Melanie Marcus-Peterson and Lindsay Marcus-Peterson were in quite a lather. They had been making plans all month long for a huge blowout affair for their upcoming 16th wedding Anniversary (12th if you counted the legal ceremony they had when they first moved to Canada) and most of their efforts were finally coming together but not without a lot of mishaps. Both Mel and Linds sometimes thought that they were cursed when they remembered all the trouble they had in getting married in the first place.

This time around the guests were going to be the biggest problem. They had made many new friends in their new home when they moved from Pittsburgh but they had never lost touch with their old friends. The truth was that the Pitts gang were more like family than any of their blood relatives and of course they were truly family since the children, Gus and JR, were their blood too. The visits between the two countries had been frequent and long lasting at first, but after 5 or 6 years the visits had slowed down to primarily the holidays.

Brian and Justin had finally reunited after almost a year of separation while Justin made a name for himself in the art world, which he did admirably. They had even finally had that aborted wedding in 2012 when it became legal to marry in Pennsylvania. Of course Brian had muttered something about it being a mere formality and doing it just to please Justin to Lindsay the night before the ceremony. Strange how Brian had an even bigger smile on his face during the ‘I do's’ than Justin, who was known for his smiles! But he hadn't fooled Linds for a minute. She had known Brian for far too long and far too well. The man was deeply in love and making the commitment to Justin had nothing to do with formality.

Then there was JR’s side of the family. Poor Carl Horvath had had a coronary two years earlier and Debbie, who had finally become a Horvath when her son Michael was allowed to marry Ben, had taken his death very hard. The only other time that she had become so incapacitated was at the death of her beloved Brother, Vic. She and Carl had quite a few good years together but it wasn't nearly enough for Debbie. She had waited so long for the right man to come along and now she was alone again. She had moved in with Michael and Ben, living in their adopted Son Hunter's old room. She was only in her late 60's but a lot of the fire had left her with Carl's passing.

On top of everything else, Ben's health had been up and down for several years now. He had even taken a sabbatical from teaching last year in an attempt to restore his health. The truth was that Michael had been forced to do a lot of growing up in very quick order because of the needs of his Husband and Mother. The one light in their lives was that Hunter had gone on to College, graduated with honors, and gotten into Counseling. He was considered one of the best Therapists at the hospital he worked for. He seemed to have a great deal of empathy for the patients that he worked with. No surprise when looking back on his history.

Emmett and Ted had become more infrequent visitors than anyone. Emmett had worked his way up the social ladder of fame as one of the best party planners in the state and was booked solid for months in advance. He had enough employees to handle the grunt work but he was a hands-on kind of guy and was almost always tied up with business. He hadn’t found Mr. Right yet but he was having a blast trying out a lot of Mr. Wrongs in his search.

Ted and Husband, Blake, were the most settled of anyone. Ted had remained Brian's manager/accountant at Kinnetik and Blake was still a substance abuse counselor. They were known as the most boring and steady couple in their circle of friends, but there wasn’t a soul who didn't recognize that they could be depended upon for anything, anytime, anywhere. But even this couple had become so busy with their everyday lives that they didn't have time for travel, not that they had ever been that involved in Mel and Linds's life since the girl's big move.

Yep, it looked like their Anniversary party would consist mostly of newer friendships than old and that was a big disappointment to the girls. They were also fairly certain that the kids would be unhappy to find that few of their American family would be showing up. Well, at least Mel and Linds thought they would be unhappy. It was kind of hard to tell nowadays since both kids had reached their teens. Where had the years gone? The girls often had to stand back and reflect on how quickly the years had flown and how fast the kids were growing up. There were times now when neither Mel nor Linds could figure out what Gus and JR were thinking.

Gus was the easiest to read. He had none of the deep hidden feelings that his Father was so famous for. Gus seemed to be an open book. He had always been a happy child. Any worries the girls may have had about Gus's acceptance of his baby Sister were dispelled early on. He had even taken to Mothering the baby while she was still in diapers. Gus was one hell of a great Big Brother, no doubt about it, or at least he was when his Sister would let him.

JR, Jenny Rebecca to her Moms, was a different story. She had a lot of the sweetness and innocence of her Dad, Michael, but she also had a lot of the fire of both her Mom Mel and Grandmother Debbie. Even very young she could be as gentle and quiet as a lamb one minute and a little hellion the next. You never quite knew what mood she'd be in. It didn't make it any easier that she had a sharp tongue on her and a sharp wit to match. And things hadn't improved once she hit her teens this year. If anything, they worsened. Sometimes her Moms would ask themselves whether they were sure which of the two gay friends of theirs had fathered which child, jokingly of course.

