Drew's New York Life

For both Ethan and Drew, the new understanding and honesty that they had displayed about the situation they now found themselves in was a great relief. Drew had retired to the room that was nominally his to wash and change into his nightclothes, but had then headed back across the hall to Ethan's room. His friend was already in bed, the covers on the other side turned down to make it simple for him to climb in and join him. It was still an odd feeling to be doing it; it reminded him of the earliest days of his marriage, and then there was the fact that had he been less secure in his sexuality, it could easily have been quite traumatic. As he climbed in, he at once felt the differences between the beds in the two rooms; the mattress here was much firmer, and of course, it was a king size bed, not a queen. The sheets seemed a little softer, a sign of the fact that they probably had a much greater thread count…

Once he was settled, Ethan had slid over towards him. "How do you want to play this? Should I just lie here at your side, ready to move over if I am needed, or should I hold you gently now, and try and prevent any nightmares from manifesting themselves in the first place? Whatever you decide will be more than alright by me…"

"I think that if you don't mind holding me now, then that might be for the best… I mean, I might not actually start to have a nightmare tonight, but just to be on the safe side and not risk it, it might be the best thing," replied Drew quietly, before moving over to snuggle up against Ethan's side. "Let's try this for a start, if that is okay with you…"

"It's fine. I don't mind what we do, just as long as it leaves you rested and peaceful. All that matters here is your wellbeing… Having said that, we do need to decide what we are going to say to Evie about all of this. She will wake up and find us like this one day, and if we don't tell her right from the off why we are doing this, then she might quite innocently tell someone that the two of us are sharing a bed, and that is how rumours and innuendo start."

"True. Those that know us both well will not remark upon it, but others would draw conclusions. We will sit down with her in the morning and explain it all to her. Just now though, we try and get a good night's sleep."

Ethan nodded, then watched as his best friend drifted off to sleep lying at his side. Only once that had happened did he allow his own eyes to close so that he could enjoy a good sleep of his own.

The nightmares that did come to assail Drew that evening were relatively minor; no sooner had the dark, horrific images start to manifest themselves in his dreams than they had faded, replaced by an all pervading feeling that he was both safe and loved, and that no harm could come to him. He did not wake up in the darkness as usual, his eyes snapping open as he sat bolt upright, drenched in cold sweat. At his side, Ethan too had a good night, not awoken at all by the agonies of his friend. His body seemed to know instinctively when to tighten its hold on the one beside it, with no need to awaken him…

It would be Ethan that woke first the following morning, and he did so to the sound of a small voice shouting out for her daddy. He rose quickly, suddenly conscious of the fact that Evie had probably woken up, and gone into the room where her father had slept the last time they had been here, and had panicked on finding his bed undisturbed and empty. Sure enough, the moment that he stepped into the hallway and found her, that was the first question on her lips.

"Uncle Ethan, where is daddy? He isn't in his bed…Maybe she came in the night and took him away…"

Sensing that the little girl was fraught and on the verge of tears, Ethan nodded towards the door of his own room, still slightly ajar, and she headed towards it like a shot. The relief on her face on seeing her father's form lying in the bed inside was clear. "He had one of his nightmares, didn't he? Grandma asked me the second morning that we were there if daddy had nightmares, and I told her the truth. She seemed to know anyway, but then she asked if I had them too. I told her that I had had some, but when I did, daddy always came and laid down on the bed next to me until I felt better. That is why he is sleeping in your bed, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is sweetheart, but he doesn't want anyone to know about it, because he is a grown up. Grown ups can be very stupid, and some people would say a lot of cruel things to him if they knew."

"I won't tell anyone, Uncle Ethan. It is just like a sleepover anyway, because you are best friends…" Ethan nodded, and couldn't help but wonder at the maturity and wisdom in such a young child…

Ethan left Drew to have a proper chat with Evie when he woke up, whilst he himself headed out to the bakery to collect his usual Saturday morning bagels. As he waited in the queue, he suddenly wondered if Rabbi Hirsch might be able to help Drew find a counsellor. He knew that she had a range of good connections, and he knew that she had been helpful to others when they had experienced some of life's many problems. He had actually been considering attending service that day, but his plans had been altered by Drew's unannounced return. He could of course go and visit her during her office hours later on; maybe even suggest to Drew that they could go and see her together…

As he walked back from the bakery, pondering the options, he suddenly realised that someone was calling his name, and he looked across the street to see Beats, who was shaking his head as he crossed the street to join him. "I have been calling out to you for a couple of minutes now, but you were off in a dream. Did you have a bad night, or is there something on your mind that you need distracted from?"

