Brian had a busy morning, but after a quick sandwich that Cynthia brought him, he took a moment to call Emmett. One thing he'd learned from his sobriety journey was that procrastination did not benefit him. He never procrastinated in his professional life, but found that he often chose to wait "till a better time" for many of his personal matters. Since he started his sobriety he had made a conscious effort to tend to his personal life. This involved thinking about his decisions and how they impacted him, but he found this helped him acknowledge his feelings and recognize his barriers.

He scrolled through his phone, finding the icon for Emmett and waited for the connection to go through.

"Well, what do I owe this call to?" Emmett said as he read the caller ID.

"What are you doing Saturday night?" Brian asked, foregoing the casual conversation that usually accompanied a personal call.

"Surely you're not asking me out, so what did you have in mind?" Emmett said, curious why Brian was asking about his plans since Brian knew he always went to Babylon.

"No, you're right. I'm not asking you out, but I was wondering if you were free to hang out with Gus for a few hours while I went to a meeting," Brian said. He was not in the habit of asking for favors and this was a little uncomfortable. He realized that he thought this solution was a viable one and hoped that Emmett was actually willing to help.

"Oh. I'd love to hang out with Gus. What time do I need to be there?"

"The meeting starts at 5:30. I told Gus that I would ask if you would be willing to try out some recipes while you were here. Since I have him every weekend, we are trying out new things to cook. We made burgers from the recipe that you gave us and they were delicious," Brian said, filling in a little more of his request.

"You want me to give away all my secret recipes," Emmett said, the obvious tease in his voice.

"I told him we would host a family get together but we needed to practice our cooking before we did that," Brian said, further explaining their plans.

"Oh lordy, Brian Kinney is volunteering to cook and have a family dinner. What is this world coming to?" Emmett said, already thinking of dishes for him and Gus to cook.

Brian ignored Emmett's comments, recognizing they were made in jest. "My sponsor, Justin, has been coming over for the last few weeks. I started spending Friday and Saturdays with Gus a few weeks ago and realized I couldn't attend meetings and leave him at home. While he technically could attend a meeting, I'm not really comfortable with that option. We talk about a lot of stuff and I think I would not be as willing to talk with him there. I don't want to censure my thoughts."

Emmett listened to Brian's explanation. "Brian, I'm so proud of you. You must have a really amazing sponsor for him to be willing to come to your place for a meeting," Emmett said, curious about this new development. He'd never known Brian to invite anyone into his home unless he was going to fuck them. Well, of course, Gus was an exception. Brian was not one for dinner parties or any type of gathering. Of course, he knew where Brian lived and had been there on a few occasions, but in general, he was not one to invite anyone to his loft.

Of course, Michael had been there many times, but Michael was different. Michael had been quite vocal these last few months about how Brian hadn't been around and he couldn't get him to go to the bars. Emmett knew the reason Brian wasn't going to the bars long before Michael did, but he had kept his silence, respecting Brian's request. In fact, he had noticed that in the last week or so Michael had not mentioned Brian at all. He wondered what had happened between the two of them to result in his silence, but he knew better than to ask. Emmett often gathered more information surreptitiously than by direct inquiry.

"Justin is pretty amazing. It has taken a long time for me to accept that all he wants is my success. I'm so used to Lindsay wanting my money and Michael wanting my presence at his beck and call, that it took some convincing that he had no ulterior motive." Brian thought back to the original conversation when he expressed his concern about missing a meeting due to having Gus. "Justin knew I was going to have Gus all weekend and just offered to help out," Brian said, smiling at the thought of his sponsor.

"He sounds like an amazing man. You are lucky to have him supporting you," Emmett said. "Now, tell me a little more about this cooking thing."

"Gus and I were brainstorming about how I could attend AA but still have him around. I suggested I could pick him up from school on Friday and take him home after dinner and then I could catch a meeting and then in the morning, I'd come back and pick him up. If I had him all day, I wouldn't even consider drinking so I'd be okay. I could catch another meeting Sunday after I dropped him off at Deb's for the family dinner."

"I guess he didn't like that option since you are asking me to come over," Emmett said, eager to hear how he came into the picture.

