An early chapter for you all. Next one on Sunday as usual...
Preparing for Departure Part I.
With the casting of Marley agreed, and a time to return the following day to start on the process of intensive rehearsals, the little group dispersed to an extent. Mason however asked Adam to join him and Marley for a spot of lunch, and he accepted happily. He was keen to make friends with his cast mates, and the NYADA connection was a good start on building the necessary bonds that made for a happy cast. As they headed out, Marley retrieved her phone from her bag and switched it back on, discovering that she had several text messages and a voicemail from her erstwhile boss at the orchestra. She stopped there and then in the wardrobe room, and decided that she would call him back right away, with her phone on speaker so she had witnesses in the form of Mason and Adam.
They listened intently as Marley answered his angry shouts about her current location by calmly telling him that as she had been told that morning that she and the rest of the orchestra were to be dismissed, she had immediately headed out to find new employment; she had now found a new job, and as such, she was giving notice, effective forthwith. She then hung up, ending the discussion at once. Marley sighed, then said, "I will miss the people in the orchestra; we have been together for a long time. I just hope that they are all as lucky as me in finding new roles."
Mason looked at the sad expression on her face, then had a thought. "As it happens, I think that the show is still short on musicians for our orchestra, so maybe some of them could come with you and work for us too." He made a call as they headed out of the building in the direction of the subway, and was soon speaking to the head of music for the show. To his delight, he found that his thoughts were indeed true, and he was able to pass on to Marley the news that there were indeed vacancies, and that if she passed on the musical directors number to her former colleagues, they might be lucky enough to find a new role too…
With that news, Mason suddenly decided that a small celebration was in order, and there was only one place that was appropriate. He called Jane, and asked her to head downtown in a cab and join them for lunch at the Spotlight Diner. She readily agreed, and soon they were all standing on the sidewalk outside the venue, a place so familiar to Adam in many ways. Peering through the window, he said, "Well, it hasn't changed all that much, although the staff probably have… Oh my God! Is that Dani? She was here when Kurt was!"
"It is indeed, although she isn't a waitress these days, she is one of the assistant managers," said Marley quite happily. "She, alongside Elliott and Michelle, keep our little investment here stays safe and profitable…"
"Your investment?" asked Adam, a little confused. It fell to Marley to tell them how they had all come to own just the smallest share in one of the most loved diners in New York…
Adam shook his head at first, and then burst out laughing. "I actually went to NYADA yesterday and bumped into Santana, and although I mentioned the Spotlight, she said not one word about the fact that she part owned it! Well, I can also see that the menu has changed a little, and hopefully for the better choice wise."
"You should see this place when Thanksgiving comes along, and they do special meals for single folks - or on St Patrick's Day, when there is a totally Irish theme. Michelle is a great manager; she knows that the secret of success is to give people what they really want, in a family friendly atmosphere, at a price they can afford, with just the slightest hint of crazy," said Jane, with a smile.
"And of course, on our opening night, rather than end up in Sardi's, there is a very good chance we will end up here. In all likelihood, singing together on that most infamous of stages…"
They headed inside, and were quickly settling down to lunch, but not before a surprised Dani had given Adam a hug, and the two of them had enjoyed a catch up. As they waited for their food, what surprised Adam the most was just how close the little group of friends was. He had burst out laughing when Mason had casually told him that he had lodged with Cooper and his wife when he first moved to the city, at a time when Sebastian had been living in the apartment down below. Mason had smiled, then pointed out the advantage that had had for his career.
"Living upstairs from Sebastian and seeing him at NYADA was how I ended up getting into Book of Mormon. On that day when he saved the show, I was the first person that he called, knowing that I was perfect for one of the two big parts that he needed to fill. Admittedly, there was the small issue of the fact that at that point, I had never done so much as one tap step in my entire life. Thankfully, that was where our connections helped out again, as he was able to get Mike Chang involved, and he is such a good, patient teacher that he managed to get my passable in under 24 hours. I think that he is destined to be a choreographer when his own dancing career comes to an end, that much I will say. Of course, that also means that I am the only man that had ever played both Elder McKinley and Elder Price on Broadway; to play that latter part in the West End too was a magnificent honour."
"You certainly made me smile when I came to see it," responded Adam. "Carmen must be pretty proud of you!"
