Chapter 17 - Contrasts.

Brian had fallen asleep almost immediately after they finished, but Justin was too excited to sleep. He SHOULD be exhausted after flying all night, dealing with the craziness of the morning, and then the release of his first time having sex, but there was just too much adrenaline running through his body to let him rest. He felt more alive than he’d ever felt in his whole life. He imagined he might actually be glowing, he felt so amazingly alive. There was no way he could sleep right then.

So, after waiting to make sure Brian was so far out of it he wouldn’t be disturbed, Justin carefully shifted Brian’s arms off of him and slowly crawled out of bed. Brian only stirred a little, seeming to reach out in his sleep to find Justin, but then settling down again a minute later. Justin wondered briefly why Brian was so tired. He’d have to ask him later. Or he could ask Daphne - seeing as he had found the woman in his lover’s bed that morning, she certainly owed him an explanation. But, whatever had happened the night before, Brian obviously needed some rest now so, with a last tender look at him, Justin left the man wheezing quietly in bed.

Justin decided his first order of business should be to go take a piss and maybe get a little cleaned up. He still smelled of their love making and thought it wouldn’t hurt to freshen up before they - hopefully - went at it again. So, the young man pulled on his clothing, grabbed Brian’s ditty bag along with a fluffy Palace Hotel towel and quietly let himself out of the room. Luckily, it seemed the men’s W.C. was unoccupied at the moment, so Justin was able to walk right in and take over the elegantly appointed space.

After making use of the toilet, Justin pulled his shirt off and lowered his trousers, then made good use of the available soap and a towel to wash up. It felt good to get the itchy, dried jism off his skin, not that he minded in the least the way it had gotten there in the first place. He also cleaned up back there, noting the residual soreness and surprised how messy everything was despite the condom they’d used. None of those inconveniences mattered though, not considering how wonderful the act itself had felt. The mere thought of what he and Brian had done just a few minutes before was enough to make him want to crow with happiness. But that didn’t mean he had to go around smelling like a stinky pair of y-fronts either.

As he was washing off his face, Justin noticed that he really could use a shave. He hadn’t wanted to take the time that morning when he was washing up after his mission debriefing and the visit to the infirmary for the stitches. But, now that he had the time, Justin figured he might as well take care of that little chore as well.

Unzipping Brian’s elegant little black leather bag, Justin dug around inside, looking for a razor. Unfortunately, the toiletries bag was packed so full, it was difficult to find anything. So Justin started to remove the items one by one, setting them on the bathroom counter as he continued to dig.

The first thing Justin unearthed was another ribbon of Brian’s fancy rubbers, which he quickly set aside. Next though, came a strange-looking bag made out of some material Justin didn’t recognize. It was slick to the touch and crinkled loudly when he handled it. It reminded him of an advertisement he’d seen just before he left the states for some new-fangled thing called ‘cellophane’ but he’d never heard of the substance being used to make a bag like this before. This was see-through just like cellophane, though it was thicker, and was covered all over by printing. On the front of the package it said, ‘Disposable Dental Flossers’ - another thing he'd never heard of. Justin pried open the package, wondering over how the top edges of the bag stuck together, and pulled out one of these ingenious little ‘Flossers’. It looked just like other dental floss he’d seen before but it was threaded into a hard y-shaped object made of something like Bakelite. He scanned the package again, saw the section that said ‘Directions’, and followed them as he tried out the little piece of floss between his own teeth. It was really easy. He’d never really bothered with the stuff before, but thought if it was this simple, he might.

Setting aside the dental flossers, Justin pulled out the next item in the bag, which was a small glass cologne bottle. This he understood. He admired the beautiful, purple bottle for a moment before uncapping the top and taking a whiff of the scent. Yep, it smelled like Brian. He loved the cologne on his man. He’d never heard of this particular cologne before, though; Ralph Lauren Purple Label. You probably couldn’t find it here in London during the war anyways. But he knew the moment he made it back to the states, he would be hunting this down.

Next, Justin unearthed another small item which, when he pulled it apart, turned out to be a toothbrush that fitted into a case made out of its own base. Justin hadn’t ever seen a toothbrush like that, but again, he thought it was a great adaptation and wished he had one himself. The toothpaste that went along with it came in a strange-looking tube, was a brand he’d never seen before, was also gooey and a strange blue color, but everyone knew what toothpaste was. Justin quickly made use of both, feeling much better after he’d cleaned his teeth. The odd blue toothpaste was quite nice tasting too.

