Mary, Marriage and Mystery
In the main body of the theater, Nick was pleased to see that now that they were in their allocated seats, both Jeff and Wes had appeared to have calmed down, although he suspected that might partly be down to the fact that his son was seated next to the older Evie, and was trying to act much more grown up; and that his husband was next to him, fully conscious of the fact that he was feet away from Mrs Mackenzie, sat by the side of Evie. Nick made a mental note to thank Drew and Ethan for sitting her next to the girl she saw as her granddaughter, as it was keeping his husband in adult behaviour…
On the other side on Nick was Trent, and the two of them used the time that they had before the lights went down to talk shop with each other. Jeff was studying the program, and Rory was talking to Dave about sports, so there was nothing to stop them. "I can tell you that in the corridors of the UN, the general consensus is that if Kennedy is not re-elected in November, then there is something seriously amiss with the electoral system in this country of ours," said Nick. "He has done so much to repair the global reputation of this country after four years of he that shall not be named. The work that he has started on climate change, and on trying to deal with the conflicts both here at home and elsewhere in the world is also recognised, alongside the things that he has enshrined in law to try and address the structural inequalities that exist within the nation."
"Well, we look forward to doing much more in a second term, and to helping to promote even more the work of the international bodies that we are members of, if we are able to do so. The United Nations, World Bank and WHO are vital if we are going to create a world in which all are equal, and everyone is given their opportunity to shine and reach their full potential. That is the major goal we have set ourselves for this country, if we do get the second term…"
Nick nodded, but a glance at his watch told him he had no time to answer; the time for conversation was over. On cue, the lights dimmed, and the first notes of the overture were being played by the orchestra. The curtain rose on a set which bore resemblance to the London skyline, and there was the sound of that great bell of the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, tolling the time above the music. Then Mason appeared, his perfect cockney tones making an immediate impression on them all, and especially on one lady that was sat towards the back of the circle alongside her husband… Mason had invited Nurse Crane to join them that night, and she had not been able to refuse his request when her husband had announced that he wanted to attend. The perfect accent took her straight back to the days of her youth, growing up within the sound of Bow Bells in a London that was so different to the one that was in existence now…
For Wes, the excitement of seeing his Uncle Mason grew when his Uncle Cooper appeared in the spotlight too…
As for Mason, he was singing to one spot in the auditorium, one that was above the audience; it was where Seth sat alongside the other angels, a broad grin on his face, keeping his promise that he would be there on Opening Night. The moment that he had seen him, Mason had been filled with an inner joy that made his performance all the better. Cooper, of course, could see them all as well, and he was suddenly reminded of an opening night of his own, in which he had sung a song that had made both him and Blaine cry, a song that they had shared since childhood. He had no time to dwell on such thoughts though, as Mason had now finished that first opening verse, and they were now in the opening number proper; the moment when Katy Nana walks out, setting the scene for the arrival of the titular character. That song, Cherry Tree Lane, involved Adam too, and he hammed it up beautifully with the actress that was playing Mrs Brill, the cook. The two children were also adorable, and full of mischief. It was perfect, more or less, in the eyes of the audience already…
The Marley arrived as Mary Poppins herself, and immediately wowed them all. The song Practically Perfect had never seemed more apt to the audience, as Marley gave them the epitome of the genteel English lady that they had all expected. Her voice was clear, strong and pitch perfect. Her facial expressions were absolutely spot on too, and the fact that some of the audience joined in on the more familiar of the lines did not seem to phase her at all. She let the rest of the cast shine too, and as a result, Adam's performance during Spoonful of Sugar had them all in stitches…
As the show went on, the worries of the adult world outside seemed to vanish; as the songs with familiar titles, albeit not necessarily with the same tune as those in the film version, were sung, the level of joy in the auditorium increased. By the time that the interval came, they all knew that this was going to be the show of the year on Broadway, at least in terms of musicals; the must see for families and the not so young alike. Mrs Mackenzie offered to take the children out to get ice cream, much to Ethan's surprise and delight; when she left, the fact that Jeff had gone too surprised no-one.
