Arrivals and Departures
Most of the former Warblers that had come to Chicago to attend the wedding would head home late in the day on Sunday; David did not. He left early to catch a flight back home to Boston, to help Mercedes with the last of their packing. A van would be arriving at 9am the following morning to pick up all the items that they had deemed to be essential for the next few months that they would be living in New York, and they would drive to the city with the van not far behind them. At first, Mercedes had not really been looking forward to the idea of living in Nick and Jeff's house. She loved the two of them as much as her fellow New Directions alumni, and she had no issues with their home in terms of either style or location, but she was concerned about the possibility of damaging something important whilst they were there, or making too many little changes to things that might end up creating an issue later.
Nick had of course anticipated that, and had written her a letter in which he informed her that as long as she didn't completely redecorate the place, she could treat it as if it were her own home. She could move the furniture, as it could easily be moved back into the place they had had it in afterwards. The only part of the house that was a no go area was the attic, and Jeff's studio, somewhere that Mercedes had no intention of going anyway. With that reassurance from Nick, she had come around to the idea, and had to agree that it would be more comfortable than a rental place, and better value for money, not that the latter was an issue. There was also the fact that they would have good neighbours, friends that they knew; that would avoid issues with press intrusion, and that was critical, particularly given that there was now Simon to consider.
On that Sunday morning, her nagging doubts had begun to resurface, but she managed to push them into the back of her mind, just as she was ignoring her doubts about having Mitch living in their house whilst they were away. As long as he moved out again when they came home, then she had no problem with it all really. She knew that he was a Warbler, and they had their code. That was why she had not minded David going to the wedding in the least; that and the fact that it let her get things sorted without his assistance, which, although always well intentioned, often made things harder to achieve. By the time that he arrived back that Sunday, she had everything dealt with apart from her husband's work related stuff, which she knew that he could be trusted to deal with.
Mitch had come round on the Friday afternoon to be shown round and told where everything was; he had a key of his own and the code for the alarm. He intended to move in the week before Gabriel got married; neither he or his wife-to-be had time in their busy work schedules for a honeymoon at the moment, and so Mitch wanted to be gone before the newlyweds arrived home from their small ceremony. That did not stop Mercedes from leaving post it notes around the house whilst David packed up his work stuff, just so that nothing was left to chance when he moved in. She knew that Nick had also left her a book with notes on how everything in the West Village house worked, and she was sure Mitch would appreciate the same. David did have to stifle a laugh when he saw them for the first time, but he knew where she was coming from with her efforts. That night, as they ate dinner, he did start to feel a little strange; it was the realisation that the next time he would eat dinner at the table in his own house would be in the summer of 2023...
The drive down to New York the following day passed without any great issue. Simon and Mercedes sat in the back, as that allowed for her to be able to attend to his needs without them having to find a rest stop to pull up in. For once the traffic was fairly light en route, and as a consequence they made good time, arriving in the street in the West Village just before 5pm. As they drew to a halt outside the house, a glance behind them saw the van pulling into the road too, which was a blessing. Almost on cue to came the opening of doors in the street, and Mike, along with the boys from the house next door, appeared to assist. Mike hurried along with the keys, which he used after dashing up the steps to open the door. Mercedes joined him inside in a moment, carrying Simon, as David went to speak to the movers.
"Tina and I came in yesterday," Mike began, "and we have been round and done a little bit of cleaning for you, just to get the worst of the dust removed. The gas, electric and water are all switched back on; we checked all the appliances and the taps, and everything is in working order with no issues at all. This morning I went out and got you a few basic supplies, which are in the fridge. There is enough there to make dinner tonight, and provide breakfast tomorrow, although Tina did ask me to say that the three of you are welcome to join us for dinner tonight."
As the movers began to bring in the boxes, Mercedes replied, "That would actually be good, Mike. The journey was long, and even though it wasn't too stressful, I don't think I have the inclination to cook, and as much as David would love takeout, I would far rather have a home cooked meal with friends. Tell Tina that we accept with gratitude."
