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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 9
Brian and Justin got off the elevator on the floor where Joan’s hospital room was located. Justin looked at the directional sign and turned to Brian.
“I’ll be in the solarium when you are ready to leave.”
Brian didn’t say anything but took Justin’s hand and walked towards his mother’s room. Justin was also quiet but squeezed Brian’s hand as they walked together.
When they walked into Joan’s room she looked up with a frown.
“Brian! You finally found your way here. I’ve been waiting for my bag.”
“Here it is Mother.”
He took the bag he had packed at Joan’s house over to the bed.
“Just what do you need so urgently?”
“I just wanted to be sure you left my things here before you escaped.”
“Still serving my sentence Mother. I have not attempted to escape just yet. Since I went to all the trouble of packing this bag for you why would you think I would leave with it?
You haven’t said hello to Justin. Whether you approve or not Justin is a very important part of my life. Way more important than you are. I expect you to observe common courtesy or deal with all this bullshit on your own!”
Joan’s frown deepened but she knew Brian well enough to know he never bluffed.
“Hello Justin.”
“Hello Mrs Kinney. I’m sorry about you getting injured. We would have been up here sooner but Brian and I have been meeting with social services.”
Joan turned to glare at her son.
“I will not be stuck in some nursing home. I am going to my own home!”
Brian chuckled.
“We may not agree very often Joan but we do understand each other very well. Justin and I arranged for a home care worker to come to the house every morning. They will help you get washed and dressed and make your breakfast. They will drop you at the parish senior daycare for the afternoon.”
Joan interrupted.
“I can stay at home. There is no need to be dropped at the parish hall for the afternoon. I won’t go there!”
“Yes Mother you will! You will be taking pain pills so you will need to eat and daycare will give you lunch. Also you can’t be left to sit around at home all day and drink vodka while you are taking those pills. So you will be going to daycare or I wash my hands of all your bullshit and you are on your own!”
Joan didn’t say anything which Brian knew meant she didn’t like it but she accepted going to the daycare. So Brian continued.
“Another home care worker will pick you up late in the afternoon and take you home. They will make you dinner and help you get ready for bed before they leave. You need to be careful about the pills and the booze so you don’t fall again and break something else.”
“Brian I don’t appreciate you acting as if I’m a drunk!”
Brian just looked at Joan for a few moments.
“Mother you are an alcoholic. I know the basement is full of your empties. Let’s not forget I lived with you for eighteen years. I understand you are not going to stop drinking but I am hoping you are sensible enough to cut back. At least for as long as you are taking the pain medication.”
Mother and son just stared at each other. Justin had to work hard at not chuckling at the battle of the stubborn Kinneys. He finally spoke up.
“Mrs Kinney. I think you have to admit that Brian has tried his best to accommodate your preferences. It is really only fair for you to try things out. If there is something you can’t deal with we can address that later. Believe me, I understand about the frustrations of not being able to take care of yourself but sometimes you just have to try and go with the flow.”
Joan turned to Justin with an annoyed expression on her face. Now Justin did chuckle.
“I know neither of you will appreciate me saying this but I have seen that same expression on Brian’s face more times than I can count. Now I see who he learned it from.”
Both Brian and Joan both looked horrified which made Justin laugh even harder. Joan looked back to Brian.
“I said he was important to me Mother. I never said he wasn’t annoying at times!”
Even Joan was forced to smile at that statement.
Brian shook his head.
“Well Mother, you have your bag and I’ve made arrangements for your care. Looks like we done with this little family get together. Good luck.”
Brian left the room. Justin said goodbye to Joan and followed. In the hall Brian said he guessed they would have to get keys made for the healthcare workers. Justin suggested they see if Jennifer had a lockbox to loan them.
Once they were outside the hospital, Justin called his mother and made arrangements to meet her for lunch at the diner. She would bring a lockbox with the combination set to “BAK1”.
Brian insisted on walking Justin to his car in the parking garage.
“Brian you don’t have to walk me to my car. It’s daylight and I’ll be okay.”
Brian just put his arms around Justin’s shoulders and pretended his partner hadn’t said anything.
“After you get the lockbox from Mother Taylor bring it to Kinnetik. I’ll get an extra key made and take the lockbox and key over to Joan’s house. I think the best place to attach it is the post of the front railing.”
“You are busy with your new presentation and you already lost the whole morning. I’ll get the extra keys made and take the lockbox over to the house. You need to work on making money for our new babies.”
Brian shook his head.
“It’s my mother, my responsibility.”
