Almost Perfect

Chapter 12

“Are you really okay with this?” Gus asked Ray. Gus was packing a duffle bag with all the stuff he’d need for a week’s trip. He had a separate suit bag laying over a chair in the living room.

“Of course I’m okay with this. It’s like any other trip you’ve taken,” Ray assured him.

“I guess so,” Gus murmured. “No, it isn’t,” he said in a louder voice. “If we’re successful, I may be staying in Canada for a while!”

“Yeah, and...? Businesses don’t spring up overnight. There’s a lot to consider. This is not like Isles where Kinnetik acquired an already existing company. Your dad will be starting from scratch; that takes time and a lot of planning. It’s not like, poof, you’re an advertising agency. Yes, you may be flying back and forth but a lot of the grunt work can be done by local people with you or Brian consulting via web conferences. Now stop freaking out, finish packing and get out of here. It’ll be fine,” Ray said reasonably.

“You don’t mind that I’m staying with my Dad?”

“Of course not. How often do you get to be with all four parents at the same time?”

“Not very often,” Gus admitted.

“So don’t waste this opportunity. They’re here because of you so you should be there.”

“Okay, okay I get it. I also get that I’m one lucky man and that I love you,” Gus said with a brilliant smile.

“I love you. Now, go. I promise, I’ll be fine. I swear I’ll eat regularly and I may even do the laundry. Besides, with you out of the way and not distracting me with your sexy sweet ass, I’ll get my papers done,” Ray crowed.

Gus snorted as he zipped his bag and then checked to see if he had forgotten anything.

“Gus, it’s not like you’re going to the Amazon; you're ten blocks away in midtown. They do have stores, and besides with your legs, you could run back here in about fifteen minutes. Now go,” Ray said as he turned Gus around and pushed him toward the door.

Gus sighed, resigned to his fate. “Okay, okay. I love you, you know,” Gus said as he slung his messenger bag across his body then shouldered his duffle bag and grabbed the suit bag.

“I love you too. Be brilliant and call me later. Get out of here, I have a gazillion papers to do.” Ray pushed Gus out the door but not before giving him a loud sloppy kiss. Gus chuckled as he licked Ray’s taste from his lips.

Ray listened as Gus’ size twelves clomped down the stairs.

 

*****
 

“Mom?” Gus said into his phone.

“Hi, Lambskin, we just landed,” Lindsay informed Gus. Gus rolled his eyes at the nickname. He knew it was going to be a long few days between all the Lambskins and the Sonny Boys.

“He sent a car.”

“He told me. We should be there in a couple of hours. I can’t wait to see you,” Lindsay said excitedly.

“Me too, Mom.”

“I’ll call you when we’re in the car.”

“Okay, see you soon. Later.”

“Bye, sweetheart.”

 

*****
 

“Hey,” Justin said into his cell as soon it was answered.

“Hey, yourself. Where are you?” Brian asked.

“We just landed; we’re taxiing to the gate.”

“How was the flight?”

“Short, thank the gods. Can’t wait to see you,” Justin murmured.

“Me too,” Brian replied. Parts of him were twitching in anticipation. “There’ll be a driver waiting for you in your name.”

“Okay.”

“The squirt?”

“Fine, and missing her Dada. See you soon. Love you.”

“Love you too, Sunshine,” Brian said with a smile as he disconnected the call.

“Are you sure about us all staying here?” Gus said as he looked around the large suite. There were rooms enough for all of them with a common living room.

“Not a problem,” Brian said as he looked over a few pictures of potential buildings in Toronto.

“What if you and Justin get loud,” Gus snickered.

“Sonny Boy, this is a fifteen hundred a night suite. You shouldn’t be able to hear us. And even if you do, it’s not like you don’t know what we’re doing,” Brian said casually never looking up from reviewing the photos.

“Yeah, but the moms...”

“Know what we’re doing as well. Maybe they’ll learn something. If they had fucked more instead of all that talking maybe they’d still be together,” Brian said flippantly.

“Eiw, Dad.”

“It’s true. Although, eating all that...”

“Dad! Stop,” Gus demanded before his father went into detail. Gus did not want to know anything about his parents’ sexual exploits. At their age they should just have the decency of no longer thinking about or having sex.

“What’s on the agenda?” Gus asked hoping to keep to a safe topic.

