Post Fractalization

Chapter 8

“I’m in the office, Brian!” Carl called out when he saw Brian on the catwalk of Babylon. Brian had come to the infamous club to confer with Carl regarding his retirement. It was sometime in February. Debbie had turned over the reins of the diner to Lacy, but made herself available, just in case. Now, it was Carl’s turn and Brian was experiencing some separation issues.

“So you’re really going to leave me, leave all of this,” Brian said as he waved his hand toward the dance floor, “to travel and spend 24/7 with Debbie!” Carl’s expression immediately changed from a look of amusement to horror.

“See, I was right, you haven’t thoroughly thought this through. Think, Carl, 24 hours a day with that crazy woman. Knowing her, you’ll be eating at every diner and truck stop from here to Tacoma. You really don’t want to do that, now do you? Give the woman some traveling money. I’ll even buy her a new set of luggage. We throw her on a plane and then it’s business as usual,” Brian said with a straight face.

Carl glared at Brian. “You know, you have some fucking set of balls,” Carl growled.

“Thank you,” Brian said proudly. Carl burst out laughing.

“I’m getting too old for this, Brian. It’s time. Please don’t think I don’t appreciate all you’ve done for me and Debbie. She never really had to keep working, you know. She just did it because she loved it and those kids on Liberty. Between my pension and the salary you pay me to run this place, she should have been home with her feet up. Not carrying heavy trays and sweating in that place. But she is the stubbornest... Well, you know Deb.”

“Yeah. So I guess I can’t change your mind then?”

“No, I guess you can’t.”

“You said you have an idea regarding who should take over. Carl, you can never be replaced.”

“Thank you, Brian. I really mean that. I always thought of myself as just an average schmo. I was just a cop. Then you gave me this opportunity and for ten years I’ve been running this place and I joined the Pittsburgh Business Society. Me, a retired cop, and I have store owners and managers coming to me for advice! I never dreamed I could do something like this. And I owe it all to you.”

“Carl, I just want you to know that I’m working something out with Ted. You’ll have a pension from Babylon. I know Debbie wasn’t covered under your health insurance from the force but she’ll continue to be covered from us. You’ll both be taken care of. I...” Brian was having trouble keeping his emotions in check. He turned his back on the man he respected and loved.

“Fuck, I must be going through the change, everything sets me off lately,” Brian groused, angry at himself for losing control. Carl patted Brian on the back then waited, standing quietly beside him.

“Now, tell me your idea,” Brian turned abruptly, all business and again in control.

 

*****
 

“Sunshine, you’re not planning on leaving me anytime soon, are you?” Brian asked his mate. He sounded extremely pitiful.

They were in the sun porch. Brian was reading the Sunday newspaper while Justin was sketching. John and Bobby had bundled up the kids to go visit Grandma Claire and Grandpa Steve. Brian had suddenly thought back on his conversation with Carl and began feeling sorry for himself.

“Of course not, and what the fuck brought this on?” Justin stopped his sketching to snuggle up to Brian who was sitting on the chaise. He took the afghan that was draped across the back of the chaise to cover them both.

“I don’t know,” Brian mumbled.

Justin cupped Brian’s chin in his hand. “Yes you do.”

“Gus is driving, and Debbie and Carl are going to throw a dart in a map then drive to where it lands. They’re all leaving me. Soon the Squirt is gonna get married, have babies and leave me too. And, FUCK! I sound like a bitter old man.”

Justin chuckled then kissed Brian senseless.

“No, you don’t. You sound like a man whose family is changing. They’re not abandoning you, Brian, just growing and moving on.”

“I’m not ready.”

“I know. Bri, my baby sister, my annoying the shit out of me when we were growing up baby sister, is going to have a baby! My mother is getting remarried. The woman who gave me a home when I had none, is going globetrotting. And while I’m thinking about it, let’s forbid Briana to grow up,” Justin said as he kissed Brian’s nose, making Brian smile in spite of his misery.

