Brian left the meeting and drove to Gus' school. Gus attended a private school that Brian paid for, wanting the best for his "Sonny Boy". While the public schools were okay in their area, Brian wanted his son to have the best possible education. Since Brian had been a child who grew up in a home where no one seemed to care about him or his studies, Brian knew how important it was to ask Gus about school and encourage him to excel in any area that he was interested in.
Gus seemed to like sports, just like Brian had as a child. Brian thought for a minute about getting involved in some type of adult soccer and the thought of kicking the ball around a field sent a shiver of excitement through his body. He added that to his mental to-do list; finding out if there was a place to play soccer for adults.
Lindsay had frequently remarked on what a good student he was and that his grades were always excellent. She had said he really liked science and hoped he would study to be some kind of scientist. Brian honestly didn't think that Gus would like being a scientist as he was very gregarious and his view of scientists was that of people who were loners. It didn't matter to Brian what Gus did as an adult, just that he was happy. At this point, Gus was 10 and he had a while to think about his future.
There was a large yard banner on the school touting the upcoming spring "Iron Chef" fundraiser. Lindsay had told him about the event. Evidently, there were a lot of kids who liked to cook and there were teams. He remembered listening half-heartedly to the explanation, but she rambled on for at least 15 minutes about how she was soliciting Emmett's help to come up with a unique dish. The sign reminded him that he wanted to talk to Emmett about last night's aborted visit to Babylon.
After giving his name to the guard at the edge of the parking lot, Brian parked his car and went inside. At the entrance to the school, he had to push a button to gain entrance to the building. A part of him felt like he was entering a secure prison or lockdown facility rather than an elementary school.
While he was not one to spend hours looking at the news and analyzing various actions of local politicians, he did keep abreast of most news in the area. Since information was a part of his business he needed to be able to talk coherently about things that were occurring in his community. It was a bad idea to bring up his views on any particular news items, but he needed to keep his pulse on what was going on. Advertising was targeted to people's beliefs and he needed to know what people were thinking. Therefore, he understood why schools had invested in such extreme security measures. There had been too many instances of violence occurring at schools and the communities felt these measures would secure their children. Still, he cringed as he was buzzed into the building and greeted by a person seated at a table by the entrance.
"Good afternoon. I'll need you to fill out a name badge," the woman said as she pointed to a small stack of sticky-backed name badges.
Brian's thoughts of being in a prison or secure facility were confirmed, but he complied as he wanted to speak to someone in charge. He picked up a pen from the table and filled out the badge, sticking it on his suit coat as he silently hoped the sticky residue would not ruin his Armani blazer. Armani was not meant to have stickers applied to its lapels.
The woman appeared to be in her 40's, wearing a lightweight red sweater cardigan over a white button-down blouse. She wore no makeup except lipstick and the bags under her eyes made her look very tired. Brian was always a good observer of people and he reasoned that she was not happy with her placement at the door. She smiled at him with a smile that didn't quite reach her cheeks, giving her a look of feigned interest.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Kinney?" she said as she read his name tag.
"I'd like to talk to the principal," Brian said, deciding that going to the top administrator would get him the quickest answer.
The woman nodded and said, "Go down this hallway, and on the third door to your right is the principal's office." She pointed to the hallway to her right and wrote down Brian's name and destination in her visitor's log.
Brian followed the directions and walked into the office where another woman sat behind a wooden desk. Brian looked around the room which was filled with bright colored posters touting various messages about how awesome students were and how much a principal cared for the student. He automatically thought of ways to improve the posters and the message, but inwardly laughed at his tendency to alter advertising even in this mundane setting.
"May I help you, Sir?" the red headed woman asked.
Brian cringed when someone called him sir but accepted it in this instance; they were deferring to him rather than being derogatory or referring to his age. He imagined they greeted all visitors like that, hoping to make a good impression on the public, as well as the parents.
