CHAPTER 41 - BLUSTER AND THE ART OF WRITING

DEBS’ HOUSE - WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

MICHAEL

I haven’t heard from either Ray or Lindsay since the BBQ. To be honest, I am pissed off so I try Lindsay first. “Lindsay, where the hell have you been?!”

“Hello to you too, Michael.” She retorts before speaking to someone else. “How are you?”

“I’ve broken my arm and got severely bruised ribs, so I’m at ma’s. Where are you?”

“Los Angeles.”

“When are you coming back? I thought you wanted to get back with Mel.”

“I did but now, like Mel, I am moving on. The art district in Los Angeles is fabulous. Now sorry Michael, but I have to go.”

“But Lindsay…” I protest but she’s hung up. I redial and it goes to voicemail. So I try Ray instead.

“Raymond Charles...” A voice that is not Raymond answers.

“No, you’re not. I know his voice, so who the hell is this?”

“Seriously, Novotny, you don’t know the sound of the victor?” He responds and then I recognise him and gasp. “Ah you’ve caught on have you? How is life in Loserville?”

I glare at the screen and squirm as my arm starts to itch. “I’m not in Loserville.  I’ll have you know, Ian, that because of your behavior I got what I wanted...just wanted to say thank you!”

“Really? And who is it that you got?”

“You’ll have to wait for my announcement!” I tell him smugly and hang up on him but he calls me back.

“No, I’m not going to invite you to the wedding!” I snap and he laughs. “What’s so funny?”

“If you had got what you wanted, you wouldn’t have called Ray.” He sneers.

“Au contraire Ian. I have Brian exactly where I need him to be. Despite appearances, he’s mine and mine alone.”

OUTSIDE THE HOUSE

DEBS

Oh crap! I need to talk to someone about this! I clear my throat loudly and put the shopping in the hallway and look up. He sits up slowly and looks up at me with a tired expression on his face!

“Why haven’t you gotten bathed?” I demand, heading to the kitchen with the shopping.

“My arm is aching. I think I need to go to the hospital again as my ribs…”

“So you’ve not gone because?” I ask, noticing the dirty dishes.

“I didn’t have the strength after I managed to eat…”

“Twice.” I interrupt.

“Huh?” He asks and I watch his eyes shift guiltily. “I think…”

“Come on, let’s go now then.” I order. “You need to go and bathe.”

“Can we go tomorrow? Maybe if I get some more sleep…”

“Michael.” I interrupt firmly. “Get up, go bathe then we are going to the hospital. You’ve only got another two days here before Daphne and Hunter come back.” I march back to the kitchen and start washing up then I hear him coming in. “You’ve walked in the wrong direction. The bathroom is upstairs!”

Half an hour later, we are on the way to the hospital...and he’s not happy at all!

ALLEGHANY HOSPITAL CONSULTATION ROOM

MICHAEL

“So where is it exactly that you are hurting?” He asks.

“My arm aches and around the back…”

“Where around the back, so I can find the problem?” I wave in the general direction and he presses. I wince and squirm away from his touch. “Okay, Mr Novotny I think I know what the problem is. Have you been doing anything other than sitting down on the sofa or lying in bed?” I look at him in annoyance, especially when Ma smirks. “You have a pressure bruise where you’ve been in the same position for long periods of time. You need to move about more, basically. And with regards to the achiness in your arm, that is perfectly normal. So all in all, you’re right on target to have that cast off in five weeks.”

“Thank you doctor. Come on Michael, let’s get to the moving now.” Ma orders and holds open the door before I have managed to do up all the buttons on my shirt. She waits impatiently for me to finish and as we are heading back to the car, she gasps and comes to a halt before heading down the corridor we almost passed.

“Ma!” I call out and huff in annoyance but follow her down. “Ma!” I shout.

“In here!” She calls back.

“Where here?!” I yell back and she steps out then goes back in. When I join her in the room, I’m surprised to find not only Blonde Ass but also Franc and her cop boyfriend. “What’s happening?” I look meaningfully at Ma because she’s sitting down. Dammit, I want to sit down, too!

“Cast coming off.” Ma explains. “And early too. Seems that moving about helps healing...imagine that.”

“So what is he doing here?” I demand staring at Blonde Ass.

“He wants the cast.” Franc replies.

“In case you were wondering, I was in a road accident…”

“Ah Markus! Today’s the day!” The same doctor that saw me comes in. “And you must be the artist who wants the cast?” He nods. “Can you show my technician where to cut?”

As he gets up, I quickly take his seat and Franc and Ma exchange looks. “Well done, Mr Novotny. If you would move like that more often, you’ll feel a lot better!” The doctor praises me and I glare at him.

“Ma, can we go now?” I ask, shifting in my seat as they start to cut off his cast. “That noise is giving me a headache!”

“It sounds just like you! So yeah, let’s go. Franc, will we see you at the weekend?”

“Definitely. I’ve had enough of him griping about my food! And I have to air the place out of his funk.”

“Oh thank fuck for that!” Markus exclaims as the cast comes off.

“Want that wire brush now?” Franc laughs.

“Seriously, don’t tease me if you don’t actually have it!” He is scratching his side frantically.

“Ma, come on! I’m tired!”

“Yeah running to that chair must have been so exhausting.” She snipes and stands up. “See you guys on Sunday!”

INSIDE DEBS CAR - 20 MINUTES LATER

“Ma, where are we going?”

“Your place.” She replies as she pulls up outside. “You ran to get the seat that Justin vacated so that says you can move back in. Get out! Your stuff is in the boot.”

“What happened to me staying a week?”

