Kindred Love

Opening Closets

The plane ride was a short one, so Brian didn't bother to try to get some sleep. He wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway. He had too much on his mind. Too many things had happened in the last few weeks, and he knew he had a lot more in store for him. He was a little nervous about going to live with this unfamiliar side of his family. He wasn't sure what to expect. He sat in his seat and listened to his new Moby CD on his headphones while his mind jumped from thought to thought about his past and future. Before he knew it he heard the pilot announce that they were landing in Pittsburgh.

Brian walked through the terminal and down to where the luggage carrier was. It was there that he saw a short, plump, woman, with bright red curly hair, loud makeup and a huge smile, frantically waving at him. She reminded him of a drag queen. Next to her was a boy about his age, with brown hair, looking a little embarrassed by the woman's enthusiasm.

"Brian, honey! Come and give your Auntie a hug!" she exclaimed, taking Brian in her arms and practically squeezing the life out of him.

"Ma, you're going to suffocate him!" the boy next to her said.

She turned to her son and made a face. "What, can't I be excited to see my own nephew whom I haven't seen in years?" she snapped. The boy just rolled his eyes at her didn't answer her.

"Christ, you're fucking tall!" she told Brian, looking him over. Then she smirked. "You could use some meat on your bones as well. You're a fucking skeleton. Didn't my sister feed you anything over there?" Brian was caught off guard with her questioning and jabber. He just smiled at her.

"Well, Mom isn't much for cooking," he answered. He turned to face the boy.

"Hey, Mikey," he smiled.

Michael leaned in to give his cousin a hug. "Hey, Brian. Welcome to the Pitts," he said with a smile. He leaned into Brian's ear. "Sorry about Ma," he whispered.

Brian just laughed. "She's something else," he answered.

"Don't think I don't know what you said, Michael," Debbie told her son.

Ignoring his mother, Michael motioned toward the baggage claim. "Which ones are your yours?" Michael asked.

Brian watched as all the luggage went around and looked for his bags.

"Umm, I have two luggage. There's one," Brian pointed out and quickly went to retrieve it as it came around on the electronic device. He saw his second luggage shortly after that and grabbed it, and then they headed out of the airport and to the Novotney household.

The car ride was anything but quiet. Debbie filled Brian in on their usual daily routine. She mentioned she was the manager at the local Liberty Diner.

"I told Michael that when he turns 15 he can have a job at the diner if he wants to. The same goes for you, sweetie." Debbie told him

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Brian replied.

Debbie smiled at her nephew. "It's a year away, I know. But before you know it, it will be here. Time passes faster the older you get. I know being here might seem strange at first, and that being in a new home and a new school and having to make new friends is a lot to take in, but you're a strong young man, Brian. You're going to be fine," she said, having every confidence that she was right.

They pulled up in the driveway of a small two-story house. The house looked as if it was a little rundown. It looked lively though. There were different shaped rainbow windmills that were plunged into the lawn and several wind chimes hanging on the front porch. The windows in the front of the house were open, and a delicious aroma coming from inside, reached their noses as they approached the house.

"Home sweet home," Debbie sang. Michael helped carry in Brian's luggage as they made their way up the steps and into the house.

"Vic, we're home," Debbie shouted. Immediately, a tall older-looking man came out from the kitchen with a white apron on and a dish towel in his hand. He smiled at them.

"Well, look who the cat dragged in," he said looking at Brian. Brian smiled at him. He had met Uncle Vic only once before, but he looked a lot younger then. He looked different now; he was older, and his wrinkles were more defined. He was thinner and his hair was starting to gray. He looked tired, and Brian could see that HIV had seemed to age him considerably.

"You remember Uncle Vic, right Brian?" Debbie asked.

Brian nodded. "Yeah, I met him once a long time ago, I think," Brian said.

Vic noticed Brian's slight nervousness. He figured Brian might be having a hard time taking everything in. "Do you like Meat Lasagna, Brian?" he asked.

