Up, Up and Away

Chapter 7

 

“My dear Helena, what are you talking about?” Marcus Krupp nervously asked. He was hoping she would keep her voice down. That’s all he needed, to be accused of dealing in pornographic materials.

“This, this drawing that’s trying to pass itself off as art,” Helena Warwick growled. While Krupp was stuttering out an explanation, Justin quietly sidled up to them.

“May I ask what your objection to the piece is?” Justin asked in a very calm manner. With his hair slicked back, Justin wasn’t easily recognizable. Helena Warwick briefly looked Justin up and down then dismissed him as a non-entity.

“The child is naked,” she whispered.

“As are most of the models in this study,” Justin stated. “Have you objections to the other pieces?” He slowly wandered down the aisle that showcased the nude and semi-nude subjects, stopping at the studies of Bobby and Brian. Justin inwardly chuckled at the double take Ms. Warwick made. She obviously had an eye for beauty.

“Of course not, they’re adults. They can give permission. This is a small child, she’s at risk for exploitation,” Helena stated with authority. Justin took a cleansing breath before attempting to confront the irritating woman.

“I grant you that the child is young, but not that young, and believe me, if she had voiced any objection, the sketch would not have been included in the grouping,” Justin began.

“Young man, I don’t wish to argue with you but what could you possibly know about it?”

Before Justin could go any further…

“Hello, my name is Briana Victoria Kinney-Taylor,” Bree said with as much authority and confidence as she could muster. She noticed the woman scowling at her daddy so she walked over to find out the problem. This gallery wasn’t like the others Bree had been to; she had had enough. Being polite, Bree extended her hand. Ms. Warwick took it automatically.

“Helena Warwick, Toronto Arts and Leisure. You posed for this?”

“Sort of,” Bree answered honestly.

“What does that mean?”

“It means, I asked my daddy if I could put my feet in the water. He said yes but that I shouldn’t get my clothes wet,” Bree stated.

“So?” Ms. Warwick still had no clue. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“So, I took them off,” Bree said succinctly.

“What better way to ensure her clothes stayed dry,” Brian purred as he turned his bedroom eyes onto the woman. He had sauntered over to give Justin support.

“Brian Kinney, the subject’s other father,” Brian said as he extended his hand. Ms. Warwick looked up into the gorgeous eyes and nearly melted as she took Brian’s warm strong hand.

“Other father?” Helena sputtered.

“Justin Taylor,” Justin introduced himself. “Bree’s other father,” he said with a brilliant smile that was matched by one on Bree’s face. She extended her arms; Justin scooped Bree up into his arms, kissing her button nose and eliciting a giggle.

“Well, I see it was all in good fun,” Ms. Warwick said, looking back and forth to each father. Bree obviously knew her own mind. “Mr. Taylor, I’m a great admirer of yours,” Ms. Warwick went on as if nothing had happened at all. “Please tell me about your inspiration for your other pieces,” Ms. Warwick asked, clearing her throat demurely as they passed one of Brian’s sketches; Brian in all his glory, standing amidst his garden. The contrast of the delicate and colorful flowers against the raw tanned masculine power of Brian was…

“Stunning,” Helena exclaimed as they slowly walked up and down each aisle with Justin giving a running commentary.

“He’s amazing,” Marcus Krupp murmured mostly to himself.

“Yes, he is,” Brian agreed as they hung back, letting Justin run the show.

“She’s normally not this uptight,” Marcus explained, indicating Helena with a tip of his head.

“It was bound to happen eventually,” Brian said with a small sigh. Marcus looked up at the man. “Justin’s been drawing me naked from almost the moment we met. He’s been painting Bree from the minute we brought her home.” Brian paused as he stared at Bree’s painting. Her little tush just visible as she sat perched on the rock. He reached out, almost caressing the image. “He sees a beautiful form where the rest of the world sees a naked baby.”

“Not the whole world, just those with narrow minds,” Marcus assured Brian. “Justin has captured the human form in all its variety,” Marcus went on as they stood in front of the sketches of Debbie, Emmett and some of the construction workers. “He has a rare gift.”

“What gift is that?” Brian asked unnecessarily. He already knew the answer.

“Justin Taylor can see into your soul.”

Brian nodded with a gentle smile then they continued to follow Justin down the aisle.

 

*****
 

Joel and David walked into the lobby of the hotel where Brian and Justin were staying. They approached the desk and asked for Mr. Kinney’s room. The clerk buzzed Brian to tell him that their guests were in the lobby. Joel and David sat down on the big couch in the lounge area and waited.

After a couple of minutes, David said, “Dad, do we have to go to Niagara Falls?”

“I thought you’d enjoy the trip,” Joel replied with a frown.

