After Seth Part III
The news that Seth's death had been entirely down to an unpreventable attack was a relief to all of them, but Thad noticed that Skylar made no mention of the piece of bread that he had been choking on; he knew that it had been brought as part of the meal she had prepared for them all the night before. Of course, now that they had confirmation that the choking was not the cause of death, there was no need to burden Mrs Carmichael with that knowledge. In the back of his mind, Thad was not quite as convinced that the choking incident had not played at least a small part in the passing of the young man they now all mourned; the stress of trying to deal with it could easily have set off the attack and the subsequent stroke. He would query that with Hayden in private, but at a later date…
With the news now broken, it was time for Mrs Carmichael to bring out the envelopes that Seth had entrusted her with at the end of the previous year, and the extra ones he had given her just a few weeks ago too. At first she looked undecided about what to do with them, then with a nod of her head she took the smallest of them and handed it directly to the best friend of the deceased. "He wrote this for you personally, by hand, at the start of the month. He did not tell me what it said, and he asked me to apologise to you in advance that his handwriting was not up to his usual standard."
Skylar could only nod, looking at the envelope in his hand, and his name written there in Seth's hand; still legible, but not as polished as he was used to. He hesitated for a moment, then decided that he should open it there and then. The others in the room looked away as he tore it open and pulled out the single sheet of paper within; it was therefore not a long note, and after a quick glance, he decided to read it out.
"Don't be sad for my passing, Sky, as I will always be with you. I will be watching as you and Julia raise your children (I am pretty certain there will be at least two) and then I will watch over them. As for me, my pain will be over, and that has to be good! I make only one request of you now, which might seem a little odd. I want you to use my leather chair; yes, it is old and battered, but so comfortable, and in a way, you will be closer to me if you sit in it. I give you full permission to keep it reupholstered to match the rest of the furniture if that helps. Anyway, my eternal thanks for everything you have done for me, my Sunny Sky… signed Seth."
Skylar felt tears begin to form in his eyes, but he blinked them away, then got up from his usual chair to go and sit in his best friend's old chair. "He's right, it is comfortable," he mused, thinking that he could almost smell the sandalwood cologne that Seth had used as he sat there. "He called me his Sunny Sky just before he passed; I need to try and stay like that for him…"
"I think that is a sentiment that he would like all of us to go on under," said Thad, and David nodded in agreement. "I am sure that it is also echoed in the music that he has chosen for his funeral. He was never one for sad songs, or as he described it, dirge like music…"
As he finished speaking, Mrs Carmichael handed him an envelope that had his name written on it. "Seth decided that the plans for his funeral should be entrusted to you as the Head Warbler, although all of us are to play a role in things. I think that he anticipated that by the time that these needed to be implemented, Skylar might well have family commitments that were occupying the majority of his time, and that, along with the weight of grief he would be feeling, could have made the task an unbearable burden on top of everything at this juncture…"
"I will take on the task if that is what he wished, but we all need to have an input, especially Skylar," responded Thad tactfully. He opened the envelope, and saw that the contents had been typed, which made him certain that Mrs Carmichael already knew exactly what was inside. He took out the folded papers, and had a quick scan over the first page, which was a summary of everything else. "So he has requested that Dalton be the venue for his funeral, which is no surprise, then on to the crematorium in Westerville, but only for a core few people. He would like his ashes buried somewhere in the grounds of Dalton, and he has suggested a few spots; if not, then he wants to be scattered somewhere green and pleasant. At the top of his wish list is the school Garden of Remembrance, the one that was planted for those Dalton boys that never returned from Vietnam. It is close to the Warblers' spiritual home in the Senior Commons for one thing…"
"It was somewhere that we used to go and hide from Hunter," said Skylar quietly. "We were screened by those high hedges from him, and it was always an oasis of serenity when we needed it the most. I agree that it is the perfect spot for him to rest in forever…"
Thad read on, then stopped, mouth falling open. He reread the line, then announced what he had just read to them all, causing David and Skylar to look every bit as stunned. Seth had stated categorically that he did not want any of his generation of Warblers to sing at his funeral. They were flummoxed and flabbergasted at that, until Mrs Carmichael explained Seth's reasons.
