*23*
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Friends in Need
Justin
You’d think by now I’d be used to Michael’s uncanny ability to make a bad
situation worse by applying sheer unadulterated stupidity, and then rush to
Brian expecting him to magically make it all better. But somehow he still
manages to take me by surprise.
Leaving Gus to watch his Wiggles DVD yet again, we all move into the
kitchen area to discuss this latest little bombshell. It takes a while to
finally piece it all together because Michael a) couldn’t tell a coherent story
to save his life (and I should know, trying to keep the Rage storylines on track
was a fucking nightmare) and b) is such a totally self-absorbed shit that he has
to edit anything that might possibly look as if he was admitting that anything
that had gone wrong could in any way be considered his fault. But I finally get
the gist of it, and I’m totally pissed.
Seems like Lindsay’s lawyer called him to set up an appointment to discuss what
was going to happen with JR. She told him to call his attorney and not, under
any circumstances to speak to Mel until he’d taken legal advice. So, of course,
Mikey being Mikey, he did nothing about contacting a lawyer, he just called
Melanie instead.
Fuckwit!
Even Lindsay is pissed with him; which is pretty hypocritical, I guess, since
she basically did the same thing. Talk to Melanie, I mean, when she’d been
instructed not to.
At least he did come to Brian. Which is kind of more than I would have expected
of him. I’d have expected him to just do whatever fucked up thing Mel wants, and
then when it all went to shit to come running to Brian crying that it wasn’t his
fault and still expecting him to fix it.
Like usual.
But this time I guess we have a fighting chance to keep things on track. Or at
least as on track as they can be in this totally fucked situation where somebody
just has to get hurt. I know that Brian wants most of all to make sure that
isn’t Gus. And I guess I do too.
But mostly I want to make sure it isn’t Brian.
For once, I just want it not to be Brian that winds up being the fall guy for
everyone else’s fucking stupidity and selfishness.
Especially Melanie’s.
Because this time she really has gone too far. Trying to use Brian’s “best
friend” against him is a really cuntish thing to do. And no matter what else
happens here, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive her for it.
In the past I’ve turned a blind eye to a lot of what has gone on between Mel and
Brian. Mel was good to me, right back in the beginning. Although looking back on
it, I wonder now if even that was just a way of getting at Brian. But anyway,
she’s really used up whatever credit that might have bought her with me. Aside
from all her constant bitchiness towards Brian, I know that she was the one
behind the move to Canada. And I know it wasn’t just about getting away to
somewhere “safe”; I know damned well she took the opportunity to separate Gus
from Brian. And not even because she loves Gus all that much. I honestly think
that Gus has only ever been important to her as a way of getting to Brian;
especially since JR was born.
What I don’t understand, really do not understand, is why she hates Brian that
much.
Is it just because he once fucked Lindsay?
Well, Lindsay once fucked Brian and I don’t hate her for that.
I totally don’t get it.
Because no matter what she might think, no matter what spin she might put on
things, the truth is that Melanie owes Brian a whole lot of gratitude for a
whole lot of things.
But all he gets from her is bitterness and spite.
And I really have never been able to work out why.
But meanwhile, I guess we just have to work out how we’re going to handle her
latest shit.
*****
Brian
I know Justin can never work out why Mel and I hate each other the way we do. I
guess he puts it down to some weird-assed jealousy thing over Lindsay. And I
suppose that’s partly true.
But it’s more than that.
Lindsay has always said that Melanie and I are too much alike. That’s more true
than she knows, or even wants to think about.
The truth is that Mel hates me because I’m who she’s always wanted to be. She
wants to be just like me - the Alpha male, successful in business, and able to
fuck whoever takes my fancy. Okay, so she literally doesn’t have the balls to
pull off the Alpha male thing. But she still envies and resents my business
success; and she resents the shit out of me for not caving to the pressure to
live life by other people’s rules - resents that I live my life the way I want,
instead of patching together some bullshit compromise that’s neat and tidy and
socially acceptable. Because, deep down, if she was fucking honest, she’d admit
that that’s what she’s really always wanted to do as well.
She’s no more cut out to live a life of faux-hetero domesticity than I am. She’s
a predator just like me. She gets off on the hunt and the chase and the fucking
power of winning, just like me - whether at work or at play.
The difference is, I’m smart enough to know that about myself, and honest enough
not to pretend to be something I’m not. Even with Justin, even to keep Justin,
to make him happy, I won’t do that. I’ve never fucking done that. Because I know
it’s a bullshit way to build a life; that any life built on that basis won’t,
can’t, stand up to any sort of pressure because its foundations are rotten.
Christ! What a fucking lame metaphor.
But it’s still true.
