Wild Child

Chapter 6

Gus woke and started upright. He rubbed his eyes and looked around trying to remember where he was. Light flooded into the loft through the curtains. He was in Pittsburgh with his father. Gus dropped back onto the futon and stared up into the rafters of the loft. He had slept really well. He wondered how his father had made out. He had heard Brian tossing and turning until finally Gus had fallen asleep. He didn't think his father was accustomed to going to bed before midnight, at least not to sleep. Gus shuddered at the thought.

Thinking back on the previous evening, Gus hadn't minded it nearly as much as he had thought he would. His father was kind of cool, in a really weird way. He didn't particularly like sleeping in the living room on the futon, but it was reasonably comfortable. He felt safe and he hadn't gotten angry hardly at all. It took a lot out of him to be angry all the time, but that was how he had survived in Toronto. However, this was Pittsburgh. Maybe he didn't have to do that anymore.

Gus sat up. He needed to pee. Quietly he slid out from beneath the sheet and made his way up to the bedroom. Brian looked like he was still asleep. Gus crossed at the foot of the bed and went into the bathroom gently pulling the door closed behind him. He relieved himself and turned on the tap to wash his hands. He looked in the mirror above the sink and let out a mighty groan. That fucking futon had really done a number on his hair.

"You all right, Sonny Boy?" Brian called out.

"Yeah."

"Can I come in?"

"Why? You taking urine samples now?" Gus asked sarcastically.

"I hope that's not necessary," Brian replied as he pulled the door back. "I just thought I'd show you the answer to your question last night."

Gus looked over at his father and burst out laughing. Brian laughed too, leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom for support. They both sported the same cowlicks sticking out at rude angles from their heads.

"Yours is worse than mine," Gus laughed pointing at his father.

"Wait till tomorrow," Brian warned his son. "Yours will be worse. We have to take turns."

"God, I hope not. Why couldn't I inherit some decent hair from Mom?"

Brian shrugged. "Take a shower. It's the best way to fix the problem. I'm going to make some coffee."

When Gus reappeared some time later, his hair was neatly combed into place. Brian smiled to himself. Maybe he and Gus shared the same "looking good" gene. He wanted to find anything they had in common. He still needed to really connect with his son, and bed head didn't quite do it.

Gus was throwing on some clothes as Brian sipped his coffee.

"I'm going to take a quick shower and then we'll go to the diner for breakfast."

"The diner?"

"You might remember it. Debbie, Michael's mother works there. She'll be happy to see you."

"Isn't she like too old to work?" Gus asked with a frown.

"She likes working, but she has cut way back on her shifts. Oh, and she still has red hair," Brian said in warning.

"I remember the red hair."

"Yeah, it's hard to forget," Brian said as he went into the bathroom.

Gus finished dressing and looked in the fridge for something to eat. He found a slice of the pizza from the night before and gobbled it down. That would tide him over until breakfast. He poured himself some coffee and added several spoonsful of sugar. There was no milk, so he sipped it black. He couldn't say that he liked it very much. He could never understand how adults drank coffee black. He dumped the rest of the coffee down the drain.

Going to the loft door, Gus unlocked it and pulled the door back. He heard the alarm beep a few times and he realized he had triggered it. He hit several buttons to no avail as the alarm kicked into full force. He started to panic knowing his father would be mad. The urge to just run was upon him, when suddenly a hand reached over his shoulder and hit the right buttons. The alarm stopped immediately and the phone rang. Brian picked it up and explained to the alarm company that it was a mistake. He gave his required password to prove who he was.

"What were you doing?" Brian asked after he had accomplished all that.

"I wasn't trying to run away," Gus said defensively.

Brian studied his son. He wanted to believe him. Some little internal voice told Brian to trust Gus on this one. "Then, I guess I should show you the codes for the alarm. You heard the password."

"You're going to tell me that?" Gus asked surprised. He thought he was going to be in big trouble for setting off the alarm.

"The alarm is to keep burglars out, not to keep my son in."

Gus felt strange emotions well up inside him. He couldn't believe he wasn't going to be yelled at or grounded. "Thanks," was all he could manage to say.

"Thanks for what?" Brian frowned.

"For trusting me."

"I hope I can always trust you, Gus, and that you will trust me too.

Gus nodded, still fighting the urge to cry. It had been a long time since anyone in his family had trusted him. Brian showed him how to work the alarm and what combination of numbers needed to be punched in. Gus grasped it quickly.

