- Text Size +

BRIAN


Ted called to let me know he was available immediately. I've always thought Ted was under utilized at his job, the man understands finance, but the idiot he worked for didn’t bother to see who he had under his roof. Justin and Daphne had plans for us to meet up with Emmett and Charles for dinner tonight. I invited Ted along with us, but had him meet me at the loft first, to drive with me.


“Where is everyone?” Ted asked.


“They’re meeting us at the restaurant. I wanted to talk to you first about a personal matter. Justin is going to be leaving at the end of the week, and I plan to go with him. I need you to watch out for Gus and Mel for me.” I tell him.


“I already planned to be there if Mel needed me, so it's not a problem.” He tells me.


“You know that you're going to have Deb, Michael, and Lindsay breathing down your neck, looking for anything they can find out. I need for you to put humble Ted in a closet, and find the man I know you are. Part of that will be using the loft until we find a building for Kinnetik. You and Cynthia will be interviewing potential staff and I'd rather you do it here. Everyone you interview signs a confidentiality agreement first.” I tell him.


“I doubt the three of them are going to want to talk to me anyway. I told Michael I was the father. Why a confidentiality agreement?” He asks me.


“We are going to be going after some of that same clients that I left at Ryder when I left, and Vance doesn’t need to know I'm opening a business in Pittsburgh. I want him to believe I'm in Chicago, retired. I don't need him to have the first clue I'm about to steal some of his best.” I tell him.


“Not just Cynthia?” He asks.


“Brandon approached Justin about a job with me. Justin said that he knew Michael. I haven't called him yet because I want to know who he is, Cynthia confirmed he worked at Vanguard.” I tell him.


“He’s Babylon’s newest stud. I really don't know much other than Michael latched onto him and his friends. I stopped hanging out with Michael when it became more like he was trying to relive our twenties. Brandon only seemed interested when Michael was boasting about you.” He tells me.


“Apparently he was using Michael to meet me.” I tell him.


“Why wouldn't he when Michael talks as if you two are still best friends. When you left, so did any guys who use to hang around Michael. Michael realized talking about you at least got him some attention.” He tells me.


“I'm not looking to pick up where I left off, so Michael is going to have to get attention some other way.” I tell him.


“Michael probably thought with Justin gone, his life would go back to before Justin.” He tells me getting in the car.


“My life began with Justin. I need to thank you for what you said to get Justin to give me a chance to prove I can be what he wants.” I tell Ted.


“You were it for him, I saw it. I know Emmett always believed you two were the love story we all wanted to have. Well, without the tricking.” He tells me.


JUSTIN


Emmett and Daphne together meant Charles and I were just there to nod and agree. They were like twins when it came to gossip.


“I heard Deb quit the diner.” Emmett tells us.


“Where did you hear that?” Daphne asks.


“It's all over Liberty Avenue, Charles and I went to the new place. Which I have to say could actually cook food that I didn’t worry about walking off my plate.” He tells us.


“We never ate at Liberty Diner, but I’m not upset about that after the way Emmett describes it.” Charles tells us.


“We all just went there because Michael wanted to and so Brian dragged everyone there.” Emmett tells us.


“That’s why I ended up there, Michael dragged me with him.” I tell them.


“Was it to tell you that Brian didn’t do relationships and you needed to leave him alone?” Emmett asks.


“Of course, don’t you know Brian’s just a selfish prick who will never give me what I want. It was always one of those things that made the ‘I’m his best friend’ speech bother me.” I tell Emmett.


“He wanted anyone that Brian spent any time with to believe it. It kept guys at bay, and left the field clear for him. Girl’s do it too, when they don’t want the guy they want with anyone else.” Daphne tells us.


“It wasn’t a secret to anyone that Michael loved Brian. Just like it wasn’t a secret that Brian didn’t see Michael as anything but a brother. Baby, the minute you appeared all Michael could see was the end of the dreams he had.” He tells us.


“Yes they were.” Brian says kissing me before sitting down. “What are you girls talking about, other than me?” He smirks.


“Deb quit the diner. Apparently she thinks that her reputation should get her a new job.” Charles tells him.


“She never worked for anyone else. The diner was the job she had when she started.” Brian tells him.


“She went to the manager of the new diner and didn’t expect to have to fill out an application.” Emmett tells us.


