The Letters

Chapter 3 (November-December)
 

 

January 6, 2022

Most Reverend Colm O’Hara
Bishop of St Anthony’s RC Church
Pittsburgh, PA

Your Excellency,

My dearest friend, I chose this day to write to you, because while this day has several names, the one that holds the most meaning for me is Epiphany. We preach the meaning of Christmas in our sermons, hiding behind our cassocks. Do we really know the true meaning of this day? The importance of family and friendship? I know I appear to be angry and rambling. I have read and re-read these few lines and my confusion grows as well as my longing for a secular life. I promised you that I’d write the truth from my heart and so here it is. The nights can be long and lonely out here but I pray that it is in the solitude that I will find the answers I seek.

During the Christmas recess, the young lady of the lane, Miss Briana Victoria Kinney-Taylor observed my conflict. She is an exceptionally perceptive child for all of her nine years, as is her older cousin Patrick. Briana, who calls me Uncle Thomas, decided I needed cheering up. I suppose as much as I try, the conflict within me is as plain as the nose on my face. Just before Christmas, Briana honored me with a piano concert. It was lovely; she takes her lessons very seriously and practices every chance she gets.

The household in general was preparing for Christmas as were the other inhabitants of the lane. As I have mentioned before, the lane residents, while not Catholic, do keep Christian principles in their hearts and in their deeds. They are most charitable to one another and to those less fortunate. They have certainly extended a hand toward me.

The master of the lane, Brian Kinney, had issued an edict. For this year he wanted a quiet holiday. And as we all know, sometimes we do get what we want....

Sincerely yours,

Thomas Butterfield

 

*****
 

“Guuusssssss!” came a loud shriek as the familiar sound of a Jeep driving up broke the quiet of the lane early one morning, the week before Christmas. It was followed by the pounding of little feet as Bree ran from her room through the hall into the living room and out the front door toward Gus. He had just about gotten out of the Jeep before Bree launched herself into his arms.

“Hey, short stuff. Miss me much?” Gus asked as Bree peppered his face with kisses. He laughed, trying to catch his breath under the onslaught.

“How long are you staying?” Bree countered. She knew that Gus divided up his time between his mother, Ray and the lane.

“I’ve decided to stay the whole month. I need a break from school,” Gus said with some exhaustion. He was pulling double classes and working on extra credit papers trying to finish up his masters degree early. “Ray’s gonna fly in just after Christmas,” Gus said with a smile.

“Good, I love Ray,” Bree said with a smile. She then touched the tired face with gentle fingers. “You need breakfast then sleep. Dada is cooking.”

“You’re right, and we need to get inside before you get cold.”

Bree was still in her pj’s and robe. Gus set her down then gave Bree his messenger bag to carry in while he retrieved his bags from the back of the Jeep. He then followed his sister into the cottage.

“Hey, Sonny Boy,” Brian greeted Gus. “You look like you need some coffee.” Brian pushed a mug full of his special blend toward his son. Gus dropped his bags then reached for the coffee.

“I needed that,” Gus moaned as he took a good long sip then sat at the table allowing his sister to fuss over him. She brought him a plate laden with bacon, eggs and pancakes. Father and daughter watched as Gus literally inhaled his breakfast.

“Did you taste any of that, Sonny Boy?” Brian snarked, noting that Bree ate daintily while Gus shoveled down the food.

“I guess I was hungrier than I thought,” Gus said with a loud belch. “Excuse me,” Gus murmured. Bree and Brian giggled.

It was still very early; no one else was awake just yet although Brian knew the rest of the cottage would be in the kitchen soon. Beau loped in to greet his wayward pack member.

“Hey, Beau,” Gus said with a sleepy voice and drooping eyelids. He patted the large dog on the head then yawned.

“Beau, why don’t you lead Gus to his room before he falls asleep in his coffee mug,” Brian said to the dog. Beau, seemingly knowing what was expected of him, gently nipped at Gus’ sleeve urging him away from the table.

“I’m going, I’m going. I can take a hint,” Gus said as he stood up. He kissed his sister then bussed Brian’s cheek. Before Gus got out of reach, Brian hugged him studying his son’s face for a moment.

“Sleep, for as long as you like. There is nothing you have to do other than rest. You hear me?” Brian said sternly.

“I hear you, Pop. Love you,” Gus said with a sleepy smile.

“Love you too, Sonny Boy,” Brian said as he watched his son go down the hall to his room.

