Summer in NYC Part II
As is so often the case, the summer started to fly by, as the long, hot, humid days took control of New York. By the time that the end of June came, someone was off to Port Jefferson and the beach house on a more or less daily basis, glad to escape to the cooler climes of Long Island, away from the noise and the humidity of the city. Jeff's studio proved to be a complete sun trap, and it was not only Caleb that headed up there just to bask in the sunlight and soak up the valuable Vitamin D. The hot tub in the garden of the house next door was kept cool, and the young men living there did not object if the neighbours came along to cool off in the water for a while. It turned into a party one night, after Nick had been reading up on the art of barbecue, and had obtained one so that he could try his hand. Like most things in the culinary sphere that he tried, Nick succeeded in producing food that was not too burnt on the outside and more importantly, was actually cooked all the way through to avoid food poisoning.
Ethan had stepped up to assist him with the cooking and it soon emerged that he was every bit as good as Nick when it came to getting it just right. This gave him the courage to confess to Nick that he wished that he could cook better, as he and Flint lived on ready prepared dishes, and now that they had Leo staying, he felt that it would be better if he could cook something from scratch at least once a week. After all, their young visitor seemed able to do just that, and he was honestly mortified to admit that he could do little more than scramble an egg. Nick had laughed, and agreed that he could come round and coach him. It all reminded him of the one important thing that had been absent from the curriculum of Dalton Academy in their day. It was on it now, which meant that the younger alumni could rustle up a reasonable meal, but it had left a massive hole in the knowledge of their elders. Then again, the old system had assumed that they would all marry a nice, well trained and domesticated girl from Crawford County. In that respect, Dalton had really been stuck in the fifties…
For those new arrivals in the city from Ohio, the first few weeks had been fun, with the bulk of their time spent in exploring the city better, but they had to look to the future as well. With Mike reducing himself to just partner's shifts in the very near future, and the departure of another member of staff that had now graduated school and was moving away, there had been two vacancies at the Spotlight. With Santana back, Michelle had organised a series of interviews in front of an approved panel of four; herself, Santana, Elliott and Jeff. There had been a lot of applicants, but the only one of the new arrivals to express an interest had been Skylar. They had all agreed he was perfect for the job, and he agreed a starting date for the middle of July, taking over from Mike.
Colin and Edward had also been looking out for a job, but had decided that the diner wasn't for them. They had made a few applications, and Colin was delighted when he was offered a post at a Duane Reed just a few blocks away from home. He was going to be working as a clerk, but he was in a good starting position. As his pharmacy degree progressed, there was every possibility that he could move on to assisting at the pharmacy counter. As for Edward, he had contacted an agency or two on his arrival in the city and he was finally offered the same kind of work that he had undertaken in his gap year back in Ohio as he waited for Colin to graduate. He would be tutoring in science, mainly in the homes of his pupils, but on occasion in the study at home, with his roommates permission. He had enjoyed the job back in Ohio, the pay was good and the hours flexible. It was a win, win situation.
As for Rachel, she was asked to attend a meeting in a hall midtown one afternoon, quite out of the blue. She was shocked when she arrived to be greeted by none other than Ms Midler herself. The next two hours she treated as an audition, with Rachel singing several songs for her, both from her current show and her potential new one. She had danced with a young man whose name she promptly forgot afterwards, glad that she had approached Mike, and asked him to dance a few simple numbers with her a few days before. Then they had run dialogue, and even worked on some basic off the cuff choreography. At the end of the time, she was tired, and was glad that it was a Monday, so she did not have a show to perform that night.
"Well, Ms Berry, you are certainly a young lady with a great many talents," Bette had begun, after a few minutes talking quietly with the two men that had flanked her for the majority of the process. "After all, there are not many people that can lay claim to having starred in a lead role on Broadway more or less straight out of high school."
"I was just lucky; I was in the right place at the right time. I know that there are dozens of other people out there with the same abilities, and some that are better than me," Rachel replied. "Now though, I am looking for a challenge. Tempting thought it would be to stay where I am, a new role is the lifeblood that I am looking for, to stop me becoming stale and bored. In any case, few shows run forever."
"Well, as you say, there are a wealth of other talented people out there, and we do have to be fair and see some of them too. All I will say is this; you were by far the best so far, and I think you are in with a very good shot at the part." With those words, Rachel had to be content for the moment.
