Bad as New
Chapter 5
Saturday afternoon the whole
Liberty-Bridgeton family converged at the Kinney-Taylor cottage. The sun was
warm, the breeze cool. Many brought bathing suits to splash in the stream.
Brian had the grill going and the porch was overflowing with delectable salads,
fruit and vegetables. The whole day started off perfectly.
"Ma, I'm telling you, something's up
with Brian," Michael whispered to Debbie as she was filling up a plate
with salad.
"What's up, Honey?"
"Haven't you been listening to
me?"
"Michael, start making some sense and
I'll listen."
Michael huffed and crossed his arms across
his chest and trying to give his mother the evil eye without getting smacked in
the process.
"Okay, honey, start again. What do
you think is going on with Brian?"
"I think Brian's tricking again. I
never really thought he stopped. All that monogamous shit.
I knew he couldn't do it. He's not disciplined like me," Michael said
smugly.
"Bite your tongue, Michael. Brian
Kinney is devoted to Justin; he wouldn't trick."
"Then tell me why I saw him come out
of Terry's bathhouse the other day and give some young hustler a whole lot of
cash." Michael spat out his innuendoes then turned and walked away.
*****
"Jen, can I ask you something? I
mean, I don't want to jump to any conclusions but I just heard something
disturbing and I was hoping maybe you heard something different." Debbie
was very concerned that something once again would try to get in between Brian
and Justin.
"Sure, Deb, I'll help if I can. What
did you hear?"
Debbie leaned in closer to Jennifer.
"Is everything okay between Brian and Justin? I mean, Sunshine didn't tell
you that they were having problems, did he?"
"Debbie, you're worrying me. What
kind of problems?"
"Tricking problems. Brian was seen paying for it."
"Debbie!"
"Shhh! Keep
your voice down. No need to let everyone know. Maybe they're going through a
rough patch. Justin does have to travel a lot."
"Oh, so now it's my son's fault that
they're having problems. If Brian kept his pants zipped, there would be no
problem."
"Jen, it takes two to have a problem.
You know I love Sunshine, but he's not all that innocent."
"Deb, we're not having this
discussion." Jennifer got up from her chair and stormed her way outside.
*****
"Hi, Sweetie, how are you?"
Emmett asked Jennifer as she stomped through the garden toward the stream.
"I'm fine," Jennifer said
automatically.
"Jen, honey, I have eyes. You lose a
sale or something?"
"No, Emmett, it's, I don't, oh
Emmett. I thought that this time they were happy. Really happy! I thought that
all of that tricking shit was in the past."
"Who's tricking? Who's not
happy?" Emmett looked around at the whole family,
laughing, relaxing, kids tossing a ball, Briana and
Patrick romping in the yard under the watchful eyes of their dads.
Everyone looked happy and content. He certainly was.
"I'm not sure...Justin, maybe. I
don't know. I think I want to go home." Jennifer turned and walked toward
the lane.
*****
"Emmett, baby, why are you standing
here all by yourself?" Drew put his strong arms around his lover.
"What's happened?"
"I don't know. One minute everything
was perfect, now I don't know what's right anymore."
"Emm, I'm
not following you."
"Drew, look at Justin and John over
there with the kids. What do you see?"
"I see two very proud dads. What do
you see?"
"I think I see Justin batting his
eyes at the wrong Kinney."
"Emmett..." Drew growled. He
couldn't believe what Emmett was suggesting. "You can't possibly think
that they're having an affair?"
"Look over there; Brian and Bobby
seem to be in a huddle."
"Emm, Bobby
is Brian's lawyer and they're friends. Don't you think that a man with Brian's
portfolio would have to consult with his lawyer, and often?" Emmett nodded
but couldn't suppress the sinking feeling that the twinkle in Bobby's eye
wasn't for the first born Kinney son. "Cheer up, baby. This is a family
barbeque, don't go spreading rumors."
"Mmm."
Emmett went to go get himself a beer.
*****
"Hey, Drew."
"Allen, my man. How are the boys?" Drew asked, referring to
Allen's kettle drums.
"Too loud?"
"No, I've grown rather fond of them.
And they're better than my alarm clock."
"Even on the first floor? I'm so
sorry, Drew."
"Allen! Don't be. I really don't hear
them as much as I see their vibration. I have a trophy, an old one, it kind of
dances when you start practicing then stops when you stop. I find it comforting,
in a weird sort of way." They were silent for a moment when Drew decided
to query Allen. "Um, Allen, I know that Emmett and Ted have been best
friends for forever. Do you think he could talk to Emmett for me? Reassure Emm, that things are okay. It appears that Emmett is seeing
things."
"Seeing things? What things? Does he
need to see a doctor?"
"Not those kinds of things. I think
he believes that Brian and Justin have been tricking."
"Tricking? With
whom?"
"Bobby and John, respectively."
"I don't believe it. Look at
them." Allen tilted his head toward Brian and Justin as they were chasing
the giggling Briana around the yard. Both Allen and
Drew watched with smiles as Brian pretended to fall then snatch Briana as she tried to come to his rescue. Her giggles were
infectious and soon Briana and Justin were piled on
top of Brian, laughing and sharing kisses.
"No, Drew, I don't believe it.
Neither one of them would jeopardize that. You tell that to Emmett. Drew, I
never believed in fate or true love or in the power of family before I met Ted.
I believed only in the music, the notes, the sound.
Now, I have love and the music has gotten so much better. This crazy family
we've gotten ourselves into, Drew, is held together by
the Kinney-Taylor glue. No, maybe before they made their
commitment but not now."
