Chapter 9

The Party at Ivy's

Bridget spotted Brian as he and his family walked towards the front door. Nicole was standing next to her so she let her know they were there. She then went out to meet Brian before he came in. Brian saw her come out and ran over to her.

"Hey Brian" giving him a big kiss. "You finally made it"

Matt and Sarah came up behind her. Brian had neglected to mention the fact that he and Matt looked so much alike. Bridget's jaw dropped and she said, "Looking at you I know you are related to Brian, I can't believe how much you look like him."

Brian introduced them. "this is my brother Matt and his wife Sarah and coming up behind them are my parents Eric and Annie, my sister Ruthie, brother Simon, sister Lucy and her husband Kevin. Everyone this is my girlfriend Bridget."

They exchanged pleasantries and went to the front door, Nicole saw them nearing the door and told everyone Brian was there.

Brian walked in first with Bridget and they all yelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY." The place was covered in festive decorations.

"Boy you guys out did yourselves." Brian thanked them all. He looked around hoping that there was not any inappropriate risqué pictures or other decoration that his new family would deem inappropriate and thankfully as he asked there wasn't. He breathed a sigh of relief. "OK that's the 1st hurdle I got over; I just hope that everyone knows how to behave." He thought to himself.

He started to introduce his family to his friends and then he made sure he brought one of the most important people in his life to meet his parents and siblings, his sister Nicole. "There is someone I really want you to meet." Brian told his new family. "This is my sister Nicole"

She was very happy to meet them, but thought to herself. "I don't want to be jealous about this but I have always had him all to myself. I think I also wish could have them as my parents too at least Brian has an escape from the parents that raised us."

Brian seeing a strange expression on Nicole's face asked her, "What's wrong Nicole?"

"Oh nothing is wrong." she thought quickly for an excuse. "I am still just a little tired, "Bella keeps me up a lot she still isn't sleeping through the night yet and even with Jamie my Manny, I still get up with her."

"Manny?" Ruthie asked. "What's a Manny?"

"That is what Deena and Ivy called him." Nicole jokingly responded, "He is a Male nanny."

"Oh ok". Ruthie said, "That is kind of funny"

Everyone laughed a bit and then sort or fanned out and mingled with everyone at the party. Kevin, Matt, Dave and Adam got a game of pool going. They were all having a good time, and there was tons more food than anyone could eat and another cake. There was drinking but no one it seemed was getting drunk at least not yet. Jimmy and Ivy finished setting up the new karaoke equipment, (the old equipment had been broken a couple of weeks ago during a bar fight)

Jimmy called attention to the stage. "Ok everybody!" Jimmy yelled out over the microphone. "We got the Karaoke Machine up and running let's get this place ROCKIN!"

Dave and Adam started in on Brian. "Let's make the Birthday Boy go first"

Brian sort of put them off and shook his head no. First Dave and Adam but then everyone including Brian's family joined in chanting "Brian, Brian, Brian, Brian,….."

Until he finally relented ("Usually I need a few drinks before I can do this, but doing it completely sober well this will be a new experience me." he thought to himself)

He picked one of his favorite rocker songs which he knew he could sing without going off key. It was by Living Color a song called Cult of Personality.

The music started with a heavy guitar chord and he rocked some great air guitar and started to sing," Look in my eyes what do you see… The Cult of Personality… I know your anger, I know your dreams, I have been everything you want to beHe continued to sing. When he was done, they all made him stay up there for a second song.

When he finished the second song he took a bow, everyone applauded and he jumped off stage. Everyone it seemed took turns singing. Even Eric and Annie got on stage to do some romantic duet, and they weren't too bad. Although not everyone had the greatest voice but no one seemed to care. Brian took Bridget aside in a private dark corner of the bar for some private talk. He thanked her for all this. He knew it was a lot of her doing.

He told her "Honey I love you so much. You know meeting my family and now this party, I can't remember when he had a better day and after yesterday and the way this morning started, I would never have thought this day would be ending this way. I know I have to find a job and have other stuff to deal with but tonight, I don't care." He hugged her and kissed her for a really long time.

