It's All Down Hill From Here

Chapter 7

“It’s so high!” Bree exclaimed as she looked upward from the base of the treehouse. Bree hadn’t really noticed the treehouse in detail before. John, Bobby, Steve and Claire were all milling about, preparing to clean and air out the treehouse for the kids. Claire and John had various cleaning supplies ready.

“Can we go up, Poppa?” Patrick asked his red-headed father.

“Sure, just be careful. I don’t think it’s been used in a long time. Although, it looks surprisingly clean,” Bobby remarked as he and the kids slowly climbed the steps.

“Mom, why does the treehouse look so clean?” John asked his mother.

“I can answer that,” Steve said as he followed them up. “Occasionally I let a kid from the farm stay overnight or for a weekend,” Steve divulged.

Bobby stopped short. “You put the kids in solitary confinement?” he asked, ready to do battle as a child advocate.

Steve chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. “No, it’s not what you think. We’ve gotten a few kids sent to us by child protective services. They’ve been abused, if not physically, emotionally. Sometimes they just need a quiet, peaceful space to get their heads in a better place before the real therapy can begin. Bill and I take turns camping out up here, giving them a little space but not too much. They need to know that they haven’t been abandoned. We have the kids clean out the treehouse, give it a coat of varnish now and then. And then we light the fireplace if it isn’t too hot. We talk or read or play chess,” Steve said with a smile as he cocked his head toward the painting on the wall of Brian and Gus playing chess.

“The kids love hearing about how you guys found each other and about the time you built the treehouse. It assures the kids that families are not all bad. And that anything is possible,” Steve further explained.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” John asked. “I’d certainly volunteer my time.”

“I know you would, son,” Steve said, patting John’s shoulder. “But you have your own family to look out after.” John nodded. “Perhaps when these young’uns get a little older, you can spend more time at the farm. Besides, we don’t always have kids here. But your mother and I try to get up here once a year to open it up, make sure the wood isn’t rotting.”

“Thank you,” John said as he gave the big man a hug and kissed his mother’s cheek. “And by all means, use the treehouse for the kids anytime you need to. This place was built with love, maybe some of it will rub off on a needy kid or two.” Steve gave John a grateful smile then he and Claire went back down to prepare lunch for their troops.

A few hours later the treehouse was sparkling. John inspected every nook and cranny, giving it his seal of approval before bringing up the camping equipment the kids would need for the night.

The children were playing catch in the yard while the adults sat in the screen porch sipping lemonade, relaxing after their efforts of the day.

“I’ll stay with them,” Bobby said.

“Are you sure? I’m fully prepared to spend the night up there,” John stated.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t mind. Besides, I know you brought your laptop with your thesis. It’ll give you some quiet time,” Bobby said as he gave John’s thigh a pat.

“How’s your thesis coming?” Claire asked.

“It’s done. I’ve been tweaking it but it’s really finished. I have an appointment next week to defend it,” John said casually but with a bit of pride in his voice.

“Oh, sweetheart!” Claire gasped as she stood up to give her son a hug. “I am so proud of you,” she said with tears of joy in her eyes.

“My husband, the doctor,” Bobby stated proudly.

“Congratulations, son,” Steve beamed.

“Thank you, thank you,” John said bowing his head. “I can truly say this has been a labor of love. I really enjoyed doing the research and interviews. The fact that I’ll get a doctorate out of this is a bonus. It was kind of fun.”

Bobby snorted.

“Okay, minus me going a little crazy over the project, overall it was worth doing,” John admitted. Bobby nodded.

“You boys going to light the fireplace?” Claire asked after a while.

“Do you think we should?” Bobby asked.

“I do,” John said. “It might have been a warm day but it’s still only May, nights can get cold. Between the sleeping bags and the fire, you should be all right.”

“I have extra blankets, just in case,” Claire said.

“We’ll be fine,” Bobby said. “It’s not like we’re stuck in the middle of the woods. If it gets too cold, we’ll come back inside and camp out in the living room. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had a camp-out indoors,” he said. “Come on, old man,” Bobby teased his spouse. “Let’s go rustle up a fire up there, take the chill off the old homestead.” Bobby stood, holding out his hand to John. John stood up, taking Bobby’s hand to walk outside and up the treehouse.

“This brings back lots of memories,” John murmured as he opened the fuel cans and placed them into the firebox.

“Yeah,” Bobby agreed. “We had a ball building this thing,” Bobby said with a chuckle.

