Springtime for Justin

Chapter 13

The meeting with Curtis appeared to go well. The family began to pack up to go their separate ways. Lindsay and Melanie volunteered to take Curtis over to Raphael and Hector’s house. They didn’t live that far away from Lindsay and Melanie. Curtis also found out that he and Gus attended the same high school. At Hector and Raph’s the two couples chatted for a while then decided to call out for pizza. Curtis really enjoyed Gus’ company.

Jennifer was asked to babysit Bree and Patrick, while the guys all went over to the tract of land that John had dubbed the ‘Village’ project. There they met Gordon and Betsie who had come to town to discuss the project further and to visit family.

“So what do you all think?” John asked pensively. He had the plans laid out on the hood of the Navigator pointing out the various buildings and the paths connecting the shops, including Betsie’s flower shop.

Hunter loved the idea of having a small park near the apartment house and the free clinic. Danny had come along to hear about the bookstore idea, although he didn’t want to leave Michael without any help. John had called Emmett who proceeded to gush over the idea of having a real restaurant. The bistro would still be the hub of his catering and party planning business, while the restaurant could truly showcase all of his masterpieces.

“How would this work?” Justin asked his brother-in-law.

“Similar to the clinic project; however, instead of Brian making the initial investment, Bobby and I would like to do that. Once things are up and running, we can donate the apartment building to the clinic. The rest of the land we’ll rent out or sell to people with a similar vision. Or we do this as a co-op, with all of us as the principal investors. I’d really like to see this area take on a village feeling to it. The largest building will be the apartment house.”

“But won’t it look cold and generic compared to the quaint shops you have planned?” Justin was seeing the project through his artist’s eyes. John and Gordon smiled knowingly.

“Justin, my lad, the basic structure of the building seems sound. With a little architectural hocus pocus that my partner is famous for, we’ll have the facade looking like it’s a hundred years old.” Gordon beamed. He was itching to take on a project from the ground up.

“John, I realize that you want to do this project on your own but sometimes city hall can be a bitch,” Brian exclaimed then apologized to Betsie for his use of bad language. “If you don’t want our money then let me at least go with you when you talk to the city planners. I promise I won’t say a word.”

“No, you’ll just stand there in your most expensive suit, power tie and menacing glare,” John snarked as he stood head to head and toe to toe with Brian.

“I like it!” John and Gordon said in unison. The whole group cracked up with laughter including Betsie.

“So do we have a deal?” John threw out to the assembled group. Brian interrupted before the group could answer.

“Wait, you’ll need a management company after you finish your construction. It might be more practical to have the apartment and the new clinic separate from the main clinic. Bobby and Ted can check into the details; however, the maintenance of the apartment and handling of the day to day problems of the village will take more time than you’ll be able to give,” Brian stated reasonably.

“He’s right, Johnny Boy. I just build them; what happens after is not my forte,” Gordon admitted.

“What do you suggest?” John asked his brother.

“The management company I have that looks after the Tremont apartments. Teddy has his eyes on it like a hawk and has a piece of the pie. Talk to him,” Brian suggested.

“Is this your way of keeping an eye on things?” Hunter asked Brian.

“Maybe. You got a problem with that?” Brian arched a brow and loomed over the shorter man.

“Nope,” Hunter said with a smile, raising his hands in surrender. “Just asking.”

“Anyone else have an objection?” Brian growled. No one objected.

“Okay, so now do we all have a deal?” John asked again. Getting a thumbs up from all involved, the family separated again to go on their merry ways.

 

*****
 

“What year are you in at high school, Gus?” Curtis asked, as they were all sitting around at Raph and Hector’s having pizza. The kids were in the rec room with a pizza of their own, while the adults were in the kitchen upstairs.

“I’m a junior. One more year after this,” Gus said as he munched on his pizza.

“I’m still a freshman. I’m hoping I can make up enough work that I missed, so I don’t have to repeat anything.”

