Brian opened his eyes as he glanced at the alarm clock and its incessant blaring noise. After reaching out and then hitting the off button, he lay back down on his pillow and closed his eyes again. He thought he heard a banging on his door, but dismissed it to his imagination as surely no one would be coming by this early in the day. Throwing off his blanket, he went to the bathroom to shower and get ready for his day. When he returned, he dressed and picked up his phone for the first time since depositing it on his nightstand prior to sleep.

Scrolling through the missed messages, he saw there were 20 messages, most were from Mikey and Deb, but there was one from Emmett and one from Lindsay.

"Damn!" he said as he slammed his palm against the wall. Shaking his hand out, he took a deep breath realizing the storm of emotions he felt last night was just the beginning of one of his most difficult days in recent history. Sitting on his bed, he pushed the button on his phone labeled Justin, hoping he was available to talk.

"Hello," came a sleep-filled voice on the other end of the call. "Brian, is everything okay? Did something happen on the way home from the meeting last night?" Justin said as he shook his head, trying to get the cobwebs of sleep cleared from his brain.

"I'm fine, well as fine I can be," Brian said. He proceeded to tell Justin about the chain of events that followed his drive home.

"That sounds terrible. I'm sure you were really freaked out," Justin said. He didn't want to put words in Brian's mouth, but he knew that if he were in Brian's place, his emotions would be all over the place.

"Yes, I was. Well, still am, but then the stuff with Mikey is even worse. I had it all figured out in my head how my disclosure would go down, but now that is literally blown out of the water. I've got at least 20 messages on my phone this morning, most from Mikey and Deb." Brian sat down on his bed feeling the sudden weight of his situation. His shoulders slumping and a feeling of defeat coursed through his body. "I can't imagine that the messages are supportive. I was hoping that Lindsay would not be subject to the Novotny hysteria, but it doesn't seem to be the case," Brian said as he ran his hand over his face.

"So you haven't listened to them yet?" Justin asked, hoping that perhaps Brian was wrong and that there would be support from his family. Justin had come to know Brian in the last few months and didn't doubt that Brian had a good pulse on his family's reaction; therefore he knew his hopes were highly unlikely.

"No," Brian said, having lost whatever energy he had to deal with the situation. Ted's talk and walk last night feeling far from the realities of this morning.

"What do you want to do? Remember, you are the one who is conquering your addiction. I'll support you in any way that you need."

"What I want and what I will do are two different things. I want all this drama to go away and to be able to live my new life without interference from family," Brian said, wishing he had a magic lamp that could fast forward time. If so, he would fast forward at least 6 months where the drama would have died down, he'd be sober for over 8 months and he and Gus continued to grow their relationship.

"What do you want to do? Can I help you in any way?" Justin repeated himself, hoping that he could help Brian develop a plan of action rather than being stuck thinking about the problem. Justin found that a plan was always a good way to start.

"At this point, I guess that pulling off the bandaid, as it were, would be my best option. Even though my choice would be to turn back time and address the issues on my time table, that isn't happening."

"What's your plan?"

"I guess I need to listen to the messages. Who knows, I might get lucky and the one from Linds is just firming up my meeting with Gus this weekend."

"That would be great. Why don't you start by listening to the messages and go from there? Do you want me to come over? I can be there in about an hour."

"No, I can listen to the messages. I made this mess, so I need to fix it. Thanks for offering. Thanks for listening."

"No worries. I'm here if you need me. I'll keep my ringer on. Otherwise, I'll see you tonight at the meeting," Justin said, encouraging Brian to continue his journey, despite this upset.

"See you tonight. I'm sure had I not been attending meetings, I would be sitting at Woody's as soon as I finished work. But, of course, that is a catch 22. Drinking is what got me into this mess, but if I wasn't trying to quit, I wouldn't be in this mess either. Thanks for listening." Brian clicked off his phone and carried it to the kitchen where he started making his Guava juice smoothie.

He opened up his message tab on the phone and hit the first message.

"Brian, you can't be an alcoholic. I would have known. I'm your best friend. Call me."

He hit delete and the next one came on.

"Brian, Ted is trying to brainwash you. You don't drink that much. Call me."

He hit delete again and the next one played.

"I know you drink, but we all do. You can't be an alcoholic if you are a successful business owner."

