Close To Home IV

Chapter 4

“What’s going on?” Justin mumbled as he rolled over.  Some noise had caused him to rouse from a deep sleep.  He reached for Brian, but the bed was empty beside him.  “Brian?” he called, trying to keep panic from his voice and his mind and his heart.  He knew how unsettled Brian had been about their impending move to their new house.  Brian wouldn’t have run away, would he?  “Brian!” Justin called louder, sitting up and listening for a reply.

“Down here,” Brian’s voice replied.

“Where?”

“I was in the storage locker, just checking if we had everything ready for the movers.”  Brian wheeled himself in through the loft door. 

Justin could catch glimpses of him through the glass partitions.  He let his breathing slow down.  “What time is it?” he asked.

“Seven.”

“Why are you up so early?”

“The movers will be here around eight.  I wanted to make sure everything was ready to go.”

Justin smiled.  That sounded really positive.  Maybe Brian was making peace with leaving the loft and moving to a new house and a new life with him.  Justin could only hope.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Justin asked as he stretched.

“I thought you needed your beauty sleep.”

Justin snorted.  “I seem to recall that you were the one who needed beauty sleep, not me.”

“Nobody cares what I look like,” Brian said from the bottom of the ramp up to the bedroom.

“I care.  You should have woke me.”

“Well, you’re awake now.  Want some breakfast?”

Justin smiled at Brian.  “I need to pee, but I could eat.”

“I’ll cook.”

“Cook?”

“Cereal and the last of the milk.”

“Great!” Justin laughed.

“And maybe some toast if we have any bread left.”

“I can hardly wait,” Justin snarked as he got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom.  “These highly refined culinary skills of yours are a revelation.”

“Twat!” Brian called after him.  “You haven’t tasted anything yet.”

When Justin finished peeing, he decided he should grab a quick shower.  He did, and then threw on some clothes.  He joined Brian at the table.

“This looks yummy,” Justin said as he sat down.

“Only the finest of Cheerios for my … partner.”  Justin beamed at Brian.  “And some toast with the last bits from the jar of jam.”

“What more could a man want?” Justin grinned as he took a bite of toast.

“I figured we’d need our strength for later in the day.”

“Yeah, it will be a long day,” Justin mused thoughtfully.  “But I think we know pretty much where everything is going to go.  That should make it simpler.”

“And we have lots of people coming to help us,” Brian threw in.

“All your friends.”

Brian frowned.  “What about your friends?” he asked curiously.

“I … I don’t really have any friends, except for you … and Daphne, of course,” Justin replied with a smile that didn’t quite register as true.  “She’s coming.”

“No friends?” Brian queried further.  He knew he had never met any of Justin’s friends other than Daphne, but he hadn’t really thought much about it.  Since Justin was an artist, he tended to work alone and in his loft.  He never saw all that much of other people.

“When I left St. James, Daphne was my only friend.  There wasn’t one of those assholes from school that I ever wanted to see again.”

“I felt much the same way.  Michael is my only friend from high school.”

“I guess we have a lot in common,” Justin replied.

Brian looked at Justin.  Maybe they did have a lot in common, but it seemed like Justin hadn’t had much of a life before Brian met him.  But maybe that was a topic for another time.

“We should strip the bed,” Brian said as he finished his coffee.

“Do you think our new bed will be delivered to the house today?”

“You mean like the furniture store promised?”

“Yeah, they said it would be there today for sure.”

“If it isn’t, there will be hell to pay.  I’m not sleeping on the fucking floor,” Brian declared.

“I guess we could have taken this bed,” Justin said looking up into the bedroom.

“No, it belongs with the loft.  We need a new bed to start our new life … together.”

Justin delivered one of those smiles that always took Brian’s breath away.  God, he loved this man.

Just then the buzzer went off.

“That’s either the movers or Trey,” Brian said as he wheeled himself over to the intercom and pressed the button to open the front door of the loft building.

“I’ll get the bed,” Justin said as he headed up the steps.

“Hey, Trey, you’re the early bird today,” Brian said as Trey pushed up the gate on the elevator.

“I thought I’d get those tubs of sand out of the way before the movers arrived.  How was the beach picnic?”

“Sandy,” Brian replied with a little grin.  “And … fun.”

Trey smiled back at him.  “Then it was worth the effort of arranging all that?”

“That would be a definite yes.”

