A Decade of Married Niff
Little Wes had taken the news that his dads were to be having an anniversary party with a smile, and a request to help make the cakes and cookies. Jeff had been forced to sit down and tell him that it wasn't that kind of party where there would be lots of sweet stuff to eat, but a grown up one where people would be sitting down and eating a meal. Wes had looked at him for a moment, with sadness, then had said pointedly, "I think that people would prefer the other sort of party, the one where there is lots of food on a table, and they help themselves. That way we don't all need to sit at the table, which is sensible, as our table wouldn't be big enough for all the people that might want to come…"
Jeff looked down at the ever growing list of confirmations, and realised that his son had a point. "You're probably right; we will probably need to go to a hotel instead of having the party here, and that would also save your dad having to cook."
"We don't need to go to a hotel; we could go to a really nice restaurant. Evie said that the last time her grandma came, they all went to a very nice place two blocks away for lunch, called The Waverly Inn. It sounded really nice, and she liked the food. They would have lots of seats, it is close to home, and better than a big hotel."
"It sounds perfect, but the problem is that when a lot of people are wanting to come to something, then restaurants need a lot of notice so that they can book enough seats," cautioned Jeff.
"I think that you could still ask them; they might have the space," said Wes with a look on his face that broke Jeff's logic. He shook his head, shrugged, and then searched for the number for the restaurant in question. He dialled, fully expecting to hear hysterical laughter down the line as he made his request…
To his surprise, he did not; in fact, if anything, he heard delight and relief in the voice at the other end. It transpired that on the day in question, they had been booked for a lunch party, with the restaurant closed to other diners. They had received notice less than an hour ago that the event in question, a wedding reception, was now cancelled, given that one half of the couple had been caught in flagrante delicto with someone else… Jeff booked the venue there and then, and it was only as he hung up, ignoring the look of 'I told you so!' on his son's face, that he realised that he probably should have asked Nick for his opinion…
Nick was indeed a little surprised when he arrived home that evening to discover that he would be celebrating his anniversary with a lunch party at a restaurant, and the fact that he was informed of this by his overexcited son as he hung up his jacket at the front door made things even more surprising. He looked at his husband, who had come running up the stairs a little too late with raised eyebrows, until Wes said, "It was my idea, daddy, and papa just went along with it. I thought that with so many people coming you would have to spend so long cooking in the kitchen that you wouldn't have a lot of time to spend with papa."
"He also pointed out that we don't have enough chairs or indeed table space for a formal lunch party, and there is also all the clearing up after to consider," added Jeff meekly.
Nick nodded, as he could see the logic in what was being said. It would not be much of an anniversary for either of them if he had to spend all day cooking, serving and then cleaning up… he asked where they were going, part of him praying that it wasn't the New Yorker, as although some couples might have liked to have returned to the venue of their wedding reception, it held memories that might be painful for all of them. He was quite relieved to hear that it was The Waverly Inn, as he had heard good things about it from colleagues, and better still, it was reasonably priced.
Nick called the restaurant up after they had finished their dinner, and he asked the questions that his husband had not done earlier. He laughed out loud when the manager enquired as to the reason for the lunch party, and then told her. "Your husband did sound a little distracted at the time, and there was a small voice asking things in the background," she replied with a laugh in her own voice. "Now, I do have to ask, but is your husband the Jeff Sterling-Duval?"
"He is, not that he likes the limelight too much," replied Nick with a note of concern in his voice.
"I only ask because we have a couple or art students amongst our wait staff, and if I can tell them in advance, it will stop them wanting to be inquisitive next week. I would not want to cause him discomfort," she responded, and Nick found himself warming to her at once. They moved on to discuss the potential menu, and she was more than happy to offer them the normal menu choices with a discount for making a group booking.
When it came to the question of a cake, Nick had to stop her and laugh again. "That is very tempting, but I am afraid that one of the things that I am known for amongst friends and family is my baking. If I do not prepare my own cake for the anniversary, then there might well be a riot!"