Trent turned to look at Nick, who seemed to be deep in thought, albeit with a broad grin on his face. "Are you alright? I can go and drag Jeff back in if you like…"
"No, it's okay. He is a big kid at heart, and that eternal youthfulness if one of the many reasons why I adore him. No, I was just thinking back to that first night that I returned to Dalton after everything with Hunter exploded; when Jeff was still away, in fact, quite a few of us still were, and then you rounded up all of us that were back and dragged us to the Senior Commons…"
"…and we watched the film version of this show," finished Trent. "There was some scoffing at the time, particularly from a fellow musketeer, but it was exactly what we all needed."
Nick nodded. "I left feeling a lot happier, and I recall that we got told off by our then housemaster, as we were all singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious at the top of our voices as we walked along the corridor… Oh Lord! I've just realised that I am going to have to go to the toy store tomorrow. I am going to have to go and buy a kite…"
Trent looked at Nick, and then started to laugh at the resigned expression on his friend's face; and then Nick joined in too… Sure enough, after Let's Go Fly a Kite, a voice was immediately heard pleading for a kite, only it wasn't the voice of Wes… Nick told his husband quietly but firmly that he could go and buy one for their son tomorrow, but only if Wes actually wanted one.
The show then proceeded to get better, if that was indeed possible. Marley's vocal battle with the actress playing Miss Andrew in the second part of Brimstone and Treacle had them all entranced and stunned, particularly when at the end of the song, the latter just vanished from the stage, which prompted Wes to ask if Marley had just used magic to kill her…
Cooper's pathos in the singing of A Man Has Dreams reminded all of those that knew him just how versatile an actor he had become, and that was followed at once by Anything Can Happen, which was just such a joyful number that toes were tapping throughout the theater; even the normally calm Mrs Mackenzie joined in, much to her son's delight…
Then, with the Banks family fixed, it was time for Mary to leave, and if they had all thought the moment that Mason had been dancing upside down on the top of the proscenium arch had been fantastic and amazing, then the sight of Marley soaring through the air above them, umbrella in hand, stock still and dignified, had just made the entire show the most happy and spectacular in town…
The cast returned to the stage to takes their bows naturally, and as each new member returned, the cheering grew louder. When Marley and Mason returned last of all, they received a deserved standing ovation, the applause punctuated by cheering and whistling, and cries of "Encore!" from every corner of the auditorium. Wes listened to it all, then pulled on his papa's sleeve to attract his attention in the tumult of sound…
Jeff looked down, and Wes asked loudly, "What does encore mean?"
"It's a French word that means repeat, or again," Jeff replied.
"They want them to do it again? But it is already past my bedtime!" exclaimed Wes, which made Jeff smile.
He didn't get a chance to explain further, that they didn't want the whole show again, before the orchestra began to play again, and the first strains of the song that celebrated a certain long word were heard once more, and the whole cast began to sing it, joined by the audience in the tune where they could, as it was not of course the better known Disney version. More applause and bows followed, but then it was over, and the lights came up; the cast were aware of the number of children in the audience and tomorrow was a school day. All that remained was an announcement that there would be a charity collection as they left, raising funds for a local MND charity, one which all the cast had agreed was deserving…
Mrs Mackenzie was still humming the tune of that final song as they made their way out into the street; she had a town car waiting, and several spare seats in it. After some deliberation amongst the assembled party, Wes, Evie, Ty, Dante, Lachlan and Drew joined her in the back, with Nick taking a seat up front with the driver. He had the earliest start at work in the morning, with a Zoom meeting scheduled with some of his counterparts in Europe, for 8am in New York time. Jeff would make his home with Ethan, Beats and Elliott; they headed in the direction of the subway, walking in the direction of home, until Elliott chanced to look behind them and noticed a number 20 bus approaching. By chance they were within a few feet of the stop, and so Elliott stuck out his hand. They boarded the bus instead, as there were often long gaps between trains at that time on a Sunday night; the bus was therefore possibly a quicker option, and certainly more scenic…
Back at the theater, the entire cast, with the exception of the two children, made their way to Sardi's, that restaurant of Broadway legend. Marley was the last of them to arrive, walking in between Ryder and her mother, the latter very emotional; she was even more so when all the patrons in the place rose to their feet and applauded her daughter as she walked in. Marley smiled, then admonished them all about such stuff and nonsense in her best Mary Poppins voice, which made the assembly laugh and smile.