“I don’t want to spend all day with that girl.”

“Bree?” Joel asked in surprise. “She’s very nice. I thought you liked her.”

“She makes googly eyes at me all the time. I don’t like it.” Joel tried not to chuckle but a small one escaped. “It’s not funny,” David protested.

“Bree and her dads will be going back to the States soon, so let’s have a good time today.”

“I’ll try,” David said with a sigh.

The elevator doors opened and Bree and her fathers stepped out. They saw Joel across the lobby and walked over.

“Didn’t your partner come with you?” Brian asked when he saw only Joel and his son.

“Um, he thought he better work today.”

“What was it he does again?” Brian asked with a frown. He had not been impressed with the man when he met him at Justin’s opening.

“Your car is out front, Mr. Kinney,” the bellman came over to inform the group.

“Thank you,” Brian said slipping the man a tip.

“Let’s get going,” Justin said taking Bree’s hand and heading for the front doors of the hotel.

The trip to Niagara Falls in the back of the limo was rather quiet. Joel seemed reluctant to talk about himself or his partner. Bree and David eyed each other warily. Justin and Brian watched the countryside pass by, not sure why they had agreed to this trip in the first place.

Finally they arrived at the Falls. They arranged with their driver to drop them off, go find a parking spot and wait for them to call when they wished to go to lunch. Everyone got out of the car and approached the roaring cataract. They stood by the metal railing that kept the tourists a sensible distance from the edge of the falls. Looking at the majestic waters as they cascaded over the falls, made them all realize the power of the water they were viewing.

“It’s so big,” Bree said in awe.

“It certainly is,” Brian agreed.

They all stood staring, listening to the sound of the water and taking in how powerful the falls were.

“Dad, can I look through one of those telescopes?” David asked.

Joel looked at the binoculars mounted on stands along the edge of the escarpment. “There’s one available over there,” he said, as he and his son headed in that direction.

“Can I see too, Daddy?” Bree asked.

“It looks like all the other binoculars are in use. Let’s go with David and Joel. You can share,” Justin suggested as they followed the other two.

Brian stayed where he was admiring the scenery. He could see why this had been a popular tourist destination for as long as he could remember. It truly was a natural wonder. He pulled out his camera and started snapping pictures. Before long Joel joined him.

“Where are the kids?” Brian asked.

“Justin is feeding the slot on the binoculars,” Joel said.

“Care to tell me what’s going on?” Brian asked cryptically.

“What…what do you mean?”

“You know – long silences, failure to answer questions, you hardly spent any time together with your partner at Justin’s opening, you’re here while your partner is ‘at work’.” Brian made air quotes around his carefully chosen words.

“We’re … having some problems,” Joel admitted reluctantly.

Brian nodded. “I suspected as much.”

“How…how do you and Justin do it? You’ve been together for a long time.”

“Damned if I know. I’m no relationship expert.”

“But it takes two of you to make a relationship. You must have some part in it,” Joel said looking into Brian’s eyes.

“I love him,” Brian replied. It was the simplest but most honest answer he could give. “And he loves me. That gets us through anything.”

“You sound so sure of that,” Joel said shaking his head.

“I am sure of it, but apparently you’re not…”

“I just don’t know anymore,” Joel admitted. “We don’t seem to be happy.”

“Then maybe it’s time to reassess your situation,” Brian advised. “But think long and hard, and decide what your true feelings are. Then talk about it with him.”

“I’m not very good at talking,” Joel said.

Brian snorted. “I used to hate talking … especially about feelings. I was the worst talker in the universe.”

“But now…”

“Justin taught me that it didn’t so much matter what we said as the fact that we were talking. Eventually we could get to the real problem or issue and it would all work out in the end. It wasn’t easy though, especially not at first. I really sucked at it.”

“Justin is very special.”

“We definitely agree on that,” Brian replied.

“Dada, look down there,” Bree said as she rushed over to her older father. “There’s a boat down at the bottom of the falls.”

“What?” Brian asked turning to look.

“It’s called the Maid of the Mist,” Joel informed them. “You can ride on it almost under the falls. You have to wear a yellow rain slicker cause the mist will soak you right though.”

“Can we do that, Dada, can we?”

“Hm,” Brian said thinking about Bree’s request.

“If you want to do it, we should call ahead and reserve a space,” Joel said. “I’ve never done it. It might be fun. Would you like to go on the Maid of the Mist, David?” Joel asked as his son and Justin joined them.

“Sure, Dad,” David agreed.

“Let’s go for lunch and then we can look into this boat ride,” Brian said pulling out his cell phone to call their driver.

