Invitation and Investigation.
It was Monday before normality really kicked in for Jeff and Drew. At the normal time in the morning, Jeff collected Evie before he walked her and Wes to school. They all waved to Adam as he headed out of his front door as they passed by, on his way to resume filming at the studios; of course, they did not know that he and Lawrence were engaged. At that moment only Dex, Ms Kudrow and his family back home knew the truth, although he was intending to tell Sam when he got to work, given how a section of the public associated them in real life because they were together on screen…
Jeff got his charges to the school door with several minutes to spare, which was why he was surprised when he was called over by the Principal, who asked if she could speak to him in private for a few minutes in her office. He agreed, but noticed that there was a worried look on his son's face at his papa being called in by her, although he was absolutely certain that his son would not be in any sort of trouble…
He was correct in that assumption, the Principal instead wanting to ask him if he would be willing to come in and talk at the whole school assembly at the end of the week. "There has inevitably been a lot of talk about the death of the Queen in class and during recess over the last two weeks, and of course, Wes mentioned that you were in London to his teacher in front of the class. Last Monday he pointed you out with pride in the pictures from Westminster Hall and the Lying in State, which kept the entire class in their room when they should have been at recess. It is obviously such an important landmark in global history, and I feel it would be good for them all to hear about it from someone that was present…"
"Well, I don't have anything important in my diary for Friday," said Jeff, "so I guess I could come in and talk. I could also speak to Evie's father and see if he would be willing to join me, as he was there too; two is always better than one in these circumstances."
"I was aware that he was with you, but Evie was not quite so forthcoming about her father's presence in London. By all means, ask him and see if he is free; I can promise you will have an extremely attentive audience, and that means that there will be a lot of questions too…"
"If they are like me at that age, such things are only to be expected. I will call Drew up later today and let you know what he says when I collect the children later…"
Jeff stopped off at his favourite deli on the way home to pick up some more honey roasted ham, as he had ended up meeting more than he should have of the ham they had purchased at the market on Saturday, which had upset the plans for lunch all week. He arrived home, placed the ham in the fridge, the made his way up to the studio upstairs to catch up on his illustration work. He carried Caleb up with him, placing him in his studio bed right next to the heater, the days when the animal bounded up the stairs before him past now. The cat was happy to be close to his blond human, and curled up to sleep as he began to work.
Jeff had sketches to finish for Vogue that he had begun on Sunday night; he had photos of the new season's styles that Isabelle wanted converted into pen and ink drawings, and he was able to provide them with no issue; the mood was demure but in bright primary colours. Happy with the sketches, he scanned them into his laptop and then sent them electronically to the magazine editor, then placed the paper originals into an envelope that he would take downtown and hand directly to either Gideon or Isabelle herself the following day.
Leaving Caleb sleeping, he went down to the kitchen and made himself a sandwich for lunch, ignoring the ham and selecting sharp cheddar. He took his lunch back up to the studio, along with some tuna for Caleb. As his pet ate and he started on his own sandwich, he logged into his work related e-mail account for the first time since his return from London. He froze for a moment when he saw the most recent one, as it came from Buckingham Palace. He opened it, then read it several times, just in case he was imaging what it said…
He wasn't.
It did say 'His Majesty the King requests that Mr Jeff Sterling-Duval, OBE(Hon), give consideration to accepting the role of one of the official artists for his Coronation. As such, you will be given full access to the event to capture images of the ceremony for posterity in your own style. This invitation will obviously extend to your husband and son. We would request that you make your response to this request by Monday 15th February.'
Jeff could only stare at it. He had just been invited to officially attend what would be a huge global event… He printed off a copy of the e-mail, and then he began to wonder if it could actually be some sort of elaborate scam. He knew at once that there was only one way to confirm if it was real or not without calling the Palace, and he pulled out his phone, and quickly sent a message to a number that was stored on his phone under the initials KP; initials that he had chosen as they indicated where he had first met the woman that would one day be Queen Consort. It took only five minutes for a response to arrive…
He sat down and did his book work, stopping when the alarm went off to tell him that it was time to head back to the school and collect the children. He took Caleb back downstairs, then he hastened towards the school, suddenly realising as he walked that he had not called Drew as he had promised; he sent him a message instead as he waited to cross a busy avenue. The reply came as he reached the door of the school and thus he was able to inform the Principal that there would be two of them speaking at the assembly on Friday.