"No, I had a good night… The fact is, I have a visitor, one that is going to be around for a good while I hope…"

Beats thought for a second, then burst into a grin. "Drew came back then? I am glad. He needs to be here with all of us. Don't get me wrong, family is good, but your other family, the one made up of friends is always a much better option. You will need to bring him up for dinner with me, Elliott and Dante one night, when he is feeling up to it. Did he give you any idea of how long he is thinking of staying?"

"Here in New York? For good I think. In my place in the West Village? That I don't know. Whatever happens, I will accept it; it is his decision to make, not mine after all."

"True, but I wouldn't be wrong in saying that you would like him to stay with you on a permanent basis?"

"Honestly? Yes, I would love him to stay, but that's not up to me…"

They continued to chat as they headed home, and when they arrived, Ethan invited Beats to come in, and he agreed, for only a couple of minutes to just say hello. As soon as he walked into the kitchen he was greeted with a cheery "Hey Uncle Beats!" from Evie, before she returned to her slice of toast with peanut butter. Drew was making himself coffee, and turned round to greet his friend too, but found himself pulled into a hug by him instead.

"Welcome back to the maddest street in the whole of New York City; it is good to have you here again! Anyway, I am not going to hold up your breakfast; I came in because I saw Ethan in the street and we got talking, and I made a suggestion which I might as well do today. I am officially inviting the three of you to join us upstairs for lunch tomorrow. I have been taking this reprobate that you have moved in with upstairs on a regular basis so that he eats less takeout, and I was going to invite him up today or tomorrow anyway, given that Elliott has the weekend off. So, what do you say?"

"That is a lovely thought, Beats, and I do appreciate it," began Drew, and he instantly saw the smile on his friend's face droop a little. He continued, "I have a better idea though; why don't the three of you come down here and join us for dinner tonight? The only good thing that came out of my marriage other than Evie was an improvement in my culinary skills, given that I did all the cooking. I am no Nick Sterling-Duval, but I am not bad, and it would be nice to show off to you all…"

Beats' smile was restored by that, and he replied, "Well I don't see there being any problem there; Elliott will enjoy the rest, and none of us are fussy eaters, so whatever is on the menu will be okay. However, I will suggest one compromise; let us bring down dessert? Elliott can make a mean Key Lime Pie, and he kind of promised me one this weekend. Nice though any dessert you might prepare would be, he isn't getting to wiggle out of that obligation!"

"Well, I do like Key Lime Pie myself, so you have a deal. I will make the most English of meals; roast beef with a selection of vegetables and Yorkshire Pudding - and no, the latter isn't a dessert…"

Beats still looked a little confused about the pudding not being a dessert, but responded with "That sounds good - shall we say about seven o'clock?"

"That will be perfect - and can I just say that it is good to be back in the knowledge that you are upstairs," said Drew, earning himself a smile and a blush from Beats, before he took his leave, and headed upstairs to break the news to Elliott and Dante.

Whilst Beats and Drew had been making their arrangements for dinner that night, Ethan had occupied himself in getting the bagels ready, cutting them open and then fetching the cream cheese and other potential toppings from the fridge. Once Beats had left, Drew joined him at the table, bringing the pot of coffee to join the jug of juice. "I hope that you didn't mind me and Drew making all those arrangements without asking you; I kind of took over, and this is your apartment after all…"

"No, this is our apartment now. You are not just my best friend anymore; you are my roommate too. I have shared places with Beats and Flint, then just Flint, then his cousin Leo, but I think in the long run you will be the easiest of them all to deal with. I doubt you will be sneaking in illicit lovers, your mother isn't borderline mad, and you certainly won't be leaving glitter everywhere…"

Drew laughed, then said quietly, "I bet that I am the first one that you have shared a bed with though."

"That is true - and of course, Evie might leave glitter lying around if she does art of that kind."

