Chapter 5

THE FIRST WEEK

Part 2 - The Surprise

The next morning Justin joined Brian and Michael downstairs for breakfast.

He dressed casually in white and he wore his shell necklace and crown. He had been unsurprised to find it next to him when he woke up.

Brian's face lit up in a Sunshine grin of his own when he saw Justin. Justin returned it and bowed slightly before them to say "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Brian said. God, he wished he could say that every morning!

"Good morning," said Michael, not missing their ridiculous smiles for a second. "I take it you had a good time in town yesterday."

Justin nodded and focused his attention on his cereal and orange juice.

"You bet!" Brian enthused, "The Remingtons kept us a bit...longer than we expected, so we had dinner at the Liberty Diner. Your mom says hi. I think she misses you," he finished pointedly.

Michael stiffened. "I doubt that," he said softly.

Brian sighed. This family feud was ridiculous but there was nothing he could do about it. Michael had to resolve these problems on his own.

"Well anyway, I'm glad we went. We had some good grub and, oh yeah! There was a bit of an incident, and well, the long and the short of it is, we found out Sunshine's name!" Brian looked over at Justin and wished he could stop feeling so goofily happy whenever he did.

"Really? Well, if you know his real name, why are you still calling him Sunshine?" Michael asked with logic and jealousy.

"Well, his real name is rather...unusual. I just prefer his nickname, that's all."

"Obviously. Well, come on, don't keep me in suspense." Michael sounded anything but in suspense. Half in boredom, he drank his milk.

"His name is Just-in," Brian said, pronouncing it as two words.

Michael choked, sputtered and sprayed milk out of his nose everywhere, but mostly onto Brian.

"Michael, what the Hell!" Brian jumped up from his seat. He wiped his shirt in vain but saw that he was going to have to have it dry cleaned.

"Shit, Michael!" he ejaculated again as he rang for some help. Michael continued to snort and spew milk and then laughed unkindly.

He was still laughing when the maid came in. Unfortunately, it was the same maid as yesterday.

"ELLLL DIABLOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

And she was out of there.

Brian sighed. He was going to have to have a talk with her.

Justin watched everything with wide eyes. He wished he could have sold tickets. He would have made a fortune.

Brian rang again and eventually some different servers came. They cleared away, replaced the tablecloth, and brought replacement milk, orange juice and oatmeal for everybody. They withdrew and eventually it was just the three of them again.

Brian just folded his arms and glared at Michael, waiting.

"Well really, Brian! I am sorry!" he said finally, still snickering a bit, "But it really is ridiculous."

"Michael..." Brian growled warningly.

"No, really, I'm serious. I'm not trying to be unkind here..."

"You're not...not trying either," Brian growled.

"Granted. But think about it. That can't be it. I mean...those are just two words. What mother goes around naming their baby after two words like that? It's stupid."

"Michael..."

"Oh, stop growling at me. You sound like a bear. Fine, whatever, I'll stop. But I'm not calling him that. Just In. Geez, we may as well call him Justin."

Justin sighed with happiness and relief. He was filled with a quiet and powerful joy. And who knew it would be Michael who would provide it?

He pointed at Michael and nodded his head. He smiled with the simple joy and his eyes lit up the room.

Michael's mouth turned down as much as Justin's turned up.

"What now?? What's he going on about? Is he making fun of me?"

"No, of course not. You must have hit upon something. Wait...is that it? Is your name...Justin?"

Justin smiled again and nodded. He closed his eyes and absolutely savored the sound of Brian saying his name...his real name, for the first time.

BJMBJMBJMBJMBJ

Outwardly, they all finished their breakfast in silence.

Inwardly, Justin was singing one of Ted's arias and with every slow chewing bite of his cereal, he would close his eyes and he would be in a green field full of wildflowers. He was lying shirtless on a red and white-checkered blanket and Brian was there in full leather. Boots, chaps, shirt, jacket, gauntlets, and those masked goggles that let him stare into eternity. Brian was lying beside him and stroking his smooth chest with one gauntlet and with the other he fed him grapes. With every grape, he leaned over him and spoke his name: Justin...Justin...Justin...

