Should Old Acquaintance
Chapter 2
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The following day Brian and Bobby set
about looking into the files that Edna had assembled for them. There were at
least three new places where Edna seemed to have discovered some Kinney/Patrick
artwork.
Amongst the papers was a page that Bobby
immediately recognized as a page from Kinney's journal. It revealed something
that they had not known before. It read:
I have been troubled lately by thoughts
of my wife and children who I have abandoned for all intents and purposes. They
are left alone in
I long to hold a
little one in my arms again. Patrick says we should try to adopt a baby here,
or maybe one of us could father a child by a local woman. As much as I would
love to have a child with us, I can't see either of those things happening.
Patrick, however, is quite taken with the idea. We will have to have a long
talk about this.
"What the fuck do you suppose this
means?" Brian asked having read the passage aloud.
"Do you suppose there's a little
Kinney or Patrick running around
"If there was a child we would be
looking at someone a couple of generations later. Did you find any more
references to a child anywhere?"
"Not yet."
"I can't believe that there might be
some Kinney descendants down here."
"You Kinneys do get around, don't
you?" Bobby laughed.
"Twat," Brian reacted. He wasn't
at all sure how he felt about this unexpected turn of events. It didn't sound
like Kinney was very eager to follow Patrick's suggestion, but Brian knew how
persuasive blond boys could be. He turned his attention back to the documents
to see if he could find any other references to a child.
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Meanwhile back at the cottage, Justin was
getting Bree dressed after breakfast. John was doing the same for Patrick.
Neither of them had had a very restful night. Sleeping without their partners
did not lead to a peaceful sleep.
"Are you sure you want to keep both
the kids today?" John asked.
"I'll be fine with them."
"But don't you need to paint?"
"I can do that when they're napping
or when you come home tonight."
"I like the sound of coming home. I
really want to get started on moving our cottage over here next to yours,"
John stated.
"Then why don't you set the wheels in
motion while Brian and Bobby are away? Maybe we could surprise them with a fait
accompli for when they return."
"I don't think they'll be gone that
long, at least I hope they won't," John said with a frown. "But I could
get the process started."
"Go for it," Justin said.
"Patwick," Bree said reaching
out towards her cousin. "Pway."
"You're going to play nicely with
Patrick, aren't you?" Justin asked.
Bree nodded her head. "Dolly?"
"Here's Dolly," Justin said
handing her Raggedy Anne.
"Love Dolly," Bree gushed
hugging Raggedy Anne close to her chest. "Down."
Justin set her down and she ran over to
Patrick and took his hand.
"Play nice, Patrick," John
admonished.
Bree tugged Patrick's hand and they ran to
the sun porch to see what they could find in the toy chest that was kept in a
spot out there.
"See, they'll be fine. Go to
work," Justin said.
"Okay, and thanks for letting me stay
here, Justin. I would have been so lonely at home. I mean … I'm still lonely
without Bobby, but not as lonely as I would have been at our cottage without
him. You know what I mean."
"I know," Justin smiled. "I
miss Brian too."
John gave Justin a hug and called out
goodbye to Patrick. He grabbed his briefcase and headed out the door. Justin
watched him, wondering how he was going to last all the days until Brian came
back. He missed him so much.
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"Miguel, are you feeling
better?" Brian asked the elder Miguel. He and Bobby were worried about the
gentleman who was suffering the loss of his longtime mistress and friend. The
housekeeper, Marta, hovered closely, bringing him tea and making sure he ate
regularly.
"I am good. I miss my Senora,"
Miguel said forlornly. Brian knelt closely and agreed.
"We miss her too. She was a wonderful
person. So bold and so filled with love, all of us were proud to have known her
and you and Marta. Edna was very fond of you both and she appreciated how you
took care of her and her husband's chapel. That meant a lot to her."
"Gracias, Mr. Brian. Senora Edna love you. She called you her sons, she very proud of you and
Mr. Justin. She wrote to all those you met here and found more paintings. She
kept them safe, en banco," Miguel tried to explain to Brian.
"Miguel, are you well enough to take
us to the bank?"
"Si, maybe Senor Perez will allow
Miguelito to drive." The elder Miguel gave Brian a small smile.
Patting Miguel's knee,
Brian went to find Bobby and the others for a road trip to Edna's bank and
perhaps more Kinney's.