"Cool. It is really good to have the two of you here; this house has looked a little forlorn since Nick and Jeff left, and more importantly, I am looking forward to seeing more of an old friend. The same is true for Artie, and indeed Kitty; I would expect to be invited to dinner with them one night this week as well. Right, I will go and help with getting your stuff in, and then head home; just come along whenever you are ready. It doesn't take any time at all to whip up something delicious and fresh."
Mike headed out with a smile, and Mercedes found herself smiling too; she had to admit that it would be nice to see more of some of her oldest friends. She had no desire to live in New York full time, much happier in the quiet of Boston, but this was going to be a good few months for her and David, both on a professional and a personal level.
Within 48 hours, both Mercedes and David felt right at home in the West Village. As they had hoped, the neighbours that were not close friends had either not noticed, or just did not react to the fact that one of the country's biggest recording artists had moved in across the street; in New York, as in Boston, Mercedes was left to go about her day to day life in peace. She was not aware of the fact that a request had been made to Isabelle by Kurt, asking her to get it out into the media that she was off limits to the paparazzi, and that should she find out that Mercedes or indeed David had been targeted with any unwanted attention by them, then the whole weight of Vogue would come down upon them. She was able to guarantee that as she was gaining power within the organisation as she was favoured by the legendary Ms Wintour, and in the eyes of many, was being groomed to take over as her successor as editor-in-chief one day. Mercedes did still cause quite the stir the first time that she headed out to visit the local stores, and she had signed a few autographs and agreed to a few selfies being taken, but that was an act of self-preservation; having done that, the store workers and the locals would help to defend her privacy.
For David, the move meant that he suddenly found himself thrust back into the role that he had had at Dalton. He was the most senior of all of Wes' group of Warblers in the city; Beats confided in him with a smile on his second day in town that he was more than happy to have him in town, as the younger boys in the house next door would no longer turn to him for advice in the first instance… Ethan and indeed Flint concurred with that statement, but unlike Beats, said nothing to David's face. As an outsider however, the first thing that had struck David was the deterioration in Seth; his condition seemed to have worsened rapidly in his eyes since he had last spent any period of time with him close by. Familiarity had almost blinded his housemates and close neighbours to the spasms in his hands, but in an hour in his company on his first full day in town, David had noticed four; three on one side, and one on the other. He resolved that he might have to head to the hospital to see Ollie Harwood on the quiet, and just ask him a few hypothetical questions…
Before he had a chance to do so amongst all of his other tasks in that first week, a phone call came from Boston with a bit of shocking news. A fire had taken hold in one of the city's most prestigious hotels, The Lenox, and had destroyed the main public spaces. This would not have been an event that would have grabbed their attention, had it not been for the fact that it was the venue in which Gabriel was due to marry his fiancée Louisa in just a few weeks. The news of the fire had been distressing for him, but the announcement that came a few hours later, saying that all scheduled events had been cancelled until further notice, such was the extent of the damage, came as a body blow. Gabriel's mind was left in turmoil; he had waited so long to marry her, and now all of it was in ruins, and he was inconsolable.
