Lois and Carolyn, thanks for the beta...you’re the greatest!  

I would also like to thank everyone who previewed the chapters for me.
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Chapter 20 – Would You Believe?
Friday Evening…(Day 61)


Hunter had news to tell.  He wanted to share it with someone.  First, he went down the list of all the possibilities in his universe.  Then he decided that Ben was definitely the right person for him to share this news with.  Now all he had to do was figure out how to tell this story very slowly, so he could savor the telling.

“Ben?  Ben?  Are you here?” Hunter called out as he entered the apartment he shared with Ben.

“I’m right here, Buddy,” Ben said, coming out of the bedroom.  “How was your day?”

“Nothing unusual,” Hunter lied, still trying to decide whether to say anything to Ben about the news that he’d just learned from Michael.  

Ben immediately knew that something was up, but he didn’t want to press, so he just played along.  He wanted to allow Hunter to tell him…whatever…in his own time.

Hunter continued, “I helped out Michael at the store this afternoon,” he added easily.  

“That’s a good son,” Ben couldn’t resist teasing. “How’s Michael doing?”

“He seems to be doing okay.”

“What do you mean <i>seems to be doing okay</i>?” Ben asked, allowing his concern to show through.

“There’s just a lot going on for him right now.  If what he told me is true, his world is about to be turned upside down!” Hunter couldn’t resist gushing.

“What do you mean?” Ben asked with a serious tone.

“We just have to wait and see,” Hunter said, not wanting to reveal anything more.  “Oh yes, I forgot to tell you Melanie and Lindsay and the kids will be here this weekend.  I guess they’ll be arriving sometime tonight.”

“That’s great.  I’ll try to find a way to see them while they’re here.” Ben answered.  

He was thinking to himself that Melanie and Lindsay must have found some way to work things out between them.  Ben realized that he had no desire to do that.  As far as he was concerned, his relationship with Michael was now over.  But he also realized that he would have to eventually find some way to deal with Michael…especially for the sake of Hunter and JR.

“So tell me…why Michael’s world is about to be turned upside down?” Ben asked with renewed interest.  “Did you think that I wasn’t paying attention to how quickly you changed the subject?” he pointed out with a slight smile.

“Can’t get anything past you…can I Ben?” Hunter teased.

“I hope you always remember that,” Ben quipped back with a smirk. “So okay, kiddo, tell me what’s going on.  Michael and I may not be together, but we’re still family,” he reluctantly admitted.  And as he said the words he knew they were still true.

“It’s good to hear you say that,” Hunter finally admitted.

“Don’t go getting any ideas.  Let’s stay focused here,” Ben insisted, still trying to get the information he was after.

“Ben, this afternoon, I met a man, who looked an awful lot like Michael.”

“You did?  That’s amazing.  They say that somewhere in the world, everyone has a twin.”

“I’ve never heard that before,” Hunter responded in disbelief.  “That’s a scary thought!  Are you serious?”

“I’ll get you a book on the subject,” Ben said with a smile. “Now tell me about the man that you met.”

“His name was Daniel Devore,” Hunter said and then paused for a moment.

Ben immediately fell silent as he recognized the name.  

Eventually, he was able to speak. “You saw Danny Devore?” Ben asked.  “Where?”

“He came into the store to see Michael.”

“He did?”

“You know something, don’t you?” Hunter challenged.  “Tell me what you know about Daniel…I mean…Danny Devore?”

“So he was Michael’s twin, huh?” Ben couldn’t resist teasing. “Really!”

“Not twin exactly…  They were the same height and build.  They both had black hair.  They had the same eyes.  They had the same nose.  They even had the same chin.  Other than that they looked completely different.” Hunter relayed with his continual sarcasm and a shrug for good measure.  “And oh, by the way, Danny was older,” he added as an after-thought.

“Have you ever heard the name Divina Devore?” Ben asked.

“Sure, she’s a world famous drag queen.  Everybody knows that.  I saw her picture in the paper.  She’s appearing in town this weekend…not that I would ever get to see one of her shows,” Hunter wisecracked.

“Hunter, Danny Devore and Divina Devore are the same person.  Once Divina removes her makeup and changes out of her gown, she’s Danny Devore.”

“Wow, how do you know all this?” Hunter asked.  

“Four years ago, Michael found out that Danny Devore and Debbie went to high school together.  There was also some speculation that they might have dated, ” Ben explained.  “Back then, Michael also noticed that he and Danny looked a lot alike.”

“There’s a reason for that Ben,” Hunter finally volunteered.  He was now ready to share the most important part of the information that he knew.  “It turns out that Daniel Devore is Michael’s real father.  I understand that Debbie even confirmed it.”

