Festivities, and the Future.
It was a nervous Adam that made his way to the small rehearsal space in Midtown the next morning, but he found that once he began the testing process, he was almost instantly at ease. The camera seemed to love him, the script he had been given was to die for, and he was able to grasp at once exactly what his character was supposed to be like. By chance he had even brought with a pair of prop glasses that he had found in a theatrical costumiers here in Manhattan years ago, on a visit there with a certain Kurt Hummel. The tortoiseshell frames gave him a hipsterish look, and that went down well with Lisa at once. He also found it easy enough to be intimate with Sam when the script called for it; the fact that Sam was also cool with it all was a great help, as he knew from past experience that some straight men would not be.
The verdict was reached pretty quickly; the chemistry was right, he had the look and the voice for the part, and that if he wanted it, the role was his for the taking. "Of course," said Lisa, "you might not want to take it. I could tell last night how conflicted it made you feel to be asked; how much you love being in Mary Poppins and how attached you are to your role. You do not want to leave. So, in anticipation, I called the producers of the show this morning, and let them know what we had railroaded you into. As it happened, he had already been spoken to by Cooper, and he had no issue with you being here, or taking the part. Between us, we thrashed out a plan of action. If you want to take the part in our show, then your understudy will play Robertson on a Tuesday night, and possibly the Thursday matinee too. On the Tuesday, we will arrange the filming schedule so that we can get all of your scenes filmed on that one day, and then do the night exterior shots that evening. If anything needs to be done over, then we could do that on Wednesday morning, or the Thursday if need be. After that, you will be free until the following Tuesday."
Adam couldn't help but laugh, as it had all been worked out as Cooper had surmised. He weighed it up, and he knew what he had to say… "Well, it all sounds perfect, and if making those changes doesn't create too many issues for the cast and crew, then I will be only too pleased to accept the part…" Adam replied.
He found himself the centre of all the attention backstage that evening. It was impossible to keep a secret within a theater, and everyone was coming up to congratulate him; his understudy was most effusive in his greetings, as it meant that he was guaranteed to be on stage twice a week. Adam had decided that he would take the matinee off as well, as that was the day on which the new scripts were released to the cast, and he would get a good chance to go through it if he was not in the theater that afternoon.
After the show, he discovered that he had a text message from Jeff. It stated that Cooper might have mentioned a certain little something to him, and that he and Nick were very pleased for him. He also said that he could stay in the apartment in the West Village for as long as he wished, although once he was a big television star, he would quite understand if he wanted something bigger…
It would be the following morning before he had a chance to call his parents; swearing them to absolute secrecy first, he broke the news to them that he was getting a big role in a long-running sitcom that they had heard of, and indeed watched from time to time. They were overjoyed for him, and couldn't wait to see him appear. Then his father broke news to him that left Adam thrilled too. His parents had finally decided to come to New York, and would be over in late spring. He missed them a lot, and he was keen to introduce them to everyone, as well as show them all of the well known sights of his adopted home town…
Adam knew of course that he had to tell as few people as possible about what was happening, but there was one other person that he felt compelled to tell; someone that he had to admit had become an important part of his life ever since they had bumped into each other on that fateful day… He had begun to realise that what he felt towards Lawrence was a bit more than just friendship, but he wasn't sure if the younger man saw their relationship as anything more than that. He was also acutely aware that he was being observed by the eagle eye of his brother, Dexter, at all times. He knew the history behind that from Jeff, but he never brought that tragedy up in conversation. He couldn't even begin to imagine how seeing both your mother and then your stepfather die in front of you would affect a kid, and then he had been thrown back into a home with a brother you barely knew and a father that you had a lot of reasons to despise…
Lawrence was a quiet young man, seemingly dedicated entirely to his studies, but when he was with Adam a whole other side of the young man emerged; his smile seemed wider, and his laughter came more easily. The fact that Adam was present on the same street had also given their friendship an added advantage. Sharing a house with five other young men meant that there would be noise, and he found that it could disturb his studies. He had mentioned it to Adam, and the Englishman had offered him his spare key; he was out every evening except Monday for work, and he had no issue with Lawrence heading there to study when his home was otherwise empty. He had accepted with gratitude. True, there had been two occasions when Adam had arrived back to find Lawrence sound asleep in a chair, but most of the time he was gone by the time that he returned from the theatre. He did, however, usually leave a little thank you gift; cookies, chocolate, and once a plate of Danish. Adam told him there was no need, but his words fell on death ears, and so in the end, he gave up. He liked eating the sweet treats anyway…
On the night after he had accepted the part in Sam's sitcom, he found himself heading back into the street much earlier than usual. For once, there had been no stragglers in the audience, and the performance had started bang on time. They had reached the interval a little early, and the crowd had behaved themselves then too, all back in their places by the time that the scheduled 15 minutes were up, instead of them having to give them the extra 5 or 10 minutes that was normal. At the end of the show, they were all back in their dressing rooms quickly, and for once, the greasepaint came off easily.
