CHAPTER 5: LET THE GAMES BEGIN… Begin… begin

JUSTIN:

“Was it as good for you as it was for me?” Cynthia asks me, still chuckling.

“More than you know. Shit, it was cigarette and Beam worthy!” I laugh back. “And all this time, I’ve been worried about what he was going to do when she decided to play the Gus-card again…”

“You shouldn’t have bothered, Justin,” Ted joins in. “Brian and I had a long talk after you first went to New York. He said that if it ever came down to you or them again, he would bank on you. This is him keeping that promise.”

“But why now? I mean, not that I’m not grateful but he could have done this so many years ago.”

“True, he could have. But then he would have lost the element of surprise with it. You know, Brian can’t do anything quietly. Besides, he had to be sure.”

“Of me?”

“No, of them. He had to be sure that they would revert to type,” Cynthia tells me. “It’s one thing to want to believe that they’ve changed, but it’s another thing to actually see the changes. With Michael and Lindsay, they knew all of the right things to say; the right buttons to push. But look what happens when Brian doesn’t fall back into line. Their well-rehearsed lip service falls apart.”

I nod, fully understanding what she means now. I know Brian has been tired of their headgames for a while, and it didn’t just begin with my sojourn to New York. In fact, it’s been happening more and more since my excursion to Los Angeles. After I came back, Brian and I had a long talk about why I went and how I really ended up there. It was then that he’d begun to see the games Michael had been playing with him and his emotions for years. It took a little longer, and an article written by a cunty fag, for him to see through to Lindsay’s motives, but the idea was the same, even though the execution was different. I might not be proud of all the bullshit from them that Brian and I let come between us, but fuck if it doesn’t feel good to have beaten them at their own game, using their own methods of tattle-tale and run.

“What’s with that self-satisfied smirk on your face, Sunshine?” Brian asks me as he comes to stand beside me.

“The fact that we’re here, Brian… in this place, this space, and finally on the same page in the same state.”

“And the fact that the Wonder Twits bubble of delusion has finally burst? You can’t fool me, Justin. I know you’ve been waiting for the right moment to announce that the role of Mrs. Brian Kinney has been filled.”

“True. But Cynthia did it better than I could have ever hoped to, short of hiring a jet to write it across the fucking sky where they couldn’t hide from it. What do you want to bet that they are somewhere sulking; while plotting and planning their next move?”

“No bet needed. They are, if nothing else, predictable. But for now, let’s sign up Kell-Jam Studios and hash out the particulars of this deal so you can go be brilliant at the competition. I think we’ve given Michael and Lindsay enough to keep them busy for the interim.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jeff is about to forward over some paperwork, care of Debbie. She’ll be sure that Lindsay gets it.”

“And Michael? What about him?”

“Oh yeah. Did I forget to mention that I’ve sold the store, the contents, and the building that it’s in?”

“You did? Who to?”

Brian giggled. “Your mother.”

“Oh shit! You evil genius!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~AI2

JENNIFER:

“So Mel, do you think you’ll like this place? I know it’s a little farther out than you were hoping to move, but it is close to Brian, and in a very prominent neighborhood which is complimentary to your new career path.” Brian requested that I show her the gated property directly across from Britin, which hasn’t even gone on the market yet. The owner, Veronica, wants a quick sale as she is scheduled to be in Nevada to begin her new job by the end of the month.

“I do love it, but it’s way out of my price range.”

“I’ve been authorized to give you the Kinnetik Real Estate family rate of 3% APR on a home mortgage loan spread out over 30 years. Brian and Justin are willing to take care of purchase in full and then you repay them.”

“What?! Jennifer, I can’t let them do that!” Melanie exclaimed, her eyes widened in shock.

“Honey, you try talking either one of them out of it. Besides the house being gated and far back from the street, it also comes fully furnished.”

“I don’t even have my practice off the ground yet. I have to find office space within the City and…”

“Stop coming up with every excuse of why you can’t do this. As for office space, did you know the Taylor-Kinneys own the entire Alwin Building downtown?”

“The place we were for the meet and greet last night?”

“The very same. There are vacancies in that building right now. I’ve already moved my office into it. I moved just after I left Keller Williams Real Estate. Brian advised me to disassociate myself from them before I closed the deal for him. It worked out well. As for the price of your office space, I’m sure that you and Brian can come up with some type of arrangement. He’s willing to work with you, and there’s always Justin,” I say to sweeten the deal. I know for a fact that Brian and Justin want this for her, and are willing to do anything to make it happen.