“Oh!  That’s amazing!  Four years ago, Michael had so many questions.  Back then he thought maybe…  But then he wasn’t sure…  Then, he just let the subject drop,” Ben continued to mindlessly ramble on.

“Now he knows…now he’s sure!  Michael knows that the man in the picture on the mantel at Debbie’s is not his father.  Michael now knows who is father really is.”

“Is he okay?  How’s he dealing with this news?”

“He’s upset, of course, but he’s trying to make the pieces fit.  You have to admit, this is amazing news.”

“I have to agree with you there.  I wonder what happened to make the truth come out now?” Ben wondered aloud.

“You’ll have to get the details from Michael,” Hunter said slyly. “I’ve probably already said too much. “It was just exciting news, and I had to tell someone.”

“I’m glad you decided to share it with me,” Ben said softly, reaching out to give Hunter a hug.   They were both trying to process all the new information.

Then Ben slowly walked over and stood by the window, staring out at the evening sky.  He had to agree with Hunter that Michael’s world was now about to be turned upside down.

Hunter continued to watch Ben for a few moments.  

Ben was lost in this own thought and never even noticed.  

Then Hunter quietly went into his room, leaving Ben alone with his thoughts.

A little while later, Ben called Hunter and asked him if he’d like to go out to dinner.  Hunter was excited and dared to hope that a hamburger might be in his near future.

“That’s okay, Ben, I’m getting used to the tofu casserole,” Hunter admitted quietly, for he really didn’t want to hurt Ben’s feelings.  He also understood the importance of the extra healthy diet to both their lives.  

“Why don’t I buy you a cheeseburger…just this once…we can save my tofu casserole until tomorrow,” Ben said with a smile.  “How does that sound?”

Hunter didn’t say anything.  He merely wrapped his arms around Ben.
 
Ben in turn wrapped his arms around Hunter.  They both needed that moment of closeness.  

When they finally broke apart, Ben simply said, “Let’s go get that burger.”

And Ben and Hunter quickly headed for the Diner.

***
Later that night, a car with Canada license plates finally parked in front of Debbie’s.

Melanie and Lindsay each stood outside of the car and tried to stretch their legs.  It had been a long drive with a lot of silence between them.  The tension in the car had made the trip seem much longer than it actually was.

Now, here they were…back in Pittsburgh…hoping…that with Elizabeth’s help…they could, once again, get their lives back on track.

Melanie waited with the car and gently tried to awaken the sleeping kids while Lindsay rang the bell.   

A few minutes later, Carl and Emmett came out to help with the kids and luggage.

“Where’s Debbie?” Melanie asked, once everyone had settled down in the living room.

“She’s had a hard day, so she went to bed extra early,” Emmett explained. “But don’t worry, she left late night snacks for you and the kids in the kitchen.  It will be my pleasure to serve you when you’re ready,” he said with a bow.

Lindsay and Melanie each got this worried look on their faces.  In all the time they had known Debbie, they had never known her to go bed this early.  Something was definitely not right.

“I don’t want you to worry about it,” Carl reassured them. “I’m sure that she’ll be fine tomorrow.”

“Oh Carl, we don’t want to be a burden.  We didn’t think.  We can easily stay in a hotel.  We don’t mean to be any trouble,” Melanie quickly volunteered.

“No. No…I won’t hear of it,” Carl said.  “Look at my little angels,” he gushed.  

Gus and Jenny rushed into his arms, eager to receive their special ticklehugs.

Melanie and Lindsay just smiled and mindlessly reached for each other’s hand, as they watched Carl with their children.  

Then as quickly as the moment of tenderness came, it seemed to disappear.  They each started to gather things to be taken upstairs.

When Melanie and Lindsay reached the guestroom they started to whisper to one another, remembering how voices travel through the walls of the house.

Melanie remembered all the things that she had accidentally learned through the walls.

“I’ve never known Debbie to go to bed early,” Lindsay whispered.

“I’m really worried.  I have to wonder what Emmett and Carl AREN’T telling us,” Melanie considered.

“Don’t go looking for trouble.”

“Now would I do that?” Melanie protested.  The answer to her rhetorical question was clearly evident in the expression on Lindsay’s face.  

Melanie let out a sigh of exasperation before she continued.  “No…No, what I’m suggesting is that we come up with a plan.”  

“A plan?” Lindsay asked. “What kind of a plan?”

There was a pause as Melanie considered for a moment.  “I know, we’ll simply go back downstairs, and see what we can find out,” she suggested.  

“That’s not a plan…” Lindsay challenged with a smile, thinking that her partner was probably not at her best because of the long drive.  She realized that whatever happened, Melanie was going to need her help.  So she simply said, “Count me in.” 

