HOME RUN Chapter 15: Liberty Diner: ~~~~~~~~~~ "Shh, that kid's back!" yelled Debbie at the top of her voice, turning up the volume on the radio. The diner was packed. Even Michael, Ben, Ted and Emmett had gathered there in order to hear the programme together. There had been a lot of talk all day about the radio show. People were wondering if they could possibly know this kid or his Dad and the customers at the diner had all gathered to hear if he would come back again after the call was cut off so abruptly the previous night and were all now listening intently, saying how cute the child had sounded and how sweet it was that he was so worried for his Dad. But no one was expecting that the man in question was none other than Pittsburgh’s very own Brian Kinney. “Holy shit!” exclaimed Debbie and Michael dropped his coffee cup. Justin: ~~~~~ “Holy shit!” Justin pulled the car off the road and cut the engine. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was Gus, Brian's son, who was on the radio after all. But why was the boy so obviously concerned about his Father? Why should he think Brian was sad and lonely and in need of company? He must have changed a lot in the years since he'd known him if Gus was this worried about him and Justin found his heart was pounding and he was holding his breath as he listened to the radio. Brian: ~~~~ “And what about your Mom; you haven’t mentioned her. Is she around?” asked Dr. Franklin. “Uh no … both my Mom’s were killed in a car crash a little while ago. That’s why I live with my Dad now”. “I understand,” and Dr. Franklin was just about to ask Gus another question when he heard a voice in the background. “Gus, what are you doing? Who are you talking to?” Undetected by his son, Brian had come into the living room after thinking he could hear Gus talking to someone and found him on the phone. “Who are you talking to at this time of night? Give me the phone". Gus was shocked rigid as his Father took the phone from him and then panicking, he fled from the room. "Gus, come back here", called Brian after him and only just heard the faint voice on the other end of the line. "Mr. Kinney? Brian?" "Who is this?" Brian demanded. "My name is Dr. Leo Franklin …." "A doctor? Why is my son calling you? If he's sick ….." "No .. no, I'm a psychologist …." "What? A psychologist? I don't understand. Why would my son need to talk to you?" Brian was becoming very agitated. "Brian", said Leo, trying to calm him down. "Gus called me because he's very worried about you and is asking for help". There was a long pause: Brian had no idea what to say. Turning around, he saw Gus peeking out from behind the door and he beckoned his son to come back into the room. "Brian? Are you still there?" Again, another pause, until finally, "Yes, I'm still here". That Gus was so worried about him that he had to call a complete stranger in the middle of the night, struck at Brian deeply. "Brian, is there anything I can do? Is there anything you want to ask me or tell me?" “What did Gus say exactly?” asked Brian. “Well, he said he thinks you’re lonely and that you need some adult company. He also said he thinks you’re sad”. “Are you?” “Am I what?” “Lonely? ….. Sad?” Brian sat on the sofa and looked at Gus. He was pale and obviously worried stiff, thinking he was in big trouble, and the look on the boy’s face brought a lump to Brian’s throat. But Brian still hadn’t answered the question. Leo Franklin decided on a different approach. “It can’t be easy, bringing up a young son on your own”, he said. Brian smiled. “Tell me about it”, he replied. “They don’t exactly come with a manual”. “No, I guess they don’t”. “Gus started to tell me about his Mom’s. I understand they were killed.” Brian cleared his throat. “Yeah, that’s right. Lindsay, that’s Gus’ birth Mom, well she and her partner, Melanie, were killed in a car accident about seven months ago”. “That must have been an extremely difficult time for you both”. “It was. Gus lost both his Mom’s and I lost one of my closest friends. Lindz … Lindsay and I were at college together”. “You weren’t a couple?” “Oh no, not like that. But as we were so close, when she and Melanie wanted a kid, Lindsay asked me to be the Father”. “And how did you feel about that?” Brian took hold of Gus’s hand and gently pulled him down on the sofa beside him. “To be truthful, I didn’t take it too seriously at first. It was only after he was born that I realised what we’d done; had brought a new life into the world”. “And how do you feel about it now?” Brian stroked the back of Gus’s head. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything”. “But still, having no one to share the responsibility, it must be really hard to go it alone”. Leo thought he would try again. “Gus said he thought you had a boyfriend a while back. Was there someone special?” “That was a long time ago”. Brian’s voice became flat and quiet. “What happened?” “It didn’t work out”. “Why do think that was?” “I … I couldn’t give him what he wanted: Tell him what he needed to hear”. “Did you love him?” There was silence over the air. “Brian, did you love him?” “I …….” You could hear Brian swallow and take a deep breath, but the words still wouldn’t come. “If there’s a chance the two of you might……..” “No. I had the chance, but I let it slip away. You don’t get a second go at something like that”. And Leo could hear in Brian’s voice the very sadness that had so concerned his son. “Does he at least have a name?” Brian took a deep breath. “Justin”, he said quietly. “His name is Justin”. To be continued.