All About Justin
 

Chapter 5

 

“Brian, I’m going into Pittsburgh today,” Justin said as the family was eating breakfast.

“You are?” Brian asked. “I thought you wanted to spend as much time as possible on your commissions.”

“They’re coming along okay, and … Sidney wanted to talk to me.”

“Hasn’t he heard of that wonderful new invention called a telephone?” Brian asked sarcastically.

“I’m sure he has, but he wants to go over my Chronicling Justin Taylor idea again. He has some … um, ideas about marketing it,” Justin tried to explain.

“I thought marketing was my department.”

“Not in the art world … so much,” Justin added lamely. That sounded like a put-down and that wasn’t at all what he had intended.

Brian opened his mouth to reply and then shook his head. After a minute he said, “You haven’t even started that project. How is he going to market something that doesn’t even exist yet?”

“I guess that’s what we’re going to talk about,” Justin added.

“I’m supposed to take the kids to school, so you better take the ‘Vette.”

“Oh, a real man’s car,” Justin said with a grin, hoping that might cheer up Brian and change the subject at the same time.

“And there better not be a mark on it, when it comes home,” Brian warned.

“Scout’s honor,” Justin said raising his hand in the appropriate gesture.

“That might mean something if you had been a Scout.”

Justin laughed before wiping his mouth. He got up from the table and carried his cereal bowl over to the sink. “I better get going.”

“It’s early,” Brian reminded him.

“Um, I’m meeting Sidney at the gallery before it opens.”

“I see.”

Justin hurried out of the room before Brian could ask him any more questions.

“Why is Daddy going to Pittsburgh?” Bree asked with a little frown.

“That seems to be the six million dollar question, Squirt,” Brian replied staring at the door to their bedroom through which Justin had just disappeared. Then he glanced over at their very smart daughter who didn’t seem to buy Justin’s story either. “Go get Patrick, Squirt. Time for school.”

“’Kay, Dada,” Bree said sliding off her chair and running into the sun porch to go over to the Morrison-Anderson’s.

Brian debated confronting Justin about what he was really going into Pittsburgh to do, but then decided that his husband was a big boy. He could look after his own business, and Brian had to believe that Justin would tell him what was going on when the time was right.

 

*****
 

Justin maneuvered the Corvette onto the highway. He felt bad about lying to Brian but he needed to do this. His mind wandered to how he might handle the meeting. He ran through several scenarios from confrontational to pleading to the big ‘fuck off’. He couldn’t decide which one to use. Maybe none of them was right. He was probably going to have to fly by the seat of his pants. He could handle whatever confronted him, he told himself, hoping that he would believe it. He kept telling himself that, as he took the cut-off into Pittsburgh.

When he pulled up at the Clinic, he still didn’t know what he was going to do. He got out of the car and headed into the Jason Kemp Center. He hoped this was a good idea. It had seemed like it was … not so long ago.

Hunter was in his office. Justin stopped at the door. He waited until Hunter hung up the phone before entering.

“That wasn’t Farringer canceling, was it?” Justin asked almost hopefully.

“No,” Hunter chuckled. “I was ordering some supplies.”

“Oh?” Justin said.

“You don’t want to do this, do you?” Hunter asked as Justin slumped into a chair.

Justin shook his head. “I can think of a million things I’d rather be doing.”

“Then why bother?” Hunter asked. “The Clinic will survive without Farringer’s money.”

“I told you I’d make up the difference,” Justin assured Hunter.

Hunter shook his head. “And I told you I won’t take your money, Blondie.”

“You are fucking hard to deal with.”

“Have to be in this business.”

“I guess. How did you get Farringer to agree to this meeting?”

“Well, I…”

“He thinks Brian’s coming, doesn’t he?” Justin asked as the light dawned.

Hunter nodded. “He wouldn’t settle for anything less.”

“Then why is he coming?”

“I … sort of implied that I’d arrange the meeting. I just neglected to specify who with.”

“That would be funny if it wasn’t so scary.”

“Well, if he doesn’t like it, we’re no worse off than we were before this meeting,” Hunter said philosophically.

“I suppose,” Justin agreed. “Unless he kills me.”

“I promise to stay nearby. Scream if you need help.”

Justin stuck out his tongue just as someone cleared their throat in the doorway.

“I’m looking for Hunter Novotny-Bruckner,” the man said, sizing up both men in the room.

“That’s me,” Hunter said standing and extending his hand.

The rather good looking middle aged man shook the hand and then looked questioningly at Justin. “Robert Farringer,” he said. “I was expecting someone else to be here. Hasn’t he arrived?”

Justin stood up. “I’m Justin Kinney-Taylor,” Justin said holding out his hand. “Brian Kinney’s life partner and husband.”