Mitch was almost as upset as the groom-to-be, but he was being much more practical about the situation, not having the strong emotional connection. He contacted the owners of the hotel as soon as he could, knowing that they had other venues in the city, and asked if they had an alternative available on the date in question. The call to the rather haughty woman on the end did lead to raised voices and a rather heated exchange in the end, and at first it seemed he would get nowhere. Then, with a rather sarcastic note in her voice, she stated that their sister company did have one venue with the ability to host the wedding and accommodate the guests that had been booked in at the Lenox on the date in question, but that was in New York. There was something about her tone of voice that made Mitch immediately accept the offer. She was surprised, but had no choice but to go ahead and confirm it all to him. When she ended the call, Mitch suddenly realised that he had just moved his friend's wedding nearly 200 miles, and had not even asked him…
To say that Gabriel did not react well at first to the news was an understatement. He was not exactly pleased with Mitch for intervening in the first place, however well intentioned his motives, but the fact that he had then moved everything to New York just took the proverbial cake. Fortunately for Mitch, Louisa had arrived at the house just as Gabriel had been about to punch him, and had managed to calm him down. What was even more fortunate for Mitch was the fact that unlike her future husband, she loved the whole idea. Yes, there could be issues with some of the out of town guests flights, but if for some reason they could not get them changed, then they would just arrange for them to be taken from Logan to New York by road. For several of her family, the change would be for the better, as it would cut their travel time; for two of her oldest friends, who lived and worked in New York, it would actually mean they could attend, as they had not been able to get the time off to travel to Boston, but could easily get a day off for a wedding in the city.
With Louisa so pleased, Gabriel had to admit that it would actually be better for some of his relatives too. It would also be a shorter distance for his two best men, Connor and Louis to come as well, and all of the Warblers in the city would now be able to attend. Mitch could not actually believe his luck afterwards, and said as much when he called David, who had to agree, with the details of the change of plans.
"If it had been me that you had done that to, then I would have blown up every bit as much," said David. "You are just really darn lucky that it suited her. Of course, there is now another question; where will you and Gabriel be staying the night before the wedding?"
"True - and don't forget Louis and Connor. We were all going to crash at Gabriel's place, but that isn't an option now…"
"And that fact has nothing to do with why you chose to call me with the news rather than just send an e-mail. Nothing to do with the fact that I am the person with spare rooms…" said David.
"Well, it might have been a factor," said Mitch with a laugh.
David's response was not quite what Mitch had been hoping for. "Well, much as I would love to agree to that here and now, I have to consider the fact that my wife might not appreciate four house guests right now. I will talk to her, but I would expect that it would be you and Gabriel at the most. However, before you start to panic, don't forget that there are two other houses here in the street that are vacant, and Louis and Connor could stay there in just as much comfort."
"I always forget about that - I mean, Gabriel and I could stay there too, which would leave you free to enjoy the quiet life."
"No, I want to ensure that Gabriel gets a proper send off into married life, so you two will be more than welcome."
When he went to talk about it with Mercedes, David was proved right in the fact that her face did not register delight at the mention of the four names, but two was more acceptable; she was fond of Gabriel, and loved that fact that he had managed to sustain a long distance relationship when so many others failed. She called Mitch back herself to confirm the arrangements. With the accommodation crisis resolved, there was just the hotel details for the wedding itself to sort out, and there distance did pose an issue. Mercedes stepped up without even being asked, and went to the venue to speak to the wedding co-ordinator. Their reaction when such a well known face walked in was priceless, and it helped to ensure that Gabriel and Louisa would get the kind of wedding day that they deserved.
As all of that was going on, one of the other Warblers in the city was gearing up to leave it for a while. Although the prospect of appearing on stage in London was a very appealing one to Sebastian, the fact that it meant leaving his husband behind for nearly three months left a hollow feeling in his heart, a growing ache that he never would have expected to have back in his youth. Dave too seemed to be feeling the pain of their imminent separation if the look on his face was anything to go by. He had a week between his last Broadway show and his flight to England, and fortunately Dave had been given the same time off too. They spent the time together with their daughter, making new memories and just enjoying being together.
The final three days did see them being joined by Sebastian's maman, who was every bit as anxious to spend time with her son before he headed away, given that thanks to their own respective schedules they had not had much opportunity to see each other. She was so proud of her son, and all that he had now become. The indiscretions of his youth were now long behind him, and she now realised that she and his father had been at least partly responsible for them happening in the first place, given that they had both used him as a weapon in their acrimonious divorce. She was just glad that fate had not been even more cruel to her son and left him with a legacy of those days in his bloodstream.