"I do like doing art with glitter, Uncle Ethan, but if it isn't okay, then I don't have to," Evie said quietly.

"No, it is more than okay; this is your home too. In fact, when we go out today, we should find an art shop and get you some art and craft stuff…"

"That would be really good. Can I be excused from the table now to go and wash?"

"You can," said Drew, and he smiled happily as his daughter left the room. With her gone, he turned to Ethan, and said, "I still can't believe that Flint was a gay bar stripper even now you know; my mind still boggles at the thought! Still, given the way that his mother behaves, he is lucky that he is not in constant therapy!"

Ethan smiled, then took his opening. "So, talking about therapy, I had an idea whilst I was out. When Flint was getting prepared for his marriage, he had to make a point of regular visits to a synagogue. Now, as in all synagogues, the one that he got married in had a lot of mothers with single daughters looking for eligible bachelors, and so to avoid being the subject of unwanted attention as a new single man in the congregation, he asked me to go with him. Now I am not very religious, but I decided to help him out and go. I actually found it wasn't all that bad, and I still go every so often now on my own. Now before you wonder, no, I have not converted to Judaism; I go because the people are friendly, and the rabbi is really easy to talk to." He stopped, and looked at Drew nodding to him. "Anyway, she knows many of the best therapists in town, and as you are looking for someone, she might well be able to recommend someone."

"Well, I guess that it wouldn't do any harm to have a word with her, if you can get me an introduction."

"She does have office hours today after the usual services, so we could go and see her this afternoon. I am going to be completely honest with you; I used to go and talk to her all the time about you; how much I worried about what was happening to you, how powerless I felt. She always said that it would be alright in the end, and she was right. I haven't seen her since you came back, and I am pretty sure that she would love to meet someone that she has been told so much about."

"I am glad that you had someone to talk to. I used to worry about you too, you know, after I sent that letter and cast you adrift… Anyway, if I am serious about therapy, then it is best to get started sooner rather than later, so yes, let's go this afternoon. I can have a chat with her myself, and see if she can find me someone…"

The trip to the supermarket was delayed slightly that morning as they were spotted by Seth from the window as they stepped out of the front door, and in no time he, Skylar, Colin and Edward were out on the sidewalk, hugging Drew and in her turn Evie, all the more delighted to discover that this was not just a brief visit. Once they reached Brooklyn, they quickly made their way round the store, gathering all that they required, Drew in particular taking care to ensure he had the best joint of beef and all the resources that he needed to make his Yorkshire Puddings from scratch. Ethan watched with a smile as he made his selections, recalling what his friend had said to him as they had rode there on the subway…

"Cooking is the one important thing that I learned in all the time that I was married to her; I had to ensure that I could make a good quality meal. She liked things to be just so, and the only time that she ever praised me on anything was on my culinary skills; not of course that the praise came all that often… I had to learn the skills to save myself; Nick had to learn to cook to feed Jeff, I did it to stop myself getting hurt. Her grandmother did show me a few things when we were still in Oxford. She is the one person in that family that I will miss, because she cared. She will be more than happy to hear that I have escaped, but she will miss Evie. I regret that she will never see her again…"

"You could write to her if you have an address I guess - that is if she lives alone and no-one would ask questions about an American postmark. We could get you a mailbox in the main post office across from Penn Station that she could reply to as well."

"I am guessing that you are suggesting there rather than a more local office as it would be harder for anyone to trace my whereabouts in such a large office, plus it is also open 24 hours a day. I think that I could do that, let her know that Evie and I are safe and well, and even more importantly, happy," Drew had replied, before the conversation had ended as the train approached their station.

It was still early when they arrived home, and with dinner not scheduled until 7pm, there was time to get their other errand done. After a quick bite of lunch, they headed out again, this time for East 12th Street and the Village Temple. They arrived not long after the start of the Rabbi's office hours; Ethan headed in through the doors quietly, taking a yarmulke for himself, then handing one to Drew. He looked a little startled by it at first, unsure what to do, but with help from Ethan he managed to put it on, as his friend quietly explained that he wore one whilst inside as a mark of deference and respect. Evie watched the proceedings quietly, and Ethan was certain that there would be a plethora of questions later, some of which he might need help from a certain Mr Wilson in answering correctly. With confidence, Ethan then walked in properly, smiling at some of the other people there and greeting some of them with a polite handshake and a quiet word.