"It's one of my favorites," Brian replied, and noticeably relaxed.

"Great," Vic smiled. "It'll be ready in about 30 minutes. Why don't you and Michael go upstairs and unpack your stuff and then you can wash up for dinner," he suggested.

"Come on, Brian, my room's just up here," Michael said, slightly grunting as he lugged one of Brian's bags behind him up the stairs. Brian followed his cousin to the bedroom. When he entered the room, he was surprised. What first caught his eye were the huge posters of what appeared to be some comic book super hero, on every wall of the room. There were several figurines of the same character spread throughout the room. He noticed a large, solid wood bunk bed, and across the room, there was a small desk with a computer on it.

"Bunk beds?" Brian said, looking at his cousin with a raised eyebrow. Michael just smiled.

"Yeah, sometimes my friends Emmett or Ted spend the night. Besides, it's fun to sleep that high in the air," Michael explained. Brian just nodded in response.

He set his luggage and laptop backpack on the floor in the center of the room and looked around the small space.

"You still have a thing for comics, I see," Brian said with a smirk.

Michael grinned as he looked at his posters. "Yep. I still love comics, but my favorite one is of the character you see everywhere - Captain Astro," he said, proudly.

"What's so great about him?" Brian asked.

Michael looked down nervously. "Well, maybe you'd like to borrow my comics and see for yourself," Michael said.

"Oh, come on, Mikey. What's the big deal?" Brian pressed his cousin with a curious smile.

"Well, uh...You see, Captain Astro, he's --" Michael hesitated again.

"He's what?" Brian asked.

Michael avoided Brian's eyes. "He's um. He's a gay super hero," he finally said.

Brian looked at Michael in surprise. "Really," he said, seemingly amused.

"Yeah," Michael answered, wondering what was going through Brian's mind.

"So, you're..."

"Gay." Michael finished.

"Really," Brian said.

"Yes, really! Jeez."

"Must run in the family."

"You mean because of Uncle Vic and now me?" Michael asked.

Brian looked away from Michael and started unzipping his suitcase.

"So where do I sleep?" he asked, ignoring Michael's question.

"Um, whichever bunk you want. I like the top one, but I don't mind being on bottom," Michael said quietly and frowned, realizing that Brian was avoiding his question. He put his hand on Brian's arm.

"Brian, do you have a thing against gay people?" Michael asked nervously. This could mean a lot of problems. He couldn't tell from his cousin's reaction what he really thought about what he had just revealed to him.

Brian looked at Michael quickly. "No, Mikey," he said quietly. He stopped to think for a moment before speaking again, choosing his words carefully. "It's just that, it wasn't until now that I really thought about it."

Michael gave Brian a confused look. "You mean you never thought anything about gay people?" Michael asked.

Brian sighed. "No, that's not what I mean. It's just that I wasn't sure... I mean at first I just thought that I wasn't hitting puberty as fast as the other guys, but well... I know that's not true. It's just that I've never been interested in girls, and well, let's just say I have been more interested in watching the guys change in the locker room lately," Brian admitted.

Michael's eyes went wide at Brian's admission. "You mean... you're gay too?" he asked still in shock.

Brian shrugged. "I'm not sure, but yeah, I think so," Brian said. It was the first time he actually admitted it to himself. He knew he was different when he would catch himself watching the other guys in the locker room change and would get a strange tingling feeling in his groin. That had started at the beginning of the school year. He thought maybe it was a phase or something kids did out of curiosity; you know, guys sizing up other guys. But deep down he knew that wasn't true.

"Oh my God," Michael stated.

"You can close your mouth now, Mikey, you don't want a bug to fly in."

"No, it's just... I can't believe it. You know how relieved I am to know that I'm not the only one? Not only that, but we can look out for each other," Michael said.

Brian smiled. He felt the same way. It was a relief that he wasn't in this alone. He had someone to confide in.

"Wait 'til Ma finds out. She is going to freak," Michael shrieked. Now it was Brian's turn to have his mouth hang open.