Once there, Gus stripped down to his boxers, crawled under the warm duvet and into the flannel sheets. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

“He’s tired,” Bree observed.

“Yes, he is. So we keep things nice and quiet around here so that Gus can sleep. Right?”

“Right!” Bree agreed. She quietly tiptoed to the other side of the cottage to inform John, Bobby and Patrick of the plan.

“Did I hear Gus?” Justin asked as he shuffled into the kitchen.

“Yes, you did. He inhaled some breakfast then went to bed. I think he’s taking on far too much schoolwork not to mention his part time work with Kinnetik. That boy needs a rest,” Brian said with a scowl as he dished up breakfast for his spouse.

“Then he’ll get it while he’s here. It’s not like the lane hasn’t seen its share of convalescing people,” Justin said as he sipped his coffee.

“True. Speaking of convalescing, I haven’t seen Mikey or Ben lately. I thought they were spending the winter break up here?”

“They will be just as soon as Ben finishes with finals and last minute papers. They’re arranging to have the house looked after while they’re here,” Justin explained. Now that the cabin was fully functional, Michael and Ben planned to spend as much time as possible on the lane.

Brian nodded and began to dish out more plates. He could hear the troops quietly marching in from the other side.

“Good morning,” John greeted them.

“Morning,” was exchanged all around then the guys got down to the important meal of the day.

“Good morning all,” Tom called out as he came through the front door and then into the kitchen. “Is that Gus’ Jeep out front?” Tom scanned the kitchen noting the absence of the Kinney lad.

“Yes, he came in exhausted. He wolfed down breakfast then went to bed,” Brian explained as he placed a plate in front of Tom.

“Thank you. As I recall, Gus is working on his masters, right?” Tom asked.

“Yes, and he’s seriously exhausting himself,” Brian grumbled.

“Youth, built for speed not endurance,” John commented.

Brian snorted as he waved his coffee mug in agreement. There was nothing much he could do about Gus other than support him and provide him a quiet place where he could rest and re-energize. Brian did the same thing when he was in college, trying to get it all done quickly so that he could start his career as soon as possible, except Brian had a different motive. He wanted to get out of Jack’s house and stay out. Gus wanted to prove he was worthy of being Brian Kinney’s son and of Kinnetik.

After breakfast Tom sent the family on their way to get dressed or to do whatever they did on a day off. Tom did the dishes, cleaned up the kitchen then put on another pot of coffee. Fresh coffee was a must at Edna’s Treasures at all times.

 

*****
 

“Yoohoo!” Emmett called as he entered Edna’s Treasures from the sun porch. He had been busy getting all his commissioned Christmas parties out of the way. They were all a big success as only an Emmett Honeycutt affair could be. Now with only two days till Christmas he wanted to get things whipped into shape for Christmas on the lane.

“Hi, Auntie Emm,” a quiet voice said from somewhere in the porch.

“Hello?” Emmett replied looking around to find the source of the voice.

“I’m back here,” Gus said peeking out from behind the screen that hid the big brass bed that still resided in the sun porch.

“Gus! I’m so glad you’re home, but what are you doing back there?”

“Dozing,” Gus admitted. “I think I’m running on fumes these days.”

“You need to take better care of yourself, young man,” Emmett chastised.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Gus responded as he climbed out from his little nest.

“Listen to your elders, Sonny boy,” Brian stated as he came into the porch from the kitchen. Gus made a face. “I wondered when you and your sorry ass would show up,” Brian said to his old friend.

“My ass is far from sorry,” Emmett countered.

“Hm, I seem to remember you wanting to get it lifted … when was that … a decade or two ago.”

“You can be very cruel, Brian Kinney.”

“You know I love you, sorry ass and all.” Brian pulled Emmett into a hug.

“You better,” Emmett warned him.

“Are you here to decorate?” Brian asked shoving Emmett gently away. That was enough sentimentality for one day.

“But of course. I have some fabulous ideas.”

“Um…” Brian hesitated.

“Auntie Emm,” Gus ventured to step in. “Everyone has decided that we should have a very quiet Christmas this year.”

Emmett looked at Brian who nodded, and then he looked back at Gus noting the dark rings under his eyes. The kid looked really tired, and Emmett suspected that Gus might have been doing more than dozing when he walked in. Gus had probably been asleep. “Okay,” Emmett said. “I can do quiet. This seems to be a new trend around here.”

