London Calling

Chapter 11

“4-3-2-1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The crowd at Times Square roared as the ball dropped signaling the new year of 2019. Gus and Ray hugged, slapping each other on the back as friends do, their eyes conveying so much more. They each pulled out their cell phones to call their families.

“Pop! Can you hear me, Pop?” Gus shouted into his phone. The noise of the crowd was almost deafening.

“I can hear you,” Brian replied with a broad smile. It was only a few minutes past twelve. Gus must have called him first.

“I’m here at Times Square. I got to see the ball drop!” Gus said with excitement.

Brian chuckled; it was quite obvious where Gus was. “Happy New Year, Sonny Boy.”

“Happy New Year, Pop. Will you say hi to everyone for me?”

“I will. You be careful out there.”

“I will. We’re heading to the GLC as soon as we can get out of this crowd.”

“Okay. I love you, Sonny Boy.”

“Love you too, Pop.”

“And call your moms!”

“Okay, Daaad,” Gus said, rolling his eyes. “See you in a couple of days. Bye, Pop.”

“Night, Sonny Boy.”

Gus cut the connection with his father then quickly called his mothers as Ray was talking to his fathers, and trying to steer them out of the crowd and off the main street.

“Mom!”

“Gus! Where are you?”

“In the middle of the city, Mom. Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year to you too, lambskin. Are you having fun?”

“It’s great, Mom. Is Mama awake?” He could just about make out his mother passing the phone over to Mel.

“Gus, honey?”

“Happy New Year, Mama!”

“Happy New Year to you too, sweetheart. Are you warm enough?”

“Oh mom, I’m fine. Is JR still awake?”

“No, baby, her eyes dropped just as the ball did. Call her in the morning.”

“I will. I gotta go. Ray and I are going to meet his family at the GLC. They’re having a party at the center.”

“Okay, stay warm, and call me tomorrow.”

“Okay, Mama. Love you.”

“Love you too, baby.” Gus hung up then shoved his phone deep into his pocket as he and Ray made it over to 7th Avenue.

With energy that only teenage boys possess, the two ran all the way to Chelsea and to the GLC to join Ray’s family for the ending of the party.

 

*****
 

“Last call!” the ‘bartender’ at the GLC shouted. Friends and family were enjoying all sorts of non-alcoholic beverages including coffee and tea. The boys ignored the call so they could dance the last dance of the night. Holding each other close, Gus and Ray swayed slowly to the music. Jeff, who was there with his girlfriend, was dancing as well.

“Were we ever that young?” Ken asked Simon as they watched their sons dance with their partners.

“If we were, it was a hell of a long time ago,” Simon said with a soft sigh.

“Dance with me, honey,” Ken said as he held out his hand to his life partner. Simon took Ken’s hand then walked to the dance area. Holding each other close, the partners danced the last dance of the night together with their family.

 

*****
 

“Daddy?” a sleepy Briana called out as she shuffled out into the living room clutching her grey bunny and looking for her fathers. Brian and Justin had watched the ball drop then turned off the TV to watch the fire crackling away in their hearth. They had shared a bottle of wine and now they were just sharing one of their last quiet nights together at Edna’s Treasures before their trip to London.

“Here, baby girl,” Justin said. Bree shuffled her way over to the sofa where the lovers were snuggled together under an afghan. Bree reached the sofa then kneeled so she could lay her head on the edge of the couch.

“Uughh, you’re getting so big,” Justin groaned as he leaned over to lift his daughter up and onto his chest. Brian rearranged the blanket to cover their child as she immediately dropped off back to sleep the minute her head hit her daddy’s chest. The proud dads smiled as they gazed upon their peacefully sleeping daughter.

“She’s beautiful, Bri,” Justin whispered. Bree was nestled within Justin’s arms, her grey bunny still in her hand.

“Yes, she is. Just like her daddy,” Brian whispered into Justin’s ear as he wrapped his arms around both of his blonds.

In the quiet of the early hours of the New Year, the families of Edna’s Treasures slept on.

 

*****
 

Patrick came out of Bree’s bedroom with a worried look on his face. He went to find one of his uncles.

Outside of Brian and Justin’s bedroom he halted. He thought he heard some noise from inside. The door was open a little bit so he knocked.

Justin opened the door. “Hey, buddy, what’s up?” he asked.

“Bree’s sad.”

“Sad?”

“Yeah, she won’t hardly talk to me. She’s sitting on her bed holding her bunny with a really sad look on her face,” Patrick explained.

“What’s wrong?” Justin asked as worry took over. They were all getting ready to leave for New York the following day. Bree was all packed and she hadn’t seemed too worried about going. She had asked to call Ashley so that she could say goodbye. “Ashley!” Justin said as the thought struck him.

“Yeah, she doesn’t want to leave Ashley for such a long time.”

