Rites of Passage
The clouds scudded across the full moon. Little witches and goblins scurried along the street, running up to each house as they came to them. They shouted "Trick or Treat" and were invariably rewarded with candy ... without anything like a trick being performed.
"What's the fucking use of this pathetic exercise?" Brian demanded as they watched four year old Gus at the door of a house on his street.
"It's so kids can get more candy than they know what to do with and make themselves sick for the next two weeks," Justin explained.
Brian snorted. "I thought so," he replied sardonically.
"It's kind of a right of passage," Justin continued.
"Now how did you come to that conclusion?"
""Remember when you carried Gus from house to house on Halloween."
"Yeah."
"Then he could walk and we held his hand as he went from house to house last year. We went to the door with him."
"So?"
"Next year he may not want us to come with him at all."
"He'll only be five. Of course we'll be with him."
Justin smiled. He liked to hear Brian Kinney in father mode. Brian had turned out to be a great dad with Gus. "Yeah, he'll still be a little young, but he's growing up. Soon it won't be cool to have your father go trick or treating with you."
"I'm always cool," Brian declared.
Justin laughed. "Yeah, you are," Justin agreed. "But before long Gus won't see it that way. It will be a rite of passage to go by himself, or more likely with his friends."
Brian thought about that. He knew that what Justin said was true, but he didn't want to think about Gus growing up. He looked up at the house where Gus was getting his plastic pumpkin filled with candy. He smiled to himself thinking about how Gus' childhood was so different from his own - and that was just the way it should be. At the moment all he wanted was for Gus to stay a little boy, his little boy. He should enjoy a carefree, happy life. That was the wish he held for his son.
Gus came running back to the two men. "Dada, Jus, I got Oh Henry's at that house. They gave me two."
"That's nice, Gus," Brian said ruffling Gus' hair.
"Are Oh Henry's your favorite?" Justin asked him.
"Yep, I love them," Gus said as he skipped along the sidewalk toward the next house. Suddenly he came to an abrupt stop. Brian nearly walked right over him.
"What's wrong, Gus?" Brian asked.
"They ... They have skeletons and spider webs and ... stuff," Gus stammered as he stared at the decorations all along the walkway that led to the house, and all over the front porch of the house. Eerie ghosts hung above the front door and coffins littered the yard.
"Kind of scary, right, Gus?" Justin asked.
"Yeah."
"Doesn't look so scary to me," Brian stated.
Gus' face fell.
"Um, I find it kind of scary," Justin said looking meaningfully at Brian. "I wouldn't want to go up there by myself. Will you hold my hand, Gus? And maybe your Dad will hold my other hand so that we don't have to be afraid at all."
"Good idea, Jus."
Brian studied his two men and nodded. He got the point.
The three of them walked up the sidewalk leading to the spooky house. A ghost rose up out of a coffin and Gus gasped.
"Together nothing can hurt us," Brian said, earning a sunshine smile from his mate.
Gus walked confidently between the two men. He yelled trick or treat when he got to the door. It swung open revealing a nasty looking witch.
"And what might you want, my pretty?" the evil looking witch cackled.
"Treat?" Gus said hopefully, trying to sound confident.
"Hm, so you want a treat, do you?"
"Ye...Yes, ma'am," Gus stammered.
"And what will you give me for that treat?"
"Um, a big thank you?" Gus replied hopefully. His hand tightened around his father's.
The witch laughed out loud at Gus' response. "Since you're such a polite little boy, here's your treat." The witch dropped an Oh Henry into Gus' pumpkin.
"Thank you," Gus said with a big grin. "They're my favorite."
"Enjoy the rest of your evening," the lady said as Gus turned away.
Brian smiled at the woman and mouthed "thank you". The lady smiled back.
"We did it, Dada, Jus," Gus said proudly as they retraced their steps back to the sidewalk on the street. Nothing that jumped up at them from the coffins or came scurrying out of the bushes seemed quite so scary anymore.
"Yes, we did," Justin agreed.
"An unbeatable team," Brian added. "Can you do the next house by yourself or do you need your team to watch your back?"
Gus smiled at his father. He looked at the next house which didn't look scary at all. "I can do it, Dada."
"Good boy."
Gus scampered up the walkway to the house.
"I guess he still has a way to go before he gets to the next rite of passage," Brian observed as they watched Gus getting his treat. "Two more houses and we head home?" Brian asked.
Justin nodded. "He has plenty of candy."
"Mel and Lindz are going to take most of it away from him anyway," Brian observed.
"Yeah, but not the Oh Henry's."
"Never the Oh Henry's."
Suddenly Brian felt Justin's hand grab his arm and squeeze ... hard.
"Ow, what's that for?" Brian asked looking at Justin.
Justin was staring straight ahead, his gaze locked on something up the street. Brian followed Justin's line of sight, and that was when he saw him ... Chris fucking Hobbs heading right towards them. He held a little girl in his arms. She was maybe two or three.
"Justin, what do you want to do?" Brian asked.
"I...I don't know."
"We can cross the street if you want."
"I...I'm not running from him, and ... Gus is still up at that house. I won't leave him."
"Look who's out trick or treating," Chris Hobbs said in a supercilious manner as he walked up to the two men. He wore a pair of devil horns perched atop his head.
"Very appropriate costume, Hobbs," Brian snarled. Chris snorted.
Justin's grip, which he had never released since he first saw his old enemy, suddenly relaxed. "Is this your daughter?" Justin asked looking at the little child dressed like an angel.
"Yeah," Chris snapped. "What's it to you?"
"She's lovely," Justin replied.
Chris studied the man he had hit with a baseball bat. "She's beautiful, and her name is Miranda," Chris said as he hugged the little girl to his chest. She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck.
"Hi, Miranda," Justin said. "Your Dad's very lucky to have you."
"Yes, yes I am," Chris replied. "You two still together?" Chris looked towards Brian as he said those words. Justin nodded. "Aren't you a little old to be out on Halloween?" he asked in his snide fashion.
Before either of them could answer, Gus came running up to them. "I'm tired, Dada. Can we go home now?"
"Excellent idea, Sonny Boy," Brian agreed.
"This is your son?" Chris asked with a frown.
"What's it to you?" Brian retorted.
"We have candy to collect," Chris said as he carried his daughter toward the house that Gus had just come from.
"You handled that ... well," Brian observed.
"Thanks," Justin said.
"I thought I might have to flatten him."
"Flatten who?" Gus asked.
"Nobody, Gus."
"I could help you flatten them, Dada," Gus volunteered.
"I know, Gus, but Justin handled it just fine without flattening anyone."
"That's good."
"Yes, it was very good," Brian agreed.
"Let's go home," Justin said.
"Yes, let's. I have a reward for someone who just made it through another rite of passage," Brian stated.
"Was it me, Dada?" Gus asked innocently.
"Both of you," Brian said.
"I like rewards," Gus said.
"Me too," Justin agreed as he linked his arm through Brian's.
Brian took Gus' hand and, without a look back at Chris Hobbs who was now merely part of the past, the three of them walked back towards Mel and Lindsay's, and into the next phase of their lives.
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