Small Town
Part 32
############################################################################################
The family sat down to dinner and, as promised, Molly sat next to Brian, with Justin on his other side. He didn’t feel too uncomfortable and began to relax even more as the meal progressed smoothly. They ate a wonderful meal, unlike the ones he had at his own home, and the friendly talk between the family members was easy and often hysterical.
“Well, I remember when Justin wasn’t so easy to get into the lake. There was this one time, when he was about five, and we were spending the day there. Well, the boy was just having a fit. He didn’t want to go anywhere near the water. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand the sudden change in him. So, I asked him what was the matter and do you know what he said?” Justin’s grandmother, Mary, asked the family.
“No Grandma, I don’t think that everyone, especially Brian, wants to hear what I said,” Justin said, knowing what the rest of the story entailed and really NOT wanting to have his lover hear it.
“Oh, yes we do and I’m sure Brian does too,” Molly said, giving her brother an evil smile.
“No, no he…”
“Yes, I do, Justin. I want to hear what your grandmother has to say,” Brian replied, knowing that he was going to get an earful from his lover later, but enjoying the evening way too much to be concerned about it just then.
“So, what he said was…” Mary continued, only to be cut off by her grandson again.
“Grandma, please, no.”
“Oh, Justin,” she said, waving off the boy’s attempt to quiet her, then turned back to the rest of the family and said, “He told me that he was afraid that the fish would bite off his weenie because, apparently, Bill had taken him fishing earlier that day and he’d seen how the fish had latched onto the hanging worm, so he thought they might do the same to his, well, his weenie, he said.”
“Oh, God,” Justin said, hanging his head in embarrassment while the rest of his family, including Brian were laughing hysterically.
“See, dear, I knew that everyone would enjoy the story,” Mary told her grandson.
“Yeah, right Grandma, everyone did. Thank you very much,” the blond said sarcastically, while staring daggers at his boyfriend.
“Sorry…sorry Justin. That’s just so funny,” Brian said, trying to stop his laughter, but not doing a very good job of it.
“Also, I remember another time when…”
“NO! No, no more stories. I think I’ve had enough. Maybe wait until my next birthday and you can embarrass me some more,” Justin said, cutting off his grandmother before she had a chance to tell any more wonderful tales of his youth.
“Oh, honey, don’t be so touchy,” Jennifer said, wiping away the remaining tears that had run down her face from her uncontrollable laughter.
“Right,” Justin said, humoring his mother, then got up and took his empty plate into the kitchen.
Standing up, Brian grabbed the rest of the empty dinner plates, even though Jennifer told him not to, stating that he was a guest and didn’t have to do that. He assured her that it was his pleasure and he headed into the kitchen after his lover. Placing the dishes in the sink, Brian moved over to Justin, who was standing by the back door, looking out the window. “See anything good out there?” he asked his lover playfully.
“Nope, no lake, no fish, no embarrassing grandmothers.”
“Justin,” Brian said, laughing softly, “it’s just a story. You’re lucky. If we were at my house I bet my mother could amuse you with many tales of how when I five years old she, well, she ignored me.”
Hearing the sad tone of his voice, Justin turned, catching his lover’s eyes with his and cupping the side of the man’s face, tenderly running his thumb across the smoothness of his cheek. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. Just be thankful for what you’ve got. I know I am…now,” the older man said with a smile and felt his heart flutter when he received a loving smile in return.
############################################################################################
“Brian, sit here, next to me,” Molly said, patting the spot on the sofa next to her. “What movie do you want to watch?” she asked Brian, ignoring her brother’s glare completely.
“Um, well, since it’s Justin’s birthday dinner, why don’t we let him decide,” Brian said diplomatically.
Being the mature almost eighteen year old that Justin was, he quickly stuck out his tongue at his sister then turned to find a movie.
Brian and the rest of the family just shook their heads and smiled. Real mature.
“Oh, I love Ground Hog Day,” Justin said, turning to his family.
“Not again!” everyone said in unison, well, everyone except Brian.