Setting the teeth stuff aside, Justin continued to pull out tubes and bottles of stuff - all made out of the same hard yet pliable substance that was sorta like Bakelite but also not - none of which was at all familiar to him. The bottles were all labeled with strange names. He’d never heard of any of them before. There were two matching black bottles, both with the name ‘Aveda’ on them, one saying it was shampoo and the other conditioner. He knew what shampoo was, of course, but didn’t have a clue about the other one. Next there was something called ‘Body Gel’. Justin figured out how to open it by flipping the top back, and found it smelled just like the cologne but was a sticky, goopy substance that looked a lot like the toothpaste and which he didn’t know what to do with. There was another smaller tube with something called ‘hair gel’ in it. Justin didn’t know why you’d put goopy stuff in your hair, either, and just set it aside too. Finally, there was one last black bottle labeled ‘Rugged & Dapper - Skin Fuel For Men’. From the rest of the packaging, he surmised that this was something you used to clean your face, not that he understood why you’d need it when you could just use regular soap. It seemed Brian certainly had a lot of strange bottles of stuff.

Once all those bulky bottles and tubes were out of the bag, justin could see the rest of the contents better. There was a small manicure kit - no wonder Brian had such nice hands and smooth nails. There was a little jar of ‘anti-wrinkle creme’, which made Justin laugh thinking of the beautiful man’s apparent vanity at worrying about getting wrinkles. There was a small hand-sized brush with odd-looking bristles which appeared, from the strands of hair caught up in it, to be a hairbrush. And finally, in the bottom, he found another container of something inexplicably called ‘Degree Men Dry Protection Cool Rush Antiperspirant’ that - even after he’d pulled the cap off, sniffed, and read the packaging further - he couldn’t figure out at all.

It appeared that the one thing he’d hoped to find - a razor - was the only thing Brian didn’t have. Or at least that’s what Justin thought till he noticed there was another pocket inside the small toiletries case. He unzipped that extra pocket and pulled out two additional items. They both seemed to be mechanical gadgets of some kind that Justin didn’t recognize at all.

The first one was a long metallic cylinder with a blunted tip and a black knob at the other end. It was about eight inches long and maybe two or three inches in circumference. It seemed to be made of chrome and was very shiny and slick. To the pilot’s eyes it sort of looked like a small bomb canister or maybe a really large bullet of some kind. When Justin turned the knob the whole thing started to vibrate. As far as Justin could tell, though, it didn’t have any purpose. Who wanted a large shaking bullet?

The final gadget took Justin a minute or two to figure out, but he was glad he’d dug all the way to the bottom of the kit and found it. It was about the same length as the shaking bullet but bulkier. The body was comprised of a hard black material which Justin couldn’t identify although he knew it wasn’t metal. The one end tapered to a flat rounded base. The other end, though, flared out into a wide head which was topped by an angled three-sided metal piece that held three round metal-toothed circles. The circles gave a little when you touched them with a finger.

At first Justin couldn’t figure out what the heck this thing was either. It didn’t have any writing on it except for the word ‘Broadcare’ in small silver lettering on the tapered part of the body. Only, right above that word was another round circle, this one black like the casing, with a symbol carved into the material that looked like a circle with a line radiating out from the center through the top. And, when Justin touched that circle, the gadget whirred quietly to life, sending the three toothed, metal circles on top spinning around.

He tentatively touched one of the spinning circles and noted that the metal pieces didn’t bite into his skin. Then he tipped the whole thing sideways and saw that it kept spinning no matter what angle you held it at. Finally, he held the device up to his forearm where all three circles could spin against his skin and felt a slight pull on the hair there before the whirling circles shaved it off.

Of course! Justin had seen electric shavers before; his father had even received one from a friend as a birthday present the year before he’d left the states. But he’d never seen one like this. He couldn’t figure out how it was powered since it had no cord to plug it in. Plus he’d never seen any shaver with three round cutting blades. However, when he put it up against his cheek, it worked incredibly well. He didn’t think he’d ever had a smoother shave. He quickly ran the shaver all over his face and was stubble free in only a minute or two.

When he was done, Justin cleaned the shaver and put it back in the ditty bag along with the shaking bullet thing. Then he started reloading all the other stuff back in the bag as well. As he was going through all the odd little bottles and tubes again, it struck him just how mysterious this stuff was. Which seemed appropriate for a mysterious and enigmatic man like Brian Kinney. And, despite how close Justin felt to Brian after the morning they’d spent together, he realized he knew very little about the man himself.