“We had several balls,” John said laughing at the memories. “I seem to recall my brother’s balls running naked from the stream when he had his encounter with the bull frog.” John and Bobby cracked up with laughter.

“He’ll never live that down,” Bobby said when he was able to catch his breath.

“Nope. I learned a lot about Brian and Justin that week. Learned a lot about you too,” John said with a loving smile. John leaned over to give Bobby a kiss. Bobby wrapped his arms around John’s neck drawing the older man in closer. After a while they reluctantly pulled away from each other.

“Mmm, I never get tired of kissing you,” Bobby whispered.

“Me neither. But I guess we shouldn't start something we can’t finish. It’s getting late, for the kids. And you’re right, I’d like a little time to look over my presentation,” John admitted.

“Then I’ll round up the kids to get them ready for bed.”

Within the hour the kids were bathed, in their pj’s and snuggled together in a large sleeping bag. Bobby, in his own sleeping bag, was reading a story to them. The story was really for Bree, but Patrick enjoyed hearing his father’s expressive voice. A half an hour later, the children were asleep. Bobby kissed the angelic looking faces before sneaking back down and into the house for a while.

“Coffee?” Claire offered. “It’s decaf.”

“Sounds good,” Bobby replied.

“There’s pie,” Claire tempted her son-in-law by waving a slice of home-made cherry pie.

“You’re determined to see me fat,” Bobby stated but sat down at the table to have his pie.

“You’ll work it off,” Claire reassured him. “You boys certainly worked hard today. I didn’t think a tree could shine,” Claire teased.

“That’s your son,” Bobby mumbled around a mouthful. “He’s obsessed.”

“I heard that!” They heard John coming from the vicinity of the living room. Bobby and Claire chuckled.

Bobby finished up his coffee and pie, cleaned up the kitchen then kissed Claire and John before going back outside.

“Kids all tucked in?” Steve asked. He had been sitting in the porch for a while just enjoying the quiet evening.

“Yup. They went out pretty fast. Must have been all that hard work,” Bobby chuckled.

“You boys are wonderful parents. Those kids are so loved,” Steve said. “I’m proud of all four of you,” he added, including Brian and Justin in his compliments. “If there were more parents like you boys, there’d be no need for places like the Farm.” He gave Bobby’s arm a squeeze before going back inside. Bobby took a deep breath then went to the treehouse.

 

*****
 

“Daddy?” Bree murmured half asleep as Bobby came through the trap door and into the treehouse.

“No, princess, it’s Uncle Bobby,” Bobby said gently.

“Where’s Dada?” she asked, not really awake.

“He’s on vacation with your daddy. They’ll be home soon. You’re in the treehouse with Patrick and me. Go back to sleep,” he whispered. “Grandma Claire is planning a big breakfast in the morning.” He kissed the sleepy child.

“Okay,” Bree snuffled then snuggled closer to her Patrick, falling deeper into sleep.

Bobby caressed their sleeping faces before sliding back into his own sleeping bag and to sleep.

 

*****
 

“What are you doing?” Justin asked. He had stirred in his sleep to see his husband standing at the screened patio door of their bedroom. They had been fucking for hours, and Justin knew they were both tired. He always knew when the bed did not contain his spouse. It always felt different if Brian wasn’t there.

“Looking at the stars,” Brian replied.

“Stars, huh?” Justin said as he joined Brian by the door.

“Yeah, stars.”

“They’re the same stars that Bree can see.”

Brian glanced at his husband. Justin always knew when Brian was upset or melancholy. “Do you think she’s scared … sleeping in the treehouse?”

“I think she’s just fine,” Justin said rubbing Brian’s arm. “She’ll have her Patrick and John and Bobby with her. She’s fine, Brian.”

“I know, but I can’t help…”

“Worrying,” Justin supplied.

“Yeah.”

“You know that your brother and Bobby and Steve and Claire are taking good care of our little girl.”

“I know.”

“But…?”

“She sounded sad on the phone.”

“Of course she did. She misses us just as much as we miss her.”

“She’ll have grown up by the time we get back.”

“It’s two weeks, Brian, not two years.”

“I know…”

“Stop worrying. That’s an order,” Justin commanded. “And come fuck me. That’s an order too.” Justin took Brian’s hand and dragged him back to bed.

As Brian rolled away from Justin, having just completed a very satisfying bout of lovemaking, he looked out the patio doors at the brilliant stars in the tropical sky. He hoped Bree was looking at them too and knew that her fathers were thinking of her.

