A Career Progresses, Another Ends.
On the same day that Ethan stepped into the New York offices of Mackenzie Inc. to attend his first board meeting officially, next door to the building that housed the Mackenzie Trust, Sebastian received the official confirmation that the next step in his career would be going ahead. It was a part that he had first read in English class back at Dalton, but as in all the staged versions that he had seen, both his part and that of the other main protagonist were played by much older actors, he had not expected to be able to play it so soon. He had thought it was a role reserved for a theatrical great in their prime, until he had stumbled across the information online that a young Geoffery Rush had played the part in Australia in the late 1970s…
He had mentioned his desire to play the part to his agent, and they had immediately loved the idea as much as he did. Secret talks had then begun as they sought out another younger actor to play the role of the other main character, with whom he had so much interaction. In the end, it was a London based actor that Sebastian had met during his brief stint at the National Theatre that came to the fore; he was available, and just as keen on the idea. A theatre had been found, and the funding for the performance was in place. Soon, the world would be seeing Sebastian playing opposite Russell Tovey in Waiting for Godot.
Sebastian knew that the role would be one of the most challenging he had taken in his career. The play was virtually a two hander after all, which meant that he had a lot of lines to learn. There might have been no songs to practice, or dance moves to master, but that did not mean that there was no choreography, as for the show to work then the movements had to be tight. The biggest bonus for him was the chance to work with Russell, a British actor that he admired, who had shot to fame with his performance in The History Boys. That part had been the one that had brought him to Broadway for the first of many performances. Sebastian had read the Bennett play at Dalton, and had thought that it would have been a good one for the school to perform, given its virtually all male cast. It had also inspired him to seek out the other works of the man from Yorkshire, and had found the pathos in so much of his work wonderful, and his Talking Heads series of monologues inspirational.
He would of course miss his role as Dr Frankenstein, but his understudy in the part was admirable, and could fill in quite ably until a replacement was found. When he had told Mr Brooks of his intention to leave, the older man had been unsurprised, and had jokingly suggested that they could ask the young man that played The Flash on television to replace him. Sebastian discovered a few days later that Mel had indeed contacted him, but he had declined, his filming schedule for the show being too tight to allow him to come to New York and perform just yet. His final shows would be in mid February, and as it happened, that was also when his good friend Jenny would depart too. She had been approached and offered the lead role in an off-Broadway revival of the stage version of a comedy classic, which everyone was convinced would return to the Great White Way in no time. Her casting had been done by the star of the film on which it was based, which had left Jenny starstruck. She was very much looking forward to playing Dolores Van Cartier, aka Sister Mary Clarence…
As Sebastian had received his news, Cooper had also been getting news about the next production for himself. He was enjoying his time doing the Coward plays immensely, firstly in Present Laughter and then in Private Lives, but now was the time for him to move on to another of his classics. He had been cast as the male lead in Blithe Spirit, but until now there had been no announcement as to who would play Madame Arcati. He had not been the least bit surprised when he walked in to meet the lady in question and find Bette Midler sitting there. She had wowed the critics most recently as Aunt Eller alongside Sebastian in Oklahoma! and Cooper was certain that she would excel in the part of the eccentric medium. What did surprise him was when she told them all about the advice she had received from Dame Angela Lansbury, who had impressed the critics in her portrayal of the role over a decade ago. She had told Bette that at the age of 98, she was by her own admission, to old to take the part on again full-time… It was the stress that Bette put on those last two words that had left Cooper open mouthed, floored at the possibility. "Are you saying that she might…"
"Offer to cover for me if I needed a day off? It would not shock me in the least if she offered to do one performance a week! She is as sharp as ever, and very agile for someone that has had both hip and knee replacement surgery. If I can be in her condition when I get to that age, I will be very content," laughed Bette.
"Well, I am honoured to be playing opposite an icon of the stage like yourself. I hope that my performance can match up to your expectations."