"That is not an issue. It is your anniversary after all, and we are here to help you enjoy it, nothing more," came his reply.
With a venue confirmed, Nick updated the details of the event to all those that were invited; he found himself receiving a few sad emojis, until Thad intervened and pointed out that it was his and Jeff's anniversary, a day for them to celebrate, and they would not have much chance to do that if Nick was spending every minute preparing to feed them all! He added that if he saw any more of those emojis, he would inform Nick that he was to cancel the restaurant, and instead it would be pot luck, with all of the guests having to bring a dish that could easily feed up to fifty people.
Nick had barely stopped chuckling at that when a message appeared from David, which said that he would be attending the event, as Mercedes had a private gig in New York that night, so he would be in town. He added that he agreed wholeheartedly with Thad's sentiments, although he thought that the pot luck idea was not a great one, as there was a strong risk of food poisoning from that…
That there was no indignant reply from anyone surprised Nick a little, but then he could recall one Warbler gathering many years ago when someone had brought along a chicken dish that had tasted great at the time, but had left everyone that had tried it feeling sick the next day…
Going through all of the responses, Nick was a little shocked to see that they had a guest count of nearly 50 already, and it could increase. He noted the words in some of the responses with a smile; Colin had said, "It is good to see that you are finally marking your wedding day. I understand why you chose not to, but I always felt a little sad about it. This year it gives us all a chance to gather for a happy event for the first time, but hopefully not the last! Love to you both from two young men that were convinced that they could have a happy ever after together, even whilst they lived in Ohio!" Nick smiled, and realised that there was a lot of truth in what the younger man had said. The epic way that he and Jeff had finally got together, followed by their wedding, at which he recalled Colin had been smiling as broadly as if he was the groom, had to have been a beacon of hope in the aftermath of Hunter's darkness…
The next day there was a new E-mail requiring their attention, and it was good news again. The date for the opening night of Mary Poppins had been set, and Mason invited them all to respond if they could make it on Sunday the 15th September for that big moment. True, the previews of the show had already commenced, but that show early on a Sunday evening would be the one that the critics would attend, alongside invited family, friends and celebrities. Nick was amongst the first to reply, asking that he been allocated three seats; one adult and two children… He knew that would make Mason chuckle, and that Jeff would not mind being described as a child one bit…
Mason replied swiftly, saying that it was done, and Cooper had said he would be asking for those kind of seats too… He had suggested that they sit them next to Ethan, Drew and Evie, so that Nick would have two adults to help him keep order… It came as a surprise to Mason later when the reply arrived from Ethan, asking for five seats, as his parents would most likely be joining them. That the two senior members of the Mackenzie clan would be attending was a coup of sorts, and there would be no issue whatsoever in giving them the space they required.
Later, Mason found he had a reply from Skylar, and it made him pause. "I was going to politely decline the invitation, as I have done with the one for Niff's anniversary, as I felt it was too soon after Seth, and there is his namesake now to consider as well, but my wife has nagged at me, with a lot of support from Colin and Edward… The upshot is that Julia sends her apologies, as she doesn't want to leave Seth alone when he is so young, but that I will be, so if you could get me a seat next to Colin and Edward?" Mason was only too pleased to oblige, and arranged it so that Thad, who had confirmed his intention to attend earlier, would be sitting on his other side.
With the seats for the opening night of the year now booked, they could all start to think more about the lunch party at the end of the following week; there was time to think about what they should purchase the happy couple as a gift, and a group chat was covertly organised. The ideal gift had seemed obvious at first, until someone pointed out that the person to benefit the most from having multiple tins of cookies in the house would be Jeff. For the same reason, a veto was placed on new sets of baking tins, as although Nick would be the one using them, the benefit of them existing would again be largely focused on his husband.