Melanie is so much like me it curls her guts to see me refusing to indulge in
the fucked up lies and compromises that she has. She either has to hate me for
having the balls to live my life with some sort of integrity, or despise herself
for her own lack of it.
I don’t doubt that she loves Lindsay - or, at least, that she did.
But that was never going to be enough for her; living some cozy little
faux-hetero existence was always going to make her feel trapped and less than
she should be, let alone taking on being the primary care-giver to a rug rat.
It’s why she kicked over the traces to “get her needs met” when Gus was first
born; it’s what was behind all the shit with Leda; and it’s why she did a total
freak out over Lindsay’s little adventure with Sam. It wasn’t just that she was
hurt (although she probably was, just like I was if I’m honest, over Justin and
the fiddle-fuck), but she resented the Hell out of the fact that Lindsay was
free to do it, while she was tied to the house by the brat in her belly.
In fact, the resentment against Lindsay started building months before that,
from the time Linds landed the job at the gallery. Suddenly she had her own
career; she was the one with the high-powered job and the status and shit that
went with it. And Mel fucking hated it. Almost as much as she resented and hated
me.
And of course, deciding to have a kid, actually birth a kid, just to prove that
she could, made things fucking worse. She hated having to cut back on her hours
at work, she hated the idea that she was tied down not just by the bullshit
promises and compromises she’d made along the way, but by her own body. And the
more she hated and resented all that shit, the more she hated and resented me
for having dodged that whole fucking bullet.
I’m who she could have been.
Who she should have been.
But she let herself get tangled up in all this domestic shit and she can’t even
have the honesty to admit that it burns her up inside that she lives like that.
While I never have.
Not even with Justin.
Not even for Justin.
I don’t mean that I’m not prepared to fight hard to make things work with him
this time. But I’m not going to pretend to be someone else to do it.
Thank Christ he doesn’t want that from me any more.
He’s not all that fucking domesticated himself. Sure he cooks occasionally, but
he’s no little house-frau. He’s a different kind of predator, is all.
And if Melanie really pisses him off, she just might find that out the hard way.
*****
Justin
We finally manage to get all the details out of dear little Mikey. Seems like
Mel is planning to petition the courts claiming that Brian is an unfit person to
have parental rights to a young child, and she wants Michael to stand up in
court and support that. Oh, and spill all the juicy details of Brian’s
“debauched” ways, of course.
But at least Michael has come here - and though it’s hurt Brian to hear what Mel
has planned - and of course it’s likely to send him off on some idiotic
Kinney-curve where he thinks Mel might be right - at least it’s not as bad as if
he’d been ambushed in court by Michael doing what Mel asked.
So we sit Michael down and make him promise that first thing in the morning
he’ll call the attorney he used during the first round of tug of war over JR.
And then we debate over whether or not to call Ms. Hershell. ...
I think calling Sunday night might not be productive, and might just piss her
off. Brian, predictably figures that for the money he's paying her she should
answer the phone anytime he wants. In the end we compromise and send an email.
So then, before we’ve even finished eating the food that finally arrived, she
calls us.
I hear Brian going over with her all the details that Mikey has told us, and
when he finally hangs up he looks at least a little less stressed. He tells me
that she wants us to come in and discuss it first thing tomorrow, and that she
said he shouldn’t do anything stupid or reactionary in the meantime.
I guess she’s coming to know him pretty well. I suppose that to be a good
lawyer, you have to be able to read people, and she is supposed to be one of the
best.
So now all I have to do is to help prevent him from doing something dumb, and I
need everybody else to be gone to do it.
Well, everybody except Gus, who is now curled up and sleeping in our bed.
We finally manage to get both Lindsay and Michael to leave. In fact, she decides
to go home with him so they can discuss what some of their options might be
about JR.
Before they go, of course, I hear Brian tell both of them that they shouldn’t
worry about money - that if they need anything for lawyer’s fees, or airfare to
Toronto, or anything else, that it’s covered.
And when they’re actually on the way out the door, there’s this big farewell
scene with Michael, where he hugs Brian real hard - all teary-eyed and
clingy-grateful, and it makes me want to puke.
He might actually have done the right thing for once in his stupid life, but
that doesn’t, for me, anyway, just wipe out all the stupid hurtful, just plain
spiteful things he’s done to both Brian and I in the past. But I bite my tongue.
God knows, Brian needs his friends right now - all of them - even that
sorry-assed excuse for a friend.
But more even than he needs his friends, he needs me.
He needs what only I can give him.
I slip up the stairs and close the panels round the bed platform, checking on
Gus who’s sleeping soundly. I collect what we need, then I come back down and
move towards the couch - the one Brian got to replace the chaise longue. On the
way I start slowly stripping off my clothes.
