A Child's Needs

Part 3

Brian had been in a meeting with Ted and Cynthia about an upcoming ad campaign. His concentration was shot to hell; he couldn’t focus on what Cynthia was saying to him.

“Brian…Brian?”

“Yes, Cynthia.”

“Do you agree?”

“Um sure….wait, agree with what?”

“Brian what’s going on? You’re not in this meeting at all. The presentation is next week and we need to agree on the final boards.”

“Yeah Bri, what’s up?” Ted asked. It was unlike Brian not to be on course with a meeting. He took his company very serious and was always at the top of his game

“Nothing Ted,” Brian snapped. “Listen, just leave them here and I’ll look them over and get back to you.”

Cynthia rose from her seat and gave Brian a curious look. Something was going on but she knew asking Brian would lead to no where. If he wanted her to know he would tell her. She glanced at Ted; he rose as well and followed Cynthia out of Brian’s office.

Cynthia stopped in the doorway and turned around to Brian. “Brian, I need something by tomorrow so I can prepare my pitch.”

“Yeah, you’ll have it,” Brian said without looking up.

As Cynthia and Ted left the office, Brian sat back in his chair thinking about the Petersons. The more he thought about them the angrier he became.  Leaving all rationale behind him, Brian grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the office, walking past Cynthia without saying a word.

“Brian, where are you going?”

“Out,” Brian shouted over his shoulder.

Brian drove his jeep like a man on a mission. He was angry and pissed off and wanted to confront the reason for the new upset in his life. He pulled up in front of the Peterson home, walked up to the front door and rung the door bell. Nancy Peterson opened the door.

“What are you doing here?”

“I want to know what kind of game you’re playing here,” Brian said

“I have nothing to say to you.” Mrs. Peterson tried to shut the door, but Brian placed his foot in the way to stop her. He pushed the door open wider and stepped into the foyer.

“I think you better leave. I will not be harassed by you in my home.”

“I’m not harassing you. I just want answers. What lies have you told Child Welfare?”

“Excuse me Mr. Kinney, I don’t lie; I speak the truth. My grandson’s well being is at risk living with the likes of you and the sooner he is away from you and your disgusting lifestyle the better.”

“Hmm, disgusting is it? Your daughter was a part of this *disgusting lifestyle* as you put it. Gus didn’t seem to suffer any from that.”

“My daughter loved her child and took good care of him. I may not have approved of her choice of …of p-partners, but she was still my daughter. I loved her and Gus regardless of Lindsay’s poor choices.”

“Lindsay’s choices? Her poor choices? Gus was Lindsay choice; does he fall under the poor choices category?”

“Of course not. Gus is the best thing that has come from all of this, and I will not sit back and watch you ruin his life. He belongs here with his family; not with someone who never wanted him to begin with.”

“Lady, you don’t know what I wanted. You don’t know a damn thing. But I will tell you this. You will not take my son.” Brian spoke quietly and concisely before turning and walking out of the Peterson’s home.

Mrs. Peterson slammed the door behind him. Brian walked back to his jeep and just drove. He found himself pulling up in front of his old loft. He had kept the loft as a place to get away if things became too hectic. He hadn’t been back there in a couple of weeks.

Brian parked his jeep in front of his old building on Tremont Street. He got out of the jeep, punched in the code on the downstairs door and went up to his old home.  The loft smelled freshly cleaned. Brian’s cleaning lady still came to the loft once a week to dust and air it out.

Brian whipped off his jacket, toed off his shoes and walked around the loft barefoot. The loft was the first major purchase Brian made that was truly his and he did not have the heart to sell it; at least not yet. He sat down on his Italian leather sofa and placed his feet up on his Mies Vander Rohe coffee table and tried to relax. He glanced at the clock on the wall and smirked. It wasn’t even noon yet, and Brian was ready for the day to end.

Justin was having an equally unsettling day. He was late for his Monday morning staff meeting, and as much as he tried to focus on his other cases, his mind kept going back and forth on the argument he had with Daphne and a pair of unforgettable hazel eyes.

