A Near Mishap for Miss Poppins.
On the evening of his first day at work, Dante walked the short distance from The Strand to the Spotlight Diner, feeling much more content within himself than he had done that morning. His day had gone much better than he had anticipated, and although some of the enquiries that had come his way had been a little odd and a trifle bizarre, he had been able to deal with all of them without trouble or complaint. He had even been shown how to use the register in a quiet moment, not that he was expected to deal with that side of the business as of yet. He had found all of his colleagues were welcoming, which helped, and had then discovered that one of the senior students he had met at his introductory mixer for his major subject at NYU was also working in the store. That had given him something of an opening to be introduced to other people…
He would be back at work the following day, and had agreed to do a shift on Thursday evening as well; as that was overtime, it was a sign that he was already doing well enough to be trusted to work more hours. He was happy then as he opened the door of the diner, and then he got another surprise…
He knew that Lachlan was to be working there that night, but he had not expected to walk in and see him up on the stage, and definitely not about to start to sing. He stopped dead in his tracks as he heard the singing voice of his boyfriend properly for the first time, a smile growing on his face as he hit each note with accuracy and clarity. Lachlan could not see that he was there, as he was facing slightly away from the door, and so Dante was able to walk right up to the edge of the stage undetected. As Lachlan finished his song, Dante was the first to applaud him, loudly, and then he pulled his boyfriend off the stage, pulling him into his arms to kiss him deeply, much to the delight of the assembled audience…
Lachlan of course had to work, as did Elliott, so Dante joined Beats and Ty at the table for dinner. The conversation was at first about his day at work, and then it turned back to what they had just witnessed. "I can't believe that I have never heard him sing like that in all the time that we have known each other! I mean, we sat next to each other in assemblies often enough, and sang the school song, but I never heard his voice…"
"That is because he didn't want to be heard, and have his parents know, and then end up as the star singer at every service on the Sabbath; well, that is what he said to Elliott at his interview apparently. He asked him not to say anything…" said Beats.
"I can understand that. If my grandmother had discovered that I had a voice like that as a kid, she's have had me in church all day, every Sunday, the star of the choir… Alas, my singing voice is less angel and more strangled cat…"
Beats laughed, and then saw the sadness on his adopted son's face. "From what I have been told, a certain ballet dancer had the same problem with his vocals as a teenager in high school, but his then girlfriend gave him lessons, and well, he was more than able to hold a tune whilst they were in the New Directions together. Maybe if you asked Lachlan, he could teach you to sing better…"
Dante looked thoughtful, then shook his head. "No, it would be better if I went to see Tina, and asked her if she could give me lessons, and then I can surprise him as he did me…"
"I guess you could ask her; I mean, if she was able to work magic on Mike's voice, then she would probably be able to do the same for you…"
"Unless I am a completely hopeless case, a tuneless wonder, in which case I would never have to expose Lachlan's ears to the full horror of my voice."
"Have faith, and I'm sure you can be better. Then you and Lachlan can sing your hearts out together in that apartment of yours…"
It turned out that Tina was only too pleased to be asked to help Dante out when he finally went to see her midweek. She had heard all about Lachlan's hidden talent, of course; not strictly from Elliott, but from Mike, who had been told by Jeff, who had heard it from Brittany, as she repeated what Santana told her Dani had said to her. As the young man shook his head, he did what she instructed him too, and sang something for her. That immediately had Tina sighing and shaking her head just a little. "Well, that bit of singing takes me right back to high school, as that is what Mike sounded like. It will be a challenge, but it is one that I am ready for. So, I need you to come and see me every day, for an hour, and in a month or so we should see results."
Dante looked a little startled, but he needed to get his voice sorted. "Okay, I can do that just now, as my college workload is still light, and it will be so worth it if it means I can sing with Lachlan."
"For my part, I am happy to schedule our practices around your classes and work. I do recall how strange the first year of college feels after the structure of high school, all so new and different. If you add in the fact that you might be moving away from home, well that can be stressful…"
"We haven't set a date for that yet; we are taking it slowly, for now, as there are other people to consider after all," Dante replied.