I hear Brian give a little huff of something that might be exasperation, but I
also hear him following me, and the soft swish and ruffle as his own clothes
join mine, strewn across the floor. By the time he reaches me, I’m spread out on
my back, one leg up over the back of the couch, the other foot resting on the
edge of the seat, my knees spread wide.
He stands over me for a moment, watching almost mesmerized as my lubed fingers
stretch my hole, making it ready for him, then with a kind of groan he almost
drops on top of me. There’s a few seconds struggle while we both fight to roll
the condom over his cock, then he’s pressing into me, hot and urgent.
I guess most people wouldn’t call this love-making. This is pure passion and
need and there’s nothing tender or sweet about it. But it’s us and it’s real and
it’s what we both need right now. I need to know that he’s here with me, that
he’s not holding back, not hiding his fears and hurts behind a barrier of
apparent gentleness. So I’ll take this any day. Because he’s letting me see all
of it - his fear and anger and confusion and hurt; and he’s trusting me with all
those things, and trusting me not to make things worse, not to let him down or
use his vulnerability against him.
So when he finally shudders on top of me, freezing in place for a moment, then
lowering himself to rest against me, I hold him and whisper what he needs to
hear. Not that I love him - he knows that, it’s why we’re here, still joined
together as his cock gradually softens inside me; not that everything will be
alright - meaningless platitudes are the last thing he wants to hear; instead I
say, soft but fierce, “We are not going to let that bitch fuck things up - not
for us, and not for Gus.”
That’s what he needs to hear.
A reminder of who the bad guy really is. And of whose rights we are really
fighting for.
Once he remembers that, I know there is no way that he will let Melanie’s
spiteful little plans throw him off track.
I hope her and her new girlfriend have lots of butter and jam on hand, because I
can smell the bread burning.
Mel’s toast already; she just doesn’t know it yet.
*****
Brian
We’ve been asked to bring Gus to the custody hearing with us. Apparently he’s of
an age now, where they are prepared to ask him for his input on some things at
least. So we’re getting ready to take him with us to meet with Ms. Hershell when
we get a phone call from the lady herself telling us that Mel’s motion has been
placed before a judge as a matter of urgency, and we need to get our asses
straight down there.
I suppose I should let Justin drive, but I have to be doing something or I will
go fucking crazy. Somehow we make it to the courthouse in one piece, and I even
manage to park the car.
Once inside, I spot her straight away. She comes to me and tells me that the
judge wants to see both her and Mel’s attorney in her chambers, and she’s asked
that I be allowed to be present.
“Don’t say anything,” she orders. “Unless you’re specifically asked a question,
keep your mouth shut. If there is something you need to tell me, write it on
this,” and she shoves a notepad into my hands.
“If you are asked a question, keep the answer as short as you can. And aside
from that, I don’t want to hear one word out of you. Is that clear?”
I nod. Looks like she doesn’t have to worry about me saying anything, because I
couldn’t if I fucking wanted to.
So we leave Gus with Justin and head off to see the judge.
Why do I feel like I’m about to be lynched?
*****
Justin
I don’t know who’s more upset when Brian walks away - him, me or Gus.
I can’t do anything about Brian right now, except send my love and support to
him in one concentrated wave of energy; but Gus I can manage.
“I bet there’s somewhere round here that we can get some juice,” I tell him,
and, making sure my cell is switched on, I take his hand and lead him downstairs
and out to the little diner just across the road.
I feel sick.
I can’t tell if this is a good thing or a bad thing - that it’s in the judge’s
chambers, I mean, not in the court. There’s a difference, isn’t there? I mean,
if she was going to rule on Mel’s application it would have to be in court,
wouldn’t it?
And how the fuck would I know?
I concentrate on keeping Gus happy, and try not to let all those thoughts drive
me crazy.
But Gus has only just finished his juice when my phone rings. It’s Brian.
His voice is hoarse as he sort of croaks out, “Where the fuck are you,
Sunshine?”
I pull out some bills and drop them on the table, tell Gus his Daddy wants to
see us, and take off back across the road.
*****
Brian
It seems a fucking mile to the judge’s rooms, but we get there all too fucking
fast.
There’s a huge butch dyke sitting in there already, and by the way the ice queen
greets her, I know that she’s Mel’s attorney.
The judge enters and then we all sit down and it’s all I can do not to start
screaming. Instead, I clutch the notepad, and make sure my pen is ready in case
there’s something I have to “say” to my fucking lawyer in a hurry.
The judge glances through one of the folders she had in her hands when she
entered and then looks up.
