...for Another Warbler Wedding
The following morning saw the two of them up early, and after hiring a car, they drove out of the city in a south-easterly direction, heading towards the little community of Bristol and the country club. The drive was not a long one, and that pleased them both. In no time, they were off the highway, having followed a signpost that stated Harwood. Seeing the name again made Trent realise that he really did need to give Thad a call. It had been a few weeks now since he had talked to the Head Warbler, and he really felt that he should be the first of their friends to be told all about the wedding. It was only right and proper after all - had Wes still been around, he would have been Trent's first port of call. He was brought our of his chain of thought as Rory, who had been driving, nudged him and pointed out the old white house on the hill in front of them, built in the traditional southern style, that was the focal point of the whole establishment. It did look magnificent; and he had to admit that it would be a perfect backdrop for their wedding pictures. A lot would still depend though on the attitude of the staff, and the flexibility of the catering on offer. They did not want to choose from a list of menus - they wanted to be able to select the kind of food they wanted.
The car was left in the safety of the lot, and after taking a few minutes to just breathe in the air and soak up the atmosphere, they headed inside. The warmth of the greeting that they received as they approached the reception desk was enough to convince them both that the welcome would be friendly - and the food samples that they were given as they talked to the wedding organiser were delicious. There would also be no problem in tailoring the menu to their own demands. When it came to asking how much it would all cost, they were pleasantly surprised at just how low the price they were given was. A combination of the discount they had been given for being related to a member of the club in Becca's family, and a discount that was available for being a family member of a congressman. They looked at each other and knew from each other's face what they had to do. The provisional booking was confirmed there and then. It was definite - they would be getting married in a day short of 15 weeks time.
As Trent drove them back to the city, Rory made a call to Burt and Carole. He knew that strictly this wasn't an emergency, but he felt that they would want to know. It came as no real surprise when they told him that they already knew all about the proposed venue, as Séamus had called them to let them know what he was doing, just in case Rory had been angry with him. They were more than happy about the fact that they had set a date; all the concerns that Burt had once had about young people getting married so early had disappeared, in no small part due to the success of the marriage of Nick and Jeff. He could no longer argue his case when it was quite clear that love was more than enough; plus it did actually help to keep Rory in the country, not that he would tell anyone that. Carole was more excited than Burt, as finally she would get to be mother of the groom for a living person. She would also she hoped be allowed to assist with the planning in the run up to the wedding. Then there was the fact that it was a good excuse to but a new hat - heck, a whole new outfit, given that the wedding was taking place at such an exclusive country club. Rory was left so happy by the time he ended the conversation that he started to cry. That was what happened when you finally had two parents that cared at your side.
The reaction of Trent's family when they called them later that day was the same; happiness for them, if mixed with a little concern about how soon the day would come. Trent also knew that as soon as he hung up the phone, his mom would be calling Carole to discuss ideas for the big day; to co-ordinate outfits too, no doubt, if he knew them well enough. He also mentally began to prepare himself for a lot of maternal visits over the next few weeks; she would need to see the venue, to check the quality of the catering; to assess hotels in the area. It didn't bother him in the least - he loved his mother, and he knew that she would not try and interfere in anything that he and Rory had decided upon.
After that, it was time to make the call to Thad, after making an allowance for the time difference. He answered as promptly as he always did, and after they had exchanged the usual pleasantries, Trent announced that he had big news, and that Thad would need to clear his diary at the end of July. There was a moment of silence, and then Thad said "So, I take it that you and Rory have set a date? Excellent! I think that this calls for a Warbler group Skype!" Without waiting for the two young men in Washington to respond, he sent out a group text, and in the space of 5 minutes, every one of the main Warblers was on line, even Ethan and Drew in England, and David had appeared beside Thad. Trent was asked to make his announcement, and when he did, there was cheering from around the nation and from across the Atlantic.
"Right." said Thad, when the noise had died down, "I am assuming that all of us intend to attend this year's Warbler wedding? I am, of course, in that statement making the assumption that none of the rest of us are considering getting married this year - any plans, Sebastian?"