June ended and life moved on with it's normal breakneck pace. July stretched out invitingly for them all; for once there seemed to be no drama or crisis in the offing. The art show at Colombia was still attracting a record number of visitors, most of them having been drawn there to see Jeff's work. On the first weekend in July, the young man in question found himself in Michelle's office, as she asked him a favour. She had invited her parents down from Boston for the weekend, and they had finally agreed, albeit with some reluctance, after she had persuaded them that the staff were more than capable of keeping the place going for a few days. She wanted them to come and see her new home, the Spotlight, and more importantly, to finally meet Ollie. Although neither of them were quite ready to make announcements yet, they had decided that it was nearly time to make the close bond that they felt with each other official. Ollie had been very keen to meet her parents, and she had a sneaking suspicion that it might be because he was old-fashioned enough that he needed to ask her father for her hand in marriage. Her parents would appreciate that, if it were the case. They might always have hoped that she would marry a good Chinese boy from a nice family, but a doctor who loved her would be every bit as satisfactory to them.
The problem was that not more than ten minutes after she had spoken to them, she had received another call from Boston. Angela, the waitress that Wes had confided so much in at the diner in Harvard had also decided that she would come to New York at Michelle's urging, and had bought tickets to come the same weekend as her parents. She was keen to see Wes immortalised in pencil, and Michelle didn't have the heart to tell her it was inconvenient. Her own place was far too small to accommodate her parents and Angela, and she did not think it was fair to ask Ollie, who had never met any of them, to house them….
So it was that Jeff found himself waiting on the main concourse at Penn Station, under the destination board, for the arrival of the train from Boston. He had agreed at once to let Angela come and stay with himself, Nick and Mike in the West Village. Wes had come to wait with him; Angela would not be able to see him, but Wes would be able to point her out to Jeff amongst the crowds of people. For her part, Angela had remembered Jeff the moment Michelle had mentioned him, and had no problem in recalling his appearance, just as she could remember the face of all the regulars at her workplace, and what their usual order was. In the end, Jeff spotted her before Wes did, and after greeting her politely, he escorted her back to the West Village.
To say that she was impressed with the house when they arrived there was an understatement. Nick had prepared a light lunch for them all, and after she had been shown to her room, and freshened up, they all enjoyed it together in the kitchen. Caleb naturally made his presence known to the new human, and he and Angela were firm friends by the time that they had finished eating.
"Well boys, I have to say it. After everything that Wes told me that you had suffered in your senior year at school, and in the years that followed, you deserve this house and the happiness that you obviously have here. You have grown into a pair of fine young men, and Wes would be so pleased and proud of all that you have achieved. Now, Jeff, I hope that you don't mind if I ask if it would be possible for us to head up and see your drawing. The photo of it in the papers was wonderful, but to actually be face to face with it… I think that when I am in front of it, I will feel so close to poor Wes again. His death still breaks my heart even now; I often think that if only I had taken longer to make that bagel, or if I had found him a seat, then he wouldn't have been on the road…" Angela stopped, her eyes becoming moist.
"A very wise friend of ours would tell you that none of that would have made the slightest difference to the outcome… Wes was down to die that day, and even if we had tied him up here in New York, and made him miss the train back to Boston, he would still have died, just here. It's hard to think that way, but it is true when you think about it," said Nick kindly. "There is no point in life in dwelling on the 'if only.' It only hurts. I'm pretty certain that Wes is still around somehow, watching over all of us as he always did; only now he has a magnificent set of wings just like the ones that Jeff portrayed him with…"
Angela could only nod and smile at Nick's words, and the fact that Jeff was nodding in agreement. It was nice to see such faith in someone so young these days; it wasn't common anymore…
They made the trip north together on the subway, roaring up the 100 or so blocks to the exhibition hall. With a certain amount of justifiable pride, the two young men guided the older woman to the one piece of work she had come hundreds of miles just to see, although if something else caught her eye as they walked, she did pause to look at it. She had a keen appreciation for art, it turned out, and Jeff was left impressed by her technical knowledge. He wondered if at some point in her past, she had taken art classes… Then they were in the exact spot that she wanted to be in. By some miracle, they had arrived at a moment when the crowds had thinned out, and she was able to stand up close, with no distractions, and just stare. If a tear or two came to her eye and trickled down her cheek unchecked, then it was okay. At her side, unbeknownst to her, stood Wes; his face was sad as he saw the pain in the older woman's eyes.
"It's like young Michelle said; it is as if he has just walked back into the room. I miss him so much; he was such a good, kind young man. My only hope is that one day, Jeff, I will see him again, just as you drew him." At her side, Wes nodded, and determined that when her time came, he would be the one that went to collect her. He wouldn't let anyone in heaven stop him from doing that.
