CHAPTER 18 - FOOD AND THEY HAVE HISTORY
BRITIN - NEARLY MIDNIGHT
BRIAN
I open the door and hand him a glass of wine, which he takes gratefully, I wait for him to finish. He looks so stressed out, he had a call a couple of hours ago to say there was a problem at the studio, as we were making out - Jesus! I sound like a teenager - he decided it could wait, but they kept calling. His anger turned to shock and despair and he sprinted out. I tried him a couple of times, but he kept sending me to voicemail.
“I was going to suggest before you lit out that you take a key or I come with you.” He rests his head on my chest. “HALT?” He looks up. “Hungry, angry, litigiously tired.” I get a small smile. “Jump in the shower. Gus and Daph came for Pheebs, take your time.”
“Can we go to mine, please?” I frown. “When I get news like that, I can’t come back to the place I heard it. I need to disconnect and…”
“You are back. Why not just call me and say you’re staying at yours?” He stares, a smile twitching. “I’ll do the food, just pack enough for however long I’m with you.” I blush.
JUSTIN’S HOUSE - TWO HOURS LATER
KITCHEN
JUSTIN
My stomach’s somersaulting with joy at the array of bowls and tubs. “What is that lot?”
“Butter and dinner.” He replies. “This is honey, pecan and cinnamon. Great on pumpkin bread.”
“You’ve made eight!” I exclaim. He holds up a fingerful. “What’s that one?!” I’m licking my teeth, it's so good! He nods at the fridge, I almost rip the door off its hinges. “Le Beurre Bordier and Rodolphe Le Meunier! This costs a fortune an ounce!”
“At the risk of sounding obvious, this is my…” I stop him with a kiss. “...hmm that needs more cumin.”
“Cumin?”
“It’s lemon and cumin, I think the lemon is too sharp.”
“A bit. So what else is in there?” He watches as I rummage blindly in the drawer. When I come up with a fish slice, he starts to laugh then sees my face. “Can we talk about that tomorrow?”
“Whatever you want.“ He gives my shoulder a quick squeeze, then starts to knead away my many knots. It takes everything to keep upright. “Reckon you can open a bottle of red?” I nod. “Great. I’ll continue with dinner; steak, fries and crostini with black truffle pate alright?”
“Absolutely.” I reply, feeling a little bereft. As we sort out dinner whilst the quiet is fine, his glancing is unnerving. “What?”
“It’s better out than in.” He loops an arm around my waist. I stroke his wrist, unsure what he’s talking about. He leans close to my ear. “If you want to cry, I…”
BRIAN
He’s still for about ten seconds before turning around. Five minutes later, he’s still sobbing. He lets me walk us to the sofa, then puts his head in my lap. I gave him my hankie.
“Of all the ones to be destroyed it had to be that one, we can't save it. It’s named after my grandfather…” He sniffs. “…on my Dad’s side, it was his favourite painting.”
“When did he pass?”
“Last year, he got to be at my first few exhibitions.” He reaches for the blanket, then fiddles with the tassles. “I know that I’ve got to do the mural and will give you some of the advance…” I squeeze his hand. “…thank you.”
“We can just go up, dinner will keep.”
“Let’s eat, but go slow.” He rejoins me by the stove with a glass of wine. “What cut is it?”
“Porterhouse or New York Strip.” His gaze bounces between me and the steak covered platter. “Which one…”
“Both!” He declares. “I’m sure I’ve got better wine than that, one second!” I whistle at what he returns with. “Have you heard of this then?”
“Chocolate Block’s my favourite cab sauvignon and syrah blend. Get it open and swap the glasses!”
He makes quick work of it and purrs at the taste. “Must get some more; can I help?”
“Without tasting?” I nod at his inching of the butter dish.
“What do you think?!” He giggles as he swipes a peak off the top. “So what are the rest? And do I get to keep them?”
“We’re sharing. I want a firm promise that I can take mine.”
“Pheebie promise, now tell me!”
“Seaweed, smoked chilli and lime, chicken skin with garlic and thyme, anchovy and caper, the lemon and cumin, garlic and parmesan, best garlic, and for my babies, honey, pecan and cinnamon. And some vegan pumpkin bread is in that tub.”
“Aww, that’s sweet, your babies.”
“Sweet and true.” I clink his glass, he moves the butter closer. “Use a knife.” I sigh.
“Been meaning to ask…” He slathers two slices generously. “…how did you end up a dad so young?”
“I've wanted to be one since about 12.” He feeds me some bread. “Give a kid a better childhood than mine.”
“How bad was your childhood?”
“Jack and Joan were physically very abusive, but her parents, Ace and Percy, put a stop to that.” He looks like he wants to cry again. “Don’t, I found my surrogate parents in Dorothy and Carl, who are Ben’s folks.”
