The wait was interminable. Brian was beginning to count the cost of replacing the carpeting in the family room if Jason didn't stop pacing back and forth in that one same small area of the room. Justin's attempts to get Jason to draw or describe the masterpiece design for the new building that had won him such a prestigious award had proven to be futile. The poor boy couldn't sit still long enough to draw and was far too edgy to be able to coherently describe the building. Brian felt saddened that Jason had made such an error in judgment where Gus was concerned because it was clear that the young man loved his son deeply. He just hoped that Gus wouldn't cut off his nose to spite his face by letting a really good thing go over a temporary lapse in judgment. Brian knew a little something about poor decisions that cost precious time with the one you loved. He also knew a little something about tolerance and forgiving. It was the only reason he now had the most perfect life a man could ask for, with the most perfect mate a gay man could ever want. He also knew that his son and Jason were still quite young and had a lot to learn, and Brian had found that most lessons had to be learned the hard way.



Maybe that was going to be a problem since Gus had little experience with that and had only learned one lesson in life the hard way. That had happened when he lost his secure happy life with mothers he adored when only seventeen. Everything else in life had come so easy to his son, or at least it appeared that way. Look how long it had taken himself to find the one man who was right for him, Brian mused....a hell of a lot longer than it did Gus. Brian was still ruminating over the differences between he and his son when they heard the front door opening and closing. They knew it was Gus even before they heard him call out to his Dad because JR was spending the weekend with her new boyfriend and Gidge and her boyfriend at a lake house that Alejandro's family had leased for his use while in America. But that was another story and not uppermost in Brian's mind right now. One family drama at a time.



Gus made his way into the family room once he heard his Dad call out to him. He was tired. It had been a busy week with his students immersed in their art history classes on the one hand and their art projects for other classes on the other hand. Most of them were required to have everything completed before Spring Break and that was right around the corner. Gus had been particularly impressed by the canvas that Jackson, one of his favorite students, had been working on. It was a painting of a classroom with the eager faces of students hanging on every word spoken by a teacher who commanded the center of the painting. Gus felt oddly proud when he began to see the resemblance between the teacher and himself as the painting progressed. In the painting, one could see that the students were mesmerized by their teacher. Gus, who was not normally vain, couldn't help being flattered by how Jackson saw him.



Gus loved teaching with all his heart, but he was relieved that it was now the weekend and he could finally sit back and relax. He stepped into the family room and was surprised to see Jason standing over by the fireplace. He had just been thinking about his boyfriend and what they might do together over the weekend.



"Dad, you called and said you needed to see me?" he asked. "Jase, I was just thinking about you and wondering what we might do tonight to unwind a little. It's been a hectic week. So what brought you here to see my folks?"



Brian stepped in quickly, seeing the puzzlement on his son's face. "Son, Jason has come over here because he has something he needs to tell you and he thought he'd need a little help." Brian turned to Jason, whose face had drained of its normal tanned coloring. "So Jason, do you want us to step out or would you prefer we stay?"



"I'd prefer you guys stay, if you don't mind Brian," he answered without hesitation.



Gus looked even more puzzled. Why was Jason acting so strange, as if the world was about to be hit by a meteor or something. He even looked...dare he say it...scared, or at least nervous. This wasn't like Jason at all. Gus was quickly becoming a bit nervous himself.



"What's the deal Dad...DJ...Jase? Why are you guys looking so uncomfortable? Did I do something wrong that I'm totally unaware of?"



"No...no Gee. It isn't you. I've done something stupid and I didn't know how to tell you. I asked your dads to be here because....well because I needed their advice to be quite honest with you. That's the problem, Gee. That's where I screwed up. I haven't been completely honest with you. I don't mean that I lied to you about anything...it's just that I haven't told you something that I should have and....."



"For God's sake, Jase, will you stop rambling on. You're scaring me. Will one of you please tell me what is going on here? Dad, DJ?"



The anxiety level in Gus was growing by the second. Somebody had better talk straight with him quickly or he would burst a blood vessel, Gus thought to himself. Brian took a step towards his son, but Justin's hand held him back. He shook his head no just as Jason left the safety of his corner of the fireplace and walked over to Gus. He wrapped his arms around his lover and held the stiff body as close as he could for a couple of minutes. When it was clear that Gus wasn't going to relax his tensed up muscles, Jason released him and looked straight in Gus' eyes. The pleading look for understanding was clearly evident in Jason's face. Now Gus was more than a little uneasy. Jason took Gus by the hand and led him over to the couch. The two men sat down and Jason began his story.



