola. She had a plate with some appetizers in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other hand.
“Hello Viola. Nice to see you again. We should go in the Parlor and claim some comfortable seats before they are all gone.”
Jennifer & Viola followed Debbie into the Parlor. Once they claimed one of the sofas Jennifer went out to the kitchen to fix a plate of appetizers to share. She got champagne for herself and club soda with a lime slice for Viola.
Alice & Charlie’s son & daughter in law arrived with their children. David, Suzanne & Mark all spent some time here so they were comfortable with the house and made their way down to the game room.
When Gus spotted the O’Briens’ enter the house he ran over to Kevin.
“Kevin. Hurry up and get you coat off. You have to come see the awesome new trains I got for Christmas!”
Roxanne smiled as her son rushed to get his winter coat unzipped and off.
“Kevin you have to thank Uncle Brian and Uncle Justin for their generous Christmas gift before you run off with Gus.”
Gus frowned.
“Daddy and Papa don’t care about that. I’ll tell them later that Kevin said thanks.”
Roxanne shook her head.
“Sorry Gus, Kevin has to thank them in person. They gave him and Patrick incredibly Christmas gifts.”
She gave Patrick a “look”. He grabbed Kevin’s hand and with an impatient Gus following, they walked over to where Justin & Brian were standing and talking to some people from the art department.
Justin gave the boys one of his sunshine smiles and stooped down so Kevin could give him a hug. Patrick & Kevin thanked him for their Disney Trip.
“You’re very welcome. Uncle Brian and I are glad your parents agreed to let you go with us. We are all looking forward to the trip.”
Brian turned when he heard his name and Kevin went over and locked his arms around Brian’s legs while thanking him for the gift and telling him that he loved him.
Brian smiled and gently patted Kevin’s head.
Patrick thanked Brian and told Kevin to let go of his legs. Once he was sure he wouldn’t fall over Brian bent over to give Kevin a kiss on his forehead.
Gus spoke up.
“Okay Kevin you thanked them. Let’s go play with my trains.”
Kevin dropped his coat on the floor and the two boys ran off towards the steps to the basement. Justin called after them not to run on the stairs and to hold onto the handrail.
Patrick picked up his brother’s coat and took his parents’ coats to hang them up in the racks lining the hallway. Justin let him know that John was down in the game room.
Kevin was awed by the new train room. Gus showed him how to make the switches change the route of the train as well as how the other special options. They enjoyed trying everything out and Kevin liked standing by Gus as he made the trains race around the tracks.
Alice & Charlie’s grandson, Mark, was close to Gus in age and he eventually joined the other two boys. A couple of the older kids also checked out the trains. John made sure that everyone knew that the trains belonged to Gus and he was in charge of running them.
Mark returned for the party with his brother, Matt. Molly made sure that Mark’s parents were invited to the party. She wanted to be sure everyone understood that any unpleasantness all stemmed from Mark’s family not her own.
Matt, who sold real estate, was stunned by the house. This was not his marketplace but he knew this house had to have cost a lot of money. Mark had told him it was a really nice house and that Justin & Brian had completely renovated the interior of the house but that didn’t prepare Matt for this house.
The scale of the party also amazed Matt. He had never seen people entertain this many people in their home. His parents rarely had any guests. Molly came over to join the brothers. They strolled towards the kitchen.
Matt stood for a minute and looked around the kitchen, family room area of the house. Through the French doors he could see the patio and pool.
“Molly, this is some house! I’d hate to have to pay the mortgage.”
Molly just shrugged.
“There is no mortgage to pay.”
As she hoped that left Matt too surprised to reply.
After the second bus arrived from Kinnetik; Brian and Justin circulated among their guests. Michael did his best to monopolize Brian but was unsuccessful.
Lindsay and Mel arrived. Lindsay was uneasy at large gathering but they settled in the Parlor near Jennifer, Debbie and Viola. JR & Nina, followed by Teddy Man, came in the Parlor and spent some time with the older ladies.
After the third bus from Kinnetik arrived, and the house was fairly full of guests, Emmett announced that dinner was served in the dining room. The traffic pattern was enter from the kitchen entrance and leave by the entrance hall doorway. Plates and silverware wrapped in napkins were on the side board.
One of Emmett’s helpers was carving a roast beef at the table. A wide selection of salads and side dishes were served in huge bowls. There was also poached salmon and fettucine Alfredo with shrimp and lobster meat.
Leaving Debbie to guard their seats Jennifer & Viola joined the line for food. When they returned to the Parlor Debbie joined the food line along with Lindsay & Melanie. Jennifer let Mel know that the small guest room was open and ready for her & Linds if the crowd got to be too much for Lindsay to handle.
When most of the adults had gone through the food line Molly went down to the game room to let the younger crowd know that dinner was served. Emmett added French fries and grilled hot dogs to the food available for the kids. Roxanne helped Gus & Kevin make their selections. Teddy Man was on hand to help JR & Nina fix plates. Emmett set up a small table and some chairs for the kids in the family room.
Ben did come over to be sure JR had everything she needed. Meanwhile Michael was still following Brian around, which several people commented on.
Roxanne was amused by Kevin’s excitement over Gus’s new trains. She was pleased that Mark Simpson sat with Gus & Kevin and all three boys seemed to be getting along and all three boys were all enjoying the new train setup. She promised her son she would come down to see the trains after he was done eating.
When everyone had finished dinner Emmett’s team put out trays of cookies and candy. At stations set up in the dining room cherries jubilee & bananas foster were prepared. With the lights dimmed the flaming desserts were prepared with a flourish.
Alcoholic drinks disappeared and Emmett & Rusty circulated with trays of coffee and hot chocolate. After serving the first floor both men loaded up with hot chocolate and went down to the game room. Gus insisted that both men come look at his trains.
Kevin & Mark played their roles of operating switches and activating some of the special features of the train setup. Emmett & Rusty were amused by the boys’ delight and told them it was the best model train setup they had ever seen.
The first people to leave started to drift out a little after 10 PM. It was close to midnight when Justin closed the door after the last guest departed. Emmett and his team left around 11 after cleaning the kitchen as much as possible.
When Justin got to the kitchen Jennifer was putting the last of the leftovers away. Brian had taken Gus upstairs to put him to bed around 11:30 and had not returned.
Justin knew how much his partner hated the whole good bye ritual and was not surprised when Brian did not reappear.
He gave his mother & sister a kiss and said good night to them & Tucker. He went upstairs to find Brian waiting for him in their bed.
