8. Brown Eyed Girl
Marvel gathered up the old flowers and such from Mercedes' grave and trashed them the previous day. Now, her grave was clean and clear for today's celebration. Dorian draped a new purple shawl across the stone, but not in such a way to cover up the words on her headstone. Whitney placed several candles strategically around the stone and Majesty lit them, trying not to cry. Her reddish brown hair was covered by a head wrap, that she kept trying to make sure did not touch the flames and her dark green eyes studied the lighter harder than was necessary. She couldn't seem to make eye contact with her siblings. This was the first of Mercedes' birthdays without them all gathering as a family with her. Last year had been so joyous, because all of her children AND grandchildren had been able to visit. Mercedes had made the comment, "Now I can die happy," and made everyone, especially Sam upset, even though she was being lighthearted. Wagner thought about that day, and that comment, with his heart threatening to break.
Wagner's short cut dirty blonde hair blew in the wind as he poured wine into flutes for each of them and sliced a small cake. Looking like an almost exact copy of his father, except with an excellent, permanent tan, he watched the older siblings preparing the area and his tears began to fall from his brown eyes. Majesty heard him sob and placed her hand on his back and rubbed, without looking up at him. Still, the gesture caused him to cry harder. Mercedes had been thirty five when he was born, and he had been the epitome of "the baby," his entire life. His siblings still tried to take care of him, to this day.
Being the most devout Christian of the Evans bunch (and a famous gospel recording artist) Whitney said, "Mama would want us to start with a prayer. Marvel?" She asked, hopefully. She and Mercedes had been praying for the two oldest Evans' for years, that they would return to their Christian roots and Whitney never missed an opportunity to test if the prayers had been answered…
"I don't really do that anymore, Whit. I haven't practiced Christianity in years. You know that." His eyes were damp as he made certain that his guitar was properly tuned.
Wagner offered, "I'll pray." The group joined hands and Wagner offered, "Dear Heavenly Father, we come today not to mourn but to celebrate a life that once was. I pray that we can just focus on the wonderful mother that you gave us for so many years and not on the fact that you took her away from us…" He shut his eyes tighter to squeeze out burning tears and finished, "And help us to be there for our Dad as he deals with this in his own way. May today be a day of joy. Mom wouldn't have wanted us to grieve today."
Directly after prayer, Marvel began to play his guitar and sing, "Brown Eyed Girl," by Van Morrison… the first song that he could remember hearing his father sing to his mother, as a child. He remembered watching the two of them dance together, singing to each other, with Sam playing the guitar. He was four and Dorian was an infant, seated on his lap, happily clapping and laughing as the older boy tried to hold on to him. And just as they did whenever Sam sang it to Mercedes, the others joined in at, "Sha la la la la la la la la la…" There was even a time that they watched their parents do a mash-up (something that they sometimes did in homage to their former glee days) with Brown Eyed Girl, sung by Sam and Coldplay's Green Eyes sung by Mercedes. Just the thought of that duet brought tears to Dorian's eyes – it was one of his favorite memories of his parents.
At the end of the song, Dorian began to sing "Wonderwall" by Oasis, and Marvel simply began to play the music to meet his voice. It was a song that Dorian felt because he never took the opportunity to tell her that no matter what he had done and things that had been said between them, she meant SO MUCH to him. He hated the fact that they had never fixed things. He nearly broke down at the gravestone. Marvel noticed that his brother wouldn't be able to complete the song for his sobs and took over the words for him, while Wagner went to comfort Dorian in an embrace, singing along. Whitney reached for Majesty's hands and they harmonized in the background, for their brothers.
When it was Whitney's turn, she simply began to talk, instead of sing, "Mama named me after her idol, and I remember being a little girl and thinking – WOW… Who is this woman who was so special that MAMA wanted to be like her? I own every Whitney Houston album there ever was, watched all kinds of documentaries with Mama, read every article. And as amazing as she was and as much as I know Mama loved her, I still couldn't see anyone better than my mama. Mama was like… Heaven-on-feet, to me. She's the reason that I love the Lord and I thank her for the genes that she gave me, in having a voice that others call anointed. When I would see how she and daddy looked at each other, I remember thinking, one day, I'll be as pretty as her. One day, I'll have a man as good as Daddy. Of course, I grew up and realized that Dad was never a typical man, and finding one like him is no easy task. It takes a lot to be the kind of person he is and I remember when I realized that no man that I knew was quite as good and strong and loving as Dad… I remember becoming impressed with Mama, all over again. I remember thinking – wow… she was able to be a partner to a man this wonderful and he cherishes her, everyday. I still want to be like her. How do I live without her?" She asked, rhetorically, but then began to sing "How Do I Live."
