Before the Fall

Chapter 8





A large rumbling and a darkening of the sun heralded the arrival of the mobile motel. Carl pulled the huge vehicle to a stop in the lane outside of Edna’s Treasures. He would worry about maneuvering it into position later, after all his many passengers exited.

“Guuuuuuuuuus!” came an unholy shriek as Bree threw open the front door of the cottage and made a beeline for the vehicle.

Carl was very glad he had already stopped when he saw the blonde hurricane coming at him.

Debbie opened the side door of the RV and shoved Gus out before the rest of them could be trampled by the petite blonde. Debbie knew nothing could stand in the way of Bree and her need to get to her brother.

“Hey, short stuff,” Gus said with a big grin as Bree launched herself into his arms.

“Gus,” Bree said happily as she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed all over his face.

“That would be me,” Gus laughed.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. You’re getting so big.”

“Not as big as you,” Bree replied.

“You’ll never be as big as me,” Gus bragged.

“Yes I will!”

“Okay, if you say so,” Gus gave in. He kissed her cheek before setting her down.

“Do I get a hug?” JR asked.

Everyone had got out of the RV except for Carl. Bree set about giving a hug to all her favorite people.

“Come on in,” Brian called from the doorway of the house. He had been watching the hugfest for a couple of minutes.

When everyone began making their way towards the house, Ben lagged behind to help direct Carl in getting the RV parked in a convenient spot. Brian walked out to assist, as everyone else went inside. Once the RV was situated, Carl got out.

“That thing will be the death of me,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“You know you love it,” Brian smirked.

“I know I need an army to help me park it.”

“You shouldn’t try to parallel park with that thing,” Brian said with a straight face.

“Fuck you, Kinney!” Carl reacted.

“My, my, Detective Horvath, the language you’re using,” Brian smirked.

“Boys, boys,” Ben interrupted.

“He’s being mean to me,” Carl said with a mock whine.

“Been hanging around Mikey much?” Brian laughed.

“Hey, watch the Michael comments,” Ben said defending his husband.

“Right you are, Professor,” Brian quipped, and then decided to change the subject. “You did bring an army with you today, Carl,” Brian chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess I did,” Carl laughed, clapping Brian on the back. “Debbie loves that big old thing,” Carl added nodding towards the RV.

“Thanks for bringing the boys up with you,” Brian said sincerely, as they started walking towards the house. The teasing was over.

“No problem,” Carl replied. “The more the merrier.”

“Ray tells me he’s staying here for the month of July,” Ben stated. “He’s going to be working with Bobby?”

“Yeah,” Brian said, “Bobby decided he could use an intern. He thought Ray might learn a few things about real estate law that might prove useful in his dad’s business.”

“And letting the boys have a whole month together out here had nothing to do with it,” Ben joked.

“Nothing at all,” Brian replied keeping a straight face.

“I’m drowning in bullshit,” Carl said.

They all laughed as they entered the cottage.



*****



“So, how’s Riley working out?” Allen asked Justin. They were all enjoying Emmett’s hors d’oeuvres in the sun porch.

“He seems very nice.”

“Where is he? I thought that was his truck out front when we rode in on the big boat.”

“Is that what you call Carl and Debbie’s RV?” Allen nodded. “Riley went out to the shed with Patrick quite a while ago. I haven’t seen either of them since.”

“Should we send out a search party?” Allen asked.

“Beau’s out there with them and the door of the shed is still open. I think they’re safe, but I have no idea what they could be doing.”

“Riley tunes the pianos for the symphony, so I thought he’d be good for this job.”

“We really appreciate your help. Neither Brian nor I had any idea how to find a piano tuner, especially a good one, and you know how Brian hates incompetence.”

Allen nodded. “We sure got a beautiful day for the barbecue this year.”

“Yeah,” Justin agreed.

“Oh, there’s Riley,” Allen said. “He and Patrick must be done whatever they were doing.”

Justin got up to go greet their guest as he came into the sun porch with Patrick. Riley would not know many people at the gathering. “Riley, I’d like you to meet our family and friends. “You know Allen…” and Justin proceeded with the lengthy set of introductions.

