The Gus Diaries

Part 68

Wedding Plans
 

Ever since Jeff’s announcement that he’d be staying in town when he goes to college, I’d been flying high. I didn’t think anything could get me down. Even learning about Jeremy didn’t hamper my personal contentment. Apparently, he’d spent a lot of time with Hunter after their first meeting at the diner, and had already started at a new, legitimate job. They were also spending a lot of time working on Jeremy’s “issues” that needed to be dealt with -- some lingering from his days at Allegheny High.

But life at Britin was fabulous, as Uncle Emmett would say... at least I thought so until last weekend.

On Saturday night, Dad and Pop were hosting dinner with Grandma Jen, Tucker and Jeff. The objective for the evening was to complete the planning for Grandma and Tucker’s wedding. I still can’t believe my grandmother was finally getting married. I guess after living with Tucker for almost ten years, they realized that they wanted to have some real ties to each other.

Pop and I prepared most of the dinner as a team. Sharing the kitchen with Pop never got boring, especially since he was always experimenting and taught me that cooking could be an adventure for the palate to be shared with those we love. At first I thought that was really corny, but then I got to see it in action.

Dad even joined in by creating an aesthetically pleasing salad that was a blend of all sorts of colorful vegetables cut into bite-size pieces.

The whole experience was relaxing.

“Brian, can you go bring up a couple of bottles of that shiraz you bought for Christmas?”

“Do we still have any left? The way this family eats and drinks when they’re here, you’d think nothing had passed their lips until they came to our home.”

“I’m sure there are at least five or six more bottles. Stop whining, it’s not like we ran out of food.”

“Well, considering you always make enough for twice the amount of people attending, we just about got through with a few crumbs to spare.”

“I promise, we’ll never starve,” Pop smirked.

Dad poked Pop in the ribs eliciting a small shriek and then headed downstairs for the wine.

“You and Dad never seem like you get tired of each other.”

Pop kept stirring the sauce for the roast that was in the oven. “That’s because we don’t.”

“But after all these years, you’re still playful. It’s like you just met.”

Pop laughed, “Actually, Gus, it’s a shit-load better than when we just met.”

I smiled, remembering the stories about how Pop had to practically stalk Dad for awhile until he had his attention.

“You, two, have been living together for a long time.”

“Is that a question or a statement?”

I chuckled, “I guess a little bit of both. It’s kind of like Grandma and Tucker. They’ve lived together forever and are finally going to get married.”

“Your Dad and I almost got married about ten years ago. You were going to be the ring bearer.”

“I vaguely remember playing with Dad and these two little rings. We’d practice walking up and back in the living room of my old house in Pittsburgh. But that was before we left for Canada.”

“That’s right.”

“But you didn’t get married because you decided to go to New York City instead.”

“That’s basically it in a nutshell. Through a series of circumstances, it just wasn’t the right time. Fortunately, we remained close while I worked my ass off in New York to get my artwork recognized, and when it was the right time, I came back here to live with Brian.”

“Dad told me you had to twist his arm to make sure he knew that you hadn’t left permanently, and to insure he’d visit you whenever he could.”

Pop huffed, “He sure as shit didn’t make it easy.”

Just then Dad returned with the two bottles of wine. “No, I didn’t. But I am grateful that you can be an annoying pain in the ass.” Dad kissed Pop on the cheek.

“Pop didn’t let you off the hook.”

“Not for a fucking minute.” Dad paused a moment to fuss with the placement of a tomato on the salad. “He was constantly texting, instant messaging and calling me. He told me he wouldn’t stop until we had a schedule of visits in place.”

“But your father still didn’t trust our longevity.”

“Not until the money discussion.”

That got me curious. “What money discussion?”

“When Justin agreed that I could pay for him to visit me on the weekends I couldn’t come to see him, I knew he was serious about sticking like glue.”

“I had some issues with money and pride, but it was the only way to show Brian that I knew at some point the money would be combined, and it would be ours anyway.” Pop stopped stirring the sauce and took it off the burner. Then he went over to Dad and hugged him tight. “I never wanted to let Brian go. He was and is everything to me.”

The two of them stood there and kissed. Just as I was about to leave the room they stopped.

After all this talk about knowing they’d stay together, I became even more curious. “So why did it take you so long to marry once you came back?” Little did I know that I was opening a can of worms that should have been left sealed.

“Do you want to answer that?” Pop looked at Dad.

Dad rolled his lips inward. “I had already asked Justin to marry me, and it had fallen apart when he went to New York City. It took a long time for me to realize that he had no intention of making anything but Britin his permanent address.”

Pop looked at Dad. “Tell him everything.” I noted a slight change in their formerly loving demeanor.

“I might also have decided that it wasn’t worth all the trouble to get married, especially when it wouldn’t be recognized by either PA or West Virginia.”

“You mean you and Pop decided to wait until it was legal.”

Pop looked at me with a more serious face than he’d had before. “No, Gus, your father decided and simply informed me. It was exactly one year after we’d moved into Britin together, and I’d stored up the courage to ask him to marry me since he’d proposed the first time.”

I glared at Dad. “That was how you answered Pop’s proposal?”

“Yes, and it made sense at the time.”

Pop snorted, “To you, maybe, but not to me.” Pop looked at me as he started plating the food with my help. “It was apparent that I would no longer have the privilege of becoming Brian Kinney’s husband because it had gotten fucked up the first time.”