Majesty was crying as she picked up the framed photo that had been placed on the stone and held it to her heart as she began to sing, "A Song For Mama." By that time, Dorian had pulled himself together and the group was singing, but still visibly sad. They had sang it as an opening for a dedication video that Sam made Mercedes for Mother's Day, years ago. Majesty had a red colored hair and dark, doe-like eyes (like her mother). She also was short, like Mercedes and of the rounder physique. She looked more like Mercedes than any of her siblings, even though she was much lighter that Whitney, and even lighter than Dorian and Marvel. Sometimes, she could pass for white (a white woman with big, full lips and a round nose). Currently, her hair was tied down with a colorful head scarf and she had a hanky that she generally brought with her to church to use for her tears. It was mandatory today.
Finally, Wagner began singing "When I See You Smile," by Bad English. He knew that Mercedes and Sam sang it to each other at their engagement party, and upon finding that out, he loved the song, even though he only saw that particular duet performed on video. He knew that to someone else, it might sound like a strange choice for him to sing to his mother. But, his siblings knew the power of a Mercedes Evans smile – a power that would now be dulled dramatically by the fact that it will only exist in images and memories.
Singing, cake, wine, and talking took them about two hours. After that, they returned to the house, in much better spirits and still reminiscing about their childhood, their mother and life in general. When they entered the house, Sammie, Kelsey, Sam and Mercedes were seated at the table in the family room, laughing and talking. "Where have you been?" Sam asked them. "You've missed a wonderful time. We were just talking about the upcoming Zaydyn celebration. It sounds like it'll be fun."
"Yeah, yeah – it will be," Dorian said, "Actually, I wasn't going to say anything about this. I was gonna let it be a surprise, but… we changed something else about Zaydyn: The Chronicles. We made Madison a Xetygeron… she's returning in the 60th anniversary special as an awakened sleeper cell whose mission is to destroy Zaydyn." Sam and Mercedes stared at their son, dumfounded. He continued, "When I initially had her killed, I never intended for it to be permanent. I thought that I might keep her as a memory that haunted him once he came back to himself. Recently, I've been thinking that his life just wouldn't be the same, wouldn't even be bearable unless she's really in it. And, yes – initially her mission is to kill him and she's going for it, but it'll eventually be where he helps her to fight that part of herself and trains her, like he had to try to condition himself. They'll be together again. She's alive again. I thought that might make you guys happy."
Mercedes asked, excitedly, "So, when Madison was killed, the Xetygeron had her in a surrogate body and her real identity was resurrected in a new body. Oh my! That means that all the while, she thought that she was a human to keep him grounded to his humanity, she was actually still a sleeper. So, everything that we ever knew about her was a lie, or she died at some point in time before, and was replaced, without his knowledge. Oh, the potential, Sam. You could be real creative."
"Does she look the same when she returns?" Sam asked, hoping that his character could be salvaged in some type of way, now that she was being brought back.
The son shrugged his shoulders and said, "For the most part. She's got silver hair, now and she wears one of those Xetygeron-hunter suits – black, silver and purple." Dorian rocked sideways a little and sighed, "So… what you do and Mom have to say about that?" He wondered.
Sam looked over at Mercedes, then replied, "I would be happy to just get the first print of the issue, but Mercy wants me to be involved with the development of the restructuring of the Madison character."
"Sure!" Dorian said and waved a hand. "That's not an issue, at all."
Sam and Mercedes walked up the hallway of Borderline Comics Headquarters, making comments on all of the different decorations and collector's items that Sam had put into the place. When he began to make the money to do so, he purchased all types of movie memorabilia and fan favorite merchandise. He indulged in cosplay, for a time, and attended a slew of conventions that he never had the chance to visit as a child. His children wouldn't be so deprived. The family went to at least one per year, for fun (several more because of his work.
