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BRIAN


After taking Gus back I waited around until Cynthia left the office. Marty tried to see if he could get something out of Cynthia but he didn’t know the woman I knew. If she didn’t want you to know something, you would never find out. When she started to walk by me, I looped my arm through hers and put her in my car.


“Stay. We need to talk.” I tell her, when she tries to get out.


“Why?” She asks.


“I heard you asked a lot of questions about Justin.” I tell her.


“I was curious, nothing more.” She lies to me.


“Curious doesn’t explain how you knew Justin didn’t have family.” I tell her.


“What are you asking me?” She asks.


“I’m curious, what do you have to do with Justin?” I ask her.


“I work for the man, it’s natural to wonder about him.” She dodges.


“What are you hiding?” I ask her, when I got in the car.


“I’m not hiding anything, and would you move, my cousin needs me.” She tells me, as we drive off.


“I love Justin, if something you know could hurt him, I need to know it.” I tell her.


“He doesn’t do love, or relationships, or even friendships, so you won’t be around long enough for me to worry about.” She tells me.


“I hear you, but you don’t know him if you think that, and you’ll never get your answers if you don’t talk.” I tell her.


“What answers do you think I want?” She asks.


“You asked about his personal life, not about what kind of boss he is. I assume it’s personal.” I tell her.


“I have plans with my cousin, so how about we do this later, or never.” She tells me.


“I’ll just follow you, or you can ask me what you want to know and we’ll both get the answers we want.” I tell her.


“Only he could answer me, not a lover he’s giving five minutes of his time to.” She tells me.


I really wanted to ask if she was channeling Mikey. “I hope where your cousin needed to go wasn’t important, I have all night.” I tell her.


“You’re persistent, but then you’d need to be if you expect anything from him.” She tells me. I smile and continue driving her until she tells me to stop in front of a house. “Look, can you chase me later? I really need to help my cousin.” She tells me, as the door opens.


I stopped smiling when I saw Jen, she looked tired and defeated. This was not the woman I knew who had a spine of steel. She smiled at Cynthia. “Hey, they told me they didn’t need me to fill in tonight for the other waitress.” She tells Cynthia.


“Shit, I could still see if I could get you a job at the firm.” She tells Jen.


“I don’t want charity.” She tells her.


“What kind of a job would you consider?” I ask, with Cynthia glaring at me to go away.


“A job is a job at this point. I was a receptionist for my soon to be ex.” She tells me.


“Can you work during the day? My gallery only opens at night for shows.” I tell her, excited that she was standing in front of me.


“Why are you offering me a job?” She asks.


“Let’s just say, I hate bastards that don’t support their families. Take my card and you can meet with me and my partner and discuss the job and salary. It would mean traveling once in a while, since I own galleries all over the world.” I tell her.


“I have children who I can’t just leave behind.” She tells me.


“Think about it and get back to me, by the way I’m Brian Kinney.” I tell her, dragging a protesting Cynthia with me. I pulled her into a coffee shop and sat her down, giving her a glare when she tried to get up and leave. I get her favorite coffee and put it in front of her, trying not to laugh when she stares at me for giving her what she used to chug when we worked late nights.


“You’re nuts. Offering jobs to people you barely know.” She tells me.


“Why didn’t you just say you know Justin’s birth mother?” I ask.


“Why would you think…”


“Why did she give him up?” I ask, interrupting her.


“Fuck, I don’t want her to get her hopes up and have Justin reject her. How did you even figure it out?” She asks, confused.


“I was guessing, but you just answered for me. Now answer me, why did she give Justin up?” I ask.


“Because the fucker she married didn’t want him. They were still in high school and not married at the time. She didn’t have anyone to help her because the family wasn’t happy with her getting pregnant and being unmarried. She did what the man she loved wanted and ended up not only giving up her child but dropping out of high school when her father found out. He disowned her, for Craig and for embarrassing the family.” She tells me, making me curse up a storm in my head that he was still connected to Justin.


“None of Jen’s family is willing to help her now?” I ask.


“They closed ranks when she married Craig. Then she couldn’t face the people we know when Craig made her a laughingstock in our circles. None of them are worth what she’d have to endure to get in their good graces.” She tells me.


I knew Justin still had contact with a grandmother in our previous life, but he never really bothered much beyond the occasional letter. “She wants to get to know Justin?” I ask.


“Yes, very much, but she doesn’t feel like she deserves to know Justin. I think a lot of it is that she and Craig had two other children. She worries about how Justin would take that they gave him up and went on to have two more kids.” She tells me.


“Two, not one?” I ask.


“Didn’t I just say that?” She asks slowly, like I’m an idiot.


“I want to be able to explain it to Justin.” I tell her.


“I wasn’t going to tell the asshole. Jen doesn’t need another person turning on her.” She tells me.


“He deserves to know, and be given a chance to decide for himself. Where do you fit in?” I ask.


“Jen and I are cousins, unlike the family, I don’t throw the people I love out of my life.” She tells me.


“I never asked, but what was Craig’s last name?” I ask her.


“Stewart, why?” She asks.


“In case Justin wanted to know.” I tell her.


“He wouldn’t, Craig’s a controlling jackass.” She tells me.


“Nothing new there, what are his siblings names?” I ask.


