Justin was working the early shift at the diner the next morning, so Brian decided to go with him and eat breakfast. When they arrived, Emmett and Michael were already there. Brian slipped into the booth next to Michael and greeted both men.

Justin put on his apron, washed his hands and grabbed a pot of freshly brewed coffee and carried it over to the table. He poured Brian a cup then topped off the other 2 cups. He was just about to get their breakfast orders when he heard his name called out.

“Hey, Justin, let me have some of that,” a dark haired man a couple of booths down called out.

“Be right there, Al,” Justin said, shrugging. “I’ll be right back. Gotta keep the customers happy. Besides, he’s a good tipper.”

Brian watched as Justin poured the coffee, a smile on his face the whole time. He thought to himself that the smile alone was worth a ten dollar tip, even if it was for a cup of coffee.

When Michael and Emmett were done eating, they left, agreeing to meet Brian and Justin at Woody’s that evening. Debbie had arrived by then and when the other men left, she sat in the booth across from Brian.

“Hey, Hon. How ya doin’?”

“Fine,” he said, cautious of the tone of her voice. He had only heard it one or two times before and it usually meant something had happened. “Deb? What’s going on?”

“What do you mean,” she said, the pitch of her voice going up.

“Deb, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Sweetie. Just wanted to know how you were doing after all that stuff with your nephew. You know.”

“It’s over, Mom. Surely your boyfriend told you already. He came by and told me everything last night.”

“Everything?”

“Yeah. Deb, what is going on?”

“Nothing. Uhh, gotta go. Looks like Justin needs help.”

“Justin’s fine.” He looked at Deb and knew that was all he would get. “Fine, go back to work. Just remember, I don’t believe a word you’re saying.”

Justin came over to the table as Brian stood to leave. “What was that all about, Brian? She sure looked flustered.”

“I have no idea. You can never tell with straight women.” Justin laughed, his face lit up with his infamous smile. Brian couldn’t resist the invitation. He bent down and kissed Justin hard on the lips in front of everyone in the diner. There were a few catcalls and whistles when they were done. Debbie stood behind the counter, one hand over her mouth and the other on her chest. When did this happen, she wondered but decided she didn’t really care. Brian and Sunshine had found their way back to each other.

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Carl tried calling Joan from his home one more time and again got her answering machine. He realized that the best thing to do was to just go to her house and make her talk to him whether she wanted to or not. It was still fairly early, so he hoped that she wouldn’t have started drinking already. As he opened the door, he stopped, then went back to the bedroom and picked up the box from the dresser. It was time to close this chapter.

He rang the bell and waited several minutes before Joan opened the door. “Hello, Carl. I figured you’d be here eventually. Come on in.”

Carl was surprised at the woman who stood before him. Gone was the long chestnut colored hair and sparkling eyes, the vivaciousness he saw emerging from the quiet woman to whom he gave the speeding ticket. The woman here with him was hard and sharp and sad. Maybe bitter is a better word.

“Joan.” That’s all he could say at the moment.

“Not what you expected, is it? Things change, Carl. Not always for the better. Sit down. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee?”

“No, I just had breakfast.” He sat on the immaculately cared for sofa and looked around at the room. Spotless and cold, was his impression.

“Well, go ahead and ask.”

“Do I have to ask?” He watched this stranger before him, tight-lipped, daring him to ask the question. He sighed. “Brian is my son, isn’t he?”

She nodded slightly.

“Why?” She just stared at him. Carl stood and paced the room. “Why didn’t you tell me? Did you think I would send you away? Did you think I would reject my own child?”

“It had nothing to do with you!”

“Nothing to do with me? He’s my son. All those years and I never knew. All those years as a child with Jack Kinney hurting him. And you never protected him. You let him be hurt. I can’t believe you’re the same woman I loved all those years ago.”

“That’s right. All those years ago. I did what I had to. I made Jack believe Brian was his.”

“Do you really think he didn’t know?” Carl sat back down on the sofa, his energy gone.

“Are you going to tell him?”

“Don’t you think you’re the one that should do that?”

