A Collapse and Wedding Plans
As Roderick sat down for dinner with David and Mercedes, Seth was getting ready for a quiet night in next door. Luke and Duncan were at the Spotlight Diner, the former having a shift to work, his husband going with him to keep him company and also to look over the plans they had begun to make for the following year, when they would head home to Vermont for good. Both Colin and Edward were at work too, the former being entrusted with the running of the pharmacy counter for the first time, albeit under the supervision of the pharmacist and his college tutor; this was just the start of the practical part of his college degree, but it did not worry him in the slightest. He had assisted on the counter often enough to know all the right practices and procedures, and the necessary regimen of check and counter check to ensure that the right medicines went to the patiently waiting customers. For Edward it was a case of assisting with a more complex type of dental surgery than he had encountered up until now. He would eventually have to undertake procedures like these under supervision himself, but for tonight his main task was to watch and learn.
As for Skylar, it was his date night with Julia, and as Seth pottered around in the kitchen preparing his evening meal, his best friend was showering and getting ready. He was doing so unaware that Seth was putting on a very brave face that night; the pain in his hands, arms and legs had reached a new high that day, and his usual medication was not even taking the edge off. As a result, he had chosen for his dinner that evening a frozen TV Dinner, something that he normally avoided like the plague, but in this case it was far more practical. Nevertheless, he had still placed it in the oven to heat rather than the microwave, and he had hidden the packaging well, just in case a certain someone should see it, and knowing his thoughts on them, start to ask too many awkward questions…
He heard Skylar running down the stairs as his meal was almost ready, and Seth could only grin, knowing full well that his friend was probably late. He kept that smile fixed in place as his friend charged in to the kitchen, and sat down at the table to put on his best shoes.
"Why is it that no matter how early I start to get myself ready to go out for dinner with Julia, I always end up late!?" asked Skylar as he slipped his feet into the leather brogues and began to tie the laces.
"Because you always end up doubting how good you look, and end up changing your outfit, or restyling your hair," observed Seth. "You do realise that she does know that you aren't a supermodel, so she would accept you in the most casual of clothing?"
"I like to make an effort," huffed Skylar, standing up but smiling broadly. "Now are you going to be okay? I don't like…"
"I will stop you right there, mister. I will be fine on my own. If there is a dire emergency, then I have Beats, Ethan, Drew or David next door and on speed dial. Now go, before Julia thinks that you have stood her up! To be honest, it will be nice to get some peace and quiet for a change…"
"Cheek!" said Skylar with a chuckle as he slipped on his coat. "Enjoy your quiet evening!"
Then he was gone, footsteps heading to the front door, which Seth then heard close gently. As it did, he grimaced, as the pain began to sear inside him, and he could finally drop the act. He jumped just a little as the oven timer went, but he staggered over to the stove and turned the gas off. It was then that it hit him; pain in all of his limbs at once, spasms in his hands and feet… The intensity of it caught him off guard and he fell to the floor on his hands and knees. Still the pain went on, growing greater, tearing at him until he could stand it no longer; his body shut down and he collapsed to the floor, passing out as he did so…
When he came round, his first thought was to glance at his watch; he was glad to see that he had only lain there on the kitchen floor for about five minutes. He was grateful that Skylar had left before the attack came; indeed, that none of his housemates had witnessed it. He carefully hoisted himself back up, relieved that the pain seemed to have dissipated as he had lain unconscious. The one thing that concerned him most was that he had pain now in his left shoulder; the pains had never extended that far before, and he hoped that it wasn't a portent of things to come. He took a breath, then walked through to the cloakroom, to check his appearance in the mirror; he smiled as he saw that even though he had fallen to the floor quite hard, he had no visible bruises that would raise questions…
He headed back to the kitchen, and retrieved his dinner from the oven, still hot and as edible as those kind of dinners ever were, realising that had he not switched the oven off, had he been out for longer, then he could have been in trouble. He might have to resort to the microwave in future for safety… He ate, knowing that he had no real choice other than to tell Ollie Harwood what had happened, as his doctor, but he would be the only person that he would inform. He knew that it was yet another indicator of the deterioration of his health, but he also knew that if he said anything, then the others would give up on their plans. No-one had said anything, but he knew about Vermont, and he was sure that Colin and Edward had plans to leave the city as soon as they graduated. Worst of all, he knew that if he told Skylar, then he would never leave to be happily married to Julia back in Ohio, and he was not going to ruin that for his best friend, even if it killed him…
Seth knew as he was eating his meal that evening that he was being watched by a pair of eyes that were filled with concern though. He did not acknowledge that Wes was in the room at first, not wanting to hear the words of concern that the senior angel would deliver if he gave him the chance. In the end though he felt compelled to speak. "I know that you probably think that what I am doing is wrong, that I should tell them all what happened tonight, but it won't make any difference to the long term plans of heaven if I do. I know that I am on borrowed time, that my life is going to be cut short, and that is okay; I have dealt with all of the emotions concerning my death, and I have accepted that inevitability of it. What I can't deal with is the emotions of other people around that. Skylar is bad enough knowing that I am suffering, and I won't have his life ruined for my sake. I just won't."