Feeling a little tired, Adam snuck out through the front door of the theater instead of the stage door, and thus avoided the autograph hunting and selfie requiring fans for one night. He headed to the subway, all of the crosswalks being signalled for him to cross, and as he reached the platform, a train pulled in. It then raced downtown, with no signal faults or other delays impeding its path. With all of those things in his favour, Adam was a good twenty or more minutes early in putting his key in the front door…
He let himself in quietly, hung up his coat on the hook at the door, then walked into his living area, startling Lawrence, who was deeply studying a weighty looking text on chronic diseases. He dropped it, and Adam was instantly confronted by a page of images that were of the sort no-one other than a medic ever wanted to see… "I'm so sorry! The show and the subway both ran to time for once," Adam began, and then, with the images clear in his mind, said, "Okay, what on earth is wrong with the people in those pictures!?"
Lawrence looked at the images again, and said, "It's a condition known as Harlequin Ichtyosis. It is fortunately very rare, but it is horrendous for the poor people that have it." He shuddered, then added, "And I know what you are thinking; it looks like he has bacon wrapped round his fingers…"
Adam smiled then, and admitted, "Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking, but it felt so very wrong to say that out loud!"
Lawrence picked up the book and closed it, slipping it into his satchel. "I will leave you in peace; you look tired out."
"Actually, there was something that I wanted to say to you, so stay there for a minute, if you don't mind that is. I will go and make us some hot chocolate, and we can share the cookies that you were going to leave for me…"
Lawrence smiled, and stayed where he was; he accepted the mug of hot chocolate that Adam brought him gladly, knowing that it would be Cadbury's, tubs of the mix being sent to Adam regularly by his mother from England. He sipped it, savouring the taste, then looked at his older friend in expectation.
"Right, what I am about to tell you is strictly top secret; so secret that you can't even tell Dex. Basically, I have been offered another role, and it is a really big one…"
Adam stopped, as he saw how immediately he had said the words another job, Lawrence's face had fallen. "So, does that mean you are going back to England soon?" the young man asked.
"No, I will not be going back to England. My new job is here, in New York. I was asked to go to an audition two days ago, having been spotted on stage in the show, and it seems that my chemistry with my co-star was, to coin a phrase, practically perfect. Right, you really can't repeat this, but I am going to be playing the long term love interest of a character called Darrin…"
Lawrence's face suddenly lit up, and he gasped, "You mean you are going to be starring opposite Sam Evans! That show is huge!"
"It is, but that's what makes it a huge gamble. If the audience don't like me, then I could potentially ruin the whole show. However, if they do…"
"How could they not love you?"