They headed over to join the rest of the cast in the area set aside for them and their guests. Sebastian and Russell were amongst that number, as was Sebastian's 'Aunt' Bette, and her presence really made Mrs Rose's night. She could not believe that she was in the same room as such a well known person, let alone that she was now chatting to her. Ryder quickly took several snaps of the two women together, and Marley knew that her mom would wish them printed out, so that she could display them proudly at home, and post them on the bulletin board at work…
They ate well, Marley now feeling hungry, then joined in with the conversation. She noticed as she talked that Sebastian was checking his watch, and then saw Cooper do the same thing; when Mason did the same, she asked, "Do the three of you have somewhere that you need to be?"
Her two co-stars just smiled at her, and the answer came from Sebastian's lips. "The days when theater folk waited anxiously for the relevant edition of The New York Times et al to arrive on the newsstand in the morning are over now. Today we just wait impatiently for 10.30pm, when the theater reviews for the night will pop up online; then we see if the critics think we are a bona fide hit, a maybe worth a shot, or a complete turkey, in the opinion of those wonderful folk that we love to hate, aka the critics. In my personal opinion, it is hit all the way. Also, as it is your first Broadway review, make sure that you still get several paper copies of it as well…"
With that, Marley heard an alarm, and suddenly all the phones were out. Sebastian smirked at the others as he had already had the theater review page of the Times on his phone, and merely had to press refresh. He laughed the moment the page appeared, and said, "Well, I don't even need to read this review; the headline is 'Super Cooper, Marley-tastic, not one bit atrocious'…"
There was laughter from all around the table then, and Sebastian paused until it died down, then carried on reading out what was still regarded by many as the most important of the newspaper reviews. There was glowing praise for all the cast; for the pathos of Cooper's Mr Banks; a special mention for Adam as an actor to watch; marvel at Mason's accent and performance, particularly the upside down dancing. But the most honeyed of the words were reserved for Marley…
"We all knew her voice; the songstress of the Radio Orchestra, her tones dulcet and enchanting. Now we have added a face, and we must conclude that she should have been lighting up the Great White Way long ago. We must express our gratitude to a certain actress, who is currently splashed luridly across the pages of the UK press, for her decision not to come and play Mary. We must also thank the executives at the network who decided to can the Radio Orchestra, and free our new star. The fact that young Mr McCarthy also knew Miss Rose was a blessing. My final thoughts; if you have not yet got a ticket, do everything you can to get one. See it whilst you can, before the wind changes direction, and Mary leaves us all again."
"The other papers are saying much the same; in fact, The Post says that the Tony Committee should just save time and hand you the Best Actress in a Musical award now," said Mason, with a grin. "Welcome to Broadway stardom, Miss Marley Rose!"
When Marley woke up the following morning, the events of the previous night still seemed like a dream to her; not so much the revealing of the critics' opinion of her performance, but what had happened not long after that. The positive reviews had been followed by champagne, not something that she had tasted that often in her life, and she accepted a glass with caution. She blushed as everyone drank a toast to her, as well as the show.
Then she found herself dealing with her mother, who had been emotional all evening, and now had burst into tears of happiness for her only child. She had done her best to bring her up in the most trying of circumstances, and now she was seeing the rewards. Her daughter was being feted by the critics for her Broadway debut, she was in the running for a prestigious award, and most importantly of all, she was happy. Mrs Rose had been pleased to have her daughter on the radio, proud to hear her voice, and for others to tell her what a talent she had, but this was much bigger….