"His concern comes from the love that he feels for you, and it is understandable that he would want to do all that he can to help you. But you are right that telling him what happened tonight will not help in the long run, or alter the course of your life. So although I do not approve of the way that you are going about things, you aren't doing the wrong thing in keeping it a secret. Promise me though that you will definitely speak to Thad's brother about this. There are other drugs that might now be useful and will help you to avoid something like this taking place when Skylar and the others are around. I panicked when I saw you slumped down on the floor; they would be hysterical."
"I know, which is why I will make an appointment to see Ollie tomorrow; if he is busy, then I will just hint at what happened, and that will probably get him to squeeze me in, particularly if the medical students can be in with us. I might not have a glittering career or an exciting life, but I will live on as a case study. I think the fact that I know that when I do die I will not be going somewhere alone, that I will be surrounded by friends is helpful…"
"We will all be there for you, but hopefully that day will not come for many years yet. I want to see you have some kind of life first, however hard it may be for you; you will manage because you have a reserve of courage that none of the others have any knowledge of."
Seth said nothing to that, but Wes knew what he was thinking; that his courage would fail, that his pain would destroy his resolve and that he would desire a swift end to it all. That dangerous path was not open as long as his pain was manageable, but if that ceased to be the case, then he might do something that would break the rules and deny him his place in the angelic ranks. He would need to be monitored night and day as the years went on; none of Wes' boys were going to end up below, not if he could prevent it.
Seth retired to bed early that night, and by the time the others came home, he was fast asleep, having taken an extra dose of his pain medication, something which always made him drowsy. He was not even aware that Skylar put his head round the door when he got home, smiling after his date with Julia, eager to talk to his best friend about his feelings and how they were growing, to the extent that he needed to go out and buy a ring. He sighed on seeing him asleep, but was also glad that he looked peaceful, and that he seemed to be out of pain, at least for a while. There would be time to discuss rings and engagements later; his priority, as ever, was that Seth was happy…
As those in New York began to anticipate Gabriel's wedding at the end of the week, and Seth managed to successfully hide his collapse from everyone but Ollie, his doctor, on the other side of the Atlantic one of the young leading lights of Broadway had discovered that a British theatre audience was a much more disciplined one than those back home. Sebastian had always found it more than a little annoying when he had been performing in Book of Mormon that members of the audience were still walking in and taking their seats in the stalls as they performed the opening number; what made it worse was the fact that they did so with no concern for those that had managed to make it on time. He had come close on one particularly bad night, when a group of loud and drunk people had stood at the front as they fought over who sat where, to changing the opening lyrics to "Hello, my name is Elder Price, will you just take your seats and shut the heck up!" Here in London it was all so different, with both a warning bell, and ushers with strict instructions that once the house lights dimmed, no-one could be admitted until the intermission.
