Across the Pond
Chapter 6
“Brian, we should tell Bree,” Justin commented as they were walking up the lane hand in hand toward the conjoined cottages.
“Gus too,” said Brian. They were almost home when Brian’s cell phone buzzed. “Speak of the devil,” said Brian as he looked at the caller ID.
“Answer it; I’ll speak with Bree and get Gus’ room ready for Peter,” said Justin. Justin was about to take off when Brian pulled him back into a strong embrace.
“Hold on, Gus,” Brian quickly said as he poured his heart, soul, and gratitude into a deep kiss. “Thank you,” Brian whispered. “Love you,” he softly said.
“Love you,” Justin whispered back before sprinting home.
“Eww, Pop, get a room,” Gus teased when he realized what they were doing.
Brian sat on one of the rescued Liberty Avenue benches that dotted the edge of the lane. “Gus, I have to talk to you.”
“Dad?” Gus asked with concern, hearing the serious tone of his father’s voice.
“It’s Michael,” Brian began then continued to brief his son on the latest family crisis.
“Dad, should I tell JR?”
“No, that’s not your responsibility; the Moms will do it, at least that’s what Mel said. After all the bullshit your sister and Jacq had to go through to get married, they deserve a carefree honeymoon.”
“Agreed. Dad, uh…”
“Spit it out.”
“Michael, he wasn’t always nice,” Gus revealed.
“Did he hurt you?” Brian growled.
“No, never, but it’s like I was invisible. He pretended to dote on JR while ignoring me. Even when we got older. It didn’t really bother me but it bothered JR. One time she let it slip that she wished he was more like you.”
“Like me?”
“Yeah. You never discriminated.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dad, you always thought you were a bad father, you never were. Anytime JR was with us, you treated her just like she was yours. You spoke to her like you spoke to us and you never talked down to any of us. You’ve always included her in our lives whenever you had a chance. Uncle John does the same. Pop, you’re best father a kid could ever have.”
The adman had no words.
“Pop, I gotta go but check your emails. The German gallery is itching to get a hold of as many small paintings as we can send. Not minis but small, like 8 x 10 small.”
“Okay, I’ll get on it with your Mom, Charles, and Simone,” said Brian.
“And, Pop, remember school is done soon. You need to bring everyone over here. Remember, we have a very large beautiful home with lots of empty rooms that can be filled with lots of family. And Justin deserves to play in his new studio. Hudson and Cook are looking forward to taking care of you all.”
“You mean looking forward to bossing us around.”
“That too,” Gus said with a laugh. “Maybe try to get Ben to come over. If upstairs gets too crowded, he can stay with us. We have a guest room and know how to use it,” Gus declared.
“Okay, Sonny Boy, you’ve made your point. New gallery needs paintings, new house needs people. I’m on it.”
“And Pop, you did good this morning. Give yourself a break, okay?”
“Okay,” Brian promised. “Love you, Sonny Boy and that man of yours.”
“Love you too. Give Bree a squish for me and say hi to Jus.”
“You got it. We’ll see you soon.”
“And you don’t lie,” Gus quipped as he hung up.
Brian took a deep breath before getting up and heading toward his cottage. Just as he did, John came jogging over.
“I thought you’d be halfway to Pittsburgh by now,” Brian commented.
“Carl and I had to convince Debbie that grabbing a handful of questionable underwear and shoving it into a plastic bag does not constitute packing for several weeks.”
The brothers exchanged a look.
“I also convinced them to take a few minutes to sit down with Peter and explain what’s happening. Just so he knows this has nothing to do with him and he’s not being abandoned,” said John.
Brian nodded. “How did he take it?”
“Quite well. He’s never been very talkative, but he asked if he could help in any way. Carl asked him to look after their cottage, give it a good dusting, look after the garden, that sort of thing.”
“Bree and Ashley will help,” Brian added.
“I’m sure they will,” said John as he gave Brian a bear hug. “Go take care of the family and the lane. You should be preparing for your trip.”
“Gus told me the same thing.”
“Did he? Smart boy that kid of yours, just like his old man. Just know that you did good this morning and it’s not all on you. We have a very large extended family, with a lot of eyes in the hospital and in the neighborhood. You have other priorities,” John said with the authority of the older brother.“No arguments.”
“Message received and heard,” said Brian. Brian gave his brother a salute then a fierce hug. He waved to Bobby as he was loading up their SUV then headed toward his home.
*****
“About time you came home,” Emmett called out from the kitchen as Brian came through the front door.
“When did you get here?” Brian asked.
