Brian drove home as he mulled over their conversation from dinner.  His first thought was to damn Justin for bringing up all these issues, but then he accepted that Justin was trying to help him be the best man he could be.  This would be a sober version of Brian Kinney, stud of Liberty Avenue, who no longer drank. Justin made it seem so easy and logical. Go to the bars and drink water or seltzer and still enjoy all the activities there.  He was excited about the prospect of returning to Babylon and hoped Justin was right. He could go back to picking up tricks, something he desperately wanted to do. Tricking was a part of him; he prided himself on being able to have any man he wanted just by giving him a look and a raised eyebrow.  Brian Kinney was neglecting his kingdom and he needed to return to his subjects. He was pretty confident he would not drink if Justin accompanied him; Justin would be a good deterrent. Brian bristled at the thought that he needed a keeper to keep him away from the liquor, but decided he wouldn't allow his brain to explore that road.  It would be another thought to add to his ever growing pile of half finished musings.

He thought about the liquor in his home.  Justin had challenged him, asking why he had liquor there.  It was different than Babylon, where picking up tricks was the goal, not drinking.  But at home, the only purpose the alcohol had was for him to drink it. He didn't entertain at his home.  Well, technically he brought tricks there, but that was a different kind of entertaining. He didn't offer his tricks anything but a stiff cock and hot sex.  If he were honest with himself and intended to maintain his sobriety, he had no use for liquor in his home. Damn.  Justin really manages to push the envelope.  Now what the fuck am I going to do with all that liquor.  Sure, I could pour it down the drain, but that is a waste of good liquor.  I guess this thought won't go to the growing pile of musings. I'm going to have to come up with a solution.

He pulled into his parking spot, took the elevator up to his loft, and went inside.  After dropping his keys in the basket by the door, he automatically walked toward the liquor cabinet for a drink.  What the fuck?  I haven't walked over here since the night Mikey showed up at the loft telling me Deb was coming to watch Gus.  He opened the door and looked inside.  There were two bottles of Beam, a bottle of Vodka and a few six packs of beer.  There was a decanter that was empty on top of the cabinet. Brian stood there, looking at the liquor, debating if he could or should take a drink.   No one would know if I took a drink.  I know I have to stop drinking when I'm not  home. I can't chance getting behind the wheel of a car again. Can I still drink at home? Am I really an alcoholic? After all, I run a multi million dollar company and make critical decisions every day.  Alcoholics don't run successful companies. My mother is an alcoholic, although she says that she is just drinking "to calm her nerves". Pops was an alcoholic too. Every fucking day he came home and drank away his failures.  If he wasn't drinking at home, he was drinking at the Union Hall with his buddies. Both of them were failures. I am neither. I am a successful businessman. Surely one drink would be okay. 

But Brian stopped himself and closed the door to the cabinet.  He had read the Big Book and listened to enough meetings to know he was fooling no one.  Shit!  Fuck! I'm as bad as my parents.  I'm drinking to escape my life. What the fuck!

He looked at the time, it was only 9:30.  He picked up his phone and hit a button.

"Bri, everything okay?"  Ted asked, as he looked at the clock on the mantle.  It had been a gift from his mother when he bought his condo.  It was a clock radio and was deep cherry wood. There were small speakers on either side of the clock, but he never used the radio, preferring to use his state of the art audio system to listen to opera.  He'd had a tenuous relationship with his mother in his early adult life, but when she found out he was gay and was happy for the first time in his life, she embraced his choices. Every time he looked at the clock he smiled and thought of his mother and how lucky he was that she accepted who he was and his partner.

"What did you do with the liquor in your house?" Brian asked, choosing to decline social amenities by saying hello and asking if it was too late to call or if he was busy.

Ted quickly realized this was not a social call and sat down in his favorite leather chair.  "I emptied it in the sink. Emmett came over and we gathered all my bottles and it took us about 20 minutes.  He knew all the secret places I kept my liquor so he was instrumental in the process. He wouldn't let me get away with hiding any for ‘one last drink'.  Do you want me to come over and help you?" Ted said. He knew his friend was at a critical juncture in his journey and Brian would most likely not want to ask for help, even if it would be very helpful.  By volunteering, Ted took the task of asking out of the equation.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.  Ted knew Brian was mostly likely struggling with this step in the process.  He knew he was attending meetings and avoiding Babylon. He'd heard enough of Michael's whining to know that Brian had not been seen at Woody's or Babylon in a few weeks and Michael was not happy about it.  Ted was somewhat surprised that Brian had not thrown out his liquor prior to today, but he wasn't going to question his friend, just offer his support.

