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JUSTIN 

 

When the yelling started, I noticed that Gus and Jewel seem to take this as normal. Aidan climbed up me like a scared kitten, because he's never been anywhere that things like this happen.

 

“Don’t cry Aidan, Dad will get rid of her.” Gus tells him.

 

“Why is someone yelling?” He asks me. 

 

“She didn’t learn in preschool like you did, to use your inside voice.” I soothe him.

 

“Daddy, can you make her stop?” Aidan asks me. 

 

“Only if you promise me to stay in the room.” I doubt I could do anything, but I wanted to know what was going on. I promised to stay out of the room, but it’s going to be hard for me to do it.

 

“I can watch them.”  Blake tells me from the door.

 

“If she comes here, don’t let her in.” I tell him, shutting the door.

 

“Justin, if she sees you, we'll be dealing with all of them.” Ted warns me.

 

“I don’t plan on walking in the room. Well, I will if she pisses me off, but I need to see what all of you have been dealing with.” I tell him. 

 

“Normally months go by before this starts up again, but lately it's been constant.” Ted tells me. 

 

“What's caused the change?” I ask him. 

 

“Most likely, Deb needs money.” Ted tells me. 

 

“What does that have to do with what we're hearing?” I ask him. 

 

“If she and Michael had gotten Jewel, they would get Brian to pay through the teeth, so Jewel doesn’t suffer.” Ted tells me. 

 

“This is about money?” I ask him. 

 

“It’s always about money with them.” Ted tells me. 

 

“She only wants my child for a paycheck, is that what you're telling me?” I ask him.

 

“Justin, they thought Brian would marry Michael. Deb never considered another possibility, she thinks that Brian should have been Michael’s from the start. With the kind of money Brian has, they would have been living on easy street.” Ted tells me.

 

“She didn’t think me living with Brian meant that he didn’t want her son?” I ask him.

 

“She didn’t think you were any more than Brian passing the time. She put on a great show, when you went missing. She had her and Michael practically living at the loft, to comfort him. I had to change the locks and code to keep them out.” Ted tells me.

 

“Why is Brian allowing her to do this shit?” I ask him.

 

“He is so used to it that sometimes I think he takes it as his punishment for what happened with you. We wouldn’t let him blame himself, but they are very willing to. Maybe he thinks it’s absolution.” Ted tells me.

 

“I swear, I should just put a cross in Brian’s living room, so he can hang himself on it. It’s got to be less painful than listening to that woman. I learned that shit happens, and you have to let it go, or it eats your soul. I guess it’s time to teach that to Brian, because my children are not going to think shit like this is normal. What is wrong with you people, if someone comes to your home uninvited, you slam the door in their face.” I tell him.

 

“When you do that to her, you get child services at the door and cops being called because someone called in that the children were being hurt. Justin, Brian isn’t letting her in just to let her yell, but to stop midnight visits, ones that force him to wake the kids, so they can assure whoever shows up that they aren’t being hurt.” He tells me.

 

“These people don’t realize the calls are bogus?” I ask him.

 

“They do, but they have to see it with their own eyes. One call was some kid, telling them that Brian tried to rape him. We got lucky that time, because Brian was in Chicago, and Jen was here that night.” He tells me.

 

“Can’t they trace the calls?” I ask him.

 

“They are usually from a payphone, by the time everything is settled, no one can tell you who called. We think that Michael pays the street kids to make the calls, we just can’t prove it.” I tell him.

 

When Brian started yelling at Deb, I walked to the door to try and hear what was being said. Whatever he said seemed to work because the front door slammed. I opened the door and saw my mom collapse on the sofa, like she was tired. Brian stood with a blank look on his face, but his eyes told me he was hurting. I walk out and wait, because I don’t know if he wants me to get near him. He doesn’t say anything but walks to me. I gathered him in my arms and let him lean on me. Max let me know he would take care of the kids. I take Brian back to his bedroom and hope I can find a way to bear this burden for him, because this man was breaking under the pressure.

 

BRIAN

 

I don’t know how much more I can take. I try not to let Deb’s words stab deeper with every visit, but it’s me or a cop at the door. I should pack up all of us and move where they can’t find us, Max’s island idea has merit. All I know is that I can’t keep letting this go on. 

 

When the dust settled, I was numb. I started trying to think of a way to apologize to the people in the room, for making them have to sit through it with me. Seeing Justin standing there, waiting for me to decide what to do, was what made me move. I needed someone to help me regain my equilibrium, and somehow I knew he could. So I just went to him and let him surround me with his strength. He led us to my bedroom and sat me on the bed. 

 

“Lay down, and sleep, I’ll keep everyone out until you're ready to face them.” He tells me.

 

Justin starts to turn to walk out but I grab his hand, I don’t want to be alone right now. 

 

“Can you just stay? I promise, nothing else.” I ask him.