“I’m being stupid, aren’t I?”

“Not at all, big guy.”

Justin began to butterfly tender kisses across Brian’s face until he landed onto Brian’s lips. Brian opened his mouth to Justin who began to suck on Brian’s tongue. The lovers moaned, needing more, wanting skin on skin contact.

“Let’s take this to bed, Sunshine.”

“Mmm.”

The lovers abandoned the chaise for the comfort and privacy of their room. They made love for most of the afternoon.

“I love you, Justin,” Brian murmured as he curled his long frame around the man he adored.

“I’ll never leave you, Brian,” Justin reaffirmed, hugging Brian tightly. “Never.”

 

*****
 

About a month before the wedding Brian had brought his brood into Pittsburgh to do some shopping and have final fittings for their suits. Briana loved her Gamma’s pink wedding dress and just as with Molly’s wedding, the flowergirl to be, selected another pink dress. Bree was also having her final fitting.

“Kinney,” Brian said into his cell phone as he sat watching Bree twirling. She then took off so she could see if her ‘train’ was long enough to flow. Justin and the tailor were chasing her through the store.

“Brian, sweetheart, is there something you want to tell me?”

“I don’t know, Maw, is there?”

“Honey, do you know anything about this ‘boat’ that we found parked in front of our house this morning? The keys and the owner’s manual were inside our door.”

“Boat? Damn! I distinctly remembered ordering a Winnebago.”

“Brian!” Debbie roared into her phone.

“Happy retirement, Maw. Now, remember to use the good gas and no long trips until after the wedding. I want regular phone calls to let me know you’re both all right, and no tricks after midnight.”

“Asshole!”

“I love you, Maw. Later!” Brian cut the connection as Debbie cursed him every which way till Sunday. A minute later, Brian’s phone rang again.

“Kinney.”

“I love you too, kiddo. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Maw.” Brian closed his phone as Bree ran into his arms.

“You like my dress, Dada?”

“Very much.”

“I am pretty?” Bree asked, her little cheeks flushed pink from running, her violet blue eyes, sparkling.

“You’re beautiful, just like your Daddy,” Brian said as Justin sprinted up to them with an irate tailor in tow. “As beautiful as your Daddy,” Brian repeated as he scooped up his daughter then hugged her closely to Justin. "I so love you," Brian whispered to his blonds.

 

*****
 

“Jennifer, is that you?”

“Oh hello, Madge, I haven’t seen you in ages.” Madge Wilkinson used to live down the street from Jennifer when she was with Craig.

“Not since your engagement party.”

“Yes, I guess that was the last time.” Jennifer was shopping in one of her favorite clothing boutiques, looking for some new clothes for her honeymoon.

“I’ve been expecting an invitation to the wedding ever since the party.”

“Really?”

“You and that lovely man didn’t break up. Did you?”

“No, Seth and I are still together.”

“What about the wedding, or are you two going to live in sin,” Madge laughed.

“I guess we’re living in sin,” Jennifer said with a wan smile. She hated saying that. She certainly didn’t consider her relationship with Seth sinful. In fact, it was the most perfect thing she could imagine. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to mention the wedding, since Madge seemed to expect an invitation. Jennifer wasn’t intending to invite any of her old neighbors.

“Oh, I was just teasing, dear. I thought you and Seth made a lovely couple. I thought you would have been married by now.”

“Actually, we’re getting married in about a month, but it will be a small ceremony,” Jennifer added hoping that would stop Madge from hinting that she wanted to come.

“Oh, I hope that doesn’t mean I won’t get an invitation,” Madge said pointedly. “I would love to be there on your big day.”

“Well, thank you for saying that, but it is a second marriage.”

“Hell, some of the women in our group are on their third or fourth.”

“Oh really? I can’t say that I’ve much kept up with the goings-on in the old neighborhood.”

“Well, a bunch of us girls were playing bridge the other day, and we were wondering where things stood with you and Seth. We like to keep on top of things, you know,” Madge said smiling sweetly.

