Nuff Rope

Chapter 4





“Morning, Short Stuff,” Gus whispered into his sister’s ear. He crept into Bree’s room to wake her for breakfast and to give her the good news. He was sitting at the edge of her bed, leaning down to gently wake her.

“Gus?” Bree said in a sleepy voice.

“The one and only. Wake up, sleepyhead, it’s time for breakfast and I have important news to tell you.”

Bree wiped the sleep from her eyes trying to concentrate on Gus. “What news?”

“Only the bestest kind for my bestest sister. You can go away to soccer camp,” Gus announced with a grin.

“I can?!” Bree said. Her violet blue eyes were opened as wide as possible, all the sleepiness gone.

“Yup, the dads gave you the a-okay!”

“YAY!” Bree shrieked. She shot up from under her sheets to do a happy dance on top of her bed then she threw herself into Gus’ arms, kissing him all over his face as they toppled over onto the bed laughing.

The dads were in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

“I guess someone’s happy,” Justin said casually as he began to put breakfast on the table.

“Apparently,” Brian remarked nonchalantly as he poured himself a mugful of coffee.

They stopped what they were doing, hearing the shrieks of laughter emanating from Bree’s room. Justin turned toward Brian wearing his sunniest smile; Brian arched a brow. Cracking up with laughter, the dads continued to put breakfast on the table for the family.



*****



“Mama?”

“JR? JR, it’s five in the morning,” Mel grumbled into her phone.

Crestfallen, JR grew sad. “I’m sorry. You didn’t call last night and I miss you,” JR said trying to stop the tears from forming in her eyes.

“Sorry, sweetheart, Lorna and I were in court for most of the day and then we had to prepare our client for her deposition. I only got to bed around two.”

“Oh,” JR said somewhat dejected. “When are you coming home?” Before JR got her answer she heard a groaning noise in the background and her mother shushing someone. “Mama, is someone with you?”

“Um, no honey, it’s my, uh, cat. I got a cat. JR, I have to go now, I have to wake up early. I’ll call you tomorrow night.”

“Sure. Bye.”

“Bye, sweetheart. I love you.”

“Love you too, Mama. But...” JR heard her mother hang up. “You’re allergic to cats,” JR mumbled into her silent cell phone.

“What’s wrong, Honeybun?” Michael asked his daughter as he came into the main part of the store from the storeroom. They had come to the store a little early to stock the racks before opening for business.

“Oh, Daddy!” JR exclaimed as she threw her arms around her father’s waist then cried into his chest.



*****



“Ashley! Ashley! Ashley!” Bree shrieked as she flew out of Gus’ Jeep and ran across the camp grounds over to her best friend. Gus and Ray had finished their triumphant months as interns and were taking it easy before going to New York with John and Bobby. Gus was practicing his driving every chance he got so he volunteered to take the kids to day camp. When Patrick and Bree finished up this last session, they were both going to their respective sleep away camps.

“What? What? What?”

“I’m going! I’m going! I’m going! My dads said I can go to soccer camp!”

“YAY!” both girls shouted, jumping up and down while holding hands.

Bree suddenly stopped and grew serious. “I’m going to miss you. Can’t your mommy send you to camp with me?”

“No, she can’t. Besides, I don’t like soccer the way you do and my mommy and me are going on a trip,” Ashley said with a smile.

“You are?”

“Yup. Mommy said that my grandparents miss me so we’re going to visit them.”

“I didn’t know you have grandparents,” Bree exclaimed.

“I didn’t know either. I never met them.”

“How can you not meet your gamma and gampa?”

“I don’t know. Mommy said they’re my daddy’s parents and they live in New Jersey.”

“They do? Is New Jersey far away?”

“I think so. But mommy said she knows how to drive there so we’re going to go as soon as day camp is finished. But I’ll be back in a week.”

“Maybe your mommy will let you sleep over at my house before school starts.”

“Maybe, if we ask our parents the right way.” Both girls nodded in agreement. They learned their lesson about making play dates without getting permission first. “What about your piano lessons?”

“Dada said the teacher will start when I get back but she gave me homework already.”

“What’s homework for pianos?” Ashley asked wondering if her friend had to write essays about her piano.

“Miss Faith gave me scales to practice and fingering exercises and a new book of songs to learn.”

“Oh. That sounds like a lot.”

“It’s not so much,” Bree tried to explain until the counselor called the girls to their group.



*****



“Honeybun, what’s the matter?” Michael asked his hysterical daughter.

“It’s Mama; she’s not coming back,” JR sniffled.

“How do you know that?”

“Because I just spoke to her and she was with somebody.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Daaad! It’s five in the morning her time, and I woke her up and she was WITH somebody,” JR said giving her somewhat dense father a Brian Kinney glare or maybe a Debbie Novotny glare which was just as deadly.

“Oh, OH!” Michael got it.

“Yeah. Oh. Daddy, what am I going to do?”