“Husband?” the man asked incredulously.

“Yes, husband. I’d like to know what business you have with my husband?”

“I asked to speak to Brian Kinney,” Farringer replied bluntly. “That’s the only person I wish to speak to.”

“To get to Brian, you have to go through me. If I don’t like what you have to say, no meeting with Brian.”

Farringer drew in a breath and considered what he had just heard. “No twenty thousand dollars if I don’t see Kinney,” he said to Hunter.

Hunter nodded in acknowledgement. “I’ll leave you two alone.” He walked out of the office and closed the door behind him.

Farringer sat down. Justin did the same and they stared at each other.

“If you wanted to see Brian, why didn’t you go to Kinnetik and make an appointment?” Justin finally asked.

“I did, and I ended up meeting with someone named Cynthia.”

“Ah,” Justin said. “Brian must have refused to meet with you.”

Farringer nodded. “I had almost given up on having a meeting with Kinney when I saw Hawk’s Prey. I couldn’t believe that the same Brian Kinney I had dealt with could possibly be the person in that article.”

“Why not?” Justin asked with a frown.

“The Kinney I knew had the reputation of being the slut of Liberty Avenue. But the first time we met, he was just starting out in advertising, and he came up with this great campaign idea. I was all set to sign on with the Ryder Agency until I found out who and what Brian Kinney really was.”

“And you wanted a piece of him,” Justin stated.

“Good God, no!” Farringer said. “I’m not gay. I wanted to switch to another ad exec at Ryder, but keep the ideas Brian had already drawn up.”

“So, you weren’t after Brian?” Justin asked. “Just his ideas.”

Farringer nodded. “When Kinney found out that I was trying to get Ryder to make the switch, he went ballistic. He said he would rather lose the account than let someone else claim his ideas and his client. I tried to reason with him, promising him his cut. I just didn’t want to deal with…”

“The gay slut of Liberty Avenue.”

Farringer nodded again. “I thought it would reflect badly on my company which was still in its infancy.”

“Homophobia notwithstanding,” Justin said bitterly.

Farringer couldn’t look Justin in the eye. “I … Let’s just say that it was a big mistake.”

“About time you realized it,” Justin said. “Twenty years later.”

“I told you I’ve tried to see Brian and he won’t speak to me.”

“There has to be something else,” Justin replied. “Brian doesn’t hold a grudge for nothing, and he’s dealt with lots of homophobes over the years.”

“I … suppose you could say that I stole his campaign ideas for Farringer Flooring.”

“You stole…?”

“Yes, although at the time, I merely saw it as payback for his lack of cooperation.”

“Didn’t Brian try to stop you?”

“By the time I got another ad agency to draw up most of Brian’s ideas, and they were finally put out to the public, Brian’s original work had been destroyed. There was little or no proof of what I had done, and from what I understand Ryder didn’t want to make a fuss.”

“No wonder Brian was pissed.” Farringer nodded in agreement. “So, what do you want to say to Brian?” Justin asked wrinkling his brow, trying to figure out what this guy was up to. “I’m sure Brian has forgotten all about your theft.” Justin couldn’t resist using the word.

“I guess I want to make amends. I thought twenty thousand for Brian’s pet project might make up for what I did. I don’t like my company being built on a foundation of … impropriety.”

“You mean theft,” Justin repeated.

“Okay, theft,” Farringer admitted.

“Does Brian know you’re … sorry?”

“How would he? He won’t speak to me.”

“But you could have told Cynthia.”

“You think I want anyone else knowing what I did?”

“I… Brian isn’t going to like this.”

“I know, but I’d like to apologize to him … face to face.”

“He might punch you in the face.”

“I’ll take my chances. That wouldn’t be anything I didn’t deserve.”

“Okay, Mr. Farringer, I’ll give Brian your message.”

Farringer gave a terse nod and walked out of the room. As soon as he left, Hunter rushed back in.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, sort of. I don’t quite know how I’m going to explain this to Brian.”

“You know you can do it, Blondie,” Hunter said sympathetically.

Justin hoped he was right.

 

*****
 

Justin carefully drove the famous ‘Vette through the streets of Pittsburgh over to the gallery. He didn’t want his entire visit to the land of Liberty to be a total lie. He hated fibbing, lying, to Brian. It was primarily Justin’s lies that caused trouble between him and Brian in the past. Their lives now were just short of miraculous. Justin couldn’t take the chance of ruining it.

He parked the car, set the alarm then walked to the gallery.

“Hi, Justin!” Lindsay greeted their artist cheerfully. Justin mustered up a weak smile.

“Hey.”

