The End of 2022 Part I
Christmas Eve came, and in New York, Sebastian made a trip into the city to meet up with a few of his old school friends for lunch, before he would go on to see the matinee performance of The Producers; with his own busy work schedule, he had not had the chance to see Cooper and Sam perform together, and the fact that after the show had been running for so long they were still getting the 'House Full' sign put up night after night meant it had to be a show to see.
The lunch was at the Spotlight, of course, where he was welcomed back like an old friend by Michelle the minute he walked through the door. Of course, he found himself dragged up on stage to sing some old Christmas favourites within 5 minutes, but he didn't mind at all. He had just finished when the door opened to reveal Thad, who was someone that Sebastian had not been expecting to see. They saw each other, and after a quick hello, they pulled each other into a hug. Letting go off the Head Warbler, Sebastian asked, "What brings you to New York? I was under the impression that you were increasingly a home bird at this time of year."
Thad smiled, and replied, "That was indeed my intention, just to have the day alone, apart from a certain angelic friend, at Dalton, but then I received a phone call from Ollie. He actually has tomorrow off for the first time in his working life, but there was also something off in his voice; I haven't managed to find out what is going on yet, but I will before I leave, trust me. Anyway, enough of me; tell me all about your meetings with the Queen; Peter was quite starstruck when he came back…" Sebastian smiled, and headed back to the table he had reserved with Thad, and then proceeded to tell him all about the huge number of famous people he had met in London, a story which had impressed his Auntie Bette enormously the day before…
Flint was the next to arrive; he was just as shocked to see Thad there, but he was also chock full of the spirit of the day that his mother did not like him to celebrate. He came in just as Sebastian was beginning to show Thad his photos from the command performance, and he had to admit that they were seriously impressive. In fact, he had mentioned what had happened to Sebastian to his mother one night, knowing that she would love to be able to tell her Ladies Circle that her son had gone to school with a famous actor that had just met Queen Elizabeth…
Drew and Ethan arrived together next, without Evie, who was being looked after by Dante. He had taken her with him to see the Rosenfelds, as he had been invited to join them for a family lunch; he was being introduced to Lachlan's grandmother, and he had decided that Evie would help keep things civil. Their arrival raised the volume of conversation at the table just a little as they waited for the arrival of the next guest…
He arrived minutes later with his husband of just over a month, an envelope clutched tightly in his hand. They headed straight over, both Beats and Elliott accepting the warm wishes of Sebastian and Thad, both of whom were actually seeing them properly for the first time since their impromptu wedding. Once they had done that, Sebastian dug into the bag he had brought, and pulled out a parcel, which he handed to Beats with due ceremony. "It is a wedding gift from Nick and Jeff," he said, which made all the others pause, as none of them had even considered getting them one, not that they would have expected anything anyway.
Beats unwrapped it carefully, then laughed loudly. Inside was a tin, which contained three boxes of different types of homemade cookies; Beats' personal favourite, Iced Oatmeal, Elliott's preferred Ginger Snaps, and for Dante, a red velvet variety.
"Well, he did bake cookies for all of us to give out at our own weddings," said Flint with a smile, "so I guess that Nick has just started a new Warbler tradition. Anyway, what is in the envelope, Beats?"
"I should have guessed that you would be the first one to ask," said Elliott with a laugh. "My husband said you would be, but when I looked up as we walked in, and saw who was here, I changed my bet to Thad…"
They all laughed, then Beats said, "It came just as we were leaving the house, after Dante had headed out with Evie to Lachlan's place. It is from the Children's Services department. It is confirmation that our application to adopt Dante had been processed and approved, and we are now the proud legal fathers of our boy; it also meant that we could pop out and start the process of getting him his other wish for Christmas. We have the form that he can fill in to officially change his name to Dante Harper-Gilbert."
"That is some of the best news I have heard in a long time," said Thad. "To that end, I propose that once we all have a drink, our first duty will be to propose a toast to Beats and Elliott, to congratulate them on their marriage, and on becoming fathers."