The younger Miguel drove Edna's car as the
elder Miguel gave him the directions. Juan Perez who still was the bank manager
of the First National Bank of Cartago, thought it best to accompany Brian and
Bobby. Bobby had the necessary documents to prove Brian Kinney was the rightful
heir to the Kinney legacy and the senior Miguel had a copy of Edna's will. The
will clearly stated that any and all paintings, sketches, photos and/or
documentation pertaining to JABKinney and Patrick Taylor, were to go to Brian Kinney
or Justin Taylor or their emissaries.
Juan had made contact
with the local bank manager who was also saddened when he learned of Edna
Galloway's passing. She was
one of the oldest and dearest customers of his bank. Edna spoke
enthusiastically of the paintings she had found and left in his vault for
safety. Esteban Sanchez was looking forward to meeting Juan Perez and Brian
Kinney.
"Senor Sanchez, I am Juan
Perez," Juan began his introductions. "This is Brian Kinney from
"Miguel and I are old friends. I am
so sorry; we will miss Senora Edna. She was a very good lady." Mr. Sanchez
shared a hug with Miguel. The younger Miguel cleared his throat.
"Oh, and this is my friend Miguel
Cortez. He is my constant companion." Juan's Miguel beamed. Brian shifted
his weight nervously back and forth on his feet. All this chitchat was giving
him a headache. All he wanted was to see what Edna had found and get the hell
out of
"Mr. Sanchez, I do not wish to be
rude but Mr. Kinney and Mr. Morrison have traveled a
long way and miss their families. May we proceed with the transfer? I believe
we have all the documents you require."
"Of course! Gentlemen, please follow me." They all followed
Sanchez toward the vault. After copies of the will and Brian's passport were
made Sanchez brought Brian and Bobby to the vault. There in a special cabinet
were six paintings, three small sculptures and a carton filled with documents.
"Holy shit!" Bobby exclaimed.
"Well, fuck me!" Brian murmured.
With Juan and the younger Miguel's assistance, the Kinney treasure was moved into
Sanchez's office.
"I can't believe Edna found all
this." Brian was astounded as he rifled through the papers and photos.
"Brian, how are we going to get all of this home? I can't see this stuff as carry-on
luggage. It's hundreds of years old. I won't trust it on the plane."
"You're right. Mr. Sanchez, do you
know a UPS store nearby?" Brian asked the banker.
"Brian?" Bobby wasn't quite sure
what Brian had in mind.
"Bobby, we bring everything to UPS.
They'll pack it and ship it."
"But..."
"No buts. I use UPS all the time.
We'll watch them pack up everything and I'll be making a strategically timed
phone call as we catalogue what we ship. And of course, we insure everything
for millions," Brian stated smugly.
"Millions?" Bobby gaped at his brother-in-law.
"Yes, millions. I have no idea if these paintings are authentic.
We'll leave that to
"Okay, lead on." Bobby stood
back and watched the master at work. Soon they were thanking Mr. Sanchez for
all his help, bidding him goodbye, loading the treasure into Edna's car and
heading to the UPS store.
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"Hello?"
"Hi Justin, it's
John."
"Hey, didn't you just leave here a
little while ago?"
"Yeah, but I wanted to give you the
heads up. I'm going ahead with the plans to move our cottage so I need to send
a crew to your house to start the process. Gordon is going to head up this
project since I'm spending a lot of time in
"Okay, okay!" Justin laughed at
the tone of John's voice. So much determination, just like
Brian when he's hawking a pitch. "Thanks for the warning, John. See
you later."
"Later, kid."
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Bobby knocked on the guest room door
hoping that Brian was still awake.
"Come in," Brian called out.
Seeing a worried Bobby, Brian waved him closer to the bed.
"Come here," Brian whispered
softly as he patted the bed. "What's wrong?"
"I miss John and Patrick. I know it's
silly. We've been separated by business before but at least we were in the same
country. Brian can we go home tomorrow?" Bobby
pleaded.
Brian gently nudged the red-head down onto
the bed next to him then turned to face him.
"Sure, Big Red, I'll call the airline
in the morning and try to get us on the first flight out." Brian swiped a
lock of red hair away from Bobby's pretty sad eyes.
"You know that was quite a show you
put on this afternoon," Bobby casually remarked as he gazed steadily into
Brian's hazel eyes.
"I have no idea what you mean,"
Brian drawled.
"Yes you do. You were very,
very..."
"Masterful?"
"You could put it that way. You
barreled through and took charge."
"I'm a take charge kind of guy."
"I know. In other circumstances I
would have found the whole episode a turn on."