“Just give me your fucking key and get over this “my responsibility” bullshit. You have important work to do and we always have each other’s backs. Right now you are walking me to my car because you know parking garages still freak me out. They probably always will!
I am going to take care of this whole key thing. I am getting my own key made as well as one for the lockbox. We have to be prepared for this type of thing to happen again. Maybe it won’t happen but I think we should be prepared, especially if Joan keeps up her drinking. So just get over yourself and get back to work on your presentation!”
Brian was quiet until they got to Justin’s SUV. He pulled his partner in for a kiss and held him tightly in his arms.
“I know I don’t say it enough but I love you Sunshine. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
Justin gently put his hand against Brian’s cheek.
“You show me every day how much you love me. I’m not that insecure boy that needed to hear the words. I understand that actions speak louder than words. I love you so much Brian and I never want to be without you in my life.”
Brian didn’t trust himself to say anything so he just kissed Justin again. Brian took his mother’s house keep off his ring and handed to a smiling Justin. He waited until Justin got in his car and pulled away before saying to himself.
“Later Sunshine.”
Brian silently cursed Chris Hobbs for the discomfort both he and Justin felt for parking garages. Even though he understood it was silly Brian hated to think about Justin being in a garage alone. He much preferred to be with Justin. Brian would never admit it to Justin but he walked him to his car as much for Brian’s own peace of mind as for Justin’s.
When Justin got to the diner he spotted his Mother sitting in a booth with Debbie. He walked over and slid in next to his Mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Debbie started to get up.
“I’ll let you two have your lunch. It’s time I headed home.”
Justin smiled across the booth.
“If you’re off duty Deb, please stay and have lunch with us. I never get to spend much time with you anymore.”
An obviously pleased Debbie settled back down in her seat.
“If you two don’t mind I’d love to have a nice visit with both of you.”
Jennifer and Justin assured Debbie they were glad to have her company. Kiki came over to get their lunch orders. Once they had placed their orders Jennifer took the lockbox out of her bag and handed it to Justin.
“Here’s the lockbox. Are you sure you have time to take it over to Joan’s house. I know this is the day you usually spend at the Gallery. I can get the extra key made and take the lockbox over to Joan’s.”
Debbie spoke up and said she would be glad to go along with Jennifer for company.
Justin smiled.
“I was at the gallery this morning, there’s nothing urgent there. I told Brian I would take care of this. You know he doesn’t like people doing things for him. I had to convince him to let me do this. He’ll be upset if the two of you take over lockbox duty.”
Both women laughed. They knew Justin was telling the truth. Of course neither of them would have been too dismayed about upsetting Brian but they knew Justin was stubborn and he had made up his mind.
Jennifer turned to Justin.
“How did things go at the hospital? Did Joan behave herself?”
Justin chuckled and looked pleased.
“She actually wasn’t too bad. Although Brian didn’t give her much chance to carry on. When we go to her room he told Joan that whether she approved or not I was an important part of his life and she had to say hello to me.
I told Joan that I understood about not being able to take care of yourself but sometime you have to go with the flow. She gave me an annoyed look that was exactly like Brian looks when he’s annoyed. I told her that I had seen that expression hundreds of time and now I knew where he learned it.”
Debbie and Jennifer both laughed, imaging that statement did not please Brian. Justin joined in the laughter before continuing his story.
“When I said that they both looked so unhappy. Joan looked over at Brian and told her that he said I was important to him but I could also be annoying. Even Joan had to smile at that.”
The three of them enjoyed their lunch. Jennifer and Debbie were very excited when Justin told them he expected to find out the sex of the twins at the sonogram scheduled for next week. They talked about all the fun everyone had at the Thanksgiving gathering. All of them agreed that all the kids had raised the noise level but had also raised the enjoyment level. Michael’s behavior wasn’t mentioned.
Jennifer offered to drop Debbie off at home and Justin walked down Liberty Avenue to get copies of Joan’s house key made. He made sure the keys worked and went into the house. The condition was worse than he remembered from his visit with John and Peter. He used his cell to call their cleaning service and made arrangements for them to come by in the morning and give the house a good cleaning.
Brian didn’t turn his cell phone back on until he got back to Kinnetik. There were 10 messages from Michael. Brian listened to the first one and deleted the rest. He buzzed Ted and told him to come to his office.
Ted came into the office with a smirk on his face. He explained to Brian what Michael wanted. Brian shrugged.
“How can he think I will just hand him more money! If I had any confidence at all that he could make a success out of that store I might consider loaning him money but he is a bottomless pit of need.”