"She is going to love this new show even more, given that it will now boast three of her alumni, not to mention Cooper, who she personally recommended to the producers of Kinky Boots all those years ago…"
Mason turned then to Marley, who was sitting in a silent and contemplative state; she noticed that Mason was looking at her, and she spoke. "I was just wondering if Mike might be available to give me a few lessons to help me brush up my dance techniques so I can be up to speed quicker; that and picturing the looks on the faces of my mom and Ryder when I tell them that I have got my big break, and am off to Broadway…"
"If I know them they will be overjoyed for you," said Jane. "Unique will be immensely pleased too, and Jake for that matter. As for Kitty, well, who knows what she will think…"
"She has had plenty of time to mellow since we were at school together," said Marley in response, "and has Artie there to keep her in check. I would like to hope that they will all be able to make it on opening night. I mean, Artie might be tied up with his work on the Harry Potter film by then…"
"Wait, say that again. You know someone that is involved with that?" asked Adam in awe. Then he shook his head, and said, "It astounds me over and over just how much talent there was in one little group of people…"
As the little group ate their meal, and continued to name drop just a little, not far away Skylar was sitting outside Seth's hospital room as Ollie and his little group of medical students completed another set of tests. He wondered once more just how Seth managed to put up with the constant rounds of prodding and talking about how he felt… Mrs Carmichael was not with him, having headed to the West Village to do some laundry, and to pop in on Dex. He still felt so guilty about what had happened on his watch, even though he had been told by Ollie and Seth himself that he was not to blame in any way. She had gone determined that she would succeed in sorting out that issue where the others had failed, and Skylar was pretty confident that she would succeed. She would give him a dose of the tough love that she was famed for, and hopefully it would help him to stop dwelling on things that he could not alter…
He was deep in thought when someone came and sat down beside him, and he glanced up hurriedly, not in the least surprised to see that it was Jeff sitting there. He had been twice since Skylar had arrived, that first time straight from his flight home from New Zealand, and the other time had been on the day after Seth had woken up. He had walked in as Seth and Skylar had been talking about the future, which meant that he was, as yet, the only other person of their age group that knew that Seth would not be coming back to the West Village. They had all agreed that it was best that when he was discharged from hospital, they headed straight back to Ohio. Mrs Carmichael would head home with him in a private ambulance, whilst Skylar would drive back in the car with most of Seth's possessions packed into it alongside him…
"How is he today?" asked Jeff quietly.
"Well, he said that he was feeling quiet good right now, which is always a worry, as it could mean that an attack is imminent. Hopefully he is being completely truthful with the doctors right now. Maybe today they can give me some sort of idea when he will be able to leave here, so that we can start to plan how it is going to happen. Of course, his new doctor is coming tomorrow to examine him for himself, talk to Ollie and me I suppose, and get up to speed on how his patient is…"
"I am just so sorry that all of this has happened; if I had done more, and done it sooner, then maybe…"
"He would not have let you; he is still just as stubborn, even now. I heard one of the nurses complaining about it just the other day. Let's be honest, he wouldn't even have made it alone this far if you hadn't done all the stuff you did for his benefit; I mean, you had that apartment converted for him, and that cannot have been as cheap as you told us all…"
"I saw it as an investment for the future. I have no intention of changing it back now to the way that it was. I am certain that there are other young people in the position that Artie was in when he was offered his place at film school, and it would be a great tribute to Seth to have someone else in there that is confined to a chair, and needs to find a low rent home so that they can attend school and follow their dreams. I admit that it will be odd having an outsider living on the street, but I suppose that it is the future in the long term. Of course, I can't offer it at the peppercorn rent I have given all of you, but the money I do get from the rent will go straight to a MND charity."
Skylar smiled at Jeff as he heard those words; even now, the older man refused to profit from the legacy that his biological father had left to him. There could not have been more of a contrast between him and the brother that had driven a teenaged Skylar into cupboards at night to escape his wrath… At that moment, the door to Seth's room opened, and the little group of medical students trooped out, with Ollie at the rear. He saw the two of them sitting there, and stopped to talk. "There is still no improvement in his legs, I'm afraid, but he has regained full strength in his arms and most of the function in his hands. Once Hayden has seem him tomorrow I will be able to confirm this for definite, but I think that we could allow him to be discharged in a week, all being well. I trust that would give you adequate time to prepare…"
"It does," replied Skylar, "and it gives us a weekend over which we can arrange for all those that he will want to say a personal goodbye to to visit, in groups of two or three at the most."
"Small groups would be for the best, and well spread out if possible. He denies it of course, but I can see that he has been left very tired by all of this."
"That is only to be expected, given all that his body has been through in the last few weeks," agreed Jeff.
"Okay, so you two can go in now and see him. He is always a little sore after his sessions with the medical students, but trust me when I tell you that his co-operation in all of this has taught my little group so much. That will be his lasting legacy here in New York, and elsewhere; a group of young doctors who are well clued up on all aspects of MND."
With those words, Ollie headed off. Skylar turned to Jeff, and said, "I am going to broach the subject of us starting to pack up his apartment. Would you be able to assist me and Mrs Carmichael with that on the quiet?"
"Of course, although only during the day when Nick is at work, and Wes is at kindergarten. That way, neither of them will need to know what is going on until Seth is ready to tell them."