On the morning of his departure, with his bags already packed, Sebastian began to experience all of the jitters that usually accompanied a man on his wedding day; he had moments in which he was about to phone London and call everything with the National Theatre off. He always stopped himself, knowing that such a move now would be career suicide. Nonetheless, he knew that he would be counting down the days whilst he was away until it was time to come home, desperate to be back on a flight and returning to the love of his life.
He had been expecting just to have a quiet family dinner before heading to Newark for his flight, but that was not the case. That Julian would arrive with Isabelle and his daughter was no shock, but he had not been expecting Peter to be there too; the fact that his nephew had headed home from Dalton for the weekend just to see him bowled him right over. Julian had made the plans as soon as he knew when his brother was going. Peter was grown up now, almost as tall as his Sebastian, but he had never lost the love he felt for his Uncle Bazzy. The mystery of how he had arrived in town was solved when Thad walked in right behind them, another surprise which had the departing man nearly in tears, particularly when the Head Warbler told him how proud they all were of him, and all that he had achieved.
David would arrive soon after that with Ethan, Drew and Evie; Beats and Flint followed with Seth and Skylar, and then Santana and Brittany arrived with Alma. Now surrounded by wellwishers, Sebastian began to feel overwhelmed, and had to make excuses and retreat to his bedroom to compose himself. When the quiet knock came to the door, he was expecting his husband or his brother; it was quite a shock when Santana walked in, and came over to sit by him on the bed.
"Okay, meerkat, this is not going to be easy for me to say, but I am going to miss you. It won't be the same without you around here without you… Still, it isn't for ever, and you will be soon be back home for me to taunt…"
Sebastian laughed, then said, "That doesn't make the going any easier, Satan. But, at the risk of sounding mushy, I am going to miss you too."
"I promise to keep an eye on Dave for you; I will come over and pester him, make sure he isn't brooding on his own. Meanwhile, you go and wow those Brits with your sheer talent…"
For a brief second, Sebastian considered hugging Santana for her kind words, then decided against it; he wasn't sure if that would be seen as crossing a line, and didn't wish to risk creating a new issue just as he was about to head off. Instead he took a deep breath, then nodded at her, smiling broadly. She returned it, then got back up onto her feet. "Well, thankfully that didn't all end in an awkward hug. Let's get back downstairs before people start thinking the wrong thing."
"Satan, if people are thinking that, then they do not know us at all," quipped Sebastian, and Santana chuckled, shaking her head. They headed back to the sitting room, and if anyone had noticed their absence, they did not mention it or pass any sort of comment, with one exception. Dave turned to his husband and mouthed the words "Are you okay?", to which Sebastian nodded, before dutifully making the rounds of assembled family and friends.
Eventually though, the time came. Dave was driving him to the airport, and was doing so alone. Elise was staying at home with Sebastian's maman, alongside Julian and his family; this meant that the teary scene where Sebastian said goodbye to his daughter was done in private, not in the middle of a crowded departure area at the airport. Those tears were nothing to the ones that Julian had to blink back, leaving Sebastian to joke that he was coming back; then his maman began to cry too, which made it much harder for Sebastian not to burst into tears himself. Thus if he shed a few tears as he sat in the passenger seat on the relatively short trip to the airport, then it was completely understandable. The car parked in the lot, Dave helped Sebastian to carry his bags into Terminal B, from where the BA flight to London would depart. They easily found the BA check-in desk, and Dave stood at his husband's side as he checked in his bags and collected his boarding card. That done, they slowly made their way to the entrance to the security desks…
"Well, this is it… There is no point in drawing this out. I will be back before you know it…"
"I am going to miss you so much, Sebby. Be careful over there, okay. Come back safe and sound."
"It's London I am going to, not a war zone," said Sebastian, but then, in a softer tone added, "but I will take care, and I will miss you so much too. Now go on, go home. No scenes. This is New Jersey after all, and the tolerance levels are just a little lower here than on the other side of the Hudson."
