A Kinney By Any Other Name
Author's Note: For Mariana
*****
"Hey, Pop!" Gus boldly bopped into his dad's office at Kinnetik. Gus was about to turn eighteen. He had been interning at Kinnetik for three summers now. Once he graduated from high school, Gus had hopes of working full time at Kinnetik for at least a year before deciding on college. His parents had other ideas, of course.
"Hey, Sonny Boy! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Brian asked. Brian's suit jacket was off, his sleeves rolled up and he was elbows deep in a new campaign, loving every minute of it.
"I need to ask you something."
"That sounds ominous. What do you NEED to ask? And how much is this going to cost me?"
"Oh Dad," Gus exclaimed as he rolled his eyes. "It's not going to cost you anything, well, I don't think it'll cost you, money, I mean."
"Gus, can you be a little more specific? I think I'm catching a clue, here," Brian snarked. He indicated that Gus should take a seat.
"Dad, I'm going to be eighteen soon. That means I can do whatever I want."
"No, it doesn't. It means you can register to vote and you have to register for selective service. It doesn't mean you can run amok. Your mothers won't stand for it. And neither will I," Brian said sternly, his eyes piercing Gus down to the core.
"Okay, Pop, I mean, Dad, I get it."
"Gus, is there a point to all of this? You may have the day off but I don't."
"Sorry, Dad. I wanted to ask you if I could change my name."
"Change your name?" Brian's brows knit together with a
perplexed expression then his eyes widened in horror. "You're not planning
a sex change are you? I don't want to start calling you
"NO! Not my first name and FUCK! A sex change, Pop? Jeez."
"Well, how the hell am I supposed to know what you're talking about? And with this family, I'm surprised we don't already have a tranny."
"Dad, can you be serious for a minute?" Brian composed himself to look 'serious.' "What I mean is, I want to change my last name to Kinney. I love my Mom, but I want to be a Kinney."
"Gus..."
"Dad, I know you gave up your rights to me but that was a long time ago and only on paper. You've been a real dad to me since I was five, I want your name."
"Gus, your mothers will have a fit and then they'll kill me."
"Before or after they kill me," Gus snarked. "Pop, I love you, I want your name. Can you talk to Mom for me?" Gus pleaded as he turned his own hazel puppy dog eyes on his dad.
Brian sighed, scrubbed at his eyes then nodded his head.
*****
At the banquet hall of The Plaza Hotel, the family gathered to celebrate Gus' eighteenth birthday. They feasted, danced and partied for most of the night. The lights were dimmed as Emmett rolled in a huge multi-layered birthday cake. Eighteen candles plus one for good luck were ablaze.
The family rose from their seats to sing 'Happy Birthday.' When they finished, Gus picked up the knife to make the first slice into his cake. A photographer circulated to take pictures of the family, Gus, his proud parents (all four of them) and his cake.
"Pop?" Gus called out as he stepped up to cut into his cake.
"Yes, Sonny Boy," Brian said as he stood beside his son.
"Does this mean what I think it means?" Gus read the inscription on his cake.
"Yes." Gus gave his dad a big hug.
*Happy Birthday, Gus Peterson-Marcus-Kinney!*
-end snippet # 17-
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