The End of an Era Part II
He was about to pick it up and go, when he paused; it was a tablet, but what if it wasn't Isabelle's? What if it was one belonging to the hotel…? He felt then along the side for the power on button, knowing what her screensaver was; a family group portrait. Finding the button, the screen quickly lit up. However, what he saw was not a family photo; it was a picture of a piece of white card with on word written on it - "SURPRISE!", and that was…
Suddenly all the lights came on, and he blinked at the intensity, before his ears were assaulted by a room full of people yelling "SURPRISE!" all around him. He felt the tablet being taken from his hand, and saw Isabelle taking it back. He spun round, seeing the faces of all of his friends, standing everywhere he looked, all smiling at him. Looking up, he saw a banner above the bar, saying, 'Farewell, Sebastian & Dave' on it…
Then his husband was at his side, taking his hand, and was whispering in his ear, "That is the only time I have ever kept a secret from you. It was all Bette's doing, in case you wondered. I think pretty much everyone we know is here, by the way…" His words echoed in Sebastian's ear as he saw Bette approaching him. He shook his head at her, wagging his finger at her in disapproval, but still grinning from ear to ear…
"I just could not resist, my dearest boy. I was so stern with them all; I even refused to break the secrecy when your husband told me that you thought that all of your friends could not be bothered. I think all of the subterfuge was worth it though, just for the look on your face as the lights came on…"
Sebastian nodded, then scanned the room again, seeing all the faces that he would have expected, and then he saw… "You invited François!"
"I did, and his charming fiancé. I believe that the names of the three other young men that came with them are Luke, Jean-Marc, and Anton…" At that last name, Sebastian's eyes widened, and then, suddenly seeing the last of the young men that he had misspent some of his youth with in Paris, the man he had not seen since the day he had been forced onto the plane back to Ohio, at a rime when he had never even heard of Dalton Academy, he let go of his husband's hand, and positively sprinted across the room to pull him into a hug…
There were others in the room that Sebastian would greet as effusively as his old friend from his misspent youth, but even those that he did not were not left feeling that he wasn't glad that they were there. His smile was broad the whole time, and they could all see that it was entirely genuine. Introductions were made between people that did not know each other, and there was no real awkwardness…
There was a moment when the group of men from Paris found themselves being approached by Sebastian's maman; they had not seen her since the night that the gendarmes had brought Sebastian back home in disgrace, having been caught in that seedy bar in the Marais, and they all dreaded what she was going to say or do. There was a brief moment of frost, and those close by who knew the story looked worried. Then she said, "If you four hadn't been in his life when he was young, then he would probably never have left Paris, and neither would I. He would never have met his friends here, never made it to New York, and never have ended up on the Broadway stage. Although I cannot approve of or condone what you were all doing back then, it changed his life for the better in the end, so thank you."
Sebastian had been summoned over by an anxious Flint as he saw what was about to occur, and arrived just in time to hear his mother speak; he as shocked to hear what she said, but when he thought about it, she actually made a very valid point. The actions he had undertaken during a phase of teenage anger and rebellion had ultimately given him his career, his friends, his husband and family. He pondered just how often a choice that seemed bad at the time was actually all part of some great cosmic plan to make the world better. Had Donald Trump been necessary to redirect the way that politics and society in the United States had been heading, for example? He shook his head on that one, but nonetheless he resolved to put that very question to Trent one of these days. It was exactly the sort of topic that his fellow musketeer liked to mull over…
The party would be a great success, a combination of the venue, the planning of the organiser, and of the guests themselves. The buffet was huge, and Nick was impressed by its variety and quantity; he realised that he could never have managed to cater for such an event if he had been working single-handed in his West Village kitchen. What he did notice as he watched was that his fellow former Warblers were taking only a small amount of food for once; he wondered if that was down to the atmosphere, the location, or that they were all getting older. He did not ask any of them why though; he knew that some would respond that they were taking less because it was not as good as his food. Yes, that reply would be nice and flattering, but he would not truly believe it. He also observed that when Thad came to the buffet, he was ignoring the spicier looking snacks, which was unusual for him…
As well as the buffet, there was, of course, music. Mercedes was naturally the star turn of the evening, with David joining her on stage for a couple of numbers, leaving the whole room in awe of the vocal talent that the couple possessed when they sang together. Sebastian was left to sit and laugh as he watched the majority of the Warblers that had performed with him during that special Book of Mormon performance that had been his Broadway debut, gathered on stage to sing that opening number, Hello! Mason took the spot that had been Sebastian's that night in the lead, his own spot being taken by Peter Smythe. That had been a suggestion by Bette, and they had all readily agreed to that.
