Throwing Stones

Chapter 1





“Kinney, where is my son?” Melanie demanded as she marched over to Brian and Debbie.

“Melanie, so lovely to see you again,” Brian said in his fake, sweet voice. “How the fuck did you get through the gate?”

“Someone was leaving,” she stated, ignoring Brian’s tone of voice.

“Todd!” both Debbie and Brian replied. Todd and Gerry had found some quiet space to explore kissing to a greater effect. They must have finished for the night.

“I want to see my son,” Melanie repeated in her most caustic tone. “And don’t even think about trying to stop me!”

“Gus and Ray may already have retired,” Brian responded in his most gentlemanly voice. “I don’t think they wish to be interrupted.”

Debbie did her best to stifle a laugh. Melanie was the mother of her granddaughter after all.

“I just flew for five hours and drove for another hour. I want to see my son.”

“Come back in the morning,” Brian replied, his patience at its end.

“I want to see Gus now!”

“What part of in the morning don’t you understand?”

“I don’t take orders from you, asshole!”

“This is private property in case you’ve forgotten, and technically you’re trespassing. Do I have to call the gendarmes?”

“Asshole!” Melanie repeated.

“Mel.”

“And who do we have here – the new girlfriend, I presume,” Brian said sarcastically.

“Lorna Dunlop,” the woman said extending her hand as she came up beside Melanie.

Brian ignored the hand. “I suggest you get her out of here right now.”

Melanie sputtered looking for the most awful and disgusting thing she could call Brian Kinney.

“May we see Gus in the morning if we leave now?” Lorna asked coldly.

“I think that can be arranged … if Gus agrees,” Brian stated a little taken aback by the cool and somehow threatening demeanor of this quiet woman. She would not fly off the handle the way Mel did, but she might be even more dangerous.

“Let’s go, Mel,” Lorna said turning on her heel and heading back to the rental car they had arrived in.

“But…” Mel began.

“Mel!” Lorna commanded.

“I will be here in the morning. Count on it,” Melanie said as she hurried over to the car and got in.

“Call first,” Brian ordered.

The car wheeled around and headed down the lane.

“You okay, kiddo,” Debbie asked rubbing Brian’s arm.

“My fucking foot hurts worse than ever.” Melanie Marcus could still push his buttons.

“Go to bed. Let Justin take care of you,” Debbie advised.

“Night, Maw,” Brian said as he limped towards the house.

Debbie opened the door of the RV. Maybe Carl could offer her some comfort just like she knew Justin would do for Brian. “Oh Carl,” she said sweetly as she entered the RV.



*****



The family was gathered around the big table in the sun porch for breakfast the next morning. Gus and Ray had yet to come up for air, but everyone else was there. Debbie leaned over to Brian and asked if he had spoken to Gus. Brian shook his head. Debbie frowned and shrugged. They didn’t need any more surprises like last night.

“Hey, Gerry,” Emmett said with a toothy grin. “I saw you and Todd getting mighty cozy.”

“What’s it to you?” Gerry asked but he smiled in spite of his severe tone.

“Oh nothing,” Emmett grinned. “I just love romance.”

“That he does,” Drew said with a chuckle. He kissed Emmett’s cheek.

“The big fairy never gets enough,” Brian threw in.

“Well,” Gerry said slowly, “I find Todd very … interesting.”

“Ooh, interesting,” Emmett teased. “That means he’s a good kisser.”

“Hey, were we under surveillance last night?” Gerry demanded.

“Gerry,” Justin interrupted. “Nobody was watching you, and some of us need to learn when to stop teasing.” Justin looked pointedly at Emmett.

“Um, sorry if I’m intruding in private matters,” Emmett apologized.

“No you’re not,” Brian said with a smirk.

Emmett stuck his tongue out at Brian. “I was just having a little fun,” Emmett said.

“He does that to everybody,” Richie noted having received his fair share of comments about himself and Candy.

“We all like to see people happy,” Justin continued. “It was pretty obvious that you and Todd hit it off. I think it’s great,” he added.

Brian reached over and squeezed Justin’s hand. He was glad to see his lover was feeling better. Lately Justin would have ignored that whole conversation, lost somewhere inside himself, inside his memories and emotions.

Justin smiled up at his husband. “Love you,” he mouthed.

Brian stared into the blue eyes. They were clearer this morning. Maybe helping Brian deal with Melanie’s unexpected and upsetting visit had been therapeutic for Justin too. After a minute Justin looked away, indicating that although things were better, they were far from perfect.

Brian sighed just as the phone rang. “I wonder who that could be,” Brian said sarcastically as Bree ran to get him the portable phone.

“What?” he snapped into the receiver.

“I’m ready to see my son,” Melanie’s voice came back at him.

“He isn’t up yet.”

“Get him up.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t take fucking orders from you,” Brian snapped back at her.

Everyone at the table was listening. Most of them had heard about Melanie’s late night visit from Debbie.

“You said I could see my son today. I’m calling as you requested,” Melanie said.

