There’s No Place Like Home


Chapter 6





Brian hit the remote and several of Justin’s sketches of the paintings he had seen in the museum flashed by as well as some of the flowers that were prominent in the greenhouse and in the estate gardens.

“Justin, these are fantastic. I think you have the subject of your next show here,” Lindsay exclaimed and others agreed.

“You sneaky devil,” Justin murmured to Brian. Brian smiled smugly.

“I take it your excursion to the museum was mishap free?” Riley asked.

“Relatively,” Justin answered. “It was on the way back to the estate that we learned that somewhere along the way we pissed off one of the Hawaiian gods. Pele, to be exact.”

“Kilauea was working her way up to an eruption, it triggered off some shockwaves and our car wound up in a ditch.” Brian hit the switch and some pictures of the road came into view. The family saw that some of the pavement was buckled and cars were all over the place.

“But you were all right,” Joan asked.

“We were fine except that my dear spouse shamed me into helping push cars back onto the road,” Brian said with an exaggerated look of disgust on his face. The family laughed, just as Brian had hoped. “We finally got back to the estate in one piece.” The family let out a cheer.

“Now do we get to see you guys naked?” Emmett asked this time. A few people threw balled up napkins at the tall queen. He just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Our next excursion was to the Big Island, to the lava fields,” Justin began.

“Why do I think that wasn’t such a good idea,” Leda stated.

“I got a little carried away and wandered too close to the lava flow,” Justin explained to the family.

“Not another burn?” Michael asked.

“Almost,” Brian continued. “We wound up melting our shoes.” Brian hit the switch and a picture of the bottom of their shoes filled the screen.

“Oh my fucking god!” Emmett yelped.

“Pele, wasn’t very happy with us but it was a good excuse,” Brian said.

“Excuse for what?” Rachel asked.

“To go shopping!” Brian ducked the volley of balled up napkins that were thrown his way. Taylor and Bree giggled with glee as they tried to lob them back toward the family. Justin then told them about their experiences in the boutiques.

“I can vouch for their way with fine shopping,” Ted said above the crowd.

“Is that why you insisted we take the RV up here today? All those boxes and bags belong to them?” Carl asked Ted who just nodded. “Brian, you’re paying for the gas!” Carl grumbled.

“So, did you get something good?” Emmett asked them both, always interested in the latest fashion.

“We did all right,” Brian commented.

“He’s being nice. While Brian was flirting with a model...” Brian gave Justin and the family a very innocent look. “Yeah, right,” Justin glared at Brian. “I was trying to buy a present for a very special young lady.”

“Me, Daddy?”

“Yes, baby girl, you, and I’ll give it to you later.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Bree said very pleased with herself.

“While I was trying to get the saleswoman to show me a tray of charms, she called security.” The family gasped, making comments on how anyone could think that Justin could possibly be anything other than a legitimate customer. “It all worked out.”

“That’s because the bear of a security guard fell in lust with our little Sunshine,” Brian quipped.

“He did not.”

“Did too.”

“Not.”

“Too.” The family laughed as the boys playfully bickered.

“Our next trip was to Kauai to Waimea Canyon.” Brian showed them picture after picture of the colorful canyon. The family was amazed.

“So beautiful!” Jamie gasped. “Justin may I borrow a picture or two? I’d love to try to do something like this in paper.”

“I’ll email you the pictures,” Justin told his fellow artist.

“Maybe you two should consider a joint venture. Justin painting in oils while you work a similar scene in paper. Could make for an interesting show,” Lindsay suggested. The artists looked at Lindsay then at each other and smiled.

“Great, I guess I’m going to be a bachelor again,” Brian complained.

“You! I’m going to be a single mom,” Leda grumped.

The artists ignored their partners and made a date to conference. Brian took that time to change the picture to the Fern Grotto.

The family ooohed and aahhed again.

“Uncle Bri, is this where you tripped?” Patrick asked.

“Nope, but your Uncle Justin found a new appreciation for his well endowed butt,” Brian snarked.

“Daddy, did you fall down again?” Bree asked in total resignation. Her big blue eyes opened wide as she gazed at her father. Blues eyes met blue eyes.

“Yeah, I did,” Justin sighed.

“He not only fell but he bounced, halfway down the cliff,” Brian went on. “Fortunately, he put on the brakes.”