Cooper came up with the suggestion that they could seek out some vintage tinplate toys, as they all knew that Nick was an admirer of all things from the era of Art Deco, and Jeff was fond of old cars and steam trains. It was an excellent suggestion, but it was almost immediately taken away from them when Grace stated that would be something that little Wes could buy for them, with financial assistance from the immediate family…
"If you ask me," she went on to say to the others, "I don't think that they would actually want or expect a gift at all, as they already have everything that they could ever need. It might be more appropriate and to their liking if you made a gift to a charity in New York on their behalf. Isn't there an artists foundation that Jeff admires, one that works with disadvantaged kids? If I know them, they would both agree that a donation to that organisation, made in their name, would be the best anniversary gift they could have…"
On reflection, they would all agree that Grace had a point, but that they could still buy them one tin of cookies as a token present; something really decadent and imported would be best. Hearing that, Sebastian made a suggestion, and it seemed absolutely perfect, so he was charged with organising it… It was then that Trent made another, which made them laugh, and they agreed they could do that too. To achieve that, however, they would need to enlist a little assistance, and the best placed person to ask for that was Adam…
The day of Niff's tenth anniversary would dawn much like any other. Nick was the first person in the house to be awake, his body clock set to office time, even on a day off. Carefully untangling himself from Jeff, he headed down into the kitchen, and put on the kettle, fully intending to return back up the stairs with a tea tray so that he and his husband could enjoy it in bed. As with so many plans, that was not to be, as Caleb was ready for his first meal of the day, and by the time Nick had attended to that, he heard footsteps on the stairs; looking up, he saw the love of his life standing at the foot of the stairs, smiling broadly at him.
"You still look every bit as handsome as you did on our wedding day," said Jeff, before he headed over to kiss his husband gently.
"I was going to bring you up a cup of tea, and just lie in bed together, enjoying it," said Nick as their lips parted. "I was also going to bring you this," he continued, as he produced a single red rose and handed it to his husband, who smiled all the more then. "I was so nervous the day we got married; worried that it was all just a dream and I would wake up. Then my dad showed up and tried to ruin it all!"
"Well, he did not succeed, and in any case, that pales into insignificance when you think what my biological father tried to do to us that night! If I had lost you that night, it would have been the end for me too; you are my everything…"
"The same applies to me as well," said Nick, then in perfect unison with his husband, they continued, "No Nick without Jeff, No Jeff without Nick!"
They kissed again then, more passionately, and they stopped only because Caleb started to miaow loudly, and then they both heard the sound of small feet running down the stairs. "Happy Anniversary!" yelled Wes as he ran into the room, carrying a box that was well wrapped, and a card that he had made himself.
So it was that the little family of three sat down to an early breakfast, with a contented cat on Jeff's lap. The parcel was duly opened, and the two husbands admired the pristine, streamlined, 1930s steam locomotive model that someone had obviously arranged for their son to have to give to them. Much as he loved it, Jeff was a little confused as to why he had chosen it, until Nick enlightened him, by saying, "It's a TIN Plate train, so it is absolutely spot on for today!" As Wes glowed with pleasure at the praise, it all suddenly made sense to Jeff…
They spent a quiet morning together as a family, Caleb included in their activities when he wished to be, before the three humans got dressed up smartly to head out for the lunch in their honour. Both Nick and Jeff could still fit into their wedding suits, and so they had chosen to wear them, right down to the Warbler decorated bowties. The day before a parcel had arrived unexpectedly, and inside it they found Seth's bowtie from that wedding day, sent by Skylar. It had left them both confused and concerned for a moment, until they saw the note. Skylar had sent it as Mrs Carmichael had suggested that little Wes could wear it that day…
True, it was a little too large for a five year old boy, but when they had shown it and the letter to their boy, he had been desperate to wear it. If the following morning the bowtie in question looked a little smaller, having been taken in with careful hemming by an angel with a flair for fashion, then it was purely by chance. Wes was overjoyed to be fitting in with all of his Uncles, as the other Warblers and indeed his Uncle Mike would be wearing their own bowties too. True, Izzy might have shaken her head just a little at Flint's, and Evie had not quite understood why her dad and papa were wearing a matching tie. Upstairs though, Dante and Lachlan had looked at Beats' appraisingly, and had judged it and the story behind it to be pretty neat, so it wasn't all bad…
The guests had all arranged to be at the restaurant in good time, well before the guests of honour, and if the Warblers had organised themselves, and intended to sing Real Love by Tom Odell again as they walked through the door, as they had done after the ceremony had been finished a decade ago, then that was as a gesture of love and friendship, a musical reminder of what had been the happiest of days…
Of course, the thoughts about that day brought back memories of the two people that had been at the wedding that were no longer with them, because their allotted time on earth was over. As they all entered the room, where Thad had naturally taken charge of affairs, they all pictured Wes in the same role on that day at the New Yorker, standing there clam and steadfast as mild panic filled the air around him, as the news that Gordon Clarington was on the loose and might appear at any moment spread.
