JUSTIN

I’d gone over to Deb’s house when she called wanting to know about Nicholas. Nicholas quit his job the day after we talked. He already had offers from other companies before it was even announced he was stepping down. Nicholas said it; he was good at what he did. It wasn’t conceite on his part, but fact. He also spent most of his spare time with us, getting to know me, Brian, and Gus. He really made himself easy to like when he enjoyed being around Gus as much as we did. It made me think he didn’t tell us how bad it really was for him in the Hobb’s household. Gus seemed to get him to be less serious all the time, which meant we learned more about him as a person rather than just our shared past. I hated to admit it but it was nice to have a sibling that was just a sibling. He didn’t want or need my help for anything. Even if he did, he wouldn’t ask.

I’d talked to Pop about the situation. He offered to help Nicholas when he heard his opinion of Craig. Nicholas balked at the idea of accepting help to start his own business. Pop explained he was investing in Nicholas, who’d already proved his worth working for Samuel. I explained to Nicholas that in the end the business would belong to him, with Pop and Nana as silent partners. It’s what they did instead of running companies themselves. Brian was the one who managed to convince Nicholas that bankrupting himself starting a business wasn’t going to help either him or his mother. Pop wanted to invest just because he knew Nicholas would make money. I didn’t offer since I felt it would be wrong since we were trying to figure out a relationship with each other. Molly was disappointed that he wasn’t flying out to meet her. I didn’t get involved because Nicholas needed to decide this, independent of my relationship with him.

Deb was more worried about how I was dealing with the whole thing. I kind of loved her, because unless I was happy, she made Nicholas feel sorry for me. I knew she was like that with all the guys but I enjoyed it when it was directed at me.

“I think he’s spent his whole life being on the outside of his family. From what he told us, his mother was there for him but Samuel made him feel like he owed him for not tossing them out when he found out,” I told her.

“That had to be hard on him. At least he had his mother. Brian didn’t have anyone,” She reminded me.

“He had you and your brother. I sort of want Nicholas to have that,” I told her.

“What about the little shit of a brother?” Deb asked, as Lindsay came in with Gus.

“I have no plans to include him in my life. Nicholas understands that,” I told her as Gus walked over to me.

“From what my sister told me, Samuel is scrambling to save his company,” Lindsay told us.

“If he’d been smarter he would have put a clause in Nicholas’s contract to keep him from opening up a business in Pittsburgh. Although he probably never thought he’d need to since Nicholas hadn’t given him any reason to think he would walk away,” I told her.

“When do we meet him?” Lindsay asked.

“Haven’t you met him before?” I asked.

“I’ve seen him, but it’s not like our families were close. Most of the time when he was at the club he was busy and didn’t really socialize that much,” Lindsay told me.

“I wanted to ask if we could have a dinner here so everyone could meet him. It would be easier for everyone to meet him at once instead of here and there,” I told them.

“Of course, Sunshine. I’ll even make enough to restock your freezer,” She told me, smiling and handing Gus cookies. “Where’s Jenny?” Deb asked her.

“Michael wanted to take her to see the movie she asked about,” Lindsay told us.

“You didn’t want to go see it?” I asked Gus.

“I’m sort of over cartoons, much to Uncle Michael’s horror. I wanted to go home with you today because Uncle Nicholas said he’d be over tonight,” Gus told me, since he’d been alternating between houses.

“What about Mel?” Deb asked.

“She’s helping Justin’s mother, and also working on cases at her old firm for now. I planned to use the week to look for a job. With the kids being with you guys it’s a good time for it,” Lindsay told us.

“What kind of a job?” I asked.

“I used to work for a gallery and loved doing it. I talked to my last boss but he already hired someone when I left and can’t really afford to take on another person right now. I could also go back to teaching again,” Lindsay shrugged.

“Is that what you really want to do?” Deb asked.