"Let's go," Brian said gathering up his keys and wallet.

When they got down to the street, Gus wondered what kind of car his father would drive. He hoped it was cool. Brian started down the street, Gus following him.

"Where's your car?" Gus asked after they had been walking for a few minutes.

"Back at the loft. I thought we'd walk to the diner. I need to work off all that pizza I ate last night."

"Oh," Gus laughed. "I almost forgot about your girlish figure."

Brian ignored that remark, but it did make him smile slightly. Gus obviously listened to everything that was said. That was a trait that Brian had long cultivated, especially if he could make people think he wasn't listening at all. It was amazing what you could learn that way. This seemed to be another thing he and Gus had in common. "You wanted to check out what I'm driving these days, did you?" Brian asked filing the other information away. Gus nodded. "I'll show you later. It might surprise you."

Gus wondered what that meant, but he didn't pursue it.

Brian pushed open the door of the diner and walked in, followed by Gus. He saw an empty booth near the back and headed for it. Suddenly he saw Debbie emerge from the back. She took a look at him and then at Gus. A big smile spread across her face.

"Is that Gus?" she bellowed. Brian nodded. "I'd know your son anywhere. He looks so much like you, and he's grown so big."

Gus felt himself pulled into a hug that took his breath away. He struggled a bit but decided it was useless and let Debbie hold onto him, hoping she'd let go before he suffocated.

"What the fuck are you doing here, young man?" she demanded. "Are your mothers here, and my granddaughter?"

"No," Gus said.

"Haven't you seen Gus lately, Deb? You were up in Buffalo a few months ago," Brian asked.

"I haven't seen Gus for more than what, three years. He was never home when I visited his mothers, and he never came to Buffalo with them when they brought JR down to see me."

"Why weren't you around, Gus?" Brian asked.

Gus shrugged. "Guess I was busy doing something else."

Brian frowned. He had never asked Debbie about seeing Gus but he thought she would have reported how he was doing, especially if anything had been wrong. That explained why she had never said anything about his son for a long time.

"Grab that booth and I'll be right over for your orders," Deb told them. She went to deliver some plates that the cook had just put up.

"What did you do when your mothers went to Buffalo?" Brian had to ask as he and Gus sat down. He couldn't believe they would leave Gus on his own.

"Usually I went to Jamal's house."

"Who's Jamal?"

"The black kid you saw at the playground."

"And they just let you stay home."

Gus looked down at his hands and thought about how to answer that. "I … I just told them that I wasn't going with them."

'And punctuated it with anger and physical violence,' Brian thought to himself. He couldn't believe that he had been so blind to what was going on. He really was a shitty father or he would have asked more questions, would have known that something was wrong. He was going to have a lot to make up for.

Debbie returned and took their orders. Thankfully the diner was pretty busy, so she didn't have a lot of time to interrogate them. Brian ate his eggs and nibbled at his toast while Gus inhaled the "big breakfast".

While Gus was finishing up his breakfast, Brian pulled out his cell phone and went outside to make a call. Gus watched him wondering what was going on. Maybe his father was going to send him away. He pushed his plate away, suddenly losing his appetite.

When Brian returned, he didn't look happy. "I have to go over to Kinnetik for a few minutes. Something's come up."

"What's Kinnetik?" Gus asked.

"It's my advertising company. You can come and see where I work."

"Yeah, like I have any other choice," Gus said petulantly.

"You can go back to the loft. You know the codes and I'll give you a key."

"You will?" Brian nodded. Gus felt good that Brian would trust him. "I'd like to see where you work," he decided.

"Let's go," Brian said as they got up to leave. Debbie waved goodbye as Brian threw down a twenty and they left the diner.

They walked over to Kinnetik. Gus was impressed with the modern interior and the spacious feel. It looked like his father was very successful. He had thought that was the case. Brian introduced Gus to Arlene, his secretary, and then disappeared into the art department to deal with whatever problem had arisen.

Arlene showed Gus into his father's office and he sat on the sofa waiting for Brian to return. All of a sudden the office door opened and a man carrying some file folders came in. He looked slightly familiar to Gus, but he couldn't place him. He set the folders on the desk and turned around.

"Fuck!" he said grabbing his chest. "You scared the crap out of me. Who are you and what are you doing sitting there? This isn't a daycare."

"I'm waiting for my father," Gus said trying not to laugh at the reaction.

"Who's your father?"

"Brian Kinney."