"My dear, the moment that I saw you strut on stage in those high heeled boots and shirt tails, I knew that you had the necessary star quality, so trust me, the honour is all mine. In fact, why don't you call me Aunt Bette, just like my darling Sebastian, who I hear on the grapevine is going to be waiting around for a while very soon…"
Cooper wondered what on earth she meant by that, and more importantly, how she always seemed to know what was going on casting wise on Broadway before anyone else. He resolved to speak to the young man that he regarded as part of the family later.
Before he got the chance, though, another casting story broke on the internet that diverted his attention. The web was suddenly full of the news that the musical version of Mary Poppins was going to be returning to Broadway in the fall. This was not entirely unexpected, as the show had been revived in London to great fanfare a few years ago, and it had only been the lack of a suitable theater that had stopped that show coming to Broadway at the time. That news in itself would not have been of particular interest amongst the circle of friends, until they read the name of the actor that had been cast in the part of Bert the chimney sweep, and then they were all left smiling broadly…
Only Roderick had been aware of what was about to occur, and the fact that it meant his best friend Mason would be coming home for good had made him very pleased indeed. The news made Cooper's day too, although he was a little miffed that Mason had not called him to let him know what was happening in advance. It was only when he checked his emails an hour later that he discovered that he had received one first thing from the young man that had lived with him and Grace in Murray Hill for so long, during his first years in New York. It confirmed that he would be coming back in three months time, and would be taking a well earned rest before he went into rehearsals.
It was then that Cooper saw something else that made him sit up and take notice. Blithe Spirit was only scheduled to run until August, and after that, he would not be committed to the Coward season. That would be no bad thing as it happened. It seemed that Mason was having a hand in assembling the cast to join him on Broadway, and he had a role in mind for Cooper in Mary Poppins…
The casting news about Sebastian and Cooper was disclosed to the press the following day, and created quite a buzz amongst their friends. Cooper kept the message that he had received from Mason to himself, but he did discuss it with his agent, and then in a transatlantic call with those that were in charge of the upcoming production. He had already managed to cultivate a quite convincing English accent for the plays in the Coward season, and the new part would simply by a continuation of that. The new challenge would be in maintaining it whilst he was singing, something that did not happen in a Coward play…
He knew however that his accent would not be as subject to the scrutiny of the critics as Mason's would. Even if he was playing the part for an American audience, he would still need to get his Cockney accent spot on, or he would end up being compared to Dick Van Dyke in the eponymous film. He had great confidence that Mason would rise to the occasion; he had the advantage that he was currently in the city in question, and if he knew how diligent Mason was in his preparation for a part, he would already have native speakers of the accent coaching him, people that had been born within the sound of the Bow Bells, and had always talked in that way…
Cooper also could not help but wonder at the size of the challenge that Sebastian had set himself in taking on such a big role. He was delighted that he had managed to get one of the new greats of British acting to come and perform opposite him. He imagined that there would be a good deal of friendly banter amongst them as to whether the theater marquee and posters would show the two leads alphabetically, or if Sebastian would insist that the older man should take the first billing.
The rest of the first month in January flew by at a hectic pace. February came in, and by the time that the middle of the month was approaching, most of them were heartily sick of the political rhetoric that was being bandied back and forth between the politicians, and on every form of media. As Trent had anticipated, the Republicans had come out as expected and made a number of wild claims about the President's social projects. Their allegations that Kennedy was trying to turn the country red were met however by a sound one line soundbite that Trent was particularly proud of. The bulk of the media pack had laughed when the President replied to a question on the issue from Fox News, using those words, with the sentence, "Ma'am, that is the last thing I want; the nation needs to stay blue…"
As the majority of the nation joined in the laughter, thus making the Republican Senator that had made the original claim appear a total fool, and thus torpedoing his chances of receiving the party's Presidential nomination, those based in the White House were busy preparing more accurate barbs to fire at their challengers, and hopefully score more direct hits. The best news that the campaign had had was the decision of the Vice-President to continue in her post; she had initially only signed up for one term, having been reluctant at first to even be in the political role. Now that she had taken the plunge, she found that she relished the challenges. That the President was relived went without saying, as she would have been a hard act to follow. The campaign was further bolstered when Burt Hummel also agreed that he would carry on as Head of the House in Congress for the same term, if the election went in their favour. It seemed highly unlikely that it would not, but history informed them all that the most unlikely things could happen…
Then it was Valentine's Day, not quite in the middle of the month given that it was a leap year, and with it all of the gestures of love that were the norm. Nick and Jeff had swapped cards at breakfast time, but that was all that occurred at the breakfast table. On his return home from taking their son to kindergarten, however, Jeff would find a box of heart shaped cookies in his studio as he went in to do his illustration work. He smiled, and wondered how his husband had reacted to the bouquet of roses that would have been sitting on his desk that morning, delivered early on his behalf by one of the custodians at the UN.