He had been so nervous on his opening night, worried that an audience in the land of the esteemed playwright's birth might not appreciate his version of the part. Nick and Jeff had attended; somehow Wes' head teacher, Miss Frobisher, had discovered that they were trying to work out which one of them should go, and had offered her services as a sitter. After a slight hesitation, and a glance at Wes who was doing his best attempt at a butter wouldn't melt in my mouth face, they had accepted, and then, with a little help from Sebastian, they had managed to find her one of the coveted tickets for opening week too, something which she had accepted with a grateful smile. He need not have worried though; he received a standing ovation at the end of the performance, proof that he had won them over, and the glowing reviews that he had received in the British press had confirmed that he was an up and coming performer on both sides of the ocean…
That had been on a Monday, his ovation coming just a couple of hours before Seth collapsed on the floor back home in New York. The fact that he was now at work on a Monday had been one of the biggest adjustments for Sebastian. London theatres still took a Sunday as their day of rest in the main. He had remarked on that fact to Mason at lunch the following day, their first chance to have a catch up.
"It does take a bit of getting used to," admitted Mason. "That, and the fact that you have a late night the previous day. The advantage for me is that Jane is off at the weekend, and so we can spend Sunday together in peace."
"I guess that is a benefit; I am lucky in that Dave also works on the weekends and can usually get a Monday off. It must be easier for an actor here to be married or in a relationship with someone outside the profession, plus they can see more of their kids this way as well, especially during school semesters."
"That is one of the reasons why I am more than happy to stay here for now. I do miss my family, and the people on Broadway, but London is so cool. You can see so much heritage in the city and travel to so many other places in a few hours. We even hopped over to Paris for the day once; Jane absolutely loved it there, and we have plans to take our folks and Madison over there too when they come for a visit in November. It is also when we will announce our wedding date…"
"Yes, Nick and Jeff did mention that you had asked Jane to marry you on the quiet. I know that the two of you will be very happy together."
"I knew they would tell you," said Mason with a laugh. "What they don't know is exactly why we have invited our folks over…"
Sebastian looked at him cryptically for a moment, but then the light dawned for him. "Wow, that is absolutely amazing! I hope that I will merit an invite…"
"Of course - in fact, I kind of need a best man, so if you are free… After all, who better than the man that gave me my big break the night he got his own?"
"Really? Well, I am honoured, but I would have thought that Roderick would have been your first choice."
Mason sighed, and nodded. "Yes, in an ideal world he would be, but I know that he is struggling financially at the moment, and he would not let me pay for a flight for him because of his stupid pride…" Sebastian nodded in understanding, but he resolved there and then that he would ensure that Mason's best friend was at the wedding by any means possible…
He did not mention that there was to be a wedding to Nick and Jeff, as Mason had requested him not to; however, he did make a call to another member of the Warbler family, someone that he knew had special privileges when it came to air travel. Ethan was surprised and delighted to hear from Sebastian, and the moment that he mentioned that he had a big secret to share, he was intrigued as to what it was. He listened in silence as Sebastian told his story, then remained silent as he thought.
"It won't be easy to sort something out that does not appear like charity to him," he eventually conceded. "I would certainly be able to get him a flight without any issue; my frequent flyer miles quickly mount up, thanks to my parents, but there is no way that he will accept it as a gift. It would also be unlikely he would believe that it was a competition prize, as he would not recall entering it. I could ask him to write a piece about the McKenzie Trust for the company magazine though; that might work. Leave it with me, but I will get him to London that weekend one way or another."
"Thanks for this, Ethan. It will be a nice gift for Mason to have his best friend there to do the honours - and of course, we mention nothing to him either," Sebastian replied, before he had to ring off to get ready to go on stage.
Ethan returned to his own work, but his head was now working away. He couldn't help but remember that Mason and Jane had two other very close friends from McKinley; he could quite easily get three flights and ensure that they were about as well. He just needed to find out how to get in touch with Spencer and Alistair, and that meant contacting someone who knew their location. Other than Roderick himself, his best hope for doing that would probably be the Schuesters…
Back in New York, the weekend soon arrived, and with it the arrival of four Head Warblers in the city. The first of them to arrive was Louis, accompanied by his long term boyfriend, which was unsurprising really as they lived in Philadelphia, only an hour or so away on the fast train. They arrived in the West Village by taxi from Penn Station; it was Louis' first visit to the street that Jeff had inherited his property in, and he had to admit that he was impressed by what he saw. It was, as had been quoted to him, the dream street from every Manhattan set sitcom and drama series, and the complete opposite to the reality of life for many young people as they made their way in the city.
