The Quarterback and the Chef

Chapter 10

"I now declare you life partners," Father Tom announced in the Jason Kemp clinic at the end of a simple ceremony uniting Hunter and Nick. Karen, Hunter's follow counselor and Danny, Hunter's 'adoptive' grandfather, were the only witnesses.

"Sooo, kiss, already!" Danny demanded loudly. Danny, Karen and Tom laughed resoundingly as the newly committed couple kissed.

"Thank you, Father Tom," Hunter said as he gave the good father a hug.

"Yes, thank you," Nick repeated as he shook Tom's hand.

"You're both welcome but I'm curious. Why do this here and without the rest of your family?"

"We really wanted a quiet ceremony, just us," Hunter explained. "And I couldn't think of a better place to do it. The clinic means a lot to me, to us. It just seemed right to do it here."

"And your rings?" Karen asked. "I love the simplicity of them, I always preferred simple bands but why wear them on the right hand?"

"I guess that was me," Nick admitted. "I've always been fascinated about certain Slavic customs. Russian Orthodox wear their wedding rings on the right ring finger. I thought for us, since we're a bit unorthodox, it's appropriate."

"Oh, I get it," Danny declared. "I like it! So, where ya going for the honeymoon?" Danny asked with a wink.

"Um, back to the loft for a nice long weekend. That is, if you two could handle the clinic for us," Hunter said with a meek smile.

"Sure, go on, get out of here," Danny said.

"And I'll help too," Father Tom said as he removed his collar.

"Out! And I don't want to see you two until Tuesday," Karen said as she shooed the young lovers out the door. They all laughed as Nick grabbed Hunter's hand and they scurried out the door.

*****

"Mr. Taylor, Mr. Kinney, Principal Johnson would like to speak to you before you take Briana home," Mrs. Black said seriously, as Brian and Justin came to Bree's classroom to pick her up. "I'll have Patrick brought here so he can wait until you finish your chat with Mr. Johnson."

Brian and Justin nodded pensively then walked out of the classroom.

"You know something, Sunshine? We've faced some awful things in our collective pasts and survived to tell the tale," Brian said as they quietly walked to the principal's office. "But I have never been this nervous in my whole life."

"Not even when you asked me to marry you at Babylon when the sound system cut out?" Justin asked. He nervously giggled at the memory.

"That was a piece of cake compared to this," Brian said as they stopped in front of the principal's office. Brian and Justin took a deep breath then Brian knocked on the door.

"Enter. Mr. Taylor, Mr. Kinney, thank you for taking the time to see me," Mr. Johnson greeted the pair as they pushed the door open.

"Like we had a choice," Brian muttered to himself. Justin glared at his spouse then turned his sweetest smile toward the principal.

"It's a pleasure to see you again," Justin said, as he extended his hand to Mr. Johnson.

"Please have a seat and I'll try to keep this brief. I'm sure you want to get home to enjoy the weekend." Brian and Justin sat in the chairs in front of Mr. Johnson's desk. They leaned in as the principal stood and began to pace behind his desk.

"I'm sure you're aware that Briana is a very gifted child," Mr. Johnson began. Brian smiled smugly, nothing new there. "While it's always exciting to be poised at the precipice of a new student ready to take on the world, it's also quite a challenge. You must know that while very intelligent, Briana is quite..."

"Willful?" Brian offered.

"Yes, very. And I can understand why. From her background, I see she's been exposed to an interesting way of life."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Justin jumped up. Brian gently patted Justin's arm to calm and urge him back into the chair.

"I think it means, Bree may be a little too advanced for pre-school," Brian said gently. "She's been exposed to a learning atmosphere since before she could walk. She's been attending the Kinnetik 'school' for most of her life."

"Kinnetik school?" Mr. Johnson asked.

"When we decided to offer day care at my company, we hired teachers, not just babysitters. The children seem to enjoy it and the parents love the idea. We have very creative teachers. And then, of course, there's us."

"What about us?" Justin asked.

"Not many parents are famous artists," Mr. Johnson contributed, "or own multimillion dollar companies. And I understand Briana has an interesting extended family. I took the liberty of speaking with her extensively while she paints. While the other children are very content to draw or paint with primary colors, Briana is very good at combining and mixing paint to make the most interesting colors. I never realized how many shades of pink there are."

Justin blushed at that statement and Brian giggled.

"She told me about all of her grandmothers, her uncles and someone called Auntie Emm. When I asked about her in particular, I was informed that Auntie Emm is a man." Brian and Justin shrugged but nodded in affirmation.

"Mr. Johnson, I'm sure you have other children enrolled that come from alternative families. My brother's son is enrolled here. John's been impressed by the diversity of this school from the beginning. Why should we be any different?"

"Simply put, you are different. And not because of your own alternative lifestyle. Briana has obvious inherited Mr. Taylor's creativeness and intelligence, but from your nurturing, she's developing a very logical mind. She's outgoing, more so than other four year olds, shows a sense of loyalty and highly developed organizational skills. Even before an assignment has been given, she's practically done with hers and helping her fellow classmates with theirs. During recess, when the other children are content to toss a ball back and forth, Briana's organizing a soccer tournament."

Justin burst out laughing.

"I fail to see why this is funny, Justin," Brian indignantly stated.