"I was as surprised as you when he first mentioned it, but he recalled Wes' Memorial, and Bye Bye Blackbird. How all of those singing the song, bar Thad, were barely holding it together by the end. He doesn't want anything like that to happen at his own funeral - his exact words, not mine. He does go on to suggest that the current generation could sing instead, but it is the middle of the summer vacation, so that might be a hard thing to achieve."
Thad shook his head. "I know those boys; I will start by calling those that live the closest to the school, and I am certain that we can get a small ensemble at least from them. I can expand the request to those that came after his time, and have either stayed in Ohio for college, or are home from school. If anyone deserves a Warbler chorus at their send off, it is Seth, and by hook or by crook, I will get him one!"
David nodded in full agreement with what Thad had just said. "The truth is that Seth wasn't just cared about by our generation. I am guessing that Dex, Lawrence and the other four guys that live in the West Village house will feel his loss the most, as they knew him better. Then there is Peter Smythe of course. I am pretty certain that they will all be here at the very least to be part of the chorus."
"You are probably right about that," mused Thad. "I can of course drop hints about Peter being here to Sebastian, and that will ensure he is here. However, there could be an issue with Sebastian himself being here, depending on what day we decide upon for the funeral."
"Seth specified to me quite early on in the process that his funeral had to be held on a Monday, regardless of what day of the week it was that he passed away," announced Mrs Carmichael. "Of course, it wasn't just the needs of Sebastian that he was considering there, but those of young Mason too. As for accommodation for the event, there is no worry, as we have a whole school of empty dorm rooms at the moment that we can offer out for those that need somewhere to stay the night before. That way we do not have a lot of people on red eye flights. So, given that he wanted a Monday, the funeral should be scheduled for nine days time. It is longer than we might have wished it to be, but it will allow those that want to be here to make plans…"
There was general agreement on that, and with the blessing of the rest of the room, Thad sent out a group text giving the date and an approximate time for the service to start of 10am. He also stated that there would be rooms available the night before, and that everyone was welcome to stay over so that they entered the funeral refreshed. That done, he sent out a text to his current Warblers, adding in former members of the choir that he knew were still local to Dalton, in which he stated what had happened in case they were unaware, and what Seth had requested for his funeral. With that done, the little meeting moved on to a more in depth discussion of Seth's choice of music, and how that would mean trying to assemble members of the school's orchestra and bands. Then there was the topic of food, and exactly how much caramel apple pudding might be required. Thad knew that he would have another video group call to make, but it could wait until later; in that, he would have to tell the Warblers of his generation that they would not be singing…
Across the nation, the buzzing and pinging that marked the arrival of the first text attracted attention. Flint was at the hospital, officially now on paternity leave for the next fortnight, and now anxiously awaiting the arrival of his parents to meet their new granddaughter for the first time. His mother had been elated when she had been told that she had arrived, but as of yet, she was still unaware that the child had been named after her. Flint and Izzy had decided that they would make it a surprise for her on this Sabbath day, and they had agreed that Mr Wilson shouldn't be told either, thus sparing him having to act surprised later…
The Bernsteins had of course already seen their new grandchild at the hospital, and it had been interesting; Flint's father-in-law had seen the way that he was acting, and had taken him outside to ask if there was something amiss, some problem that they were not telling them about. Flint had responded by bursting into tears again, and the situation could have been very awkward had Beats not appeared at that precise moment; he handed the flowers and teddy bear that he had been carrying to Mr Bernstein, and had then enfolded Flint in his arms, crying tears of his own as he held him, all whilst a confused Mr Bernstein looked on at first, and then headed back into his daughter's room. When he told them what was happening, Izzy explained about Seth, and Mr Bernstein felt a lump in his throat at the bonds of brotherhood he had just been privileged to witness…
Flint read the text, and as soon as he saw the date, he headed over to the chair in which his wife now sat, holding his phone out in front of him. "So, Seth's funeral is next Monday. I will tell them that I cannot…"
"You most certainly will not!" replied Izzy firmly. "Maribel and I can manage to cope with the children between us. I only wish that I could go with you, but you'll have Beats. I would have liked to have paid my respects, as he was such a charming young man. No arguing, the whole thing is settled. You need to be with the rest of the flock so that you can mourn him properly…"
Flint leant forward and kissed her. "I am so lucky to have you as a wife; not many woman would be as understanding of the situation…" He stopped, as the sound of his mother's voice at the reception desk echoed along the corridor, and the colour in his cheeks paled a little.
