Chapter 39

“You okay?” Ted asked as he looked at Jenny, who was pretending to read the menu in her hands, but was very obviously not reading it at all.

“Hmmm-mmmm, just nervous,” she admitted, meeting his concerned gaze. “What if he doesn't show?”

“You said he had sent an email earlier that he would be here, didn't you?” Gus asked, looking at his sister from concerned eyes.

“Yes, but... what if he changed his mind?” She said, not meeting his or Ted's gaze and focussing on her menu again. “What if he doesn't want to meet me after all?”

Ted was just about to reply something, when he saw the person in question enter the restaurant that they had agreed to meet at. He tensed slightly when he saw Michael coming through the door, not able to help himself.

He had tried to be as indifferent as he could be about the idea of meeting Michael for the first time in 15 years, but now that he saw the man, he couldn't be. He could still remember some of the last meetings he had had with him and Brian, some of the things Michael had said about Luke, his godson, and he would never forget how panicked Brian had been the day Lindsay had tried to kidnap Luke. How panicked and emotionally raw his friend had been through that whole ordeal and how angry he had been when he had found out about Michael's involvement. He could still remember the trial, the things that had been said by Michael and his defense lawyer there and now that he saw the man coming over to their table, he couldn't help but feel angry after all. So much for indifference, he thought to himself. He forced himself not to show his anger, reminding himself over and over that they were there for Jenny and that this was about Jenny and not him and he hoped that he would at least be able to keep up an air of indifference, even if he felt anything but.

Ted noticed with slight satisfaction that Michael hadn't aged nearly as well as he himself and most of their Liberty Avenue group had. Of course they had all aged, how could they not after 15 years had passed and he himself had already passed the big 5-0, Brian was getting very close to it, as was Emmett, even Justin was in his late thirties now, but looking at Michael as he came over to their table, he could honestly say that none of them had aged as badly as he had.

Michael was overweight and had put on a belly that was only made more prominent by the tight T-Shirt with comic print (something about the Avengers) that Michael was wearing. His face looked unshaven and showed a stubble and his hairline had receded quite a bit. Ted noticed that Michael's hair was very thin and it wouldn't be long before he would have first bald patches, he was sure. All in all, Michael looked rather unkempt and like an overgrown college student. That comic print on his shirt really wasn't suitable at all for a man his age, but seeing how he worked in a comic book store, Ted didn't think that anyone had ever explained to Michael about clothes that were suitable for a man his age.

Michael stopped by their table and his face showed a rather unhappy expression when he saw that Jenny wasn't on her own.

“What are you doing here?” He directed at Ted, without even giving his daughter as much as a glance or greeting.

“Hi Michael, it's nice to see you, too,” Ted replied sweetly, thinking to himself that it wasn't, but hell. Michael had never been able to read between the lines and Ted doubted that he had learned over the years. “Seeing as Jenny is underage,” he said, nodding in her direction as if to remind Michael why they were there to begin with, “everyone agreed that it would be best if she had an adult with her for this meeting.”

“And it had to be you?” Michael asked, his voice showing his obvious displeasure.

“Grandpa Carl volunteered, but we were pretty sure you wouldn't have liked that,” Gus interjected at that point, smiling up sweetly at the man who was still standing next to their table and still hadn't said anything to his daughter at all.

“Carl? Horvath is still around?” Michael seemed slightly surprised by that for a moment, before he focused on the young man that had just spoken to him. “And you are Brian's son, aren't you? You look just like him... I would know, I was his best friend when we were your age.”

“Ancient history,” Gus just muttered in a bored voice, before he picked up the menu in front of him. “Isn't there someone you should be saying hello to?” He nodded towards Jenny, while his eyes shot daggers at the man standing by their table.

Michael ignored the hint and replied to Gus instead. “Your father wouldn't be happy if he knew that you were talking to me this way. I am his best friend.”

Gus just snorted. “Please...”

“I am! Always have been, always will be.”

“Yeah, I don't think either of my fathers sees it quite that way, but that's not really what we're here to talk about, is it?”

“Either of your fathers? What does that mean?” Michael asked, now sitting down in the empty chair next to Ted's, still not having spoken to Jenny at all. “Is that twink still around? Has he still not realised that he has overstayed his welcome?”

