The One Drop Rule

"It was Cynthia, wasn't it? Of course it had to be her. She's the one who mailed the invitations, and she's the one who never forgave me for making her believe that you wanted her. She's been out to get my ass every since." Brian paced Tony's sun deck.

"You shouldn't have done that, but no it wasn't Cynthia." Tony took a sip of his decaf, and scanned his morning paper.

"Then it was Theodore! He's such an social whore. He'd sell his own mother into slavery for a chance to hobnob with Pittsburgh's A-list of gay businessmen." Brian guessed again.

"No, it wasn't Ted either." Tony turned the page.

"Then it must have been Justin!"

"What about me?" Justin stepped out onto the deck, and over to Tony for a kiss. "Good morning handsome."

"Good morning Princess." Tony briefly looked up from his paper.

Justin then walked over to Brian, and gave him a peck on the cheek as well. "And what are you ranting about this morning?" he chuckled.

"He's still trying to figure out who sent me the invitation to the re-opening of Babylon." Tony scanned the financial section.

Justin sat down next to Tony, and poured himself a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice from the pitcher in the center of the table. "Brian, I already told you that it wasn't me." He reminded him obsessed lover.

Tony removed his reading glasses, and closed his newspaper. "Will you give it up Brian? I told you I'm not going to tell you who sent the invitation." he said.

Brian stopped pacing, and slid into the seat on the other side of Tony. "But that's not fair. If we're going to have a relationship it has to be based on honesty, and trust." He batted his hazel eyes.

"Nice try." Tony smiled.

"Shit!"

"I'm with Brian on this one Tony. I don't understand what the big secret is." Justin interjected.

"There is no big secret Princess. I just gave my word that I wouldn't tell, that's all. Christ, this coffee taste like mud." Tony pushed his cup away.

Brian thought for a moment. "Mel, and Lindsey, it must be them! Lesbians are always trying to pair off everyone." he continued.

"I'm quite sure that with a new baby in the house the last thing Melanie, and Lindsey have time to think about is a matchmaking conspiracy against you. By the way, how is Jenny Rebecca?" Tony changed the subject.

"You should see her, she's beautiful. Melanie wants me to do a portrait of her when we get back." Justin smiled.

"Lindsey says she hardly ever cries. That's the most important thing. Babies are like a goddamn Bose sound system. They make you wonder how anything so small can have so much volume. " Brian made the comparison.

"And how is Gus handling his new little sister?" Tony continued.

"Just like any other man, he doesn't understand women. As far as he's concerned if she can't play ball, or video games, what good is she?" Brian smiled.

"How come you never had kids Tony?" Justin asked.

"Out gay men fathering children is not of my generation." Tony said. "In my day only the ones who lived their lives in the closet hid behind a wife, and kids."

"What about now that times have changed, and gay men are exercising their right to be fathers just like any other man? You're only 47yrs old Tony, you still lots of time. With your money I'm sure you could easily find a surrogate mother to carry your baby." Justin suggested.

"No, I don't think so." Tony frowned. "I don't think I'd make a good father. I don't have any parenting skills."

"You mean like Brian? Who would have thought that he would have turned out to be such a great dad?" Justin said.

"Yeah right." Brian said sarcastically, then reached over to pour himself a glass of orange juice.

"It's true, Gus is crazy about you." Justin assured him.

"Or maybe he's just plain old crazy. You know insanity runs in my family. Being raised in the house with Joannie, and Jack Kinney, what a fucking nightmare. It's a wonder I didn't turn out to be an axe murder." Brian took a sip of his juice.

"It couldn't have been that bad, at lease you had a mother, and a father. I never knew my parents. When I was born I left the hospital, and went straight into foster care." Tony said.

"How did that happen? Healthy, Caucasian babies have always been a premium in this country. Why weren't you ever adopted?" Justin wondered.

"Maybe because I wasn't a healthy Caucasian baby." Tony said.

"So you were a sickly kid?" Brian asked.

"Not exactly." Tony said. "When I became emancipated at sixteen I needed a copy of my birth certificate to go look for work. Under the section for birth mother it says Caucasian. The section for birth father says Negro. Under the "one drop rule", that makes me black, or "colored" as it was called in those days."