"You can say that again," said Izzy wickedly, and Flint had to try hard not to laugh as he walked towards the door of the room, a smile on his face, ready as he would ever be to introduce his mom to her namesake…
In Washington DC, the text pinged on Trent's phone as he sat in a strategy meeting with the President and his team, and he blushed furiously as he realised that for once he had not put his phone onto silent. The President began to laugh when just a second later there was another ping from the other side of the room where Rory sat next to Burt, and that helped to make Trent feel a little less mortified.
"I am assuming that if the two of you have just received the same message, then it must be related to you musical brothers and sisters. How are they all?" remarked Kennedy in all innocence.
"Not so good, to be honest, Sir," said Rory, before Trent could speak. "We learnt last night that we had lost Seth Kennedy to one final attack of his MND. I suspect that the text we have just received will be related to arrangements for his funeral service."
The President's face saddened, and he turned to look at Trent, before saying quietly, "You should have told me that this had happened, instead of carrying on as if everything was fine. I hope that you were not even contemplating missing the funeral to carry on with work, regardless of how busy we are."
"Well, we are extremely busy right now, Sir, and Seth, as a Democrat and a Kennedy, would not wish me to neglect my tasks for him."
"Nonsense! Check the text right now, and if the date is there, I want you to take that day and the days on either side of it as a holiday, and that is an order! My wife will be upset that he has passed away; she only met him briefly, but he made quite an impression on her that morning."
"He certainly was a good kid, and for anyone to die so young is tragic," said Burt in full agreement. "I might not have known him as well as those of you that were at Dalton when Kurt was there, but I think that the world is the poorer from his passing."
The President nodded, then said, "Perhaps you could arrange to attend the funeral alongside Trent and Rory, Burt. You would be representing my wife and indeed me. The fact that the Speaker of the House is there would give an enormous boost to MND related charities; the condition needs more publicity so that it can be given the funding it deserves…"
As Trent pondered just how many members of the Secret Service would have to be at Seth's funeral now that Burt would be attending officially, Nick was finding himself serving up an impromptu lunch to a very full house. He and Jeff had not been expecting to have company that day, but Beats had arrived, looking for advice on how they thought it would be best to handle Flint's news in the circumstances. Ethan and Drew had arrived along with Evie not long after that, and they joined in the discussion, Evie heading off to keep Wes company; he had been making paper planes for most of the morning…
It came as no real surprise when the doorbell went, and Nick answered it to find Dex on the threshold, wanting to ask how such an event would go, as the whole of the house next door had expressed a desire to attend, given that they had known Seth personally. Nick decided that the best thing to do would be to ask Dex and the others to join them, but he had not anticipated that for once, all six of the young men next door would be home, as usually at least one of them was off somewhere working… He had then realised the time, and excusing himself, he had headed off to the kitchen to look at his food stores, stuff that he set aside for just such an emergency. Lunch quickly morphed into brunch however, when he realised that the most sensible thing for him to prepare was scrambled egg, bacon and toast…
"I still cannot believe that he is actually gone," said Drew sadly, expressing what they all felt. "This time last year he seemed so healthy, with just those little niggles, but then…"
"He didn't even make it to thirty," responded Ethan in a sombre voice. "I am actually a little concerned for Skylar and Edward in all of this; they were the closest of us to him."
"I called Colin last night; he told me that Edward had stopped crying, but was just sitting in silence, leafing through his old photograph books and all of his old school papers," said Nick. "The good thing is that Seth will have a lasting memorial in the form of the hospice that they are going to build at Dalton…"
"That's true," replied Ethan. "I have actually a confession to make about that; I have decided to put funding of it to the board of the Mackenzie Trust, and see what they say. I will of course abstain from voting on whether we should or not, and will accept their decision without complaint"
"If you need any help in convincing people to support, then let us know; I am sure we will all be at your disposal," answered Jeff. "I think that we all need to learn from what happened to Seth. We need to treat each and every moment as precious, and not to be afraid to go and see someone if you feel that there is something not quite right in your body healthwise."
"I would second that," said Lawrence. "As a medical student, I know how important it is to find things early. Alas, in the case of Seth, there was nothing that anyone could have done, but there are so many other conditions that can prove fatal that can be cured if they are treated early."
