They returned by mid morning and by afternoon, both men were back at their respective jobs; Brian at Kinnetik and Justin in his studio. Justin picked up his paintbrush and began painting a new piece. By mid afternoon, his hand was cramping and he stopped to give it a rest.
Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed an apple and ate it before calling Daphne.
"Hey," she answered on the first ring, a little tentative in her response but hopeful as he was willingly calling her; surely a good sign that he wasn't mad at her intervention.
"We're back from New York. It was an amazing trip." Justin smiled as he remembered the tryst in the bathroom at Savieh. "Brian and I almost did it on the showroom of the furniture store," he replied smugly.
"No. Tell me you two are not reverting to juvenile antics."
Justin giggled. "We had to try on the sofas; couldn't buy one that didn't match our fucking height. So…"
"The two of you are incorrigible. Remind me never to go shopping with both of you. I think I would die of embarrassment." Daphne quickly imagined the two of them "trying out a sofa" and felt sorry for the salesman and any customers that were around. "What else did you do in New York?" she asked hoping that Brian had other ideas than to distract Justin with his favorite pass time, shopping, or second favorite, fucking. Daphne wasn't too sure which one topped the list, but in Brian's mind they were definitely a close tie.
"We saw Carol that first day and Brian talked to Tim Callen, you know the critic, ie stalker." Justin looked in the freezer for something to defrost for dinner. He felt like cooking and after the teasing Brian had provided in New York, he decided he should pretend to live up to the notion of cook.
"Oh. And…" Daphne was refraining from asking questions. She determined that if Justin was calling and offering information things went well, but she wanted Justin to fill her in on the situation.
"Brian told her about the dancing and she said she didn't mind. Then he had a private interview with Tim Callen. He told me that he made it really clear that I was not on the invitation list."
"Ok."
"And I told Carol about the bashing," he added softly. He waited a few moments for her to comment, but when she said nothing he continued. "I wasn't planning on saying anything, but she already knew about the accident and she mentioned Brian's protectiveness, almost as if it were out of the ordinary- like he was some knight in shining armor and I was a damsel in distress. I couldn't let her think of me as some softie, so I decided to tell her. This way she understood why the accident was so disastrous."
Daphne nodded her head in understanding. Her friend was incredible; living through adversity twice and each time almost losing his art, his very being in the process.
"What did she say when you told her?"
"She said it was terrible and now she had a better understanding of the situation and why I wanted to move back. She seemed to support my decisions. She assured me that my talent was very real and that I needed to get back to painting. She's so sure that the show will be a success and I will be on target to have another one very soon."
"Oh Justin, I'm so glad. How do you feel?"
"Good. I'm good. I also wanted to tell you thank you. I know you went to Brian and talked to him. I appreciate your concern, even if it was underhanded. I know I would never have told him. Well, never is a long time; at least that is what my mom always said, but still it might have been too late if you'd waited." Justin grabbed the chicken and placed it on a plate and then put the plate in the refrigerator to defrost. "I guess my hand has rested enough. Back to painting."
"Let's do lunch later this week. Maybe I'll come out to the house and see your new pieces."
"I really need to work on Brian getting me a car. But if I met you in the city, you couldn't see the pieces. So, it sounds good." Justin smiled as he hung up the phone.
Returning to the studio, he spent another few hours painting and when his hand started hurting again, he quit, cleaned up his brushes and cooked dinner. When Brian came home to a fully cooked dinner, he raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question. Justin grabbed his hand, leading him up to the studio and pointed to several new pieces in various stages of completion.
Brian kissed him deeply on the mouth and took his hand in return, leading him to the bedroom where he proceeded to plunder Justin on their bed. Justin's stomach growled and they both laughed at the precise timing.
"I swear, there is a little green man in there who looks out your belly button and chooses to announce his presence in the most inopportune time," Brian teased.
"I don't know that I would call it inopportune. We both are lying here in post orgasm highs. I'd say it was good timing. Better wash up, the chicken is in the fridge but I don't want to leave it there all night."
They sat at the table enjoying Justin's cooking and made small talk for the first part of the meal. As Justin got up to clear the dishes, Brian admired his ass.
"Well, I see my prediction was correct. You painted and you cooked dinner. Am I good or what?"
"I also called Daphne. She's glad to hear that the trip went well. She was also appalled but not surprised by our little escapades in the Furniture store. She said she wished she had been a patron so she could see the show."
"I always knew she was a little voyeur. Why else would she want to know about our sex life? It must be the therapist in her, having to look at all the angles."
"Do you have work to do tonight? I know our little trip to New York probably set you back."
"No. Theodore and Cynthia handled everything. Your little crisis occurred at a good time, well it is never a good time to have a crisis, but rather a lull. The ground work for the winter campaigns are almost complete and the fall campaigns are in full swing. Leave it to you to have a crisis in a timely fashion," Brian said, tongue in cheek. Although he hated leftovers himself, he knew that Justin often ate them for lunch when he was home. He packed up the leftover chicken pieces and placed them in the fridge.
"I was thinking we could go see Gus later this week. It's been a while."
"Why don't you give Linds a call now, set it up for tomorrow? I miss the little guy."
Brian called Linds and they were free the next night and agreed to have them over for dinner at 6:30.
"Brian, if we're going to meet them at 6:30, I need a way to get there unless you plan on coming home at 5:00 to get me. Can we talk about getting me a car?" Justin found this was a great opening for the important conversation.
