Fatherly Advice

Gus was sitting in the middle of English class, trying very hard to stay awake, when there was a knock on the classroom door. Mr. Ferguson went to the door and stepped out into the hall for a minute, then came back into the classroom.

“Gus, your mother needs to speak with you in the hall,” he said. Everyone turned and looked at him. Gus made a face, then walked out into the hall. Lindsay was standing there and she looked a little upset.

“What’s going on?”

“Gus, your grandma Marcus had a stroke. Momma and I need to go to Miami right away. As soon as you get out of school, go to your father’s. You still have a key, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Momma is calling him to let him know you’re coming. Just, go home and get some clothes and then go to his place. We’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“Why can’t I just stay home?”

“It’ll make us both feel a lot better if you stay with your father.”

“Fine.” Gus sighed. Lindsay kissed his cheek.

“I’ll call you when we know when we’re coming home, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Love you.” She then left. Gus sighed again before going back into the classroom, trying to ignore the snickers from his classmates.

“Hey, Gus. Wanna come with us to the mall?” Gus’ best friend Daniel asked as they left the building.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Gotta go to my Dad’s.”

“Why?”

“Because my mom’s are going out of town.”

“Why won’t they let you just stay home?”

“Would you trust a sixteen year old to behave himself at home alone?” Gus asked. Daniel thought about it for a minute, then shook his head.

“But wait a minute. Your dad doesn’t even get off work until six or seven. You told me so yourself.”

“From what mom said, he knows I’m coming so he’s probably gonna get off work early. I mean….he does own the company. I think the boss can leave whenever he fucking feels like it.”

“That’s true. God, this sucks.”

“Not that bad. Dad’s pretty cool. He lets me do a lot of stuff that my mom’s don’t.”

“That’s cool. So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, huh?”

“Yeah. I’ll call you tonight if I can do anything.”

“Okay, later Gus.”

“Later.” Gus got into the car his father gave him for his sixteenth birthday, then drove to the loft. Over the years Brian had bought the entire building, renovating it. He’d rented out the bottom floors, turning the third floor into Gus’ own private apartment. The only problem was that he had a staircase installed with a wide enough area around it that Gus couldn’t get away with hiding anything from his father. Since it had been a couple of months since the last time Gus stayed there, he had no food in the fridge so he went up to Brian’s place to get something to eat.

Once he was done eating, Gus decided to watch some TV. He looked at the clock and saw that it was almost four. He decided, before he went back down to his own place, to see when his dad might be coming home. He picked up the phone.

“Taylor-Kinney Advertising,” the woman said in greeting. While Gus had Brian’s private office line, he was strictly instructed to use it only in the case of an emergency.

“Hey, Meredith. It’s Gus.”

“Oh, hey Gus. Hold on a minute.” Gus was put on hold and transferred.

“Brian Kinney’s office,” Cynthia answered.

“Hey, Cyn. Is my dad around?”

“He’s in a meeting right now, what’s up?”

“Oh, I was just trying to see when he was gonna get home.”

“You’re at his place?”

“Yeah, but he knows already. At least, that’s what mom said. Anyway, any idea when he’s gonna be done?”

“Well, he’s got a dinner meeting tonight so it’s looking like not until around nine or so.”

“Okay, thanks, Cyn.”

“Anytime Gus.” She hung up and Gus smiled. He’d always thought Cynthia was hot, even if she was the same age as his moms. He always liked going to visit his dad at work because he could usually sit and talk to Cynthia for a while. Gus sighed and called Daniel, knowing that he had a few hours before he actually had to be there.

Around eight, Gus got home from hanging out with his friends at the mall. He looked in the parking garage to make sure his dad hadn’t gotten home before going and parking in front of the building. He decided to spend time up at his dad’s place. Brian told him that it always made him feel better to be able to see Gus when he came in the door.

Gus was sitting on the couch, totally bored, and started looking around. He noticed a wooden box he’d never seen before and went over to look at it. It was a pretty nice looking box and he wondered if his dad bought it since he was last there. Curiosity got the best of him and Gus opened the lid. His eyes went wide when he saw the contents of the box. There were all kinds of pills and packages of some kind of powder and other things that Gus didn’t recognize. One thing that he did recognize was the joint that was sitting right out in plain sight. He took it out and smiled. He and Daniel had smoked a joint before. Daniel had gotten it from his older brother.