“I’m glad.” He whispers, then licks my mouth. “You had a crumb. Continue.”
“Thanks. So were they. They poured all their love on Claire, my sister. Things were okay, until Ben moved to the West Coast; so I was back in the firing line, but this time it was mental. The three of them were utterly relentless. As punishment, Ace and Percy gave me their inheritance as a living will. It was a lot of money for a 15 year old, which they were more than happy to try and help me spend. I refused. They weren’t thrilled when Mel got pregnant, but at least that didn’t confirm their suspicions about me, until they discovered they were right, so I was out. Ace and Percy took me in and we all moved to join Ben. Mel passed the Percy test straight away, she insisted on meeting the person that was bringing their first grandchild into the world…”
“Her? I thought Percy was a guy!”
“Full name Persephone. Hated it, as did Ace, full name Horace.”
“What about Jack’s parents?”
“Apple didn’t fall far from the rotten tree. They helped me, and I use the term loosely, pack when I was kicked out.”
“And Mel’s parents, couldn't they have helped you with what was going on? Why didn’t you go to them?”
“I never met them, she left home as soon as she got pregnant; they wanted her to be a doctor and she didn’t. They refused to fund anything else.”
“Soooo…what was it like for you and Mel?” His impish curiosity combined with the chewing is so endearing - Christ I am fucking screwed!
“There’s never been a like. Mel was my surrogate.” I close his mouth. “She was doing it for law school. It was an arrangement I was happy with since I wanted to bring him up myself. However, when he was in ICU with a kidney infection, Percy went and found her. Said she had to be told, just in case. We took him home after three weeks, she never left. Why did you think I’d slept with her?”
“I don’t know, but I’m so glad you didn’t! So what did they say when you told them about Gus being so poorly?”
“Joan, speaking for all of them, sent a text saying if he dies then that’s one less abomination on the earth.”
“Jesus!”
“I never spoke to them again. Joan did call to let us know that Jack and his folks had died within six months of each other, Percy read her text back to her and hung up.”
JUSTIN
“Good.” I test the steak. “Think it’s room temp now, what pan do you want?”
“Am set. Anything else you want to know?” He tops up our glasses.
“What about Ace, Percy and Ben’s folks?”
“Carl and Dorothy are living it up in Ireland. Percy passed away when Gus was 11 and Ace just after Gus hit 16.”
“Did he meet Pheebs?”
“Yeah, that’s why I love Daph so much. She was induced early so that he could and gave her Percy’s middle name.” I gape at him. “I know, right, just such a kind thing to do.”
“Yes that too!” I turn the stove off at the mains and grab his hand. “Please come with me!”
OFFICE - FORTY MINUTES LATER
BRIAN
I’ve stopped crying. I can’t believe what I am staring at. It’s a photo of Ace with Pheebs at two days old! Daph had her in Alleghany, as that was the only way it could happen. I remember clear as day him getting the picture taken by, it turns out, Justin’s sister, Molly. Whilst she sent it to him, his phone got stolen on the way home then he died two days later.
“Thanks, Molster, you go have a great night.” Justin ends the call, eyes shining. “Happy ones…” He sniffs, sitting next to me. “…amazing how the universe works.”
“To say the least.” I turn to him. Five minutes later the photo is forgotten as we kiss. As it’s about to take a turn for the better, my stomach makes such an ungodly noise we spring apart. “Bloody hell, I am so sorry!”
“Don’t be…” He sniggers. “…it masked mine!”
“Even after all that bread?” I lead him back to the kitchen. “We got anything planned tomorrow that is going to make eating this a problem?”
“Nope.” He beams, which I return. “So whilst you tantalise my tastebuds, I can make your ears happy…”
“Not if your singing voice is like your snoring you can’t.”
“Oh, very droll. It’s the sequel, I’ve written some more.”
“When and why didn’t you say? We could’ve gotten that to Ted and Ben.”
“We were making love.” He kisses my cheek.
“Great minds think alike...” I hand him my iPad. “…have a look.”
JUSTIN
As I settle on the sofa, a thought occurs. “Can Michael find out about Mel and make something of it, or even your mom and sister to muckrake?”
“No…” He starts to smile. “…not without help, which I am very happy to give him.” I grin at his evil glinting then start to read. “Now don’t shatter my illusions by saying you like your steak anything other than blue to blush pink.” Slowly I look up. “Well done?! I am not cooking either of those well done!”
“You're not cooking anything.” I whisper. “We’re going to test the theory of paragraph 2!”
Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Seaweed butter
Smoked Chilli and Lime
Chicken Skin with Garlic and Thyme Butter
Anchovy and Caper Butter
Honey Pecan and Cinnamon Butter
Best Garlic Butter
Lemon Cumin Butter
Garlic and Parmesan Butter
Chocolate Block Wine