Walking home, Wes noted that his papa was distracted, as did Evie but they said nothing, just kept an eye out as they crossed the streets and avenues on the way home. They also managed to turn him into the drugstore, where Jeff would be most surprised to find himself and even more startled to discover that he was waiting in line to buy candy. He looked at the bars of chocolate and the packets of gums, then over at his two charges, who were doing their best to appear innocent and failing abysmally…
Once they were back in the West Village, he sat the two of them down at the table and made them do their homework, the chocolate and candy placed away in a high cupboard until it was completed. Meanwhile, he made a start on the pastry for the turkey and ham pie they would be having for supper; the filling had already been prepared by Nick and just required the savoury pastry that he was better at making to encase it. That done, Jeff checked the time and put the completed pie into the oven to bake, to ensure that it would be perfect as soon as his husband was home and ready to eat. He placed some potato wedges in the oven alongside it as a further part of the meal.
Thanks to the reliability of the time of Nick's arrival home from the UN, the pie was indeed ready to be served on schedule; it was not like the days when his husband had worked for a law firm and could be home as late as 10pm. Jeff had cooked some green beans to go with the pie and the wedges, and he had a surprise waiting for dessert too; a suggestion from Miss Frobisher. He had made a simple cake batter up, and then had poured it in a dish over a layer of strawberry jelly, then placed it into the oven to bake as he removed the pie. The sweet smell that was coming from the oven helped the family of three to eat their main course quickly…
As they ate, they discussed as always the events of their respective days. Wes was a little nonplussed to discover that his papa would be talking at the school assembly that week, but finding out that Drew would be joining him made things a little better, knowing that Evie would be joining him in the discomfort of having a parent on the podium. The quick dessert was also a big hit, though when asked for his opinion Wes had been silent for a moment, before replying that it had been lovely, but that it might have been even better if his dad had made the cake, which both of his parents took as an attempt to sit on the fence and not risk causing offence to either of them…
It was only once their son was upstairs in his nightly bath that Jeff finally showed his husband the e-mail he had received, handing it to him without saying a word. Nick read it, and as he did his eyebrows rose. He shook his head as he handed it back to the blond, then said, "Never in a million years did I ever imagine that one day you and I would be invited guests at a Coronation ceremony in the United Kingdom, or at such an event anywhere in the world for that matter! I think that you are obliged to accept, however much they may say that your presence is requested; they actually mean required… There isn't a date given, interestingly enough, but then when you are a King, you don't have to bother with that; I would anticipate it would be sometime in July, or possibly at the end of August, to coincide with the English bank holiday then. We will need to get ourselves morning suits, and so will Wes for that matter… I must see if I can remember the name of that tailors in Saville Row that we went to hire suits when we were invited to meet the Queen that first time, and book ourselves morning suits well in advance for the big event, although it will be less easy to do for Wes, as he keeps growing!"
Jeff resisted the urge to giggle as his husband began to plan, and replied, "It will feel strange to be there with all of the more important invited guests, the crowned heads and peers and the politicians… I can't recall if there are seats upstairs in the Abbey, but I seem to remember in the film that we saw of the last Coronation in London that the Queen's mother, sister and indeed, the boy that will soon be crowned officially as the new King, were sat above the main level, and had a good view down on the proceedings…"
Nick nodded, vaguely recalling that what his husband said was true, but there had been no upstairs seats at the funeral; perhaps they had been built as a temporary structure back in 1953?
"I still can't quite believe that we are invited to witness it first-hand - it's like a dream. Can you just imagine how the Carmichaels will react when they find out that there will be two of their Dalton boys there officially to witness the ceremony that officially proclaims the start of the…" Jeff paused, thought for a moment, then said, "I have no idea what the new era will be called! We have left the Second Elizabethan Age, but what is it now?"
Nick smiled, recalling a debate he had overheard on that topic at the UN whilst Jeff had been in London, and replied, "People are not quite sure on that yet. Some have suggested that it will be the start of the Windsor Age, after the surname of the lineage, just as they talk about the Tudor period all those years ago. However, it could also be the New Carolean Age, as the reigns of previous King Charles have been termed. It will be up to the historians and the Palace to decide I guess…"
Jeff wondered briefly where the term Carolean came from, because it sounded like it came from Carole, not Charles, and sighed. "Could we not just refer to it as the Post-Elizabethan Age instead?" Nick chuckled at that, although he did sympathise entirely with his husband's position on the name.
They agreed to keep quiet for now on the fact that they had been invited, but to accept at once. They also decided that it was best not to inform their son yet, given that he might blurt it out to all and sundry by mistake. After he was in bed, Nick checked his work e-mails, now back in copious quantity, whilst Jeff sat at his own laptop and looked back at the art that had been produced at the time of previous Coronations; then he sat and watched the video that showed the main moments of the late Queen's own ceremony online. It did confirm that there had been some sort of upper level back then, and he wondered if there would be once more this time round. If so, that would afford him the most perfect vantage point from which to sketch the new monarch…
Two doors along the street, an e-mail had also arrived from the UK, but its contents were not quite so happy reading. Ethan had been at his office when the missive from the private detective in England had arrived, with the information that he had requested on the current whereabouts and activities of Drew's ex-wife Lucy and her parents. He had been in the middle of finishing an important report at the time, so it had been necessary to resist the temptation to stop what he was doing and open it up; he knew that whatever it contained would not be that urgent, or he would have received a phone call, so he let it wait until he had more time.