"That's not going to stop me," replied Dave, before pulling Sebastian into a tight hug. They stood there for several minutes, lost in each other's arms, as people milled around them, before breaking apart. "Alright, now go on… Knock the British audiences dead with your talent - and call me when you get there, okay?"
"I will call, but I would just remind you that this flight is due to arrive in London at 3am our time, so I won't call you the minute I get there."
Dave nodded, and then Sebastian turned and walked away, through into the security area; he turned back once to wave, then shooed him away with his hands, smiling as he did so. Then he was gone, leaving Dave to walk back to the lot alone. The moment that he was back inside the car, sitting in the driver's seat, he let the tears that he had been holding back roll down his face. Eventually they slowed down, and after wiping his face with a tissue, he headed for home, back to his daughter, and a house that would feel just a little emptier for the next few weeks.
Sebastian managed to keep his own composure as he made his way through security; he did not want to start sobbing in line. He had heard tales that people that appeared overly emotional were targeted by the TSA, just in case that their tears were as a result of stress from attempting to commit some kind of offence. With the process done, he made his way through to the lounge, having upgraded his flight from the economy one paid for by the National Theatre - admittedly, it had been his father that had insisted that he do so, and he had paid for it in the end when Sebastian had declined. Once in the lounge, he found himself a quiet corner, and there, unobserved by even the staff, he let his tears fall.
Then he pulled himself together, headed to the washroom to wash his face, and returned to take advantage of the food and drink available. He felt relaxed when the staff arrived to say that they could now proceed to the gate as the flight was about to be called for boarding. His seat was comfortable, and was a single, meaning that he had no neighbour to worry about during the night. He did not plan to sleep, not finding it all that easy to do on a flight in the first case, then he had also risen pretty late that morning, plus he intended to go to bed early the following night; his father had informed him that was the best way to avoid jetlag, and it was worth a try… There were plenty of good movies that he could watch to pass the time in the air in any case…
It was only once the plane had taken off, and they were in the air that it all suddenly felt real to him; he was heading to London to star on the West End stage. The last time that he had gone to London for work had been as a newly graduated Dalton boy, sent across to take up the accountancy internship that his father had found for him and demanded that he took; he had not been the happiest of people then. He wondered with a smile if the people that he had, to be honest, annoyed in that firm would even remember him now. He considered the notion that on one of his mornings off he might head in to that building in the City of London and find out. Then his thoughts turned back to his husband and family, now behind him in the west. He was happy to be furthering his career, to be taking the new opportunity, but his heart was aching for Dave already. He couldn't help but feel that it was unlikely that, unless Dave was free to join him with their children, he would ever do something like this again…
True to his intentions, Sebastian did not sleep as his flight traversed the Atlantic; instead he spent his time watching films that he had not been able to catch at the cinema, largely because he had so little free time these days. He had his work, he had a daughter and a home to take care of, and then there had been his meetings with Mr Brooks about Young Frankenstein, which had been pencilled in for an opening in the fall of 2023. That date was down to the fact that Mel had decided that he wanted Sebastian for the titular role, and no-one else would do; the fact that he was an expectant father had been factored into the proposed dates, and now there was the only the question of selecting his co-stars.
Although he did not have as much time for cinema going as he would have liked now, he would be certain to make a point of going to see one particular documentary film. The distributors had finally picked up Artie's big production, Dalton Boys, for a cinematic release, based on the success of his short films - Sebastian had noted with a smile that two of them were on BA's entertainment system - and of course there was the very public success of so many of the generation Artie had featured, himself included. They had all gone and sat down with Artie and his camera, one on one in the main, to tell the story, and it had been strange to relive all those moments. He knew too that it had been hard for some of them, Jeff in particular; even now, after being told so many times by Wes, Kurt and Blaine that it would not have altered the course of events, Jeff wondered if he could have done something different to stop it all.