“I think my butt got flattened in the process.” Justin made a joke to lighten the seriousness of his accident.

“Is your butt okay now, Daddy?” Bree asked then giggled because she got to say the word butt.

“Yes, baby girl, my butt is just fine,” he laughed. Some of the family laughed along with them.

Next, Brian clicked his remote and more pictures of the estate flashed across the wall. The family could appreciate just how vast the estate was.

“These aren’t...?” John asked as a picture of two innocent looking horses stared back at them.

“They are. And it’s not the horse’s fault she got spooked,” Brian responded.

“No, it was my fault, I didn’t listen to Brian. He told me not to go riding but I insisted. Meet Pele and Maui, the goddess of fire and of the clouds.”

“Is Pele the horse that bolted?” John asked.

“Yup,” Justin confirmed. “I should have just stayed straight in my saddle. I twisted in my seat and the horse stumbled. She took off toward the barn.”

“Justin, it was a good thing that you jumped off in spite of your dislocated shoulder. I’ve seen a few experienced riders get slammed into a barn because they couldn’t jump off quick enough,” Steve explained. “I know your shoulder is painful but the alternative is worse.”

The family all nodded. Bree snuggled closer to her daddy’s side sensing the tension that ran through the porch. She held onto Taylor who had fallen asleep in her lap.

“I love you, Daddy,” Bree whimpered.

“Love you, baby girl.”

Brian quickly changed the picture to the big banyan tree.

“Who are they?” Joan asked.

“This is Angelica, our housekeeper, cook and overall travel guide, and her husband Henry. He’s the chauffeur and a very nice man,” Brian explained.

“They took good care of us,” Justin added.

“He means they nursed us after every accident. They put up with a lot of our shit while we were there,” Brian said. “And they still want us to come back!”

“Of course they want you to come back, they want your money,” Michael grumbled.

Brian ignored Michael. He wanted to say a whole lot of things but he thought better of it. He knew that Michael was upset that he’d come back hurt so Brian let it go.

Brian pushed the button on the remote again and again in quick succession. The next few pictures were of Justin, Angelica and Henry under the banyan tree. Then all of a sudden the picture became blurred.

“What the...?”

“Hey?”

“Huh?”

The family were all mumbling, buzzing like bees as Brian kept hitting the remote. They were all trying to figure out what they were seeing.

“Bri, what is this?” Justin finally asked.

“When I tripped on that root, the camera flew up and hit me on the head. It must have triggered the auto button because I certainly didn’t take these. It’s my mishap in action,” Brian joked.

The camera had captured Brian’s fall, tumbling over the root and then as he finally landed.

“Ow! My ankle hurts just watching that,” Drew said as his hand automatically went to rub his own ankle.

The last few pictures were taken at the restaurant just before the boys flew back home. Paul and Martin were in several pictures as well as Angelica and Henry.

“Oooo, what a handsome couple,” Emmett remarked about Paul and Martin. “When did you say they were coming for a visit?” Emmett flashed his toothy smile.

Then there was one group shot that their waiter had taken for them. They were all waving to the camera. Justin’s sling was clearly in view and his face appeared tired. Brian looked bruised and his crutches were leaning on the wall just behind his seat.

“And so ends, Brian and Justin’s Excellent Adventure!” Brian announced. Patrick got up to turn on the lights as Richie and Candy raised the blinds.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, Kiddo. I’m just happy you’re both home.” Debbie voiced what everyone was thinking.

“I know,” Emmett said as he burst into alligator tears then jumped up to give Brian and Justin a hug.

“Stop slobbering all over me, you big fairy!” Brian scolded. “John, Bobby, help!”

“Come on, Emm, they’re fine,” John crooned as he went to pull Emmett off Brian.

“We have one more presentation,” Brian said loudly before everyone dispersed. “Emm, go help John and Bobby bring in the bags from my room.”

Emmett sniffled a couple of times then followed John and Bobby into the master bedroom. They all heard a squeal of delight. Emmett, laden with a lot of gift bags, came running back into the porch. He again gave Brian a hug and kissed his cheek.

“Ick!” Brian said as he rubbed Emmett germs off his cheek.

“Can I make like Santa?” Emmett begged. Brian waved a royal wrist at him. Emmett clapped with glee.