What neither of them knew at that juncture was that something was about to happen which would be the icing on the cake of that day. Marley suddenly realised that the entire room around them had fallen quiet, and then she saw her mother's eyes widen at something behind her. Turning round, it was to see Ryder, who had sunken down onto one knee, and was looking up at her with a smile…
"I did think about getting up on the stage and doing this at the theater, but I am not the most extrovert of people, and so the idea of being watch by a huge audience was too much for me to handle in the end; plus the critics might not have approved. Here, we are surrounded by a smaller crowd, and it is less in the spotlight, and it feels more comfortable…" began Ryder, then he paused to take a small box from his pocket. "Marley, you are the most wonderful and amazing woman that I have ever met. You have enchanted me from the day that we met, and although we have had our ups and downs since then, I have never stopped loving you. Coming to New York was a big step for me, and I was scared at first; well, we were living with Kitty, so that was a natural reaction. Then she married Artie, and it was just the two of us… I might not have the money that some others have, and I don't have your talent, but what I do have is a heart that beats solely for you, and a mind that knows that my place is at your side, for the rest of our lives… So, Marley, will you marry me?"
"Ryder," she began in reply, "I don't need money or possessions if I have your heart, and you have mine too. So yes, I will marry you…" There was an outburst of cheering and applause then, as a blushing Ryder opened the box and slipped a very simple ring onto Marley's finger. Mrs Rose burst into tears again, and was then stunned when an arm was placed round her shoulders, and a handkerchief offered to her by none other than Bette Midler…
The sight of that ring on her finger as she lay in bed, still half asleep, brought a smile to Marley's lips. It wasn't showy, it was plain, simple and honest, and that was exactly the kind of ring she would have chosen herself. Of course, she knew that she could not wear it on stage, not as the spinster nanny, but she already knew what she would do instead her high collared costuming would allow her to wear it on a simple chain around her neck instead. Ryder had already known that she would have to do something like that, so it did not matter to him as much as it might have done to some men; indeed, he had bought her the chain in question.
She suddenly realised that he was not in the bed beside her, and a glance at the clock made her wonder why, as it was not too late. Then she heard the bedroom door open, and he entered, carrying a tray. "I decided that I would bring my future wife breakfast in bed; wholemeal toast, scrambled eggs and coffee. I also have a copy of this morning's New York Times here, because I thought that you might like to see those words from last night in print…"
Marley nodded, and setting the tray down on the bedside cabinet, he handed her the newspaper he had been carrying under his arm. It was folded open at the relevant page already, the headline the same as the night before, accompanied now by a picture of her with the children and Mason…
"Apparently, according to Ms Midler," Ryder said softly, "you can contact the Times office, and they will arrange for it to be printed on better quality paper, then framed. I thought that we could get one, and send one to your mom as well; a record of the first of many peerless reviews for your great talents…"
"Mom would love something like that! I wonder how quickly they can have it done?" pondered Marley.
"Well, while you eat your breakfast, I will send a text to Sebastian, and if he doesn't know, then he can contact Bette and ask her for us," replied Ryder, kissing her on the cheek right after.
Marley smiled, and did what she was told, as she had a busy day ahead of her. She was meeting her mom, and the two of them were going on a shopping spree, followed by an early dinner at the Spotlight Diner. Then she would say her goodbyes, as she was booked on a red eye flight back to Ohio in the morning, and as she knew her daughter had a show to perform the following night, she did not want her to be taking her to the airport for 6am. If there was some way that she could have the review printed and framed to give her mother that night, it would be fantastic, but she did not suspect that it would be possible…
As she ate, she realised that the big Opening Night was done, but now came the real hard work; keeping up the standard they had set themselves, eight times a week, potentially for a very long time. That was going to be the real challenge for the entire cast, and if they failed in that goal, then all of the good reviews would end up counting for nothing…
The week that followed the Opening Night was a dull and routine one, therefore the item of news that emerged at the end of it was all the more surprising. The post on the Pierce-Lopez Facebook page, announcing that they were expecting their second child came as a bolt from the blue to most. On seeing that line in the post, Sebastian was shocked to discover that he felt a little angry and betrayed, wondering who it was that Santana had chosen as the father this time, and why she had not asked him, because he might have actually said yes… Then he read on, and like everyone else, his mouth fell open in shock. Brittany being pregnant was a real surprise, as there had never been any indication of that possibility before…
