A trip to the past, and future plans
Before he embarked on his trip to London, Ethan had the great pleasure of attending the official naming ceremony of young Aaron Wilson at the same synagogue that his parents had married in. As was only to be expected, there was an almost full compliment of Warblers present; even Jasper and Brad had made an appearance, a rare event these days given the busy lives that they had in Chicago. The two best friends had both graduated from their respective colleges with full honours, and still lived together; they had made a canny buy in their first year at school of two neighbouring houses in a nice suburban area. By chance they were only a few blocks from the coffee shop owned by Jeff's uncle, where the now long time married couple had first lived and worked together in harmony.
Jasper and Brad came to the ceremony with big news of their own; their brethren had all known that they had started to date fraternal twins a few years ago, a brother and sister every bit as devoted to each other as the McCarthy twins from McKinley. The two former Warblers had proposed on the same day, and had both received an answer of yes. They would be getting married at some point in the future in a joint ceremony. As to where the two newly married couples would live, well they had that sorted out already…
Flint had glanced over at Beats as they heard the news and had detected the same look of jealousy in his eyes; in an ideal world, they too would have lived side by side in the same street, but it wasn't as if they were in different states. Nick meanwhile made a mental note to check if he and Jeff could fly back to anywhere in the United States whilst he was on secondment in London, or whether it had to be to New York; he was determined that they would not miss the wedding, even if everyone would understand why he and Jeff would be unable to attend. He was as curious as the others to meet the twins that would make the two best friends brothers-in-law, in a round about kind of way….
That was for another day though; now they all waited at the synagogue for the arrival of Flint's mother with her daughter-in-law and grandson. Flint had been sent ahead to ensure that everything was perfect at the synagogue, that the godparents were there and that there was no external noise that would spoil the ceremonial… Flint was relieved to discover that there were no street repairs or anything of a similar nature nearby as he did not exactly like the idea of having to go up to a workman in a hi-viz vest to ask him if he would mind turning his drill down… Beats had laughed at the notion, but he knew in his heart that all Flint would have needed to do was mention his mother and what she was like, and every workman in the city would have downed tools in complete and total understanding of the situation…
At the appointed time, the final people arrived along with Mrs Wilson; she was wearing a hat, but it was a much more restrained one, much to the disappointment of some, the surprise of others, and the relief of her son. Artie was in place to film the ceremony, but without Kitty at his side, as she had elected to stay at home with her baby. Mercedes had done the same, and David had only come at her insistence; had his mother not still been in Boston, he would probably have ignored his wife and stayed away as well.
The whole event was beautiful, the old prayers that had been used for generations being said, and the pledges being made by the godparents being the universal ones. The celebration afterwards was held in the meeting room of the synagogue itself, with catering from a suitably grand firm chosen by the Bernsteins and approved of by Mrs Wilson; after all, the firm they had chosen had a name, a pedigree and a reputation that was known even far away in Kansas… Little Wes was on his best behaviour that day, and the same could also be said of Elise, Cormac, Devon and Lily, brought along by their proud parents, and much admired by all the invited guests. There was much discussion of how attentive the parents were to their children by the older guests, all of them noting how the three male couples seemed to dote on their offspring…
Little Barbra was present with her parents too, although she had cried just a little during the ceremony, earning her parents a look from Mrs Wilson, although it was of concern and sympathy, not anger. Rachel had proceeded to corner Rabbi Hirsch after the ceremony to ask if she could officiate at a similar sort of ceremony for her child. Sam had agreed that a religious ceremony would be nice for his daughter ; after all, he and his siblings had all been baptised. He had of course not even dared to suggest that it be a church event, his reckoning being that they did all believe in the same God after all when you thought about it; also, he liked to have a quiet life. If Rachel had been hoping that the answer would be an immediate yes, then she was to be disappointed; it was not an outright no either though. There would have to be a few talks one on one and attendance at services too before the good rabbi would consider the task. She was used to mixed marriages in New York, and from what she could see from first impressions, it was Sam that would be the easy parent to deal with…
At the party, there was also a first chance for Beats to confront Flint over the little surprise that he had received at the naming itself. "Okay, so why did you not think to warn me that it was going to happen? I'm sure that my eyes bulged out of my head and my eye brows shot up when you came out with it!"
