Raging On
Chapter 5
As Spring turned into Summer, Brian turned into super gardener. He was working up a decent sweat as he was doing some much needed weeding when Ben rounded the corner of the cottage. Ben grinned appreciatively at one forever fit and trim Brian Kinney.
“Like what you see, Professor,” Brian purred as he stood up to face Ben.
“You’re one good looking man.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Brian said with a smirk.
“I’m going home.”
“Home, as in…”
“Back to Pittsburgh. Not back to the house. I’ll pick up a few things then look for a hotel.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not ready to face him.”
“No, why a hotel? Stay at the loft.”
“I couldn’t ask you to give up your loft. What if Gus needs it? What if you need it?”
“We’ll work it out. What about Michael?” Ben shrugged his shoulders. “Why now?”
“It’s time. My editing went well. The first printing should hit the shelves in time for the holidays. And I think I’m ready to go back to work.”
“Please, not the “H” word. It feels like they were just yesterday,” Brian complained. Ben nodded in agreement.
“Is Bree around? I wanted to thank her again.”
“She and Justin are spending the day with Ashley and Susanna.”
“Then please tell her again how grateful I am for letting me use her rainbow.”
“She’ll get a kick out of it when she sees it in print. You still have your spare key and password?” Ben nodded. “I’ll let Ted know.”
“Brian, I don’t need the loft. If that small apartment on the first floor is available, that’s all I’ll need.”
“Sorry Professor, you’re outta luck, I may have a temporary tenant for it.”
“Who?”
“Gui,” Brian hissed.
“Gui?”
“Yes, he’s been grumbling about the Plaza.”
“Excuse me? That place is beautiful.”
“Be that as it may, he’s been letting it be known around the office that he’s tired of his roomies.”
“What does that mean?”
“Gui came over with several Kinnetik Rose exchange ad execs and artists. We put them up in the large suite we have on retainer. They’ve been using it as home base at they rotate through each branch. Pierre especially wants Gui to learn all he can from Kinnetik before moving on. But apparently he doesn’t play well with others.”
“Just an observation, but I met a few of Kinnetik Rose’s employees while I was holidaying in Paris.”
“And?”
“Most of them were young, younger than Gui. Perhaps he has little in common with them.”
“More like he’s ostracized himself by his attitude,” Brian snorted. “Whatever his problem is, Ted suggested that we let him use the small apartment in Tremont for the duration of his stay. Maybe he’ll calm his ass down enough to actually learn something useful.” Brian looked down, noticed a weed then pulled it out with vengeance.
“Speaking about ostracizing oneself. It appears that Michael has stopped speaking to most of the family,” Brian commented.
“Why?”
“He believes they’re on your side.”
“No one is taking sides.”
“Not according to your estranged spouse. He’s even having difficulty with Biff and Boff.”
“Biff and Boff?”
“Your neighbors.”
“Ah. What’s up with them?”
“Michael has come to the revelation that your neighbors aren’t interested in the latest comic craze. Plus they’ve caught wind of your wittle book.”
“My book,” Ben deadpanned.
“Yeah, Boff has a friend, who has a friend in the publishing business. They tried grilling Mikey for some tidbits but he began spouting the same rhetoric about the book’s all about me. Then they wanted the inside scoop about the ‘stud.’ Mikey wasn’t having it. He bailed on the dinner party and wants no part of them.”
“Shit. Do you think I should reach out to him?”
Brian shook his head. “Mikey made his bed, let him stew in it in a while. Maybe he’ll wake up and smell the coffee.”
Ben shrugged, shook hands then took his leave.
During Ben’s editing phase, he did a little more soul searching. He realized that maybe part of his and Michael’s problem was the book. At least the proposed title; Ben changed it to “The Rainbow Family” which he felt was more appropriate. Each color of a rainbow is distinct, apart, and yet blending to create something unified. Hence, asking Bree for permission to use her copyrighted rainbow. Bree was delighted to say yes.
“Schmidt!” Brian bellowed into his cell during a break in his weed pulling.
“Yes, Boss.”
“Ben’s going to use my loft for the foreseeable future and offer Gui that small apartment on the first floor. Let everyone in the building know.”
“Right away, Brian.”
“Thank you, Ted.”
“Any time, Bri. When’s the next family barbecue?”
“The fourth, but I have to consult the blond.”
“Message received.”
Satisfied, Brian disconnected then returned to his garden.
*****
Emmett sauntered into Brian's garden and stood watching a kneeling Brian Kinney pulling weeds from his garden. The rear view of the former Stud of Liberty Avenue was almost as good as the frontal view. Emmett watched for a couple of minutes before clearing his throat loudly enough to get Brian's attention.
"What do you want, Honeycutt?" Brian grumbled as he looked up.
"At the moment I was just enjoying the view."
Brian snorted. "You never give up, do you?"
"Au contraire, I gave up years ago, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the scenery." Emmett's toothy grin was as bright as the afternoon sun.
Brian smiled in spite of himself. "As I said, what do you want?"
