Skylar's Wedding Day.
Seth woke up on the morning of the wedding to a gentle knocking at his door. It was no surprise to him; Thad had bent over backwards looking after him last night, making sure he was comfortable. He had insisted though that he call Ollie, threatening him with all sorts if he did not. In the end, Thad made a Skype call to his brother, and the look of distress on his face said it all. His answer, when it came, was blunt; if the drug cocktail he was on now had failed, then they had no other option that to move on to the higher strength drugs, those that would make it impossible for him to hide his condition from the world at large. That would also probably mean that he would have no choice but to give up his job, and that was the cruellest blow, as it was the only thing he had left of the career he had once imagined for himself…
Now in the pale light of the morning, things did seem a little cheerier. He had no pain and no aches; then there had been the research that Thad had diligently done. It seemed that there were computer programmes that were voice activated, that would allow him to design things, if not make them. He could learn to use that, and start afresh on his career. He smiled as Thad walked into the room, but it was not with breakfast or even a cup of coffee; he carried a pharmacy bag. "Ollie arranged for this to be sent. There is a note from him, which states that he consulted with an expert on your condition last night, and they came up with this new combination of drugs; it will get you through today safely without any side effects…"
"So one final good day? Well, today is a good one for that," replied Seth, with a smile. "This will be a good day; this wedding will be remembered for all of the right reasons. Skylar will leave here married and happy, and that is all that matters to me right now; his happiness."
Thad left Seth to take the pills that his brother had sent for him, still shocked to the core at how many of them there were. The way that the younger man was handling all of this left him in awe; in his shoes he would have been swearing and cursing, but he was taking it all in his stride with a dignity that left him feeling so humbled… He guess that as he knew what his fate was, and that there was nothing he could do to alter that, he didn't feel the need to try and change everything.
Alone again, his pills taken, Seth tried to focus on the day ahead, running through in his mind all that he needed to remember, the whole schedule of the day, the names of all the guests that he had to pay a particular heed to. Most of all, he had to keep Skylar calm and collected on what was the biggest day of his life so far. Like all young men, the prospect of marriage was one that had left his best friend a little daunted; it was what he wanted, but he worried that he wasn't good enough for his future wife, or that he would mess up the whole ceremony with the wrong words at the wrong time, or when that all important question about objections was asked, someone would stand up and speak…
For that reason, Seth knew that he could not linger in bed; he dressed, and then headed to join Thad at the breakfast table. As he walked in, the latter said, "So the weather is absolutely perfect, and the rest of the Warblers are already in town or well on their way, apart from the two obvious exceptions. To that end I have already tested the Skype link, and there is no reason why Niff will not be able to join us on camera for the big moment."
"Good… Do you know, this sounds weird, but them not being here almost makes this whole event seem less official somehow. Still, they will be back with us by the end of next month, just in time for Beats and Elliot to renew their vows, and of course, a certain someone's 30th birthday…"
Thad nodded, but said nothing about the latter. For him, turning thirty would be so hard, after all the times he had heard Wes promise to marry him if he was still single at that age, long before they were officially together for those few precious hours… He had never doubted that Wes would have been true to his word, as he had never broken a promise he had made to anyone whilst he was alive. To be honest, Thad would have preferred for his birthday to have gone unmarked, but he was the Head Warbler, and with all of the former members of the group coming for the ceremony the day before, he knew that there would be a party to mark the fact that he was entering a new decade of his life…
By 11am, the whole of Dalton Academy was buzzing. The majority of the guests had already arrived for the ceremony, which would commence officially at noon. Colin and Edward, along with Luke and Duncan, were in the thick of it all, carrying out their duties as groomsmen. They were taking care of the guests who had never been to Dalton before, directing them to the Senior Commons first so they could collect refreshments if they wished, and from there head out through the French windows onto the lawns, where chairs, tables and sunshades had been set up for their comfort. Other guests were being given a guided tour round the school by other Warblers, all happy to offer their services.
