The morning alarm jarred a sleeping Mel and Lindsay from their pleasant dreams. The girls had a big day ahead of them and they were convinced there wouldn't be enough hours in the day to get everything done before the big party tonight. Of course the first thing on the agenda was picking up Brian and Justin from the airport. They had thought about asking Brian to get a rental car at the airport so they wouldn't have to make the long trip to get the men, but it seemed such a waste. The fellas could use Mel's Jeep Cherokee while they were in town for the long weekend and the girls would stick with the more sedate and useful family van that Linds always used. This would also give Gus the chance to show off his new driver’s license to his dads, something that he had been eagerly waiting to do for what seemed forever to the young man, and he was more familiar with the Jeep than anything his dads would rent.
Getting Gus moving was simple, as usual. It was as if the boy had a built in alarm clock. He always rose from sleep bright eyed and bushy tailed with clear eyes and plenty of energy.
JR was another story entirely. It took Mel fifteen minutes of pleading, cajoling, and an occasional threat to finally get the young girl up and running. The saying...'like two peas in a pod'...didn't come close to describing this brother and sister. They were like night and day. But the one thing they had in common was their fierce love of family, and their Mothers were satisfied with that. At least life had never been dull in the Marcus/Peterson household thanks to the kids.
Once the little family had put away their breakfast of waffles, bacon, and orange juice, the group was off to the airport. It was hard to tell who was the most excited by their first errand of the day. Linds sat beside Mel chattering a mile a minute. She always got a little hyper whenever she knew she was going to be seeing Brian. Both Gus and JR fidgeted in their seats, anxious to get to the airport and see their two favorite men in the world. They hadn't seen them for almost six months and a lot had happened since then. JR had finally become a teenager like her older brother, and Gus had entered his final year of high school. They could hardly wait to bring the men up to date and find out what was going on with them too.
Their Jeep pulled up into the terminal parking lot just as Brian and Justin's plane was landing. By the time the two men, who were obviously a couple, had exited the plane and walked to the arrival gate, the foursome were standing and waiting with huge grins on their faces. Even Mel looked happy, which often was more than she would ever admit. The truth was that she adored Justin and even grudgingly respected Brian....even more as the years went by. Justin had brought the best out in the man and Mel liked the changes. Of course she would never be free of her inherent jealousy of Lindsay’s obvious devotion to Brian, but that was another story.
JR was the first to break ranks and run to the couple. She flung her slender arms around the middles of both men as best she could, nearly knocking them to the ground.
"Brian! Justin!" She squealed with girlish delight. "We thought you'd never get here! I was worried...I mean we were all worried you wouldn't make it!
Each word was produced with a little squeal accompanied by a hop from foot to foot. Justin managed to gingerly extract himself from her embrace which was fine with the girl since it made her free to get both arms around Brian's waist. Justin stood on the sidelines grinning while Brian did his best to loosen the enthusiastic girl’s hold without hurting her feelings. Brian looked up helplessly at the approaching family and mouthed ‘HELP’, much to the amusement of one and all. Gus reached his dad and sister before the others and pulled JR loose just enough to get the chance to get his own hug in.
"I'm so glad you made it Daddy Brian," he said with obvious delight, referring to his childhood name for Brian. He wanted to give his dad a quick peck but he had reached the stage of embarrassment for public displays of too much affection. He'd save the kiss for later. He turned quickly to Justin, who was now engulfed in JR's embrace, and added, "I'm glad you're here too Daddy Justin."
By this time the girls had reached the excited party and more hugs, kisses, and 'glad to see you's' were exchanged. Twenty minutes later suitcases, men, women, and children were safely packed into the jeep and everyone was headed back home. The ride back was filled with catching up and plans for the next few days.
The party was to start at six p.m. at one of the nicer hotels in town and would include dinner and dancing. As soon as Mel and Linds got back to the house, they escorted the men to their usual bedroom and waved a brisk farewell. They still had a dozen more preparations to deal with before everyone could dress and attend the night's festivities. They had no doubt the teens would keep the men occupied till they got back. Mel tossed the keys to the jeep to Gus with the usual admonition to obey all traffic laws, which earned a familiar quirk of his eyebrow followed by an even more familiar tongue planted firmly in cheek.
"Yes ma'am", he replied innocently. Mel had far too much on her mind to catch the sardonic tone to the young man's voice
Both Brian and Justin noticed how much more grown up both of the kids, especially Gus, were this visit. Brian marveled at how much Gus reminded him of himself thirty years ago. He was tall and slender, with an athlete’s body. Brian knew he played tennis, swam on the school team, and was involved in track and field. He had soulful hazel eyes that seemed to see things so clearly. There was a lot of intelligence behind those eyes...it was obvious for all to see. His light brown, almost blond hair was thick and wavy and hung almost to his collar. His facial features were well defined with a jutting chin that proved his parentage. He had a face and figure that any girl would swoon over and Brian was quite sure Gus was very popular with the ladies in school. He made a mental note to find out if Gus had any particular lady in mind, just out of curiosity of course.
Jenny Rebecca was a living doll. She showed all the signs of becoming a real beauty in a few years time. She too was slender with a tiny face like her Mother Mel's. She had shoulder length dark brown hair that was usually seen tied up in a pony tail to keep it off her neck. The girl had been a real tomboy for twelve years but puberty had set in and she had suddenly become girly almost overnight, wearing dresses and skirts with ties in her hair and a touch of lipstick that her moms had reluctantly agreed to. She had also discovered that boys were good for something besides rough housing and teasing. She had even had her first tentative kiss, although she had kept that a deep dark secret. The boy, Freddie, was in her class and had a huge crush on her. She let him steal a kiss but it would probably be the last time for him. Brian and Justin couldn't quite put their finger on it but it was clear that JR had done the most changing since their last visit.
