The Nebraskan Peach Pie Incident

Fitz stopped over at the post office on his lunch hour one day early in January. Miss Mariah wasn\'t at the counter, so he rang the bell, but she still didn’t come out. Then he heard what sounded like a pained cry from the room back behind the counter and, even though he wasn\'t the biggest guy on the planet and he didn\'t know what he was about to stumble into, he jumped the counter and went to investigate. What had sounded like pain from two rooms away, resolved itself into a sound that was most decidedly passion once he got closer. Miss Mariah was getting some and, from the sound of it, the getting was good. Not wanting to ruin their good time, Fitz quietly left and got a couple of espressos over at Tony\'s.

As he strolled over towards Earl\'s to bring an espresso to Brantley, he saw Jack leaving the post office, a nice little spring in his step. Shit. If what he figured was happening between Miss Mariah and Jack, was really happening, he was gonna have to tell B about it. He just hoped things didn\'t turn into him having to make a choice between the woman who took him in after his parents died and his lover. He would hate to have to hurt Miss Mariah that way, but- Shit, he hoped it didn\'t end up like that.

Not having any real evidence, Fitz made the decision not to tell Brantley about seeing Jack leave the post office that day. However he did tell him about overhearing Miss Mariah and some unknown someone. Brantley, who had a soft spot for Miss Mariah too, was glad to hear it.

Three days later was Sunday and Miss Mariah had invited them over for tea. She and Fitz had made a habit of getting together every so often, just to keep up. Yes, they did see each other every few days anyway, but you couldn\'t really keep up when there was a line of people waiting for their mail behind you. So, they had tea or went to a play in North Platte or just spent an afternoon puttering about her house, Fitz getting up on ladders and crawling under things to make repairs.

Brantley drove because, well because, riding in the mustang, red made Fitzy hot and so they hardly ever took his little compact anymore. When they pulled into Mariah\'s driveway, Fitz put a hand on B\'s arm to keep him in the car. He couldn\'t take the chance that Jack was inside- Miss Mariah was the type to try and orchestrate a reconciliation between those two; she always wanted the happy ending.

\"Uh, listen, I\'ve got to tell you about something,\" Fitz started. \"I uh, there\'s this thing I saw, which really wasn\'t proof, but well it did look likely. And, I\'m not defending them, not that they\'ve done anything that needs defending, but . . . I didn\'t tell you because I didn\'t want to deal with what it might mean, though it doesn\'t have to mean anything bad, not unless you decide to make it bad and-\"

\"Breathe, Peaches,\" Brantley interrupted his rambling. Fitz took a deep breath. \"Okay, now just spill it; it\'ll be all right.\"

\"It\'s possible, I mean it could be that, uh- theymightbedating,\" Fitz got out all in a rush.

\"Good. Now, who are we talking about? Miss Mariah?\"

\"Uh-huh.\" He nodded.

\"Okay, just one more answer, okay?\" B reassured him.

\"Okay.\"

\"Miss Mariah and who?\"

Here goes nothing. \"Uh, Jack.\"

\"Jack?\" he repeated, stunned.

\"I\'m not really sure, it\'s just that that day when I overheard Mariah, you know, at the post office, well, a little while later, I saw Jack leaving and two plus two might not make four here. I could be, you know, insane. And, I\'m sorry I didn\'t tell you before, but I\'m still not really sure and I just didn\'t want you to, to freak out when it might not even be true.\"

\"It\'s true. You wouldn\'t have kept it from me if you weren\'t sure,\" Brantley told him.

\"But I could be wrong, I mean, I know you think I\'m perfect but . . .\" Fitz waffled.

\"You\'re not wrong and it\'s okay. I\'m not mad at you for trying to protect me. I\'d\'ve don’t the same thing. I\'ll be good or at least civil if he\'s in there. I promise.\"

\"Oh thank God.\"

\"Stop worrying, Fitz. It\'s not as if he\'s cheating on my mother. They were never even together, not really, and she\'s gone now anyway.\"

\"I just don\'t want this to hurt you.\"

\"Hell, maybe it\'ll be good. I\'ve been thinking I should probably throw him a bone anyway,\" he said and got out of the car.

