IN OR OUT BOOK II: CHAPTER 5: THE FACTS OF LIFE EXPOSED Part 3

MICHAEL:

So the way I see it, is this: Brian and Justin have an open fuckship, that much I’ll acknowledge as truth. I don’t any more believe they’re married than I believe that Lindsay didn’t have designs to entrap Brian into marrying her by getting fucking pregnant. Well that plan backfired on her when I found out about her psych appointments at the hospital. All it took was following her around and waiting until the nurses weren’t paying attention to have look into the chart on the door of the office she would wait in. It’s how I found out about the anxiety disorder she’d suffered with since she was a teenager.

It wasn’t hard to project certain fears about the possibility of her being not only a single mother when both Brian and Mel got smart about what a conniving bitch she is, but also about the one most, if not all women, fear. It was the possibility of being a mother who would die in childbirth. From there it was easy to place other innuendos to Mel about Lindsay’s motives in wanting to have Brian’s child, which had them constantly fighting like cats and dogs. The way I saw it- and if I’m honest, I still do- it was Melanie’s fault for going along with Lindsay’s plan to change Brian into her WASP-fantasy husband. My best friend was spending more time working to help out with the bills since Lindsay couldn’t work.

And when he wasn’t traveling or working at Ryder, he was at their house when he should have been out partying with me… I mean, us. Ted and Emmett couldn’t see the problem with him spending time with the girls. But to my mind, they were already taking over his life. Once the brat would have arrived, the man I always known would have disappeared. I wasn’t about to have that!

The child dying after it was born wasn’t in my plan, but I can’t say that I’m sorry it happened. I only wanted the Bitches of the Pitts to vanish so Brian could get back to being who he was meant to be. He was never meant to be a father, but a literal fucking god among men. I mean he had the looks, popularity, and money, so why would he want to ruin that with a fucking kid? And of course with Brian’s continued stud status there would have been certain fringe benefits which would have extended to me, too as his best friend.

Benefits such as popularity, respect, and the trust of one of the most well off people within Gay P.A. It would have been a win-win situation all around and that's how things were meant to be! But did it happen the way it was supposed to? No! And you know why?

Because that fucking blond had to show his face on Liberty Avenue on the same night the other blonde bitch went into labor! And what was worse is that I didn’t find out about the latter until it was all over. That’s something I will never forgive Justin nor Melanie for! NEVER! They usurped my position by Brian’s side!

So the way I see it, it’s time I return yet another favor. I already took care of Melanie by indirectly facilitating Lindsay to her now-husband through a comic friend of mine, who just happened to be a curator at a museum. Yeah, I knew Lindsay was into dick as well as pussy, and Harrison is the same way. It’s fitting that they are together. Now, I just have to pay back that little bastard.

I’d been taking steps just after the bashing, where Justin just wasn’t the same pest we all knew and loathed before he got hit. Every chance I got, I would inject little innuendos about what Justin’s real role was within the scope of Brian’s life, and then I would make sure my best friend would stay true to form by making other sly comments. Terming Justin as the ‘little woman’ was always one of my favorites. It always made Brian work extra hard in the backroom to prove that Justin really meant nothing to him. And of course I would point that out to the blond whenever Ben, Ted, and Emmett weren’t looking, even though I would always do it as if I was really looking out for his well-being.

Justin was so messed up at the time that he really couldn’t tell fact from fiction, and I just used it to my advantage. But then I also decided that I could use Justin and he would never figure it out. You see, I wanted to start a comic book when they killed off Captain Astro, and he was the only one I knew who could draw. And although it took him forever to be able to do so again with his fucked up hand, it was still worth the wait when Rage was born. However, another plan was forming as well.

