Justin and Ava moved into the 'Taylor-Kinney' half of the duplex. The second bedroom, which had previously held the crib and chair, was now fully outfitted with furniture for Ava. There was even room for a daybed, which would eventually become Ava's bed. The daybed was useful for stuffed animal storage and sleeping daddies.
The whole duplex turned out to be a perfect home for Lindsay, Melanie, Brian, Justin and the kids. Gus would start school after Christmas break. Mel's new job turned out to be a great thing for her. Lindsay even started asking around about her old job at the Sydney Bloom gallery.
Justin brought numerous paintings to the duplex and his art found homes all over the place. Brian remarked that he especially liked one in which a man is looking out of the window at the New York City skyline. You could only see the man in shadows, but you could see a smile on his face.
Justin said, "That's actually based on a sketch that I did of Stuart. He loved New York and would just spend time looking at the city lights. This was a typical pose for him." He sighed. "It'd be great if we could hang this painting. But, if you don't want to…"
"No. I like it. It's fine. I'll find a good place for it."
A while later Justin tiptoed down the hall after putting Ava down for a nap. He paused at the top of the stairs to watch Brian, who was on a ladder hanging the painting, unaware that Justin was watching him. Brian was talking to himself a little as he worked, "A little higher over here. There. OK, Stuart. You have a place of honor now." He cocked his head as he looked at the painting. He sighed and ran the back of his hand over his mouth and then touched the corner of the painting again. "Thanks for taking such good care of our Justin. I'll take him from here."
Justin backed up a little and then walked down the hallway a little noisier than the last time. He came down the stairs and up to Brian who was just descending the ladder.
Brian asked, "So, does that look OK?"
Justin looked at the painting, then his partner. "It's perfect. Thank you." He pulled Brian in for a kiss and they held each other for quite a while. Stuart smiled down on them.
A few days before Christmas, Brian got home from work and found Justin in the kitchen cooking dinner. Ava was being watched by the sitter next door at Linds & Mel's.
Brian approached his partner. "Hey, Sunshine."
"Hey, Brian. How are you? You're looking particularly handsome today."
"You know you've been showering me with compliments ever since we became partners."
"That's not all I've been showering you with." Justin said as he kissed his partner all over the face and neck.
"Mmmm. And don't think it's not all appreciated." They kissed. "There's something I want to show you. Get your coat."
"What? You're up to something."
"Come on!"
Brian and Justin walked about halfway down the block. There were duplexes similar to theirs all up and down the street. Brian rang the bell. A nice looking elderly lady answered the door. "Hello, Mrs. King. This is Justin. We've come to see your atrium, like you and I discussed."
"Of course, Brian. And this is your handsome partner Justin? Nice to meet you young man. Come on in."
Justin gave his partner a what are we doing here look on his face. Brian smirked. He loved leaving Justin in suspense.
The old lady walked them through to the back of the duplex. On Brian's shared duplex the same back door opened to the backyard. When the woman opened her back door, though, Justin was amazed at what was there. It was a huge atrium with an angled glass ceiling, huge windows and pottery benches. There was even a small sitting area and a table where one could have morning tea. Mrs. King was obviously into plants as the whole area was stocked with one kind of plant after another. She said, "I'll leave you two to look around." She winked as she left.
"What do you think, Sunshine?" Brian asked.
"It's beautiful. So much natural light." He walked all around the atrium noticing the details. He paused and looked back at Brian. "Why show me some nice lady's greenhouse?"
"I thought an addition like this would be great for yourstudio. You'd have a lot of light. You'd be right off of the back of the duplex. You'd have enough room for your large canvases. You could even lock the door if you want to keep the kids out of your paints." He smiled.
"Do you mean we could have an addition like this built onto our place?"
"Yes. She gave me the name of the construction company that did the work for her. We could have the exact same thing."
"Oh, Brian. It'd be wonderful!"
"Merry Christmas, Justin. This will be my present to you."
Justin ran into Brian's arms and almost bowled him over. Their lips met as they hugged. The kiss when on for quite a while until they heard a little voice.
"Ahem." said Mrs. King. She was smiling at the loving pair.
Justin blushed. Brian smirked and then stepped forward to take her hand. "Thank you for letting us see this room and for the name of the construction company."
"No problem, boys. I hope you enjoy your room as much as my husband and I enjoy this one."
It was Justin's turn to gently shake her hand. "I'm sure we will. Thank you again."
As they walked back home Brian said, "I think it's going to be a great Christmas, don't you?"
Justin squeezed his partner's hand. "It's going to be the best Christmas ever."
12/25/07
On Christmas day everyone in the duplex gathered at the Peterson-Marcus half of the home. The combination Christmas/ Hanukkah celebration involved everything from lighting a candle on the menorah to presents from Santa and everything in-between.
At one point, Justin pulled Brian aside. "I'm looking forward to the new atrium/studio. That's the best Christmas present I've ever received."
"No problem. Just make hundreds of paintings that make us many thousands of dollars and it'll all be good." Brian said with a sweet smile.
"I wanted to get you something…"
"Justin, it's not necessary. Because of you, I have a loving home, you, Ava … I don't need anything else."
Justin nodded. "But this is something that I want … to show people how I feel about you … possibly show how we feel about each other."
Brian could tell that Justin was serious, but tried to lighten the mood a little. "I am NOT getting matching tattoos. Your skin is perfect, let's not mar it with ink."
Justin smiled. "No, not that. I bought this for myself and I want to let you know that I'm wearing it from now on." He pulled a box from his pocket. Inside the box were two gold rings. He pulled the smaller of the two rings out and held it in his hand. "I'm going to wear this to tell everyone that I consider myself yours and yours alone."
Brian took the ring from his partner's hand and slipped it on the young man's ring finger. "It's beautiful. You're beautiful. Are you saying that you want to get married?"
Justin shook his head. "I used to think that, but now we have a full legal partnership and this home. I think just wearing the ring, for me, is enough to tie it all together. You don't have to wear one if you don't want to." He took the larger ring from the box.
Brian put his hand out and offered for his partner to slip the ring on him. Justin did so while looking hopefully into the hazel eyes shining with love. Brian said, "This will have to be enough until the laws change to recognize our union. We have the partnership and now with these rings, we tie our lives together …" He trailed off not knowing what to say.
Justin continued "…and our hearts." They hugged and let a tear slip from their eyes. "I love you so much."
"Me, too, Sunshine. Me, too."