First Night of a Swan.
Sam's actual first night would come and go, bringing the entire Evans family to the city of New York again. The biggest shock to most of them was how much Stevie and Stacey had grown since their last trip. They were both now high school seniors, with good prospects for college the following year. Neither of them were considering coming to school in the city, both opting for a college nearer home. A chat with his parents whilst they were not around lead Sam to the reason for that; they both knew that their college funds were small, and they did not want to run up the big debts that had crippled their family back in those dark days in Lima. Sam resolved there and then that he needed to have a chat with Rachel, to see if she would be willing to have one or both of them come and live with them in the city if that was where the school best suited to them was; staying rent free of course. After all, they were comfortably off, and having his siblings around would not do either of them any harm. The whole of the Evans family enjoyed the show, delighted to see him in such a prestigious role, getting a standing ovation at the end.
That night he had a chat with his siblings, ensuring that they knew that whatever else was going on in his life, he would always be their big brother, and their needs would always be of the highest importance to him. If they had a problem, or just needed someone, all they had to do was call him, and he would answer as soon as he could. The visit ended the next day, as they had to get home for school and work, but they would all be back in town for the day that Sam married Rachel. Whereas this trip had been low key, they all knew that when that ceremony came, the last thing it would be was unobtrusive and quiet…
In no time at all after that, it was time for yet another opening night, but on this occasion they were not making their way to the glittering lights of Broadway, but the Lincoln Center. The upcoming performance of Swan Lake by the City Ballet had been the main topic of conversation for weeks, and not just within their own little circle. As might have been expected, Isabelle's first major interview for Vogue since she had given birth to Sienna was with Mike; he actually made his way over to Maplewood to do it, glad of the excuse to get away from his punishing rehearsal schedule for a short while. He did most of it with young Sienna cradled in his arms, as she refused to lie in her crib quietly, and Isabelle needed her hands free.
As she listened to his answers to the questions that had been approved by Ms Wintour, she could see that he would be a great dad himself one day, once he and Tina were married - and that was when it hit her. She recalled suddenly that Sebastian had once told her that Mike refused to propose until he was successful in his career, and the role of lead dancer in the most hotly anticipated ballet to come to the city in years was surely a sign of that. She did not ask him about it though, just pondered it as the official photographer took some shots of Mike, Sienna now sound asleep in her arms. She also knew that when he did propose, it would be the last such move amongst all those young couples, with the exceptions of Beats and Elliott, who had publicly stated that they had no intention of ever marrying. From what she had heard though, Elliott's little brother had very different ideas on the subject himself…
When his big moment finally came, Mike was more than ready for it. His parents had arrived in town the night before, bringing with them all four of his grandparents. Aunts and Uncles were also down to attend over the course of the next few weeks, but only those six would be there from his own family on his opening night. Tina's folks had also decided to delay their visit until later in the week, the general opinion being that in so doing, they were giving Mike a better spread of support rather than them all arriving on the same night. Isabelle would be there, sitting alongside her boss; Ms Wintour was a big supporter of the ballet, and had reserved seating for them in the best area of the house. Julian would not be with her, as he had to stay at home to look after the children.
As the City Ballet did its opening nights on a Monday, those that would otherwise have been performing on a stage downtown were all coming, along with their partners. Michelle had taken the evening off from the diner, and would be accompanied by her husband, Dr Harwood having managed to get the evening off from the hospital. Artie would be at the front with Kitty at his side, both of them not knowing quite what to expect in this their first visit to a ballet. Puck would also be in attendance alongside Quinn; his coming had surprised many people, not able to picture him at a ballet, but as he said, he was coming to support one of his oldest friends, and that was the point. That was also why Matt Rutherford had flown in to town with his wife, and he would find himself sitting alongside the airman when they arrived at the show.