He hit delete and the next one played.

There were 15 messages from Michael and as soon as he had deleted the last message from him, there was a message from Emmett.

"Sweetie. I don't know what all happened tonight, but I just got the strangest phone call from Michael. He went on and on about you being brainwashed and saying you were an alcoholic. He must have talked for at least 20 minutes before I finally just hung up. Call me. I can't imagine what happened tonight, but I'm here for you," Emmett said in his message.

Brian smiled for the first time that morning. Ted and Emmett were in his corner. It was great to have a family that didn't try to convince him that he was wrong. He deleted that message and hit play on the next one.

"Brian. As Gus was getting ready for school he reminded me that you were wanting him to stay with you this weekend. If you haven't changed your mind, I think that would be great. Can you pick him up Friday at about 5:00? I'm so happy that you are wanting to spend more time with him. Every boy needs a father. Call me if there is a problem."

Brian felt the tension in his shoulders ease and he let out a deep breath. "She doesn't know. She doesn't know,' he said out loud. He would call her and see if she was available for lunch today. He couldn't take a chance that she would find out from anyone but him.

He hit delete and listened to the remaining three messages. The first one was from Debbie. "Asshole. I knew something was up when I heard that you weren't going to Babylon. Good for you. Call me."

He smiled for a second time that morning and hit delete. The next one was from Ted and it was time-stamped about a half-hour ago. "Just so you know, I told Cynthia to block all calls from Mikey. I'm sure he's blowing up your phone."

A warm feeling coursed through his body again. Things were better than he anticipated. He knew that he was in for some difficult times, but he was happy that he had support from some of his family.

The last call was a robocall telling him he could lower his interest rate on his credit cards. He pushed delete before the call ended.

He'd been drinking his smoothie as he listened to his messages. He rinsed out the blender and placed his cup in the dishwasher. He hated coming home to anything but a pristine space. He grabbed his phone and called Lindsay.

"Hi Brian. I hope there isn't a problem with this weekend. Gus has been talking about it all week," she said with a little concern in her voice. Her voice went up a half an octave as she mentally calculated a way to get Brian to take Gus for the weekend. She had mentally made a lot of plans that would be spoiled had she had to deal with Gus.

"No. No problem. I'm actually calling as I wanted to invite you to lunch. Are you free this afternoon, say about 1:00?"

Without hesitation, she said, "Yes. Of course. I always have time for you, Brian. Where would you like to meet?"

"The Capital Grille. They have a great salad and the fish is excellent," Brian said, knowing that Lindsay would enjoy the elegant atmosphere. He also hoped having their lunch in an

upscale restaurant would prevent her from making a scene when he dropped his financial bombshell.

"Oh that would be lovely. I hear their chef makes beautiful presentations. They are a work of art by themselves." She chuckled at her joke.

"See you at 1:00 then," Brian said as he disconnected the call.

He texted Justin to give him an update on Lindsay's call and he received a quick reply.

He drove to work and grabbed a Starbucks coffee on the way. He was sipping the drink as he walked into the office.

"Morning boss. Everything is going well with the reshoot. The client didn't even balk at the change of photographers. You've got a meeting this morning at 10:00 with Patagonia and then a 3:00 all-staff meeting. You wanted a chance to look over the health insurance package before the meeting. I've sent you the file and placed it on your desktop," Cynthia said as she provided the typical morning brief.

"Okay. I know Ted briefed you about Mikey. If he shows up, have him escorted off the property. I have nothing to say to him." As Brian finished his statement, he realized that it was true. If Mikey didn't change his message and start believing Brian, he would no longer be a part of his life. This thought shocked him for a moment, but he really did not have time or the inclination to allow the ever-present hamsters the opportunity to run amok.

After an hour of work, he went in search of Ted. Ted rarely left his office so the searching was typically easy. As usual, Ted was sitting at his desk and didn't look toward his door until Brian made a distinct noise indicating his presence.

"Oh hi, Bri," Ted said, indicating Brian should take a seat in the white office chair. There was little need for most people to come into Ted's office. As the CFO of Kinnetik, he did not handle the day to day operations of the business. Typically, Brian or Cynthia were the only ones who had a need to meet with him directly. Brian had chosen a Jonathan Adler to compliment the Hekman executive desk for Ted's office. He made certain that he could sit comfortably and the chair would match the boutique decor.