At first Gus was more than a little confused as to why all the drama as Jason related the events at his office during the day. Gus relaxed a little and started beaming when Jason told him about winning the award for best design of the year by the Architectural Society. When Jason continued on and mentioned the fancy awards ceremony with dinner and dancing, Gus was even more confused. He loved such events and would be more than proud to accompany Jason to the ceremony. If he hadn't been fully aware that Jason was out to his fellow employees he would think that maybe Jason didn't really want for Gus to join him as his date, but he knew that wasn't possible. So why was Jason still looking guilty about something?



"Jase, I don't get it. Why would you need to have Dad and DJ with you when you give me such good news? Geez, don't you know how proud I'd be for you? You say the ceremony is only a week away, but that's not a big problem. I don't have any plans for next weekend, or at least nothing that can't be put off for something this special." He paused for a minute weighing whether it could be the only other thing he had thought of. He was certain it wasn't, but he had to ask. "You do want me to go as your date for the event, don't you Jase?"



"Oh for pity's sake, Gee, who else would I want beside me? I love you and I'm always proud to stand beside you. You know that. That's not the problem. I might as well just say it. I had a working partner in the office and he won the award too. We are a team and the project belongs to us both."



Gus interrupted. "What difference does that make? Are you saying they think the project is this guy's work more than yours or something?"



"No! Damn it Gee, the guy is Tom...Tom Ulrey. Look, I'm sorry, Gee. I should have told you from the beginning that we were working together. I..."



"How long?" Gus interrupted again. "How long have you two been working together....so damned close that you're a team? Has he been with the company since you started there?"



"No! Not at all, Gee. I swear. I worked alone for months before Tom showed up. I didn't even know they hired him. Mr. Breyer didn't even know that we knew each other really. Look, it happened just around Christmas and I didn't want to ruin the holidays and all. And I didn't even know that we would be able to work together as a team. I figured that we'd work on one project and then he'd move on to somewhere else in the company and we'd barely see each other. I never expected our boss to love our work together so much he wanted to make it permanent. By then...well truthfully I was afraid to say anything. I know how you feel about the man, but work was going so well and I didn't want to have to choose between doing my best work and making you happy. For gawd's sake, Gee, it isn't like we were seeing each other or anything. We never once saw each other outside the office...not once."



Gus interrupted again. "Those phone calls you'd get from the office sometimes at home...were those from your 'partner' Tom?"



"Sometimes....I mean, usually, but it was always about work. There has never been a hint of anything personal between us. I swear on my life Gee. Never. If he had made a single romantic move or anything like that I would have told Mr. Breyer then and there that I couldn't work with him anymore. Tom knows how I feel about you. He knows that nothing could ever change that."



Jason paused and waited for some sign in Gus' face to let him know what his lover was thinking. For the first time Jason saw his father in Gus. He couldn't read the carefully laid mask that Gus had put on. His expression was unrecognizable to Jason. He didn't know if Gus was about to blow or ready to sit down for a cup of coffee. It was unnerving.



"Say something Gee," he pleaded. "Yell at me or curse me out for keeping this from you. Anything, but don't just sit there. I know I should have been upfront with you from the first day he showed up. I know that, but I honestly thought it was in both of our best interests to let sleeping dogs lie. You can see that, can't you?" Jason looked miserably towards Brian and Justin, who remained quiet throughout the whole story. Brian finally decided it was time to step in.



"Son, you want honesty so now it's time you gave it. You need to tell Jason exactly how you feel right now. Saying nothing will only hurt you more in the long run and end up doing you both more damage than it is worth to punish him by making him stew in his juices. If you want Justin and I to leave, we will. We promised Jason that we would stand by in case you needed us. He was only thinking of your well-being, but we'll do whatever you want."



Gus turned his gaze away from his lover and looked at his Dad. Brian saw immediately the pain in Gus' eyes although he tried to mask it. He knew that look because he had seen it in his own mirror after Justin had left him for the Fiddler and even more painfully when Justin had simply had enough of his tomcat ways and left him for himself not long before the bombing at Babylon. That walk-out had been even more difficult to deal with because it wasn't over another man and it had seemed more permanent. He had been too prideful to fight for Justin and what they had back then. He hoped his son wouldn't make the same mistake.



