More Summer in NYC Part I

After another early morning flight, the three New York resident Warblers returned to the normal tenor of their lives. Nick went straight from the airport to a shift at the Law Library, glad that it had been on time. He stopped to grab a coffee and a bagel at the deli on the corner before heading in, and as a result was a minute or so late getting in. His boss was waiting for him; he smiled, and told Nick to go and eat his breakfast, then freshen up. He had seen what had happened in Westerville the previous evening on the news that morning as the story went nationwide. The whole thing had turned into a major embarrassment for the Republican Party, with some of its more moderate members demanding that Mr Duval be deselected at once in favour of Sue, as the man was damaging them all through his words and actions.

What his boss didn't do was mention the other subject that was all over the news. He, along with the rest of the nation, had naturally been told all about what his father had done to him all those years ago, during the report, and he was appalled. Nick would find out that was also common knowledge soon enough though. It wasn't long before he saw the story on the website of the New York Times; he knew that meant their would be more coverage of the issue over the next few days. Fortunately, the media was almost entirely on Nick's side; there were only a couple of very right wing journalists that dared to publish articles in which they lamented the fact that the liberals had made an attack on a poor defenceless man who had only been trying to get the views of the 'silent majority' out in public. Still, not all of the coverage was about Nick; the female reporter that he had cast aside at the door had also earned a lot of coverage, many stating that it reflected Mr Trump's own rumoured attitude towards woman, which might explain why he was so popular with Mr Duval…

Jeff had headed straight for home, and was greeted by Caleb as if he had been away for several months, not less than 24 hours. Mike had gone out to work, but had left a note, stating first and foremost that he had fed Caleb just before he had left half an hour earlier, so not to be fooled if he happened to arrive back bang on schedule; and secondly, that the entire event the night before was all over the media. Mike continued that he had come across the footage online at first, but then this morning it had been on the bulk of the news channels over breakfast. Nick had come across well; Thad was being hailed as a hero of our times for his calm attitude in the face of such blatant bigotry and homophobia; and Mr Duval was being pilloried as the worst of a very bad bunch in terms of the right wing of the Republican Party…

Jeff smiled, then went to make some coffee, glad that he had decided to go after all. He was being kept out of it so far, but that could change, he guessed. More importantly, no-one of any worth was attacking Nick. He poured his coffee, helped him self to a bowl of cereal, then switched on the news, watching it as he ate. He was soon rewarded with a report from the meeting last night, and he watched with a growing pride as Nick stood up and took his stand. Caleb had come to join him, and was not bothered by the fact that Jeff had not fed him; after all, Mike had fed him twice already that morning. He stared at the screen, and recognised the face upon it, which made him stare intently at the image. Then the image changed and he again recognised the face. Jeff was startled when he heard Caleb snarl as he saw the man that had tried to kick him. Then he smiled, happy at his pet's reaction to Mr Duval, and promised that he would give his little friend a treat at his next meal time.

Sebastian had time to return home and change before he had to leave for the theatre. Dave was still at home, and as there was time, he helped Sebastian in the shower with washing his back… It was thus a very happy and energised young man that ran in the stage door that morning, his cheeks flushed and a big grin on his face. He was greeted warmly by the crew and a few of the cast as he made his way to the room that he now regarded as a home away from home. Jenny was there, and he took his usual spot next to her, as the clique gathered in their own corner, and proceeded to dissect the character of yet another well known actor.

"I heard about what happened last night," Jenny whispered as he sat down. "It turned into quite a spectacle, didn't it?"

"It did, but I managed to stay mainly out of the limelight, and just fix the odd death glare on my father," Sebastian whispered back. "Thad was an unexpected arrival, but he did more than Nick in some ways. He made the man seem like some kind of evil force that believes in the bullying of kids, and of violence towards them, not to mention being totally opposed to any kind of equality. Even my dad looked horrified at the bile he was spewing out, and trust me, that is quite the achievement. Then again, maybe he is just starting to regret the fact that in people's eyes, he is now firmly attached to Mr Duval. That will do nothing for his popularity; he was already a bit of a hate figure as State Attorney, but this has made things much, much worse."