Brian thought about Ted's offer.  He had a conversation with Justin earlier tonight about getting rid of his liquor and Justin had questioned why he still had the liquor so easily accessible.  He could have called Justin and asked, but that seemed a little too intimate for him. Justin in his apartment, so close to his bed, was too much of a temptation at this time.  He needed Justin to be his sponsor more than he needed him as a notch on his proverbial bedpost.  

Shitt !  I chose Ted because he wouldn't judge me, would support my decision to throw away the liquor.  Mikey would try to convince me that I wasn't an alcoholic, that I was Brian Kinney, stud of Liberty Avenue.  If I asked Lindsay, she would chastise me and would probably try to keep me away from Gus. She would speak using her country club voice and perfect manners, explaining that she had to keep Gus safe and  I could be a bad influence. My "family" would judge me and then I would want to go drink, completing the vicious circle. Well, I'm certainly fucked and not in a good way. 

"Yes," Brian answered.  He knew that Ted would intuitively understand that Brian needed him now, not tomorrow or in a few hours.

"I'll be there is about 20 minutes.  Do you need me to stay on the phone with you until I get there?" Ted said as he offered unsolicited support. He was already gathering his car keys and jacket and walking toward the study where Blake was doing some work on a presentation he was going to give at a conference in a few weeks.  

"No. I'm going to take a shower. Even though I don't drink in the shower.  Watered down booze is a waste of good whiskey," Brian said as he felt a sense of relief wash over him.  You know the code to get in the building and I'll leave the door unlocked just in case you get here before I'm done.  I had the locks changed a few days ago." 

"See you in a bit,"  Ted said. He walked into the study and looked at Blake sitting, deep in thought, almost oblivious to his presence.

"Give me about 10 minutes and then I'll be done.  I'm sorry that I've been at this all night," Blake said as he looked at his husband and gave him a smoldering look as his eyes traveled up and down Ted's body.  He unconsciously licked his lips, thinking about the treasures underneath Ted's clothing.  

"Gotta take a rain check.  Brian just called and he wanted to know what I did with my liquor.  I offered to help him pour it down the drain," Ted said, knowing this was all the explanation Blake needed.  

"You're a good man, Ted.  Everyone should have a friend like you."  Blake stood up and gave Ted a quick kiss on the lips.  "See you when you get back."

Ted drove to Brian's loft and arrived within 15 minutes. The streets were fairly empty as it was a Monday. While Brian lived close to Liberty Avenue, he was far enough away to avoid the traffic, congestion and noise from the "gay part of town".  He wanted to be close to his "playground" but not directly inside it. His commute was only seven minutes and Brian enjoyed living so close to the area.  

Ted had chosen a more suburban living option.  He and Blake were not like Michael and Ben, who chose to live in a predominantly gay neighborhood.  Ted and Blake lived about 15 minutes away from their respective workplaces and did not socialize much with their neighbors.  Both were very busy with their jobs and while they found their neighbors nice enough, they chose to interact with them on a casual basis.

Ted parked his car in the lot across the street and walked to Brian's building.  He used the code to get in the building and took the elevator up to the unit. Letting himself in, he closed the door but didn't lock it.  Looking around the open area, he noticed the lack of personal items. It was a beautiful space but looked like it was staged for a photo session.  He recognized high end furnishing and noticed the details of the furniture. He paid Brian's bills so knew that he didn't scrimp when it came to his clothing or the furniture in his home. He even had high end appliances in his kitchen which Ted found amusing since he knew Brian did not cook.  He heard the water shut off just as he had walked in the door and sat on the couch to wait for Brian.  

While he knew where the liquor was kept, and could have most likely been done with the task of pouring it down the drain before Brian got dressed and joined him; he knew that a big part of this task was that Brian did the pouring.  Brian had to physically choose to get rid of the liquor. He needed to part with it by choice; otherwise it would lose the impact of disposal.  

Ted heard footsteps in the bedroom and yelled out, "Bri, I'm here."

"Be out in a minute," Brian yelled back.  He was glad that Ted was prompt and that he didn't have to wait for his arrival.  There were definite advantages to having an accountant as your friend, punctuality and promptness were inbred personality traits.  He didn't have to worry that Ted would have taken time to run an errand or taken an hour to get out of the house.

Brian came out of the bedroom dressed in a pair of jeans and a wife beater.  He looked a little tense and Ted chalked it up to anxiety of addressing the next step in his recovery.  

