Listen to Your Heart

Chapter 5

Lindsay was still shaking her head as the family settled at a large table toward the back of a pub that Gus and Ray brought them to.  The pub was situated only a few minutes walk from Kinnetik Isles.

“I don’t know who’s worse, you or your father,” Lindsay said as she gave both boys a poignant look.  Gus smiled back at his mother with a “who me?” expression, while Brian turned on the old puppy dog eyes.  “I give up,” Lindsay conceded.  “But I have to admit that it was very generous of you to arrange lunch for the staff,” she said to Brian.  Brian winked at her.

After spending a significant amount of time flirting with the staff, Brian took over Charles’ office, picking up the desk phone to call Harrod’s and have them cater a nice brunch for the staff.  Charles politely thanked Brian for lunch then strongly suggested that he take his band of merry folk out of his gallery.

“We try to run a posh establishment here.  It will take me hours to restore order,” Charles complained as he pointed Brian toward the door.

“I’ve been thrown out of a lot better places than this,” Brian snarked.

“I’m sure you have,” Charles replied.  “Justin, please take this man of yours out of my gallery,” Charles begged.

“Brian,” Justin said in a tone that brooked no nonsense.

“Coming dear,” Brian retorted then turned around to Charles.  “You will join us for dinner?  We’d love to give you the grand tour and Hudson would be very pleased to see you,” Brian said in all seriousness.

“I’d love to,” said Charles.

“Does six-thirty work?  Dinner is at seven,” said Brian.  Charles nodded with a smile.

*****

“This place reminds me of Woody’s,” Justin commented as he perused the lunch menu.

“That’s one of the reasons we come here.  Aside from being close to the office, this pub has a welcoming atmosphere,” said Gus.  Ray nodded.

Brian looked around, noting businessmen and women with coffee and their tablets in hand, young men playing darts, and families in for lunch.  It felt like a safe place to enjoy good food and relax.  Justin smiled at Brian, knowing what he was thinking, and nodded in agreement.  Brian leaned over to kiss Justin’s cheek.

“Daddy, is it all right if I speak in French to Mr. Armand?  It’s been a long time since we were in Paris and I’m out of practice,” Bree asked.

“I have no objection as long as Armand agrees and the family doesn’t mind,” Justin replied.  When no one appeared to be offended by the notion, Bree smiled then turned toward Armand to ask.

“Monsieur Armand, puis-je pratiquer mon français avec vous?”

“Bien sûr, ma petite amie. Ce serait un plaisir.”

Bree and Armand conversed for several minutes until lunch arrived.  On occasion, Armand would gently correct Bree’s pronunciation but was very impressed with Bree’s command of his native language.

“Armand, I couldn’t help noticing that you appeared annoyed with Charles,” Lindsay said with some hesitation.  Armand put down his cutlery then wiped his mouth with his napkin.

“Simone and some of the other galleries that are hosting Justin’s work are interested in obtaining more paintings.  I mentioned this to Charles.  Let us say he does not like to play well with others,” Armand said with a light snort. 

“I am so sorry,” Lindsay stated, mortified at Charles’ reluctance to share. 

Brian immediately sat up and bristled.  “Do we need to have words?” Brian growled.  Justin immediately placed a calming hand on Brian’s arm.

Before Lindsay could respond Gus spoke up.  “No worries, Pop, we have a secret stash of Justin’s work that we can send to Simone,” Gus stated with confidence.

“A secret stash?  Where?” Brian’s curiosity was piqued; he sat up straighter.

“In the wine cellar,” Gus proudly boasted. 

“We have a wine cellar,” Brian murmured to himself.  “Of course,” he said out loud.  “My coffee is stored there,” Brian said with a wide grin.  “Dare I ask how many paintings are stashed down there?”

“About one hundred and fifty.  We have a full inventory at home.  Plus, we have some small pieces from Sam if anyone’s interested,” Gus stated.

“Are they safe?” Brian asked, pretty sure he knew the answer.

“Very.  House alarm, CCTV on each floor, and the wine cellar has an additional alarm system,” Gus informed his father.  Brian sensed Andrea Renaud’s doings and he approved.

While the lunch was finishing and the family was preparing to leave, Brian’s phone buzzed.  It was a text from Nathan; the local garden center had delivered the special pots and plants for the park.  Suddenly, Brian felt the need to get his hands dirty.