"Gus was afraid that his moms wouldn't let him come with me on Saturday. I agree with his concern since I informed Lindsay that I wasn't giving her any more money for Gus. I told her that I would be buying whatever he needed directly," Brian said, explaining more of this complicated situation.

"You really are turning over a new leaf, Brian. First, you stop drinking. Next, you are keeping Gus the entire weekend, and now you've told Lindsay that you aren't giving her money anymore," Emmett said, summarizing all the changes Brian was embarking on.

"Sobriety will do that. Anyway, I thought of asking you to hang out with Gus for a few hours on Saturday while I attend a meeting. I could do a noon meeting on Friday and you could come over Saturday evening for a few hours so I could attend another meeting. If you could come over about 5:30, then I could hit a meeting and be back here before it was time for you to hit Babylon. You guys could shop. I told Gus I'd give you my credit card to buy whatever you need. And then you could try out some recipes. I'd be home to eat a late dinner and tuck him in." Brian knew on Saturdays he would be unable to have coffee and dinner with Justin, but he knew this was the best option. He didn't like asking Justin to continually have to come to his loft to have a meeting.

While Justin had said that he didn't mind since he was used to having a meeting at that time, Brain still felt uncomfortable asking him.

"You've really thought this through. It isn't a last minute ask." Emmett said, pleased that Brian thought of him.

"If it doesn't work for you, we'll figure something else out," Brian said, hoping that Emmett would say yes to the request.

"Oh, sweetie. I'd be happy to help. Gus and I will have so much fun. You don't have to rush home. Babylon doesn't get rocking till at least 11:00 and I doubt you'd be that long at your meeting," Emmett said. He was pleased that Brian was including him in his journey. While he saw Brian at the diner on a regular basis, he knew Brian was a private person and wasn't used to asking for help or even explaining what was going on in his life. He was still surprised that he'd shared with him about his AA attendance. "I can come over every week. Gus and I will have so much fun cooking. You'll be ready to host that family get together before you know it."

"Thanks, Emmett."

"My pleasure. I'm getting excited thinking about using that black Mastercard," Emmett teased. He was excited about the opportunity to teach Gus to cook. He always loved sharing his joy of cooking and looked forward to having an eager pupil.

Brian laughed. "I bet you are. I'll let Gus know you agreed to hang out. He'll be excited. I'll see you on Saturday."

"See you Saturday."

When Brian hung up, he thought about Emmett and his recent conversation with Justin about amends. Did he need to make amends with Emmett? If so, what would that mean? He decided that the phone was not the optimal place to have the conversation and he would think about it before he came over.

The rest of the week was uneventful. He was busy at work and in the evenings he attended AA. Justin and he continued their nightly after meeting dinners where Brian continued to work on his journey. On Thursday, they were eating in the little diner across from the community center where their meeting was held.

After ordering a salad, Brian put the menu back and took a sip of coffee from his mug. "Tomorrow, I'm picking up Gus from school and then Emmett is coming to cook with him while I attend a meeting. I haven't heard anything from Gus' mothers but in this situation,I don't think silence is necessarily golden," Brian said. He and Justin had not really spoken about any of the trials and tribulations of the past weekend and he was actually eager to discuss his concerns, "And when I talked to Gus last night, he wanted to know what we had decided about our weekend outing. I told him we hadn't talked about anything and I wasn't sure you were free."

Justin smiled at Brian's not so subtle attempt to invite him to spend time with them this weekend. "Yeah, I know. We've been talking about other things. I'm still up for being an unofficial tour guide. We have a whole list of places to explore."

"So, you're free?" Brian asked, happy that Justin was willing to continue his role as tour guide.

"Free is such a funny word. You're not paying me for anything," Justin said as he teased Brian about his choice of words. "I had already planned on spending at least Saturday with you and Gus. I was actually thinking about our list of activities and thought we might hit the aquarium or we could do a different art museum. Carnegie Mellon is excellent and they have some wonderful children's programs."