“A little while ago. I used the back path,” Emmett explained.
“Where is everyone?” Brian asked as he stuck his head into the fridge then brought out his favorite juice.
“Setting the table,” said Emm as was making a huge salad. Brian arched a brow. “Bobby told me to raid their refrigerator first. Waste not, want not, as my Mama used to say.” Emmett gave Brian a toothy grin.
“Do I have time for a shower,” asked Brian. He finished off his juice then rinsed out his glass.
“Of course you do. Take your time,” said Emm. Brian nodded then retreated to his sanctuary, otherwise known as the master bedroom. “Brian, you really did good today and don’t you forget it,” Brian heard Emmett say.
Once in the master bedroom, Brian felt his ears decompress. He stripped off his clothes, letting them lie where they fell as he walked into the bathroom. Turning in the shower, he stepped in and allowed the tepid water to sluice over his tired body. Brian began to soap himself up as the water eased his tensions. He felt two strong hands circle his waist then slowly move upward to take his sponge. Quickly adjusting the water temperature to accommodate his mate, Brian then turned within Justin’s arms, giving himself over to Justin’s ministrations.
They made love several times under spray, taking turns to wash each other between rounds until the water almost ran cold. When they finished, Brian felt like himself again and ready to take on the next crisis if needed.
“Dinner’s waiting if you’re ready,” said Justin as he dressed. Brian helped him dry off the thick blond mane.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Brian quipped as he tossed the towel into the bathroom then got dressed.
Appropriately dressed, the boys joined the family in the sunporch.
“Dada!” Bree called out as she gave her elder father a strong hug. Brian hugged back, pecking the blond head. “You’ve had a day, haven’t you,” Bree said looking up into Brian’s eyes.
“Yup, but you just made it all better,” Brian said as he smiled lovingly at his daughter. Her bright sunny smile healed his soul. Before taking his seat at the table, Brian gave Peter a hug and whispered some encouraging words. Peter smiled shyly at him.
Looking around, Brian noticed two people missing. “We appear to be shy of one rolling therapist and one professor,” Brian announced as he passed the vegetables.
“Here I am,” Glen stated loudly as he let himself in through the sunporch door. He paused as he inhaled the enticing aromas of dinner.
“Someone’s hungry,” Brian said, hearing a loud rumble.
“Yeah, well, you try babysitting a six foot something brooding gorilla,” said Glen as he deftly rolled himself closer to his spouse then helped himself to the bounty on the table. “It’s hungry work.”
“Ignore him, he gets grumpy when his stomach’s empty,” Alex said by way of an excuse. Brian waved it away.
“I’ve had years of experience with rumbling stomachs,” Brian said as he ignored the scowl on Justin’s face.
The conversation sort of went downhill from there with everyone comparing their “hungry” stories, trying to outdo their neighbor in typical friendly competition. The mood was uplifted with every new story told. They had just about finished dinner and were getting ready for some of Rachel’s pies when Ben came through the door.
“Brian, I want to go to Paris!”
*****
JR and Jacq walked along the street in front of their hotel. They were retracing their steps from before with the intention of having dinner at the little restaurant that the man had promised would make them a fine French meal.
“I hope this trek is worth it,” Jacq grumbled.
JR gave her a slap on the arm. “It’s not that far,” JR told her.
“I know but we’ve done a lot of walking the last couple of days.”
“Yeah, I guess we have,” JR admitted, “but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Have you?”
Jacq was silent for a minute and JR began to wonder if she was going to say ‘no’. “I’ve loved every minute of it,’ Jacq finally said. “The best part was doing it all with you. I can hardly believe it’s almost over.”
JR looked at her wife with love in her eyes. “You know, it doesn’t have to be over.”
“What? You want to stay longer?” asked Jacq.
“Well, not exactly,” JR said cryptically. “Here’s the restaurant,” she said as they saw the same man who had accosted them standing outside his premises.
“Mademoiselles,” he said with a charming smile.
“Jacques, wasn’t it?” JR asked.
“You remembered me,” he said with a grin. “I’m flattered.”
“Hard to forget you,” Jacq muttered.
“Pardon?” Jacques asked.
“We’re hungry,” Jacq said hoping that would cut his bullshit short.
“Ah, dinner then?” The girls nodded. “Allow me to show you to a table.”
When the girls were seated, Jacques proceeded to tell them the specials of the day.
“I’ll have the beef bourguignon,” JR said.
“Bon,” said Jacques. “And you?” he asked looking at Jacq.
Jacq frowned. “I thought I’d like some French onion soup,” she said. “But you didn’t mention it.”