“Mandy and Brittany, who are nineteen and fifteen, anything else?” She asks, sarcastically.


I shook my head and stayed, wondering why their names were different this time. I get why Jen would be worried. It would be one thing to give up a child, but to go on with the same person and have two more, would make it less likely the child you gave up would understand.


A shadow fell over me, and there was the other nuisance in my life, with Mikey and Ian.


“Hello. Alone I see.” Ben smirks at me.


“I was picking up Justin his favorites, I want the man I love to have everything his heart desires. I guess I should pick up something for Hunter too, just so he knows he’s just as important.” I tell him.


“Why are you wasting your time with him?” Ethan asks.


“Good question Ian, one that I don’t get either.” I tell Ben.


“ETHAN, his… name… is…. ETHAN!” Michael yells, for everyone to hear.


“Whatever you say Mikey.” I leave as Michael yells not to call him that.


Ben of course, followed me out the door. “You couldn’t leave Justin alone could you?” He tells me.


“He’s everything you and the rest of the tricks weren’t.” I tell him.


“You never gave anyone the chance.” Ben whispers.


“Why would I? I never loved anyone but Justin.” I tell him.


“You stayed all night.” He tells me.


“We fucked all night, nothing new for me.” I tell him.


“Keep telling yourself that.” He tells me, walking back to Michael.


“You had a chance to walk away and live a different life.” I tell him.


“I never wanted to walk away.” He tells me, going in.


EMMETT


Kitty and Beth ordered in all my comfort foods and pulled blankets over us. Mom handed me buttered pecan ice cream while she and Beth shared the fudge brownie. My dad kissed my head and said he and Bill were going to play golf while the moms took care of me.


“So Teddy broke up with Ben and I sort of made an ass of myself in front of a few hundred people.” I finish telling her.


“Now back up to this Justin guy, why do you think Brian and him are meant to be?” She asks.


“Wait till you meet Justin, trust me, there’s enough electricity between him and Brian to light up a city.” Beth tells her.


“You don’t want to talk about Ben and Teddy?” I ask.


“I didn’t get Ben and Teddy, so them breaking up makes sense to me. We will talk about Drew when he get’s out of the closet, not before.” Mom tells me.


“But Teddy and Ben had things in common.” I tell her, avoiding the whole Brian, Justin thing.


“Ted needs someone who loves him, not likes him a little.” Beth tells me.


“Plus, I think Ben was really interested in someone else.” Mom tells me.


“Justin and I think he wants Brian, but Ben is running around acting like he wants Justin. Only Justin says he knows when someone wants him and Ben never gave him that vibe, in all the time he knew Ben.” I tell them.



“Didn’t Justin just meet Ben?” Beth asks.


“I know when someone’s interested and when their not when I meet people.” I tell them, sticking a huge spoonful of ice cream in my big mouth, hoping they will drop that line of questions.


“Ben better think twice before messing up this relationship for Brian.” Beth tells us.


“Especially when our grandson is coming.” Mom tells her.


“You should have seen how much Gus already loves Justin.” Beth tells her.


“Wait till you meet Hunter.” I tell the mom brigade.


“Hunter?” They ask together.


“Justin took in a teen who need a place. I think Hunter needs to know he’s welcome too.” I tell them.


They threw off the blanket and ordered me call Justin and Brian and tell them they were coming for dinner with the family. “Oh, and if you want to bring Mr Closet, feel free.” Mom tells me, calling for reservations.


“He’s eating at Le Mont with his beard tonight. The owner told me, after hearing about Drew and I.” I tell her.


“Then he can sit and watch us.” Mom tells me, canceling the first reservation and calling for our standard table at Le Mont.


JUSTIN


Brian showed up, telling Hunter to get dressed for dinner, then told me we need to talk. We got to my bedroom, shutting the door.


“I found Jen.” He tells me.


“Where, is she okay, is Molly? “ I ask.


“I’ll explain, but I remember something from the last time. Vic told me one of the reasons you have to be careful is because of cause and effect. What you change, changes the way things play out. You being an orphan, changed your mother and father too. Your age comes into play here too.” I tell him.


“I fucked up.” He groans.


“Jen had you as a teen, not later after being married to Craig.” I tell him.


“And what are you trying to not tell me?” He asks.


“Your mother had more children with Craig after putting you up for adoption. Cynthia is somehow your mother’s cousin, who was feeling you out about how welcome you would be to Jen.” I tell him.


“How old is Molly… wait children?” He asks.


“You have two sisters.” I tell him.


“That’s fucked up, but then I sort of did this to myself.” He tells me.


“I offered Jen a job.” I tell him, holding back what he’s going to blame himself for.


“Why?”


“Your father tossed her and your sisters out. Apparently your mother’s family weren’t very helpful.” I tell him.


“Brian, I was still writing letters to my grandmother, not because she cared, but because it was expected of me.” He tells me.


“How would Grandmother feel about her daughter getting pregnant in high school and dropping out?” I ask him.


“The same way Craig reacted to me being gay.” He explains.


Hunter knocked on the door and said Blake was here. “We’ll figure it out later.” I tell him.


Justin walked out to greet Blake. Blake looked at me, then ignored me. It was only a moment, but there was recognition in his eyes.


“We need to talk.” I tell Blake.

 

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