JUSTIN

I checked with Murph before leaving. He wanted approval to send Brian the boards. I was confused about why he was asking me.

“You know what he wants better than I do most of the time. I really don't want to send these if he's going to yell across the Atlantic that we're idiots.” He tells me.

“Murph, it's only when you contract out to the idiot twins that Brian yells.” I tell him.

“Okay, I just wanted to see how Paris went.” He admits.

I told him about the show, and about Rachel becoming my agent. Also giving him Hunter’s contact information for when he needed something from me. Murph and I became friends when he called one night, stuck, and wanted to toss around ideas with me.

Hunter stopped to pick Shelby up from the loft before going to Deb's. He was carrying a sketch pad with him and I'd been curious about his work. When I asked to see it, he got nervous but handed it to me.

“If you don’t want me to look, it’s fine.” I tell him.

“I do, but it’s hard when I’ve seen yours, and these aren’t anywhere near what you do. I found one in the bedroom at the loft. It was under the bed in a box and Hunter said he didn’t know when it was done, but it’s not anything new. It’s just, looking at it, I started to really see what you were telling me, and I sort of had Hunter pose like it. Well, I didn’t draw it completely.” He tells me.

I flipped through one’s where he drew random things as if they were in front of him. I got through a few that were drawn at Deb’s house, and found the one he talked about. Hunter was laying in bed asleep, and unlike the one I remember, Hunter was covered up.

“You found one of Brian like this at the loft?” I asked.

“I was putting boxes under the bed and found a box that had the one of Brian in it. There were other things in the box, but I left it alone.” He tells me.

“Hunter, when you get a chance can you bring me the box.” I tell him.

“What do you think?” He asks about the drawing he did, biting his nail.

“This sketch of Hunter is really the first one where you showed emotion.” I tell him.

‘The rest are good, bordering on great. It’s just, I can see the love you have for your subject in the one with Hunter.” I tell him.

“I keep telling him he’s good.” Hunter tells me.

When we got there, Deb was putting lunch on the table and Lindsay came over to talk to me.

“Thank you for offering me the job. I feel like a complete asshole for being upset this whole time.” She tells me.

“I made a decision based on my needs, with Brian agreeing to branch out Kinnetik, I wanted people who could do the job. You’ve always been good at seeing the potential in an artist, it’s a skill most people don’t posses. If I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t have offered you a job.”  I tell her.

“Sunshine, get your butt over here and eat.” Deb yells from the kitchen.

“She’s really big on feeding people.” Shelby tells me.

“Ma just thinks we don’t eat if she isn’t cooking.” Michael tells him, sitting next to me.

“Like you and I didn’t raid the refrigerator and take it to the loft, since Brian never put food in the refrigerator.” I tell him.

“It was one of the things I liked when you were there. There was always something to eat.” Michael tells me.

“Where are you going to be staying while you're here?” Deb asks.

“The house, I have paintings being shipped here from New York and Paris. Hunter and I are going to be storing them in the morning. I was going to ask if you and Shelby want to stay tonight.” I tell Hunter.

“When is everyone else being invited?” Deb asks.

“Brian and I are going to have everyone over after we get back. There are still a few things that we needed to do before people come over.” I tell her.

“You’re going to wait for Ben and I to get back, aren’t you?” Michael asks me.

“Yes Mikey, we all are dying with anticipation for the many pictures you plan to torture us all with.” I tell him.

“Everyone loves my pictures.” He tells us.

“Of course we do Dad, we’d just like to see more then each tree you pass.” Hunter teases.

I promised Deb to have dinner before going back to London.

“Why did you guys pick a house away from everyone?” Shelby asked when we got there.

“Brian chose it, it's the place he asked me to marry him. I had made some offhand comments about my dream house after saying no to marrying him. Then he brings me here to show me he was serious.” I tell him.

“You said no at first?” Hunter asks.

“I felt like he was reacting to everything that happened. We weren't really together at the time.” I tell him.

“But how do you say no when he does this?” Hunter waves around.

“Believe it or not, I didn’t say yes until he convinced me.” I tell them.

“Everyone always acts like you two were the super couple.” Shelby tells me.

“Far from it. We were everything you could do wrong. In the end we knew we were going to be together. Brian and I struggled a lot with our idea of a relationship. He didn’t even tell me he loved me until five years into our relationship. I knew he did, he showed me constantly. I really believe he didn’t say it because he wanted to be able to say when he knew he was ready to give me what I wanted for us.” I tell him.

“It’s hard to imagine staying with someone who couldn’t say it to you.” Shelby tells me.

“I loved him from our first meeting. He stood by me through a lot of things that most people wouldn’t have.” I tell him.

I took Shelby with me to my studio and let him walk around. “This was one of the first rooms Brian had done.” I tell him.

“Did he live here while you were gone?” He asks.

“No. He told me that it was our house and until we lived here together, he didn’t want to be here.” I tell him.

“Brian really supports you doesn’t he?’ He tells me.

“In everything.” I tell him.

“Dad told me, making Jus happy is his reason for doing anything.” Gus tells him, pulling out his laptop to play.

I took out a few old pieces and let Shelby look. Gus came over to help me stretch a new canvas.

“You don’t just buy them done?” Shelby asked.

“Jus told me it's because they aren't always the right size.” Gus tells him.

“I guess you help Jus a lot?” Shelby asks.

“Yep, it's my time with Jus. He told me he likes noise around him when he works.” Gus tells him.

“How do you concentrate with people around?” He asks.

“I like hearing what they think while I’m working. Michael is the only one who never offers an opinion on what I do, but he told me a lot of that is because he really didn’t get most of my work. He’ll sit around with me and drag me off to keep me from forgetting things we need to do. Ben said watching me work with chaos surrounding me seemed to bring more life into what I was doing. He’s right, it’s easier to draw the emotions around you when you see them, rather than sitting around trying to remember what what it was that you felt.” I tell him.

“Is that why you always ask Hunter what he sees?” He asked me.

“I ask because he gives me an answer of how it spoke to him, and no one else. When I ask most people who look at a painting, they throw out what they think I want to hear. Hunter, like Brian, will tell me what I’m really asking for, how it affects them. Hunter’s life, before he met Michael and Ben, was a nightmare, but he could look at art and see that everything wasn’t ugly. It’s something he and Brian have in common. They both dealt with the worst childhoods, but never let it blind them to believing there are good things too.” I tell him.

“My Dad said it’s why he only wants my life to be everything I dreamed of.” Gus tells us, going back to play on his laptop.

“My parents really supported me. They both told me nothing change how they felt.” He tells me.

“Make sure you always thank them for loving you. My mother had a hard time with it at first, but made sure I understood she loved me. My dad will tell you he loves me, but just can’t accept this part of me. He’s willing to have a relationship with me but doesn’t include Brian anytime he wants me to meet him. It left our relationship superficial, because he never hears anything about my life.” I tell him.

“Why bother to see him?” Shelby asks.

“I rarely do, but he’s my father, and Molly still has a good relationship with him. Normally I only go to see her. My schedule tends to be hectic, so if it’s a chance to spend time with my sister, I do it. She always tells me I don’t have to, but in a way I at least like to make sure he’s okay. He wasn’t a bad father, he just wanted me to be something I couldn’t be.” I tell him.

“I don’t really understand that, but that’s because I love my Jus.” Gus mumbles.