Summer in the City

Chapter 7

“So how do you like living here on a permanent basis?” Hector asked Curtis.

It was late Sunday afternoon and they were all in the kitchen preparing dinner.

“It’s good, but I kind of miss the Center sometimes.” Curtis watched Hector’s and Raph’s faces drop. "I … I mean that I’ve only been here for a week,” Curtis said with a smile. “It’s hard to know … yet.”

“Hector has restrained himself from asking that question for many days now,” Raph told him.

Curtis grinned at them. “It’s really not much different than spending the weekends here.”

Raph looked from Curtis to Hector. “I think Hector wants to know if we’re passing muster as parents.”

Curtis looked at the two men. “I … I didn’t really know what to expect when I said I wanted to live here. But … I didn’t think you’d want my approval.” He frowned at the words that Raph had said to him.

“Of course we want your approval. This whole parenting thing is totally new to us. We want to know if we’re doing it right.”

“I … I guess you are,” Curtis said uncertainly.

“Phew!” Hector laughed. “That’s a relief.”

“How … how am I doing … as a foster child, I mean?” Curtis felt the need to ask.

“You’re doing just great,” Hector said with a big smile.

“We couldn’t ask for anything more,” Raph added. “Except maybe that you were our son instead of our foster child.”

“You really want that?” Curtis asked.

“We really want it,” Hector and Raph said at the same time.

“How hard would it be to do that?”

“Not very hard, but we’d have to go to court and there’ll be lots of papers to sign,” Raph explained.

“But we wouldn’t mind the paperwork,” Hector informed him.

“What would you say to something like that?” Raph asked.

“Do I have to make that decision now?” Curtis wanted to know.

“Of course not,” Raph assured him. “We weren’t even going to mention it … for a while.”

“But you’ve been thinking about it?”

“We have,” Hector admitted.

Curtis smiled. “That makes me feel good. I’ll think about it too, but maybe we should wait a while to see if this is going to work out all right.”

“How did you get to be the practical one in this family?” Raph asked with a chuckle.

“Somebody has to do it,” Curtis grinned.

They continued making the dinner, each feeling like they were becoming part of a real family. It made them all feel warm inside, and the food they prepared together would never taste better.

 

*****
 

“I miss Gus,” JR said as she and her mothers sat down to dinner.

“He’s only been gone a couple of days,” Melanie replied.

“I miss him too,” Lindsay added.

“I wish I could go horseback riding again. It was fun,” JR added.

“You can when they all come back,” Lindsay told her.

“It’s more fun when Gus is here,” JR whined.

“What about us, young lady?” Melanie demanded.

“You’re parents.”

Lindsay and Melanie let out simultaneous sighs.

 

*****
 

“It seems strange around the clinic without Curtis,” Hunter said as he and Nick sat down for dinner.

“Yeah, I noticed that too. I guess we got used to having him around.”

“I wonder how he’s doing with Raph and Hector?”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Nick said gently as he started in on his salad.

“I hope so. I wanted to call every day and ask how it’s going, but I figured I should stay out of it for a while. Give them a chance to get used to each other.”

“I think that’s the right thing to do,” Nick concurred.

“Curtis deserves some stability in his life … and happiness.”

“He deserves all that and more.”

“Yeah, and I’m praying he’s going to get it,” Hunter sighed.

 

*****
 

“It’s awfully quiet around here without Brian and Justin,” Emmett said as he dished up dinner for himself and Drew.

“They haven’t even been gone a day yet,” Drew chuckled.

“I know, but I miss them.”

“They’ll be back before you know it.”

“I know, but it’s not the same when they’re not here.”

“Have you told Brian this?” Drew asked with an evil glint in his eye.

“Of course not! He’d tell me to fucking get a life and toss me out on my ear.”

“You know he wouldn’t do that. He’d be touched,” Drew said gently.

“Well, maybe, but he’d never let me live it down.”

“It’s okay to miss him.”

“I know, but you never tell him how much. Understood?”

“Yes, darling. My lips are sealed … right after I finish these delicious lambchops.”

Emmett smiled and dug into his own food.

 

*****
 

“I miss Bree,” Patrick said as he sat at dinner with his fathers.

“She’ll be settling in in New York by now,” Bobby replied.

“Why didn’t we go with them … like last time?” Patrick asked.

“They don’t need us there. Brian has work to do,” John said. “And we have work to do here.”

“But I don’t have anybody to play with,” Patrick whined.

Beau barked loudly.

“I think you just insulted Beau,” Bobby laughed.

“You know what I mean,” Patrick replied.

“You’re going to help with the gardens, aren’t you?” Bobby asked.

“Yes,” Patrick sighed.

“How would you like to go visit Grandma Claire next weekend and we could maybe go riding again?” John proposed.

