Wild Child

Chapter 11

They were well into the third day since Greg Fernley had arrived and he was now firmly ensconced at Britin. He slept in Brian's room, ate Brian's food, drank Brian's liquor and generally made himself to home. Gus did his best to avoid the man but he was forced to eat meals with Greg and his father. They were talking about going furniture shopping so they could have a proper dining room suite. Mrs. Hadley should have been happy about that, but she saw it as the beginning of the end.

"I want another cup of coffee," Greg said as he flipped through the newspaper. Gus looked at Mrs. Hadley who looked at Brian. Brian got up and brought the coffee pot to the table. He filled Greg's cup and added a bit to his own. Gus wondered if he did that so it didn't look too much like he was waiting on Greg.

"Don't you have to go to work or something?" Gus asked.

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Surely you know it's Sunday, little boy."

"I know, and I'm not a little boy," Gus said, "but tomorrow's Monday. Are you going then?"

Brian was carrying the coffee pot back to the coffee machine. Greg mouthed, "You wish," at Gus. Gus scowled in return.

"Do you have to go to work tomorrow, Greg?" Brian asked as he sat down again.

"I could take some time off if you want," Greg said with a big smile. He'd already told the law firm he worked for that he was taking next week off.

"I'd like that," Brian said looking into Greg's eyes.

Gus wanted to puke. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but somehow he had to make this man go away, had to get him out of his father's life. Gus got up from the table and almost made it out of the kitchen before his father noticed.

"Gus," Brian said stopping the boy in his tracks. "Would you like to come furniture shopping with Greg and me this afternoon?"

"No thanks," Gus said and then almost changed his mind when he saw the look of triumph on Greg's face. If it didn't mean that he'd have to spend more time with the man, he would go with them just to piss Greg off.

Brian shrugged. He would have liked Gus to come with them. But maybe this would be better. He and Greg could have some time alone, and Brian could try to convince his lover to be nicer to his son. He wanted Gus and Greg to get along.

"May I be excused?" Gus asked.

Brian nodded and Gus quickly left the room.

"I'd like another cup of coffee," Greg said picking up his empty cup and waggling it at Mrs. Hadley.

She frowned but brought the pot over and poured him another cup. "Will that be all?" she asked Brian.

"Yes, thanks," Brian said somewhat sheepishly. He wished Greg wouldn't treat Mrs. Hadley like that. "Breakfast was delicious," Brian added. "Wasn't it, Greg?"

"Oh, yeah." Greg just didn't seem to get the concept of being nice to people.

"Thank you … both," Mrs. Hadley replied pointedly. "Would you mind if I took Gus with me this afternoon? I want to visit my daughter for an hour or two."

"No, that would be fine, but you better check if he is willing to go. He can be stubborn and I really don't want him left on his own."

"I'll speak to him now," Mrs. Hadley said as she replaced the coffee pot and headed upstairs.

"I hope Gus goes with her. We could fuck the afternoon away with no interruptions," Greg smiled his best at Brian.

"I thought you wanted furniture."

"We can get that tomorrow … since I'm staying."

"Okay," Brian said smiling at some things he wanted to try with Greg. The man seemed up for anything, and he did mean anything.

+++++

"Is this where your daughter lives?" Gus asked as Mrs. Hadley brought her car to a stop in front of a small brick house in a town about half an hour from Britin.

"Yes, it is. Come along, Gus."

They walked up the little walkway and Mrs. Hadley knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a pleasant looking young woman holding a baby about two years old.

"Mum," The woman said and reached out to hug her mother. The little girl giggled and gave her grandmother a kiss.

"And how's Emma today?" Mrs. Hadley asked.

"Good," the child grinned at her grandmother.

"Emma and Susan, I'd like you to meet Gus. He's Mr. Kinney's son."

"Hello, Gus," Susan said. "Come on in."

They all went inside where they spent a couple of hours talking and laughing. Gus mostly watched, but they did draw him into the conversation a couple of times. Once was when Mrs. Hadley asked about her son-in-law who was off somewhere playing in a baseball game. Gus thought he might like to play baseball or some other sport, but had never really had the chance to get interested in one. Mrs. Hadley filed that away for future use.

As they finished their tea and cookies, Mrs. Hadley reached into her big purse and pulled out a neatly wrapped package with a big bow. "This is one of your birthday presents, Emma," Mrs. Hadley said as she handed the package to her granddaughter. "I thought you might like it now so that you could use it for your birthday."

Susan helped Emma open the package which contained the little embroidered dress that Gus had seen Mrs. Hadley working on in the kitchen. It was beautiful now that it was finished. All of them oohed and aahed over the dress before Susan took Emma and the empty cookie plate to the kitchen. They reappeared after a couple of minutes with Emma wearing the new dress.

"You look beautiful," Gus said.

Emma blushed and hid behind her mother's leg.

"It really is lovely, Mum. Emma will wear it for her party."

Mrs. Hadley smiled as she got up and gave Emma a kiss and hug. They made their way to the door and then back to the car.

"Thanks for bringing me today, Mrs. Hadley," Gus said.