"Motion seconded," said Sebastian at once…
David arrived a good 15 minutes late, having been held up at work. He had called to say he would be, so they had ordered his food for him, and it arrived a minute after he did. Thus they were all able to sit down and eat together, talking happily as if they were still a group of schoolboys, not men in their late twenties. After they had eaten, there was time for a quick group number, before they all headed off again. David, Ethan and Flint had to return to work, not that much was happening; Drew had to go and collect Evie; and for Beats, he was heading back to let Dante know that everything was official, Elliott having told him not to wait until he arrived home as they had initially considered…. Sebastian then headed out to jump in a cab, sure that he would get to the theatre in good time as the traffic was lighter than usual.
That left Thad on his own, and now that his boys were all gone, he headed to the place he had been intending when he arrived at the Spotlight; the office of his sister-in-law. He greeted her warmly, then said, "Right, so cards on the table; why have I really been invited for Christmas? Ollie said nothing to me, but I know him, and I could tell from his voice that something is up. I hope that it is nothing to serious…"
Michelle sighed, and then said quietly, "I do too… Over the last few weeks he has become increasingly distant to me, but that might be my fault, as I did something without talking to him first. I have got to that age when my body clock is starting to tick louder, and I really want a child of my own to raise with my husband. I only want one, but despite all of our efforts, nothing seems to be happening. I wondered if that could be my fault; if after little Wes something had gone wrong which was preventing me from having another child, so I decided to go and get some tests done. He found out about it after I had been, which wasn't great. Worse still were the results. There is nothing wrong with me in that area, so it kind of suggests that if there is a problem, it is with him…"
Thad did not say anything in reply to his sister-in-law, just nodded. He had always just assumed that Ollie would be a father one day, had never imagined anything like this. After all, he was the youngest of five children, and the last that he had heard, their elder brother had been the proud father of four of his own. If he had been in the position that Ollie was in, then it wouldn't have been such a crushing blow… Then again, who was to say that he wasn't. "I take it that the two of you haven't discussed this properly?"
Michelle sighed. "It isn't the easiest of topics to bring up, although I have tried. Each time though the subject was quickly changed, or he would suddenly remember a task that he has to do. It isn't that big a deal, not really. I love your brother so much, and if we can't have children of our own, then we can't."
"I guess that there is always adoption," said Thad reflectively.
"Yes, and no," replied Michelle. "When I told him the news about Dante, he said immediately that he could never imagine himself being in that position, of being about to adopt someone else's kid. What will be, will be I guess. If whilst you are here, however, you do get the opportunity to talk to him…"
"I will try, but I won't make any promises. It's not the kind of thing that really pops up in our cosy brotherly chats. Then again, he did sound pretty desperate that I come for Christmas, so maybe that is just what he is hoping to have; a personal chat. He said that he would meet me for dinner tonight at the Heartland Brewery, and given what usually happens when we are there, I doubt we will have the chance for such a chat today."
"Probably not," said Michelle with a smile. "I will just need to try and give you some bro time tomorrow evening. I can always fake a crisis here."
Thad nodded, then took his leave; he wanted to pick up a few last minute gifts, and he guessed that a trip up to 34th Street and Macy's made the most sense. He headed for the subway, and as he was waiting for the train, he noticed an advertisement for a men's health clinic in Midtown; ironically, it stated that it undertook fertility testing while you wait. As he sat on the train a few minutes later, Thad came to a decision; he had the time to spare, and part of him wanted to know if the problem was just with Ollie, or if it affected him as well…
He met his brother at 6.30pm as they had arranged, in the busy bar under the Empire State Building. There was no wait though to get a table for food, and in one of those rare moments of luck, they were offered a table in the basement, which turned out to be a high walled booth, affording them a lot more privacy than usual. As they ate, they caught up on each other's news; for Thad there was the fact that the Warblers had once again aced their sectionals, the rumours that one of the deputy principals at Dalton was considering retirement, and of course, there was Sebastian's brush with royalty. Ollie listened with interest, then informed his brother all about the excellent new boss that had come to the hospital, and how the new government healthcare scheme was panning out. He then proceeded to tell Thad how their elder brother's wife, a woman that Thad had never met, was pregnant again, according to his sources…
"Between him and our sisters, that will make double figures, won't it?" said Thad, seeing an opening and taking it.
