It’s All Relative

 Chapter 8

“I can’t believe you’re letting me drive.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? You drive all the time.”

“That’s the SUV, or as you’ve dubbed it, my art and kid hauling monstrosity.”

“The name fits.” Brian sat back in the passenger seat of the Corvette and smirked.

“It may fit but that still doesn’t explain why I’m driving your precious third child.”

“Let’s just say that I’m still waiting to hear from Cynthia, and she promised to call as soon as her sources in Philadelphia got back to her.”

“When the fuck did she become your personal spy? I mean I know she’s always had contacts in other businesses and ad agencies, but this is different.”

“When Deb and Carl fixed her up with a hot, young, straight detective on the Pittsburgh Police force.”

“They’re still together?!”

“It’s been almost a year.”

“Cynthia attached. That’s almost as absurd as hearing Brian Kinney is attached.”

“And loving every fucking minute.” Brian rubbed his hand up and down Justin’s thigh. “I mean that literally.”

“If you keep doing that I may crash your precious third child into a tree.”

Brian pulled his hand away and stared at his cell phone. “Maybe this fucking thing is broken.” He was about to dial Cynthia when the phone began to vibrate. “Kinney...yes, Mikey, we’re on our way. Sunshine just turned onto Stepford Fag Lane...I was kidding, Michael. Relax, we’re pulling up in front of the house now.” Brian snapped the phone shut, disconnecting.

“I guess it works.”

“Cynthia had better get back to me soon or she’s fired.”

Justin tilted his head and glared at his husband.

“Okay, I won’t fire her, but I’ll make her work with that bitch from Eyeconics. She hates her.”

Justin shook his head and locked the car doors. “Let’s get the fuck inside. I have no idea what you’re planning, but since this is really our dinner, I don’t blame Michael for getting anxious.”

The two walked towards the front door. Before they made it to the top step, Ben opened the door and ushered them inside, taking their jackets. “How are you both holding up?”

Justin whispered, “One of us is holding up better than the other. But I can understand that.”

“I heard you, Sunshine, you don’t have to whisper.” Brian turned towards Ben. “I’ll be fine, Professor, once we put Helen Martin in her place.”

“Brian, I hope you know what you’re doing. You don’t want to alienate her if she’s doing her job by-the-book.”

“Maybe not, but there’s something about her that doesn’t ring true. Once I hear from Cynthia, I’ll have most of the pieces to the puzzle.”

“Cynthia?”

“Never mind, Ben. Brian is playing undercover spy games with his assistant.”

“Why don’t you both come join me in the living room? Michael is setting up the last of the hors d’oeuvres and will be with us in just a second.”

Immediately after the sentence come out of his mouth Michael entered the living room with a huge platter of all sorts of pick-up foods and toothpicks.

“Hey, how are you two doing?”

“Would everyone please stop asking that? We’re not dying, just trying to make sure I can adopt our kid.”

Michael looked at Justin and rolled his eyes. “So, how about a drink?”

“That sounds like a great idea, honey. Why don’t I take out a bottle of that chardonnay we picked up last week?”

Justin wrinkled his brows. “Brian, maybe we shouldn’t have any alcohol tonight.”

“Look, Justin, we’re all adults with no kids around, having an adult evening. The wine sounds great, Professor.”

Brian pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and opened it, closed it and then glared at it.

“If you stare at it, Cynthia won’t call any sooner.”

“Fine.” He reset the phone to ring aloud and placed it back in his pants.

Ben and Michael returned carrying the bottle of wine, a bucket filled with ice, and five glasses. No sooner had the wine been poured than the doorbell rang.

Brian’s shoulders immediately tensed. Justin took his hand, squeezed gently, and leaned into his husband to give him a chaste kiss on the lips. “Everything will work out. You’ll see.”

Brian drew his lips inward and nodded. He was still worried and Cynthia’s lack of contact didn’t help. “I hope you’re right, but I have my doubts.”

The two rose from their seats on the sofa when Helen entered the room. “Why, Michael, I had no idea that I wasn’t the only one invited to this getting-to-know-my-older-cousin dinner.”

Michael stood still, trying to force a smile. “Surprise.”

“Hello, Ms. Martin, it’s a pleasure to see you again under much more comfortable circumstances.” Brian snorted watching his husband turn on the country club charm.

“It’s a pleasure to see you too, Mr. Taylor.”

“Can we dispense with the last names for this evening?”