“That would be cool,” Patrick agreed.

“Good, then let’s plan on that.”

They all got back to eating their food.

 

*****
 

“I miss Patrick and JR and Ashley and…”

“We get it, Squirt,” Brian said to his daughter. They were having dinner in the hotel restaurant.

“Didn’t you have fun playing with that girl in the park today?” Gus asked.

“Yes, but she’s not Ashley or Patrick.”

“Nobody’s Ashley or Patrick,” Justin said. “But you can still have fun with new friends while you’re here.”

“I guess so,” Bree said as she munched on some salad.

“I thought we’d go to that library tomorrow,” Joan said. “Do you remember it, Bree?”

Bree nodded. “I like the li-berry.”

“Then that’s a plan,” Brian said breathing a sigh of relief.

 

*****
 

Monday morning and the living is easy, well not that easy. The ‘ladies’ decided to enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the hotel’s fine restaurant. Afterwards, the plan called for a day at the main library. The two younger men decided to take their cues from Brian, who was up and ready for adman action, and all before his first cup of coffee. Dressed smartly for business, Brian hailed a cab to take his ‘men’ downtown to Kinnetik N’rgy. Gus greeted Stacey and Ken enthusiastically then sprinted up the stairs to the apartment shared by the Greene-Mann family. Gus had it on good authority that a massive breakfast fit for three teenage boys awaited him upstairs. He had tentative plans to hang out with the boys for the day. Justin was greeted warmly then disappeared into the inner sanctum to confer with his fellow artist, Kenneth Mann and also to get breakfast. That left Stacey at the tender mercies of one decaffeinated Brian Kinney.

Before Brian could bellow, “Coffee, black, sweet,” a hot mug of Brian’s favorite blend was placed in his hands. He was sipping and purring contentedly as Stacey carefully directed Brian to her big executive-type leather chair. There he sat and sipped until he was human enough to hold a reasonable conversation.

“So show me these plans you two have cooked up,” Brian muttered. Kenneth’s renderings of the proposed N’rgy offices were laid out on the desk before Brian. As Stacey topped off Brian’s mug, Brian grinned at the well thought out expansion plans.

“Does Simon know that you’re kicking him out of his front office? And what about the guy upstairs?”

“Kenny, suggested that Simon move upstairs. Apparently his assistant has always liked the second floor apartment better than the first.”

“Then why have they been down here all this time?”

“The second floor was slated to be residential only. The lease will be up soon for the guy on the second floor and Simon is happy to see the back of him.” Brian smirked at Stacey’s double entendre. Stacey noted the smirk but resisted commenting. “We’ll expand this office forward into Simon’s old place. I love those big windows and the window boxes just outside. And I’ve started a small container garden out there; did you notice it?”

“I saw it; very impressive. But I don’t pay you for your horticultural skills, do I?”

“I know but it helps me to think when I’m puttering out there,” Stacey said with a wistful expression. Brian nodded with understanding. He worked out a lot of ideas and problems as he weeded and tended his own gardens. “Once the man upstairs has moved out, we’ll convert that apartment into artist space and cubes for the execs.”

“Do you want to do that?”

“Do what?”

“Split up the exec area into cubicles.” Stacey made a face. “Hear me out. When I started out with Ryder and with Vance, execs that pulled in the large dollar contracts had their own offices.”

“That’s what it was like where I worked. The grunts would do almost anything to snag a large account even some things that weren’t quite ethical. I hated that. I never understood why we couldn’t all work together.”

“If you break things up into small cubes you’ll be fostering the same attitude. I always wanted Kinnetik to be a family. Yeah, we all have a pet account or two but sometimes it helps to know what your neighbor is working on. It helps when you need a fresh perspective or in case of illness, you have someone who can back you up.”

“I agree and I heard that Scott was able to step in to give that presentation.”

“That’s right. He was in it from the beginning. The client knew everyone and wasn’t fazed when someone else had to give the presentation. They all worked it together and Part Deux closed the deal. We all profit from it. You have an opportunity to create a very unique agency.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kinnetik is known for major nationwide ad campaigns and yet each branch is run like a small ‘mom and pop’ kind of shop. We all know each other and like each other. And we’re not out to stab someone in the back or pilfer an account.”

“True. I like being able to trust the people around me. I never felt that way at Kennedy and Collins.”

“I think I did just as much wheeling and dealing to keep the execs from taking my accounts as I did to win them,” Brian informed her.

“You’re right. I don’t want that to happen here. But we should feel free to work on some of our own personal accounts. I still have some that came with me from Kennedy and Collins.”

“That’s right, and I know Ted and Cynthia still have a hand in some of the accounts they developed here. And whomever you hire will have that same option. Just as long as they know that if they need help, you’re available. Hell, we’re all available.”