For Colin and Edward, things were even worse, and they felt a little alone in the absence of both Skylar and Seth… Then they felt the tell tale draught, and they knew that the latter at least was going to be around after all, not that everyone in the room would be able to see him. "It doesn't seem so long ago that we were all at the New Yorker together, waiting for the grooms to arrive," the angel mused. "As I recall that day there was also no doubt in anyone's mind that the two of you were engaged by then in all but words…"
"We were still so young and innocent then; we had no idea that the world was going to deal us all such a cruel blow the following morning," replied Edward. "Will he be joining us today as well?"
"Wes will, as will the others, but right now they are all tied up with work related issues," came his response. "I did wonder if there would be some sort of ceremony up there to mark the fact that he had been an angel for a decade, but there isn't, and it will just be another day for him, more or less. It will be my turn to start making collections soon enough as well. Even with the office stuff that I am doing with Wes, I still need to be trained, although mine will be much less frequent than the others. I'm actually enjoying the paperwork; it sounds like it should be boring, dull and tiring, but it's the exact opposite. I feel like I am doing something vital and useful when I am filling in forms, and checking, then rechecking all of the lists and the allocations." He paused then, as he spotted that Luke and Duncan had just walked in alongside Elspeth. "I should go and say hello to them; it is a decade since I moved in with them in their apartment in Bushwick as well this year, and they miss me as much as you do…"
Seth did not have very long to chat with the two men that had been his first roommates in New York before Nick, Jeff and little Wes were spotted approaching, and there was much movement as Thad had his little choir arranged to sing as soon as they stepped through the door. The sound of that song as they stepped in made Nick smile, and Jeff a little tearful; little Wes of course had no idea of its significance or why it affected his fathers so, and it would fall to his great-grandparents to explain it to him later as he sat with them later on that day…
There was time for only the briefest of catch ups before it was time for them all to head into the restaurant proper and take their seats. Nick was unsurprised to hear that Thad had spoken to the manager on his arrival well before time, and had brought with him a copy of the seating plan that they had used in the Crystal Ballroom a decade before. She had been happy to rearrange the tables with his help into an approximation of the layout then, and to set the seating as it was on the wedding day.
Thus Nick and Jeff found themselves sitting between Sebastian and Trent, respective best men sitting alongside their groom. That was also how their son found himself being offered the choice of sitting alongside his Uncle Thad, or with his grandparents and great-grandparents; he chose the latter, happy to be able to spend time with all of them at the same time. The food when it came was exquisite, as good as that they had enjoyed at the New Yorker, although Nick was glad that no-one had gone as far as suggesting the same menu, as that could have offended the chef at the establishment…
With the meal over, it was time for speeches. Thad stood up first, as the then Head Warbler had done a decade before, and he made a short speech about the joys and benefits of love, just as his husband had done that day. He finished his speech with the following words. "If this decade had taught any of us anything, it is this; that in the end, love can conquer anything it encounters. If it is nurtured and cherished, then it will not fail. Nick and Jeff were the first of our close circle to marry, and since then, the majority of us have copied their example. We have all taken strength from the enduring nature of the love between them, and loved them for it, even if once, in jest, they managed to convince us all that it had failed. The most obvious example of the strength of their love is their son, Wes, who is growing up to be as kind and caring as his two fathers. Love can do anything it sets its mind too, even heal a nation after four years of hate. Those that have it will always triumph, and our Niff always will."