"That is one of the reasons why we should all have a regular physical," said Nick pointedly…
Back in Westerville, Julia had served up lunch for all of them, with the plans for the day now more or less settled. Thad's text to the current Warblers and old boys nearby had already received twelve responses in the affirmative, all of them willing to come to Dalton and sing. One of those replies was from Peter Smythe, who confirmed that he would be back at Dalton and available, and that he would not only be in the company of his uncle Sebastian, but also his father and Isabelle. That the current editor of Vogue would be in attendance was big…
Then Thad had received the telephone call from Trent. He listened as the sunshine of the Warblers informed him that the President wished Burt to attend on his behalf, and as a result, the school auditorium would need to be swept by the Secret Service on the morning of the funeral, for which he apologised. Thad then relayed the news to the rest of the room, watching the reaction on their faces, and then casually mentioned that it was likely that the First Lady would send flowers on behalf of herself and the President…
There had also been a few other phone calls to be made, names mentioned on a list left by Seth. Mrs Carmichael took on the task of calling Seth's college, and informing the professor that he had assisted that he had passed away; he told her that the call was one that he had been expecting and dreading in equal measure. She had gone on to offer him the use of the spare room at her home if he wished to come and needed somewhere to stay, an offer that he quickly accepted. "It will be an opportunity for me to see the school that he told us so much about, and that he loved with all of his heart. With your permission, I will post the news to the rest of the faculty and students on the web; I know that his regular driver would like to be there, and some of the students that he assisted would probably like to remember him too."
"That would be no problem; if any of the students or the driver require accommodation here, then we have an entire school of dorm rooms available. It would be our pleasure to host them here." The professor was most gratified by her offer, and agreed that he would let her know by Thursday how many would be attending and how many beds would be required.
With that call made, she looked at Thad, and he knew what she was thinking now. There was one final thing that they needed to let Skylar know about; the proposal for the hospice, and the role that they envisioned for him in its creation…
"Skylar, there is one final thing that we need to tell you about, something that we have all kept quiet about until now," began Thad. "I am sorry to have to say that you are actually the last person to be informed about this other than Julia; the rest of the guys were informed on graduation day. Seth knew, but asked us not to say anything about it to you until he had passed away…"
"I don't like where this seems to be going," said Skylar in a slightly tetchy tone.
"Trust me, what I am talking about is not a bad thing by any means; he merely thought that if we told you about it, you would get upset, and that would upset him. We all tried to do what he wanted as he reached the end…"
"I don't know how well you know the grounds of Dalton," said Mrs Carmichael, who had decided to just get on with things, and take charge. Skylar turned to her, as Thad relaxed a little. "There is a small portion of the grounds, on the town side of the school, that thanks to the natural geography of the area is more or less detached from the remainder of the property. The river is on two sides, the main road on the other. It is of little use, due to its location, to the school. The staff and governors have all agreed that the land in question could easily be detached from the school grounds with no inconvenience or loss of amenity, and used as a location for something that would benefit the entire community. The unanimous suggestion was that we donate the plot of land for the building of a hospice; a facility that will be dedicated to providing care for those in the final stages of MND. As the information had been given to a select few people, there have already been a substantial number of donations from both individuals and organisations towards the cost of its construction."
As Mrs Carmichael had talked, Skylar's frown had been replaced by a smile, and when she stopped, he responded. "I think that is a wonderful idea! I can see exactly why Seth would wish to support that, and I am 100% behind it too. I can also see why he did not wish for me to know about it whilst he was still alive. It would have upset me to think about death, and he knew just how much…"
"Seth was definitely behind our scheme, but he did have one small stipulation. He felt that there was only one architect that was suitable for the task. He wants you to be the architect in charge of the overall design and concept. He knew that the specifics of the building might not be something that you would feel able to do, but the general aesthetic and appearance of the place; he wanted that task to be given to you…"
Skylar fell silent as Mrs Carmichael finished speaking once more. His mind was awhirl at the very notion. He had designed many building in his time at college, and had constructed his own home in which they now all sat, but the idea of designing a hospice building was an altogether more monumental task. He had read all the theory about the design of medical buildings at school, had even written a paper on them in his penultimate year at college, but this task…
"We do know exactly what you are thinking right now," said Thad quietly, "None of us are expecting you to work on this alone, or to deal with all of the specialist services that would be required to be provided within the building. Your talent will be to make the building look warm and homely instead of being a cold, clinical facility. You can create an atmosphere inside with a design that is both practical and human. You can also ensure that it will blend in with the rest of the neighbourhood. Seth knew that you could do that, and we all think the same thing. It will be your legacy to Seth in a way. It will stand not only as a testament to your friendship, but as a legacy of your own as well. We think it could easily be one of the most significant buildings constructed in Westerville, if not indeed the state of Ohio, in the last fifty years…"
"To be blunt, the building you design will be on the route into the Academy for decades to come, and we know that you can deliver something as beautiful as our dear school. We need a building that when people see it, they can say, that is Skylar's tribute to his best friend, constructed in solid materials for us all to see," added David with a smile.