Also absent that night were Grace and Cooper; as well as looking after their new twins, they had agreed to babysit little Wes; Nick and Jeff had agreed to look after the twins on another evening that week to let them attend. This arrangement had been made by Grace, who knew it would be important for Mike's old roommates to be there on his opening. At the very last minute, Trent and Rory also announced they would be in attendance, taking a final moment to themselves before the tsunami of election politics overtook them all. The level of insults in the campaign had by now reached new heights, with the greatest barbs coming from the Republican camp and all those associated with it. The dignity with which the Kennedy/Obama campaign was handling them was being noted, but their lack of response was only pushing those supporting Trump/Barr harder. The tweets that were now coming from their side were now so wild that the initial laughter at their ridiculous claims across the country had failed, as the evidence had grown that the whole world was now laughing at their nation…
All of that politics was forgotten by the group of friends that gathered at the Spotlight for an early dinner before going. All of them were smartly dressed, prepared for the much higher dress code at the Lincoln Center. For a change, Puck was not in uniform, instead dressed in a well cut suit, Quinn looking a million dollars at his side in a little black dress. They all recognised it at once as one from the KEH Collection, and worn with a nice necklace and a woollen coat, it was a timeless classic. Jeff had tied his hair back and used pomade to control it just a little more than normal, and had even agreed to wear his wedding shoes; he and Nick had dressed in newer suits though, both realising that the ones they had worn on their wedding day were almost a century old.
As they all assembled, little snippets of news emerged; the first was that the big loft in Bushwick had been sold by its owners, with the full backing of Kurt and Blaine. The market in the area was resurgent at the moment, with the reopening of a much modernised 'L' Train. They had received an offer at more than the asking price from the doctor that had occupied it temporarily whilst the train had been off; he now had a permanent contract at the Brooklyn Hospital, and was desperate to return to the house that he and his family had loved. With the sale done, they had been quick to move on and get new homes of their own. Santana had bowed to her wife's wishes and had agreed to move to the suburbs, finding a nice house a few blocks from Sebastian in Maplewood. Lord Tubbington had made the final decision naturally, and now Brittany was considering just how many cats they could have in their new place.
As for Rachel and Sam, they had chanced on a brownstone in one of the best streets in Bedford Stuyvesent, with a small garden and most of its original features intact. It was more or less a Brooklyn version of Niff's place in the West Village. Rachel had wanted a place in Park Slope initially, but Sam had convinced her that the area was pricey, and after seeing what they could get there for their budget, she had to agree that the place they had now found was far superior. It was only a few blocks from the 'A' Train, so was accessible, another bonus. True, they did not really need 6 bedrooms at the moment, but it would allow them to grew a family and still have guest accommodation for years to come.
Rachel had hoped to be the big news that evening, but then came an announcement that blew her out of the water. Puck stood up, and once he had everyone's attention, he told them that he had been given a promotion, but that it meant a move to a base in Massachusetts. It was a shock, but he and his wife had talked about it and agreed it was too good a chance to miss… He had stopped as he realised everyone was staring at him open-mouthed, and Quinn was just shaking her head…
After people had come out of the moment of shock, Quinn had spoken. "This move will be expensive in terms of finding a new home, unless I wanted to live in a badly designed base house. We decided that we needed to use our money wisely, and to that end, we decided that a big wedding was just a waste of cash, and it would be better to do it on a small scale, quietly. To avoid anyone being disappointed by the small guest list, we decided we should just do it alone, and to that end, we were married at the City Hall here in town this morning. We do intend though to have a reception of sorts nearer to Christmas, and naturally, all of you will be invited to attend and celebrate with us."
"Well, what can we say to that?" said Sam. "In my opinion, only a toast to the new Mr and Mrs Puckerman will suffice…"
Mike and Tina would remain blissfully unaware of Puck and Quinn's new status; they had not been able to join the others and instead were sharing a light dinner in Mike's dressing room. It had been a hectic day for them both, but it had been Tina that had been under most pressure in a way. With Mike in rehearsal from lunch time, it had fallen to her to keep his family entertained after an early brunch together. As neither set of grandparents had ever spent any real time in New York before, she decided that she would take them all to the Met, where she could spend time showing them the best of the collections gathered from around the world. It had gone well, but only because Mike's mom had taken her to one side just as she was about to direct them to the Chinese collections; she explained that her father-in-law took issue with Chinese artefacts being collected outwith their homeland, and so she did a U-turn, showing them instead the saved Egyptian temple and the collections of furniture, china and glass. They ended up in the small art gallery, and their feet lead them to The Judging Angel; she took great pride in explaining who had drawn it, and who the angel in the picture was.
