CHAPTER 5 – READING, HUNTING AND FISHING

DAY 7 – EARLY AFTERNOON

GUS

I had such a good long sleep.  Daddy is funny in the morning.  He let me help him shave!  But now we’re going to Club so that daddy can help me with my reading and words.  I’ve also loved this morning because momma is so much better, I knew Leather Bear would help her, and we had a really good but late breakfast!  We had poached eggs and sausages but it was the jam I loved. Well, I would’ve loved it more if daddy didn’t keep taking it off my plate!

“Okay people, have we had a lovely brunch?”  Tyler asks. I like Tyler.

“Yes Tyler.  But what’s brunch?”  I ask.

“Brunch is what you have between breakfast and lunch.”  He smiles and I nod in understanding.

“Can I have some more jam please?  My daddy ate most of mine.”   This makes momma laugh.

“You can Gus but its much better warm.  How about you have it at lunchtime?”

“Okay but can you make sure that we both have some so daddy can have his own?”

“Sonny Boy!”  Daddy gasps before putting the rest he took in his mouth and winking at me.

“Of course, I will make sure of that.”  Tyler laughs.  “Just place the order with either Justin or Leda when you get to the Club and it will be brought to you.”

“Great!   Come on daddy, we need to get to Club now.”

“Brian now that Mel’s better, can’t she take him?”  Unca Mikey asks.

“Yes she could.  But I promised Gus and I never break my promises.  Especially to my Sonny Boy.”  Daddy tells him and after making sure I’m super-duper clean, he takes my hand and we leave the restaurant.

“Brian!  Wait!”  Unca Mikey catches up with us.  “I can come with you both.”  He tries to take my hand but I’m holding Leather Bear and he won’t carry him right.  Leather Bear doesn’t like being held by his leg and upside down, but he keeps doing that.

“Michael…”

“Good afternoon Brian, Gus. Are you on your way to club?”

“Hey Ben.  Yeah we’re on our way and we don’t want to be late.”

“Of course, but before you go.  I wondered if Gus would like to see how the ship is steered.”

I stop tugging on daddy’s hand.  “Steered?”  I look up at Captain Ben… there’s a long way to look so I step back a bit.

“Gus, would you like me to pick you up?”

“Yes please daddy.”

Once I’m level with Captain Ben I look at him.  “You mean I can see how you drive the ship?”

“Yes that’s what I mean.  We can do that after class if you like.”

“Please daddy!  Please!”

“You can’t resist a face like that.”  Captain Ben smiles. I like his smile. He smiled at Aunty Emmy like that at dinner.

“No I can’t.  How do I organise that?”

“Just let Justin know and he’ll bring you up.  See you later.”  Then Captain Ben looks at me and nods.  “Yeah I think we can find one.  Definitely.”

I look at daddy and he’s smiling so whatever Captain Ben is talking about can’t be bad.

“Daddy, we need to get to Club!”

“Okay Sonny Boy.  Michael are you…”

“Michael, there you are!”  Auntie Emmy calls out.  “Come-come with me!  Let them have their bonding moment!  I don’t think two hours of reading things that aren’t comics is your thing.  You know with the words being so big and all.  Besides, you need to replace my shirt and aren’t you allergic to cats?”

I’m not sure what daddy and Auntie Emmy are laughing at or why Unca Michael has gone that colour.

“Cats?”  Unca Mikey says.

“Yes Rhubarb and Custard; they’re in the class.”  Auntie Emmy tells him. “So come with me and we’ll see the gorgeous Kinney men later.  Much later.”

BRIAN

As I watch Ben walk wherever he’s going he turns to look back and winks. When Emmy waves, I have an idea!

KIDS’ CLUB

JUSTIN

You’ve got this!  As long as you don’t look at him, you’ve got this!  As everyone files in, Leda doesn’t help things by jabbing me in my side.  I glare at her.

“What?!”  I hiss.

“You need to let the boys out.”  She snickers.  “But I can do it if you’re unable to come out from behind the desk.”

I was fine until she said that!

“If you could that would be great!”  I smile and think of festering garbage!

As everyone settles down on the floor, I caught the grimace from Brian and chuckle to myself.  This helps to get myself under control so we start to hand out the books for them to read and put the notepads for their words on the table.  I walk around checking that everyone is fine. We do get some kids that are grumpy about having to go to school during their holidays but I see this as a bonding moment with them and their kids.