"Gus really enjoyed the art museum and the Science Center. I guess we could just ask him which one he wanted to visit. I think if we went to every museum in the city, it would take us almost an entire year to visit everything and then we would have to probably go to some places more than once since they are so large. I never knew there was so much to see in the Pitts," Brian said, admitting that his hometown had more to offer than he ever imagined.

Justin asked, "Do you think Gus' moms will cause trouble tomorrow?" While he enjoyed talking about the upcoming weekend and spending time with Gus and Brian, he wanted to be sure that Brian was okay with his life.

"I don't think so. After last week, Melanie was taken down a few pegs by the judge. That doesn't mean that they won't cause trouble later. At this point, I'm taking my AA mantra with me as a guide. One step at a time. I'm not going to waste time thinking about what if's and will just enjoy my life as it is." Brian said, explaining his philosophy to Justin.

"That is a great attitude to have, but I don't want you to forget that some thoughts about your life and how you want to live it still has to be a part of your recovery. Making conscious decisions is always important." Justin said, reminding Brian of the important concepts of AA.

"I know. I know. My recovery really never leaves my thoughts. Sometimes it is just a little further back in my mind," Brian said, surprised by his own statement. He knew he thought a lot about his sobriety journey, but he'd never really said it out loud.

"Speaking of recovery, we talked about amends, have you done any more thinking about it?"

"I talked to my assistant, Cynthia and I think it went well. I thought about what amends would look like for her. It isn't about saying I'm sorry, but realizing that I behaved badly and wanted her to know that I recognized it. She said she liked the new me, being productive and leaving at a reasonable hour. As you said, she saw the changes and that meant more to her than me saying, ‘I apologize'." Brian drank some coffee and smiled at Justin. "Cynthia was pretty easy and I think Ted will be too. He's become a close friend and sees the changes on a daily basis."

"He works for you, right?" Justin asked, trying to be sure he had the players in Brian's life straight in his head.

"Yes. He is also a former crystal queen, so he really understands where I'm coming from and the journey that I'm taking. He came over and helped me throw away all my booze. No questions asked, just offered to come at 10:00 o'clock at night when I asked." Brian said, remembering that night vividly. He was glad that there was no liquor in his loft and while he's really not been tempted to drink, its absence had made it easier to stay sober.

"I talked to Emmett earlier this week and arranged for him to come over on Saturday to cook with Gus so I could attend a meeting. He was happy to come. After we hung up, I thought about making amends with him and I decided that in person would be better than over the phone." Brian said.

"That is great news. We hadn't really talked about the weekend and how meetings would look for you," Justin said as he ate a bite of his burger. He was proud of Brian for following through but wasn't surprised that his friend had agreed. Brian still had difficulty thinking anyone would offer to assist him without something in return and Justin hoped that as his sobriety continued, he would start to feel more confident in his friendships.

"Saturday, Emmett will come over and cook with Gus while I attend a meeting. Sunday I'll attend the night meeting after dropping Gus off. The big difference will be that I won't be joining you for our after dinner discussion on Saturday. I admit that I really enjoy our after meeting dinners, but missing them a few times a week will make the other days special," Brian said, admitting how much their dinners meant to him.

"You know if there is anything you want to talk about or are feeling insecure about your journey, you can always call me any time. As your sponsor and your friend, I'm always available, even at 1:00 in the morning," Justin said, trying to reassure Brian that even if they did not eat dinner together, he was still available to talk.

"I know. I don't want to interfere with your life. We've spent time together every day for the last three months. You've arranged your schedule to attend the meetings that I attend and you even have offered to be my personal tour guide of Pittsburgh," Brian said as he listed all the things they did together and what he believed to be a sacrifice on Justin's part.

"Brian. I am fine with doing all the things I do with you and with Gus. I offered to be your sponsor and I take that offer seriously. My sponsor, Jeremy, was there for me. I must have called and texted him at least 5 times a day in the beginning. He attended every meeting with me for the first few months. We went to meetings every night, even on weekends. The big difference is that he and I did not eat dinner together afterward."

"We can stop eating dinner after our meetings," Brian offered, silently hoping that Justin would not take him up on that offer.

"No. I enjoy our time together. Besides, we all have to eat." Justin followed that statement by taking another large bite of his burger and then eating a few french fries.