“Sweetheart, I honestly don’t have a clue. I think we should have a family meeting to decide. For now, we have to open the store. Do you want to work today? You can go home or go over to Grandma’s house.”

“No, Daddy, I’ll stay here. I like working with you.”

“That’s my girl! I like working with you too," Michael said with a big grin. JR felt a lot better knowing how much her father cared about her. “I love you, Honeybun.”

“Love you too, Daddy,” JR said as she wrapped her arms around her father’s waist again. “But don’t call me Honeybun while we’re working, okay?” JR looked up into her dad’s eyes, pleading. She laughed when she saw her father pout.

“Okay...” Michael said as he kissed her nose then pushed away so he could unlock the door for business. “Honeybun,” he added as he opened the door for the first customer of the day. He winked at JR.

“Oh Daddy!” JR grumbled then they both laughed.



*****



Gus and Ray pulled up in front of Edna’s Treasures. The boys got out of the Jeep and Gus stood back to admire his vehicle.

“It’s a beauty,” Ray said with a smile.

“And it’s all mine. It was almost worth the wait,” Gus replied.

“Almost?”

“I could have been driving to Penn State all last year, and maybe coming to see you in New York if I’d had my car,” Gus said with a note of sadness in his voice.

“Your parents don’t want you driving in New York City,” Ray reminded him.

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them,” Gus said with a wink.

“Gus…” Ray started with a frown.

“You want to see me, don’t you?” Gus asked. When Ray nodded, Gus added,” So I can probably take a few weekends to meet you in New York this fall.”

“Do you think that’s such a good idea?” Ray asked, his frown deepening.

“Don’t you want me to come visit you?” Gus asked with a hurt look on his face. He had thought Ray would be over the moon with this little scheme, but Ray didn’t seem to like it at all.

“I always want you, Gus,” Ray said sincerely, “but driving in New York City is not easy, especially if you’re inexperienced.”

“You’re saying I don’t know how to drive?” Gus demanded. Now he was getting angry.

“I didn’t say that,” Ray replied quickly. “You’re a good driver, but New York is a whole different kettle of fish.” Gus looked hurt and angry and annoyed. That wasn’t what Ray had intended. “I … I didn’t mean to upset you, Gus,” Ray said gently. “I just want you to be safe. I don’t want to be visiting you in the hospital after an accident.”

“I won’t have an accident,” Gus declared emphatically.

“That’s what all young drivers say. I said it.”

“You?”

“Yeah, I have my license and I cracked up my dad’s car the first time I took it out by myself,” Ray admitted.

“You did? I didn’t know that.”

“It wasn’t one of my finer moments. I try never to mention it.”

“Were you hurt?”

“No, mostly my pride. I had a few bruises, and I had to apologize to my dad. I couldn’t believe how stupid I had been. I haven’t driven much since,” Ray admitted.

“I guess you don’t need to in New York.”

“Not really, and the accident kind of turned me off driving.”

“I love driving,” Gus said with a smile.

“Just take it easy with your Jeep, Gus. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I love you, Ray,” Gus said throwing himself into Ray’s arms. “If you want me to be careful I will be.”

“Good choice, Sonny Boy,” Brian said as he came around the corner of the house.

“Pop!” Gus said feeling heat rush to his cheeks. “Were you eavesdropping?”

“I heard enough.” Brian refused to apologize for having listened. This was too important. “Like Ray said, I want you around for a long time. We all do.”

“I … I’ll be careful,” Gus said softly. Maybe doing things behind his father’s back wasn’t such a great idea.

“Just think about Bree,” Brian said gently. “She would be beyond inconsolable if anything happened to you.”

Gus shook his head. “I guess I wasn’t thinking.”

“Yeah,” Brian responded. “There’s an old saying about giving people enough rope to hang themselves. I didn’t get you this vehicle so you could smash it up and hurt yourself. It’s meant to be transportation to school and home, not to New York City.”

“Message received loud and clear,” Gus said, and he meant it … at that moment.

“And thank the gods, you have a sensible boyfriend,” Brian added with a wink at Ray.

“I have the best boyfriend,” Gus declared. He took Ray’s hand. “Let’s, um, go … pack,” he said. “Yeah, we need to pack.”

“Right,” Ray said looking a little sheepish as he started to follow Gus into the house.

“And make sure you put some clothes in a suitcase while you’re packing,” Brian said with a laugh. He suspected that packing was not at the top of the list of things to do in Gus’ room.



*****



“Morning, Riley,” Danny said into the phone.

“Is this my wake up call?”

“Yes it is. I would have liked to have been able to give it to you in person rather than over the phone,” Danny said. He had enjoyed their evening together very much, and Riley had seemed to like it too. But when it came time to say goodnight, Riley had not taken Danny up on his offer to spend the night.

“I want to go slow, Danny. I haven’t done anything like this in years,” Riley said slowly.

