Empty Nest
July 2024
“Where is he?!”
Emmett demanded to know as he stomped passed the receptionist at Kinnetik. All she could do was point toward Brian’s office as she took a tissue to daub her tearing eyes. Emmett had aged well; his hair may have thinned a little but he kept fit and kept his flamboyant fashion sense.
The receptionist had never ever seen that particular shade of green worn as a suit before.
“Brian, are we friends?” Emmett practically screamed as he entered the office.
“Yes,” he said from behind his monitor. “Whoa! What the fuck are you wearing?” Brian asked as he looked up from his computer and saw his friend’s ensemble. “And how the hell are you allowed to walk the streets like that? I think you’ve violated every fashion code imaginable.”
“Like what? You mean this old thing? I needed to wear something to brighten my mood.”
“It’s bright, all right. Now why are you here trying to make my eyes bleed?”
“My son wants to leave me!”
“What?”
“He wants to move out. Not only that, he wants to live with Candy! I know they’ve loved each other since the day they first met, but they are babies! They can’t be old enough to live on their own. I’m not old enough to have my baby live on his own.”
“Gus is only a few years older and he’s living in New York with his boyfriend. They grow up fast, Emm,” Brian said gently. Brian was still feeling the loss of his son not being close by and he was apprehensive of the day when Bree would step out on her own.
“I haven’t had enough time with him,” Emmett said softly. “I don’t want to lose him, not yet.”
“You won’t lose him. What does Lindsay say?”
“Lindsay?”
“You did tell her.”
“I, uh...” While Emmett hesitated, Brian took out his cell.
“Linds, it’s me. Do you know anything about Candy and Richie moving out and living together? Uh huh. He’s in my office having a meltdown. Are you all right with this? Okay, and where do they intend to live? They have this all planned out, don’t they?” Brian said as Emmett stared intensely at him. “Where are the kids now? We’ll meet you there.” Brian hung up then stared at his friend.
“They’re at the diner,” Brian said.
“Well let’s go!” Emmett all but shouted. Brian shut down his computer and slowly cleared his desk. “Move it! Or I’ll leave without you.” Brian smirked as he debated being seen with Emmett and his suit.
“Oh well, fuck you!” Emmett shouted when he figured out why Brian was procrastinating. Emmett turned to stomp his way out again. Brian waited a few moments to plan his strategy then ran out to catch up with his friend.
“Hey, Emmett, wait up!” Brian shouted as he sprinted down the alley. As he threw his arm around his friend’s shoulder, Emmett pulled away.
“I’m not speaking to you,” Emmett said as he kept on walking.
“Don’t be like that, Emm. You’re one of my best friends and I want to help,” Brian sincerely said.
Emmett stopped and stared into Brian’s eyes. “Okay,” he said with a toothy grin. His anger all forgotten. “What am I going to do about my baby?”
“He’s no longer a baby; he’s nineteen and he’s in love. From what Lindsay says, Candy loves him back. They want to live together.”
“But how?”
“Let’s you, me and Lindsay sit down and figure it all out,” Brian said as he guided Emmett into the Liberty diner.
*****
They were in the loft; Brian, Lindsay, Mel, Emmett, ‘Nina,’ and Candy were all sitting at the table. Drew would have been there but he was away on Ironmen business. Melanie was there because a possible rent contract was involved. Nina and Candy were sitting close, holding hands.
“Ladies and ah, ladies,” Brian snarked as he gazed around his dining room table. Lindsay, Nina and Candy giggled. Emmett scowled while Mel just rolled her eyes.
“We are gathered here today,” Brian teased.
“Brian Kinney!” Emmett snapped. Brian held up his hands in surrender.
“This is how I see it, the kids want to live on their own,” Brian stated.
“We want to live together,” Nina clarified.
“Together,” Brian repeated. “Emmett thinks you’re too young.”
“And...” Emmett began.
“And that financially you can’t afford it,” Brian stated.
“And?” Emmett nodded.
“And that he wants more time with you,” Brian stated gently as he looked at Nina. Emmett sniffled a few times then he threw his arms around his son.
Brian waited until his guests got themselves under control before he continued.
“Let's start with the money. Do you kids have a reliable source of income?” Brian asked. “Candy?”
Candy took a deep breath then proceeded to inform the adults of her sources of income which included her work on Rage. Lacy had passed the legacy she inherited from Justin on to Candy. Lacy now devoted herself to the diner, and while she hadn’t given up on art, it had become more of a hobby. Candy, on the other hand, was making a very nice living from her work on Rage as well as her other art work that Lindsay was promoting at the art gallery.
“Richie, excuse me, Nina?” Brian turned his sights on the cross dressing young man that Emmett had adopted. Nina handed Brian a portfolio of the fashion designs she had developed, the income from the consignments she made and her future plans for her own designer label.
Brian gave Melanie a poignant look as he handed the portfolio to her. Mel flipped through the book and nodded. Kinnetik had designs on the designer.
“Here’s how I see it,” Brian began. “You’re both level headed, intelligent and quite business savvy in spite of your unique fashion sense.”
Candy was Goth and wore very heavy black eye makeup, while Richie in his Nina persona favored pastels, blond wigs and feminine garb.
“Then again, I’m not the one who favors clothing that comes with warning labels,” Brian snarked at Emmett. “Be that as it may,” Brian said as he raised his hands to ward off any Emmett attack, “I have to admit you kids have your shit together.”
Emmett gasped and was fearing that his son for only a short time, would soon leave to lead his own life.
“Both of you are building lives and careers here in our fair burg. Do you intend to leave it?” Brian asked the kids.
“No,” came the response.
“We were hoping to find a nice apartment somewhere close,” Nina said.
