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Chapter 30 - Beginning of More?

“How long is this going to take? Do you think they’ve lost him?” Qianna whined for about the tenth time.

Justin took a sip from the large cup of coffee that Brian handed him and smiled gratefully at his husband before answering his daughter. “QiQi, Honey, I’m sure Winston is fine. It just takes longer for the airline to unload the cargo hold than it takes for passengers and regular luggage. I’m sure you’ll have your cat soon. Just relax, please.”

By that point in time, Brian had moved around to stand behind the shorter blond, wrapping his arms around Justin’s waist and pulling him closer than was probably appropriate for a public venue like the luggage claim area of an airport.

“Maybe we should have flown out there and brought him back with us in person. What if he’s scared being down there in the cargo hold all alone?” Qianna continued to worry.

“No way. No flying clear across the country for you two. I’m not letting this one out of my sight for at least the next six months,” Brian interrupted his new daughter’s worrying, adding a kiss to the pale cheek of his captive to let Justin know he was mostly joking. “I’m sure your furball will be fine, QiQi.”

Justin rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything, and then tilted his head a little further to the right so as to let Brian have better access for nibbling happily at his neck. Qianna and Quinne shared an exasperated look. Justin didn’t seem all that interested in going to California anytime soon. The Lovebirds - as everyone in the family had taken to calling the newlyweds - had been virtually inseparable in the week since Brian’s surprise wedding. It was actually kind of a miracle that the girls had managed to drag them out of the house long enough to go pick up the cat at the airport. Hell, except for the occasional food raid on the kitchen, they’d barely been out of their bedroom all week. If it hadn’t been for Gus and the rest of the more responsible members of the extended family, the twins might have felt a little neglected. As it was, however, they’d been so busy with friends and family that they hadn’t missed their lovestruck dads too much. But, when QiQi finally put her foot down and insisted that they send for her cat without further delay, the fathers had been forced to get fully dressed and venture out of the house like real people.

Right about then the customer service rep who’d been supposedly tracking down the cat, came out from behind a pair of double swinging doors pushing a dolly laden with two largish cardboard boxes and a tenuously balanced pet carrier on top. Qianna squealed happily and rushed over to pull down the carrier before the guy had even stopped. Inside his plastic carrier, you could hear Winston growling in protest at the uncivilized way he was being lugged around. Quinne hoped the poor thing hadn’t been this upset for the entire flight; it would have made for a very long trip for the beast. The cries of her pet were totally freaking Qianna out, though, and she was already trying to get the cage opened.

“QiQi, don’t let him out yet,” Justin warned, trying to pull away from Brian long enough to tow his daughter back from the pet carrier. “If you do, we’ll never get him back in again and it’s a long trip out to Britin.”

“And what if he gets startled and bolts? You don’t want him to get lost here in the airport,” Quinne added logically.

“But he’s so upset . . .”

“Q is right. We do not need to be chasing all over the fucking airport after a squawling furbeast. You can let him out WHEN we get home,” Brian insisted, finally letting go of Justin all the way so he could lift the pet carrier up, out of Qianna’s reach, and take charge of the situation. “Quinne, text your brother; tell Gus to bring the car around and meet us at the curb outside. Justin, you sign whatever paperwork this guy needs so we can get the hell out of here. Then, you two girls grab those boxes and let’s get a move on. This is still technically my honeymoon and I wanna get home so I can get back in bed with my husband already.”

“You do know that you’re eventually going to have to let me out of bed long enough to go back to California, right?” Justin teased him as he handed back the signed shipping receipt to the waiting airline rep. “I still have to deal with the house and my work and . . .”

“You can deal with work from here, Sunshine. That’s what facetime was invented for,” Brian maintained, using his one free hand positioned in the middle of Justin’s back to herd his hubby after the girls and out the door. “And we’ll hire someone to deal with your house. I wasn’t joking about not letting you out of my sight, Justin. That ass is far too tempting and I don’t trust all those fucking actors and producers and art directors . . .”

