Chapter 4

^^^^^^^^

"Molly, honey, how are you?"

"What do you want, Daddy?"

"Don't be mad at me. I was just surprised that you wanted to ask Justin and that man to your wedding."

"Why would that surprise you? He's my brother … and your son."

"He's not…" Craig began to spout the mantra he had used over and over again since the moment Justin had admitted he was gay.

"Don't bother, Daddy. I don't want to hear it."

"Molly, how is it going to look when you don't have your father to walk you down the aisle?"

"I don't care how it looks. I asked Justin to take your place."

"You didn't?" Craig asked horrified.

"I most certainly did, and Justin agreed to do just that."

"How does Owen's family feel about that?" Craig asked deciding to take a different tack.

"I don't really care how they feel. Owen is all in favor of it, and that's all that matters."

"Molly, be reasonable. They're going to think it's very strange that I'm not beside you when they know that I'm supportive of this marriage."

"Supportive! You call it being supportive when you won't even let my brother attend the wedding, only because he's gay. That's not being supportive. That's being a bigot."

"Don't you dare call me that, young lady," Craig sputtered.

"If the shoe fits…"

"Molly, please, I want to give you away. I want to walk you down the aisle," Craig pleaded.

"You know what it will take to have that happen," Molly stated.

"I don't think I can be around that molester. Please reconsider."

"Goodbye, Daddy." Molly closed her cell phone.

"I take it your father hasn't come around," Jennifer said having heard Molly's end of the conversation. Molly was visiting her mother and they were looking at magazines with wedding gowns.

"Same old, same old," Molly said with a sigh.

"He never seems to get it," Jennifer sighed too. "To think I once loved that man."

"You did, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did, sweetheart. I don't think I ever realized that Craig was so prejudiced until your brother…"

"Well, it stops here," Molly declared. "Daddy is not welcome at the wedding if he won't acknowledge Justin and Brian."

"That's not likely to happen," Jennifer said sadly.

"Then I'll have my handsome brother walk me down the aisle."

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"Where Dada?" Bree asked as Justin changed her jammies for a little shorts outfit.

"Dada's with Gus in New York," Justin explained.

"Where New York?"

Justin frowned. How do you explain to a three year old where New York is? "Um … it's that way," Justin said pointing northeast.

"Oh," Bree replied studying the wall that Justin had pointed to.

Justin breathed a sigh of relief. Bree seemed to have accepted his explanation. "Let's get you some breakfast before I take you in to school."

"Nooo," Bree whined. "I want to talk to Dada."

It was not like Bree to whine about going to school. "We'll see," Justin said non-committally.

"Pweese," Bree begged reverting to her baby talk. "Pweese, Daddy."

"Okay, sweetie, I'll try to call him."

"Thank you," Bree said with her best smile.

"I wonder who you learned that from," Justin laughed.

He got Bree a sippy cup of juice and then picked up the phone. He dialed Brian's cell and waited. He hoped they were up.

"Hey," Brian's voice came across the miles.

"Hey."

"Why are you calling at this time of the morning? Is something wrong?" Brian asked suddenly feeling anxious about the call.

"No, nothing like that. Relax. Bree wanted to talk to her Dada."

Brian's smile lit up the hotel restaurant where they were eating breakfast. "Put her on. Hey, Squirt."

"Dada!" Bree squealed.

"Yeah, it's me. Say hi to Gus." Brian held the phone so Gus could hear.

"Hi, Gus," Bree called.

"Hi, Bree. Do you miss us?"

"Yes."

"I miss you too."

Gus smiled. "We'll be home soon."

"I see your treehouse," Bree said enunciating each word carefully.

"You did?"

"Yes. I want one," Bree declared.

"I bet you do," Gus laughed. "Here's Dad." He handed the phone back to Brian.

"Squirt, what are you up to?" Brian asked.

"I want a treehouse like Gus," Bree repeated.

"You do? And what brought this on?" He wondered if Justin had told her about their discussion.

"Unca John took me up in Gus' treehouse. I like it."

Brian laughed. "Well, we'll have to see what we can do for you, Squirt. Put your Daddy back on. I love you."

"Love you," Bree said as she let Justin take the phone away.

"Sorry about that, Bri. I didn't know that's what she was going to ask. She just said she wanted to talk to you."

"It's okay. We'll have to get started on that little project as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I'm afraid so."

"Talk to you tonight," Brian added.

"Don't let the animals eat you," Justin cautioned.

"No chance! They'd spit me out. I'm too crusty."

"Later," Justin laughed.

"Later," Brian said as he hung up.

"Are you going to make Bree a treehouse at the cottage?" Gus asked as he cleaned his plate.

"Looks that way."

"Can I help build it?" Gus asked.

"You want to?"

"Sure, I love Bree, and maybe you and I could work together on it."

"I'd like that," Brian said. "Did you enjoy the treehouse at the farm?"

"Enjoy it! I loved it. I bragged to all the kids at school about it. I told them how my Dad built it for me and I had the pictures to prove it."

"You were proud of me?"

"I sure was. The treehouse was great. I think Bree deserves one too."

"Have I told you lately what a great kid you've turned out to be?" Brian asked as he signed the bill. He slung his arm over Gus' shoulder as they walked out of the restaurant ready for the adventures of the day.

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Simon, Ken and boys picked up Brian and Gus in front of their hotel for their drive to the Bronx Zoo. The ride was uneventful other than dealing with the Manhattan traffic. They got to the zoo, parked in one of the zoo's large parking lots, paid their admission fees and began the day.

