Justin's last semester at Pittsburgh's Institute of Fine Arts had been a long time coming, plagued by setbacks. First there was the attack at the prom that cancelled out his whole first semester while Justin recovered from his injuries. Then there was the time off that Justin took when Brian was going through chemo, following his bout with testicular cancer. Now, after months of catching up and repeating classes, it all came down to one final project. Dean Rice had dedicated his career to the belief that the only reason art exists is to stir our emotions. Over the years he had instilled that same belief in his students. His finals were always the same. The artist was to create a masterpiece that would stir an emotion in its viewers. Each student would be given ten minutes to present his work, and to answer questions from his peers. In the end it would be the decision of the class, and Dean Rice to decide if the artist had fulfilled his assignment. While others fretted for weeks over how to transfer their emotion onto canvas, Justin was confident that he had this one in the bag. The assembly of seniors watched in quiet anticipation as their resilient classmate began his final presentation.

"In 1988 the producers of Sesame Street wanted to introduce the concept of marriage to its young viewers. In doing their research they found that the one common denominator that pre-school children understood about married people was that they slept together. Not sleep together as in having sex, I'm talking about REALLY SLEEPING TOGETHER, as in drooling, and snoring," Justin emphasized. That last sentence prompted chuckles from the class, but the snickering quickly stopped when Justin unveiled his canvas. "My final project here at PIFA is entitled, 'Matrimony', he continued. "As you can see, this is a representation of a couple embraced in slumber. You'll notice that while you are able to tell that they're sleeping, neither figure is distinguishable as male or female. I made them that way because I only want the viewer to see the embrace, because that's what children see when they think of marriage. Left to their own devices, children don't see marriage as exclusively for male and female couples. They only know that when you love someone, you sleep together. This embraced, non-gender specific couple represents my argument for change in how we've stereotyped our definition of marriage."

There was a long silence in the classroom while Justin's peers studied his painting. It was well know that following his attack, this young artist had lost the full use of his right hand. However, Justin Taylor had developed his own unique style of visual expression that he dubbed, "computerized cubism". Dean Rice walked over for a closer look at this modern take on early 20th century abstract technique. "Impressive," he approved.

"Thank you sir." Justin smiled.

Dean Rice turned to the class. "Questions, comments, anyone?"

Justin fielded the anticipated inquiries about his unusual technique, how he transferred his computerized visuals onto canvas, the type of paint selection, colors, and canvases that he used. Then he waited for the bomb to drop.

"I have a question for you, Mr. Taylor!" a woman's voice called out. "Your piece is an attempt to try to make us understand, and accept the closeness of a couple. Yet you yourself are involved in a multiple partner relationship...."

"I fail to see how my personal life is relevant here," Justin interrupted her.

"Let her finish," Dean Rice moderated.

"It's relevant because your final project is entitled 'Matrimony'. It's relevant because an artist has to be believable, and we don't believe you." The woman finished her point.

"I agree," a young man seconded her. "How can someone like you argue about equal rights when it comes to marriage when you're playing 'sister-wives' with two men? If you ask me, it's gay men like you that give the respectable ones a bad name. "

"Maybe he's Mormon!" someone called out.

Justin could feel a flash of color rush to his face as the classroom erupted in laughter.

Dean Rice attempted to regain control. "Quiet down, people! Remember this is a final exam. We're here to offer critique, not to exploit anyone," he said.

"The Bible calls marriage between a man and a woman sacred, and man laying with another man an abomination!" a male voice called out.

"Fuck you! My relationship is not an abomination!" Someone disagreed from the gay amen corner.

"Damn right!" another man seconded him.

Again, Dean Rice tried to restore order. "Please allow Mr. Taylor a chance to respond your questions. Go ahead Mr. Taylor...................................."
 

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"Brian, it's Tony again...." Cynthia announced over the speakerphone.

"Tell him I'm busy," Brian said.

Only moments later Tony came bursting through the door. "You're not busy. How can you be busy at a time like this?" he said.

Brian rounded his desk, and greeted his husband with a kiss. "Tony, you're making me crazy. You do know that, right? Don't you have something you can do? Why don't you go build something, or better yet, go annoy the workers over at Camelot."

Tony ignored the sarcasm. "I thought maybe Justin had made it here. Surely his final must be over by now?"

"Don't worry, daddy. I'm sure our boy is fine. If something had gone wrong he would have called," Brian assured him.

"Would he?" Tony doubted.

"Of course he would. Calm down. It's only a final exam." Brian returned to his seat and the collection of photographs spread across his desk.

"That's easy for you to say, Mr. Penn State. I didn't go to an ivy league college on an academic scholarship. I barely finished high school," Tony said. "I had to claw my way to the top bussing tables, waiting on tables. Hell, I thought I was on top of the world when I made it to the front desk of The Plaza. That was before I found out that the damned place was in bankruptcy."

"That sucks. So what did you do?" Brian asked.

Tony paused for a moment to choose his words. "I persuaded an investor to buy it for me," he said. "In less than two years I turned 'The Plaza Hotel' around. By the third year my baby had earned its first five star rating, and Forbes's had me listed as one of their up and coming entrepreneurs to watch."

"So who was your mystery investor?" Brian asked.

"Hey." Justin sashayed through the door.

"Justin, where have you been. We've been worried to death..."Tony said.

"No. Tony's been worried to death," Brian made the correction. "So, how did things go?"

"Well, I remembered what you told me back when Daphne and I wanted to start a gay-straight alliance in high school. You said that sex sells. I used those same principles when I presented my final project today," Justin said.

Brian sat back in his chair. "So what happened?" he grinned.

"You know how crazy breeders are about their sanctity of marriage thing. I knew the quickest way to get a charge out of them was to mention the words marriage and gays in the same breath. Not only that, I knew that by throwing Tony into the mix it would only add to the drama." Justin smiled.

"What drama?" Tony asked.

"I reminded the Bible thumpers of the exceptionally high infidelity rate among so-called monogamous, heterosexual couples, and I went on to suggest that all marriages should include at least one extra person to keep things interesting," Justin said.

"Jesus Christ." Tony slumped down into a nearby chair.

"That's my boy!" Brian rose from his seat, and hurried over to hug Justin.

"I knew you'd be proud of me, Brian. By the time I was done defending my painting, and my position on gay marriage, the queers and breeders were practically throwing chairs at each other. It was great!" Justin smile widened.

"Did you hear that, Tony?" Brian hugged him tighter.

"Jesus Christ," Tony said again.

"So where was Dean Rice when all of this was going on?" Brian asked.

"He was trying to get his classroom back under control!" Justin laughed.

While Brian and Justin were nearly pissing in their pants, Tony waited for the answer he had been stressing over all day. "Justin, princess, did you pass?"

Justin stopped laughing long enough to reassure his worried lion. "Of course I passed. The assignment was to create a masterpiece that stirred an emotion. The emotion I chose was outrage," he said.

Brian watched as Justin wrapped his arm around Tony's neck, and kissed him. For a moment, his mind flashed back to the scared little blond that caught his eye standing under a street light on Liberty Avenue. There was no doubt about it. His baby was all grown up now.

 

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