"Back to our earlier discussion, tell me about making amends with Emmett," Justin said, wanting to help Brian explore this very important topic.

"I've thought about it a lot. I think for Emmett, my amends will be pretty straightforward. My behavior toward him was not directly impacted by my drinking. We mostly saw each other at Babylon and I was more interested in drinking and finding drugs, than exploring our friendship. He's been a big supporter and I think I underestimated his friendship. Does that make sense?"

"Making amends is personal, Brian. I think you are saying that Emmett is a better friend than you gave him credit for and you want to grow the friendship," Justin said, trying to summarize Brian's statement.

"Yes. I think you hit it perfectly. I really like that you help me formulate my thoughts."

"So you've thought of Ted and Emmett. That is great. Remember, this isn't a race and there is no syllabus. You need to take it on your own terms and timetable," Justin said as he waved to the waitress for his check.

"I guess we need to finish our meals. I want to get into the office early since it is going to be a very short workday. Gus' pick up from school can't be put off to a more convenient time," Brian said as he picked up his check that the waitress brought to the table.

They finished their meals and paid their bills. Walking out of the diner, Brian said, "Later," and drove home.

In the morning, he arrived at the office by 6:30, a full hour and a half earlier than normal. No one was there so he could get some uninterrupted work accomplished. He pulled up his emails and calendar, reading the emails Cynthia had flagged as high priority and reviewing his short day.

Ted came in about 7:30 and was surprised to see Brian sitting at his desk. He popped in the office and said, "Morning Bri. You're here early."

"Short day. I'm picking up Gus at 3:00 and I try to get most of my work done. I don't like to work when I have Gus."

"Got it. Anything you need from me?" Ted asked, admiring the progress and growth he was seeing in his friend.

Brian looked at the time and decided he had a few minutes to talk to Ted. "Come in and have a seat," he said, gesturing towards the client chair in front of his desk.

"Ted, I wanted to take a moment and thank you for all that you do for the company and myself. I know that I used to come in hungover just about every day and I wasn't always the most productive boss. I appreciate your willingness to make presentations early in the morning and pick up the slack," Brian said, feeling a sense of deja vu, having said similar statements to Cynthia.

"I know it is your job, but that is not really the point. When I was drinking, I often ignored your gestures of friendship and I can't begin to tell you how your support these last few months has made a huge difference. When I called you at 10:00 o'clock to help me rid my home of liquor, you didn't hesitate to come over. You've been a great resource for all the financial crap with Lindsay. But most importantly, you've been available and supportive to me. I want you to know that I consider you a great friend and I didn't realize how much your friendship and support meant to me." Brian found the words came easily when he talked. He was surprised at his heartfelt words, not ever really thinking about Ted and their friendship, but realized they were very true.

"No problem, Bri. We are friends and I'm privileged to be your friend." Ted smiled and got up to give Brian a hug. Even though they were at work and typically did not share that contact, he felt that it was appropriate for the moment.

Brian returned the hug, somewhat surprised at his comfort in doing so. He guessed he had Justin to thank for his increase in hugs. He'd have to share that little tidbit with Justin.

"Okay. Get to work," Brian said as he released himself from the hug.

Ted grinned, understanding that Brian really wasn't uncomfortable with the hug, but more that he'd reached his limit of non-work interaction.

The remainder of the morning was uneventful and Brian worked steadily, stopping to attend a quick meeting at noon and then working until 2:45. He felt accomplished, knowing he had completed most of the necessary tasks for the day. He walked to Ted's office.

"I'm off to pick up Gus. Did I tell you Emmett is coming over tomorrow to watch Gus while I attend a meeting? They are going to work on Gus' cooking skills."

Ted looked up from the papers he was reviewing and said, "No, I don't think you mentioned it. I know early on I wanted to attend a meeting every day and sometimes twice a day. This would give you the opportunity to attend without missing your time with Gus," Ted said as he was reminded of his first few months of sobriety. While he'd gone to rehab due to the medical needs of detox, he remembered those first few months after discharge as especially hard as he re-established his life and priorities. "I know I've said it before, but your offer of a job during my early days of recovery was life-saving. I needed a meaningful purpose and I wasn't cut out to be a singing waiter." Ted mimicked handing Brian a plate of food from his outstretched arm.