"Brian, but he's in… Then you must be…" Ted stammered.

"I'm Gus."

"I'm Ted Schmidt. I'm a friend of your father's and now I work for him." He held his hand out to Gus.

Gus stood and shook it just as his father came into the office.

"I see you two have met," Brian said with a chuckle.

"You didn't say you were bringing Gus back with you," Ted pointed out.

"Since when do I tell you all my business?"

"Since I manage your business," Ted explained.

Gus held his breath wondering how much his father would tell Ted. He didn't want everyone knowing he was a stupid screw-up whose mothers had sent him away.

"Gus is going to be staying with me for a while," Brian said staring at Ted and daring him to ask more.

"Well," Ted said deciding discretion might be the better part of valor. "I'm sure you'll both have a lovely visit."

"Ted," Brian said as Ted turned to leave. "Pretend I'm still in Toronto. I won't be in for the rest of the week."

Ted glanced from Brian to Gus and back to Brian. Something was going on, but he knew better than to ask. "Sure, Bri," Ted said as he walked out.

"Ready to go?" Brian asked his son.

"Sure, are you done already?"

"Yep. They could have figured it out themselves," Brian said shaking his head. "Maybe I better hire some competent people."

Gus laughed. "I bet they don't like to hear that."

"Then we won't tell them," Brian grinned as they made their way out. Arlene waved at them as they left the building.

"Where are we going now?"

"Is there somewhere you'd like to go?"

"Could … could…" Gus couldn't make himself say it.

"What is it, Gus? We can do whatever you want."

"I … I, never mind."

"Come on, tell me."

Gus stared at the ground as they walked along. Finally sucking in a deep breath he blurted it out. "Could we go to the old house?"

Brian knew immediately that Gus meant the house where the Munchers had lived, where Gus had spent the first years of his life.

"Sure, we can do that, but you know that someone else lives there now. We wouldn't be able to go inside."

"I know," Gus said feeling stupid for asking to go there. He should have kept his mouth shut.

"Then let's go back to the loft and get the car."

"You mean it?" Gus said catching up with his father and looking him in the face.

"I mean it."

They walked along quickly, Gus having now found a reason for moving at a faster pace. They went around the corner from the loft building and Brian inserted a key in a large black Mercedes.

"This is yours?"

"Yeah," Brian smirked. "Why?"

"I guess I expected a sports car."

"You remember the Corvette?"

"Is that what it was? I kind of remember it."

"It's almost the same age I am," Brian said rolling his lips into his mouth.

"No shit!" Gus said as they climbed into the car.

"I still have it," Brian revealed. "I'll show it to you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Does it still run?"

"You bet. I take it out for a run every now and then. It's a classic."

"Will you take me for a ride?" Gus asked. "Not that I don't like this car." He was running his hands over the smooth leather as Brian pulled away from the curb.

"I think we can arrange a ride."

Gus smiled over at him and then they rode in silence the few blocks to the old house once owned by the Munchers. Brian pulled the car to a stop across the street from the house. Gus stared out the window seemingly lost in time.

"Do you want to get closer?" Brian asked.

Gus shook his head. "I just wanted to see it. I wanted it still to be there."

"And it is," Brian said gently. "Did you like living there?"

Gus nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat. "But that was a long time ago."

"Yeah, it was. Ready to go?"

"I guess," Gus said with a backward glance at the house as Brian pulled away.

"We should probably stop at the supermarket and get some groceries."

"Or we could order another pizza," Gus suggested.

Brian laughed. "Would you eat pizza every day if you had the option?"

"It has all the food groups."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, grains in the crust, dairy from the cheese, protein in the pepperoni and vegetables from whatever ones you order on it."

Brian laughed. This was like a public service announcement, just like someone else used to make. The smile faded from Brian's face. He cleared his throat. "I guess we could have pizza again tonight, but we need to get some bread and milk and maybe something for breakfast."

"Do you cook?"

"Not so's you'd notice," Brian admitted.

"Then we could go to the diner again for breakfast."

"I think I can handle eggs. Besides we're going to have a long day tomorrow."

"We are?"

"Yeah, we are."

"What are we doing?"

Brian liked hearing the "we" in Gus' question. "It's going to be a surprise."

"I like surprises … if they're good ones," Gus admitted.

"I think you'll find this is a good one."

Gus settled back in his seat wondering what tomorrow would hold. This was the first time in a long time that he had looked forward to a day with hope and without fear.