 

“If you need me to, yes.” He tells me.

 

Justin crawls behind me and holds me. I don’t want to be this weak but I just had too many surprises today to handle more. I pull his hand and trace the lines. He no longer has soft hands, but callouses. 

 

“It’s from painting all the time.” Justin tells me.

 

“Your hands used to be smooth.” I tell him.

 

“They were until I was constantly sketching and painting, it’s from holding the pencils and brushes a certain way.” He tells me.

 

“Tell me about Aidan.” I want him to keep talking because it’s helping.

 

“Want me to start from the birth?” He asks me and I nod.

 

“I’d already passed the target due date, but I couldn’t tell them when I got pregnant so they just guessed by the ultrasound, when Aidan finally decided to check out the world. I was standing in line trying to buy the animal crackers I’d been eating nonstop, I had told Max to stop hovering and let me go to the store on my own. I remember feeling like someone kicked me in the kidneys and doubling over. A guy behind me, told me to get to the hospital, because it’s how labor for men starts. He pulled me to stand up straight and offered to take me to the hospital. I didn’t want to call Max, because he was going to tell me he told me so. He’d been arguing with me that I shouldn’t be alone. I got to the hospital and was a father five hours later. They ended up going with a C-section because Aidan wouldn’t turn. I have to say I was glad, because the other way just grosses me out. How women do it is beyond me… “ Justin seems to be getting quieter and quieter.

 

JUSTIN

 

I stopped talking because Brian was asleep. I think Max and I need to talk to the rest of them. I get that having police and Child Services show up all hours of the night, would make letting Deb have her say and leave, easier on the kids. It just shouldn’t be the solution. I climb out of the bed and cover Brian. I need to get the children dinner and put them to bed.

 

Emmett was feeding the kids and my mom smiles at me but I can tell she is just trying to keep the kids from feeling her anger. I’m not angry, I’m furious, I just hide it better. Max was talking on his phone outside.

 

“Where’s Dad?” Gus ask me.

 

“He needed a nap.” I tell him.

 

“Is he…” Mom asks without saying anything to upset Gus and Jewel.

 

“Let’s get the kids settled and then talk.” Emmett tells her.

 

“Are we staying?” Aidan asks me.

 

“I need to talk to your Grandmother and Dad, and it’s going to be late, so you're going to have to sleep here until we leave.” I tell Aidan.

 

“He can sleep in my room.” Gus tells me.

 

We let the kids stay up for a while longer but can see they are ready for bed. I help Aidan and Gus, then go to watch my mom read a story to Jewel. She was really animated and in my head I can see a younger version of her, sitting on the bed reading. Which shocked me, because it felt like a memory not my imagination. Then it disappeared again. Jewel was asleep before she finished. We went to check on the boys but they were down before they could get a story.

 

Mom followed me to the living room. Max looks up and I realize he must still be talking to someone, he had his ear piece in. With him distracted we might manage to get through this without Max taking in circles tonight. He looks up and I guess he wants to ask them something.

 

“Okay, why are you guys putting up with this shit?” Max asks them.

 

“Because they if they don’t the police and Child Services are at the door usually around two in the morning.” Emmett tells him. Max nods and goes back to what he was doing.

 

“They can’t ignore the calls, they've had too many cases where the police or Child Services were there and reported everything was fine, then the children end up in the emergency room or morgue later.” Mom tell us.

 

“Does she ever get near the kids?” I ask them.

 

“Sometimes, but normally Brian keeps them out in the front yard. I asked his neighbors to come  outside and be witnesses to what they do, because it’s hard for the police to intervene when it looks like families taking sides. I don’t want you to think Brian lets this happen, it’s just that Deb will show up and keep pestering everyone until someone talks to her.” Mom defends Brian.

 

“How much did you hear Jay?” Max ask me. While playing with his phone.

 

“Just yelling, I was being filled in by Ted.” I tell Max.

 

“It wasn’t just yelling but making everything Brian and Jen’s fault. Brian for not giving her and her son what they want, and making sure he knows it’s all his fault that you disappeared. Jen for being a shitty mother to you. While Deb showed you unconditional love, very touching, almost had a tear in my eye. Award winning performance, I have to tell you. Oh and apparently Brian is so scary that little baby boy didn’t mean for you to take the blame, it was just Brian might have hurt him…” He tells me.

 

“That’s Deb, Michael does something and he’s misunderstood. She tells everyone that Brian really loves Michael but that I forced you on him, so he left Michael out in the cold. Me being in Brian’s life has kept Brian from loving Michael because I’m guilting Brian into thinking he owes me.” She tells me.

 

“But what is she really after? Because for all her screeching, she never once asked to see Jewel, just  complained about it. Wait let me look at this message.” Max asks her. He must have gotten good news on his phone because he smirking.”Okay go.” He tells me.

 

“Money Max, you know the gold digger comment you had when I told you about my mom and Brian.” I tell him.