Brian emphasized his point by goosing the ass in question, causing Justin to jump and spill his coffee all over his hand. Justin grumbled a little as he wiped his hand off on the leg of his jeans. That caused Brian to grumble too, complaining that Justin still didn’t know how to treat his clothing right. The girls, meanwhile, had dropped their boxes on the curb and proceeded to giggle over their ridiculous fathers.

“Remind me again how long you guys have been married?” Quinne spoke up with an amused grin on her elfish face. “It can’t have only been a few days - you two already have the old married couple thing down.”

“We aren’t bickering. That’s just the way Brian expresses affection,” Justin replied facetiously. “Besides, the more clothing I ‘ruin’ the happier he’ll be, since that’ll give him an excuse to go shopping and buy me more stuff. After all, somebody has to feed his compulsive shopping habit, right?” Both girls laughed while Brian started to look just a little chagrined.

“I don’t have a compulsive shopping habit,” Brian countered. “I just appreciate looking nice, is all. It’s not my fault none of you heathens understand the first thing about fashion.”

However, the argument over whether or not Brian’s shopping fetish rose to the level of an addition was cut short by Gus when the boy pulled Brian’s car up to the curb at the arrivals level and hopped out in order to help load everything. Brian deposited Winston’s carrier in the rear passenger area and then went around to take up his place in the driver’s seat. Justin took the front passenger seat and the girls climbed in the back. Once the last box was loaded and the hatch pulled closed, Gus folded his tall, lanky body in, next to his sisters, and the crew was underway.

“Shit, how much stuff did you guys have shipped? Those boxes are heavy,” Gus complained as he examined the paper cut he’d just got off the edge of one of Justin’s cartons. “Damn! I’ve got a moving injury already. I hope you guys remember this when I ask you to help me move into my dorm. I’ve made the ultimate sacrifice - I’ve spilled my heart’s blood for you - and I expect you to reciprocate.”

“It’s two tiny boxes,” Qianna laughed at her drama princess brother. “And they weren’t THAT heavy, you wuss.”

Quinne immediately backed her sister up. “It could have been a lot worse. They only had the neighbor box up and send the minimal amount of extra clothes, toiletries, and personal stuff. I doubt the stuff in those boxes would keep you for more than a week Gussy.”

“Which is why I shouldn’t have had to carry anything today. I can’t afford to get injured right before my own big move. I’ve got plans, you know.”

“You do realize that all that crap you have in your room will not fit in a dorm that’s roughly the size of your closet, right?” Brian cautioned his son, smiling at him via the rearview mirror.

“Did you miss the part where I said I had a plan?” Gus argued, shooting his father a sassy smirk that was almost an exact copy of Brian’s own.

The discussion of Gus’ dorm plans might have continued the entire length of the trip home if not for the interruption afforded by the ringing of Justin’s phone. He tapped the icon to answer the call, but since his phone was still being used as the compromise music selection for the group, the call was picked up by the car’s speaker system. The voice that answered Justin’s ‘Hello’ sounded quite happy.

“Hey, Justin. Ric Loftgren here. And I’ve got great news for you.”

“Hey, Ric. Great news from a lawyer is a rarity, so I’m all ears. Hit me,” Justin responded.

“We got Alex Ramsey to voluntarily sign off on a Quit Claim Deed relinquishing all rights to the San Jose property,” Ric announced, receiving a roar of delight from all in the Taylor-Kinney car. “It was a smart idea you had, Brian - hiring a private investigator to look into his background and finances - our guy turned up a hell of a lot of shady stuff. If you really had gone through with marrying him, Justin, I suspect it would have been a huge mistake. You definitely do not want to get involved with someone like that. But, luckily for you, it’s also what gave us the leverage we needed to get him out of your life for good.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask what you found,” Justin stated.

“Like I said, this character is NOT a good guy,” Ric went on to explain. “It turns out that he’d used your financial information to apply for at least three credit cards listing you as a co-signer. We got copies of all three applications and it’s pretty clear that he forged your signature. After that it was easy to get him to cave. All we had to do was promise not to turn him in to the police for the financial fraud and he was more than happy to do whatever we asked. We’ll be filing the Quit Claim Deed as soon as the County Recorder’s office opens tomorrow morning and Alex said he’d be out of the house by 5:00 pm tomorrow night.”