“But I owe Brian so much already. You know he won’t let me pay him back?” she tells me quietly.

“I know, Mel. But you have to accept the fact that it’s just the way Brian is. Let him do this for you… for Gus and Jenny, so that he will never have to worry about you all having a roof over your heads again. His only stipulation that I know of is that neither Lindsay and Michael ever steps foot in the door.”

“Why not?”

I take her over to the window in the living room. Although, you can’t see much but trees, if you look at the far end of the park, you can see the very top of the mansion. “See that roof there?”

“Yes, I see it.”

“Well, that’s Britin.”

“Britin? As in Brian and Justin’s…”

“Mansion, yes. So in a sense, you and the Taylor-Kinneys will be neighbors, and if there is ever a problem, they can get to you in a flash. It’s why they want you to have this house.”

Melanie burst out in tears and the only thing I could do was hold her and let her ramble. “For so many years, Jenn, I thought of Brian as Satan personified. The things I’ve said and done to him… oh my God, how can he even stand me?! I threw it in his face every time he needed me, or his rights regarding Gus or...”

“Mel, you can only blame yourself to an extent. Believe me, I have been guilty of some of the same things you were where Brian is concerned. But once I stopped accusing him and got to know the man beneath the myth, well, that’s when I began to really see who Brian is. Do you know when that was for me?”

“No.”

“It was when I first asked Brian to stop seeing Justin after the bashing. He did what I asked, simply because he cared about my son and didn’t want to harm him any further. But then, a week later, I asked him to take Justin and help him. Help him be touched, I asked him, acknowledging that he was the only one Justin trusted not to hurt him. Can you imagine? Me, his own mother, he didn’t trust, but the man who’d been so emotionally closed to him, he did? I couldn’t understand it at first, but then I began to watch for reasons why Justin trusted Brian as he did.

“Brian wouldn’t let Justin give up, or say that he couldn’t do something. He wouldn’t let Justin wallow in self-pity or accept that Justin wasn’t ready to meet life head on again. It was a strange dynamic between the two, but ultimately it worked. Brian gave me back my son, but he also gave me a son who was growing to be a man, and that I could respect as such. I remember asking Justin why he trusted Brian instead of me during that period, and you know what he told me? He said that it was because when me and Craig hurt him the worst, Brian was right there to pick up the pieces and help him reorder his life. I didn’t know that I’d hurt my son as bad as I had. I know that Brian hurt Justin too, but he did it honestly, whereas Craig and I said the words of love, but acted in a completely different manner when our son needed us to show it unconditionally. And that is what Brian is trying to give to you, Mel; he’s trying to show you that even though you hated him to his face, he still trusts you with the most precious gift he has given this world… his son.”

“I’ll take it.”

“You will?” I smiled into her watery eyes.

“Yes, all of it. I’ll take whatever deal he- they- will give me. I owe them that.”

“I can promise you, Mel, you won’t be sorry,” I tell her as I pull out my phone. “Brian, you owe me twenty dollars.”

“I do? But you owe me fifty.”

“Fifty? Why?”

“For Red Cape Comics.”

“Oh, this is going to be so much fun! Consider the debt cancelled then.” I hang up and begin to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Mel looks questioningly at me.

“Now that we have agreed to begin closing proceedings, how would you like to help me appraise some inventory?”

“Inventory? What for?”

“You’re looking at the new owner of Red Cape Comics. Apparently, someone forgot to read the fine print and has been taking a business loan between friends for granted.”

“You mean Michael…”

“Yep. I have to stop by Kinnetik and the store on the way to the office at the Alwin. Brian wanted a short sale, and I’m happy to give it to him. The building, store, and all the contents therein, now belong to me. And the first thing I intend to do is clean house!”

Mel laughed long and hard at that. “He’s going to piss and shit bricks!”

“I’m counting on it!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*AI2

BEN:

I’m upstairs in the bedroom when he stomps into the house. Already, I can tell he isn’t alone so I listen.

“Can you believe they signed fucking LDP papers and didn’t tell us?!” He screeches.

“No, I can’t.” I roll my eyes at the dulcet tones of the second half of the Coffee-clutch of Cunt-ery and press record on my phone. “There has to be some way that it isn’t as legal as they think. I think some very pertinent questions need to be asked.”