I stop to listen to Gus read.  “……it is a beautiful flower, said the woman, and she kissed the red and golden-coloured leaves, and while she did so the flower opened, and she could see that it was a real tulip. Within the flower, upon the green velvet stamens.  Daddy, what’s a stamen?”

“You see the thread inside the flower?”  Gus nods.  “That’s a stamen.”

“Oh okay.  Hello Mr Justin. Shall I keep reading?”

I look at my watch and nod and go to check on the rest of the class and try not to look back at them but fail.  I turn back quickly when I lock gazes with Brian.  I walk with as much speed and dignity as I can in the face of Leda’s smirk back to my desk and sit down.

“10 minutes of reading time left then Miss Leda will do your words with you.”

Rhubarb has taken up residence on one side of Brian and after a bit of standoffishness from Custard, he has settled on the other, resting his head on his leg.  I had to hide my smile as every time he moved trying to get Custard off him, Custard simply waited for him to go still and settled back down.  In the end, Brian gives up moving and at one point started to stroke Custard’s ears.

“Okay time for lunch and then we will do our words.  Let me explain how it works.”  Leda calls out.  “First, take your seats at the table and parents sit behind them.  What happens is that I say the word, your mommy or daddy writes it down for you and then you write it down next to it.  Do you guys understand?”

I like that Leda does it this way because it brings in the parents but the bad side is that it tends to make some parents competitive.  But we’re more than capable of nipping that in the bud.

“Okay lunch is here. Let’s eat!”  Leda orders and I get Rhubarb and Custard in the office so they can eat.  As soon as they are finished, they sit under Gus and Brian’s chairs.

OFFICE

“You’ve always said that Rhubarb and Custard, especially Custard are excellent judges of character.”  Leda tries to keep a straight face while looking into my narrowed eyes.  “What?  They had Ethan nailed, right? Remember when they kept pissing in his shoes and after what he did, actually didn’t do for Gus…”

“Wait.  What didn’t he do?”  I ask and look into the room at the kids, who I love like they are my own.

“He didn’t band him.”  She whispers.

“Seriously.”  I gasp in horror.  “That’s the first rule!”

“Yeah, he got written up for it.”

“Good.  What an asshole.”  I allow my anger to subside.  “Okay Miss Leda, you’re up.”

An hour later, some proud kids and relieved parents are making their way out of class.

BRIAN

Gus is so proud of himself. He only got one word wrong.  I grab his jacket and wait for the class to empty.

“Uh Justin.  Ben said we could go on deck so Gus can see how the ship is steered.  He said you could take us.  Could you do that?”

“Of course!  Give me a couple of minutes to lock up.  One sec...!”

He dashes out of the room and shouts down the corridor.  “Martha, you need to swipe out sweetheart!”

“Sorry Mr Justin!”  I hear a thunder of feet and a little girl comes back to swipe out.

“Thanks Justin!”  Her mom smiles at him before leading Martha out no doubt telling her off.

“You guys take security of kids seriously... well some of you.”  I tell him.  “I like that.”

He nods and then frowns.  “Yeah Ethan tends to get distracted by beautiful things…”  I just look at him as he realises what he’s said.  “Ahem.  Okay, Gus swipe and we can go up to the deck.”

As we walk up the corridor, nobody says anything for a while.  “Daddy?”

“Yes Gus.”

“Mr Justin thinks you’re beautiful.  So you have to say something nice about him too.”

“Uh…”

“I’ll help.  Mr Justin has pretty eyes. They are really blue, aren’t they daddy?”

“Yes.  Yeah they are.”  I reply, feeling my cheeks heat.

“But you can’t say that because I said it.  So you pick something else.”  Gus demands, taking hold of Justin’s hand and skipping between us.  “Come on daddy.”

“Uh Mr Justin has a pretty mouth.”  Is out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“We’re here!”  Justin sounds as embarrassed as I feel.

“Ah hi guys!”  Ben grins.  “Glad you made it.  Gus, I have something for you.”

He pulls out a Captain’s hat and my Sonny Boy’s face lights up.  “Thank you, oh thank you!  Daddy look!”  He squeals putting it on.

“I need a picture of this!  Your momma will love it.”  I go to grab my phone but it’s not there and I realise where it is.  “Oh f-flip, I’ve left my phone in my room…”

“I can stay with Gus until you get back if you want?”  Justin looks shyly at me.

