After hanging up with Lindsay, they got out of the car and went into the store. He didn't like Gus' clothing coming from discount stores, but he accepted that Gus wasn't ready for designer wear either.  He didn't attend some fancy prep school, nor did Brian really see his son in that atmosphere.  He'd been around too many clients that name-dropped and boasted about their children attending high brow schools that he knew he didn't want that for his son.  His son wouldn't want for anything, but at this age, he didn't need to attend an exclusive private school nor did he need to dress like he was a young CEO.

Brian read overhead signs directing the shoppers to the appropriate areas.  When he spotted the right department, he pointed to it and said, "This way.  We can start with the casual clothes and maybe we'll pick up some athletic gear too."

Brian helped Gus pick out a lightweight jacket, socks, underwear, jeans, T-shirts, and pajamas that the young man needed.  They also picked up several pairs of tennis shoes.  They took their packages and placed them in the trunk of Brian's BMW.  They got in the car and sat in the front seat.  Brian wanted to discuss the rest of the evening with Gus before they left the parking lot. 

Gus turned toward his father and said, "Thanks Dad.  Shopping with you is so easy.  Mom always looks at the price tags, telling me that I can't get something because it's too expensive.  It seems to take forever when we shop.  She always starts with the clearance rack.  I have to plead with her not to buy some of the really cheap stuff since it's not my style."

Brian looked at the clock on the dashboard realizing that they had spent a little more than an hour at the store.  It was almost 4:30 and if they were going to be ready for Justin at 7:30, they needed to get started.  

"That's pretty low deciding that regular priced items at Target are too expensive," Brian said, thinking that he should have taken this step many years ago.  He frequently cringed when he saw some of the outfits that his son wore and now he understood why.  "From now on, I'll be buying all your clothes and athletic gear.  You'll still have to be with me because trying on the items is crucial to a good fit, but I promise we won't be buying items based on whether or not they are on the clearance rack."

"That is so cool.  So what are we going to do this weekend?  I had a great time last weekend going to the Incline and Science Center, but as I said, we don't have to do anything special," Gus said.  He was really enjoying this side of his father and was glad that his father wanted to spend time with him. He was super stoked that his father had gone the extra step in testing his DNA.  None of his friends had that done, or at least he didn't think so. 

"I thought we could stop by the store and pick up some food to cook over the weekend.  Did you know that your Grandma Debbie's brother was a chef in New York?" 

Brian hadn't really thought about what he and Gus would do this weekend.  He had asked Justin to come over to have a "meeting' with him tonight but then realized that he would have to miss another one tomorrow since he normally brought Gus back to his mom's house on Saturday afternoon. He didn't want to ask Justin to have a second meeting with him on Saturday, but his anxiety about missing meetings at this point was still pretty high.  He took a deep breath and said his new favorite motto, ‘one day at a time', and realized that his entire world did not need to be planned.

"I didn't know you cooked, Dad.  How come you never make anything besides a guava juice shake?"

"I didn't say I was a cook," Brian smiled and gave a little laugh.  "There is this really cool invention called the phone and I bet we could call your Auntie Emm and he could give us some easy suggestions.  When we have more time, we can look up a few online."

"Mom loves to cook. She spends hours looking up recipes online and then tries to cook these fancy meals.  I don't care what the ingredients are, but she is always telling me and Ma where she had to go to get this special item.  I think she wants us to be impressed. She sometimes mentions how her mother would have never done this or how her mother always had to have the house clean for their guests."   Gus said as he thought of all the times his mother mentioned her mother and how she did things.  "Funny thing is Dad, that is the only time she ever talks about her.  I know she's alive but we never see her.  It's not like Grandma Debbie who we see every week."

Brian knew Lindsay's parents, having met them on several occasions. They were everything that he hated about rich people, flaunting their money and name dropping whenever they could. For them, entertaining was all about being with the right people and the connections you could make rather than getting together because you liked the people.  He thought Lindsay's desire to have a different life didn't stop with cooking elaborate meals and having an immaculate house.  Now that he was sober, he was beginning to see that she wanted a lot of nice things and was using Gus to have Brian pay for them. It was not his place to tell his son that his mother lived a double life, at least in her head. He never wanted to threaten their relationship; he just wanted to ensure his own place with his son.