With the report finished, he had been about to open the report when his boss had suddenly appeared at his office door, and told him that he was needed in an ongoing meeting he had been hosting with a potential new client; there was an issue on which they had a difference of opinion, and they had both agreed that a fresh new perspective on the subject would be a help. Ethan smiled, and shut the e-mail once again, ready to do what he was paid for instead. The meeting came to a favourable resolution eventually, but by then it was almost time for Ethan to head home. Nonetheless, he opened it up, and saw that there was a document file attached, the size of which made him worried. He opened it, and started to read, and quickly he realised that there was a lot going on that made him shake his head in disbelief…
In the end he decided that it would be best to print off a copy of the report, and the images that it contained, as that way he could start for home, and read some more on the subway that would take him back uptown to the West Village. As luck would have it, the subway was unusually quiet for the time of night, and he was able to get a seat and read some more, although at times he found it hard to resist the urge to swear out loud at some of the things he was reading, as the amount of horrors he was finding outnumbered anything he had ever imagined. He was so absorbed in the document that he almost missed his stop, and flung himself out of the train as the doors began to close. He was tempted to sit on one of the benches on the platform and read what was left, but he placed the pages carefully in his briefcase instead, and made his way home to where the two people that he saw as his family would be waiting…
He took a few minutes before dinner was served to skim through the final pages nonetheless, which seemed much less problematic than the rest; Lucy's father was an angel compared to his wife and daughter. However, when he reached the final two pages there was something that made his eyes bulge, and suck his breath in noisily…
He sat down to dinner without saying a word, and listened intently as Evie told him all about her day; he smiled as Drew told him about the talk that he would be doing with Jeff on Friday, although his best friend was now regretting the fact that he had allowed himself to be talked into it by the blond. As for Evie, she had now decided that actually the prospect of her dad talking to her school was not as bad as she had imagined; in fact, it was almost cool. That was proof to Ethan that she was actually starting to enjoy the fact that she was the only person in her class that had ever lived in London, had met the new Prince and Princess of Wales, and the new Queen Consort, and had a father that had been at the biggest event so far that year…
They spent time together as a family after dinner, watching a show on television together before Evie headed for her bed. When Drew went to check if she was asleep about half an hour later, Ethan turned off the television, and with a sigh, reluctantly fetched the printed report, knowing that this was not something he could put off. Drew knew that it was coming, but Ethan was certain that some of the contents would leave him stunned. The moment that Drew walked back into the room, saw the sheaf of paper in his friend's hand and the expression on his face, he knew what was coming…
"Okay, hit me with it; just how awful is it?" he said jokingly, hoping that Ethan would smile, but the grim expression on his friend's face remained fixed.
"It is one of the most terrible things I have ever had the misfortune to read, and I have seen so many awful reports over the years. Take a seat and allow me to summarise the most important parts of it before you read it yourself…" Drew sat down on the sofa by his friend and braced himself. "We will start with Lucy's father, who over the last few years has become an increasingly frequent visitor to the local emergency room, although his injuries are not on the same scale as yours were. Interestingly enough, it transpires that her mother had also had regular cause to attend…"
"So he fights back; good for him!" said Drew.
Ethan nodded, then sighed. "However, he is currently the subject of a workplace investigation into the fraud and bullying of colleagues that he has allegedly undertaken, and the evidence of the former is substantial and pretty damning. It is almost certain that he will be dismissed and might even face a jail sentence. One thing is certain, if he loses his job then the disappearance of that portion of the household income, something that he will not be able to replace easily given what will be on his CV, will exacerbate the violent tension between husband and wife…"
Ethan allowed that information to sink in, before he moved on. "Turning to the lady in question, she has been banned from driving having been caught drunk driving several times in a couple of months; one of those incidents also lead her to be charged with Actual Bodily Harm, or ABH as the British call it; she punched the policewoman that had stopped her and broke her nose. She narrowly avoided a custodial sentence for that crime, only doing so by agreeing to attend a course of anger management classes…"
Drew snorted then, before laughing sarcastically. Those classes would have to be pretty full on to work on the woman in question…
"There is a small issue in that she has so far not attended any of the course, using the excuse that she cannot attend because she is banned from driving and cannot access the venue. The fact that the justice system in Oxfordshire has agreed to that being an adequate excuse to break her sentence leave me wondering just how lax law and order has become! On a lighter note, the detective states that the organisers of the course are actually pretty relieved about that decision, as during the one class she did manage to attend, she threatened to kill the course leader three times…"
"Now that does not shock me at all; she was always abrasive towards me when I saw her, always wondering out loud why Americans were so dumb, and saying nasty things about Evie, referring to her as my mistake. Toxic is too mild a word for my relationship with my former mother-in-law. Given what you've told me so far, it is no wonder that her mother was only too pleased to get them all out of her life…"
Ethan nodded, heartily agreeing with the sentiment, then asked, "Before we move on to the lovely Dr Lucy herself, what else can you tell me about her other family members, the more extended relatives for example?"
