Uncle Bazzy and a Political Rally
The news of Cooper and Grace's expectations filtered out quickly enough after the dinner reveal, helped by the fact that Sam was allowed to tell Rachel. Within the space of ten minutes, the majority of the planet knew that they were having a baby as a consequence. Fortunately, Cooper had been able to get hold of Burt and Carole on Skype before that, and they were both overjoyed for them. "I think that you will be a good father, son. You have changed so much since the first time that I heard your name mentioned between Kurt and Blaine, and all of that has been positive. Sure, there was a great deal of heartache along the road to the point you are at now, but you made it through. Still, I don't envy you having twins; just having Kurt was exhausting enough at times for me and Elizabeth; and I am sure that Carole had the same issues with raising Finn," said Burt, grateful they were talking face to face, so to speak.
"It was hard at times, I admit, but all of it is worth every second as you watch them grow into adults. The memories of all of the firsts are what stays with you; they are your happiest memories," said Carole with a hint of sadness in her voice.
Cooper was aware that this kind of moment had to be hard for both of them, which was why he had discussed what he was going to say next with Grace, his mom, and his mother-in-law. "So, my mom has decided that she is going to be grandma, and fortunately, Mrs Duval has always favoured grandmother as her term of reference… so I guess that will make you granny, Carole. After all, you have both been like parents to me since the day that we lost Blaine, so it is only right that you should be grandparents to my kids. It is also the only way that they will ever have a grandpa, given that are fathers are not in the equation, and are never likely to be again…"
Cooper stopped speaking as he saw that Carole now had her head buried in Burt's shoulder, her own shaking as she sobbed. "Happy tears, son," said Burt, blinking back his own. "We will both be delighted to be counted as such. I means just as much as you can imagine, trust me," Burt continued.
"And if you ever need any advice, just you call me," said Carole, swiping at her red rimmed eyes. "I warn you now though; do not ask me to knit anything, because I am not much good at that. Anything else though…"
Isabelle called Grace at her office the next day to offer her her best wishes, and to commiserate with her over how she would feel in a few months time. "Take this advice from me; do not work right up to the last minute; plan to stop well in advance. I didn't and now I feel tetchy and exhausted all the time. Do what you can from home if you have to occupy your mind with something. Now, have you selected your obstetrician yet, because if not, I can give you the number of mine…"
The news had a profound effect on Sebastian too, making him all the more keen to be a father himself. He and Dave had drawn up a short list of potential surrogates, but had no idea how they would even begin that conversation. In his mind's eye, Sebastian could see himself and Dave with two kids, living in a nice house in the suburbs… he stopped the thought when he realised he was humming Somewhere that's Green from Little Shop of Horrors, shaking his head in disbelief. The fact remained that he now seemed to crave a family, more than he had ever imagined…
In Washington DC, his Dalton contemporary and his husband had also felt the same thing when they heard the news. They had no time right now, so busy were they with the election campaign, but once that was over, they would look at it seriously. They had someone that was perfect in mind for their surrogate, and the best thing was, she had offered her services to them without even being asked. They both knew her from college, and she was pretty much everything that they could have wished for. On top of that, she had an Irish-American background…
The news was followed swiftly by not one, but three other happy announcements. Artie and Kitty announced that they had set a date for their wedding, which would take place in St Marks Church in the Bowery, a historic old church in the East Village. It would be the first church wedding that the group of friends had attended, so that would make it interesting…
A few hours later, Colin and Edward announced that they too had set a date for their nuptials; the same date as it happened… There was a lot of concern about that initially, mainly for their safety and everyone else's when Kitty exploded, but then they pointed out that they were getting married in City Hall at noon, and Artie and Kitty were marrying at 3pm. They would be hosting a reception about 15 minutes walk at the most from the church, so there should be no problem…
No-one would ever know whether or not all the others inspired them, but later that night an announcement came from Luke and Duncan that they two planned to get married in summer, but in Vermont - and it would be a week after the others… On hearing this, Nick sighed, and remarked to his husband "We are going to have a busy old summer" knowing that the two of them would have to attend all three of them…
The broodiness that Sebastian was feeling was intensified still further at the end of May of course, when he received a phone call in the early hours of the morning from his brother. Julian informed him that he needed to get up as he would be dropping Peter off in two minutes; he was about to drive Isabelle to the hospital as she had gone into labour. Nudging Dave as he climbed out of the bed, Sebastian grabbed his robe, and was at the door to let in a sleepy Peter as he was let out of the car. "It is so very early, Uncle Bazzy," said Peter with a yawn as he walked up the short path from the street; and he was correct, it being barely 4am. Julian had not even spoken, just driven off at the full legal speed. "I think that dad might be having a breakdown, and she was swearing…" Peter continued as he stepped inside.
