Come Ye Thankful People

The guys were stretched out on the floor of the loft. The fireplace was alight and both of them looked satisfied as they stared at the flickering flames.

“Well Thanksgiving worked out right this year – for a change,” Brian stated. “A lot better than the last couple of years. Not a glitch or a coincidence or…”

“Hey, Brian,” Justin pointed out, “Thanksgiving hasn’t even arrived yet. It’ll be this coming Thursday – so it’s pretty hard to talk about how well it worked out yet. That’s how it seems to me.”

“Wrong, Sweetheart,” Brian advised the kid. “There is no hope for the real Thanksgiving Day because your mother and my mother and Debbie - and who knows who all - are in charge. We just try to get through the day smiling - and looking happy.”

“Speak for yourself, Kinney,” Justin was laughing then. “I happen to like Thanksgiving Day – maybe because of that fake smile you have on your face all day. I do think you fool everybody else though - but I know…”

“Sadist,” Brian accused him. “Well maybe I’ll fool you and enjoy Thanksgiving Day this year. It would serve you right.”

“Well that would take a lot of work on your part, Honey,” Justin grinned at him. “I’m not even sure you could do it.”

“Yeah, Baby,” Brian agreed. “That would probably be more work than it’s worth. I’ll just do the fake smile bit. But the important Thanksgiving events worked out well this year – and they’re already over – so Thanksgiving was already a success even if it hasn’t actually arrived yet.”

“I see your point, Bri,” Justin smiled. “And it was a stroke of genius to have our own private Thanksgiving dinner in October this year. I was really surprised and we didn’t run into anybody either – so it really was just the two of us. Maybe just a bit early though.”

“Nope,” Brian disagreed. “It’s never too early to be thankful – and maybe I have some stuff to be thankful for too…”

”Like what?” Justin immediately wanted to know.

“Well business is doing real good, Kiddo,” Brian told him. “And Dr. Marshall says I’m in top physical condition. They’re things to be thankful for, I guess.”

“You know, Bri,” Justin prodded, cuddling just a little closer as a hint. “If you thought real hard, I bet you could think of something else to be thankful for. It might be good if you could think of at least one more thing…”

If Brian was able to think of another thing he was thankful for, he didn’t mention it. Actually, he didn’t say anything at all for quite some time – and neither did Justin. Justin must have forgotten too during this intermission - because when the conversation renewed, he didn’t press for an answer.

“You know what, Baby,” Brian confided to the kid. “Our private Thanksgiving dinner might have been even a little earlier than it was. Remember the night we went out for dinner and ran into Emmett and Ted and Blake and we ate with them. Well maybe that was supposed to be…”

“Gee whiz, Bri,” Justin marveled. “You really didn’t take any chances. You really are resourceful.”

”Yep,” Brian accepted the accolade. “I had a couple of extra dates available too. When I make up my mind to do something, it happens. And I talked to Brandon too. I gave him the list of potential dates and I told him that if he and Jason were going out on any of those nights, where not to go …”

“Gee whiz, Bri,” Justin admitted. “You fooled me. I thought it was just a coincidence that Brandon and Jason had their private Thanksgiving dinner the same night as we did – it being all that early too – and at a different place – and with our history of coincidences. And here I thought that was just luck.”

“Sometimes you can make your own luck, Sweetheart,” Brian told him, “But I have the feeling that you already know that, Baby.”

“No comment,” Justin whispered in Brian’s ear – and it was another while till any other comment was made. Maybe Justin was demonstrating how to make his own luck – or maybe Brian was – or maybe they both were.

“And we had a Thanksgiving celebration with Jason and Brandon too,” Justin reminisced. “That was a nice idea, Brian. We don’t see them on Thanksgiving Day so I know they were glad we did that – and so were we.”

“Well at least you were glad,” Brian suggested. “I don’t remember saying I was all that glad – but I knew that’s what you wanted so…”

“You did too enjoy yourself, Kinney,” Justin insisted. “That was not your fake smile that night. You like Jason and Brandon as much as I do – so cut out the martyr bit. It won’t work. I’m gonna save my sympathy for the deserving.”

“Killjoy,” Brian grouched good-naturedly. “Seems like nobody gets to have fun around here except you. Well I’m used to it by now … Wanna try for another ‘just-the-two-of-us’ Thanksgiving dinners between now and Turkey Day?”

“Whatever you say, Kinney,” Justin smiled at him. “Whatever you want to do – and whenever you want to do it – just like always - except we’re taking Gus to the Thanksgiving Parade on Saturday – Santa Claus will be in it - and I have to stay home Wednesday evening. I have to make six pumpkin pies. Vic’s recipe. He’ll be too busy and I’m getting pretty good at it now – not as good as Vic – but then I’m not a professional bakery chef either.”

“If I may be permitted to disagree, Honey,” Brian told him. “You’re wrong on two counts. Actually, you do Vic’s recipe better than he does. Maybe that’s our magical oven though – but it could also be your innate ability to do most things better than anybody else…”

“You know what, Kinney,” Justin stopped him. “That’s only one thing I was wrong about, Bri – but I don’t want to hear the other one. I’m satisfied with just being wrong once. I don’t like – trust you to tell me the second one – and ruin the first one.”

“Well I’m telling you the other thing you’re wrong about anyway, Sweetheart,” Brian maintained. “You’re wrong about the six pies you have to bake. The correct number is seven – unless you want to mix me up one in advance. That’d be OK too, but otherwise it’s seven pies on Wednesday.”

“Whatever you choose,” Justin decided. “That is, after tomorrow when I pick up all the ingredients at Giant Eagle. Can’t do any pie baking till then – so we’ll just have to sit around here tonight and do nothing.”

“Do nothing, Baby?” Brian leered. “You’re trying to be funny, right? No chance of that. I have lots of ideas about things to do.”

“You do?” Justin replied innocently, but with perhaps some ideas of his own – innocent ideas of course.

“Yep,” Brian affirmed. “And the first thing is for you to tell me what you’re thankful about this year.”

“Well, Sweetheart,” Justin deliberated with a grin on his face. “I got a good report on my physical too, and things are really good at the Institute – and my stuff is selling better both here and in New York – and there’s that new gallery in Chicago – and….”

“OK, Baby,” Brian interrupted. “I get it. You really do have a lot to be thankful about –and I’m sure you were getting to the reason I wanted to hear - but, guess what - I’ve thought up another reason why I’m thankful. Want to hear it? Bet you do.”

“You know what, Bri,” Justin seemed puzzled. “I’m not sure if I do or not. That smile on your face. I can’t tell if it’s your fake smile or your real smile – and that’s like the very first time …”

“Geez, Baby,” Brian squeezed the twink affectionately. “Maybe that’s something I should be really thankful for too – but there are just so many things to be thankful for this year …”

And the guys were in complete agreement on that point.
 

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