The Missing Link

It seemed that Brian might have something on his mind as the denizens of the loft settled themselves into place on the floor of the loft facing their fake fireplace. There was a short period of silence as Brian encircled the kid with his arm.

“I guess this is ‘goodbye,’ Kiddo,” Brian finally said.

“What are you talking about, Brian Kinney?” Justin retorted with some surprise. “What’s going on?”

“I guess I should be the one asking that question, Taylor,” Brian retorted back. “Several Christmas Eves ago, I gave you a ring - you may remember – like this one I am wearing. You said it symbolized ‘us’ and that you would never take it off…. Well, seems like it’s missing right now….”

“And you know why too, Brian,” Justin insisted. “When you came in from the office I was fixing the kitchen sink faucet – the drip that you have been complaining about for two weeks. You know darn well I always take off the ring when I’m working with tools – so I don’t scratch it. It means too much to me to ever let it get scratched. That does not count as taking off the ring and you know it too….”

“Well maybe if you’d put it right back on when you’re finished as the tool-man, JT,” Brian argued, “then that explanation would work – but you’ve been finished with that simple task for like – a half hour – and the ring is still missing so ….”

“Simple task, eh,” Justin laughed. “If it was that simple you could have maybe …. You’ve been complaining for a couple of weeks and you didn’t attempt that ‘simple task’ yourself, BK. How come?”

“Like – you wouldn’t have been bitching all over if I had done the fixing myself, Baby?” Brian pointed out. “Like you always do when I fix anything around here….”

“Yeah,” Justin agreed, “I might have been bitching all right – about the flooded kitchen which would have been the certain result of any Kinney ‘fixing.’ of that little drip We could have had an ocean right in our own kitchen.”

“Well I wouldn’t have taken off my ring, Sweetheart,” Brian told him. “I’m serious about my ring. It like – means something to me ….”

“And I’m not gonna complain about that at all, BK,” Justin grinned – moving a bit aggressively closer toward his antagonist.. “I hope you don’t think I’d complain about that ….”

That exchange triggered a pause in the discussion – perhaps unexpected – but only perhaps though.

“So you don’t care if I scratch my ring, I guess,” Brian complained himself in reopening the conversation – since Justin wouldn’t. “Yours is safe enough though. You can’t scratch a ring you aren’t wearing ….”

“It’s right on the kitchen shelf, Brian,” Justin explained. “That’s where I put it. I guess I could get it but I’m really comfortable right here right now, so I’ll just get it when we’re finished here ….”

“Seems like a pretty casual attitude to me, Taylor,” Brian advised. “I think you should get up and go get it right now ….”

“OK, Mr. Kinney,” Justin smilingly epiphanized. “I think I’ve got it figured out now. You were messing around in the kitchen while I was putting the tools away. You were. You saw my ring on that shelf – and you took it – and you hid it someplace – and now you want me to discover it’s missing – and get worried about it - and then you’ll laugh and make a big joke out of it. You’re an evil person, Brian Kinney. That’s exactly what you are. But I’m not going to fall for it. You get up and get my ring – wherever you hid it – and then I’ll put it back on ….”

“Geez, Kiddo,” Brian seemed surprised at the accusation. “I can’t believe you’d think that I could do something like that. I’m disappointed ….”

“Yeah you’re disappointed, Kinney,” Justin laughed. “You’re disappointed that I didn’t fall for your little trick. That’s why you’re disappointed – if you’re disappointed at all, that is ….”

“You know what, JT?” Brian had an epiphany of his own. “Maybe you actually lost the ring somehow and that’s why you’re accusing me of like – hiding it. So if it doesn’t happen to be on that shelf ….”

“You know damn well I didn’t lose that ring, Kinney,” Justin maintained. “You hid it – and you’re gonna get it. I am not going to bed tonight without my ring ….”

“Well if you’re so sure it’s on the shelf, Sunshine,” Brian proposed, “Why don’t you just get up and go get it and this discussion will be like – over – even if you did promise never to take it off in the first place ….”

“You know what, Brian,” Justin replied, “if I thought the ring was still on the shelf I’d probably do that very thing just to shut you up on the whole subject – but I don’t think the ring is still on that shelf at all ….”

“Well then,” Brian pointed out, “it will have to be you who gets up and gets the ring off the shelf, Sweetheart. If I get up and get it, you’ll say I really got it from some secret hiding place and you’ll never believe that it was really on the shelf all the time ….”

“Let me think about that for a while, Kinney,” Justin replied to that argument. “I’ll need some time – so don’t try to interrupt my thinking either ….”

But Brian did not exactly follow Justin’s directions. He did – quite successfully too – manage to interrupt Justin’s thinking processes - and a neutral observer would have discerned no visible objection on Justin’s part. So the thinking and the interruptions consumed a considerable amount of time – but nonetheless the impasse remained.

“OK, Baby,” Brian finally resumed the discussion. “If you promise to believe that the ring is still on the kitchen shelf, I’ll go get it and you can put it back on – even though you should never have taken it off in the first place ….”

“Well, Bri,” Justin responded, “while I was thinking, I thought about that Christmas Eve when you gave me that ring. What you said when you slipped it on my finger. So I want you to put it back on my finger – just like the first time ….”

“I don’t remember what I said, Taylor,” Brian pointed out. “That was a long time ago and ….”

“I think you remember all right, Brian,” Justin laughed, “but I’ll accept a reasonable paraphrase if you’d rather. That might even be better – since you know me better now I bet you love me more now than you did way back then ….”

“Well,” Brian laughed too, “right now I’m not so sure of that. I’m not sure I knew how much of a pain you can be back then. I’m pretty sure I didn’t. But maybe I should like – insist that you put my ring on my finger too - and say what you said back then – I do remember that …..”

“I would be very glad to do that very thing, Sweetheart,” Justin told him. “But you would have to take your ring off for me to do that – and I know you would never take your ring off so how could I put it back on for you…. ?”

“OK, Baby,” Brian decided. “I quit. I am just gonna sit here until you decide to get up and get your damned ring …..”

“And I’m gonna sit here till you go get it, Kinney,” Justin retorted with equal stubbornness. So this may be a long time …..”

“Geez, JT,” Brian wondered, “That’s true. You got any ideas how we can pass the time while we’re just sitting here?”

“I think you should figure out what we should do while we’re sitting here, Brian Kinney,” Justin insisted. “This is all your fault so you should figure something out …..”

And for whatever reason – Justin’s cogent argument perhaps but not necessarily – Brian decided to do that very thing. He figured something out and it must have been a wise choice.

Apparently nothing more was said – but the guys are not still sitting on the floor of the loft – and Justin is wearing his ring again.

So the discussion must have reached a successful conclusion. And there can be no arguing with success.
 

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