Huffing, Justin turned back around and looked through the DVDs again. “How about Beverly Hills Ninja?” he asked with a smile. He knew it was a stupid movie, but it was so funny.
“No, I don’t want to watch that. Chris Farley is so dumb,” Molly said, leaping off the sofa, going to look for a movie herself. “How about Miss Congeniality?” she asked.
“Yeah, I like that one.” “Great, I haven’t seen that in a while.” “Good choice, honey,” were just a few of the answers she received. Looking back at her brother’s fallen face, she smiled then stuck her tongue out at him.
“Real mature, Molly,” Justin whined, then plopped down on the sofa next to Brian with his arms folded across his chest.
“Oh, Justin, don’t be a party pooper,” his grandmother said with a laugh.
“Hmph,” he answered, then turned towards the television.
“Real mature, Justin,” Brian said playfully, swatting his lover’s arm with the back of his hand.
The only reply was another unintelligible sound, to which the rest of the family just shook their heads and focused on the movie that was about to start.
############################################################################################
“Thank you very much, Jennifer. I had a great time,” Brian said when it was time to go. Everyone else had already either left or gone to bed, so he only had to say goodnight to Justin’s mother.
“Well, I’m glad you came. It was really nice getting to know you better. I’m glad that Justin’s made a new friend. Come back soon,” the woman said with a smile, trying to be a good hostess, but not wanting to seem to be giving her approval in any way to the young man.
“I…I will,” Brian said, a little unsure by the mixed messages he was getting from Justin’s mother.
“I’m just going to walk Brian to his car, Mom. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Justin said.
“Well, I’m heading up to bed, so lock up when you come in. Goodnight, boys,” Jennifer said, then turned and headed up the stairs. She smiled, thinking that all in all the evening had gone pretty well. Now if she could just get the image of her son in the car with Brian out of her mind, she’d feel a whole lot better.
############################################################################################
“I’m glad you came,” Justin said, standing a foot or so away from his lover as the man leaned against the jeep.
“Me too,” Brian replied, staring deeply into his boyfriend’s entrancing pools of blue, letting his eyes travel downwards to the man’s inviting, full lips, then back up again to his eyes. Sighing softly, he said, “I want to kiss you, baby.”
“I know, me too,” Justin whimpered, his entire body aching to touch Brian. “Do you want to come up to my room?” he asked, desperately wanting the man to say yes.
Looking down at the ground, then back up, Brian answered, “No, I’d better not. Since I’ll be here in…” he paused and looked at his watch, noticing that it was exactly 12:03 a.m., Justin’s birthday. He looked back at his lover and smiled, “Happy birthday, baby.”
“Thank you,” Justin said, trying to keep his tears back, but failing as one trailed down his cheek. He smiled and wiped it away.
“I’m sorry, Justin. I wish I could hold you,” the brunet said, feeling completely defeated.
“I…I kn-know,” Justin stammered. He couldn’t believe he was being so dramatic, but he needed to feel Brian’s arms around him. It made him angry knowing that if he was a girl, then there would be no worries or concern about it. Why did it have to matter so much that they were both men? The thing was, that he knew it did, at least to everyone else.
“God, Sunshine, please don’t cry. It’s your birthday and we’ve got the rest of the weekend to celebrate and be alone. I promise I’ll make it up to you,” Brian said softly.
Nodding his head and sniffling loudly, trying to hold back the rest of the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes, Justin said with a forced smile, “Okay, I’m okay.” Taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it, the blond said, “I guess you’d better go. I’ll see you at ten, right?”
“Right, not a second later,” the older man said reassuringly. “You go get some sleep and before you know it, I’ll be here.”
“Okay, goodnight, Bri…and thank you for coming to dinner.”
“Anytime, baby, anytime.” Then with a loving smile, Brian got into his jeep and pulled away, watching his lover wave goodbye in the rearview mirror.
Upstairs, Jennifer moved back from the window, having watched her son and his, um, friend say goodnight. She felt a little relieved, having seen them just talking, but she could have sworn that she’d seen tears in her son’s eyes. Maybe it was just a reflection of the streetlights? Yeah, that was probably it.