“Justin, do you mind if I skip this trip into wonderland and go home?” Brian asked with bright eyes.

“Something to do with the text you just received,” Justin surmised.

“The plants and new pots for the park were just delivered,” Brian replied.

“And you feel the urge to be one with the earth,” Justin said knowingly.  Brian nodded.  Justin smiled.  Brian did so much for everyone; no one would find it selfish of him to do a little gardening.

“Go, shoo, go play in the dirt.  We’ll spend maybe a couple of hours at Isles then come home,” said Justin.

“Thank you, Sunshine,” said Brian with a beautiful smile.  “Ladies and Germs, please excuse my sudden departure,” said Brian as he stood.  “I hear the call of the wild and I must answer it.  I’ll see you all later.  Sonny Boy, please don’t lose anyone.”

“I won’t,” Gus replied with a giggle.

With a toss of some money onto the table, Brian was out of the pub and on his way home.  All eyes turned to Justin.

“The plants and flowerpots were delivered,” Justin deadpanned.  Everyone understood.  “Head ‘em up and move ‘em out,” said Justin, sounding a lot like his spouse.  The family laughed.  Gus settled the bill then they were on their way to Kinnetik Isles.

*****

Debbie stood outside Grassi House staring at the entrance.  She had been standing there for several minutes.  She wasn’t a person who prayed very often, but she was saying a small prayer that she might see some improvement in her son when she went inside.  Her hope for a breakthrough was minimal, but at this point she would take any change - a word, a smile, an angry outburst, anything that indicated that Michael cared about what was going on in his world.

Michael was only one day into his stay at Grassi House, but Debbie couldn’t help hoping for a miracle.  She knew in her heart that it was unlikely there would be any change, but that didn’t stop some part of her from hoping.

Taking a deep breath, Debbie finally entered the building.  She headed down the hall to the room where they had left Michael the day before.  After a moment’s hesitation she stepped into the room to see an empty bed in front of her.  Her heart skipped a beat as she looked around and said, “Michael?” to the empty room.  There was no reply and a feeling of panic overtook her.  She thought she might fall over.  “What’s happened?” she muttered to herself as she stumbled out of the room and headed for the head nurse’s office.

She pounded on the closed door before pushing it open, not waiting for a reply.

“Where’s my son?” she demanded of Amanda.  “What’s happened to him?  He’s not in his room.  Have you sent him back to the hospital?  I knew I shouldn’t have hoped this was the best place for him.  Where is he?  He isn’t…?”

“Mrs. Novotny, please calm yourself,” Amanda said standing up from behind her desk.  “Michael is at physical therapy.  There’s no need to be worried.  We won’t let anything happen to your son.”

“Physical therapy?” Debbie repeated unable to wrap her head around what she was being told.  “He agreed to physical therapy?”

“Michael isn’t speaking, so technically he didn’t agree, but we moved him to the gym where others are doing their programs.  He’s probably watching at this point.  I doubt he’s participating.”

“Then why take him there?”

“It sometimes helps patients to see others doing things.  It might spark some interest or get Michael to at least follow what’s going on.  It’s some stimulation for him.”

“Stimulation,” Debbie repeated.  “He never did anything in the hospital but lie there like a zombie.”  Debbie shook her head.

“That’s why you moved him here, isn’t it?  For a new start?”

“Yes, yes it is.”

“Mrs. Novotny, we are going to do whatever we can to help Michael improve.  I can’t promise you what the results will be, but just understand that we will take good care of Michael and do our best for him.”

Debbie swallowed hard.  For a fleeting moment she had thought Michael was dead when she saw his empty bed.  She needed to get a grip.  If she was an emotional wreck, she would be of no use to her son.  “I … I’m sorry I barged in here.  I jumped to a lot of conclusions.”

“I understand, Mrs. Novotny.  You don’t know us very well … yet, but we do have Michael’s best interests at heart.”

“Please call me Debbie, and once again I’m sorry for storming in here.”

“No harm done.  Would you like to see what Michael is doing in the gym?”

“Do you think he’ll be doing anything?” Debbie said with a little grimace.

Amanda smiled.  “Probably not, but he may show some interest in his surroundings.  Every small step is something.”

“Yes, I suppose.”