It was at that moment that he was suddenly stuck by an idea; he was not entirely certain that it would work, but he could try it at least. He walked over to Jeff and whispered in his ear "Could you do me a small favour and leave me alone with Angela for a moment. I can't tell you why, but I would really appreciate it if you could…"
As a Warbler, Jeff knew better than to disobey an instruction from his Head Warbler, and so he made an excuse to Angela, and grabbing Nick, he hastened across the room to stand in sight of their guest, but far enough away that they could not see anything that might happen. Nick allowed himself to be dragged away without question, although he was curious as to why.
Wes meanwhile had moved to stand at Angela's side, then extended his wings to their fullest extent, as if he was about to preen them. He searched through them, and found one feather that was slightly askew from the rest. With a grimace, he plucked it out. He examined it, and smiled with satisfaction when he saw that it was marked with the red and blue bands at the end, the rest of it a brilliant white. He stepped away, and moving his wings as gently as possible to minimise the draught, he raised himself up off the floor, grateful for the high ceilings of the exhibition space. He could feel the eyes of his two boys on him, and realised that they must by now have some idea of what he was intending to do. Below him now stood Angela, still staring intently at Jeff's drawing, and if she had felt the draught as he had taken off, she was not bothered by it. Carefully now he let the feather drop, watching as it fluttered gently down to land in front of the person that he intended it for…
At first he thought that it had gone unnoticed and that his plan had failed, but then he saw her eyes blink in puzzlement, and then glance down to the spot on the floor were the feather now lay. She picked it up and regarded it with curiosity, looking around to see if she could spot the bird that had shed it. And then she noticed the two bands of colour at the tip. Her eyes widened, and she looked back at the drawing, before staring once more at the feather. It was impossible, but yet…. "Wesley?" she whispered, clutching the feather tightly in her hand. Above her, Wes flapped his wings gently, just enough to stir her hair with a draught, which caused the older woman to gasp. Her eyes suddenly sprung fresh tears, and she quickly opened her purse, before she stuffed the feather deep down inside it, to make sure she could not lose it. "Thank you…I shall treasure this always…" she whispered.
Above her, Wes blinked back tears of his own, and signalled to Nick and Jeff that they could return. It was a great sadness that she could not see him, or hear him; he had tried several times, but it just would not happen. At least now she would know that he was around, although he suddenly realised that he had revealed something else in his gesture…
Of course, after that, Angela looked at Jeff just a little strangely. She had been dazed by the whole thing at first, and it was only once they had left the gallery that it suddenly hit her; if the feather she had in her purse had indeed come from the wings of the angelic young man she mourned so much, then the only way that Jeff could have known about those distinctive stripes he had shown in the drawing was if he had seen them. The idea that Wes had actually posed for that drawing was a little fantastical, but then again, there was something ethereal about Jeff, and if he could see him, then it was equally possible that his husband could too. After all, Wes had been so close to his boys, and maybe for them at least, he had never truly left.
By the time that they reached the Spotlight, and Angela was being warmly welcomed by Michelle, she had convinced herself that they could see him. She had suddenly recalled what Nick had quoted from a very wise friend of ours about Wes' death. She had thought at the time that it was the kind of thing Wes would have said himself, and now she was certain that he had said it to them. He had always been more of a protective big brother to his friends than anything else… The question was that if these two boys could see him, then how many others in that close circle of friends shared that privilege?
Then she remembered something else. How on his visit to Boston on the anniversary of Wes' death last year, Thad had asked her for an extra breakfast bagel, done just the way that Wes had liked it. He had claimed it was for the homeless man outside, but what if… No, that really was too fantastical; Thad being able to see and hear him was fine, but the idea that he would be able to eat food that Thad had passed to him was just a bit too much. She hoped that he could see him though; it would be some kind of consolation for the poor boy that had finally had the love he had always felt reciprocated, only to have it snatched away from him by the cruel hand of fate only a few hours later…
After Angela had been introduced to Michelle's parents, and to Elliott, Sam and to Beats again, all three of whom were on shift she took a seat. She sat there and listened as the two young men that she had arrived there with jumped up on the stage, and began to sing their hearts out, making the room smile both with their enthusiasm, and with the love that was so apparent between them. She had to admit that she liked it. Sure, they had a jukebox back in the diner she worked in at Harvard, but this was so much better. Still, she wasn't sure that she could work in a place where her colleagues might burst into song at any moment….
She applauded loudly when they finished their song, and then found a cup of coffee being placed in front of her, along with a slice of a delicious looking cake, by a young man that she instantly recognised as being another of Wes' boys. "Michelle asked me to bring this across; she hopes that you will like the cake, and that she has correctly recalled your preference in coffee."
"I'm sure that it will be absolutely perfect young man," she replied. "I know that you are one of the Warblers, but I'm afraid that I have forgotten your name."