“The truly amazing part is that he didn’t ask, he really kind of demanded that I give him the money. How can he not know you were really annoyed with him on Thanksgiving? It’s like he filters out anything he doesn’t want to hear and substitutes whatever he wanted to hear.”
Brian just shook his head.
“I just keep thinking one of these day he will grow up. It is getting harder and harder to think that!”
Ted chuckled. Carole buzzed Brian.
“Michael is on the phone. Do you want me to get rid of him?”
Brian rolled his eyes.
“No! I’ll talk to him.”
Ted asked if he should leave but Brian shook his head and put his phone on speaker as he picked up Michael’s call.
“Hi Mikey.”
“Brian! Why didn’t you call me back? Didn’t you get my messages?”
“Yes I got them all! I have told you many times that multiple messages make it less likely for me to call back not more likely. Do you ever pay attention to what people say to you?”
“Brian I don’t have time to fool around. I need you to loan me money. I paid off the landlord with money from a joint account I have with Ben. I need to put the money back in that account before Ben finds out!”
Brian sighed.
“Michael I am NOT giving you any more money. I am really busy getting ready for a new prospect presentation and had to spend the morning at the hospital with Joan. I need to get back to work.”
“BRIAN, you have to help me!”
“Michael you need to stand on your own two feet. You obviously let this rent situation go on too long. You should have addressed it right away. You can’t just keep pretending that things will go away if you ignore them. Sell all that crap you have been buying on line and put the money back in your account.”
“BRIAAAAAAAAAAAAAN, you…”
The rest of Michael’s statement was lost as Brian disconnected the call.
Michael kept talking for a few minutes before he realized Brian had ended the call. He considered calling back but realized that Brian was not going to give him any money. He guessed he would have to sell some of his collectables.
Michael was sure his action figures were worth a lot of money so maybe he wouldn’t have to sell any of his favorites. There were a few that he had duplicates of so he would sell those first. He started to feel less panicked. Brian had suggested the way for him to get out of this situation before Ben found out what he had done.
After finishing up at Joan’s, Justin went back to the gallery to clear up a couple loose ends. Next he headed to Washington Academy for afternoon pickup. When they got home Justin asked John & Peter to come to the study for a couple minutes. He told them about Joan’s latest crisis. Justin explained the arrangements that he and Brian had made for her care.
John & Peter sat quietly for a few moments absorbing the information. John was the first to speak.
“I know Grandmother is not your or Uncle Brian’s favorite person so I want to thank you for looking after her. I think she must have had a really hard life to wind up as such a bitter person. Gramps was a tough guy to be around. I don’t know what her life was like before she married him but I bet it wasn’t very nice.”
Peter nodded.
“Do you think we could visit her this weekend?”
Justin smiled.
“I think we should let her get home and get a little settled. On Friday one of you should call her and see if you can visit on Saturday or Sunday. She could stay home from senior care and we could take lunch to her.”
John smiled at his Uncle.
“Thanks Uncle Justin. That seems like a good plan. Sometimes I think I understand Grandmother a little. Our life was not really happy when we lived with Mother and it seemed to just be getting worse. When we came here to live with you and Uncle Brian it was like we got a second chance. I know I started to feel differently about life. That maybe I could be happy and life could be fun.”
Justin’s eyes were shiny with unshed tears. Unexpectedly John came over and gave him a quick hug. Peter followed his brother’s example but gave Justin a longer hug and whispered “Thank you!” in his ear.
The boy left to go and change out of their school clothes. Once they left Justin called a florist and ordered flowers to be delivered to Joan with all four of their names on the get well card. He knew Brian wouldn’t be happy about the flowers but maybe there was something to what John said about Joan’s whole life being unhappy.
Brian arrived home just in time for dinner. He had little to say when the dinner conversation turned to Joan. Justin squeezed his lover’s thigh under the table. Brian looked at him and rolled his eyes. Justin managed to change the topic of conversation and got a quick smile of gratitude from Brian.
After dinner Brian asked Justin to come to the study and go over the presentation boards for the new Kinnetik prospect. Brian was flying to Chicago on Monday for a Tuesday morning meeting with the prospect.
Justin made a couple suggestions which, as usual, Brian loved. Brian said that he, Greg and Jason were supposed to meet in the morning. He wanted Justin to come to the office with him and attend the meeting. The prospect had the potential to be a very lucrative addition to Kinnetik.