After chattering away for an hour at the tired travelers, Gus and JR decided to give the men a break and try to get some things done for themselves before the party. Plus JR had received her first of the usual dozen phone calls from friends that she got on a steady basis. They headed off to their own rooms at the other end of the hall in the large four bedroom, two story, hundred year old house that the girls had found the year they first moved to Toronto, leaving Brian and Justin shaking their heads.
Justin looked over at Brian, who had collapsed onto their four poster bed. "Did we ever have that much energy when we were that age?" Justin asked.
"I'm too old to remember," Brian laughed.
Justin collapsed onto the bed next to Brian and, throwing his leg over the older man, drew him into his arms. "Come here, old man', he teased. Justin proceeded to give Brian a deep soulful kiss that awakened all of Brian's senses.
Justin looked down at Brian's tenting pants and laughed. "I guess you're not too old for everything."
Brian rose up, giving Justin a playful slap on his rump and replied. "Not now, honey...the kids."
Mention of the kids so close by cooled both men's ardor and they set about unpacking. Their discussion centered on the last seventeen years and how many things had changed with the entire Liberty gang and particularly the youngest two, Gus and JR. The men were proud of the kids, both of them, and even proud of how well Mel and Linds had done in raising them. They still regretted that the girls had never come back home, even though life had improved dramatically for the GLBT folks in the States in the last few years, but they understood how settled they had become and didn't complain.
Mel and Lindsay arrived home, exhausted from their chores, but satisfied that everything was in order and the night should go smoothly. Gus convinced his folks that he should drive everyone to their favorite diner for lunch. The girls had found the diner, Mama's Place, within weeks of their move and had been frequent visitors since. The place was homey and reminded Mel and Lindsay of their beloved Liberty Diner. The place had been opened by the mother of two gay sons fifty years earlier and the diner had been passed down to her sons when she retired. The eclectic group of customers had made the girls feel right at home from the very beginning.
The party of six settled into the extra large booths lining both sides of the wall. The waitress, a little speck of a woman with graying hair and a button proclaiming her name to be ‘Miss Amy’, hurried down the center aisle to take their order. She couldn't have been a day under 60 but there was no missing the flirty way she stared at Brian. Mel rolled her eyes heavenward and asked herself again what it was about the man. Men and women both seemed to fall under his spell, and he wasn't a spring chicken anymore. Although it was very true that he had held up quite well for a man in his mid forties, Mel still didn't get it.
Miss Amy finally turned to the other folks in the booth and took their orders too, almost like an afterthought, then left to turn them in. Justin laughed, earning a swift kick in the shin from Brian seated across from him. The teens had missed the whole thing. Linds grinned at Mel who scowled back. None of the older folks noticed that Miss Amy wasn't the only flirter. JR had taken pains to be able to sit next to Brian and made it a point to lean towards him as often as possible. The smitten youngster even laughed at everything the man said. Gus felt embarrassed for his sister but would be damned if he'd point out how silly she was being.
Everyone had a pleasant afternoon discussing events of the past, what the kids were up to now, and plans for the future while eating their various sandwiches and salads. A lot of the conversation centered on Gus. The young man was almost grown now. Justin reflected on how the boy was the exact same age as he was when he saw the baby Gus for the first time. The thought crossed Brian's mind too as he looked at his handsome son sitting right next to the blond beauty he had married. Brian's heart skipped a beat when he saw Justin and Gus share a laugh and he realized that these two were the most important people in his life. He thought again about how lucky he was to go from the misery of his own childhood to what he had now. A beautiful man, inside and out, was his life mate and he had an equally wonderful son. He mentally counted his blessings for the millionth time.
When the conversation got around to what Gus planned to do after graduation, Gus turned quiet. In truth he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He was interested in so many things. He had an inquisitive mind and was interested in business like his father, but he had his mother's artistic streak and enjoyed drawing very much like Justin.
JR was thrilled when the conversation slowed down on the topic of her 'perfect' brother so that she could step in and fill the void. The rest of the meal was spent listening to the giggly girl prattle on about all her friends, school, plans to be a famous and rich woman some day, and boys that wanted to date her. Everyone tried to appear absorbed in her stories but were secretly relieved when the meal was done and the bill paid. It was time to get home and get last minute preparations completed.
As the gang of six stepped out into the late afternoon sun, they were each lost in their own thoughts. Brian and Justin thought about how far they had come in seventeen years. Gus and JR thought about how happy they were to have Brian and Justin with them, but how much they missed the rest of their Pittsburgh family. Mel and Lindsay thought about the twenty plus years that they had been together and how much they loved each other, even with all the ups and downs that had accompanied their relationship. Right now, as they stood with their hands clasping each other, they thought about the years to come...the graduations of their two children, and the grandchildren they would someday welcome into their home. They looked at each other for a moment before heading for the car and smiled into each other’s faces. They leaned in for a tender kiss.
"Come on you guys," JR shouted over her shoulder as she ran to keep up with the boys who were headed for the car. The wives parted and headed down the street towards the rest of the family...towards their future.
To be continued...