"Not everyone has the same tastes!" laughed Adam. "Assuming that they do take to me, then it will make me a star here, and indeed, around the world…"
"Well, it could not have happened to a nicer person," said Lawrence. "I am so pleased for you!" And with that, he leaned forward, throwing caution to the wind, intending to kiss Adam on the cheek. And he would have done so, had Adam not turned his head in his direction at that exact moment, which meant it landed on his lips…
There was a moment of shock, then awkwardness and silence. Lawrence drew back, his face burning red, and looked down at his lap. Adam saw that, and was horrified, worried that his young friend was going to leave that night, never to return. Then the younger man looked up, and stuttered, "I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to… you moved, and… I shouldn't have… Look, I'm going to go, but I'm so sorry…"
"Lawrence, it's okay, I don't mind at all," said Adam softly. "As you said, I turned my head when your intention was to kiss my cheek, and as a result, our kiss was a little more intimate than you intended. I am not upset or angry about that, though, trust me…"
"It still shouldn't have happened… I don't want to lose you as a friend, Adam, because you are one of the few people that really seems to understand me. You get me, like Dex does, but you aren't my brother, so that makes things easier when it comes to talking about stuff. Now I have ruined that, destroyed our friendship by kissing you! I mean, I shouldn't even have been kissing your cheek!"
"Why not? If we were French, we would do that all the time with our friends, both male and female. Our friendship is nowhere near being ruined by this; the truth is I value it just as much as you do. You were the first new friend that I made in the city when I arrived, and in honesty, you are the closest friend that I have outside of work. We can pretend that tonight never happened if you like; you were just caught up in the excitement of my news…"
"Yes, that is true, but…"
"As I said, we can end the whole subject now, if that is what you wish," interrupted Adam.
"Maybe…" began Lawrence, but then he sighed. "Maybe we should, but then there is also a moment when you have to be honest. The truth is, I think I am falling a little bit in love with you. I want to be more than just your friend…"
"Oh," replied Adam quietly.
"And now I really do have to go, because that really has ruined everything."
Lawrence began to get up, but Adam grabbed his hand. "No, you haven't, trust me. The truth is that I have fallen a little bit in love with you too. I just said nothing, because, like you, I didn't know if you would feel the same way about me. I didn't expect you to, because you are younger, and there is the problem with age gaps. Then the worlds that we inhabit are so far removed from each other too. I didn't dare to hope…"
"So, we have basically both been avoiding the subject, thinking that the other party could never love us, when all of the time we've been pining… God, but we are a pair of idiots!" exclaimed Lawrence.
Adam chuckled, then said, "So, now what? Where do we go from here, now it is out in the open?"
"I think that we carry on as we are, at least for now. Maybe once we have got past the drama of the holidays, we could go out for a meal or something, just the two of us?"
"I'd like that a lot. Not the Spotlight Diner though…"
"Definitely not there!" laughed Lawrence. "I have always wanted to try Indian food, but the other guys all like Chinese, and pizza, so when we do order takeout, that is what we have."
"Well, it is not the most romantic of foods, but like most British people, I am partial to a good curry. I hear that there is an excellent Indian place on the East Side, in the low 50s, which is well away from the usual haunts of the people that we both know…"
"That sounds like it could be good. So, we go out for a meal in the new year?"
"Yes. I am even going to suggest we arrange it for Monday, 6th January, because I know that I will be free, if that fits in with you, of course."
"I can make sure that I am free, trust me; the schedulers owe me a few favours. You have yourself a date, Mr Crawford!"
"I hope that it will be the first of many," Adam replied. The smile that was plastered on Lawrence's face at that moment gave him hope that it would indeed be the case…
If Adam happened to have even more of a spring in his step the following day, then none of his fellow cast at Mary Poppins mentioned it to his face, although Cooper did wonder why he was quite so pleased on a two show matinee day. Lawrence was happier too, but the young men that he lived with either failed to notice, or attributed it to the approach of the Christmas holiday. Of course, Dex knew better than to think that; he knew that Christmas was the hardest of all of the holidays for his brother, as it just reminded him of the happy Christmases of their childhood; it had always been their mother's favourite holiday….