"I hate to admit it, but it had nothing to do with generosity, but more to do with needing someone with your skills set," Brian said, admitting what both men knew but never talked about. "I can honestly say that it has been a beneficial decision in every way. I now consider you a very close friend, not just my employee. I regret my earlier treatment of you as I know you have a lot to offer not only my company but myself." Brian subconsciously wove his fingers through his hair, his discomfort with the disclosure easily seen. "I was telling my sponsor that it is so refreshing to be with him as he does not want anything from me but is there to be my friend. I have to admit that you are like him; wanting to help and be my friend without any expectation of anything from me."

"I'm glad to have you as my friend. While I'm not as fun as Emmett, I could always watch Gus for a few hours if you wanted to attend a meeting. I could always come to your place and have a meeting with you," Ted offered, demonstrating again that he was there to help his friend.

"Funny that you should say that as Justin, he's my sponsor, has been coming over to my place to have a meeting on Friday and Saturday so that I could keep Gus. I've felt like I was infringing on his time, but he has assured me that he takes his sponsorship seriously and he would be attending a meeting anyway. He says, ‘it's just that the location changed.' He suggested that I could invite you and Blake to join us to have a larger meeting if I wanted." Brian remembered how he turned Justin down, but now he was rethinking his quick decision. "I'm sure Emm can't be available every Saturday night, so I might take you up on that offer. But for now, I better get moving or Gus will be the last kid picked up."

"Have a good weekend Bri," Ted said as he watched his boss and friend leave.

As Brian drove to Gus' school he thought about the conversation with Ted and realized that it too had been fairly easy due to his current behavior. He had already made amends and changes in his behavior toward each of them, so his verbally telling them his thoughts had been an acknowledgment on his part. He imagined talking to Gus and Emmett would be similar experiences, but the rest of the family might not be so easy. He hadn't had any interactions with Michael to show him the changes in himself and the changes he'd made in regards to Lindsay were not welcome ones. He wasn't sure about Debbie. He was still thinking about how his actions harmed their relationship and what he would do differently. Before he could come to any conclusions, he pulled up to the car-pool line at Gus' school and shifted his focus to the upcoming weekend with his son.

As his car pulled up to the appropriate section of the driveway, he rolled down his passenger window and leaned over so the person could hear him. "Gus Peterson."

The woman turned around and yelled to the group of students, "Gus Peterson" as she looked for a student to come forward from the crowd.

Gus came out quickly, smiling at the sight of his father's car. He was slightly worried that something would happen and his mothers would try to stop his visit with his Dad, but since he had not heard anything during the day, he assumed that their weekly visit was still on. He opened the back door and threw his backpack on the floorboards, shutting the door quickly. He opened the front door, climbed in, and put on his seatbelt as his Dad pulled away from the area.

"Hi, Dad. You weren't in the early part of the pick up line and I thought for a moment my moms had tried to stop you from seeing me again,' Gus said, sharing his apprehension with Brian.

"No, I haven't heard a peep from your moms, but I was talking to Ted and the conversation got a little longer than I anticipated."

"Okay. work is important," Gus said, having been told that his father worked very hard and many long hours. While he saw that his father occasionally worked on the weekends, he wasn't certain how much time his father spent at work.

"I was actually telling him about Emmett coming over tomorrow night so I could attend a meeting," Brian said, correcting Gus' assumptions.

Gus clapped and bounced a little in his seat. "You talked to Aunty Em and he said yes. That is awesome. What are we going to cook? When is he coming over? Do you think we'll cook a whole meal?"

"Woah there, sonny boy. I don't know what you are going to cook. He'll come over about 5:30 and it's up to you guys if you cook a whole meal or one dish." Brian was glad to see Gus excited and the little bit of hesitancy regarding his invite to Emmett was quickly disappearing. Cleary, Gus thought this an acceptable solution.

