Brian Un-henged

Chapter 2

“Hey Bri, what are you doing here? I thought you planned on running your empire from the cottage this summer,” Michael asked his longtime friend, as Brian came through the comic book store door. Brian had driven into Pittsburgh wearing his usual suave business attire. He sauntered over to the counter to give Michael a kiss, grabbed the latest issue of Rage then planted himself in the overstuffed chair.

“Okay, I see we’re the grumpy silent type today,” Michael teased, as he briefly disappeared into the back room then returned with a cup of coffee just how Brian liked it. Michael waited until Brian drank down a few sips and slowly became human again.

“Let’s try this again,” Michael began. “What’s up, Brian?”

“My life is for shit, Mikey,” Brian griped.

“Not that I believe that for one second, but how did your idyllic life turn to shit in just a couple of weeks? You seemed to be quite the happy king of all he could survey on Memorial Day. What’s changed?” Brian made a sour face that caused Michael to laugh out loud. Brian relaxed a bit.

“My little Mary Sunshine has started on his latest project,” Brian said with a long-suffering sigh.

“And I suppose it’s cutting into your play time with the boy wonder?”

“Not hardly, but this is very different from his other artistic endeavors.”

“So Justin wants to try something new, big deal. He did that with the fractal movie and the Rage cartoon and look how great they turned out.”

“I know, Mikey, but this is different and I blame it all on Debbie.”

“What does my mother have to do with this?”

“She had to show Justin all those pictures of ‘Truckhenge’. Now he’s in our shed hammering sheet metal and welding it together. He’s creating his own ‘henge’.” At that point Michael burst out into laughter. “Not funny, Michael. The boy could seriously hurt himself if he’s not careful. And you know the Squirt likes to imitate her Daddy’s art. She’s pissed that she’s banned from the shed and that Justin has the nerve to work in a medium she doesn’t like.”

“Poor thing,” Michael snarked.

“Listen, Mr. Novotny-Bruckner, dad with a reasonable daughter, you try explaining to the princess why it’s so important to allow for artistic freedoms. And why instead of very safe pencils and paint brushes, my Sunshine chooses to barricade himself inside an old shed and play with a blowtorch.”

“Arc welding.”

“Whatever,” Brian said doing a double take. “Have you been talking to my brother?” The best of friends began to laugh until their sides ached. Michael gave Brian a hug.

“Brian, it’ll be okay. Justin is the smartest person I know, besides you and Ben. He’ll work with the equipment safely. Don’t worry, Bri.”

“Easier said than done, Mikey,” Brian whispered as he held his friend close. “I gotta go,” he said as he gently pushed back from Michael.

“Got a hot date?” Michael smirked.

“Yeah, with one of Emm’s popovers.”

“Drowning your sorrows in carbs; this is serious.”

“Better a popover than in some trick. And I’m proud of you, Mikey, you’re actually developing a sense of humor.”

“Get out, and stop fondling the merchandise,” Michael groused good naturedly as he removed the comic from Brian’s hands to put back on the rack. “You’ll see, Bri. It’ll be fine,” Michael said as Brian left his shop.

“Excuse me, is this still the comic book store?” a handsome 30-ish gentleman asked Brian just outside the store.

“The one and only,” Brian quipped.

“Thank you,” the gentleman said as he opened the door.

 

*****
 

“Fuck!” Justin yelled as he attempted to touch a piece of metal that was too hot to handle.

“Hey, Justin, what’s up?” John asked as he heard the expletive when he came into the shed.

“Yike!” Justin yelped. “What’s with you Kinney men, always sneaking up on me and scaring the shit out of me?”

“Wasn’t my intent. You seem to be making a lot of progress,” John commented cautiously as he looked around the shed. There were several pieces of metal that resembled the petals of a flower. “A sunflower?” John ventured.

“Yes!” Justin replied enthusiastically. “You can see it already?” Justin asked grinning from ear to ear.

“Well it was either that or a black-eyed susan and I know your fondness for sunflowers. It was a logical assumption.” John noticed Justin flexing the fingers of his right hand. “How long have you been working out here today?”

“Not sure, but I was up before Brian.”

“Hmm,” John mumbled as he looked at his watch. It was after three; Brian was usually up by six. Justin had been handling the equipment for a very long time and probably without taking a long enough break to rest his hand. The kids would be coming home from school soon. John used it as an excuse.

“Justin, Rachel will be bringing the kids home soon. I still have a few more hours of work at Molly’s cottage and Bobby’s running late. Do you think you can give the kids their snacks then start dinner?”

John took a chance that Justin would agree. He knew when Justin got caught up in his art, he rarely wanted to stop. Justin flexed his hand a couple more times as he glanced at the metal on his workbench.

