JUSTIN

When Max told me my life was going to change, he wasn’t lying. I can’t just get in my car and drive to the grocery store, it has to be planned. I wanted to cook Gus’s favorite foods, I needed to get some asparagus spears, I went to get the girls and run to the store.

“Justin, where are you going?” Max asks me.

“I need to get some things from the store,” I tell him.

“Just tell one of us, so we can plan to take you,” Max tells me.

“It’s just a quick trip. The store is like five minutes from here.” I tell him.

“It doesn't matter, you don't leave the house without one of my people,” Max tells me.

I wasn’t upset at Max. I was angry that Linds is making it impossible to do normal everyday things. I'm not used to planning for a quick grab and go trip. I wanted to be able to go somewhere without people trailing me. The whole thing seems so unfair, I feel like I’m the one who did something wrong.

“Justin, I know this isn’t easy, but until we can determine what Linds is capable of, we have to be cautious," Max tells me.

“I understand, believe me, I understand. I spend every waking moment waiting for Linds to finally do something. I’m not going to purposely do something that brings danger to my family or to me. I wasn’t thinking, I need asparagus spears for dinner. That’s all I need.” I tell him.

“I’ll send Tom to pick it up for you. If you really want to go, he just needs to ride with you. I would, but I’m about to leave to pick up Gus and JR with Mel.” Max tells me.

I decide Tom can go. It’s not like I wanted to go, I just wanted to be able to go. I go back into the kitchen and start to cook dinner. Allen comes in and plays with the girls. It’s actually nice not to have to stop and check on the girls all the time. Allen is assigned to the girls and me when we’re at home. Tom is watching Linds and Michael but comes with Allen and me if we go somewhere. It seemed like overkill, but I know it’s for the safety of me and the girls.

Brian asked why I wasn’t willing to believe Linds could be dangerous. I told him it wasn’t that I didn’t believe it, it’s just hard to imagine someone wants to stalk me. I’m not a movie star or even huge in the art world. I’m just getting to the point where galleries are coming to me.

I think if I saw Linds, I would probably run her over with my car, just to get some peace. Max told me if I see her, to just get away from her. Brian told me to wait until Michael and Linds were in the same area and hit them both. I love that he understands my frustration.

MAX

When I picked Mel up, she wanted to know why I wasn’t worried about Michael. She told me she understands why we are hyper-aware of Linds.

“Michael is still based in reality, he just doesn’t like what he sees. Michael isn’t the scorned lover, he’s the guy who is waiting for his turn. He thinks Justin will eventually just leave and Brian will turn to him. Michael won’t work to get what he wants, he wants it handed to him. He’s the kind of person who would bring a measuring tape and tell everyone he isn’t violating a restraining order because there is still five hundred feet between him and Brian while standing in a building Brian owns. When the police show, Michael would be so busy trying to tell them he was five hundred feet away, not wanting to hear being in the building was a violation. In other words, he’s not very intelligent.” Max tells me. I have to agree with him.

“The thing is, if I was asked about Linds, I would have thought it would be Brian, not Justin. Linds has always chased Brian and wanted him to solve her problems. The only change in the last couple of years was her being mad at Brian because Justin wanted to come home. Brian has also had zero tolerance for the bullshit both Michael and Linds pull. I’ve been living with her and I didn’t see what she was doing as anything other than wanting to be involved in Justin’s career. I mean, the whole husband and sudden love came out of nowhere.” Mel tells me.

“It was there in the back of her mind. Part of it is we denied her a part of his career, the other part is she needed to justify why she and Justin need to be together. It went from stage mom to lover. She most likely changed the way she views her interactions with Justin to make it seem like she’s in love with him. She could have been in love with him, but I don’t think she was until we told her Justin didn’t want her in his life.” I tell Mel.

“What do you really believe will happen?” Mel asks me.

