Holiday For Strings
 

The fellows had just assembled themselves in front of their fake fireplace when Brian opened a conversation with an accusation of sorts.

“I was talking to Brandon today, Baby,” he told the kid. “And guess what he told me. Nah – don’t bother guessing. He told me that he thinks you and Jason are planning some big trick on us for April Fools’ Day – the two of you. He said he’s pretty sure – and Brandon is getting pretty good at figuring out Jason’s tricks too.”

“So why would he be thinking anything like that, Honey?” Justin wondered innocently. “And why would we do a thing like that? Maybe it was you who actually put that idea into Brandon’s head. Brandon’s not usually paranoid…”

“Hey, Kiddo,” Brian grinned at him. “Don’t be calling me paranoid. With you around I don’t guess I need to resort to paranoia at all – I’ve got you – paranoia would be redundant.”

“Well, if there’s some such great plot afoot against you and Brandon, how come you didn’t suspect that plot before Brandon figured it out?” Justin reasoned. “Bet you know me better than Brandon knows Jason. Is Brandon more astute than you are, Brian? I don’t think so.”

“Nope, I’m a lot astuter than Brandon, Sweetheart,” Brian decided. “And more experienced with tricks and stuff than he is too. I’ve had to put up with you for a few more years than Brandon has been stuck with Jason. But you’re a lot sneakier than Jason will ever be. And I don’t have to just suspect you’ve got some trick planned either. I know you do. Every April Fools’ Day since we’ve been together, you’ve pulled something or other….”

“Well that’s just in the spirit of the holiday, Kinney,” Justin defended himself – resorting perhaps to patriotism in his appeal. “You know how I love holidays, Brian. It’s like – the American way - but I always pull the tricks on the right day. Not like you. You pull your tricks like – a week early. Last year it was March 27 when you pulled your big April Fools’ Day trick on me – and that’s unfair I think – maybe even un-American too.”

“Yeah,” Brian laughed. “Tricks on you are unfair and un-American and tricks on me are just plain great fun. I know you well enough to understand that logic – damn - you must be wearing me down, Baby - but I still thought I’d be fair about this and let you know that me and Brandon are on to you this time and on our guard so you might not be able to pull it off. We know you guys are planning something special and we’re like – ready for it this time – so things will be tougher for you to pull off.”

“Gee whiz, Bri,” Justin came back at him, “You know how I like a challenge – and that sounds a lot like a genuine challenge to me – so even if there was no plot at all - maybe…”

“Oh there was – or rather is – a plot all right,” Brian maintained. “And me and Brandon have a plan of our own, Sweetheart – and ya know what - I’m gonna tell you what that is too. How’s that for a challenge? Us four are gonna spend the entire day together on 1 April - and me and Brandon are gonna be calling all the shots all day - and you and Jason are not gonna know what we’ll be doing next - so you won’t be able to figure out how to get…”

“Hey, Brian,” Justin reminded him quickly. “Don’t you remember? You and I are supposed to go a concert at Point Park College on April 1 – 7:30 PM - in their small auditorium - and I already know about that – even if you seem to have forgotten. Ethan’s string quartet is playing an evening of French music and they’re holding tickets for us. Good seats where we can hear every screechy note.”

“Geez, JT,” Brian – having been reminded - did remember – or at least pretended to. “A damn string quartet playing a damn evening of French damn music – on April Fools’ Day yet. OK – maybe that’s actually a good day for it – like - appropriate. How did you ever trick me into agreeing to that? I know I did - but was I drunk or stoned or what?”

‘I guess I wouldn’t be in any position to speak to that subject, Bri,” Justin laughed, “since I wasn’t there when you ran into Ethan over at Del’s Restaurant last week - and told him we’d come to the concert. Like – I didn’t even know there was gonna be any concert till you told me. You made that big decision all by yourself, Mr. Kinney. I was not involved – so I’m not to blame either. I just thought maybe you had somehow acquired a taste for good music.”

“Damn, Taylor,” Brian had a sudden epiphany. “I got it now. You did too know – all along. You knew all right. You arranged for me to meet Ethan at Del’s that day and he drugged my coffee and…. That’s exactly what happened. That’s why I said we’d go. Had to be. That whole concert crap is your April Fools’ trick for this year. Don’t try to deny it either, Twink. And I don’t think sticking me with a string quartet concert is very funny at all. You must be losing your touch.”