“We weren’t expecting you today.”

“I know. I decided to come in.”

“What’s wrong?” Lindsay asked knowingly. After years of spending time around Justin she knew the look.

“I think I did something really stupid,” Justin said with a very dramatic sigh.

“With a painting?”

“No, with Brian.”

“Do you want to talk about it? I have a pot of hot water ready; I was just about to make some tea.”

“Yeah, sure,” Justin said glumly as he followed Lindsay to her office.

Justin explained the situation as he cradled his mug of tea in his hands. He found the warmth comforting after the cold feeling he experienced when he lied to Brian.

“What should I do?” Justin asked Lindsay, already knowing the answer. Lindsay merely stared back at him. “Yeah, yeah, dumb question. I’ll talk to him when I get home.”

“You and I both know Brian is not the same man he was when you first met. He’s matured into a wonderful person. He’ll understand.”

Justin nodded. He knew all that, and was the first one to say the same to anyone who thought Brian Kinney was still the asshole. Justin finished his tea then headed back home to Edna’s Treasures.

 

*****
 

Justin was a few hours away from finishing another specially commissioned painting. He was working at an almost frantic pace. He was committed to complete each commission within a reasonable amount of time, especially since the finished product would eventually be shipped overseas.

Bree, however, had a different agenda in mind for her younger father.

“Daaaddy,” Bree began using the universal tone recognized by most experienced parents as the “I want something and know how to get it” voice. Justin had taken a momentary break so that he could step back to view his painting in total.

“Yes, Baby Girl,” Justin mumbled around the end of a paint brush that was stuck in his mouth.

“Can we work on the rest of my sleepover invitations now?” The first mock up of Bree’s personalized invitations had taken hours to make. They still had several more to do.

“Um,” Justin murmured with a sigh.

“Pleeezzz, Daddy. I hafta finish ‘em!” Bree was beginning to whine.

Justin was at war with himself. He wanted to complete his current project, he had several more to take its place plus his chronicling of Justin project was being neglected and he really wanted to continue his Kinney research. So much to do, so little time to do it, and Bree’s big blue eyes were staring up at him.

“Briana Victoria,” Brian’s stern voice came from overhead. He had heard Bree’s plea and suspected she was about to try to manipulate her beleaguered younger dad.

Bree knew her Dada meant business the second she heard her full name. When she looked up at the balcony, her father was standing there, scowling.

“Yes, Dada,” Bree said as sweetly as she could batting her long blonde lashes at her Dada the way she knew her Daddy did time and time again.

“Come up to my office, please,” Brian said in a low calm voice.

“Yes, Dada,” Bree said with a hesitant sigh as she began the long climb up the spiral staircase to her fathers’ office. As she rounded the top step, Brian was there. He extended his hand for Bree to take. Without hesitation she took her Dada’s hand and together they walked into his office. As they reach Brian’s desk, Brian lifted his petite daughter up to set her on his desk. When he sat down in his great chair, they were almost eye to eye.

“Briana, do you know what a commitment is?”

“Not ‘xactly,” Bree replied.

“A commitment is a promise, a very special promise. Your Daddy made a commitment to his art patrons to complete their commissions. Knowing your Daddy the way I do, it’s very important to him to fulfill his promises. Your Daddy also has a new project that he’s been working on.”

“But what about my invitations?” Bree pleaded.

“Briana, when is your sleepover?”

“In April.”

“And what month is it now?”

“March.”

“Let’s look at the calendar.” Brian lifted Bree up off his desk to gently set her back on the floor. Together they crossed the office to the back of her younger father’s desk to look at the big yearly calendar that was tacked to the wall. Their ever growing family meant ever growing family events. Justin noted each one on his calendar with the same commitment he showed to his own projects.

“Show me the weekend of your sleepover, Squirt.” Bree smiled brilliantly at her Dada; she was his Squirt again. Bree pointed to the weekend in April that she and Justin had indicated for her birthday sleepover.

“Show me today’s date.” Bree pointed to the correct date. “And how many weeks do we have until then?”

Bree counted six.

“I believe we have plenty of time to send out your invitations,” Brian declared.

“But Dada, they’re special invitations and Daddy and me hafta make them. And I want my friends to come to MY party.”

“Bree if you send out invitations too far in advance, many times they get lost and forgotten. You see your friends every day at school. There’s no reason why you can’t remind your friends about the party and let them know an invitation will be sent in the mail soon.”

“But Dada, Daddy hasta help me make them!”

“Show me.”

“Huh?”

“Show me the special invitation you and Daddy made,” Brian demanded. Bree nodded her head, bouncing her pigtails at the sides of her head. Bree led her Dada down to her art table in the sun porch.