Seth was in a reasonable mood when his two friends came in, and he readily agreed to allow them to start the process of packing up his apartment. "There is no point in packing up any of the appliances, and all of the furniture can stay, bar the old red leather wing chair. It was my grandmother's originally, and that is all that I have left of my family in a way. It is still comfortable, and it is easy to sit in, so I would like to keep it."
"No problem," said Skylar, although he began to wonder there and then how on earth he could fit it in his car.
Seth smiled, and said, "Don't worry, I already asked Ollie, and he says that in the circumstances it could travel with me in the ambulance. I could not picture any way that it could possibly fit safely in your car…"
"It might well be a squeeze, and I don't have a carrying rack on the roof. Essentially then all I will be taking are your clothes, books and pictures, along with some knick knacks that I know are important to you."
"It isn't much to show for a life, is it? My books are the lowest priority by the way. If you are struggling for space, then take them to The Strand so that someone else can get use and pleasure from them."
"I will make space, even if I have a pile of them on my lap as I drive," said Skylar firmly. He made a mental note that he would need to order a couple of bookcases to complete Seth's new room…
"Anyway, to move on to more important matters," said Seth, "I want to hear more about New Zealand, Jeff! There is a rumour that you went for a mud bath…" For the next half hour the blond man talked happily about his trip, showing off all of the photos that they had taken, and waxing lyrical about the people they had encountered. "They all seemed so friendly, almost a little old-fashioned in the way that they act around each other. I could see myself living there quite happily if it wasn't for the volcanoes and the earthquake risk." He then moved on to talk about the Sky Tower, and all of the activities that went on there.
That left Skylar slightly flabbergasted. "They actually let people jump off the tallest building in the city? Can you imagine something like that happening here in New York? It would be absolute chaos!" he exclaimed, as the other two laughed at his indignation.
"Did you tell Thad all about it?" said Seth with a grin, and Jeff nodded, his own smile matching his. "Well, in that case our beloved Head Warbler has probably been looking up the cost of flights to New Zealand. I mean, he is quite the daredevil these days, what with all those bungee jumps, and talking about going sky diving. I imagine jumping off a skyscraper would be right up his street…"
The conversation only ended when Jeff glanced at his watch and realised that he was running a little late to pick up Wes at the kindergarten. Seth announced that he was feeling a little tired, and told Skylar to go with him, and come back later. For once, Skylar did not fight him, and the two headed off, leaving Seth to lie back, happy to have a little alone time…
Of course, he did not get it; moments after the two of them left, the door swung open to admit another visitor. She said nothing to him, just walked right over and embraced him. "You had me worried. Santana did tell me that it wasn't my fault, but I did wonder if what I asked you to do had made you worried, and that had lead on to you being so sick."
Seth smiled at Brittany, then replied, "No, your asking me to be a donor had nothing whatsoever to do with it. It did make me ask a lot of questions though, and it turns out that I could actually have done it without any concern, because there is no history of MND within my family."
"So you would still do it for me? Be the father of my child?"
"Yes, I would have done it, although now I don't know if I will get a chance to do it for you. Don't tell anyone, but I am going to be leaving the city very soon, and going back to Ohio, and that is a bit too far away."
"Well, that doesn't have to be a problem. You see, it is the right time for me at the moment, so we could do it today…"
Seth coughed, his eyes out on stalks just a little, at just how blasé she was being. Then he saw that she was digging in her purse, and had pulled out a little container. All at once he was conflicted. This might well be his only chance. Ollie had not specifically said that he couldn't do it, but was this the right place and time?
"I will go and wait outside and stop anyone coming in. Wait, can you manage to do it by yourself, or do you need someone to help you…"
"I can manage!" exclaimed Seth, going bright red at the very suggestion of her helping him. She smiled and headed back out the door; as she did so, Seth suddenly wondered what he would do if he couldn't actually do it himself…
Skylar arrived back at the hospital having left Jeff and an excited Wes, and bumped into Ollie as he walked along the corridor in the direction of Seth's room. On a whim, he had stopped off to buy croissants at a French patisserie on his way back from the West Village, and also had a piece of cake that Jeff had insisted Nick would want Seth to have; as it was Devil's Food cake, he knew that Seth would love it. He mentioned them to Ollie, and he saw no harm in his patient having either, knowing that the croissants would be flaky, and that the cake Nick had baked would have been made with love and attention. In all likelihood, as he would have known it would head in Seth's direction, he would have avoided dairy in the process as much as he could.
As if he could read Ollie's mind, Skylar said, "He made it to a vegan recipe that he found on the internet. I was sceptical at first, but Jeff said it was good, and well, I had just a little bit, and I could not tell the difference…"
His words tailed off a little as he saw Brittany standing outside the door to Seth's room. It was a surprise to Ollie too, but then a thought came into his head, a memory of a past discussion with his parent, and although part of him hoped that was not the reason for the blonde's presence, he had to assume it might be. "Maybe you should go and get Seth a coffee to go with his cake, or even better, a hot chocolate. The canteen here does one with almond milk and you would never know it wasn't a dairy one."