 

*****
 

“Patrick,” Bree whispered.

“Hm, yeah, what’s wrong?” Patrick asked as he opened his eyes and sat up. “Are you scared?”

“A little. I miss my daddies.”

“They’ll be home soon. Hold my hand,” Patrick said finding Bree’s hand in the dark. He squeezed gently. “I’ll take care of you. Go back to sleep.”

“’Kay,” Bree said with a little sniffle. She closed her eyes knowing that everything would be all right with her hand in Patrick’s.

 

*****
 

Henry dropped off Brian and Justin at the airport for their flight to Kauai. Since having a relaxing day of sitting in the shade and swimming and worrying about Bree, they were ready for their next adventure.

The flight was a little less than an hour and they arrived to find their minders who would chauffeur them around and make sure they enjoyed their visit to Waimea Canyon. Jack was their guide and Ollie their chauffeur. Brian immediately took to calling them Stan and Ollie, but only for Justin’s ears.

They drove out to Waimea Canyon. Brian wasn’t sure what to expect. The photos he had seen on the internet had looked to be doctored. The colors were way too brilliant to be real. Brian hoped Justin wouldn’t be disappointed.

The limo pulled into the first lookout at the Canyon. Justin and Brian hopped out and walked to the edge of the cliff where a railing held them back.

“Oh my fucking God!” Justin gasped. “Have you ever seen anything like that?”

“Wow!” Brian replied truly impressed with the sight before him.

“Waimea Canyon is about ten miles long, a mile across and almost a mile deep in places,” Jack was explaining.

“The colors are just…” Justin was at a loss for words for once in his life. “I just can’t believe they’re real.”

“Me either,” Brian agreed. Waimea Canyon certainly lived up to the pictures he had seen on the internet. In fact it surpassed anything he had ever seen. He had his camera out taking pictures of the canyon from any angle he could line up. He knew Justin would want to look at them again when he started to paint. Brian could feel Justin’s fingers itching to capture the colors of the canyon on canvas.

“Take one from over here,” Justin urged Brian, moving farther along the top of the canyon. “Look at the colors from here.”

“Spectacular,” Brian said as he snapped many more pictures.

“Save a little room on your camera,” Jack cautioned them. “There’s several more lookouts along the top of the canyon, and some of them are even more beautiful.”

“Let’s go,” Justin said enthusiastically.

They all piled back into the limo and Ollie drove them to the next lookout. Once again they were in awe of the beautiful canyon that lay before them. They walked along the rim, while Brian snapped picture after picture.

“This is so amazing,” Justin enthused as they finally returned to the car.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” Jack said with a pleased smile. “I have one more lookout I want to show you then we have a Hawaiian lunch arranged for you at a local restaurant.”

“Is it a luau?” Brian asked sarcastically.

“Not exactly. A true luau takes all day. This is only lunch, but we have some wonderful food and some local performers,” Jack explained.

“That sounds great,” Justin said really enjoying everything they had done so far today.

“Yeah, great,” Brian said sarcastically. He envisioned some wilted salads and amateur performers. That was not what he had signed on for with this tour company. He would have words with them when they got back to Oahu.

They went to one more viewing point and then headed for the restaurant. It was not at all what Brian had expected.

It was a family run business with only a few people like themselves who seemed to be privileged to attend. They were all made comfortable at small tables around a central raised area that apparently acted as a stage.

A Hawaiian man walked out onto the raised area holding a microphone. He was middle aged, but very fit and handsome. Brian took all that in as he waited for an explanation of what they were going to do.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” the man said. “I’m your host, Malachi Brown. You may wonder about my name, but I am descended from missionaries and Hawaiians, as are many of the people of Hawaii.”

“A fine tradition,” Brian mumbled sarcastically.

Justin squeezed Brian’s hand. “Take it easy. Let’s hear what he has to say.”

“Welcome to our family property. We are currently roasting a pig in our underground pit.” Malachi pointed towards a raised area that smoked slightly. “We started it at the crack of dawn today and it will be ready for dinner this evening. If any of you care to return for our luau, I think you will enjoy our food, entertainment and hospitality.”

“What about lunch?” some man at one of the tables asked.

“That’s what I was wondering,” Brian snarked.

“Sh,” Justin cautioned. Brian glared at him.

“We have some of the pork from last night’s luau,” Malachi continued.

“Great! Leftovers,” Brian contributed. Justin slapped Brian’s hand.

