Glass Houses

Chapter 5

“Gus!” Bree shrieked as the front door of the cottage opened.

“Hi, short stuff,” Gus laughed as he entered the house and scooped up his over enthusiastic sister. He did, however, love the way she was always so happy to see him.

“Will you play tea party with me?” she asked.

Gus tried not to make a face. “I need to take a shower.”

“After your shower,” Bree persisted.

“Couldn’t you get Patrick to have tea with you?”

“He won’t do it.”

“Maybe if you ask really nicely,” Gus suggested.

Bree shook her head. “He’s says it’s baby stuff.”

“What if I have my shower and then we could take our snacks out to the Wendy house and see if Patrick will join us?”

“Okay,” Bree said with a big smile. She kissed Gus’ cheek before he set her down.

 

*****
 

When Gus came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his hips, he was surprised to see his father sitting on the side of his bed.

“What’s up, Pop?” Gus asked.

“I see Bree coerced you into having tea in the Wendy house,” Brian said tongue in cheek.

“Yeah, so…?”

“She’s getting to be quite the little manipulator.”

“Getting to be…?” Gus asked with a chuckle, as he dried his hair with a smaller towel.

“You were never like that,” Brian observed.

“You didn’t see a lot of me when I was that age,” Gus reminded his father. “Every child is a manipulator.”

“How do you know that?”

Gus laughed. “It’s the nature of the beast.”

“Is that from one of your psychology classes in university?”

“Maybe.”

“I worry that she…”

“Isn’t growing up to be the perfect little girl that everybody expects?”

Brian looked up at his son. “Something like that.”

“Pop, you and Justin have done a great job with her. Nobody’s perfect, not even Briana Victoria Kinney-Taylor.”

“Is that right?”

“It is.”

“What about Gus Kinney?”

“What about him?” Gus asked with a frown. He wasn’t sure what his father was getting at.

“I think he’s just about perfect,” Brian said standing up on his good leg and pulling Gus into a hug.

“Geez, Pop, that’s about the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Gus said when his father let him go.

“I don’t think I tell you that often enough. You’re a good kid, Gus. And you’re a great brother to Bree. Just don’t…”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t let her take advantage of you,” Brian warned.

“Pop, I know it may seem silly, but I actually like spending time with Bree. She’s an interesting little girl.” Brian raised an eyebrow. “I mean it.”

“I…I like spending time with her too,” Brian admitted, “but I thought it was just because I … love her so much.”

Gus grinned. “I love her a ton too, and she really is good company.”

“Then I guess she’s not taking advantage.”

“I wouldn’t call it taking advantage. I enjoy her, if not the tea parties.”

Brian chuckled. “Good lad,” he said squeezing Gus’ shoulder before he grabbed his crutches and hiked himself out of the room. Gus shook his head and smiled.

 

*****
 

“More tea,” Bree asked sounding a lot like Hudson. She and Gus were ensconced in the Wendy house along with Beau.

“That would be smashing,” Gus replied with his fake British accent.

Bree giggled as she poured some pretend tea from her little china pot. Gus reached down and filled his cup with soda.

“Would you care for another sandwich?” Bree asked.

“Lovely,” Gus said taking one of the little ham sandwiches off the plate that John had prepared for them. “We must be careful that we don’t spoil our dinner,” he admonished.

“Yes, you’re so right,” Bree agreed. “I think this sandwich will be plenty for me.”

“Me too,” Gus added.

“You guys sound silly,” Patrick said from the doorway of the Wendy house. He had been standing outside listening to them for a few minutes. It was lonely having his snack all by himself in the house.

“We’re having fun,” Gus told him in no uncertain terms. “You should join us. It’s good practice for proper etiquette when you get older.”

“What good’s etiquette?” Patrick asked, but he came through the doorway and pulled up the last chair to the table. Beau gave a little woof of welcome as the boy came in.

“They actually have classes in etiquette at university,” Gus explained.

“They do?” Patrick asked in surprise. “How come?”

“Yeah, it helps when you go for job interviews if you know how to behave.”

“But you wouldn’t have fake English accents like Hudson’s, would you?” the boy asked.

Gus laughed. “No, and Hudson’s accent isn’t fake. It’s the real thing.” Patrick made a face at the older boy. “Bree and I were just having fun, pretending to be British. Being polite and proper is good in the job market though, and for when you have dinner with people you work with or somebody who might become a client in your business.”

“Oh,” Patrick said thoughtfully taking in Gus’ words. He knew his fathers occasionally had to be away for dinner meetings. That must be what Gus was talking about.

“Would you care for some tea, my Patrick?” Bree asked.

“Yes, I believe I would,” Patrick said with a big grin, using his own fake British accent. Bree handed him a cup and she started to pour the imaginary liquid.

Gus winked at Bree again, and she couldn’t stop the little giggle of pleasure that escaped her lips. Having tea with two of her favorite people was just great.

 

*****
 

“Michael!” Ben called as Michael’s car pulled into the driveway of Emmett’s cottage.

As Michael stepped out, Ben threw his arms around him and kissed him heartily.

“What’s that for?” Michael asked.