With the help of the concierge at their hotel Brian had arranged for them to have a sumptuous lunch at Fallsview Casino. They had reserved a table overlooking the falls. They could do some gambling if they chose after lunch or go on the boat ride.

They were soon at lunch enjoying some delicious fare. Bree sipped her glass of milk and studied David.

I don’t know why David doesn’t like me. I like him. He’s not nearly as nice as I thought he was. He hardly let me look through the binoculars at all, even though Daddy added two of those big coins they use here in Canada.

I tried to hold his hand while we were looking over the railing, but he always yanks it away. My Patrick would never do that. I like Patrick much better than David.

Bree smiled to herself as she began to realize that she didn’t care nearly as much whether David liked her or not. A few days ago that had been important, but not anymore. She would be going home soon.

“What are you smiling at, sweetheart?” Justin asked.

“I was thinking about going home. I can tell Patrick and Ashley all about our trip.”

“They’ll be jealous.”

“They’ll be happy that I had a good time,” Bree corrected her father. She looked pointedly at David who immediately turned away and studied the view out the window. The restaurant overlooked the Falls and their table presented a spectacular panorama.

By the end of their leisurely lunch, arrangements had been made for the Maid of the Mist trip. Their car and driver picked them up and dropped them off at the entrance to the boat.

As they went aboard, they were handed a package containing a blue plastic poncho.

“I thought you said we got a yellow slicker,” Brian told Joel.

“I’ve seen pictures, and that’s what the passengers were always wearing,” Joel replied.

“We stopped using those a few years ago. These are disposable,” the young woman handing them out explained.

“Very environmentally friendly,” Brian said sarcastically.

“It’s better than catching something from an improperly cleaned rubber coat,” the girl replied. Obviously she had heard this complaint before.

“I was looking forward to seeing you in a yellow slicker,” Joel joked with Brian and Justin. “The little hat that went with it was adorable too.”

“Instead we get this piece of crap with a hood that will totally ruin my hair,” Brian retorted.

“Mine too, Dada,” Bree agreed.

“You could not pull it up, and have soaking wet hair,” Justin reminded his two prima donnas.

Brian and Bree glared at him. They all got decked out in their plastic as the boat pulled out into the Niagara River.

Soon they were approaching the Falls, feeling the power and noise of the thousands of gallons of water that flooded over it every minute. Everyone pulled up their hoods and was glad of their poncho when they were drenched by the mist.

“I see why they call this the Maid of the Mist,” Brian called out to Justin above the roar.

Justin merely nodded as the boat got even closer to the plunging waters.

Bree was standing beside David and instinctively took hold of his hand as the boat swayed in the current. He shook her off and moved closer to his father. Bree felt tears well up in her eyes, but she fought them back. Even if no one would know because her face was wet with mist, she refused to let David make her cry. She took her older father’s hand instead.

When the boat trip was over and faces dried off, they all decided it was time to go home. They had seen enough for one day.

On the ride back, Justin leaned against Brian. “I would have liked to see you in that yellow slicker and cute little hat,” he whispered to Brian.

Brian snorted, but also smiled and kissed Justin’s nose. “I’d rather see you in nothing at all,” he whispered back.

“That can be arranged.”

Both men smiled conspiratorially as Joel watched them, envying what they had, and what he apparently was missing with his partner.

 

*****
 

Bree was asleep by the time they finally got back to the hotel. Having dropped Joel and his son off first, Brian and Justin bid the driver goodnight, giving him an extra tip for his excellent care of Brian’s precious cargo.

“She’s out cold,” Brian said as he secured their bedroom door and began stripping off his clothes, slowly walking to the bed.

“Not surprising,” Justin replied. He was sitting up in the bed surrounded by a dozen newspapers and art magazines. Marcus Krupp sent Justin the reviews from opening night. “Not only did she close your deal with Waldon Industries, she saved my ass at the gallery.” Justin waved the Toronto Arts and Leisure magazine in the air.

“Not to mention soccer star extraordinaire and sightseeing tour guide,” Brian added as he crawled naked across the bed toward Justin. “Our little social butterfly is exhausted,” Brian said as he swept the papers off the bed.

“Hey, I was reading those,” Justin complained with a smirk.

“And they all say how phenomenal you are, even Ms. Helena Bonham-Carter says you’re brilliant.” Justin laughed as Brian nibbled at his chin.

“Helena Warwick, you jerk!”

“Oh yeah,” Brian teased. “The papers will still be there in the morning. Right now you have more important things to do,” Brian whispered into the shell of Justin’s ear.

“What things?” Justin asked as he wrapped his arms around Brian.

“Making love to me, things,” Brian answered as he kissed Justin, pouring his heart and soul into the kiss.

“A very important thing indeed,” Justin agreed.
 

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