Visits to Ohio.
As Trent and Rory reflected on what Julia had just said, they both heard the sound of Skylar walking towards the front door, so there was a need to quickly change the subject. Rory began to talk about how the birth of a first child changes the nature of a relationship, then started to talk loudly about how he almost envied Skylar for the fact that he would be able to enjoy one thing that he had never had the opportunity to…
"And what would that be?" asked Skylar, now within earshot.
"Being able to feel your baby kick. I was never fortunate enough to be there with our surrogate at the right moment, although my dear husband had the luck to be there once, and he said that the feeling is phenomenal…"
"It might be for the father-to-be, but trust me that for the mother, as the one being kicked, it isn't so great!" retorted Julia. "Not of course that there have been anything more than the lightest of flutters from this little one yet, although I am expecting to feel the kicking starting very soon."
"I have to admit that I am looking forward to feeling those kicks," said Skylar almost apologetically. "It will make it all seem much more real… Anyway, shall we all head in and see Seth? He has been looking forward so much to seeing both of you."
Trent nodded, and with Rory right behind him, he followed Skylar into the house, leaving their jackets in the hallway, then walked along a wide corridor to a bright, sunny room at the back of the house. Although they had climbed up steps to the front door, the sloping site meant that the sitting room opened out through sliding doors onto a deck area. The doors were open as the day was sunny and warm, and Seth was sitting by them, in his old leather chair, a smile on his face as he saw them all approach.
What struck Trent at once was how much smaller Seth looked than the last time that he had seen him; he seemed so much thinner, as if the condition was causing him to waste away…
"Skylar, come and help me get coffee and cake sorted for our guests. At a special request from Seth, I have Devil's Food Cake…"
Seth smiled widely, and said, "I suppose I could manage a slice, but just a small one…"
It was that statement that affected Trent the most; Seth's love for that cake was well known; he had always devoured it in seemingly endless quantities, and now to hear him say he would only have a small piece…
Skylar did not move at first, causing Julia to cough loudly and pointedly, at which point he pulled himself away as his wife rolled her eyes playfully…
"It is like this all the time," said Seth quietly to Trent and Rory once they were alone. "Someone said to me that I might end up resenting Skylar when we were in this situation, and I thought that I never would, because he is my best friend, but now I find that there are moments when…"
"…you wish that he would leave you alone?" interjected Trent, finishing his sentence.
Seth nodded, then continued, "I know that I need to be here, because I just could not manage to take care of myself properly now if I was living alone, but I just need a break every so often. Julia at least understands that, and when Skylar is at work, she gives me the alone time I need; he would not like that if he knew, so don't tell him! Anyway, before he comes back, I need you to promise me that you will help take care of him after I have gone, at least until I am able to come back and drive him absolutely mad with the constant draughts from my wings…"
Trent nodded, then said, "I promise that we will all look out for him, even once you are back and standing over him with what will no doubt be a magnificent set of wings. It is what we Warblers do; what we have always done. It is why we have all been keeping a close eye on you too, even if you were not aware of it…"
"So yes, the new rail network will be huge," said Rory suddenly, and both Seth and Trent nodded to him as they also heard the clink of the cups on the tray that Skylar was now carrying towards them.
"I did watch some of the rally online with Skylar, and the network will definitely be a step in the right direction to the creation of a more environmentally conscious future for this country of ours. The trains that we have now aren't all that bad, particularly for someone like me that is stuck in a chair, but it is such a slow, slow trip to Ohio from New York, travelling via Washington. The idea of have a direct line straight from New York again, with trains travelling at over 200mph, well that is quite a revolution. I mean, depending on how straight they can build the line, then it could be around four hours from Penn Station to downtown Columbus…"
As Trent had suspected, the engineering challenges of the new railroads had started Seth's mind working overtime, and Skylar seemed every bit as enthused to see his best friend so excited by something. Then their conversation moved to the gossip that was coming from New York, and the fact that Marley was going to be the newest star of Broadway made Seth smile too. "I used to sit and listen to her singing with the radio orchestra some nights, and her voice was so wonderful. I can see her being an absolutely massive hit as the world's most magical nanny. It was all quite serendipitous that she was available to take the part, although she is a big loss to the radio orchestra, now it has been reprieved. Her replacement is nowhere near as good, and the quality of the playing has deteriorated too."