Jenny nodded, as she became aware that they were getting disapproving glances from the other side of the room. "Anyway, in other news, I take it that you, like me, haven't been invited to the party that certain people have organised for some of the cast next Monday? That lot over there have organised it, but we aren't on the guest list, and rumour has it that invites to the 'Ugandans' are also on the light side…"

"I wouldn't want to go in any case, my dearest Jenny," said Sebastian in a carrying whisper. "I think that it will be quite a dull affair, given who is doing the organising. I think that I can safely miss an evening of snide comments being made behind people's backs." Jenny burst out laughing as she saw the scowls from across the room, shaking her head. "In any case," Sebastian whispered, "I actually have Sunday off to go to Port Jefferson for a bit of a house party with my old school friends; you know, a group of young guys that know how to enjoy themselves. It will probably turn into a bit of a car crash; it usually does, but it will be fun." He smiled at the though, then settled down to run a few lines as he always did with Jenny. After all, you never knew what might happen…

After all of the drama of Monday night, Thad had been hoping for a quiet day in his new home, but as David had pointed out to him the night before as he had driven him home, he had given his name and his address to the media, and as it was live on screen, to the world at large. He was therefore not entirely shocked when the first knock came on the door to his little apartment that Tuesday morning. It was Principal Lefevre, who had arrived back from her visit to France the night before, and on opening her E-mail inbox this morning, had found it chock full of comments about Thad and his performance at the rally. When Thad invited her in, and she told him about all of it, he paled in horror. For a moment he thought that he had just managed to lose his first teaching job without ever having taught a class, but she was very quick to reassure him that was certainly not the case.

"The governors all saw the rally coverage on television last night, and although there is a general consensus that they wish you had not named the school, that is out of a concern for you, and not the institution. We are proud of our policy on bullying here and what that man is suggesting is totally out of line. The general view is that you are exactly the kind of passionate young teacher that we need here; strong, committed and willing to stand up publicly to ensure that the principles that we hold dear are maintained. I also have a number of supportive E-mails from both parents and alumni, all delighted that there was a member of staff from this school present at that fiasco to stand up and be counted…"

"I sense a but coming though," said Thad, and his boss nodded with a sigh.

"I have to say that we did also receive a number of quite vile messages, none thankfully from anyone associated with the school, complaining about you personally, and threatening to start a campaign to have you removed from the teaching register in every state in the country. Those were the mild ones… My first instinct was just to delete them all, but instead I have created a folder and transferred them all there, just in case something untoward happens. I doubt that it will, but you can't be too careful…"

"David warned me that this might happen," Thad said with a sigh, "but honestly, if I had the chance to go back, I would not change a thing, or do anything differently at all. People needed to know exactly what kind of man he was, and Nick and I have certainly shown the world between us exactly what sort of person he is. I am just sorry if in the process I have caused any harm to the reputation of the school."

"On the contrary," said Principal Lefevre with a smile, "we have actually had several calls already this morning inquiring about entry this year, and fees. We have had people telling us about their sons and the bullying and hatred they are being subjected to. They are asking if we have scholarship schemes, and thanks to Wes, we do. There has certainly been no harm done there. Now, I must get back to the office, but if I hear anything else, then I will let you know…."

The first of the media pack arrived at the door of the school, quite unannounced, about an hour later. They had no idea where they could find Thad in the complex of school buildings that made up the Dalton campus, and so they were forced to try and find someone that would be prepared to tell them. The person that they found was Mrs Carmichael, returning home from the supermarket; she told them forcefully that first off, they were trespassing on private property, and that if they wished to contact Mr Harwood they would have to contact the school office, by telephone, and enquire if he was available to see them and to comment. When they continued to badger her, she pulled out her phone, and pretended to call the sheriff's office; the threat of the law arriving did make them retreat.