“I understand that Ms. Marcus will not be here this morning, is that correct?”
Mel’s lawyer spouts some bullshit about it being because she can’t afford the
trip down, and I’m opening my mouth to point out what crap that is when I’d
already paid for her ticket when I catch Ms Hershell’s eye and find my vocal
chords are frozen. Wish I knew how she did that; think how handy it would be
with Mikey. And Deb.
The judge glances again at the papers in her hand, and says, “I wanted to see
you in chambers rather than waste the court’s time, because I am finding it hard
to understand the basis for Ms. Marcus’ petition. Indeed, I’m finding it hard to
understand why Ms. Marcus believes herself to have any status before the court
in this matter.”
The dyke pulls out a sheet of paper and just by glancing at it I know it’s that
idiotic thing I signed. God, what a fuckwit!
I feel cold all over, but before Ms. Hershell can say anything, the judge just
looks down her nose and says, “Please tell me that you have something more
substantial to present than the agreement Mr. Kinney signed …” she pauses to
check something on the paper in her hand … “four years ago.”
The dyke lawyer starts to say something about there being no argument about it
being my signature, but to my fucking amazement the judge cuts in before she’s
even got the words out and says, “Perhaps not. But as none of the signatures are
witnessed, let alone notarized, and as the document was never registered with
the courts, I can’t believe that an attorney of Ms. Marcus’ standing could
possibly believe that the document has any validity.”
Mel’s attorney mumbles something about “the intent”, and the judge cuts her off.
“The court is very rarely interested in intent, but in actions and legal facts.
I’m sure that you are aware that Pennsylvania law not only requires that any
document relating to the relinquishment of parental privileges must be signed
and witnessed in front of a notary, and that, after a suitable ‘cooling off’
period, it must then be registered with the courts in a formal hearing. Since
none of these actions were taken, I repeat, the document has no legal status.
“And as Ms. Marcus’ sole claim to rights in the minor child …” again a quick
check of the papers …, “Gus, appears to rest solely on that piece of paper, I am
waiting see if you have any further evidence to present which might make me
revise my opinion that Ms. Marcus has no status in this case.”
Then the lawyer starts in on how Melanie is concerned over Gus’ welfare because
I’m such a sorry excuse for a human being.
That’s when Ms. Hershell finally starts earning the fucking huge amounts I pay
her.
“In fact,” she cuts in, “Mr. Kinney is a respected businessman. He is sole owner
of one of the most successful advertising agencies in the State; he makes
substantial contributions to a number of charities; and he has provided
consistent financial support for Gus ever since his son’s birth.”
The judge starts looking through another sheaf of documents. Some I recognize as
the financial records I’d been asked to provide to prove that I’d always looked
after Linds and Gus.
She comes across one that makes her stop and read carefully, and whatever it is,
it’s making her face, never exactly friendly, look even more un-amused. But
there’s something else stapled behind it, and whatever that is, it takes the
scowl off her face at least. In fact, she looks up at me and raises an eyebrow
in what is almost a recognizable expression.
For one truly scary moment it’s like looking into some kind of warped mirror.
Before I can work out what the look means, the bitch dyke is saying something
about a “sex offences” claim. I feel my fucking heart stop beating, and for a
moment I can’t breathe.
Fuck!
Ms. Hershell leans forward, looking furious, but before she can even open her
mouth, the judge is waving her input aside.
“Please Ms. Hershell, don’t bother,” she says. Then to my fucking astonishment,
she glares at Mel’s attorney and says in a truly nasty voice, that reveals the
soul of a wolf in the guise of the sheep dog who's supposed to be guarding the
flock, “We may not be in court right now, but I have no intention of allowing
you to present mis-information about Mr. Kinney in the interest of furthering
your extremely dubious case.”
She gives me that look again, and amazingly, seeing it makes my heart seem to
settle into something like a normal rhythm.
“Mr. Kinney was the victim of a malicious accusation by his nephew,” the
Daniel-come-to-judgment goes on. “I’ve read the papers relating to the case, and
read the signed affidavit of the officer who investigated the case. He is of the
opinion that Mr. Kinney exhibited great generosity in not suing his nephew for
damages.”
Suddenly she stands up.
“Unless you have something of more substance to present, then I can save the
court’s valuable time by ruling now to dismiss Ms. Marcus’ petition, and allow
Mr. Kinney to continue with his custody hearing.”
She waits for a moment, then when Mel’s voice box smartly keeps silent, walks
out.
Ms. Hershell signals me, so I stand up and shakily follow. In the background, I
hear the two lawyers talking about what a cow this judge can be, but personally,
I’d vote for her for fucking President.
On the way down the corridor, I hit the speed dial on my cell.