When Justin was finished, Riley blew out a breath. “That’s a lot of people,” he said. “You’re lucky to have such a large and attractive family.”

“Got that right,” Debbie laughed. “But you should have been here for Memorial Day. The lane was full of cars and there were people everywhere you looked. That was some party.”

“Sounds like you folks have a great time together,” Riley observed.

“That we do,” Brian said. “Make yourself to home, Riley. There’s lots of food and there’s a few people in this motley crew that you might even enjoy talking to.”

Everyone gave Brian a raspberry at that last comment, but he paid them no attention as he showed Riley where to get a drink and some hors d’oeuvres.

“What were you and Patrick doing out there for so long?” Brian asked.

“I got all my tools laid out and made a space for the piano. Patrick was quite interested in the tools, so I talked to him about what they were used for. He said he’d like to watch and maybe assist when I start tuning.”

“He won’t be in your way?”

“Sometimes an extra pair of hands comes in handy, and he’s a good kid.”

“That he is.”

“I thought I’d like to set up camp out there.”

“What do you mean?” Brian asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I brought my sleeping bag. I’ll make myself a little nest in the shed.”

“You don’t have to do that. We have room.”

“I like my solitude,” Riley explained. “I’ll be able to work when I want and sleep when I want. I will take advantage of your facilities from time to time though,” he said with a grin.

“Well…if you’re sure,” Brian said not knowing exactly what to make of this stranger who had come into their lives.

“Mr. Riley, I’m Richie, in case you don’t remember.” Richie had decided to take the initiative with the new guest. He was feeling much more at home with all these people, and he remembered how hard it had been for him when he was first introduced to the Edna’s Treasures family. There were so many of them and it had been overwhelming.

“Hello, Richie,” Riley said extending his hand to shake.

Richie shook the hand and smiled at the man. “I’m kind of new here too, so I know it’s a lot of names to remember.”

“Thanks for the help.”

“The blue cheese and pear puffs are to die for,” Richie informed Riley.

“Is that right?”

“I didn’t think I’d like them at first, but they’re amazing.”

“Point me in their direction,” Riley said with a chuckle.

“Looks like Richie and Riley have bonded over your blue cheese and pear puffs,” Brian whispered in Emmett’s ear.

“Yes, I see,” Emmett said stiffly. He had been watching his son with the piano tuner. They were clearing the plate of the puffs, and they were laughing and having far too good a time.

“Jealous?” Brian asked with a wicked grin.

“Of course not!” Emmett snapped.

“Emmett, Richie needs to make friends. He’s not abandoning you just because he talks to someone else.”

“But…” Emmett began staring at the pair.

“Take a deep breath and go join them. It will be fine.”

“You think…?”

“I know.”

Emmett nodded and walked across the sun porch to his son. Soon they were all laughing together.

“You’re a good man,” Debbie said squeezing his cheek.

“Aw, thanks, maw,” Brian drawled.

“I mean it, you know.”

“I know,” Brian said and kissed her cheek. “Now where’s that son of yours?”

“Dust!” a little voice crowed. Taylor Brenner appeared at the entrance to the sun porch from the house. He was with his mother and father and all four grandparents.

“Hey,” Justin said, “I told you it’s Uncle Dust, little buddy.”

Taylor looked up at his uncle and giggled. Justin picked him up and gave him a big kiss.

“I hope you don’t mind that we came right in,” Molly said. “We’re a little late.”

“Those who live closest are often the last to arrive,” Brian informed them with a smirk.

“Bi,” Taylor said reaching for his other uncle.

Several eyebrows were raised at that comment.

“He has trouble saying ‘R’s”,” Molly said quickly.

“Yeah, right!” Ted laughed.

“Watch it, Schmidt,” Brian warned.

“Yes, Boss, of course, Boss.”

“All we need is our daughter and our rock group will be complete,” Brian smirked. “Welcome to the Bee, Bi and Dust show.”

The sun porch cracked up.



*****



“Give me a hand with this,” Brian said as he handed a large tray of marinated meat to the retired quarterback. Drew dutifully followed Brian toward the grill.

“Is there a problem?” Drew asked. He could tell that something was up with Brian. Drew put the tray down on the grill’s side shelf. Brian began to carefully place each piece of meat and poultry onto the grill.