“Come with me, Debbie,” Amanda said as she led Debbie out of her office and down a different hallway.

She stopped outside a door.  “This is our ‘gym’, really a glorified large room, but it serves its purpose.  I suggest we watch from out here.  I don’t think Michael would want you to see what is going on.”

“Fucking nothing most likely,” Debbie mumbled to herself.  Sure enough when she looked through the small window in the door she could see four people, a couple in wheelchairs, waving their arms and swaying back and forth.  She spotted Michael immediately in his wheelchair doing nothing, unlike all the others.  However, he did seem to be watching what the other people were doing.  That in itself was a bit of an improvement, because he usually was so blank, with no visible interest in anything. Music was playing and the small group under the guidance of a woman leading them was keeping to the beat of the music.

“Is Michael participating?” Amanda asked.  She had stood out of the way so Debbie could observe her son.

“Not exactly, but … he does seem to be watching what the others are doing.”

“That’s a good thing then.”

“He usually shows no interest in anything, so it is a bit of an improvement, I suppose.”

“That’s encouraging,” Amanda said with a small smile. 

“I wouldn’t get too excited,” Debbie warned.  “Once he gets used to what they’re doing, he may revert to his old manner of total detachment.”

“That is a possibility,” Amanda admitted, “but let’s hope for the best.  This will be small steps over some time if we make any progress at all.”

“It’s more than I have seen in weeks,” Debbie said.  “It does give me a small sliver of hope.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Yeah,” Debbie replied.

“Do you want to keep watching your son or would you rather wait for him in his room?  They shouldn’t be too much longer.”

“I don’t want Michael to feel that I’m spying on him, so I’ll wait in his room.”

“Good plan,” Amanda agreed.

*****

As Brian was swiftly navigating the streets of London back to his “castle,” Gus and Ray herded the family toward Isles.

“Are you sure we won’t be in the way?” asked Ben.

“Not at all,” replied Gus.  “Shane loves company.  Besides, I have all the paintings downloaded onto my computer.  I can project them onto the big screen so Armand can choose what he’d like to send to Simone,” Gus explained.

“Gus, can Ray go over the German contract with me?” Bree asked.

“Of course,” said Gus.

“It’s pretty straight forward,” said Ray as they approached the building.  Armand and Ben were impressed.

“This is an advertising agency?” Susanna asked as she studied the façade.  “It’s beautiful!”

“Fortunately, the building wasn’t listed so the inside is a bit more modern.  Pop had more windows added to the top floor for the artists,” said Gus.  “But from the outside, I still get that feeling that Sherlock Holmes might show up,” Gus said with a grin.  “Come on, I’m sure there’s a pot of tea waiting with our names on it.”

“Now look what the cat dragged in.  Aren’t you boys on holiday?” Shane asked as he greeted everyone.  “And is this Miss Briana, all grown up and ready to take on the world.  You wouldn’t be ready to take me place already, now would ye?” Shane teased.  Bree giggled as she shook her head.

“Justin, my boy, would you do the honors and show your guests around.  There’s a fresh pot of tea waiting in the kitchen and maybe a few biscuits.  Help yourselves.  By the way, your “lordship” is not with you,” Shane asked as Justin was showing Lindsay, Susanna, Pete, and Ashley to the kitchen.

“His lordship was inspired to plant some flowers in our park,” Justin informed Shane.

“Thank heaven for that,” Shane murmured as he returned to work.

While Ray was going over the German gallery contract with Bree and Justin was showing everyone else around, Gus ushered Armand and Ben into a small conference room.  With a few clicks on his tablet Ben and Armand were treated to dozens of paintings and sketches.

“Incroyable,” Armand exclaimed as Gus scrolled through dozens of Justin’s works.  “May I call Simone?” Armand asked as he took out his phone.

“Of course,” said Gus.  “The paintings are all crated and ready to be shipped by special courier.  I just need the code number.  I’ll give you some privacy,” said Gus as he handed Armand a pad and pen then stepped out of the room.

*****

Seeing the driveway gate open, Brian stepped through then hustled around to the back of the house.  A large truck was being unloaded.  Its cargo of planters, potting soil, and various colorful plants were being loaded onto trailers that were attached to buggies that looked like golf carts.  Brian’s instinct was to help but there appeared to be more than enough men to handle the task.  He decided to run up to his room and change into his gardening clothes.

