A Brighter Future

On the opposite side of the Atlantic from Sebastian that Sunday morning, two young couples were sitting down to breakfast together in the house that they shared, but their other two housemates were absent; Skylar had an early shift at the Spotlight, and Seth had gone with him. Seth had been awake when Skylar came into the kitchen to grab a coffee before heading in, having had a disturbed night due to cramps in his limbs. He had admittedly not told Skylar that was the reason for his early rising, and had instead lied and said that he was up because the weather forecast was good, and he did not want to waste a good day as fall approached fast, although he had no firm plans as to what he would do. Skylar had checked his watch, and seeing that he had plenty of time, had suggested that Seth walk to the diner with him, as he wheeled his bike, and then could hang with him for a while. He was certain that Seth would return home before his shift finished, and he would appreciate the fast ride home then.

When Luke had woken up to discover that the two of them were absent, he knew that it was a perfect chance to talk to the other married couple in the house about their future plans; their college days were drawing to a close, and they needed to decide where their paths now lay. He had Duncan rouse Colin and Edward whilst he prepared a good breakfast for them all. Once they were all at the table, and had eaten their fill, Luke had glanced at his husband, and then had cleared his throat. "So there might have been an ulterior motive in getting the two of you here right now; there is something that we need to discuss with the entire household, but when I realised that it was just the four of us for once, I decided it would be easier to start by just talking to the two of you."

"That sounds ominous," said Edward.

"Yes, and no," replied Luke. "Duncan and I have been talking a lot about our plans once we finish school, and although at one time we saw ourselves staying in New York, well to be honest, everything has changed back home. The farm and the other businesses there are doing really well, and the skills that we have learnt here would help it grow even more…"

"So the two of you are intending to head back to Vermont next year once school is over," finished Colin. "It makes sense really; the two of you are country boys at heart, and it does show sometimes in the way that you behave…"

"I guess that it does," Duncan said with a grin. "We are doubly lucky though that we have grown up in a tolerant and enlightened age. I mean, the experiences of my mom's father were still common even in our lifetime, and in some of the worst parts of the nation, that kind of prejudice still thrives. We will however be accepted for who we are in Vermont, and to be honest, the country air is far more conducive for raising a family."

"Oh, I agree," said Edward, "which is why it is time that Colin and I came clean about something with the two of you. We have been talking as well, and like you, we don't intend to stay in the city once we graduate. Getting started here as a dentist in the city is hard; there are so many orthodontists in town, and any practice that comes up for sale is priced way out of our league - and I want to be my own boss, not an employee. At the same time we do not want to go too far from the city and all our friends here. To that end, we have been checking a few things out, and if we head north into New York state, up the Hudson Valley, or indeed anywhere really in Westchester, Putnam or Dutchess Counties, then we could find a practice for sale at a reasonable price, and still get a good pharmacist job for Colin…"

"If we are coming clean Edward, then we need to tell the truth; we have actually found the perfect little spot in Putnam County. The orthodontist is retiring in a year or so, and intending to head down south, and better yet, his wife is the pharmacist in the drug store that she owns next door…" said Colin with a grin.

"That sounds perfect for the two of you," remarked Luke with a smile that echoed his husband's.

"It also comes with accommodation, so we get a house to live in too, plus it is within walking distance of a station on the Metro-North. We are seriously considering making an offer on it now before someone else swoops in," said Edward. "There was always just one problem for us - what did it mean for you guys, Skylar and Seth?"

"And that has now become, given that we can safely assume that Skylar will be marrying Julia and heading back to Ohio at some point, what will happen to Seth?" replied Duncan quietly.

"I don't think for a moment that cousin Jeff would throw him out and leave him homeless, but this house would be way too big for him - and then there is his condition to consider," added Luke sadly. "I mean, I know that he says he is alright, but…"

"He won't be, not forever," said Colin. "He would tell us if he was here that we had to get on with our lives, follow our dreams, and be happy, but the idea of him being left alone here does upset me."