Emmett frowned and stared at Brian for a minute. "How about a break?" he asked. "Got any lemonade?"
"I think there's some in the fridge," Brian said as he got up and shook off some loose soil and bits of plants. "Have a seat under the tree and I'll see what I can find." Brian sensed that something was troubling his friend. He was prepared to listen.
"Thanks," Emmett said as he walked towards the small table and chairs under the big tree.
Brian returned in a few minutes all washed and carrying a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses.
"Done in style, Mr. Kinney," Emmett remarked with approval.
"Glad you approve, Mr. Honeycutt." Brian poured two glasses of lemonade and handed one to Emmett. They each took a sip. "Want to tell me why you're really here, and I know it isn't for the lemonade."
"The lemonade is very good, but..."
"Go on. Spill."
"I'm really worried about Michael," Emmett blurted out.
"We all are," Brian said with a frown.
"I know that, but Michael has called me a few times because I'm in Pittsburgh a lot more than you guys. Every time he has hung up on me. When I try to call back, he won't answer. It goes to voicemail and he never returns any of my calls. I think he's cut himself off from everyone, even JR most of the time."
Brian's frown was deep as he pondered what Emmett had told him. "I knew he had turned away from some of his so called 'new' friends, but I didn't realize he had stopped talking to you. I wonder if he ever calls Ted."
"Doubt it," Emmett said with a shake of his head.
"I hate to admit it, but I don't know what else we can do," Brian said with a sigh. He thought back to all the attempts to help his oldest friend - the intervention, the dinner, the attempted counseling with Glen and Alex. "I've tried everything I can think of."
"Michael's a social creature," Emmett said softly. "He doesn't do well on his own. If he has no one to talk to, I don't like to think what he might do."
Brian's eyes widened. He had never thought it would go that far. "I wonder if you should talk to Ben," he asked. "Ben's thinking of moving back to Pittsburgh."
"He is? That would be great," Emmett reacted, getting his hopes up.
"But not back to the house with Michael. He'll be staying at the loft."
Emmett's face fell. "Oh? That doesn't help."
"Why not?" Brian asked.
"Ben being so near but yet so far might push Michael over the edge."
"I don't like where you're going with this, Emmett," Brian said softly.
"I don't like it either, but it doesn't stop me from worrying."
"Any suggestions about what we might do?"
"That's why I came to see you. I thought you might have some ideas."
"I've already tried just about everything I can think of," Brian admitted, sounding defeated.
"I was afraid you'd say that. Well, we can't give up on him. I'll keep trying to communicate with him. Even if he won't answer he'll know I'm trying, and that I care," Emmett stated.
"That's good. I'll see if I can come up with something. If I do, I'll be in touch," Brian said as they stood up. They shared a hug to show their support for each other with this impossible task.
*****
Later that evening Bree sat at her desk in her room. She stared at the blank piece of paper in front of her. She'd had this assignment for several days, but she had no idea how to complete it. There were only a few days left in the school year, and this was the final assignment. She knew the teacher meant it to be fun and not too hard. Basically it was busy work to fill up the last days without it being too difficult.
Bree sighed heavily. Usually schoolwork was very easy for her, but she had been in a funk for weeks. Patrick had got his license and all he wanted to do was drive the stupid car. She couldn't go with him though, because he wasn't allowed to take other children with him in the vehicle - not yet anyway. And like she was a child! Bree snorted just like her Dada. She was more mature than a lot of the people around her, but she was still considered a child. It ticked her off no end.
Bree picked up a pencil and started to write her name at the top of the blank page. She formed the "B" and then drew the pencil all the way down the page and scribbled furiously until the pencil point started to shred the paper. Then she continued to destroy the paper with all the frustration she was feeling inside. Finally she picked up the tattered paper, balled it up and heaved it with all her might toward the wastebasket. She missed it by a country mile.
"Good job your game is soccer and not basketball," a voice said from the doorway.
Bree jumped and gasped. "Dada!" she scolded. "You scared me."
"Did I now?"
"Yes, you did." Bree scowled at her father.
"What's up?" Brian asked as he watched his precocious daughter.
"Nuffin," Bree responded in her baby voice.
"Bree?" Brian said in warning. It wasn't like Bree to destroy anything, even a piece of paper. "Tell me what's wrong."
"We have one last assignment for school. It's stupid and I don't want to do it," Bree complained.
"Stupid, huh?"
"Yeah, stupid."
"Tell me what the assignment is."
"I'll do the assignment, Dada ... eventually. I just don't know what to write."
"I know you'll do it, Squirt. You always do your schoolwork. Tell me about the assignment. Maybe discussing it will help you figure out what to do."
Bree sighed knowing she wasn't going to get rid of her father easily. "Okay," she agreed.
Brian walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of Bree's bed. He patted the space beside him and Bree moved over to the bed, sitting down in the space he had indicated. Brian looked at his daughter and waited for her to start talking. It took a couple of minutes, but Bree finally began.
"We're supposed to pick a fictional character." Bree stopped for a moment.