One which involved me being able to spend time with Justin alone without interruption, so that I could drill his place into his head without interference from the other people, who were starting to treat him like he was more their friend than I was. It was pissing me off every time I would see him out and about with MY friends, talking and laughing about things that didn’t include me! So I stepped up my game a little and decided to give Justin an alternative to look at who would certainly drive a wedge between him and my best friend, who seemed to be becoming increasingly protective and more territorial over the blond by the second. As Brian’s best friend that was my place, not fucking Justin’s! Anyway, I thought I had finally succeeded with the advent of Ethan Gold into Justin’s life, but not even three months later, Brian and Justin were back together, and I was back at square fucking one.

Well, now that we are on this stupid ass island, Brian and Justin are supposed to be concentrating only on each other, and not fucking around with other men. But I see it differently. To my mind, this is the perfect environment to finally get it through to Justin’s hard-as-fucking-cement head, that he has no place in Brian’s life as anything other than a fucktoy that is way past its usefulness. I can see to that! I’m sure that there have to be some eager men among the staff; they live on this fucking island after all.

So the way I see it is that while they are enticing Brian to fuck them, they can also slip him a note from me. I think it’s grossly unfair that the only ones that actually have access to him are Ted and that fucking blond, because of business needs. Exactly what the fuck kind of business does Justin have?! I mean, since he handed me Rage, which was his only real source of income? He’s just going to be living off of Brian again!

Hmm… that’s another angle to get Brian to see that he should dump Justin and find somebody else if he has to, while still taking care of my needs. Same goes for Ted where that little blond druggie of his is concerned. There’s not much I can do where Emmett and Drew are concerned, because the truth is that Em is living off of him when there is a lull in his little party planning fiasco. I can’t understand why he hasn’t given up that pipedream yet, and gotten a real job. He should just go back to Torso; he'd at least get a discount on that disco trash he insist on wearing.

Either way, I’ll have to work on getting Justin and Blake away from Brian and Ted once and for all, but I have to do some research on the two of them first. No way in hell they are as squeaky fucking clean as they appear to be. I head to the computer and begin to type...

BEN:

I hit play again for the fifth time, becoming angrier and angrier each time I listen to the filth Deb spewed. So the ONLY purpose of all of us was to take care of Michael, huh? She allowed me to marry her son against her better judgment, did she? Well, then she should be even happier at my next course of action!

I pick up my cell phone and dial the number I thought I would regret ever dialing in reference to my husband. “Hello, this is Ben Bruckner for Phillip Marchand. May I speak with him, please?”

I wait on the line, rocking out to Cee-Lo’s “Forget You” while waiting. For the first time, I really listen to the words of the catchy tune, realizing that I fully understand them now. I begin to think about all the years I’ve been with Michael. The thing that really stands out is that I gave up the chance of a lifetime to go to Tibet because he didn’t want me to go. It’s clear to me now just why that was.

It wasn’t that he cared so much about me, or that he would miss me the way he purported he would. No, it was about me leaving his whiny, clingy ass behind! If he only knew just how long ago that happened in all ways but the reality of this sham marriage, he would understand just how much he’s fucked up. I think Deb is going to find out how much she did a lot sooner than Michael will.

“Hello, Ben. Listen, as much as I love having you for a client, I still won’t represent your husband again,” Phillip tells me.

“I know, and I’m not asking you to. In fact, I can tell you right now that as far as I’m concerned Michael and I are officially living separate lives, which is part of the reason why I’m calling you.”

“Oh, okay. So what’s up?”

“A couple of things. The first is that I want all of Michael’s shit out of my house immediately. I would like his belongings taken to 1223 Sycamore Lane, care of Debbie Novotny. The second thing is that I want the same thing to happen with the store called Red Cape Comics. Any comics or collectibles that you find that were bought within the last five years, I’d like them to be sent to 1575 Octigan Way in Sewickley in care of Jennifer Taylor.”

“Whoa!” Phillip exclaims. “Ben, what’s this about?”

I smile for the first time since receiving the text message from Drew. “I’m about to make your fondest wish come true, Phillip. I want my marriage to Michael Novotny dissolved posthaste. Do you still have the papers that I had you draw up when I first considered this course of action years ago?”

“Yes. All they require is a date stamp if the terms are the same."

"They are." It's funny, but even then, I knew instinctively not to trust Michael.