Matt, Sarah, Eric and Annie were talking with Dave and Deena and some of Brian's other friends about stuff in general, about Brian and about their own families. Matt and Dave noticed about the same time that they didn't see Brian anywhere,

Matt said, "Hey Dave, I don't see Brian anywhere do you?"

"No I don't." Dave responded.

Then Deena added, "I don't see Bridget anywhere either I hope they didn't duck out while no one was looking."

"Nah" Dave said, "They wouldn't do that, they probably found a private dark corner somewhere and are getting all hot and heavy." He laughed forgetting who he was talking to.

Deena gave him such a look that if looks could kill he would be dead. She hit him in the arm trying to look playful.

"Oh Dave shut up they will think your serious." She tried to cover his tracks.

Matt sort of grabbed Dave, trying to rescue him. "Hey lets go see where Brian disappeared to."

Glad for the means of escape, Dave said "Sure"

They looked for a bit and found Brian and Bridget in the storeroom in the back. They were just the way Dave had mentioned they would probably be.

"Caught you" Dave laughed.

They were a bit embarrassed with Dave finding then but then Brian was horrified to see Matt behind him. Matt could see the look on his face.

But in a reassuring tone laughed and said "Don't worry about it. It's cool it's not like you are a kid any way but don't worry I won't tell." He teased.

Matt saw the relief on Brian's face and was glad to see it, he certainly didn't want to scare him off, and then he told Brian. "Why don't' you come back and join the party, YOU are in fact the guest of honor.

Bridget added with an extra little kiss, "We can always finish this later."

They all walked back to the main area. When they got back to the group, Matt sort of took Sarah aside and they excused themselves and found a quiet place to talk, he told her," Brian really seems insecure with all of us I think he is really he is afraid that he and /or his friends will do something that will scare us off or make us dislike him. I have been catching little things since this afternoon like when he called Bridget when we went outside Brian told me he needed to checked in with her or at least that is what he said he needed to do, he seemed to warn her to make sure his friend behaved at the party tonight. Then in the car when he was on speaker phone with her, he made sure she knew we were in the car so she wouldn't say the wrong thing. Oh and just now Dave and I found the two of them well getting sort of hot and heavy in the store room, and really who cares he is 35 not a kid but you should have seen his face, once he saw me come up behind Dave he was horrified, I let him know it was ok he looked a little relieved, but I am worried about him. Brian is wound up so tight he is either going to have a heart attack or a nervous breakdown."

Then Sarah added," You know even though you are technically the little brother now, in reference to Brian anyway I think you should still try to act like the big brother, he seems like he needs a lot of guidance. At least that it what it seems like, and with how he described his upbringing he never really had real parenting, he wasn't lucky like you to have the benefit of a really good upbringing. You and I were fortunate to have been raised by great parents. It seems like he and his sister Nicole had to kinda figure things out for themselves."

Then Sarah glanced over in Brian's direction, "uh oh...Matt, Brian is looking at us with a very concerned look on his face, he is probably worried that we are talking about him we better get smoochie to throw him off track and then get back over there we don't want Brian to get nervous."

Brian looked over at his brother and his wife and thought. "I just know they are talking about the incident in the storage room, God what must they think of me oh but wait they are getting all kissy face maybe they are just having an intimate conversation maybe I am just being paranoid I need to relax. I need to grab a beer but if I do what will my mom and dad think of me."

(Then he noticed that Kevin, Simon and Matt each had a bottle of beer they were drinking. So he figured he might as well grab one too maybe it would loosen him up.) He asked Bridget and the rest of the group.

"I am going to grab a beer do you want anything while I go over to the bar?"

"Yes, but only a ginger ale my stomach is still acting up a little." Bridget said.

Brian was surprised to hear his Dad Eric say, "I will go over with you I think I will grab one too." but whispered and laughed, "I just hope I don't get in trouble with Annie for this she isn't happy when I make unhealthy diet choices because of my health." Then in a louder voice Called back to Annie and Ruthie without looking at them, "and I will get you both a diet soda ok?"

Annie didn't' say anything which could mean trouble but Ruthie yelled back, "Yeah sure Dad." So Eric and Brian walked over to the bar.

Eric told Brian, "I am glad I could get you alone for a minute, you know you seem to have some great friends that really care about you."

Brian replied back "Yeah they're great; we have always been there for each other, up until now they have been my only family, or the only ones aside from Nicole that I could count on."