“Thanks.  Will be as quick as I can.”

I’m only running because I don’t want Gus to be alone too long.

BRIAN’S SUITE

When I get back to my suite Michael is sitting outside.  And for the second time in as many days, my heart sinks.

“Brian finally!  Where have you been?”

“I’ve been with Gus, Michael.  You knew that.  And I have to get back there.”  I reply opening the door and hoping he doesn’t follow, but he does.  “So what have…”

“Get back where?”  He demands petulantly.

“The deck.  He’s with the Captain.  Remember the conversation earlier.  So what have you been up to?”

“Emmett actually made me replace his shirt because apparently the beer didn’t come out of silk and it took ages.”

“Well that’s understandable…”

ACHOOO!  ACHOOO!  ACHOOO!

“Michael, are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Don’t know where that came from.”  He sniffs.  “So after Gus is back with Mel, can we spend some best friend time to...ACHOOO!”

I step away from him and hold up a hand as he approaches.  “No stay there.  If you are coming down with a cold, you need to stay away from me and especially…”

I just stare at him and a rash starts to spread over his hands and face.

“Michael, what the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“Wrong with me?  What do you mean?”  He demands, scratching his back.

“Look in the mirror!”  I order.

When he sees what I see he looks as horrified as I do.  “What the hell is happening?!”  He shrieks and that brings Mel and Emmy in.

“Christ Michael!”  Emmy gasps, pulling Mel back behind him.  “You need to go to the doctor!”

“I don’t understand!”  Michael whimpers, approaching me and again I back away.

“Michael!  Go to the doctor!”  I snap.

“Can’t you come with me?!”

“Of course not!  I have Gus, Mel and Uncle Vic to think about!”

YEERRROOOOWWWLLLL!

We all look at the sill and there is Custard and he looks very unhappy to have been woken up!  Then out from under the sofa pads Rhubarb and after licking Custard’s face for a bit, he calms down and they both curl back up on the window sill and go back to sleep.

“How did they get in here?!”  I demand.

“Leda was here earlier. They must have followed her.”  Mel calls out.

“So it’s just an allergic reaction.”  Michael sighs in relief.  “You can come with me to the doctor, right Brian?”

“Again no.  I have to get back for Gus.  Go now Michael!”

He looks at Rhubarb and Custard as if he wants to wear them as coats, despite his allergy, and stomps out.

“I have to get back to the deck.  I’ve left Gus with Justin.”

“Sure sweetie.”  Emmy smiles.  “Take your time.  It would be rude to move them anyway.”

I make it back to the deck in less than five minutes.

DECK

BEN

I know I shouldn’t laugh but I couldn’t help it.  Brian’s just finished explaining the delay in him coming back.

“So where are they now?”  I chuckle.

“Still there.”  He replies.  “I didn’t have the heart to move them.”

“Of course.”  I reply.  “Oh by the way, I don’t know if you noticed how wonderfully the ship was being steered during that time?  It would be down to Captain Gus.”

He look across and Gus is concentrating on what he’s being told and following instructions.

“I missed it.”  He sighs.

“No.  Actually, I filmed it.”  Justin smiles at him.  “I’ll send it to you or Mel?”

“Can you send it to me?  This is my number.”  He smiles back.

“Daddy!  This has been so good.  I drove, I mean steered for a bit.”  Gus beams at him.

“I heard and saw.  You’ve done a great job!”

“Excuse me Captain.  We have got the go ahead for the fishing cruise. So that will happen on Sunday at noon.”

“That’s great and then we’ll be in dock for three days.  Return to your post Seaman Staines.  Have you ever been to St Kitts before Brian?”

I turn back to him to find him bug eyed, trying not to laugh.  I wait for him to calm down.

“I would have that name changed!”  He gasps. “Seriously Seaman Staines?  On a gay cruise ship, it’s just asking for trouble!”

I quickly look at Gus but he’s still entranced by the ship.  “That’s nothing. We have our Master of the Boat…he’s called, no I can’t; Justin, you can do it.”  I start to laugh.

“What?  It can’t be as bad as Seaman Staines.”  Brian chuckles.

“Bates.”  Justin answers.  “Master Bates.”

“Gus!”  Brian splutters.  “I’ll be right back!”

LILAH’S BAR

DEBS

I peer at the guy sitting with another guy at the bar and I’m sure it’s him.

