Mo Chuisle Mo Chroi 15/15
It had been four months since Brian, Justin, and Brianna moved into the renovated Tremont building. Each person was amazed at how well it all turned out, especially Justin. The floor above the loft had been turned into a studio. The back wall had floor to ceiling windows, the only space there wasn’t a window was where the back staircase leading to the inside of the loft was located. This wall also contained a small kitchenette. It had a long counter, very large sink where he could clean his supplies, a microwave, and a refrigerator. The wall across from that held a large desk, where his computer and printer were already set up. There were six easels, in different sizes, along that same wall, as well as a large closet for his art supplies. The wall next to that had built in, wall to wall drying racks. Across from that wall, under a large window, was a couch. It was magnificent and Justin couldn’t have loved it more if he designed it himself.
The loft itself didn’t boast many changes. The living room area was still the same, only now there was a door in the corner near the television. An internal staircase had been added that connected all four floors together so no one would have to go outside their front door to go up and down. And speaking of up and down, the stairs to the bed had been removed and the space was turned into a proper bedroom. It was also expanded to provide room for a walk-in closet, which could be accessed from both the bedroom and the renovated bathroom. Although, if you didn’t know what to look for, you wouldn’t notice anything had been changed. The bathroom still looked the same, except now it held dual sinks and a very large soaker tub with jets. Brian may have scoffed at the idea before, but he had to admit that his blond and a tub held endless possibilities. But that’s where the loft changes ended.
The second floor had been renovated and changed from two smaller apartments, into one large apartment. When you walked in the front door, to the left was the living room area. There was a large couch, two plush armchairs, and a coffee table, all angled towards the wall, which contained a fireplace with a television above it. To the right of that space was a half bath. If you went to the left when entering the apartment, you would find the kitchen, set up the same way as Brian’s. Although Brianna’s kitchen had a walk-in pantry next to the refrigerator. Her dining room table was in the same place as her grandson’s as well. In terms of sleeping quarters, Brianna had three guest bedrooms that shared a bathroom. She also had a spacious master suite with a large, ensuite 4-piece bathroom. She also had a rather large library, in which she was able to fit all the books she brought with her from home.
The first floor of the building was divided in fourths. One fourth contained a large dance studio, one fourth contained a home gym, and the third sectioned area contained Brianna’s psychology practice. She had a spacious waiting room and a large office, done up exactly as her office had been done at home, including the pictures, which Justin had since discovered were taken by Brian. That explained why the fourth and smallest area of the ground floor had been made into a dark room.
All in all the new building suited the needs of everyone living there. Justin was able to create whenever he wanted, without having to worry about waking Brian if he woke in the night with an idea. Brian was able to continue his dance and photography hobbies without ever having to leave his home, and Brianna was able to start a new practice, where she began seeing patients just after two months. The only need the new building didn’t meet was curing “the gang” of their awkwardness. Since the return from Ireland, Brian had begun seeing his son more and more. He even kept him overnight a few times, utilizing two of his grandmother’s guest rooms so he would be close by if his son needed anything. But although he was seeing Gus quite a bit, he had yet to come into contact with Mel or Lindsay. They were using Dusty as a go-between. Whenever Brian wanted to see his boy, he would either pick him up from Dusty, or she would drop him off. He knew that his grandmother talked to Mel and Linds, as well as Michael and Debbie…he knew that what she told them was the truth and it needed to happen. Still it stung that in the four months he’d been back, neither of his “best friends” had spoken to him.
The only one of the group who actually contacted him was Debbie. About a week after they got back, Brian got a phone call from Vic asking him to come to the house. He had no idea what that was about, but he loved Vic and wasn’t about to say no to the man. When he got to the house he found him sitting in his favorite chair, Debbie nervously pacing the floor. “She didn’t think you’d come if she called,” the older man explained. Brian sat down on the couch and let the woman explain in her own time. She told him that she had never realized what she was doing, blaming him for every mistake her son made, and then looking to him to fix everything. She never realized that she was hurting him so badly. She admitted that until Brianna confronted her, she still saw him as that same, troubled kid who got her son into trouble. In her mind, she never let him grow up. She never saw just how good a man he turned into. She admitted that she was going to start seeing Brianna for therapy the next week. She didn’t want to admit it, but she needed the help to deal with her overbearing, blame everyone but the one at fault issues. “Please be patient with me sweetheart. I love you very much and I don’t want to lose you. I know I’ve treated you unfairly for a long time, but I promise I’m going to work at fixing that. You’re a good man Brian, and I’m going to do everything I can to fix my issues so I don’t hurt you ever again. I don’t want to be like Joan,” she said. Since then, she and Brian have had lunch, dinner, or breakfast, depending on her schedule at the diner, together twice a week just to talk about things. For the first time he felt like she was truly his mother and he wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world.
As for his real mother…well…Debbie wasn’t the only one in therapy. After her talk with Father Tom, Joan had found a therapist who specialized in dealing with devoted religious parents with a gay child. The therapist was truly insightful and was helping Joan to see all the mistakes she’d made not only with her son, but both her children. She blamed them for her lot in life, her suffering at the hands of Jack Kinney, the loss of her family, everything. Once she came to terms with the fact that her children were faultless and the blame truly lay with her dead husband, she was able to start healing and discuss her issues with having a gay child and believing in God. One thing the therapist said had always stuck in her mind. “You believe that Mary was impregnated with the touch of God and was a virgin when she gave birth. Well what about Danaë? Zeus impregnated her by way of golden rain. Why is that story less believable than the story of Mary? There is no proof that anything written in the Bible is true, just like there is no proof that Greek or Roman or Norse myths are real. The only reason, I believe, that the Bible hasn’t been classified yet as mythology is because it’s centuries more recent than the Greeks. You can believe what you want, but do not condemn your child based on what’s written in a book. If you believe that God creates man in His image and that God never makes mistakes, then by that logic, God has created gay people, just as he created the Chinese, African, and Southern Baptists.” Really, Joan couldn’t find fault with that. She still had her beliefs and she still attended church, but her absolute belief in everything written in the Bible was failing. It would take a few months, but eventually, she believed she’d have the courage to speak once again to both her mother and her son. If only to say “I’m sorry.”
Time marched on. Old wounds healed and love helped to form unbreakable bonds. Some may have been lost to the oceans of change, drifting from the lives of those they once called friends, while others tamed the seas and changed with the tides, learning how to fix what was once wrong and broken. Familiar faces faded to the background while older, forgotten faces came into the forefront. Life wasn’t always easy for the tight-knit family in the Tremont building, but they faced whatever challenges came their way together. For together, there was nothing they couldn’t handle.
A/N: Please leave me a review. Constructive criticism welcome. Thank you to all who hung in there through the seriously gaping posts. I hope you've enjoyed this story.