"It's okay; we have only met once before, and in those blazers, we do all kind of blend in with each other. Flint Wilson at your service, ma'am. If there is anything else that I can get you, just say the word." With that, Flint headed back to his spot behind the counter at the coffee machine, leaving Angela to taste her coffee. It was just perfect. It was clear that the young man knew exactly how to work that sophisticated looking machine…
Whilst all of this had been taking place, Jeff had been distracted by a call on his cellphone. He recognised the number at once as his mother's and so he picked up; these days he was always happy to speak to Elspeth. "Hey mother, how are you? Is everything going well up there in Vermont?"
"Things up here are interesting to say the least, Jeff, and at least some of that is down to you," came his reply.
"Oh, in what way…?" said Jeff nervously.
"Well, firstly, things are going really well with the new land and the buildings on it; most of them are in a far better condition than we could have hoped for, given the years they have been neglected. They are all weathertight now, which is a great bonus. We've also managed to clear the worst of the weeds from the land, and in the process have discovered that the old orchard on one of the farms is going to give us a bumper crop of apples. Not of the nice, shiny variety that the supermarkets all seem to want, but we can get them juiced instead and sell that. They are going to give us a sweet, crisp juice which is the perfect combination."
"That sounds exactly like the kind of juice that I prefer…"
"So that is all good. However, now we have to move on to the reason that I called you on your aunts' behalf; Cameron."
Jeff blanched for a moment, then spoke. "Okay, so now I see why you said it was partly down to me. What has he done? Have his problems flared up and caused disruption?"
"Actually, no. He is far more level headed than the rest of us; he is a hard worker, a quick learner, and has made a number of very positive and interesting suggestions. It is what has happened in respect of Flora that is bothering your aunts. The moment that the two of them met, there was an obvious spark, and since then the two of them have grown closer and closer. I think that your cousin is totally smitten with Cameron, and he with her. Therefore your aunts have elected to ask me to ask you for more information about him. She is their only daughter after all, and they just want to make sure that he is a suitable young man for her."
Jeff stood in silence again for a moment, startled by the speed at which things had developed and reached their current juncture - but then again, he had fallen for Nick in a much shorter time. "So our Cam has fallen head over heels for the beauties of Flora. To be honest, I can't blame him. So, in my opinion, Cameron is a lovely guy; he is kind, gentle and loving. His parents are well respected in their community. Cameron himself came out in the top five in his year group at Dalton, so he is smart, and now that he isn't under quite so much pressure, he should be fine in respect of all aspects of his health. She could do a heck of a lot worse than be with him."
"That is what I told them. The way that the two of them look at each other is enough for me to know that it is true love. If it also means that we can keep him here every summer, and eventually on a permanent basis, then so much the better."
Having spent some time reassuring his mother that a Dalton boy like Cameron would only ever have the most honourable of intentions towards his cousin, and having reluctantly agreed to call the young man himself at some point to see if he would open up to him about his feelings for Flora, Jeff rang off and turned his attentions back to the room. Angela seemed to be enjoying herself, mainly because Sam was standing up on the stage and singing an old love song that must be pulling at the strings of her heart.
"So who was that on the phone, Jeff?" asked Nick, coming over to stand beside him.
"My mother," he replied. "It would appear that by fixing up Cameron with a job in Vermont, I might also have inadvertently set Flora up with the love of her life, and fortunately for all concerned, it would seem that he is every bit as smitten with her. Apart from that, he is enjoying every minute of his work and doing great things. He is proving to be a very useful addition to the team as they seek to restore all of the land that I inherited from Gordon back into productivity."
"Cam and Flora," said Nick with a smile. "I have to admit that I didn't see that one coming, but if there is anyone that deserves a little love and happiness, after all that they have been through, it is Cameron. It is just a pity that he is studying in Illinois and she is in Rhode Island. I suppose that they can do long distance and meet up in the holidays."
"I promised my mother that I would call him later to do some digging; fortunately I did tell him that I would call from time to time to check in with him, so it won't seem too out of the blue, at first… I just hope he doesn't mind me asking about his love life."
"I have a funny feeling that Cam might confide in you about it anyway when you make that call; he always did wear his heart on his sleeve," Nick replied. "If he is happy, and Flora is, then that is all that should matter to anyone that cares about the two of them. Still, I wonder what the rest of the guys will think when they all find out about it…"
"As you say, they should all be pleased for him. I would actually call Thad and let him know about it right now, but he and David are still incommunicado…"
"…on the road trip!" said Nick with a grin. The two young men left the subject at that for the moment, returning to join Angela at her table. They would be staying there for dinner; the only Warblers able to do so that evening without having to work. The others would all get the chance to catch up with her the following day. As they sat there though, both Nick and Jeff couldn't help but wonder how Thad and David were getting on on their cross country journey…