Old Movies

"How did it go last night, Sweetheart?" Brian asked Justin over breakfast in the loft.

"It was OK. The movie was called Stagecoach and it starred somebody named John Wayne and a lot of other people I never heard of," Justin told him, "I think I would have liked it a lot if you had been there."

"But my not being there was part of the plan," Brian tried to explain, "When Daphne told me that her group at school was sponsoring some old movie showings, I wanted you to go with them. I want you to meet kids your own age and have friends that weren't my friends first. I hope you did."

"Well," Justin smiled, "I met this kid Eric that I met once before at that party at Daphne's last year that you made me go to."

"You've already told me all about Eric, not right at that moment, but a while later as I recall. I didn't send you out this time to meet Eric," Brian kind of cut him off.

"Well Eric has somebody now but he still seemed interested," Justin continued nevertheless, "And he gave me the impression that he could be available if I was free. There were quite a few gay guys there at the party afterward, and Eric may have spread the word, because I had some other opportunities - both male and female. I am cute, you know."

"But I don't think I need to worry. You always come back to Brian, don't you?" Brian smiled at him.

"Has anybody ever told you, Honey, that you are just a wee bit egotistical?" Justin asked Brian.

"Yeah," Brian admitted, "I guess it's only your humility that keeps us together, Baby."

"Well I'm sure that helps," Justin laughed, "But that is not the only thing. There are lots of others. Brian, do I have to go to the whole series?"

"That was the idea, Sunshine. I really want you to get away from me every once in a while." Brian argued, "It will be good for you to be in a younger crowd for a change. But I'm not 'making' you go. I just think it would be good for you."

"Then you come too," Justin proposed, "I'd really enjoy myself if you were there. You're old enough to remember those old movies and so you could explain them to me."

"Well I want you to know that I know you are trying to bait me," Brian countered, "But Stagecoach came out in 1939 and I wasn't born till a year or so after that. Actually, my parents weren't born till a year or so after that."

"Well you know an awful lot about old movies so I'd like to watch them with you," Justin pouted.

"We could watch one here sometime," Brian offered, "We could rent a DVD, make some popcorn and watch an old movie, just like me and Mikey used to do. We could even ask Mikey and Ben to come over and watch it with us."

"Maybe we should just watch it together, the two of us," Justin decided.

"Always coming back to Brian, aren't you?" Brian said.

"Well, egotistical or not, you're still good with old movies," Justin smiled.

The opportunity presented itself that very day. Brian was out on an errand, stopped at a video store, and rented a DVD of his favorite old movie, one he could just about quote all the dialog from. He would surely impress Justin with his knowledge, and get to watch Casablanca for the umpteenth time. So he got some corn for popping and looked forward to a pleasant evening.

And it was a pleasant evening. Everything went as Brian had planned. Justin was duly impressed with the movie and with Brian's vast storehouse of information about it.

Afterward, they lit the fireplace and sat in their usual positions. The only thing different from any other night was the left-over popcorn.

"Did that Humphrey Bogart guy make any other movies, Bri?" Justin asked, "He reminds me of you. I'd like to see him in another movie."

"Yeah, he made two or three other movies," Brian answered, "But Humphrey Bogart reminds you of me? You think I look like Humphrey Bogart?"

"No, Brian," Justin laughed, "I don't think you look like Humphrey Bogart, but it would be better to look like him than like that Peter guy or that Sidney guy who were in the picture, wouldn't it?"

"Well then, what the hell are you talking about, I remind you of Humphrey Bogart?" Brian said. Then he stopped. "You really mean Rick reminds you of me, don't you? He was a selfish bastard who only cared about himself and then he saw the light," he went on, "And I guess you think you're Ingrid Bergman?"

"No way, Honey," Justin responded, "She left Rick. That was noble and all, but there's no way I could be that noble. You aren't ever going to get rid of me."

Brian was glad he was not going to get rid of Justin and he was also glad for the few minutes of silence that followed. But that didn't last.

"How come the picture, wasn't in color, Brian?" Justin continued his interrogation, "Wouldn't it have been better in color? Hadn't they invented color movies yet?"

"They had color movies before Casablanca, Baby. One of your favorites, Wizard of Oz, is a couple of years older than Casablanca and it's in color," Brian told him.

"Oh yeah," Justin remembered, "They must have invented color movies while they were making Wizard of Oz because the beginning's in black and white and the rest is in color. Well then why didn't they make Casablanca a color movie?"

"They had this idea called 'film noir' and they thought that black and white gave some movies more atmosphere, and made them more interesting," Brian explained, "'Film noir,' that's French."

"Seems to me they should have called it "film noir et blanc,'" Justin told him, "I had a couple of years of French at St. James."

"Maybe you should have taken 'Art of the Film' instead," Brian laughed at Justin. "Doesn't that crazy place you go to now have any film courses?"

"Yeah, but I'd rather learn from you," Justin replied, "We need to watch more old movies here."

"We can do that, Baby, but I hope you're not trying to get out of going to the film festival with Daphne and her gang," Brian warned him, "You still need some friends your own age."

"Well if you won't come with me, maybe I'll ask Ethan," Justin played his trump card, "I know Ethan likes foreign movies and I'll bet he likes old movies too."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Brian countered, "Ethan's just about your age and he wasn't my friend first. And I don't care that Eric's there, and I don't care if guys flirt with you. They probably will. You are cute, you know."

"What's going on, Brian?" a suddenly worried Justin asked, "Are you mad at me?"

"Not at all, Sweetheart, just sure of you," Brian told him, toying with Justin's hair, "I know you'll always come back to Brian, and Brian will always be waiting for you to come back"

Justin cuddled closer to Brian and eventually fell asleep with a smile on his face, his head on Brian's shoulder, and Brian's arm wrapped around him. There were no more questions he needed to ask.

Return to Fireside Chats