"So how do we do this?" Brian asked.

"How do you want to do this, Bri?  There isn't a manual on how to get rid of your liquor.  I would say that you gather it all up, we take it to the sink and then you pour it down.  But if you have other ideas...."

"Sounds like a plan.  Liquor cabinet is over here,"  Brian said as he walked toward the cabinet.  Like all the other furniture in his home, it was simple and understated but of obvious high quality.  It stood on four legs and was made from Makassar and Birch Wood veneer and casted Bronze. The cabinet was about 20 inches from the floor.  It had an oval in the middle and two half ovals on either side. It opened up to display four shelves to store your liquor on. https://bernadettelivingston.com/shop-by-room/dining-room-furniture/breakfronts-china-cabinets/rahart-collection-bar-cabinet.html

Brian had several bottles inside the cabinet, but just as his furnishings were sparse, so was his liquor cabinet.  Ted decided Brian did most of his drinking at Babylon or Woody's so his collection at home would reasonably be small.

"This all?  No secret stash?"

"No.  I don't have any secret stash.  Why would I? I'm not hiding my drinking from anyone.  I live alone, no one keeps tabs on me," Brian said as he thought of the many arguments his parents had on a regular basis regarding his father's whereabouts on any given night.  His mother always seemed to know his father was at the Union Hall with his buddies drinking, but she almost never failed to question him about his activities for the evening. Brian never understood their argument as he knew the end would always involve his body being beaten as his father lashed out at his mother.  His father never hit his mom, at least that he could remember, but someone his anger would be perpetuated on Brian.

"Okay. that makes sense.  Let's gather the liquor and take it to the sink," Ted said as he took the beer toward the sink.  

Brian grabbed the two bottles of Beam, one partially drank and the other one that had never been opened.  Ted went back to grab the bottle of Vodka and stood it next to all the other liquor by the sink.

Brian reached for the Vodka.  "I have absolutely no idea why I have Vodka.  I must have bought it for a party which seems odd since I don't have parties."  He hit his hand on his head. "Oh yeah, it must have been left over from the party I gave Mikey for his 30th birthday.  That was some time ago. I remember the party. I invited that woman, what was her name... anyway she was pining after Michael.  She worked with him and she thought he was attracted to her when he was just too scared to come out at work. Glad he finally wised up.  Took him long enough. That must be where this came from." Brian paused as he calculated the time lag. "Well it's got to be at least 8 maybe 9 years ago.  This one should be easy to dispose of. It's been sitting here for this long and I've never opened it." He opened the bottle and poured the liquid down the drain.  

Grabbing the 6 pack of beer, he popped the first top and started pouring it down the drain as well.  "I usually keep beer for Mikey. He's not a very sophisticated drinker and prefers beer. I guess he'll have to bring his own if he wants one when he visits.  I'm never tempted to drink the beer as I think it takes like piss water. Not that I've ever had piss water..."

Ted listened and didn't comment.  He knew Brian had to make peace with his choices and say goodbye in his own way.  So far the purge was easy as it appeared that Brian did not have any vested interest in the liquor that he was draining into the sink.  The hard part would be when he got to the whiskey.  

Brian finished pouring the last of the beer down the drain when they heard the door slide open.  Both men looked at each other and turned toward the door.

Michael walked into the loft and started talking, "Hey Bri.  I tried to use my key but it wouldn't work. You might want to get that looked at.  Hate to have you calling a locksmith at 3:00 in the morning when you were locked out of your home."  Michael grinned at the thought of a drunk Brian calling a locksmith in the early hours of the morning.  "But I thought I'd see if the door was open and it was. Lucky me. I thought I would come by and see if you were up to going to Babylon tonight.  It's been ages since you've been there and I know you miss going to the back room. Your cock is probably standing at attention just by my mentioning the place.  I know it's a Monday and things are slow, but there are still guys to fuck." As he located Brian in the kitchen, he saw the two men standing by the sink with a bunch of empty bottles and cans on the counter.  "Hey Ted, What are you guys doing?"

Brian was instantly on guard.  He was never more thankful that Ted was there.  He didn't need excuses, but Ted could serve as a distraction, keeping Michael in the dark regarding their activities. He thought back to his conversation with Justin earlier in the evening.  He couldn't believe that it was just a few hours ago he was talking to Justin about the liquor in his home and whether he should tell his family about his sobriety. It appeared that he was at a critical juncture in his recovery. He could tell Michael and see if he supported him, or he could continue to avoid his friend.  

He had a decision to make and it could literally change his life.

TBC