Part Seven



Dan and Charlie dropped Brian and Justin off at the loft, so Justin had to drive Brian back out to Jennifer’s to pick up his car the next day. Brian went off to the gym for a couple hours while Justin went inside to actually talk to his mother.



“So, how did your evening with Dan and Charlie go?” Jennifer asked over coffee.



Justin rolled his eyes. “Brian and I are perfectly capable of making our own friends, Mom.”



“I know that, dear,” Jennifer said. “I just thought that since they’ve been considering moving here, it would be good for them to know another gay couple.”



“And…” Justin prompted.



Jennifer sighed and rolled her eyes. “And I thought it wouldn’t hurt for the two of you to have friends that could be both of your friends, rather than just yours like Daphne or just Brian’s like what’s left of the old gang.”



“Well, your meddling worked this time,” Justin admitted. “But don’t think Brian and I will appreciate your continued interference.”



“So you had a good time?” Jennifer asked.



“Until Michael showed up at Babylon,” Justin said. He filled her in on the events of the evening. And she looked saddened by Michael’s behavior.



“I just wish Debbie wasn’t so blinded where her son is concerned,” Jennifer sighed. “I can understand trying to protect your son, but she has to see that what he did was wrong.”



Justin knew that Jennifer had also lost a friend in the fallout, but unlike Debbie, Jennifer had other friends. Debbie had alienated most of her friends in her defense of Michael.



“Michael learned his single-mindedness from somewhere,” Justin said.



“I suppose so,” Jennifer said.



“I think Brian really enjoyed last night,” Justin said. “All of his old friends are very… stuck in the past and not many of them have the drive or intelligence to really challenge him. Dan and Charlie are both very successful, ambitious and smart. Brian can relate to them in a way he never could with Michael or Lindsay.”



“I hate to say it, but maybe it was for the best that all this happened,” Jennifer said. “I’ve never liked the way Brian’s friends treated either of you, but it was not my place to say anything. Perhaps now that you have made strides towards a real relationship, it’s time for you to have friends who respect you both and with whom you can relate on more than just one level.”



“Ted’s been great since he came to work for us,” Justin said. “He’s been careful to keep things professional, but I know that he’s really grateful for the chance to turn things around. And he’s seeing someone he met at his meetings. Matt is a great guy. He was a big time litigator but he got caught up in the high pressure cases and used drugs to self-medicate. He’s clean now and has started his own small practice and takes limited cases so that he can control the stress levels without drugs.”



“I hope things work for them,” Jennifer said. “For all his griping about Brian in the past, he at least has some potential to be more than a bar buddy.”



“I sometimes wish Brian never figured out about the money,” Justin admitted. “As awful as Michael is, Brian loved him. And we both believed that we could count on him and the others to be there for us.”



“Well, honey, as hard as all this has been, at least you know who your friends are,” Jennifer said.



“I wish Daphne was around,” Justin said. “I know I can count on her.”



“Well, you and Brian have Molly and I too,” Jennifer said. “Ted may be taking a hands off approach, but I doubt he would stay at Kinnetik if he didn’t believe you were right to do what you did. And I know that Melanie has been surprisingly supportive.”



“Melanie has been a surprise,” Justin admitted. “She’s made sure that we still get to see Gus, even if Lindsay is being unreasonable.”



“She’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Jennifer said. “I’m sure that she can see just how much Brian has changed for the better and is simply responding to those changes.”



“He’s still Brian,” Justin said quietly. “But he’s focused more on making Kinnetik and our relationship work and on being a good father to Gus now than he was before. I think it’s more a matter of his priorities have changed than Brian really changing.”



“Perhaps you’re right,” Jennifer said. “Whatever the case, the rest of us can now see what you saw all along.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Justin looked around the loft as he headed to the kitchen to fix dinner later that week. They hadn’t bought any more furniture since the sofa, despite the fact that they could once again afford such things. “We need to furnish this place,” he told Brian, who was sitting at the table and working on his laptop.