He was once again trying to focus on the file in front of him when his boss came and stood in the office doorway.

“Justin what’s going with you lately?” Matt asked.

“Matt, I apologize for being late to the meeting. I was reading over some files and lost track of time.”

“That’s unlike you, but I can understand that. What I can’t understand is you missing field visits. Mrs. Gonzales called to see what happened to you on Saturday afternoon. She said you had an appointment and Tommy was very upset when you didn’t show.”

“Shit, shit, shit. I totally forgot,” Justin sighed. “Damn, I promised Tommy I would come by and take him to see his sisters.”

“Well he was very upset by it. Mrs. Gonzales said he left the house and didn’t come back until the next day. When she asked him where he was, he refused to tell her. If he keeps this up we may have to place him else where.”

“Tommy likes it with Mrs. Gonzales, he just misses his sisters. We need to find a foster home where they can be together.”

“Justin we tried…you tried. We were lucky to keep the girls together.  I can’t you have missing appointments. Are you over loaded with cases? Maybe you need some time off. I don’t think you have taken a vacation in quite sometime.”

“Matt I’m fine; the appointment just slipped my mind.” Justin thought for a moment. “Tommy gets out of school at 2:00. I’ll go meet him and take him to see his sisters.”

“Justin that’s up to you, but just make sure you’re not neglecting any of your other cases.” Matt left the office and Justin went to the file cabinet and pulled Tommy’s file.

Tommy Marlowe was an inner city kid that Justin’s heart went out to from the moment he met him nearly two years ago. He was tough on the outside but extremely sensitive on the inside 12 year old that had to grow up fast to protect his two younger sisters from their abusive alcoholic mother. It took awhile for Justin to remove them from their mother’s home and place them in foster care. Unfortunately he could not place them all together. So they would not loose touch, whenever Justin could get the chance he would take Tommy to visit his sisters.

Over the past two years Tommy had grown to trust Justin; one of the few adults he would trust. He started to confide in Justin, little by little.  It was a few months ago when Tommy began asking Justin questions about sex and feelings towards girls. Justin wanted to be honest with Tommy so he told him he was gay. The reaction he received from Tommy was a lot different than what he expected.

Tommy was relieved. His eyes welled up with tears at the thought of having someone who would understand what he was feeling. Tommy always felt he was different, but as he got older he knew what those feelings were. He told Justin about his fears that if the other kids found out about him, he would be in trouble. Justin was worried too. The crowd that Tommy hung around with was bad news.

Justin finished up some work on his desk and at 1:30 left his office to go to Tommy’s school.

He pulled up in front of the school just as it was letting out. He got out of his car and walked around to lean against the passenger side so that Tommy would see him when he left the building.

Tommy walked out with another boy. Justin smiled when he saw him. Tommy was such a handsome boy. He was African American and had the most beautiful cocoa brown skin. His naturally wavy hair was getting really long; Justin felt it was time for a haircut.

Tommy saw Justin right away, but stood talking to his friend. His friend also noticed Justin standing near the car.

“Yo T, that’s that the white boy you be hanging with.”

“Yeah I see him.”

“Look likes he’s waiting on you.”

“Yeah, well he can wait.”

Tommy glanced in Justin’s direction again. Justin knew Tommy would be upset with him, but he intended to wait as long as it took.

“T man I have get going. I’ll catch up with you tonight. We are all meeting back here.”

“Okay, see you tonight.”  Tommy turned and walked toward Justin.

“What are you doing here?” He said once he was in hearing distance.

“I came to apologize and take you to see your sisters.”

“What happened to you Saturday?”

“I forgot, I honestly forgot and I’m so sorry.” Just stepped away from the passenger door and opened it for Tommy to get in. He walked around and got into the drivers side.

“So do you forgive me?” Justin asked as they pulled away from the curb.

“I guess, but don’t fuck up again.”