Trent laughed, and said, "Well, it wasn't just Marley that headed for Broadway that week; she took quite a few of the orchestra musicians with her to the Great White Way too. I just hope that the network does not use that as a reason if they decide that they will axe it after all."
"They could try, but I am sure that the truth would out," said Julia. "It would not do anyone in the network any favours to lie." Her voice suddenly faltered, and she gasped, then continued in a hushed voice. "My word, they just kicked; for the first time, and it was strange, but wonderful too… I blame you for this development, Rory. They quite obviously heard you talking about it, and decided to show what they could do…" She suddenly grabbed her husband's hand, and placed it on her stomach; the look of sheer joy on Skylar's face as he felt his child kick again soon had the three other men in the room smiling every bit as broadly…
After that, the afternoon began to pass all too quickly. Trent kept a close eye on Julia and Seth, and when he saw a signal in the eyes of the former that Seth was flagging, he knew that it was time for him and Rory to take their leave. The latter said his goodbyes first, something that he and Trent had agreed upon when they had started to plan this visit. As he was doing so, Julia escorted her husband gently but firmly from the room, as Trent watched. Then he heard Seth speaking softly to his husband. "See and take good care of him; he is the best of all of us, not that he would ever acknowledge such an epitaph." Trent turned back to look at the two others in the room then, just in time to see his husband nod, and then with a comforting touch to his arm, Rory headed out…
"Well, it was good to see you today Trent, both of you. Skylar tells me that you will be out with the President on the campaign trail come graduation day?" began Seth.
"Yes, up in Alaska to start with, then to various other places in the west… I have to admit that it will seem strange not to be at Dalton with everyone else."
"I am not exactly sure that I will be there myself; I mean, I want to be able to go, but it is such a long day, and I get tired so easily now. The focus should be on the graduates too, and I think I would just be a distraction."
"I don't suppose that is helped by the fact that you don't seem to be eating as much as you used to," said Trent quietly.
Seth chuckled, and replied, "You mean the cake? My appetite is not what it was; it is ebbing away, and honestly, it is getting harder to eat; my throat seems to be dry so often now… So, I am treating every goodbye I say to a friend as the last one now, so I need you to just listen. Take good care of yourself, Trent. You are genuinely the best human that I know, and in my personal opinion, this country needs you to run for President one of these days. We need to start a campaign about how a name means nothing, and people should be judged solely on their character and their record now. If we start it now, then by the time that you feel ready to stand, the world will have forgotten all about the other Nixon…"
Trent laughed, then said, "I promise that I will think about it, but it won't be for a while. You see, we have already decided amongst ourselves in the party who the successor to Kennedy should be; a young lady by the name of Kamala Harris…"
"I have heard of her, and that would certainly get the Trump lovers that are still out there in a spin!" smiled Seth.
"Oh, definitely! The idea is that we suggest a nice white man as her running mate, someone like Pete Buttgieg…"
Seth laughed at how that would infuriate the Trumpists even more. When he stopped, he rolled forward and took Trent's hand. "I shall be watching all of that with my fingers well and truly crossed. Whatever else happens in the world, I want you to promise me one thing; that you will be happy, and stay true to yourself. Now, can I request a hug?"
Trent nodded, and leant down to wrap his arms around the young man in his chair, and tried not to gasp as he felt bones, Seth now much skinnier than he recalled. "You always did give the best hugs," said Seth when he let go, and Trent nodded. Then, with a smile and a wave, not trusting himself to speak, he headed for the door…
He and Rory drove away from the house with a smile and a wave to Skylar and Julia on the doorstep. They had hugged both of them too before leaving, and Trent had held Skylar a little longer than before, sensing that he needed it. They drove a little way, before Rory, sat in the driving seat, pulled off the road and parked up. For the next few minutes he held his husband in his arms as the other man sobbed his heart out for his friend, ignoring the tears that were in his own eyes. Then as the sobs lessened, he heard Trent whisper, "When I hugged him, I could feel all of his bones pointing out, so sharp and angular. He is losing weight on top of everything else now, and it is just far too cruel…"
"I agree, but at least we have the comfort of knowing that when his end does come, he will be taken care of by those that we know that have gone before, and once he is there, all of his pain and suffering will be over forever…"
"I know, but he is far too young to be going through all of this…" Rory merely nodded, and waited for Trent to continue. "So I said that we would pop in and see Thad whilst we were in Westerville. Carole already knows not to expect us back until late, and I promised Thad that I would let him know how Seth is. I might also have promised him my own opinion on how Skylar is doing."