David had taken a day's holiday from work, and was there to greet the arrivals, then escort them to the upper of the two empty apartments at the end of the street, next to Nick and Jeff's own place, which was often used as guest accommodation. With their bags in place, and freshened up a little, they headed back out towards the house next door, and promptly bumped into Connor as he arrived on foot. He was now living in North Carolina, following another work promotion, and had flown into Newark, before taking the PATH train and walking the short distance from the station at Christopher Street. His wife had declined her invitation, opting to stay at home instead, with their children. Connor had recently turned 30, and was now at the age where he had to work a little harder to keep off the excess weight. That had been one factor in his decision to walk for that little bit of extra exercise. He would be joining Louis and his boyfriend in the apartment, and they agreed to wait for him as he sorted himself out, and head next door together.
All three of them found themselves stopping and staring open mouthed as they stepped into the hallway of the house next door; David had to suppress the urge to laugh out loud as the three of them just gawped. "I will give you the full tour of the house later," he said, bringing them back to reality. "Meanwhile I have coffee and cake waiting in the kitchen downstairs; alas, it is not one of Nick's creations, but one that hails from the Spotlight Diner…" He took them downstairs, and got them settled at the table, ignoring the fact that he had just heard Connor state that his wife would kill for the type of kitchen they were in…
It would end up being another hour before Gabriel arrived with Mitch; they had driven down, with two of Louisa's great-aunts in the back seat of the car, as they had been unable to change their travel tickets. It had been an interesting journey, and they were both relieved that when they pulled up at the wedding hotel, where the ladies were staying, they did not need to get out, as several other members of the bride's family were already there, so they did not need to escort the ladies inside.
David was showing his three guests the sprung floor in the drawing room as they pulled up in the street, and the moment they saw the groom step out of the car, the tour was postponed. Mitch was left to carry in the bags as Connor and Louis hugged Gabriel warmly in the street, as the latter's partner just shook his head and laughed. As Mitch headed in with the second set of bags, he turned to David and said, "This is so good of you; I am also glad of the fact that you are here as part of a buffer against three Head Warblers."
"Make that four; Thad is en route from the airport as we speak, although he is staying with Ethan. He offered to bunk in with Drew tonight and tomorrow, which was good of the pair of them."
"In that case, let us just hope we aren't subjected to four gavels… I should also warn you that I have had a plethora of messages from the two best men about going out for a suitable quantity of drinks tonight."
"I would have expected nothing less. Mercedes has told me that I can go out for a couple, but that is it. She also wants it made known that she will not stand for us all rolling in drunk early tomorrow morning, potentially waking up Simon. I have to admit that I am on her side; we are none of us as young as we used to be, so sensible sobriety is I think the way forward."
Thad was of course the last of the small group to arrive, having had classes to teach that morning, but it took him no time at all to change and be ready to join the others for the pre-wedding meal. He had suggested that they have it at the Heartland Brewery, and there had been little in the way of argument when he pointed out that they brewed their own beer as well as having a good food selection. A table was found for them all in the basement, and food and beer ordered.
It had of course been here that Thad had got extremely drunk the first time he had been with his brother Ollie when he took his job in New York, but he was determined not to repeat that and remain sober. He was successful, and managed to ensure that both David and Gabriel were too. Mitch ended up a little bit drunk, but he was quiet with it, which would save them all from the wrath of Mercedes when they arrived back home.