“So maybe I’ll rethink the cube thing.”

“While you’re rethinking, you may want to reconsider this applicant,” Brian said as he held a resume in his hand.

“I haven’t made any decisions yet. I was hoping for your input.”

“Noted, and here it is. This applicant freely admits to little out there in your face advertising skills; however, the samples of the artwork speak for itself. This may be someone worth developing. Ken wasn’t into the business end of things when he started, but he’s developed a nice client load himself. Instead of hiring separate execs and artists, it doesn’t hurt to get a ‘twofer’,” Brian quipped.

“You’re right about that,” Stacey said with a sigh. It felt good to bounce ideas off the best adman she ever knew. “I am so glad you’re here!” she said loudly, giving her boss and mentor a peck on the cheek then refilling his coffee mug.

“Enough of that,” Brian griped at Stacey’s compliment. “Let’s review the list of applicants.”
 

*****
 

“So how long you going to stay here?” Raymond asked Gus with a mouth full of omelet and bacon.

“About a month,” Gus answered with an equally full mouth.

“You think your dads will let you hang out with us?” Ray asked, coughing and trying not to choke on a homemade muffin. Jeffrey pounded his brother’s back.

“Yeah, they will. I kinda asked my Pop if we could hang at your GLC. You know what I mean?” Gus said almost in a whisper and blushing slightly. Jeff rolled his eyes at his brother and friend.

“Teenagers,” Jeff snarked. Grabbing a muffin, Jeff headed for his room. “I’m leaving you two little ‘faggetts’ to dish. I have lines to run. I’ll see you later.” Jeffrey smugly walked away leaving his brother and friend with their mouths hanging open. Not very attractive when said mouths were full of breakfast. “Oh yeah, real cool looking,” Jeff said, adding insult to injury as he entered his room. Ray and Gus could hear him laughing.

“What did he call us?” Gus wasn’t sure if he heard what he thought he heard.

“You heard right. My brother can be a pain in the ass sometimes. But he wasn’t being mean or nothing. I hope you weren’t really insulted,” Ray asked pensively. Ray was used to his brother ragging on him all the time. He knew that Jeffrey was only kidding and that Jeff would come to his defense at the drop of a hat.

“No, I’m not insulted but I’ve never been called a ‘faggett’ before. I don’t even know what that is!” Gus said as he chuckled.

“It’s what my brother calls us younger generation of homo. We’re out there but we’re not,” Ray said softly.

“Yeah,” Gus agreed. He was aching to get out there and date and … and other things. He was scared and excited at the same time. Ray seemed to follow Gus’ train of thought.

“Yeah,” Ray murmured. “My dads told me how wild they were and about safe sex and how they lost some close friends to AIDS and a lot of other stuff. They used to go clubbing all the time and well, you know, like your dad’s place.” Gus nodded; he couldn’t wait until he was old enough to get into Babylon. But even then he knew he’d be watched like a hawk. His dad had spies everywhere. “It’s like my dads are trying to hold me back or something.” Raymond sounded frustrated.

“The stud,” Gus mumbled.

“What?”

“The Stud. The Stud of Liberty Avenue. That’s what they used to call my Pop. My family doesn’t think I know but you can’t hide stuff like that on the avenue.” Gus shook his head.
Ray placed his hand over Gus’ in support making Gus smile meekly. “My Pop, he’s real good looking...” Ray nodded. “He was a sort of a legend when he was in his twenties. He, he, you know, with a lot of guys. I heard he did hundreds maybe thousands and never the same guy twice.” Ray’s eyes grew real wide. “Yeah, I know and he kept right on doing it until...”

“Until he met Justin?” Ray asked in hope.

“Not really, not at first but then he really fell in love. I know my Pop loves Justin more than anything in the world except for us kids. But I asked him once why it was okay for him and not me.”

“What’d he say?” Ray had asked his dads the same thing.

“He said how can I go out and do it if I can’t even say the words.” Ray nodded. He was a virgin too, except to his right hand. Ray looked down at his hand. Gus looked at his hand too. “Yeah, gets real old after a while but I really don’t want to do it with just anybody. I want to like the guy, you know?” Gus gazed into Ray’s dark chocolate brown eyes.

“I know.” Ray looked around then whispered, “I haven’t kissed a guy, have you?” Gus shook his head, no, his hazel eyes shining. The boys leaned in very close, with eyes open wide and lips leading the way. Just then Jeffrey banged his way out of his room and into the kitchen to get himself a drink. He quickly sized up the situation as Gus and Raymond jumped apart.

“Silly faggetts, tricks are for homos not for kids,” Jeff snarked loudly, then gulped down some juice. Gus and Ray blushed a deep red as Jeff laughed and went back to his room.



 

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