Rory nodded, and said, "In my opinion, all of this is going to destroy him. I do not know him as well as you, but it is obvious to me that he is not going to get over this in a hurry…"
"I don't think that Skylar will ever be completely over the loss of his best friend, just as none of us Warblers will ever be completely over the way that Wes was taken from us. I know that the memories of those painful days under Hunter and the consequences of all of that will never leave me. What we all need to do is ensure that Skylar isn't left as a complete wreck; he needs to be able to live with what has happened, and use the experience as a positive in some way. I know that sounds awful, but I guess what I mean is that he uses all that he is suffering now to help other people afterwards…"
Thad was only too pleased to see the two visitors at his front door, as it gave him an excuse to put aside his marking for a short while. Rory offered to make coffee for them all so that Thad could sit and listen to Trent. The main subject of concern for Thad was the fact that Seth appeared to be rapidly losing weight.
"I haven't had the chance to get over to Skylar's for the last couple of weeks, and nobody has mentioned this until now. I do miss getting all of the information that I used to from Ollie, and in hindsight maybe I should have asked that Hayden should do something similar. I suspect that the person that gets the best information now is Julia. As for Skylar, I agree that he needs to start being a bigger area of concern for us all. Much as we would like to, there is nothing that we can do for poor Seth now; he will pass away, regardless of whatever actions we undertake. We need to work together to ensure that Skylar is supported through his unavoidable grief, and for that he does need to have a new purpose given to him. Being a father will help, but it might not be enough… To that end, and inspired by the campaign of the First Lady on the need for better provision of end of life care, Mrs Carmichael and I have formulated a plan. We have presented it to the board of governors here, and they all agree that it is a marvellous idea. It all centres round a plot of land that the school owns, but that is barely attached to the main school grounds, and is therefore unused…"
Once Thad had finished speaking, both Trent and Rory had agreed that what was being proposed was a wonderful idea, and that it would indeed give Skylar a new purpose in his life at just the right moment. It would also ensure that Seth would not be forgotten by the world at large. Thad asked them to keep the plans he had shown them to themselves, save from telling the two people that were waiting for them when they returned to Lima that evening. They sat and listened as the plan was briefly outlined to them, then smiled. "I will happily endorse it, and do whatever I can to support their ambitions," said Burt. "I can't say that I know the young man in question all that well, but from what I have been told by the two of you, he is a fine example of how to deal with the lemons that life throws at you." Trent had nodded at that, thinking that Seth had made lemonade constantly since he had found out he was unwell, and continued to do so right now…
The following day came a message that Beats at least had been expecting to see much sooner; indeed, when nothing had appeared, he had begun to grow concerned that something had gone wrong, but had been too scared to ask. However, the delay had been down totally to Flint not wishing to give his mother too much of an opportunity to interfere in everything, with a little bit of caution on the part of his wife. The fact that they were expecting their second child was greeted warmly by everyone, and no-one that knew Mrs Wilson well could fail but understand why he had been reluctant to come out with the news sooner. The child was expected to arrive in the middle of July, which he pointed out would unhappily coincide with his parents being on a cruise around the Caribbean…
"Why do I get the feeling that if Izzy has not given birth by the day prior to the ship docking, she will request that she is induced to bring on the birth, thus avoiding her mother-in-law standing in the delivery room shouting instructions?" remarked Trent to Rory, and the latter had laughed loudly. Inside though, he knew that if his Nana had been given the chance, she would have been there doing the same thing at the birth of all of her great-grandchildren…
The remainder of the month of May hurtled past at alarming speed, and before anyone knew it, it was the last Friday of the month; that meant that Warblers from all over the nation converged on their nest, so to speak… That return for graduation day had begun over seven decades before, and there were even now two men that had returned on that first occasion that still arrived now; well into their nineties, they were revered and treated as the most honoured of guests by them all. The fact that this year Thad had presided once again over a group of boys that had brought back the Nationals trophy for the Warblers did not go unremarked, and indeed his back was beginning to ache from all of the well meant back slaps that he had been receiving from returning alumni…
Amongst all of the happiness though there was a smaller group that knew that day marked something far sadder. Of them, Cameron had been the first to arrive, as he wanted to have a quick word with Thad alone before the rest appeared. The fact was that he had not seen Seth for the longest out of all of them, and he did not know how prepared he was for seeing his ailing compatriot. On finding Thad, he had spoken at once of his anxieties. "The last thing that I want to do, for his sake more than mine, is burst into torrents of tears the moment that I see him," he concluded. "Exactly how bad is he?"