Having removed them from the premises, at least temporarily, she headed home to tell her husband what had just happened. He in turn had placed a call to Principal Lefevre, and then to Thad himself. They met ten minutes later in the common room of the dorm that Thad would be overseeing, as it meant he did not have to walk outside. The office phone was ringing off the hook, and the school secretary was getting tired of dealing with the journalists. Between them they agreed that Thad had no choice but to give them an interview, as if he didn't, they would have the press camped outside the school gates for days. With great reluctance, the press were allowed back in to the school grounds, and Thad, flanked by the current and former Principals, gave an interview on the steps at the main door. He reiterated his stance, but made no comment about events with Nick, although he was pressed repeatedly. All they said was that he and Jeff were two of the most loved former pupils at the school, both amongst the staff and the alumni, and that his confession as to what his father had done to him had been a source of heartbreak to them all, given how much he had already suffered.

The media left after that, and Thad breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the worst had now to be over. Naturally, there was to be one final twist of events that day. Thad had returned to his rooms by the time that the car roared up the driveway to the school that afternoon. It was Principal Carmichael that went out to see who it was this time; he recognised the man at once, having seen him a handful of times over the course of four years, when he was still Principal. Thad's father had not been altered by the passage of time. He demanded to see his son, and Aaron Carmichael knew he could not stop it happening if Thad was prepared to see him. However, he did know one thing; the father had not changed, but the son certainly had.

As a result, Thad approached this meeting with his father with a lot less trepidation than he used to. He stepped into the room, and was immediately greeted by a raised voice. "Have you any idea what your actions last night have done to your family, Thaddeus? All day I have had to sit and endure patients talking about nothing else! Yes, you did take a valid stance, but you have affected the lives of all of us with what you did. It was highly embarrassing to watch you taking part in that public spectacle, and siding with that awful woman…"

"Well if I caused you and your wife to squirm, sir, I do apologise," Thad said, interrupting his father mid flow. "I am sorry if my speaking the truth caused you a degree of discomfort. I am afraid that I always will speak my mind, and tell the truth, so you may have further discomfort in the future. If that is all, then I will not keep you any longer; I am sure that as always, your patients are your priority, and they will no doubt be clamouring to see you. Drive safely back, and my regards to your wife and family." With that, Thad walked out of the room, leaving his father in shock.

He retreated quickly through the maze of corridors within Dalton that he knew so well, back to his apartment, knowing his father would get lost if he attempted to follow. Once safely behind his own locked door, he began to think, not for the first time, how one thing that a large number of Wes' boys had in common was issues with their parents. Wes certainly had, as had Blaine, and he certainly did. Flint's mother was very loving, but entirely overpowering. Cameron's parents had such great ambitions for him that in the end he had cracked up under the stress and strain of trying to be the son they wanted. Ethan's parents were a complete enigma; no-one had ever met them, not even Drew. Nick's dad was a nightmare, and the less that was said about Jeff's biological father, the better. David's dad was an absentee, consumed with grief over the death of his elder son.

However, David's mother was wonderful and more than made up for the absence of his father. Jeff had been lucky to be adopted by the considerate Sterlings, a couple he would place close to Burt and Carole in his estimation. Flint's dad was cool, and Beats' parents were the most lad back and friendly folks Thad had ever met; Trent's parents were exactly the same. Nick's mom had realised her errors and had changed to become so supportive, and Pam Anderson too had turned her life around after ditching her husband, her pills and her drink. The most fortunate of them all, they all agreed, was Kurt, as he had really won in the parent stake's with Burt. He might have lost his mom at an early age, but he had then gained the loving Carole. They treated all of the Warblers as sons, just as the Carmichaels had always done too. All that mattered to them was that they were happy.