"He wouldn't be alone though, not really," reasoned Edward. "Nick and Jeff will be around, as will Beats, Ethan and Drew now. I know that Mike, Tina, Kitty and Artie are all fond of him too."

"I think that he could move into one of the smaller places on the other side of Jeff's place," said Luke, "and leave this one free for a new generation of young Warblers. As Colin says, he will understand that we have to live our lives, and wish us all well. He isn't too bad yet…"

"This would be a lot easier though if he was in perfect health," Duncan said with a sigh. "I mean, when the worst does come, and he can't take care of himself any longer, then we would be happy to have him up in Vermont with us…"

"There is a garage at the place in Putnam County with plumbing in place, and permission to make it into living accommodation, so we could have him there," added Colin, as Edward nodded. "However, I am pretty sure that when the time does come, he will be whisked off to live with Skylar…"

There was silence then around the table as they all pondered that terrible day in the future when their friend was left incapacitated by his illness, before Luke said, "So when do we tell the two of them our plans? We do need to tell them, and honestly, we need to do it soon."

"I don't know exactly when the best time will be, but yes, we need to come clean soon," replied Edward.

In the lower apartment of the house next door, Ethan and Drew had slipped into a routine very quickly now that the latter was back in the city, and both of them had to admit that they found their new living arrangements a lot to their liking. Ethan had not realised until Drew pointed it out to him that his diet had become very unhealthy. He did have the most rudimentary of cooking skills, but once he had lacked someone to cook for other than himself, it had become all too easy to just collect takeout on the way home from the office rather than go to the supermarket, or to just head to the Spotlight for company and a meal. It also hit him that he was working far later into the evening than he had when he had first taken the job, and the only reason he could think of for that was because it meant he spent less time at home alone. He had even taken to going in some weekends, just to give himself something to do. That had all changed overnight; now he was as anxious to get home as his colleagues, knowing that Drew would have prepared dinner; something that was fresh and tasty, and more often that not, made from scratch. It was good to sit at the dinner table with his best friend and his little girl, who he had quite taken to his heart…

As for Drew, his days began with taking Evie to kindergarten, then heading home via the best spots for fruit and vegetables, something he had learned for himself, and then on to the stores that could supply the best quality fish and meats. True, they still made the trip to the supermarket in Brooklyn for the bulk stuff, but they were buying less there. He was conscious that he needed to give his daughter the best diet that he could from day one. With the day's shopping done, he moved on to searching for a job, a task that saw him sending off numerous copies of his CV and other necessary documents to companies that were seeking staff in his line of expertise. That was the one thing that was disheartening to him amongst all the other joys; the fact that he was being rejected for jobs he knew that he could do because of the five year gap in his employment history, caused by the actions of his ex-wife. He had been good at his work, and a valued employee there; his one regret now was that he had taken a position at a small, local firm. He had been wooed at the time by the multinationals, but he had rejected them; had he not done so, he guessed that his task might have been a little simpler.

The day after the discussion of future plans by those in the house next door, he found himself at a loose end once he returned home with his grocery shopping. He had gone online, but there had been no new positions to apply for, and his inbox contained three further rejections. He sighed at that, wondering if he should even continue to look; he might never get a job in his field now. He laughed internally as he recalled hearing on a visit to the Spotlight the previous day that they were intending to hire soon, and wondered if that should be his next move. It was that, or possibly start to look further afield. There had to be jobs for him around Yale, Princeton and even Harvard, and although he would be further away from his closest friends, he did need to get himself back into the working world if only to support his daughter. Yet, he didn't want to leave the city…

"A job at the Spotlight Diner would be a complete waste of your talents, Drew. I forbid you to even think about applying for a job there!"

