All the Rage
Chapter 7
Justin was still holed up in his little
corner sketching to his heart's content. He loved the remnants of the fresco
that the PIFA people were revealing. It was badly damaged having been covered
with some kind of horrible stucco type stuff, but it was possible to see that
it had been a mythological scene, probably Jupiter and Io. He would know for
sure as more was revealed. He wondered if the fresco on the opposite wall would
be mythological too. He had never painted anything like that and it would be a
real challenge to try to match the style of the original artist and create the
feeling of mythological
When Justin's phone started vibrating in
his pants, he jumped and gasped for air. He had been so engrossed in the sketch
that he was completely taken off guard.
"Hey," he said into the phone
knowing that it was Brian.
"Hey, yourself. You haven't broken anything else, have you?"
Brian asked.
"Just a pencil or two," Justin
chuckled.
"Good."
"How's everything on your end?"
There was a long pause that made Justin start to worry. "Did something
happen?"
"Um … I … I had to do something I
didn't want to do," Brian managed to get out.
"You did? What did you do?"
"I had to give Bree a timeout,"
Brian said sadly.
Justin felt himself grinning and was about
to laugh when the tone of Brian's voice registered and he realized how upset
Brian must be. He had never had to discipline Bree before. "What did she
do?" Justin asked trying to keep his voice level.
"She stole Patrick's crayon and
pushed him."
"But … she's only half his
size."
"I know, but she's mighty … and she's
willful."
"Willful?"
"She wouldn't say she was sorry or
give back the crayon, so … I had no choice."
"I know, Brian. We talked about when
this might happen."
"But I expected you to do it."
Justin chuckled. "Things don't always
work out the way we expect."
"How did you know to be away
today?"
"I didn't," Justin laughed.
"It's just the luck of the Irish that she chose today to be a bad girl.
How did Bree take the time out?"
"She sniffled and whimpered. It …
almost broke my heart."
"How do you know she whimpered if she
was in her room?"
"I listened at the door," Brian
admitted.
Justin smiled. He could just picture Brian
trying to make himself stay out of the room until the
timeout was over. It would have broken Brian's heart not to go comfort the
little angel, turned devil, who was the apple of his
eye. "How long did you give her?"
"Five minutes."
"Five whole
minutes!" Justin
chuckled.
"Hey, I almost didn't make it,"
Brian said seeing a bit of the humor in this turn of events.
"But Bree did."
"Yeah, she seems fine and she kissed
me and made up with Patrick."
"Then all's well that ends
well."
"It didn't feel so 'well' a while
ago."
"You did the right thing, Brian. She
has to learn that she can't always have her way, and she certainly can't go
around pushing people when she doesn't get it."
"Thanks, I needed to hear that."
"You're welcome. I hope the rest of
the day goes better."
"Me too, and you take care of
yourself."
"I will."
"Later."
"Later."
Justin closed his phone and returned his
attention to the work on the frescoes. He picked up his pencil and was about to
start sketching when he heard Hunter's voice saying his name.
"Hey, Hunter," Justin said
looking up. "What are you doing over here?"
"Expanding my knowledge of old
buildings," Hunter grinned at Justin.
"In a good way, I hope," Justin
said with a smile.
Hunter nodded. "There's someone I'd
like you to meet," Hunter said stepping aside and revealing what looked
like a young man standing behind him.
Justin realized that this must be Lacy
that Hunter had e-mailed him about. "Hello," Justin said.
Lacy looked at him carefully and then she
gasped, "You're JT!"
Justin laughed. "Well, JT is based on
me."
"Wow! Then, is there a real
Rage?"
Justin nodded. "That would be my
partner, Brian."
"Holy shit! I love that comic so much. Was it all your
idea?"
"No, if you look at the credits,
you'll see that I collaborate with Michael Novotny. He writes the dialogue and
most of the story lines, and I do the art work."
"I love the drawings," Lacy
continued to gush. "Your work is so great."
"Do you like to draw?" Justin
asked knowing from Hunter's e-mail that she did.
"Oh, yes."
"Do you have some of your work that I
could look at?"
"I … I have a few drawings over at
the clinic. Hunter gave me some paper and pencils."
"I'd love to see some of them,"
Justin said hoping that her work really was as good as Hunter had let on.
"You … you'd actually look at
them?"