"People do that apparently when they are having a baby; the woman blames the father for everything that has ever gone wrong in the world to try and cope with the pain," said Sebastian. "So, shall we go and get you all tucked up in the spare room now, or would you like me to make you some of my legendary hot chocolate first? After all, I think that you could take the day off school, as long as you promise not to tell."
"Actually, I have to go to school, as I have a project to present, so I will go and try and sleep some more, if that is okay," said Peter; Sebastian just nodded, and sorted him out in the spare room, all the time contemplating the fact that he would have to do the school run in a short time… In the end, he actually had to drive Peter back home, as he needed to get dressed and pick up his project stuff; in Julian's haste to get to the hospital, such things as a change of clothes and school work had been neglected as unimportant.
With it not being a matinee day, Sebastian was not due to go to be in work until after 5pm; Dave made arrangements that he would be home for 3.30pm, so that he could look after Peter. Julian sent the first of what would be a stream of texts just after his brother had dropped his son at school; it basically said that all was well, but he was stressed out, and was Peter okay? When he heard that his son had actually gone into school, he was impressed, confiding in his brother that he would have used it as an excuse for a day off when he was his son's age, and Sebastian had to admit that in the circumstances he would have done so too.
It was just after 1pm when the message came that everyone had been waiting for; 'I've got a little girl, Bazzy. She looks like her mom. My daughter is as perfect as Peter was when he was born. We have already decided on her name, so little Sienna is looking forward to meeting her uncles and her brother. Could you bring Peter to the hospital from school?'
Sebastian sent his brother a reply, congratulating him and Isabelle, and then called Dave to advise him of the change to their plans. In no time he was back outside the school, waiting for his nephew to emerge. He ran straight over on seeing Sebastian there, and announced excitedly, "My project went really well! My partner and I got an A+ for it, and we will be presenting it to the whole school next week! Dad will be really pleased, if he notices…"
"Now, don't even think that he won't, Peter," said Sebastian with a sigh. "We went through all of this at the start of the year, and nothing has changed since then."
"My friend told me that when his mom had a new baby, he was ignored all the time, and wasn't special to them anymore."
"Some parents can be like that, but your dad and Isabelle aren't. if he didn't care about you, would he have asked me to come here and get you, so that we can go to the hospital to meet your new little sister?"
"A sister! Uncle Bazzy, that is awful! Everybody love little girls more, they always do!" cried Peter in despair.
"I admit that is true, but do you know who little sisters love the most? Their big brothers. You will be her hero…" Peter looked at his uncle with a degree of scepticism, but he said no more about the subject, just climbed into the car. The drive to the hospital was made in silence, not even any of the usual questions that Peter always seemed to have. Having found a convenient space in the lot, Sebastian let Peter get out first, and discreetly sent a message to his brother. 'We are here. Some people are not that thrilled about this, as all his fears of rejection have resurfaced thanks to some so called friend at school. Please ask him how his project went!'
Sebastian was glad to see that his brother had paid attention and taken the words of his message to heart. Julian pulled his son into his arms the moment that he saw him, and asked how his day had gone at school. He was tired, but his face lit up when he heard about his son's grade. Then it was time for the make or break moment… "Shall we go and see Isabelle and your sister now?"
"I guess…" came the non committal response.
"Isabelle is dying for you to come and meet Sienna. She said to me after she had her that all her life, the most important person to her was her big brother; and she is so glad that her daughter will have a big brother too. As for me, you will always be my son, and my eldest child, and I will never stop loving you, or love you any less than I always have…"
"Okay, so can we skip the emotional stuff and go and see them? Her new uncle is kind of on the clock here for work…" said Sebastian. His false tetchiness made Peter giggle, and left Julian rolling his eyes, but with a grin on his face…
The small group made their way to the room Isabelle was in; Julian paused at the door and knocked, just in case a doctor or nurse was checking something and it was not an opportune time. On hearing no instruction to the contrary, he entered with his son at his side, and stopped at the sight that greeted him. His wife was sitting up with a smile on her face, and her hair tied back; it was not the style she usually wore it in, but practicality had to overrule fashion sometimes, even for the online editor of Vogue. She looked radiant, having recovered from the strains of childbirth quicker than she had expected. Cradled in her arms was a tiny bundle which he knew contained a child that was every bit as perfect as her mother…
Isabelle smiled at her husband, but did not address him, instead focusing her attention on her stepson. "Hello, Peter. I hope that being woken up so early this morning didn't spoil your day at school, especially as you had your big project to present."