“We invite you to partake of our buffet which includes traditional dishes like two finger poi. Please, help yourselves. The servers will be happy to explain each dish at the buffet table.”

“I’m hungry,” Justin said getting up and dragging Brian to the front of the line. He grabbed a plate and handed one to Brian.

“This is the two finger poi?” the lady behind the buffet table told them pointing to a purple substance.

“Remember when we had poi at that luau in Florida,” Justin said.

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Poi is made from the taro plant” the lady continued to explain to them and the other people in line. She pointed again to a purple pasty looking substance in a bowl. “The consistency of the poi dictates its name. It is eaten with the fingers traditionally. If it’s runny, that is difficult to scoop up, one finger poi. A little thicker and we call it two finger poi because you can get a good amount on your two fingers.” She demonstrated by dipping her fingers into the purple mixture in a separate bowl in front of her, and then transporting the poi to her mouth. “See,” she said.

“It doesn’t taste very good, does it?” Justin asked, remembering his first time trying poi.

“Most people think it tastes like paste,” the woman said with a straight face. Then she smiled. “It’s an acquired taste. I suggest you try a little bit of everything. Then you can come back for more of the things you like.”

“Good idea,” Justin agreed as he started filling his plate with a small portion of each food item. He carefully read the labels to see what he was getting.

Brian followed behind him, taking a little bit of a few things. Once they were back at their table Justin dug in finding most of the food delicious. Even Brian found several things he liked, and they went back for more. Neither of them liked the poi.

“That lady was right, it must be an acquired taste,” Brian said as he wiped his mouth after Justin forced him to try a bit more of the poi.

“I don’t think I could ever acquire a taste for it,” Justin admitted.

“Once we leave here, there will be no need to acquire a taste for it,” Brian said.

Justin chuckled. “But the other food is really good.”

“Yeah, I guess they feel compelled to give us a taste of Hawaiian tradition with the poi. I bet they have so much left over after each meal that they don’t have to make it again for weeks.”

Justin shook his head. Brian had such a view of the world.

After lunch, two girls came out and danced the hula, asking members of the audience to join them. Justin went readily, dragging Brian with him. Justin’s hula was quite a bit better than Brian’s. He had given Brian’s camera to Malachi who snapped many pictures of the two men. Justin knew he would enjoy looking at them when they got home. This whole day had been great so far.

Following the lunch that far exceeded their expectations, Jack told them that they were going to Wailua Falls which had twin cascades and was made famous on the TV show called Fantasy Island. They would view the falls and then take a boat to the fern grotto.

Brian didn’t really appreciate all the tourist crap they were doing, but Jack hadn’t steered them wrong so far. Wailua Falls was quite spectacular with two cascades of water dropping from 80 feet, as Jack informed them. He also told them that sometimes the water flow was so strong that it became one falls, while at other times it could be one falls or three falls depending on the amount of water.

Brian got many pictures. He could see Justin’s artist’s eye looking at the possibility of painting the falls. They were told they could walk down a steep, slippery trail to the pool of water below the falls, but that it was a rather dangerous trek. In light of their recent misadventures, they decided that they would pass on that hike.

Ollie took them to the boat that sailed the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto. They settled back for the ride, Brian snapping some more pictures when Justin pointed to things of interest.

Upon arriving at the grotto, they were told that this was one of the wettest places in the whole world, getting hundreds of inches of rain each year. That was why there were ferns growing everywhere, out of the rock walls and all over the ground. They were directed to a path that led to the grotto itself which was supposed to have wonderful acoustics, being a natural amphitheater.
 

The path was wet and slippery as they had had a downpour earlier in the day. They made their way up to the grotto which was full of ferns. Brian continued his picture taking while Justin went to test the acoustics by whispering and seeing if Brian could hear him. He could.

As Brian turned around from a picture he had carefully lined up, he saw Justin farther up the path beyond where everyone else was.

“Justin,” Brian called, a frown on his face. “Be careful.”

“I’m fine,” Justin said just as his feet slipped out from under him and he sat down very hard on his well endowed ass. Not only did he fall but he started to bounce down the wet path his bum landing on each rock as he slid down. Brian ran over to grab him just as he came to a stop at the Fern Grotto.

“Are you okay?” Brian asked helping his husband up.

“Yeah, but my bum is going to be sore.” Justin rubbed his ass gingerly.

“Great!” Brian said looking at the wet back of Justin’s shorts. Another disaster to add to their honeymoon misadventures.
 

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