"One of Michael's former roommates drew this, and it is now on display in the most prestigious art gallery in New York?" Mike's maternal grandmother asked in awe.
"Yes, and Jeff will be coming to the show tonight. He is one of our closest and dearest friends, and just such a talent. He also does a lot of book and fashion illustration, including for Vogue. As for Nick, Mike's other old roommate, he is now working at the United Nations," replied Tina.
"They are married, are they not?" asked Mike's paternal grandfather.
"Yes, and they are now happily raising their son together," responded Tina, praying that news would not create an issue.
"It is good that two young people can now be together and love whoever they wish; the world has changed in so many ways, often for the worse, since I was young, but this change is not a bad one. I wish that my older brother could have had such tolerance shown to him in his lifetime," the old man replied sadly. He said no more, and the subject was quietly dropped, but it left Tina more interested in the history of the Chang family.
After the museum, they had headed directly to the Lincoln Center; having settled the older people in the restaurant, she had, with their best wishes, gone to eat her own dinner with Mike. She was a bundle of nerves for him, but he seemed calm and serene. She could not help but wonder if that was an all an act; whether like a swan itself, the exterior tranquillity was masking frantic workings below the surface. She stayed with him as the make up team arrived to get him ready, and changed Mike's face and torso with powders into a work of art. Then he donned the short length feathered trousers, before they got to work on his lower legs and feet. This ballet was being performed barefoot, as had always been the case. For Mike, that had been quite unusual at first, but now the soles of his feet had hardened slightly, and it just felt right and natural.
Then it was time for Tina to go; she did not kiss him goodbye as she wished him luck, not wanting to spoil his make up, or even hug him, in case she removed the powder on his torso. Once she had left, Mike found himself alone in the room. He began to meditate, using a technique that he had been show all those years ago in an Asian summer camp by Wes, when his dancing had just been a guilty pleasure. He knew the part so well; all of his musical cues, his entrances and exits; more importantly, he had the backing of the creator, Mr Bourne. He was more than ready for the call to places when it came. He got up, and before he left, dug into his coat pocket and removed his good luck charm; he then placed it inside the zipped pocket that was stitched inside his trousers. He checked it was secure several times, as he did not want to lose it now of all days…
By the time that Tina guided the six members of the Chang family into the auditorium, many of the others had already arrived. Isabelle waved to her on seeing her, then after explaining to her boss who she was, Tina found herself exchanging waves with Anna Wintour. Mike's mom knew who she was, and could not stifle a little gasp of delight. "Isabelle is married to Sebastian's brother, and so we are quite friendly," Tina said in explanation. They stopped briefly to say hello to the Schuesters, who had accepted the invitation after much deliberation; the fact that two of Mike's former teachers had made the trip was greatly appreciated by Mr Chang. He and his wife stopped to talk, and so Tina guided the grandparents on to their seats, which were in the row behind the one she and Mike's parents would be sitting on.
They were easy enough to spot, as Nick and Jeff were already in place. She introduced them to Mike's grandparents, who all wanted to talk to them. Jeff found himself signing the back of two postcards showing his famed drawing, doing so with a smile as his husband explained what his job at the U.N. entailed. Mr and Mrs Chang then arrived, greeting Nick and Jeff warmly too. Mrs Chang enquired about little Wes, and that lead to photo being brought up on phones, as she explained to her family the reasons behind the young men's choice of surrogate in Michelle. Then as the theatre began to fill rapidly, they all settled in their seats to await the start of the performance. Jeff was in the seat next to Tina, and not able to resist, he whispered Puck and Quinn's news to her. She spun round to look at them on hearing, smiling broadly. In their seats, that look told the newlyweds that they would be getting grilled by her after the show…
For most of Mike's friends sat in the Lincoln Center that night, it was their first time at the ballet. Tina had naturally attended each one in which her boyfriend had appeared; Nick and Jeff had attended his first. Rachel had been taken to the ballet by her dads several times when she was younger, but she could not recall that much of the experience if she was being honest. They at least had the benefit of knowing what to expect, although this performance had the added twist of a virtually all male cast, which was evident from the start when the first swans made their appearance. They were good, but it was the moment that Mike first burst onto the stage that would stick in their minds afterwards; he almost appeared to glide on, moving with a regal elegance amongst the other, lesser swans, his head held high and his movements carefully judged. Not one step seemed out of place as Tchaikovsky's music played. Each scene that came was more enchanting than the last. Mike principally interacted with the dancer playing the young Prince, and his moves were every bit as exquisite and fluid as the swan's. The love and affection that existed between the two characters was clear, and when the interval came, all of them would freely admit that they had been spellbound.