Gus would probably be the most disturbed if the Pitts crew didn't show up en masse. He was very close to Brian and Justin whom he always referred to as 'My two Dads'. Actually he felt most comfortable with Justin, but he respected Brian a lot and really looked up to him. JR liked her own private 'two Dads' but always secretly wished that Brian and Justin belonged to her and not her Brother. They were certainly a lot more exciting to be around than Michael and Ben. But Debbie was her idol and she was sure glad she didn't have to share Gram with Gus. Debbie was just as affectionate with Gus as JR but JR still thought of herself as the favorite of her Gram. The Brother and Sister loved each other dearly but there was a rivalry, mostly provoked by JR that couldn't be denied.

It looked like Brian and Justin would be the only ones who could make it to the Anniversary party and that wasn't even a definite yes. The party was tomorrow and they still hadn't gotten word from the guys about their chances of making it. They would probably still have a good time at the party since most of their local friends and co-workers would be there but they knew the kids would be none too happy. The truth is that their lives centered around their two kids. Even Mel, who had never been that sure of her parenting skills when younger, had turned out to be a very loving Mother. And Linds was born to it. She took to Mothering from the first day. The two women never made a decision without thinking of their children first.

Sometimes, like most working parents, they got so involved in their careers that they didn't always notice the changes going on in their kid’s lives but it wasn't because they didn't care. It was simply hard to juggle everything at once. And besides, teens seemed to have a built in code of secrecy that parents were not supposed to be aware of. Gus and JR certainly had a secret or two, but time would probably solve that problem. Right now Mel and Linds just wanted to hear from Brian and Justin. If they came, a lot of the stress would be relieved as far as the girls were concerned.

Finally Mel heard the phone jangle just after lunch. She left the wide veranda porch that she had been using to set up some new flower pots and headed inside to grab the phone. Linds came in from the back yard at the same time, wiping her hands on the denim gardener's apron she wore. They reached the hallway phone simultaneously and Mel picked it up, pushed the on button and answered, "Hello."

The familiar deep voice of Brian Kinney, her one time nemesis, came over the line. "Mel, that you?"

Restraining herself from a smart-alecky comeback, Mel answered, "Yes...and where have you been. We've been waiting for hours...days to hear from you guys. We need to know if you're going to get here tomorrow or not. The kids want to know. So, what's the deal?"

Brian did his best to be patient, something he often had to do with Linds's overbearing dyke wife, but he couldn't help himself. "Look, I know the party will be a bust without yours truly but you can relax. Justin's finished up his last commission piece and I've set a few days aside just so we could grace you with our presence. Now say thank you, Mel!"

Mel really wasn't in the mood so she simply turned and handed over the phone to a nervously waiting Linds. "Mr. Humble as Ever would like a word with you." Secretly she was relieved but she'd be damned if she let that out for Brian Kinney to see, or hear.

"Bri?"

"Ah, Linds, my dear. I was just telling your less than better half that Justin and I will be arriving tomorrow morning. And if you tell me that this party is going to be another boring affair like the one you tried to throw your parents to impress them then I'm refunding our tickets as we speak." Brian said with a little laugh to take the sting out of his words.

Lindsay couldn't resist a quick hop up and down and then, "Oh Brian, you doll. The kids are going to be so relieved. I don't think they would have been very pleased if you two hadn't been able to come. I'll tell them when they get home from school."

The next ten minutes were spent getting the details of flight and times and chatting briefly about nothing. The minute Linds hung up she headed for the front veranda. Mel was back on her knees shoveling dirt into little clay pots.

"Well that's one less thing to worry about", she told Mel. "The flights awfully early. Should I go, or you, to pick them up?"

"Why don't we all four go? I'm sure the kids would like nothing better than getting to see the guys right away and you know Justin...he'd love it."

"Sounds like a good idea to me Mel. The kids should be home soon. We'll tell them then."

The next hour was spent cleaning up the gardening tools and planning dinner. When the teens came bursting through the kitchen door in their search of an afternoon snack, backpacks flapping loosely from drooping shoulders, the girls sat them down and gave them the good news. Gus, always the reserved one, smiled from ear to ear thinking about seeing his Dads again after nearly six months. JR jumped up and down clapping her hands in an eerie imitation of their friend Emmett and squealed loud enough to break her Mom's ear drums. She would never admit it out loud, but seeing Gus's Dads was a thrill for her. She had a little secret crush on Brian but she would have cut out her tongue before she'd admit the old man turned her on. After all, he had to be at least forty or fifty. But old sure did look good on him, JR often thought to herself.

That night the four members of the Marcus/Peterson family sat around the dinner table and discussed how much fun the Anniversary party was going to be and what they wanted to do with their special guests, Brian and Justin, after the party was over. They had at least three days to fill with as much excitement as they could think of and they didn't want to miss a trick. They went to bed early that night, setting their alarm for 5 a.m., and dreamt of the bright shining future they were all going to share.

To be continued...