Brian walked in, closing the door for privacy. "Thanks for telling Cynthia to keep Mikey away. He called 15 times after we made him leave.. Seems that he doesn't understand the words, I'm an alcoholic. Every message included some statement trying to explain to me why I was wrong." Brian sighed as he thought about Mikey's messages and their true implication. He'd been contemplating his friendship for weeks, but maybe this was the ultimate sign that he needed to break the ties. "On the other hand, Deb's message berated me for not telling her, but otherwise was very positive. And the best news was that Lindsay is far enough removed from the gay grapevine that her call was to just confirm that I still wanted Gus this weekend. I'm meeting her for lunch today. I want to be the one to tell her rather than hear it inadvertently from Deb or Mikey. At least she's not good friends with Mikey," Brian said as he caught Ted up to speed on the situation.

"That is good news," Ted said, noting Brian's face. While he didn't look quite as distraught as he had last night, it was obvious that he was still troubled. "I'm glad that you are meeting with Lindsay today. I think that the wait would literally keep you up at night. Regardless of how she responds, you've got this." Ted walked toward Brian and gave him a handshake, and then returned to his chair.

Brian said, "thanks," and went back to his office where he closed his door and started to work.

The remainder of the morning passed quickly and he was surprised when his computer sent the alert for him to leave for his lunch with Lindsay. He checked his phone as he placed it in his office. There were 4 additional messages from Michael, but none from anyone else. He quickly deleted them, placed his phone in his pocket, and walked to his car.

He found a parking spot close by and while he didn't believe in omens, he decided that maybe the fates were in his courts today. When he walked into the restaurant, Lindsay had not arrived and he was able to ask the Maitre D to seat him in the back, away from the hustle of the restaurant. Even if Lindsay got upset, the physical space would keep their meeting less in the open.

He sat watching the door and a few minutes later she arrived. She was led to the table and her chair brought out so she could be seated. She was handed a menu and thanked the Maitre D.

"Thank you for inviting me. It's been ages since we caught up. I know we see each other at Deb's most weeks, but there are just so many people and everyone is having their own conversations. Sometimes, I feel like I'm on a tennis court, trying to determine whose turn it is to speak." She opened the menu and glanced at the offerings. "This looks amazing. Mel and I don't get the opportunity to eat at places like this. It's not a place for families. I can't imagine Gus eating Oysters on the Half Shell or Shrimp Cocktail, let alone Steak Tartare. He's happy with a happy meal," she laughed a little at her statement and continued to look at the menu.

The waiter returned and she ordered, " I'll have the Prosciutto wrapped Mozzarella and Bibb Stack Salad with a glass of house wine," she stated. Turning to Brian, she said, "You don't mind if I have a glass of wine. It is so indulgent to go to a place like this. It's like an illicit treat."

Brian smiled half-heartedly at her thinly veiled comments about expenses and indulging. "Of course, " he said. Turning toward the waiter he said, "I'll have the Sushi-Grade Sesame Seared Tuna with Ginger Rice. I want the Soy Sauce."

"Of course. Would you like an appetizer, sir?"

"Field Greens," Brian answered.

"And would you like a glass of wine as well?"

"No. Just some ice tea, please."

"Oh, Brian, " Lindsay said with a light alarm to her voice. "I don't need that glass of wine. You usually have a cocktail, so I thought…."

"Please bring the lady her wine, sir," Brian said.

"Yes, sir. Your appetizers will be out in a little while," he said as he walked back to the kitchen to place the order.

The hamsters in Brian's head had been busy all morning coming up with various scenarios and conversations that he would have with Lindsay at lunch. However,he had not come to a decision regarding the best option to tell her his news. He sat quietly trying to decide which topic he should start with, the finances or the sobriety. Luckily, Lindsay made the decision easy when she started talking.

"Brian, it was so nice of you to ask me to lunch. We haven't done this in ages and I miss our little chats. It's always nice to go out with you. Whenever Mel and I go somewhere, it seems as if she is more worried about the price tag of the meal rather than enjoying the experience," she said as she once again wished her spouse made more money and could provide for her in the way she had grown up.