"Yes, I'd like to talk to the principal," Brian said.
"Your name?" the woman asked as she grabbed her pen to write the information down.
"Brian Kinney. I am Gus Peterson's father."
The woman clicked on a tab on her computer screen, verifying that there was a student by that name who attended the school. It was amazing to her that there were people who showed up at the school whose children did not attend. She could not imagine a parent not knowing where their child attended school, but understood that there were many noncustodial parents and assumed that they often did not keep track of those types of things. She found Gus's information easily and noted that Brian was listed as an emergency contact but he was not listed as the father. She read that Melanie and Lindsay were listed as parents. While there were children who had two same-sex parents who attended the school, it was still novel. She wondered how that worked, having two same-sex parents and a third parent of the opposite sex. She wouldn't ask, but it was always something she wondered. She hit print so she could provide the principal with the information about Gus which included his current grades as well as contact information.
"I'll let Mr. Calbright know you are here. Have a seat and he will see you soon." She got up from her desk, grabbing the papers and knocked on the door that had bold black letters on it with his name.
After hearing a "come in", the woman went into the office, handed the principal the papers and stated that Mr. Kinney would like to speak to him. Mr. Calbright reviewed the papers and said, "Tell him I'll be right out." He finished writing an email to the superintendent and then went out to greet Brian.
"Mr. Kinney, come in," he said as he reached out his hand to shake Brian's hand.
Brian returned the handshake, noting that the principal's handshake was firm and short, sending a positive message.
Mr. Calbirght motioned to the beige chair in front of his desk. "I apologize for the chairs. The majority of the time it is students who sit in them. What can I do for you today, Mr. Kinney."
"I'd like a list of all the field trips and other activities that my son Gus will be asked to participate in for the remainder of the year," Brian said.
"That is an unusual request. I'm not sure we have a list like that."
Brian frowned. "I see. Is there a way that I can be notified of these events? Gus lives with his mother, but I pay for the extras. I'd like to be notified directly of any costs rather than have her be the middle person."
Mr. Calbright picked up the papers and reviewed Gus's information. He saw that Gus did indeed live with his mothers but Brian was listed as an emergency contact. Since Brian was listed as a person who was acceptable to be reached in an emergency, he didn't see any reason that his request could not be carried out.
"I think that can be arranged. I will send his teachers a note regarding this issue. I can't guarantee that his mothers will not receive a note as well, but I think adding you to the list shouldn't be an issue. Is there anything else I can assist you with?"
"I'd like to know if there is a field trip scheduled in the next few weeks for Gus. His mother stated there was and I'd like to pay for it now."
Mr. Calbright turned toward his computer screen and clicked on several tabs before opening a screen for the 5th-grade class that Gus attended. He scrolled through the information and shook his head.
"No, I don't see any upcoming field trips, Mr. Kinney. They are scheduled to go to an assembly at the end of next week, but that is here at school."
Brian nodded his head. "Thank you. I'll not take any more of your time." Brian stood up and shook the principal's hand again, walking out toward the front of the school.
As he walked to the entrance, the red-headed woman called out, "Mr. Kinney, if you want to give me your sticker I can sign you out and throw it away."
Brian walked to the desk, handing her his sticker and returning to his car. As he walked to the car, he thought about how he wanted to confront Lindsay about her lie. Glancing at the clock on the car dashboard, he was pleased to see the visit was relatively quick, having taken less than an hour. However, it was already 2:00 and he had a few things to do before he went to pick up Gus for the weekend.
He drove to Kinnetik as he thought about his conversation with the principal. Lindsay was officially caught in a lie and he had no doubt that this one was just the tip of the iceberg. He was glad that he had already spoken to a lawyer and put in motion legal protections for his rights. He really didn't have to wonder how Lindsay would react as evidenced by her reaction earlier today when he offered to drop off the money himself.