“I even spoke with Mrs. Harris hoping she could find us something affordable but we haven’t seen anything we really like,” Candy admitted with frustration.
“Well, kids, I think I have a solution that will make most of us happy,” Brian said knowing that Emmett would have the loudest objections. “There is a vacant apartment on the third floor of the Tremont building. I was going to offer it to Nick and Hunter since it’s bigger than theirs and they’ve been living here for a long time. I thought it was only fair. The boys looked it over but don’t want to move. The apartment has enough space for an artist and fashion designer to work comfortably without stepping on each other, and John would be willing to make alterations with permission from the owner. And I give my permission,” Brian said smugly.
“So what do you think? Do you think you can handle being a tenant there?” Brian asked the kids.
Emmett held his breath as Nina and Candy exchanged looks.
“Yes!” the kids shouted as they jumped up to give their benefactor a warm hug then shared hugs with everyone in the room including Emmett who was now crying tears of joy.
“Get off of me, you fucking fairy,” Brian groused, batting away Emmett’s arms when Emmett showed his gratitude by giving Brian a fierce hug. Brian brushed at his suit, smoothing away any imagined wrinkles as he glared at Emmett then invited everyone down to the third floor to inspect the apartment.
Later, when everyone had left the building Brian stood alone in the loft. It still held fond memories for him, and not so fond, but Brian looked past those. He still had hopes that another Kinney would once again reside here in the Tremont Avenue loft.
A king or queen over all he or she surveyed.
-end-
*****
Reminiscence
July 2024
Bree was swinging on the swing that still hung from the big tree in the backyard of Edna's Treasures. It was a lovely warm but not overly hot July morning. She loved the feel of the air rushing against her face as she rose up into the air. She pumped her legs hard each time trying to go higher and higher.
She was thinking about growing up. She wasn't sure she wanted to, yet she knew she was in the process of doing just that. She wanted to be able to do all the things Gus could do. He could drive and go away to school and make money to buy whatever he wanted. And he had the best boyfriend in the whole wide world. She wondered if she'd ever have a boyfriend, let alone a really great boyfriend.
"Want a push?" a voice asked.
Bree smiled to herself. "Sure," she replied.
For the next few minutes she enjoyed the thrill of really soaring with little effort on her part. The air rushing by made her feel cool and happy. Finally she knew she had had enough.
"You can stop now," Bree said after awhile. She felt herself begin to drop down in amplitude as she swung back and forth. Soon she was able to touch her feet down and she stopped the swing from moving. "Thanks," she said turning to smile at the person who had been pushing her.
"You're welcome," Patrick replied.
She studied Patrick for a moment. He was tall and quite handsome in her eyes. His baseball training made him fit and strong. She wondered if he had a new girlfriend. They didn't really talk about that - not since Brittany.
"Wanna sit on the porch of the Wendy house?" Bree asked.
"Sure."
They walked over side by side and sat on the chairs on the small porch. It was in the shade at this time of day and it felt cool and nice.
"Remember when we used to play inside here?" Bree asked.
"Yeah, but I'm too big to do that now."
"I know," Bree agreed, "but I kind of miss those days."
"You sound like you're fifty," Patrick teased with a little chuckle.
Bree didn't say anything for a moment. Then she said, "Sometimes I feel like I'm fifty and sometimes I feel like I'm three."
"Are you okay?" Patrick wanted to know. Bree's tone of voice set off warning bells in his head.
"I'm okay."
"You don't sound okay."
"I've just been thinking..." Bree didn't know how to finish that statement.
"About what?"
She knew he was going to ask that. How much should she tell him? "Do you think I'll ever have a boyfriend?" she asked, deciding to take the bull by the horns.
"A boyfriend?" Patrick replied wondering what she was getting at.
"You know, a boy who's more than a friend."
"Do you want a boyfriend?"
"I think so."
"Oh."
"Do you have a girlfriend?" Bree queried. She really wanted to know and had been afraid to ask.
"No," was the simple reply.
"What about Brittany?"
"What about her?"
"She was your girlfriend."
"No she wasn't," Patrick contradicted.
"But...?"
"I went to that dance with her, that's all. She wasn't really my type."
"What's your type?"
"I haven't really figured that out yet," Patrick admitted.
"But Brittany was pretty and dressed so ... nice."
Patrick snorted. "She dressed to attract attention."
"She got yours."
"She made it practically impossible to avoid her."
"You wanted to avoid her?"
Patrick let out a long sigh. "At first I was flattered," he admitted, "especially when all the guys were high-fiving me about going to the dance with her.
"Oh," Bree said frowning. She hadn't thought about that.
"She really was kind of dumb. All she was interested in was how she looked and what she wore and what sort of impression she was making."
"And you didn't like that?"
"Not after a while. What could I talk to her about?" Patrick asked.
"You talk to me..." Bree stated, "but not as much as you used to."
"I know. I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk anymore."
"Of course I do. I'll always want to talk to you," Bree declared. She wanted that clearly understood.
"Okay, that's good to know."
"Why do things have to change?" Bree asked out of the blue.
Patrick shrugged. "I guess that's just the way the world goes."
"It sucks sometimes."
"Yeah."
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. It felt good to be together and to have had their little chat.
"You know what we haven't done for a long time?" Bree asked.
"What?"
"We haven't gone riding."
"You're right."
"Wanna see if we can do that today?"
"I bet my dad would take us."
"Should we ask him?" Bree said.
"Yeah, let's do that now. Maybe we can go this afternoon."
"That would be great!"
They stood up and stepped down from the porch of the Wendy house. Suddenly Patrick extended his hand and she slipped hers into it. They headed for the house hand in hand. The world suddenly seemed a little better and brighter for both of them.
-end-