Ch 4: Brotherly Advice
A Bit of Brotherly Advice
copyright 2011 comidacomida
I'd been living with Jason for about 6 years when my mom first made an attempt to contact me. It took a lot of work on her part (and some help from Jason) to get me to agree to open up to the idea of having her involved in my life again. We'd been talking over the phone on and off for almost a month before a visit was planned. Before you start thinking you know what I mean by a visit, I think I need to point out that there was NO WAY IN HELL she was going to be anywhere near me. Now that we've cleared that up--
Other than my mom, the only other living relative I had any contact with was my half-brother Sullivan. No... that's his name-- his whole name. Sullivan. Yea... I know it doesn't sound like a Dog name but I'll get to that in a minute so just chill. Sullivan was the one who was going to come visit, not my mom. There are any good number of reasons why we settled on that, but first I think a little background'd help.
My dad left my mom when I was still just a pup. They weren't good for each other and I guess it was probably for the best. From the few memories I have of him he was a pretty damn big asshole... the stereotypical bull terrier thug. He'd roughed her up a lot and didn't really give a fuck about anything but himself and whatever bottle he had in his paw. After he left the picture it was just me and my mom... course, my mom was more interested in it being just her. She'd spend her nights staying out late and partying and leaving me home alone. Turned out okay though I guess since I somehow managed to not get myself killed.
When I was about eight my mom met this one guy she saw a couple of times, which was a pretty big change from her usual one night stands. She ended up seeing him often enough to get pregnant. Considering the dad was a pretty big corporate-type my mom thought it'd be her ticket to easy street and chose to keep the pup. Well, to make a long story short, this guy, an Akita from the good part of LA, ended up deciding that the best move he could make would be to take custody. Considering my mom's pretty damn crappy track record with child services (to this day I'm not really sure how she managed to keep hold of me), it didn't take a lot for him to win.
Sully's dad wasn't just a 'well off' kinda corporate type-- he was fuckin' loaded. Even though I didn't know a lot about him he seemed like the kinda guy who had his head screwed on right (other than banging my mom). He made sure that Sully was looked after and learned all the stuff rich kids should know, but he also encouraged him to spend the occasional weekend at our place... you know... to learn how 'the other side' lived. I didn't really mind having Sully around since it usually meant my mom was on her best behavior. I guess he apparently looked forward to hanging out with us because it gave him a break from all that horrible shit that rich people have to deal with... whatever the fuck that's supposed to be.
Now, as far as Sullivan's name, that was another byproduct of his dad's life. Mom didn't bother naming him since he was pretty much taken from her at the hospital, and she didn't really care about what to call him. Sully's dad was a damn rich bastard, but he really didn't have much in the way of imagination or creativity so, the story I heard was that he went down his list of stocks and ended up with a claw pointing at "Sullivan and McGinty", a metal fabrication company or some shit and, well, since a name like McGinty would likely get a little pup fucked up at school, Sullivan it was-- not that it was much better in the school department.
Even though Sully's dad was an Akita, Sully took after mom more. There are still some pretty specific signs if you know what to look for; his fur is a bit shaggier up top between his ears; his white fur is a little more brown and his dark fur is a little less black. I'd KILL for his paws... I mean, he got all black and no pink... lucky ass. What really stands out though, and I'm only saying it because I really don't think it's that big of a deal even if he used to, is that he has a cute little curl to his tail.
'Cute' is a word you won't hear come out of my muzzle too often, but it works in this case. Sully's tail is cute like Jason curled up asleep on the couch in the afternoon is cute... and that's about the end of my use of the word. Keep in mind that I don't spend my time looking at other guys' tails, but in Sully's case it's hard not to-- he'd made a big deal of it ever since I could remember. Thing is: his tail's just a little curled at the end. It's not Akita-style curled, but it does have a bit of a twist... and the fur is a bit longer than on most bull terriers. He hated the fuck out of it all the way through high school, but personally I'd always thought it was kinda cool.
Anyway, right before I moved outta there, Sully came to live with us full time after his dad died. I guess it was one of those kinda 'oh shit' times for him when he realized just what that meant, but I think he handled it better than most pups his age woulda. He was about 9 or 10 or so at the time, I guess, and he just stuck through it. I don't think I even saw him cry once; that little bastard had my respect from then on. We hung around a bit... well... as much as you'd expect half brothers to when one was twice as old as the other, and he was probably my first official fan... other than Jason, of course. I guess it only made sense that he'd be the one to help connect my new life to my old one.
It was winter break when he came to visit... I remember because I wasn't sure if his plane was gonna be delayed or not. My Jason was out of town and his flight was rerouted so that he'd be gone another day, which sucked, but at least it was going to give me time to get familiar with Sully before having to introduce him to his brother's boyfriend. I wasn't that worried about what he thought of me being in a relationship with a male human since it seemed that most teens by that point didn't have the kinda homophobia from earlier years plus, if he did, I didn't have a problem booting his curly-tailed ass out on the curb. Yea, yea... I'm a loving brother... besides, he already knew I lived with a male lover before he even got on the plane.
During the car ride it was mostly just casual stuff like "I can't believe how cloudy it is here." or "Everything looks so old." or "Do you remember that old black and red dress mom had? She still wears it!". We had just got back to the apartment and started getting settled in when Sully first opened his muzzle with a question about my lifestyle.