"Brian, she may have my genes but she's all you. From the moment she could hold a bucket and shovel, you've had her outside gardening. What four year old do you know that can plot out a spice garden or has an understanding of what plant goes with another? And you have to admit, she's been there when you've closed some really big deals. Some of that ruthlessness has had to have rubbed off on her."

"You make me out to be a monster, Justin."

"Not at all, Mr. Kinney. However, if Briana has been privy to the way you conduct yourself at business then that explains a lot. But tell me, who's the soccer player?"

"That would be Brian," Justin boasted. "He made it into Penn on a soccer scholarship."

"That just helped me pay the bills," Brian said quickly then changed the subject back to Bree. "Mr. Johnson, where is this all leading?"

"I'd like to have Briana tested and if my suspicions are correct, place her in a class for gifted students. She will get all the usual lessons but at a slightly accelerated pace with classes that emphasize her creative side."

"What if she doesn't like the class and prefers to remain where she is now? She's already forming some friendships. I don't want her to think she's being forced to leave her friends." Justin expressed his concerns.

"Many of the art classes are joint classes. And each grade has recess together. We want our students to be able to socialize together. Mr. Taylor, Mr. Kinney, nothing needs to be decided now. Here is some literature about our accelerated class and its agenda. I also have bios on the teachers that run the classes. Study it; talk it over with Briana and the rest of your family. Come back and speak to me on Monday."

Brian and Justin nodded, shook hands with Mr. Johnson then went to pick up Bree and Patrick. The ride home was rather quiet. Brian and Justin had a lot to think about.

As they pulled up to Edna's Treasures, a very irate Auntie Emm was waiting in front of their door.

"I want a word with you!" Emmett shouted as he pointed at Brian. "How dare you interfere!"

"Emmett, what the fuck are you talking about?" Brian shouted back. He was not in the mood to have an argument with the tall queen. Justin ushered the children into the house before the shouting escalated.

"Don't you play innocent with me! You know very well what I'm talking about. I had a very interesting visitor at the bistro the other day. Does a Mr. Seth Harris ring a bell?"

"Yeah, so what about him?"

"He said you paid him a visit."

"I repeat, what about it?"

"Well, what if it backfired?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake? I wanted to know why he was hesitating. Your offer was a fair one considering all the renovations you were going to make. The property was unused for several years and it didn't look like it would be sold anytime soon. He was a fool to hold out for so long. He wanted to know what made you different from all the other cooks out there."

"I am not a cook. I specialize in unique culinary delicacies, using only the finest ingredients. I create ambiance for every event I plan," Emmett stated proudly and with flair.

"And that's what I told Seth Harris, that in my business experience, I couldn't think of anyone else more worthy than Emmett Honeycutt. Harris' uncle held onto that building because it represented love. Maybe a misguided love, but we've all been guilty of that at one time. I told him that I didn't know anyone else that had a bigger heart than yours. And that he would be making a big mistake if he didn't sell you the building."

Emmett stopped in mid gripe, his eyes filling with tears. And in a truly dramatic scene that would make Lana Turner proud, Emmett burst into tears, as he hugged Brian then planted a big wet kiss onto Brian's lips.

"Brian, why are you kissing Emmett?" Drew asked as he came around the side path.

"That's what I want to know," Justin said grimly as he came out the front door, placing his hands on his hips awaiting an answer.

Brian pried Emmett off his lips and began to push the flaming queen away. "I wasn't kissing him, Sunshine, he was kissing me," Brian tried to explain.

"Don't you Sunshine me. And you don't do friends!"

"I'm not doing him, he's doing me!" Brian was doing his best to push Emmett away but Emmett had turned into an octopus. He was all arms and wrapping them around the struggling Brian. "Emmett, stop it. Compose yourself. Drew is going to kill me."

"Don't worry about Drewsie," Emmett said in a lovesick singsong voice. Emmett practically had picked up Brian in his enthusiasm.

"Emmett! Put down Brian and step away from my husband! Drew, will you please take your partner home. Now, would be nice."

Drew tore Brian out of Emmett's grip then began to push the man down the lane toward their own cottage.

"Oh Drew, did you hear what that sweet man did for me?"

"I heard, Babe, I heard."

"Isn't he just the sweetest thing?"

"Yeah, sweet," Drew grumbled all the way home.

"Brian Kinney, what have you done now?" Justin asked as he led his man indoors.

"I swear, I didn't do anything. Yuck, that man kissed me. God only knows where those lips have been."

"Those lips have only been with Drew for many years and don't change the subject."

"Justin, will you at least let me brush my teeth and gargle before you rip me a new one," Brian pleaded. Justin took pity on his spouse and pointed Brian toward the bathroom. A few moments later Justin joined Brian in the bathroom and started to slowly strip off his clothes. Justin had Brian's full attention.

"Where's Bree?" Brian asked quickly as he spit out the mouthwash.

"Over at Rachel's with Patrick. They're having a sleepover," Justin said with a waggle of his eyebrows. Once he was naked, Justin began to strip Brian.

"A sleepover?"

"Uh huh."

"So we're alone."

"Uh huh," Justin mumbled around a nipple.

"What about John and Bobby, won't they worry about Patrick?"

"Called them," Justin said as he worked his way down Brian's belly toward his cock.

"So, we're..."

"Shut up, Brian," Justin said as he swallowed his lover's dick. Brian had no choice but to obey.