"Not so far, Thad, but who knows? Maybe Dave and I will elope to Vegas…"
"Really? Elope to Vegas - presumably to get married in some quick ceremony by a celebrant dressed as Elvis…" said Thad, with a significant dollop of sarcasm.
"I don't know - a Warbler wedding in Vegas does sound good," said Beats with a wink. "After all, you know what they say - what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."
"It sounds like Wes' worst nightmare," said David with a laugh. "Can you imagine - he would have spent his entire time worrying himself sick about who was getting themselves into trouble with showgirls; who was squandering their family inheritance at the slots, or blackjack, or roulette; who was getting themselves arrested or annoying the mafia…"
"And as the current Head Warbler, all of that responsibility would now fall on me," said Thad with a groan. "So, guys, no weddings in Vegas ever, please - unless you can arrange to get me very, very drunk first - but not so drunk that I wake up married to David…" There was a moment of total silence, and then everyone burst out laughing. When they had all finally stopped, Thad continued. "Ok, so back to the point of this conversation - a July wedding near Washington DC. So no doubt you will want us to sing, and probably perform some other kind of role at the ceremony?"
"Yes," said Trent. "We were thinking that you could act as ushers, as you did at a recent wedding in New York…. Now, however, I have to say something that you might not all like, and might shock you. It's my choice of best man…"
"Mitch," said David, with a smile.
"Mitchell," said Beats and Flint in unison.
"Gonna be Mitch, isn't it Nicky?"
"Very much doubt he would choose anyone else, Jeff"
"He is your only choice," said Thad, " and I would have been very surprised if you had uttered any other name. It is actually a relief to know that someone else will find themselves responsible for organising the inevitable bachelor party."
"I haven't actually asked him yet, but yes, I do want him to be my best man. He might say no though…"
"He won't, I promise you. He loves you too much as a friend to ever turn you down," said Thad with a grin.
David nodded in agreement, and added, "The only way to find out is to call him - and best do it as soon as possible."
Trent turned to Rory, who agreed with David. "You should call him right now my love. I know that you are nervous - sure, I would be too in your situation. I am lucky that I have a brother to ask; if it wasn't for Séamus, then I would be in the middle of fretting about which of the New Directions guys to ask to be my best man. That would be an agonising choice - a minefield in fact. The thing is, you know exactly who you want to do the job for you; to be your right hand man on the most important day of your life. I might only have met him a few times, but I agree with Thad. He isn't going to say no…"
Trent sighed, and pulled out his phone, all to aware that everyone was watching him intently on Skype. He pressed a few buttons, and waited patiently for his call to be answered. It was with a "Hey roomie! How are you, my little Trent?"
"Having quite the weekend, actually. Been making a few decisions with Rory about the future. You see, his big brother is getting married, and her family is from Baltimore, so they will be having the ceremony here. Now, their grandmother is getting old and a bit frail, so…"
"Is this your way of telling me that my little Trent is getting himself a husband this summer too?"
"Yeah. Clear your diary for July the 25th, because I would like you to be there."
"Try and keep me away!"
"The thing is, Mitch… look, you were the best friend that I had at Dalton. You always looked out for me; and we all know that you persuaded Wes to ask the then council that I be allowed to sit in at Warblers' meetings. This is awkward - I guess what I am trying to say is that when a man gets married, he needs his best friend at his side…"
There was silence on the other end of the phone, and then, in a quiet, teary voice, Mitch replied, "Are you asking me to be your best man? Me, not Jeff, or…"
"You. Mitch Henderson, will you do me the great honour of being my best man?"
"Yes, of course I will. It will be my honour and privilege. I always hoped that you might ask me one day, but I thought I had blown my chances after everything that happened over the whole Hunter debacle…"
"We all make mistakes - but in this case, it wasn't really your mistake. You were only following the instructions of your folks, doing what you had to do to stay at college, and we've all forgiven you for that. Which is why I think that it is high time that we brought you back into the Warbler fold fully. Do you recall the old group ID on Skype? Because if you do, you should join us all now…"
Within a minute, Mitch's Skype ID appeared on every screen, and with no hesitation from any of those in the chat, he was accepted by them all. When his face appeared on their screens, it was beaming with a broad smile, but they could all see the tracks of the tears that he had recently shed.
