Pinochle
by: E Walk

(© 2007 by the Author)
Editor: Will B
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 42

 Going Home

This is Grant.

It seemed as if everyone took Brian’s announcement, that it was the time to leave, as a signal that the party was over.  Brian, Vicky, Ben and Maria were saying goodnight to the guests and they seemed to remember everyone’s names.  When Prince Harry and Chelsey left, they treated Brian like he was special.  The Prince and Brian bumped fists and Chelsey kissed Brian. 

The dignitaries had all departed.  Brian hugged the Montoyas and the Sandbergs and thanked them for a wonderful evening.  As we were going to the awaiting limousine, Brian hugged Maria and Inga. 

Ben and I hugged the ladies and gave them a kiss and climbed into the limo which Jaime was driving with Matthew in the front seat beside him.  Rafael and Shamus were crawling onto Rafey’s motorcycle.

The first stop was the Masons’ house and Brian announced, “I’ll walk back to the house tonight.”

Uncle Hank motioned for Shamus to come and I heard him say, “Stay close to Brian, but don’t let him see you.”

The limousine took us to the house and everyone was anxiously waiting for Brian as if they were expecting something bad to happen.”

This is Brian.

I said goodnight to Minister and Mrs. Mason.  I hugged Vicky and kissed her and exited before anything else could happen.  I started walking to Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod’s house and I could feel that I was being watched.  I stopped, “Okay, you two, why are you following me?  Why is everyone treating me like an infant?  Hey I’m fourteen and going to be fifteen in a month. I’m capable of taking care of myself.”

Rafael answered, “Brian, believe me, we agree that you are capable of taking care of yourself, but dressed as you are and the fact that your ugly face has been spread over the newspapers several times this week would be enough for someone to try to make some money off of you.”

I stopped and turned to the two guys, “Do you really think I’m ugly?”

I guess my reaction caught both Rafael and Shamus off guard.  Shamus answered, “Brian, the one thing that anyone would never call you is ugly;  obnoxious maybe, but never ugly.”

We arrived at the door before I had chance to respond to his comments.  I looked at everyone, “I’m fine.  Why don’t the rest of you go to bed, I have some work to do.  I’ll come to bed when and if Jaime and Matthew ever stop playing games.”

This is Ben.

Everyone looked at Brian and instinctively knew that he wanted to be left alone.  We departed and Grant and I made our way to our room.  After our shower, we both just fell into bed and held each other.  I looked at Grant, “Can we wait until we get home before I take advantage of  your body?”

Grant grabbed my penis, “I’m yours whenever you want but I want to cuddle tonight.”

How evil am I?  I looked into the other three bedrooms and it was apparent that no one was in a playful mood tonight.  I tried to check on Brian but it was as if he had a shield around him.  That can’t be; he’s not a wizard.  I fell asleep with my arms around Grant. It felt so right.

The next thing I remember was that Jaime and Matthew were standing beside us.  Jaime was questioning, “Have you seen Brian?  The Dads will have our heads if anything has happened to him.”

I sat up, “Brian is fine.  If he were in trouble, he would have sent us a message.  Have you checked with Shamus and Rafael?”

Grant and I climbed out of bed and put on our running clothes thinking that Brian was planning something.

When we got downstairs, Brian was sprawled on the sofa, still in his formal clothes except for the tie and jacket.  More importantly there were three new paintings on the floor.  The first showed Brian like he was walking into a strong wind.  His dinner jacket was flowing in the wind and his hair was disheveled and you could see tears flowing down his cheeks.  I looked at the title and he had labeled it ‘Going Home.’  The second painting was of Brian and Vicky as they were dancing and he had labeled it ‘Young Love.’

The third painting caught my eye as well as everyone else’s.  Brian was sitting with his feet on a desk.  Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry were standing in front of him and looked like they were pleading with him.  The title was interesting: ‘Please Go Home.’

I looked at the clock and bent down and shook Brian, “I thought we were supposed to go running this morning.”

Brian bounced up, “I’ll be back in a sec.”

While Brian was gone I carefully picked up the pictures and put them on top of the table.

When we got to the park, Minister Smyth, Philip and Rupert were waiting.  After the run Brian hugged the three of them, turned and walked away without saying a word.   I could tell he was about to lose it.  I motioned for Jaime and Matthew to go with him.

I turned to Minister Smyth and Philip.  Philip had tears in his eyes, “Is Brian angry with us.  He didn’t even say goodbye.”

I hugged Philip, “Philip, Brian has a difficult time saying goodbye to people he really likes.  I think he has come to think of you as a younger brother.  I’m sure he will be in touch with you soon.

Grant and I hugged Philip and shook hands with Minister Smyth and went back to the house.

Uncle Hank and Uncle Rod were sitting there reading the paper and drinking coffee.  Uncle Rod looked at us, “Okay guys, what happened to Brian?  When he came in he looked like he had been crying, and went straight upstairs without saying a word.”