‘More like having your nose into everything,’ Jennifer thought. “Well, as I said it will be a small ceremony.”

“I’ll expect an invitation,” Madge said. “Gotta run.” She dashed out of the store.

Jennifer frowned. She had not intended to invite any of the people from her old neighborhood, but since she had invited them all to her engagement party… She supposed it was only natural that they might expect an invitation to the wedding. Fuck! How did she get herself into these things?

She walked out of the shop not having bought anything. On the sidewalk she stopped and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed a number.

“Brian, I need to talk to you and Justin.”

“What about?” Brian asked.

“I’m coming to the cottage this afternoon.”

“What is this all about?”

“You remember that pavilion that you offered to build for my wedding…”

 

*****
 

That afternoon Seth’s car pulled up to the front of Edna’s Treasures. Justin opened the front door to welcome his mother and her fiancé. Brian and Emmett had coffee and treats all laid out for them. Justin ushered the couple through the house to the sun porch.

“Oh Emmett, I’m glad you could be here. I just don’t know what to do,” Jennifer said with a weary sigh.

“I’m at your disposal, lovely lady, and kind sir. Tell me what the problem is and we’ll see if we can solve it for you,” Emmett told her, trying to be reassuring.

Brian shook Seth’s hand and kissed Jennifer’s cheek. They all sat down with a cup of coffee and a popover, which Emmett had very thoughtfully brought from Pittsburgh with him.

“I hope you can calm her down,” Seth said looking at Justin. “She’s going to make herself ill with all this worrying.”

“What the fuck happened?” Brian asked. Up until the rather frantic call from Jennifer earlier in the day, everything had seemed to be just fine.

“I don’t know,” Jennifer sighed. “I thought I had it all figured out and then this morning I met Madge.”

“Who the fuck is Madge?”

“Madge Wilkinson from down the street?” Justin asked. Jennifer nodded. “She’s the biggest busybody from our old neighborhood,” he supplied.

“So what did the lovely Madge do?” Emmett asked.

Jennifer looked at Seth who nodded and squeezed her hand indicating she should tell them. Taking a deep breath, Jennifer began, “I met Madge at a boutique this morning. She wanted to know when the wedding was. I told her in about a month, and that I was having a small ceremony. She said the old neighbors had been talking about us, Seth and me, at their recent bridge game. She asked if we had already got married or had Seth and I broken up or were we living in sin.” Jennifer paused to breathe. It seemed like all that had come out in one breath.

“I hope you told her to go fuck herself,” Brian said before biting off a piece of popover.

“I don’t have quite your way with words, Brian,” Jennifer replied.

“What did you say to her, Mom?”

“I’m ashamed to say that I told her we were living in sin, but we were getting married soon,” Jennifer said looking worriedly at Seth.

“We are not living in sin,” Seth stated. “We’re living in love.”

“Oh, Seth, that’s why I love you so much,” Jennifer said staring at her husband-to-be with eyes filled with tears. He always knew the right thing to say, and what was more important, he meant it.

“Why the fuck do you care what this Midge person says or thinks?” Brian interjected.

“That’s exactly what I’ve been asking her,” Seth said. “She sounds like an awful woman.”

“She’s not really so bad,” Jennifer said softly. “I think I used to be a lot like her in my old life.”

“You will never make me believe that,” Seth said adamantly.

“You were never as bad as Mrs. Wilkinson,” Justin threw in. Jennifer smiled at her kind son. “Now, will you tell us what all this crap about Madge Wilkinson has to do with your wedding?”

Jennifer sighed. “She got me thinking.”

“Fuck! Women and thinking are never a good combination,” Brian said, earning him a glare from Jennifer and another one from her son.

“Tell us what you’re thinking, sweetie,” Emmett encouraged Jennifer.

“Madge wanted to know if she was getting an invitation to the wedding. She said all the people we invited to the engagement party were looking for invitations.”

