The End of a Tumultuous Year.
Both David and Mercedes had an idea of the kind of reception that they could expect at the Spotlight when they arrived there, but it was still a little disconcerting to hear such a massive cheer going up from every corner of the place. All of their friends were inside, squeezed into every single corner, with one notable exception. Nick had an early breakfast meeting, which his boss would be scrutinising personally, so he had no option but to head home and get an early night so he was fresh and attentive in the morning. He had insisted that Jeff attend though, knowing that on these occasions, half of Niff was better than no Niff at all. After the cheers, there was almost a line of people wanting hugs and handshakes, and another for admiring the rings. The fact that they had been followed in by three angels was another reason to rejoice, as most of the group had not seen hide or hair of them for the last few weeks.
Thad was the last of them all to greet the newly engaged couple, and did so with the words, "How long do I have to write my best man's speech?" which made everyone silent in anticipation.
"Months and months, Thaddie," David answered. "We need to get our lives back on track before we make the big commitment. Anyway, I am sure that you will not be writing it single handed; a certain mutual friend of ours will no doubt be leaning over your shoulder, making his contribution. After all, he knows many more of my secrets, so it will be as accurate and embarrassing as possible."
As Thad laughed, Mercedes whispered in David's ear "At least you have your best man sorted. I have no idea who my chief bridesmaid should be, and whatever choice I do make in the end will cause offence to someone. Then there is the fact that we will have cameras all over the place wherever we decide to have the ceremony, and magazines all lining up to ask us for an exclusive…"
As David and Mercedes discussed the perils of marrying a celebrity, Thad making a contribution every so often, Flint found himself sitting in a corner contemplating his own future. The weekend of the L.A. quake had left his own nerves jangling too; he realised just how quickly the whole world could be turned on its head, and just how frail our lives actually were. He had remembered to call his cousin Leo, recalling that he had friends that had gone to California for school, and he was relieved to hear from his cousin that they were all safe. Only one of them had been at UCLA, and they had been at home in Kansas that weekend for a break. A lot of that young person's friends had not been so fortunate though, and the grief of someone he knew had touched on Leo too.
Flint knew what he wanted to do; it was something that he had wanted to do for a long time now, and the words that Ethan had said to him at the start of the year on the subject echoed through his head. There was no time like the present he guessed, as he had a full audience more or less, and Nick would forgive him… He got up from his seat next to Izzy, and strode purposefully across the room, heading towards the empty stage. He climbed up on it, grabbed the microphone, and spoke. "Guys, could I please have everyone's attention for just a second," he began, then paused as he waited for the noise of conversation to die down. "So, I have a few things to say. Firstly, may I congratulate Mercedes and David on their engagement. It is not unexpected, in that we all knew it was coming, it is just that we always expected that he would be the one to ask the all important question. Secondly, I would now like to apologise to the happy couple for what I am about to do at their post engagement party, but the truth is that I think the time has come for me to say what I have to, so why not?"
He looked straight at Izzy at that point, ignoring the fact that others were looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and anger. "Weddings are strange things for us Warblers; you see, for a while it was as if none of us could propose to our loved ones unless we were at someone else's wedding. Based on that Mercedes, it was just as well you did what you did, otherwise you might have had to wait until Colin and Edward made it official. But now that the curse is done with, it is so much easier for the rest of us now. Funnily enough though, it was at a Warbler wedding that I met the sister of the bride from the previous day's wedding, and realised that I had, to quote an old friend, found my missing puzzle piece. I still don't know what she sees in me, but I see in her a beautiful, intelligent, strong-minded woman that makes my heart melt every single time I see her. So, Izzy, if you haven't already guessed, I am no good at romance, but I guess what I am trying to say is, will you make my mother the happiest woman in the world, and…" - he paused, ignoring the giggles at his last statement from some, to sink down on one knee - "agree to marry me?"