"I did consider telling you about it, but then I decided that it was best that I didn't. In any case, all I saw on your face at that moment was pride and a fair amount of happiness. Of course, as far as my mom is concerned, it was done after Izzy's great-grandfather; Ezra was my mom's paternal grandfather," replied Flint.
"Even so, it was just…" Beats stopped, and swiped at his eyes that had become a little moist. Then he cleared his throat, and said, "I want you to know that I will always do my best for Aaron Nathaniel Ezra Wilson…"
"I know, which is why I chose you for this role in his life; now take a seat and I will go and try to steal my son away from Principal Carmichael. I think that it is time that the godfather he has a middle name in honour of had an opportunity to hold him…"
Just a few days after the naming ceremony, Ethan headed to the airport to board his flight to London. His business being for Mackenzie Inc, he was flying to Europe at the expense of the company account, and had been upgraded by the airline to the highest class available on the flight. That meant that he was picked up by a chauffeur driven car in the West Village, fast tracked through the security lines at JFK, then was able to take the option of having his inflight meal in the well appointed lounge at the airport rather than on the plane. At one time he would have felt guilty about taking advantage of such things, but age had begun to mellow him to the fact that one day he would be one of the wealthiest men in the nation, responsible for managing the family business and ensuring the livelihood of thousands of employees. At least for now he was only engaged on the philanthropic aspect of having all of that wealth.
He was given priority boarding at the gate and ushered into what resembled a mini suite on the plane, though he declined the glass of champagne he was offered. Once airborne, he dimmed his lights, and reclined his seat right back into the bed position, and with his belt fastened securely over the top of his blanket, he settled down to try and get some sleep. He surprised himself at just how quickly he was able to nod off, and only woke as the cabin crew started to serve breakfast. The stewardess apologised for waking him, but they were only an hour from London. He had slept for nearly six hours, and soon he was sitting upright again, and enjoying the light meal.
On arrival at Heathrow, he was again speeded through all of the immigration checks, and found his way to the lounge again, where he found his bags waiting for him. He took advantage of the generous washroom facilities and changed into smarter clothes, before making arrangements for his bags to be sent on to his hotel. He was offered a car again, but he eschewed it, knowing how congested the city could be at what was still peak time, and instead boarded the train on the Elizabeth Line of the tube, which sped him straight to Tottenham Court Road station, which was only a short walk from Great Ormond Street Hospital.
He arrived there well before the appointed time, and stood for a moment to appraise the amalgam of buildings that made up the hospital, all of different generations and styles, tucked together in the streets of Bloomsbury. It was no problem for the office staff at all though, who quickly showed him into a comfortable waiting room, and took care of him whilst he was awaiting the appointed time for his meeting with the trustees and senior staff. He had not said anything, but one of the staff arrived with a bread roll filled with crispy bacon, and he immediately felt a hunger that he might otherwise have ignored; he ate gratefully. This was followed by coffee and biscuits; he was conceding that Sebastian might have a point about Custard Creams when the door opened and the chief executive of the hospital arrived accompanied by the head of the charitable trust and the clinical director. They apologised the moment the arrived for the absence of the fourth member of the reception party.
"I'm am afraid that the senior paediatric surgeon that was due to join us has been called in to perform an emergency operation, but she sends her apologies," said the chief executive. Ethan had to stifle a laugh as he saw the way that the clinical director rolled his eyes at the last part of the statement; it suggested to him that the person in question would not have sent apologies, but probably saw him being here as a nuisance, and wished him just to hand over the cash and go. "If she is able to join us later then she will," continued the chief executive, before offering to take Ethan on a tour of the facility.
Ethan spent the next hour or so walking from ward to ward, listening to all that was going on, and smiling broadly at the attitude of the staff to the in some cases very young children under their care. The tour ended in the current oncology unit, and he could see immediately why they had been so desperate to build a completely new centre; the current one was very cramped, the rooms awkward, and it was bursting at the seams with patients. The sight of so many sick children and young adults tugged at all of Ethan's heartstrings, but what he saw most was that in spite of all that they were going through, they all seemed to be happy, dealing with the illness that they had with dignity and courage, helped through it by a team of knowledgeable staff that seemed to know exactly how to treat each child; as an individual.