“Why furnish it if we’re going to sell it and get a bigger place?” Brian countered without looking up from the computer.



“You’re still on about that?” Justin asked. He had thought it might be a passing thought brought about by Dan and Charlie’s talk of houses. He should have known better.



Brian shrugged and finally closed the computer. “We need more space. You need a studio. I need an office. Gus needs a bedroom. And we both need a bigger closet.”



“I concede to all of those points,” Justin said. “However, I just can’t imagine you settling into quaint little bungalow with a white picket fence.”



Brian shuddered at the mental image that gave him. “Okay. I’ll concede that one to you. What about a penthouse? Or a larger loft?”



“The place below us is up for sale,” Justin said. “We could renovate and combine the two spaces.”



“We could,” Brian agreed. “We’d have to check out our condo association contract and get an architect in here. But Justin, you realize that if we change this place, it won’t ever be what it is now. What makes it special is the open feeling. Even bringing the other floor into play, we’d still have to chop it up into rooms to get all the things we want.”



Justin sighed as he pulled the salmon steaks from the fridge. “I know. It was just an idea.”



“Why are you so reluctant to look for a new place?” Brian asked as he walked over and then pulled Justin into his arms.



Justin set the salmon on the counter and leaned into Brian’s embrace. “This was your first place. It was our first place together. It was the place we first fucked. There’s a lot of memories here.”



“Not all of them are good,” Brian reminded him. “We can take the good memories with us and make new memories wherever we end up.”



“I know it’s irrational,” Justin said. “I know you’re right. Maybe I’ll feel better if we start looking.”



“We won’t move until we find a place we can both feel comfortable,” Brian said. “I’ll ask Mother Taylor to start looking, though.”



Justin enjoyed the comfort of Brian’s arms for a few moments longer before pulling away so he could get to work on dinner. Brian went back to the table and began clearing away his computer and putting his papers back into his briefcase. Once that was done, he washed off the table and then began setting it. It didn’t take long for Justin to grill the salmon and vegetables, so by the time Brian was finished, Justin was serving up their meal.



“Melanie called me today,” Justin said. “She wondered if we wanted to take Gus for the weekend. She and Lindsay are going to some couples retreat. I think they might be having some issues again.”



“Things are always rocky in lesbian land,” Brian said with a smirk. Both Brian and Justin worried, however, about what a breakup between the two women could mean for their relationship with Gus.



“It still seems so strange to me that Mel is the one advocating so strongly for us to see Gus,” Justin commented.



“Me too,” Brian admitted. “But I can see why. Melanie is a lawyer and her mind catalogues facts and figures like a lawyer. She builds a case in her mind and then makes a judgment based on that case. Mel always saw my behavior as proof that I was a horrible person, but she has reevaluated that judgment based upon more recent facts.  Lindsay’s mind doesn’t work that way.”



“No,” Justin said. “She’s nothing like Mel.”



“Just like Mikey, she sees me as her property,” Brian said ruefully. “She could share me with Mikey because he wasn’t a threat in her mind. But you…”



“She thinks I’m trying to take you away from her?” Justin asked with surprise. “That’s insane.”



Brian shrugged. “It’s not just my attention that she wants, as we both know. Though that is part of it. She wants the material things she thinks she’s entitled to and she wants me to provide them. It’s like you said, in some warped fashion she sees me as her husband, required to pay for her upkeep.”



“Unfortunately, Gus gets caught up in her schemes,” Justin sighed. “There has to be a way to prevent her from keeping up the emotional blackmail.”



Brian shrugged again. “We talked about this before. I’m not going to do anything unless she tries to keep me from Gus. Then all bets are off.”



“Is Michael still calling you?” Justin wondered. Brian had changed his cell phone number three times since the discovery of the theft but Michael always seemed to find out the new number. And while he worked on getting that, he pestered Cynthia.



“Cynthia has threatened that if he keeps calling the office, she’s going to report him for harassment,” Brian said. “But he hasn’t gotten the new number yet.”