“Well since you’re so sure you have it all figured out, there’s no use for me to deny it, Bri,” Justin told him. “So I guess I won’t – but you know I only pull one trick per year on April Fools’ Day – so if the concert isn’t this year’s trick like you’re so sure it is, there just might be another one coming – and you won’t be expecting it at all.”

“Sort of like how you don’t expect my April Fools’ tricks when I pull them in March,” Brian laughed. “Right, Sweetheart?”

“Except that it’s fair to pull tricks on April 1, Kinney,” Justin maintained. “That’s the day for tricks – that’s why it’s April Fools’ Day - but to expand April Fools’ Day to April Fools’ Week or April Fools’ Month is not fair.”

”All’s fair in love and war,” Brian quoted some famous person, pulling the kid closer in a move that might not have been fair at all – but which brought no protest from the twink in any case. Fairness be damned. And so followed a protracted pause in the discussion. Whether it was love or war would be a debatable issue - but the guys did not seem to care to debate it.

“Well.” Brian eventually put an end to the protracted silence. “I think Brandon and me will still go ahead with our plans for April 1. We’ll still keep the four of us together all day. I guess it wouldn’t be very nice for us to cancel out on Ethan though since we might be the only ones there – I haven’t even seen it advertised anywhere - but Brandon will just have to come too – and drag Jason along whether he wants to come or not. It’ll serve Jason right.”

“But you know what, Brian, Honey?” Justin told him. “I think Jason wants to go. He asked me what we were doing on April Fools’ Day and I told him about the concert. I was surprised but he said he thought he wanted to go too. He was like – afraid Brandon wouldn’t want to go and he asked me for advice on how to get Brandon to go and I…”

“You told him to pretend you and him were gonna play some big trick on me and Brandon - so we would naturally decide to stick together all that day to protect ourselves,” Brian deduced. “And so Brandon would have to go to the concert like you guys wanted him to in the first place. You tricked Brandon just like you tricked me – and not on April Fools’ Day either – so you can keep your pious platitudes about early trickery to yourself, Twink. Geez, Taylor….”

“Holy heck, Kinney,” Justin marveled in return. “Talk about paranoia – not that you’re the least bit paranoid. You sure give me credit for being a lot more devious than anybody could ever be – and me not devious at all either – not that it mightn’t be fun to be that devious. It’s something to think about.”

And the guys let the conversation die off for a while as they perhaps took some time to think about it – not that thinking was the only thing they did in the process.

“This is a crazy discussion we’re having, BK,” Justin reopened the subject at hand – proving that he had done some thinking. “And there’s something very fishy about the whole thing too. I can’t exactly figure out what but there’s something fishy – I know it. You’re trying to tell me something but I can’t quite figure it out. Maybe it’s you and Brandon that have the big trick up your sleeve for April Fools’ Day. It is, Brian Kinney – you’ve got something terrible planned - and I’m not sure what – but I do some tricks myself sometimes so I guess maybe I deserve it….”

“Yeah you do deserve it, Taylor,” Brian agreed pulling the kid just a little closer. “But maybe I don’t care if you deserve it. I guess maybe I don’t want you to be disappointed on your favorite holiday for some reason - even if you do deserve it. So you can count this business as my unfair and probably un-American early April Fools’ Day trick for this year – not to say that I might not figure out another one for the big day itself. You know that Ralph in our office is a Point Park grad. So I mentioned the string quartet concert to him and he said he hadn’t heard anything about it – and he’s an active alumnus too. There is no string quartet concert scheduled at Point Park, Baby. Ralph checked for me and there’s no string quartet concert. So I don’t know exactly what your April Fools’ Day plan was but it somehow involved an imaginary concert and you enlisted that fink, Ethan – he never liked me anyhow – and you set up the whole thing. So there, you little con-artist, what are you gonna do about that?”

Justin had a coy smile on his face as he nestled himself in even closer to the seemingly triumphant guy at his side. “I guess I’ll do what any great artist would do under the circumstances, Bri,” he concluded. “I’ll go back to the drawing board. And you know Ethan really does love you, Brian – but not nearly as much as I do – and since I won’t need to go back to any drawing board till tomorrow, maybe in the meantime….”

Brian got the message. And he didn’t think what Justin meant was any early April Fools’ Day joke either – so he decided to play along. It was a chance worth taking.
 

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