Ups and Downs

The guys were having dinner in the loft. Justin had just provided Brian with some information, and Justin was now thinking he should have waited till the fireplace was lit.

Brian was not smiling. Justin would have been hard put to describe the look on Brian's face, but he was sure it was not a particularly happy look. "A gay and lesbian day at Kennywood?" Brian blurted out, "And you want me to go?"

"Brian, we're lucky to have a world-famous amusement park just a twenty minute drive away," Justin reasoned, "And this is the first gay-lesbian day they've ever had. Groups are coming in from as far away as Chicago and St. Louis. We want it to be a success and our Center gets a cut of the profits. Mel is on the board over there and we need to support it. But the real reason we need to go is because of Gus. It's his first trip to Kennywood and his father should be there."

"You're his father too, Twink," Brian grumbled, "You go."

"I am going," Justin pleaded, "But we need you to be there. You'll be glad you went, I promise you."

A trace of a smile appeared on Brian's face. "You know why you got the job of telling me about this, don't you?" he asked the kid.

"Yeah," Justin admitted, "Nobody thinks you'll go, but I was hoping you'd go if I asked you. It's not for me, Honey. It's for you and for Gus. I'm so sure you'll have a good time and you may regret it forever if you don't see Gus on his first trip to Kennywood."

"So who all's going?" Brian wanted to know.

"Everybody, Bri," Justin enumerated, "Mike and Ben, Hunter and Malcolm, Vic and Rodney, Mel and Linz, Emmett and Ted, Debbie and Carl - everybody."

"Then they don't need me there," Brian concluded.

"Gus needs you there," Justin reminded him, "And I need you there. Me and Gus will not have a good time if you're not there. Please say you'll go."

"It's not saying I'll go that bothers me," Brian said, "It's going. But let me think about it for a while. You're not going to be mad at me if I don't go, are you?"

"You know better than that, Honey," Justin replied. "I don't even want you to go if you really don't want to go, but I would love to have you there, and I'm so sure you'll enjoy watching Gus if you do."

The subject was dropped for a while. It was inevitable that it would come up again once the fireplace was lit. And that is exactly what happened.

"If we go to Kennywood, Bri," Justin resumed the discussion once they were settled in on the floor in front of the flames, "I think all we should do is spend our time in Kiddieland with Gus. I don't think we should do any of the rides ourselves."

"I'm the only one in the gang who is not a big Kennywood freak, Baby," Brian told him, "So all the others will be riding a good bit of the time. And you seem to me to be the Kennywood type too. In fact, don't I remember Daphne telling me that you guys rode the roller coaster thirty times one picnic day a few years back?"

"Yeah we did, Brian," Justin admitted, "But that was dumb. I was just a kid then. I'm too old for that foolishness now. If you decide you want to ride some things though, I'll ride with you. But not the roller coasters."

"Why not the coasters?" Brian asked

"I don't know," Justin began but was interrupted.

"Because Mikey has a great big mouth, I think," Brian finished Justin's sentence for him, "Isn't that why?"

Justin broke into a grin. "You like to blame Mikey for everything, Brian," he corrected Brian, "It wasn't Mikey this time. It was Linz. She didn't want me to be too disappointed when you refused to come with us. She was pretty sure you wouldn't. They all were."

"Coasters bother me, Sunshine," Brian confessed, "It's not that I'm scared of them. I just don't like them. And since that's what all the kids liked to ride, I developed a kind of Kennywood phobia. They all know that. I'd just be a big drag for you if I go. You'll have a better time if I stay home."

"No I won't," Justin protested, "I'll go without you but only because of Gus. If you don't go, I don't want to go either."

Justin rested his head on Brian's shoulder and the guys sat without saying anything for a while. Finally Brian pulled Justin a little closer. "If it means that much to you, I'll go," he told the kid. "I'm going for Gus but mostly for you."

"That's the greatest, Bri," Justin exulted, "You'll be glad you decided to go. I know you will."

"You knew all along that I'd go, didn't you?" Brian challenged him.

"No, I didn't," Justin responded. "I did not think you'd go, but I thought it was important enough for me to try to get you to go."

"You underestimate your powers of persuasion, Baby. But you're not completely off the hook," Brian warned him, "I want something in return."

"Like as if you couldn't have anything you want from me even if you didn't go, Sweetheart," Justin told him, "But I'm still interested in what it is you think you want."

"I want you to take me on all the roller coasters," Brian said, "And hold my hand if I get nervous."

"Geez, Brian," Justin responded, "If that's what you want, I'll probably have to try to make you nervous."

"Well I don't want you to try to make me nervous so I guess you better hold my hand whether I'm nervous or not," Brian decided.

"You drive a hard bargain, Kinney," Justin told him, "But you've got yourself a deal, and I have to admit that I think I'm coming out ahead on this one."

"That's what makes a good deal," Brian advised him, "When the sucker thinks he's coming out ahead."

Justin couldn't have been happier as he sat staring at the fake flames in the fireplace. Brian seemed contented too now that the decision had been made.

"You know what, Sunshine," Brian broke the silence, "We'll see that Gus gets to ride everything in Kiddieland, but we can also take him on the big Merry-Go-Round. That way we can ride with him. We'll hold him on one of those fancy horses that goes up and down. You might be right about me having a good time at Kennywood."

"Brian, Honey," Justin warned him, "I always get sick on the Merry-Go-Round. Things that just go around upset my stomach. Maybe I better just watch you and Gus ride or maybe Mel or Linz will go on with you."

"I don't want you to get sick, Sunshine," Brian consoled him, "So if you can't ride with us, you can watch and we'll wave at you every time we come past you. But if you decide to try to ride with us, I'll hold your hand to see if that settles your stomach."

"Holding your hand does not settle my stomach, Brian," Justin smiled, "That's not what it does at all. But since I like what holding your hand does do to me, I'll bring Pepto-Bismol tablets along and take my chances."

"Maybe we'll be able to tell Daphne that we rode the Merry-Go-Round thirty times," Brian proposed, "That would impress her, I bet."

"Brian," Justin observed, "If that's your goal, I think you better start holding my hand now."

And Brian was happy to comply.

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