“I need a favor.”

“Sure.”

“You seem to know a lot about pianos.”

“I’m not an expert.”

“Yeah, but you’d know if it was tuned correctly or not.”

“Yeah but I don’t...wait, you have doubts about Riley? Brian, Allen wouldn’t have called him if he didn’t trust him.”

“I know but...”

“What?”

“He wants to sleep in the shed.”

“So the man’s a loner, we all have our quirks,” Drew said pointedly.

“Some more than others.” Drew rolled his eyes. “I hate asking but…”

“Emm and I have no plans of returning to the city anytime soon. Richie will be taking some online courses and he has all of his reading assignments with him. I’ll offer my services, but most piano tuners prefer to work alone. I can bullshit my way by saying that I’m curious about the spinet and that’s not a lie. But I’m not going to make a pest of myself.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Brian declared as he put the last piece of meat on the grill then shut the lid.

“Why don’t you just talk to Allen? Better yet, talk to Riley. You have a way with people, Bri. You can actually be very civil when you put your mind to it and you have good instincts. Besides, the princess seems to like him,” Drew said as they both turned to see Bree holding court with Riley, Allen and Ted.

“I’ll keep an eye on the grill,” Drew offered making Brian’s brow arch up. “Hey, fuck a master chef, you learn a thing or two about hot meat.” Brian barked out a laugh then took Drew up on his offer.



*****



“You boys all settled in?” Justin asked Gus and Ray with an innocent grin. Gus picked up Justin then swung him around the sun porch.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Gus exclaimed. He released Justin and they all laughed.

“So I take it that you like the new bed?”

“Like it? It’s perfect! I wasn’t sure how to ask you and Pop about trading in the bunk beds.”

“We figured you’d be more comfortable in a real bed.”

“What did you do with the bunk beds?” Ray asked out of curiosity.

“We donated them to Camp Little Flowers. They’re going to start up their sleep away camp this Summer. You kept the beds in pristine condition; it would have been a shame to just throw them out. Do you mind?” Justin asked Gus. Unbeknownst to Gus, the men of Edna’s Treasures made a substantial donation to the camp which included several more bunk beds.

“No, of course I don’t mind, it’s for a good cause. What about sheets and things?”

“Your dad and I took care of it. Now if you two can control yourselves, we have guests to tend to. You can test drive your new bed later,” Justin said with a waggle of his eyebrows. Gus and Ray responded with the appropriate blush to their teenaged cheeks then followed Justin out into the garden.



*****



“Can I get you a beer or we have homemade lemonade, if you prefer?” Brian asked Riley.

“I wouldn’t mind a cold brew just about now,” Riley replied. Brian quickly got Riley a beer then sat down next to the older man.

“I was told you’re the best tuner in the state,” Brian remarked as he took a pull off his beer.

“So they tell me,” came the cryptic response. Brian arched his brow anticipating more. “I figured a man like you had me vetted before you’d allow me access to your home.”

“I did, but sometimes I prefer the personal approach. And what do you mean by a man like me?”

“I may spend the majority of my time with my head in a piano; however, I do know who Brian Kinney is, and Justin Taylor is practically a household word in Pittsburgh.”

“And you spoke to Allen,” Brian snarked.

“And I spoke to Allen,” Riley repeated. The two men stared at each other for a moment then smiled. They clinked beer bottles then sat back in their seats.



******



“Honey, why are you manning the grill and not our Mr. Kinney?” Emmett asked Drew, who remained true to his task.

“Our Mr. Kinney had some reservations when it came to Riley. I told him I’d watch the grill while he got more acquainted.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you, but if Brian had any questions about Riley, he should have asked me. I could have told him all about Riley.”

“Of course you can,” Drew said as he gave Emmett a peck on the cheek.

“Go tell our Mr. Kinney to bring the serving platter. Most of the meat is ready,” Emmett said as he lifted the lid to the grill and took a peek inside.

“Yes, Chef!” Drew said with a salute for his spouse then scurried off to do as bid. Brian excused himself from his company to bring the requested platter to Emmett.