Drew looked at Ethan for a moment, and replied, "Nothing more than you already know; she does have an aunt on her father's side of the family, but she has been living in Australia for the last thirty five years and we never met. Why do you ask?" Ethan said nothing, just handed the second last page of the report to Drew. He read it for a second before he looked up, his eyes wide open, his mouth agape.
"Yes, that was my initial reaction to that little paragraph too. I am assuming that there was never any mention of them because they were not considered part of the family."
"I think that they were lucky in getting away from them all to be honest and hopefully they will never have the urge to find them! Well, this is something… I wonder if Lucy even knows that she has a big brother?"
"I doubt it; her mother can only have been about fifteen or so when she gave birth to him, and at that time, such things were considered a major scandal. Still, it does prove one thing that people have always debated…" Drew looked at Ethan, curious as to what he meant. "The fact that he was put up for adoption and is now in the priesthood is proof positive that it is nurture over nature in his case. I wonder what Lucy would think about that if she knew…"
"Wait, what!? He's a priest, as in an actual Roman Catholic priest!?" exclaimed Drew.
Ethan said nothing, then cleared his throat before he went on. "Well, yes and no; technically he is a Dominican Friar, but one that is involved in the ministry of a Roman Catholic parish. He was sent away from his mother at birth, and was lucky enough to be adopted into a wealthy family that was staunch in their faith. The couple that adopted him were unable to have children of their own, so he was seen as a blessing by them. He was sent to the best schools, where he was a grade A student, and as I said, went on to study at university; he graduated with the top honours in his year. He could have done anything he wanted, but he had already chosen his path before he attended college…"
"He was already quite religious, something that his much older parents approved of heartily, and when he told them he wanted to volunteer for mission work after he finished high school, they gave him their blessing. It was whilst he was there that he realised what his vocation truly was apparently and when he entered university he did so knowing it was a qualification to join the order in the role he wished. He entered three months after his university graduation, and since then he has grown to become an integral part of the community. He did further missionary work in Africa, and it was whilst he was there the last time that he received the news that his adopted parents had passed away. They bequeathed their wealth to the order, knowing that he would not accept it personally…"
Drew nodded, wondering how such a saintly sounding man could possibly be related to his former wife. Ethan continued, "Now, this is where I have to say that Lucy's grandmother has lied to you by omission; she would naturally have known all about her grandson, given her daughter's age at the time he was born. It is obvious therefore that she would have been the one to help her child conceal the pregnancy from her tyrannical father. According to the records, she was also the one that arranged for the adoption to take place through one of the convents that existed in Oxford at the time; she would also have been informed that the child was being adopted by overseas parents, rather than staying in the United Kingdom. As you might have guessed, they were from the United States, and more specifically…"
"It was here, wasn't it? Her grandson was adopted by a couple from New York." Ethan nodded, and Drew sighed. "It all makes sense now; she always wanted to go to New York, and I used to think it was because of the buildings, the culture, the experience… There must have been part of her that wanted to come here so that she could have a chance of catching a glimpse of her grandson. Given how her only other grandchild turned out, I cannot say that I blame her for wanting that."
"He is still in the city," said Ethan, and carefully handed the last page of the report to his friend without saying any more. Drew read it, and gasped. "He is based at St Joseph's Rectory, Greenwich Village; the man that is technically your brother-in-law is actually living only a few blocks away…"
"We have actually walked past St Joseph's on so many occasions Ethan. We have taken Evie on walks past the church, and all of this time…" said Drew quietly. Then he shook his head, and went on, "There is a part of me that would like to meet him, but I doubt whether that would be a good idea. I mean, there was no mention of it, but given that he was adopted as a baby, does he even know that he was not their natural child?"
"He does know; the investigator was most specific on that one. However, I do agree that you intruding into his life all of a sudden as his sister's husband might not be advisable. I am also going to say something else, and that is that we should not let Lucy's grandmother know what we know about her other grandchild unless she chooses to confide the secret in us first. There is a chance that now that she is definitely coming to the city she has dreamed of visiting for so long, her long held secret might become something she is anxious to reveal…."
Drew nodded, but he had already decided that when he got the chance, he would read the report further and see what the friar's name was, then go online to see what he could find out about him. Ethan suspected as much, of course, but he said nothing…