Sebastian and Dave spent the morning together in bed, the former counting the days to his last performance as Dr Frankenstein on Sunday; the latter thinking about the charity game that he was scheduled to be playing in at the exact same time. Not far away from them in Maplewood, Santana had taken a day's vacation from her job at NYADA to spend it with the love of her life; Brittany had been feeling a little down recently, and she intended to use the day to ascertain the reasons why…
What the blonde would eventually tell her left her just a little bit shocked; not the first part, as she had always anticipated that the day would come when her wife would want a child of her own. No, it was the name of the person that she saw as the potential sperm donor that gave her pause for thought. It was the sweetest of gestures, but she did not know how the man in question would react, or even if it was the best of ideas…
Elliott and Beats had also swapped cards that morning, then had both spent the day at work contemplating the fact that their adopted son would be going out that evening for his second Valentine's date with his boyfriend. They had all the more reason to think about it this year after Elliott had discovered a small jewellery box in Dante's sock drawer. He had not opened it, as that would have been an invasion of his privacy, but both he and Beats were convinced that what was inside was not an engagement ring…
For Seth, Valentine's Day was, of course, always the most bittersweet of days. As the day had gone on, and he had watched those in relationships amongst his friends, and those around him at the college, exchanging cards and gifts, he had to admit that he started feeling just a little bitter towards life in general. Ironically, his physical health that day was the best that it had been for quite a while, and he was struck by that irony as his mind suffered instead. As he headed home that night, he saw from the windows of the car that the Italian restaurants were already busy, but would no doubt be even busier soon. He had often wondered about that; he knew that in history a tomato, a key ingredient in Italian cuisine, had been called a 'love apple', but all of the garlic used with it surely made love the last thing on people's minds…
As he entered his apartment, he found himself letting out a deep sigh; he did not feel lonely all that often, but today seemed to be an exception to the rule. He knew that if he mentioned he was feeling that way, he would be inundated with offers of company, but he didn't relish being third wheel to a couple - and the prospect of spending time with Ethan and Drew didn't appeal either. In any case, sometimes all you wanted to do when you were feeling down was sit and wallow, the day being too bleak and hopeless for anything else. He cooked himself some dinner, heating up a hot and spicy curry, the kind of which gave you breath that ensured that no-one would want to kiss you. Then he settled down in front of the television, but found himself tuned to the news channel in the hope of avoiding romantic offerings. To his horror, he found that romance was pervading those channels too…
He was pondering just giving in and heading to bed early when he heard the familiar noise that indicated that he had an incoming Skype call. He wheeled himself over to the computer, and was surprised to see that it was Skylar calling him; he had imagined that he would be out with Julia on some romantic occasion… Hoping that when the camera came up his best friend would not be accompanied by his wife, he connected, and was relived to see Skylar was alone… "Hey, this is a surprise! I would have thought that you and Julia would have been out tonight!"
"She chose to work, and we can go out another night. It suited me to be honest, as I was single for long enough to know how horrendous this day can be if you are not in a couple…"
"It's not been great, but I am surviving," replied Seth, then shook his head. "Actually, scrub that, it has been just awful this year, and being honest, I was just heading to bed because even the sports channels seem to be filled with mush, hearts and flowers."