Eric made sure to add. "I know you don't know me or the rest of the YOUR family very well yet, but I hope you know that we will always be here for you too, I know you don't have a good relationship with your dad or your mom and from what you have spoken to me and Annie of, you never really did. I wonder if you would consider…. I don't even know If I have the right to ask,…..it would mean a lot to me and I know it would for Annie too….."

Brian saw his dad was getting well choked up and a bit teary eyed so he put his hand on his dad's shoulder. "It's ok you can ask me anything." Brian told him.

Eric hesitated, "Well how would you feel about calling us mom and dad I know we can't make up for all the time we lost with you but…."

Brian interrupted, "if you are really sure, I mean I didn't think it was my place to do that, but I would really like that, but I have to be careful about Nicole I am not sure how she would feel about it."

They both got teary eyed and hugged each other. Annie and Bridget saw what was going on with Eric and Brian and neither of them not sure what to make of it both decided to walk over to where they were Bridget figured she could use the excuse that she wanted to see what was taking so long,

She laughed and said "Hey Bri what's taking so long?"

"We were just talking." Brian answered.

"Seems to me like you were doing more than just talking" Annie said with a puzzled look on her face.

Eric proceeded to tell him what he asked Brian, but before he could finish telling her everything she interrupted him.

"Eric he doesn't even know us yet you can't expect him to want to do that even if that is you and I would like. He doesn't even know us yet," she turned to Brian, "I am sorry honey if he made you uncomfortable it's just that we both love you so much already and…"

Brian stopped her in mid-sentence, "Its ok I'm not uncomfortable with the idea in fact I am extremely comfortable so much so that it surprises me, So since you are both ok with it I would really to, but as I told…" he stopped for a second before he said it because it was going to feel, strange wonderful he wasn't sure, Brian continued …"as I told DAD I would just have to be careful around Nicole. She is still kind of fragile emotionally, because of everything she had been in the past few months I don't want her to in anyway feel like I am abandoning her. She is my sister I grew up with her."

.Bridget agreed with him about Nicole and but was happy for Brian.

Annie a bit concerned for Nicole asked, "I know she had a baby recently, you told us about Bella but I noticed she didn't come here with anyone like Bella's father does that have something to do with why you would think she would feel that way?"

"Yes" said Brian "that's exactly it. She and my brother in law Angelo wanted children so badly she had a miscarriage two years ago and had difficulty conceiving again. They even considered adoption, but then they got pregnant with Bella. They were so happy but then about a month before Bella was born Angelo who was in on location in Italy doing a movie was killed in a car accident. He was actually driving to the airport on his way home."

Annie gasped "Oh, Brian that so horrible no wonder you are so worried about her" Annie also thought to herself but didn't say it out loud, "it also couldn't be easy for her given the scandal her father just caused."

They finished up at the bar got their drinks and headed over to everyone else. The rest of the night went very well a few drank a little too much and got loud but nothing to serious it was midnight when everything finally finished up and the last few stragglers and Sarah had said goodbye along with Kevin and Lucy and went back with them about 11:30 they also had room in the minivan for Simon and Ruthie (they wanted to get back so Richard and Rosina could go home at a decent time,) but Matt made sure to get Brian's address and get his cell # He told him he would stop by tomorrow. Only Bridget, Brian, Annie, Eric Dave Deena were left and of course Jimmy and Ivy since it was their establishment, were left.

Brian said, "I can't thank everyone enough for this. Today has ended up so much better than when it started." He hugged his mom and dad and told them he would call them tomorrow, and then his parents headed out. After Dave knew Brian's parents were out of hearing range, he told Brian, "I will sleep on the couch Deena's so you and Bridget can be alone," and said with a grin "so you can continue to celebrate." They all went home. When Brian and Bridget finally both got home they headed straight for the bedroom, Bridget had not heard what Dave had told Brian. So Brian let her know.

"Hey Bridget we have the apartment all to ourselves tonight. Dave told me he is staying at Deena's tonight. Any ideas on what you want to do?" He said with a grin.

"Well she said, "We can always pick up where we left off when were interrupted in the storeroom earlier," With that they got all hot and heavy and when they finished they fell asleep in each other's arms.