"You're very welcome, Gus. I hope it wasn't too boring."

Gus shook his head. "You really made her a great dress."

Mrs. Hadley smiled as they pulled away. "Would you like to stop for ice cream? There's a little shop in town."

"Yeah, thanks."

Over ice cream sundaes, Mrs. Hadley broached a subject she knew she shouldn't. "Gus, I'd like to ask you something."

"Okay."

"You don't like your father's new … friend, do you?"

"No." The answer was firm and direct and Mrs. Hadley knew how much Gus meant it. It was just as she had suspected.

"May I ask why?" she inquired.

"He can't even remember my fucking name!" Gus blurted out.

"Gus!" Mrs. Hadley said somewhat shocked at the vehemence more so than the actual word.

"Sorry, but I can't stand Greg Fernley, and I can remember his name without any fucking trouble at all."

"Why do you feel so strongly about him?" Gus frowned and hesitated to answer. He wasn't sure how much he should reveal, but Mrs. Hadley had always been kind and fair with him. "It won't go any farther than my ears," Mrs. Hadley promised.

"You mean that?" She nodded. "When I was in grade five, I got a Walkman for Christmas. We didn't have a lot of money and I had begged for one for weeks, even asked Santa for it. Anyway, I got it for Christmas and I was so happy. I took it to school to show everybody. This kid started watching me and looking at the Walkman. He had the same look on his face that Greg has when he looks at the mansion and at Dad's liquor and at … Dad."

"I see," Mrs. Hadley said clearing her throat. She thought she knew what came next but she wanted Gus to get it all out. "So what happened to your Walkman?"

"This kid caught me after school one day. He punched me and knocked me down. He took the Walkman and said if I ever told anyone he'd really beat the crap out of me."

"And you never told?"

"Not till now."

"So you think Greg is like that kid?"

"He wants me gone. I can see it in everything he does. And the way Dad is where this guy is concerned, I'll probably get kicked out." Gus shook his head sadly and pushed the rest of his sundae away. He had suddenly lost all appetite for it. The prospect of his father abandoning him too was almost more than he could stand.

"I don't think your father would send you away," Mrs. Hadley said gently patting Gus' hand.

"You don't see what I've seen."

"What do you mean?"

"He knows that I know what he's after. He taunts me, and he uses every opportunity to poison Dad against me."

"Oh Gus, I'm sure that's not…"

"Don't tell me I'm wrong because I know I'm not."

"Well then," Mrs. Hadley said straightening up. "Perhaps it's time we did something about Mr. Fernley."

"Huh?" Gus stared at her in disbelief.

"Maybe if we work together we can get this man out of your father's life."

"You mean it?" Gus grinned. "You don't like him either, do you?"

"No, I don't. I know it's not my place to be involved in this, but I will not allow this man to hurt you and your father and drive you apart."

"But what can we do?"

"I have no idea," Mrs. Hadley said. "I was hoping you did."

Gus laughed. "You're going to take advice from me?"

"You know your father and some of his history, probably better than I do. Is there anyone who might talk some sense into him?"

Gus frowned and thought hard. "There's Grandma Debbie, but she…"

"What?"

"She tends to be a little harsh with Dad. I don't know if he always listens to her."

"Hm…anyone else?"

Then the thought hit Gus. "I was reading the back of your newspaper the other day and it said that there was going to be an art gallery opening for Justin Taylor. He might be able to help us."

"Who is Justin Taylor?"

Gus smiled. "Have you noticed all the pictures around the house with Dad and a blond man?"

"Yes."

"That's Justin. They were together when I was a little kid. I don't remember Justin too well, but I think they really loved each other."

"Oh my, bringing an old love back into this might not be such a good idea."

"But if I got a chance to speak to Justin, and find out if he still has any feelings for my father…"

"Maybe your dad still has feelings for him too."

"I think he does, but Dad would never admit it. He bought Britin for Justin."

"Oh!" Now it all suddenly made sense to Mrs. Hadley. "And he's kept it all these years … waiting." Gus nodded. "I think we should try to find this Justin Taylor."

"Let's go home and look it up in the paper. Maybe Justin is already in Pittsburgh getting ready for his show," Gus said.

They quickly left the ice cream shop and headed for home. Mrs. Hadley checked several newspapers until she found the one about the opening. It would be next weekend, so this Justin Taylor might already be in town.

"Gus, how would you feel about a trip into Pittsburgh tomorrow?" Mrs. Hadley smiled.

"Sounds good to me. Would we be stopping at an art gallery by any chance?" Gus grinned.

"I think we just might."

"Do … do we need some sort of excuse about why we're going?" Gus asked.

"How would you like to see the last of the Harry Potter movies? It's out right now."

"Wow! Could we?"

"That was supposed to be our excuse," Mrs. Hadley laughed. "But I suppose we could see the movie too."

"That would be great."

Suddenly they heard noise from the dining room. Brian and Greg came through the door locked in a heated kiss as they stumbled towards the fridge.

"Ahem," Mrs. Hadley cleared her throat.

