Part Ten

Brian and Justin went to work the next morning and tried to concentrate on the projects that were awaiting their attention, but both of them were too anxious to hear how Mel’s meeting with Lindsay had gone to get much done. By lunchtime, they had both given up all pretense of work and went out. While they were on their way to the restaurant, they got the call from Mel and they invited her to join them so they could talk.

They were already seated and sipping their drinks when Mel arrived. The waiter came over immediately to take her drink order. “I think you should bring champagne for all of us. We have some celebrating to do.”

Brian and Justin smiled at that and nodded when the waiter looked to them for approval. Once he was gone, Justin asked, “So, she agreed?”

“She did,” Mel said. “She’s obviously been thinking about leaving for a while, because she’s already got plans to move to Arizona with some friend from college. Caroline owns a gallery there and offered Lindsay the opportunity to show some of her work and a place to paint.”

“Caroline?” Brian asked. “Wow. She was from a family even richer than Lindsay’s and actually accepted that she was a dyke. She panted after Lindsay all through school, but Lindsay thought she was better than Caroline. She’s not the prettiest girl around. I always thought Caroline was too good for Lindsay.”

“I expect that Lindsay will be very happy being her little woman,” Mel said.

“So they’re already together?” Justin asked.

Mel waited for the waiter to pour their champagne before answering. “Not yet, but it was apparent that was the intent on both sides. Lindsay was very clear about that. I think she was trying to hurt me. I don’t think she realizes that I stopped caring a while ago. But enough about her. She signed all the papers and Matt is filing them with the county. The three of us are now officially Gus’ parents.”

“The three of us?” Justin asked.

“Yes,” Mel said kindly. “You are as much Gus’ parent as any of us.”

“To new beginnings,” Brian said as he raised his glass.

“To family, however weird it may be,” Mel countered.

“To Matt, who made this possible,” Justin said.

They clinked their glasses and drank before all laughing with giddy relief and joy.

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Having Gus and Mel living with them turned out to be an unexpected treat for Justin and Brian. Gus loved being with his Daddy and Jus. They took turns dropping him off and picking him up from daycare and Brian found that he enjoyed spending his evenings playing with Gus. It only took a couple days to get furniture for the guest room and soon they were all settled into a happy routine.

In the weeks after the move, Brian and Justin still kept their Friday night dates and went out with Charlie and Dan on Saturdays when the two men weren’t traveling for their work. They had dinner with Ben and Michael a couple times and, though things were a bit strained at times, they were slowly rebuilding a healthier relationship than the one they had before. Brian knew that he would never be as close to Michael as he had once been but he was growing to accept that. But with new friendships coming along, he was content with the turns his life had taken. They even had Ted and Matt over for dinner a couple times.

As Melanie adjusted to life after Lindsay, she watched Brian and Justin. They were a great couple and great fathers to Gus. Justin had made a huge difference in Brian’s life and his attitude. Though she and Brian still sniped at each other occasionally, there was none of the previous animosity that was present before.

“I think I’ve found a place to live,” Melanie told them after Gus had been put to bed a few weeks later. Lindsay had already sold the house and made her move to Arizona, so Melanie felt like it was about time she got on with her life as well. “But I wanted your opinion before I signed anything.”

While Brian and Justin had enjoyed having Mel stay with them, they were actually rather glad that she had found a place of her own. The only thing that tempered that happiness was the thought of Gus going with her.

“Where?” Justin asked.

“Actually, here,” Mel said as she looked hesitantly at Brian. “One of the units on the third floor is on the market. It’s a three bedroom place. It would give us all our own space, but would make things a lot easier for everyone where Gus is concerned. This really is a great neighborhood, and Gus has already made a few friends in the building. He’d go to school with these kids. And the playground and pool are great.”

Justin and Brian shared a look before they both broke out in wide grins. Brian said, “That sounds like a great solution.”

“Possibly even perfect,” Justin agreed.

Mel let out a relieved breath. “Good. I wasn’t sure…”

“Listen, Mel,” Brian said. “I know you and I have had out issues over the years, but I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job working together raising Gus for a while now. Even before you came to live here.”

“You’re right,” Mel said. “We have. That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about. I still want to have a baby. I think Gus should have a sibling and this is something that I’ve always wanted. You know things didn’t work out with Michael, but I haven’t given up the idea.”

“Okay,” Justin said. “Does the fact that you’re bring this up to us mean that you want one of us to be the father?”

