How Thankful Can You Be?

It seemed like a rare occurrence as the guys got to sit themselves down on the loft floor to watch their fake fireplace blaze away. It was a few days before Thanksgiving and there were signs of the upcoming holiday season strewn around the usually neat loft. It was beginning to look a lot like …..”

“Christmas is a month away, Taylor,” Brian began. “Thanksgiving isn’t even officially here yet and we’ve already been partying…..”

“Well we have a lot to be thankful for, Brian,” Justin maintained. “Like – ten parties wouldn’t be enough for all we have to be thankful for…..”

“I do not think the degree of our thankfulness should be measured by the number of parties we go to ….” Brian pointed out. “Not that I’m an expert or anything on stuff like that….”

“So which parties are we not gonna go to next year, Bri?” Justin asked. “I think we have to go to Debbie’s on Thanksgiving Day – and then there’s our own private – just for the two of us – party – but you can cancel out on any of the others that you want to. Just call and tell them we can’t come….”

“I don’t think I should be the one to do the calling, Baby,” Brian protested. “You’re the social secretary around here. Nobody would believe we weren’t coming to their party unless you told them. They’d probably just laugh at me….”

“Gee whiz, BK,” Justin marveled. “You can sure be humble when it suits your purposes – just like you can be pretty bossy when it suits you. But like – I think you had a better time than I did at Dave’s big New York bash last Saturday – and I had a really good time. Robert and Shawn and Rick can be really fun to be around and we don’t get to see them all that much….”

“I think I picked up a couple of new accounts, JT,” Brian told him. “Dave has 500 of the most important folks in New York at that bash – and he always tells them I’m in advertising and ….”

“Well I guess that’s really something to be thankful for, Kinney,” Justin laughed. “I think I scored a couple of commissions too - I’m waiting for some e-mails Dave always points out my stuff to his guests too – and he always has several of my paintings on the hotel wall. It’s like a free art show for me….”

“Maybe he thinks we need the help, Sweetheart,” Brian laughed too. “So we don’t become charity cases….”

“Well I don’t want to be a charity case, Brian,” Justin said. “So maybe we wouldn’t want to miss Dave’s Thanksgiving gala…..”

On the other hand, Debbie was there this year,” Brian reminded him. “That’s not good. Last year it was just me and you, Brandon and Jason, Mikey and Ben, and Malcolm and Hunter….”

“But Debbie and Vic were only there this year because Martha invited them, Bri,” Justin reasoned. “Martha wasn’t there last year – even if she is Dave’s mother….”

“Yeah,” Brian agreed, “but she’ll be there from now on. She loved it – and she said we have to come to her party next year – out at her cabin by the sea – in the Hamptons….”

“That cabin by the sea has about 40 rooms, Bri,” Justin told him. “Debbie told me the banquet room would only hold about 200 though – so it will just be a small intimate affair – and Martha said she could schedule it the Friday before Dave’s annual Saturday night affair. That way we’d only need to come to New York once for both parties. She’s Long Island’s own latter-day Molly Brown – so it ought to be an influential crowd. Maybe even a couple more accounts for you - and a few more commissions for me. Wouldn’t that be something to be thankful for?”

“The thing to be thankful for, Sweetie,” Brian told him, “would be if – since she can only invite 200 – maybe she wouldn’t have room for all of us…..”

“And you think that’s very likely?” Justin wondered.

“Nope,” Brian answered quickly. “Which is why I’m giving you like – almost a year to get us out of that party….”

“Well thank you, Mr. Kinney,” Justin mocked. “Thanks a lot. But I think maybe I’ll just go myself and tell them you’re ‘indisposed.’”

“So I can sit and watch the fire here – by myself,” Brian conjectured as he noticed Justin sidling up to him. “That might be something to be thankful for….”

“But what else could you do – like – all by yourself?” Justin inquired, making a move that forestalled any answer to that pertinent question - and also introduced a pause in the discussion - which seemed to be needed. It was a long pause too – but it still failed to close the conversation.

“I’m sorry about all the parties, Brian,” Justin eventually broke the silence. “It’s just that we know so many people now and they all want to celebrate – and I don’t like to say ‘no’ – even if I’d rather be sitting here – with you….”

“Well I know how you young folks are,” Brian smiled at him. “Us old guys – we just like to sit home all the time. I used to like to party when I was young – so I know ….”

“You know what, Kinney?” Justin got – perhaps - a sudden insight. “I’m beginning to think you have some agenda that I don’t know about. I hope you’re not planning to cancel out our own – just the two of us - Thanksgiving celebration. You told me it will be a surprise - on December 1. I hope that’s not what you’re leading up to. Some surprises are not all that good….”

“Now you have to be kidding, Twink,” Brian laughed. “Even if I wanted to cancel that major event in our lives – which I definitely don’t want to do – I wouldn’t dare. I don’t even know if I can imagine dealing with you if I tried that. It would be a fate worse than death …..”

“You’re probably right, Kinney,” Justin laughed back his complete agreement. “I can’t imagine it either – so ….”

“What makes you think I have some hidden agenda, Sweetheart?” Brian asked. “I’m not the kind of guy with any hidden agendas ….”

“Not usually, I’ll admit, BK,” Justin told him. “I don’t know why I got suspicious. Maybe I feel a little bit guilty about dragging you to all these holiday celebrations that you don’t want to go to…”

“Nah,” Brian laughed again. “You’re not the guilty type, JT – that’s just not you …..”

“That’s not fair, Mr. Kinney,” Justin protested. “You know darn well you don’t have to go to all those parties if you don’t want to. We’ll just stay home whenever you want to – all through the holiday season – except for a few things that we have to go to ….”

“Whatever you say, Kiddo,” Brian assured him. “I’ll just tell you when I don’t choose to attend the non-essential parties – and see what happens …..”

“Brian Kinney,” Justin objected. “You are patronizing me – and trying to make me feel guilty – for seeing that you always have such a good time – and get invited to such good parties. OK, you win. We will not go anywhere until Thanksgiving Day at Debbie’s – which is an essential of course. We’ll just sit here every night till then and stare at the fireplace – and only talk about stuff we agree on ….”

“Well, Sweetheart,” Brian hedged a little. “There’s something I ought to tell you. Like - Brandon called me today – pretty upset. Him and Jason are having some kind of rough time. Sometimes I think Jason just likes to argue. Anyhow, Brandon really wanted us to have dinner with them tomorrow night. He said it could be – like – a Thanksgiving dinner for just the four of us. He was real sure it would help. I hated to say ‘no.”

“So call Brandon and tell him you’ve changed your mind, Bri,” Justin suggested. “If you want to, that is. We have so much to be thankful for – we ought to be able to help our pals – who can’t talk their problems out like we can. So just call right now. You’ll feel better if….”

“I don’t have to call, Honey,” Brian confessed with a knowing grin – while tightening his grip around the blond twink. “You didn’t let me finish. I was gonna say I hated to say ‘no’ – so I said ‘yes.’”

“You are such a fake, Brian Kinney,” Justin smiled as he leveled an accusation. “You really are. So I guess we will be going to every holiday party we’re scheduled for – and you are gonna have a good time at every one of them – and you are not gonna complain ….”

“I am too gonna complain – if I want to,” Brian insisted – while executing a deft maneuver which took Justin’s mind completely off the subject of holiday parties – thus doing some wise forestalling of his own – and also concluding the evening’s conversation to his complete satisfaction..

They both had a lot to be thankful for – and they knew it.
 

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