He knew that he was the black sheep of the Harwood clan. He had no interest at all in any kind of career in the medical field, and there was also the fact that he was gay. He remembered still the day he had tried to talk to his father about that; in his opinion, a doctor should have known better than to say it was his choice, but he guessed that in a heated moment, even great minds could be irrational. He did believe that his father was a great and gifted man and one of the best surgeons in the USA, but what he wasn't was a demonstrative, loving father. He was controlling. He ordered his staff around at work, and had expected that his children would also obey his commands without question. He was an outcast, and thanks in part to him, Ollie was also now a pariah. He had chosen to take the job at the hospital in New York rather than doing what his siblings had done; head home to work in the same establishment as their father. Thad realised that he would have to call his brother, and let him know that he had been graced with a patriarchal visitation, and that he had, to all intents and purposes, rejected him. His life he knew was now contained within the walls of the school, with friends instead of a family in but one case. It was sad, but he had learned to live with it.

The media had moved on to new issues in the election campaign by the following day and so Thad was able to head over and visit the Thompson's without any fear that he might bring the paparazzi with him. He was welcomed with the usual open arms by Mrs Thompson, and taken through to sit with her, as always, in the kitchen. He was immediately offered coffee and cake, which he knew better than to decline. Her skills in the kitchen were a legend amongst his generation of Warblers, with only the great flair that Nick had discovered coming anywhere near to her. The conversation that they had in that room was almost entirely about him, of course. She asked him about his new job and his plans for the Warblers; she avoided the subject of the rally, and did not mention Wes. His death had hurt her more than she would ever admit, as he had been like a second son to her. She had been forced to grieve for him in private, her attention being directed at holding her son together as he coped with the death of a 'brother' for the second time in his short life. She had found support in her faith. She did know how badly the death of Wes had affected Thad, and she also knew what he had nearly done at Dalton; David had broken down and told her one night when he felt the loss of Wes keenly. It was no surprise to Thad that as David finally walked in, ready to head out, she had pulled him into a hug. He was told that he was welcome to come and visit anytime; in fact, if she didn't see him at least once a month, she would be upset. Thad promised to try, and she nodded, knowing that until he knew exactly what his new job would entail, that was all he could do.

They spent the day going round all their old haunts from those happy days at school. They had a coffee at the Lima Bean; had lunch at Breadstix, where if anything the breadsticks had got worse; and then they headed to the Westerville Mall, destination of many a shopping expedition. They checked out some of the stores they had always visited, but found that others had vanished without trace as the retail world spun on. After that, they had headed back to Dalton, and had walked up the hill to the spot where they had buried a casket of ashes. Thad had been up once already since he had been back, but he said nothing to David about how it now looked. His friend was thus overjoyed to see how well the red and yellow variegated rose bush was blooming. The simple stone that they had placed there with his name and dates was in good order, as if someone had been cleaning it.

"Not me," Thad said as David turned to look at him. "I think that the Warblers regard it as a sacred duty to keep this place in perfect condition. Even the boys that have never met him know the story, and I will ensure that it goes on being told…."

"You know, I never wanted to become a folk hero," came a voice, and they both turned round to see Wes standing behind them.

"Well, you have my love," said Thad quietly.

"You made us what we are Wes; cohesive and loyal. We know that you watch out for all of us, as you always did, and for the school too. You deserve the memorials; you changed my life, all of our lives, for the better," added David.

Wes contemplated what had just been said for a moment, then said, "Well, okay, that much is true, but a lot of what I did was down to the boys themselves, and I did have the constant assistance of my two councilmen. You two deserve just as much credit. After all, you still have to keep their antics in check at parties…"

That thought was one which would echo through the heads of David and Thad for the remainder of that day, and all of the next. By Friday morning, the whole thing was like a klaxon, warning them of the potentially troubled couple of days ahead. As Thad drove the people carrier that he had hired to the Thompson's place to pick up David and the wonderful collection of strangely flavoured soda they had collected in Oklahoma, he was bring torn between his responsible side - after all, as Head Warbler, he had to set an example, just as he had to in his new role as a teacher - and the side of him that just wanted to let go and party. That was the same side that now had him bungee jumping amongst other things. Staying sober and in control meant he would fret and worry all weekend; not giving a hoot meant just that!