Who was this man? He’d been pondering that question all week long. Why did Brian have all these strange things - items that Justin hadn’t seen or heard of before and gadgets that seemed so inexplicable. Even more perplexing, how did Brian know all those things he shouldn’t have known? How could he possibly have known about the prior night’s air raid BEFORE it happened?

When Justin had told his CO that he’d heard rumors from an American friend about a coming raid, the commander’s first question was who he’d heard the information from. He’d said only that it was an American acquaintance who was here in London as a war correspondent and that Justin couldn’t confirm the source of the information but that he’d thought it prudent to pass the intelligence along nonetheless. The next question was how well did Justin know this reporter - the intimation being, was there any reason to suspect the ‘rumor’ came from a foreign agent with ulterior motives? Justin hadn’t really been able to answer his CO on that subject, because he’d wondered the same thing more than once.

Who else but a German agent would know the exact date of a German air raid?

Despite everything, though, Justin didn’t believe it. He didn’t think Brian could possibly be a German spy. Not the Brian he was coming to know. Even setting aside his personal connection to Brian, though, he just couldn’t see someone who spoke about the Nazi’s with such disgust and horror  ever working for the Germans. The hatred in Brian’s voice when he’d spoken of the atrocities he claimed the Nazis were committing was too real. No, despite the evidence to the contrary, Justin didn’t believe it.

That didn’t negate the possibility of Brian being a spy for some other foreign power, though. There were a lot of other governments interested in the course of this monstrous war. If Justin had to guess, he would have to say Brian most likely represented the Americans in some way. Which would explain the dodgy credentials.

That was, of course, problematic for Justin as an RAF Officer. Even though he was American too, Justin felt no loyalty to the country that had refused his offer of service merely because he happened to be queer. Instead, he’d pledged himself to the Royal Air Force and the British government that HAD accepted him, and for now his only loyalty was to Britain. So, if Brian really was an American spy, that meant Justin needed to keep his guard up around Brian even as their relationship deepened.

Maybe he was being naive thinking that this thing with Brian could work under such trying circumstances. Perhaps he should break it off? How could you have any kind of real relationship with someone you inherently couldn’t trust? Not that Justin didn’t trust Brian with his body - he did, even more so after that glorious morning - but he wasn’t sure he could trust him on a more professional level. He’d always be afraid he was giving away some critical piece of information without even realizing it. How could you love someone with that always hanging over you head?

As Justin finished tidying up after himself in the W.C. and started to make his way back to Brian’s room, he reluctantly came to the conclusion that this fling with Brian was doomed from the start. He was going to have to break it off. He simply couldn’t seriously pursue this relationship. It was impossible. What was he thinking?

The minute Justin opened up the door to the room, though, all thoughts of ending things with Brian evaporated from his brain. The gorgeous man was lying there on his back, in the bed, the sheets puddling low around his hips, leaving most of the man’s long, lean body fully revealed. Applesauce! That was one amazing specimen of manly beauty! Every single line of Brian’s well-defined frame was simply perfect. Justin had never seen anything that alluring in his entire life.

As Justin watched, Brian startled a little without waking fully and then rolled over onto his side. He seemed to be searching for something in his sleep. When he didn’t find it, the man pulled one of the pillows close to his chest, hugged it and murmured ‘Blue . . .’ before he settled down into a deeper slumber again.

“Applesauce!” Justin whispered, his heart melting all over again.

‘I don’t care if he IS a spy,’ Justin thought as he set the ditty bag back on the dresser, pulled off his clothes again and then crawled into the bed behind the sleeping beauty. ‘How could I NOT want this magnificent man?’

Curling around Brian and wrapping his arms around the warm sleeping body, Justin realized he was in far too deep already. He couldn’t break things off with Brian. The man had already got under his skin. He couldn’t possibly do without him now.

And once that was settled in his mind, Justin finally drifted off, falling asleep with the man he already loved too much held tightly in his arms.

Brian awoke several hours later to the dim yellow light from the afternoon sun shining through his hotel window. His arms felt heavy from being wrapped around his sleeping blond boy for the last few hours. Fuck, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept the day away like this, but they’d both obviously needed it.