“Yeah, I could probably use a cookie or two. I’ll clean up here then go into the cottage to organize dinner.”

“Thanks. I can stand a break from Brian’s grilling. Not that it isn’t delicious, but I’m in the mood for something different.” John was hoping for this reaction from Justin.

“Emmett brought me some fresh salmon and a new recipe to try. How about that?” Justin said with a smile.

“Perfect. I’ll get out of your way so you can stow your equipment. See you a little later.”

“Okay,” Justin replied as he began to put away his welding equipment.

As John walked down the lane toward the new cottage, he pulled out his cell phone.

“Hey Bri. Nothing’s wrong. He’s all in one piece. Jeez, you’re one big mother hen. Do you know that? But listen, he’s been at it for hours and his hand is acting up. Yeah, yeah, I know, but he’s one stubborn Sunshine. He’s finished up for the day and going to start dinner in a while. Yes, I did suggest the whale,” John said as he rolled his eyes at his phone. “He’s going to try out one of Emmett’s recipes. You coming home soon? Good. Just play it cool then do that thing you do to massage out the kinks in his hand. I know; you’re always cool. Gotta go now, Brian. See you later.”

Shaking his head, John cut the connection then returned to work.

 

*****
 

“Daddy, Dada, I’m home!” Bree called as she came through the front door of Edna’s Treasures.

“It’s just Daddy, sweetheart,” Justin said with a big smile. He bent down to give his daughter a hug, and then he touched fists with Patrick who appeared behind Bree. “Hi, buddy, did you have a good day at school?”

“Pretty good,” Patrick replied.

Bree studied her father. “How come you’re not in that shed?” she demanded.

“I’m not in there all the time,” Justin replied, a little disconcerted by Bree’s question.

“It sure seems like it,” Bree said crossing her arms on her chest and pouting. She was happy to see her father in the house, but she wanted him to know that she was not amused that he spent so much time out in the shed from which she had been banned.

“I … I’m sorry if you think I’m spending too much time working on my flowers,” Justin said, “but it’s my job.”

Bree frowned. “Where’s Dada?”

“He went into Pittsburgh for the day. Sit down and have some crackers and cheese,” Justin instructed the children. “I’ll pour you some milk.”

Bree studied her father and then went over to the table and sat down across from Patrick.

“Good,” Patrick said popping a cracker and a small piece of cheese into his mouth.

“It’s okay,” Bree stated, biting into a cracker and cheese of her own. She was still not prepared to be gracious where her father was concerned.

Justin shook his head and went to the fridge to get the milk. He pulled out the full jug of milk and almost dropped it as his right hand started to spasm. He quickly grabbed the jug with his other hand to support it. He set the jug on the counter and got out two glasses. When he tried to pour the milk into the first glass he found his hand shaking again. He quickly used his other hand to support the milk jug. He only spilled a bit of milk. He looked over at the children who didn’t seem to have noticed. The last thing he needed was for Brian to get wind of what was happening with his hand.

Justin carried one glass of milk over to the table and gave it to Patrick. He made sure to carry the milk with his left hand, not taking any chances of spilling the milk or dropping the glass if he used his right. He walked back to get the other glass of milk for Bree. When he brought it to the table, he saw Bree looking at him with a strange look on her face. He found it hard to look into her eyes. He set the glass down in front of her and quickly went back to the counter to finish preparing the salmon he was making for dinner.

 

*****
 

“Hi, Dad,” Molly said as she answered her phone.

“How are you and my grandchild?” Craig asked in a very pleasant voice.

Molly smiled. It was always nice to start a conversation with her father in a pleasant manner. That seemed to be happening more now that Taylor was in their lives. “I’m good and Taylor is positively blossoming.”

“Taylor’s not a bloody flower,” Craig protested.

Molly sighed. So much for the pleasantries. “What can I do for you, Dad?” she asked, deciding not to get into it once again with her father. She was too happy and contented to let anything upset her.

“Is Owen back at work?”

“Yes, he’s been going in for quite a while now.”

“Are you managing all right on your own?”

“Yes, we’re fine.”

“Susan wanted me to tell you that she’d be happy to babysit or come over for a visit if you feel lonely or trapped in the condo.”

Molly knew her father was trying to be helpful, but a part of her resented that he somehow thought she was incapable of looking after herself and her child without someone else’s help. Even if she had needed some help when Taylor wouldn’t sleep, that didn’t mean that she still needed it.

“Molly?” Craig’s voice called her out of her reverie.

“Sorry, Dad, guess I zoned out for a minute.”

“Is something wrong? You can tell me.”