"I'm so glad to see you are spending more time with Gus lately. I've always encouraged your relationship," Lindsay said. She took a sip of the wine that had just been delivered to their table. She smiled at the pleasant taste. "This is such an indulgence. Mel would just tell me that we have wine at home. Don't you want a drink? You often have something when we go out together." Lindsay looked around the room, eyeing the other diners. As she caught glimpses of several couples, hands touching or smiling at each other, she secretly envisioned Brian and herself on a nice afternoon lunch date. While she knew she loved Melanie, there was always a part of her that had visions of her, Gus, and Brian making a small family.

Brian took a sip of his water and looked around the room. They had been seated in the back of the restaurant, per his request. He did not expect his conversation with Lindsay to be met with happiness, but he hoped that having it in a very public place where she might run into one of her acquaintances, might silence her protests or at least make them less vocal. Lindsay was a member of the polished and elite and there were definitely rules regarding public outbursts.

"Of course. I've always enjoyed spending time with Gus. No need to thank me for something that I want to do. You know I never do anything unless I want to do it," Brian said, stating his motto that his family had heard repeatedly.

Brian watched as Lindsay nodded her head in agreement. They had known each other for over 15 years. After meeting in college and a few dates that were more staged for Lindsay's family than for either of their romantic notions, they had begun a strong friendship. While Brian had balked at providing the sperm for Lindsay and Mel, he had eventually capitulated. Now, that little boy had been the catalyst for him to stop drinking and take charge of his life. He had made profound differences in Brian's life as a result of his existence. He couldn't owe Gus a bigger debt. He hadn't thought of this concept when it came to his sobriety, but he thought that might be something he would share with Justin tonight. The idea that he wanted to share that insight with Justin as well as the conversation and events of today with him was a new feeling. He'd never had anyone that he cared enough about that he wanted to share ideas with and this made him smile.

"Speaking of things that I want to do, I've decided that I'm going to stop giving you money for Gus."

Lindsay felt her gut wrench and a feeling of dread came over her. She felt light-headed and shocked. "Brian," she said, scrambling for the words to protest his decision.

Before she could finish her statement, he said, "I'm still going to provide for him, after all, he is my son as you so eloquently pointed out. I'm just going to do it directly. It's demeaning for you to be put in a position to constantly ask for money for various items and school outings when I can just pay for them outright. You said yourself that you are so busy with work and the house that it is hard to keep up with all the requests." He took a sip of his water waiting to see her reaction. He knew that she would most likely try to talk him out of his idea as that would mean she would not be able to slip random erroneous requests under his radar. He watched her face for her reaction and true to his speculation, she appeared shocked and surprised by his statement.

Having a moment to think she quickly responded, "Oh, Brian, it's no trouble asking you for things. I think you are taking the little mixup at the school too seriously," Lindsay said as she batted her eyes at him and looked at him coyly. She knew her innocent look always worked in getting him to do what she wanted in the past and assumed it would work today. "I wouldn't want to burden you. 10-year old boys constantly need things and you would be at the store all the time. It's no trouble for me to buy Gus' clothes and keep up with his school activities."

"I had Ted do a little research, Lindsay," he said, using her given name rather than the common form that he typically used. "In the last 3 months, I've written checks for $3000 for expenses for Gus and that doesn't include the times that he and I have gone shopping when he's come to stay with me as well as all the money I give you outright. As of today, all that stops. I've informed the school to have them send any requests for activity funding directly to me. Since I am spending more time with Gus on the weekends, I can take time when needed to buy his other necessities like clothing. It's time he stopped looking like the poster child for Big Q."

Lindsay picked up her glass of wine and took several sips, trying desperately to convince Brian that she could handle Gus' funds, but she was at a loss. "Of course, we can try it your way, but I'm sure in a few months you'll tire of having to do it all. It is rather time-consuming. Besides, you only see him a few times a month. I'm sure you will not want to spend every weekend shopping for Gus," She smiled, trying to put doubts in his plans.

"About that. I am going to have him every weekend from now on," Brian said, deciding that he wasn't going to ask her for permission and an opportunity to say no.

"Brian, that sounds wonderful, but we both know that Babylon and Woody's will call and you'll be calling me to tell me that you can't have him this weekend. I don't think it's a good idea to disappoint him like that."

"I haven't been to Woody's or Babylon in over 2 months and I don't intend to return to either," Brian said.