After all that, Jack was nowhere to be seen. Maybe Fitzy was insane. Or maybe, Jack had gotten the message when Brantley had moved out and was giving him space.

***

True to his word, Brantley threw Jack a bone a few days later by not avoiding him when they literally ran into him at the General. They were going in and Jack was going coming out. Jack just stepped back to let them through with an, \"Excuse me. After you.\"

\"Thanks,\" Brantley said with a small smile and went inside.

\"You alright?\" Fitz asked once they were inside.

\"Fine,\" he answered. \"You know what? I can\'t do this right now.\" He handed the shopping basket to Fitzy and made for the door. \"I\'ll see you at home, okay,\" he said over his shoulder and he was gone.

Later on, Brantley came home whistling. Fitz didn\'t have to ask. He knew that Brantley had gone after Jack and that they\'d managed to work some things out. He was sure nothing was perfect yet, but still, it was reason to hope.

***

Now, don\'t think Fitz was holding out on Brantley in order to make him deal with the whole Jack thing. That really wasn\'t the case. The sex issue was, well not completely separate, but mostly, it was a different issue. And really, the trust was there now. It was just about getting up the nerve to do it, having the balls to, literally, let B in. Fitz considered doing the same thing they\'d done before. Tying Brantley up was a definite kink for him, but Fitzy was kind of worried about messing up their first time if all the responsibility was on him. He could envision far too many ways he could screw up screwing and, well, it made him chicken even to mention the idea anymore.

Then again, Brantley\'s birthday was coming up next week and that seemed as good an occasion as any, a great occasion really. Jack invited them out for dinner in North Platte for the big day and B showed that he was pretty close to over his anger by accepting. Fitz stealthily reserved a room at the Hilton so they wouldn\'t have to drive back and be too tired for the sex part of the evening to fly. He informed Jack they\'d be staying in the city and Jack made a joke of offering to get them an upgrade to the Honeymoon Suite. At least, Fitzy thought it was a joke. Fitz got Brantley a copy of Lorraine Hansberry\'s To Be Young, Gifted and Black and a silk tie that Fitz imagined would look really good wrapped around Brantley\'s wrists as gifts that he could give Brantley in front of his father and everything was set.

They met Jack at the restaurant- Tai, which Fitz had never tried and found he really liked. They were mildly surprised to find Miss Mariah was joining them. Brantley and Fitzy exchanged a knowing glance, but let Jack make a big show of telling them that he and Mariah were together. Then Mariah jumped in, apologizing for not telling them sooner. Fitz had been unsure of what he thought of them dating but, in seeing them together, they seemed well matched, so he decided that he approved. Brantley seemed to be in agreement, but made a few incest jokes on account of his father dating Fitzy\'s de facto mother, anyway. So okay, he wasn\'t over all his anger at his father, but he was trying.

Dinner went well. Jack gave B a chunky dress watch, which looked very expensive. Mariah gave him a sweater she\'d knitted herself in a particular shade of blue that set off Brantley\'s eyes. Fitzy\'s gifts went over well, too, the book jacket keeping Brantley\'s attention long enough for Fitz to tell that it was a good choice and the tie putting a telling twinkle in those baby blues that got Fitz going just a little, too. Then there was cake and candles (Fitzy didn\'t have the nerve to make Jack change it to pie- the tie was enough) and then they said goodnight to Jack and Mariah. Brantley didn\'t seem surprised when Fitz directed him not to get on the interstate, but to turn left at the light and then pull into the hotel lot.

\"You too tired to drive home?\"

\"Something like that,\" Fitz answered and popped the trunk to get the luggage.


Author\'s Note:

To Be Young, Gifted and Black by Lorraine Hansberry- an adaptation of some of her collected writings. Hansberry was a lesbian, black playwright and painter who protested against many types of discrimination through her plays, prose, poems and articles.