“Hey, what have a told you about language?”

“You told me to use it correctly. I think fuck was used accurately in that sentence,” Tommy said facetiously.

“Tommy,” Justin warned.

“Alright, no swearing.”

“Thank you. Now do you care to tell why you left your foster home and stayed out all night on Saturday?”

“I was upset.”

“Okay, where did you go?”

“I was with friends.”

“Tommy just be careful okay? I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tommy said out loud, but he smiled to himself. He like the fact that Justin worried about him.

Justin took Tommy to the foster home where his sisters were staying. They were so happy to see their big brother. Justin allowed them to visit for awhile before he had to take Tommy back home.

“Tommy, let Mrs. Gonzales know that I’ll call her to reschedule our meeting.”

“Okay,” Tommy said as he got out of the car.

“And Tommy, promise me no more hanging out all night.”

Tommy diverted his gaze from Justin’s as he made a promise he knew he wasn’t going to keep.

It was almost five when Justin dropped Tommy off. He figured that since this was his day of apologies, he should head over to Daphne’s class and make amends with her as well.

 *****

Justin walked into the daycare apprehensively, unsure of what Daphne’s reaction was going to be. He hadn’t spoken to her since she stormed out of his apartment on Saturday. He knew he had to make things right between them again. She was his best friend and the only one he had in his life that he could count on. Even though it had only been a couple of days, he missed her already.

He saw Daphne in the corner trying to get what appeared to be paint out of the rug and could tell by the silence that the children had to be in the other room with one of the other workers. Justin was happy to have a few minutes alone with his friend.

“Hey Daphne,” Justin said softly.

“What do you want, Justin? I’m busy,” Daphne replied coldly.

“I guess you’re still mad at me?”

“You’re damn right I am. Look Justin, I don’t usually get involved in your work but this time I can’t just keep my mouth shut. Not when I know you’re after Brian. I don’t know where you got your information from, but whoever told you that Brian is a bad father lied.”

“How can you be so sure? Maybe Brian is the one that’s lying. Everyone always thought Craig was a good father, too, but we knew differently, didn’t we?” Justin said sarcastically.

Daphne softened at the reminder of what her friend suffered through as a child. “Yes, we did, but Brian is not Craig. I’ve been caring for Gus for over two years now, Justin. I was there when his mothers died and I saw the carefree spirit leave him as he began to withdrawal. My heart broke for the boy and all I wanted to do was make everything better for him. But then gradually he started to heal. The care that his father gave him has made him become the little boy that I used to know. Brian can’t fake that, Justin. No one can,” Daphne explained gently.

“But you haven’t heard the things I’ve heard about him, Daph. The stories about his reputation down on Liberty Avenue,” Justin tried again.

“I know all about it, Justin. Lindsay and I were very close. She was always helping out here, chaperoning our trips and coming to our parties. We talked a lot and one day she told me all about the father of her son. She knew how he was, knew about his lifestyle, yet she still wanted him to be the father. Why do you think that is?”

“Because he was willing to donate his sperm and walk away without looking back?” Justin offered.

“No, you shit. Because she knew that deep down Brian would love his son and always be there for him if he was needed. She always said she was the only one who could see past Brian’s exterior and see the real him, and she was right. I’ve seen Brian and Gus interacting for months now and there’s no doubt that they love each other.” Daphne was interrupted when Gus raced through the door.

“Miss Daphne, look what I made for Daddy,” the little boy called out with pride.

“Gus, remember our talk about running in the classroom?” she reminded him gently. “Now let me see what you’ve got.”

Gus was distracted by the sight of Justin standing there. “You’re the man that was at my house the other day.”

“That’s a good memory you’ve got there, Kiddo. My name’s Justin,” Justin replied with a smile.

“What are you doing at my school?”

“Well, Miss Daphne is my friend and I came to say hello,” Justin explained.

“Oh…okay. Do you want to see the picture I made for my Daddy? It’s a picture of me and Daddy at the park with my mommies watching over us. They’re angles now,” Gus said matter-of-factly.