Skylar nodded, and then said in a hushed voice, "From the road it should be no more than two stories high, built of, or at least clad in local stone in an Art Deco design; that was the stuff that Seth really liked. It needs tall windows, shutters, a veranda for the good sunny summer days…"
Mrs Carmichael smiled at him as his voice tailed off, and taking his hand, said, "He knew that you could do the job, and so did all of us. There is time for that task later though; we can start in earnest once the funeral is over." Skylar nodded, but already he was miles away, thinking of corridors with tiled walls in warm tones, of floors made with mosaic patterned parquet, and a general ambiance and elegance of a golden age…
Skylar's mind was still awhirl later that afternoon, when he was alone once more in the sitting room, his visitors gone and his wife taking a nap that she had earned. It was full of ideas, but also of a sense of duty. He knew what tasks he had to do, and he also knew that putting things off would not help him. There was something that needed to be done, and although it would be easy to delegate the task to others, it was something that he should do. He also decided that he had to start it alone, or he might never start it at all…
He rose from Seth's old armchair, which really was so very comfortable, and headed to the room that had been his best friend's home. He walked in then shut the door quietly behind him. He could smell the aftershave and cologne that his friend had always used so much more strongly in this room, and he was not ashamed to take in a deep breath. Then he headed over to sit on the bed, looking at the selection of items that had been placed on the nightstand the day before. Seth's old reliable wristwatch and his cellphone sat there, alongside his house keys.
Skylar picked up the phone first, and switched it on, before typing in the unlock code that Seth had given him just days before he died, a safeguard against a future where his own hands would not enable him to type it in, he had said. Skylar had known it was a lie even then… The phone open, he scrolled down the screen, the icons set on a photo of himself and Seth from their early days in New York…
Then he saw it; a new icon, for a video. An icon which was labelled Skylar & The Warblers After I Go. With a trembling finger, and a deep breath, Skylar opened the icon, and watched as the video screen appeared, his best friend visible. He checked the volume, and then pressed play. The video began to run, and he was able to hear his friend's voice once more, speaking the words that he had recorded on the night before he died…
When the short video finished, Skylar returned it to the start and listened again. He could feel the tears rolling down his face as he watched that familiar voice and heard again the tones he knew so well. It was all so unfair… He didn't even know how he was going to live for himself right now, let alone for Seth as well as he had requested. All he could do was try his best. He knew that he wished to keep the video, and there was always a risk that it would vanish if Seth's phone died, so he logged into his friend's e-mail account, and composed a message the moment he was in, linking in the video so that the short film would be on his own phone, and stored in his own account. It would also then be easy to forward it on to the others, as it was meant for all of them, not just him; the message would be less unsettling if it came from his e-mail account, and not Seth's…
The job done, he was about to sign out when he spotted the last piece of mail that Seth had read. He did not need to open it himself, as the words were there on the reading pane, and what he read filled him with the whole gamut of emotions. It was good news he decided, and through his as yet unborn child, Seth would live on. And yet, at the same time, it was tragic, as he had received that most joyous of news items barely five hours before he had passed away and his human life was over. All of a sudden, Skylar wondered how the mother-to-be was feeling about all that had happened. There had been messages of sympathy from so many people in the last 24 hours or so, but he could not recall if there had been one from either Santana or Brittany… He also wondered just how the former had reacted to the news that her wife was pregnant…