The couple stopped at a photo of them from Halloween one year – he was Nightcrawler and she was Storm. Eleven year old Marvel was Wolverine. Seven year old Dorian was Cyclops. Six year old Whitney was Rogue and four year old Majesty was Jubilee. The couple looked at each other and said, "That's when we made Wagner!" Then, they started laughing and Sam asked, "We did not tell him why we named him that, right?"
Mercedes looked at him seriously and asked, "Are you kidding me? Of course not! How would it even sound, 'The night you were conceived, your dad was dressed like Nightcrawler, but we have a Kurt in our social circle, so we named you Wagner'?" They began laughing again. Then she looked at the photo again and asked, "Do we have one of these at home?"
"I'm sure that we do. I hardly ever kept any original photos here. This one's more than likely an enlarged copy. I'm trying to remember where I have any of our other Halloween or Comic-Con photos in this place. Most of them were in the hallway leading to my office and most of the rest were actually inside of the office, bordering the walls of my workspace."
"They've probably been moved around. Ask D.C." She said.
He smiled and told her, "You haven't called him that in years."
"I was waiting for him to try to do right by the man that taught him and gave him everything and more," she said and pointed further down the hallway. "I think that's the one of us Star Trekked." They came to a photo of Spock Sam, Uhura Mercedes, thirteen year old Marvel McCoy, nine year old Dorian Scotty, eight year old Whitney Nurse Chapel, six year old Majesty Yeoman Rand, and the one year old Wagner was dressed as Captain Kirk. "These bring back so many memories!" She squealed and Sam could swear that all the light in the world came from her face.
"There's a Star Wars one somewhere, too, Princess Leia." he reminded her. "Hell, there's also The Matrix…"
"I rocked that Niobi costume," Mercy said.
"Bleach…" He listed, as he remembered images of these things
She cheered, happily, "I was the BOMB Yoruichi."
"The Avengers…" He said, with an excited grin and a finger lifted in the sky.
"They weren't expecting me to be Nick Fury," she laughed.
"Oh, and of course when we were House Atreides…" Sam let out a groan and leaned against the wall for support.
"Sam?" She questioned and placed her hands on his shoulders. "What's wrong?"
"My ankles," he answered, wincing and trying to catch his breath. "They're hurting."
She patted him on the back and said, "Just, stay here. I'll go get help, okay?" He nodded and bit his lip. If he tried to sit, he might fall over. Hopefully, the wall could hold him up. Oh, God! This was painful…
When Mercedes came back, following Dorian and one of his assistants, Dorian broke into a run and called, "Pops? What happened?"
"I'm not as young as I used to be," Sam joked. His face was red for the amount of energy he'd put into keeping himself from falling and trying to last through the terrible pain he felt in both of his ankles.
Dorian nodded and said, "I know that you hate for people to help you with stuff, but I'm gonna pick you up, okay? I'm gonna place you in a seat so you don't hurt yourself, walking." Without Sam's permission, Dorian gently hoisted him off of his feet and carried him to the nearest chair that he could find. "I'm gonna have my assistant try to find you a scooter. Seeing you like that scared the hell out of me."
Sam sniffled and covered his mouth with one of his hands. "I'm so embarrassed."
Dorian kneeled in front of his father and said, "Hey, hey… don't be embarrassed. This is nothing to be embarrassed about. Your body isn't what it used to be and you have some pain. There is nothing wrong with your own son helping you, Pops." He slapped him on the arm and smiled a smile like his mother's and said, "let me see about getting you that scooter." After moments, he was off again, talking to his assistant. "I don't care how you have to do it – the best and most comfortable one that you can find and while you're at it, call my niece for his medicine and get her to contact his doctor." He shivered and admitted, "I am SO glad that I was coming this way when I was!" He covered his heart with his hand and simply shook his head at the perfect timing.