Justin was saddened by the little boy’s words. “Wow Gus, that’s a great picture. I bet you father will love it.”

“He always tells me that I’m going to be an artist, just like my mommy,” Gus beamed.

“I’m sure you will, Gus. Now why don’t you go finish cleaning up? Your Dad should be here any minute,” Daphne ordered gently. Once he was gone, she turned back to her friend. “Does that look like a child that has been mistreated?”

“Daph…”

“Justin, just listen to me for a second. I know you can’t just ignore the complaints that are filed. Just promise me one thing, okay? Promise me that you will really look at the situation before doing anything rash. I guarantee you that Gus is being raised by a kind and loving father; regardless of the life he used to live,” Daphne said confidently.

Justin sighed, knowing that Daphne would never interfere if she didn’t believe that she was right. “Alright Daphne, I promise. Does this mean you’re not mad at me anymore?”

“Oh please Taylor, when have I ever been able to stay mad at you?” she chuckled.

Justin smiled at her words. It was true. They had been friends for so long that no matter what happened between them, they would always be there for each other.

*****

After leaving the loft Brian stopped at the deli across the street from the building and grabbed a quick lunch that he ate in the park next door. He stayed there for awhile before heading back to the office and focusing on running his business. Before he knew it, the day was over and it was past time for him to go pick up Gus.

Brian walked down the hallway towards Gus’ classroom. He knew he was running late and most likely Gus would be the last one to be picked up. He heard Daphne talking to someone as he came closer to the door, and figured she was speaking with another parent. Brian stopped short when he walked in the room and saw her talking with the one person he had been trying to get out of his mind all day today.

“What the f…”

“Mr. Kinney,” Daphne said cutting him off mid sentence. “The kids.”

Brian glanced around quickly. There were a couple of children left to be picked up, but they were preoccupied with what ever project they were finishing up. This included Gus. He had not even noticed that his father had arrived yet. Brian walked closer to Justin.

“What are you doing here?” He asked. His voice was low and calm, but the look in his eyes left know room for doubt. Brian Kinney was pissed.

“I came to see Daphne. She’s a friend of mine.”

Brian looked from Justin to Daphne. “How convenient that you happen to be friends with my son’s teacher.”

“We were friends long before she was your son teacher. And as for everything else, Mr. Kinney I’m just doing my job. I did not randomly choose you; a complaint was filed against you, and it is my job to look into it,” Justin said, suddenly on the defensive.

“Well as you can see, my son is in one piece; no bruises or broken bones.” Brian snarled.

 Justin glanced over at Gus. “That’s on the surface. Abuse and scars are not always seen on the surface,” he said solemnly.

Brian looked at Justin curiously. “Trust me; I am quite aware of that.”  Brian unintentionally said out loud. He knew about emotional scars below the surface first hand. Growing up in the Kinney household was a living hell. But the way Justin spoke just now made Brian wonder if he endured first hand knowledge as well.

The two men stood and stared at one another as if in a silent stand off. Daphne noticed the look.

Just then Gus looked up from his project and noticed his father in the front of the room.

“Daddy,” he squealed as he raced over for a hug.

Brian broke eye contact with Justin and squatted down to take his son in his arms. “Hey Sonny Boy, how was your day?”

“Good Daddy.”

“Great, get your stuff together so we can head home.” Brian stood up as Gus ran to collect his things. He glanced at Justin and found the blonde was watching him as well.

“Ready Daddy,” Gus said happily. “Bye Miss. Daphne; bye Mr. Justin.”  Gus took his father hand and they started to leave when Gus stopped them.

 “Daddy you didn’t say good bye,” Gus whispered.

“Oh, um… good bye Daphne, see you tomorrow.” Brian turned to Justin and nodded his head. “Taylor.”

“See you tomorrow Gus, goodnight Mr. Kinney.”

Justin didn’t say anything as he watched father and son leave the classroom.