“Excellent news! We’ll call a locksmith and have them ready to change all the locks at 5:01 pm,” Brian promised. “And the fact that a poseur like The Yeti would try bank fraud doesn’t surprise me in the least. It’s too bad you had to agree to let him off the hook in order to get him out of the house, though.”

“Well, about that . . .” The occupants of the car could hear the lawyer chuckling in the background. “I agreed - on your behalf, Justin - that YOU wouldn’t report him to the police, but I don’t have any authority over what the credit card companies do. The minute we contacted them to get copies of the false credit applications, they started their own inquiries. Apparently Ramsey has done this sort of thing before and they aren’t inclined to let yet another case of fraud slide. So, I expect that Alex will be hearing from the police in the not too distant future regardless of whether or not you initiate any charges against him. And I’m assuming I have your authorization to provide the police with whatever documentation they request once they begin their investigation?”

“Absolutely!” Justin readily agreed. “I can’t believe he’d have the balls to do shit like that, but I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised. Apparently everyone else who’d ever met the guy saw right through him. Including my daughter. I only wish I hadn’t wasted so much time on him. But, yeah, do whatever you need to do, Ric.”

“Will do, Justin. And I’ll email you copies of everything including the full settlement agreement Alex signed. Just let us know if you need anything further,” Mr. Loftgren offered and then promptly signed off.

“Shit! Can you believe that motherfucker?” Justin muttered as soon as he’d ended the call.

“One thing I’ve notice about getting our fathers back together,” Qianna commented to her sister, “is that it’s been really bad for my Dad’s ability to speak without swearing. Sheesh! If you knew how many times he’s called me out for swearing in the past . . . and now look at him. What a potty mouth, Mr. Taylor!”

“That’s how you know you’re really part of the family, QiQi,” Gus added. “If you can’t swear like a sailor, you’ll never fit in.”

“Hey, lay off your dad, Qianna. Personally, I love his mouth just the way it is . . .” Brian reached out with his right hand and pinched Justin’s side, causing the embarrassed blond to squirm in his seat and his blush to deepen. “And, now that The Yeti has been neutralized, there’s even less call for you to take that wondrous mouth away from me or go back to California.”

“Brian!”

“You know it gets me so hot when you call out my name like that, Sunshine . . . But, since the kids are here, you’re going to have to give me a rain check, at least till we get home again,” Brian teased his husband and laughed when the blushing hit an epic level of crimson on poor Justin’s cheeks. “In the meantime, we need to start making some calls. We need to get the movers scheduled so they can get started on boxing up all your shit. Then we need to get the place listed. The realtor said that you can leave the majority of your furniture in place - it actually helps sell the property if it’s not just vacant rooms - but it’s better to have your personal belongings out of there first. Since we really don’t need the furniture, you can either sell it ‘furnished’ or just have an estate agent come in and remove the furniture, then sell it for you after the property has sold.”

“Movers? Realtor? What the hell are you talking about, Brian? I haven’t had time to even start looking for movers yet, let alone hire a realtor,” Justin complained, looking sideways at his husband with evident confusion.

“I know. Which is why I handled it for you.”

“What? Brian, you can’t go around . . .”

“Keep your pants on, Sunshine . . . for the time being,” Brian cautioned as he grappled to grab hold of his husband’s hand. “I knew you were already a little overwhelmed with the whole situation, so I had Cynthia take care of it for us. She’s already done the research and found the movers with the best reputation in the area, along with a great realtor who’s willing to work with you remotely. It’s all taken care of. So you don’t have to worry about anything and can therefore spend more time with me.”

Justin shook his head and sighed, exasperated by his controlling lover. “And when did YOU find time do all this? I thought I’d been keeping you too busy to meddle in my life without permission.” When Brian didn’t answer except to shrug noncommittally, Justin apparently got suspicious. “Brian? Answer me. When did you arrange for all of this?”

“Uh . . . last week sometime . . .” Brian eventually answered.

“LAST week? As in, the week BEFORE I’d actually agreed to stay?”

“. . . I was being proactive,” Brian hedged.

“No. You were being pushy. You figured you could bowl your way over every objection I might come up with, just like you always do, Brian,” Justin accused, ripping his hand out of his husband’s and crossing his arms over his chest.