The voice startled Drew at first, but he knew immediately who it was. He had been expecting to hear it so much sooner; after all, he had been back now for over 10 weeks, and this was his first visit from Wes…

"I would have been here sooner, but there were a lot of files that needed to be audited, plus Elizabeth has been allocated a lot of additional tasks recently, a test in my opinion to see if she would be able to cope with the workload at the next level. That kept her so busy that I found myself left almost entirely in charge of the collection scheduling for the whole of Ohio, and trust me, that is time consuming and a challenge. Anyway, she is finished with that for now, so I have a break, and I think that you and I need to have a talk…"

"I guess that we do - and I would like to say before this goes any further that I am so sorry for the way that I ignored you and the others. It was just that things were tough enough to deal with without any added pressures…"

"Water under the bridge for all of us. Yes, it wasn't nice to be ignored, but you did it for a reason, which you believed was the best one at the time. We never stopped watching over you though, and all that any of us wish is that we had been in a position to have been of more practical assistance to you. The day that she pushed you down those stairs for trying to leave…" Wes paused, and Drew noticed that his hands had balled into fists. "All I can say is that it took a lot of willpower not to do something and hurt her there and then. For the way that she treated you, by the way, she is on the blacklist in the English section; yes, she does save countless young lives with her medical skills, but her personal misdemeanours far outweigh the credit that she gets for that. All in all, it means that you will never have to see her again, something that I think all of us are very glad about."

Drew smiled at that, but couldn't think of words to respond, so he stayed silent. Seeing that, Wes went on. "As for your job hunt, don't despair or worry; you will get something, and very much sooner than you imagine. The firms that have been rejecting you out of hand up to now do not deserve to benefit from your skills and talent. It is funny that had you been a woman trying to get back into the workplace and had written that you had spent the last five years raising your child, they would have been obligated to interview you, thanks to the equality laws that were passed by Congress last year. However, because you are a man, they can still treat you the way that they have, and it is shameful. Maybe that is something that Nick or Trent can have a look into…"

"I wouldn't want to put either of them to any sort of bother. If you say that something is going to come along, Wes, then that is good enough for me. My only hope is that something will be here…"

"You know that I cannot tell you that, although I wish that I could. All I will say to you as a piece of advice is this. You think that you are a burden to Ethan, but actually, you being here is exactly what he needs. He was becoming a reclusive, workaholic loner, but now that he has you and Evie here to look after, the sparkle has come back into his eyes, along with the colour in his cheeks. I know that you were considering looking for a place of your own, but if you want to stay here, then you should without any worry. I think that you being here is good for both of you, and for Evie too. Right, so that is the lecture over; now to the good bit. I have a gift here for you, something that Kurt has been holding on to for five years. After your 'accident', we all knew what Lucy was going to do once she returned home. Kurt might just have left the hospital before she did, and headed to your place. Whilst he was there, this SIM card from your phone might have somehow ended up in his pocket, and a blank one might have ended up in its place…"

Drew stared at the small card in Wes' hand for a moment, not completely sure why Kurt had kept it for him, and then it hit him. The one remaining thing that Lucy had stolen from him that day were the pictures stored on his phone. He had a new Dalton blazer and tie now, thanks to Mrs Carmichael, and the supplies of the exact right size and fit that she always seemed to have to hand. All of his documents had been replaced, and he had managed to amass all the important phone numbers once more. His pictures had been gone though, and he had resigned himself to that fact; now it looked as if that last final piece of his past was being restored. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed that Wes had dug into his other pocket and pulled out a phone that looked a lot like the one she had destroyed, and was now slipping the SIM card into it before powering it on…

After a few moments, he handed the phone to Drew with a smile, who took it in a trembling hand. He found himself looking at his old screensaver, something that he recognised at once as the logo from a Dalton blazer; that stylised 'D' that brought him a sense of comfort and warmth even now. He swiped his finger across the screen, and his brain recalled the PIN number without any real prompting. His finger went straight to the gallery app when the main screen appeared, and like looking through a mirror into the past, everything he had expected to find was there. His photo albums, images taken over the course of his school and college years, either taken directly on the phone or in the case of the older ones, transferred there from a camera.