Justin and Brian sat momentarily stunned. They both looked at Tony, then over at each other, then back to Tony again. Brian looked down at the imprint of Tony's dick underneath his robe. "Well that sure explains a lot." he said.

"Brian!" Justin frowned. "Tony what are you talking about? What one drop rule? I've never heard of that before."

Tony attempted to explain. "The one drop rule is a historical colloquialism that describes the racial standard for white people in the United States. Under the "one drop rule" any person who has one drop of non-white blood in them is to be classified as "colored", or "others" as we're more politely called today."

"But that doesn't make any sense. I'm looking at you, your complexion is dark, but it's not dark-dark like a black person's. When I look at you I see a white male." Justin said.

"I'm sure you do, as does everyone else." Tony said. "My guess is that my father was very fair skinned. Mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, whatever he was it really doesn't matter. Any child I produce could very well reach back into my ancestry, and come out dark skinned, and looking very much African American. So now you know why I wasn't adopted. No self respecting white family in the 50's wanted to run the risk of having black grandchildren."

Brian reached over, and stroked his fingers through Tony's hair. "Now that you mention it, those waves are kind of tight. See how they curl around my fingers?"

"Fuck you Brian." Tony pushed Brian's hand away.

"Ooooh, any time Mandingo, any time." Brian purred.

"Brian, you have a telephone call!" Mary called from the patio door.

Brian went to take his call leaving Tony, and Justin to continue their conversation. "Have you ever tried to find your parents Tony?" Justin asked.

"No. Why should I? They obviously didn't want me, or they would have kept me." Tony said.

"Maybe they couldn't keep you. You've already said how important being of pure blood meant at that time. A young white woman carrying a black man's baby in the late 50s. Maybe they were forced to give you up. Maybe their parents forced them for their own protection." Justin suspected.

"Their protection, what about my protection? I would have been better off if my mother had just drowned me in the river like slaves use to do to prevent their babies from being sold. I'd never give my kid to the state. There's nothing worst than being treated like a number, and never knowing when, or where you're going to be moved, or what kind of horror awaits you once you get there." Tony said.

"Do you have horror stories to tell Tony?" Justin asked cautiously.

Tony's brown eyes momentarily drifted off in thought, and for the first time Justin noticed his stoic lion shift uncomfortably in his seat. "That's all ancient now history Princess. Let's talk about something else." Tony abruptly ended the conversation.

Justin wisely switched to a lighter topic. "I saw you and Brian on the balcony last night." he said.

"What?"

"You heard me. I said I saw you and Brian on the balcony last night." The young man repeated himself. "Tony you were suppose to wait six weeks. Your heart is barely healed, and you're already pushing it to its limits."

"I'd hardly call one blowjob pushing my heart to its limits." Tony tried not to laugh.

"We're not talking about just any old blowjob, we're talking about a BRIAN KINNEY blowjob. They're not for the faint of heart." Justin reminded him.

"Oh no. Please stop it Princess, don't make me laugh. That makes my chest hurt!" Tony warned.

"It's funny you weren't worried about your chest last night." Justin continued to fuss. "What if you busted something loose in there? Your heart could have exploded!"

Tony tried harder to contain himself. "Oh God!" He finally braced his arm across his chest, and broke out into a loud belly laugh.

"It serves you right." Justin continued. "I should report you to Dr. Sharma. I should call him up, and tell him that his patient is sneaking blowjobs."

"Stop it!" Tony doubled over, and laughed even harder.

Soon Justin joined in the levity. The two were nearly pissing in their pants when Brian stepped back out onto the deck. "Baby, I have to go home." Brian said.

"What?" Justin tried to catch his breath.

"I have to get back to Pittsburg right away." Brian made himself clearer.

Tony was still laughing when he looked over at Brian. "What's the matter Precious?" he asked.

"That was Theodore on the phone. I have to get back to Pittsburg right away. Jenny Rebecca is dead." Brian said.

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NEXT WEEK : The Funeral

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