"Justin!"

SHIT! Justin started and his eyes flew open. He was still at the breakfast table, swirling his oatmeal slowly. It was cold. A slow line of oatmeal trickled out the side of his mouth and down his chin.

Brian and Michael were both staring at him. Brian in concern. Mikey, as if he were a half-wit. His middle part was painfully large and tight in his pants again. He had, what did Brian call it? Oh yeah, a stiffie.

"Justin? You OK hon? Did you want any more cereal? We're both done," Brian said pointedly.

Justin dropped his spoon with a clatter. He wiped his mouth and pushed away his bowl. He smiled and nodded his thanks.

No, he didn't want any more cereal.

But he sure did have a hankering for some grapes.

BJMBJMBJMBJMB

As they walked out of the dining room and into the Great Hall, Justin was able to walk almost normally. His heart was so light that he was able to virtually ignore the pricking pains in his feet.

"Well, I'm going to have a read," Michael said, automatically turning toward his favorite study. He could tell Brian wanted to be alone with his new pet and he was starting to feel a little left out. But as long as Brian came to him at night, he didn't care. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

"Hang on, Michael. Before you go, I have something to show you."

"What is it?"

"A surprise. Remember our talk yesterday morning?"

"Yes."

"OK. Well, this surprise is mainly for Sun...Justin, but it concerns you as well."

Justin's face lit up. Another surprise? First the dinner. Next the Remington's fabulous gift. What could possibly top that?

Brian led them down a hall out of the Great Hall, went halfway down a long hall where there was only one set of white double doors on the right. He stopped in front of these doors.

"I chose this room because it's easy to get to but I'll also have the way marked just in case. Sunshine, I hope you like this."

Brian threw open the doors.

Justin stepped forth, slowly, cautiously. He felt that strange feeling that one feels when confronted with a brand new room or domicile. A wonderful feeling of excitement, of exploration, of...newness that a room has before becoming familiar with you.

It had been a ballroom once.

The door opened in at the middle of the room. It stretched away to the left and the right of them in a long rectangle. On the far right hand wall was a huge, floor to ceiling bookshelf. All along the opposite, long wall, high up were round-topped windows. The floor was hardwood, a light tan color. The entire room was two stories high.

And yet, all this was of no consequence. For all of Justin's attention was attracted to the left side of the room.

The entire left wall was glass.

Two stories high, floor to ceiling paned windows faced south, and on either side in a diagonal fashion, east and west.

Near these windows were a stool and a few other chairs of varying degrees of comfort. In front of the stool was an easel. On the easel was a canvas. The rest of the Remingtons' canvases were stacked up against a nearby wall. Their crate was nearby. It was still nearly full of the pencils and notebooks and pads and pads of paper. Near that, also along the wall, a cot was set up. Near that was a bell pull.

Spread out in a semicircle on either side of the easel, were six tables. Each table held a different thing.

On the left: There was a table filled with a nice assortment of notebooks and notepads, a table with an artful pinwheel arrangement of a pencil set, and a table with a pinwheel of a colored pencil set.

On the right: There was a table with a pinwheel of paintbrushes from biggest to smallest, a table filled with tubes of watercolor paints, all the colors of the rainbow, and a table filled with oil colors, all the colors of the rainbow. There was a closed container of paint thinner.

In short, it was an artist's heaven.

Justin was stunned. No, make that ABSOLUTELY STUNNED. He was boggled.

He felt like...it wasn't real. It couldn't be real. A place like this COULD NOT EXIST. He felt as if he moved toward it, it would melt away and vanish, like some mean spirited mirage.

But as he took step after step toward the set up, it did NOT disappear. It just got closer and closer as he walked faster and faster and then he was running, running faster, running full tilt out. He felt nothing in his feet now because his joy was so great and full, he knew he must have been running on air.

As he walked and then ran, he was dimly aware of voices but they didn't matter. Nothing else mattered.

"Holy Shit, Brian! When did you do all this?"