"Honestly? For a start, he has lost a lot of weight this month alone; his hands are becoming weaker; and he is now struggling to wheel himself around on his own, but refuses to allow us to get him a motorised chair. He is more prone to fits of anger, to being frustrated with himself and the world at large now, but that is quite understandable in the circumstances. As for bursting into tears, don't worry about that. As I say, the change is marked even in the last couple of weeks. He is not the young man that left New York in the middle of last month now. If you do cry, then I expect you will find yourself in good company…"
Cameron nodded, then asked, "Given that, how is Skylar doing? Is he managing to cope with it all?"
Thad thought for a moment, then said, "He is doing a good job of putting up the brave front we all imagined he would, but he is fragile, and when the end does come, then he is going to fall apart; how far will be down to all of us. Fortunately, he has Julia to help keep him strong, and of course, impending fatherhood. Whether he will enter that state before or after Seth passes is up for debate, but I hope that he does not become a father until after Seth passes away…"
Cameron looked shocked at that statement, given that he knew that Skylar and Julia's child was due to be born in about 12 weeks time. "I know what you are thinking," said Thad quietly, "and whilst I may seem quiet callous and cavalier to suggest such a thing, we have to look at the facts. When Seth dies, it is inevitably going to shatter Skylar's heart. If shortly after that a new life, his child, comes along, then it might help to heal the damage that has been done. If it is the other way round, there is a risk that Skylar might resent his child, as it will almost certainly steal some of his attention away from Seth, and worse, he will struggle to cope with it all the more as Julia will be less able to help him through it all…"
Cameron nodded then, understanding what Thad was saying. "I guess you have a point, but I would not voice that opinion too loudly; some of the others might find such words to be a little off, to say the very least." With that, Cameron headed away, leaving Thad to stand alone and wonder if he had been a little too honest in sharing his thoughts with Cameron.
"The fact is that he knows you are right, and he hates the fact that he agrees, my little one. Were it up to me to decide the moment that he will pass, then I would arrange for it to happen in that way, but it is not. That is not to say, however, that it is not the way that things will happen; I simply do not know yet," said Wes, who had arrived on the scene unnoticed as the two young men had talked.
Thad smiled at his husband wanly, then whispered, "There is a big part of me that thinks that I am an awful human being for even thinking along these lines, Wessie, but I see him now and it literally breaks my heart. The longer that this goes on, the worse he will become, and that will be bad not just for him, but also for all of us that care for him. Mrs Carmichael is carrying on as if things are normal, but I know that she is seeing how quickly he is declining too, and is struggling with it. It must be bringing back a lot of unhappy memories for her…"
"The problem is that no matter how Seth dies, his death will create new and unhappy memories for you all, just as much if it is fast as if it is slow. In this scenario, there is no way that anyone can win, I'm afraid…"
What Thad had just said to Cameron was not repeated by him to anyone else. He had headed out of the room in a rage at the Head Warbler, but then he had suddenly caught a glimpse of Mrs Carmichael as she had headed out quickly to her car. Normally she looked so much younger than her years, but she did not do so today. Normally on a graduation day she would have been at the heart and centre of the welcoming committee, but not today. In fact, she looked haunted, and Cameron suddenly realised that the harsh words that he had just heard had both a point and a resonance. Seth was the one that was dying, but as he did so, he was affecting the day to day lives of all of those closest to him, particularly those of them that lived here in Westerville…
His thoughts then turned to the time when his own child had been born, and how both the birth and the immediate aftermath had left both him and his wife exhausted, with their entire lives dedicated to the young new arrival. If Skylar was already at full stretch taking care of his best friend, then how would he manage not to collapse into an exhausted mess when he had another life dependant on him for everything too? He was deep in thought when he suddenly realised that his name had been called several times, and he looked up to see Mitch almost by his side, a smile on his face and a ring on his finger. The latter was a sign of his future life with Gideon, who today was at his side. His face was a mixture between awe and bemusement as he stared around him at Dalton, seeing it for the first time, and immediately noticing the contrast between it and his own high school in Orange…
"It is good to see you Mitch, and you as well Gideon," said Cameron, putting all thoughts surrounding Seth out of his mind. "So you have adhered to the tradition that on the first graduation day after a former Warbler becomes engaged, they have to bring their future spouse to the alma mater…"
"I have done, although I am beginning to wonder if it is causing Gideon to have second thoughts about marrying me…"
Gideon turned around and responded, "No, never, it's just… This place is less a school and more a film set!"