“In appreciation for the party you threw for us, Justin and I picked up a few little souvenirs for all of you,” Brian said as John, Bobby and Emmett checked each tag on the bag or box in their hands then distributed the gift to its rightful owner.

“When did you find time to do all this?” Justin whispered as he leaned closer to his spouse. Bree had carefully laid Taylor down in the middle of the bed then piled cushions around him so he wouldn't roll. She then hopped down to help her uncles give out the presents.

“While you were fending off the security guard and I was being measured, for my suit, Sunshine,” Brian teased Justin. Brian thought a jealous Sunshine was a cute Sunshine. “I had a personal shopper show me the store’s boutique catalogue. I found hundreds of gift ideas that saved me a lot of time. I picked out what I wanted, indicated who it was going to and they did the rest. I had the whole fucking lot shipped back to Kinnetik.”

“Pretty smart, Mr. Kinney,” Justin smiled.

“I think so,” Brian said most immodestly and with a smirk.

“Hey,” John said as he approached the boys. “I think you may want to give this one to the princess, and I found the gift for Gus. I left his and Ray’s and the ones for the rest of Ray’s family in the bag in your room,” John informed Brian. John handed a bright pink gift bag to Brian.

“I think you boys went a little overboard with the gifts,” John said as he sat next to Brian.

“It’s not often one gets to go on a second honeymoon,” Brian quipped. “I wanted it to be memorable.”

“Not this memorable,” Justin added as he gingerly gave his injured shoulder a shrug for the first time in days.

“Look, most of the stuff is just trinkets but you...” Brian still had some difficulty putting into words how he felt about his family.

“I understand, Brian,” John said as he gave his brother a pat on the back. “You really are a big mush, you know that, don’t you,” John smiled at Brian. Brian gave his brother a crooked little smile.

“Hey Squirt!” Brian called out to his daughter, waving the pink gift bag.

“Is that for me, Dada?”

“Yup, your Daddy picked this out special, just for you,” Brian explained. Bree beamed with her own sunny smile. She climbed back up onto the brass bed to open up her gift. Her dads watched as Bree carefully took out the box then unwrapped it.

“Oooo! It’s so pretty! What kind of flower is it?” Bree asked as she held up the flower charm then had her Dada put it around her neck.

“It’s called a hibiscus,” Brian informed Bree. “They grow in tropical places. That means they like very warm weather.”

“Oh, does that mean they don’t like snow?” Bree asked looking kind of disappointed.

“No, they don’t, but if Uncle John builds us a greenhouse, maybe we can grow some hibiscus,” Brian told her. “But I’ll need your help.”

“Of course, Dada! Daddy, can I put this charm on my necklace with my froggie?”

“I think that’s a great idea, baby girl, but ask your Dada to help.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Bree said as she slid off the bed then bounced her way happily over to her grandmothers to show them her new treasure.

“You made her very happy, Sunshine,” Brian observed. He placed a kiss onto Justin’s temple.

“We made her happy. She hardly takes off her froggie necklace because you bought it for her.”

“And now she has something from you to put next to it,” Brian whispered. The lovers kissed, well aware of the significance and of how lucky they were having a special little girl like Bree in their lives.

“These are beautiful!” Debbie gushed as she showed off her new earrings that were dangling boldly and brightly off her ears. They were a cluster of rainbow colored, enamelled flowers hanging off delicate gold chains. They reminded Brian of the Pride colors. When he saw them he immediately knew that Debbie would love them and he was right.

Debbie gave her boys a kiss and a gentle smack to Brian’s cheek then she went back into the fray of the family to show off her earrings.

As the family slowly made their way back out into the garden, John and Emmett began to fire up the grill. The older kids and the men grabbed the chairs to bring them back outside or fold up the ones they didn’t need. Lindsay and Rachel began to set the porch back to rights and prepare the long table for the buffet. The family working in concert got the barbecue off to a rousing start.



*****



“Sweetheart, do you need help?” Jennifer asked her son. Justin had a large plate containing a variety of salads sitting on the table in front of him.

“No, mom, I can manage. I’m allowed out of my sling for meals and to shower. Bobby got us an appointment with an orthopedist on Tuesday. I guess I’ll find out then when I can give this thing up for good.”

“Don’t overdo,” his mother told him.

“I won’t,” Justin promised. “I’m hungry,” he said as he dug into Debbie’s macaroni salad.