At the interval, Tina found herself the centre of everyone's attention, as she tried her best to answer all the questions that were being thrown at her. A lot of them seemed to be about the dancer portraying the Prince. "He is good; he was born in Switzerland but trained in Paris. He is of course not quite as good as Mike, but he is very close. The two of them are being tipped to rule the roost here for a while, although he does have the advantage of being a couple of years younger than Mike. We have had dinner with him a few times, and he is a good laugh; thankfully he also has a girlfriend, or I would be getting jealous…" At that, Nick turned to look at Santana pointedly, and shook his head. For her part, the latina decided that the comment she had been about to make about how if he hadn't, Tina would not have minded that much was uncalled for, at least right now…
The second part of the show was if anything even better, and left all of them stunned at just how high the bar had been set on this performance. The music told the story, and they could all feel the tension as it mounted up as the disapproval of the relationship between the swan and the Prince grew amongst the other swans. Then came that final climatic scene, in which Mike's swan was attacked by his fellows in an unfairly balanced fight to the death. The drama was so real that Quinn actually had to restrain Puck to prevent him from going down to the stage to assist his friend at first; and then, when it became clear his character was doomed to die, had to hand him tissues to dry his eyes. Along the row, Santana was in a similar situation with Brittany, and was quite moist eyed herself; she would later admit that what she was watching reminded her of what had probably happened down an alley the day before a wedding, two people in love hopelessly outnumbered and therefore doomed.
They watched on as with Mike's swan dead, the young prince, guilt ridden for not being able to save the life of his love, died on his bed from a broken heart, to be found there by his grieving mother, the sole woman in the cast. As Puck tears turned into full blown sobs, Quinn, who knew the story, told him to look up at the 'mirror' above the bed, hoping that the trick she had seen used by the show in a Youtube clip would still be in force. She was gratified to see that she was correct, as the mirror changed to a screen, showing Mike with the Prince clutched in his arms, the two of them reunited in death. Then it was over, and the applause began; the first person to start clapping was Mr Chang, and he was also the first on his feet. He was not alone long as the dancers came back to take their bows, and as Mike returned, the applause and cheering rose to a thunderous level…
When it died down, Mike stepped forward, and spoke. "Ladies and Gentlemen, my thanks on behalf of myself and the cast for your gracious reception. It is nice to know that what you feel is good meets with the approval of the most important people; the audience. I am reliably informed that the critics also liked what we did, for which I am grateful too; it means that I have arrived as a performer. I could not have managed that without the support of my colleagues, my friends, my family, and one very special person - my girlfriend. Tina, I would like you to come up here for a moment…"
Tina tried to decline, but she found herself manhandled by a grinning Nick and Jeff into the aisle, from which she walked to the stage herself, but only after they had threatened to carry her bodily between them if she didn't go. She blushed as there was applause as she walked towards him on the stage, but that was only the start…. "I met this young lady in high school, and we have been dating more or less since my junior year. She means the world to me, and I can truthfully say that I might not be here now had it not been for her support. Now the thing is, I did make her a promise a few years ago; I told her that I would marry her when I was a success. Well, it seems that might be what I am now, so…" Mike sank down onto one knee as the audience gasped or cheered at what they knew was about to happen. "…Tina Cohen-Chang, will you make my happiness tonight complete, and agree to be my wife?"