"Oh yes," said Ollie sullenly, "and of course dad is over the moon that the golden boy, Junior, is giving him yet another grandchild that he can torture with 'My First Doctor's Kit' toys. At least he has one son that can keep him satisfied!"
"There is still time for you and Michelle to catch up," responded Thad, noting that his brother had had a few beers, and might just take the bait.
"There might well be a lot of time, but it is highly unlikely. Michelle has a child with Nick, and he is the only one that she is ever likely to have," said Ollie, then in a lower voice, filled with pain, he continued. "I went and had tests done, because we kept trying and were not getting anywhere, and it turns out I am shooting blanks, Thaddie."
"Oh God, that's terrible Ollie. Is there nothing that they can do to improve the chances?"
"Nope. I am as good as sterile, little bro… I am dreading telling her, but I need to. She wants kids so much, and if I can't give her one, then I will give her a divorce so that she can move on and find a man that can."
"That's a bit extreme!" gasped Thad. "She loves you Ollie; I honestly don't think that kids matter that much to her. Even if they do, then you could adopt!"
"This is going to sound awful; I feel like such a douche for even saying this, but I just can't imagine myself raising another couple's child. It is selfish of me, but I would know that they didn't share my DNA, and as a result, I can't imagine being able to love them the way that a father should. It is also why I can't contemplate telling Michelle that we could use a surrogate donor, because then the kid would be hers, but not… I really do sound like a total douche…"
"No, I get it. It would have been different for me and Wes, if he had still been around and had been the one to provide the necessary. Just as Jeff adores little Wes, I would have loved Wes' child, because there would have been no way for us to have one on our own…"
"You see, I am a douche, just another reason why Michelle should divorce me. I am going to wait until the holidays are past, and then I am going to tell her the truth. Then she can go out and find a proper man who has everything in working order. I have even started to look for a job back in Ohio; that way she can have her space…"
Thad looked at his brother for a moment, then shook his head in sadness and disbelief. "Do you honestly think that having a child matters more to Michelle than her marriage to you? She loves you Ollie, so much, and there is no way that she would ever allow you to divorce her, so you can get that notion out of your head right away. You need to talk to her, explain how you feel. Okay, so you don't want to adopt, but what about fostering? It is different, as you are not accepting full responsibility for them forever, just giving them a safe space for a while; acting in loco parentis as they say. It is like my housemaster role at Dalton; you are there to support them, guide them, take care of them day to day, but in the end, they go home, and well, tend not to look back…"
"It is not something that I have ever really considered doing, if I am honest," said Ollie in reply, "and yeah, maybe I could handle that. It's a lot like what I do at the hospital, day in, day out, when you put it like that, just a little longer term. I do know that she loves me, Thaddie, I do, but in the end, will that be enough? Am I going to be enough when she sees everyone else with their kids, and all her instincts are telling her that she wants one of her own too? I have tried to get over my hang ups, particularly around getting a donor, but it all boils down to the same thing in the end, no matter how hard I try. They will not have my DNA; not one string of Harwood genes, and that's… It is stupid, narrow minded, wrong, but it is how I feel. Now, can we change the subject? It is Christmas after all, little bro. We are together, and although we do not have the rest of our marvellously dysfunctional family in tow, you, me and Michelle will have the best of days…"