“Did she tell you that?”

“Sort of, but I mostly figured it out,” Patrick replied.

“Thanks for telling me this, Patrick,” Justin said squeezing the boy’s shoulder. “I’ll go talk to her.”

“Good luck, because she wouldn’t talk to me.”

“Thanks, I may need it,” Justin said as he started down the hall to Bree’s room.

Patrick headed to his side of the cottages.

“Bree,” Justin said as he pushed open the door of her bedroom.

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Patrick tells me you’re sad.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“What’s wrong? I thought you were looking forward to going to England.”

“I was.”

“But you’re not anymore?”

Bree shook her head making her ponytail dance around her face. “I don’t want to go.”

Justin felt anger rise. This was not what he needed to deal with when they were trying to get ready to leave. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “Bree, we talked all about our trip. Everything is arranged.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you sad?”

“Can Ashley come with us? I don’t want to go without her.”

“No, sweetheart,” Justin replied, “Ashley cannot come with us. Ashley has school and…”

“Auntie Lindsay could teach Ashley too,” Bree interrupted.

Obviously Bree had thought this through. “Does Ashley’s mother know you want her to come with us?”

Bree shook her head. “Ashley said her mother wouldn’t let her come.”

Justin breathed a sigh of relief at that revelation. Thank heavens for Ashley’s practical mother. “Then we can’t bring Ashley with us.”

“I don’t want to go without her. I’ll miss her.”

“We’re only going for a month, Bree. Ashley will be here when we get back.”

“But a month’s … forever,” Bree said stressing the forever.

Justin smiled slightly. To someone Bree’s age a month probably did seem like forever. He thought for a minute before saying, “You remember when Gus went away to college?”

Bree nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t like that either.”

“I know, and it was almost a month before you saw him again. It will be the same with Ashley. You’ll see her in the same amount of time as that. And Gus will be with us in England for almost the whole time.”

“Really?” Bree asked perking up a bit.

“Yes, and you’ll be able to spend a lot of time together with your brother. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then are we good to go?”

“I … Ashley,” Bree moaned.

Justin sighed again. He had thought he was winning this one. Why did he have to ask if things were all right? He should have known the fucking answer. “Bree,” he said after a moment of thought.

“Yes, Daddy,” Bree responded, sounding very sad.

“You’re all packed, right?”

“Yes.”

“What if you called Ashley back and asked her mother if Ashley could come for dinner? We’d pick her up and you could spend some time with her before bedtime.”

Bree looked into her father’s eyes. “Could I?” she asked hopefully.

“It’s worth a try. Come to the kitchen and we’ll call.”

“’Kay, Daddy. Thank you.”

“I want you to be happy, sweetheart, and I want you to enjoy this trip.”

“I’ll try.”

“That’s my girl,” Justin said as Bree jumped off her bed into his arms and kissed his face. He laughed all the way to the phone.

 

*****
 

“What’s wrong?” Ray asked Gus. Ray found Gus standing on the roof terrace. The sun was bright in the sky, but January in New York City could be brutally cold at times.

“I’m going to miss you. This week has been the greatest. It’s like we’re finally in a real relationship, not just phone boyfriends.”

“I know,” Ray said softly, turning up the collar of his coat. The wind was whipping around the terrace. Gus was sadly looking out and over the wall at the street below. The quiet afternoon was interrupted by a fire truck driving by with sirens blaring.

Gus turned around to hug Ray; they held each other tight. Gus buried his head into Ray’s neck, gently kissing the soft skin.

“Boys, come in here! If you guys get sick now, you’re not going to be able to get on that plane to London,” Ken said reasonably with a smirk on his face. He quickly turned to go back inside the apartment. A few moments later the boys flew into the apartment and down to Ken’s home office.

“Dad, you said guys as in plural as in more than one guy on the plane. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Ray looked expectantly at his father. Gus stood next to Ray lacing his fingers into Ray’s, waiting for Ken’s reply.

“Sit,” Ken said, pointing to the small sofa along one wall of his office. The boys quickly sat. Ken chuckled at the wide-eyed expressions on their handsome faces.

“Simon and I had an interesting conversation with your father,” Ken began as he looked at Gus. “He must have anticipated this possibility and purchased one more ticket … for you.” Ken turned his gaze onto his son. “We didn’t want to say anything at first because we wanted to see how your visit was going. We all agree you two deserve this time together. And since Ray goes back to college just about the same time you do, we thought this would be a wonderful way to spend his winter break.”

Both boys beamed with happiness but within a minute their smiles turned to frowns.

“Dad, what about Jeffrey?”

“Yeah. I mean, Ray being able to go is like a dream come true, but I feel bad leaving Jeff behind,” Gus added.