Mrs Carmichael had allowed other people to take over her duties so that she could fuss over the children, particularly young Francis, who she was seeing for the first time. Her husband smiled as he saw how her face lit up in the company of all the little ones, although for him, seeing the children of this group of boys made him feel his age just a little. Meanwhile, Trent and Rory were on tenterhooks, the only people given dispensation to keep their cellphones on, as they were expecting the arrival of their second child at any moment. Nearby, David was fussing over the heavily pregnant Mercedes, and she in her turn was anxious about the move back home next week. It had been decided that it made more sense for her to head straight back to Boston, in the company of her mother, after the wedding, and that meant she would not be there to oversee the move out of the West Village house. She was glad that Mrs Thompson had agreed to go down and help David after a quiet word, as she would ensure all went to plan. She would also be coming to Boston, the two mothers dealing with the unpacking. That was not a job for a woman in Mercedes' condition after all…
Away from them all, in his old room in the Warbler's dorm, Skylar was looking at himself in the mirror; he was concerned that he did not look right, that his suit did not fit properly, that his hair was a mess, that his tie was badly tied and crooked. Seth was getting changed in the room next door, and would soon be back to reassure him, but in the meantime…
"Your suit is perfect; Brooks Brothers rarely go wrong, particularly when you had the bespoke alterations done after the initial fitting," came Kurt's voice suddenly.
He smiled at that, then jumped as he felt a hand undoing his bowtie. "Honestly, I think that I should give you all lessons," said Blaine, as he retied Skylar's bowtie for him. "All of you that is, except Seth. He has managed to tie his perfectly without any help. There, that is perfect, so do not fiddle with your tie again, okay!"
Skylar had to chuckle a little at Blaine's words; the fact that his best friend was able to master the tricks of the bowtie given his condition was little short of a miracle in his eyes, but then the courage with which Seth was facing all of his tribulations was inspiring. He doubted that if he had been in his friend's place he could have stayed so calm and collected in the circumstances. He looked at himself once more in the mirror, and saw that his tie did indeed seem to sit so much better than it had just moments ago. "She will be impressed," said Kurt with a grin, appearing behind him. "Every inch the dashing prince, and probably one of the best dressed men in Ohio right now."
"Thanks for this guys," Skylar said to Kurt and Blaine. Then, in a more sombre tone, he said, "Whilst I am sure that I am doing the right thing in marrying Julia, I am worried about what happens to Seth now. I know he is getting that new house to live in, and he has always been so independent, but I worry about what happens when he isn't able to take proper care of himself alone. That independent streak could be an issue, and could leave him in trouble."
"He is going to be living on a street filled with friends that will take care of his needs when the time comes, and he will let them, trust me on that. Yes, he has his pride, but he isn't stupid by any means. On top of that, he knows, that when the time comes, he will have a home with you and Julia. Who better to take care of him then?" said Kurt.
Skylar nodded, and felt his eyes getting moist. "Now, we will have none of that," said Blaine. "This is the happiest day of your life, and of Julia's for that matter. If Seth sees you with red rimmed eyes during the wedding, he will blame himself for ruining the day, and the pictures that you will show your children and grandchildren. The fact is that all of this is making him happier than he has been for a long time; in a way, this is as much his big day as yours."
"You're right, of course," said Skylar. "No time for anything but the happiest of thoughts today. After all, this is the start of the most important chapter of my life…"
Just before noon, and everyone was in place in the stairwell, save the bride and her father. A computer screen showed Nick and Jeff sitting in London, in their best suits, with an equally well turned out Wes sitting between them; they had wished Skylar all the best before he had taken his spot, with Seth at his side, at the bottom of the stairs. Skylar felt that somehow his friend seemed younger that day, almost back to the way that he had been on the day that the freshman Skylar had met his sophomore dorm mate in the room they would share for the next three years. Seth was calm, whereas Skylar was stressed again. He had now began to worry that his bride might not show up for some reason. He resisted the urge to fidget, to play with his tie or his cuffs…
Music was playing quietly, the murmur of voices in the room as they waited for the big moment… Then as the school clock struck the first of the chimes for noon, there was the sound of footsteps from the painted corridor, and those at the back were able to turn and see the bride approaching with her father at her side and two bridesmaids behind. Kurt had seen to it that Julia had met Isabelle well in advance, and she had been given access to the legendary Vogue closet, just after the magazine had run a bridal feature. Of course, the one that she had fallen in love with the moment she saw it had fitted to perfection….