There would be other special moments too, as people were prevailed upon to sing something. Nick found himself performing an impromptu Guten Tag Hop-Clop, with Sam and Russell Tovey taking on the parts of the two men behind him, and their antics left the audience in stitches. Ethan and Drew decided to stick to the theme when their turn came, and performed the number they had done at the memorial for Wes so long ago. Evie was left alternately shaking her head and laughing as they sang I Taut I Taw a Puddycat together, something that was emulated by Bette as well. Flint, however, declined to perform his song from that day, no matter how often he was asked…
Sebastian would sing too, songs from the shows he had performed in, and other musicals he had not been in too. By popular request, he sang Dentist from Little Shop of Horrors again, with his original backing trio, which made Wes laugh as loudly as Evie had done. He would sing People Will Say We're in Love from Oklahoma with Rachel, to everyone's surprise, and then Money, Money from Cabaret with Santana. He sang with Russell too, a spirited performance of Well, Did You Evah? from the classic songbook, which made them all cheer, before his spirited rendition of I am what I am brought the house down….
Then there were speeches too, heartfelt words of love for the young man that was leaving them for Ohio. Bette spoke then, telling his story in her own way, which made them all laugh and cry in equal measure. Then it fell to Thad to speak, a combination of tribute and welcome back to Ohio, reminding him of all of the pleasures that awaited him back in the Buckeye State. He also pointed out with glee that the house that he would soon be living in, to all intents and purposes a mansion, would cost less to buy that a two bed apartment in most of Manhattan…
Then came the inevitable calls for Sebastian to speak, and he did so with the greatest of reluctance. When he spoke, it was only briefly. "I am so glad to see each and everyone person in this room; I could not have wished or hoped for a better circle of friends and colleagues, or for a more supportive family. I might be leaving the coast, and I will not be here amongst you all very soon, but I want you all to know that you will always be in my thoughts, and my heart. I promise that I will be back to visit you all as often as I can, and all of you have a standing invitation to visit me in Ohio… And well, that's it! Let's get back to enjoying this wonderful party, and maybe even a little more singing…"
Sebastian's words were greeted with approval, and in no time the stage was once again occupied by people that were only too pleased to sing, and in some cases, make complete fools of themselves in the process. Nobody cared how silly they looked, which was why Thad was soon up on the stage doing his finest Elvis impression, which left those who had never witnessed it before in a mix of awe and laughter. Dave and Sebastian continued to mingle all the while, whilst observing all of the other interactions. Isabelle was now sitting in a quiet corner with Audra, and the two of them were clearly talking shop, which came as no surprise to anyone that knew Isabelle; she never stopped working…
Meanwhile, across the room, Bette was in conversation with an awestruck Barnaby and Clyde, and on seeing that, Sebastian had to chuckle. Bette was well known for her liking for the more 'interesting' side of life, so it was no surprise to him that she had focused in on the two male parts of the polyamorous ménage a trios; it was exactly the kind of thing that she would find fascinating. Seeing where his husband's eyes were looking, Dave whispered, "I still cannot believe that Barnaby of all people is involved with a couple in that kind of way. He seems so staid, normal, and honestly, boring, but it just goes to show…"
"I learned a long time ago not to judge a book by its cover; I mean, who, in a million years, would ever have seen Flint Wilson as a stripper? As far as I am concerned, if they are making each other happy, then nothing else really matters. Still, it has also taken all the attention off the other new couple in the room tonight; Roderick and Hilary. Only Mason and Jane seem to have taken much notice of that little event, so I think that it is now our duty to head over to them, and offer them our congratulations on their new relationship." Dave nodded, not wanting to admit that until Sebastian had just said it, he had not even noticed how close the two of them were that evening…
Even the best parties could not last forever, though, and that was even more true when people had young children to think about. Nick noticed that his son was starting to doze off just after ten, and he knew that he would have to take him home. Jeff on the other hand did not seem to have picked up on it, and was enjoying himself immensely, so Nick resolved that he would take Wes home on his own. He headed in the direction of Sebastian, and spoke to him quietly. "So it looks like I will need to head off. A certain young man is on the brink of falling asleep, and although he will doubtless protest about going, I really should be taking him home to bed."
Sebastian smiled, and replied, "I quite understand; I'd be the same way inclined in your position. However, I see that your other charge is still the life and soul of the party, so you might have a difficult conversation ahead of you."
"Actually, I am going to leave him here for a while; Trent and Rory are staying with us, so he can come home with them later."
Sebastian nodded, then pulled Nick into a tight hug, which was immediately reciprocated. "I am going to miss having you two so close by. We have been through a heck of a lot together, the three of us, and you were always better friends to me than I really deserved. If it wasn't for the two of you… You gave me a place in your home, and allowed me to be here, in this city, where so many of my dreams have come true. I will always be so grateful to you both for that."
