German Visitors, Shortened Deadlines
In the period between the return of Artie and Kitty from London, and the announcement by Mike and Tina of their expectations, there had been two visitors to the West Village from Europe. The weather was a little warmer than usual in the city on the day that the Lufthansa flight from Munich touched down at Newark, but as the flight arrived in the early evening, the chill that was normal was upon the city. Of course, coming from inland Europe, Fritz and Matthias were not phased by it, and well dressed for the weather. Nick had headed over straight from work to meet them, and then took them back into the city on the PATH train, which dropped them off at the 9th Street station, just a few blocks from home, and no issue as the two guests were travelling light.
Jeff was waiting to greet them along with Wes, who had been given permission to stay up later than normal to say hello, before being sent off to bed; he was pleased enough to go, as he was tired, and had a busy day at school ahead. For the adults it was time for a late dinner, a casserole that Nick had prepared the night before and Jeff had reheated, followed by a homemade Apple Strudel, which received its fair share of compliments from the visitors. They retired to bed not long after the meal, as they had to cope with the time difference of six hours, so the 10pm New York time felt like 4am to them.
The next day was Thursday, and Jeff had cleared his diary for the day; Drew had agreed to take Wes to school when he took Evie, and would pick them both up at the end of the day, giving the blond a free schedule. Both visitors were awake by the time that Wes headed out, and so Jeff decreed that they should make an early start themselves, taking them downtown first to the South Ferry Terminal, and onto the Staten Island ferry, allowing them to see from the water that most iconic landmark of the city, the statue that had kept watch over the harbour for almost 140 years. Jeff was on hand to take photos of the two young men with the statue behind them as the boat crossed the water.
After a brief stay on Staten Island to take photos of themselves with the skyscrapers at the tip of Manhattan behind them, they headed back over, and were among the first visitors of the day to the One World Observatory. Jeff smiled as he saw their faces as they looked out across the city from the 102nd floor, pointing out the distant spot where his home was, as they easily identified those other landmarks in the skyline, and of course, the Brooklyn Bridge. They both approached the area with the glass floor carefully, but once they looked down, the nerves vanished. They paused for a coffee in the little café, then headed back down, pausing at the memorial for a moment before heading for the subway.
Jeff took them next up to the Met, as Thursday was a quieter day in the gallery, and he knew that they both wished to see the work of art that had made the blond famous. He was grateful again for his special pass, which allowed him to take them into the building for free. He did not take them straight to his picture, instead taking them through the Egyptian galleries, with the rescued temple that had once stood close to the Nile, which fascinated the two young Germans. They went on through the furniture galleries, and the collections of silver and glass, before he finally guided them to the spot in which The Judging Angel hung in all of its splendour. As was always the case, someone recognised Jeff, and he found himself signing postcards, and posing for selfies, something that he coped with a lot better now than he had done in the early days. The moment that there was a lull, they took their leave, heading on to the Greek and Roman collections. "It must be difficult to deal with that sort of attention sometimes," Fritz remarked as soon as they were out of earshot.
"It can be, but they were a small crowd, and were happy just to meet me," replied Jeff. "There have been a few obsessive people over the years, and on two occasions, I have had to get security involved." He paused, as he saw the look on his two guests faces. "It goes with the territory of being a living artist; it is the same for those that we see on the screen, big and small. As long as they don't bother me when Wes is around, then it is cool, and the other parents at his school, plus the people in the neighbourhood are all really good at keeping them at bay too."
They went for a late lunch to the Spotlight Diner, which left the two Germans slightly bemused at the singing waiters, and revealed an omission from all that Nick had told them when they had been in Baden Baden; that the New York based couple owned shares in a diner. "That all came about because I happened to work here when I was at college, and when the previous owner retired, he offered the first right to buy the place to the existing staff. We all knew it could be a goldmine, and so we got together, along with some of our friends, and pooled our finances to be able to afford it. Grace drew up all the legal stuff free of charge, so that was a help. I still help out if there is a desperate shortage of staff, and as for singing, well I can be convinced to do that too…"
With time getting on, Jeff guided his guests back to the West Village, and collected Wes from Drew. The young boy was then left to converse with his distant relative and his boyfriend as Jeff made a start on the evening meal. Caleb came over to speak to him as he did, part in protest at the two strangers, and also because he was hungry. He eventually decided that he would go and see if the two new people were friendly, and he found they were to his liking after all, although it would be nice if the humans asked first before bringing in visitors.