Tina smiled, but then said, "Whilst that is a really noble thing to do, in the end you need to put you and Lachlan first. Noble people are so few these days; the only example I can think of is Skylar. If poor Seth had been honest about how ill he was, I doubt that he would be where he is now, a partner in a respected architectural practice and sought after in his own right. Self sacrifice can only take you so far. Now, if you have time, we can start to work on your vocals now…"
Across town at that moment, Marley was heading back into her dressing room at the theater, glad of the opportunity to sit down and have a rest. It was a matinee day, and her understudy, who usually covered the early show, had called out sick that morning. Marley had been at the rehearsal rooms downtown at 9am that morning to begin a run through of the main numbers from The Sound of Music, and she had been giving it her all when the summons had come that meant she had to head to the theater to perform. She had sighed, but then had been persuaded to carry on with the rehearsal, and only leave to get to the theater at the last minute…
That journey had turned out to be fraught, and it had taken much longer than usual, even although she was on foot. A fire on the direct route had forced her to walk out of her way to the next avenue along, which meant that by the time she arrived at the theater, she was late, and as a consequence, had no time to grab anything other than a few saltines for lunch. Now, with the matinee over, she was starving, and looking forward to getting something to eat…
Fate however was conspiring against her that day, and no sooner had she sat down in her dressing room than the director was there, reminding her that she had agreed the day before to give a telephone interview about The Sound of Music to one of the big theatrical magazines, and they were on the line in his office. Sighing, she had headed through, and had answered question after question in an interview that overran by nearly half an hour. She had even less time now to relax and eat…
It was at that point that she discovered that there was no-one available to head out and pick up her food from the usual place, and worse, they had no delivery service available that night. She tried a few other places nearby, and it seemed that there was a shortage of delivery staff all over. In desperation, she headed out herself, a coat over her costume and dark glasses on to partially disguise herself, to the nearest drugstore, where she found her choices limited, ending up with Miso soup and some pistachio nuts, all that she felt she could face amidst the sea of candy and bland meals.
She still felt hungry then as she was given her call to begin the evening performance. As they waited in the wings, Adam looked at her with increasing concern, and eventually said, "Are you feeling alright? You look a little pale to me…"
Marley smiled, and said, "I guess it is the fact that it has been a long time since I had a two show day, and it is hitting my system a little. Don't worry, once I am out there, it will all be fine; the adrenaline will kick in, trust me. Now, shouldn't you be in place?"
Adam started, nodded, and with a tip of his cap, headed off to his starting point as the music began…
By the time that the interval came along, Marley had to admit that she was exhausted, and if she was honest, her performance had not been up to her usual standard that night. She half expected a knock at her dressing door, and it came, but it was not the director, but a concerned Cooper, wanting to know if she was alright.
She smiled, and replied, "I'm okay, just a little tired. It has been a long day, what with the rehearsals, and the matinee, and everything…. On top of that, I am a little hungry."
Cooper nodded, and then spied something on her dressing room table. "Okay, so please tell me that you have eaten more than a carton of miso and some nuts today?"
"I had something else earlier," she replied, but he noticed she did not meet his eyes.
"Hmm, and what exactly was that? I will have no problem whatsoever in telling them to extend the interval if necessary whilst someone runs out and gets you something substantial to eat, and you eat it."
"You can't do that, as people would miss their trains home," gasped Marley.
"They will miss a heck of a lot more if you collapse and they all have to be sent home with a refund and upset children. Right, I am going to get someone to run out now and get you some fries at the very least. You can leave them in the wings and grab them in the moments that your off stage as well. Before you say a word, that is not up for negotiation, okay."
Marley sighed, but nodded, as her stomach had leapt in anticipation and joy at the very mention of the most simple and humble of fast foods. Cooper headed out, and she heard him order one of the stage door staff to go and fetch them, or risk Ms. Rose collapsing in mid song. She heard footsteps running off, and she smiled, then closed her eyes for a moment. Sure enough, when the bell came and she headed to the wings to wait her moment, there was a box of fries on the table. She helped herself to more than a few, savouring them, but left it at that, not wanting to gorge herself, as that would possibly be worse than not eating at all. Those few fried potatoes made her feel a little better, but still not quite her usual self…
However, as the finale of the show approached, Marley felt that she was on a roll. Her performance was back up to the usual standard, and she knew that was down to the fact that she had been able to eat those French fries throughout the second act in the few moments she was off stage. She had also realised that it had been stupid of her to go on without demanding that someone supply her with a proper meal, given that she had been the one to put themselves out that day for the sake of the show. She would not be making that mistake again.