“I told you I wasn’t going to let you get away from me again, Justin, and that I’d do whatever it took,” Brian asserted, although he did sound just a bit embarrassed to have been caught out. “Besides, I didn’t actually give them the go ahead until Sunday morning. Before that I had only had Cynthia contact them and collect some quotes. I was just being a good boy scout - ‘Be Prepared’, right?”

“You were never a boy scout, Brian,” Justin replied and you could hear the softening in his tone.

“Maybe not, but I did fuck a few in my day. Doesn’t that count?”

“No.”

“But you love me anyways, right?”

“Maybe. But only if you promise to stop doing shit like this. Married or not, I get to run my own life,” Justin insisted with that totally determined air that everyone who knew him knew not to fight.

“I’ll try,” Brian conceded, grudgingly.

“Good boy,” Justin praised him.

“But, since I’ve already got people in place to handle everything, you have to admit there’s no reason for you to go anywhere. Right?” Brian pushed his point. “The realtor said that she and the movers could do a virtual walkthrough of the place so you can give them directions on what you want shipped, what you want sold, and what you just don’t give a damn about. It’ll be a piece of cake. And you can stay here with me, where you belong, while you do it.”

“Brian, you’re . . .”

“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘adorable’. Am I right?”

“They’re like teenagers,” Gus commented to his sisters after listening to the banter going on in the front seat. The girls we cringing right along with Gus. “Seriously, I’ve seen middle school relationships that are more mature. How long does this ‘honeymoon phase’ last, anyway?”

Qianna swatted Gus in the arm. “Stop it! After all the work we went to in order to get them back together, I don’t need you jinxing it by complaining.”

“I’m with QiQi on this, Bro. I say, let them stay all honeymooney forever. Or at least until we get Qianna moved in all the way so it’ll be harder for Justin to take her away again,” Quinne agreed with a sideways hug to her sister’s shoulders.

“I promise, you don’t have anything to worry about on that front, kids. I’ve got it all under control,” Brian assured them, going on to elaborate on all the plans he’d already made with Justin’s movers, house cleaners, and realtor - none of which Justin had been a part of, but which he, in the end, conceded all made sense. “So you see, all YOU need to do, Sunshine, is to contact your job and arrange to work remotely until you finish whatever project you’re currently working on.”

“Oh, you’re going to actually let me do that much on my own?” Justin teased with a huff of laughter that the kids joined in on.

“Not if you’re going to be a twat about it,” Brian shot back.

And while the ‘grown ups’ continued to banter and tease and flirt with each other in the front seat, Gus turned to his phone so he could quietly complain to more sympathetic friends, and the girls started discussing what they had planned for the upcoming school year.

“. . . I’ve already got my schedule for the first term. Hopefully, Pops can talk the Principal into giving you the same schedule. Unless you WANT to take something different, of course . . .”

“No, no. I definitely prefer to take the same classes as you this term. It’s going to be hard enough to change schools; I don’t want to do it alone. Besides, I’m sure I’ll like the same classes as you. Except, maybe, I’ll trade an art class for your gym period,” Qianna suggested.

Quinne shrugged, willing to concede that one point for her decidedly unathletic sister. “We also need to get you enrolled in both the Engineering and Chemistry clubs. This semester the Engineering Club is volunteering to help the local Girl Scout Council run their Girls’ Robotics program. You’ll love it. We help all these adorable little girls to build their first Lego Robotics’ bots. They’re always so excited; it’s a great feeling.”

“That sounds fantastic. I love the idea of helping more girls follow in our sciencey footsteps,” the world wise twelve-year-old exclaimed.

“I knew you’d be down for it, QiQi. In fact, if you want, I’m sure you could help out tomorrow - the Club is doing a recruiting drive with the Girl Scouts at Comic Con. We’re doing a demonstration using last year’s bots. You do want to come, right?” Quinne asked.

Qianna was just as enthusiastic as her sister about the plan. “Of course! I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Hey! You two didn’t forget that you’re helping me move into my dorm tomorrow, right?” Gus interjected, feeling slightly left out, and a little panicky when he thought about how much stuff he needed help moving.