"So where's this guy of yours?" it was a pretty straight forward question.
"He's out of state on business... his flight got delayed cuz of weather so he won't be back til tomorrow." I answered, just as matter-of-fact.
"Oh." he gazed around the entryway sniffing, "So... is he one of those really prissy guys? The kind that wear pink ribbons in their fur and talk with a lisp?"
I managed not to laugh, "No... he doesn't wear any ribbons."
"Then... um..." I could tell the gears were turning in his head trying to find a way to put it, "what's he like?"
"Well... to begin, he doesn't have any fur." I clarified, plopping down on the couch.
"He doesn't?" Sully asked, moving to sit down on a recliner opposite me, "Is he a furless breed? Is he like a punk or grunge or something? Oh! Don't tell me he's a Fur-Free, is he? Does he shave off his fur and pretend to be a human?"
"No... he doesn't PRETEND to be a human." I answered. I almost fucking cracked up.
"So then, what--"
"He IS a human." I explained. Sully's jaw dropped. During the silence I pulled at my shirt, showing him the black collar Jason had made for me.
"NO FUCKIN' WAY!" he exclaimed.
"Don't fuckin cuss." I ordered... yea.. looking back I can see the humor, thanks. Anyway, that led to a much longer conversation.
Sully didn't really care about the fact that I was in a relationship with a guy, but when he found out that it was a human I ended up getting a bit of a shock. See... one thing I didn't know about Sully, and something he didn't bother telling mom was that he kinda had a crush on a human girl at school. Apparently she had dated one of the football players, who happened to be a Dog, so Sully thought that he had a chance. You know... I never really had the older-brother-younger-brother-advice-talk-kinda-thing before... it was really weird starting right then.
See, he was interested in this girl at school but he didn't know if she was open to having a Dog as a boyfriend, or if she was a Leasher looking for a Burb Dog, or if maybe she preferred Dogs over humans, or was maybe just exploring her options with the football player she dated for awhile. Sully wanted to ask her out but didn't know how to start. It also didn't help that she was popular and he... well... he really wasn't. That last part sucked, and I felt bad for him, but I really didn't know how to help.
"I don't know why people'd have a problem with you... aren't they supposed to like rich guys?" I tried joking with him.
"Anybody that likes you because of your money isn't really a friend." he explained. It was one of those quotes he used from time to time that I'm sure came from his dad. He used to use them when I lived at home with my mom and it was kinda like a flashback... it was weird that the familiar tone of it made me smile considering all the bad stuff that a flashback should have brought up-- but didn't. "Doesn't make any difference anyway," he continued, "the trust lawyer handles all the expenses for me and I don't get any access to anything until I'm 23."
"Twenty three, huh?" I remember rolling my eyes, "They'll let you drink before they'll let you blow all your cash on booze, huh?"
"Don't ask me... it was dad's will." he shrugged.
Our discussion went every-which-way... makes sense I guess; when you haven't seen someone for that long there's a lot of catching up to do. Somehow though, the conversation ended up getting back to the girl from school, Nikki, and, from there, to my wonderful human.
"So... your guy..." Sully began. I could tell he was trying to talk about it without acting embarrassed, "How long have you two been together?"
"Ever since high school." I answered.
"Really?" he asked, "So... you mean when you left home to go with your boyfriend join him at college."
"Yep... same guy." I answered proudly.
"Wow." he noted in honest admiration.
"Yea... tell me about it... he must really be stupid if he's hung in with me THIS long." we both shared a laugh at my expense but you know what? It felt good.
"There's this one guy on the radio in California... actually it's syndicated-- I think he broadcasts from here in New York." Sully began.
"Yea?" I asked.
"Yea... he talks all about human and Dog relationships. He's had a Dog boyfriend for about ten years so he can talk from experience... a lot of Burb Dog stuff and all, but also stuff that's more main-stream." he explained.
"Really?" I chuckled, "I didn't know that relationships between Humans and Dogs was mainstream." I was toying with him, and I think he knew it.
"No... really." he reassessed, "He's a really cool guy too... he helps a lot of people, and even just listening to his broadcast every week kinda helps me too. I mean, I'm not a Burb Dog or anything, but a lot of what he says is just good info and stuff."
"There aren't a lot of people out there who do that kinda thing." I acknowledged, "It's probably a Walter Media Group program." I explained, "They do most of that stuff out there."
"Yea!" he noted enthusiastically, "Actually it is!" he stood up, "They have an office here in New York."
"I know." I nodded with a grin, and I held up my company badge-- the photo on it sucks ass, but I don't think he really cared once he saw what it was.
"You work at Walter Media?!?" his voice raised a few decibels.
"Yea." I confirmed.
"Holy crap! Do you know many of the people there?" his tail started beating even faster.
"Yea... most of em. I've been working there for awhile now." I answered.
"WOW!" he jumped up, "Do you think we could visit while I'm here?"
I laughed, "No problem... any reason why?"
"I want to meet Jason Campbell... he's that guy on the radio I told you about." It was obvious that he hadn't put two-and-two together.
"Is that so?" I asked in a casual tone. He nodded vigorously in reply. "Well... okay..." I must have been grinning from ear to ear, "I think I can arrange that."