"Of course," Justin laughed.
"That would be so great. But maybe
they're not very good," Lacy said having some self-doubt creep into her
euphoria at meeting the creator of Rage.
"Why don't you bring them by tomorrow
afternoon?" Justin said. "And let me be the judge of that."
"Okay," Lacy said practically
hugging herself at this stroke of good fortune.
"Thanks, Justin," Hunter said
giving Justin a wink for his efforts. "Come on, Lacy. We better let Justin
get back to work."
"Huh?" Lacy said staring at
Justin's sketchbook. "That's so good," she said unable to tear her
eyes away from the picture Justin was drawing based on the fresco.
"Lacy, we need to go," Hunter
said taking her arm and trying to lead her away.
"See you tomorrow, Justin," Lacy
called over her shoulder as Hunter hustled her out of the theater.
"Looks like you have a major fan
there," John said as he walked over. He had been listening to the
conversation between Justin and the young man. "I thought he was going to
drool all over you."
"It wasn't that bad," Justin
laughed. "Hunter thought Lacy would enjoy meeting me. Apparently she likes
to draw."
"She?"
"Hunter says Lacy's a girl."
"Well fuck me! I would never have
guessed."
"That seems to be the way she wants
it."
John shrugged. "Did you hear from
Brian?"
"Yep, why do you ask?"
"I had a call from Patrick."
"Shit!"
"Did Brian tell you what was going
on?"
"He had to give Bree a timeout. I
think it hurt Brian more than it did Bree."
"Yeah," John agreed.
"Patrick said Bree was in her room crying and Uncle Brian was sitting by
her door looking very sad."
"That would be it in a
nutshell," Justin said. "Do you think we should go home early?"
"I think we should let them sort it
out themselves and go home when we are scheduled."
"Okay, that seems like a plan. I hope
the place is still standing," Justin observed.
"Brian won't get that upset, will
he?"
"It's Bree who has the stubborn
streak a mile wide."
"Just like her father," John
suggested.
"Just like Brian."
"It makes for a volatile
situation."
"Yeah, but I like your idea. We stay
out of it and let them settle it between themselves."
"And pick up the pieces
afterwards."
"Maybe," Justin said with a sigh
as he went back to his drawing.
*****
"Lacy, you don't have to go back out
there!" Hunter nearly shouted in frustration at Lacy who was packing up
her meager belongings in a thread worn backpack and preparing to go back out
onto the streets.
"Hunter, I have to, I..."
"No, you don't. Look if you don't
want to sleep here, come home with me or I'll find you some place. Please,
Lacy, how long do you think you can survive out there? One day you'll piss off
a john who wants a real boy not a trick that just looks like one," Hunter
pleaded with the girl.
"What do you know about it?"
Lacy screamed at Hunter. "How can you possibly know how it feels to have
them do, do, things to you? Day after day, night after
night."
"How? Because I was there! Do you know how I met
Justin?" Lacy shook her head. "I was out on the streets; my own
mother started pimping me when I was barely a teen. I
propositioned Ben. He and Michael eventually took me in, cared for me, got me help. With a lot of help, including Justin's, I
managed to turn my life around and so can you. Lacy, give me a chance, give yourself a chance." Hunter stared at Lacy, waiting for
a sign that she'd give him the opportunity to help her. He saw her start to
relax just a little bit when an idea came to him.
"Lacy, I'm hungry, and it's almost
dinnertime. Let's go to the diner. I want you to meet someone." Hunter
said with a glint in his eyes. Lacy nodded. Hunter and Lacy locked up the
clinic and went to the
*****
"Well the house is still
standing," Justin remarked as he and John pulled up in front of the
cottage and right behind Bobby's car. The three men got out of their cars and
stood on the path.
"Looks quiet enough," Bobby said
while straining to see inside the windows.
"And I don't hear any shouting or
crying," John added as he cocked his head toward the house.
"I guess we should go inside,"
Justin said bravely as he led John and Bobby toward the front door. They all
exchanged looks, took a collective deep breath and
Justin opened the door.
The three men were immediately assaulted
by the wonderful aroma of a roast that was presently sizzling in the oven.
Fresh rolls and sweet potatoes were in the warming oven. And the salad was
rinsed, chopped and draining in a colander in the sink. There was even gravy in
a pot on the stove. Bobby dipped his pinky into the gravy which was staying
warm in a double boiler, and tasted it.