“Well you can’t call Mel.”

“Why not?”

“Stupid. If she knew anything, don’t you think she would have told you by now?” Michael says. And for once, I have to give it to him, he sort of makes sense. Lindsay is stupid.

“Don’t call me stupid. You’re the one walking around here in a Captain Asshole jacket at almost forty years old!”

“His name is Astro, Astro, ASTRO! A-S-T-R-O!”

“And the person wearing it is an Asshole, Asshole, ASSHOLE! That's A-S-S-H-O-L-E, in case you forgot how to spell YOUR name! But look, we’re getting off topic here. Let me call my parents and see what they can find out. Surely, there must be some way the paperwork can be lost, if there really is any to begin with. Justin has to return to New York; he just has to!”

“What’s in this for you really, Lindsay? Not that I don’t agree with you, mind you, but what’s your real motive? Jennifer said…”

“Michael… Michael, Michael, Michael…” she says, in that way that reminds me of Jan on the Brady Bunch. “My only motive here is to prove that I can be a better manager than that Miranda bitch. I have contacts and shows lined up that Justin should be doing instead of playing with paints for this silly little competition.” She lies, and she almost has even me convinced.

“So what happens if Justin doesn’t show up?”

“Other than my reputation within the art circles being ruined? Justin will lose his place as the darling of the art world. Not only that, but it keeps him out of Brian’s orbit and I… I mean Gus, misses valuable time with Brian.” And there's the slip...

“I see.” The gullible ass ought to see what Lindsay’s real aim is, but does he? I think not, especially when he starts speaking again. “The way to Brian needs to be cleared of all things Boy Wonder. Besides, he needs to draw Rage for me.”

“Michael, why is Justin drawing Rage so fucking important? I thought we already talked about this last night!”

“Because the publishers and printers won’t let it go to print if Justin isn’t the damn artist!”

“What?” And I have to second Lindsay’s surprise on that one since it's also news to me.

“It’s written into the contract that if the quality of the art isn’t that of Justin fucking Taylor’s then they have the right not to publish it.”

“But that’s… that’s absurd! It’s not like you’re rewriting Hemingway or even Tolstoy…”

“Who?”

“It’s a fucking COMIC, for God’s sake. Anyone can draw it; hell even I could draw it!”

Michael burst out laughing at that thought. “Sorry, but I think we both would have to beg to differ on that point. You couldn’t draw your way out of Alphabet soup, let alone doing an internationally successful comic!” He laughs again.

“Fuck you, Michael! And I can prove it to you. Here look at this…”

“What is it? They are accepting an unknown amateur to go against the elite artists for the Skin Wars Celebrity Edition competition. What’s that got to do with you?”

“I forgot to tell you about it this morning at the Diner when we were so rudely interrupted by your mother. One of the artists became ill late last night, and they don’t have time to canvas Hollywood for another notable artist, so they’ve decided to look locally.”

“Okay… so again, what does this have to do with you?”

“Dunce! I’m going to enter the competition.”

“Are you fucking nuts?! You’ll be laughed off of not only Pittsburgh’s stage, but the World’s. Think about what you’re doing, Lindsay!”

“I am. They are allowing the amateurs to compete in pairs before going on to the elite competition. From what I gather, they are going to group us by our ages, so that no one person has more clout than the other. Should be really interesting. But most of all, it will give me a chance to really scope out Justin’s competition; to really see who isn’t as enamored of the little bastard as the rest seem to be. And then I’ll align myself with that person to sabotage him, thereby sending his fat little ass back to New York where he should have remained in the first place. Brian doesn’t back underachievers.”

Well shouldn’t they both know that by now? I shake my head at the fuckery of the two of them, but honestly, I can’t wait to see the fall out from this hair-brained scheme. In fact, I think it’s time to put in a call to Justin to see what he thinks of it. I snicker, thinking of just what his response is going to be. Justin is known for his creative cursing, but most of all, he’s a genius at renaming the Wonder Twits- that was one of his, too. One thing’s for certain and two things are for sure. We’re all going to be in for the time of our lives watching the Flaky Failure and her Funky Flunky. And it’s time for me to get moving with my own plans. I take the last of the clothes and dump them into garbage bags. Fuck a week; this shit ends today! Heading down the back stairs and out of the backdoor, I make a permanent move to take out the trash...meaning Michael.