Let Me In

Sitting on a chair by the display of guitars that graced one side of his store, Brian Haner Sr tuned the Schecter Hellraiser he held, making sure it was perfect before handing it over the young man sitting opposite him. The sound of the door of Guitar Guy opening caused the older man to draw his attention away from the task at hand. A smile formed at the sight of his eldest son walking in, only for it to be replaced with a slight frown when he noticed the somewhat defeated expression worn by the younger Haner, who did little more than offer a half-hearted wave before heading out the back. Sighing, Brian Sr offered his potential customer an apologetic smile before handing over the guitar.

“Give that a try Seth, I’ll be back with you as soon as I can. I’d better go see what’s up with Junior. But if you’re happy with it, maybe we’ll have a little jam session once I’m done finding out why the lack of a smile is doing nothing to improve that ugly mug of his.”

Seth chuckled as he took the guitar.

“No worries Mr H. I’m in no hurry,” he answered.

Nodding, Brian Sr rose from his chair to go in search of his son. Stepping behind the counter, his search was cut short as Brian walked back through from the office, looking a little confused.

“Where’s Beth?” he questioned quietly.

“Hello to you too, son,” Brian Sr stated, ignoring the question at first.

“Sorry,” Brian mumbled in reply, running a hand through his carefully sculpted mess of dark hair. “ Hey Dad,” he offered, attempting a smile that refused to reach his eyes.

“Beth’s out running a couple of errands for me that I needed to get done before you whisk her off and hold her captive for the next couple of days.”

The smile was more genuine this time as Brian laughed. Both he and Beth had taken the rest of the week off work, allowing them time to get ready for Nate’s birthday and party that her parents were going to host on Saturday. They were also going to use it as an opportunity to spend some uninterrupted quality time with each other. Audrey and Mike Cooperman had taken Nate to Disneyland as an early birthday surprise. Knowing that he may find things overwhelming from time to time, they had chosen to book three days and nights there. They had left early that morning, and would return Friday.

“Holding her captive wasn’t the plan, but it’s highly tempting,” Brian admitted, the way he smirked giving away exactly what was going through his mind.

Shaking his head, his father grinned.

“I forgot to ask, what time are Audrey and Mike expecting everyone on Saturday?” he enquired.

“Any time from two should be fine,” Brian answered. “Should be a good afternoon, all the gang are coming, they all love Nate.”

“He’s a great kid,” Brian Sr stated, another question already poised on the tip of his tongue.

“Is Colby likely to turn up?”

The question hung heavy in the air, silence sitting between father and son for a brief moment, as Brian mulled over the one thing he knew his father probably hadn’t wanted to ask, yet it had been inevitable that someone would have brought the subject up eventually.

“I wish I knew the fucking answer to that,” Brian finally replied, his voice tight. “He’s had a lot of vacation time of late, and with the custody hearing in three weeks, he may not be able to get anymore before then. Well, that’s what Beth and I are hoping anyway.”

“Three weeks? That’s been arranged damn quick,” the older man stated.

“Yeah, Beth and I asked Dominic about that and he just said that’s the way it goes sometimes. He’s been a little evasive, but we wonder if he’s managed to pull a couple of favours in from somewhere. If he has, I’m grateful. I just want Beth and Nate to feel settled and comfortable knowing that that asshole just can’t keep springing up whenever he wants. That the three of us can just get on with our life together, knowing there’s boundaries he can’t cross.”

“Listen to you, talking like a family man. I believe my boy has finally grown up!”

“If you weren’t my father I’d be telling you to go fuck yourself right now,” Brian retorted, managing to keep a straight face, even though his deep brown eyes glinted in a way that made it clear he was joking.

“So is that what’s on your mind?” his father pressed.

A long sigh escaped Brian as he ran a hand over his face.

“No, I went to see Cole this morning about the house.”

Brian Sr nodded with a hint of sympathy, realising then that the discussion between the two cousins hadn’t gone quite how Brian would have hoped. Cole was his ex-wife’s nephew, who had inherited a property from his maternal grandparents two years previous. Unsure of what he had wanted to do with the house initially, Cole had offered it to Brian and Clayre, charging them a pathetically small rent that would have barely covered utilities and such, yet it left him safe in the knowledge that the house was occupied until he finally reached a decision on it’s future.