“I loved working at the gallery, but there aren't a lot around here hiring. Teaching wasn’t horrible and I love knowing I could open their minds to seeing the history of art through new eyes,” Lindsay told her.

“What didn’t you like about teaching?” I asked. 

“Teaching can be more about meeting requirements these days, and the setting of a classroom is sometimes stifling. I want them to see the details and beauty through the work we are discussing, since seeing a picture in a book or on a slide doesn’t show them what being in front of a work of art can show you,” She explained. 

“They still get to see it,” Deb commented, not understanding what Lindsay was really saying. 

“They do. But I know when I was young I liked to draw and had a lot of encouragement to pursue it. Only, it was just something I could do well, among other things. It wasn’t until my mother started taking me to art museums that my interest changed. I remember her sitting in front of a painting, and I could see how the work affected her personally. She wasn’t just seeing the picture but the details, like the brush strokes, size, and colors. In a photograph, color might be muted or over inflated. The size isn’t realized because normally you don’t get a way to gauge it. Depending on the photographer and how he wants you to see the work everything you see could be wrong in conveying what the artist intended. When I see something I’ve painted I can remember my mood at the time, because of the way I used color or my brush. It makes a difference seeing the real thing.” I tell her.

“There was good and bad working at the gallery too. I loved selling art to people who were really interested, but we rarely featured new artists because in the end we needed to sell higher priced works in order to stay in business. I guess my dream job would be selling old while giving opportunities to new artists without worrying about the bottom line,” Lindsay said, smiling.

“I like Papa’s paintings. Maybe you can help him sell some of them,” Gus told her, making us all laugh. “Dad told me you were good,” Gus commented, thinking we were laughing about my ability.

“Justin is very good, and when he wants to sell people are ready to buy it without him even showing them,” Lindsay told him.

“But you keep it all in your studio,” Gus said, looking at me.

“I wanted time to get used to living here, and with the baby coming I don’t want to add stress to my life,” I told him.

“Mom could do it. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about it,” Gus told me.

“Gus, I don’t think Justin wants to take time away from you and your dad right now. He has a lot of other things going on that he needs to focus on. Having a show means he has to be where they are having it and I’m sure his agent takes care of those things for him,” Lindsay explained to him.

“Why can’t you have it here and let my mom do the work? Dad says you need an assistant to clean the chaos that’s you. Cynthia does it for Dad,” Gus told me.

It wasn’t a horrible idea. And thinking about the colleges in the area, opening up a gallery in conjunction with the local colleges we could offer new artists a chance to be working artists by allowing space for new works. I knew plenty of people who would be willing to show if I asked, to help bring in people who wouldn’t come for an unknown. The most important part to me was that Gus wanted to help his mom. Brian would likely kill me for this, since he seems to think my ass belongs in a chair, growing his future progeny to perfection. What the hell, maybe it was time I started doing what I really loved, instead of pushing it behind everything else in my life.

“If I buy the space, we need to talk about what you want to accomplish with it,” I told Lindsay.

“What?” Lindsay asked, looking confused.

“I think what Sunshine was just saying is, if you want your dream then you need to come up with a plan he’s willing to invest in,” Brian commented from the front door.

“I thought you had to work later?” I asked him.

“I came because Mel told me Lindsay brought Gus here to try and pry gossip out of you about brother dearest. I figured I’d pick him up and bring him home later,” Brian told me.

“I don’t want to spend all day watching you work. We have a pool I need to swim in,” Gus told Brian.

“Actually, you and I have something we talked about doing, and I managed to clear everything for us to do it today,” Brian told Gus.

“So you weren’t working all day?” I asked, curious.

“Don’t ask questions,” Brian said with a smirk. “In fact, why don’t you and Lindsay work on your idea,” Brian told me, hurrying Gus out the door before I could ask anything else.

“What was that about?” Deb asked.

“Do you know?” I asked Lindsay.

“Gus didn’t tell me anything,” Lindsay told me.