"I think that is a discussion you should have with your mom.  It's not my place to explain why you don't see them," Brian said, hoping to sidestep talking about Lindsay or her parents.

"Okay.  I'll think about it. I'm sure there is a reason I don't see them," Gus said and put the idea out of his mind for how.   

"Back to cooking, Dad.  If you want to find a few recipes, I guess that would be okay,' Gus said, fairly certain that his father was not trying to impress Gus with his cooking skills.  

‘It bothers you that your mom spends so much time looking food recipes up?" Brian said, surprised that Gus expressed an opinion on this subject.

"It doesn't really bother me, but you know when I try to ask her about something or to come to play a game with me, she often tells me she is busy finding recipes or cooking. I guess if we did it together, it would be fun," Gus said.

"So, it's more about her not finding time for you than the cooking?" Brian said.

"Yeah.  She's always so busy with stuff.  Like I told you before, sometimes I wonder why she had kids."  Gus had never spoken to his father about his mother.

"You said last weekend that was a big reason you liked coming here because we just hung out and did things.  Do you want to cook together or would you rather just grab something while we are out?" 

Brian felt like he'd been gut-punched when he heard Gus say that he wondered why Lindsay had kids.  With the hamsters running amok in his head for a few months, he'd contemplated that same thought on multiple occasions.  Unfortunately, he'd come to the conclusion that Lindsay was both his savior and his nemesis.  She'd given him the one thing that made him want to be sober, Gus.  She'd also used Gus to have Brian pay for all the trappings that she grew to love, but couldn't have due to her loving the wrong person.  He understood that he couldn't blame Lindsay for his drinking, that was 100% on him, but without her desire to have all the things she grew up with, she wouldn't have pushed her friend, ‘Brian' to father her child.  It was a circular argument that he couldn't win.  She was always going to be in his life as Gus' mother, but he finally understood that he wasn't going to allow her to use Gus to live her life.  Brian was taking charge of his relationship with Gus, outside of the parameters of his friendship with Lindsay. The two did not have to be intertwined except as far as coordinating visitation.  He didn't want to be involved in the day to day parenting, but he realized that he wanted to influence Gus' life, and therefore he might become more involved as time went on.

"I've never really cooked except with Aunty Emm.  It is always such fun when we cook.  I don't know if it is hanging with Aunty Emm or because making food is fun, but sure I'd like to try."  Gus felt that his father really listened to his concerns and that made him really happy.  He really did like just hanging with his father so if that meant cooking, he was willing to do that.

"Okay.  Let's call Emmett and see what he suggests.  I'm sure we'll have to buy everything.  My kitchen cabinets are pretty bare."

"You sure, Dad? Our food doesn't have to be anything fancy," Gus asked.

"Can I tell you a secret?' Brian said with a conspiratorial tone.

"Sure.  I'm really good at keeping secrets. I didn't tell anybody about the special test that I took to see if you were my dad.  Now that mom knows about your drinking, can I tell my friends?  That would be so cool," Gus said, wondering what his father wanted to share with him.  He'd already told him about his sobriety and that was a pretty big secret.

"Sure, you can tell your friends about the test.  You can even tell Grandma Debbie.  Of course, if you tell Grandma Debbie everyone in the family and on Liberty Avenue will know within a few hours," Brian smiled thinking about the efficiency of telling Debbie.  If Gus said something to her, it would save him endless hours of explanation to anyone in the family that was curious.  

"What about my moms?  Can I tell them or should I keep it quiet?" Gus asked, trying to make sure that he didn't make things harder for his father. He was really enjoying spending the extra time with his dad.

"If you want to tell them, that's fine.  They will find out soon enough.  I don't want to be the reason you keep things from your mothers.  I had you take the test to guarantee that I could continue to see you and have you in my life.  You are the most important thing in my life," Brian said. 

Gus beamed at this father's statement. He reached out to give him a hug and Brian accepted it. 

"I've actually been thinking of trying my hand at cooking for a few weeks.  This just gives me the push to do it. We will compromise.  We'll make dinner tonight and maybe tomorrow, but we will eat out for lunch. Does that work for you?"