“He needs to settle this before it goes to court,” Justin sighed. “This is going to break him.”



“It’s already breaking him,” Brian said. “Ted told me that since Ben left, he’s been an absolute wreck. He’s drinking too much, taking drugs, taking risks… The store has been closed more than it’s been opened lately.”



“What I don’t understand is why Debbie isn’t trying to talk sense into him,” Justin said. “I get that she blames me, us, for this, but she should at least be aware that Michael is self-destructing. Even if she doesn’t agree with us suing him, she could try and make him understand that by not settling, he’s risking everything.”



“Where do you think Michael learned his blind stubbornness?” Brian asked. “Let’s not talk about them anymore.”



Justin nodded. “Did you see the final art for the Jenkins presentation?”



“No talking about work either,” Brian said with a smirk.



Justin ate his food in silence for a few minutes. “Then what did you want to talk about?”



“I was thinking that when we have Gus here this weekend, we could take him to the zoo,” Brian said. “It’s supposed to finally be good weather this weekend.”



“Sounds like fun,” Justin said. “I heard from Dan. He and Charlie are going to be up again this weekend to look at houses. They wondered if we could get together.”



“As long as they don’t mind having a three year old around,” Brian said. “We get so little time with Gus, I don’t want to use a babysitter when he’s with us.”



Justin agreed with that. He stood up and began clearing away their now empty plates. Brian helped put the dishes into the dishwasher before taking Justin’s hand and leading him to the bedroom.



“One good thing about no television,” Brian said. “There’s a lot more time for fucking.”



“I think we’d find time for fucking even if we got a TV,” Justin said with a smile as he let Brian remove his clothes.



BJBJBJBJBJ





Justin let Melanie into the loft on Friday afternoon and looked around expectantly for Gus. Melanie gave him a rueful smile. “I’m sorry. I really tried.”

Justin sighed. “What was it this time?”



Mel shook her head. “She decided that Brian would surely not have time for Gus since he turned her down when she asked for more money this week.”



“That’s the third time she’s asked in less than two weeks,” Justin said with exasperation. “He already gave her more than $1000 between the first two checks. What did she want this time?”



“I have no idea,” Mel sighed. She sat down on the sofa and leaned her arms on her knees before burying her face in her hands. When she looked up at Justin, there were tears in her eyes. “We were supposed to go to this retreat to work on our relationship, but Lindsay… I don’t know the person she’s becoming. She keeps using Gus like a pawn in some chess game that only she knows the rules of. I can’t let her keep doing that to our son. And I refuse to bring another child into this mess, no matter how much I want one.”



“What are you going to do?” Justin asked. He sat on the sofa and put a comforting hand on her back.



“I’m going to talk with Brian,” Mel said. “I think it’s time we worked together to fix this fucking mess.”



“If she’s keeping Gus from us this weekend, I think he might just be ready to pursue his rights legally,” Justin told her.



“He’s got a case,” Mel admitted. “Probably a better case than I do.”



“You won’t lose Gus,” Justin said. “Anyone can see how much you love him. And Brian and I will both speak on your behalf.”



“Thanks,” Mel said. “I… I want to leave her, but I’m afraid that she’ll try and keep me from Gus. What if she tries to do to me what she’s been doing to Brian?”



“You won’t let her,” Justin said.



“Won’t let who do what?” Brian asked from the doorway. Neither of them heard him come in. “Where’s Gus?”



“Lindsay…” Mel said.



“Fuck,” Brian muttered. “She can’t keep pulling this shit!”



“I know,” Mel said. “I’m… I’m going to leave her. But I need to make sure I don’t lose Gus at the same time. If we don’t handle this right, we could both lose Gus.”



Brian sighed and grabbed a glass of Beam. He sat at the other end of the sofa and pulled Justin into his lap. “We’ll need another good lawyer.”



Mel nodded. “Matt practices family law. I’ve spoken to him and he’s agreed to take the case.”



“This is going to get really messy,” Brian said.



“Things are already messy,” Justin reminded him.