Her condition, which had been so visible that it had raised the concerns of both Adam and Cooper, was now so changed to them that they felt able to stop looking at her with worry in their eyes every couple of minutes, as if expecting her to keel over. The last big musical number over, it was now time for Mary to leave the Banks family. That moment done, Marley hurried off the set and over to the usual spot where she would be connected up to the wire that allowed her to fly across from a point above the stage to the opposite side of the theater. It was a nightly spectacle that had the audience so enthralled that Cooper had remarked that he could be performing a monkey impression on the stage and no-one would notice…
If Marley was honest, however, it was her least favourite moment of the show, as even with all of the safety gear, she was still up there balancing at a great height; she also clung to the umbrella very tightly, as it was not wired, and she always feared that she might drop it and have it land heavily on the audience below, causing them untold harm. She allowed herself to be attached to the wires, and let the stage hands do all the usual safety checks. Then it was time for Mary to fly away, and she closed her eyes as she awaited the moment the apparatus started…
Later she would say that doing so had been, in all likelihood, the fatal mistake, as it let her tired body relax just a bit too much. As she started to move, she opened her eyes, and almost at once felt a wave of nausea and dizziness hit her. It was too late to cry out, or to stop the process by then, the lighting already in place to capture the moment that Mary soared away from Cherry Tree Lane, because the wind had changed…
In the wings, Adam saw the slight wobble as the dizziness hit her, and suddenly his heart leapt into his mouth. He almost ran across the stage, in full view of the audience, to try and stop the wire, but then he realised that doing so could make things much worse. Marley was secured to the wire by a harness, and she could not fall from the wire herself; however, she could slump down and hang there instead, particularly if she was, as he feared, fainting from a combination of a lack of food and exhaustion. He frantically signalled to the crew on the opposite side of the stage, and he saw to his relief that they had understood what he was indicating, as one of them suddenly darted towards the door that gave entrance to the auditorium itself, hoping to try and follow her on the floor below, ready to catch that umbrella should it fall from her grasp…
Meanwhile, on stage as Mr Banks, Cooper had also seen what was happening, and he knew that he, like Adam, could only watch on helpless as a potential disaster unfolded in front of him. But then, he saw something that Adam did not… He suddenly saw two winged figures. One of them was right behind Marley, holding her in the usual ramrod stiff upright position by literally plastering himself to her back to hold her up. The other grabbed hold of the arm holding the umbrella up at the wrist, and used his own arm to keep her arm, and the umbrella now in their mutual grasp, in place. Those around Cooper on the stage, or sitting in the audience, did not see Kurt behind her, or Blaine beside her. He allowed the corners of his mouth to turn up a little as he watched the secret, and a smile played on his lips as he breathed more easily…
Marley was beyond surprised when she opened her eyes to discover that she was being unhooked up in the high reaches of the theater by the crew, and other than feeling a bit dizzy, she was remarkably okay. The stagehands seemed anxious, but she dismissed their concerns, and although part of her wanted to sit down as they indicated, she shrugged off their hands, and ran down to the stage to take her bows as normal. Yes, it did take her a little longer than normal, and she barely had time to grabbed the furled duplicate umbrella from her dresser before she had to be out there and taking her bow to rapturous applause. She did the first bow alone, but the second was done with Adam and Cooper linked by their arms to her. They then did a third bow, and the curtain descended…
Adam announced that he would sing the encore song himself, something that had been done on one previous occasion, when Marley and Cooper had been guest hosts on Saturday Night Live, and they had overrun. His performance had been a success then, and it would be again that evening…
Cooper meanwhile escorted Marley to her dressing room, shooing everyone else away like a protective uncle. He was not in the least surprised when, with the door closed and locked, and Marley sat down in a comfortable chair, the room was filled with the draught from two sets of wings…
"Well, that was almost a repeat of what happened in our Senior Year when we were performing against the Warblers," said Blaine bluntly. "And this time, we can't blame Kitty for it…"
"I know," said Marley, ignoring the scowl that Kurt was giving his husband. "I thought that I was okay, but obviously I wasn't. Still, by some miracle, nothing bad happened."
"Marley, that was only because there was an angelic intervention," said Cooper softly, crouching down by her chair. She looked at him in confusion, so he continued, "You only made it across without mishap because Kurt propped your body up on his, and Blaine held up your arm and the umbrella. Of course, only I could see that, but to all intents and purposes, if they hadn't been there…"
"You were out cold for most of the flight, Marley," said Kurt kindly.
The look of absolute horror on Marley's face at that point was something that would stay in Cooper's head for a very long time… "I could have dropped the umbrella! I could have hurt someone!" she gasped.
"Well, you didn't, and as far as 99.9% of the audience were concerned, you glided through the air effortlessly, as Mary always does," Kurt responded. "There were three or four people other than Cooper in the building that can see angels, and well, they might well have seen us, but nobody would ever believe them if they started to claim that you were being held up, in mid-air, by two angels, so they won't say a word to anyone. Now, as to where you go from this, I think you do need to tell the producers and the director a version of the truth, one in which you had the wobble that Adam, Cooper and a few of the crew saw, but somehow you managed to remain conscious throughout the flight, even though your head was spinning. Point out to them in that conversation that you did them an immense favour in coming in at no notice for the matinee, and they should have ensured that you were provided with adequate rest and with food. They left you to cater for yourself, and well, they could have told the magazine that you were unavailable for the interview and asked them to call on a different date."