“I missed you. Didn’t you miss me?”

“Well, yeah!” Michael said like Ben was crazy or something. “But I’m not the one who went away.”

“Michael,” Ben said evenly, “let’s not fight.”

“I’m not fighting,” Michael declared, but his tone of voice indicated that a fight could just as easily happen as not.

“Are you hungry? I can rustle us up something to eat,” Ben volunteered.

“I thought you’d be up at Edna’s Treasures eating with Brian and John.”

Ben frowned. “I was invited up there for dinner, but I haven’t gone. I’ve been staying in the cottage … thinking.”

“All that thinking will fry your brain.”

“Sometimes I can’t help it,” Ben said slowly. “Michael, we need to talk.”

“I wonder if they have enough food up there so we could go to dinner. That way we won’t have to cook or clean up.”

“Michael…”

“I’m going to call Brian. I bet they have lots of food. They always do at the barbecues.”

“Michael,” Ben tried to say once again, but his husband already had his cell phone out and had punched the speed dial for Brian.

Ben walked back into Emmett’s cottage knowing that they would probably be going up to the other house for dinner. So much for a quiet night alone with his husband.

 

*****
 

“John, can you help move the table out for dinner?” Brian asked as he set down his phone. “That was Michael. He’s out here to spend some time with Ben, but they want to come up here for dinner.”

“That doesn’t sound like quality time together,” John commented as he pulled the big table out from the wall.

“That’s Mikey for you. Ben thinks he’s worried about something, but he’s avoiding facing it.”

“You’re not going to get involved, are you?” John asked.

“I’m trying not to, but here they come.”

John shook his head. He had learned over the years that Brian had trouble refusing Michael anything. He didn’t want to see his brother get caught in the middle of a marriage squabble. He decided maybe he needed to run interference at dinner if Michael made that necessary.

“I better go make sure that we can stretch dinner a bit farther,” John said. “Can you manage setting the table?”

“Sure,” Brian said. “I have a son and daughter expressly for that purpose.”

John laughed as he headed for his side of the cottage. He heard Brian at the sun porch door calling for Bree and Gus. They were lucky to have such good kids.

 

*****
 

“Wow, this looks good!” Michael exclaimed as he looked over the table then took a seat. There appeared to be plenty of food on it, some that even Ben would eat. “See, I told you they’d have enough,” Michael whispered none too softly to Ben. Ben blushed with embarrassment as he nodded. The men of Edna’s Treasures politely pretended not to notice.

“Thank you for allowing us to join your dinner,” Ben said a bit formally as he raised his glass of lemonade in sort of a salute.

“No problem,” John responded quickly before Brian had a chance. “We usually cook more than we can eat; the leftovers go quick around here,” John said indicating the children.

“Our sweet little Sunshine can still pack it away,” Brian snarked, eliciting a glare from said Sunshine who was becoming more infuriated since he was having difficulty cutting his chicken. Justin got more angry when Brian happily took over Justin’s plate to cut up his cutlet into bite sized little pieces.

“So Mikey, what brings you all the way up here?” Brian asked after a while. Dinner seemed to be proceeding well with Brian keeping most of his snarky comments to himself.

“I came to vacation with my husband. I’m allowed a vacation, aren’t I?” Michael said defensively. “We are legally married, ya know!” Michael stressed the word legally. Of course no one mentioned that his marriage was technically only legal in Canada.

“So, um, how’s the store?” Bobby asked hoping that talking about the comic book store was a safe enough subject. It was, safe. Michael went into detail for the next half hour.

After dinner was finished and while the coffee was brewing, Ben expressed an interest in the construction. Since Brian was still a little clumsy in the kitchen, he offered to play tour guide while the others cleared the table for dessert.

“The greenhouse looks like it’s finished,” Ben stated. There was still enough light for them to see without the need of flashlights.

“A few more days; John’s waiting for the inspector to come to give his seal of approval. Then John’s men will seal up the walls. Emmett says when he gets here for the Fourth of July, he’ll decorate the bathroom.”

“Bathroom? In a greenhouse?” Ben asked, his eyes open wide with wonder.

Brian chuckled. “Come on,” he said as he opened the front door.

“Antechamber,” Ben stated as they went through the second set of doors which were swinging doors that easily opened if one was carrying or pushing through a heavy load.

“My brother thinks of everything. The side door is the main door though; it’s wider.”

“This is more than just a bathroom,” Ben exclaimed as he stared at the room that was just off the front door. “A shower too?” Ben asked with amazement.

“So I don’t track mud into the house,” Brian snarked. “As if!”

“Having an additional bathroom will come in handy, especially during all your barbecues and parties.”

“That’s what John said. I have to admit the thought of showering off the dirt and sweat before I clog up the cottage shower does hold appeal,” Brian admitted.

Their footsteps echoed through the empty glass building as they made their way down to the pond. Ben whistled as he took in the whole expanse including the overhead lighting and sprinkler system.

“Holy moly!” Ben shouted as he spied the pond which was still empty but he could see the potential. He bent down to peer through the small outlet that connected the inside pond to the outdoors.