“Great,” Trey replied as he started to push the tubs on wheels into the elevator.

“Need some help?” Justin asked.  He was shoving the linen from the bed into a duffel bag as he came into the main part of the loft.

“Yeah, want to help me get these into my van.  They’re kind of heavy.”

“Sure,” Justin said following Trey onto the elevator. 

As they disappeared from Brian’s view, he turned his chair so that he could look at his loft.  Except that it wasn’t his loft anymore.  It belonged to new people.  He wheeled further into the room and looked up the steps to the bedroom.  He had fucked a lot of guys there, but only one guy really mattered, and he would be back in just a minute.

So much of Brian’s life had taken place within these walls.  It had been his fuck pad, his lair, and then his sanctuary after his accident.  He turned the chair to look at the kitchen.  He had never used it much, but the fridge was good for beer and poppers.  He smiled to himself.

He looked over at the living room and the computer.  He remembered Michael and him lying on the rug eating fast food and laughing.  Debbie had visited him many times with advice, whether wanted or not.  So many things had happened in the loft, including his first real party, the one he and Justin had hosted.

His whole life now was so different from what it used to be, but that was okay, because Justin had made it all new again.  The loft was the past and the new house was the future.

“Brian, the movers are here,” Justin said as he stepped off the elevator with three large men.

“That’s good.  I’m ready,” Brian replied.  And at that moment he knew he was ready … to leave the loft behind and start his new life … with Justin.

*****

Some time later Brian and Justin pulled up at the new house.  Brian stopped the car in the street and got his wheelchair out of the backseat.  As he lifted himself into his chair, he heard a door slam.

“Mister Brian, Mister Justin!” Dougie shouted as he ran down his driveway and out to the street.

“Hey, you stay on the sidewalk,” Brian ordered, and Dougie immediately backed up.  “Don’t let me catch you running out into the street without looking to see what’s coming,” Brian chastised him.

“Sorry,” Dougie said hanging his head.  “I’ve been waiting all morning for you.  I forgot.”

Justin smiled at the two people beside him.  Brian would make such a great father.  He was very good with Dougie.  And now that they had this house, maybe Mel and Lindsay would allow them to have Gus more often.  That was what he hoped anyway.

“Hi, Dougie,” Justin said.

“Hi,” Dougie replied.  “Can I help you guys move in?  It is today, isn’t it?”  He looked hopefully at Justin, since Brian seemed to be rather mad at him at the moment.

The moving van pulled up to the house and backed into the driveway.

“We better unlock the house,” Brian said as he wheeled himself up the driveway.

“Can I help?” Dougie asked, running alongside Brian’s chair, not having got an answer from Justin.  “Please, Mister Brian, can I help?”

Brian heaved a sigh.  “Follow me,” he ordered as he headed up the ramp to the front door.  With a big grin on his face Dougie followed.  Brian opened the front door.  “Run around to the side door,” he said to Dougie.  “Unlock it for the movers.”

“Sure, Mister Brian,” Dougie said happily as he ran through the kitchen.

“You have a major fan there,” Justin laughed.

Brian frowned.  “I can’t imagine why.  Anyway. What the fuck are we going to do with him all day to keep him busy?”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

“Me?”

“He’s your fan.”

Brian shook his head as Dougie raced back and the movers started bringing furniture out of the van.

“Stay behind me, Dougie,” Brian instructed as the men moved back and forth carrying all kinds of boxes and furniture.

“Okay, Mister Brian, but if you need me to anything, just tell me.”

Brian had to smile.  “I will, Dougie,” he promised.

Other family members began to arrive.  They would help unbox everything and move furniture if it wasn’t left where Brian and Justin wanted it.  They all came streaming in, the Liberty gang and Daphne and Jennifer and Trey and Cynthia.  They had all wanted to show their support for Brian and Justin by coming and helping with the move.  They all seemed to know that this was a momentous occasion for Brian, and they had all learned to love and respect Justin.

Finally Jasper came in carrying his battered old toolbox in case there was anything that needed to be fixed or assembled.  “Looks like things are moving right along,” he observed as he noted people opening boxes and washing dishes.  The movers were still carrying in boxes and pieces of furniture.  It looked like a well oiled machine.

“Anything you want me to do?” Jasper asked Brian.

“We’re expecting our new bed to arrive anytime.  When it does could you make sure they assemble it properly and place it correctly for my lift bars that you installed?  It needs to be anchored into the wall so it won’t move.”