“That’s a good sign,” Debbie stated loudly. “Now if we can just get Brian to follow your lead.”

“Oh, he’ll follow Justin’s lead but just not to the dinner table,” Ben said as he sat down at their table. He had his own plate piled high with fruit, salad and grilled lean chicken. “Thank you,” Ben said to Justin.

“You’re welcome. Um, for what?”

“The book. It’s beautiful.” Ben reached under his seat for a small dignified looking gift bag. It contained an elegant book of sayings from the Dali Lama.

“Brian picked it out,” Justin informed Ben with a touch of pride in his voice.

“That man never ceases to amaze me. I’m almost done with this semester, if he needs help in the garden, you call me.”

“I will.” Justin found himself making his second promise in as many minutes. They ate in companionable silence, enjoying the afternoon and the company.



*****



As the sun started to set, the family formed into little groups around the yard, sitting under umbrellas or trees. A few of the older members sat in the sun porch where Brian and Justin had decided to stay. The chaises were very comfortable and there seemed to be no shortage of people willing to wait on them. Bree was at the head of the list.

“Dada, here’s your beer,” Bree said as she handed her father an ice cold bottle that her Uncle John had uncapped for her.

“Thank you, Miss Squirt.”

“I’m General Squirt,” Bree protested, using the name her father sometimes called her.

“Only in certain circumstances.”

“Huh?”

“You’re General Squirt when you are deciding things or demanding things or setting your poor old dads straight.” Justin snorted as he listened to Brian’s explanation.

“I set you straight?” Bree asked incredulously.

“When you know something is right or a certain way you want things to be, you let us know, and you’re … usually right,” Brian admitted.

“Really?” Bree asked with a big smile.

“Really, General Squirt,” Brian said returning Bree’s smile.

“I love you, Dada. I gots to do something,” she added quickly and raced out the door of the sun porch.

“Where’s she going?” Justin asked as they watched her run across the lawn.

“Damned if I know…” Brian began, but then he stopped. Bree had skidded to a halt in front of Riley and Danny who were sitting under the big tree. “Looks like it involves some of our elder statesmen,” Brian commented.

“What’s she up to?”

Brian shook his head. “I think we may be in for a little concert. She’s got Riley by the hand.”

Bree was tugging on Riley’s hand getting him to come back to the house with her.

“She’s a persuasive little thing,” Justin observed.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Brian snorted.

“Well she does take after someone else persuasive that I know.”

Brian grinned lasciviously.

A few minutes later the family could hear the sound of the spinet coming from inside the house.

“I think we’re being summoned,” Brian said standing up and getting his crutches hooked under his arms. “Anyone who wants to hear the product of months of music lessons and thousands of dollars, follow Gimpy and Sling Boy inside.” With that Brian started swinging along on his crutches heading for the sound of the musical chords.

Soon most of the family was assembled around the little spinet piano that Riley had renovated for Bree. Bree and her favourite piano man were tinkling some notes.

“Are you two going to play a tune?” Debbie asked after a minute.

“How about Heart and Soul?” Riley asked the little girl. “It makes me think of your daddies.”

Bree grinned. “I like that, Mr. Riley. I can play it.”

“I know you can, sweetheart,” Riley asserted.

“Go for it, General Squirt,” Brian whispered earning a sunshine smile from his daughter.

Bree and Riley launched into the familiar song. They played it very well, considering that they had not had much time to practice together. Bree hit one false note, but only Riley noticed, and he just kept on going.

There was a big round of applause when they finished.

“I made a mistake,” Bree whispered to Riley. She looked crestfallen, having wanted to play the song perfectly for her fathers.

“Nobody noticed,” Riley whispered back. He gave the little girl a hug. “Stand up and take a bow. We sounded damn good.”

Bree’s face brightened up. “Miss Faith wouldn’t like that I made a mistake.”

“Most musicians make mistakes from time to time. You just keep playing and hardly anyone ever knows.

“Really?” Bree asked as they stood up.

“Guaranteed.”

They took a big bow as the applause continued.

“Michael!” Ben shouted in the hallway.

“I’m going home,” Michael retorted loudly. “Get out of my way!”

“Michael, be reasonable.”

“Too late!” Michael shouted. That was followed by the slamming of the front door. Everyone stood in stunned silence, until Riley and Bree sat down and started to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.