He looked up at Wes, tears filling his eyes, and said, "Tell Kurt that he is the best friend that I ever could have wished for. He has given me back the past that I thought I had lost forever with this; the images that I only had in my head can now be shown to my daughter, remembered with my friends… We were such a happy bunch back then," he said, as he looked at a picture from the first big Warbler party after Kurt had joined. "Life was so simple, and we were not anticipating that things would deteriorate as they did. We never imagined losing the three of you so young…"

"It is good to look back at the past, to recall all of the good times, but we must not let ourselves dwell upon them. The future is what really matters, and I know that the future for you and Evie is bright."

"I do hope so; it might not be the future that I once imagined, but there is a chance that this future might be better than that anyway… Although, until I manage to land myself a job, I would suggest that everything is rather moot…"

"Like I said, there will be a job very soon, have no fear there; it will be one that gives you the best of both worlds, so to speak. Now, changing the subject, there is another matter about which those of us in the angelic realm are curious about; did Evie, like little Wes, inherit her father's ability to see and hear angels. We have done some tests on the down low with the other children, and the results have varied. Simon and Alma reacted the most positively, which leads us to conclude naturally that having two parents who can see us raises the chances, so that will make… Well, I can't actually say any more without revealing something, and I can't do that until he tells you all himself - and I have already said far too much."

"Okay Wes, now you have me intrigued as to what on earth you were talking about, and curious about Evie too. Maybe the best course of action would be if you just came and paid us a visit one evening when it is just me, Evie and Ethan here, and we can see how she reacts, if at all. I do hope that she has inherited the ability from me, because it will make it easier for you and the guys to come and go around here as you please, and I would like to see more of all of you. So, the sooner that we test Evie the better."

Wes smiled and nodded in agreement. He knew that Drew still felt the same guilt about the way that he had treated them all in the past, and he himself had kept something to himself. Blaine was glad Drew was safe, but he still felt hurt from the continual rejection, time after time, back in those dark days. That in turned had angered Kurt. He was determined though to get everything back to how it should be, and he hoped that the effort he was know making would not be in vain.

Wes stayed with Drew for the next hour or so, talking about his life as an angel, his success with changing minds on the way the heavenly nurseries worked, and also how much he enjoyed his work with Elizabeth, even if it did mean dealing with piles of paperwork day after day. Drew couldn't help but think that the work sounded dull and repetitive, but then he knew that Wes had always had a strong head for figures, a strong sense of justice, and a desire to see everyone treated fairly. When Wes finally announced that he needed to go, he pulled Drew into a hug, then whispered, "Stay strong. Everything will be fine, and sooner than you think…"

He was gone before Drew had time to question him on that statement, leaving the younger man to observe the clock and realise he was way close to his usual time for lunch. He quickly heated himself up a bowl of homemade soup, served with a slice of fresh bread, then washed up. He was just finished doing so, and was drying his hands when he heard the 'ping' of an E-mail arriving in his inbox. To his delight, it was an invitation to an interview; the only problem was that it was to an interview with a firm that he did not recall applying to…

He opened it anyway, and read through the contents; the job it described was exactly what he had been looking for, a replica of his old work. Even better was the fact that it was located just a few blocks from NYU, and there was the option to work from home several days a month, ideal for him as a single father. It was only when he reached the end of the missive and read the name of the sender that his memory told him why he had been placed on the shortlist for the role; the man in charge of the firm was a personal friend of his old boss in Oxford, a man that he had worked with since his university days. It was a quite clear case of both favouritism and nepotism, something that he had no problem with on this occasion; he was, after all, desperate to get back into the world of work…