“You still manage to get the gossip.” Ted tells Emmett, smiling.


“You know me so well. Kiki told me when she came in for an interview. The other waitresses told her.” He tells us.


“When you think about it, when Deb first looked for a job, applications weren’t really more than your name and address.” Ted tells him.


“It’s just, as much as Deb pissed me off,  I don’t want her losing everything.” Emmett tells us.


“There’s not a lot we can do about it.” Charles tells Emmett.


“She won’t.” Brian tells Emmett.


“I wasn’t saying it to make you do anything.” Emmett tells Brian.


“I did it years ago. Deb took me in and I made sure that she would always have her house. I did it for the mother she was to me.” He tells me.


“I understand that, and at least it’s one thing you don’t have to deal with.” I tell him.


“She also has a retirement account that I set up years ago. She can live off it without having to work as long as she doesn’t do anything crazy with it.” Ted tells us.


“You guys are still looking out for her?” Daphne asks.


“She gave us the things our mothers didn’t, even when she goes overboard with Michael, we still remember that.” Emmett tells her.


“All I remember is her being thrilled Justin was leaving.” Daphne tells us.


“Michael was coming back and told her he needed his room. She wanted her baby home.” Ted tells her.


“She knew Michael and I didn’t get along, and I made it sound like I wanted to go.” I tell Daphne.


“It still doesn’t excuse what she said to you when you came back with Hannah.” Daphne tells me.


“Until then she was still calling and checking up on me and Emmett. I know it hurt her that Emmett and I kept Hannah a secret from her. I’m not saying I deserved anything that she said, just that it was a combination of things for her.” I tell her.


“So forgive her because she let you and the guys in her house?” Daphne asks.


“Not forgive her, that isn’t possible, but none of us want to see her on the streets when she didn’t leave us there.” Emmett tells her.


“Just don’t expect me to be sitting beside you, she never did anything for me.” Daphne tells us.


DEB


I’ve been looking for the asshole all day and he shows up with Ted. I was about to kick Ted out for helping Mel when Brian ordered me to shut up and sit down.


“We aren’t here to listen to what you think of Ted or Mel. I want you to listen and realize that even with everything you did to Emmett and Justin, they agreed with what Ted and I are going to do to help you.” Brian tells me.


“Brian, what Emmett and Justin did to Michael…”


“Was what he deserved for running his mouth. He needs to learn that saying the shit he did, didn’t mean that they had to take it. If you want to sit here and argue about that then you do it alone. I won’t defend Michael the way you always expected me too, when it was my daughter he was talking about. Now can we explain to you that losing your job doesn’t mean you lost everything.” Brian tells me.


“I quit, the fucker acted like I wasn’t the reason people came to the diner.” I tell him.


“You quit, but it still means you don’t have a job and finding one that would put up with the things you got away with at your old job, is going to be impossible for you. Employers don’t cater to the staff, but the clientele, something you never had to learn because your old boss came from a different era. Ted set up your retirement fund so that when you were ready to retire you didn’t have to worry about how to pay bills. I bought the mortgage so that you kept your house. If you want to work that’s fine, but the money Ted made you will not keep you if you let your son run over you. Ted set you up with a friend of his to go over what we did for you. It’s up to you now to decide if you want to keep it.” Brian tells me as he and Ted get up to leave.


“Why did you do it?” I ask them both.


“We still remember the woman who took us in, even after what you did to the people we love.” Ted tells me, closing the door.


I looked through the papers and saw that Brian payed off my mortgage and left the title to my house in the paperwork. The money I gave Ted couldn’t have been as much as the money he made me. They looked out for me while I was hurting people who they cared about.


“Hey Ma, why do you look upset?” Michael asks when he showed up an hour later.


“How do you plan on paying me back and helping out around here?” I ask, wanting him to be as generous as the boys were.


“Ma, the shop doesn’t make much, so I can’t help you out the way I did when I was working at Big Q. I was hoping you would let go of the money you gave me, since I used to give you money for things here.” He tells me, going up to his room.


“Michael, you need to find a place to live. I can’t do this anymore.” I tell him.


“You’re kicking me out, I’m your son?” He tells me.


“My adult son, who needs to find a place to live and learn to support himself. I want to find out if there’s a life out there for me that doesn’t have my only job as being your keeper.” I tell him.



















You must login (register) to review.