“Well, I was thinking of you specifically,” Mel told him. “We’d set up shared custody, just like with Gus. The three of us would be parents to both children if you agreed.”

“We should probably think about it and discuss it before we make any decisions,” Justin said cautiously.

“What’s to think about,” Brian said. “We’ve talked about the possibility.”

“That was a while ago,” Justin said. “And it was all hypothetical.”

“Nothing has changed as far as I’m concerned,” Brian said. “I think Gus should have a sibling, too. And I’d love the chance to be involved from the start with this child. We could be a part of all those early milestones we missed with Gus.”

“I’d like that too,” Justin admitted.

“Besides, a second child won’t change things much,” Brian said. “We’re already making accommodations for Gus, so another child won’t make a huge difference in how we live.”

“Okay,” Justin said with a bright smile. “If you’re sure, then I’m in.”

Mel smiled as well. “I’ll make an appointment with my doctor.”

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The procedure to get Mel Pregnant went well and was successful the first time. Her bid was also accepted on the condo in their building, so by the time she was three weeks pregnant, Brian and Justin were helping her and Gus move up to their new home. It didn’t have the same open feeling that their place had, but Melanie decorated it with warm colors and cozy furniture and it really was quite comfortable.

Though the old gang was slowly coming back together, attempting to bury their differences, the three adults decided not to share the fact that Melanie was pregnant with Justin’s child until she was further along in her pregnancy. Because of her past condition, the doctor had emphasized the need for her to reduce her stress levels drastically. Everyone concerned believed that Debbie, Michael and the rest of the gang knowing would only create stress. For the time being, only Jennifer and Melanie’s family knew about the baby.

The first real gathering of the old gang happened at Gus’ fourth birthday party. Despite it being October, the weather was warm and they decided to have the party in the outdoor pavilion near the playground at their building. Most of Gus’ classmates from daycare were invited, along with their parents, so the gang really had to be on their best behavior. It helped, some. There were still a few pointed remarks from Debbie, but Melanie cut them short when she took Debbie aside and told her that if she wanted to be around Gus, she was going to have to curb her desire to deride his two fathers.

Before long, Thanksgiving was upon them. Brian and Justin had both been extremely busy all fall preparing for the Christmas season at Kinnetik, so the long weekend was a welcome relief from the stress. They had been building the company for just under a year, but it was already making the larger agencies sit up and take notice. Vanguard was reeling as they stole more than half of their regional accounts. Their staff had grown over the months and they now took up two floors of the building and would soon be pressed to renovate the third floor if they kept growing.

It was decided that since Brian and Justin would be leaving for vacation the day after Christmas, they would host Thanksgiving, leaving Jennifer to host Christmas. Melanie and Gus would spend some time with Brian and Justin and some time with her family on each of the holidays. There was no invitation from Debbie, though Ted told them that she was planning on having everyone over as usual. Ted would not be there, since he was going with Matt to visit his family for Thanksgiving and they would go to Ted’s family for Christmas this year. Emmett promised that he would spend a little time with everyone in turns. Even Ben and Michael promised to come by for dessert.

“I told you we should have hired a caterer,” Brian complained as Justin pressed him into service preparing the turkey to be stuffed. “This is disgusting.”

“That’s why you’re doing it and not me,” Justin smirked.

“Twat,” Brian grumbled. “I could just refuse, you know. Then where would you be?”

Justin rolled his eyes. “Just get the innards out so I can stuff the damned thing.”

Brian did as he was instructed and then quickly washed his hands. Once he was finished, he leaned against the counter and watched Justin work. “How long exactly does it take for the bird to cook?”

“About five hours,” Justin said. He was currently giving the bird a massage with olive oil, which was giving Brian some very interesting thoughts.

“So we can go do something more interesting?” Brian asked hopefully.

“Not really,” Justin said. “I have to baste it every half hour. I’ve also got to make the pies and put them in the oven to bake. Once that’s done, it’ll just about be time to start on the side dishes.”

“Fuck,” Brian muttered. “Is that why we have two ovens?”

“Yep,” Justin said with a smile. “If we didn’t, we’d have to buy an electric roaster.”

“This holiday shit is a lot of trouble,” Brian said. He left Justin to work and went to turn on the parade. He wasn’t particularly a fan, but he knew that Justin would like to watch from the kitchen. Brian sat down and thought about how much he would rather spend the morning fucking. Maybe he could steal Justin away between bastings. That would give him half an hour.