The waiter brought their food and Lindsay watched him put the plate down. She looked at her friend, trying to see if he showed any signs of illness. "Brian, what's wrong? Are you sick again? Did the cancer come back? Do you think it's a good idea for Gus to be around you if you are doing Chemo? He's older now and it would really impact him."

"Nothing is wrong, Lindsay. In fact, I feel better now than I have in years. I stopped going to Babylon and Woody's because I stopped drinking," Brian said. While he had this conversation all laid out in his head, it was not going at all as he expected. He hadn't planned on just saying the words, but rather than having Lindsay play 20 questions to get the information out of him, he just told her the information as if he were reading the options of a menu. Now that he had spoken, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He had the law behind him and she could not forbid him from seeing Gus.

"You stopped drinking? What does that mean, Brian?"

Brian smiled. Evidently Michael's impromptu visit to the loft yesterday had not made it to her little piece of the world. At least he had the upper hand in the conversation. "It means that I no longer drink. I've been attending AA for about 2 months and I've been sober for a little longer than that. It means that I don't go to Babylon or Woody's since there is liquor there. It means that I have lots of time for my son."

Lindsay listened to Brian and a million thoughts ran through her head. "You're an alcoholic! Oh my, Brian. When did this happen? I can't let Gus be with an alcoholic. It's too dangerous. He might be hurt. I'll have to tell Gus that he can't go with you this weekend." She started to get up from the table, not even touching her food.

Brian grabbed her hand, essentially pulling her down to her seat. "Sit."

"But…"

"No, buts. Sit." He pointed to the chair and the combination of his stern voice and hold on her hand resulted in her sitting back down. "Listen very carefully as I'm not going to repeat myself. I didn't suddenly become an alcoholic. I've been one for many years. But Gus has always been safe with me. I would never endanger him. I don't drink now, so he is less at risk now than he was. You will not keep my son from me."

"Brian, alcoholism is a serious problem. You could relapse and that would be terrible if Gus were with you. He can be very trying. I know some days, I just want to have a drink in the middle of the afternoon. As his parent, I can't take that risk." She took another sip of her wine, not even registering that she was doing exactly what she told Brian.

"I've been around Gus since he was born and I've been drinking for a lot longer than that.

According to Pennsylvania law, I cannot give up my rights as I'm his biological parent. That means that no matter what happens, he is my responsibility."

Lindsay looked at him, questioning his statement. "Since when do you quote Pennsylvania law? Surely Melanie would know."

"I consulted a lawyer and I have a DNA sample from Gus and myself that proves that he is my son. As his parent, I have a financial responsibility to support him which I am now doing almost 100% of the time."

"You consulted a lawyer? Regardless, I still don't think it's a good idea for Gus to be spending time with you."

"And that is why I consulted the lawyer. It really doesn't matter what you think. According to the state of Pennsylvania, I cannot give up the financial responsibility to take care of my child and no one can keep my child away from me. So, I will be picking up Gus on Friday afternoon as we discussed and he will be spending the weekend with me. Brian picked up his fork and took a bite of his meal. "This is delicious. You were espousing how nice it was to enjoy a meal out without thinking about the cost. I suggest you eat your lunch."

Lindsay was furious. Brian had thrown too many punches at lunch. She now realized that he purposely chose this posh restaurant to lessen the chance that she would throw a fit and embarrass herself. She smiled sweetly, while inside she was seething at his trickery. "I will. Maybe I'll have another glass of wine. After all, you won't be drinking any," She said as she waved the waiter toward the table.

When he arrived, she started to speak, but Brian cut her off. "Can you pack up the lady's lunch? She isn't feeling too well. Oh, and if you could get her a cab, I'd appreciate it."

"Yes Sir," the waiter said as he took Lindsay's plate.

"I suggest you go wait by the door. Taxi's come here frequently. See you on Friday," Brian said as he took another bite of his lunch.

Lindsay picked up her handbag and walked to the door. She was handed her lunch in an aluminum foil wrap that resembled a swan. "Good afternoon, madam. I hope you are feeling better soon," the Maitre D said as he waved down a cab for her.

She took the aluminum foil packet, held her hand up high, and walked to the cab. She gave the driver the address of Melanie's office and sat back on the seat, reviewing the unnerving events of the last hour.

TBC