Brian could almost hear her grinding her teeth in frustration. He was almost tempted to let her stew some more, but he didn’t want her all over Gus due to his father’s behavior.

“Come for lunch,” Brian said. “We’ll try to be civilized.”

“You! Civilized! I don’t think so.”

Brian bit off the expletive that he so wanted to use. All eyes were on him. “One o’clock,” he said and cut the connection. He handed the phone to Bree after turning off the ringer. “Put that someplace far away from me,” Brian informed his daughter.

“’Kay, Dada,” Bree said before she ran into the house with the phone.

“We may never see that phone again,” Justin reminded him.

“That would suit me just fine.”

“Should we get the boys up?” Justin asked. He seemed relieved to have something different to concentrate on.

“Let’s send Bree,” Brian suggested his tongue in cheek.

“You are evil,” Bobby laughed.

“My middle name.”

“I thought it was asshole,” Drew said with a straight face.

“As the occasion calls for,” Brian replied smugly.

“Dada,” Bree said as she returned, “I put it in my room.”

“Good girl,” Brian responded.

“Dada, is Ashley coming today?”

“No, Squirt, tomorrow is the first day of summer school. Her mother’s bringing her in the morning.”

“Oh,” Bree said dejectedly. She had wanted to have Ashley at the fireworks, but the little girl and her mother had gone to see Ashley’s father.

“But I have a job for you,” Brian said with an evil grin to match Bobby’s appellation for him.

“You do?” Bree asked with a frown. “What?”

“I want you to go wake up your brother and Ray.”

“But you said I was never to open their door without you or Daddy being with me,” Bree said innocently.

Everyone at the table snickered knowingly. Bree looked at them not understanding.

“That’s right, but I don’t want you to open the door.”

“Then how do I wake Gus up?”

“You know what you always say when you first see Gus, especially after he’s been away for a long time.”

“Yes.”

“That’s what I want you to do.”

“Are you sure?” Bree asked with some misgiving.

“Very sure.”

“But what if that doesn’t wake him up? His door is real thick.”

“Then you have my permission to pound on it.”

“Really, Dada?”

“Really.”

“’Kay,” she responded and then ran into the house.

“GUUUUUUUSSSSSSSS!” they could all hear her screaming as she ran down the hall.

“She’s not going to do your dirty work for you much longer,” John said with a laugh.

“I can always get her on my side,” Brian bragged.

“I wouldn’t be too sure,” Ted said. “I think she’s smarter than all of us put together.”

Everyone laughed, before another shrill “GUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSS!” echoed through the house.

They heard a door slam open. “Hey,” a voice said, “is the house on fire? Are you on fire?”

The laughter at the table continued as they were all picturing a possibly naked Gus being jumped by a petite little blonde who would be all over him.



*****



“Morning,” Ben greeted Michael with a tray. The tray held all of Michael’s favorite breakfast foods. Michael was just waking up from a fitful sleep. They had watched the local Fourth of July firework display on TV the night before.

“Hi,” Michael said trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Ben set the tray on the bedside table, kissed his spouse then propped Michael up with pillows. “Thank you,” Michael said as Ben set the tray down in front of him.

“I made all of your favorites,” Ben said pensively hoping that something would entice Michael to eat. Michael’s appetite had diminished over the last few weeks.

“It looks good,” Michael said appreciatively as he picked up a piece of crispy bacon. “Mmm,” he smiled. Ben gratefully smiled back.

“Michael, I don’t want you to get upset but I had a call from Brian this morning.” Michael stopped chewing to look at Ben. “He said that your mother suspects that something’s up.”

“What did she do?”

“Got angry at Brian for not telling her anything. He thinks we should tell her.”

Michael nodded. He didn’t like hiding things from her or JR. “What else?”

“Mel’s back.” Michael groaned. “Yeah. Right now she’s gunning for Brian. She thinks he’s keeping Gus away from her but it’s only a matter of time till she comes for us and JR.”

“So what should we do?”

“Nothing, for now. JR is old enough to know what she wants for her life. And as much as she loves her mother, she loves you and her life here. This is her home; this is where she wants to be.”

“But what if Melanie sues us for custody?”

“I don’t think she will but I’ll call Bobby and see if he has a suggestion. Right now your main focus is to rest and get better.”

“Is that an order?” Michael asked as he smiled lovingly up at his spouse.

“Yes, it is and I want you to eat.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’ll call Brian to check on how it’s going. I do think you should call your mother.”

“Okay.” Ben turned to leave the room as Michael took a bite out of his toast. “Ben?” Ben looked back. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Ben replied with relief as he left the room.



*****



Gus and Ray stumbled into the sun porch with Bree who was hitching a ride on Gus’ back. “Okay, who’s the wise-ass that sicced Bree on me?” Gus glared at the not so innocent looking adults sitting around the big table. The aroma of strong coffee and breakfast was perking him up.

No one said a word but they all pointed a finger at Brian.