Nick arrived home from work to discover that Fritz and Matthias had headed out; they were off up to Times Square, somewhere they both had seen countless times, and somewhere that was best seen when all of the advertising was lit, and the place was buzzing with the crowds heading to their Broadway shows. They had taken Jeff's warnings about both pickpockets and panhandlers seriously, and he was pretty sure that they would not arrive home with significantly less money than they left with. "So, what are your plans for them tomorrow," Jeff asked as they ate their evening meal.
"I have a tour of the UN arranged for them in the morning, and then we will explore along 42nd Street, taking in Grand Central and the Public Library, before cutting down towards Macys and Herald Square. Then it will be time for an early dinner before we send them back up to Broadway to see Book of Mormon, which they are both looking forward to," said Nick with a smile.
Jeff grinned, then said, "We never told them about our shares in the Spotlight by the way. It came as a surprise to them, but not in a bad way."
"There are quite a few things we didn't mention in all honesty, like the stuff we went through at Dalton. By the way, I wondered if we might introduce them to Artie later? I know they have both seen the other Harry Potter films, and will probably want to see the new one, so to meet the director…"
"I don't think Artie would mind, and Kitty would love the chance to boast about him to two complete strangers," mused Jeff with a grin. "The question is, do we wish to make them suffer that?"
In the end, Nick asked his distant cousin if he would like to meet Artie, and the look on his face told him that no matter what Kitty did, it would be an experience of a lifetime for the two of them.
The next day as they headed across town to the United Nations building, it was all that either of the two young Germans could talk about still. The photograph that they had taken with Artie had been shared on their respective Facebook pages, and had been liked by every one that they knew back home, the amount of jealousy being expressed seeming to have no limits. Nick could only grin, and wonder how much of a anti-climax a tour of the place where he worked would seem in comparison. He need not have worried though, as both of his visitors were enthralled with everything that he showed them, and were warmly welcomed by the staff of the German section too.
Like most new arrivals to the city, the scale of the railway terminal further along 42nd Street left them awe struck, and the notion that it could have been demolished in the uncaring sixties gave rise to feelings of horror. "We of course lost so much of our historic architecture in our major cities due to the war, but the idea that we would erase what we had left to replace it with some brutal concrete and glass monstrosity in the name of progress! No wonder people were angered!" said Matthias passionately.
"It was all down to money, like so much," sighed Nick. "They had all this space, and real estate in central Manhattan was so valuable, and the railway was making a loss… However, this building was saved, unlike the old Penn Station. People got together, and stood up against the developers, although had it not been for Jackie Kennedy, they might have been ignored. It started a trend, and it saved us from other horrors, like two cross Manhattan elevated expressways. Of course, our little street in the West Village was also targeted for demolition by the previous owner, but the old ladies that lived there in those days fought the idea and won…"
Nick happily took more photos as they explored that day, showing them with all of the landmarks that their friends back home would recognise from film and television. The fact that there had been a dusting of snow during the night made the steps of the Public Library even more like they had been in The Day After Tomorrow, which they loved. They explored Macys, whose vast expanse had them shaking their heads a little, and then shook their heads again as Nick pointed out Penn Station, and then showed them a photo of the old building. Then, despite the chill in the air, they headed back downtown on the High Line, a relic of the past that had been turned into something new and vibrant for the city.