"That covers a lot of territory. Are there any other parameters?"
Bree smiled slightly. That was one of the things she loved about her Dada. He never talked down to her. He could use big words, and he often did. He always assumed she would know what he was talking about, and she usually did. "It can be any character from a book, from a TV show, from a movie, almost from anywhere as long as it's fictional."
"And once you pick this character, what do you do with him or her?" Brian asked.
"We're supposed to write about what we have in common with this character. We can make it an essay or a story or whatever we want, as long as it's about a character that we identify with."
"That doesn't sound so hard," Brian observed.
"Well, it is," Bree declared. "Who would you pick, Dada?"
"I'd pick Rage, of course."
"That's not fair. You are Rage."
"Yeah, I guess I am."
"So, pick someone else."
"Hm," Brian mused thinking hard. "I guess it would be Bobby Dupea from Five Easy Pieces."
"What is that? I don't know who Bobby Dupea is, and what is five easy pieces?" Bree said with a frown.
"It's an old movie and Bobby is someone dissatisfied with his life. He's a rebel and runs away from his family and his classical piano training."
"Piano?" Bree asked with a smile.
"Yeah, piano," Brian chuckled. "But it's the rebel part I liked."
"Were you a rebel when you were young?"
"Are you implying that I'm no longer a rebel?"
Bree giggled. "Oh no, Dada, you're a rebel when you want to be." She batted her eyes at him.
Brian laughed in reply. "Glad you realize that, Squirt. And I was quite a rebel in my younger days."
"But I'm not really a rebel," Bree said.
"I wasn't implying that Bobby should be your choice to write about. You asked me for my choice."
"Yeah, so who am I going to pick?"
"You've been a little grumpy lately. What's that about?"
"Patrick!" came the quick reply.
"What has Patrick done?"
"He loves cars more than me. I'm always the second choice when he's going to do something."
"Oh," Brian said. The germ of an idea started to form in the back of Brian's brain. He didn't have it yet, but something was there.
"I used to feel that I was important to Patrick. Now he doesn't seem to care about me at all."
"I'm sure his fascination with cars will wear off soon. He's just sucked in by the novelty of being able to drive. He'll outgrow that ... eventually."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am. But let's get back to your assignment. What if you could write about someone being relegated to second fiddle in a relationship and how that makes them feel?"
"I don't know any fictional character that fits that description," Bree said.
"I do."
"Who?"
"Zephyr."
"From Rage?" Bree asked. "He's Rage's sidekick."
"Correct, but sometimes he'd like to be the star, like you want to be Patrick's first pick over a car."
"Isn't Zephyr based on Uncle Michael?" Bree said.
"Yes, he is. And I think Michael is feeling very much the second fiddle at the moment. He's had to take a back seat to Ben writing his novel. I know he wanted Candy to write a special Rage edition featuring Zephyr. It didn't turn out quite the way he wanted." Brian's idea was starting to take clearer shape.
"Why not?"
"Candy wrote an edition of Rage about Zephyr and Professor Ken, but she had Rage save the day."
"And Uncle Michael didn't like that."
"No, he wanted to be in the forefront, the one who fixed everything, not the one who had to be helped."
"So I could write about being second choice to Patrick and relate that to Zephyr being second to Rage?"
"There's my brilliant daughter."
Bree smiled and hugged her father. "Thanks, Dada. I think I can do that."
"Might it help if you talked to Uncle Michael, since he created Zephyr?"
"It might," Bree said looking strangely at her father.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Brian asked trying to appear innocent.
"I think you want me to talk to Uncle Michael, make him feel important, and that will make him feel better," Bree stated knowing that everyone had been trying to help her uncles, Michael and Ben. However, nothing had helped much.
"Brilliant beyond your years," Brian crowed.
"Do you think it could really help?"
"I don't know for sure, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. It might boost Michael's self esteem. He could use a boost right now."
"I've only got a few days left to hand this in," Bree said with a grimace. "When am I going to talk to Uncle Michael?"
"Let's go to Pittsburgh tomorrow."
"But I have school."
"No you don't. We're going on an ... excursion, a fact finding trip."
"Oooh, I like that idea."
"I thought you might," Brian chuckled. "I'll clear it with the school in the morning."
"Thanks, Dada," Bree said.
"I hope I'll be able to thank you if Michael learns something about himself from this exercise."
"I'll do my best."
"I know you will, sweetheart." Brian kissed the top of her head. "Bedtime soon."
"Okay, Dada. Good night."
Brian left the room closing Bree's door behind him. When he went into the living room, he was half humming to himself. Things looked a little brighter for his old friend than they had in a long time. This might be just the boost Michael's self esteem needed. Then maybe he could make some changes to his life without feeling threatened by doing so.
"What are you grinning about?" Justin asked as he looked up from his sketchbook.
"Was I grinning?"
"Yes."
"Come to bed and I'll tell you all about it ... later."
"Okay," Justin agreed laying down his pad and pencil. He took Brian's hand with his own lovely grin.