Ted just shook his head, not able to believe what had just come out of Michael's mouth. After all these years, Michael still seemed to think that he was the only one that knew Brian. As if. Instead of replying something to that statement and before Gus could, Ted put a hand on the younger man's arm, urging him to stay calm. “Don't... This is not what we're here for.”

Gus nodded, though it was clear that he didn't like it. He stayed quiet and an uncomfortable silence settled over the table.

“Hey,” Jenny said timidly after a minute, looking at her father from nervous eyes.

“Jenny! Hey!” Michael said, turning towards her, before he turned back to Ted and Gus. “So boy wonder is still living off your father's hard earned money, milking him for what he's worth...”

“We're not here to talk about Brian and Justin. We're here so you and Jenny can meet and get to know each other. Remember? Your daughter?” Ted said pointedly as he threw an icy glare at Michael.

“Oh, Jenny will understand, won't you, honey bun?” Michael said without really looking at her, instead focusing on Gus instead. “You know what I am talking about... You still remember what your Dad was like back in the day, don't you? You know that he was never made to be a family man and was born to be free, not be kept in a cage like Justin did... Your Dad was born to suck, fuck, rim and do whatever gave pleasure to gay men. Boy wonder never understood that, but you still remember, don't you?”

Gus just shook his head in disgust. “Really? You want to talk to me about my fathers when your daughter came all the way from Pittsburgh to meet you and get to know you? Do you even care that she's here or do you just see this as an opportunity to get information about my family? A family that wants nothing to do with you and has never forgotten what you did!”

“Yet you are here, aren't you?” Michael pointed out.

“To support my sister!” Gus shot back. “Your daughter that wants to get to know you, not listen to your twisted ideas about my fathers.”

“Jenny isn't really your sister... Lindsay wanted Brian to be her father, too, but Melanie said no and really... who could blame her? It's not like he did such a great job with you, did he? He was never around, more concerned with fucking and taking drugs. You were the muncher's child, not his. No wonder Melanie wanted someone more reliable as a father for her daughter.”

“Okay, I think we've talked enough about Brian now, don't you agree?” Ted interjected at that point, trying to steer the conversation to why they were actually there. “This is about Jenny and as far as our family is concerned, she is Gus' sister, just like she's a part of our family.”

“More reliable than my Dad?” Gus shot back at the same time, pretty much talking right over Ted and what he was saying. “I remember alright... I remember after we moved to Canada and how often my Dad would come and visit me. How often he and Justin would come and visit me together... I remember when he was pregnant with Luke, how he would fly me and my mother to Pittsburgh, so I could still spend time with him. But you know what I can't remember? A single time that you came by and visited your daughter. So spare me all this crap about my Dad. I know his worth as a father and it's a damn lot more than yours!”

With that Gus got up from his chair and left the table. “I'll wait in the car,” he announced to Ted and Jenny as he headed for the door and left the restaurant.

Ted looked after Gus, then turned around to look at Michael. “Can we please focus on the reason why we're here now?”

“What are you looking at me like that for? It's not my fault he's so damn testy,” Michael said, pretending to look innocent but failing badly.

“Dad,” Jenny said quietly, looking at her father from unsure eyes. “Is it true that you never came to visit me in Canada?”

Michael shrugged. “Well, I didn't have the kind of money that Brian had. So of course I wasn't able to just fly over the way he was. It's not like he ever invited me to come along when he went.”

“I wonder why,” Ted just muttered, then pretended like he was coughing.

Jenny nodded to herself as if storing away that answer for later use. “And... after you came out of prison... did you ever try to find me? Did you ever try to get in contact with my mom?”

“No,” Michael said, not even pretending to sound sad about it. “I had to rebuild my life. Brian completely overreacted and destroyed my whole life. I lost everything... my store, my family... I had to try and get my life back on track.”

“Brian overreacted?” Jenny frowned. “You mean about Gus' mom trying to kidnap Luke and you helping her?”

“She wasn't kidnapping that damn boy,” Michael spat, not even caring how that made him sound. “She just wanted to make sure he grew up in a loving home with siblings and parents that actually loved him and would take care of him.”

“But Brian and Justin love him... Brian loved him and took care of him,” Jenny interjected weakly.