"Well, I am glad that I called when I did then, although I have to be brutally honest and state that the motivation for this call is kind of in that sphere as well, sort of. You see, we were discussing the perils of today over breakfast this morning, and how down and depressed it can make singletons like yourself, and to my surprise, Julia told me that I could let you in on our little secret. I mean, it is still very early days, but well, you are going to be Uncle Seth sometime in the summer…."
Seth's mind processed Skylar's words, and a smile came across his face, brightening it like a ray of sunshine on a dark day. "Wait, you mean…"
"I am going to be a daddy, Seth. I mean, there is still so much that can go wrong, but we agreed that you should be the first person to know other than the two of us…"
Realising that Skylar meant that even the grandparents-to-be knew nothing from his words, Seth replied in a hushed voice, "I'm so honoured, and very, very pleased for the pair of you. That kid is going to be so lucky…" Seth stopped then, as he could feel tears starting to well up in his eyes. He was so happy for the couple, but he knew that his own time with their son or daughter would be limited; he tried hard to block the even darker thought, that he might never meet his best friend's child…
"I want them to know you, Seth, so you have to hang in their," said Skylar, also crying now, as he knew what was going through his friend's mind.
"I will try; that is all that I can promise you," said Seth, swiping at his eyes.
Skylar sniffed loudly, then nodded. "Whatever happens, they will always know who you were, and that I promise," he whispered in response, determined of that fact. He did not say the other thing that he and Julia had already agreed upon; if their child was a boy, he would have the only name he could possibly have in their eyes…
Sunday came, and with it the last time that Sebastian would portray Dr Frankenstein. He headed into town on his usual train, saying his goodbye to Dave in the hallway at home. Back stage, the atmosphere in the dressing rooms was as it always was when a cast member left, a mix of sadness and joy; they might be losing two cast members, but the show would be going on after all… Mr Brooks appeared just before the curtain call, to bid farewell to Sebastian and Jenny, and he left them all laughing; the lyrical words that he said about the two departing stars moved them all though.
When the curtains rose, the villagers singing their usual opening number, Sebastian was standing in his usual spot in the wings, waiting for his cue, when suddenly everything felt wrong. He came over all cold, shivering, and his heart suddenly ached. To his horror, he realised he had only felt that sensation once before, and that had been at the precise moment that the earthquake that destroyed L.A. had hit; furthermore, that sensation had been mild to what he had felt just then. He shook it off however, as his cue was coming up…
His performance that day was in his own opinion, lack lustre. However hard he had tried, he could not escape the feeling that something, somewhere, was out of kilter, that the world was not right. Still, he had not fluffed his lines, or sung out of tune, but he still felt terrible for those that had been watching. Still, it was all over, and he took his bows, and whilst he felt he had been bad, the audience had not noticed, as they cheered as loudly as ever. The bows taken, he headed to his dressing room, the feeling strong again. Walking in, he was taken aback to see someone sitting there waiting for him.
"A wonderful performance, Meerkat," said Santana. "Like wine, you seem to improve with age."
"Look, I know that something has happened; I feel that the whole world is out of sync, and you being here confirms that. So, no small talk, just do your usual Satan and cut to the chase. Bad news is much better delivered quickly, like ripping off a band-aid."
"Okay. There was an accident at the stadium. The other player was going in for a tackle, and he caught Dave badly, and well… your husband is in the hospital, and from what they've told me, his injuries are quite severe…"
Sebastian just stared at Santana for a moment, his mind processing what she had said. A decade ago he might have seen her words as a cruel joke, a horrific prank. Now he looked at her and could see the pain in her eyes, and knew that what she had just told him was completely true. All of a sudden he found that he was very light headed, and he was lurching forward, Santana swiftly grabbing him before he fell to the floor. "Okay, Meerkat, take deep breaths. His injuries are severe, but by no means life threatening; you are not about to become a single parent overnight. Let's get you into your chair, get you some water, and I will tell you all the details that I know."