Justin left the daycare thinking about all that Daphne had said as well as the look in Brian’s eyes when he claimed to know about emotional scars. When he arrived back at his apartment he made something to eat and then sat at his computer trying to concentrate on the work before him. The only problem was that he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Brian and Gus. His mind was conflicted as he thought about the case. Daphne was so sure that Brian was a good father to Gus, but could he ignore the Peterson’s complaint? Was it possible that the whole thing was just a case of grandparents trying to get custody of their grandson at any cost?

Glancing at the clock, Justin saw that it was already after eight. Gus was bound to be in bed already. Maybe he would make a visit to Brian and try talking to him one on one. Twenty minutes later he was knocking on Brian’s front door.

“What are you doing here?” Brian asked as he saw Justin standing on his doorstep.

“I came here to talk to you for a moment without Gus around. He is in bed by now, right?” Justin asked nervously, taking in the domestic look of Brian standing there with a dishtowel thrown over his shoulder.

“No, I let him stay up all night and watch cartoons,” Brian replied sarcastically. “Of course he’s in bed. He’s only four years old and its 8:30 at night.”

Justin ignored Brian’s tone. “Is it alright if I come in?”

“Whatever,” Brian replied dryly as he stood back and let Justin enter the house.

Once the door was closed, Brian wordlessly walked back into the kitchen to finish the dishes, knowing that Justin would follow. He picked up where he left off, drying the dishes in the drain board.

“You’re doing the dishes?” Justin asked.

“Yeah, is that a problem? I don’t usually start them until after Gus has gotten his bath and gone to bed. I don’t get to see him enough as it is during the week. I don’t want to waste all my time at the sink,” Brian admitted softly.

Brian’s admission touched Justin deeply. He thought back to the days when his father would be telling him once again how worthless he was while his mother stood at the sink doing the dishes and ignoring the hurtful words directed at her son.

“I understand,” Justin replied quietly.

“I’m assuming there’s a reason for this visit?”

“Yeah, I wanted to explain about me being at Gus’s school. Daphne and I have been friends since we were little. She was over at my apartment on Saturday and caught a glimpse of your file. I never tell her about the cases I’m working on, but she put two and two together. She laid into me about you and what a good father you are. When I refused to just drop the case she stormed out. I was there today to apologize and make up. It had nothing to do with Gus,” Justin explained honestly.

“Okay,” Brian replied.

“I just didn’t want you to think that I was sneaking around. I mean, I have a right to supervise Gus at anytime to insure his safety, but that wasn’t the reason for my visit.”

“Okay,” Brian said once again.

Justin could sense Brian’s animosity and suddenly felt foolish for stopping by.

“Well, I guess I better go.”

Brian finished the dishes and showed Justin to the door, anxious to get the blond out of his home.

“Brian,” Justin said forgoing formalities at this point. “For what it’s worth, none of this is personal. I have a job to do and the only thing I care about is making sure the children are protected. Nothing else matters,” Justin said as he walked through the door.

“Despite my unusual upbringing and everyone’s lack of confidence in me, I’m a damn good father and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my son. Good night Justin,” Brian replied, surprising both himself and Justin before closing the door.

Justin stared at the closed door for a moment before walking away, wondering if maybe the first impression he had gotten of Brian was way off base.

*****

Justin left the office late Thursday evening. He had enough work on his desk to stay there a few mores hours, but he knew he was spreading himself thin. No sooner had he walked in his front door, his house phone rang.  Justin closed the door behind him and went to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Justin, its Daphne.”

“Hey Daph, I just walked in. Can I call you back?” Justin asked as he placed the file he was carrying on the counter.

“Actually this will only take a minute. I need a huge favor from you.”

“Okay.”

“I’m taking the kids on a field trip to the zoo tomorrow, and one of my parents backed out last minute. I need another adult to accompany me. Right now there are three adults and state regulations say that I need one more. Say yes, please say yes.”

“If I said no?” 