That decision had now been made, and at the end of the month new tenants would be moving in. Brian, however, had been struggling to find somewhere to move into, and had hoped to persuade Cole to give him an extension.

“No luck on getting him to extend past the end of the month then,” his father summarised.

“No luck on getting him to extend past the end of next week actually,” Brian countered. “He and Jess want the place vacated so they can decorate and shit before the new tenants move in. Cole was real apologetic, I kinda got the impression it’s more Jess pushing for me to leave than him, but I can’t blame them. It’s their house and they wanna utilize it to their advantage. I’m just screwed when it comes to a place to lay my head.”

“Shit son,” his father murmured. “You can’t find anything that you can afford? Have you not been saving?”

“Of course I have, but that’s only been possible since Clayre and I split up. Paying Cole so little each month gave her the chance to practically bleed my account dry. Now she’s not around, I’ve managed to build up quite a bit. Being with Beth has really driven home just how bad Clayre was. She’s happy with whatever we do, no matter how simple. She doesn’t want nor expect the world.”

“Although you’d give it to her if you could,” his father pointed out with a smile.

“Yeah, I would,” Brian whispered in reply. “However,” he continued, “everywhere I’ve looked at will wipe out my savings what with deposits and shit. Plus, I’d be downsizing, so I’d have to put a lot of stuff in storage, which is an extra expense I really can’t fucking afford right now.”

Hating to see his first born at such a loose end, Brian Sr knew it was time to offer assistance. It was something that had been discussed between himself and his wife, Suzy at great length, both of them wanting to make sure that Brian was going to able to find and afford a home that was going to be able to accommodate not only him, but Beth and Nate. Brian had already told them that he wanted to be have somewhere that was going to be spacious enough for the three of them so that he could have them stay with him, allow them to have a change of scene, instead of him encroaching on their space all the time.

That was when the couple had realized just how important Beth and Nate were to their son, how serious he was about them having a permanent role in his life. They had always been proud of him, in spite of some of the ill-judged decisions he had made throughout his life. Yet now, that pride was almost overflowing. Meeting Beth had been the turning point Brian had needed in his life, to make him finally get a better grip on reality and discover for himself the sides of adulthood that brought so much responsibility with them. And Brian had met them head on and embraced them.

“Look, I know it’s not ideal, but you’re more than welcome to come stay with us until you’ve managed to save some more and find somewhere you can afford.”

Brian quirked an eyebrow at his father.

“Sure you and Suzy wanna put yourselves through that again?” he questioned, a smile twitching at his lips.

“Well we figured this time round you wouldn’t be leaving your Playboys and pornos lying around for all to find.”

“No, he keeps those all locked away in a safe place these days,” Beth chimed in from where she stood leaning against the door to the back of the store.

“And you never complain when I get out the key and choose us a little entertainment for the evening,” Brian retorted, walking over to her and enveloping her in his arms.

“There are some things an old man really doesn’t need to hear son,” Brian Sr muttered, visibly blanching. “I should have known he’d corrupt you sweetheart.”

“Do not be fooled by the sweet and innocent act, Dad. Trust me.”

Beth simply grinned, not even bothering to deny anything Brian said.

“So I guess we’re heading to yours this afternoon then,” she put to Brian.

“See what I mean!” he exclaimed.

“Well, I figured I could just lie back and entertain myself whilst you make a start on packing your stuff up,” Beth murmured suggestively, causing Brian to close his eyes and groan at the thoughts that were going through his mind.

“That’s it you two, get outta here!” Brian Sr cried. “I need to call Suzy, let her know we’ll be needing to soundproof your room and get some plastic sheeting for your bed,” he muttered with a shudder.

Brian laughed, knowing full well his dad’s reaction was because they were in Beth’s company. If it had been just the two of them, he would have been making crude remarks that would probably outdo his son. Looking over at where his father stood, Brian gave a smile that was filled with gratitude and relief.

“Dad, thanks yeah, for everything. It’s a huge weight off my mind,” he stated.

“You’re welcome son, any time.”

Smiling once again, Brian took Beth’s hand in his, bid his dad goodbye and headed out to start to putting an end to one chapter of his life, ready to begin a new one.