There was silence as Izzy got up from her seat and the crowd parted to allow her to walk through to stand in front of him, shaking her head. "I don't want to marry you just to make your mother happy; I want to marry you, my dear Preppy Boy, because you help to keep me sane and grounded in an all too mad world. By the way, I take it that you are doing all of this fully prepared?" Flint looked confused for a second, but then nodded, and took from his pocket a ring box, which he promptly opened. "Wow, that is…. Yes, I will marry you, Flint Wilson, but on condition that we are not going to get married…"
"…until next year, and most definitely in this Manhattan, not the one in Kansas," he finished.
"Exactly; definitely not in Kansas," she replied. Then after allowing him to slip the ring onto her finger, they kissed to the sound of their friends' cheers. When the cheering finished, someone jokingly shouted from the throng "Who's next?" which left most of the room in hysterics.
Beats turned to look at Elliott, and both of them shook their heads. "Not us," said Beats at the top of his voice. "We are both happy with our relationship as it is; we don't feel the need for a certificate to show the world that we are a couple. It's not that we think that marriage is a bad thing - far from it. It just isn't for the two of us…"
Eyes then spun round to observe the other couples in the room and eventually they came to rest on the only other couple present that were in a relationship, but not formally engaged. Luke and Duncan looked at each other, then smiled. "We might not have a ring on our finger, but we have had a hand fastening ceremony. It's the same thing, but without the jewellery. So don't look at us to make it a trio today, as even if we did feel so inclined, neither of us have a ring - and we aren't wanting to borrow one from anyone else either, thanks all the same." said Luke proudly.
There were smiles from all around the room as they realised that the two young men in question were so sure and confident of their relationship that the idea of having a ring to mark it seemed ridiculous. They did have a point when they all thought about it. What was really important in all of this was love; the care that they had for each other and the special place that they occupied in each other's heart. As great as that were the bonds of friendship; those links between people that would remain strong as long as all the parties involved protected them, and made time to spend with each other. Those bonds could never be completely severed; stretched maybe, but never broken, not even through the actions of one person. No-one could break them if they had been built strongly in the first place.
The next day for Mercedes and David was a hectic one; interviews ended up taking up the bulk of their morning, though the first one of all was naturally with an overjoyed Isabelle, who was given permission to take a picture of the rings, with the result that she and Vogue had the scoop online before anyone else had even asked their first question. After that, there was the lunch with two sets of parents arranged the night before, an event which both knew was a minefield that could turn into a disaster area if they were not careful. They managed to keep both sets of parents happy, skilfully avoiding the areas were conflict would appear, and thus they parted for the afternoon with a smile in their hearts.
For Mercedes the afternoon brought a meeting with her bosses at the record label, one at which no-one dared to make any negative comment about the events of the previous night. She had not warned them of what she was intending, and she had half expected that some adverse comments would be forthcoming, but instead she was greeted warmly, and there was even champagne. Then came an unexpected question; they wanted to know if she and David would consider recording the song they had sung together the night before for her next album. It came out of the blue, and all she could say was that she would ask him what he thought. It wasn't her place to answer on his behalf after all…
David had headed to his work at Google, and after being congratulated by everyone as he walked to his desk, he settled down quietly at his workstation and turned his attention to the problem that he was trying to solve, desperate that he should have the work done before he headed off to Australia with Mercedes. He would of course not be entirely abandoning his work when he was 'down under' on the tour in any case; that was both the benefit and the scourge of the internet. As the hours went on, one person never completely left his thoughts, the ring on his finger a constant reminder that he was one of the luckiest men in the world, because he was engaged to a beautiful woman…
Time passed quickly that summer, and in no time at all a month had passed, and it was time for David and Mercedes to head off. It was going to be a very different tour this time, with everything stripped back; she would have only a couple of backing singers, and some locally recruited dancers. She had not had the stomach to go through the process of selecting a new entourage to be with her all the time. The set too was much simpler in design, and was a tribute to those that were no longer with them. One thing that had made her departure easier was the knowledge that the bodies of those that had died at the Hollywood Bowl that afternoon had now been recovered and given a proper burial; in the face of so much tragedy, that was a comfort to her. It was still a great thrill to be heading off to Australia, and the fact that David was going to be with her would be a bonus; the fact that he had also consented to record that song with her just made her smile.