Then they were at the door to the rabbi's office, which was ajar, signifying that there was no-one in with her at the moment. Ethan knocked on the door, then signalling to Drew to stay where he was, he stepped in. As he entered, Rabbi Hirsch looked up, and smiled before greeting him. "Good afternoon Ethan! How are things with you? It has been quite a while since we have seen you…"

"Yes indeed, ma'am, it has been, and I promise that it will not be as long until I return. My absence was due to the fact that I had a few important issues to deal with, and now something crucial has been brought to a very satisfactory conclusion. However, that in itself has brought with it a new set of challenges, and I am here to seek your help and guidance."

"I will do whatever it is that I can to assist you…"

"To be honest, this time it isn't me that needs the assistance, it is a friend who is waiting outside. May I introduce you to my friend, Mr Drew Symons…"

Ethan motioned to Drew to step in at that point, and he did sheepishly, with Evie at his side.

Rabbi Hirsch only needed a moment to make the connection. "Ah, Mr Symons, your friend that was in London! I have heard so much about you, and your situation, and I am very, very pleased to see you here at last. I take it that the matter Ethan referred to has some connection to what was happening in England?"

"It was, ma'am," said Ethan before Drew could reply. "You will be aware from what I said to you the basics of what was happening; the reality was much worse than I feared. As a result, he needs to find someone to talk to, and I thought that you might know of someone…"

It was a little over an hour later that the group of three found themselves walking back towards the West Village. Evie was walking happily between Ethan and Drew, carrying the bag of books that she had obtained at the Strand Bookshop, just down the road from the temple, where Ethan had taken her whilst the Rabbi and Drew had talked in private. As they walked, Drew spoke quietly to Ethan. "You were right about her; she is an excellent listener. I thought that I would clam up completely once it was just the two of us, but when it came to it, everything just came pouring out of me without any sort of filter. I think that the fact she is a stranger to me made it all so much easier to say; I doubt I would have been as open with someone that I knew well. And you were right; she does know someone that had experience in dealing with the sort of stuff I went through. It seems that I am not the only man that has found himself in the position that I was in. I have his number, and I will call his office on Monday morning. Anyway, thanks for taking care of Evie for me whilst I was in there."

"It was no problem; I thought that she might like a visit to the Strand, which you can see she did by the bag - and there might have been some chocolate bought for after dinner too."

Drew laughed, then asked, "So do you go to the services at the synagogue often? People seemed to know you…"

"I go maybe once a month normally. It is just comforting, and the people there are all so open and welcoming, even to a gentile like me."

"Well, maybe one Saturday we could all go together, if you think that would be okay?"

"I am sure that it would be. The other advantage is that Evie would get to meet some more kids of her own age that are not going to be at her new kindergarten."

On their return home, Drew headed straight for the kitchen to start preparing the evening's meal; he had his beef joint to prepare and get into the oven; he had potatoes to peel and other vegetables to get ready. He was proud of himself in having remembered to get horseradish to make sauce; it was something that he had grown to like and a condiment that Evie enjoyed, much to his surprise at first…

He had left his daughter safely in Ethan's care, and as a result it fell to him, as he had expected, to be the one to answer all of her questions about the temple and of course, the little hats he and her dad had worn. She had it transpired known a few Jewish children at her old kindergarten back in London, and they had also learned about most other religions and faiths at some point, but she had never actually been inside anything but a church before, and so the temple had been full of curiosities and things that had excited her curiosity. Ethan did his best to explain things, but knew that for a definitive answer, she would have to speak to Flint…

"So, are you Jewish, Uncle Ethan?" Evie eventually asked.

"No, but your Uncle Flint is, and he married his wife in the temple we were in today. Before he got married, he used to live here with me and sleep in the room your dad has now; he didn't want to go to the temple on his own, and so he asked me if I would go with him, and I agreed. I don't think that I am any particular religion at all, if I am being totally honest. I do believe that there is a God, and I am certain that there are angels, and another life after our one here…."

"In heaven? Daddy believes in angels too. I think that he might even have seen one once, a long time ago. Have you ever seen one?"

"I might have done," said Ethan shortly, not really sure if he wanted to bring up what might be a difficult and distressing subject.