 

“That could get interesting, especially if they ever find out about you.” He tells me.

 

“Why would that be a big deal?” Emmett asks Max.

 

“Justin isn’t into showing off, so you wouldn’t know that Justin is worth more than Brain, most likely.” Max tell them.

 

“Brian is worth a lot Max. Don’t judge him by his house. He bought it when the kids were little, and didn’t need a bigger house for the three of them. He never changed the house because they like it.” Mom tells us.

 

“I’m not judging anything, you just don’t understand what Justin accomplished in the last five years.” Max can shut the hell up anytime now.

 

“You made a lot with your paintings?” Emmett asks me.

 

“They sell in double digits now.” I tell him.

 

“It’s not the paintings, give you a clue, if Justin hadn’t been a magnificent painter he would have made a great stockbroker. He tripled his investments in the first year and keeps increasing as the years go on. He lives off interest, not principle.” Max tells them.

 

“I’m not surprised, Justin isn’t just smart, he tested well above average almost to genius level in school. He could have done anything, but growing up his passion was art. We were always proud of Justin.” Mom tells me.

 

“Well I guess the bonk on the head didn’t scramble that out of him.” Max tells them.

 

“Max lets not go into that, we need to figure out how to keep Deb from just showing up. I don’t want to have to keep hiding in another room.” I tell him.

 

“Like your not trying to figure out how to make Deb’s life hell in that blond head of yours.” Max smiles at me. 

 

““I just need to know where to hit her. Jewel is not a paycheck.” I tell him. 

 

“So it's about making Brian pay, not about poor Granny.” Max says to me.

 

“I owe them my life.” Brian tells us from the entrance to the living room. 

 

“Why?” I ask him. 

 

“Because they let me in their house, it's how they operate. Ask Emmett or Ted, we should all be lavishing them in a fabulous lifestyle, because Deb honored us with her love. “ He tells me. 

 

“She always expected us to pay for everything. At first we fell in the trap, because we found acceptance in her house. She was a gay boy's dream mom, until you saw what was really going on. It wasn't like she had her hand out, she would mention she didn't know how to pay for Vic’s meds or the light bill, and we'd each be leaving money for her. It wasn’t till after the Jewel fiasco that we all realized she always made sure to do it when we were alone with her. That way Brian, Ted or I would leave her with triple what she was asking for.” Emmett tells us. 

 

“What was the money for?” I ask them.

 

“Whatever Michael wanted, in a way we were paying for Michael.” Emmett tells us.

 

“It was when we all agreed to pretend we didn't hear her, that we became ungrateful assholes for ignoring her generosity of letting us have them in our life. I've always thought she put Michael up to trapping Brian.” Ted tells me.   

 

“Well Jay, how do you want to handle them?” Max asks me. 

 

“It's not his problem. We should have stopped this sooner.” Brian tells him. 

 

“She made it my problem when she hurt my family.” I tell him. 

 

“You never want to piss Jay off. He doesn’t let you see him coming. Where I learned to be sneaky.” Max tells them.

 

“Just how sneaky, Max?” I ask my best friend.

 

“Jay, she brought a Jesus freak aka Brian’s mom here. You know a ‘we are all going to hell for sucking dick’, kind of freak. What kind of PFLAG president does that, I couldn’t just let that go.” Max tells me. We both smile because I taught Max everything he knows.

 

“She works at Liberty diner, preaching acceptance, then brings Joan here. I really wish someone could show all her minions what the real Deb is like.” Mom says.

 

“How did she convince your mom to come with her?” I ask Brian.

 

“Deb is plays ‘good Catholic’ around my mother. ” He tells me.

 

“I just don’t see any way we could out Deb. I mean nobody is going to believe she would do something like this.” Emmett tells us.

 

“I need some digits of the biggest gossips on Liberty Avenue.” Max chimes in.

 

“That would be Emmett.” Ted tell him.

 

“You don’t need my number Sweety. I’m here, live and in person.” Emmett tells Max.

 

“I need to send Video messages to the masses, can you just give me your numbers. If you have random numbers for anybody who frequents the diner what would be good too.” He tells them.

 

Emmett gives Max his number. We here the chime the message was sent. I walk behind Emmett to see what Max got. 

 

“I had a friend edit it to hit the high points.” Max tells us.

 

It started with Deb saying, “Brian, listen to your mother.”

 

Then Joan, “Debbie and I are here to convince you to let us raise the kids in the way God would want.”

 

“Get the fuck out” 

 

 We see Deb standing next to Joan.“Don’t talk to your mother like that.”

 

Joan “Repent or don’t call on me”

 

Deb “Listen to your mother.”

 

“The President of PFLAG stands with a woman who believes all faggots are going to burn in hell”

 

Flashes across the screen and fades.

 

“Think the queers are going to support that?” Max asks us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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