“Again, you ran for that seat. If you want to come on Sunday then let me know and I’ll come and pick you up. And again get out, I need to eat and clean up the mess you made!” I get out and she follows then drops my bag at my feet. “Keys are in the front pocket. Bye Michael.”

I scowl as she drives off and head upstairs. My immediate thought is how to get her to come back but right now, like her, I’m hungry so I grab my phone to order a pizza.

DEBS HOUSE - EARLY EVENING

DEBS

I tap the envelope on my hand and wait for Jennifer to come. Finally the door knocks and I let her in. “Okay, I’m here. What’s the emergency?” She asks, taking the wine and sitting down.

“I’m not sure it’s an emergency...oh fuck it, yeah it is! Look at this. No wait, let me tell you what I overheard before you open that…”

“Okay, I have to admit that that is a little odd but maybe it was bluster because he was talking to Ethan…”

“I would’ve said that too if I hadn’t found that before I heard him saying he has Brian exactly where he wants him. Now one other thing about Michael is his determination. As in, if he doesn’t want to do something, he doesn’t unless you force him. But if he wants his own way, he suddenly finds his determination…”

“Can I open this now?” I nod and she pats my hand. “I’m sure you’re just reading too much into this. Oh Debs, this is exquisite!” She says of the wedding invite. “Where did you…” She looks again and then stares at me. “Does that say what I think it says?” I nod and sigh heavily. “Mrs Deborah Novotny has the pleasure of inviting you to the wedding of her son, Michael Charles Novotny to Brian Aiden Kinney…”

“What?!” Daphne gasps from the doorway and she takes a seat and takes the card. “Are you kidding me?!”

“No I’m not. What do I do?” He had a stack of them in his wardrobe. I only found them because I was trying to find pants.”

“When did you find this again and is there anything else I’m missing?” Daphne demands as she heads back from the kitchen and proceeds to pour a very large glass. I repeat what I said to Jennifer, who is understandably furious. “Okay, first thing we need to do is find out when this was ordered. There’s an email address at the bottom. You need to do it Debs since it’s your name on the invite…”

Thirty minutes later we get a response. “Well?” Jennifer demands.

“Two weeks before we went on the cruise was the first order and it was confirmed just waiting for the wedding date just a few days before we took off on it.” I respond. “How fucking arrogant is that?!”

“Well those go some way to explaining why he was trying to get Gus to call him papa.” Daphne shakes her head as we just gawp at her.

“Where did you hear that?” I can’t believe he asked Gus to lie like that!

“Nathan…”

“Nathan?” Jennifer interrupts her.

“Yeah. You know that sometimes Gus goes to the store after school?” I worry at my lip. “Well one evening Gus was upstairs with Leather Bear just after he got the kittens and Nathan overheard him telling them I’m so glad daddy found papa Justin. Now I don’t have to call Unca Michael ‘papa’ like he wants me to. Then Nathan told Hunter and me when we went out for a drink one night. I thought nothing of it until now.”

“There is only one papa as far as Gus is concerned and his name is Justin!” Jennifer growls.

“Exactly! So what do I do now? Apart from whip him upside his head.” I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. “Well?” I look at the pair of them.

“I would tell Brian about it.” Jennifer holds up her hand in face of my protest and Daphne is looking bug-eyed at her. “Then I would call Rodney and tell him about this invite because the work is exquisite. They should not lose out on this.”

“I have to agree with Jennifer and the sooner you tell Brian the better.” Daphne hands me my phone.

BRITIN

BRIAN

I hang up and go to find Mel. “Hey, you got a minute?” I ask, when I spot her coming down the stairs. She nods and Justin comes through the door. “You too.” I sigh and lead them to the lounge, telling them what Debs has just told me.

“Christ Almighty, is there anything fucking else?!” Justin exclaims and pours us all a Beam.

“Did you know that he offered to help Lindsay and me with the second baby?” Mel sighs. “We shot that down immediately. He said that he wouldn’t be…” She pauses but I just stare at her. “A drop in dad like you are...his words.”

“So I’m a drop in dad, but he wants to marry me?!” I snap and about to stand but I find my lap full of Justin and I wrap my arms around his waist. “And for him to ask that of Gus!”

“Calm down Brian.” Justin orders, wiggling slightly. “Take a breath and let’s think logically about this...oh who the hell is it at this time of night?!”

Mel goes to answer and leads in Gardner Vance. “Good evening Brian.”

“What do you want?” I growl and get another calming wiggle.

“To come to a suitable accord. May I sit?” I nod. “I am asking you as a gentlemen to let me buy the shares back from Francesca.”

“And if you were me is that what you would do?” I retort and he snorts. “Just as I thought, so why would you expect me to be nice to you?”

“Because like Kinnetic is yours and yours alone... well it is now thanks to your now ex-fiancé... I want the same thing for VanGuard.” He looks at Justin and me for a little longer than necessary, in my opinion, before he continues.  “But I can see why he’s turned against you. You are much better suited to...”

Do not flicker!

“Look if she does try to sell them to you can you at least give me first refusal, before you sell them on?” I nod. “Thank you. Did you meet on the cruise?” Justin nods. “Ah that must have been why…”

“Yeah, but telling you…”

“He was just wanting time together, what with you burning the candle at both ends. Something had to give. Well I’ll be going, can we shake on our agreement at least?”

Justin gets up and I show Vance out then rejoin them in the lounge. “What the hell was that about?” Mel asks.

“Michael told Vance about what I was doing against Stockwell.”

“Oh for fuck sake!” Mel gasps. “That’s it. He’s mine. He messed with my friend for the last fucking time!” She growls.

Friend, wow she called me her friend!