So when he came down to breakfast to find his brother singing quietly to himself in the kitchen, he immediately thought it was a trifle odd. Then he listened to exactly what he was singing so softly; it was a certain tune from Oklahoma! He had always known that this moment would come; he had thought for a while that his brother and Adam would end up together after all. The soft singing of People Will Say We're in Love seemed to confirm it. He was concerned and pleased at once; his brother was happy, but what would happen when Adam no longer had a reason to stay in New York, once his stint in Mary Poppins came to an end? His brother had many years of medical school left, and if Adam had to go back to England as he was no longer working…. Dex did not even want to contemplate the idea of his brother quitting medical school to follow the man he loved over to England, but it was a possibility… Thus it was that if Lawrence had left the house with a song in his heart, his older brother left with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost walked straight into Jeff, who was heading home from dropping Wes and Evie off at school. The blond looked at the younger man, and said, "You seem to have the cares of the entire world burdening you today. Is there anything that I can do to lighten the load?"
Dex smiled for a moment, then said, "No, but thanks for asking. I am afraid that the affairs of my brother's heart are something that you can't solve, especially if he might be going to get it broken in the future…"
"Oh… Are you talking about things that might involve a certain Englishman? Well, I think that you can relax just a bit on that one. Trust me, if you are worried that they have fallen for each other, and that your brother might move away, you don't have to be. I can't say why, but Adam isn't going to be heading back over the Atlantic anytime soon…"
Jeff would not be drawn to say anymore, thus keeping his promise not to reveal what he and Nick knew, but he hoped that the little he had said would be enough to ease Dexter's mind a little. Of course, his words ended up having the exact opposite effect, and it only made Dex wonder exactly what was going on all the more, especially as he was not being kept in the loop. He ended up being distracted for much of the day, and he was beyond grateful that he had no important classes to attend. Eventually he gave up all pretence of concentrating in the college library, and headed instead to the stores to pick up a few Christmas gifts; the aisles of the stores were still relatively uncontested as many people still felt that the holiday was a long way off. That done, he headed home and wrapped them, hiding them away in a box at the back of the utility closet.
With that done, he prepared the evening meal for himself and his housemates; a large pot of pasta with meatballs, which had the advantage that it could be portioned out and reheated as and when it was required. However, it turned out that this would be one of the few nights when everyone would be at the table at the same time, Lawrence arriving home last, just as he was about to dish up. He changed and then joined the others, enjoying the company and eating heartily of the food provided; his lunch that day had been a snatched sandwich, as the emergency department, where he was currently doing some of his training had been busy, and all hands had been required to the pumps to deal with a spate of minor injuries…
When the meal was finished, Lawrence sat quietly at the table as the rest of his housemates headed off to study, until it was just him and his brother in the kitchen. He took a breath, then said, "There is something that I need to tell you." He stopped, and watched as his brother turned round from where he was stacking the dishwasher, and noted that he looked a little paler than before. "Last night, when I was studying at Adam's place, he came home early. He told me that he had had some good news about a new role that will keep him here in New York for a while, and the thing is… I was so pleased for him, and in a moment of impetuous madness I went to kiss him on the cheek, only he turned his head at the last moment, and so I ended up kissing him on the lips…"
"I trust that he did not take advantage!" exclaimed Dex in a troubled tone, and he was a little shocked when his brother started to giggle at that…
"Oh, Dex, you sound like a maiden aunt! No, he didn't take advantage, as he is a gentleman; it did however lead both of us to confess the truth. I think that I am in love with him, and well, he feels the same way about me…"
Now it was Dex's turn to giggle. "Little brother, I guessed that a while back. It was a shock at first, but now… I have got to admit that I do like him; he is a good man. However, you are still my little brother, so I have to say this; he is a good few years older than you. It's not that those things matter, but I just don't want to see you being hurt. I also do not want to see you giving up on your own dreams and ambitions in the pursuit of love."
Lawrence nodded, able to understand why his brother felt that way. "The truth is that I could easily hurt Adam just as much as he could potentially hurt me. To that end, we are going to take things very slowly, because we both value our friendship too much to rush into something and destroy it. We have agreed that we will go out for a meal together for our first date, at the start of next year…"
"Well, that certainly isn't rushing things!" said Dex with a laugh. "I suppose that when you both have such busy lives then you do have to take your time over things."