Sam raced Sammie's son, Avery, at the park. Sam was on his scooter and Avery was on his bicycle. Mercedes was seated on Sam's lap, screaming "Wooo!" with her arms raised and Sammie sat on a swing, next to her husband. It was the first time that she had done something with him in a long time, but he was grateful just to be able to be there for her. Sammie glanced at her honey, Adam, who wasn't really considered that attractive to other people, but he was the world, to her, with his stocky body, deep red hair and head to toe freckles. He had been a child star who grew up to not be nearly as well received as he had as a cute little ginger, but she was a fangirl, first and when she met him in person, fell for him, deeply. Though, he now was a Southern Baptist preacher who taught seminars and wrote books. Samara reached over and squeezed his hand, "Thank you for coming with us," she said.
"I want to spend time with you, Samara. You make it difficult, sometimes. Every since Meemaw Cedes died, you've been very distant." He looked very sad to admit that. He had been trying extremely hard not to complain, knowing that her grandmother meant the world to her. She was even closer to Mercedes than she had been to her own mother. (By that time, Mercedes did not have to work or really have any other musical goals and only sang and recorded for enjoyment, so she had much more time than Sammie's mother, who was still modeling when the girl was growing up).
Sammie offered, "I promise, I'll do better. I'm working on it. I couldn't lose you, too." She said and reached for his hand.
"You wouldn't," he promised her.
Suddenly, her head snapped back to Sam and Avery. "Did you hear that?" She asked and got up off of the swing.
"Hear what?" Adam asked.
"Avery talking to Meemaw…" she said and stared at the boy, lifting something to the sky and talking, very animatedly to nothing there. She had not gotten around to explaining Meemaw's absence to him. She had only told him that Meemaw was gone to another place and that he would see her again, someday. She barely knew how to deal with the death, herself. She wasn't going to try to make her five year old try to deal with it, too. "Avery's… he's talking to Meemaw…"
"Sammie, Avery's five. Grandpa Sam probably told him that Meemaw's there and as a five year old child, Avery responded the same way that he would if they were playing Cowboys and Indians." She did not look his way. She was too busy looking at her son interacting with invisible Mercedes. "Samara, don't make yourself crazy over this. Your grandmother is not actually here. You don't even believe in the possibility. If she's anywhere, she's in Heaven, watching them play."
Sammie blinked her eyes and laughed at herself. "Let's take them out for ice cream."
Sam settled himself on his chair and Avery went to sit on his lap. "Avery – don't sit in Great-granddaddy's lap," Sammie tried, but Sam waved her off.
"We're having ourselves a boy's night out. Mercy insists that he sleeps here tonight. You'll be back in the morning, anyway. And, the nurse will be here before you even make it back."
He tickled the boy who, laughed, kicked his feet and cried, 'Make him stop, Meemaw Cedes!"
Sam stopped and said, "Your granny saved you this time."
"G.G. Sam, can we listen to some of Meemaw's songs?" the boy asked.
"Yes, we sure can!" Sam cheered, delighted.
Sammie offered, "I'll put something on."
"No need, Mommy. Meemaw says that she'll do a live performance," Avery told her, with bright, wide brown eyes. He said it like it was the truest thing in the world, shut his eyes and added, "I love Meemaw's voice."
"Me too, Boy," Sam said and hugged his great grandson tighter as they both listened to Mercedes sing.
Sammie kissed both of them on the head and glanced around the room. "See you tomorrow, Meemaw Cedes," she said. Even though she did not see the woman waved her little fingers at her, while not missing a breath on her song. But, Sam did. Sam certainly did.
She wore a dazzling silver gown, with purple accents in her jewelry and purple undertones in her hair. Her album "With a Purple Passion" was nominated for Best R&B Album, her song "How You Do This To Me" was nominated for Best R&B Song, and Mercedes Jones was nominated for Best New Artist. Sam Evans accompanied his fiancée on the red carpet and looked sharper than she had ever seen him, ever... and she knew that she had seen him pretty handsome, a time or two in the past. "Sam Evans! You are looking dashing tonight. What designer are you wearing?"
"Askin' the wrong guy. I just put on whatever she pointed to." He nudged his head at Mercedes, with a grin. "If I look worth anything, this one's totally responsible."
The reporter moved on, "Oh, and Mercedes Jones! Your gown is smashing."
Sam snickered and said, "I'm dashing and she's smashing. Guess that means we match." He rocked back and forth on his heels as Mercedes, laughed lightly at his joke, then went into telling the red carpet reporter both of their designers and answering a few questions about her nominations for the night, and a performance.