"You haven't even seen inside properly yet… Wait until he shows you the painted corridor, the atrium, the wood panelled refectory, and of course, the big chandeliers," teased Cameron, having to stifle the laugh that nearly came out as Gideon's eyes bulged at the mention of that last feature. "Trust me, this place was once referred to by a member of the New Directions as 'Gay Hogwarts' in an unkind jibe, and although not all of us are gay by any stretch of the imagination, and we are all, as far as I am aware, muggles, it does bare a striking resemblance to that fictional place of education…" he continued. Meanwhile, Mitch just shook his head, but at the same time, he couldn't help but think that maybe he had a point…
Gideon was staring open-mouthed at the great glass cupola above the stairs in the atrium, already having been left in awe by the painted corridor, when he, Mitch and Cameron were joined by the whole host of New York based arrivals. All of them, like Gideon's fiancé and his friend, were clad in the school blazer, and wore neatly tied Dalton ties. He found that remarkable, given that he knew that for most of them, it had been at least a decade since they had themselves graduated from these hallowed halls. There were hugs all round, no formal handshakes. He had been told by Isabelle that the Warbler brotherhood was strong, and resembled a form of mafia. It was an all for one, one for all institution, and by dating Mitch, he would have to accept all of the crazy that went along with them. He had been doubtful, even having seen how they acted around each other back in New York, but no he saw that it was all true. They were a family…
"So I believe that there is a new photograph finally going up in the hall of fame," Beats joked, and Jeff blushed at once. Unlike the surprise that had greeted the first announcement two years ago, he had been told in advance that his picture was to be placed there, and he was more than a little embarrassed if he was honest. He secretly wished that they had put it up, as planned, the previous year, when he would not have been there to witness that moment, still in London with Nick. Still, the photo that they had chosen to use was a good one, and well, the fact that the name plate on the frame said Jeff Sterling-Duval MBE(Hon) would make it stand out from all of the others…
"Well, I am just hoping that Thad doesn't say too much, and that nobody makes any smart remarks about how there should be a mention of a certain kiss on the list of achievements," said Nick. "Rest assured that if you do, then on my phone is a photo library filled with pictures of a certain set of drawings completed in 2014; the ones that every one of you feature in…"
Mitch laughed at that, knowing to which set of drawings Nick was referring, a set from which he was absent. However, his laughter stopped short when Jeff smiled, and said, "And the later sketches from a party at the Port Jefferson house are there too, Mitchell…" Gideon immediately looked at them all with curiosity, and decided that he would need to ask his husband-to-be exactly what the sketches in question were of…
A little while later, in an otherwise quiet refectory, Gideon was suddenly heard to giggle after Mitch whispered to him. As the others watched, Mitch whispered something to Jeff, and the blond man obliged by opening the right file. Gideon's face went slightly red as he stared at the image, then went redder still when Jeff casually said, "I suppose I could make a copy of it for you to have at home, or better yet, I could draw one like it of the happy couple together…" Then it was Mitch's turn to giggle at the way that his future spouse stammered quietly that it was something that he would need to think long and hard about…
After they had finished their drinks, they filed along to the auditorium, to take their places and wait for the ceremony to begin. It was immediately clear who had not yet arrived, but nobody said anything, as they had expected that they would be the last to arrive. With two minutes to go, the door opened, and Skylar appeared, and walked in on his own. He looked so tired, and their was more than a hint of redness around his eyes. He took his seat, aware that all the others had their eyes upon him, then said in a low, subdued voice, "He had a bad night, and this is turning out to be one of his bad days, so he will not be joining us… He still wants to see all of you so badly though, so I have been asked to ask if you will all come to my place afterwards. He wanted to be here so badly, but he is just too unwell…"