And Never Brought to Mind
Chapter 10
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"Lacy, what the fuck am I doing out
here? It's getting dark and I want to spend some time with Nick. You know we
don't have much time together." Hunter groused as he was led to the stream
by the two young women.
"Hunter, Katerina
needs your help. You know stuff."
"What stuff?"
"Kat, I think you better tell
Hunter."
"But how can he help me?" Katerina's eyes got big as she looked Hunter up and down.
He was still so youthful looking that she didn't think he knew anything.
"Christ! Will one of you tell me what
the fuck is going on?" Hunter was getting frustrated and he wanted to get
back to Nick.
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"Look at them. You'd think it was an
orgy, not a barbecue!" Emmett complained, loudly, to Debbie as he watched
the couples hugging and kissing and groping in various corners of the cottages.
"Emm,
honey, it wasn't long ago that having an orgy was the point of the
evening."
"Well, right now, my dessert is the
point of the evening," Emmett huffed back.
"Sweetie, where is that hunky man of
yours? You need your priorities rearranged."
"Here I am." Drew recognized the
upset look on his partner's face. "What is it, baby?"
"Oh Drewsie,
nobody cares that I slaved over dessert. And Starbucks has nothing over my
blends. If they don't eat soon, it'll all be ruined."
It was true. Since 99% of the people in
attendance were gay, no one felt obligated to show any restraint. Debbie and Carl
were used to it as were Claire and Steve. The whole cottage was immersed in
love. The only one who was a little taken aback was JP. He had never seen so
many gay people in one place before. He had no idea where to look anymore.
"Don't worry, baby. I'll get their
attention." Drew put two fingers in his mouth and let out a rip roaring
and very macho whistle.
"Listen up, people! Emmett slaved all
morning making dessert and you all are going to eat it!" Drew bellowed
loud enough to be heard across a football field.
"Well, why didn't you fucking say
so?" Debbie countered. "It all looks wonderful, Emm!"
Debbie and Carl went up to the table to
load up their plates. They were followed closely by Ted and Allen and then
everyone else. The kids were treated to special cookies that Emmett had made specially for them. Soon the whole cottage was oohing and aahing over the
delicacies. Emmett's smile was back and that made Drew one happy partner.
"See baby, you just have to know how
to handle them," Drew said to his now ecstatic lover.
"My hero!" Emmett cooed into Drew's
ear as he made up a plate for his man.
"Auntie Emm!"
Bree came running up to Emmett holding one of
Emmett's cookies in her little hand.
"What is it, sweetheart?"
"Cookie,
good!" Briana said to the tall queen who now had tears of joy in
his eyes.
Emmett scooped up the little girl and gave
her a hug. "Then my work here is done," Emmett whispered into the
golden locks. Brian and Justin looked on with big grins on their faces.
"The Squirt's work is done too,"
Brian whispered into Justin's golden locks.
"Yeah," Justin whispered back.
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JP and Katerina
were standing in front of one of Justin's unfinished pieces. It was a large
abstract piece with a myriad of colors running through it but surprisingly
peaceful at the same time. There were tears in Katerina's
eyes and JP was very animated as he spoke to her in Spanish and in hushed
tones.
"No! Impossible.
You will come home as planned. You will not disgrace the family."
"Please, Juan, I can't go back. You
love Felisia; you are meant to be together. I do not
love Pedro. I won't love him."
"Nonsense. You will learn."
"I am not like you; you know this.
Please don't make me."
"Trouble in
paradise?" JP and Katerina jumped as Brian silently glided over and snarked loudly at the brother and sister who were in their
heated argument.
"Brian, I do not want to be rude. You
have opened your home to us but this is a personal family matter. It's no
business of yours," JP attempted to stand up to Brian which was rather
difficult when Brian was looming over him.
"A family matter, huh. In that case
it may affect Justin and what affects Justin affects me. And that makes it my
business." Brian's voice was getting louder and the family was beginning
to gather around them.
"Brian, what are you doing?"
Justin came trotting over to see what got his spouse's thong in a twist.
"Just clearing the
air, Sunshine. The pieces
are beginning to fit."
"What are you talking about?"
Justin asked all wide-eyed.
"Yeah, kiddo, what are you talking
about?" Debbie couldn't keep her nose out of it.
"Kinney, why are you harassing
them?" Melanie jumped in.
"Well, since you all ARE our family,
I guess you should know too."
"Brian, no," JP pleaded.
"Are you scared of the truth?"
Brian glared at JP.
"What truth?" Justin fired back.
He was getting annoyed at Brian and embarrassed.
"Their truth. Edna Galloway's truth."
JP and Katerina gulped at the mention of Edna's name.
"Who knows Miss Edna?" Katerina asked, speaking English quite clearly.
"Yes, we know Edna and I know she
knew your family and for one who claims not to speak English, you do it very
well." Brian's eyes narrowed and zoned in on the helpless girl.
"Brian, be nice," Lacy said
meekly as she came over and put her arm around Katerina.
"Another country heard from,"
Brian snarked then grinned. His suspicions were
right.