Brian jumped and pulled back. Greg turned to Gus and the housekeeper and grinned. It was almost like he was gloating, almost like he knew they were there.

"Fuck! You scared me," Brian said wiping his lips and straightening his shirt. At least he had thrown some clothes on before they came down to get some beer and snacks.

"I'm sorry we interrupted," Mrs. Hadley said stiffly. "Did you get some furniture?"

"Um … no," Brian stumbled. "We didn't go out. We'll do that tomorrow."

"I see."

Greg grinned and looked triumphantly at the kid and the housekeeper. This was better than he could have wished. Now they had both got an eyeful of him and Brian together. The kid would be furious and he could use that against him. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the housekeeper. He'd have to play that one carefully.

"We went back to bed for a while," Greg smirked. "Now we need some beer and something to eat." Greg looked at Mrs. Hadley pointedly.

"I'll be making dinner shortly," she said abruptly.

"Um … why don't we wait for dinner?" Brian said. "Grab us each a beer."

Greg looked annoyed but moved to the fridge.

"Dad, if you're going out tomorrow, Mrs. Hadley says she will take me to Pittsburgh to see the last Harry Potter movie. Can I go?"

"Um … sure … yeah. I don't see why not." Brian looked at Mrs. Hadley asking silently what was going on.

"We got to talking in the car," Mrs. Hadley said. "I know how much Gus likes Harry Potter and it is the last of the movies. I want to see it too."

"I'm sure that will be fine," Brian agreed as Greg handed him a beer. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Brian asked Gus.

"No, I really want to see this movie," Gus said choosing his words carefully. He wanted to scream at his father that he didn't want to go anywhere with his fucking boyfriend. He'd rather be dead than in the same car with Greg Fernley.

"Then, a movie it is. Don't be too late getting back."

"I won't."

"You still have the rest of your assignments to get done for next Friday."

"I know."

"Good boy," Brian said squeezing Gus' shoulder. "Have fun at the movie."

"We will," Gus said giving Greg a smirk that matched the one Greg had been sporting earlier. Greg frowned wondering what had brought this on. Gus knew the man was far too dense to figure anything out, but he didn't want him trying to figure this out either. Gus wiped the smirk off his face and tried to look neutral.

"Let's go back upstairs," Greg said to Brian.

"You go ahead," Brian replied handing him his beer bottle. "I'll be up in a moment."

Greg reluctantly left the kitchen.

"Gus, sit down for a minute," Brian said.

Mrs. Hadley started bringing out food from the fridge and preparing to start dinner. She was really listening intently to what Brian was about to say. Gus reluctantly sat down. He hoped he wasn't going to get another lecture about how he should try to like Greg and get along with him. Brian sat across from Gus and collected his thoughts.

"I see that you don't like Greg very much," Brian said bluntly.

"Dad?"

"Don't interrupt. I wanted you to like Greg when I invited him out here. I hoped he would like you too. That doesn't seem to be happening. However, I want you to understand something, Gus. Are you listening?"

"Yes."

"Greg is … becoming very important to me. He is staying here next week … and maybe longer if things go well. If you don't like it, please try to keep that to yourself. I've already asked you to give him a chance. If you can't do that, then try to stay away from him, because Greg's here and that's a fact of life."

Gus stared into his father's eyes and he knew there was no point in arguing. "Okay," Gus said.

Brian stood and looked down at his son. "Good." And then he left to go find his lover.

"Fuck!" Gus breathed out. "It's worse than we thought. He's got Dad wrapped around his little finger."

"Gus, you need to be careful about what you say," Mrs. Hadley advised.

"I hate this! I hate that Greg gets whatever he wants. He's going to ruin everything. He's going to hurt Dad."

"You may be right about that but you need to be careful for now. After we see Justin Taylor, we can decide more fully what to do."

"Yeah, I hope Justin will help us."

"Don't build your hopes on Justin's help. He might not want anything to do with this situation," Mrs. Hadley said feeling the need to warn Gus that things might not go the way he hoped.

"Justin was nice. He always played with me … from what I can remember."

"That's nice, Gus."

"I think he wanted Dad to be happy. Greg can't do that for my father. I know it."

"But right now he does make your father happy. I think finding someone, anyone, has been very difficult for your father. It doesn't happen easily, and he will have trouble letting it go."

"I'm not sure I follow all that, but I know Justin will help us."

Mrs. Hadley sighed. The faith of the young was not easy to contradict. "Go wash up for dinner. It will be ready in a while."

"Okay," Gus said standing up. "Thanks for taking me to meet your daughter and granddaughter."

Mrs. Hadley smiled. "You're welcome, Gus."

"That really was a beautiful dress you made for Emma."

"Maybe you can come to her birthday party," Mrs. Hadley suggested.

"I don't know, maybe," Gus said. He wondered if he's still be there in a couple of weeks.

"We'll see as the time gets closer."

"Thanks for inviting me anyway. It's nice to be included. I can hardly wait till tomorrow."

Mrs. Hadley shook her head as Gus bounced out of the room. She knew he was banking everything on this Justin Taylor, but she had no idea how the man might react when asked to help his old lover.