"I see your point," he said, understanding the inconvenience of being out in West Virginian. In some ways being out here was good for them; fewer interruptions from family and a haven from their busy lives, but it was also a nuisance when they wanted to do something in town. He could have suggested Justin go with him in the morning and meet him at the Loft, but then he would have missed a day of painting. He relented his earlier conviction and said, "For now, why don't you use the service and after your show, we'll go car shopping."
Justin hugged Brian fiercely and kissed him.
"You're like a damn puppy. Now stop. Let's go watch a movie."
They watched The Dark Knight Rises and went to bed.
The following night they arrived within minutes of each other at Linds and Mel's home. They gave each other a welcome kiss but pulled apart when Gus came barreling into the foyer.
"Daddy! Justin!. Come see my new car. Mama bought it for me. It's almost like your car Daddy, but its silver instead of black."
Gus showed them his prized new possession and both congratulated him on his newest acquisition. Gus looked up at Justin and decided he looked all better even if his mom had warned him to not ask him a lot of questions.
"Justin, when we going to paint again? Mom says you are feeling better. So can we paint this weekend? I don't have soccer practice and Jenny has some silly dance lesson. Can you come pick me up Daddy and take me to paint with Justin?"
Justin bent down to be eye level with Brian's son and gave him a big hug. "I think something can be arranged. Maybe you could even spend the night with me and Daddy. Would you like that?"
Gus jumped up and down and high fived Justin. Running toward the kitchen, he yelled, "Mom, Momma, Justin's going to paint with me and he said I could come to Daddy's house this weekend. Isn't that great?"
Turning toward Brian, Justin smiled and kissed him gently. "I hope you don't mind. I've really missed painting with him. We used to do it all the time, but…." Justin didn't finish the sentence as Brian understood his meaning. "Let's go eat and spend some time with your son."
Lindsay served the dinner and they all ate in silence for a little while.
"I was looking at the calendar the other day and noticed that your show is in just a few weeks. I hope you've been able to paint. It would be a shame for your talent to be wasted here in Pittsburgh."
"I think Justin knows when his show is and as far as his talent is concerned, it's the same here as in Pittsburgh….Fabulous." Brian picked up a piece of chicken and ate a bite of it, putting down his fork as he suddenly had lost his appetite.
"Brian, I didn't mean…" Lindsay attempted to pack pedal her comment, but Brian wasn't taking the bait.
"Justin is a talented artist and your attempts to undermine his choices are really not appreciated." Turning to Gus, he directed his next comment to the little boy. "Looks like you finished your dinner, why don't we go play with your new car for a bit before Daddy and Justin have to leave. You can come out to spend lots of time with us this weekend."
"Momma, I'm finished." He picked up his plate and brought it in to the kitchen and quickly joined his father.
"Justin," Lindsay pleaded as she watched father and son ascend the stairs.
"We'll pick up Gus after work on Friday. He can spend the night and day with us. Have a bag ready about 7:00." Justin took his and Brian's plates to the sink and left them as he followed his partner and Gus.
Lindsay sat with her mouth open, unsure what just happened. "Mel, I just asked how the painting was progressing. I only want the best for him," Lindsay tried to defend herself.
Mel just nodded her head in agreement and put away the remainder of the food. About half an hour later, she called upstairs announcing that desert was served.
Gus, Brian and Justin all tromped down the stairs and sat at the table while Melanie served the pudding.
"Yeah pudding, my favorite," Gus exclaimed as he picked up his spoon to delve into the creamy mixture.
Brian waved his hand in front of him signaling his decline of the offered desert and Justin accepted his. When desert was over, Brian urged Gus over to sit by him. "So, I'll pick you up after work on Friday and then you can spend the night and the rest of the day with us. You can paint with Justin and we can shoot the soccer ball. I want to practice shooting goals with you. You came really close to making a goal last game and I know you can do it."
Gus wrapped his hands around Brian's neck and squeezed really hard and then proceeded to place numerous kisses on his face.
"I love you Daddy."
Brian smiled at the unconditional love of his son, finding it difficult to remember a time when he wasn't around.
"Love you too, Justin. I'm glad you are feeling better. It was sad when we didn't paint together." He leaned over and kissed Justin too.
"Me too, buddy."
Brian stood up and motioned for Justin to walk with him.
"Thanks for dinner. Gus, we'll see you on Friday."
Gus walked with the men to the door and watched as they got into Brian's car. "I have the best Daddy in the whole world."
"Go take your bath," Lindsay instructed. "It's late and you have school tomorrow."
Brian and Justin got into the Vette and drove toward Britin.
"I can't believe Lindsay still questions my ability to paint in Pittsburgh. She says she doesn't want me to fail but then she says stuff like I better watch out." Justin said as he was mulling over the conversation from dinner.
"I think she lives vicariously through you. She always wanted to make it big in the art world but never got far. She feels your opportunity is a one in a lifetime one."
"You know I remember telling her that my art was not a once in a lifetime opportunity, but that you were my once in a lifetime opportunity. The two go hand in hand. Without you, my art would be nothing."
Brian didn't answer right away, unsure how he wanted to respond, but decided he would go with his gut.
"I used to think that was bullshit, that I was your opportunity, but now I'm not so sure. I think you've shown me time and time again that your art reflects your life. When you're happy your art shines, but when you aren't it sucks. I want you to know that all I ever want is your happiness. And since us being together makes you happy, I was thinking that you should marry me so we can always be together."
Justin smiled a large smile.
TBC