“That’s great. I hope you can. Four years of high school is definitely enough,” Gus chuckled.

“Don’t you like school?” Curtis asked seriously.

“Most of the time I do, but it gets boring sometimes, and I really want to go away to university.”

“Away? Don’t you like your family?” Curtis asked. This didn’t sound right after what Curtis had heard at the diner. Everyone had seemed so lovey-dovey, if a little snarky at the same time.

Gus laughed. “I love my family, but it’s time for me to do some stuff on my own. University will be a great place to start being myself.”

“Yourself?”

“Yeah, in case nobody told you, I’m gay.”

“Oh?” Curtis said. He was truly surprised. He hadn’t thought about Gus being gay or straight. Gus just seemed like any other kid. In fact he was nicer than most of the kids that Curtis had met. “How do you know?”

“Believe me, I know.”

“Okay,” Curtis said uncertainly. He wasn’t going to pursue this any farther.

“I come by it naturally. Both my Pop and my Mom are gay. Does that freak you out?”

“No … not really. There sure are a lot of gay people in your family,” Curtis observed.

“Yeah, I think we cornered the market.”

“Did you … was it hard … I mean, being around all the gay people?”

“I’ve never known anything else,” Gus said honestly.

“Do … do you get teased or picked on because of your parents?” Curtis asked.

So this was the basis of Curtis’ worries, Gus thought. “I used to, until people got to know me. I’m not my parents. I don’t flaunt them and I don’t hide them. They’re just ‘rents,” Gus laughed.

“Flaunt?” Curtis asked.

“My Pop is the Brian Kinney. That comes with certain perks and problems.”

“Oh, yeah, right. I guess it would. Your Pop’s kind of scary.”

“He can be, but most of the time he’s a great guy.”

Curtis nodded. He had seen both of those sides to the famous Brian Kinney. Curtis thought for a moment then he had to ask. ”What do you think I should do about Hector and Raph?” Curtis whispered.

“I think you should do whatever feels right to you,” Gus replied.

“I really like them.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I … I don’t know,” Curtis said dejectedly.

“I think you do know.”

“Wh…what do you mean?”

“I think you really want to live with Raph and Hector, but you’re afraid,” Gus replied.

“I’m not afraid of nuthin,” Curtis answered with all the street bravado he could muster.

“We’re all afraid of something,” Gus said knowingly.

“Huh?”

“You heard me.”

“So what are you afraid of?”

“Lots of things, but mostly my little sister,” Gus laughed. “She can make me do anything … and anyone else for that matter.”

“That little girl!” Curtis scoffed.

“You’re coming to her birthday party, aren’t you?”

“Well … yeah.”

”See. She can get anybody to do anything. She’s scary sometimes.”

“But she’s your sister.”

“And I love her to bits. She’s a great little kid.”

“She sure knows how to speak her mind,” Curtis said.

Gus nodded. “What did your card say?”

Curtis pulled it out of his pocket. “Why does her rainbow have black and brown in it?” he asked looking at the front of the folded piece of paper.

“That’s her trademark,” Gus explained.

“Trademark? She’s not even five and she has a trademark?”

Gus grinned. “Yep.”

“Fuck! What kind of kid is she?”

“She’s pretty special,” JR stated. She had been sitting back listening to the two boys talk about things.

“She really seemed glad to see you, JR,” Curtis observed.

“Yeah, we don’t see each other all that much. She lives out in the country.”

“How come you don’t live with your sister?” Curtis asked Gus.

“I’ve always lived with my moms.”

“How come?”

“They’re the ones who wanted a baby. My Pop was the sperm donor.”

“Yuck!” Curtis reacted.

“I can’t help it,” Gus chuckled. “Them’s the facts.”

“So, he gets to live with me,” JR piped in.

“Lucky me,” Gus teased using his best sarcastic voice, as JR stuck out her tongue at her brother.