"I made the arrangements before we left yesterday. I told workers what I wanted done and they did it while Sunsh - Justin and I were in Spittsenbeerghur."

"Well, I don't like it! It's too much! Take it down!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Michael. This is only the beginning. Besides," he continued fondly, "Look how much he loves it."

Justin was now touching everything he could, the canvas, the easel, and the tubes of paint, especially the red, yellow, and orange.

"And remember, I told you, this concerns you too."

"And how?" Michael's voice was tight with jealous acid, "does this concern me? This...this thing is all for HIM! Everything you've done since he arrived is for him!"

"If you'd calm down and think...for a minute, you'd realize I've done this for your benefit as well! You said wanted him not to be a charity case and for him to get over his crush on me. Well, this will keep him occupied and away from me enough to do that. As long as he's working in here, he won't have time for me. And from what we've seen him do, I think he can do so much more. So do the Twins, which is why they sent what they were capable of. I just added to it, that's all!"

"Justin!" Brian called to him.

Justin looked up at him the way a flower greets the sun. His face radiated his name. In his hands he still held tubes of red and orange paint. Slowly, he pointed at himself with both hands in askance. "Mine?"

"Yes," Brian said, "All this is yours. You can come and go as you please, and if you accept, I want to place you in the position of court artist. You would receive a salary and of course any money you make selling any pieces you produce."

Behind them, Michael's scowl was getting deeper and deeper.

When you're established we can send you out to make your way in the world. That way, when the time comes, you'll be able to support yourself. All right? Do you accept?"

Michael's scowl turned into a pissed off yet malicious smirk. He would be getting rid of the blond nuisance after all.

Justin's face dimmed slightly, but recovered and nodded. He put down the paint and approached Brian. He looked Brian deep in the eyes and tenderly brought Brian's hand up to his lips and kissed his knuckles softly. Then he drew off his crown and gave it to him. As if in the second half of a ritual, without giving Brian time to object, he bent on one knee and bent his head forward.

Brian crowned him.

"What was that all about?"

"I'm still not sure. It's a sort of ritual we- he made up. But I'm still not sure what it means."

Justin sighed. Sometimes being mute was a real chore.

He stood and turned around. He spread his arms indicating the studio, everything Brian had just given to him. He turned around, and again gave Brian his crown. Immediately, he bent and waited.

Brian crowned him.

"I still don't understand, Sunshine. But I won't stop trying to figure it out. For now, I dub thee, court artist."

Brian took out a golden key on the end of a chain from out of his pocket. He put the chain solemnly around Justin's neck.

"This is the key to this room, Justin. It is yours. Come and go as you please. Lock yourself in. Lock it when you leave, if you choose. Anytime you start to run out of supplies, let someone know and they will be replenished. Understand?"

Justin nodded.

"Furthermore, I've arranged for a tutor to come in for a few hours every day to teach you how to read and write. All right?"

Justin looked distressed and shook his head. He grabbed Brian's hand and pressed it to his own chest, tapping it there. He looked beseechingly at Brian. "You teach me!"

"Oh Sunshine, I can't!" Brian laughed," I've GOT to get back to work. I've taken way to much time off already."

Justin nodded in sorrowful understanding.

"Well, I still think this is all too much!" Michael's voice cut across like a petulant razor blade, "If he gets all this then I want something too!"

Brian felt a pounding begin between his eyes. "Fine!" he ground out, "What...do...you...want?"

"How about a party?" suggested Michael, "Yes, that would be nice. A themed party the night before the next dinner. Maybe even some sort of contest."

"Contest? What kind of contest?"

"Oh, I don't know yet. But I'll think of something."

"Fine...Whatever. Anything you want," Brian said carelessly.

"Anything?"

Uh oh. Justin didn't like his tone."

"Yes, yes! Mikey, why don't you go think about what you want and leave me in peace a bit. You're giving..."

"Excellent. I'll do that." Michael's footsteps tapped away.

Justin watched the confidence in Michael's steps. He grew more and more uneasy. Things did not bode well.

TBC