“Honey bun,” Michael started, looking at Jenny as if she was a small child that clearly had no idea what she was talking about, “you don't know Brian the way I do. I am his best friend, always have been. No one knows him better than I do. Brian wasn't meant to be a father. His treatment of Gus showed that. He hardly ever saw him and when he did, it was mostly to write a cheque to Lindsay and to throw some money at her, so she would leave him alone and not bother him any longer with Gus' needs. So when Justin got him pregnant by putting holes in their condoms and left him on his own with a baby after fucking off to New York, everyone knew that Brian wasn't meant to have that baby. Brian acted like he wanted the baby and I guess he pretended as not to piss off my mom and boy wonder's mom, but really? That's not who Brian was. Brian was the Stud of Liberty Avenue. No one has fucked more men in Pittsburgh than him. No one could drink more, take more drugs and still be the best lover around. That was who he was! Not a single parent, sitting at home, taking care of a baby he never wanted. Lindsay and I could see that and just did what was right to give Brian back his old life.”

“Wow,” Ted just exclaimed, shaking his head in amazement. “Do you really believe any of that crap coming out of your mouth?”

“How can you say you're his best friend if you haven't seen him in years?” Jenny just asked, looking at her father from eyes that now mostly looked sad.

“Once Brian realises how bad boy wonder is for his reputation and kicks him to the curb, he'll come around and will let me back into his life again. I know it's not his fault, but boy wonder's that we're not talking at the moment. But that doesn't matter. He's told me often enough that he has always loved me and always will and that we'll end up as two old queens in Palm Springs. I'll just have to wait until he kicks that blond boy ass to the curb and then the Brian and Mikey show will be back on air,” Michael answered confidently.

“Please tell me you're seeing a therapist for your delusions,” Ted said seriously, shaking his head in disbelief at the words coming out of Michael's mouth.

“Dad, isn't there anything you want to ask me?” Jenny asked next, once again trying to change the topic of conversation to her.

“Hmmmmm,” Michael seemed to think about it for a while, then nodded. “You said in your email that you're living in Pittsburgh now. I take it you're now living with Gus and Brian?”

Jenny sighed, then shook her head. “No, I live with Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Carl.”

“My mother?” Michael frowned, a shadow passing over his face.

“Yeah, they're great! I really love staying with them,” Jenny enthused, only then realising that her father's face had darkened. “Dad?”

“If I were you, I'd get as far away from her as you can. Before you know it, she'll let you fall and will leave you all alone without any help and support like she did with me. And Carl... don't even get me started on that buffoon.”

“I like them,” Jenny said, meeting her father's gaze head-on. “They have been really great. Everyone in Pittsburgh has been. Including Justin. He's one of the kindest, nicest people I have ever met. And he and Brian are really happy together, any fool can see that.”

“So blond boy ass has you fooled as well, huh?” Michael shook his head, looking disappointed. “I thought you would be smarter than that.”

“Excuse me?” Jenny now sounded really offended. She stared at her father for the longest time, then shook her head as if coming to her senses. “This was a mistake. A big mistake.” With that she got up from the table and headed for the door as well.

“Wow,” Ted just said once more as he got up as well. “She really wanted to meet you. She genuinely wanted to give you a chance and wanted to really get to know you. Despite what everyone had told her about you, she wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt... well done, Michael. Well done! Another relationship you have fucked up with your stupid obsession with Brian. Grow up! Brian loves Justin, Brian loves his family. He has never been as happy as he has been with Justin and their kids. You don't know shit about him... and just for the record: Justin isn't living off Brian's hard earned money. He just finished his latest show in New York and made more money in one evening than you'll ever see in your entire life! Enough money that he was able to throw away the rights to Rage without even batting an eye about it years ago!”

With that Ted turned around as well and left the restaurant, leaving a wide-eyed Michael on his own, heading after Jenny.

***

When Ted caught up with Jenny two blocks down the street, he took the crying girl into his arms and held her close. “Hey... hey... shhhhhh... it's going to be okay.”

Jenny just cried on his shoulder for several minutes and Ted let her. He could only imagine how disappointing this meeting must have been for her and he felt really bad for how this had turned out, even though he had to admit that he wasn't really surprised that it had ended this way.

