Ciao

Justin was about an hour later than usual for a Tuesday evening when he reached the loft. Brian was already home.

"You're late," Brian accused Justin jocularly, "You're working too hard at school."

"I didn't know we had such a strict time schedule," Justin laughed back, "Thanks for worrying about me. I wasn't working though. I was out carousing."

"While I was sitting here hungry," Brian groused. "I wanted a nice big juicy hamburger."

"Did it occur to you that you could prepare the nice big juicy hamburger that you wanted yourself?" Justin asked him.

"I like the hamburgers you make better than the ones I make," Brian answered.

"Probably because you never make hamburgers - or anything else," Justin joked, "But Justin is here now and Brian will get his hamburger as soon as I can rustle it up. Actually, it's nice to be needed, Brian."

"I guess I wouldn't know about that," Brian complained.

"If you want sympathy, I'll give you some," Justin announced, "But I can't prepare hamburgers and dish out sympathy at the same time, so pick."

"Go do the hamburgers," Brian decided, "There will be plenty of time for the sympathy later."

"Just what I figured," Justin concluded, smiling at Brian, "First things first.".

When the hamburgers were prepared and the guys were seated at the table, Brian wondered, "Did you say you were out carousing? Without me? I thought we did all our carousing together."

"Carousing is always more fun when you're there," Justin told him, "You are the world's best carouser, but this was a spur of the moment occasion. It was a going-away party for Malcolm."

"Malcolm is going away?" Brian replied with surprise.

"It won't be for long, Brian. Just a couple of months or maybe three. He's going to Florence to do some studying over there. His family has a lot of money and they want him to go. They think it will be good for him. Could be they just want him out of Pittsburgh for a while."

"Italy's pretty far away." Brian responded. "What if there aren't any gay guys over there? How will Malcolm survive?"

"I think there are probably some gay guys in Italy, Bri," Justin laughed, "And if there are, Malcolm will find them all."

"Well I'm worried about poor Malcolm over in some strange country," Brian joked, "He could become a modern Leonardo DaVinci, but without a hundred or so guys to love, how could he be happy?"

"You know, Brian," Justin informed him, "Leonardo was gay. He loved this thirteen year old kid when he was about sixty. That's worse than you even."

"Wow," Brian marveled, "Then there's still hope for me. I'm not sixty yet. When I'm sixty, you will be too old for me probably. What was good for Leonardo…."

"The problem is, Honey," Justin retorted, "I'm too old for you now - but I make the necessary allowances for the difference in ages. And what was good for Leonardo might not work for you. You have me and Leonardo didn't."

"That is so true," Brian allowed, "If poor Leonardo would have had you, he probably wouldn't have had time to be a genius."

"But you are a genius, Brian," Justin argued, "Leonardo didn't know about advertising so he didn't do anything at all in that field. He left it for some other genius to work on, and then you came along."

"Do you think Leonardo would have been better at advertising than I am?" Brian asked.

"Not a chance," Justin replied, "And I don't think he would be as silly as we are either."

"I don't know about that," Brian countered, "Didn't you say he got himself mixed up with some teen-ager?"

"Now that's an interesting point," Justin admitted, "I'll think about it."

"Please don't bother," Brian asked him.

It was a few hours later before the subject came up again. By that time the fireplace was lit and the guys were happily ensconced in front of it.

"Does the Institute allow students to just pick up and go to Europe for a few months whenever they want to?" Brian asked.

"It's not that common, Bri, but, if the trip seems to offer some special opportunities, they will let students go to do some field work," Justin told him.

"And this trip to Florence will be good for Malcolm?" Brian continued.

"It should be, Honey," Justin said, "If Malcolm makes the most of his opportunities, it could be very valuable for him. It's hard to tell what Malcolm will do though."

"What about you?" Brian asked him.

"What are you talking about, Brian?" Justin wanted to know.

"Would you want to go to Florence to study for a while - or Paris, maybe?" Brian said, "I don't think it would be a good idea to have you and Malcolm in the same place, where I couldn't watch you both. The finances would be no problem and I know you would make the most of whatever was available."

"Brian," Justin declared, "There is no way I would leave you to study anywhere - not even if I could study with DaVinci himself."

"I wouldn't be mentioning this at all if I thought you would be studying with DaVinci himself," Brian pointed out, "Didn't that guy have a fondness for cute teenagers? He might stretch a point and go for a twenty-year old, and he can't have mine. It's just that you are so talented and I want you to have the best training available. I don't want to hold you back."

Justin's eyes teared up. "That is so nice of you to say that, Brian," he told him, "You are not holding me back. You couldn't do that. You are my inspiration. You are why I am not at Dartmouth working on a business degree. If I get anywhere in art it will be because of you. You could never hold me back."

"But it would be just for a little while. I really would miss you, Baby," Brian responded, "And I hope you would miss me too - but I want you to have everything."

"Brian, sometimes you are such a dope," Justin told him, "I do have everything, and I am not giving it up to go anywhere. And by the way, I think you said that you would be worried about Malcolm being alone in some strange country. How come you wouldn't be worried about me?"

"I would be worried about you," Brian smiled, "Every night at Babylon, I'd be worrying about you. I would hardly enjoy myself at all."

"Cut it out, Brian," Justin told him, "You're not fooling me. You don't really want me to go to Europe. You wouldn't know what to do without me."

"Honey," Brian responded, "When you get finished at the Institute, I'll want you to go to Europe for at least a few months to study, and I promise that I will go along with you so you won't have to worry about me at Babylon. I mean that, Baby, but you are right, I would miss you terribly if you went now. My hamburgers are not nearly as good as yours."

Return to Fireside Chats