Arriving at Kinnetik, he realized that he only had about 3 hours to accomplish his projects. Looking at his to do list, he chose a few pressing projects and started working on those. He asked Cynthia not to be disturbed. He opened up a file on his computer and worked on the campaign for Brown Athletics as they were coming up for renewal and he had some minor tweaks to add to the boards. He'd set his phone to ding, reminding him that he needed to leave in time to pick up Gus. When it dinged, he sighed, slightly unhappy that he'd not completed more of his work. Saving and closing down his files, he gathered his briefcase and put a few files inside. He could always work after Gus was in bed. Stopping at Ted's office before he left, he asked for the information on the labs and Ted handed him a printout of the information.
Brian went to his car, threw his briefcase in the backseat and drove toward home. He needed to change before picking up Gus, and he preferred to wear jeans when he wasn't working. He grabbed a quick shower when he got home, dressed, and drove to the girl's home. As he drove up, Gus opened the door and waved with both arms.
"Dad, what are we going to do this weekend? Can we go to the park or the zoo? They canceled recess the last two days because it was raining and I really want to do something outside. Can we go to the diner and see Debbie for dinner? I want a big vanilla milkshake and a cheeseburger. Also, can we go see the new "Lego Movie"? My friend, Tommy, saw it and said it was awesome. Can we play XBox? I need to see if I can beat you on the new Zombie game," Gus said, bombarding Brian with too many questions.
Brian hugged Gus and walked inside. Lindsay was cleaning the dining room table, averting her eyes away from Brian. Brian briefly debated if he should bring up the "field trip" but decided to leave it for now. He knew she would fight him when he pushed for his legal rights and started limiting her funds. He wanted to keep his plans to himself for the moment; realizing that she would protest and bombard him with endless phone calls once she realized that the open purse strings were tied shut.
"Let's grab your bag. Do you have any homework to do?" Brian said. He watched Lindsay clean, pretending to be oblivious of his presence. She repeatedly rubbed at a spot on the table, doing her best Macbeth imitation.
"No. I did it at school. Since we didn't have recess, I worked on my homework. I figured that doing it at school would mean that I could spend all weekend doing stuff with you," Gus said as he smiled at his father.
Brian was so pleased that Gus wanted to spend the time with him. He never would have chosen to spend time with his parents, but his parents would not have been interested in spending time with him regardless.
Brian yelled out to Lindsay, "See you Saturday afternoon. Don't rub the finish off the table." He picked up Gus' backpack and they walked to Brian's car.
"Let's head to the diner. I think Deb is working and I hear there is a tall milkshake waiting for you. As for what we are doing this weekend. I thought we'd go to the Incline. Have you ever been there?"
Gus looked at Brian as he opened the car door. "The Incline? Isn't that the thing that goes up the mountain and you can see all of Pittsburgh?" He got in the car and closed the door.
"Yes. That is the Incline. What do you think? I hear there is an awesome ice cream store nearby." Brian said, trying to make the excursion even more enticing.
"Sure. I just like hanging with you. The moms are always busy with errands and meetings. I sometimes wonder if they would rather I spend every weekend with you," Gus commented.
Gus' comment surprised Brian and he stopped himself from responding right away. His first thought was that of course, Gus wouldn't want to do that, but he stopped himself, realizing that possibly Gus enjoyed their time together as much as he did.
"Would you like to spend more time with me?" Brian asked, a little concerned about the answer, but realizing that if Gus didn't want that, he wasn't going to push him to do so.
"Sure. Dad, you and I don't have to do anything special when we're together. A lot of my friends spend weekends with their dads. My friends Caleb and Todd talk about their dads and how they are always doing a gazillion things with their dads. Sort of like their dads don't want them to be bored." Gus looked out the window recognizing some of the familiar landmarks, realizing they were close to the diner.
"Caleb told me that he wishes his dad would just hang out with him and maybe play some video games. I guess it's because his parents are divorced. Maybe, his dad feels bad for not always being there. Thankfully, you never married Mom, seeing how you like men," Gus said, tongue in cheek.