Thad nodded, and let his brother move on to other topics. He could see where he was coming from, his perspective on things, and he accepted it, even if he did think it was quite stupid. He secretly cursed the fact that he, a single man who no longer had any wish for children was fertile, and his brother, who had a stable marriage, a great attitude and a desire for a family, was not. Why on earth could their roles not have been reversed? And then it hit him. There was a possible solution to the whole mess, one which was a little out there, even twisted in some people's eyes if they knew, but nonetheless, it would overcome so much…
Miles across the ocean at that point, in a house in South Kensington, nothing was stirring now; as the clock hit 10pm in New York, it was 3am in London. The residents of that house had had a hectic Christmas Eve. Nick had had his shopping to finish, and his preparation for dinner the following day to start. He had peeled the potatoes, cut crosses in the bottom of brussel sprouts, made up the accompaniments to the turkey, and made the soup for the starter. Around him the house was busy; Elspeth had of course been joined by the Sterlings and Nick's mom. Mrs Duval had revealed that her parents had considered coming, but at the last minute they had decided instead to go to New York to spend the day with Grace, Cooper and the twins. Grace had been only too happy, which Nick knew was down to the fact that she knew her grandmother would assist her in the kitchen…
Nick of course preferred to do his preparations unhindered, and so Jeff had taken everyone out for the day. They had all been to the kindergarten the night before, to see little Wes play the part of one of the three wise men in the nativity play, and he had done so so endearingly that they had all left with beaming smiles. Now they were all off to Selfridges, to take little Wes to meet Father Christmas; Nick secretly suspected that this was more to do with satisfying the assembled grandparents than his son, but he let it lie. He also had suspicions that given half a chance, his husband might also sneak in to see the man with the white beard…
They returned in the early afternoon, all looking a little worn out, apart from Wes, who had been given an early gift to open of course, and had also managed to eat several candy canes. After a quiet afternoon, Nick summoned them all to their evening meal; he had prepared a buffet, given how formal everything would be the next day; a mix of sandwiches, sausage rolls, and little tarts, followed by mince pies and a victoria sponge sandwich cake. After that, they sent Wes for a nap, waking him up at his usual holiday bedtime so that they could take him to church.
This was not normally something that any of them would have done, but Miss Frobisher had talked about the midnight service at the local church so enthusiastically that they had decided to go. She was there of course, and on seeing them, invited them to join her in her pew. The service was wonderful and moving, and enchanted little Wes, who also felt so naughty being up so late. Then to walk home in the dark, on streets that the buses had deserted for their one day a year, before being given a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows was just perfect. He retired to bed so pleased that he did not even realise that it was technically Christmas Day, much to his papa's dismay, as he had been hoping to use his son as an excuse to open all the gifts…
A few hours later, and Nick was up again, padding quietly down the stairs to his kitchen; he had a turkey to put in the oven. He was desperate to ensure that everything was perfect, and as a consequence he was up much earlier than he would have liked, given the lateness of their bed time. He bustled around as silently as possible, lighting the oven, making the coffee, and starting on his preparations for breakfast. He had made up the croissant dough before church last night, and set them out on trays ready to just place in the oven. He also had dough to knead again for the rolls to eat with the soup, and the bread for later in the day at supper…
He had just placed the turkey in the oven, wondering what had actually possessed him to buy such a big one, and exactly how many days they would be eating the leftovers, when he heard footsteps on the stairs to the kitchen, and his mother appeared in the doorway. "I thought that you might be down here. Merry Christmas, son!"
"Merry Christmas, mom," Nick replied, giving her a careful hug as his hands were not quite clean.