"Really? I'm intrigued, a big bad top like you turned on by a
little assertiveness. And you lawyer types, a very aggressive and assertive
breed."
"And your brother's no wuss. He's
rather a..."
"Bossy
bottom?"
"Mmm, I see you know the type."
Bobby chuckled warmly at Brian. Their little banter was beginning to relax him.
Bobby wasn't feeling so lonely and homesick as before.
"Bobby, years ago I would have had
you up on all fours while I pounded into you."
"Probably. And now?"
"And now, all I want is to hug one of
my best friends while I try to get some sleep. I miss my family too. And my
brother is one hell of a lucky man. Thank you for taking this journey with me.
This delving into the past, gives me the creeps."
"I understand that but remember, delving into the past led you Claire and John. And now we
have more Kinney papers to weed through, not to mention the art treasure trove.
I bet
"Yes, he was. He'll be counting down
the minutes until the shipment arrives. I should have called Justin but then he
would have wanted to fly right down."
"Then John would have been right
behind him. Brian, can I sleep here with you?"
"Wh,
what?"
"Please, Bri. I didn't sleep very
well last night and I'm so tired. You almost..."
"Almost what?"
"You almost smell like John.
I..."
"Shhh. Go to sleep. For a big bad lawyer, you do a good
impression of a little boy."
"Something about you Kinney men, makes us blue-eyed types turn into goo."
"Sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
"'K." Bobby murmured as Brian pulled the sheet over both of
them and snuggled close. Brian soon heard Bobby's even breathing as he fell
asleep.
"Sleep well, Red. I'll get us home as
soon as I can. I promise. I miss my love too," Brian whispered into the
soft red hair. With thoughts of Justin and his children filling his head, Brian
went to sleep.
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"Brian?" Justin called out into
the dark at the Brian shaped shadow near the sun porch door.
"Sorry, Justin, it's me, John,"
John answered back.
"Oh," Justin groaned as he
punched a pillow.
"Sorry to wake you. I'm so tired but
I just can't seem to sleep and I have to drive into
"You want to sleep with me?"
Justin couldn't see it but he thought he could almost hear that Kinney eyebrow
arch up. "I meant sleep, nothing else, cause if I
don't get any real sleep soon, I won't have the energy to look after the kids
or do any painting. I don't need
John stood at the glass door for a few moments, nodded then slowly made his way into the bedroom
Justin shared with his brother.
"Are you sure this is a good idea,
Justin?" John said hesitantly.
"John, have you slept since they
left?"
"Not really."
"Then get your ass in this bed."
"Yes, sir!" John eased his way onto the huge four poster. Justin edged closer so that he was at John's side.
The last thing John heard as he slid into a peaceful sleep was a loud sigh
emanating from Justin's side of the bed as he too went to sleep.
Patrick and Bree snuck into the sun porch.
They had been awake for a while and Patrick had very kindly showed Bree how she
could get herself out of her crib. The children made their way over to the big
four poster and watched John and Justin sleep.
"Dada," Bree said softly.
"Sh," Patrick replied putting
his finger to his lips.
Bree giggled but said no more. She
couldn't help but grab her father's toe which was sticking out from under the
sheet. Justin shifted and turned on his back when she touched him. He let out a
small moan.
Patrick took Bree's hand and pulled her
towards the bed. It was a long way up onto the bed but Patrick being taller
climbed up first and helped Bree to squiggle up beside him. They sat at the end
of the bed watching their fathers sleep.
Patrick whispered in Bree's ear. She
giggled and nodded her head. And then they pounced. Justin felt a weight hit
him in the chest and sat up abruptly tumbling a laughing Bree down onto his
legs. Patrick hit his father's chest when he pounced, but having more
experience with doing this, he held onto John's neck as his father bolted
upright.
"What the…?" John sputtered and
then started to laugh as Patrick kissed his face. "Where did you come
from, little Red?"
"We were waiting for you to wake
up?" Patrick replied. "Why are you sleeping with Uncle Justin?"
John and Justin shared a shocked look.
That didn't sound good at all. Justin was pulling Bree up into his arms while
the little girl giggled at the joke they had played on their fathers.
"You're in for it now,
munchkin," Justin laughed as he blew raspberries on Bree's cheek. Bree
giggled in delight. "I guess you guys are ready for breakfast, huh?"
Bree nodded and Patrick yelled,
"Yes!"
John looked at the clock and realized that
they had slept right through the alarm. It was the first good sleep either of
them had had since their husbands left for
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