“I can’t. But he should know his real father.”

“I feel sorry for you Joan.” He got up. “Here,” he said, as he tossed the box toward her and left the house.

He drove off, not sure where he was heading, but ended up at the Liberty Diner. “Jesus,” he thought. “Who knew I would be spending so much time on Liberty Avenue?”

As soon as he walked into the diner, Debbie knew something was wrong. He headed for a booth, instead of sitting at the counter like he usually did. Deb delivered a hamburger to one of the customers, then went to sit with Carl.

“I saw Joan this morning.” He shook his head. “She isn’t the woman I knew. She actually told me that the fact that she was pregnant with my child when she left had nothing to do with me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“She indicated that if I wanted to tell Brian, I could. I can’t do it alone, though. What if he tells me to go to hell? What if he wants no part of me? He may not believe that I never knew about him and think that I just didn’t care. I know I can’t be a father to him at this point, but I’d at least like to be a friend and not known just as your boyfriend. You know?”

Deb nodded. “Want me to go with you? I get off in an hour if you want to go this afternoon.”

“Is it the right thing to do?”

“Who knows? He should be told by you, or Joan, not someone else, though.”

“No wonder I love you. I’ll wait until your shift is over. Maybe I should call him, make sure he’s at home.”

A little over an hour later, Carl and Debbie were seated in the loft.

“Okay. Debbie, what’s going on? You two eloping and want my help? What?”

“Honey,” Debbie started. “Brian. We just found out something about you that may be difficult for you to hear.”

“About me? What is it?” Debbie and Carl looked at each other. “Come on, what?”

“Brian, I knew your mother many years ago. We, I gave her a speeding ticket...”

“No shit.”

“Brian, we became friends.”

Brian wasn’t sure where this was going. “What do you mean, friends?” When neither one answered right away, he added, “You had an affair with Joanie? While she was married to Jack?”

“Yes.”

“And why are telling me this now? What does it have to do with me? Good for her if she got a little on the side.”

“Stop it, Brian,” Deb admonished.

Brian stood and walked around to the back of the sofa. “What, Debbie? Carl had an affair with Joanie now he’s your boyfriend. So what. I’m sure he’s, hell, both of you, have been with other people.”

“Your mother and I were together late summer and early fall of 1970. You do the math.”

“Math?” Recognition dawned and he turned his back to Deb and Carl. “And I was born in April of 1971. But, and as much as I hate to think about it, Joanie and dear old Jack were married and I assume sleeping together.”

“Jack was in Scranton for six weeks.”

“So what you’re saying is, that Jack’s not my father. You are?”

“Brian, believe me, I didn’t even know she was going to have a baby. She just left and never gave me a reason except that she thought Jack was getting suspicious and she couldn’t leave him. I called her several times, she told me to leave her alone, that she couldn’t see me anymore. I left her alone.”

“And me. You left me to be raised in that house. Get out, both of you.”

“Brian.” Carl started walking toward Brian.

“No Carl. Let’s go. Leave him alone for a while.” Deb was already opening the loft door. Carl looked one last time at his “son”, then he and Debbie left.

Back in the car, Debbie tried to comfort Carl. “Sweetie, he just needs some time to think everything through. This is a big thing for anyone to handle. And Brian, well, as much as he pretends to be this big uncaring person, he’s not really. He just keeps everything inside. He’ll come around. It’ll just take awhile. You’ll see.”

Justin got home late and the loft was dark. He figured Brian had gone out with the guys and decided to change and grab something to eat before he started his homework. As he entered the bedroom he could tell someone was in the bed. “Brian?”

“Who did you expect?”

“Why are you in bed at eight-thirty? Are you sick?” He sat on the side of the bed and felt Brian’s forehead. “No fever.”

“I’m not sick. Lay down with me.”Brian turned onto his back and Justin, having removed his shoes by the sofa, as usual, climbed onto the bed next to him.

Justin knew Brian would talk when he was ready, so he waited. Finally, Brian started talking, almost in whispers and Justin had to listen closely to hear all that he said. The story was almost surreal, finding out the man whom you thought was your father wasn’t. Those things only happened on soap operas and bad romance novels.