“Don’t look or react, but it could be as easy as me calling the police and telling them Linds is standing next to that tree,” I tell Mel

Mel and I were waiting to get Gus and JR, I was watching the area. I think I gave Linds to much credit for intelligence. I mean if I was told I could go to jail for having any contact with the kids, I would at least hide behind a bush, not stand next to a tree, in plain sight. I tell Mel to go get the kids and come straight back to the car. I call the police and tell them Linds has already violated the restraining order. Hopefully, she’ll keep doing stupid things. I called Brian to let him know Linds is going to be taken in. We have her for calling Justin’s phone, but she disappeared for a while today.

When Mel got the kids in the car, I drove off quickly. I want her to be here long enough for the police to pick her up.

I stopped the car around the corner and asked Mel to drive so I could answer the phone. The call was to tell us that Linds managed to leave before the police could get there, but the principal verified to them she was on the property. Now if we can just have the police and Linds in the same place.

BRIAN

Mel and I wanted to talk to Gus and Justin agreed it was best that we talked to him.

“Gus, your dad and I wanted to talk to you about your mom. We decided that you get to stay with me and your dads for a while. Your mom isn’t doing well and needs to get some help. Until she does she can’t see or talk to you. If you see her you need to stay away and tell a grown-up immediately and don’t go with her, anywhere. Do you understand sweetheart.” Mel tells Gus.

“Is she really sick?” Gus asks us.

“She isn’t sick like when you have a cold Gus. Your mom is not seeing things clearly. In order for her to get better, she needs a doctor to help her clarify things.” I tell Gus.

“Can I go get a snack in the kitchen?” Gus changed the subject.

“In a minute. I need you to tell me you understand what we told you.” Mel tells him.

“I can’t have anything to do with my mom, got it. Can I go now?” Gus is getting a bit mouthy with us.

“Gus this is serious. I know it hurts but we need you to talk to us. You're allowed to be mad, sad, or pissed about it, but we need you to do as we ask.” I tell Gus.

“I will Dad,” Gus tells me.

We let him go to the kitchen. Mel and I decide we’ll just watch and see if Gus needs to talk to us, or maybe he will go to Justin. Sometimes he does that, he says Justin is sometimes easier to talk to. Justin yells that it’s time to eat. We walk in to see Gus scarfing down a burger. I forget Gus gets snarky when he’s hungry.

I needed to call Gabriel and get an update on the expansion. I told everyone I would be in my office. Gabriel is going to take over the world one day. Between the two of us, we bring in over eighty percent of the accounts. Gabriel told me he was going to be coming to town next week. We are going to hammer out the partnership agreement. I told him Justin wanted to meet him in person and we could have dinner together.

I get another call, and tell Gabriel we’ll talk next week. It’s one of the bartenders at Babylon, Mikey is there, partying up a storm, I wonder if he read the part of the restraining order that says he couldn’t be in any building that Justin or I own. I tell the bartender that I’ll call Carl. Mikey thinks I wasn’t going to enforce the order, well he can think about it in jail tonight.

MICHAEL

I was drinking and dancing up a storm. I told the bartender I’d tip him a twenty if he made sure to tell me if Brian arrived. The bartender tells me to keep the money, he’ll definitely say something. I got a couple hits of E and was really having a good time. A hot guy walks up to me and asks me to turn around. I turned and started rubbing my ass against him. He grabs my arms and pulls them behind my back, I tried to raise them around his neck but he pulled them down. I closed my eyes and started trying to dance into him. I feel him putting something on my wrist and I try to turn to ask him what he’s doing. I look up and Carl is standing there.

“Michael, I have to take you in. You’re in violation of the restraining order,” Carl tells me.

“Brian isn’t even here, how could I be violating it when he isn’t in the building Carl.” I sneer at him.

“You're in a building owned by Brian and Justin. I told you, you aren’t allowed to be in any property owned by them.” Carl tells me.

“I thought you meant the loft. Just call Brian and he’ll let me go.” I tell Carl.

“Brian is the one who called us Michael,” Carl tells me.

I can’t believe Brian is going to put me in jail. I tried to tell Carl they should let me go. I wasn’t paying attention so I didn’t know. Carl told me to read something other than a comic and I wouldn’t be going with him to the police station.