"No, it didn't; I managed to do everything right, and in the end we got an A+."
"I never had any serious doubts that you would get that mark, given how hard you've been working. You must get your intelligence from your mom, as it certainly isn't from your dad," she replied, and Peter laughed as his dad pretended to take umbrage at what she had just said. "So, would you like to come over and meet your little sister? She is tiny, but do you know, the moment that she came along I found that the amount of love I had available to give had just doubled in size. I guess that it has to so that I can love both of my children every bit as much…"
Peter let go of his father's hand, and at Isabelle's behest, went to sit on the bed next to her. "Now Sienna, this young man is one of the bravest people that I know. He also happens to be your big brother, so you have got really lucky there…" Peter blushed at Isabelle's words as he stared down at the new arrival, and all the worry that he had felt began to vanish. She was beautiful, and at that moment, her little eyes seemed focused on him. All at once he began to feel so much affection for her, so tiny and yet so perfect. He was falling in love with his little sister….
He did not notice Sebastian making his way over and looking over his shoulder, nor did he see the big smile on his uncle's face. "Jules was right, she does take after you, Isabelle - the world should be grateful for that fact… Now, I would love to stay here and let her cast the same spell on me she has cast on her big brother, but I should be heading off to work, just in case there is an issue with the trains; also, if I stay here much longer I might give in to my urge to keep her, as my broody feelings seem to have come into overdrive, and right now, I just want a child of my own…."
"They do get you that way," said Isabelle with a chuckle. "I have never admitted this to anyone before, and if any of you repeat it, I will deny it then hunt you down, but every time someone brought a baby into the office for the last five years or so, I wanted one of my own. Your brother arrived at just the right moment, and I knew he was perfect father material from the moment we met. Then, the first time that I saw little Wesley, I knew that it was time, because like you, I wanted a child so much, and I wanted to give Peter a proper family. Being an only child is okay, but having siblings just makes it so much better…"
"Most of the time," replied Sebastian. "I never realised how much I loved Jules until he was gone. Making the decision that I needed to get him back into my life was the best thing that I ever did, bar marrying Dave…"
"Okay, okay, enough of the schmaltz," said Julian, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "There is something that I need you to do for us before you leave, little bro…"
Two minutes later, everything was ready. If a nurse had walked into the room, they would probably have had a fit. Julian was up on the bed beside his wife, and sitting between them was Peter, holding his little sister in his arms. He had been petrified when his dad had suggested it, but once he was up on the bed, and Sebastian had shown him how to hold his arms, and had then helped Isabelle pass Sienna to him, he had calmed a little… He was still sat rigid though, not daring to move in case he dropped the precious bundle in his arms. Sebastian shook his head as he took the pictures, firstly on a proper camera, and then on first his own, and then Julian's phone.
Dave arrived just as he took the final one, and that meant that a minute later he found himself standing with Sienna in his own arms, as Dave looked over his shoulder. "So, when are we having one of our own," Dave whispered as he stared down like his husband at the tiny human in his arms.
"If you are ready, then so am I. We just need to find someone that can act as our surrogate. Also, I don't care which one of us is the father; I will love your child every bit as much as I would love my own."
"Likewise… Well, there is someone at my work that has offered to do it, if we ever considered it, and you do know her… Maybe next week we could invite her to dinner and have a formal chat?" Sebastian looked at Dave as he said those words, and then nodded, his heart racing. This could be the first step towards having a little family of his own…
The news that Sebastian had a niece spread reasonably fast, most finding out from the picture of himself and Dave with her that he posted for friends only on Facebook. The rest of the world found out through Vogue, which broke the news on its website, with Isabelle and Julian's permission, about two hours later, starting a veritable tsunami of congratulatory messages to the hospital, as well as on social media. Gifts were also despatched, many of them from firms that wanted their baby goods and clothing mentioned in the pages of the magazine. They were wasting their time, as Isabelle had already decided that she would not accept any of those items personally, instead directing that they be put aside by the hospital for charity donation. She and Julian could afford to buy anything that their daughter needed after all.