“Get used to it,” Brian ordered, but his words were kind.

“You realize that this is going to severely limit my fabulousness.”

“We’ll take that chance.”

Emmett grinned and Gus laughed.

“Quiet it is,” Emmett conceded.

 

*****
 

“Dad, Chet will be here soon,” Patrick said to his father. “Can we get the snacks ready for the treehouse?”

“Sure,” John replied. “You’re sure you and Chet want to sleep out there tonight?”

“It’s not that cold, and you’ll put the fireplace on for us, won’t you?”

“Of course, and you guys are lucky that the weather has been so mild this fall.”

“We could handle snow,” Patrick bragged.

John shook his head and smiled. He pulled out some bags of chips and pretzels, and took out a container of veggies that he and Bobby had got ready earlier. He had a nice ranch dip in a separate bowl with a plastic lid. John did like his son’s bravado. Sometimes he thought Patrick was a little too quiet. It was nice to see the boy being more assertive. “Does Chet have a good sleeping bag?” John asked.

“Um, I told him we had a real warm one he could use.”

“That would be my sleeping bag,” John said with a bemused grin. Patrick nodded. “What am I going to use … or maybe I could sleep with you.”

“Daaaaaad! You said we could do this all by ourselves.”

“Oh, yeah, right.”

“You’re a pain sometimes,” Patrick informed him.

“Any good father is,” John told his son with a laugh.

It was Patrick’s turn to shake his head. The buzzer went off to indicate that Chet had arrived at the front gate. Patrick and John joined Bobby outside to greet their guest. Chet ran out of the car carrying a small duffel that held his pj’s and toiletries.

“Hi, Mitch,” Bobby said leaning in the window of Mitch’s car.

“You sure you’re okay with this sleepover so close to Christmas?” Mitch asked.

“Sure, the boys really want to do this, and you and your wife can have a nice night by yourselves,” John said.

“Okay, thanks,” Mitch replied. “I’ll pick Chet up around ten tomorrow.”

“Sounds perfect,” Bobby said. They watched Mitch drive back down the lane.

“Let’s get the boys ready for their night in the treehouse,” John said as they headed inside.

 

*****
 

“Daddy, can I go outside?” Bree asked

“Outside?” Justin questioned. “It’s dark and cold. What do you want to go outside for?”

Bree hesitated. “I want to look at the stars.”

“You can see them from the sun porch,” Justin advised.

“I want to go outside,” Bree persisted.

“Would this have anything to do with Patrick and Chet staying in the treehouse?” Brian threw in.

“Oh no, Dada, I just want to see the stars.”

“Bree, Patrick didn’t invite you to stay in the treehouse with him. This night is for him and Chet. And no spying from you,” Brian stated.

“But it’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t always fair. No going outside.”

Bree stamped her little foot in frustration.

“Why don’t you come help me make the cookie packages for the family staying in Pittsburgh for Christmas?” Justin suggested.

“Why isn’t everybody coming here like they usually do?” Bree asked.

“We want a nice quiet Christmas … just the people on the lane,” Justin explained.

“But Auntie Molly and Taylor won’t even be here,” Bree protested. “And Grandma Jenn and Grandma Debbie…”

“Bree, Gus needs to rest, and not every Christmas is going to include all the people we’d like to have here,” Justin added gently.

“Like Gamma Joan.”

“Yes, sweetheart.”

“It’s not fair,” Bree repeated, a sad look on her face.

“I know. Come and help me anyway,” Justin said taking her hand.

Brian watched them disappear into the kitchen. He knew this was the right decision. He was worried about his son, and peace and quiet was what was needed.

 

*****
 

“Checkmate,” Patrick said. Chet scowled as he nodded, admitting his defeat in their chess game. “Want to play again?” Patrick asked.

“Nah, ya beat me twice,” Chet said. “That’s enough.”

“So, what do you want to do?”

“I like looking at the fire. It’s nice and warm in here,” Chet observed.

“Yeah, Dad started it before you came, so that we’d be warm.”

“You’re really lucky to have this place.”

“Yeah,” Patrick agreed.

“Hey, up there,” John called. “You guys need anything?”

“No, Dad,” Patrick called back. “We’re good.”

“It’s getting late, so don’t forget to get some sleep.”

“We will, Mr. Anderson,” Chet called back.

“Night, boys.”

“Night,” they responded.