"Okay.  I was really looking forward to a burger from the diner.  Do you think we could make burgers tonight?" Gus asked, hoping that burgers didn't take a lot of preparation.

"Sure.  Let's take your loot home and throw it in the wash.  There is nothing worse than wearing clothes that haven't been washed or dry cleaned."

"Mom always washes everything before I can wear it, too.  She says that there are a lot of chemicals and gunk on the clothes from the shipping process and I should wash everything.  She makes us wash a lot of our food too.  She says that is the worst since they put chemicals on it to keep the bugs away."

"Your mom is right.  At least there is one thing we agree on."  Brian put the car in gear and drove toward the loft.  

"I don't think there is anything really mysterious about the burgers at the diner except that they are filled with fat and grease.  Sorry Sonny Boy, we will not be drenching your burger in a vat of fat.   You can call Emmett when we get back to the loft and ask him, too.  He might be able to steer us in the right direction."

"That is a great idea, Dad.  I bet Emmett would love to help," Gus said, excited about the prospect of asking for help from his Auntie Em.

"Don't think your old man can cook some burgers?" Brian teased Gus.

"Oh, Dad.  I was...."

"Gus.  I'm teasing.  Calling Em was my idea.  I'm sure he would be right over to the loft with all the fixings of a master burger, but we just want his advice.  I can't keep running to everyone to do things that I'm perfectly capable of doing."

"Sure.  Who knows, we might like cooking so much it can become a thing we do together. You could expand Kinnetik into cooking too.  You're always great at whatever you do," Gus said as he looked out the window of the car and read the billboards along the way.

"Dad, there was just a billboard that advertised a new exhibit on advances based on Star Trek at the Science Center. That would really cool.  There was so much we didn't get to see and that place was awesome."

"Sure, I think we can manage going to that.  I'm not sure if we'll go this weekend, but we can head there before it leaves.  I used to watch Star Trek with Vic.  We would spend hours talking about life on other planets and space travel.  I miss those talks,"  Brian said.  

"Sounds like he was a really neat guy. Isn't that the guy who cooked?"

"Yes.  I bet if you asked your Grandma Deb about  Vic, she could tell you all kinds of stories."  Brian turned into the garage across from his loft.  "Let's grab your packages.  We've got a busy evening ahead."

Gus and Brian brought the purchases into the loft and Brian helped Gus with taking the tags off and putting them in the wash.  They sat down on the couch, Brian took out his phone, pushing the icon for Emmett.

"Twice in a week.  Brian, what can I do for you?"

Brian handed the phone to Gus softly saying, "ask".

"Hi, Auntie Em.  Dad and I are going to cook some burgers for dinner, but Dad needs a recipe.  Do you have one?"

"Lordy.  Your dad is going to cook!  My, what has the world come to?"  Emmett said, the exaggeration evident in his voice.  

"Are burgers hard to cook?" Gus asked.

"No, Gus. They are pretty basic.  Can you hand the phone to your dad so he can put it on speaker?"

"I know how to do that," Gus said and pushed the button on the phone.

"Brian.  Burgers are super easy.  You just need the right spices.  A little salt, cayenne pepper, paprika or you can use smoked paprika and that gives it a smoky flavor, onion powder, black pepper, garlic powder, and maybe some minced onion.  You can put a little brown sugar for a little sweeter burger."

"I thought you said they were easy. That sounds like a science experiment," Brian said. 

"No, not really.  The spices are what makes a great burger.  Gather the spices and mix them into the ground beef. Form patties and grill.  Super delicious. I'll text you the amount of each spice you need. You're just starting out so you should follow a recipe. After a while, you'll get a feel for what spices taste good together." 

Brian sighed slightly and shrugged his shoulders. "I said I wanted to try cooking, so I guess text me the info, and Gus and I will go shopping.  I think I know how to cook a potato since I'm not going to make fries.  He'll have to get his grease fix at the diner. Thanks," Brian said.  He was happy that he had someone who could give him the information without question.  He was glad that Emmett was his friend.  

"Any other foods that you want to cook?" Emmett asked.

Brian took the phone away from his mouth and said to Gus, "Maybe we should start with one meal a weekend?  We could figure out what we want to experiment with each week.  It would be an adventure."