“So, you and Riley making friends?” Emmett asked as he used a large serving fork to take the perfectly cooked meat off the grill.

“He’s an interesting man but there’s something about him I just don’t get,” Brian said as he held the platter for Emmett. “He does seem genuine. Bree’s already taken by him and Allen swears by him.”

“He’s been associated with the symphony for nearly forty years,” Emmett stated nonchalantly.

“Should I ask how you know this?”

“Teddy told me that Allen was going to call Riley so I checked him out. I do know my way around a computer. And I have several members of the symphony as clients.”

“Of that I have no doubt. What else did you dig up?”

“It’s rather a sad story. He and his partner, Tony, were members of the symphony back in the eighties. Riley was a concert pianist and his lover a cellist. They were together for about five years when they found out Riley’s partner had AIDS. He was one of the first to be lost. Riley was barely allowed to attend the funeral, and he had to fight the family for whatever possessions he had in their apartment. You know how that was.”

“Yeah, I do. Vic told me all about that time. It fucking sucks.”

Brian had made sure that nothing like that could ever happen to him and Justin. They were each other’s power of attorney and health care proxies. Brian had made sure that all of their joint holdings were protected. It would all go to Justin and no one could ever change that. Brian also made sure that the trust funds he set up for all four kids could not be accessed by anyone else. Neither Lindsay nor Mel could touch any of the money set aside for Gus or JR.

“Well, after Tony died, Riley lost his ability to play in public. He had medical bills to pay and no job so he learned how to tune pianos. The symphony stood by him, hired him first as an assistant and then eventually he became their number one tuner. I’ll put these on the table if you start the burgers and hot dogs,” Emmett said, indicating the platter.

Deep in thought, Brian acknowledged Emmett with a soft grunt as he went to get the burgers and dogs.



*****



“Mr. Riley, why are you in here all alone?” Patrick asked as he walked through the porch. He had come in to use the bathroom and to make sure Beau had food and water.

“It’s a little warm out there and honestly...” Riley looked into Patrick’s intense hazel eyes. Patrick was tall for his age, lanky like John and Brian but with the flaming red hair like his father Bobby.

“I’m better around musical instruments than people,” Riley said with a sigh.

“Can I get you something cold to drink?” Patrick politely offered. Riley smiled and nodded. “Lemonade or we have iced tea?”

“Lemonade is just fine,” Riley answered as he sat on one of the sun porch chairs. Patrick poured a tall glass and handed it to Riley. “What is that?” Riley asked after taking a sip.

Patrick turned to see what Riley was referring to then he started to laugh. “That’s Bree’s.”

“I assumed as much if the color is any indication. Does she play it?”

“Yes, but she wants to play a real piano. Her dads bought it for her before they knew how serious she is about playing.”

“I can understand that. A good piano is an investment even if you can afford it. It’s not like buying a guitar. So Miss Bree really is serious about playing.”

“Yes, sir. Uncle Drew thinks my great grandpa’s old spinet is perfect for her.”

“He does, does he? And what does a football quarterback know about spinets?” Before Patrick could explain about Drew’s unique talents, Danny came into the porch.

“Hi, Patrick, sorry I’m late. I ran into a bit of traffic leaving the city. Did I miss much?’

“Hi, Uncle Danny!” Patrick greeted the man who had long become an important member of the family. “You didn’t miss anything. Uncle Bri and Auntie Emm just took the meat off the grill,” Patrick said as he gave the man a hug. Danny ruffled the boy’s fine hair.

“Danny Devore,” Danny introduced himself to the handsome stranger, extending his hand.

“Riley,” came the response as he clasped Danny’s hand.

“Ah, the much awaited piano expert,” Danny said with a smile.

“I see there aren’t any secrets in this family.”

“We’re a chatty bunch, but respectful.”

“Grandpa!” JR cheerfully greeted her grandfather. “I’m so glad you’re here. Come outside and have lunch with me and Daddy and Ben.”

“Sure, honey, but only if Riley comes outside and joins us. It’s too nice out to be cooped up in here.” Danny fluttered his eyelashes at the man. Riley laughed but surrendered to Divina’s charms.

“Now how can I resist an invitation like that,” Riley said as he followed them out to the garden.