"Brian, I think you better explain yourself," John, the voice of reason spoke.
Brian nodded, got himself a mug of coffee
and began his pitch. "First off, I believe you when you said you were only
here to find relatives and that you never meant to go after the '
Brian slipped his arm around Justin's
shoulders and gave him a kiss to the temple. "If it wasn't for Justin, a
lot of what you see here would not have existed. Now for your little
problem," Brian began again.
"Problem?" Justin looked up at his lover and then at JP and Katerina.
"Yes, Sunshine, a
very big problem if I'm not mistaken. JP is engaged to be married and as soon as he goes
home, the wedding will take place and he will take his place as head of the
household and run the business his father left to him." Brian looked at JP
for affirmation and JP nodded confirming what he said.
"Oh, for a minute I thought you were
going to say he was gay and was trying to get out of the wedding." This
time it was Michael who ventured that hypothesis.
"Very good, Mikey!
Close but no cigar. Nope, our little JP over here, is
straight. Straighter than straight. I haven't seen
someone this straight in a very long time. He's not even bi or gay curious. We
have one little happy het in the family."
Several in the family broke out into
giggles at Brian's description of JP, and the young man in question blushed
deeply from head to toe.
"Katerina
on the other hand..." Brian paused dramatically for effect and to let his
implication sink into the collective family brain.
"Un-fucking
believable!" Debbie
shouted.
"Shit! The man's gaydar
works for lesbians too!" Melanie grumbled loudly for everyone to hear. She
hated when Brian was right about things as usual.
"Yeah, well, we can blame it on
Patrick's genes. It appears he passed on the gay gene or in this case the
lesbian gene to little Katerina. And herein lies the problem. Katerina
probably just finished high school and now she's supposed to follow the family
traditions and culture, get married and start making babies. Married
to a MAN. Not a good thing if you're a lesbian."
A number of
"Shits!"
"Fuck!" And "Oh that's so sad," ran through the family. Katerina slumped next to her brother and Lacy tightened her
hold.
"So, if I can trust my eyes, Miss Katerina Taylor wants to stay here in the land of the free
and the home of the queers. While JP goes back to take his
rightful place as head of the
JP and Katerina
both nodded in agreement.
"Bri, can
we help them?" Justin's blue eyes looked up into Brian's with hope.
"I don't know, Sunshine. I think
that's one for the lawyers in the family to answer. She certainly has a home
here with us or with any one of us, including your mother when she learns about
all of this. We can find her a job and certainly send her to college if Katerina has a career in mind. As for becoming a citizen,
that's not up to me. I can make everything else happen in a heartbeat when Katerina and JP give me the word."
"You would do this for me?" Katerina gazed with awe into the hazel eyes that were
filled with strength and love.
Brian imperceptibly nodded at the girl. Katerina burst into tears of joy and relief. At that point,
the ladies in the cottage all rallied and took the girl into the living room to
console her and make plans.
The sun porch began to buzz with activity
and noise of the men gossiping, and kids at play.
"Brian, you can't fix
everything." Ben came up to his friend to add some of his wisdom.
"I know but she can't go back and get
married because it's what's expected of her. She's much too young to have her
spirit crushed."
"And since when have you become an
expert on teenage spirit?"
Brian arched an eyebrow at the professor.
"Forget I said that. I think you have a lot more experience with teenagers
than I care to know about."
Ben laughed then gave his friend a hug.
"Brian." Hunter stepped up into
Brian's space.
"Ah, the master of
social work. What words of
wisdom do you have for me? You gonna tell me I'm
making a mistake or making things worse for her?"
"No, I'm not. Lacy and Katerina cornered me before and told me a little of the
problem. And I think Lacy has a big fat crush on Katerina."
"Lacy and her
crushes. First
Justin and now Katerina. What is it about
those
"I haven't a fucking clue. But I do
know what Katerina wants to do with her life."
"Oh pul-leese,
don't tell me she inherited the
"No, she does like to draw but it's a
hobby, not a career option. She wants to be a nurse. God knows we can use more
nurses. And maybe I can convince her to work with me at the clinic. Even with
Karen and Nick, I can't keep up with everything. I can use the help."
"I'm sure it wouldn't be too
difficult to get her school records and enroll her in nursing school but before
we do that I think JP is going to need counseling." Brian and Hunter
glanced at JP who was sitting in a corner, looking miserable and guilty for
bringing his sister with him to
"Bri, from
what I see, the
"Brian, Bree's
getting sleepy, so is Patrick. Bobby and I are going to let them say goodnight
and settle them in Patrick's room. It's much quieter on their side."
Justin held a yawning Briana in his arms. Bobby had a
sleepy Patrick in his. Brian kissed his daughter goodnight and watched as
Justin and Bobby made the rounds then disappeared into the Anderson/Morrison
side of the cottage.
"Brian." It was Claire's turn to
talk with Brian.
"Have I made a mess of things?"
Brian needed Claire's level head and calmness to reassure him that he had done
the right thing.
"No, honey, you did what you always
do. You take care of the people you love. You can count on me and Steve."