"Yes, and it is better that way. We have been friends for a while, and now we are trying to discover if there could be more to our relationship than that. It might not work out, but I have to be honest - I sincerely hope that it does…"
"I hope that it does do, little brother…"
"Now all we have to do is find someone for you. I would hate for you to become a maiden uncle to my children…"
The end of the month so hastened into view, and on the 22nd of the month, the Sunday before Christmas, the Warblers' annual gathering took place at the Waverly Inn. In the end, it was a smaller gathering than it might have been. Both David and Mitch had commitments that kept them in Boston for a start. Thad had managed to come down from Dalton, as the term was over, and it allowed him to make a pre-Christmas visit to his brother and his family at the same time. He would be spending the 25th at Dalton this year, sharing a meal with the Carmichaels and the handful of Dalton students that would not be heading home for the festivities.
Thad however arrived with a surprise for them all, in the form of Skylar. Nobody had expected him to join them, given the events of the year; as a fairly new father, he had other commitments that mattered more. The young man ended up being treated as a guest of honour by everyone else, being constantly hugged, and pulled in all directions for chats…
Trent arrived last, a little behind schedule; his Acela train from Washington had arrived bang on schedule, but then the subway had held him up. He found himself sitting soon enough in the company of Nick, Jeff and Sebastian, the four musketeers able to chat alone for a while as the others all vied for Skylar's company…
"This time next year, it might well be me that's late," the actor said quietly. "My flight from Ohio might be delayed, or worse, cancelled by snow."
"As long as you will still be prepared to come and see us all, you can be as late as you wish," said Jeff sadly, ending his words with a sniffle.
Sebastian moved to hug his blond friend, and said warmly, "Trust me when I say that you will only be seeing a little less of me. I will be coming to see Julian all the time, and whenever I am in town, then I will make time to come and see you. The bonds of our brotherhood cannot be severed by mere distance. We have all been through far too much trauma together…"
"We have, but that is what has made us who we are," said Trent wisely. "It is what made our brotherhood strong. It is what tied the four of us to each other so much. At the risk of being clichéd, we are all for one, and one for all, us four…" Nick was the first to roll his eyes, and that made his husband laughed; before long, all four of them were laughing away loudly…
Skylar was eventually given a little less attention, and he was glad of that. He had not really wanted to come, fearing how it might be, but he had been shanghaied into it by his wife and the Carmichaels too. Thad had not been in the mix, and he was as shocked as everyone else when he found Skylar was sitting beside him on the morning flight from Columbus to Newark. "Do not ask!" the younger man had exclaimed. "I was woken up this morning, handed my overnight bag, bundled into the back of a car by Mrs Carmichael, and then pushed right up to the check-in desk. I'm just relived to find that you were not part of the conspiracy!" Thad had nodded in agreement. He would not have supported any attempt to force his young friend into coming to New York, and had said as much. That was probably the only reason that he had not been kept in the loop…
Skylar had been surprised again when he turned his phone back on as they walked through Newark Airport to find that he had a message from Barnaby. It read, 'I am informed that you are to be staying at my aunt's place in Manhattan tonight, and that we are having dinner there with you, as a family. I am also informed by my sister that you actually had no idea about that until this morning. You have my sympathy on that one, but I am looking forward to seeing you later, catching up on what's been going on, and introducing you properly to my aunt and cousins.' Skylar shook his head at the next level of the conspiracy, although he had been wondering where he would be sleeping that night. The only issue was that he had no idea where the aunt in question actually lived… He showed the message to Thad, and the Head Warbler laughed, before reminding him that Beats had Matthew's address, and the young man still lived with his mother…
Finding himself alone for a moment in the restaurant, Skylar took a moment to check exactly what was in his bag - he was glad that nobody at the airport had asked him if he had packed the bag himself, as he would have had to answer in the negative - and was not that surprised to discover the folder full of papers that he had been working on the previous night, when he had thought he was going to have a quiet weekend at home. He was glad it was there, as he was sure someone would ask eventually about the work he was doing.
