SIX YEARS LATER

BRIAN

When I moved to begin a new life, I never realized how much everything would change, but then I should have seen it the night my life appeared under a street light.

When I left my old life behind, it was not only for Justin but because I always dreamed of leaving and hitting it big in the Big Apple. Which as I've always done, was a big fat fucking success, like anything I set my mind to. It's just that unlike some people in my life, I knew Justin knew I needed him to be there with his trademark smile saying I could accomplish my dreams.  

With Kinnetik NY now holding it’s own, it’s time for Ted to step up and decide if he’s ready to be the one to bring Kinnetik Chicago to life. I’ve watched Theodore grow into a man who sees that being an accountant gave him a stepping stone to being a partner to a visionary. Don’t think it was my narcissism that thinks that, nope, it was Ted’s toast at the party tonight celebrating Kinnetik NY’s contribution to turning us into multimillionaires.

I flew everyone into celebrate the way we did when I started this journey. I think I was being nostalgic because it’s been a while for the gang and I. Ted had not only Kinnetik to run in Pittsburgh, but Babylon, with me not there. He managed it as well as he manages everything else in life. Justin and I talked about Babylon and whether to sell it when an offer came in, but Justin being the sentimental little twat he is, told me that he’ll always see it as beacon of acceptance for the people who couldn’t find it in their homes. Then went out and got Deb and Blake because as he told me, there were kids who needed a place they could go during the day. He said if we enclosed the bars, and put showers in out of the way, we could offer them a place to find help, get a shower and a meal, without being scared of being sent off to abusive homes or being taken in through a system too flooded with children to really offer the help the kids needed. Deb, who was finally retiring because as much as she loved the diner she loved being a wife more, and the idea that she and Carl could go and feed the kids and give them the acceptance they needed from an adult. Blake of course was on board and went back to school to get a degree in Social Work in order to be able to give the kids options that could get them off the street and a future with any company that would offer to mentor the kids. Ted and I set to work making Justin’s idea into a reality. Next year the first of the group of teens are starting jobs in fields that they were mentored in. Justin could never sit back and hope something would turn out right, instead he’d fight no matter what obstacles were in his way. It’s how he fought for me and now seems to want to fight for the rest of the world. He started a comic about a man who lost everything but his superpowers, but through watching other people do the things he did, managed to change his life and help others in their lives. I asked him if Michael realizes what Justin did.

“Please, he always wanted to be six two and built like a brick shit house, I’m only giving him what he fantasized he could be.” Justin tells me.

Michael, instead of getting offended, told me that he could see how he held Justin back with Rage. Justin’s comic sold out in two weeks and the second didn’t even make it to the printers before the online orders necessitated tripling the amount that were being printed. Michael had started advertising it in his issues of Rage when Justin sent him the draft of the first edition. Michael and Justin managed to become friends again without letting the past be a part of it.

Michael and Ben sat Jenny down and explained that although they weren’t going to be together they were still her fathers. Jenny left the room telling them that she didn’t want her fathers to live apart. She came to me in tears because she didn’t understand how they couldn’t love each other the way Mel, Lindsay, Justin, and I all did. I was proud of Mikey when he didn’t wait for me to handle it, but took his daughter outside and explained to her that he made it impossible for Ben to stay with him, but Jenny was so special that Ben couldn’t leave her. Ben started having doubts when he saw the Michael he’s always wanted, but Michael stopped Ben from making another mistake by leaving Wes, who loved Ben. I’m really proud of my Best Friend for putting others first.

As for Michael, he found a partner without realizing said partner spent years being interested. Jeff spent years drawing me but waiting for Michael to see him. At least when Michael did it was when he could be the kind of partner someone needed. They’ve been together for two years and Mikey’s been happy, I couldn’t have asked for more for him.

Emmett and Drew are still going strong. Emmett and Darren decided to keep the business in both locations. So since Drew retired he just followed Emmett everywhere he needed to be. It was when Drew went to help with Justin’s project that he and Emmett got a surprise in two teen siblings who Drew thought needed them. Lisa and Alex had been stopping by Babylon each day for food and a place to clean up. Drew was curious as to why they were on their own. When questioned, Lisa tried to take Alex away, but Deb managed to stop them and Lisa explained that their father thought beating Alex was a way to get him to man up. Lisa took her brother and ran to save him. You can guess how I felt when I heard, but you don’t want to know what it took to keep Drew from killing the guy when he went to ask the father to allow him to foster both Lisa and Alex. I’m just glad that Drew had us bring a social worker with us when the man spewed the way he wanted to take care of Alex’s problems. Emmett, who was planning the wedding of year in Maine, had no clue what had been going on, until he came home to a new family of his own. Of course we all know Emmett, and he just decided that having two kids was fabulous.

So now I’m in the family mobile with Justin, watching him look as if the world was coming to an end, like we didn’t do this with Gus and Jenny. Yes, my little girls are about to start their first day without me there, it’s not the end but the beginning of a new world for them. Getting out of the car Justin asked the girls to stand for a picture, because we don’t already have a picture of them for every last moment of this morning.

It was time for them to go to their first day. I thought I was ready for this.

“Brian, you’ve meet the entire staff, including the janitor, so let them go.” Justin tells me, pulling me back to the car.

“Seriously, you raised them to be confident that everyone loves them, they can handle this.” Lindsay tells me.

“Oh My God, is that a tear in your eye?” Mel laughs.

“It's allergies.” I tell them, wanting to stay and watch our babies become the success I know they are.

THE END