Allen and Drew continued to watch as Briana's hands were held by both her dads as they followed
the Anderson-Morrison family to the stream. Drew nodded in agreement at Allen.
*****
"Bobby, how goes the research?"
The Kinney-Taylor and Anderson-Morrison clan were in a secluded glade. Patrick
was busy chasing frogs. Brian was a safe distance away with Bree
snoozing comfortably on her daddy's lap.
"Better than expected. Especially
since the initial cost is coming from the private sector. City Hall seems to
find it amusing that a clinic will share the same address as a bathhouse but as
I told them, it's two sides of the same coin. Most of the men who come to the
bathhouse try to act responsibly and use protection. It's the hustlers and barebackers that take the risks."
"Hey, you and I are thrown in that
mix," Brian said softly.
"Oh, Brian, for
crying out loud. You know
what I mean. I haven't been with anyone else since I met John and you know
John's history."
"Or lack thereof."
"Exactly. And I know you, Kinney. You made that commitment to
Justin and nothing or no one could ever make you break it." Bobby glared
at Brian, daring him to deny it. Brian blushed.
"Red, I was always afraid of that
word, commitment. And yet I made commitments all the time in business. But to say that word out loud and all that it implies, including
monogamy. Scared the shit out of me."
"And then you realized that life
without Justin was scarier than that word."
"Yeah. Did the little twat tell you the name of the
clinic?" Brian said, trying to sound annoyed but very pleased that Justin
had named the clinic. He also successfully changed the subject.
"Yes, he did, and I like it. It's
simple and to the point. I was surprised that people still remember Jason Kemp
after all this time. It will be a good memorial to a life wasted by hate, and
maybe it will save some kids from the same fate."
"Just try to make it happen without
putting me in the poor house," Brian snarked.
"I'd never let that happen. Nor would Ted. I can't believe how he came up with the
numbers but he did. You may have to give him a raise."
"Shit. You're kidding, right?"
Brian scrubbed at his eye in mock pain.
"No, I'm not, but I'll let you wait
until after the ribbon cutting ceremony; prolong the tension a little."
Bobby broke out into a giggle and was quickly joined by Brian.
"I knew there was a reason why I like
you, Red." John and Justin strolled over with Patrick and joined Brian and
Bobby sitting on the grass.
"Hey, big bro, what did you think
about the plans for the building?" Brian asked his brother.
"You're a tease; you know that, don't
you?" John said with a smirk.
"I don't understand." Justin
looked confused, his eyes darting back and forth between the brothers.
"Well, my dear, sweet, blond
brother-in-law, your husband knows of my passion for classic architecture. The
plans for the bathhouse revealed much more than a bathhouse. Brian was correct
in assuming that it was a luxury men's club back in the fifties. That whole
part of town, while always thought of as bohemian, was at one point affluent. Very affluent. That porno theater
you said was next door was once a playhouse, then when movies became more
popular, it was converted into a movie house. Then when the
big multi-plexes took over, porn. I'm dying to
see if any of the original decorations were preserved. To top it all off, the
last building was a bowling alley and indoor arcade."
"Wow," was all that Justin could
say.
"Yeah, wow," John mimicked then
he glanced at Brian who had a very funny look on his face. "Brian?"
When Brian didn't answer, John addressed Justin. "Justin, he's too quiet;
he's beginning to scare me."
"Brian, what are you thinking?"
Justin asked while gently removing the sleeping Briana
out of Brian's lap and placing her into his own. Brian had the look of someone
who wanted to pace. Brian got up and started to pace back and forth, muttering
and inadvertently giving a pitch.
"Think about it, what if we're able
to renovate that whole block? Time the completion of the renovations with the
Rage movie. Rage was born on
"Um, okay." Hunter didn't have a
clue what Brian would ask.
"Hunter, when you were still on the
street, what were some of the things you'd dream of?"
"You mean, other than you fucking
me?" Brian didn't dignify that remark with a comment and let a death glare
fly. "Okay, okay, just kidding. I always wondered if I was going to make
enough money to buy something to eat. Especially in the
winter. You could always make enough money when the weather was warm but
in the rain and cold. There was never enough. That's why we'd hang out in small
groups. Sometimes we'd make enough for a pizza or a few sandwiches. Why?"
"If you had a job..."
"But who'd give a real job to a
street kid?"
"That's my point!" Brian
declared as if everything was crystal clear.
"Hold on, Brian, you're not thinking
what I think you're thinking?" John got up and started to pace along with
Brian. It was like watching a tennis match with twin players.
"You're thinking what good is getting
a kid off the street when he's got nothing to do with himself." John was
following Brian's line of thought.
"Right, and what
legitimate business would want to hire a street kid, or hustler or someone who
might be HIV+. So if
we..." Brian kept the thought moving.
"If we renovate the other buildings,
do a little vocational training, we have a..." John continued.
"A trained workforce and the kids
will have their first legitimate job to put on their resume. Most of them are
too young to have been working so it wouldn't matter what they did before. We
can run the businesses as not for profit and the proceeds go back into the
venture or for profit, then some of the net can go to the clinic. We'll need
Ted to crunch more numbers."
"Brian, this is so farfetched that it
may just work. Bobby?"
"Yes, John."
"Some of my..."
"You want to know if you can afford a
financial piece of this." Bobby saw the longing in his husband's eyes and
he smiled. John was always looking out for others, just like Brian.
"Yes, John, I see no reason why we
can't financially contribute to this project. And I'm sure Ted could be
persuaded to crunch a few more numbers."
They all laughed and then decided to get
back to the house and consult with Ted. Their disappearance from the party was
fuel for the fodder.