Molly sighed. “Nothing’s wrong. Really! Tell you what, I’m going out to Edna’s Treasures tomorrow to see the progress on our cottage. Would you like to come with Taylor and me? Susan’s welcome to come too.”

“Tomorrow’s a workday,” Craig stated.

“I know, but I thought you might take the morning off and come with me,” Molly said, extending the olive branch once again.

“Well, maybe I could,” Craig replied.

“Get back to me when you decide. I thought I’d leave here about nine when most of the traffic is off the roads.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know.”

“Bye, Dad.” Molly cut the connection wondering if she had done the right thing by asking her father and his wife to accompany her out to the building site. She was tired always having to take the initiative and then her father refusing to give an inch. She debated if she should call Justin and tell him that their father might come with her tomorrow morning, but she decided against it. Craig would probably decide he was too busy to accompany her anyway.

Taylor gave a little squawk from the nursery and she went to see what the love of her life was up too. The blissful smile on her face when she looked at her baby was truly radiant. She refused to worry about her father when she had more important things to think about.

 

*****
 

“Excellent dinner, Justin!” Bobby crowed. The whole family had made short work of the baked salmon that Justin had prepared. While John and Bobby were performing k-p duty. Brian and Justin were helping the kids go over whatever homework they had. School was ending soon so homework was rather minimal.

By nine the kids had had their baths and were ready for bed. Beau was patrolling the lane as Edna’s Treasures was bedding down for the night.

“John said you’re making very good progress on your henge flowers,” Brian said smoothly. He had manipulated Justin into sharing a shower on the pretext that Brian was tired and wanted help washing his back. Justin loved sharing showers with Brian and the thought of gliding a warm slippery sponge over Brian’s skin was more than enough incentive.

“I have most of the petals done for the first flower,” Justin confirmed as he glided the bath sponge over Brian’s chest. Brian could see a slight tremble to Justin’s hand but didn’t mention it. When Justin was finished, Brian took the sponge and began to wash Justin.

“Mmm, feels goods,” Justin murmured. He was very tired, his hand was hurting and his back ached from hunching over his workbench the whole day.

Using Justin’s favorite shampoo, Brian began to wash Justin’s hair and massage his scalp. Justin groaned with appreciation. Brian could feel his sleepy Sunshine wavering as he stood.

“Come on, Sonny Boy, time for all good ad men and artists to hit the hay,” Brian murmured as he rinsed them both off, turned off the shower then dried them both with fluffy towels. Wrapping Justin in his thick robe, Brian led the sleepy man to their bed.

“I thought I was taking care of you,” Justin mumbled as Brian helped him into a pair of sleep pants then tucked him into bed.

“You did take care of me. You made a fantastic dinner and then washed my back. I was just returning the favor.”

“The salmon was good, wasn’t it? I should call Emmett to let him know his recipe was a hit.”

“Tomorrow, Jus, you can call him in the morning.”

“Okay,” Justin said with a huge yawn. “Ugh,” Justin groused when a small spasm cramped his hand.

“Give it here, Sunshine,” Brian demanded softly. Justin snuggled closer as Brian gently took Justin’s hand into his and began to massage the offending appendage.

“How did you know?” Justin asked after a while. Brian was diligently working on the muscles of his hand.

“I have spies everywhere.”

“John,” Justin confirmed.

“Mm hmm, and I have eyes, Justin. I can see you’re having trouble.”

“You’re not going to make me stop working on my project, are you?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. But, Justin, you should factor sufficient breaks into your schedule. You’re in no rush; you don’t have a deadline. You don’t have to shoot your whole load all at once,” Brian said then slipped his tongue into his cheek.

“You would find some way of turning this conversation into sex,” Justin chuckled.

“Yes, well, this is the hand you usually use to fondle my balls. Now what would I do if you couldn’t fulfill your ‘spousely’ duties?”

“Take matters into your own hands?”

“I could but it’s so much fun when you do it for me.”

“Brian...”

“Justin, all I’m asking is that you pace yourself. You don’t have to be up with the birds nor must you work the whole day without a break. Think of how frustrated you’d be if you’re forced to stop because your hand is too tired to keep on working.”

“You know, sometimes your logic is annoying.”

“I try.”

“You’ve succeeded. And you’re right; I’d be pretty pissed if I had to stop now. I’m just getting the hang of working the metal. I don’t want to stop.”

“Then take it slower and you won’t have to.”

“Okay.”

“For now, it’s time for your physical therapy,” Brian said suggestively.

“And what therapy is that?” Justin had a good idea.

“This therapy,” Brian said as he took Justin’s now relaxed hand and wrapped it around his cock. Brian guided Justin’s hand up and down his length.

Justin enthusiastically participated in his therapy for the next hour.
 

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