“Let’s get into our sleeping bags,” Patrick suggested.

“I’m not tired,” Chet protested.

“We can talk for a while.”

“Okay. It’s nice … just the two of us.”

“Yeah.”

“I bet Bree was mad that she couldn’t come up here with us.”

“She wasn’t happy,” Patrick admitted.

Chet went on to tell Patrick that he should make Bree leave them alone. Patrick listened, but didn’t agree or disagree. He would do what kept peace in the family, and he did like Bree even if his friend didn’t like her as much. Eventually they drifted off to sleep in their nice warm abode.

 

*****
 

Christmas dinner was set out on the table in the sun porch of Edna’s Treasures. The small group assembled for Christmas Day found their places. Emmett looked around the room admiring his own work. The simple pine branches and red ornaments were sophisticated but not ostentatious. He thought he had found just the right feel for this quiet Christmas.

“You did good, Auntie Emm,” Gus said as he came up beside Emmett.

“Thanks,” Emmett said with a smile. “You’re looking better,” he added. Some of the darkness under Gus’ eyes had disappeared. The lad looked a little stronger. Emmett knew Gus had been sleeping late everyday and lying around on a chaise for a good portion of the afternoon.

“I feel better. I was really rundown.”

“Look after yourself,” Emmett advised. “Don’t overdo it.”

“They won’t let me,” Gus said looking at his father, Justin and Bree and all the rest of the assembled group.

Emmett nodded in agreement. “I won’t let you either.”

“I know.”

“Sit down, young man. I believe your father has some words of wisdom to impart,” Emmett said as they found a seat.

“I have just a few words,” Brian said as he stood at the head of the table. “Thanksgiving may be over, but I’d like to say how thankful I am that we can be together for this meal at this wonderful time of the year. I used to hate Christmas but now, because of all of you, I can truthfully say that I don’t mind it hardly at all.” Everyone laughed. “We’ve made quite a community out here on the lane, and it’s good to have the residents of the lane come together to celebrate. I wish you all health and happiness in the year to come.” Brian raised his glass.

“And to you too,” everyone said toasting with their own drinks.

Brian sat down and the food began to be passed around. All of the residents of the lane except for Molly’s family were present. Tom and Todd were there, and Claire and Steve, and Dr. Dan and Emily. It was just the right group for this special day.

“I love you,” Justin whispered as he squeezed Brian’s hand.

“And I love you too,” Brian whispered back.

Bree smiled at her parents having heard the soft spoken words.

 

*****
 

It was New Year’s Eve and the lane inhabitants were all in the sun porch celebrating. Emmett, Justin and John were passing out glasses of champagne to the adults. Brian was handing out sparkling cider to the youngsters and to those who wanted a non-alcoholic bubbling beverage. Gus had hooked up his laptop to a large screen monitor that was attached to one of Justin’s easels. The family were enjoying the live feed from New York’s Times Square.

Ray had flown into Pittsburgh from New York a couple days prior, rented a car and brought JR and Candy to the lane to stay for the remainder of the holiday. He and Gus were huddled together on a chaise; Bree had made herself comfortable on Gus’ lap not wasting any time with her older brother before his holiday was over.

Tom stood off to one side to fully take in the tableau before him.

Richie and Candy were quietly whispering to each other as they exchanged goo-goo eyes. Drew wrapped his strong arms around Emmett when Emm finally took a break from his hostess duties. Grandparents were exchanging pictures in another corner. Rachel and George were enjoying their visit with their girls. Patrick, who had already surpassed Bobby in height, was encircled by his fathers so they could ring in the New Year together. JR was smiling, sitting at a table with her dads. Ben and Michael wore matching expressions of love, pride and contentment.

Brian had stretched out a long arm to wrestle Justin, who was bustling around the porch taking pictures and making sure everyone had beverages and snacks, down onto another chaise just as the noise on the screen began to increase. The family turned their collective heads toward the screen as the large lit ball began to descend.

10-9…

Todd quietly snaked himself through the porch to be at Tom’s side.

8-7…

He took Tom’s face into his hands. “Are you a man or a priest?” Todd asked.

6…

“What?”

5…

“At this moment are you a priest?” Todd asked again above the noise of the cheering crowd on the screen. Something flashed in Tom’s eyes.

4-3…

“No,” Tom said.

2-1…

“Good.” Todd plundered Tom’s mouth with a bruising kiss as the other lovers in the porch followed suit.
 

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