“And this Midget person speaks for all of them?” Brian asked pointedly.

“Of course not, Brian. But I did have friends in that community. It got me thinking that maybe I should invite them.”

“Hence, the call about the pavilion,” Brian said sarcastically.

“It was a knee jerk reaction,” Jennifer replied. “But it made me wonder whether I’m doing the right thing keeping the wedding so small.”

“Jennifer,” Emmett said softly, “you’ve told me what you envisioned for your wedding, all the things that would make it perfect. And Madge Wilkinson wasn’t one of them.”

“I know, Emmett, but…”

“There is no fucking but,” Brian interrupted. “I will have a pavilion erected for your wedding if that will make you happy, Jennifer. You know that. But I don’t see inviting all these people from your old neighborhood making you one particle happier. In fact, I see just the opposite.”

Jennifer frowned and studied Brian thinking about what he had just said.

“Jennifer, darling, he’s right,” Seth said gently. “You had the perfect wedding all laid out and then this person has made you doubt yourself. You know what you want, and I don’t give a fuck what Madge thinks about it. And neither should you.”

A smile started to brighten Jennifer’s face. It grew and grew until it rivaled one of Justin’s best. Brian was reminded where Justin must have got his radiant smile from.

“By George! I think she’s got it,” Emmett quipped as he breathed a sigh of relief.

“I love you, Seth Harris,” Jennifer said touching Seth’s cheek.

“And I love you, Jennifer Taylor. I’d marry you in this sun porch or in the woods or we can elope to Las Vegas. I don’t care. I just want you to be happy and I want the day we get married to be the best day of your life.”

“And I don’t need to prove a fucking thing to Madge Wilkinson or any of her so-called friends,” Jennifer said happily.

“So, we don’t need a pavilion?” Brian asked, hoping that was the case. Even though he had promised one to Jennifer, he didn’t have the foggiest idea of how he was going to pull that off if she decided that was what she wanted.

“No, Brian, we do not need a pavilion. We’re going with the small, intimate wedding that we planned, Emmett.” Jennifer flashed her smile at the wedding planner who looked greatly relieved.

“Thank you, Miss Jennifer,” Emmett sighed.

“That will soon be Mrs. Harris,” Seth stated.

“I can hardly wait,” Jennifer gushed.

“Your mother’s something else,” Brian whispered to Justin.

“This is nothing compared to some of the things I remember,” Justin giggled.

“And you won’t tell him any of them,” Jennifer ordered.

“Of course not, Mom.”

“Would you like to walk through the gardens?” Brian asked, changing the subject. “Things are starting to come up.”

“That would be lovely,” Jennifer said standing up. “I feel so much better.”

“Maybe we should have a society reporter cover the wedding,” Emmett said out of the blue. “That way your old friends could enjoy your big day through the Pittsburgh newspapers.”

“Emmett, bite your tongue,” Brian jumped in.

“Oops, sorry, thinking out loud,” Emmett backtracked.

“I like that idea,” Jennifer said. “What about that nice man who did the piece on you and Justin?”

“He’s not a society reporter,” Brian said quickly. “He’s an art critic.”

“You could find someone else, couldn’t you, Emmett?” Seth asked.

“I suppose…” Emmett said starting to wrack his brain.

“Maybe Richard and his wife would do it,” Justin said quickly, seeing Brian’s temper starting to flare. He was probably envisioning Seymour Finkelstein arriving to cover the wedding. “You could talk to Richard, couldn’t you, Brian?”

“I guess so,” Brian said reluctantly, but he understood the viselike grip Justin had on his hand. “Let’s look at the gardens,” he said quickly.

They made their way outside where everyone could see the beginnings of the spring flowers that would be in full force at the time of the wedding. There were appropriate oohs and ahs to mollify Brian.

“A pavilion would have been nice,” Jennifer said looking around. “But we wouldn’t want to have anything detract from the gardens,” she added quickly when she saw the look on Brian’s face.

 

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