The dress was traditional, demure and almost like something from a fairy tale. As she entered, there were nods of approval from all quarters, and some of the female relatives recognised the dress from the magazine, and wondered how she had afforded it. The biggest smile however came from the man at the front who was about to become her husband; he still could not believe that she had chosen him…
The ceremony passed off without a hitch, and in no time it seemed the guests were all applauding as the first kiss took place; many also noticed the look of relief and happiness on Seth's face, the key part of his mission now complete. With the formalities completed, the focus of the day moved on to the refectory, transformed as ever from an academic canteen into a palatial dining hall. The food was exquisite, all of it having been supervised by Mrs Carmichael personally, and the compliments came thick and fast…
Mitch however could not help but notice that the lady in question's eyes were now focused on Beats and Elliott, and a wide eyed Dante, who was still not quite used to the building and its grandeur. Then he saw that she was looking at him, where he sat with Gideon at his side, and he realised that she had to be wondering if he might marry him at Dalton one day too. He knew that he would have to take her to one side and disappoint her there; if and when he married Gideon, it would be in Massachusetts, for the convenience of his potential groom's family…
Eventually it was time for the speeches. Seth rose to his feet, conscious of the anxious look on Colin's face, but he felt well, and stayed steady. His speech came from his heart, starting with a few well chosen anecdotes, focusing on how the boy he had first met had grown into a fine young man, and how he had, in Julia, met the woman that would be there for him, supporting him and nurturing him, as he did the same for her, for the rest of their lives. In the end, he turned to his audience, and said, "So, ladies and gentlemen, I would ask you to raise your glasses to Julia and Skylar; may they know all of the joys that life can bring them, and to use a well worn cliché, may all of their troubles be little ones…" Amidst laughter at that line, the toast was made, and the happy couple shared another kiss….
The festivities carried on for a few hours after that. The bride and groom performed a flawless first dance, helped in that by the fact that they had spent time with Mike, who had been only too happy to teach them the steps for a perfect waltz. There was much comment from the older generation about that, most of them impressed that the newlyweds had done so well. Their secret about the practice sessions was shared with two grandmothers eventually, and that meant that Mike found himself having to dance with them both. This was not an issue as Tina had not been able to join him at the wedding; she had to work, but there was also the fact that she was still feeling nauseous for a few hours every morning, and she did not want anyone to find out and put two and two together to make four quite yet….
Seth had danced with Julia as Skylar had danced with the chief bridesmaid; the dance had been a slow one, and after it he returned to his seat, from where he did not move for the rest of the wedding, chatting happily to everyone that stopped to say hello. The majority of the guests were fully aware of his condition so made allowances; the subject was not raised though, nor did anyone enquire after his health. This made him happy, as he was not the focus of the day after all. As the day wore on though he began to feel increasingly tired; the drugs he had taken that morning were suppressing the worst of the pain, but at the same time were sapping the energy levels in his system….
Thad had been keeping half an eye on him all day, knowing that he might have to help him leave without any fuss if he looked to be in pain, or indeed, was falling asleep. In the end though such a precaution was unnecessary; the newlyweds had a hotel booked closer to the airport so that they did not have such an early start for their flight down to Florida the next day; they had no intention of staying too late. They made their exit, and headed to get changed out of their wedding clothes; Seth found himself accompanying Skylar, and sat there chatting with him as his friend changed into something more casual. That done, Skylar sat down opposite Seth, and took his hands in his own, and spoke.
"Seth, I need to say this before I go. You are my brother in all but blood, and no matter what happens, I will be here to care for you right up to the end. If you need anything just call me, anytime, day or night, okay. I want to be told if you are not doing so well; I don't need or want protecting from the truth. Julia fully understands the situation, so do not use the fact that I am married now as an excuse not to call. I will always be here for you, just as you have always been there for me since the day we met. So promise me that you will always keep me in the loop."