"It was a two way thing all the time though; we would never have made it through some of the stuff that we have been through had it not been for you. Now, wish me luck with explaining my leaving to my husband. He might not understand why I need to go when we could just allow Wes to sleep on a chair…"
"We'll go and talk to him together, shall we?" said Sebastian, and walked alongside Nick in the direction of the blond…
Nick would be the first to leave, but only once a sleepy Wes had been hugged by his two uncles. Seeing that Nick was heading home gave some of the others an excuse to head home too, no-one having wanted to be the first to leave the party. Evie and Ty were also getting tired, and so after a bit of chat, Drew and Elliott headed for home as well alongside their young charges, sharing a car with Nick, and that meant another round of hugs; after all, nobody would just quietly slip away that night, all of them needing to say a proper farewell to the couple that would soon be leaving the city. Dante and Lachlan had feared that they would also be forced into that early exodus, but Beats had smiled, then said that they were not really children anymore, and so they could carry on enjoying the party for a little longer. Smiling, they headed back for the dance floor, and melted back into each other's arms, an example of young love at its finest…
Ironically, those with the very youngest children could stay much later, as they all had sitters at home, who had been advised that the parents might well be late. Not long after Nick and the others departed, Marley appeared at the door with Ryder, Adam following on behind them. He was smiling broadly, which was an indication that his first performance in the show as Bert had gone well, although he would quietly admit that dancing upside down on stage was nowhere near as easy as Mason made it look each night. He had Lawrence with him, of course, who would tell everyone just how spectacularly brilliant his boyfriend had been that evening…
It would be nearly 2am when the party finally drew to an end, with Bette pulling Sebastian into her arms, then swiping tears from her eyes. "So, you must let me know exactly when you will be having that anniversary party of yours, and in good time; I will need to make sure that all of my inoculations are in order in good time before I come to Ohio…"
Sebastian laughed, then pulled her back into a hug once more. "Thank you for tonight, and for everything. Whenever I am in town, I will be sure to let you know. I mean, I will need all of the gossip, and who better to tell me it than you…"
Isabelle had one final surprise for Sebastian though, one that even Bette was unaware of. Having said his farewells to Bette, Sebastian had returned to the Palm Court, where his brother and nephew sat alongside the Vogue editor and Dave.. "Well, that was a fantastic evening," he said as he approached them. "I should have known that people would not let me go without a party - not that I ever thought otherwise, of course…" He paused, as Dave coughed pointedly, then continued, "Okay, so maybe I did think that just a little bit, but this surprise was well worth the wait in the end. I still can't believe that I actually fell for that story of yours though Isabelle; and the minute that Bette told me not to put the lights on should have had me smelling a rat right away! Now, we need to head home to Maplewood; I assume that there is a town car waiting, given that the last train has gone…"
Isabelle looked sheepish, then replied, "Well, there is one for the three of us, but in all of the organisation we somehow seem to have overlooked exactly how you and Dave would be getting home…"
Sebastian stared at her, then said, "Wait, you forgot to ensure that the guests of honour… Well, I guess we will just have to squeeze in with you."
"I'm afraid that the driver is only booked to take three people, and they are extremely strict on that," his sister-in-law replied. "we can try to get you an Uber or a yellow cab…"
"That will be a tall order at this time of night," said Dave.
"Not to mention expensive," grumbled Sebastian. "I cannot believe that you forgot that we would need to get home! Worse still, you only decide to admit this after everyone else has left, and we cannot beg the use of someone's spare bed, or couch, or even floor!"
Isabelle nodded, then in a contrite tone, said, "You are right, of course… However, maybe this will be of use instead." With those words, she handed Sebastian a hotel key card with a room number written on it…
Ten minutes later, having seen the three of them off in their town car, Sebastian and Dave found themselves up in the hotel itself, standing outside the room with the corresponding number on it - 411. Neither of them had ever been up in the accommodation levels of the prestigious hotel before, and so they did not know quite what to expect, although there was something in the pack of Sebastian's mind as they went to open the door… on opening it, they realised at once that it was not a room, but a suite….
As Dave marveled at the surroundings, it suddenly hit Sebastian. "Oh my God! This isn't any old suite… This is Kevin McAllister's suite. This is the room from Home Alone. The décor hasn't really changed at all… This must have cost them a fortune!" Dave suddenly realised where he was too, and as they explored the rooms, it was like being on a film set, literally. True, there were some aspects that they hadn't seen on the screen, like the kitchen area, and the bathroom with a double shower and a soaking tub they could both fit into easily. On opening the closet, Sebastian laughed to see there were two sets of clothes hanging up, a fresh set for them both, taken from their wardrobe at home…
"They really did think of everything," remarked Dave as he was shown them, wondering how much it all had to have cost. Sebastian had a rough idea, but he was sure that Isabelle might have pulled a few strings and got it for a hefty discount…
"So, husband of mine, do you want to head straight to bed, or would you like to take a shower first," Sebastian asked with a wink.