“Neither have I,” Danny replied. “But please know that I really … like you.”

Riley smiled and he hoped Danny could hear the smile in his voice when he replied, “I like you too.”

“That’s good to know.”

“But as I said, I think we should take this gradually.”

“Neither of us is a spring chicken. If we go too slow, I may be dead before anything happens,” Danny said trying to chastise gently.

Riley laughed. “I’ll take that under advisement, and I have no intention of letting anything happen to you.”

Danny grinned. He liked to hear Riley speak positively. “Then how about we plan on dinner at my place tomorrow night. I’ll cook you one of my specialties.”

“You cook?” Riley asked surprise evident in his tone.

“Is that so amazing?” Danny asked, feeling hurt that Riley didn’t think he was capable of making a decent meal for them.

“Well, you told me how you were on the road for so many years. I never thought you’d have the opportunity to cook,” Riley said honestly.

“I got pretty good using hotplates and limited cooking utensils,” Danny laughed.

“So I should expect wieners and beans?” Riley asked with a chuckle.

“Wieners definitely,” Danny guffawed.

Riley had to laugh in response. “Let’s save the wieners for a little later.”

“You are a hard nut to crack.”

“Hm, nuts on the menu too?”

Danny chuckled. “That’s why I’ve really grown to like you,” he said in a serious voice. He wanted to make sure that Riley knew that. “You have an evil sense of humor.”

“Similar to yours?”

“It’s nice to have someone to laugh with.”

“Yes, it is,” Riley concurred.

“So, are we on for dinner tomorrow night?”

“That’s a date.”

Danny smiled. “Come early and … often,” he said with a wicked laugh before he cut the connection.

Riley pulled the phone away from his ear and smiled before he placed it back on the cradle. He really did like Danny Devore. With a frown he started to wonder just what it was that he was waiting for.



*****



“Dada!” Bree squealed as she saw her father standing by the car.

“Hey, Squirt,” Brian said as he gave her a hug and then opened the door of the car so she could get in. “Did you have fun at camp today?”

“Yep, but I’ll have more fun at soccer camp,” she said as Brian made sure she was buckled into her booster seat.

“Is that right?”

“Thank you for letting me go.”

Brian shook his head as he climbed into the driver’s seat. He still didn’t like the idea of Bree being away from them overnight, but everyone else seemed to think it was perfectly all right.

“Dada, isn’t Patrick coming with us?” Bree asked as Brian started the car.

“John’s picking him up. They’re having pizza in Harrisburg.”

“Oh.” Bree wondered about that. They usually all ate together. She waited for her father to tell her more but he said nothing as he drove out of the campground.

“Dada, are you sad that I’m going to sleep away camp?” Bree asked as she studied the back of her father’s head, and noted the limited response to whatever she said.

“I’m … not sad,” Brian finally said as they turned onto the main road.

“You seem sad … or mad … or something,” his perceptive daughter stated.

“I don’t like it that you’re going to overnight camp, but if it’s what you want…”

Bree frowned. “If it makes you sad, I can stay home,” Bree volunteered. She really wanted to go to sleep away camp like Patrick, but she didn’t want her Dada to miss her and be sad. She held her breath waiting to see what her father would say. If he said he didn’t want her to go then she’d have to stay home.

“I don’t want you to go,” Brian said. He glanced in the rearview mirror to see Bree’s face fall. He waited to see if she’d carry through with her offer.

Bree’s mouth formed a set line. Then she spoke. “I’ll stay home, Dada. I love you.”

Brian shook his head. “No, Squirt, as much as I’d like to take you up on your offer, I think you should go to soccer camp.”

“You do?” Bree asked hopefully.

“I don’t like the idea of you being away from us, but as your father and your brother and every other fucking member of this family has told me, you are growing up and I have to let you grow up. So, you’re going to sleep away camp,” Brian said definitively. “And that’s all there is to it.”

“I wouldn’t grow up if I could help it,” Bree said in a mournful voice.

Brian chuckled. “Well, Squirt, you can’t help it, so both of us need to learn to live with it.”

Brian could see Bree nodding her head in the back seat.



*****



“Are you okay?” Justin asked as Bree ran to her room to change from her camp clothes.

“I will be,” Brian replied.

“Good.”

“She’s so smart. She offered not to go.”

“Wow! But … you didn’t take her up on it, did you?”

“I thought about it,” Brain said with a wry smile.

“You’re a good man, Brian Kinney.”

“Tell me that the day after she leaves for camp,” Brian said.

Justin chuckled and hugged his husband.

“Dada,” a little voice called. “Come and help me pick out what to wear.”

“Your job will never be done,” Justin chuckled releasing his husband. “Go help her. You’ll be picking out her wedding dress before you know it.”

“Shoot me first,” Brian said as he started down the hall to Bree’s bedroom.

Justin knew he didn’t mean that, but there were only a few years left to prepare Brian for the fact that Bree might someday get married.