"I think that I can speak for the rest of the cast when I say that we are all 100% behind you on that one," said Cooper, "and I think it might be wise for us to insist on a clause or two in our new contracts for The Sound of Music they want us to sign next week, in which we get those basic things guaranteed."
"Incidentally, you are going to need a new understudy for the part of Maria in that show," added Blaine, earning himself a look from Kurt.
Marley looked aghast at the idea, and asked "Why? My current understudy for the part of Mary is coming with us to the new show, and yes, had she not called in sick today then none of this would have happened, but we can't punish her for being ill!"
"Certainly you can't, that would be wrong, but you will still need to replace her, as she won't be very convincing as a virginal novice nun for much longer. You see, she called in sick to see her ob-gyn, and well…" added Blaine.
Marley and Cooper looked at each other, and then there eyes widened as what they had just been told made sense. If what Blaine had just implied was indeed the truth, then there was no way that she could carry on in the role…
Outside in the corridor by that point, Adam was waiting, and feeling more than a little concerned that the door was locked, and no news on how Marley was now feeling was forthcoming. In his opinion, she had not looked at all well as she took her bows, and now she had been ensconced with Cooper in her dressing room for some time, and well, as he had walked past her door for the first time as he had come off the stage after the encore, he was sure that he had heard her moan. Having said that, he could have sworn that after that he had heard Kurt's voice as well, so he could have been mistaken about it.
He had returned to the door after removing his make up and changing into his street clothes, and was about to knock when two things occurred at once; the door opened and the director arrived. Adam suddenly found himself pulled into the room as an additional witness as Marley, now seemingly feeling much better, laid down the law with the director, something he did not blame her for doing after the events of that day. He half expected when she was finished that the director would respond in much the same tone, but instead he made sympathetic noises, and promised her that it would never be allowed to happen again. He also stated that he, as the director of the forthcoming The Sound of Music as well, would make arrangements for all of it to carry on into that production without hesitation. Then he took his leave, leaving them all a little gobsmacked at how easily it had all gone.
It was Cooper that finally spoke. "Well, that was a lot simpler than I thought it would be. I have a theory that he might have remembered that Grace is a lawyer that takes no prisoners, and that she would know each and every one of the workplace laws that he allowed to be violated today."
"I am going to hazard a guess that on top of that, he has also discovered that he is going to be searching for a new understudy for me," added Marley, and then, for the benefit of a confused looking Adam, she said, "It would appear that someone was out sick today because they have discovered that the stork will be paying them a visit in a few months…"
Adam chuckled at that euphemism, thinking how Mary Poppins it was, and said, "Well, that would certainly be a problem for Maria, one that would be impossible to solve. Now, are you feeling alright? I am taking a cab home tonight, and well, it is not too far out of the way for you to join me, and get dropped off en route."
"I would love that," admitted Marley, "but it will only happen if you allow me to pay half of the fare. I know you, Adam, and you always, without fail, take the subway, so this is for my benefit…"
Cooper would wave the two of them off in the yellow cab at the stage door, before he began his easterly walk across Manhattan to Murray Hill. It was something he found relaxing, and it still surprised him that the bustle and noise of Broadway could be only 20 minutes walk at his pace from the quiet street of brownstones that he called home…
Meanwhile, in the cab, Marley sat quietly, and it fell to Adam to start the conversation, and he did so by asking a question. "I know that you are saying that you are a 100% okay now, but are you being honest with me? The truth is that I walked by your dressing room door as I came off stage after the encore, and well, I heard you moaning loudly…"
"I was still feeling a little woozy back then, and my moans were down to the fact that I had just realised how close I came to a disaster this evening. I mean, that umbrella is not lightweight, and if it had fallen handle first on someone's head, particularly a small child's…"
Adam nodded, then jokingly said, "I think that I might have been a little bit out of it too tonight. I would also swear that after I heard you moaning, I heard the voice of the one and only Kurt Hummel…"
Adam chuckled, and Marley did too, but only for show. She could not help but wonder if by being around her and Cooper all the time, not to mention all of the others in the West Village, and having also been close to Kurt before he died, if Adam was starting to have the ability that they all enjoyed. Such things had happened before, as in the case of Mitch and the other older Warblers, and Julia for that matter. Could it now be Adam's turn to discover that angels really did exist?