Similar to Central Park in Manhattan, the Bronx Zoo is an oasis of trees and park land nestled in the middle of the Bronx. The winding paths take the visitor from exhibit to exhibit. Once a typical zoo with harsh cramped cages of cold steel and concrete, it now boasts unique habitats for many endangered species of wildlife with breeding programs in an effort to return many species back to the wild. Slowly the group meandered the trails. They took the overhead tram across the zoo which gave them a bird's eye view of the park. And a ride on the zoo train which gave the traveler a good overall tour of the zoo.

At one end of the park there's a long caterpillar shaped tent, the butterfly exhibit. In through the double doors to protect the contents of the tent from escaping, the 'explorer' slowly walks through a garden. If you stand quietly and are lucky, the colorful butterflies will land on you.

As the group walked through the monkey house Brian's cell began to vibrate in his pocket.

"Hey Brian!"

"Hey! What's up, big bro?"

"Not me at the moment." Brian barked out a loud laugh. In spite of the Anderson moniker, Brian's brother was a Kinney. "Where are you?"

"Standing in the middle of the monkey house."

"Do I want to know why?"

"Nope."

"Okay. Listen, I think I put my big foot in it with Briana."

"The treehouse?"

"You know about that."

"Yup. The Squirt and I had a conversation regarding that very topic this morning."

"Am I in the doghouse?"

"Not at all but as many trees as there are on the property, none of them can match that old maple."

"My thoughts exactly. What about a 'Wendy' house?"

"What the fuck is a Wendy house?"

"A play house. It looks like a mini version of the cottage. It'll be a lot easier to construct. Most of them are kits. I think the kids will love it."

"I can picture it toward the path to the stream."

"Yeah, set away from the main house and gardens but not too far. And we can see it from my end of the cottage."

"Sounds like a plan. I gotta go, Gus is making monkey faces at me and he's armed with a camera." This time it was John who barked out the laugh as Brian cut the connection.

Brian and Gus joined the rest of the group on their way to the 'Asia' section of the park.

"Gus, have you ever heard of a Wendy house?"

"No, what is it?"

"Oh, I know!" Ken stated with enthusiasm. "More like a very fancy garden shed or play house for children. They're very popular in England."

"Huh," the wheels were turning in Brian's head.

"Brian, we've got a computer at home and we're not afraid to use it. I bet we can Google up a Wendy house for you." Simon contributed.

"I'll make you all a deal. If we Google up a decent Wendy house for Bree and Patrick, Gus and I will take you all out to dinner. Consider it our thank you for the very fine hospitality you've shown us. And I'd love it if we could make some tentative plans for all of you to visit us. We certainly have the room. Maybe a long weekend after somebody finishes his schoolwork." The group turned toward Jeffrey who was making owl eyes.

"I should have it all done in a couple of days then I can email it to my teachers," Jeff promised.

"Looks like it's a done deal," Simon pronounced as cheers went up.

^^^^^^^^

"Hey Bri."

"Hi Sunshine, did you and John get the pictures I emailed?"

"We're all looking at them now. Let me put you on speaker." Justin clicked on the speaker phone in the attic office where John, Bobby and Justin were standing around the computer on Brian's desk. Pictures of a 'Wendy' house were on the screen.

"Trust Brian Kinney to find a play house complete with a front porch and picket fence," Bobby laughed as they studied the house.

"Hey, Big Red, nothing but the best for our kids," Brian stated smugly. "Guys, I'm going to need your help on this."

"Brian, this will be a family project, just like the treehouse." John was a little annoyed that Brian would think he would be doing this alone.

"That's not what I meant. We're all going to help, even Gus." Gus was vigorously nodding his head. "I mean I'm going to need help convincing Princess Squirt that the Wendy house is for both she and Prince Patrick. I fear she's a bit spoiled."

"And whose fault is that?" Justin groused.

"No one I know, Sunshine." John snorted at Brian's statement. "Any way," Brian rolled his eyes at the phone while Gus giggled. "Can I count on your help?"

"Of course," said Bobby.

"No problem, little bro."

There was silence from Justin. Were they doing a disservice to their daughter by giving in to her?

"Brian, have we really spoiled Briana? We buy her practically everything her little heart desires and in pink. You turned day care into a school for her. And now she's getting her own little house. Maybe we should forget the whole thing." Justin appeared crushed.

The silence was deafening as the men pondered what Justin had voiced.

"Pop," Gus began, "I was only a few years older than Bree when you promised me a treehouse. I know I would have been happy with a couple of planks and a tent up there but you guys created something fantastic. And I don't think I'm spoiled. Bree knows right from wrong. She's a good kid, not spoiled. I know she'll love sharing the play house with Patrick. Remember how you, me and Justin camped out up there? I can do that with Bree and Patrick."

Gus waited to see if his dad or Justin would react. "Please, Dad, Jus, I'd really love to help build the play house." Gus turned his biggest puppy dog eyes onto his father. Brian sighed loudly.

"Puppy dog eyes?" Justin's voice came through the speaker.

"Yeah," Brian admitted.

"Here too." Justin chuckled. "I guess we're building a Wendy house," Justin conceded.

"That's good, cause it's going to be delivered next Thursday," Brian stated matter-of-factly.

"Brian!" Justin, John and Bobby shouted as Gus hugged his dad.

"Yee Haw!" Gus said, imitating Justin.

"Say good night, Gus," Justin instructed as they all were saying good night to one another.

"Good night, Gus," Gus repeated as they hung up to get ready for bed.

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