Claire drew Brian into a hug then went off to help Emmett clean up. Everyone
pitched in to set the cottage back to normal.
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Sunday morning at the cottage and the air
was cool and crisp. For some reason Justin was up with the birds. He dressed in
warm sweats and thick socks then quietly padded to the kitchen to put on the
coffee and set the kettle on the stove. He turned the flame on low so the water
would take some time to boil. It was times like this when it was all quiet in
the cottage when Justin loved to paint. And that's where Katerina
found him, in the porch with a mug of tea in one hand and a paint brush in the
other.
"Good morning, Justin."
"Good morning, Katerina.
Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, I did. I slept better than I
have in months."
"That's good. The water in the pot is
still hot if you want tea. Help yourself."
"Thank you, I will in a moment.
Justin, may I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"When did you know?"
"Know?"
"That you liked men instead of
women."
"I guess I always knew I liked girls
as friends and not as girlfriends. But I guess I was about sixteen when I
really knew for sure. I met Brian when I was seventeen. That was it for me. I
knew I'd never love anyone else but him."
"So young!"
"Yes, it really scared my mother, and
my father kicked me out. We haven't been father and son since."
"I'm sorry. You must miss him."
"I do; sometimes I miss him a lot.
Brian had it worse than me. It's only now that he and his mother are learning
to be a family again. But my mom and I are very close. She's the best."
"Yes, she is a wonderful person. She
made me feel so comfortable. So did Molly. Is Molly a, a..."
"A lesbian? No, she likes guys. She likes them a lot,"
Justin giggled. "When did you know?"
"I guess I'm like you. I always knew
but it didn't really matter, until I was told that it was expected that I get
married. I don't want to be with someone I can't love."
"I know the feeling. Brian and I
broke up once and I lived with someone else for a while but it was horrible. It
felt wrong. We got through it though." They were silent for a while and
Justin sipped some more of his tea.
"Your Brian is a good man. Much machismo, yes?"
"Very macho. Until he queens out."
"
"You'll find out soon enough. Just
ignore him; we all do." Justin gave Katerina a
coy smile.
"What do you know about Lacy?"
"Not much. Hunter found her. At first
we all thought she was a boy. She was living on the street. He got her cleaned
up, got her back in school. Debbie gave her a job and took her in. She's a good
artist. She's still young and very confused, so be careful." Katerina understood the warning and nodded. "But it
would be nice for Lacy to have a female friend."
Katerina smiled. She could be just friends with Lacy. For now.
All of a sudden, squeals of laughter were
heard coming from the master bedroom and a loud "oomph" as Bree pounced on her Dada.
"Up, Dada, up!"
"I'm always up, Squirt." More
laughter and then Justin heard the sound of the bedroom door opening.
"Brian! Pants!"
Justin yelled. The bedroom door slammed then reopened after a minute.
"Katerina,
I don't want to frighten you but Brian has a tendency to walk around
naked."
"Naked?!" Katerina said in horror,
then her face softened. "He is a very beautiful man. Maybe if I had known
such beauty in men existed, I wouldn't be a lesbian."
Now it was Justin's turn to be horrified.
The two
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The following Saturday, Justin and Katerina took JP to the airport.
"You are certain you will not come
back with me?" JP asked his sister one last time. Katerina
could only shake her head, no. "I'm not sure when I can come back. We may
not see each other for a very long time."
"I know but it must be this way. I
love you, Juan. I promise to study hard. I will try to make you proud of
me."
"I am proud of you. I love you, Katerina." Brother and sister shared their tears.
"Please take care of her," JP
pleaded to Justin.
"I will, I promise. And she'll write
you and e-mail you and we can use the video phone. Maybe we can bring you and
your wife up here for a vacation." JP nodded then hugged his cousin.
"I'm glad you took a chance on us. Thank you for bringing Patrick
home."
"Thank you for sharing your
discoveries with me. My family will be pleased to know we have Justin Taylor
and Briana in our family. I will send pictures of our
family as soon as I get home."
Brother and sister hugged one more time
then JP stepped through the security gate on his way back home.
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"Brian, you didn't have to bring me
shopping. I've been buying my own clothes for most of my life."
"I know, Mom, but Kinnetik
is up for an award. It's all black tie and I want you there."
"But these clothes are very
expensive."
"I can afford it and I want to do
this. Please, Mom." Brian turned his best puppy dog eyes on his mother
hoping she'd agree and not get angry.
Joan laughed at her son's ploy.
"Enough with the eyes, I get it."
Mother and son shared the laugh as Brian
motioned to the sales staff at his favorite stop. They were then descended upon
by a half a dozen men and women all there to please Brian fucking Kinney and
his mother.
As Joan Kinney was modeling a Vera Wang
for her son, Craig and Susan Taylor came into the store. Craig had an important
dinner to attend and he wanted them to look perfect. Craig accidentally backed
into Brian and turned to offer an apology. Craig visibly paled then backed away
when he saw who he had bumped into. A low growl escaped Brian's throat.
"Son, who is that
man?" Joan asked,
wondering who it was that upset her son.
"No one, mom. Absolutely
no one."
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Brought To Mind