“Excuse me?”  He looks up and gives me a small smile.  “Um aren’t you the guy who asked to help with the little boy that was lost?”

“Yes.  Carl.  Carl Horvath.  And you are?”

“Deb Novotny.  But most just call me Debs.  Can I buy you a drink?”

“Sure but why?”

“Grandson.  The little boy Gus, he’s my grandson.”  I explain and wave at Franc but she just jerks her head to the other end of the bar.

“Excuse me a minute, Carl.”  I follow Franc and she’s grinning.  “What is it?”

“The friend is called Rodney and he’s been glancing at Vic for the last 10 minutes. You might want to give him a heads up on that.”

“Really?”  I grin.  “Leave it with me.”  And start to head back, when she grabs my hand.

“And Carl has a tender but broken straight heart.”  She grins.  “Maybe you could be a friend to him?”

“He’s straight!”  I gasp.

“And Rodney’s not the only one that’s been glancing in that direction.”

I bustle back with the menu and a big smile.  “So why don’t you two come join us?”

“Oh we don’t want to intrude, do we Rodney?”  Carl demurs.

“If you were intruding, you wouldn’t be invited.  So shall we?”

An hour later, we are howling with laughter as Carl tells us about the crazy people he’s arrested.  Carl and I both ignore the way Rodney and Vic’s chairs got closer and closer.

DECK

BRIAN

I can’t believe I’m steering a cruise ship!  Although I don’t remember entering this competition, I’m glad that I did.  I like Ben…and for the first time I like a guy without wanting to fuck him.  Justin, on the other hand is completely different. I like him and I want to do bad-but-oh-so-good things to him!  I watch him as he writes with Gus.  Gus wanted to know the names of all the buttons.

“So you coming?”  Ben asks.

“Coming where?”  I peer out to sea determined to keep us on course.

“Tuna fishing on Sunday.  I think you’ll be good at it.”  He grins.  “Franc organises them.  She knows the area around here.  Her mom is from Grenada. She was Miss Grenada by the way, which has the best fishing grounds, and she has family on the other islands.  We cook what we catch for dinner in the evening.  She does a ceviche to die for.”

“I’ve always wanted to go fishing…so yeah, we’ll be there.”

“Unfortunately, Gus can’t come.  It’s going to be bouncy and there’s a lot of running around and when the tuna lands…”

I nod in understanding.  “His momma will love to have some time with him.  What with her not being well, I think a day with him would be great.”

“Great.  Justin, are you going to come with?  See if you can finally beat her?”

Please say yes!  Please say yes!

“Yeah.  I will do it.  Though she does have fishing in her blood so she has an advantage.”

“Franc fishes?”

“She’s landed a 20 pounder.  And still holds the record.  But only because mine got off the line.”  He pouts.

Seriously adorable!

Gus rubbing his eyes gets my attention but Justin gets there first.  “You tired little guy?”

He nods and reaches up for him and I don’t feel jealous.  “Let’s go back and you can grab Rhubarb and Custard at the same time.”

“Okay.  Bye for now Captain.”

“See you guys on Sunday.”  Ben smiles and takes the cap off Gus’s head and puts it in the bag with the model of the ship.

As we walk back, I look at my watch and can’t believe it is almost six o’clock!

I open the door and pray they haven’t crapped anywhere but I find the interconnecting door open and voices coming from Mel’s suite.

“Shall I put him in your bedroom?”  Justin asks quietly and I nod.

MEL AND GUS’S SUITE

EMMY

Mel is looking so much better.  But we are all, and I mean all because Uncle Vic, Rodney, Carl, Debs, Leda and Ted are in the lounge, laughing about what happened to Michael.  In the end, he got Ted to go with him. Michael demanded that he be given the strongest antihistamine there is so he could get better quicker but that has one rather painful side effect. So he’s now in bed unable to be too far from the bathroom.

“Sorry Mel, I…”

“Don’t worry. I caught up on some more sleep so it’s all good.  Where is he?”

“In his daddy’s bedroom.  Steering a ship is tiring.”  Justin answers and the room goes quiet.

“Steering a…”  Debs looks puzzled.

“Yeah, he was steering earlier.  We’ve got footage.  Justin, is there a way it can play on the TV?” Brian adds.

“Sure give me a few minutes, shall I use my phone or yours?”  He asks, starting to pull out wires.

“Mine.  Here you go.  Code is 0908.  You guys want to eat something? Because I’m actually hungry.”