“An excellent idea, Professor.” Brian extended his hand to Helen. “Please call me Brian and this is Justin...at least for tonight.”

“I’d be happy to get to know you on a more familiar basis. I’m Helen.” After she finished shaking hands, she looked from Brian to Justin. “I really am on Jessica’s side. That’s my job no matter what I’ve been told in the past or about the past.”

Ben offered Helen a glass of wine. She stared directly at Brian, “Am I on the clock tonight or is this truly the casual evening I was lead to believe?”

“Casual to a T, Helen. Grab the wine and enjoy it with the rest of us.”

She turned to Ben and took the glass. “Thank you.”

Helen made her way to the armchair at the end of the sofa and sat down. The rest of the group followed suit. There was an awkward few minutes when no one seemed to know what to say.

Of all people, Michael broke the silence. “Helen, I don’t know what your parents told you about me, Ma, Uncle Vic, and Brian, but we really have lead a pretty normal life.”

Justin hid a chuckle by stuffing a pastry-wrapped mini hot dog in his mouth.

Michael glared at him and continued, “Sure, we’ve had our moments -- every family does -- but we all turned out okay. In fact, Ben and I have two kids of our own. Hunter is in college. We adopted him when he was seventeen. And then we have Jenny Rebecca, JR for short. She’s my natural child...”

Helen stared at her cousin, eyes wide open.

“She’s my natural child in that I donated the sperm. Ben became a third party adoptive parent to her last year.”

Helen nodded and took a few sips of her drink. “Do you have any pictures?”

Brian laughed, “If you go into the front hallway, it’s like a fuc... it’s a photo tribute to the four of them.”

Helen laughed and stood up, following Ben to the wall of family pictures.

“I don’t know, Brian. She seems okay -- almost relaxed with us.”

“Justin, there’s something that woman is hiding, and I just can’t put my finger on it. But I’d bet Kinnetik that Helen Martin isn’t all she represents herself to be.”

Justin gripped his glass tightly. “I hope whatever it is, it’ll work in our favor.”

“It has to, Sunshine.” Brian kissed Justin, calming them both.

Ben and Helen returned to the room. “Helen was just telling me that she’s looking for an apartment somewhere in our neck of the woods.”

Brian took a quick gulp of his wine. “Why would you be doing that if you’re only here temporarily? I thought you’d be staying at a hotel.”

Helen laughed. “I mentioned that I was helping with the huge quantity of cases in the area. I never said they expected the cases or the work to diminish, so I accepted a transfer.”

Justin’s shock reverberated in his tone of voice, “So, you want to move here -- to Pittsburgh?”

“Sure, I started out here, and there are many lovely neighborhoods like this one.”

All four men were silenced once again.

Ben picked up the wine bucket, “Why don’t we all sit down in the dining room. Dinner is ready.”

The group made their way to the table and took their seats. Less than a minute after they settled the doorbell rang.

“Michael, I’m not expecting anyone else, are you?”

“No.”

Brian rubbed his hand over his face, annoyed at the interruption as well as the recent revelation. “Well, maybe one of you should find out who’s there.” The edge to his voice was apparent.

Michael opened the door and in barged Melanie, accompanied by a sleepy JR, holding her teddy bear and a blanket.

“Melanie, what are you doing here?” It was obvious that Michael was as surprised to see her as was the rest of the group.

“Ants!”

Brian combed his fingers through his hair. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“My apartment building seems to be infested by ants, so they’re setting off one of those exterminating bombs, and we all had to get out for a couple of days. Our clothes are in the car.”

Ben chimed in, “Why didn’t you call first? Not that we’re not happy to have you stay as long as you need.”

“We only had a few hours notice, and JR was being less than cooperative deciding what toys to bring.”

Michael immediately approached his daughter and picked her up, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, Honeybun, you and Mommy can stay with your daddies as long as you want. We’d love to have you.”

“Love you, Daddy. Sleepy.”

“I bet you are.” Michael turned to Ben. “Can you make the introductions while I bring her upstairs?”

Ben looked at everyone around the room. “Sorry, Helen. This is Melanie Marcus. She’s JR’s natural mother. Melanie, this is Helen Martin, Michael’s somewhat long-lost cousin.”

Melanie offered her hand, gazing at the tiny female Grassi family relative. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

As the two shook hands, staring at one another, Brian’s cell phone rang. He immediately opened it, nodding at Justin’s mouthed, “Cynthia.”

“No shit!”


[TBC]
 

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