Eventually Julian was prevailed upon to go home and rest, thus relieving Dave of his babysitting duties with Peter. It also paved the way for a visitor that had been dying to make an appearance for hours. Isabelle was half asleep when she felt the draught, but sat up just in time to witness the expression on Kurt's face when he saw Sienna properly for the first time. He turned to his former mentor, all smiles, and said, "I wanted to be here hours ago to say hello, but that husband of yours just wouldn't leave! I could have come for a look, granted, but I would not have been able to ask you how you are feeling…"
"To be honest, I feel tired, and there is still a little bit of pain, but it was not the horror story that some people related to me. It is just such a shame that Julian and Peter can't see you like I can…"
"Hmm, your husband maybe can't, but I wouldn't bank on Peter not being able to. We think that he might have seen David Thompson's late big brother when he was trapped in the wreckage of his home in L.A. Whether that was a stress related one off, or the start of something more permanent we aren't certain. We could test it out, but we are biding our time for that one."
"I understand; too much still after everything else… Which raises the question, what about this little one? Will she inherit the ability from me?"
"Certainly little Wes has from his parents, so maybe; I can make no promises that this beautiful little girl has that power. I hope that she might, and then, if Peter does too, it gives us the right to work on sorting out your husband. Anyway, just so that you know, I am obviously her guardian angel. I will do my best to protect her, always. Now, you get some sleep; I can keep an eye on things round here for a bit." Isabelle nodded at Kurt, laid back on her pillow and closed her eyes; she was soon fast asleep, knowing that she had left an angel to guard over her daughter.
By the time that Isabelle was discharged from hospital and had settled in at home with her daughter, the focus of the world's media had returned once more to the White House, where things had taken an even more bizarre turn than they were all used to by now. As had been rumoured for a while, now that the President had gathered a reasonable number of backers for his candidacy for a second term, he announced to the world that he was sacking Mike Pence as his Vice President for his second, and even more glorious term, and would be replacing him with someone more well known. The shock was that it was not Kanye West….
Instead, he had chosen Roseanne Barr.
To say that it was a shock to political commentators was an understatement, and the reaction of the Republican party was not much better. The media had a field day, stating that whilst a music star as Vice President would have been bad, he at least had a plethora of charity work behind him; all Roseanne had was a comedy show, and a career disaster caused by some unfortunate comments on Twitter. Still, there at least she had something in common with the occupant of the White House… In one state, the senior Republicans found themselves deluged with requests for a rerun of the caucuses, as they no longer wished to back Trump for President; other states waited to see what would occur there. Meanwhile, the polling predictions for the Democrats soared as the world scoffed and shook its head in disbelief.
For Saturday Night Live, the news was a gift, with Stephen Baldwin appearing on a ratty old couch in a suburban home next to a Roseanne that was a grotesque caricature of the lady in question. At home in Washington DC, Trent and Rory howled with laughter as it went on, including a guest appearance from Laurie Metcalfe, straight from the stage she was sharing with Sebastian. The critics agreed that the high point was the fact that the actress portraying Ivanka changed halfway through the sketch, before changing back at the end…
They knew that this would give them plenty of material for Burt's campaign speeches, particularly the one that he was due to be making in Lima in just a few days time, where he would be joined in the auditorium at McKinley by a special guest speaker. Their identity was yet to be announced to the world at large, but they knew that it was to be none other than Joe Kennedy III. It would be quite a coup for both Burt and Lima to have the future President giving a speech. Some of their friends had pointed out that referring to him as such was a trifle premature, and could be tempting fate, but given how the tide was turning, maybe this time it wasn't. Burt for one knew that it wasn't, but he had said nothing to his two assistants. They were stressed enough as it was without knowing that there would be an announcement made that night which had meant he had been forced to organise more security than usual…
The first indication that any of them had that something big was about to happen was when most of the television networks announced that they would be giving live coverage of the Democrat rally in Lima, Ohio that evening. Nick had paused as he ate his breakfast on hearing that, and made a mental note that he had to be home in time to see the coverage, as there was no way they would be going there unless something big was going to take place. For a moment he considered sending a message to Trent, to ask him what he knew, but he left off in the end, deciding that his friend would be busy enough with all his preparations without him adding an extra layer of stress…