Lindsay and Melanie were now co-conspirators.

Melanie decided she would focus on interrogating Carl, while Lindsay felt she would be most effective with Emmett. These were now two women on a mission.

“Did you call Brian?” Emmett asked, once they had returned downstairs.

“Yes,” Lindsay replied. “He’s still at the office, so he’ll be here shortly.  I thought that Gus might fall back sleep until he arrived, but that obviously didn’t work out,” she added with a laugh, as she watched Carl giving Gus a glass of juice.

Melanie suddenly realized that no one asked if she had talked to Michael.  Something was definitely going on, but try as she might she couldn’t guess what that could be.

“So Em,” Lindsay continued, “Dish!  Tell me all the latest gossip that’s happened since we were last here?”  She gently nudged Emmett further into the kitchen so that she could get her snack.

“Let me see,” Emmett began, as if searching his memory banks.  “Brian has Justin once again imprisoned in the mansion.   His explanation is that Justin is on a tight schedule to get paintings finished for his shows, so no one has seen him for days,” he complained.

“That’s to be expected.  I know that Justin has quite a few shows coming up in the next few months.  I’m glad that he’s at least in a studio somewhere since he’s not in New York,” Lindsay mindlessly answered.

“Yeeesss…I should have known that you would feel that way!” Emmett said with an accusatory tone.

“Let’s not fight, Em.  I merely made a comment.  Don’t go reading anything into it,” Lindsay asked.

Emmett thought it over and decided that she had just endured a long drive, so he was just going to let her remark slide…this time.

Emmett and Lindsay made sandwiches together while they managed to limit their mindless chatter to safe topics.

Meanwhile, Melanie and Carl were discussing their day in the living room.  Carl mentioned that he’d taken today off, so that he and Debbie could spend some time together.  

Once again, Melanie noticed that Michael’s name wasn’t mentioned.

Eventually, Melanie and Carl joined Emmett and Lindsay in the kitchen.  

Before Melanie could begin to broaden her interrogation, to include Emmett as well as Carl, the front door opened. Brian walked in, as usual, without knocking.  

“Hey,” Brian called out as he entered.  

At the sound of his voice, Gus immediately noticed.  “Dad!” he called out, disengaging himself from Carl.

“Hey there, Sonny Boy,” Brian said, picking up his son.  Gus wrapped his arms around his father and allowed himself to be carried around any without protest.

“Where’s Deb?” Brian asked.  Melanie and Lindsay waited to hear the answer that would be given to him.

“She’s resting.  It’s been a difficult day… you know,” Carl reminded him.

“Of course,” Brian said knowingly. “Well, be sure to tell her that I’ll see her tomorrow,” he added.

Carl simply nodded.  

Melanie witnessed the look of perfect understanding as it passed first between Carl and Brian and then between Brian and Emmett.  She was now certain that something was going on.

Lindsay noticed the looks too.  She decided to make a stab at things.  “Will you all stop walking around on eggshells?” Lindsay protested.  “We talked to Michael.  We know that he and Ben have separated.  We, also, know that Hunter is living with Ben,” she volunteered.

“And hopefully, we’ll be able to see Ben before we leave,” Melanie added.

“That’s good,” Brian said quietly, once again looking over at Carl.

Carl decided that with Brian there, things were under control, so he simply announced,
“I’m going to go up and check on Debbie.” 

Once Carl had gone upstairs, Melanie was ready to resume her questioning.  This time Brian was her new target for information.  She was almost going to enjoy this; after all, he was her favorite sparring partner.  Then she realized that Brian had Gus in his arms, so she realized that she was going to have to tread lightly.

“Brian, what’s going on?” Melanie quietly demanded to know.

“Can’t explain Mel.  Too many little ears around, but ask Em to fill you in once Jenny is tucked in.”

Melanie simply nodded.  Lindsay was still confused, but said nothing.

Then Brian looked down at Gus. “Well, shall we call Justin and let him know we’re on our way home?” he asked, already punching the number on his cell phone.

A very excited six year old, took the cell phone and talked to His Justin with this big smile on his face.  Brian looked at his son and understood how he felt.  

It was a quick phone call.  Gus merely told Justin that they were on their way home and closed the phone, never giving Brian a chance to talk to Justin.

Then nothing else seemed to matter.  Brian grabbed Gus and his suitcase, and father and son said their goodbyes.  They were now off to the mansion…and Justin.

A few minutes later, Carl came back downstairs, and there was an easy conversation going on now between everyone.  The interrogation and the search for answers had now stopped.   

A different agenda was not in play.   Melanie and Lindsay were just biding their time until they could get Emmett alone.