"I promise, on the condition that you make a promise to me. Promise me that you will never put my needs in front of your own happiness. As I have said to you, so many times now, seeing you happy makes me happy. I need you to be my happy, sunny Sky. Oh, and I want to be an uncle, so this would be a very good night to start working on that one…" Seth winked as he said the last words, making Skylar go bright red, and then pull his friend into his arms, and hug him in a long, wordless embrace…
The party wound down after the bride and groom had left. As the guests thinned out, nobody was able to find Seth, and that got them all talking. Some hinted that he was probably with the newlyweds, and that they had invited him to join them in Florida, which made people laugh. Others with more knowledge began to dread the worst; to imagine that he had collapsed again, and was right now lying unconscious in some lonely corner of the school. Thad however had an idea, and before Colin and Edward organised a search party, he headed alone up to the old Warbler dorm. As he had suspected, all the doors were closed bar one. He walked past room 36 and knocked gently on the door of room 34, before pushing it fully open…
Inside, Seth was sitting on the bed that had once been his, deep in thought. Thad sent a quick text to Colin telling him that he had found Seth, then sat down beside him. As he did, Seth came back to the moment, and apologised for vanishing. "I just needed to come back in here, to the spot where our friendship began. He was so young, so innocent when he arrived, and between you and me, he nearly didn't survive all that happened with Hunter. On the night that Hunter really lost it with Nick and Jeff, the night that his whole regime crumbled, Skylar was on the brink, and if it had lasted even another day, he would have cracked completely. I have never told anyone this before, but I had to carry him to the cupboard that we hid in that night; he was so afraid, so broken that he couldn't even stand up on his own… The irony of the reversal in our situation now is not lost on me. I couldn't do that now. After all of it, he grew so strong, so independent… I am going to miss him so much, Thad. And there is the irony again; to make him happy, I have to sacrifice my own happiness. Right now, I can safely say that I have never felt so scared about the future in my life before; even Hunter at his worst was less frightening than my condition now. My life is not over yet, but it is going to change so much…"
Thad wrapped an arm around Seth's shoulders, and said, "Skylar might not be with you any longer, but you will never be alone, never without help. You will have all of us, all of those in your street in New York, and if you need help, all you will have to do is ask. Things will be clearer once we have spoken to Ollie properly, once he has run all the tests that he will need to do. We will deal with whatever scenario comes, even if it is the worst case. You are such a strong person, and if anyone can beat this back for a while, it is you. Right, come on, let's get you back downstairs before Colin starts freaking out too much; he was on the verge of organising search parties…"
Seth shook his head at the very notion, although it touched his heart at the same time, and got to his feet. He was about to start, like Skylar, on a new chapter in his life story, but for him the future was bleaker, no matter what kind of spin you put on it. His life had limits, and they were shorter than most peoples.
When Seth woke up the next morning, he knew that Skylar would already be at the airport, according to the clock, waiting for his flight to Florida and his honeymoon; he also immediately knew that the drugs that Ollie had sent for him to take yesterday had worn off. His right foot was in spasm, and his hand and arm began to do the same; the whole left hand side of his body ached. He sighed, knowing that there was nothing that he could do but lie there until the moment that the attack passed, just hoping that Thad would not walk in and realise just how bad he was that day.
That morning however his luck was out. A few moments later he heard a knock at the door, and he froze; he hoped that if he lay there silently, his visitor would just assume that he was still asleep and leave. Had it been Thad, he might well have done so, but the Head Warbler had gone to see Principal Lefevre, to discuss a few things for next term before he headed to New York, and so he had asked Mrs Carmichael to take breakfast to Seth. As it was already 9am, and she knew that Thad wished to be on the road no later than noon, she did not wait for him to reply, but came straight in. She recognised the sign the moment that she walked in, memories of her brother filling her head. She placed the breakfast tray on the table, then sat down gently on the bed beside him.
"It's a bad morning, isn't it? All the pain is back, and you feel helpless. Your brain is sending all of the wrong signals, when all you want it to do is let you climb out of that bed and get on with living your life…"
"Yes. Speaking from experience, today is not going to be an easy one," replied Seth, and as if on cue, his left shoulder went into spasm.