“I should have known. What did I do now, Pop?” Gus asked as he deposited his sister on their dad’s lap. She scurried down so she could sit at the big table in the porch and have some more breakfast.

“Nothing but I need you awake and alert. I have something to tell you,” Brian said in a serious tone. Brian got up and walked with Gus to the door of the sun porch. They stepped outside so they could have some privacy.

“I don’t think I’m going to like this, am I?”

“It’s not that bad, Sonny Boy. Mel’s here. She flew in on her broomstick last night after everyone went to bed.”

“Mama’s here?”

“In the flesh, and she’s not alone.”

“Lorna?”

“Yeah. She was demanding to see you but I stalled until one this afternoon. Mel’s your mom so I’m not getting involved, plus you’re almost twenty so I got nothing to say about what you do. Just remember what you do might affect your mother, JR and Michael.”

“Michael?”

“Yes. Listen, I’m going to tell you something in confidence. You cannot repeat this.”

“I swear, Dad.”

“Michael’s sick, some sort of weird virus, not HIV. But it’s going to take a while for him to get stronger.”

“Does Grandmaw know?”

“She knows something’s wrong but not the details. Michael and Ben want to tell her themselves when they’re ready. That’s why all the cloak and dagger shit. You love Mel and I have no problem with that. You do whatever you need to do and know that I love you.” Gus reached up to hug his father.

“I love you, Pop. I do love Mama but I won’t let her hurt you, us, all of us,” Gus whispered.

“I know you won’t, Sonny Boy.” Father and son stayed wrapped around each other for a few moments. “Go on inside and eat. You’ll need your strength, for many reasons,” Brian teased.

“Oh Pop.”

“Hey, I’m not so old that I don’t remember what you boys do.”

“Don’t remind me. It’s a lot to live up to, the Stud of Liberty Avenue.”

Brian made a face. “Just play safe.”

“I am. We are.”

“Good. Let’s go join the rest of the family.”



*****



“Why do you hate him so much?” Lorna gently asked as Mel was combing her hair. She and Mel drove all the way back into Pittsburgh after being dismissed by Brian. They found a hotel just outside of town to call home base for the length of their stay.

“You mean besides being a hedonistic, self-serving son of a bitch,” Mel spat out.

“So tell me how you really feel.”

“I don’t know. For years I hated everything he stood for.”

“And what did he stand for?”

“A horny male prick!”

“It goes with the territory; he’s a man, a gay man. I’m sure he had his share of tricks.”

“More than his share and he's had everyone else’s share as well. I once defended him in a sexual harassment suit.”

“That’s hard to win. What was your platform?”

“The fact that he could do two to three tricks per day without breaking a sweat, so he didn’t need to harass anyone for sex. All Brian Kinney needed to do was look at a man and he’d drop his pants. I imagine if he still wanted to, he could.”

“But he doesn’t?”

“As far as I know, the minute he made his commitment to Justin, he’s never done another trick.”

“And you resent him for that?”

“No! Yes. Maybe. I resent that everything he does turns to gold. Every project, every business endeavor, every ad campaign. Everything! And he knows it. Everything he touches.”

“You’re jealous.”

“I am not!”

“Sure you are and there’s something else about him you’re not telling me.” Melanie mumbled something. “I didn’t get that.”

“He slept with my wife!” Melanie shrieked.

“When you were married?”

“No. FUCK! When they were in college, before either one of them came out. They experimented with each other.”

“Experimented?”

“Lovers but they soon realized they preferred their own gender.”

“But according to you that was way before you met Lindsay.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So you’re condemning him for something that happened before you even knew Lindsay. And does he hate you as well?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. Whose side are you on anyway?”

“Yours, but I don’t understand your hatred for Kinney. He’s successful, good looking, loves his family, sounds a lot like you.”

“I’m nothing like him!”

“Maybe,” Lorna said as she turned to walk away.

“Where are you going?”

“Shower. I need a shower.”

“Sure.” Melanie watched Lorna walk into the bathroom. She didn’t point out that Lorna had already taken a shower.



*****



“Anybody home?” Brian called out as he knocked on the glass door of Molly’s cottage.

“Hi,” Lindsay said as she answered the door.

“You guys didn’t come up for breakfast,” Brian said.

“I thought you could use a break. I know you have a cottage full. Besides, we’re having a girls’ morning,” Lindsay said with a beatific smile. “Want some coffee?”

“Sure,” Brian said as he came into the pretty little cottage and looked around.

“She made this into such a cozy home, didn’t she?” Lindsay said referring to Molly and her decor for her little getaway cottage.

“Yes, she did. And she’s just as creative at Kinnetik. Cynthia is grooming her to take her place.”

“Is Cynthia planning to retire?”

“Not anytime soon, but she wants someone with similar values.”

“And you both think Molly is it.”

“Yes.”

“Brian, you didn’t come down here for my coffee and to talk about Molly.” Brian shook his head. “What is it?”

“Mel’s back,” was all he said.