Gus walked over and searched Brian’s desk for a lighter, finally coming up with one after a few minutes. He took a seat on the couch and lit up, taking a long toke and holding it before letting the smoke out. He smiled slightly as his whole body began to relax. Just as he was taking his second hit, the loft door slid open. Gus froze. His dad was home and he knew that he was in trouble. Since the joint was Brian’s, Gus was pretty sure he’d be able to recognize the smell so he decided there was no point in hiding it.

Brian walked over and stood behind the couch, looking down at his son. He noticed the joint in his hand and sighed. Brian reached out and took the joint from Gus. He then took a long drag, held his breath for a minute, released the smoke and handed the joint back to Gus. He looked at his son pointedly.

“Next time, ask me.” Then he walked off into the bedroom. Gus watched his father’s retreating back with eyes wide as saucers. He was certain that he was going to be in trouble and Brian hadn’t even so much as batted an eye. It was a few minutes later before Brian came out of the bedroom wearing only a pair of jeans.

“What are you doing here?” he asked his son.

“Momma didn’t call you?”

“Nobody called me.”

“Oh, well. Grandma Marcus had a stroke so they went to Florida. They told me to come stay with you until they got back,” Gus answered. Brian nodded and went into the kitchen to get a bottle of water before going to join his son on the couch. He took the joint and took another hit before handing it back.

“Don’t tell your moms about that,” he said indicating the joint with his head before taking a drink of water. Gus nodded before taking a hit himself.

“I don’t understand why I just can’t stay home by myself.” Gus was almost pouting.

“You still dating that cheerleader…..uh…..Missy or something like that?” Brian asked.

“Yeah, and her name is Melissa.”

“Well, that’s why.”

“What, they think I’d invite her over and fuck her until they got back?”

“Would you?” Brian asked with a raised eyebrow. Gus thought about it for a minute.

“The thought had crossed my mind.”

“Well, there you go.” Brian smirked and Gus laughed.

“Dad?”

“Yeah, sonny boy?”

“Why didn’t you get mad?” Gus asked after taking another hit off the joint.

“That you’re here?”

“No.” Gus handed the joint to his father.

“Oh, about the joint?”

“Yeah.”

“Well…..it’d be kind of hypocritical for me to get mad at you for doing something I do myself, wouldn’t it?” Brian asked.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Look, Gus. I was sixteen once too. It was a long time ago, but it did actually happen. Let me ask you this, if I told you not to smoke pot, would you listen?”

“Probably not.”

“Exactly. Besides, like I said. Why tell you not to do something that I do myself? It wouldn’t be right. Now, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t use drugs, but it’s your decision. And I’m glad you went for the joint instead of some of the other stuff I have in there.”

“I didn’t know what any of it was,” Gus admitted.

“And I’m very proud of the fact that you didn’t take something that you didn’t know what it was. That’s very responsible.” Brian said and Gus smiled.

“So you don’t care if I use drugs as long as I’m careful?”

“Just like with sex. I don’t care if you fuck your girlfriend as long as you’re safe about it. But, I will tell you this much. There are drugs that I don’t use that you shouldn’t either. I stay away from heroin and cocaine. And I stay away from crystal meth. So I think it’s okay to tell you not to do those, since I don’t."

“Okay.” Gus nodded. They were silent for a minute. “Dad?”

“Yeah.”

“How old were you the first time you had sex?”

“Fourteen.”

“Really?” Gus’ eyes went wide.

“Yup. That’s why I’m not giving you any lectures about ‘wait until you’re older’ like I know your moms have.”

“Yeah, they told me to wait until I’m married.”

“They love to play the double standard.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Lindsay was fifteen when she lost her virginity. She slept around a lot before she and Melanie got together. We even fucked a couple times.”

“So she’s telling me to do something that she didn’t do herself?”

“Exactly. She believes in the ‘I lived the mistakes before you came along so I can tell you what not to do’ theory. I think that’s bullshit. Live and learn, you know?”

“I think I like you a lot better than my moms,” Gus said with a smile.

“That’s only because you don’t live with me.” Brian smirked and Gus laughed.

“You going out tonight?” Gus asked. Brian shook his head.

“I’ve got some stuff I have to finish up, then I have an early meeting in the morning. Can’t stay out partying all night and still get up for work in the morning like I could when I was younger.” Brian sighed.

“You’re not old, dad. Just older,” Gus reassured his father.

“Thanks, sonny boy. That helps a lot.”

“Well, I’m gonna go do my homework and go to bed,” Gus said as he stood.

“Shouldn’t you have done your homework by now?” Brian asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, I should have. But it’s barely nine and it’s easy shit. I’ll be in bed by eleven no problem.”

“Okay. Night, Gus.”

“Night dad,” Gus said before heading down to his place for the rest of the night.

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