They then walked outside to view the site of the new unit; work had already begun, and the foundations were laid, and a steel skeleton was starting to climb up. He could see that it was easily at least three times the size of the current facility, and he was heartened to hear that the existing space would be merged seamlessly into the new, after it too had been renovated and remodelled to the necessary standard modern medicine required.
Then came the photos Ethan had been dreading, with the large cardboard cheque in full sight, although they had agreed to keep his face out of the images, as he had asked. There was a surprise for him when they informed him that the new building would be known as Mackenzie House, an honour which he accepted for himself and his parents with modesty. This was followed by a brief lunch reception, where he was introduced to many of the staff that would work in the new unit in quieter and less hectic surroundings. For that he was given a name badge; he proceeded to shake so many hands that his arm ached afterwards.
Then it was time for him to take his leave, still with no sign of the surgeon that had supposed to have been introduced to him. The chief executive apologised again for that, but Ethan had no issue, accepting that it was necessary to put the needs of the patients first; he again had to stifle a laugh as he heard the clinical director remark to one of the senior nurses that it was no great loss. On leaving, he placed his name tag on the table where one badge remained unclaimed, but he did not chance to look at it properly; had he done so, he might have paled, then decided to wait all day if he had to to meet the lady in question. After all, how many doctors called Lucy George could there be in England…
Watching the scene at that moment, keeping out of sight of Ethan was an angel who was fully aware of just how close his friend had come to the woman that had come between him and his best friend. A part of Wes had wanted to knock the name badge off the table as Ethan placed his own on, so that he would pick it up and see it, and make the connection. He was not allowed to though; he could not disrupt the grand scheme that ran everything in the world. He followed Ethan as he walked from the building, and gasped as at a crossroads between two corridors, the woman in question passed just behind Ethan, neither noticing the other… It just seemed so unfair to him, knowing just how much Drew was suffering that the resolution could not have come that day. He just had to trust that it would all be alright in the end…
After leaving the hospital, Ethan spent the remainder of his afternoon visiting old haunts in the city, the places that he and Drew had used to meet up at back in the day when they were carefree students, not burdened with the worry of work, and not kept apart by one woman's nature. As he went from place to place, the pain began to build up in Ethan's heart, and he decided to stop before he burst into tears. He headed instead to his hotel, pleased to discover that his luggage was waiting for him in his room, as were the train tickets that he would use the following day for another trip into his past; a visit to his old college at Cambridge.
The moment he had known he would be coming to England, and when, he had contacted his old professors to see if any of them would be available to meet him for old times sake, knowing that they monitored the progress of all of their former students. He did regret that decision just a little when they replied as one, and asked if he could possibly come and speak to the senior students of this year about his experiences. He could not really decline, but he was not looking forward to it at all. He was okay when he was in small business meetings, but the idea of effectively lecturing to a group of 50 young people was another matter. All he could do was try and channel his inner Thad….
To help him relax that evening, he had booked himself a show ticket, and had used it as a chance to say hello to two old friends. He had arranged to meet Jane outside the theatre, and then they would head in and watch Mason in the London version of Book of Mormon; after the show, they would head out for drinks. He remembered to take with him two parcels that Roderick had entrusted to his care the previous day, which contained a selection of items of food that were particular favourites of the couple, but which were either difficult or expensive to obtain in the UK. They were both aware that the parcels would be coming, and so if he had forgotten them, there was every chance that he would be shot…
The post show drinks were of course the first time he had ever really spent time alone with the two of them. He had noticed the engagement ring that now shone on Jane's hand the moment that they had met; he had congratulated her, but she had asked him not to say anything to anyone else, at least until they could announce it to everyone themselves. It had been only 48 hours since Mason had got down on one knee and asked the question, and not even their immediate family had been informed as of yet. He had promised to say nothing, then had handed over the shopping bag that contained the two precious parcels; she smiled broadly, then as they walked in, she was recognised by the staff in the box office. It meant that she could hand the bag over to them, and arrange for it to be sent to Mason's dressing room. The young man himself had only been in the role of Elder Price officially for a week so far, but he performed with vigour as he had always done, and he had an obvious bond with the rest of the cast already. After the show, in a quiet bar, he admitted to Ethan that creating that had not been an easy task….