“Happy to, Brian.  I remember what we talked about.  I’ll go have a look and make sure how we should orientate everything.”

“Okay, and thanks.”

“Hey, anybody got another box opener?” Ted called.  He was struggling to rip through the tape that held a box closed.

“You need more time at the gym, Schmidt,” Brian called, earning a glare from Ted.

“I have one in my tool box,” Jasper replied.  He set down his toolbox and pulled out a rather ratty looking old box cutter.

“You might need to invest in a new one of those sometime soon,” Brian laughed.

“Old and trusty,” Jasper replied.

“More like old and rusty,” Brian snorted.  “I’ll take that over to Ted.  You go have a look at the setup in the bedroom.  I think the furniture truck just pulled up,” Brian advised him.  Brian wheeled himself over to Ted and handed him the box cutter.

“Thanks,” Ted said.  “You sure this will cut anything?” he asked, looking at the old knife.

“Try it and see,” Brian ordered.

Ted ran it through the thick tape that held the box closed.  “Like buttah,” he laughed.

“I have a feeling all Jasper’s tools may be old, but they’re well broken in and very effective.”

“You could be right,” Ted said as he dropped the box cutter back into Jasper’s toolbox.

“One box, that’s all you’re good for?” Brian teased.

“I know where the cutter is if I need it,” Ted replied indignantly.

Brian shook his head.  Ted was just too easy.  He started pulling computer desk items out of the box.

“That box needs to be in the study,” Brian said as he noted the contents.

“Right!  They must have set it down here by mistake.”  Ted picked up the box and headed for the other room.

Brian saw the furniture people coming through the front door.  “Over here,” he called.  Brian headed over to the hallway that would take them to the bedroom.  “There’s someone in there who will show you where the bed needs to go.”

“Great,” the guy said.  “We’ll bring in the rest of the bedroom suite and then set everything up.”

“Go for it,” Brian told him. 

He backed up to get out of their way when he realized his chair wouldn’t move any further.  The chair had run up against Jasper’s toolbox which was open with all kinds of tools sticking out, including the box cutter that Ted had just dropped in it.  Brian jammed at the wheels on his chair and finally it moved.  He heard a rip as he did so.  He looked down at his leg and saw a slice in the leg of his favorite jeans. 

“Shit!” he reacted. 

Then he remembered that he needed to be careful of cuts and scrapes, especially since he couldn’t feel them.  He pulled up the leg of his jeans and looked for blood.  He breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t see any.

“Coming through,” the furniture store men said as they carried out all kinds of packing material.  Brian watched them go out the front door.

“Where do you want this box, Brian?” Lindsay asked.  “It’s labeled ‘vases’.”

“Hm,” Brian said.  “Don’t open it.  Put it in the laundry room until we can figure out what to do with everything.”

“Sure,” she said cheerfully.

“Where’s Gus today?  I meant to ask you earlier.”

“Dusty took him.  She was said she’d babysit him, and then take Gus and her kids to the park for the afternoon.”

“You could have brought him,” Brian told her.

“Yeah, right!  This is just the place for a baby.”

“Maybe not,” Brian had to admit.

The movers continued their work long after the furniture store people had left.  By one o’clock they had almost everything off the truck.

“I’m bushed,” Justin said as he leaned on Brian’s shoulder. 

“I think we should feed these people,” Brian said.  “I could even eat.”

“Yeah, right after bushed, I’m hungry.”

“Should we order pizza?”

“Already got a recommendation for the best pizza in the area,” Justin said smugly.

“And how did you get that?”

“Dougie.”

Brian laughed.  “Undoubtedly a pizza connoisseur.  Where is he anyway?  I haven’t seen him in ages.”

“There wasn’t much for him to do, so I suggested he go ask his mother about pizza places.  She sent over a takeout menu and then he went home.”

Brian frowned.  That didn’t sound like Dougie.  He always wanted to be in the middle of everything.  “I wonder if his mother is mad about him spending so much time over here.  Maybe he has chores he was supposed to do.”

Justin shrugged.  “Don’t know, but I’m going to order pizza.”

“Order about ten by the looks of this hungry bunch,” Brian laughed.

“Will do,” Justin replied.

Brian shook his head.  He hadn’t meant literally ten pizzas, but as he looked around at all the people who were helping them, maybe that wasn’t too far off what they’d need.

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