"I am actually quite glad to get you on your own for a minute," Mrs Duval said then. "I don't tell you often enough just how proud I am of you. You've become a fine upstanding young man, a good husband and friend, and a wonderful father. When I think back to how I reacted when you came out, well, it makes me sick. Your father was so wrong, in all he said, and in all he did to you, and I was at fault going along with it all. Breaking free from his influence was the best thing that I ever did, and I am so glad that I did, and am here to enjoy this day with you and your family. Your father is the loser in all of this. I love you so very much…"
"I love you too mom," said Nick, then, feeling that his eyes were in danger of tearing up, he headed over to the second oven where his croissants would be just about ready…
The smell of those freshly baked croissants permeating the air was all that was necessary to wake the rest of the household, and Nick had anticipated as much. He had the table prepared with a mixture of fruits and cereals, ample coffee brewed, and jugs of juice in the fridge. He also had the toaster on standby in case anyone asked, but on seeing the fresh French pastries, no-one did. There was fresh butter too, kept out of the fridge so that it was soft and easily spreadable; a selection of preserves, and for Wes, a jar of chocolate spread. He was so taken by the sight of the breakfast table that he seemed to have forgotten once more that there were presents to be opened…
The fact that Nick removed a second tray of croissants from the oven just as they had all finished their first was laughed at, but they all enjoyed a second warm one. "I have to confess that I have had had these before, but wasn't all that impressed," said Mrs Sterling. "Yours are so light, flaky and buttery compared to those however; how on earth can there be such a difference?"
"Because Nicky got his recipe from an actual Frenchman, mom," replied Jeff. "He is an old friend of Sebastian's that we met for the first time in Paris. If you think these are good, well… I hope that I have dropped enough hints over the last little while and that there will be macrons later…"
Jeff looked at Nick with puppy eyes, which made his husband smile. "I'm afraid that you will just need to wait and see," he replied. "In the meantime, you will just need to satisfy your hunger for sweet things with a bourbon cream." He pulled out the packet of biscuits, new favourite's of Jeff, and his eyes lit up. The first time he had bought them it had been simply because they were next to the custard creams he had been buying for Sebastian. He had mistakenly handed the packet to his husband, to discover that it had been emptied on returning twenty minutes later. "Oh, and I said a bourbon, not a packet," he added, making Jeff frown. He dutifully took just one, then handed the packet round.
When it came to Wes, he said, "No, thank you, but do we have any Jammie Dodgers daddy?" Nick nodded, and saw his son's face light up. As he opened the cupboard to get them out, he had to stifle the urge to laugh at the expression on his mom and Judy Sterling's faces, as they wondered what on earth a Jammie Dodger was…
After breakfast, Jeff reminded everyone that it was time for presents. The grandparents had all heeded instructions and had brought just a few small gifts. Wes opened each one carefully, examined them with a smile on his face, said his thanks, and then placed the item to one side so that he could move on to the next. As for his parents, they had bought him books; and as Santa, one item he had been craving above all else for a long while now. His eyes sparkled when he saw the bicycle, with stabilizers already in place.
As he and his papa examined it closely, Nick turned to the assembled grandparents and whispered, "We have asked Mike to buy the identical one back home, so it will be waiting for him when we get back to New York; it was cheaper and easier than arranging to get this one shipped over. We intend to donate this one to his kindergarten when we leave. We have also got him a helmet, and a little hi-viz vest. It is a good form of exercise, and a life skill in these times when we all need to be so conscious of our environment."
"You used to enjoy riding your bike too at his age," said Mrs Duval with a smile, as she recalled those days.
"As did Jeff," said Elspeth, recalling how taking Jeff to the park to ride his bicycle had been an escape for her as well as for her eldest son.
"Right, if you will all excuse me, I need to go and get dressed properly, and then head back into the kitchen. Dinner will not cook itself, and I also have bread to bake," said Nick. He paused only to accept a hug from his son before hurrying off upstairs.
An hour later, and Jeff was outside with Wes and his dad in the gardens, watching as the boy made his first forays on his bicycle, ringing the old fashioned bell on it happily as he went. One of the elderly neighbours had been walking her dog in the gardens when they arrived; she wished Jeff and his dad a happy Christmas, smiling at Wes as he moved around with growing confidence and speed. They returned the greeting before she went on her way home. "They really do seem to be so polite here, just as they used to say," Mr Sterling remarked to his son.