“I can hear you plotting from here,” Justin said with a chuckle. “Let me get this bird into the oven and then you’ve got my undivided attention for half an hour. But no more. I have to get the pies made.”

Brian smirked and went back to the counter to wait.

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Brian negotiated an extra half hour in bed out of his twink by agreeing to help with the pies. After they were put in the oven, they set to work on the side dishes. While Brian chopped vegetables for the salad, Justin peeled potatoes and made cranberry sauce from scratch. Jennifer arrived just in time for the pies to come out of the oven and soon took Brian’s place in the kitchen, much to his relief. When Mel and Gus arrived, Brian had plenty to keep him entertained. Molly, Gus and Brian went up to Gus’ room where they played games and avoided everyone until it was time to eat.

When they finally emerged, Charlie and Dan had arrived and the table had been set with a simple black cloth to go with the simple white china. Jennifer had brought an elegant centerpiece and everything looked festive.

“Ready to carve this beast?” Justin asked as he carried the platter holding the turkey to the table.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Brian said. It was a rather daunting task. Knowing that his Sunshine would put this on him, Brian had secretly watched videos on YouTube on his computer at work to get pointers. Everyone took their seats around the table and Brian was glad that Justin had insisted that they get a table that had expansion leaves. Having everyone important to them there was pretty great.

“Before you start Brian, I thought we might take turns telling what we’re grateful for this year,” Jennifer said.

“She always does this,” Molly complained teasingly. “It’s best just to give in and get it over with.”

“I’ll go first,” Justin said from beside Brian. “I’m grateful for having friends and family here with us to share the day.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Mel said as she lifted her glass of wine.

One by one they each took their turn. Everyone got a chuckle from Gus’ statement. “I like our house and the pool and living close to Daddy and Jus. Only it would be better if we had a dog.”

Brian went last. “It’s been a pretty… crummy year in a lot of ways. But… in others, it’s been pretty great. I have new friends. I have my son close by. And in a few months, our family will grow even more. Kinnetik is going great. All of those things are happening because of Justin’s presence in my life. So I’m most grateful for him.”

Justin swallowed back a few tears and would have leaned over to kiss his partner, but Brian wasn’t finished. “Justin, I know that we’ve had some rather tough times, and I can’t guarantee that there won’t be tough times ahead of us. But whatever comes our way, I want to face those things together. Will you agree to making this little arrangement permanent and legally binding?”

Before Justin could answer, Jennifer asked. “What does that mean exactly? Are you getting married.”

Brian shuddered. “Did you hear me mention marriage or a wedding?”

“No, asshole,” Mel muttered.

“Then don’t go planning any big wedding,” Brian said. He turned back to Justin. “What I’m proposing is a legal domestic partnership.”

Justin smiled at Brian. “I’m in.”

There were cheers as the two men kissed to seal the deal, but eventually Jennifer had to speak up. “Well, you go right on and sign whatever you want, but you aren’t going to deprive me of throwing a party to celebrate.”

“He did say no Big Wedding,” Charlie said with a laugh. “I didn’t hear him say anything about a small one.”

Brian scowled at his friend for a moment but then gave in and smirked. “Fine, Mother Taylor. Do what you have to do. I’ll show up. I’ll even make sure that Justin’s dressed appropriately.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Justin huffed.

“It means, Sunshine, that there will be no paint spattered cargo pants,” Brian said.

“As if you’d actually give me free rein,” Jennifer scoffed. Everyone laughed and soon Brian began carving the turkey while Mel explained why a legalized domestic partnership was different than marriage in the eyes of the law.

“It’s actually more binding,” Mel said. “There’s no prenuptial agreement. Basically, everything they own now and in the future becomes joint property. There’s no such thing as a quickie divorce, either. If they ever want to dissolve the partnership, it will require a long and involved legal process. That’s why most couples never bother. It’s actually more binding than marriage and, unlike a marriage or civil union, is recognized in all fifty states as long as they register their partnership if they were to move to another state.”

“The legislators who made the law wanted to differentiate the practice from traditional marriage,” Charlie said. “Many say that it was prevent gays from taking that step, but as far as I’m concerned, you shouldn’t get married if you aren’t willing to make the sort of commitment that is required for a domestic partnership, whether you are gay or straight.”

“We made our partnership legal a few years ago,” Dan told the group. “I have never once regretted taking that step.”