“What time is it?” Justin mumbled sleepily, his voice muffled from being pressed up tight against Brian’s side.

Brian lifted his arm lazily, glancing at his watch. “Almost four.”

“Mmm, I haven’t slept this well in months,” Justin replied as he snuggled closer and wrapped his arm around Brian’s waist tightly.

“Yeah?” Brian kissed the top of Justin’s head. “I’m glad. You feeling okay?”

“I’m good.”

Brian rolled them over so that he was lying in between Justin’s legs. “I mean . . . are you sore?”

The young man’s cheeks turned a delicious shade of pink and he looked everywhere but at Brian. “Uh . . .”

“It’s okay if you are,” Brian smiled. “It’s normal.”

Justin wiggled around nervously. “A little, yeah.”

Brian kicked the covers off and wrestled the wriggling man still. “Let me take a look.”

He could literally feel the heat radiating off of his embarrassed little Blue Eyes’ body as he spread the young man’s cheeks and blew cold air onto Justin’s exposed hole.

“It looks a little red,” Brian mumbled, as his fingers brushed along the swollen bud, making his blond squirm. “I’ll pick up some cream for you before next time. That should help. But you’ll be fine,” he soothed, using his tongue to stab gently at Justin’s entrance.

Justin reached down and tangled his hands in Brian’s hair.

“You taste so good,” Brian breathed heavily as he brought a thumb up to his mouth and sucked on it briefly, before working it inside Justin’s tight hole, massaging the tense muscles that only hours before had been massaging his dick. He groaned loudly just thinking about it.

Justin planted his feet heavily on the mattress and gripped Brian’s head tightly between his legs as he squirmed against the older man’s face and rocked himself against that expert tongue.

“Brian . . . I . . . I’m . . .”

Justin didn’t need to tell Brian he was close; the way his ass clenched around the experienced man’s tongue told him enough. Brian kissed and licked and sucked and nibbled until he was sure his boy was done.

“That was . . .”

“Wonderful? Fantastic? Mind blowing?”

Justin threw his head back and laughed. “I was going to say it was a dilly, but I think I want to change my answer to mind blowing.”

“So,” Brian grinned as he crawled his way up Justin’s body and stopped to kiss that beautiful pale belly. “What do you want to do for the rest of the day?”

Justin started to answer, when all of a sudden, his stomach rumbled loudly.

“Well, I think that answers my question,” Brian laughed at the way Justin covered his pinkening face with his hands. “I just had my tongue up your ass, and THIS embarasses you?”

Justin kicked him off his body and sat up. “That’s different.”

“Whatever you say, Blue Eyes.”

Justin ignored Brian’s teasing and continued on. “We could go to The White Lion for some grub, maybe?” He suggested. “Daph makes the best Spam Hash.”

Brian’s stomach churned at the thought but he agreed anyway.

The two got dressed quickly and headed downstairs. On the way out the hotel’s door, a porter ran over, holding out a piece of paper and calling Brian’s name.

“Here’s the information you requested on Miss Hastings, Mr. Kinney, Sir.” The porter handed him the small, folded piece of paper. “I delivered the food as you asked, Sir. The woman was right chuffed, getting all that grub and all.”

“Oh, good. Thanks for handling that,” Brian replied distractedly, stuffing the note into his pocket and pulling out his wallet as he spoke. “Here you go. I appreciate the great service.”

Brian handed the man a five pound note, ignoring the gasp of wonder from the man who was holding out the note like he’d never seen anything so beautiful in his whole life. He really did need to do some research into the relative costs of things back here in 1941, he thought to himself privately. He was tired of getting that shocked reaction to his generosity. Not that he really cared about the money - especially since he could always have Cynthia print up some more if he needed it. But it was getting a little embarrassing.

Brian quickly turned back to his blond and ushered the boy out before he had to listen to the porter’s streams of gratitude. Justin was looking at him with that indulgent smile of his, like Brian was some confused little boy who didn’t understand money at all. Whatever. They had no idea how difficult it was to be a time traveler and keep all that shit straight.

Luckily, Brian had regained his usual aplomb by the time they reached the White Lion. That was almost shattered, though, the minute they walked through the pub’s doors and were greeted by a rousing cheer from pretty much all the patrons. Justin, predictably, blushed so pink that it looked almost like his face was on fire. Brian just rolled his eyes, huffed in annoyance and avoided looking at everyone as he shouldered his way through the crowd to an unoccupied table at the back.