Justin agreed to ride into the city with Brian and attend the meeting. Since this made Brian very happy Justin decided to tell him about sending flowers to Joan and the nephews request to visit their grandmother. As Justin expected Brian was less than pleased.
“Justin, I would rather not be any more involved with Joan than is absolutely necessary. I know you have fond memories of your mother growing up. Special food she made for you. Birthday and Christmas surprises she planned for you. Hug and kisses and expressions of love and encouragement.
I have NONE of those fond memories. I don’t remember my mother ever saying she loved me. She was not unkind she was just remote. Joan spent most of her time in her bedroom drinking and avoiding Jack. I suspect you are hoping for some kind of heartfelt reunion where Joan and I will realize how much we love each other and we will be one big happy family. Sunshine that will NEVER happen. Please don’t waste all our time trying to make that happen.”
Justin walked over to Brian and put his arms around his waist and looked up into his eyes.
“Brian you are the most important person in the world to me! I will always have your back. I will always look out for your best interests. I will always love you. I don’t want you to ever doubt that!
I know you will never have the relationship with Joan that I have with Mom. John and Peter expressed some regret over their estrangement with Joan. She isn’t much of a grandmother but they haven’t had much of a life. It’s their relationship with Joan that I’m concerned about but I can NEVER forgive her for not recognizing what an amazing and wonderful person you are!”
Brian smiled down at his partner and leaned down to kiss his inviting pink lips.
“I could never doubt that you love me Justin. It is the foundation that my whole life is built on.”
Those pink lips formed a large sunshine smile.
“So Mr Kinney why don’t we go upstairs and you can fuck me into the mattress.”
“That sounds like an excellent plan Mr Taylor.”
Brian locked his laptop and arm in arm they went upstairs to their bedroom and expressed their love in the way that was most familiar to them. An hour later they lay entwined in their bed while Justin told Brian about his plan to have JB Foundation buy coloring books and crayons for the daycare in the Hills district.
They chatted comfortably until Justin settled in against Brian’s side and fell asleep. Brian stayed awake longer just enjoying having Justin lying beside him.
*************************************************************************************
At the Novotny-Bruckner home the evening was not as peaceful. Michael planned a nice dinner and hoped to break the news about his rent payment to a contented Ben.
Ben arrived home upset over a snafu with his health insurance company that was delaying refill of his HIV drugs. He had been on the phone with the insurance company almost every minute he was not in class and there was still no resolution to his prescription dilemma.
Ben spent time on his computer filling out information forms while Michael got dinner on the table. After they ate Ben needed to work on grading papers so Michael decided it was better not to bring up the rent money issue.
Michael planned to go to his store the next morning and pack up his collectables. He would bring them home so he could photograph the ones he wanted to sell and get them posted on some on line sites. He was sure by the end of the day he would have no problem making enough money to replace the money he withdrew from the joint account.
With any luck Michael felt he might even make enough money to make a deposit on a new location for his store. He was still disappointed that Brian refused to help him but looked forward to letting everyone know he solved his own problem without any help from them.
*************************************************************************************
The next morning when Brian’s alarm went off Justin rolled away and pulled a pillow over his head. Brian chuckled.
“No sleeping in this morning Sunshine. Time to rise and shine. You promised to come into the office with me.”
Justin groaned.
“I’ll come in later.”
Brian smacked his lover on the ass.
“NO! You are driving in with me. Get up. I’ll give you a nice protein eye opener in the shower.”
Justin groaned again but did get out of bed and allow himself to lead into the bathroom by Brian. Mutual blow jobs did actually help him wake up. By the time they were dressed and eating breakfast in the kitchen Justin was more or less coherent. Brian had brought him a big mug of coffee while he toasted his bagel.
When Alice arrived from the cottage she gave the two men a raised eyebrow expression. John and Peter expressed their surprise at seeing Justin awake and dressed so early when they came down for breakfast. Justin just smirked at them and Brian patted his blonde’s head gently and said he was a good boy who was coming to work with him.
Justin looked over at the nephews and rolled his eyes.
“Thanks Daddy.”
Brian just laughed.
“That’s Sugar Daddy to you Sunshine!”
Everyone laughed and Justin lifted his face for a kiss.
“Well your kisses are sweet as sugar.”
Brian just shook his head and announced it was time to leave for the city. The two men went to the garage leaving behind three very amused people.
Fully awake Justin kept up a mostly one side conversation about ideas for Christmas gifts and plans for celebrating the holiday on the drive to Pittsburgh. Brian occasionally added a comment or grunted in agreement or laughed at one of Justin’s more outrageous statements but mostly he just enjoyed having Justin beside him.