However, the same could not be said for Connor, Louis and his partner; they were more than a little inebriated, stemming from the fact that they had insisted on sampling every beer on the menu. In an attempt to sober them up a little, the group decided to walk back down to the West Village; that however proved to be a slight error in that soon talk turned to the other traditions of bachelor parties, and on to strip joints. As Connor and Louis played for different teams, they could not decide on what kind to go to, and so the idea soon fizzled out. They made a slight detour into Boxers bar in Chelsea, so that someone could use the restroom, and they had another drink just to be fair. Then it was back onward, and they arrived in the street just before midnight, all of them fairly quiet. They parted their three ways, and all headed to get a good sleep before the big day…
The day of the wedding dawned bright, and the first of those that had been out the night before to wake up was Thad. He climbed out of bed quietly, and made his way to the kitchen, as Ethan had told him to do the night before, knowing that the current Head Warbler was an early riser. Sure enough, Ethan had left everything out that he would need to put on a pot of coffee, and there was also a loaf of Thad's favourite honey wheat bread by the toaster, along with a pot of blueberry preserve, which made him smile. He had always loved a slice of toast for breakfast, and it seemed that the rest of the boys, as he still thought of them, knew that too. He realised that he could hardly call any of them boys now, with the possible exception of Colin and Skylar, but even they were now in their mid 20s, and he himself was nearing 30... He blinked back a tear as he knew what that would have meant had it not been for a drunk truck driver in Harvard…
"Good morning, Uncle Thad!" came a voice, distracting him from his thoughts.
"Hello, Evie! You are up very early for a Saturday.."
"I always wake up at this time," she replied, "though usually Uncle Ethan and daddy are awake too. They are sleeping a little later today because they stayed up later than usual last night. Did you know that daddy has a job now?"
"I did! It is a very good news for him!"
"I will miss him being here all day, but it makes him smile; he must be the only grown up in the world that likes going to work, I think. Hopefully it will help him with his nightmares too. He doesn't have them all of the time now, but I think that might be because he sleeps in Uncle Ethan's bed every night."
Thad was a little surprised at that revelation, but he did not let it show on his face. "I think you should be very careful who you tell about that, Evie," he said gently. "Not everyone will think that is a good thing. I don't think it is bad, but some people would."
"I guess that is true… Grown ups are funny, Uncle Thad. It is really just like having a sleepover with a friend."
"Oh, I agree, but all the same, you didn't tell me about this either. Now, would you like some toast and jam for breakfast?"
At that moment, at the opposite end of the street, Connor woke up, his head pounding as a result of all the beer that he had drunk the night before. He groaned at the daylight that was streaming in the window, then stretched lazily…and discovered that he was not alone in the bed as he should have been. His eyes shot open wide, and he quickly realised several things. Firstly, Louis was on his left side, his head resting on his shoulder, and an arm stretched across his chest; secondly, Louis' boyfriend was snuggled in to his right hand side; and thirdly, all three of them were naked…
He shut his eyes again, and began to pray to any God that was listening, swearing that he would never, ever, ever go out and get as drunk again, and he definitely wouldn't be going into a gay bar with topless barmen for anyone. He also knew that his wife did not ever need to know about this, not that anything untoward happened - or at least he hoped it hadn't… He groaned again, and opened his eyes once more, wondering how he could get out of the bed without waking up Louis and his boyfriend. That was when he saw that Louis had opened his eyes… It was his scream that ensured that all three of them were awake and out of the bed in seconds…
Next door, Gabriel was still in a deep sleep as Mitch headed down to the kitchen to find coffee. His head was sore, but not as bad as it could feasibly have been. Arriving in the kitchen, he smiled to see David sitting there, cradling his son as he fed him, whilst Mercedes was busying herself at the stove. "Good morning!" she said, pouring him a cup of coffee without him even asking. "I would just like to thank you for coming in so quietly last night; it is nice to see that there are still people in this world that respect others. From what David has told me, I suspect you might have a little bit of a headache, which is why I have placed the Advil next to your glass at your place at the table. If those next door require some though, they will need to make their own way to the drugstore…. I think that they might be up too, as I am pretty sure I just heard a scream right now…"
"I thought that I did too," said David. "I hope that the cause of that was not the realisation of something crucial like the rings being missing…"
"Well, the groom is here and safe, and honestly, the rest is just window dressing anyway," Mercedes answered wisely. "So, as breakfast will be ready in about 10 minutes, someone needs to go upstairs and wake the groom to be up. It is after all still only the bride's prerogative to be a little late…"
David smiled, and got up, placing his contented son back in his crib, before he headed upstairs to wake up the man in question. Mitch meanwhile took his seat at the table and swallowed down two Advil with a glass of water. Everything was on course now for the day to be perfect, and he only hoped that everything was going as well for those next door, and the bride…