“But you’re married now. You got married a year and a half ago, right before I moved in.”

Dad looked at Pop, “He’s right, we did get married.”

Pop gazed at Dad, but I could see sadness in his eyes, “That’s right. As soon as it became legal in Pennsylvania, we got married, just like you wanted -- no real celebration, no recognition of all our years together -- just a simple moment in the judge’s chambers.”

“Your mother, Deb and Gus were all there.”

“And that’s everyone?” I could see Pop’s eyes getting moist, and I was beginning to realize where this was heading.

“Uhm, you guys, Grandma Jen will be here in a minute.”

Pop ran his sleeve across his face and dried his eyes. “Oh shit, you’re right. Let’s get this food out on the table. We have a long evening of business to attend. My mother and Tucker expect to be married in just over a month, and we promised to help.”

As we left the kitchen, I glanced back at Dad. He was thinking about something, and I noted a strange look on his face, something I rarely saw -- regret.
 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
 

Dinner was delicious and Pop and I both earned a wide array of compliments from everyone. Dad seemed a bit surprised that no one made any grand statements about his salad, so Grandma noted that it was quite lovely and tasted fresh. That seemed to cheer Dad.

Over dessert, while Jeff and I stayed fairly quiet, the other four began getting down to the business of planning Grandma and Tucker’s wedding. It had already been set for the evening of Valentine’s Day and would take place at Britin. Those two facts alone enabled the invitations to go out in a timely manner.

Now, it was time for the particulars. Tucker and Grandma had hired a Justice of the Peace, who was apparently gay-friendly, to perform the ceremony. Even though she and Tucker were straight, she didn’t want anyone involved in her wedding that would dare to throw a disapproving glance to the rest of the wedding attendees.

They weren’t going to have a massive amount of people, but since it was Tucker’s first marriage, it wasn’t to be a slipshod event. Apparently, Grandma respected the fact that Tucker wanted to celebrate their marriage.

As soon as the conversation began to lead in that direction, I tried to think of a way to get out of the room, but Jeff was still eating his dessert and listening too intently to the conversation. He didn’t notice the subtle signs I was trying to give him to leave the table.

Pop put on a great show of support, but after the earlier encounter in the kitchen, I could tell this topic was making it more difficult for him to remain unemotional.

“Mom, about how many guests are you expecting?”

“We’re inviting 100, but we expect only about 70 to attend. I think that works in your home, don’t you?”

“Absolutely, Mother Taylor.” Dad tried to lighten the mood, but he couldn’t help noticing Pop’s lack of enthusiasm despite his effort to seem excited and upbeat.

“Brian, I wish you wouldn’t call me that. You know how old it makes me feel. Why, if I were actually your mother, I would have been only...”

“Let’s not get into actual numbers here, Jennifer. I prefer to think of myself as young as your son.”

“Well, you certainly act it.” She smiled and touched Dad’s hand in a tender way. They really were great together. I figure it’s probably because, next to Grandma Deb, Grandma Jen is the closest thing Dad had to a parental figure that actually gave a shit about him.

“Thank you. I do feel as young as our little Sunshine.” Pop sent a combination of a smile and glare in Dad’s direction. “In that spirit of youth and exuberance, I’d like to make you and Tucker a proposition.”

“Brian, what are you doing?”

“Nothing terrible, Justin, relax.”

Tucker looked back and forth and Jeff held my hand under the table, sensing that there might be some drama ahead. “Okay, Brian, what kind of proposition would you like to offer us?”

“I drew this up a short time ago as a mock-up so to speak.” He handed Tucker and Grandma a piece of paper and Pop simply looked on, as confused as Jeff and I were.

“Oh, Brian,” Grandma was all smiles. “Justin, honey, this is such a wonderful idea. It could only add to our celebration.”

Tucker chimed in, “This is brilliant and should only add a few more people to the guest list.” Then he looked directly at Pop, “I know your Mom felt somewhat cheated when you, two, had such a quickie wedding with no fanfare, but this should make up for it in a big way.”

Pop finally grabbed the piece of paper and read it. I saw a huge smile suddenly creep across his face. He stood up from his chair, leaving the paper behind, sat on Dad’s lap straddling his legs while facing him and planted a kiss that was so intense, I was pretty sure all the rest of us were all blushing.

When Pop finally completed his obviously thorough exploration of Dad’s tonsils, he leaned back and looked directly at him. “Are you sure? Don’t do this just for me.”

“I’m sure. And doing things for you is one of the rare privileges I experience in life.”

“But, what about, Let’s just make it legal to protect ourselves?”

“We both know that our marriage is much more than that. We’re not just married to make it legal. We’re married for ALL the reasons that count.”

“I love you, Brian Kinney.” Then they started kissing again, and I couldn’t contain myself. I got up and snatched the paper from where Pop left it.

To add to the celebration of marriage, Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor will share in the joyful reception following Jennifer Taylor’s marriage to Tucker Ward, and toast their nuptials of the previous year. Commemorating their marriage with friends and family will add to the incomparable bliss that marriage has brought to their lives.

I guess even Dad can learn that he’s not always right, but he sure knows how to make up for it. After reading the “invitation” that would go out in the mail on Monday morning, Jeff whispered in my ear, “Your Dad has a real flair with words -- I think you’ve inherited his dramatic nature and his ability to make the one he loves happy.”

I smiled back, “I hope so.”
 

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