"Sounds okay to me. I wonder how the burger will taste," Gus said, thinking about the burger he loved at the diner and hoping their burger would be just as tasty.  

"Gus and I decided that maybe one cooking extravagance a weekend is enough for now.  How much meat should I buy?"

"For the two of you, I'd say 1 pound and that should make about 4 burgers.  You can freeze the burgers.  Oh and you don't have to use all the seasoning at once, but you can.  Cooking is an experiment since everybody's tastes are different."

"Okay.  Thanks. We'll let you know how it turns out," Brian said and then pushed the button to hang up his phone.  

"Well, Sonny Boy sounds like burgers are our first foray into cooking.  Ready?"

"What's a foray?" Gus asked, looking curiously at his father.

"It's a brief excursion.  We are trying out the land of cooking.  We are going for a foray into the grocery store."

"Oh. So it's a foray anytime you go someplace new?"

"Yes.  Oftentimes people refer to a foray as going into enemy territory.  It's used a lot in military terms, but really it just means trying out something new.  We're making a foray into cooking.  It's definitely not something I've done. I can make a Guava protein shake but other than that, I really have not done much cooking."

"Gottcha.  Okay, let's go on a foray to the store and then we'll continue our foray into cooking," Gus said with enthusiasm.  He liked it when his father treated him with respect by explaining things.  His mothers just yelled at him when he asked them to explain, telling him that they said so and he should just do it.

Brian moved the clothes from the washer to the dryer and then they were off to the store. When they entered the grocery, Brian took a few moments to read the signs above the aisles so he could determine the right one to go down.  Since they weren't buying a lot of items, he grabbed a handbasket to hold the groceries.  

"First we'll get the spices and then we'll grab some potatoes and last the meat.  Since the meat needs to stay cold as long as possible," Brian said.

"I get it Dad.  This isn't my first foray at the grocery store.  The moms drag me here all the time.  Mom spends as much time in the grocery as she does looking at recipes and cooking.  You'd think she was cooking for royalty."

Brian had to smile at Gus' description of his mother shopping and he could just envision Lindsay at the store as she tried to pick out just the right ingredients.  "I think the spices are in this aisle," Brian said as he pointed to an aisle labeled baking. 

They walked down the aisle until they found the spice section and Brian got out his phone, opening the text from Emmett.  "We need salt and black pepper."  Brian eyed a large cylinder of salt but not a spice jar labeled salt. "I don't need that. It's enough salt to last me a lifetime. Don't they have a normal person salt jar?"

A woman heard Brian and saw the father and son standing together in front of the spices. She noticed he was holding his phone and it appeared he was reading from it.  Brian was a striking male; fit, trim, and the fact that he had his son with him at the grocery store meant that he was possibly single.  In her experience, men didn't typically take their kids to the grocery unless they had to.  It was common to see whole families shopping at the store and she saw men shopping alone, but it was rare to see a single male with a child.  

"Perhaps I can help.  It looks like you are looking for some spices?"

"We need some salt, but all they have is this big container," Gus said, volunteering their predicament.

"They don't sell salt like a spice in little jars because it's used a lot.  If you don't use it a lot you could just buy a cheap salt and pepper set," she said, pointing to the section on the shelf with all the sets.

"Dad, that's perfect.  Don't we need pepper too?" Gus said as he looked at his Dad.

"Fine. I don't know why Emmett didn't just tell me to buy one of the sets. Pick one out, Sonny boy, and put it in the basket."

Gus picked up a set of the spices.  "What's next, Dad?"

"Garlic powder."

Gus looked at the spices and the garlic powder was another large jar.  "Dad, do you think they sell this in small size?"

The woman had her suspicions confirmed; this was a father and his son.  She felt like she might have hit the jackpot.  Her friends always told her that the grocery store was a great place to find men.  

She reached out her hand, smiled as she looked Brian in the eyes, and said, "Hi I'm Muriel.  Buying spices can be really confusing.  I can help."

Brian shook his head, recognizing the flirtatious nature of her offer.  It wasn't the first time that he'd been hit on by a woman and it wouldn't be the last, but he had his share of conniving women in the last 24 hours and didn't want to deal with another one.