“Lunch, here. It should be delivered soon. Then free time. I’m sure your moms want a piece of you. Show them around Time Square. Take the Squirt with you.”

“Uh huh. Won’t Bree want some time with her Dada?” Gus narrowed his eyes at his father.

“She gets me all through lunch. She understands the importance of daddy time.”

“I’m sure she does,” Gus said as he shook his head.

“She misses you. You’re her older and wiser brother. She doesn’t get to spend that much time with you. She’ll enjoy you playing tour guide. And she’s old enough now to appreciate it, not like the last time we were here when she was a baby.”

“She wasn’t that little.”

“Young enough.” Brian paused and stared out the window.

“She spent a lot of time with Joan, didn’t she?”

“Yes she did. I think that’s when old Joanie finally got me and Justin,” Brian said softly.

“She loved you,” Gus said. “She loved all of us.”

“I know.” Brian slowly extended his hand. Gus walked across the room to take it then found himself enveloped in his father’s arms. “I still miss her. I once harbored the thought of her living permanently on the lane. But...”

“She liked the city and she loved working with Danny. It made her feel useful.”

“I hope she was happy,” Brian whispered.

“She was, Dad. I know she was. She was all alone and lonely and then...”

“A little blond spitfire broke through the barriers, just like her daddy did,” Brian said. Gus patted his father’s back as he continued hugging him. Gus really wanted to say something more to Brian but he couldn’t find the right words. Ray was right, it was better to tell Justin about his concerns and then take it from there.

A cell phone buzzed.

“It’s mine,” Gus said as he reached into his pocket when Brian released him. “Hey, Mom. Okay, see you soon!” Gus smiled.

“They’re in the car?” Brian surmised.

“Yeah. She said there’s a bit of traffic but they should be here in an hour.”

“I’ll have lunch sent up for one-thirty, that’ll give them time to settle first.”

“Sounds good to me,” Gus said as he headed for his room. Brian had emailed Gus with the pictures of the same file that Brian was reviewing so Gus thought he’d take this time to go over it. Gus went to his room to boot up his laptop.

Brian went back to the desk and once again flipped through the stack of potential headquarters for the new Kinnetik North. The expansion felt right to Brian, and Canada was proving lucrative for Kinnetik. It made sense. It made good business sense.

Brian looked around the room; the suite they had shared with Joan looked similar. He looked up to the ceiling and smiled for a moment then got back to work.

 

*****
 

"So, are you ready for this?" Jacqueline asked.

"I don't know," JR admitted. "I feel sick to my stomach." She felt her stomach roll like she could throw up what little breakfast she had been able to eat.

"You don't have to do this," Jacqueline said putting her arm around JR's shoulders.

"Yes, I do," JR said. "We've talked this to death and I know I really want to be at the comic book store. It's time to take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and go back. It's time to face whatever is going to happen."

"If you're sure," Jacqueline said. "You know, I've offered to stake you to your own store."

"I know, and I appreciate the offer, but I don't think Pittsburgh is big enough to support another comic book store. My father and I would split the business and we'd both go under."

"I bet you could put him out of business," Jacqueline assured her.

JR chuckled as she thought about Jacqueline's faith in her. She was so lucky to have Jacqueline in her life. "I bet I could too, but that sure wouldn't make for harmonious family relations," she said with a rueful smile.

"So you're going to put up with his snide comments and frigid silences, and hope he leaves you the store when he retires in what, ten years."

"You're not helping."

"I'm not trying to help. I'm trying to get you to realize that you don't have to put up with his shit."

"I don't intend to."

"Really? So I can expect you home around ten a.m.?" Jacqueline asked sarcastically.

"I have to try, Jacqueline. He is my father. I want things to be better between us. Please try to understand."

Jacqueline's face softened. "I do understand, even though I don't like it. I want you to be happy, so go do what you have to do. I'll see you tonight."

"With a bottle of wine and some sexy lingerie?" JR asked batting her eyelashes.

Jacqueline snorted. "When have I ever worn sexy lingerie?"

"There's a first time for everything."

"In your dreams."

"You're always in my dreams," JR said in a breathy voice.

"Fuck! Do you have to go?" Jacqueline asked pulling JR against her in a needy hug.

JR chuckled. "Yes, I have to go, but hold that thought for tonight."

"You got it, Babe."

 

*****
 

JR took a deep breath and turned the knob on the door of the comic book store. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Honeybun!" Michael exclaimed.