“I would have to cancel the trip and have a whole lot of extremely upset 4 and 5 year olds to deal with. And I know you wouldn’t want to disappoint the kids.”

“Alright Daph, I’ll do it. My boss has been on my back to take a day off as it is. I have no field visits tomorrow so you caught me at a good time.”

“Great Justin, thank you. The school bus will at the school at 9:30 am and we are leaving at 10:00 am. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright, good night Daphne.”

Justin hung up with Daphne and went in to the kitchen to fix dinner before taking a shower when a thought occurred to him. He could use tomorrow as an opportunity to observe Gus and how he behaves when his father is not around. Daphne said there would be two other parents helping out. Justin knew Brian wouldn’t be one of them. There was no way in hell someone like Brian Kinney would chaperone a field trip to the zoo; especially if he had to ride on a yellow school bus. The image of Brian riding a school bus caused Justin to laugh out loud.

“Hell would freeze over before that would happen,” Justin said out loud to himself.

The next morning Justin woke early and called his boss to let him know he was taking a vacation day. Matt was not in the office yet, so Justin left a message on his voice mail. He ate a quick breakfast and sat at his desk to look over the foster home availability list. He was still trying to find a home that would take Tommy and his sisters so that they could be together. Justin rescheduled his appointment with Mrs. Gonzales. He still felt terrible for missing it. Looking up from his file, he glanced at the clock and was shocked to see it flashing 9:45am.

“Shit Daphne is going to kill me.” Justin got up quickly and grabbed a notepad and pencil out of habit and headed downstairs to his car. He arrived in front of the school with three minutes to spare. Daphne was standing in front of the bus looking very upset.

“You’re late.”

“No, it’s only 9:57. You said you were leaving at 10:00.”

“Just get on the bus,” Daphne sighed. She stepped up on the bus pulling Justin behind her.

Justin walked behind Daphne towards an empty seat near the front of the bus. He was about to sit when he felt a tingling on the back of his neck. Justin turned around and locked eyes with a pair beautiful but slightly surprised hazel eyes. He knew his face showed his surprised as well to see Brian Kinney sitting next to his son on a big yellow school bus. Justin broke eye contact and slid in the seat next to Daphne. She felt his body shiver as if chilled.

“Hey are you cold? I can have them turn the A/C down.”

“No it’s not the A/C.” Justin said more to himself than to Daphne. “Its hell freezing over.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.” Justin knew it was going to be a long day.

*****

Brian was shocked to see the blond walk on the bus with Daphne. His first thought was that the man was stalking them, waiting for Brian to screw up so that he could take his son away, but then he thought about the other night. Justin had made a special trip over to the house to explain about his friendship with Daphne. Maybe there was another reason for his presence? Brian shook those thoughts out of his head. Whatever the reason, there was no way Brian was going to let Justin ruin his day. He was there to spend the day with his son and nothing was going to keep him and Gus from enjoying their day together.

When they arrived at the zoo a short time later, Daphne quickly broke the kids down in groups of five and assigned each chaperone a group to look after. Brian took the lead and steered “his” group through the entrance. He just hoped he was able to handle five four year olds at one time.

Justin waited until Daphne was done organizing the groups before he approached her.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Brian Kinney was one of the chaperones?”

“What difference does it make? I needed someone here and didn’t have anyone else to call,” Daphne replied innocently.

“Daph, I went over to his house the other night to make sure he understood that I wasn’t spying on him and his son at the center. He’s never going to believe that I didn’t set this up on purpose,” Justin explained.

“So? Justin, you’re allowed to show up unannounced to observe father and son, right? What do you care what he thinks?”

‘Good question,’ Justin thought to himself. The most important person is Gus; not Brian and what he thought. “You’re right. What time are we meeting back here for lunch?”

“Around noon. And thanks again, Justin. You’re a life saver,” Daphne replied with a smile.

“I know,” Justin teased before turning his attention to his group. “Alright kids, let’s go see some animals.”