Justin was still painting, totally unaware of the drama surrounding him.

“Here, Dada,” Bree said as she handed Brian the mock-up princess invitation. “It’s very cop-a-clated,” Bree stressed.

“Hmm. Let’s move your table into your room so we don’t disturb your Daddy,” Brian commanded. Bree’s table was on wheels so it could be easily moved from room to room. Bree ran down the hall to open her bedroom door as Brian carefully pushed the table.

Father and daughter sat on the edge of Bree’s bed so they could both examine the invitation.

“So the premise is to personalize the invitation for the person you’re sending it to,” Brian said in a very professional tone. Bree wasn’t quite sure what her father said but she wisely waited for him to continue.

“This is the special one for Ashley.” Brian noted the princess dress shaped card.

“Yes, Dada. Me and Ashley love to play princess.

“Yes, I know,” Brian said with a smirk. “And what about your other friends? What are their interests?”

Bree didn’t know why her Dada wanted to know about her friends; he wasn’t the artist in the family but she answered anyway. “Brenda likes computers.”

“Hmm,” Brian mumbled as he rummaged through the drawers of the table. He retrieved an old magazine that was hidden in one of the drawers. When they came across a magazine that contained interesting pictures, Bree or her Daddy would tear out the page to keep for the future. Even Patrick benefitted from the stash of pictures for many of his school assignments.

Brian found a picture of a PC. Following Justin’s example, Brian took a blank sheet of paper, folded it to the appropriate size. He then attached the computer picture to the card with a paper clip.

“But what about the writing?” Justin had hand-written the information on her sample in very elegant script befitting a princess.

Brian stared at the card for a moment then picked up a pencil.

In the old style, binary shaped lettering that primitive computers were only able to create, Brian copied the information for Brenda. He held up the card for Bree’s approval.

“Huh!” Bree gasped. The mock-up invitation looked perfect. “But...?” Bree was astonished that her not artistic father came up with a perfect invitation. Suddenly Bree’s eyes filled to the brim with tears that soon overflowed her lower lids to stream down her face.

Briana’s very astute other father put two and two together. Brian hugged his weeping daughter to his chest. “Oh Squirt, I may not be a famous artist like your Daddy but I know how to sell things. I use words and pictures to do it.” Brian felt Bree nod against his chest.

“Sorwy, Dada,” Bree sniffled.

“Sorry is...is, bullshit,” Brian said with trepidation but the expletive fit the situation.

“But I am, sorry, Dada.”

Brian leaned back to see his daughter’s red puffy eyes. “I know, Squirt. Learn from this. Never underestimate people because when you least expect it, someone you know just might amaze you. And you might find a friend for life.”

“Like Ashley?”

“Maybe. Or maybe Winona might turn out to be a good friend,” Brian said with experience. He could think of at least two of his original circle of so-called friends that turned out to be his closest friends and confidants.

Bree nodded again.

“Let’s see if we can come up with ideas for your other friends,” Brian suggested. They dug into her art table for the right supplies and pictures then began to finish the mock-ups for her invitations.

By the time Bree and Brian were finished with her invitations, it was time to start dinner.

“Bree, I’m going to put your table back where it belongs and then start on dinner. Why don’t you wash up and then you can help me,” Brian said to his daughter who was feeling so much better. Her cards were well on their way to being a reality and more importantly, her beloved Dada wasn’t angry at her.

All was right in Bree’s world again.

 

*****
 

“Daddy, dinner’s ready,” Bree said quietly from behind her Daddy who was putting the finishing touches on his painting.

“Okay, Baby Girl, give me a minute,” Justin said as he continued working. Bree patiently waited until she heard her Uncle John call her.

“Princess, come to the table, please,” John called from his side of the conjoined cottages. Even though Brian had cooked, the family decided to eat together on the Anderson-Morrison side. Bree looked at her Daddy who made no indication that he was going to join them for dinner. She sighed then shuffled toward the kitchen door. As her Dada passed her coming out, he winked and patted her head.

“Sunshine, are you able to take a break?” Brian gently said so he wouldn’t startle his artist.

“Mmm,” Justin mumbled without thinking. After a few seconds, Justin became more aware of his husband staring at him. “What do you think?” Justin asked Brian.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Brian said honestly regarding the large portrait in front of them. Justin’s stomach concurred, loudly. “I also think it’s time for you to put away your stuff, wash up and come eat dinner with your family,” Brian said in a voice that brooked no argument.

Justin concurred. Within a few minutes Justin’s paint brushes were in their cleaning fluid, Justin was washed up and was sitting at the dinner table.

The Edna Treasures family enjoyed their simple repast together.
 

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