Mistaken Identity

Brian and Justin were sitting silently on the floor in front of their fake fireplace. Justin was a little perplexed and he was not sure how to deal with the situation. He took the bull by the horns.

"Hey, Brian." He asked, "Are you maybe mad at me about something?"

"Nope," Brian responded. "Do I have something to be mad at you about?"

"No you don't" Justin said, "But sometimes you're mad even when you don't have a reason. You haven't really been acting like yourself the last couple of nights. Maybe I'm wrong but I sense just a little difference in you. You're feeling OK, aren't you? If there's something bothering you, I want to know what it is."

"I was just wondering if you had anything you wanted to tell me," Brian replied.

"Gee, I don't think so, Bri," Justin seemed puzzled. "Why do you think I might?"

"Is Malcolm getting any new plays ready?" Brian wanted to know.

"Yeah," Justin told him, still unsure where Brian was going. "He's gonna do a new play at the Community Theater the end of next month sometime. I want us to go but there aren't even dates set yet. In fact, Malcolm is still trying to cast some of the parts. You're not mad at me because Malcolm is doing a new play and I didn't tell you? I just didn't think of it. I'm sorry if you're mad about that."

"Baby, I'm not mad at you at all," Brian said. "I know you too well to really get mad at you - or maybe I love you too much to get mad at you - no matter what you're planning."

"Brian, I hate this," Justin complained. "I'm not planning anything. I don't want you to be mad even if you say you're not. Now tell me what the hell is bothering you. There has to be some mistake."

"Well maybe there could be a mistake," Brian smiled. "Since this thing depends on two eavesdroppings, but I don't see how. OK, Kiddo. This is what happened. Ted and Cynthia went out to lunch the other day. I don't know where but they were seated in the booth next to Malcolm, Hunter and a couple of guys they didn't know."

"That was probably Paul and Zeke," Justin conjectured. "Actually, Malcolm told me they saw Ted and Cynthia."

"Well they should have been more careful what they said with Ted and Cynthia right there in the next booth," Brian opined. "They were talking about some new play and a certain role they were trying to cast. You know what they heard Malcolm say: 'Brian would be perfect for the part but he doesn't want to do it. Justin will talk him into it though. He said he was pretty sure he could."

"And Ted and Cynthia came right back to Kinnetics and told you that," Justin seemed surprised. "They don't trust me either. I thought they were friends of mine and I didn't think they'd ever believe I would say something like that."

"No, it's not their fault," Brian corrected him. "They didn't tell me. They decided not to. I told you there were two eavesdroppings in this story. Actually, I overheard them deciding not to tell me. Cynthia even said she didn't think you'd say or do anything like that. And Ted was surprised too. I didn't say anything to them and I didn't say anything to you. I was just waiting to see if you tried to do it."

"And I didn't try anything either, did I?" Justin protested. "You know I didn't. And you didn't even trust me as much as Cynthia and Ted did."

"But they're still casting the play," Brian came back at him, "So you still have time - or maybe had time. Or maybe you're not the Justin they were talking about. It could have been just a case of mistaken identity. So were you the Justin they were talking about - or was it some other Justin? It could have been a case of mistaken identity."

"Brian, I love you," Justin was smiling at him, "But both of those possibilities is correct. I admit I'm the Justin they were talking about all right - but you were not the Brian. They were talking about Brian Brown. So I guess it really was a case of mistaken identity too."

"Brian Brown," Brian was smiling too. "I'm supposed to believe there is a Brian Brown. OK, if you say there is a Brian Brown, then there must be a Brian Brown."

"Cut it out, Kinney," Justin took the offensive. "There is a Brian Brown, and when we go to the play, you'll see his name in the cast. I did talk him into taking the role. He's in the art department at the Institute but Malcolm thought he looked perfect for this part. Brian really wanted to do it but he was scared. Like stage-fright, I guess. I told him how scared you were in some of the plays you did and then how much you enjoyed doing them when you actually got into it."

"Well that was a damn lie," Brian objected. "I never had a moment's stage-fright in my life - and I never really enjoyed those roles you talked me into when I got into them either. I only did them because you wanted me to. So you're a big liar, Taylor. Maybe I should tell that to Brian Brown."

"He won't believe you, Brian," Justin cajoled. "I lie with such grace and sincerity that everybody always believes me."

"Yeah, you do," Brian laughed. "I guess I'm the only one in the world who really knows you well enough to understand devious Justin at work."

"Don't be trying to make me the villain in this business, Mr. Kinney," Justin demanded. "I didn't do anything to you and I never planned to do anything to you either - and you believed that I was going to pull some kind of trick on you - and you got mad at me for no reason. You didn't trust me. You always want to think the worst about me. I should be mad at you."

"But I bet you aren't," Brian concluded with a wry grin, hugging him a little tighter.

"No, I'm not," Justin grinned back, laying his head on Brian's shoulder, "But I ought to make you write 'I love Justin' a hundred times as a penalty for mistrusting poor little innocent me - or maybe it would be better if I made you say it a hundred times."

"I love Justin," Brian replied.

"I was only kidding, Brian," Justin relented. "You don't have to…."

"I love Justin," Brian repeated.

"OK, Honey," Justin gibed. "Go ahead if you want to be stubborn. I don't really mind listening. A hundred times might not be enough though."

"I love Justin," Brian said again. "And you know what else, Baby. Saying 'I love Justin' a hundred times isn't enough. This week-end, I'm going to introduce you to my good friend, Justin Green. He's really hot."

"Wait a minute, Brian," Justin interjected. "There's another Justin besides me? You know another Justin and he's really hot. How do I know you don't mean him when you say 'I love Justin?'"

"I guess you don't," Brian grinned widely. "There is always the possibility of mistaken identity."

"Well maybe you ought to say "I love you, Justin Taylor' a hundred times," Justin suggested. "I don't want there to be any possibility of mistaken identity."

Brian kissed the kid on the forehead. "You know what, Baby?" Brian offered, "If you give me a minute or so, maybe I can think of a better way than that to let you know that you're the only Justin I'm talking about."

"Maybe you could indeed," Justin agreed, nodding affirmatively and kissing him back at the same time. "Why don't you just give that matter some thought?"

Brian did that - and decided that he probably could. And Justin Taylor was completely satisfied that there was no possibility of mistaken identity.

A very long time passed before Justin finally closed out the evening's discussion. "Hey Brian," He wanted to know, "I was wondering. Is there really a Justin Green who's all that hot?"

"Yeah, I think maybe there is," Brian equivocated with grace and sinserity, "But if there weren't, I suppose I would have just had to invent him."

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