"We don't need any help. I think we've got this, thanks."  Turning to Gus, he said, "It looks like there are a couple of different companies that make the spices.  Just find the smallest one and put it in the cart.  I don't want to be like your mom and spend hours in the damn grocery store."

"Okay.  But if you change your mind, I'll be just over there in the baking section.  I have to make a lemon swirl cake and I need the ingredients," Muriel said.  "Again, my name is Muriel.  It was nice meeting you." Muriel walked down toward the baking supplies and listened to the man and his son, hoping for another opportunity to be helpful.

They found garlic, onion powder, cayenne, and paprika.  Brian liked a good smoked burger and wanted to find the smoked paprika, but couldn't locate it.  He turned his head and saw that Muriel was still lurking in the baking section.  He knew she was flirting but she had offered to help and he wanted his first attempt at cooking to be successful.  

"Gus, why don't you go to the baking section and ask Muriel if she could help us," Brian said, hating to ask for help but knew that if he wanted to find the spice, she was his quickest option.

Muriel smiled when Gus asked her and she eagerly pushed her cart toward Brian.  "Isn't this just your lucky day.  I was just about to go into another aisle when this young man asked me for help. Are you having difficulty finding another spice?"This time she batted her eyelashes at Brian and gave him this huge smile.

"I need Smoked Paprika," Brian said, ignoring her flirtatious moves.

"Oh.  That is an unusual spice, but I use it all the time.  You really have discriminating taste.  The store has a rack of small packages of spices on the end cap over there.  You'll find the Smoked Paprika there," she said as she brushed her hand against Brian's hand as she pointed to the area.

"Great," Brian said as he turned to walk toward the area.

"I didn't catch your name. I'd love to try out those burgers that you are talking about.  The list of spices you picked sounds amazing," Muriel said. 

"Thanks for your help. I'm sure you can make them,"  Brian said and walked away.  He didn't want her getting any ideas that he might be interested in anything but her help in finding a spice.  He knew he was abrupt, but he had found that it was the best deterrent to continued flirting.  He only wished that he'd realized this technique earlier in his life, say college.  If he had practiced this short speech, maybe he wouldn't have become entangled with Lindsay.  But that was the ultimate catch 22.  If he'd declined Lindsay's friendship and flirtations, he wouldn't have Gus, but then he wouldn't be fighting his addiction, since Gus was the impetus for change.  It was all such a vicious circle.  He couldn't turn back time, nor did he really want to eliminate his friendship with Lindsay.  He just wanted to be friends, and have Gus in his life.  

Gus and Brian found the spice rack that Muriel indicated. "Dad, here's the Smoked Paprika.  Now to get potatoes and the meat.  She was really nice to help us.  No one ever comes up to mom like that in a grocery store.  She usually has to hunt down a person who works there."

Brian shook his head, debating if he should enlighten his son. "Gus, she was flirting with me.  She was almost begging to be asked to join us as we made our burgers."

"That's silly, Dad.  You like guys. Why would she be flirting with you?"

"It happens all the time.  I don't wear a sign that says I'm gay and when you're with me women think that I'm a single Dad.  It's open hunting season."

"Hunting season?"

"Gus, women are always looking for ‘Mr. Right,' and a guy with a kid is always assumed to be single and most likely looking for a woman."

"Wow.  I guess if you are gay, it's really awkward," Gus said as he took in what his father told him.

"I imagine you will see it a lot now that you'll be spending more time with me.  I don't get hit on in too many places since I typically don't go to too many places where single women are found.  But now that I will be spending more time with you, it may happen more often.  Grocery stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, etc. are common places.  I occasionally get hit on by some of the moms at your soccer game, but since you are on the field, you don't notice it."

"Some of the moms at soccer hit on you? That is weird. Guess I'm happy that I'm playing soccer and can't see it."

"Let's get the rest of our food and go home.  I'm getting hungry and Justin is coming over about 7:30."

"Justin is coming over?  The guy who helped with the photography?"

"Yep. Same one.  He offered to give you a few pointers."  They took their small basket of items to the checkout and paid for their groceries.  

"That is awesome.  I can't wait to try out my new camera."  Gus thought for a moment and asked, "Dad, is he hitting on you?"