Mrs Carmichael took his left hand and held it, ignoring the movement, and just talked quietly. "When my brother had days like this, I just used to sit with him, as we are now, and we would just talk about the weather, the news, anything but his condition. It seemed to calm down if we just ignored it. By the way, Skylar has sent his thanks again, and said to say that he would call you when he is back home in Ohio. He also said to say that last night was as perfect as he had imagined it would be, he would certainly be doing it again, and that you might get your wish very soon. I think he thought that I would have absolutely no idea what he was talking about if he put it like that…"
Seth laughed then, and he carried on doing so as Mrs Carmichael regaled him with tales of some of the funnier things that she had witnessed the previous day, and for that matter at other weddings… And then suddenly he realised that the pains had all gone, and he gasped. "So it still works then?" she said with a smile. "That is why they say that laughter is the best medicine; it distracts you from your symptoms. Now, time for breakfast; fortunately I put a cover over the plate, so the scrambled eggs should still be hot and if they're not, I will just make you some more…"
Just after 11.30, Seth took his seat in the car that would take him back to New York. Thad was at the wheel, but they were not travelling in his economical and sensible compact car, but in Principal Lefevre's SUV, which would give him much more legroom. Seth had thanked her for that when he found out, and she had dismissed it as nothing. She was there along with the Carmichaels to see them off, and they all waved as the car moved off down the drive, and out of sight. Only then did Edith Carmichael let her face slip. "That poor boy… He is so much worse than any of us knew; and of course, Thad got that special delivery from the pharmacy yesterday… I have a feeling that for graduation next year, if not before, we will need to have a ramp in place for him. It was how it was for us; one day my brother was fine, the next day he was at the next stage. It is too cruel…"
"Well, he is lucky that he has all of the others to care for him," said Principal Lefevre.
"His parents should be ashamed of themselves; and when he is gone, I will find them, and I will take the greatest of pleasure in informing them, as publicly as possible, exactly what I think of them," replied Mrs Carmichael. "Right now though, he had no need of them; he never has. Afterwards however, they will be told…"
The journey out of Ohio to New York was a relatively swift one; the SUV had excellent acceleration for a hybrid, and ate up mile after mile of the interstate with no issue. Thad was grateful for that, as he had all of the driving to do himself. They made two stops en route, but the traffic that day was light, and so they made good time. Thad made no mention of Seth's health as they travelled, instead talking about the wedding and the graduation ceremony the day before, and the forthcoming departure of Colin and Edward to their new home in the Hudson Valley. Eventually, Seth broached the subject of his new home, and they discussed how it would work. In between that, they sang; Seth's body might have been failing, but his voice wasn't, and they filled the air with happy notes. By the time that they reached the Lincoln Tunnel, they were both without a care…
However, as Thad drove down the familiar streets of the West Village, a certain sadness came over Seth once more. He was home, but a key part of what had made it home was now missing. The room next to his own would be empty now, stripped of all the little things that had identified it as Skylar's space, the familiarity of it all lost. Downstairs there would be changes too, with the absence of the potato bread that Skylar alone had loved from the bread bin, and his favoured cereal no longer sitting beside the rest. It was just the start of the transition that he would be making, he realised; no more buying the largest jug of milk at the store, only one cereal sat on the shelf and less variety of food in the house in general….
He would cope with it though; he had no choice but to do so. Just as he had needed to set Skylar free, he had to let Colin and Edward go and build their careers and indeed their life together in the quiet Hudson Valley town they had chosen; had to allow Luke and Duncan, his first roommates in the city, and great friends, head back to their family home in Vermont. He was a little envious of all of them though, he guessed, and that was because they all had one thing that he did not; a clean bill of health. They had freedom of choice, careers, dreams that they could aspire to…
He was brought back to reality as the car came to a halt outside the house, every window dark. He had expected as much of course; Colin and Edward had told him that they were going to try and get last minute tickets for a Broadway show, and Luke had volunteered to help out at the Spotlight a few more times before he headed home, and he would have been joined there by Duncan. If Thad had not been quite so insistent that he was coming with him, then he could have been in for a very lonely night.
He saw the Head Warbler had now climbed out of the car, and opened his own door on the sidewalk side to step out himself. As he got to his feet, he could see that someone was walking along the street in their direction, and the figure was familiar…
And then it hit. He felt spasms of pain all over, aches in places he had never had them before, and tremors that wracked his frame. He barely had time to think 'Not again!' before he was falling towards the hard concrete sidewalk, blacking out as he fell…