The sound of gossiping and gaiety was at least several decibels higher than normal in Woody’s on this chilly Friday night. It didn’t take long for Brian and Justin to spot their friends sitting in a corner table, near the pool table. They were about to head in that direction when they heard their names called from the nearby bar. A quick glance to the left, and they spotted Debbie sitting on a bar stool, next to her brother, Vic. It had been quite a while since Justin had seen Vic, so he decided to visit them first. He had come to respect and love Vic as though he was as much his uncle as Michael’s. Brian, without thinking about it, sent a ‘give me a minute’ signal to his friends, and followed Justin. Debbie, as usual, jumped from her stool and gave Justin her patented ‘Mother Hen’ embrace. Finally, she released him and turned to Brian. Brian, having years of experience, managed to put Justin in between Deb and himself, avoiding her enthusiastic hug.
“This is such a treat, Sunshine,” she said, turning to Vic. “We’ve missed seeing you here. Haven’t we, Vic?”
Vic nodded his agreement. “It’s been too long, kid. But better late than never, I always say. So, what brings you out to our old haunt?”
Brian answered for Justin. “I asked him to come with me to Woody’s. And I was thinking that we’d pay a visit to Babylon later, if that’s agreeable with him.”
Justin felt that now recognizable excitement again. The times he spent with Brian at Babylon were even more significant than their times at Woody’s. It was becoming increasingly clearer that Brian was feeling a need to reconnect with him, even if he couldn’t remember that they had ever been connected before.
“We have decided to revisit the places that hold meaning for us, according to all the stories I’ve heard,” Brian continued. Maybe one of these visits to the past will shake loose some memories that were stolen from me by that asshole, Hobbs.”
“And, Vic, did Debbie tell you what Brian has decided to do in order to get some sense of justice from Hobbs?”
“Yes, she did, and I’m proud of you, Brian. You know you have the support of every one of us. We still can’t believe that bastard got off with nothing but a slap on the wrist. I say, slap the homophobe so hard this time that he’ll go blind.”
Debbie laughed. “Blind and cripple him, so he’ll never be able to hurt another innocent one of our folks again!”
“Or, you could just sic my sister on him. Bet she could do more harm to him than anyone else on earth.”
Justin laughed. “You know she could at that, Brian. But I think he can handle Hobbs all by himself. Wouldn’t you agree, Vic… Debbie?”
Brian interrupted before either could answer. “We’ll talk some more, but I see the boys are getting restless. They keep giving me the eye. You coming with me, Justin?”
Justin nodded, gave Debbie and Vic a quick hug, and hurried to join Brian. As they approached, Michael spoke first.
“We were just talking about you, Brian, and here you are. And I see you brought Justin with you… again.”
Emmett, sensing a sudden tenseness in Michael, quickly took control. He jumped from his seat and threw his arm around Justin.
“And we are so glad you did. You’re looking yummy, as always, Justin. Looks like college work isn’t kicking your butt too hard. So, how do you like your school… what is it called?”
“PIFA… short for Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts. Maybe I’ll learn enough to be an accomplished renowned artist someday.”
“Oh, dear boy, we’ve seen some of your drawings. I don’t think you need to worry about that. You have all the natural talent you need to be a success. Right, guys?”
“Right,” piped up Ted.
“Yeah, right,” added, Michael.
Brian’s curiosity was piqued. “When did you boys see Justin’s drawings? I haven’t seen any of his work yet.”
“Well, sure you have, Brian. We saw them in your loft. There were just a few sketches that he probably drew while he was staying with you. I mean, you were… ahh, naked in one of them,” Emmett answered. “And if I remember right, it was a very… ahh, impressive rendering of his model.”
Justin smiled, thinking back to the few times he was able to catch Brian unawares and draw quick sketches of him. He also remembered leaving them behind when he had to leave and move in with Debbie after the burglary at the loft. What he didn’t know was that Brian had apparently found the sketches and left them out where others could see them. That meant he must have liked them. Justin’s heart twisted, being aware that Brian no longer remembered seeing them at all, or maybe noticing the love he had put into the drawings. He wondered if Brian would even care, now that he was made aware of their existence. He didn’t have to wait long for the answer to his thought.
“Wait a minute… if you saw these sketches at my place, how come I’ve never found any of them since coming home?”
Both Emmett and Ted shrugged. Michael let his head drop, saying nothing.
“Mikey, what gives? You look like a kid who has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. You know something about the sketches that you’d like to tell me?”
“Ah, well, I ahh… well, I thought the best thing to do was remove them from the loft for the time being. I mean, I was thinking of you, Brian.” Michael turned to Emmett. “Emmett, you remember that time we went to Ted’s place to remove any of the things we thought would disturb his mother, while he was laid up in the hospital in a coma? That’s what was on my mind when I took the sketches out,” he swore, turning back to Brian.
Without waiting for Brian to respond, he continued, “You were already really upset when you realized you had lost your memory of the previous year, and you obviously didn’t believe any of us when we talked about Justin. So, I thought seeing the sketches and not knowing where they came from, might be too much for you to handle when you first got home.”
Brian interrupted before Michael could say anymore. “So, exactly what did you do with Justin’s work… all in the name of protecting me, of course?” The hint of sarcasm in his voice was hard to miss.
Michael flushed. “I still have them. I had no intention of destroying them, for fuck’s sake. If you ever remembered Justin, I would have brought them right back to you in a heartbeat.”
Emmett put an arm around Michael. He had always known about Michael’s unrequited love for Brian and knew how it hurt whenever Brian was upset with him. Brian’s face showed how irritated he was at his best friend for the moment. Em knew Mikey was feeling the pain.
“I appreciate you not destroying my sketches,” Justin finally said. “I’d actually like it if you would return them to me. They won’t mean anything to Brian, but they hold a lot of meaning for me.”
“Sure, sure!” Michael promised. “Like I said, I was only holding them until the time was right to return them. I should have offered them to you in the first place, but you had already left town. Truth is, I forgot all about them until now.”
“If you don’t mind, Justin, I’d like to see them before you take them back,” Brian requested.
“You would?”
“Of course. Everyone else has seen your artwork. I think I should check it out for myself, don’t you? Besides, I get the idea that at least one of them might give me a clue as to just how close we had become. That is, if Emmett isn’t exaggerating, which he has been known to do a time or two.”
Emmett was taken aback. “Moi?" he shot back, looking offended at the very idea. “Hand over my heart, I am not exaggerating one tiny bit, although I think Justin may have done so with that particular sketch,” he laughed, winking at Justin.
Justin blushed. “I’ll have you know, I don’t exaggerate with any of my drawings. I only sketch what I see.”
“So, who’s up for Babylon?” piped up Ted, hoping to divert everyone’s attention to something else.
Brian turned to Justin. “Ah yes, Babylon. I’ve heard tales of our adventures at the club. Since nothing is coming back to me here at Woody’s, maybe Babylon should be our next destination. You up for heading that way, Justin?”
Justin felt his usual shiver of anticipation at the mention of the dance club. Babylon did indeed hold a lot of memories for him. With any luck, a visit there with the whole gang might be just the ticket to unlocking Brian’s own memories. It was certainly worth a try.
“I’m game. Lead the way,” he ordered.
Brian smiled. “Coming, boys?”
The five men left their seats and headed for the exit together. Every single man, even Michael, was hoping that this would be what made all the difference for Brian and gave him back his missing year. Soon enough, they’d have an answer.
To be continued……