Curtis chuckled. It was good to see the siblings having a moment that was exactly like what Curtis thought a family should be. He wished he had a brother or sister. Sometimes he just felt so totally alone. And he was.

“Hey, Curtis, where did you go?” Gus asked a frown on his face. He had noticed the wistful look on the boy’s face.

“Just thinking,” Curtis mumbled.

“You can have a family too, you know,” Gus reminded him. “Dr. Raph and Hector are just waiting for you to say the word.”

“I know,” Curtis sighed.

“So why don’t you do something about it?”

“I … I don’t think I could stand it if I agreed to be their son, and then they changed their minds,” Curtis said sadly.

“Changed their minds?” Gus asked his eyebrows rising into his hairline. “Why would they do that?”

“Everyone else I’ve depended on has let me down … or … gone away.”

Gus could hear the sadness in Curtis’ voice. He wondered how the boy had survived all the things that his Pop had told him had happened to Curtis. He must be a very strong person, but now Curtis was afraid of being abandoned once again or hurt again. Gus wasn’t sure which would be worse.

“Curtis,” JR said sliding down onto the floor to sit beside Curtis. “Don’t worry. Dr. Raph and Hector are good people. They came to Christmas at Edna’s Treasures this year. They were very nice. I know they wouldn’t hurt you or tell you to go away.” She wanted to hug Curtis, but she knew that wouldn’t be cool, so she smiled at him instead.

“How would you know what they’ll do?” Curtis demanded giving his eyes a quick swipe. He wouldn’t cry in front of these two.

“JR’s right,” Gus affirmed. “We got to know them at Christmas. They just want to make things better for you.”

“I don’t know,” Curtis said shaking his head.

“Couldn’t you give it a try?” JR asked.

“That’s what I’ve been doing. I stay here almost every weekend.”

“And you like it, don’t you?” Gus asked.

“Too much.”

“Too much?” Gus’ eyebrows shot up again.

“I don’t want to get … settled here and then have to leave.”

“I don’t think Hector and Raph would do that,” JR stated.

Curtis shook his head. “I wish I could be sure.”

“If you behave yourself, things should be fine,” Gus said wisely. “They know what you did and why you did it. And they still want you.”

“Curtis,” JR said taking his hand. “Just try. It’s worth a shot.”

“Maybe,” Curtis replied trying to put some of his fears aside.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. None of them wanted more pizza. They were each thinking their own thoughts. Curtis was weighing whether or not he could risk letting Hector and Raph into his life and his heart, because that was what was already happening. JR and Gus were thinking about how lucky they were to have their families and not have to deal with what Curtis faced each day.

Gus cleared his throat. “You never did show me what was in Bree’s card.”

Curtis smiled just a little bit. He picked up the card and opened it. “It says: BE GOOD.” He chuckled a little at the brief message printed in Bree’s ungainly letters.

Gus laughed. “Then you better be good. That’s an order when she prints it in capital letters.”

JR laughed. “She has to be obeyed.”

“That kid is something else,” Curtis said shaking his head.

“You can say that again,” Gus agreed.

 

*****
 

“Okay, kids,” Jennifer said as she and Seth set out some sandwiches for Bree and Patrick.

“I like the way you cut the sammiches, Gamma Jenn,” Bree stated with a smile on her face. “They’re just the right size.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Jennifer replied.

“I like them too,” Patrick chimed in, as he took one of the small wedges of salmon sandwich.

“You were both so good at the diner,” Seth offered. “Did you like Curtis?”

Patrick nodded his head. “He didn’t say much though.”

“I think he might have been a little intimidated by all of us,” Seth offered.

“What’s intimated?” Bree asked biting a corner off her sandwich wedge.

“In-tim-i-dated,” Seth repeated carefully. “It means that there were so many people there that it was kind of overwhelming for Curtis.”

“Oh,” Bree said thoughtfully. “I didn’t think I would like Curtis, but I did.”