There was good news too for Jake and Unique; the former had been accepted into the dance program at Julliard, following in the footsteps of his friend Mike Chang, whilst Unique would be making her way to NYADA, with Carmen Tibideaux having found a spot for her. Accommodation had been found for both of them too, and as Mercedes and David's flight to Australia was taking off, they were in the process of moving in. As all of this was taking place, nobody noticed that Nick and Jeff were acting oddly; no witness saw the day that Jeff ran out of the house carrying a brown paper bag, and jumped into the first cab he could hail at the main road; nobody saw a dishevelled Nick tidying himself up and hurrying out a moment later, heading back to the office after an extended lunch. Had they done, then they would also have discovered that Jeff's destination was the home of their surrogate, who was already waiting as Jeff ran up to their door and posted the brown bag through it without looking inside. The whole process was completely haphazard, but it was only their first attempt…
None of their neighbours in the West Village seemed to notice that Jeff would make mad dashes across town on a regular basis as summer slowly moved into autumn. If they did, none of them noticed that they were monthly. Neither did any of Nick's colleagues or indeed his boss notice that a phone call would come which would mean he had to run out of the office to deal with a family emergency. Then, in November, the expected phone call did not come; Jeff was left to sit at home by the phone, just crossing his fingers and hoping that it wasn't a false alarm; that an event had taken place at the behest of mother nature that all of his education at Dalton still didn't prepare him to fully understand. Nick came home that night with a look on his face that was a cross between fear and hope. All they could do know was wait, and that process wasn't going to be easy….
Fortunately, events were taking place that month that managed to distract them from their own worries. After a long search, Sebastian and Dave had finally managed to find their ideal place in Maplewood, and after even more wrangling with realtors and lawyers, during which Sebastian wished Nick had gone into property law rather than rights law, they had secured it for a price that suited both parties. As he signed the papers, Sebastian suddenly felt very grown up. The seller was moving out in early November, and they had fixed a date a couple of days later to move in, to allow contractors to make a few minor changes before they were in place. On top of that, they had to purchase additional furniture, as the few pieces that they owned in the little apartment in Murray Hill would look very lost otherwise in the rooms. When they told Peter what was happening, the little boy had been overjoyed at the prospect that his uncle would be so close. He had settled in well with his father and Isabelle, and they had managed to find a counsellor that Peter liked. He still had the nightmares, but that was only to be expected. He was doing well enough at his new school too, and he was being spoilt by his paternal grandmother with gifts.
The day that he moved out of the city was a sad one for all concerned. He left on a Monday, so as not to disrupt his show schedule, and also to ensure that Cooper would be at home when he left. He had said his farewells to Nick the night before, as he was unable to get the day off on such a flimsy notion as saying goodbye to an old school friend, but Jeff was there to represent them both. Sebastian had promised himself that he would not cry, as had Cooper, but in the end they both burst into tears as they handed the keys over, and then hugged each other tightly. As with Sam, Cooper saw in Sebastian a brother, not just an old friend of Blaine's, and even though he was only moving across the Hudson, it was like a bereavement. He had not decided who would be moving in downstairs yet, stating that he wished to do some work on the place first, but no-one really believed that. He just needed to mourn the departure for a little while first…
There was also a reception committee in Maplewood, having timed their arrival to be there just after the school day ended, so that Peter could be there to welcome them to their new place alongside his father. Julian was grateful to his little brother for the sacrifice that he was making; he knew that if it had not been for events that summer, Sebastian would not have left the city for the suburbs for a few more years. As he watched him hug his nephew, he only hoped that he would not come to regret his decision, or resent them for it. They did not stay long, letting his brother get settled into his new place, so that he would be comfortable for the events of Thanksgiving; a day that would be difficult for everyone with its focus on family. To that end, Julian had a surprise for his son. He had invited his father to join them for dinner, and finally meet his grandson. The invitation had been accepted, with thanks from Mr Smythe for trusting him enough to be welcome at the table. How Peter would react to his new grandfather remained to be seen.