The fact that there was no mention of course of the father's identity started a frenzy of speculation as they pondered who he might be, but after a dismissal of every man in their close circle, the general conclusion was that it had to be someone that she worked with in the Math Department of NYU. Skylar of course knew the truth, as did Thad, but both of them stayed silent, doing nothing more than sending a message of congratulations to the mother-to-be…
If her friends were fulsome in their delight for her, then her employers were less so, as they now faced the difficult task of finding someone with her abilities to assist them all with their forthcoming experiments. They did not admit that upset too publicly though, as they had all met Santana. Instead, they quietly began to search for someone that had even half of the mathematical ability of the blonde, and as they did, one name came up several times. What was even better was that the young lady in question had just made a move to New York city…
One person that was paying close attention to what was happening with the much loved blonde was the newest angel. Seth had wondered at first how long it would take him to get used to his new way of living, but in the end it took no time at all. He was currently staying with Wes, at his invitation, as it gave them both some company in the evenings. It was not that Seth did not wish to have a place of his own, it was just that at the moment he could not decide how he wished that place to be. Much as he had loved his own little apartment in the West Village, a recreation of that would remind him too much of the bad days, of having to be in a chair all the time…
His thoughts now were for a more retro place, one more like the Bushwick apartment that he had shared with Luke and Duncan when he first moved to the city; somewhere that would be full of original features, a place that if it existed for real, would be the envy of so many in that city. As for the furnishings, he knew that he wanted classic pieces, and particularly a wing back chair, with a matching suite, of a sofa and an ordinary armchair, or a chaise longue…
Wes had one of the latter in his own place, and Seth was fond of it when he was feeling tired. The paperwork that he was doing for Wes was not too taxing, his job essentially being to double check all that he had done, checking that nobody was double booked on a collection, and that no collection was missed, but as yet, he had failed to find one single mistake in Wes' meticulous work. True, he guessed that eventually he would be expected to do more, and what he was doing now was the breaking in gently stuff.
That had not however stopped him from having to do his first collection, and in that he had been mentored by Kurt and Blaine. The two of them were now old hands at the job, although they had other roles most of the time, what with looking after new arrivals, guiding them through their first days, and of course, helping out with the children… That first collection was scheduled for two nights after the Opening Night of Mary Poppins, and the task had been chosen for him as it was one that he might not find quite as hard to deal with, because he knew all about the situation…
He was going to collect a young woman that had been fighting an incurable cancer for a long time, but whose strength to do so had now ebbed away. To his surprise, he discovered that once he had been allocated the task, and told the date on which she would pass, he was suddenly conscious of her every movement, and could even hear when her breathing was slow or laboured…
As her final moments approached, he found Kurt sitting at his side, waiting with him. "It feels strange at first," Kurt suddenly said. "The first time I had to collect someone, it felt like I was dying all over again. That feeling does diminish with time, but you will still find that some of the collections will hit your emotions more than others. I mean, it is okay when they are older people coming to their natural end; they have had their lives and enjoyed them… Kids break my heart every time, and well, Wes knows better than to send me to collect someone that has been killed for their sexuality, because I just end up screaming at the people that do it to them. I get so worked up… However, afterwards, I am more than happy to be the one that sits with those young men and women, try and comfort them, because I can truthfully tell them that I know exactly what they are feeling, as the same thing happened to me…"
"Is that why Wes chose me for this particular collection?" asked Seth quietly.
"Yes, I would say that was a big factor in his choice."
"I guess it does make sense, but honestly, the whole thing is scaring me. I don't want to screw this up…"
"Which is why I am here; you will not be left alone to do collections until you are perfect," replied Kurt. Seth nodded, and then instinctively, he knew it was time. He stood up, going through what he needed to do in his head as he walked towards the young woman's bed…
A couple of hours later, Skylar felt a draught as he sat in front of his computer in his study. His son was asleep, as indeed was his wife, and he himself was taking advantage of the quiet and tranquil moment in the house to do some work on his plans for the hospice in the grounds of Dalton. The amount of money that had already been pledged for the project was beyond all their expectations, with more coming in all the time. There was also the money that would be channeled to Seth's estate, should the challenge to his grandmother's will be successful, which they had all agreed should go to the fund as well.