“Here in Paris, we just call it onion soup,” Jacques said with a little laugh. When Jacq scowled at him, he quickly added, “And we always have our onion soup ready to go. It’s a staple.”
“Then I’ll have a bowl,” said Jacq.
“Certainement,” Jacques agreed.
“How filling is the beef bourguignon?” JR asked.
“Quite.”
“Then why don’t we share the soup and the beef?” JR said looking coyly at Jacq. “And then we’ll have room for dessert.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Jacq agreed. “Let’s start with a bottle of your best red wine.”
“Oui, I’ll bring your wine toute de suite.”
“Merci,” said JR as Jacques hustled away.
“Do you have to be so nice to him?” Jacq asked. “Supercilious asshole.”
“He’s not that bad,” JR objected with a chuckle. “Besides, I thought you wanted to know what I meant about our holiday not being over.”
Jacques returned with a bottle of red wine that he proffered toward the girls. When they nodded he uncorked it and poured some into Jacq’s glass. She tasted it and nodded again. He poured a glass for each of them. “Your soup will be right out,” he added as he set the wine bottle on their table.
JR and Jacq clinked glasses. “To a wonderful honeymoon,” JR said and they each took a sip of their wine.
“That bozo may be obnoxious but he knows how to pick a wine,” Jacq admitted.
JR chuckled and smiled at her wife. “Glad you found something commendable about the poor guy.”
Jacq snorted. “So tell me about this extension to our honeymoon.”
“I was thinking…” JR began.
“Uh oh, that’s usually a prelude to something…”
“Something what?” JR asked with a frown. “And be careful how you finish that sentence.”
“Something … fantastic.”
JR laughed, “Good answer.”
“So tell me.”
“I’ve always wanted to see Ireland,” JR said. “I was thinking we could fly to Dublin from here and take a couple of days to explore Dublin and the surrounding area.”
“Ireland, huh?”
“Yeah, what do you think?”
“Anything that prolongs our time alone is fine with me.”
“Great!” JR said as their soup arrived.
“Enjoy,” said Jacques as he backed away staying facing them to see their reaction when they took their first sips of the soup.
“This is yummy,” JR gushed.
“I have to agree,” Jacq said. “Maybe we should get two big bowls of this and forget about the rest of the meal.”
Jacques smiled and hustled off to the kitchen.
“A huge bowl of this sounds great,” JR agreed, “but I want to try the bourguignon.”
“Okay,” Jacq agreed as she finished off the last bit of onion from the bowl. “I hope it’s half as good as this.”
Jacques appeared and removed the empty bowls. “I hope you enjoyed the soup.” Both girls nodded in agreement. “I’ll be right back with your main course,” he said as he disappeared once again.
The restaurant was filling up as many Parisians ate much later than Americans tended too.
“Seems to be a popular spot,” Jacq observed.
“And you didn’t think you’d like it.”
“We’ll see.”
Jacques placed the large bowl of beef bourguignon on the table and gave them each a plate so they could share. He set down a basket of baguette slices to go with their meal. The girls couldn’t stop themselves once they started eating the food. There were lots of ‘yums’ and ‘oohs’ until the bowl was empty and the bread all gone.
“That was fabulous,” JR said as Jacques cleared their table.
“Coffee and dessert?” Jacques asked.
“What do you recommend?” Jacq asked, earning a genuine smile from the waiter.
“Let me surprise you. You’ll love it,” Jacques said with pride.
The girls nodded in agreement and Jacques hustled away. They waited for his return, quietly discussing all the things they had seen in Paris. Each girl knew this was a trip they would never forget.
“Tarte tatin and coffee,” Jacques said as he placed everything in front of them.
“What is it?” Jacq asked skeptically.
“Apple tart with some lovely additions and our finest coffee.”
The girls tried the tarte and found it delicious, not too sweet with a little tang from some kind of cream or yogurt. They weren’t sure which.
“Everything was wonderful,” Jacq said as Jacques presented them with the bill.
“I’m very pleased that you enjoyed our food.”
“It was great,” JR agreed.
The girls paid and stood up to leave. Jacq turned to the waiter. “Thank you for taking such good care of us, Jacques,” she said.
“My pleasure, mademoiselle.”
“Oh, and my name is Jacq too, short for Jacqueline.”
“Somehow I knew we were kindred spirits,” Jacques replied. “Very nice to have served you tonight.”
“Thanks,” said JR as they headed for the door.
As they walked back to the hotel, JR and Jacq made plans for leaving for Ireland the next day, but they knew they would never forget Paris.