A little over an hour later, Justin realized that even though he had spent his time watching Brian interact with Gus, it had nothing to do with the case. He was surprised at the change in Brian while he was with his son. It was almost as if he was a different person around the boy. He didn’t have the attitude that oozed from him when Gus wasn’t around and Justin liked what he was seeing. Deciding that he needed to start focusing on the animals and not on Brian, he turned his attention to the Tigers and jumped slightly when he heard a voice behind him.

“Enjoying the show?” Brian asked sarcastically. He had felt Justin watching him since they entered the zoo over an hour ago.

“Huh? You mean the Tigers?” Justin asked in confusion.

“No, I meant me. I could feel your eyes burning a hole through me since we got here. I would think that you would’ve been a little less obvious about spying on us,” Brian replied dryly.

“Oh…no…it’s not what you think,” Justin tried to explain.

“I think you’re trying to come up with anything you can to prove that I’m the monster that the Peterson’s claim me to be.”

“Look Brian, I told you before that it’s nothing personal,” Justin began, only to be cut of by Brian’s reply.

“Taking my son away from me is as personal as it gets. And as for chaperoning my son’s class trip to get closer to us? That’s just totally fucked.” Brian’s voice was kept low so the children wouldn’t hear him, but it still held all the anger he was feeling.

“I didn’t plan this little trip. Daphne called me last night at home. She had one of the parents back out at the last minute. Unless she found someone to take her place she was going to have to cancel the trip completely, and she didn’t want to hurt the kids.” Justin wasn’t sure why he was explaining himself once again to Brian. As a social working, he had the right to investigate however he saw fit.

“Just stay the fuck away from me,” Brian mumbled before waking away.

“That went well,” Justin said quietly, returning his attention back to the kids.

Daphne stood back and watched the interaction between Brian and Justin and wondered what she could do to call a truce between them. It was in Brian’s best interest, as well as Justin’s if they got along, but there was some kind of underlying tension that had her confused. She watched Brian walk away and decided to do what she did best and stick her nose in where it didn’t belong. She easily ushered her group along until they had caught up to Brian so she could have a little chat with him.

“Hey Mr. Kinney, having fun?” she asked as she stood beside him.

“Daphne, please call me Brian, and actually I am having fun. I don’t think I’ve ever been to the zoo before,” Brian replied with a smile.

“You’ve never been to the zoo? Didn’t your parents ever bring you when you were young?” Daphne was sure that every kid had been to the zoo with their parents. Even Justin’s parents had taken him.

Brian gazed out that the children before answering. “My parents weren’t the typical parents. We didn’t do family trips.”

Daphne noticed the coldness in Brian’s eyes as he replied and decided to change the subject.

“Well, thanks again for helping out today. Sadly, there isn’t nearly enough parental participation anymore, which is why Justin’s here. If he hadn’t agreed to help out I was going to have to cancel the trip. The state has these regulations regarding the number of adults needed on class trips. He’s such a sweetheart for coming,” she explained, watching for Brian’s reaction.

“Yeah, he’s a real sweetheart, alright,” Brian agreed bitterly.

“Listen, I know that the situation between you and Justin is a little tense right now, but believe me, he’s only doing his job. He wants to save children from living through the hell he endured as a child.” Daphne didn’t realize until it was too late that she had said too much.

“What hell did he go through?” Brian asked, his curiosity rising.

“Damn! I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s not my story to tell. Let’s just say that his childhood was much less than perfect. His parent’s took him to the zoo, but only because it was expected of them through the country club set: the Taylor’s always did what was expected of them. I better go check on the other moms and see how their making out. Thanks again for your help, Mr. Kin... I mean Brian.” Daphne walked away wondering if her little slip was a good thing or not.

Brian spent the rest of the day thinking about what Daphne had said about Justin and his parents. It sounded like he and the blond had more in common than he had originally thought, but it didn’t matter. As long as Justin was intent on proving him to be an unfit parent, he would always be the enemy.

End of part 3

8/17/04

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