Skylar had already made a number of site visits, at different times of the day and in a variety of weather conditions, and that had helped him to see where the best aspects of the site were. He had checked to see if there were any places, for whatever reason, that were deprived of natural light. Maps and photos were all very well, but he needed to get the feel of the place, as he did with old buildings which he had been charged with giving a new purpose.
He knew now how he would shape the building, constructing it on a curve; sinuous rather than straight, following the contours of the land. The building would be stepped, with gentle slopes on the corridors, coming level at pairs of doorways to the rooms. The slope would be of such a gradient that it would not tax those confined to a chair, but would add a little quirk and character to the place. There would also be a central atrium, a light well with a cupola just like the one above the stairs at Dalton itself, and from there access would be available to the residential wings from the wing in which the treatments would take place.
In those residential wings, all the rooms would be built on one side, facing towards the river and the south. The connecting corridors would not all be of the same width, the higher levels narrower, so that as well as the full height windows on each level, light from a roof light would also flood down to the ground level, where because of the slope, the windows would be shorter in length. As for each of the rooms, his aim was that each of them should feel like a studio apartment, individual and homely, not cold and clinical…
He was in the process of putting the finishing touches to a sketch of the outside elevation of one of those residential wings when he felt the draught, and he immediately looked up to see Seth, looking a little miserable. He set down his pen, the one that his best friend had given him for Christmas, and waited for him to speak.
"It was my first collection today, and well… it was all perfection on a purely practical level, all done to the letter as far as the rules and regulations are concerned, but…"
"It must take a big toll on the emotions," said Skylar, unsurprised as his friend nodded.
"It was a young woman, only 22, and she had been battling a really awful cancer for a long time. She was stuck in a chair like I was, as the cancer had spread into her bones, and weakened them so much that she could no longer stand. She had been through several rounds of radio and chemotherapy, and every other treatment you can imagine, but to no avail. She was tired, and she was suffering, and her time was definitely overdue, but all I could think about was how unfair it all was. She had lost her future, her friends had all vanished, and even her siblings were not around. All she had was her mother, and she looked so tired too… She didn't resist as I pulled her soul out of that body, and when she saw me clearly, she started to cry; not from anger, or sadness, but relief. We then ended up chatting as I sorted all the papers, and she asked me how I had died. So I told her, and then she really opened up. She was glad I think to have someone to talk to who had been through a similar experience to her. The thing is, I found it quite cathartic to talk to her too, about everything I went through. She is like me, in that her soul isn't going back, so I have arranged to see her again, so we can talk more. I am looking forward to it…"
"So why the long face?" asked Skylar, guessing the reason for it.
"Because I really liked her, Sky! Being an angel though, there is nothing that I can do about it really though. Finn was allowed to get engaged to Emily because their souls were already linked, two people destined to meet in a past life who through fate, never met. Alas, I am not linked to the girl I met today, but she is perfect, and oh, it is so unfair!"
"Oh, Seth," said Skylar, "I agree that it isn't, but…"
"There is nothing I can do about it, and I have to accept it with grace. We can still be friends, and honestly, I think that is enough… So, changing the subject, how is my namesake?"
"Sleeping peacefully as usual, and so is his mother for now. I just feel so lucky to have them both; I couldn't ask for more…"
Seth nodded, then glanced over at the sketch his friend had been working on. "Is that the hospice? It looks beautiful in that drawing, what with all that Art Deco detailing…"
"I always think that the little details are the most important. I am glad that you like it."
"I do, and the plan for the residential wings themselves is great too. I thoroughly approve of your idea to make each one look different too. I know they all have to be the same size and shape, but the different décor to each will make them unique. Might I be so bold as to suggest a different style of door for each room too, or is that a step too far?"
"Not at all, anything to make them individual. After all, they are in a way the last home that the residents will have. That is why I intend to have them use different wallpapers, different styles of plasterwork, and even panelling. The beds will have to be the same, hospital design, but the other furnishings can be varied…"
"That is what I would want, and if anyone can achieve it, it is you. What you do here will be a model for others to follow in years to come…"