Skylar looked thoughtful. "Hmm, well he always did like a hot chocolate… Okay, I will pop up and get him one," he replied, and he turned on his heel and headed towards the canteen. Ollie was left to approach Brittany on his own.
"You can't go in there right now," she exclaimed as he walked right up to the door, then continued with a thoughtful note, "But of course, I can't really stop you as you are his doctor, but if you do go in, he will possibly be really upset with you…"
"Well, I am a little upset if he is doing what I think he is doing for your benefit without checking that it was okay with me first," said Ollie. "I would not have said no, just made sure that he was alright before and after the event."
"I am sorry, I know I should have, but you see, today is the best day to do it…" Ollie went red at the candour of the young woman, but before he could reply her phone pinged; she pulled it out and checked the screen. With a smile, she opened the door to Seth's room, and headed in. As Ollie watched, she took the small bag that was lying on the bedside table, kissed Seth on the cheek, then ran out of the room, muttering about finding a restroom.
"Not a word to Skylar; not a word," whispered Seth, who was as red in the face as Ollie.
"Oh, don't worry, I am saying nothing - but if she comes back, let me know beforehand what is about to happen and we can make it better for everyone…"
Later that day, Brittany would send Seth a text in which she said that she had found a restroom and done what she needed to, and now had her fingers crossed. He immediately went bright red with embarrassment, but at the same time crossed his own fingers. He hoped that if all went well, then in nine months time there might be a little new arrival in which he had played a key part; a legacy of his time on earth. The croissant and cake, along with the hot chocolate, that Skylar had brought him had cheered his day too; as he had eaten them, he had felt more normal than he had done for a while. He could not forget what was happening, but he could ignore it for a little moment or two…
The following day was another red letter one, as he was allowed out of his bed for a while that morning; Skylar took him in his chair to the small roof garden that the hospital had, and he breathed in the open air for the first time in what seemed like forever, feeling the sun on his face, and listening to the noise of the city. He had been inside for so long, hearing nothing but the sounds of a hospital, so the traffic and construction noise was wonderful.
Lunch was earlier than usual that day, as they wanted it past before the arrival of Dr Hayden McLeod from Ohio. Skylar and Mrs Carmichael were at his bedside when Ollie brought in the man that would be taking over from him once Seth was back in Columbus. He was an older man than Ollie, with just a hint of an Irish brogue in his voice, belying his family background. He put Seth at his ease the moment that he walked in, with his insistence that he called him Hayden rather than doctor. He was also entirely honest with the small group that he had assembled in front of him from the off.
"I would love to be able to say that I can perform a miracle for you all here, but I can't do that. The care that we will be giving Seth from now on will be largely palliative. It is about keeping him as comfortable as we can as his condition progresses to its conclusion. I cannot speculate as to how long it will be until our task comes to an end, but then you are all aware of that in any case. I would like to be able to say that we will all be around to exchange Christmas greetings, but whilst that is my hope…"
"I would settle for just being around to see Skylar and Julia's baby," said Seth quietly.
"Well, that isn't out of the question. I cannot promise that, but we will do our very best to see that happen," replied Hayden, and with that, they all had to be content…
Dr McLeod agreed with Ollie about being able to have Seth transferred to Ohio in the middle of the following week, and approved of the use of a private ambulance to facilitate that move. "Taking him by car could be an issue, and the use of an air ambulance is an unnecessary expense in this situation. The road ambulance will see that he has the care and comfort that he needs," he had said, and they had all agreed, nobody mentioning the fact that it would also be fulfilling a role as a removal truck.
With the day of his departure now set, it was time for Skylar to set up the schedule of visits by the others on his friend's behalf. It came as a surprise to some that they were being asked to come, and a worry initially, until Skylar reassured them that Seth was not at death's door as of yet. The set time was an issue for some, but again he explained the need to keep the number of people there at any one time down. For some, it was a confirmation of something that they had begun to anticipate, and that this was a farewell of some sort. No-one said that they could not or would not come, although a few swaps had to be made in the timings to accommodate work commitments.
As for Seth, he began to compose the exact words that he would say to them all, knowing that if he had a script of a sort, it would make it much easier for him to say all that he wanted and needed to. He knew that there would be tears on both sides, and not just his own, because they all knew exactly what his moving meant about his life. To that end, he intended to ask Mrs Carmichael to sit in the room with them, as she could cope with any amount of emotional breakdown and remain composed. For that reason, he intended to ensure that Skylar was elsewhere; the last thing that he needed to see when his own emotions would be raw was his best friend breaking down and sobbing time and time again…