Privately, many of their friends would later comment that the chances of Tina saying no to Mike's proposal were equal to those of President Trump giving up his Twitter account; Fox News not backing the NRA; or Rachel saying that Barbra Streisand was an awful, talentless nobody. They did however all note that she had developed a degree of restraint, and rather than screaming yes and then attempting to drag him off to City Hall there and then, she just nodded and smiled. Her eyes might have widened just a bit as Mike slipped his hand into the top of his trousers - most people's did to be honest - but then he produced the ring he had called his good luck charm for a while, and carefully slipped it on her finger. Then he literally swept her off her feet, pulling her into his arms and kissing her, leaving the audience cheering and the rest of the cast clapping. Mike's mother was in tears by this point, as was his dad, although he would later deny that, and nobody would ever contradict him.
With Tina still held in his arms, Mike then made his way off stage, leaving Jeff to gather up her coat and purse. "He kept his promise; he always said that he would only marry her when he was a success, and this is his first step there," Nick whispered to his husband. "I think that it is time, given that pretty much all of the rest of us are either married or engaged." Jeff nodded as his phone buzzed; it was a message from Mike, asking him to gather up Tina's things, then join him, his family and his new fiancée in the bar for a celebration drink; the message would act as their invite. "As long as it is only one drink, I don't think Grace and Cooper will object," said Nick as Jeff showed him the message, "but I will call just in case. If need be, you can go on your own and I will collect our boy…"
As it happened, when Nick explained why he and Jeff had been invited for drinks, Cooper consulted his wife, and they both suggested that they could just keep little Wes for the night, as he was asleep at the moment and it would be a shame to wake him. After a quick word with his husband, Nick agreed, but only on the proviso that Jeff would come with him as he headed to work the next day and pick him up first thing. It did feel strange to both of them that their son would not be spending the night at home with them, but he was going to be with family, so it wasn't too bad…
Their discussion had delayed their arrival at the bar, and as a result they were pretty much the last to arrive and collect their drinks. Puck and Quinn had been cornered by Matt and his wife; they had not been at the Spotlight earlier, and so had been surprised when they found out that the two of them had got married that morning. It transpired in the course of conversation that Matt's wife had studied the same subjects as Quinn at college, and was also now a teacher; as Matt and Puck discussed football, they talked about the ideas that they had been taught at school, and how applicable they actually were in their day to day work. Artie and Kitty had drawn the short straw, and were sat with Rachel and Sam, feigning interest as the former told them all about the things she was going to have at her winter wedding in December; many of those things were news to her future husband. She had just begun to talk about the Bronte musical when the door opened and Mike walked in with Tina, a big smile on his face. There was no need for anyone to clap as he already knew what they all thought…
After handshakes and hugs from his family and the Schuesters, he headed over to Puck and Quinn, shaking his head. "So my fiancée tells me that you two got married today. Whilst I am disappointed not to have been there, or even been asked to be best man, because boy, what a speech I could have written there, I am so very happy for the two of you."
"Well, we haven't had an official reception yet, so maybe when we do, you and the guys can all get together and write a joint speech as my best men," quipped Puck.
Mike smiled, and with a grin replied, "Consider that done…"
It was fairly late for a weeknight when Mike and Tina finally got home to the West Village that night. Nick, Jeff, Artie and Kitty had been the first to leave the party, sharing a cab, all of them having work in the morning, followed closely by Sebastian and Dave, who had a train to catch back to Maplewood. In the end, the newly engaged couple had found themselves waving the Bushwick bound contingent off, followed by the Schuesters and Puckermans, who were booked into neighbouring hotels. With their family also gone, they had debated taking the subway home, but in the end they had chosen to take a cab.
Back home, Tina went to make them both hot chocolate, leaving Mike on his own. He picked up his tablet, and logged in, then with a deep breath, went to check the online reviews for his show. That was what he was still reading when Tina returned, and to her horror he was crying. She placed the two mugs down and braced herself for the worst. At his side with an arm around him, she worried as he still said nothing, just pointed at a line in the New York Times review. 'Michael Chang is the best dancer of his generation; in my opinion, he is the Nureyev of the 21st century.'
"They say that I am like Nureyev," Mike said quietly in an emotion filled voice. "He was the best of the best…"
"Until you came along, my love. Now the best of the best is you," said Tina, her heart filled with pride for the humble man that she sat beside.