In Ohio itself, Thad heard the statement and smiled; he had already planned to attend the rally that evening in support of Burt; now he had the opportunity to embarrass his father again by appearing live on another election show, as he had done in 2016 when Sue had been elected for Westerville. Even better was the fact that this time it was an openly Democrat event. He was being joined that evening by Jeff's cousin Dylan, which did make him kind of a third wheel; his fellow Dalton teacher had started dating a Democrat staffer, who just happened to be one of the Biology teachers at one of the high schools in Columbus. She had happened to volunteer to assist in Lima, so would be at the meeting with them…
Sue Sylvester was also planning on being at the rally that evening, and she would not even be going in disguise. Her friendship with Burt was after all well known now, and the fact that she disagreed with virtually every word that came from the President's mouth, and was on the very left of the Republican spectrum meant that she would not be attacked by the people in the audience; that, and her formidable reputation sill resounded amongst the residents of the small town. Rumours had been circulating for a while that there was a split about to happen in the Republicans ahead of the election, and Sue would be one of those that would try and distance themselves from the toxin that was the current President…
By the time that the debate began, the auditorium at McKinley was full and standing. Journalists were jockeying with the locals for position at the front, but Thad and Dylan had arrived early, and had refused all offers to move from their coveted front and centre position. They had been joined by the Schuesters and Coach Beiste, who had arrived just before the place was swamped. It was Emma that noticed Sue lurking in the shadows, just as she had done back in the early days of Will's attempts to restart the New Directions. She had then surprised everyone by using that knowledge to get rid of a journalist that had decided to stand right in front of them and refused to move. She had announced that Sue was present in a loud voice, and the journalist, sensing a scoop, had haired off to try and get an interview.
Amongst the local media, Rod Remington was in his element, with the presenter that had been sent from the network headquarters in New York not having showed by the time they were due to go live. That meant that he had to reluctantly step in and host the show as it went coast to coast; he had even agreed that his co-anchor on the news, Andrea, should join him later, once she was sure that the bitch from the coast was securely locked away and could not escape… Jacob Ben Israel was also there, and had scooped an interview with Burt and Carole earlier, asking them for their thoughts on the recent announcements from the Republican Party. Burt had stayed deadly serious throughout, resisting the temptation to do what Sebastian's current co-star, Laurie Metcalfe, had done in her first interview about it. After all, he was a serious politician, and he could not get away with laughing hysterically about the idea for a full five minutes…
Behind the scenes, Trent and Rory were waiting nervously outside for the arrival of the guest speakers; they were being flown in from out of town on separate flights, and would be arriving at McKinley in separate cars. The first arrived, and they both managed to overcome their nerves and act professionally in greeting Congressman Kennedy. They checked he was okay before they delivered him into the hands of a staffer, who just so happened to be Dylan's girlfriend. It was the arrival of the second car that would blow their minds….
In New York, Nick and Jeff had been joined on the sofa in front of the television by Mike and Tina, and they were all glued to the rally. The setting was familiar to them all, as were some of the faces in the front row, and they had all laughed when Thad had waved at the camera and moved the words 'Hello Dad!' as it settled on him. The speech that Burt was making came straight from the heart, his thoughts having been moulded by his two assistants into perfect political prose. "I sometimes think that it is a pity that Burt won't run for President," remarked Tina. "He is so inspirational and what he says is just plain common sense."
"That is probably the argument that Burt would use as to why he could never run for the Oval Office; he would find it hard to deliver the stuff that sometimes a President has to say for the good of the nation," Mike replied. "Anyway, I think that with Kennedy getting the nomination, everyone is quite pleased."
"It does seem that he has the vision for the future that this country needs," agreed Jeff.
"Speaking of him…" said Nick suddenly, and there was a collective gasp from the other three as the man himself stepped out on the stage next to Burt to tumultuous applause from the shocked crowd. They all laughed as the camera once more panned back along the audience and captured Thad screaming and clapping wildly like a girl at a boy band gig.