“Yes, the fish will have an indoor-outdoor pool of their own while we mere mortals have to use the stream.”

Ben laughed heartily. “This is wonderful, Brian, really. I can just see how happy you’ll be planting away all through the winter.”

“Speaking about happy,” Brian began as he led his big friend through the side doors and back on the path toward the conjoined cottages. “What the fuck is going on between you and Mikey?”

“I’m honestly not sure, Brian. But I promise you that’ll I find out. I’m sorry we imposed on you tonight.”

“No imposition, but professor...”

“I know, Brian, I know. One way or another, I’ll make this right,” Ben promised. Brian nodded.

“We better get in there before your husband sends out a search party,” Brian said as they approached the sun porch. “Ben, whatever it is, fix it before it gets worse. Talk to him,” Brian pleaded as he touched Ben’s hard muscular shoulder. Ben turned to look into Brian’s deep penetrating eyes. In the dim light, Brian’s eyes became a deep green like an angry ocean. Ben found himself drowning in those eyes.

Brian inhaled Ben’s strong masculine scent then pushed him through the door.

“We thought you got lost; we were beginning to worry,” John said as he gave Brian a poignant look.

“Did you get lost, Dada?” Bree asked innocently as Brian sat on a chaise. Bree positioned a throw pillow under her father’s foot as he made himself comfortable. Justin brought Brian a cup of coffee.

“Thank you,” Brian murmured to Justin. “No, Squirt, I wasn’t lost. I was just showing Uncle Ben the new greenhouse.”

“What do you think?” Justin asked Ben.

“I think it’s wonderful; the pond is beautiful. And you’re making great progress on the new cottage. When do expect it to be completed?”

“I think sometime mid-August,” John answered. “It’s a relatively simple design, no basement, it’ll go up quick.”

“I’m impressed,” Ben said with a smile. “It’ll be nice to have a quiet place to come to and not worry about intruding on friends.”

“But we’re not intruding,” Michael put in. “We’re family!” he declared.

After a couple more hours of small talk, Michael finally took Ben’s hint and they left to walk back to Emmett’s cottage. Within moments of their departure, the kids were in bed as were the adults who all were tired and had to wake up early the next morning. The lane was suddenly dark.

“I told you we had overstayed our welcome,” Ben tried to say gently but it didn’t quite come out that way.

“What do you mean?” Michael asked as he tripped over some gravel that was in the road. “You think they could put in a sidewalk,” he grumbled.

“This is a true country lane, no sidewalk required,” Ben pointed out.

“Yeah, well...and since when does Brian go to bed before ten o’clock?”

“Michael, it’s been a long time since we stayed up after ten. Most times we’re in bed by nine and you know it. We’re both up early and so are they.”

“Well, why does Brian have to get up early? It’s not like he goes to work, and Justin’s only an artist. He probably doesn’t get out of bed until noon.”

“Michael, you know they’re up early. Every time we’re here for a party, they’re always up early the next day to make breakfast,” Ben said trying to be patient.

“But that’s after a party, not in real life.”

“What does that mean?”

“I bet Brian doesn’t get up in the morning like we do. We go to work every day. I mean, I guess John is up early cause he has to go build stuff, and lawyers are always going to meetings. Mel didn’t want to slow down even when she was pregnant.”

“I remember. But you’d be surprised how early Brian gets up. I’ve seen...”

“What?” Michael asked loudly, frightening the crickets into silence. “How do you know what time Brian gets up in the morning?”

“Michael, I’m right down the road. And I’m used to getting up and out early in the morning. Just because I’m on vacation doesn’t mean I can turn off my own internal clock. I got bored after a few days of being alone in the morning, so I’d watch some of the work being done on the cottage and explore the woods. Brian’s always out on the lane greeting the men and making sure the man who comes in with the food cart is paid. I ran out of coffee one day and went to the cart. The man refused to take my money. When I asked why, he told me that he was being paid very well by the man who looks like John’s twin.”

They stopped on the lane just before the gate to Emmett’s dream cottage.

“It is truly beautiful out here,” Ben said softly as he looked around. The lights on each side of the gate gave off a warm glow, lighting the path but not obscuring the starlight.

“I guess so but it’s very quiet,” Michael said with some tension in his voice.

“Michael,” Ben said in barely a whisper. Michael looked up into Ben’s eyes. “I missed you,” he said as he leaned in closer to his husband.

“I missed you, too. I love you,” Michael murmured as he leaned into Ben, meeting Ben’s lips.

“Please, Michael,” Ben pleaded. Michael nodded. Ben gently guided his husband into the cottage and to bed.

 

*****
 

“Do you think they’ll be all right?” Justin asked as he and Brian lay in the dark in their big bed. Brian reached out to search for Justin’s fingers.

“I hope so,” Brian replied as he laced his fingers with Justin’s. Brian felt Justin move closer. Justin’s lips kissed his shoulder.

“I want you,” Justin said as he carefully molded his body into Brian’s side. Brian could feel Justin’s hardness on his hip. Brian smiled in the dark as he rolled over onto his belly.

Justin needed no further confirmation than that, as he prepared to make love to his husband.
 

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