No matter how many times I thought I was seeing the proverbial ghosts about Michael's greed and maliciousness where there weren't any, a small still voice within myself kept telling me to keep what I came into the marriage with in my name only. At this moment, I'm so glad I thought with my head, and not my heart or little head. It's going to save a lot of time and unnecessary headache.

"Okay. But Ben, why now? I thought you were going to that resort to work on your marriage.”

“That was the original plan, but I’ve since changed my mind. In fact, when you send Michael’s belongings to his mother’s house, which is that first address I gave you, I want you to also pass along a recording.”

“A recording?”

“Yes. His mother called Emmett Honeycutt, and his partner Drew Boyd was smart enough to record her tirade. She’ll undoubtedly want to know why this is happening to her baby and want to accuse me of doing him dirty. I would like you to include the original inventory sheets that I gave you to go along with the papers, when I filled out the petition before. Michael will leave this marriage in the exact same way he came into it- broke, busted, disgusted and with his precious toys for comfort. The only other difference now is that he no longer has a store, since that was put into my name six months after we tied the knot in Canada. The house has always been in my name, so there won’t be a problem there. Anything not on that list is something my money unknowingly paid for, and I want it held onto until I tell Jennifer Taylor exactly what to do with it. She’s someone who can be trusted implicitly. Is there anyway to expedite the divorce?”

“I’ll talk to a friend of mine and find out. She just returned to the States a couple of years ago and has become a judge here since. But I’m sure she’s still well-versed in Canadian law.”

“If her name is Melanie Marcus, tell her it’s for Ben. She’ll help without fail.”

“How did you know?”

“Mel and I go way back. In fact, it was her order from the bench that brought us here to Seascape.”

“Aside from the company of your soon-to-be-ex, how is the island?”

“Absolutely beautiful. If you and Regina ever have the chance to visit, make it a point to do so. Ironically, it’s a very tolerant place and heteros will not seem out of place as long as they are not bigoted against gay people of any kind. I know that you and Regina aren’t.”

“I will definitely mention it to her,” Phillip tells me. “Are you sure about this, Ben?”

I think about it for all of a split second. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, Phil. There is no hope of reconciliation here, and I refuse to waste any more of my time on him.”

“Are you still going to stay on the island for the summer?”

“So far, yes I am. I have to admit that the therapy sessions are doing me very good so far. Besides it will give me time to figure out my next step in life. My count is good, and I want to keep it that way. That means taking care of myself in all facets; this is part of that. Which reminds me, also take Michael off of any financial papers which give him access to my accounts, including my last will and testament. I wouldn’t put it past him to either try to kill me, or attempt to hire someone to do it for him when he finds out that I’m divorcing him. Nothing is as important to Michael as money, except perhaps his ties to Brian Taylor-Kinney.”

“They are one in the same, Ben.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m willing to bet that money is the reason why Michael is so hellbent on keeping Brian Taylor-Kinney under his thumb. Let’s face it. Michael Novotny is a lazy bum, and if he could have someone wipe his ass for him instead of doing it for himself, he would. Anything that requires an effort of any kind is something he’s not interested in. As far as he’s concerned, all he has to do is turn on the puppy dog eyes and the waterworks, then people will trip over themselves to do his bidding. Look how he treats his own mother.”

“Well he’s officially going to be her problem again. Which she’ll undoubtedly hate, but she's brought it on herself with her vicious words. I think the guys and I are officially done, which you’ll find out the moment you listen to the recording I’m sending you. As for her husband… well I don’t know what Carl Horvath is going to do, but that’s between him and her. I just hope for her sake that she really understands what Michael’s behavior, her willful blindness, and unrealistic expectations will ultimately cost her. And that means mainly any defense she’s ever had against the manchild machinations of her son.”

Phillip and I run through the list of things I need him to facilitate for me while I’m here on the island. As we disconnect the call, I feel the sudden urge to dance naked. And so I do, finally realizing that I’m free. I’M FINALLY FUCKING FREE!!!