Looking up, he saw that Trent was approaching, and he smiled; that smile grew even wider when the other man's first words were not enquiring how he was feeling, as everybody else's had been, but instead, "I would have hoped that you would have shown us all at least one baby photograph by this point! Little Seth must have grown quite a bit by now…"
Skylar chuckled, and pulled up the latest picture of his son, taken the previous day. He went on to flick through several more, his face showing his joy and pride in the growing infant. Then Trent asked him how the work on the hospice was progressing. Skylar was able to smile again, and tap on the folder that was sitting now on the top of his bag…
So it was that everyone would end up assembled round one table, jostling for a place, as Skylar showed the final drawings for the design of the hospice to them. No-one could find any fault in what he was showing them. The frontage that would be seen from the road had the same perfect symmetry that the main building of Dalton Academy did; a classical look that evoked an earlier time, but one that still fitted into the modern world that they inhabited. The sketches he had made of the interior of the building also had them in awe, the corridors all looking bright and cheerful, and nothing like an institution. There was praise to for the individuality that was the hallmark of the design for the rooms in which the residents would spend much of their time, and they all liked his decision that they should have a small sitting area with kitchen facilities provided on every level of the residential wings.
"It was something that Seth said to me. He said that when he was living here in New York, in his own little place, it was the fact that people kept dropping by to see him that kept him from going insane. He thought that in a hospice it might not be quiet so simple for people to just drop in, so a small social space on each floor, where the residents could meet up would offer a good alternative to that. It wasn't all that hard to create a little space halfway along each wing for that, and I also managed to provide a bit of a balcony at each one, so that they can sit outside when the weather is good and get the fresh air."
"That sounds very sensible," said Trent. "Do you think that some kind of window box for plants would be out of place? Seth always liked looking out at nature, and I am sure that others would feel exactly the same."
"I daresay that we could do that," said Skylar. "Anyway, these plans still need to be formally approved, but I am assured that will just be a formality, and that construction work can begin properly early in the new year, if the weather stays fine. Having said that, they have already begun to do some basic preparatory works…"
The party would end not long after 5pm, and Nick was delighted that he did not have to stack a dishwasher as he usually did after a Christmas party. He was so pleased that he went over to Drew, and whispered in his ear; his friend was a little startled at first, but then when he heard what he was saying, he could only smile and nod. A few minutes later, and Jeff was wondering what was going on, as the moment that they stepped outside, Nick was hailing a taxi; when one came, he found himself being bundled into the back of it, along with Wes and Evie; seconds later, and Ethan was being pushed in as well, Drew following. Nick got in with the driver at the front, and told him their destination in a half whisper…
As they headed uptown, Nick said nothing to anyone, not answering the questions that his husband was posing, and Drew was also tight lipped, which had Ethan and Jeff wondering what was going on. However, the moment that the taxi pulled into the sidewalk, Jeff knew exactly where they were heading, and he was all smiles. The ice rink at the Rockefeller Center was every but as magical as he recalled from the last time they had visited it, on their first Christmas in the city as husbands… Ethan was smiling too, as Drew dealt with two enchanted children, loving everything about it, the symbol of Christmas in New York…
Meanwhile, Skylar was heading uptown on the '1' train to the station on 86th Street, from where he would head up to the relative quiet of West 89th Street, and the low rise building in which the current home of the Johnsons was located. It was the first time that he had met Matthew, his mother and his sister, and he was glad that Barnaby was the one that came to let him in. He took his coat and bag, and then made the introductions. The moment that he saw Matthew in the flesh he was taken aback by the similarities between him and Seth, even more pronounced than they had been with Barnaby….
He found himself showing old photos again later that evening after they had eaten, and whereas Matthew and his sister didn't seem to notice things, their mother did, as taken aback as Skylar by the similarities between the nephew she had never met and her own son. As he headed to bed that night, Skylar had to admit that he liked the family, and he only wished that they had found out about each other so much sooner. He would have been much happier had he known that Seth had family of his own living just 80 blocks to the north of him….