Before he’d had a chance to sit, Fancy was in his face, hanging off him like a limpet, with a stranglehold on Brian’s neck. “Here he is - my saviour!” Fancy pronounced loudly enough so that everyone in the bar could hear. “If it weren’t for THIS man, I’d have been crushed to death along with all the other unfortunates on Maiden Lane last night, and my father would have got his dearest wish . . . never having to lay eyes on me ever again.” Fancy turned his adoring eyes up to Brian, “How can I ever repay you, kind sir?”

“Letting go of my neck would be a good start,” Brian grumbled as he attempted to peel the man’s hands away.

“Back off, Fancy,” Justin warned as he quickly inserted himself bodily between the clingy queen and Brian. “Don’t you have someone else to paw at? A sexy saxophonist, maybe?”

“Oh, you’re so so cute when you’re jealous like that, Sunshine,” fancy teased him. “But until you’ve sealed the deal, I would argue that Handsome here is fair game for everyone.”

“Yeah, well . . . like I said, back off,” Justin insisted, glaring at his friend in a very possessive manner.

“My, my, my! Sunshine, does that mean what I think it means? Did our little baby finally take the big leap?” Fancy asked with all the nosiness a true flaming queer could bolster. “Have you finally become an Able Grable like the rest of us?”

Justin didn’t have to answer Fancy’s question, seeing as the fact that he had turned a bright crimson and refused to look anyone in the eye completely gave away the nature of their activities that day.

“Oh! Isn’t he adorable?” Fancy fawned, putting his arm around the young blond’s shoulders and giving a familiar squeeze. “It’s about time you finally got yourself deflowered, though, Sunshine. We were beginning to doubt you were capable . . .”

“Oh, trust me, Blue Eyes is MORE than capable,” Brian cut in with a knowing wink towards his boy. “In fact, he was capable multiple times in multiple ways.”

“Brian!” Justin gasped, glaring back at him and hissing, “we talked about this! I don’t think it’s appropriate to let everyone know my business . . .”

“What?” Brian asked, going for innocent but failing completely. “Come on, Blue Eyes. It’s not like they’re under any delusions that we spent the whole day holed up in my hotel room playing checkers.”

“Oooo - that’s what I’m going to call it from now on! ‘Playing checkers!” Fancy posited gleefully. “As in, ‘Sam and I were playing checkers last night and I let him king me!’”

That got a round of jubilant laughter from all.

“I figured you were more a poker player, Fancy,” Brian interjected. “You look like the type who’d like an ‘Ace in your hole’!”

And after that, the conversation just devolved into raunchier and raunchier humor until Brian’s embarrassed little Blue Eyes apparently couldn’t take it anymore and, with flaming cheeks, got up and fled the table.

Justin got up to get them both drinks, too embarrassed to continue listening to Brian and the rest of the boys trading jokes and stories about their various sexual escapades.

He was going to have to have another talk with his lover about being so blatant. Brian really needed to be more careful - Justin couldn’t afford to have rumors about him getting around, even if the talk was all meant in jest. His career was at stake, and it wasn’t a laughing matter. Not to mention the fact that it embarrassed the heck out of him. But for now, he’d hold his tongue and let the boys have their jokes. He didn’t have to sit around and listen to it though.

While ignoring the jokesters and watching Daphne pour out two pints of the best, Justin remembered to ask her what it was they’d all been doing in Brian’s bed when he’d walked in on them that morning.

“Ooh, tweren’t nothin’, Sunshine,” Daphne reassured him, correctly surmising that he was a little miffed at her. “We was up all night palaverin’ and on’y got to sleep ‘round dawn when we was sure the raid was over. If yer Brian ‘adn’t given away our beds down in the Palace’s shelter, we’d’ve ‘ad some shut eye earlier, but ‘at one’s got a big ‘eart, dontcha know it. ‘E gave our sleepin’ cubicle to a young girl an’ ‘er son who got caught out in the middle o’ the raid and ‘ad no place else ta go. ‘An ‘e paid for her dinner and such ta boot,” Daphne beamed a smile over in Brian’s direction, obviously quite fond of the generous man. “So’s, since we ‘ad no beds, we decided to jes stay up drinkin’ all night instead. An’ when we finally got the All’s Clear, we was too tired to go further ‘an your Brian’s room. ‘E was nice ‘nough to let us both impose on ‘im a little bit more an’ we all fell inta bed right there and then. Above an’ beyon’, I’d say, seein’ as ‘e already saved our skin by gettin’ us to the shelter in the first place.”