For many of the others, Thanksgiving would be very different that year. In the West Village, Nick and Jeff would be hosting Cooper and Grace, along with four mothers, one father and two grandparents. Absent from the table would be Mike, who would be celebrating with Tina at the other end of the street. He had finally moved in to his own place in September, amidst much tears from his two roommates and howls of anguish from Caleb. He was enjoying living with his girlfriend though; they made a good couple, although they still remained without the engagement ring that many had been expecting. If Mike's decision to defer engagement and talk of marriage until after his career had taken off ever rankled with Tina, she did not show it. In any case, she had a lot on her own plate career wise; as a newly qualified vet, she had to work long hours to establish herself within the practice that had employed her. Mike was busy too, learning new roles, and acting as understudy to other lead performers. He was happy to carry on like this until the time that those in charge decided that he was ready to take the helm so to speak on a nightly basis. They were both still young, and they had plenty of time left to marry, and then start a family of their own.
As it happened though, others decided that they wouldn't wait as long as planned to get married, meaning that Christmas 2018 would be quite a significant one for them all, and dictated none of the usual celebrations in New York. David had returned to the States from Australia in September, missing Mercedes more than ever before, but knowing that he had to get back to his work, and had to start the process of moving on with real life. He returned to New York, but was there for less than a month before he moved to his new position in Boston, working in an office that was close to M.I.T. He stayed initially with Mitch and Gabriel, but they had been busy on his behalf since he and Mercedes had agreed to make Boston their new home. Armed with the brief that she had given them, they had embarked on a house search, and in the few weeks that they had been in Australia, they had come up with the perfect place. The townhouse that they had discovered on sale in Back Bay was ideal; in fact, it was as if someone had lifted up Niff's place in the West Village and dropped it in Massachusetts. David sent a series of pictures of the place to his fiancée on the other side of the world, and even a very long video tour, and she agreed that it was the one. Talks were entered in to and a deal was struck within a few days. By the start of November, David was moving again, this time into his own place. He felt a little odd living there on his own, rattling around in the rooms, but he used his time wisely, doing all the little things that would make it perfect for Mercedes when she came back from the tour.
The night that she did, just before Thanksgiving was one of the happiest of his life so far, and she was equally happy to be back with him. They started talking, and eventually that lead to a flurry of phone calls, between themselves and family members, and one friend in particular… That friend said nothing about the secret with which they had been entrusted. Thus when the invitations to the wedding of David and Mercedes dropped into people's mailboxes just days after Thanksgiving there was shock and surprise. Nonetheless, plans that had been made for Christmas were altered with little complaint as no-one wanted to miss what would be for all of those closest to them one of the weddings of the year; and all the more special seeing as it was being held in the hallowed halls of Dalton Academy.
The fact that the wedding was taking place was kept quiet by all of them, as nobody wanted to see the press besiege what was a celebration of the love between two young people. They all knew that the story would come out eventually, and then there would be a lot of interest. To try and offset the worst intrusions of the press, they had played their trump card in the shape of Isabelle, who was naturally on the guest list, and told her that she could bring a photographer from the magazine to the wedding so that only those official pictures would be released.