"It has taken time to get to this stage though," replied Jeff. "We were being judged from the moment we moved in, to see what we were like and if we would pass muster. Obviously an artist that is reasonably well known and his UN lawyer husband are acceptable enough, but then we added in an award winning Broadway actor, and we had suddenly raised the tone even more. Of course, all the money you spent on sending me to Dalton paid off too, as our excellent manners have made us even more acceptable here."
"That, and the approval of a family called Windsor," added Mr Sterling with a smile.
Back in the house, the three women were assisting Nick, whether he like it or not. Mrs Sterling and Elspeth had offered to make the beds and do some light cleaning, which he had not been too slow in accepting. His mother meanwhile had appointed herself as his sous chef, helping with the preparations. She had wrapped the chipolata sausages with streaky bacon, and had then prepared the vegetable, adding the chestnuts in with the sprouts. In the meantime, Nick had prepared a stuffing mix and formed it into balls to cook alongside the turkey. He had also fetched out the traditional Christmas Pudding, that he had prepared according to all of the instructions on 'Stir Up Sunday'. He had made up the mixture, before he allowed Jeff, Wes and Sebastian to take turns in stirring it from East to West. It had then been steamed, along with a smaller one for Sebastian to take back to New York…
He now placed it back into the steamer to reheat, before heading to the fridge to bring out the ham he had baked himself, unwrapping it and cutting a few slices to try it, His mom did too, and on doing so, looked at him with pride, so perfect was the food. That look meant the world to Nick…
Nick had his timings for lunch down to perfection, and everything was done by the allotted time of 2pm. His turkey was done to perfection in good time, so that it could rest before it was served, leaving the roast potatoes and parsnips to cook a little longer on their own. Before the meal they had said grace, albeit for the benefit of Jeff's parents in the main, before Nick served up the soup with fresh bread rolls. Then as the plates were cleared, Nick carved the turkey in the kitchen, plating up the meat to be taken through to join the wrapped sausages, vegetables, sauces and rich gravy. Plates were filled, then Christmas crackers pulled, and paper hats donned, all of which made little Wes giggle; the mottos in the crackers did not, but that was apparently quite the norm. Everyone was in agreement though that Nick had excelled himself, preparing a delicious meal that had made the day special.
Then came the pudding. There were murmurs from around the room as Jeff drew the curtains, and then Nick came into the room carrying a tray, on which sat the steaming pudding and a small jug. The others around the table watched as he poured the contents of the jug over the pudding, and then lit a match. At that, Jeff extinguished the lights, and suddenly the pudding was wreathed in blue flames, as Nick set light to the warmed brandy he had just drenched it in. That spectacle earned gasps from around the table. As the flames died down, Jeff switched the lights back on.
"Well that was quite something; I take it that is a British tradition, to set the dessert on fire on Christmas Day?" asked Mr Sterling, which made them all laugh.
"Oh, yes," said Jeff, "although it often doesn't work, or singes someone's eyebrows, so I am informed."
Nick had meanwhile returned to the kitchen, and now came back with a jug full of rich yellow custard. His mother stepped up to divide the rich fruity pudding between the plates, her son then smothering it with the golden sauce. "This is very traditional in Britain, but I did decide not to put charms or coins in the pudding; it seemed to be quite a choking hazard if there ever was one!"
"It does seem a very dangerous idea; you would be eating it in tiny portions," remarked Mrs Sterling.
The pudding was consumed and enjoyed, and then they all retired to the drawing room for another British tradition. The television was turned on, and at 3pm sharp, the strains of the National Anthem could be heard. The Queen then appeared on the screen, to speak to her subjects as she had done for 70 years now. They all listened to her words, said over a montage of clips; as she talked about the arts, the screen showed her at the Buckingham Palace art show, talking to Sebastian and Jeff. Little Wes yelled "Papa!", as the man in question gasped. Afterwards, he decided that he should immediately text Sebastian and let him know he had just appeared in the Queen's Christmas broadcast…