The drive from Ohio to New York along the Interstate was nowhere near as long as the last trip he and David had undertaken together, but this was also a different kind of drive; no dawdling, just speed. Mrs Thompson had told them to drive carefully, and with the food that she had provided for them safely stowed, they joined the traffic heading east at just after 10am; if they hit no snags, they would arrive in the West Village for dinner at 8pm. With the radio tuned into a station playing modern classics, the two of them singing along from time to time, they made short work of the drive; they stopped to rest from time to time, and to change who was driving. They had lunch within sight of the roaring, continual stream of traffic, a complete change from the quiet spots they had paused in along Route 66. This was however the way of the world now; the need for speed and to be there yesterday. It was lamentable, and always reminded Thad of the line of poetry 'What is the world, if full of care, we have no time to stop and stare.' There was certainly no time to stare when you were driving on an Interstate…

They managed to make very good time, and they entered the Holland Tunnel, on the last stretch of the journey, with a good 40 minutes to go before there arrival time. Thad had requested a car with a built in Satnav. He was not that sure of the roads, particularly those he would need to follow to Port Jefferson the next day. On the interstate he had left it off, but as he approached the city, he had asked David to switch it on, so that it could direct him to the correct exit from the tunnel and then through the grid of streets in the city, that looked so simple, but thanks to a one way system were anything but. David would have been quite happy to have helped him navigate with the help of a street map, but he now just sat in silence as the voice of the box told Thad to keep driving straight ahead.

"It would be darn difficult to do anything else given that we are in a tunnel underneath the Hudson," Thad muttered in response, which caused David to snort with laughter.

Admittedly, the device did come into its own as their journey neared its end, directing them effortlessly through the maze of named, not numbered, streets of Lower Manhattan. As the little voice announced that they had reached their destination, Thad pulled in to a convenient parking spot, and then the two of them stopped for a moment to drink everything around them in. They had after all not seen the house until that moment; they had seen photos, but that never gave the full picture.

"Jeff has really landed on his feet here; they all have," whispered David. "It is the archetypical New York street, the one in the films and TV shows; the one that most normal people could not afford to live in, including the protagonists in said films and TV shows. But, he and Nick do, all thanks to an evil man. I am pleased as punch for them."

"It is the kind of place that Wes dreamed of living in too," added Thad. "Anyway, we had best head in and prepare for the grand tour. I am sure that they will be wanting to show it all off…"

Half an hour later, Thad and David found themselves seated at the kitchen table with Niff, eating a plate of Nick's Chicken Curry Lasagne, and making cpnversation. They had indeed been shown the entire house from top to bottom by Jeff, and they had both been more than impressed by what they had seen. The studio at the very top was ideal for their artistic friend; the main bedrooms were sumptuously appointed; and the guest rooms they would be using were every bit as palatial. They had been taken for a spin round the living room too, experiencing a sprung floor underfoot for the very first time. The other public rooms had made them smile, and as for the kitchen in which they were now seated, well it was vast…

Caleb had made himself at home with Thad, and even as he ate his dinner, the cat was curled up contentedly on his lap, half asleep. Caleb did not like curry, so there was no need to stay awake and beg for scraps. The lasagne eaten, Jeff helped Nick clear the table, and then dessert was produced. Nick had attempted to make Pavlova for the first time, and although it had not turned out exactly as he wanted it to, it still tasted delicious. Anyone could forgive the slightly wonky meringue when it tasted so divine, David had pointed out. Caleb had woken up as his fine tuned senses had detected the presence of whipped cream, and he licked some off Thad's finger happily when he discretely slipped some to him. After dinner, Mike returned home from work, and they all just relaxed in each other's company for a while, before it was time to head off to bed. They had a busy day tomorrow after all…