Mercedes had also made a very special request to a young man that she had become quite attached to, and Peter had accepted the role of her page boy without any hesitation. He felt that by doing it for her, he was saying thank you to them properly for getting him out of L.A. and bringing him to the safety of his father's home in New Jersey. His new life had started with a few ups and downs, but now he was quite settled, having started to make new friends at school. He had also found out, thanks to the internet and a little research by Isabelle, that a couple of his old friends from school in L.A. had actually made it too; they were now living miles away, but with Skype he could actually talk to them again, and that had cheered him up no end; he had never been happy with the idea that he was the only one left…
The biggest surprise for Peter in the run up to the wedding had been events at Thanksgiving, when a knock had come at the door, and his Uncle Bazzy had gone to answer it, and had returned with an older man he had never seen before. When his dad told him that it was his father, and thus Peter's grandfather, he had burst into happy tears. Although that first meeting had been carefully supervised by his father and uncle, it was clear that there was no need to worry, as his whole demeanour had changed. Age seemed to have mellowed him, and there was no trace now of the cruel, dictatorial man that they had been raised by, with no interest in childish things. It was a quite simple case of his stress levels having reduced as a result of retirement, and a chance to re-evaluate his priorities in life. He had left with a smile, and a new fan in Peter, and had surprised them all on the doorstep when he asked them to consider joining him for Christmas at the Smythe house in Westerville, which he still maintained despite now living mostly in the Virgin Islands. They had asked for time to consider, but the wedding had made it a very practical idea. They accepted the invitation to stay, and Mr Smythe had no issue with them being away for part of the actual day at the wedding. In the end, David called him and invited him to join them at Dalton too, and he accepted. It meant more time for him with his grandson, with whom a mutual bond had established almost at once.
Most of the work that was needed to prepare Dalton for the big event was carried out by Thad, with the able assistance of the unstoppable Mrs Carmichael, the Warblers currently at the school, and once those boys had headed to bed, a group of angels that were just as determined as Thad to make it a day that the bride and groom would remember for all of the right reasons. They had agreed on something much less complex than the elaborate decoration that Brittany had wanted, and with the big school Christmas tree already in place, that was just as well. A whole curtain of twinkling fairy lights decorated the room, and when one morning a whole mesh of them had appeared over the great domed skylight, the majority of the school was left to wonder how all the necessary scaffolding had been brought in, assembled, used and then dismantled during the night without a sound… Those in the know of course knew that it had been a relatively simple task for a team of four angels to fly it into place and then connect it all up.
Having two best men to write the speech, one mortal and one angelic, certainly made the process a faster one, and fortunately, Wes and Thad had no dispute over their views. The only complication to the whole process of preparing Dalton was Kurt, as he had the best interests of Mercedes at the forefront of his thoughts, but there had only been one area in which they had all clashed, and that had been resolved swiftly by the immediate intervention of Blaine. The results were stunning, the stairwell transformed into a winter palace, fit for the princess that would be marrying her handsome prince there in a few short days. On a quick visit on Christmas Eve, Mercedes had to agree, as her mother stood at her side. She knew that the old school could scrub up well, but what had been achieved in such a short space of time was nothing less than magical. In fact, it seemed to her that Edith Carmichael had missed her calling in life; she would have been an asset to the grandest of hotels as a wedding co-ordinator. However, the lady in question was content to just have been a substitute mother to several generations of boys, and each and every one of them was grateful that she had been there.
David had arrived at Dalton an hour after his bride to be had left. He had decided that he would stay with Thad on the evening of his wedding, and his mother understood why he chose to do so. She knew that they had developed a special bond, one that was almost as close as the one he had shared with Wes. The way that Thad had acted when her son had been caught up in the drama of L.A. that summer had convinced her of that. In any case, she knew that the Warblers of his era would be holding a small bachelor party for him; there would be no strippers, or raucous party games though, and virtually no alcohol. Instead it would be an evening when they all assembled in the Senior Commons, and pretended that it was just another Warbler meeting. As Cameron would not be attending, as he had been invited by Dylan to spend the evening with himself and Flora, Wes would be able to take his spot at the council table, and Kurt and Blaine would be in their usual spot on the sofa. If anyone had walked in, it would look as if the clock had stopped in Wes' senior year, with the addition of a few younger men, and an absence of uniform.
That night the deserted corridors of Dalton rang out with the sound of voices raised in fellowship and brotherhood. At one point, Aaron Carmichael came to stand with his wife and Principal Lefevre in the corridor not far from the Senior Commons, and they could all clearly hear the three angel voices amongst the others. All of it boded well for the following day, as did a decision that had been proposed by Wes and Thad, then ratified by the others without descent; that Mercedes be made an honorary Warbler, and that the same honour be passed to Jake and Unique for their part in the chaos of L.A. They had also agreed to extend the honour to one other person…
As Mercedes prepared herself at home the following morning, she was not in the least worried when she felt the draught of angel wings; she was expecting Kurt, but got him and Wes. As Kurt just smiled, the latter handed her a box; the moment that she opened it and saw the pin, she knew what honour had just been bestowed on her. If her mother saw that pin attached to her dress as she brought her her coat before they drove to Dalton, she said nothing.