I explained that I thought Brian was having reservations about leaving.  I went and retrieved the paintings he had done of himself during the night which I thought rather revealed what Brian might be thinking.

Both Uncle Rod and Uncle Hank were nodding as I returned the painting to the table.  Our conversation was interrupted by Brian, “We need to cancel our airline reservations.  I hope we can get your money back.”

Uncle Hank surprised everyone, “Don’t bust a nut, kid, we took care of that last night after Mike told us what he was going to propose.  We got a full refund and they even gave us a bonus because they were so happy that they wouldn’t have to cater to the likes of you.”

Everyone except Brian was laughing.  I think Mrs. Proust was laughing harder than anyone else.  Uncle Hank’s remark caused Brian to react, “Why sir, that is not a proper way for a British gentleman to be talking.  At least you could have said, ‘Why don’t you go to the bathroom and relieve your anxieties, young stud?’  You’re probably right; the airline knew the crew would be ignoring the rest of passengers because they would catering to us.”

Mrs. Proust finally stopped laughing, “Okay snot nosed brat, sit down; breakfast is ready.  We wouldn’t want it to get cold, would we?”

Brian was eating and he realized that there were no tomatoes, “Where are the tomatoes?  This is the first morning since we have been here that we did not have baked tomatoes for breakfast.”

Aunt Bea looked up, “Brian, haven’t you been following the news.  It is almost impossible to find tomatoes because of the salmonella outbreak.  We wouldn’t want you to get sick on the way home, would we?”

That caused Brian to be quiet.  He finally spoke again, “Okay, now that everyone has had a chance to do a job on me, what is our schedule for the rest of the morning and what time do we need to leave for the Mildenhall Air Base?  Someone needs to take the paintings to Mr. Johnson at 9:00.”

Uncle Hank looked at Brian, “Lord Brian, Rod and I will accompany you to Mr. Johnson’s gallery while Shamus and Jaime pack your clothes for you.  We’ll come back here and have a nice lunch and then we’ll get you to the Air Base on time.  Now would you just chill out?”

Brian bowed his head, “I’ve been duly reprimanded and now I am going to get even.  Now, if you will excuse me, I have something I need to do.”

Brian took his dishes to the kitchen and disappeared.  I advised everyone that it might be best to stay away from him until he settled down.  We were still talking at the table when Brian returned and showed us a painting that he had done.  It showed him almost naked with an apple on his head and Uncle Hank, Uncle Rod and Aunt Bea were shooting arrows at him.

Talk about silence.  No one knew what to say.  Finally Uncle Hank asked, “Brian, do you really feel like we were shooting arrows at you?”

The flippant Brian answered, “Not really, but vengeance is mine said the Lord.  Remember, I have been inducted into the Order of Bath.  Now it’s time to go to visit with Mr. Johnson.  He’s probably going to change his mind about displaying my works when he sees my paintings.  He’ll probably laugh us out of the gallery.”

Uncle Rod drove the five of us to Mr. Johnson’s gallery.  Brian was carrying his portfolio under his arm.  We arrived just as the gallery opened and Brian went to the young receptionist.  The young gentleman behind the reception desk looked up and his eyes were traveling up and down Grant’s and my bodies.  “How may I help you?”

Brian’s answer surprised everyone, “Dude, get your mind out of the gutter.  Tell Mr. Johnson that Brian Benson and his party are here to deliver the paintings.”

The young man was shooting daggers at Brian as he called Mr. Johnson.  Mr. Johnson appeared and shook hands with each of us and called us by name.  The young man behind the reception desk was somewhat taken back when Mr. Johnson said, “Brian, why don’t you lay out your paintings while I go get Kelly and Shelby since they will be doing the matting and framing?”

Mr. Johnson looked at the young man behind the desk, “Stephen, make sure that there is coffee and an alternative drink available in the work room.”

Mr. Johnson put his arm around Brian as he walked us to the work room.  Mr. Johnson left, “I’ll be right back.  Brian, please lay out the work that you have done so we can get a better idea of what we will be working with.”

Grant and I helped Brian place his artworks around the room.  I think all of us were surprised at how many paintings he had done.   When Mr. Johnson returned, he was accompanied by an older man, who we found out was Kelly and a lady who was Shelby.

Kelly looked at Mr. Johnson, “Boss, where did you find this one?  I suppose you want these done by tomorrow?  I think you'd better get Mr. Winston in here to see this crap.  He’ll probably yell and rant and rave at having to display this junk.”

This is Brian.

I wanted to pick up the pieces that I had done and tear them up.  This Kelly person was so harsh in his comments that I wanted to crawl into a hole and cover my head.