The film was due out in late November, and although there had been a tentative suggestion that they should all gather together to watch it then, that was not going to happen, given that he would be in England with Nick and Jeff, and some of the others had also expressed a preference to see it alone, at least the first time. There had been some discussion of a premiere screening for invited guests, and which of them would attend to represent the group had been debated; it seemed likely that Thad would be the one on whom the dubious honour would fall, as so much did. He would have a valid excuse not to join them; those that were resident in New York would find it much harder to escape from having to go along with the Head Warbler…
The flight would arrive into Heathrow ahead of time on Sunday morning, and the border control line was nowhere near as bad as some of the horror stories he had heard bandied about online; he wondered if the bad stuff was down to the class of travel, or the terminal that you arrived in… As he walked into the arrivals area he saw Nick walking in, fresh off the tube from Kensington; he greeted his friend warmly, before handing him a freshly loaded Oyster card, and grabbing one of Sebastian's two cases to help him out as they walked down into the tube together. They chatted quietly as the train headed towards the city, loading up with early commuters despite the fact that it was nominally a day of rest.
They arrived in Thurloe Square soon enough, and like Ethan before him, Sebastian had to admit that the house and its location were spectacular. The second that he stepped inside, Sebastian find himself engulfed by little Wes, as Jeff watched shaking his head, although secretly he was quite proud of how close their son was to all of his Warbler 'uncles'. Eventually though he did step up to prise his son off of Sebastian, to allow him to at least take his coat off. That done, Jeff wondered why Sebastian was looking at him sadly, and what he had done wrong, and then he realised that he was just waiting for Jeff to hug him too, which he did with a chuckle. Then it was down into the kitchen where breakfast was waiting. Normally Sebastian was not a fan of what was known here as 'The Full English', but he was hungry after the flight, and so he partook in the feast of food laid out before him, chatting away to little Wes as he did so, hearing from him all about meeting the Queen…
Eventually Nick announced that he was taking Wes out for a walk in the park, which allowed Jeff to show Sebastian to what would be his room for the next few weeks. It was at the front of the house, with a view over the gardens in the Square, on which the sun was currently shining brightly. "In some ways, this house does have advantages over our own," said Jeff as his friend admired the view. "The gardens are lovely, and so handy for Wes to play in, and it is so quiet for being so close to the city, but it isn't home, and I do miss my own place…"
"Yeah, and you especially miss the four legged furry creature that thinks it is actually his place," remarked Sebastian sagely, and Jeff nodded.
"Don't get me wrong, I miss all the people too, and my shifts at the Spotlight; I might not have worked there as much as I used to, but every shift I did work was a joy nonetheless. London is fun, and I have had experiences that I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams, but it just isn't home."
"Well, it isn't for ever, nor were you despatched here in disgrace. Plus, let's be honest, if you hadn't been here, if you and Nick had decided that it was best for you and Wes to remain in New York, and just have him home regularly for long weekends, then you would never have found Drew, and he wouldn't be back home, safe with his best friend, getting his life back on track."
"That is true, nor would I have met royalty… Anyway, I will go and let you get unpacked and settled in. This is going to be your space for the next few weeks, so make yourself comfortable. When you are ready, come down and we will see what we are going to do for the rest of the day."
Jeff headed out, closing the door quietly behind him, allowing Sebastian to just sit down for a moment and gather his thoughts. He checked the time, and calculated that it was still too early for him to call Dave, and so he began instead to unpack his cases, smiling at the way that all the drawers in the dressed had been lined, at the generous number of proper wooden hangers in the closet, and at the group shot of the Warblers that sat on the bedside table already, leaving space for him to place a picture of his own little family. He missed them, but it wasn't going to be as bad as it could have been; he wasn't going to be stuck in a lonely hotel room, but living comfortably with friends…