JR tried not to make too much of a face. "I'm not late," she said. "It's just opening time."

"I know, but I thought you might come early so we could talk."

"What do we have to talk about?"

"Well, um, you and your plans for the future," Michael ventured.

"As if you care..."

"Of course I care."

"And if I tell you that those plans include Jacqueline, what would you say?" JR asked.

Michael tried not to make too much of a face. "I ... I'd say that it's your decision what the future holds for you. I'm just glad you are allowing me to be part of that future too." Michael knew these were the words his daughter wanted to hear, and he had been trying for days to make himself believe that he meant exactly that. He felt his words were sincere, as sincere as he could make them. He hoped they were the right thing to say. He hoped she believed him.

"Daddy..."

"I know, Hon...sweetheart. I want this to work too. I want this to work so bad. I've missed you so much," Michael blabbered.

"Oh Daddy," JR said as she quickly crossed the distance between them. "I love you. Please make this work."

"I'm going to do my best," Michael whispered as his arms enveloped his daughter and pulled her close for a hug. "I'm going to do my very best."

"Me too, Daddy," JR replied. Then she stood up straight and extricated herself from her father's embrace. "Let's get to work. What's the status of inventory?" she asked. That had often been her job when she was working at the store.

"You always were on top of it much better than me," Michael admitted.

"I know."

Michael chuckled. "It's so good to have you back," he repeated.

"I really want this to work out."

Michael nodded. "Here's what I've been working on for the inventory," he said handing her a sheaf of papers.

"I'll get right on it," JR said managing a smile for her father. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

 

*****
 

As JR walked from the bus toward Jacqueline's loft, she thought about what had happened at the comic book store. The day had begun with another sort of reconciliation between her and her father. That was a good start. Then she had worked on inventory while her father rearranged a couple of the action figure shelves. There had been a few customers, but no more than normal. JR wondered if there was a way to get more youngsters interested in comic books. She wondered if the shop could maybe hold a Superhero Day or something like that, which would attract the faithful readers, but maybe encourage some new ones to drop by. She would present that idea to her father soon.

She reached into her coat pocket as her phone rang. "Hey."

"Hi, sweetness, where are you?" Jacqueline asked.

"A couple of blocks from the loft."

"So you lasted all day."

"I did," JR said proudly.

"And how was it?"

"Not bad at all. I'll tell you all about it when you get home."

"Okay, see you soon," Jacqueline said before cutting the connection.

JR looked at her phone before putting it back in her pocket. She was looking forward to seeing Jacqueline and telling her about the ideas she had come up with.

As JR continued to walk, she went over the rest of her day with her father. He had been calm and quite nice. Nothing was said about Jacqueline at all, and that was probably a good thing. She didn't think the day could have gone much better. It felt good to be back at work ... at something she enjoyed. She pushed out of her head the nagging thought that it probably wouldn't continue like that.

When she unlocked the door to the loft, the lights were on. Well, sort of on. There were candles burning in several spots, including on the table which was beautifully set for dinner.

"What...?" she said aloud.

"Welcome home," a voice said from the bedroom.

"Jacqueline?"

"You were expecting someone else?"

JR crossed the loft and looked into the bedroom. Seated on the side of the bed was Jacqueline in a fluffy white bathrobe.

"What are you doing?" JR asked.

"Waiting for you."

"What's going on?"

"Don't you recognize what this is?"

"What?"

"My version of sexy lingerie," Jacqueline said with a seductive grin. She slid the robe off one shoulder revealing soft white skin and nothing else.

"Oh!"

"Do you approve?"

"I ... um ...I..."

"Does that reaction mean you're speechless or horrified?" Jacqueline asked suddenly looking unsure of herself.

"Speechless," JR managed to reply. Jacqueline had never done anything like this before.

"Take off your coat and come join me," Jacqueline said patting the bed beside her.

"Um ... sure." JR slid her arms out of her coat and walked toward Jacqueline.

"Why?" she asked with a frown.

"Don't ask questions," Jacqueline said as she took JR's hand and pulled her down beside her on the bed. While she helped JR out of her clothes, she whispered, "I wanted to make this evening all for you. I thought you might need cheering up, but this is even better. We can celebrate you returning to a job you love."

"Yeah, celebrate," JR managed to get out before her mouth was ravished by her lover.

Return to Almost Perfect