Jake had burst into tears when Blaine had presented him with his pin, as had Unique when the same ceremony was carried out a few minutes later. They both proudly placed the pin in full view on their wedding garb, where it attracted the immediate attention of their friends.
As for the final recipient, he was confronted by the groom and his two best men as he arrived at the school. He was puzzled at first when he was handed the box, but that turned to shock when he opened it and realised what it was, and its significance. The note inside, in Wes' careful script, explained the reason why he had been chosen to join the ranks. 'To Artie Abrams, the official filmmaker and photographer of the Warblers. For his service in ensuring that the world could know our truths, and for ensuring that we have a record of our greatest moments, now and in the future.' Then another badge was pinned on with pride, before it was time to get ready for the work he had to do that day, as the official wedding photographer.
The wedding ceremony itself passed off without a hitch. The pastor from the Jones' family church had agreed to come and perform the service and that was an unqualified success. The whole festive feeling of the day spread to the wedding, with a major emphasis in the pastor's words being placed on love, forgiveness and hope. The music was naturally every bit as magnificent, with the New Directions and Warblers both performing on their own, and collaborating on a few numbers as well. There was much rejoicing when the moment finally came, and Mercedes technically became Mrs Thompson, at least for non-professional purposes. The happiest person of all of those there that day was little Peter, who looked so smart in his suit, and performed his duties as page boy with aplomb. It turned out too that he had a wonderful singing voice, and it could be clearly heard as he joined in with most of the songs, to everyone's delight. He also seemed to be fascinated by the whole concept of Dalton, and after the ceremony, his Uncle Bazzy was prevailed upon to give him a tour of the building, from the class and common rooms to the dorms themselves, the latter thanks to Thad. Afterwards, Peter surprised his family by announcing that he thought that it would be really good to go to a school like Dalton when he was older.
"I like living with daddy and Isabelle, but you made so many good friends when you were here, Uncle Bazzy, and I would like to make friends like them too. It would be hard being away from home, but Mr Thad would be here to look after me… Do you think that daddy would let me come here one day?"
"I don't honestly know; he loves you so very much, and he likes to have you close to home after all that has happened, but I guess that it wouldn't do any harm to ask him…" replied Sebastian, thinking of two things as he did so; firstly, how on earth he was going to break this news to Julian, and secondly, was there any way that the concessions on school fees that he and his fellow Warblers had been given in the aftermath of the scandal could apply to nephews. Still, the one consolation for now was that Peter was barely 10 years old, and so there was still time before he would be able to come here…
The wedding reception was held in the refectory at Dalton, the room dressed up to the nines and looking like a salon in a grand hotel. The food was divine, based on the traditional fare for Christmas dinner, as Mercedes had wanted people to have the food that they would have been enjoying at home had they not been at the wedding. A few people did say that Nick's turkey was better, which just made the young man in question laugh loudly, before he turned round to his husband and suggested loudly that they should go away somewhere for Christmas next year, in a deliberate attempt to avoid ending up with a houseful of people next year.
After the meal was finished, there was a surprise for the bride and groom, one which Thad and Mrs Carmichael had worked on, and it left everyone speechless. He had not been given much time to work on it, but Nick had prepared the wedding cake, which was quite simply a three tier vision of sugarcraft. The base of the cake was one of the Christmas cakes he had actually already prepared well in advance, as he was supposed to do; the other two layers were a chocolate fudge cake, and a lemon sponge. It seemed almost a travesty to slice into it, but after Artie had been prevailed upon to photograph it from every possible angle, the knife was wielded, and soon everyone was tucking in. The pastor was later heard to say that it was the best wedding cake he had ever tasted, and that was a sentiment on which all of them agreed. All in all, the wedding was a resounding success.