*************************************************************************************
Michael stopped at the Big Q on his way to the comic book store. The landlord told him that the new padlocks had been removed. Michael bought new locks for the security gates and a couple plastic storage containers.
Shortly after Michael got to the store a carton with the latest comic releases was delivered. He stuck it in the back room before unlocking the cases where his action figure were displayed. He started to load up the container when a customer came into the store.
The customer said he was looking for the newest Superman comic. Michael told him he hadn’t opened the carton with the new comics but he would have them displayed later if the customer wanted to come back.
The man said he was on the way to visit his nephew in the hospital and wanted to take the comic with him. Michael felt sorry for the guy and said he would go open the carton. He went into the back room and cut open the carton. Of course the Superman comics were at the bottom of the carton so it took Michael a few minutes to unpack everything else and check it against the enclosed invoice.
When Michael came back to the counter with the Superman comic in hand the customer was gone. Michael cursed rude, inpatient people and turned to go back to packing up his action figures. He realized the container was gone. He looked around quickly but the container was not in the store.
Starting to panic Michael looked in the case and realized all the collectables were gone. He ran to the door of the store and out onto the sidewalk. He looked up and down the street but didn’t see the man who had wanted the comic.
Michael went back into the store and called 911 and reported that he had been robbed. Two policeman arrived quickly. They asked Michael to describe the customer he thought robbed him.
“I’m not sure what he looked like. I was packing up stuff and he said he wanted to take the latest Superman to his nephew in the hospital so I went in the back to open the carton with the new comic delivery.
He was just an average looking guy. He was wearing a red plaid flannel shirt and dark pants. I think he had brown eyes and dark hair. He had on a Steelers cap.”
One policeman went to ask people in the nearby stores if they had seen the man. The other policeman asked Michael some more questions and asked for a list of the items taken. The first policeman returned carrying a red flannel shirt.
“Mr Novotny does this look like the shirt the man was wearing?”
“Yes! Did you catch him?”
“Sorry no. Someone in a shop across the street saw a guy carrying a plastic container go down an alley about halfway down the block. I went down the alley and found this shirt but nothing else.”
Michael was really panicked now.
“He said he was going to the hospital to visit. You need to have cops stakeout the hospitals.”
The policeman shook his head.
“You don’t even know what he looks like or what hospital he was going to. He might not even be going to a hospital and just said that to get you to go in the back. The best thing to do is to report this to your insurance company. Here is a copy of our report you’ll need that when you report the loss.”
The police left. One of the bills Michael hadn’t paid was for the insurance on the store contents. He called the landlord to see if his insurance would cover the theft and was told no. The landlord carried insurance on the building, not the contents. He reminded Michael that a clause of his lease required Michael to have his own insurance.
************************************************************************************
Brian and Justin were both in Brian’s conference room when Greg, Jason & Leon arrived for their meeting. Greg and Leon were a little surprised to see Justin. Jason knew this was an extremely important presentation for Brian and that usually meant Justin being brought in for a consult.
Leon brought the board mock ups on the projector screen. They had already made one of changes that Justin suggested to Brian. Brian looked over at Justin and smiled. Jason noticed the smile.
“I felt like I was channeling Justin when I made that change. It just seemed like something he would do.”
Justin smirked.
“Hmm. I’m not sure I like that. If you continue to do that I might not be needed anymore.”
Everyone laughed. Justin had two other changes made to the boards. Jason said he wouldn’t have thought of those. Greg said that he guessed Justin’s job was safe after all.
Brian asked for one more change before he declared the board perfect.
“Get those printed up and sent to my hotel in Chicago. Carole can give you the specifics.”
Jason & Leon headed back to the art department but Greg stayed back.
“Justin I’ve been meaning to call you. Any ideas on what Patrick & Kevin could give Jennifer for Christmas. Kevin has really been on our case about buying a gift for Grandmom Jen.”
“Well Tucker is giving Mom a diamond and sapphire bracelet for Christmas. Brian and I are giving her the matching necklace. Gus, John and Peter are giving her the earrings. I know you and the boys do woodworking together. I know Mom would love if you made a box for her to keep the new jewelry in.”
“That doesn’t seem like much of a gift compared to what you guys are giving her.”
Justin smiled.
“I know Mom would really appreciated something Patrick and Kevin made themselves.”
“Okay sounds good, we’ll get to work on that.”
Greg left for his office. Brian locked the door and gave Justin a thank you blow job for his help.