"No, Gus.  He's my sponsor and a good friend.  He's actually coming over to help out with some AA stuff," Brian said, as he mulled over Gus' question.  He remembered when he first met Justin and wanted to get him into bed, but Justin had declined the offer.  Looking back, Brian realized that had been the smart and correct thing to do.  He thought about sex, missing the thrill of the conquest, but he'd realized that he wasn't really ready to return to his favorite playground.  

They returned to the loft where they cooked up the burgers and made the potatoes in the microwave.  Brian had also picked up the makings of a salad and threw those ingredients together to make a very nice meal.  

Gus and Brian sat at the island for dinner.  Brian had plated the food and they sat on the bar stools. 

"Do you ever eat at your table?" Gus asked, looking at the large piece of furniture that could easily seat 10 or 12 people.

"Not really.  I don't entertain and up until now, I really didn't cook a lot."

"So why do you have this monstrously big table?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions," Brian said as he took a bite of the burger.  The combination of flavors hit his tongue, delighting his taste buds.  Emmett had provided a good first recipe for them to try.  

"Sorry," Gus said, not liking Brian's comment. He took a bite of his burger and said, "this is awesome.  I knew Auntie Emm could make pizza, but this burger is amazing."

"No need to apologize, Gus.  It was an observation, not a complaint.  Anyway, it's a huge space and it needed a big table.  Someday I might need something that big if the whole family were to come over."

"You think you'd have the whole family over like Grandma Debbie does every Sunday?  We could make the meal and show off our cooking skills," Gus said, his enthusiasm bubbling over.

Brian shrugged his shoulders, "You never know.  It could happen.  But we need lots more practice before I'm ready to have the family over."

"What kind of AA stuff is Justin helping you with?"

Brian had always been honest with Gus and he wasn't going to stop now.  "I attend a meeting every day that helps me understand why I used to drink.  On the weekends I have you, I've gone to an afternoon meeting on Friday and a late-night meeting after I drop you off at your mom's. Since I had to pick you up from school and I'm going to have you all weekend, it would mean I'd miss a few days.  Justin offered to come over and meet with me so I wouldn't miss out."

Gus finished the last of his burger, eyeing the second burger still on the stove.  He was pretty full, but the burger was really good.  He still had some of his potato left as well as a few bites of his salad. He would finish his food and not ask for seconds.  

"That's really nice of him to offer.  It's so cool that he's going to teach me about photography too.  He seems like a really nice guy."

"He is. Let's clean up and he should be here shortly," Brian said.

They cleaned up the kitchen and Brian put the burgers away.  Brian got out Gus's new phone and he was looking at the instruction book when the buzzer went off.

Gus went to the door and pushed the button. "Who is it?"

"Justin"

"Okay, I'll buzz you up," Gus said.

Justin came in carrying a few cameras and a thick book.  He placed the cameras on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Thanks again for coming, Justin," Brian said as he dried the last salad bowl.

"No problem.  I haven't played around with my cameras in a while and there is nothing like enjoying your hobby with another enthusiast."

Gus went over to the table and asked, "Can I look at it?" as he pointed to one of the cameras.

"Sure," Justin said as he handed one to Gus.  He started to explain the parts of the camera and about light and the settings.  He picked up a second camera and repeated the process.  Afterwards they practiced with different settings on the camera and Gus got to see how light impacted the picture.  They worked together for several hours, but Brian could see Gus stifled several yawns.  

"Gus, time for bed.  I bet Justin would be willing to come over again and teach you some more about the cameras."

Gus' face lit up.  "Would you be willing to do that?  You know so much."

"Sure.  It's great working with someone with your enthusiasm."

"Go get ready for bed, Sonny boy.  I'll be in to tuck you in shortly."  Turning toward Justin, he said, "Thank you.  He loved the lessons."

"No problem.  After he's in bed, we can do our meeting.  I brought over some materials that we could discuss."

Brian tucked Gus in bed, ruffling his hair.  "Those were some really good burgers.  I think we make a great team.  We can talk tomorrow about what our next food foray will be."  He leaned down and kissed Gus on the forehead.

"Love you, Dad.  Thanks for being my Dad."

TBC