Brian smiled, acknowledging his influence on his son. His remark definitely sounded like something that he would say. Brian had never tried to hide his sexuality from Gus; he just hoped that he had managed to hide his promiscuity. Until recently, he always felt that what he did in private should not make a difference to anyone but him, and the man he was having sex with at that moment. While he still believed that, he also was realizing that perhaps he had used sex to hide his feelings and escape from a lot of bad situations. He hoped his realizations were not too late to prevent Gus from following in those footsteps.
"True. I don't think Linds and I would have made a good couple," Brian said, agreeing with his son's statement.
"Did you ever consider marrying her? I mean... I know you like guys and such... but well..."
"No, Gus. I never thought of marrying Lindsay. I like Lindsay. I may even love her a little, but it is not a marriage kind of love. She wanted me to be the father of her child so I agreed. It was never supposed to be like this," Brian said as he waved his hand between the two of them. "I was supposed to just provide the spunk and Mel and Linds were going to be the parents. But then I saw you and I couldn't just walk away." Brian smirked, a familiar smile on his face.
‘So I was just so cute, you couldn't resist me?" Gus said, the playfulness in his voice.
"I don't know. Mikey tried to talk me out of helping your mom. In some ways, he saw that I wouldn't be able to walk away. I thought I would help your moms and then that would be it," Brian said. He'd never talked to Gus or really anyone about this topic, but somehow this seemed to be a perfect time. He wanted Gus in his life even more than he was now, but he didn't want to force the issue. He needed to know for himself that Gus wanted it too.
"So what made you change your mind? I mean, come on Dad, you're not the typical father," Gus asked. He was enjoying the conversation. While he loved Brian unconditionally, and he enjoyed every minute he spent with him, he'd always wondered about how his father became his Dad. It wasn't like he was going to have this conversation with either of his moms. His Dad was the basis for more than one fight between his moms.
"I'm not 100% sure if it was any one thing. Linds encouraged me to be a part of your life. I mean, at first, she would invite me over to see you and as you got older she wanted me to play with you. Mikey always balked when she did stuff like that, but maybe I was rebelling against Mikey," Brian said.
Before the words were out of his mouth, he wondered where they came from. Mikey was always telling everyone that he knew Brian better than anyone since he was his best friend. When Mikey started telling him that he wouldn't want to hang out with Gus, he wondered if he did it just because Mikey told him he wouldn't want to. Had he been pushing Mikey's opinion to the wayside for 10 years? He frowned at that thought.
"Dad, why are you frowning? Is something wrong?"
Brian smiled. "No, Gus. Nothing is wrong. I just am seeing things clearer than I used to." Brian reached over to his son, ruffling his hair and grinning. "But then there was your response. Whenever I would come over, you would crawl right up to me and raise your hands to be picked up. Later, when I would walk in the door, you would giggle and say "da"." Brian remembered a particular day when Gus said "da" at least a half dozen times and each time he did, Mel would be furious that he was asking for him rather than one of his moms. "I think your response to my presence did a lot to change my mind. You didn't want anything from me and you were always happy to see me. It's pretty cool when someone lights up when you walk in the room."
"So I convinced you to be a part of my life? That is so cool. I mean most dads are kind of stuck, but you chose to be with me," Gus said, his smile almost bigger than his face.
"I guess you could put it that way. But I will tell you that I've never regretted that decision. As long as you want me around, I'll be here," Brian said as he pulled into the parking space by the diner. "I think it's time for a very large milkshake. What do you say to going in and ordering the largest vanilla shake that Deb has on the menu?"
"Great idea. I love you Dad. Thanks for being you," Gus said as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
"Love you too, Sonny Boy." He undid his seatbelt and a feeling of rightness washed over him. His son wanted him in his life and was moving toward making sure that always happened.
TBC