"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we ask Justin to join us for dinner? That way we can try out some of our recipes. You'll be with him at the meeting, right?" Gus asked, thinking this would be fun.

"Speaking of Justin, did you guys figure out where we are going this weekend?" Gus asked, excited to spend another fun-filled weekend with his Dad.

"We chatted last night and decided you get to choose. We made that long list of places to go and things to see. There must be over 50 different things on the list. If we did everything, it would take us close to a year to complete the list. Some of the things are close together or would only take a few hours, so it might not take us that long," Brian said, reiterating the conversation he and Justin had last night.

"Super. I'll look when we get home. What are we doing tonight? Are we going to cook or go out to dinner? I personally vote for the diner. I've been thinking of a diner burger all day. Besides, I haven't seen Grandma Debbie all week and I want to tell her about Aunty Em."

Brian said, "I guess we can go to the diner. But it's only 3:30 now. Let's head to the loft and you can do any homework you have while I finish up a small project for work. Does that sound good?"

"I do have a book to finish and a book report that is due on Monday. I guess that works," Gus said, admitting that he had some school work that he hadn't planned on telling his Dad about.

"Gus, school is important. Just because you spend the weekend with me doesn't mean you get to slack off your school work. When were you planning on finishing the book?"

"My friend Tommy told me about this website called Cliff Notes that gives you all the information you need about the book," Gus explained. He was excited to bypass the book he had been assigned since this appeared quicker.

"I see. Cliff Notes are not an acceptable alternative to reading the book. The teacher wanted you to read the book, not a shorter version offered in Cliff Notes. Cliff Notes can help you understand information but it is not a substitute for reading the original material," Brian said, admonishing his son. Brian turned off the street and into the parking space by his loft. He was glad that he didn't have to drive and have this conversation as he wanted to look at Gus as he spoke. "Let's continue this conversation in the loft."

They got out of the car and Gus grabbed his backpack. Upon entering the building, he took out his mailbox key and grabbed his mail. Luckily, most of the mail was delivered electronically, but occasionally he had something in his mailbox that wasn't junk. They took the elevator to the loft and Brian unlocked the steel sliding door. He placed his keys in the bowl by his computer, and placed his mail on the desk to look at later.

He motioned for Gus to join him in the living area. Gus went to the fridge and grabbed two waters, giving one to his father and taking one for himself. He sat down on the couch while his father sat on the leather chair.

"Gus. Being with me on the weekends doesn't give you an excuse to not do your homework. You know that sometimes I have to work on the weekends, even if you are here. While I prefer not to have to do that, I sometimes have to. Schoolwork is the same as work. If you have work to do, we can set aside time for you to do it. It doesn't mean that we won't do other things, but you have to take care of the things that are necessary." Brian did not want to be the bad guy in this conversation, but he doubted Gus had told his mothers about his plans.

"But the book is boring and when am I ever going to need it," Gus said, lamenting him mentioning homework.

"Education is something that is never wasted. A benefit of learning is getting a worldview. In life, you will come in contact with many people who have different experiences, different values and different cultures. Having an education, even reading a book that you don't think has any relevance to you is teaching you about the world," Brian said, wishing that his parents had been more interested in his education. For his mother, school was a place to send her children so she didn't have to deal with them 6 hours a day.

"When I went to college, I had to learn so much more than just the information from my classes. I knew nothing about the world. Did you know that in Asian cultures, it is considered rude to look people in the eye? Did you know that in fancy restaurants, you use a different fork for your salad, your appetizer, your main course, and your dessert? Did you know that there are politicians who want to take the rights away from people who are gay just because they sleep with partners that are of the same sex?" Brian could have continued to give Gus numerous examples, but he hoped these few could make his point.

"No. But what has that got to do with homework and reading some dumb book?" Gus asked, not really putting Brian's lecture into the context of his homework.

"By reading a book, you learn a lot of things about the characters and their lives. Reading the Cliff Notes just tells you a summary of the story, but reading the book gives you insights into their thoughts and culture. While the story may be boring, the other information is very valuable." Brian explained the benefits of reading the whole book and hoped he had made his point. "I read a lot. I read magazines, both for work and pleasure. I read books too. Reading is one of those inexpensive pleasures. What do you like to read, Gus?"