“Deb, since I’m asking you to host a dinner, it’s on me,” I told her, stuffing money in her hand even while she’s shaking her head. “If you don’t use it I’ll get Brian and Ted to find a way to make you take the money. Remember, your feeding eleven and a half men, that’s not cheap,” I joked.

“Half?” Lindsay asked.

“Brian is more like a quarter,” Deb joked.

Lindsay stayed confused when I told her we could go to my house to discuss what I was thinking about. She’d figure out that when I want to do something I don’t sit around thinking about it, but work up the plans to make my thoughts into a reality.

“You weren’t really offering to open a business with me, were you?” Lindsay asked.

“I liked the idea you put out there. I want to see if we could expand it. I got lucky that I’d been around other artists most of my life and didn’t have to work as hard as people who don’t have the same opportunities I did. Sometimes I feel like I left it to become a hobby, when it’s what I really wanted to do all my life. There are kids attending college that will end up getting overlooked or get discouraged when they don’t have the right contacts or can’t get a show because they aren’t currently the trend. With your idea they’d be able to get a head start, and I can help since most artists tend to want to work with me and would be willing to come here just to see what I’m doing lately. That would draw in the crowds, and then you’d help by making sure the new artists get noticed too,” I told her.

“Do you just decide something and do it?” She asked, looking at me like she’d been hit by a hurricane.

“My intuition has never steered me wrong when it came to helping my Pop assess a company. It doesn’t take mountains of financials to know if a business is viable. It only takes knowing the people in charge are passionate about what they do. It’s not just a job but what gets them out of bed. When was the last time you were passionate about what you were doing?” I asked her.

“I can’t even remember. I loved every minute of working with Sydney, until I made a mistake that almost ruined my life with Mel. I guess that’s why I wasn’t as disappointed as Sydney was when he couldn’t offer me my old job back. Working there holds too many bad memories for me and in a way I would feel like I was moving backwards when my life has been moving forward lately,” She told me.

“Anything that would make doing this with me a problem?” I asked, because if we did this together I needed to know anything that could cause issues.

“I slept with an artist. It wasn’t even an affair, just a stupid one time mistake on my part. I didn’t even really like Sam, just his art. Mel found out and we broke up. Things were really bad for us for a while. We eventually learned to live with our mistakes and even though Mel and I say we forgive each other, she’s sometimes looks worried when I talk about an artist too much,” She told me.

“Sam?” I asked.

“Sam Auerbach. I’d chased after him, wanting him to show for the gallery when he turned down everyone else. He did, but not without hitting on me everyday. It still puzzles me why I let things get as far as they did, since he really wasn’t someone I liked all that much. Maybe it was hearing all the things he’d done. Things I wanted to do but never did,” She told me.

“If we do this, that’s not a mistake you can make again,” I told her.

“It’s different when it feels like I’ll own part of it. My reputation would be on the line,” She assured me.

“With the art world it might enhance your reputation, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I won’t be in business with someone if it hurts Gus in any way,” I told her, as we pull up to see Nicholas getting out of his car.

“Is there something that makes your sibling beautiful?” Lindsay asked, staring at my brother.

“Rule number one- no hitting on Nicholas,” I told her, getting out of the car.

“Brian said you were looking for a building to set up a gallery,” Nicholas told me.

“You know of one?” I asked.

“Maybe. If not we can build what you want,” Nicholas shrugged.

“How did he…? It was just an idea less than an hour ago,” Lindsay said, looking between us.

“Brian called and told me. Sounds like something to do today,” Nicholas told her.

“Did Brian tell you what he was doing today?” I quizzed.

“No,” Nicholas said too quickly, lying his ass off.

“Fine. If you keep his secret then you can’t tell him what I’m doing all day,” I tell him, as we all get in the car.

“By the way, Happy Birthday,” He said, making me cringe.

“He better not do something outrageous,” I warn Nicholas, who texts before ordering me to drive to a building he thought of.