“Uh sure.  I think I should definitely eat something.”  Mel manages to get out while everyone just stares at Brian.  “Is Franc off duty now? Justin, do you know?”

“Yeah.  Always has the Friday night off before fishing, so she can go through her gear.”  He puts the stuff down and stands up.  “I’ll beep her to bring up some drinks.  Why don’t I order and you jump in the shower real quick Brian?”

“Gus needs a shower too, but he’s crashed out.  Maybe…” He ponders.

“One dirty night is not going to kill him.  Let him sleep.”  Justin says and pushes Brian in the direction of his bathroom.

“Okay.  10 minutes!  I want the dumplings and the wings with bacon jam!” Brian calls out.

“Got it!” Justin responds with a smile.

BRIAN’S BATHROOM

BRIAN

Just as I’m getting in the shower, it occurs to me. Michael doesn’t have the code to my phone but Justin does.  And he bossed me about and I wasn’t fucked off!

Ten minutes later, I’m heading back to Mel’s suite.

MEL AND GUS’S LOUNGE

The TV is all set up and Franc has arrived as well as the food.

I had checked on Gus before I came in and nothing but a hurricane, atomic bomb and a thunderstorm is waking him.  I tucked Leather Bear in next to him and was about to shut the door when Rhubarb and Custard marched in and curled around him.

“Thanks guys.”  I whispered.

The next hour was passed in silence as we watched my Sonny Boy, mine, steer the ship.

“I understand you are coming on Sunday?”  Franc pops a dumpling in her mouth.

“Coming where?”  Emmy asks.

“Tuna fishing.”  Franc snickers as he grimaces.  “No it’s good, we fish and oh…”

“What honey, you okay?”  Debs immediately gets up.

“I’m fine.  But had an idea.  Why don’t you guys all come but stay on one of the islands I know and we’ll have a BBQ.  This boat is going to be moored.  We come get you and that way Gus can take part.”  She looks around before locking eyes with me.  “I will prep the food; all they have to do is cook it.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea!”  Emmy squeals.  “What does one wear to a beach BBQ?”

“Go to Diamonds. They’ll fix you up.  Tell them Franc sent you.”

“Right so tomorrow, we’re all going to convene at Diamonds for fittings for BBQ attire and then meet on the... where at what time on Sunday?”  Emmy looks around in full caterer mode.

“Portside at 1200.”  Franc replies and stands up.  “Christ, it’s eleven o’clock! Well that’s me done.  See you guys on Sunday.  Word to the wise Brian, Ben and Justin are very competitive, not as good as me but very competitive.”

“Ben is going to be there?”  Emmy asks.

“Yeah.”

“So where’s the best place for a pedicure etc.”  Emmy looks at her then goes bright red.  “Well I’ll be going, goodnight!”  He practically gallops out the room and soon it is just the two of us.

BRIAN’S BEDROOM

“Need some help?”  I ask as he checks where one cat ends and the other begins.  Seems they have shifted during the night.

“A little.”  He giggles…oh that giggle.  “When they’re dead-to like this, it’s not fun waking them up.  Oh wait, be right back.”

When he comes back he has a handful of cold chicken and hands me some.  “You take one end, I’ll take the other and we meet in the middle.”  He whispers.

I watch him wave a piece of chicken at an end of fur and I do the same. Halfway down, up pops a head.

“Got Custard.”  I tell him as he sits up to empty my hand and is swiftly followed by Rhubarb.

Once they’re finished, they stretch and with one parting look at Gus head to the door.

“Justin.”  He stops.  “Thank you for today. It was excellent.”

“You won’t be saying that on Sunday when I kick your ass at fishing!”  He chuckles quietly.

“If anyone’s ass is going to be whipped, it will be yours.”  I assert.

“Do we have a bet then?”  He blinks so innocently up at me that I know I shouldn’t but…

“What are the stakes?”

“You lose, you pose for me.”

I think about this, yeah I can do that.  “Okay and if you lose, you have to…”  My mind goes blank.

“I’m sure you can think of something between now and then. Just keep it on par and we’ll be fine.  Though I'm not going to lose…. of course.”

I open the door and shake my head when they start to leave. As he walks down the corridor, he waves over his shoulder and Custard slow blinks at me.

As I head to bed to join Gus, my phone beeps and I read the text.  “By the way you’d be almost naked.”

Fuck!