“I’m cool, guys,” Jeff said as he entered the room. “Dude, you have one cool dad, you know?” Jeff said to Gus. Gus smiled; he knew just how cool his father was. “He offered me a ticket too, but me and Renee are in a play next month and we need this time to rehearse. So go forth and represent!” Jeffrey said very dramatically and magnanimously, regally gesturing with his hands. He took a bow then left the office, leaving his brother and Gus sitting there with their mouths hanging open.

He quickly popped his head back in and said, “Oh, you better bring me back some kick-ass presents!” Jeff was gone again in a flash. His father was laughing out loud while the boys still looked stunned.

Later that night the boys were discussing their good fortune.

“I can’t believe I’m really going to England with you!” Ray whispered as the boys cuddled together in Gus’ bed.

“Me neither, and that was even after I spoke to my dad. We get to spend practically the whole month together, and in London. What do you want to see first?”

“I don’t know. Maybe New Scotland Yard.”

“Scotland Yard?”

“Yeah. Or Baker Street. Or where Jack the Ripper went to hunt for his victims.”

“Uh, Ray, I think I’m sensing a pattern here.”

“I love Sherlock Holmes.”

“Okaaay. Um, but what about the palace and Westminster? Maybe we can take a tour to Stonehenge.”

“Yeah! Yeah! I’m for that too.”

“Thank the gods. I was beginning to think you were into weird stuff.”

“Of course, I’m into weird stuff. You’re my boyfriend, ain’t ya?” Ray said with a grin on his face that in the dark room Ray was sure Gus couldn’t see.

“Why, you...”

Gus may not have been able to see Ray’s face but that didn’t stop him from knowing about the smirk. Gus pounced on Ray. Using his longer body to pin Ray down, Gus began to tickle his boyfriend in retaliation, throwing in some occasional kisses. Soon there was a lot less tickling and a lot more kisses.

“I love you, Gus,” Ray whispered as he trailed his hands up and down Gus’ back.

“Me too,” Gus murmured as he nibbled at Ray’s ear.

“The Tower of London,” Ray mumbled as Gus slowly licked the shell of Ray’s ear. Gus took a little bite as Ray laughed and then their ‘fight’ resumed.

 

*****
 

“Lindsay, do you have everything?” Melanie asked her spouse. They had spent the holiday season together with JR at their new cottage. But now that the holidays were over, it was time for JR to go back to school and for Mel to drive them back to Pittsburgh. It also meant that Lindsay was going to fly to London with Brian and his family.

“Yes, I think so,” Lindsay replied. She had two large suitcases ready by the door, her purse and a carry-on. “My ticket and passport are here,” she said as she waved her purse in the air. “My copy of the catalog and notes are in here,” she continued, indicating the carry-on.

“Did you pack enough clothes?”

“I have enough for a month but I hope we won’t stay that long.”

“What about the kids’ lessons, their books and things?”

“Brian decided he didn’t want to take a chance with luggage. He had the books and lesson plans FedEx’d to the townhouse. It’ll be there when we arrive.”

“He does think of everything,” Mel conceded.

The women became very quiet, staring into the other’s eyes. JR was taking one last look around the cottage for anything they might have missed.

“Gag,” JR groaned. “Thank the gods Uncle John did such a great job on insulating this cottage. You two are gross sometimes,” JR complained. Her moms had spent the holidays ‘saying’ goodbye. JR had had enough of their goo-goo eyes. “Mommy, we have to go!” JR said impatiently as she looked at her watch. She knew her uncles were on a timetable. Her moms nodded glumly.

They loaded up their car, took one last look around the cottage, locked up then drove to Edna’s Treasures.

 

*****
 

“Don’t worry, I’ll call every week. The month will go quick, and we’ll be back before you know it.” There was a pause in the conversation.

“I know you’re going to miss us and we’re going to miss you too.” Another pause.

“Don’t look at me like that with those big brown eyes of yours. Oh fuck! Now, the puppy dog eyes look.”

“We’ll be okay, and you will be too. Your pantry is fully stocked and your favorite fairy godmother will check on you regularly. I promise.”

“Brian, who are you talking to?” Justin asked. Brian was in the sun porch, squatting on the floor. He stood up to find Justin, Mel, Lindsay, JR and John staring at him. Brian felt his neck become warm.

“I was talking to Beau,” Brian said with as much dignity as he could muster. “He knows something’s going on and I wasn’t about to lie to him,” Brian explained.

Justin smiled affectionately at Brian.

John shook his head and chuckled.

JR giggled.

And Lindsay looked at Brian with big doe eyes.

“Oh just fucking kill me,” Mel grumbled as she dropped Lindsay’s bags onto the floor with a thud. She swung Lindsay around to plant a big kiss on her lips. JR gave her mom a hug and then she and Mel left to drive back to the Pitts, leaving Edna’s Treasures to deal with Brian.
 

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