When she calmed down a bit, Ted pulled back and looked at her from sad eyes. “Hey... you okay? I know that didn't go the way you had wanted it to...”

Jenny just looked at him, then shook her head. “I was stupid... everyone tried to tell me... everyone warned me...”

“You weren't stupid,” Ted said calmly, wiping away the tears on Jenny's face. “You wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. You wanted to give him a fair chance. I think that speaks very highly of you.”

“Has he always been like this?”

Ted shrugged. “More or less... In the beginning, I guess we all tried to laugh it away and tried to explain his behaviour away as him being overly protective of Brian, but over the years... I think we all started to realise that his obsession with Brian wasn't really healthy and... when Brian got pregnant and started changing right in front of everyone's eyes, Michael didn't want to see the changes for what they were. In his head he was the only one that knew the real Brian, no one else did.”

“Why does he hate Justin so much? Justin is so nice,” Jenny said quietly.

“Justin got what Michael never had any chance of getting: Brian! Michael told himself that Brian had never been with him in that way because you didn't fuck friends and because Brian wasn't made for a long-term relationship anyway. I think to a certain degree we would have all agreed with him back then, but then Justin came along and Brian changed... All of a sudden he was in a relationship, after a couple of years they wanted to get married. All things that Michael had never gotten close to receiving from Brian because Brian never saw him that way. To Brian, Michael was like a brother and he loved him that way, but there was never more in it for him. But for Michael... he wanted Brian and he comforted himself with the knowledge that no one would ever get him. And then Justin got him and... I guess Michael wasn't ready to accept that he just wasn't the kind of person Brian would have ever been interested in... instead he came up with these conspiracy theories in his head... And after Brian had Luke... things just escalated.”

Jenny nodded, taking in everything that Ted had said. “Can we head back? I think I really want to be alone for a while.”

“Yeah, of course,” Ted immediately said, nodding in the direction of the car park.

They slowly made their way over, Ted throwing concerned glances at Jenny every once in a while. He could still see sadness all over her face and disappointment in every of her features and he felt angry at Michael for having hurt his daughter like that. After she had already been hurt by Melanie, she would have really deserved better treatment from her father.

Ted wasn't really surprised when he saw Gus, Brian and Carl waiting by their rental car which was parked right next to his. He had assumed that Gus had headed for his father's and grandfather's location and had informed them of how the meeting had gone.

Therefore he wasn't really surprised when he saw a mixture of anger and sadness on all three men's faces.

“Hey, you okay?” Gus asked quietly as he met them by the side of Ted's rental and enveloped his sister in a tight hug.

The three other adults just watched as Jenny once again cried in her brother's arm. No words were needed, they could all see the state that she was in.

Ted saw that Brian's face was marred with anger and he wasn't really surprised by that either. He slowly walked over and talked quietly to him and Carl while Gus and Jenny still stood together, holding each other.

“That was a clusterfuck of gigantic proportions,” he just said, shaking his head angrily.

“Gus told us what has happened to the point that he left,” Brian muttered, watching the siblings with concerned eyes.

“Yeah, it didn't get any better after he left,” Ted just sighed. “I think he's got even worse over the years, if that's even possible. He still thinks that you and him will end up as two old queens in Palm Springs one day. You just need to kick Justin to the curb and then the place by your side will be free for him.”

“Not as long as I have something to say about that,” Brian muttered darkly, shaking his head angrily.

They stood together and Ted quietly replayed the meeting for them, telling them everything that had been said while Gus continued to comfort his sister.

Once Jenny seemed to have calmed down again, the three men walked over as well.

Brian ran a hand over her hair and over her arm in comfort as he spoke to her soothingly. “Let's head back to Anaheim, okay? I am sure you'll have a whole bunch of people waiting there ready to comfort you in whatever way you can imagine.”

Jenny nodded, then looked up at Brian from sad eyes. “Thank you.”

“What for?” Brian frowned, not quite sure he understood.

“For not saying 'I told you so',” she said quietly, looking at the other men as well. “All of you, really.”

“Oh honey,” Carl muttered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “We never would.”

Jenny nodded slowly, then got into the car with Gus. Brian got into the car as well, ready to head back to Anaheim, while Carl and Ted got into the second rental.

As far as he was concerned they couldn't get out of fucking LA fast enough.