“Why didn’t you think you’d like him?” Jennifer asked, setting down a glass of juice in front of each child.

“My Daddy doesn’t like Curtis much,” Bree stated.

“Justin?” Jennifer asked surprised. It wasn’t like her son to take a dislike to someone he had never met.

Bree nodded. “Yep.”

“It must be related to the mugging,” Seth said quietly.

“Of course,” Jennifer realized when she was reminded of how Curtis had come into their lives.

“What does your Dada think of Curtis?” Seth asked.

“He told me that Curtis has had a hard life. He said Curtis was trying to be good and I should help him.”

“Is that why you invited Curtis to your birthday party?”

Bree bobbed her head. “Yep, but I liked his eyes too.”

“His eyes?” Jennifer asked.

“He has kind eyes,” Bree stated.

“Yeah, he does,” Patrick agreed. “I saw that too.”

Seth smiled. Children were so observant. These two had noticed Curtis’ kind eyes, and Bree knew that Justin didn’t really approve of Curtis, while Brian was trying to help the boy. “You two are something else,” he chuckled.

“Yep,” Bree said taking the last bite of her sandwich.

 

*****
 

“Dada, Daddy!” Bree shrieked as her fathers came in the door of Jennifer’s townhouse.

“Hey, Squirt,” Brian smiled. He caught her hands and swung her around, wondering how much longer he would be able to do that. Bree shrieked with delight.

“Enough, Brian,” Justin sighed. He hated always being the practical one, the one to put a damper on things. “You’ll make her throw up if she’s just eaten.”

“Okay, Squirt, that’s enough,” Brian said setting her down. “Did you have something to eat?”

Bree bounced her ponytail in agreement. “Me and Patrick had salmon sammiches and juice.”

“Patrick and I,” Brian corrected.

“You and Patrick didn’t have sammiches,” Bree giggled. “Me and Patrick did.”

“Okay,” Brian laughed giving up. His daughter certainly knew her own mind.

“Would you like something to eat before you head back?” Jennifer asked.

“Not for me. I have to watch my figure,” Brian told her. Justin snorted and Brian gave him the evil eye.

“I’ll wrap up a few sandwiches for anybody that wants them for the trip home,” Jennifer said going into the kitchen.

Soon they were all packed up and on the road back to Edna’s Treasures. Justin and Bobby were munching on some on Jennifer’s sandwiches.

“These are good,” Bobby said.

“Gamma Jenn makes good sammiches,” Bree declared.

“Yes she does,” Justin agreed taking another bite. “Did you and Patrick have fun today?”

“I did, Daddy,” Bree stated. Patrick nodded in agreement.

“Did you like Curtis?” Brian asked.

“He has good eyes,” Bree said.

“Good eyes?”

“Yep,” Patrick concurred. “Bree and I think he has kind eyes. He seemed nice.”

“That’s good,” Brian said thoughtfully. “Why did you invite him to your birthday party, Bree?” That had been a surprise to them all. Brian wasn’t even sure where Bree had found the invitation to give to the boy. He supposed they should make a point of asking Raph and Hector to attend too. He made a mental note to do that.

“I thought he might be lonely,” Bree said looking at Brian from her seat in the back. “You told me all about Curtis and it was sad. I think we can cheer him up at my party.”

“I think you might be right,” John said, kissing her cheek. “You’re a very sweet little girl.”

“I know,” Bree said proudly.

“What did you write in Curtis’ card?” Brian asked, remembering that he hadn’t been allowed to see what it said.

“I told him to be GOOD!” Bree said emphatically. Everyone chuckled. Bree looked surprised. “Why are you laughing? Dada said Curtis was trying to be good, so I told him to do it.”

“And I’m sure he will now that you’ve told him,” Justin chuckled.

“Yes, he will,” Bree stated confidently.

And everyone knew that he would.

 

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