The Shelby person came to me and put her arm around me, “Don’t mind the grouch.  He’s a frustrated artist and he can’t stand to have anyone with talent around.  He may be a grouch, but he is a craftsman at making people's art look good.  He must think you are good, or he wouldn’t have told the boss to call Mr. Winston.”

A tall good looking gentleman came in and looked at the pieces I had done, He surprised me by his reaction, “Boss, I think this would be the perfect way to open the new season in September.  We could have a private showing on August 30^th and have first public viewing on September lst.  Who are the artists who did these works?”

Uncle Hank, Uncle Rod, Ben and Grant all pointed to me and I almost wanted to crawl into a shell.  Mr. Winston looked confused, “There is no way that one person could have done all of these paintings.  They appear to be the work of three or four different artists.”

I had all I could take, “Mr. Winston, if you look carefully, I have signed all the works and I don’t think anyone would be brazen enough to copy my work.”

I was really hot and turned to Mr. Johnson, “Sir, it appears that your staff does not hold my work in very high regard.  Why don’t we just forget the whole deal and I’ll refund the money you donated to the Homeless People fund?”

Uncle Hank came to me and whispered, “Brian, why don’t we go for a walk please?”

Uncle Hank and I walked out of the gallery and started to walk around the block.   He was talking to me but I wasn’t hearing what he was saying.  I was so angry at what had just happened.  We came to a park bench and we sat down and he held me close, “Brian, you are very talented, but you must remember that you need to contain your temper.  Just because other people are obnoxious doesn’t give you an excuse to be obnoxious.”

For some reason, what he said hit me wrong.  I wanted to scream. “Uncle Hank, I didn’t mean to be obnoxious, but those people were saying that I had no talent.  I may not have any talent but I put my heart into those paintings.  When Mr. Winston said that it looked the works of more than one artist the red flags went up.  I did all of those paintings and I’m proud of them even if they aren’t very good.”

I was almost pleading, “Uncle Hank, can’t you understand why I feel like I do?”

Uncle Hank pulled me closer, “Brian, I fully understand how you are feeling but you need to control your emotions and not let other people know how you feel.  They will just try to take advantage of you.”

This is Grant.

After Brian and Uncle Hank left the room, all hell broke loose.  Mr. Johnson turned to Mr. Winston and Kelly, “Okay you two know it alls, you have probably lost us the opportunity to showcase an astonishing new talent.  Just because he is so young, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have talent.  When and if he returns, you'd better be ready to work with him or you will be looking for new employment opportunities.”

To say that pronouncement made some heads turn would be an understatement.   When Uncle Hank and Brian returned, it was like Brian was king.  Mr. Winston, Kelly and Shelby were working with Brian deciding on the proper mattings.  Brian was adamant that he wanted very simple frames.

After that ordeal, we returned to Uncle Hank and Rod’s house for an early lunch.  Brian was thrown for another loop because the Smyths, Philip, the Masons and Vicky and Inga and Maria were there.  Brian hardly ate anything but instead walked around talking to everyone. 

Uncle Hank announced that we need to be leaving for Mildenhall so we wouldn’t hold up the departure of President Smith.  Everyone was standing at the door waving to us as we departed.  Brian sat on the seat not saying a word the entire way to the base.  When we got to the base we were met and escorted to the awaiting plane. 

As soon as we exited the car, we were met by some customs officials and cleared to board the plane.  Who should be standing there but Prince Harry in his military clothes.  He looked at Brian, “I was sent to make sure that you got out of the country as soon as possible.  It seems that you are stealing all the hearts of our young ladies.”

Brian countered, “Your Royal Highness, aren’t you saying that you want me out of your hair so you can have your way all with the beautiful ladies in this country without my being around?”

Prince Harry hugged the three of us as we started to climb the stairs to the open aircraft door 

Brian was escorted to a seat, by a young sergeant.  He had two seats by himself.  Ben and I were shown to two adjacent seats which were equivalent to first class seats on a commercial airline.

We were hardly even airborne before Brian was sprawled across the two seats and sleeping soundly.  President Smith came to us, “I guess Brian is in desperate need of recharging.  I remember his Dad would go into periods of shut down like this.  I have to say that Brian charmed a lot of people in England as did the two of you.  Everyone I spoke to, spoke extremely highly of all of you.  I’ll have the steward bring you some blankets and you can do whatever you want.”

To be continued...

 Feedback always welcome:     

Will’s comments:  I hope Brian gets a good rest on the trip home.  As I read this chapter, I kept thinking that he seems about ready to blow a gasket.  I know our esteemed author wouldn’t really let anything bad happen to Brian, but I was concerned just the same.

 Darryl's notes: I think this was a wonderful trip to England.  I think there are still a lot of wonderful things in store for our young people.  This story has captured my heart and I, for one, can hardly wait to see what will happen next and just where the story will take us.

Great story, and a great chapter.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 06/20/08