Then the crowd fell silent at Burt's behest, and in New York too there was suddenly no noise, as they all wanted to hear the man's words. "Thank you Burt for that welcome, and indeed, thank you Lima. I am here tonight not only to thank you for your support for my nomination, but to finally confirm the name of my running mate. Unlike some, ladies and gentlemen, I have not chosen a female comic to stand with me to run this country. However, I have chosen someone well known, someone that has the necessary dignity and common sense to help turn this nation back into what it should be; she is, after all, a first lady… Please welcome to Lima the future Vice President of the United States, Michele Obama…"
As the crowd in the auditorium in Lima went wild as they watched the lady in question, with her husband at her side, stroll out onto the stage, those watching on television across the nation sat in a mixture of shock, surprise and delight. As the camera once again panned across the audience, the whole world caught a glimpse of Thad Harwood, grinning from ear to ear, jumping up and down in delight at the news, not that he seemed out of place at all in the jubilant crowd. Nick and Jeff saw him in New York, and burst out laughing, not that they weren't nearly bouncing up and down themselves at the prospect of the joint Kennedy/Obama ticket. Tina was nearly screaming at the television, whilst Mike tried to act mature in the face of such celebrations, noting Caleb looking at them all with distain. All that Mike could think was that the nightmare was surely almost over; that the country would come to its senses and realise that the current occupant of the White House was unfit for the job and needed replaced as a matter of urgency. The words 'Dump Trump' had already been uttered by hundreds of people across the political spectrum. Even Fox News had stopped bowing to the man and all he did, and that was surly a sign that his time was coming to an end….
An hour or so later, as the meeting dispersed, energised by the words of the speakers and proud to have been there at the moment that the 'dream team' was announced, Thad went in search of Trent, ignoring the apoplectic texts from his father. He was standing handing out election pamphlets and stickers at the exit door; Thad stood and waited until his friend was free, then went over to pull him into a hug. "Okay, so just how much did you know in advance?" Thad asked.
Trent laughed, and replied, "I knew that Kennedy was coming weeks ago, but it was only this morning that Burt told me that there would be two other speakers, but refused to tell me who they were. When the car drew up, and I saw them, it took all of my willpower and self-control to not just scream like a fangirl at a pop concert. Not even Burt knew though that they were going to make the big announcement though… The fact is, you and I will always be able to say that we were there on the day that they made it official; when the big change started. Now, do you need to hurry back to Dalton? I am sure that Burt and Carole would like to say hello to you and Dylan for that matter…"
Five minutes later, Trent walked in to the staff lounge at McKinley with Thad and Dylan at his side; all three stopped on the threshold when they saw Burt and Sue engaged in conversation with Kennedy and the Obamas. "She had been warned to be on her best behaviour, and I think she will be," said Carole as she walked up to them. "I have a feeling that she would officially switch sides if there was a chance that Westerville would still elect her. Now Thad, Dylan, come with me and I will officially introduce you to our three guests…" As the two young men joined her, slightly stunned at what was about to happen, Rory suddenly dashed up and handed them both a pin each to wear, with the words 'Kennedy/Obama 2020' printed on it. Neither of them hesitated for a moment before putting them on, and continuing on to meet the candidates, and the ex-President…
Their drive back to Dalton that night was made in total silence, both of them still in slight shock at what had happened. Neither of them had ever imagined that they would get the opportunity to talk to the candidates, and then to be asked their views on the state of the nation's education system was gratifying. Even better was the fact that they seemed to have listened, and taken what they had said on board. As Thad finally pulled up in his parking space in the Dalton lot, Dylan finally spoke. "Well that turned out to be quite an evening. Hannah will be quite jealous of the fact that I actually got to talk to all three of them. I really hope that this time we can beat the whole Trump bandwagon. I mean, it all looked so good on paper last time…"
"You can't really guess what folks will do when they get in that polling booth though, and that will always be the problem. One bit of bad publicity the night before and all their previous voting intentions go out the window. It was a masterstroke though to make the announcement here, in what is a bit of a swing state, even if they did do so in one of the safest seats, thanks to Burt's down to earth persona. The fact that Sue was there will be noted, and people will ask if she was there to scope out the competition, or to offer tacit support to the Democrat campaign to get Trump out."
"We certainly live in interesting times, that much is for sure. I will let you be the one to tell the Carmichaels all about it tomorrow, as I have no doubt that they will have seen us on the TV, and then will hear about the fact we met them on the grapevine…"
Thad nodded, then wished his colleague and friend goodnight as they headed to their respective homes. Once he was back in his own apartment, Thad opened up his phone, and checked through all the messages from Warblers past and present about his appearance on TV. He decided that he would reply to them all in the morning; but his father would get the image that he would send to the others that night. He took great pleasure in forwarding the man the picture of him that Trent had taken, with Kennedy and the Obamas…