"You won't tell her..." Brian panicked.

Michael smirked. "Oh, just try to keep it from her. You'll see. She's going to find out anyways. I don't know how, but she has a way of knowing things," Michael said shaking his head.

"Your mom knows your gay?" Brian asked.

"Sure. Actually, she was the one who told me," Michael simply stated. Brian was dumbfounded.

"And she doesn't care?"

Michael looked at Brian like he was the strangest person in the world.

"Of course not. She has a gay brother and is completely accepting of him. Why would she be prejudiced against her own son?" said Michael. "The diner she manages is located in the heart of Gay Pittsburgh, for Christ Sakes," Michael told him.

"It is?" Brian asked in surprise.

Michael smiled and nodded his head. "Oh, yeah. Most every hot gay guy has been to the Liberty Diner at least a few times. It's really close to this gay club called Babylon, on Liberty Avenue. A lot of the hot guys stop in for a bite to eat either before or after a night of dancing. And of course they all love Ma," Michael said shaking his head at the thought, but smiling.

Brian was listening to everything his cousin was telling him with vast interest. His mother hardly ever spoke of his Aunt Debbie. Now he suspected he knew why. The surprises just kept coming, and he was positive now that there would be lots more to come. Things were definitely getting interesting.

"Mom is also on PFLAG, and marches in the Gay Pride parade every year. She's Pittsburgh's finest fag hag, that's for sure!" Michael laughed.

Brian couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was such a different environment over here, with these people. He was starting to feel better about coming to Pittsburgh. He felt optimistic that he would adjust to his new home in no time and would like it here. He could be himself, and he didn't have to hide anything. He didn't have to worry about being yelled at and beaten for every little thing. He was safe. He was starting to feel the freedom he had been missing in Philly. He smiled at that thought.

"Just don't say anything to her about me yet, okay?" Brian said. "I'm not even 100% sure I am gay."

Michael nodded in understanding. He would respect his cousin's wishes, but he had a strong feeling that Brian was still holding on to denial. It was understandable, though. It appeared that he had only recently realized the possibility that he could be gay. He would give him time to figure things out for himself before discussing it with him again.

"Sure, no problem," Michael agreed. "So, which bunk are you taking?" he asked, pulling Brian away from his thoughts.

"Uh, I guess I'll take the bottom one," Brian answered. He picked up his bags and set them on his new bed and started going through them.

"Okay, cool. I emptied the top dresser drawer for your clothes," Michael told him.

"Thanks," he replied, and started sorting out some of his clothes and carrying them to his drawer.

"This is only temporary, by the way," Michael told him. Brian looked up at his cousin with a questioning look.

"Well, your room isn't ready yet. Ma and Uncle Vic didn't have time to get it all set up for you yet. That room was used as Ma's sewing room and it was also kind of like the junk room. She had to move a lot of that stuff to the garage. The room is almost ready though. It's not fully cleaned out yet, and they still have to get a bed and a dresser for your clothes," Michael said.

"I'll be sure to tell them there's no rush. I don't have to have my own room right away," Brian insisted.

"Well, I'm sure they'll appreciate you saying so, but take my word for it; they'll have none of it. They want you to be settled in and comfortable as soon as possible," Michael assured him.

"In fact Ma already has plans to take you shopping for the bed and dresser tomorrow after school. It's her day off."

"Shit, I guess she is serious," Brian smirked. Michael nodded in response.

"Let me tell you some things about Ma. She's outspoken, loud, caring and hard working. She doesn't lie, and she always does what she says she's going to do. She's got a heart of gold. Family is very important to her, and just know that she will always look out for us. Those are the main things you should know. The rest you'll find out for yourself." his cousin informed.

"Sounds like quite a woman," Brian said, putting the last of his clothes in the drawer.

"Yeah, she is. All I have to say is thank God some of the heat can be let off of me now that you're here!" They both laughed at that.