“I’m glad he managed to get you to someplace safe,” Justin replied. “I was really worried about you, Daph.” She waved off his concern as she set the two fresh pints in front of him. “How’d he manage to get you to go with him after all? I thought he’d have a hard time talking you into it - you’ve told me, I don’t know how many times, you’d rather be here than in a shelter.”

“An’ I would, too. On’y, yer Brian went an’ kidnapped me, so’s I din’ ‘ave a choice now, did I?”

“Kidnapped you?” Justin was incredulous. “He wouldn't . . .”

“Yep. ‘E would an’ ‘e did. I told ‘im the same thing I always tell you, Sunshine, but he wouldn’t listen, o’ course. ‘E went and threw me o’er ‘is shoulder and carried me out o’ here like a sack a’ oatmeal, ‘e did! Right big bully,” Daphne complained, but with an indulgent smile on her face. “E’s got nice strong arms, ain’t ‘e?”

“Yes, he does,” Justin agreed with another blush.

“So, what’s the deal with ‘im knowin’ ‘bout the raid ‘fore it ‘appened, huh?” Daphne asked, leaning in so as to ensure they weren’t overheard. “‘E said e’ told ya ‘bout it before’and. What do ya think?”

“I don’t know what to think, Daph,” Justin replied. “He did tell me about it and . . . Well, the only explanation I can see is that he’s got inside information from someone. How else would he know in advance exactly what day the German’s were going to bomb us?”

“So, yer think ‘e’s a spy or summit?” Daphne whispered, getting only a shrug from the RAF officer. “Well, I don’ b’lieve it, Sunshine,” she responded confidently. “I may not know yer Brian as well as yer do,” she grinned at him and winked, “but I seen ‘ow ‘e is ‘round you. ‘An I seen ‘ow he was wiv that young girl last night. ‘E’s a right good ‘un if you asks me. Nope. If ‘e’s a spy, then I’ll eat my ‘at.”

Justin sighed and looked over his shoulder at where Brian was still joking with Fancy and Lucky at the table in the corner. “I don’t know, Daphne. I want to agree with you. I really do. I . . . Jeepers, Daphne - I’ve never liked anyone the way I like him, you know? But, I just don’t see any other possible explanation for how he knew about the raid in advance.”

“Well, I do . . . But, yer may not like it, Sunshine,” Daphne stated, once more leaning over the bartop to whisper confidentially. “‘Im bein’ a spy might’a explained ‘ow he’d know the date of a raid, but it wouldn’t explain ‘ow he’d know NOT to take us to the Maiden Lane shelter . . .”

“Huh?” Justin asked, not following.

“It were the strangest thing, Sunshine,” Daphne continued with her explanation. “After ‘e picked me up and dragged me out ‘o here wiv Fancy taggin’ along, ‘e insisted we go ta The Palace. Francy tried to get ‘im to go along to Maiden Lane, tellin’ ‘im it was closer an’ all, but yer Brian, ‘e says, ‘we’re goin’ ta The Palace ‘cuz IT was never bombed.” Daphne straightened up, looking at Justin with a knowing glint in her eye. “I din’ think nothing o’ it at the time, mind you. We was kinda busy dodgin’ fire bombs an’ all, yer know. But, later, after I started thinkin’ on it, it struck me right strange. ‘Ow in the world would ‘e know NOT to go to Maiden Lane, huh? Or that The Palace would be safe? A spy might know the date o’ a bombin’, Sunshine, but ‘e’d have no way o’ knowin ‘xactly WHERE the bombs would be landin’, would ‘e?”

“So . . . what are you saying, Daph?” Justin asked, looking a little stunned.

“I don’t bleedin’ know. ‘Cept . . . Well, my old Granny Chanders was said to ‘ave the second sight, you know, an’ she could tell ya when ta bring in the wash ‘cuz a storm was comin’ or what time the bread boy would show wiv the day’s delivery wiv’in a quarter hour. Always give me ta collywobbles when she done ‘at, ya know? It was right uncanny.”

Justin simply shook his head at his fanciful friend. He’d never been the superstitious type. He really didn’t believe in the occult or second sight or anything like that. However, he didn’t have any alternate explanation to offer Daphne about the matter either. And there certainly was something inexplicable about Brian Kinney . . .