Finally, Gus answered. "You guys can stay." He turned back to Jason. "You want honesty from me Jason, so I'll give it to you. I think it might have been childish of me to tell you that I never wanted to hear Ulrey's name again, but I was hurt. I guess we all do childish things when we're hurt, but you knew I would have expected for you to tell me that you were now working with him. I don't think you did it to protect me at all. I think you did it to protect yourself. You didn't trust me enough to believe that I would put your job security above my insecurities where Ulrey is concerned."



Gus stopped for a moment to get control of his voice that had started to crack a bit. He looked back at his Dad and DJ again.



"Trust...that's what it's all about, isn't it Dad. Love isn't any good without trust. That's what you've always taught me." He turned back to Jason. "I guess I deserve it Jason. I made up that fucking rule about that jerk because I didn't trust you enough. You told me that he meant absolutely nothing to you and you would never even come close to being alone with him again, let alone be vulnerable to him, but I didn't trust in that. If I had I wouldn't have cared whether you mentioned him or anything else about him. So maybe I don't have the right to judge you. But the truth is, it hurts to know that you didn't trust me enough either."



"I trust you with my life, Gee," Jason declared, reaching for Gus' hand. Gus pulled back, just out of reach on the sofa.



"I know you do, Jase, but I don't know if it's going to be enough. Maybe we should take a break...just for a little while. We've never actually had anyone else in our lives. It's been just you and I since high school."



"Are you talking about seeing other guys. Gus, I never wanted anyone else but you. You have to know that! You have to! I'm sorry I was such an idiot, but...."



"I just think we should take a little break. I think we should spend time with other people and just make sure that our childhood romance is built on solid ground...not some fantasy we've built up in our heads. We don't even fight hardly ever over anything. Maybe we're just so comfortable with each other that we are afraid to test ourselves and the relationship. Look, you came to my dads for advice, so let's ask them."



Gus turned to Brian and Justin again. "Well. Do you think I'm way off base or do you think I'm making sense...Dad, DJ?"



Justin looked over at Brian and took his cue from their silent communication. He turned back to the waiting couple.



"If you want my opinion, Gee, I think you'd be doing the right thing." Jason started to protest. Gus remained silent, waiting. "No, now listen to me Jason. I...we...can understand where Gus is coming from. You two have slid off track with each other. It happens to the best of couples. We've been there...more than once. Sometimes you just need some distance so you can see things more clearly. Sometimes a couple are too close to each other to see what's really going on between them. I think Gus just wants you to understand why you were afraid to be totally honest with him and maybe he wants to try and figure out why he put you in that position in the first place. Am I right Gee?"



Gus nodded his head. "I'm not saying that it's a permanent split. I want to be with you. I didn't stop loving you all of a sudden. And I'm not looking for an excuse to go out and find somebody else or start partying and picking up a bunch of one night stands, or some such nonsense."



Brian blanched a little, hearing the perfect description of his reaction to his separations from Justin. He stepped in with his two cents.



"Look boys, it's getting late. Why don't you go get some dinner and talk this out more thoroughly. One of you should stay at the apartment and the other could either come and stay here or go spend some time with the Tyler's. I know they wouldn't mind. You are two mature intelligent young men. I'm sure you can work out an amicable decision that is fair to you both. Hopefully, in a short time, you'll know where your future lies."



"That sounds okay to me. What do you think Jase?"



Jason wasn't too happy with the thought of a separation but Gus' reaction was a lot better than he had anticipated and it certainly was a more palatable decision than an out and out break-up. The couple decided on a restaurant and finally left together to take their separate cars and meet for the meal that would change everything. As they drove off, Brian laid his arm around Justin's shoulder and sighed deeply.



"Were we ever so young and foolish and insecure?" He turned quickly and laid his finger on Justin's smiling lips. "No, don't answer. I know, but look at us now. I just want Gus to be as happy with his life partner as I've been, you know?"



"He will be, Bri. He has your genes. He's a little unsure of himself and Jason right now, but he's smart like his daddy. He'll work it out."



Brian leaned down and kissed his husband gratefully. Even after all these years, Justin was still able to make Brian feel that the world was full of sunshine and hope. The two walked back into their house. They wondered whether they would have to explain to their girl why she was going to be seeing her brother's face every morning before school or if Jason would be the one to move back home. They decided they'd make love in the family room tonight. Who knew when they'd have the chance again.



To be continued...............................