"Hmm, a shower does sound good," replied Dave, "and there is more than enough room for us to share one and speed the process up - and help each other out too…"
"My thoughts exactly," purred Sebastian, already loosening his tie…
They would sleep until 10am the next morning; late for them, but not an issue as they did not need to check out until 2pm. They ordered food from room service, more of a brunch than a breakfast, and it was with them in no time. They ate it at the convenient dining table, that had a view out over Central Park, over the lake and right out to The Rambles. They had called Mrs Carr, to apologise for not getting home the previous night, but she just laughed, telling them that she had known all about the room, and had been the one to have sorted out the change of clothes for them. She told them to take their time, and enjoy the room. To that end, they decided to share a leisurely bath, enjoying the deep, hot water; then after coffee, they changed into their fresh clothes, packing the ones from the day before into a case that Isabelle had thoughtfully provided. Then they headed for home…
They decided not to take a cab downtown, instead taking a stroll down Fifth Avenue, past the building that had once been called the Trump Tower, the Rockefeller Center, St Patrick's Cathedral and the Public Library. Then at the Empire State building they turned right into West 34th Street, past Herald Square and Macy's, to eventually enter Penn Station, finding that by luck they had timed it perfectly, and stepped onto the Maplewood bound train with a minute to go…
As its doors closed, Sebastian looked thoughtful all of a sudden, and Dave looked at him curiously. "I have just realised that this is probably the last time we will ever catch this train," he eventually said. "I mean, I have no plans to come back into the city again before we leave; we won't have time, given that we still have a house to finish packing up. This train has been as big a part of my life in New York as Broadway itself…"
Dave nodded as the train moved away from the platform to head down into the tunnel under the Hudson. There would be many more of those final times to come over the next few days, culminating of course in the final time that they would lock the front door of the Maplewood house in less than a week from now. Then they would embark on the next chapter of their story with a move back to Ohio…
When they arrived home, it quickly became evident that they would not be able to stay there alone for long. There was a message for them from François, which informed them that he was staying with his three French compatriots in a hotel near to the Spotlight Diner, wondering if Sebastian and Dave would be free to join them, either that evening or the following day, for a catch up. Dave smiled, then said, "I am not in the mood for heading back over to the city today, and in any case, I think you would enjoy yourself more if I wasn't around at that catch up. They will no doubt bring up things from your past that I do not need to know! I have my meeting with my old team mates tomorrow, and you weren't too keen on joining me for that, and don't say otherwise; you go over to New York and have your catch up instead."
"Well, if you are sure that you don't mind," said Sebastian. "In any case, there will be locker room secrets and in jokes that I will not understand tomorrow too."
"True, although nothing quite like the ones you guys might be talking over," replied Dave. "Tonight we will just have a quiet one at home, make a start on the packing and have a laugh with the kids."
"That sounds like heaven," came his response. "Staying up late and partying never used to be so tiring. We are getting old…"
"Yes, and there is no-one else I would rather grow old with than you, my love," said Dave.
Of course, that plan too was turned on its head when Julian appeared on the doorstep. He was on his way back from the airport, having taken Peter to catch his flight back to Ohio, so that he could be back in class the following morning. As the time for his brother's departure back to Ohio grew closer, it was starting to really hit home for the older man, and he wanted to spend as much time with his brother and his family as possible. He ended up staying for dinner, Dave calling Isabelle on the quiet to let her know where her husband was. She was not in the least surprised, and had in fact not even bothered to see that there was food for him, so convinced was she that he would not be home for dinner. "If he starts to be a bother, call me back, and I will fake an emergency of some kind to get him to head home. It's nice that he and Sebastian are so close, but at the same time…" Dave could only agree, a little jealous of the close bond that the two brothers shared…
In the end, the call to Isabelle was not necessary; after they had, between the three of them, settled the children in bed, Julian made his excuses, and headed for home. He had work in the morning after all, and he didn't want to end up being a burden to his brother. As he drove off, Sebastian turned to Dave, and said, "I am not looking forward to the moment that we have completed the move, and he is going to be left here; it's going to be a heartbreaker. However, we will survive, both of us. I will miss Jules, and Isabelle, and all of the rest, but my place is with you. We do what is best for the family, and that is how it should be." He snuggled up to his husband on the couch then, Dave certain that he meant every word. Their world was changing, but as long as they had each other, all would be okay…