"I don't read much, except for school," he admitted.

"You seem to like cooking and I know you like science and soccer. How about after you finish your homework, we find some books online that we can download and we can spend part of our weekends reading?"

"I guess that would be okay," Gus said, his lack of enthusiasm obvious.

"Gus, reading isn't a punishment. Reading is a reward in itself. Maybe we can read a book together," Brian suggested.

"Together? I'm not in kindergarten," Gus said, scoffing at the suggestion.

"I mean that we could read the same book and talk about it. Share the experience."

"Oh. I hadn't thought about that. That might work."

"Okay. We'll look for something you're interested in and we will both read it."

"I guess I better get started on my reading then,' Gus said, getting up to grab his book from his backpack.

"Hold on. I wanted to talk to you for a minute," Brian said, deciding this time would be as good as any time.

Gus sat back down and looked at his father, wondering what he would want to talk about.

"Gus I wanted to say I'm sorry for not being in your life as much as I am now. You asked me a while back if I had ever thought of having the DNA test done and I told you I hadn't. I didn't really want children and I didn't expect to want to be involved in your life. Your mom always pushed me into spending time with you and at first I really resisted. I was more interested in drinking than spending time with a baby or toddler. I just want you to know that I can't make up for all the time we didn't spend together, but I hope that you realize how much you mean to me," Brian said, keeping his statements short. He could say so much more, but he hoped this would convey his apology to his son and that Gus would accept that Brian was trying to remedy his earlier behavior.

"Dad, I have always liked being with you. You're my Dad. But I gotta tell you, I love this new you. We talk and do things. My moms are always busy with stuff, but you take the time to find out about me." Gus got up and went to his Dad and gave him a hug.

"I love you, Dad. If not drinking was the reason you changed, I'm glad you're not drinking anymore. And Justin's cool." Gus went back to the couch and looked at his Dad.

"I love you, sonny boy and I agree, Justin is cool. Speaking of Justin, we better get going on our ‘homework' so we can spend time with Justin tomorrow. I'll go work at my desk and you can read wherever you feel comfortable," Brian said.

"I guess reading and finishing my homework is okay if I get to do stuff with you and Justin tomorrow," Gus said as he walked to his backpack and grabbed it, taking it to the couch. "I only have a couple of chapters left and then I need to fill out this worksheet the teacher gave us."

"Alright. When you're done, we'll head to the diner and see if Grandma Deb is working." Brian walked over to Gus, ruffled his head, and then walked to his computer station and booted up his computer. He had about an hour or two of work to do, but if Gus finished before him, he could always do it after Gus went to bed.

Gus read and Brian worked for about an hour and a half. Gus announced, "Dad, I'm really hungry. I'm not quite done with my homework, but can we go eat, and then I promise to finish it when we get back."

"Sure. That sounds like a plan. I'm getting hungry myself. After you finish your homework, we can play that new video game for a bit." Brian saved his work and shut down his computer. He had changed into jeans when they came home, so he didn't need to do that before they left. He grabbed his keys and cell phone and met Gus at the door.

They went to the diner, but Debbie wasn't working. They ate dinner and returned home where Gus finished his homework and they played Mario and Sonic at the Olympics.

"Dad, thanks for being you. I've been thinking, maybe I'd like to learn about the Olympics. Do you think there are books about that?"

"I'm sure we could find a book or a thousand. We'll look in the morning. Justin isn't supposed to be here until 9:30," Brian said.

"Sounds good. I'll get ready for bed. Love you, Dad." Gus got ready for bed and after Brian tucked him in, he pulled out his phone.

"Made amends with Ted and Gus. Thanks for the encouragement. We are going back to the Science Center. Do you want to meet us or come here?" Brian texted Justin.

"I'll meet you at your place. See you tomorrow. Oh, and I'm proud of you."

Brian smiled at the quick return of his text and Justin's comments. He found he was looking forward to telling Justin all about his conversations and making amends. He wasn't tired, so he got out his latest book on the architecture of Pittsburgh and read for a few hours before going to bed.