Upon entering the master bedroom, Brian confirmed that he was alone.  No need to give the staff an unnecessary thrill.  He rummaged through his closet finding his gardening overalls and a tank top.  He quickly changed, found his favorite gardening tools and was about run out of the room when a memory of a stern voice echoed in his brain.  “Wear a hat!”  Brian snorted a “yes dear” as he found his old straw gardening hat then ran out of the room.  When he reached the entrance to the park, Brian stood perplexed.  Two golf carts, one with a load of fancy pots with plinths, the other with bags of potting soil were being driven into the park…without him.

“Sir,” Nathan called out as he pulled up in another cart overflowing with flowering plants.  “Get in sir,” Nathan coaxed Brian.  Brian climbed into the cart.

“Um, didn’t we want to help,” Brian asked, nodding toward the other buggies.

“Sir…”

“Brian.”

“Brian, you are the “lord of the manor,” so to speak.  And as such we wouldn’t want any accidents.  Those pots weigh close to 50 pounds.  I’m sure Mr. Taylor would agree.  Besides, we wouldn’t want to displease Mrs. Hudson, now would we?  The boys have your precise plans.  They’ll place the pots then leave a bag of soil.  We have the plants,” Nathan said with a lovely smile.

Something flickered in Brian’s eyes.  For the briefest of moments the stud was trying to exert himself.  Innocent flirting at the gallery was one thing, this was something else.  Brian focused, putting the stud securely back in his place.  Brian had never broken his vows to Justin and he wouldn’t now.  Nathan was not only a trusted employee, but he was also in a long-term relationship with Stuart.

“Sir?”

“Nothing.  Plants, pots, and plinths, here we come!” Brian shouted as Nathan stepped on the accelerator.

They only went a few feet when they came upon the first pot set onto its plinth and nestled just in front of the small gap that separated two of the arborvitae trees.  A small bag of potting soil lay next to it.  Brian jumped down, selected several plants, then sat on the grass arranging the plants according to his vision.  When he was satisfied with the arrangement, he filled the pot with soil then planted.  The whole process took Brian less than ten minutes.  Leaving the rest of the soil next to the pot, Brian picked up his tools and the temporary pots then got back into the buggy.

“Sir, I mean Brian, should I tell Stuart to come back for the soil?”

“No, not yet.  The plants will need water then time to settle into the pot.  The pots will probably need more soil but we can do that tomorrow,” Brian carefully explained.  “Question, how do we water the plants?”

“The pop up sprinklers are set up in four zones.  Once we finish planting the first zone, I can turn on the sprinklers in that section.  When the planting is done, we can go back to the timer.  It’s set for early morning then late at night,” said Nathan.  Brian was very happy with that.  Brian and Nathan reached the first landmark, the ivy covered arch, indicating they were a quarter of the way done.  Nathan pulled out his phone, tapped a few icons and the sprinkler system came to life in zone one.  Brian smiled brightly as they moved onto the next section.  Brian knew they were halfway done when they came upon the bench on one side and the water feature on the opposite side.

The pond was now raised up, lined to make it waterproof and surrounded by heavy stones with a ledge strong enough to sit on.  Water loving plants were decorating the rock face with water gently sluicing down feeding the pond.  And there were brightly colored koi swimming around water lilies.  Brian stood in front of the pond for a few minutes and closed his eyes.  Then he walked to the bench and sat.  He shut his eyes again and listened.

“Nathan, come here a minute,” Brian asked, patting the bench.  “Sit, close your eyes.”  Nathan sat and obeyed.  “What do you hear?”

“The water?”

“What else?”

“Birds, I hear birds!”

“Good, if we do the job right, we should soon hear bees.  And if we’re lucky maybe we’ll see a butterfly or two,” said Brian.  They sat for a few more minutes then continued planting until each pot was filled.

“I think we did enough for today,” said Brian as he and Nathan drove back to the house.  “Am I allowed to drive this thing?”

“Yes, sir, you do own this one.  Actually, the estate has two, we hired the extra one for the day,” replied Nathan.

“Wonderful, then I’ll probably see you in the morning.  I think I need a long hot shower,” Brian said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“Yes, sir,” Nathan said with a laugh.

Feeling like a man who had a great “gargar” day, Brian stepped down off the buggy then went inside to clean up.

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