“Don’t fret, Brother Dear!” Quinne rushed to reassure her sibling. “The Engineering Club thing is happening first thing in the morning. We should be done before noon. And you know you never get up before lunch if you can help it. We’ll be back in plenty of time to help you haul all your crap to PIFA.”

“And then to help the dads haul at least half of it back home again once you realize it will never fit,” Qianna added with a conspiratorial glance at her sister.

“You doubt me at your own risk, infidels. I told you, I have a PLAN! And it’s a good plan too,” Gus maintained unapologetically.

Both the girls laughed.

“Gus, Sweetie, trust us on this; it will NOT all fit. It’s a logistical impossibility,” Qianna tried, once again, to explain.

“Sorry, Bro. It’s just a question of physics. I can recite the equations for you, if you like, but the bottom line is that the volume of your possessions exceeds the available space. It’s simple math. And all your artistic hopes and designs aren’t going to change the math, no matter what your plans are,” Quinne tried for the umpteenth time to explain the facts of life to her overly optimistic brother.

Gus grumbled and made a face and refused to believe anyone because they just didn’t understand that it wasn’t about math; it was about interior design and storage options. But they’d already had this argument way too many times so it wasn’t worth rehashing things again. He was still going to try his idea and they’d all just have to wait and see.

“Ugh! You guys just don’t get it,” Gus complained in a way he thought would hopefully cut off the twins’ discussion of his scientific deficiencies. The he turned to his parents in an attempt to rally some support for his side. “You know, if you two really had to go and have twins, you could have at least insisted that one of them was a boy. I mean, shit, how do you expect a guy to ever win an argument with nothing but girls around me all the time. Sisters are so fucking annoying and pushy and . . . Just promise me, if you guys have any other kids, you’ll give me at least one brother. Please! I’m begging you here!”

The girls and Justin all laughed at Gus’ little joke. Brian, though, didn’t laugh. He looked up at Gus via the rearview mirror with a contemplative look on his face. Then, after the laughter had died down, he shrugged to himself and looked sideways towards his new husband.

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Brian admitted, surprising everyone in the car into immediate silence. “What do say, Sunshine? Wanna give Gus a brother?” His offer garnered  zero response. “I mean, the whole point of the surrogate thing was so we could try out this parenting shit together, but then you up and disappeared on me. So we’ve never really done the parenting thing together the way we planned. It could be . . . interesting.”

“You’ve got to be kidding, Brian. Now? When the kids we do have are practically grown already? That’s insane,” Justin argued, looking at his husband as if Brian had lost his mind.

For his efforts, all he got was another shrug. “You always were good with kids, Sunshine. You’re a natural. And you heard him, Gus needs a brother. We can’t let the boy suffer through a lifetime of only sisters, can we?”

“But . . . You . . . I . . .” Justin stuttered through the start of several possible responses he might offer, only to fall silent in the end, taken completely by surprise to the point that he was absolutely speechless.

“You realize this is only the second time in twenty years I’ve managed to shut you up?” Brian bragged with a proud smirk.

“Over the exact same topic, if I remember correctly.”

“Yep,” Brian affirmed. “So, what do you say, Sunshine? Wanna make ANOTHER baby with me?”

Justin sat there, stunned, in total shock, for a good five minutes before he responded. The kids in the backseat were waiting the whole time with baited breath, afraid to speak and break the mood. Brian was just smiling to himself and waiting more patiently than was characteristic for the usually decisive man. In the end, though, Justin worked his way to an answer that made him smile one of his best sunshine-bright smiles.

“Fuck it!” Justin finally spoke, breaking the anticipatory silence. “What the hell. What’s one more crazy decision after a week like this? I’ve already agreed to marry you, move back to Pittsburgh, and uproot my entire life. We might as well top it off with a totally irrational plan to bring another baby into the mix. Why not?”

A cheer broke out from the children in the back seat.

“Good.” Brian nodded and reached one hand out to thread his fingers through Justin’s slim digits, giving a squeeze to communicate his support. “This time, though, I think maybe I should pick out the surrogate . . .”

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The Beginning of More Hyjinx . . .

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