The next morning, still singing tunes from Book of Mormon to each other, Fritz and Matthias went off to explore on their own, wanting to stroll around Greenwich Village, and the Union Square area, with The Strand bookstore a target for them both, a legend even for them in Baden Baden. They hoped to head on to Chinatown afterward, before returning in plenty of time to get ready for a family meal at Grace and Cooper's home in Murray Hill, the latter taking a rare Saturday night off to join them. Once they were out, it was time for Nick and Jeff to embark on the weekly shopping trip over to Brooklyn, an excursion that Wes enjoyed far more than his parents, although the recent decision that he was now old enough to carry some of the purchases hadn't gone down too well…
The meal in Murray Hill was another success. Cooper was delighted to meet the two visitors, having heard so much about them from his wife, and curious as to what they were like in person; a photograph could only convey so much about a person's character after all. Pam was invited to the meal too, and was equally fascinated. When Fritz brought up the most recent photos of the bakery project to show them all, Pam smiled happily, and reminisced about a tearoom she had visited decades before when she was the same age as her two grandchildren were now. "It was in Columbus, in an area of the city that was then being preserved and restored. It looked a lot like your establishment, being honest, and what I recall most is how beautiful the cakes were. It was the first time I had eaten cake with a fork…"
"I can guess that the tearoom was in the German Village district as well," remarked Cooper. "At one time nearly a third of the population had German ancestry, and well, I suppose that is where the Hummel part of my name comes from."
"Certainly we intend to have that kind of traditional atmosphere when we open the tea room, a memory of the past when the décor of the shop was new, and taking tea was a formal occasion, not rushed like it is in the modern coffee shops. We are having a complete service of matching bone china made, including cake stands; proper spoons, not wooden stirrers, and delicate cake forks. We intend to open in May, to be ready for the summer trade, and although I know it is not just around the corner, you would all be most welcome to join us at some time," said Fritz happily.
"I've never been to Europe," said Pam with a wry smile. "My ex-husband did not hold with the idea, although he had no issue with flying to the Caribbean to lie on a beach. He had no time for culture or history. Perhaps it is time that I made amends before I get too old to enjoy it."
Cooper stared at his mother for a moment, but before he could speak, his wife intervened. "I actually think that would be a wonderful experience for you; I cannot recall you taking a holiday outside of the city in all the time I have known you. Start in Baden Baden, then head for London via Paris. The advantage of that route is that you would have a local to contact in all of those places, what with François, Sebastian's friend, in Paris…"
"And I am certain Miss Frobisher wouldn't object to us giving you her details for an emergency contact in London. If you go in late June, the weather will be glorious, and there will still be so many events in London tied to the Queen's 100 years," added Jeff.
Pam smiled, then said, "I think that you have talked me into it. Now, don't look at me like that, Cooper. I am more than capable of travelling abroad on my own, and it would be a wonderful way to waste some of the money that I received from your father as part of the divorce settlement. First class all the way, naturally."
"You would be more than welcome; you are part of the family after all, even if only by marriage," said Fritz.
"The only thing that we would ask is that if anyone enquires outside of Fritz's immediate family after my father and Grace's," said Nick quietly, "then he is dead. It would certainly make things a lot easier for us all…" Pam nodded at that, understanding all too well the difficult relationship between her daughter-in-law and her brother, and their father. From what she could recall of the man, he would be better off dead in any case.
Sunday would be a quieter day for them all, with only one excursion planned. Nick had ascertained from Fritz that Matthias had a liking for all things mechanical, and so he had arranged for them all to travel to the Intrepid Museum, on the old warship moored in the Hudson. Wes had never been there, both of his parents thinking he had been too young up until that point, so he was every bit as excited as Matthias when they arrived. The fact that the vessel had seen service in the Second World War made the visit all the more poignant in the circumstances, even if Nick and Fritz' shared ancestor had not served in the navy. There were so many corners of the battleship to explore, and some tight spots for Jeff in particular, the tallest of them all. It was all in all a very interesting experience though.