"I thought you might have. I once heard her tell daddy that all of his precious angels could not save him now, but I think that she might just have been jealous of him because she wasn't as special as he was." Ethan nodded, and watched as Evie turned to her bag of books, took one out, and started to read. He couldn't help but wonder if Drew's daughter would be as blessed as little Wes, and also be able to see their angelic friends. Only time would tell…

In no time it was time for their guests to arrive, Ethan realising that he was about to host his first ever dinner party in this apartment. Evie had insisted that she needed to change into a different dress, stating that a lady always changed for dinner, earning herself a smile from both Ethan and Drew. She was the one that raced to the door when the knock came, and promptly wrapped herself around Beats, who just grinned. Elliott was relived of the dessert before he too was hugged, which had him smiling as much as his partner. Then Evie found herself face to face with Dante. They had met in passing before, but there had been no formal introduction, which made her a little more wary. He for his part was also more reserved than usual, but he was smart enough to realise that he had to be the one to put her at ease around him.

He knelt down so he was at her level, then stretched out his hand for her to take with the words, "Hello, I am Dante. I live upstairs with your Uncle Beats and Elliott; they are taking care of me because my mom decided she didn't want me around any more, mainly because I was bad. Sometimes I was bad because of the things she did and said around me, and when she sent me away, I got worse. Then I met these two guys, and they looked out for me, and made me better; now I am one of the good guys, I hope."

Evie nodded, then took his hand. "I am Evie. Daddy and I have come here to live with Uncle Ethan, because he is daddy's best friend. He also saved us from the wicked witch that used to hurt my daddy back in London. Between you and me, I think he might actually be a prince…"

Dante smiled, then whispered back, "Yeah? Maybe you are right; he does look like a prince…"

"But we can't tell anyone that he is."

"My lips are sealed."

Around them as they spoke stood four adult men, two glowing with pride that their once angry and rebellious foster son was now able to sit and chat with the little girl whose life had not been easy so far; two others smiling as they saw that she was casting a spell on him just as easily as she had done with all of the others…

Drew's meal would turn out to be a massive hit. The three from upstairs had never had Yorkshire Pudding before, although Elliott had heard of it; they all had to agree that the baked batter delicacy was ideal for mopping up the rich meaty gravy that Drew had produced from scratch, something that seriously impressed Elliott. They had all tried a little of the horseradish too, although it was less popular. As for his roast potatoes, well Elliott decided that he was going to interrogate him later as to just how he had got them so perfect inside and out. For his part, Drew wanted to know the secrets behind Elliott's dessert, largely because his daughter had declared that Key Lime Pie was her new all time favourite, and he would have to be able to prepare it for her himself…

After the meal, Dante volunteered to play with Evie, which left Drew smiling in wonder. "There aren't that many teenage boys that would happily agree to play games with a three year old girl. You have taught him well…"

"No, all we have done is encouraged him to be himself, and this is what happens when you do that with the backdrop of a nice neighbourhood and a stable home. The kid that we all see now was always in there, and all of the aggressive and disruptive stuff that made him a thorn in his mother's side just went, although it took time," said Beats. "In some ways, there are similarities to the way that Sebastian first behaved when he arrived at Dalton. He was unhappy, dragged from pillar to post by his parents, and so he acted up. You wouldn't know that now a decade on…"

"A decade! I suddenly feel so very old when you say that," remarked Ethan.

"Try passing thirty like I have," said Elliott. "That is when you start to realise that as hard as you try, you just don't stay young. Things start to act up, and get a little more difficult. It also makes you realise just how lucky you are." As he said those last words, he looked at Beats with a smile…

"Oh, you definitely are," said Beats returning the smile. "You have been through a lot, but now you have a job that you love, a brother that is happy and contented, a huge circle of friends, a perfect foster son…"

"…and a former gay bar stripper for a boyfriend," interjected Ethan, before Beats could finish. Elliott and Drew both began to laugh, as Beats went bright red, glad that Dante was preoccupied with Evie, and had not heard. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his past, it was just that it could raise some awkward questions that he wasn't yet ready to answer, and there was also the fact that if his name was linked to the bar back in Princeton, then Dante would soon find out about Flint's shared past too…