“Gee, Taylor,” Brian mentioned to the kid over lunch at the diner. “What was Ben
so eager to get a hold of you for? He actually sounded panicky when he couldn’t
locate you right away.”
“I’m glad you asked that, Bri,” Justin smiled at him over the blue plate special
– specially embellished by Debbie for her best customer. “He wanted me to do
something for him and I can – if you’ll help out just a little ….”
“Sounds like you want to implicate me in some skullduggery, Babe,” Brian smiled
back at him. “And you know how I don’t like to meddle in other people’s
business.”
“Christmas is coming, Brian.” Justin ignored Brian’s caveat. “Seems Ben is very
afraid Mikey is gonna get him something for Christmas that he doesn’t want.”
“Doesn’t he have faith in Mikey’s unfailing good taste, Twink?” Brian wanted to
know. “We all know about Mikey’s good taste in gifts – probably inherited from
his mother.”
“Cut it out, Brian,” Justin demanded. “”It seems that they were in Redshaw’s
haberdashery the other day and Ben saw this real ugly sports coat that cost like
- $800. He tried it on like – just for a joke and ….”
”And Mikey liked it,” Brian got the picture. “And he thinks Ben likes it too,
and so now Ben thinks Mike is gonna break the bank to get it for him as a
Christmas gift.”
“Yep,” Justin confirmed. “That’s it all right. Ben tried to talk Mikey out of it
– subtly of course – but Mikey thinks he just doesn’t want it because of the
cost – and our Michael thinks that nothing should be too good for Ben ….”
“And how does Ben think you can help, Taylor?” Brian wanted to know. “The best
thing for Ben to do would be to just come right out and tell Mikey ….”
“He doesn’t want to hurt Mike’s feelings, Brian,” Justin explained. “And he
called me because I’m a good problem solver and …..”
“And I suppose you solved the problem for him – quick as a flash – like you
always do,” Brian grinned at him.
“Well,” Justin beamed back at him. “With all modesty I must admit that I did.
Here’s what we need to do. You know Leonard Glassner who works at Redshaw’s. OK
– Ben is going over there today to pick out some coat that he really likes –
reasonably priced – and I got Leonard to give him a discount too. Anyhow, Ben is
gonna tell Leonard which one he wants. Meanwhile you are gonna ask Mikey to go
with you to Redshaw's to look for a present for me. Len is gonna tip you off
about the coat Ben likes and you are gonna find it and tell Mikey how that very
coat would be perfect for Ben. Mikey will show you the coat he is planning to
get for Ben and you will tell him that it’s a great coat too but you think Ben
might like the other one better. Mikey will always do what you think he should.
And that will solve the problem.”
“You want me to participate in a trick on my best friend Mikey?” Brian recoiled.
“And at Christmas time too?”
“That’s about the size of it, Bri,” Justin affirmed. “I can always solve stuff
but sometimes I need help in the actual execution ….”
“And if I do agree to betray my friend,” Brian hedged, “which I shouldn’t by the
way - maybe Mikey will really help me pick out something nice for you while
we’re at Redshaw’s.”
“Forget the threats, Mr. Kinney,” Justin warned him. “You pull a trick like that
on me and I’ll wear the monstrosity everywhere and tell everybody you picked it.
So much for the famous Kinney designer taste ….”
“And if I refuse to go along with this whole sneaky plot, Sweetheart?” Brian
wondered.
“If you don’t, Honey,” Justin replied with a broad smile, “you’ll probably
eventually wish you had ….”
“You know what, Baby?” Brian told him with just a trace of feigned irony. “You
embody the true spirit of Christmas better than anybody else I ever met. If
Charles Dickens had known you, I bet you would have ended up as a character in
one of his Christmas stories – like Ebenezer Scrooge did …..”
“Gee whiz Bri,” Justin chortled. “I always kinda liked Eb Scrooge - but I didn’t
know why. And I knew you were old too - but I didn’t know you knew Charles
Dickens personally so I never…. I guess there’s still a lot I have to learn
about you.”
Brian was laughing too. It appeared that the prospect of Ben getting the coat he
wanted was a lot brighter – and the guys seemed happy at the prospect of
learning more about each other too.
And that helped to put them into the proper Christmas spirit.
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