"The previous Price was from England, and when he decided to quit - he was offered a big part in a new period drama on the BBC - there was an expectation that one of those guys would take over the role. What they did not know at the time was that the understudy had been offered the role and had declined it, revealing that he was also about to quit; at that point, the director sought help from the States. Trust me therefore when I say that the first day I was introduced to the guys, the atmosphere was glacial. That was until I told them all about my first performance in the show, the one with you guys when Sebastian had to pull off a miracle. I even still had the clip that Roderick filmed against the rules of me as Elder McKinley. Now they had all heard the legend, but until that moment, none of them knew that I had been one of that cast. Once they did…"
"That explains why when Jane took me backstage at the end of the show, they all wanted to shake my hand," mused Ethan, and Mason laughed.
"Yeah, I told them that you were coming, and that you had been one of that cast, and they all got a little excited. They are a good bunch of guys, and I've even begun to work with one of them to create a new understudy; the current one leaves at the end of the month. One day of course, they will have to take over from me…"
Ethan looked at Mason curiously after he had said those words; there was something in the way that he had phrased it that made him wonder if there was a deeper meaning there…
"What Mason means," said Jane, "is that he has no set finish date, and now that we are actually here… My firm has given me a promotion at their offices here, and there is much less of a chance of getting a similar role back in New York. When we realised that, we started to think seriously about what we should do long term. There is also the fact that back on Broadway, Mason is always going to have to compete with Sebastian, and for that matter Sam, for the best parts. If he wants to make a name for himself, wants to originate roles even just in revivals, there will be much more opportunity here. The visas that we are on can be extended, so it wouldn't be an issue for either of us to stay longer than planned."
"Just don't tell anyone that either," added Mason. "Jane's folks might not be too pleased, and as for Roderick and Madison… They all need to be told first; warned of our plans so that they can start dealing with the idea we might be thousands of miles away for a long time."
Ethan smiled, and responded, "My lips are sealed. You will be sorely missed, but I can see your point. There are better chances for both of you here."
Ethan's talk at Cambridge the next day was not as bad as he had anticipated. Once he was at the front of the room, the words just seemed to come naturally to him and he soon had the full attention of his audience. It was good to return to the place where he had spent three years studying, to let people see how he had done since then. However, he could also see the signs of the changes that had come along in England since then, some not so good. He felt a sense of loss when he walked along a street expecting to see a bakery that he had frequented daily and finding it gone. He was relieved to discover though that it had only moved around the corner into the next street, and he purchased two of the Chelsea Buns he had been so fond off to eat before he went to his bed that night.
His resolution was weak though, and he ended up eating one as he waited for his train at the station; he noted the information boards that detailed the progress on the link to Oxford, a line that had closed nearly six decades before in very different times, but now slated for a return. Of course, seeing that word made him think of Drew again, and he was tempted for a moment to leave the station and head for the cross country bus that would take him to that city of dreaming spires, a journey he had made so many times before, but he knew it would not be a good idea, and resisted the temptation. If he went, then regardless of whether he saw Drew or not, he would only end up hurt… Back in London, he had a late dinner after spending time in Foyles bookshop, once a favoured haunt but again not quite the same as it used to be, given that it had merged with a larger chain, and was no longer quite as quirky as it had once been. That was the way of the world though; nothing remained the same forever, and that was on the large a good thing. Progress had to happen, or everything would go stale. Still, he was glad that he would be heading to Paris the following day…
It would be his first time in France; he and Drew had considered making the trip together one summer whilst they were in college, but the time had never been right, and money had been tight. Now as he stepped off the Eurostar at the Gare du Nord he knew that he was in a very different country to the one that he had just left. He was glad to spot François waiting for him, and to have him there to shepherd him through the metro to his place. The apartment had once belonged to his parents, but they had now more or less retired to their small villa in the south of the country, and François shared it with his boyfriend Matthieu and a cat.