"Shit! This is good! Tastes like
Claire!" Bobby announced with enthusiasm.
"My mom, she's got to be here. I
can't believe he did this all on his own," John commented in disbelief
then went in search of his mother.
When John's search turned up nothing, he
and Bobby joined Justin in the living room. Justin was standing near the sofa,
his sketch pad and pencil in hand. He quietly turned and brought the pencil to
his lips then nodded toward the sofa. Justin went back to sketching as John and
Bobby came closer. This was definitely an 'awww' moment.
Brian was dressed in his usual black tank,
worn jeans with the top button undone and his feet bare. Briana was lying on
top of her daddy with her little head tucked under Brian's chin, one of her
little hands clutching a small bit of Brian's shirt. Brian's arm held his
daughter in place. Patrick was nestled close to Brian's chest, his arm
stretched out so that his hand was touching Bree. Brian's other arm secured the
boy close. Justin was furiously sketching, trying to capture the moment before
they all woke up.
Just as Justin completed the preliminary
sketch, the timer on the oven went off with a resounding 'ping.' Brian's eyes
fluttered open and he smiled as his saw Justin staring down at him. Patrick
stirred and Bobby lifted him up. Brian gave Bree a little kiss on her golden
head before Justin relieved him of her. Brian stretched then got up to tend to
the roast while Bobby and Justin tended to the kids. John followed Brian into
the kitchen.
"Answer me something, truthfully,
Brian," John started as he sat at the granite island and munched on a
carrot. "Did you do this all by yourself or was my mother here to
help."
"Oh ye of little
faith," Brian snarked.
"Spill, little bro," John
demanded.
"All right, no need to get your
boxers in a bunch. Your mother was not here but I did call her for some advice.
The roast basically cooks itself, just have to stick
it in the oven at the right time. The biscuits are the little dough boy mix, you know that pop'n fresh thing. The kids had a great
time helping with those, and I just boiled the hell out of the potatoes. And
even I can't ruin salad."
John listened intently and agreed. Brian
was more than qualified to read package instructions and follow directions. But...
"But the gravy, Bobby said it tastes
like Claire's. How did you manage that?"
"Easy, big bro. It is Claire's. She knows how much I love her gravy,
we all do. So when she makes up a batch, she makes extra and freezes it for me.
I've got my own little stash," Brian stated proudly.
"Oh." Then it dawned on John
that he didn't have a stash of his own mother's gravy.
"Hey! How'd you get her to give you
her gravy? Even I don't have any!"
"I asked," Brian said smugly.
"You WHAT?"
"I asked. Did you ever ask?"
"I, I..."
"You know, big bro, I thought I
taught you better than that. When you want something you gotta go after it.
Next time, ask your mom for some gravy."
"Oh." John smacked his brother
with a dish towel then proceeded to gather up the dishes and cutlery to set out
on one of the wicker tables on the porch for dinner.
After a very quiet and enjoyable dinner,
Brian and Bobby began the task of clearing the dishes and stowing the leftovers
as John and Justin prepared the kids for bed. The guys then settled on the
porch with beer and wine while the kids quietly played in Bree's room before
bedtime.
"Listen guys," Brian began.
"This has been fun but I really have to get some work done. I have several
calls to make over the next few weeks and I have to really do some serious work
on the Rage PR. I can take the Squirt with me to
Later that night, the children were safely
tucked in their bed, John and Bobby were cuddling in the brass bed on the porch
and Brian and Justin were doing their own cuddling in their own bed.
"Bri?"
"Hm?"
"You feel better now?"
"About what?"
"Today, doling out
the punishment."
"Not my favorite job in the world but
yeah, I'm okay with it. I just hope I don't have to do it again for a very long
time."
"Neither do I.
You sounded so sad on the phone. I hate it when you're sad."
Justin cuddled closer and nipped at
Brian's earlobe. Brian felt his cock twitch and grow hard, all sad thoughts
miraculously vanished. Justin climbed up onto Brian while reaching for the tube
of lube conveniently left under the pillows. Justin lubed himself up then slid
himself down onto his mate's hard proud cock. Only love filled, lustful
thoughts filled whatever brain cells were left that still had the power of
reason.