Up on the flight deck though was where they all found things of interest. The display of aircraft attracted the attention of the young German engineer, and soon he was talking away animatedly about them, lapsing into his native tongue when he was most excited of all. Tearing him away from that had been difficult, until Nick had pointed out the Concorde that was sitting at the midpoint of the deck, and then he had rushed over to see the supersonic jetliner that had once managed to bring businessmen from London to New York, at such a fast speed that they arrived 'before' they left in terms of the business day…
It was the big pavilion at the rear of the deck that then attracted them in, and they all stood for a moment to look at the Enterprise, a craft that had been in and out of space, and was now permanently based here in New York. It was left to Jeff to explain as best as he could the technology behind the space shuttle to his son, as Nick guided his two guests around the craft on the viewing gallery, not quite close enough to touch it, but able to see so much detail. Nick took photos for them of course, standing in front of the nose of the vessel, the cockpit behind them, which the lawyer knew would be put on their Facebook page almost at once.
There was the inevitable trip to the gift shop on the way out, and it was not just Wes that left with a toy space shuttle in his possession, as Fritz purchased one for Matthias, seeing how he was looking at the one in Wes' hand. Jeff saw the sachets of space food, and Nick knew better than to stop him buying a few to try. For his part, he picked up a simple guide to the planets that he would give to his son later, something that would help with the curiosity that had been aroused by the talk of space travel. He was glad that his son had an enquiring mind, and was always looking for explanations of things he did not understand, but now that he was older, he wanted him to see what he could discover for himself…
They spent Sunday night at home, Mike popping in to say hello to them all, although Jeff sometimes suspected that he did so more to see Caleb than the humans. As usual, the cat was happy to see his uncle, and there was a new catnip toy in his pocket to hand over. Early next day, almost as soon as Jeff took Wes off to school, Nick, Fritz and Matthias headed downtown to board the boat to Ellis island. Given how much work he had been doing over the previous few months, and how busy Grace was with her own caseload, they had agreed to get somebody to do the research into their German ancestor. The results were now ready, and Nick had decided that the best way to collect them was with the man's great-great-nephew at his side.
The meeting lasted a few hours in the end, as the archivist had brought out all of the records that they had of their ancestors arrival, but had then gone on to obtain copies of the various records that he had made in his lifetime in the United States, and those of his son, Nick's grandfather, things that Nick had never seen before either. They were able to take away copies of them all, and the archivist even made an additional copy of the documents surrounding the arrival of their shared ancestor in the country, which used the word refugee, a status that was not usually given to those arriving from Germany even then. That gave them some sort of idea as to how bad things actually had been for the young man.
On their return home, they bumped into Adam and Lawrence, and the former chuckled as the two young Germans did a double take, then stared at Lawrence; like so many people, they were wondering why Clive was not with Darrin. Nick made the introductions, and Adam happily posed between them for yet another photo that would be sent back to their friends and family. As they were about to separate, Adam's phone rang, and he stepped aside to take it, leaving them to chat with Lawrence, who was due to be on a late shift that evening. Adam returned, looking at the little group, then spoke…
By the time that Fritz and Matthias headed for their flight the next day, they had another new experience to add to their list. Adam's call had been from Sam, who had told him that there was an issue with the filming that evening, namely that they were short of several extras for a restaurant scene; he then jokingly asked if he knew of anyone that was free that evening? So it was that the two young men found themselves sitting at a table together, their hosts and their son at another nearby, as the sitcom was filmed. There were only two takes, thankfully, but it meant photos of themselves with Adam and Sam as payment, and that was more than enough. Both the visitors and hosts were sorry to part, but there was a promise of return trips in the future…
The visit was still fresh in Nick's mind the next day as he headed home from the UN to find that his husband had not started on cooking dinner, and their son was sitting in the kitchen alone with Caleb, reading his new book on space. "Papa says he is really sorry, but he has had a very busy day, and it has been a long time since we had pizza… Can we have pizza for dinner?" said Wes as soon as his father greeted him.
"Hmm, I guess that we could, although if your papa had warned me then I could have picked one up on my walk back from the subway," said Nick calmly, although inside he was a little annoyed with his husband; pizza was a rare treat, not something that could be brought out when he forgot to reheat the nice, healthy casserole that Nick had left ready. Telling Wes they could have it made it a forgone conclusion as well.