On their way in, she caught Sam's arm and used him to help her keep her balance. "I look nervous?"
"You looked completely smooth, Babe. If I didn't know you, I would've sworn that you've done this a dozen times," he bragged. She held on to her handbag so tightly that the color faded from her knuckles. "Mercedes, you are leaving here with a Grammy, Baby. Try to relax." She took another deep breath and nodded her head, but she did not feel the least bit more confident. This insecurity was new. She had never been so nervous and unsure of herself, before. Tonight could make her career, or she could become the star that almost was.
"I need a drink!" She said and dug her hand deeply into the rock that was Sam's arm, anxiety flowing through her blood. "No, no… I don't. Oh, Sam!" He pulled her close to himself and in her ear whispered a little prayer, for her nerves and encouraged her. Then, he kissed her on her temple and they went to find their seats.
When Mercedes was announced as the winner of her first Grammy nomination, she nearly fell out of her seat! Sam jumped up and cheered, "I knew you had this, Baby!" He screamed and picked her up and lifted her off of the ground in a hug, then gave her a double high five, that she absently was a part of, still in shock and awe. He escorted her to the stage, not even caring if that was how it was done, or not. He proudly brought her to the steps then watched her intently as she confidently, but excitedly approached the presenters. "I love you," she told both of them, then took it to the mic.
"Oh my God. I am so amazed to have won this award. I admire and love every artist in that category and I am so honored to be up here. This is a dream of mine. I thank God for this award and for the support of my fans. Sam Evans, thank God for you. You always believed in me, this is for US!" She lifted the award towards him, then quickly thanked the rest of the people that she needed to, quickly. When she was led away from the stage, Sam met her backstage as someone tried to explain to him that there was a certain method to how winners took the stage and left the stage.
By the time she won her second award of the night, she was still reeling from the first, but just as grateful and even more thankful, "I honestly didn't have one speech perfected, and I certainly didn't prepare three. Just, thank you all… so much…" When she pulled in Best New Artist, she literally felt that she might die of joy. She came to the stage and said, "Another win for my fiance and I! He's always believed in me and he never doubted that I would be here someday. Sam, I just want to let you know, now that we've won these – I'm ready when you are." She smiled when she saw him jump up from his seat and applaud her, mightily. "Thank all of you for this, again." She waved her hands in the air and said, "Praise!"
She and her entourage (old Glee club friends and Unique) visited several parties that night. Quinn and Blake were in town, as well. There were so many of the people that she loved there for this celebration, with her, and she decided to stay out all night, until nearly sunrise. The entire time, there was never a dull moment, but as soon as she and Sam were home, she passed out and slept well into the next day.
Sam woke up a few hours after he had gone to sleep and threw together a little [arty of his own. Finn and Rachel couldn't make it this trip, and though Santana would've loved to, she had a lot going on, as well. Matt didn't come either, but that was to be expected – he wasn't as close to all of them as some of the others. Mercedes woke up to the sound of music and laughter in one of the other rooms. That was her queue to wake up and get dressed. She washed up and accessorized, though she threw on some house lounging threads.
When she entered the room, everyone immediately broke into, "She's a jolly good fellow." She allowed them to complete the entire thing, then lifted her eyebrows and jokingly asked, "I'm a three time Grammy winner, and you guys vote on she's a jolly good fellow?"
Sam told her, "I told them 'Bad Mamma Jamma' and Lauren was attached to 'Brick House.'"
Mercedes nodded and said, "Sounds great – improvise a mash up. I'll leave the room and come back." She turned her back to leave, then turned right back around, laughing.
Sam smiled at her and said, "You have no idea what you've just done, Miss Jones."
"What?" She seriously asked.
"Whenever we enter the reception, trust that it'll be done to a Bad Mamma Jamma/Brick House mash up," and he lifted his red solo cup to her and took a drink. Now, Mercedes laughed and fully came into the room to kiss him hello and to mingle with all of her friends who could make it.
Avery fell to sleep on his great grandfather, and the old man, though he was a little uncomfortable and knew that his body would hate him infinitesimally in the morning, just remained where he was, with the little guy in his arms. This felt different than when he held Mercedes, and for the moment, it was something that he felt he needed.