“I think I need to pay my dear old mother a visit.” Brian rolled to his side and gathered Justin into his arms, holding him tight.

“Do you want me to go with you to see your mother?”

“No. I need to do it alone. Besides, you have school.” Several minutes passed, with the two men holding each other. “Justin? You’re real, aren’t you?” Justin’s answer was a tender kiss. He didn’t see Brian’s smile but heard his words. “I love you.”

As Carl had done the day before, Brian knocked on Joanie’s door. He didn’t feel comfortable walking in, even though he grew up here. It wasn’t home to him. Not like Debbie’s house was.

“I suppose Carl talked to you. What do you want from me?”

“An explanation.”

“I don’t owe you any explanations. It was my life and I did what I had to. I did the only thing I could.

“And you let Jack beat me for no reason, knowing he wasn’t my father. Did Carl know about me?”

“No! I never told him. Do you know what would have happened if anyone found out about me and...him?”

“All you ever thought about was yourself. How it would look for you, not Jack, not Claire and not me. It was only you. As much as I hated Jack, I feel sorry for him. But you know something? He knew. I didn’t understand it at the time, but he knew. He knew I wasn’t his son. How many times did he tell me I was no son of his? I thought it was because he thought I was a sissy. “Sissy Boy”, he called me. But it wasn’t. The truth is I wasn’t a Kinney.” Brian grabbed the door handle and flung the door open. “Goodbye, Mother. Hope you can live with yourself for the rest of your life.”

“Brian, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to leave your house, Mother and I’m going to live my life the best way I know how. That includes being with my male lover, by the way. You met him. Young, blond, great ass.”

A half hour later, Brian was sitting at the counter in the diner, being served his usual turkey on whole wheat, no mayo, and a glass of water with lemon. “Thanks, Deb.” She smiled, told him no problem, and went about her business. She kept her eye on him as she served her customers, knowing he came here for more than a turkey sandwich. He picked at the sandwich and sipped the water. A half hour later, most of the sandwich still sat uneaten on the plate and the ice in the water was mostly melted.

“Not very hungry, I see. How ‘bout a lemon bar?” Deb said as she started to gather up his dishes.

“Deb, can we talk for a few minutes?”

“Sure, Honey,” she said to Brian, then to no one in particular, she shouted, “Taking five,” and led him into the very small employee lounge.

“Deb, I’m sorry about last night, the way I told you and Carl to leave.”

Debbie smiled and cupped his cheek. “I understand.”

“Does Carl?”

“Yes, I think he does. Look, he doesn’t want to be a father to you. He’s not going to tell you when to be home and who to see. That’s past. He just wants to be friends. That’s all. You don’t even have to tell anyone else. My lips are sealed for as long as you want. He just wants you to know he’s there for you if you want.”

“I won’t have to change my name, will I? New business cards will cost a fortune.”

“No, smart-ass.”

“You like him a lot, don’t you, Deb?”

“Yeah, I do. A whole lot.”

The next thing Debbie knew, Brian had his arms around her in a big hug. “I love you, Mom,” he said softly. Debbie knew she wouldn’t be able to stop the tears, so she didn’t even try.

“Get out of here. Go on. I have to powder my nose before I go back out there.”

“Sure. Wouldn’t want to scare the paying customers,” he said then kissed her cheek.

“Asshole,” Debbie said as she swatted his arm. Once the door was closed, she said, “I love you, too, Kiddo.”

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Carl was sitting in his office going over some paperwork when the phone rang. As he reached for it, he looked up at the large window in his office. He stood when he saw Brian watching him.

“Horvath,” he said sharply, picking up the receiver and listening for a second, then, “I’ll have to call you back. Something important just came up here.” He put the receiver down and looked at Brian again. Neither one made a move for several moments. Brian watched him, taking in the look on the other man’s face, then smiled, nodded slightly and gave a casual salute to the detective, turned and walked away in his best Kinney fashion.

Carl just stood there, his own smile firmly in place. Maybe it was going to be alright after all.