"Are you mad with papa, because I don't mind waiting and having something else instead," asked Wes, stunning his father with his intuition again. "I think papa was stressed because of the letter on the table…"
Nick looked over at the table and saw the letter that was lying open on it, next to several unopened ones. He walked over, and saw the Buckingham Palace letterhead, and had an inkling then why his husband had abandoned everything. He felt his own eyes widen a little as he saw the word April in the date mentioned, not the June he had anticipated. That meant Jeff's deadline for his drawing had just moved up two months. "I take it that your Uncle Drew picked you up from school today?" he asked, and when Wes nodded, he went on, "And have you seen your papa at all since you arrived home?"
"He was here for two minutes. He got me some milk and cookies, then he went back upstairs."
Nick nodded, then went to find the number of the pizza place to make an order. That done, he headed upstairs to knock on the studio door, and for once, he did not wait to enter. His husband looked at him with shock, and was about to speak when Nick did. "I came straight in because I am a little angry that you told Wes we were having pizza and have ignored him since he arrived home. I understand why, but he is our son, and he should come first. I will speak to Drew later and tell him that we need him to do the school run for a little while."
"It would help, and I am sorry, but…" said Jeff. "I think that I might have taken on too much now I have so much less time!"
"Well, unless you come down to dinner, you will be in an even worse situation when you collapse from hunger," said Nick firmly and Jeff nodded, putting down his pencils…
His mind was still on his work as they sat down for dinner. He was relieved that thanks to the Duchess, he had a little more time than some, but it was still going to be tough; that was his own fault though. He had considered producing the standard kind of portrait, one in which his royal subject sat centre stage in a chair, or the usual head and shoulders portrayal, but then he realised that there would be dozens of artists doing the exact same thing, and if he was to impress, he had to think outside of the proverbial box….
The idea was one that came from a casual comment from his mother. He had been chatting to her not long after he had received that hint, and she had raised the topic of family photos, those that showed multiple generations of a family in one place. That had sparked something in his imagination. He wondered if he could draw the portrait in a landscape format, with Her Majesty front and centre, with her three living heirs drawn behind her to her right in the viewers perspective, and her four predecessors drawn behind her to her left. It would show the lineage, her place as part of a line of continuity amongst great change; a lineage that stretched back over 189 years to the ascent to the throne of Queen Victoria. Over that time, only five monarchs had reigned, and for all but 51 years, that had been a Queen…
He pondered it overnight, and then had placed a private call to the Duchess to put the idea to her; he knew it would be seen by some as cheating a little, but she was not the judge, and others would also be using their own connections. She seemed to approve of it, and even sent him a series of pictures she had taken herself at the annual family Christmas gathering, including portraits of her eldest son, her husband, her father-in-law and the monarch herself. The following day he found another e-mail waiting, and it contained photos of Her Majesty's four ancestors that were unseen by the public, the kind of private family photos everyone has…
He sent her a thank you, then began to do his work, checking such details as the heights of all the other subjects, so that they would be accurate in the lineage next to each other. They would not be the main focus of the drawing in any case; by having her to the front, she would be taller than them all, and would attract the eye of the viewer easily.
Jeff has already been spending a large amount of his time shut away in his studio, but the arrival of the official invitation meant that he virtually lived up in the studio, which his husband and son understood, although Caleb did not, and would protest loudly whenever he got the chance. He set an alarm for lunch time, less for himself than for his feline owner, and another for the time Wes would arrive home. He would fix him a snack, and then bring him up to the studio, as his son could be trusted to sit quietly and do his homework, or read, as his papa worked. Some children would have been resentful of the lack of attention, but Wes was mature enough to understand that it was his papa's job, and he did not need to be disturbed…
The final alarm was set for half an hour or so before Nick arrived home, so that he could make sure there was dinner on the table, and apart from that one night, he never missed a meal. Admittedly, once he had eaten, he would vanish again, leaving Wes and Nick alone for the rest of the evening. They accepted it with good grace, as they knew he was working on a masterpiece. Caleb on the other hand did not like it at all, and had it not been for the distance he would have to have climbed up and the fact that his age meant he did not like to move as much, he would have sat outside the door of the studio and howled at the lack of attention he was now receiving….