Sebastian allowed her to take him by the arm and lead him over to his seat, and then sipped at the cold water she got for him. As he sipped, he heard the sound of hurried steps towards the dressing room door, and then Jenny burst in, looking horrified. She headed over to him, face filling with concern, and she took his hand, which was now trembling uncontrollably. Gradually he felt himself coming back to the room, back to normal, and he knew it was time to hear more. "Okay, so what exactly has happened to him - and why are you here telling me?"
Santana nodded, then said, "Right, so what I was told was this; Dave was running for the goal when he was aggressively blocked by the other player. In one of those one in a million freak sets of circumstances, he hit him in such a way that as Dave fell, his leg was twisted violently sideways. He then hit the field hard, and the surface wasn't exactly soft… they think that he's shattered his knee cap, broken his lower leg in at least two places, pulled all sorts of tendons and ligaments, and dislocated his hip. The last one is the lesser problem, as the medics managed to relocate that before he was even taken off the field…"
"As to why I am here, well that was Dave's request. The accident happened in the first ten minutes of the game, so in the first ten minutes of the show. He was adamant that they didn't call you, or the theatre, as he did not want to disrupt your last performance. They then suggested calling Julian and have him come here and tell you, but Dave vetoed that too. He knew that I was going to be in the city today, so I got the job. Let's be honest, your brother was the last person that you would want telling you all of this."
"No, I would have lashed out at him. I mean, I was sorely tempted to hit you when you told me. I mean, when you said severe, I pictured paralysis, or brain damage, or 'you might not get there before he dies' stuff!"
"Meerkat, it is severe. They probably won't be able to completely fix his leg and restore it to what it was before, and that means…"
Santana didn't need to finish her sentence, as Sebastian knew. "It means that his playing career is effectively over, as of now."
"Exactly - and for Dave, that is the most severe outcome that he could have had…"
Santana escorted Sebastian to the hospital; she had helped him remove the greasepaint, then waited as he changed back into his street clothes. As they travelled, neither of them spoke; Sebastian was too busy running through all the scenarios in his head, and trying to work out what on earth he could say to console his husband. He had never imagined anything like this happening to Dave. Like all actors, he had always known that he was always one show away from disaster; that one flop that would bring the curtain down on your hitherto glittering career. He went into each new show thinking that it could be his last. That was how you ensured that every performance that you gave was your best…
Somehow, he had never imagined the same thing for his husband, but now that he thought about it, there was precedent there too, and a far greater risk than he ever faced. He had always thought that when Dave retired from the game, it would be on his own terms…
Of course, they were secure financially, and as the accident had taken place during a game, all of the necessary medical bills would be covered by his team. Plus, it was not the end of everything. Yes, he might not play again, but if Seth could manage to tutor others in his condition, then there was no reason why Dave could not coach others. He had already taken courses to prepare for that eventuality once he retired from playing. He would just need to use those skills sooner than he had wished…
'You need to accentuate the positive,' he thought. 'Dave will need reminding of all that he still has, all that he can still do. And fortunately, this has all happened at a time when I can be around…'
"Very true," said Santana, making Sebastian jump.
"Was I… Did I just say all that out loud?"
"You certainly did, and the approach you are thinking of is the right one. There is no way to rewind the clock, to undo what has been done, but you can help and support him through it all."
"That is what the whole marriage thing is about in essence. He was a rock for me when Peter was unaccounted for after the quake, and now it is my turn to be a rock for him."
"You'll have a lot of help with that. I mean, if you need someone to sort him out, just call me…"
"I might," said Sebastian, with a hint of a smile. "Or it might just be me needing to vent, or find a shoulder to cry on…"
"Well, the same applies. You are the father of my child after all, who is going to be quite a handful as she gets older, trust me. Beautiful, of course, and immensely talented, but definite a diva!"
"She will have taken that from both of us," replied Sebastian.
With those words, the car they were travelling in drew to a halt, and they realised that they were at the hospital. They stepped out, and as Santana gave the driver the necessary details for payment, he found himself frozen to the spot, too scared to step through the doors. Then he felt Santana take his hand, and with her leading the way, he knew he had no choice but to face the future…