It was the turn of Trent to stand up next, and after a quick toast to the happy couple, he said, "As most of us know, a tenth anniversary is traditionally known as a Tin Anniversary, so chosen because tin is a material that has flexibility and durability, two things needed to keep a marriage strong. Now, there was much discussion of a joint gift from us all, but in the end we all agreed that our friends here would much rather we make a charitable donation on their behalf than buy them something new; after much talk, we have made donations to an Art Foundation and UNICEF on their behalf. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't a token gift; in fact, we have two…"
There was much chatter then as Trent paused, and after a drink of water, he held up his hand for silence, and continued, "The first of those gifts we achieved with the assistance of Mr Adam Crawford; on our behalf, he contacted his mother back in England, and although she wondered what on earth he wanted it for, she nevertheless did what he asked her to do." With that, Trent retrieved a parcel, still firmly taped up and labelled with the airmail labels, and handed it to Jeff. He and Nick both looked concerned, wondering where to begin unpicking the sell tape, until a pair of scissors was produced. Even then, it was a challenge, and there was faint laughter as they made various attempts to open the box…
Eventually they managed to untape the top, as marked by the label saying This Way Up, and lifted up the flap. Looking inside, they stared, turned to each other, then laughed out loud. "Now before you go thinking that this was my idea," said Sebastian at that juncture, "the idea was all Trent's and I might merely be a lucky beneficiary at the end."
"I just happen to know what a year in England has done for Jeff's tastebuds, and what he likes on his warm puddings these days," said Trent with a grin. "And by a strange quirk of fate, Bird's Custard Powder actually comes in a proper tin again these days!" There was a roar of laughter as Nick held up one of said tins, rolling his eyes, as Jeff leapt up to pull Trent into a hug. When he sat down, and the noise had lessened, Trent smiled, and went on, "There is actually another thing here from the UK that only I know about, and I might have been instrumental in getting that for them by myself…"
Trent smiled at the look of confusion on the faces of all of the other people in the room at that statement, including his own husband. He had taken the initiative himself on this one, not consulting anyone before he embarked upon it, in case it was impossible. In fact, the item that he was now taking from his pocket had only been delivered into his hands by a special messenger just before he and Rory had left the venue for tonight's rally to head to the restaurant.
He held the envelope up, and Jeff suddenly let out a gasp, as he could see the seal on the outside; he smiled at his husband, who being further away, still had no inkling of what was going on… "On the occasion of their Tenth Wedding Anniversary, my best wishes to Mr Nick and Mr Jeff Sterling-Duval, with my fervent hope that they will have many more to come, HRH Elizabeth II." read Trent, the sender of the message gaining him gasps, then laughter from around the room as they saw the shock on Nick's face.
"There is also a card from the Cambridges, in which the Duchess states that she misses the easy conversation and friendship that you all shared in London, and then hints that they might be visiting New York in the fall, and would like to meet up if at all possible…"
"Unfair, Nixon! How on earth did you manage to pull that off!" huffed Sebastian suddenly from his spot, the sheer petulance of the statement making them all laugh.
"I have a few good connections, plus as we all know, our honour recipient made quite the impression upon them all," replied Trent.
"That was always the case," came the voice of Aaron Carmichael from his seat in the middle of the room, and there was hilarity for a while after that, as they all tried to work out if he had meant those words as a compliment or not… Meanwhile, Trent handed the cards over to the happy couple, and took his seat again. It was time to hand over to Sebastian…