"Welcome back, Warbler Mitchell," said Thad, with due solemnity. "It's good to have you back with us. So, as his best man, we will accept any instructions that you give us to ensure that our beloved Trent is sent off safely to a long and happy marriage with the wonderful Rory. Now, I am guessing that the two of them will not want strippers…"
"But I am available if they do," said Beats with a wink, causing everyone to laugh.
"And I could join him. After all, I already am stripping in public at his side in the bar.." As Flint stopped speaking, there was absolute silence. On camera, mouths had dropped open, and Mitch, who had barely got over the fact that Beats was stripping, looked as if his eyes were about to pop out of his head. Even Beats himself was staring at Flint in shock and surprise. "I wasn't intending to tell you all like this; in fact, until last night I probably hoped I would never have to tell you. But, let's just say, it has been quite a weekend. Anyway, Thad and David already knew about this. I told them earlier because my mom has found out…"
"Uh oh," said Jeff. "I take it that she was overjoyed about it and gave you her full backing and support…?"
Flint burst out in gales of laughter, and was barely able to say "Oh, Blondie, you always could make me smile! Which is a good thing, because I proceeded to make the situation even better by telling her to butt out of my life…"
"What kind of songs do you want for your funeral?" said Nick with a serious expression, which made Flint laugh all the harder, and caused Beats to start giggling too.
"Ok, let me get this straight. Beats and Flint are working as strippers….!?" said Mitch, a look of complete incredibility on his face.
"Yeah, in a gay bar in Princeton," said Thad. "They might even be taking off an approximation of a prep school uniform."
"Wow, the Warblers have grown up…" said Mitch, shaking his head. "Do you know something though - I might just pay to see that. Better yet, maybe they can perform at the bachelor party…"
"If I am still alive," said Flint sadly.
"No, if we are still alive," said Beats, placing an arm around his friend, "because she will have to kill me first."
"She'll have to get through all of us first," said David, "because the Warbler brotherhood is strong, and even Santana would agree with that, if she was here."
The Skype conversation ended up continuing long into the night. As Thad summed it up, they had the good news of a date for Trent and Rory's nuptials, and time to formulate their plans for that; the return of Mitch fully to the fold, which they all had to agree was a very good thing, and would be 100% confirmed once he had his bird name tattooed on his shoulder (that comment had made Mitch pale for a moment if he was honest); but then there was the problem of the stress and chaos that was about to engulf Flint and by connection, Beats. They could all sympathise with his predicament once they had heard the full story. It was sheer chance - after all, the odds of his aunt walking into the bar they worked in in New Jersey, when she lived hundreds of miles away in Kansas were so slim…
But it had happened, and now they would all be there to support him, and indeed Beats when the proverbial hit the fan. There was less that Thad and David could do than the others in the States, as they were on the opposite side of the continent; though as both Trent and Sebastian pointed out, L.A. would make a great place for them to run to and hide. They did not dwell on Flint's problems though. As he himself put it, doing so would not make them go away; all it did was remind him of the problems he had to face; for all he knew, she might already be on her way to Princeton as they talked…
"Possibly on her broomstick," said Jeff in a half-whisper to Nick, who gave him a gentle slap. When they looked up, they saw Flint smiling at them, whilst waggling a finger, Beats stifling his laughter at his side.
In the main though, they discussed the wedding. The two grooms still had no idea for a theme, and although the words 'Southern Decadence' were mentioned more than once, Trent was unsure - plus he wanted somehow to reflect Rory's heritage on the big day too, not just his own family roots in the south. Eventually though, Ethan and Drew announced they really had to go, as it was nearly three in the morning in England, and that reminded them all that they should go. They exchanged more congratulations, and sympathy to Flint, before one by one they signed off. As they did so, Trent yawned, and so Rory decided that the two of them should get an early night - and after a quick wash, they went off to cuddle together in bed.