His next few days were spent in a whirlwind of sightseeing, visiting all the key things that tourists had to see in the city; a round of landmarks, monuments and museums, historic palaces and legendary art. He ate in little neighbourhood bistros that seemed to have been left untouched by the troubles of the 21st century, serving the same simple dishes that they had done for generations. He could see where the outside world had managed to creep in, and the influence of his own nation in terms of food and clothing, but the bulk of the culture that had made France the nation that it was had been preserved. Ethan also had to admit that he enjoyed the company of the two young Frenchmen, who seemed as well suited as a couple should be. Both had excellent English, and he in return attempted to speak French as well as he could, delving into the dusty corners of his mind to dredge up the phrases that he had learnt at Dalton, but never used since. The whole pace of life seemed less hectic there, and he boarded his flight back to JFK feeling refreshed, and planning to return to Europe the following year; to follow in the others' footsteps and see a few of the other capital cities…
He would arrive back in New York just in time for the final birth that anyone was aware of in the group. After a month in which Auntie Snix had made a return visit to the world each and every morning, Santana had finally gone into labour and had made her way to the hospital with Brittany at her side. The experience that followed had left her almost completely shattered. The birth would not be the easiest, and it was not as quick as she would have liked it to be. Her wife was making all of the correct noises, doing all of the right things, but the pain kept growing, and she had to constantly bite her tongue to prevent herself saying something that would see her end up in the divorce courts. As for the father to be, he had been informed, but had stayed away; a wise move in her opinion. She would probably have killed Sebastian if he had walked in, or worse yet, sent flowers or fruit. Just now the only thing that she would want fruit for was to throw it at people…
That was not to say that Sebastian was not being kept constantly in the loop; he was in continual touch from the rehearsal room where he was perfecting his portrayal of the Prince of Denmark. The child would not be the first he felt he was a parent to, but it would be the first that he was the father to…
In the end it took the threat of a caesarean and the arrival of her mother to get the ball rolling, so to speak. With a lot of assistance from the gas and air, she summoned up everything that she had, and brought the newest member of the 'family' into the world. She had chosen not to know what sex her child was, so the birth of a daughter was a surprise. She and Brittany had chosen two names, and the one that they had for their little girl was perfect, and Mrs Lopez had to agree. As for her Abuela, she would be absolutely delighted the moment that she met her namesake, at least in Santana's opinion…
Santana would be proven correct in her assumption, but the birth of Alma Pierce-Lopez was also greeted with delight by her biological father. Sebastian did not rush to the hospital the moment that he heard that he had a child of his own; the fact was that he would not be bringing her up, and would only be a sort of uncle figure, in the background in so many ways. He did not want to go to the hospital, be handed his little girl to hold and fall in love… Instead he sent a message of congratulations to the two new mothers, and then went home to his husband and their daughter Eloise; he took the latter into his arms and sung her to sleep that night. Dave said nothing, as he was also fully aware that Santana had given birth, and that the whole thing had to be tough on his husband; he could not even begin to contemplate how he would feel if he had been the one in the situation….
He did not broach the issue after dinner either, their little girl tucked up in bed, but afterwards as they sat together on the couch, he noticed that his husband was in a very affectionate mood, leaning into him and pulling him close… Not long after that they retired to bed early, and it was only then that Sebastian finally spoke. "I will go and see her tomorrow; I can't not go, although that would be by far the easiest of options for me. I am not going to snatch her away and demand custody or rights; that is not because I am afraid of Santana, but because it would hurt Brittany so much, and I could not ever see myself hurting that gentle soul. These feelings must be a lot like the ones that our surrogate went through, although it has to be worse for a mother, as she carried the child for nine months. We should have her over more often, if she would like… let her see her daughter…."
"I will ask and see what she says… You do know that Santana would never stop you from seeing your daughter…"
"I know, but if I let her in too much… She will always be my child, but Elise is our daughter, our only child - at least until we try again."
"We can deal with that whenever you feel ready. An age gap doesn't really matter after all; I mean, you and Julian are nearly a decade apart, but you are still so close."
"That's true now, but as you know, there was a long time that we weren't. After all, if the age gap is too big, one of them will head off to college, and the younger one doesn't understand why, just sees it as a desertion. I don't want a child of mine to feel like I did back then…" Dave nodded and made a mental note to speak to their surrogate in the next few days; not just to ask if she wanted to visit more often, but to see if she would be prepared to be their surrogate all over again…