Drew decided that he would not say anything to Ethan about his job offer; he did not want to jinx things by getting his hopes up, and telling Ethan would get his friend's hopes up, and by extension, his own. If he was lucky enough to get the job, then there would be more than enough time to tell him. With the decision made, he reread the message, just in case he had missed something in the small print. It was whilst doing that that he noticed for the first time the date of his interview, and that set his head spinning. It was to take place the following day, at 11am; he was immediately certain that he would have no time to prepare and thus would fail. After all, he had not attended a job interview in years, his IT skills were rusty to say the least, and he wasn't even sure that his best suit would fit him properly, let alone be smart enough…

He glanced at his watch again, and saw it was just after noon; he had three hours until he had to be at the kindergarten to pick Evie up. If he left now, he could remedy the last of his issues. He had money from his parents, for emergencies, thanks to a paid card that his mother had forced him to take. He could only hope that they would see a new suit as a necessary expense. He left the house, leaving his soup bowl to wash later, grabbing an apple and a cereal bar, along with a bottle of soda. It was not ideal, but he did not have time to linger. He arrived at the subway station to find an 'L' train about to depart, and his luck held as he arrived at Union Square; he arrived at the '5' train platform just as one was about to depart. He jumped out at Grand Central, to walk across to Madison Avenue and the home of sartorial elegance for gentlemen for over a century… A Brooks Brothers suit still had the right cache for an important interview; his suit for his interview for his job back in Oxford had been one of their finest. It had been a lucky suit then, and hopefully it would be now…

He headed straight up to the right department, and after a few minutes of browsing the store, he was approached by an older assistant; he was sure when he looked at him that he might have been the assistant that had helped him when he had last been in the store, when he was purchasing a new suit for Nick and Jeff's wedding, all those years ago.

"Can I assist you, sir? You have, if I may so, have a slight air of panic…"

"I do? Well, I guess that would be right enough. I have just found out that I have a crucial job interview in less than 24 hours, and being honest, my entire future happiness might well depend on a successful outcome."

"So you need to look the part of a smart young executive; intelligent, and the kind of man that they need to have in their employment. I would also imagine that you do not wish to spend far too much, which makes it all the more fortuitous that you have arrived today; we have a special sale taking place, with generous discounts…"

An hour later, Drew found himself in possession of a well tailored suit, along with a smart new shirt; he had rejected the overtures towards the purchase of a new tie, as he knew that there was only one that he wished to wear. He was now in the chair at a nearby barber's shop, recommended by the man in the store, and was having his hair cut and restyled back into the more preppy look he had sported at Dalton. He could feel his confidence growing as he saw the scruffy look vanish, and watched his hair fall to the floor. With that done, he headed back home, to stow his suit away carefully in the wardrobe in what was technically his bedroom, not that he had actually slept a night in the room since his return. Then he headed out again to pick up his daughter, who on seeing him gave him a look full of both curiosity and surprise.

"You look different with your hair cut like that, daddy! I do like it, but why did you choose to do it?"

"I guess that I just felt that I needed to look a little bit smarter. I used to have my hair like this all the time when I was at Dalton with your uncles…"

"Do you think that Uncle Ethan will notice? I mean, he can sometimes not see things even when they are right there in front of him, like his pen the other day," said Evie with a smile as they walked homeward.

"He will notice," replied Drew with a grin. Sure enough, when Ethan arrived home that night. It was the very first thing that he saw as he walked into the kitchen, and much to Drew's amusement, there was a moment when he seemed to do a double take.

"Now that is a blast from the past; it makes you look so much younger, at least in my opinion. In fact, I would say that if you slipped on a blazer you would still pass as a senior."

"I doubt that, but thanks for the compliment. I guess I just realised that my hair style was another thing that she had dictated to me; she liked my hair a little longer, and any time I suggested getting it cut short, she threatened me with violence. To be honest, I should have got it cut sooner; with each clump that I saw fall to the floor, I felt less anxious, and happier. I dreaded looking in the mirror for so long, but when I came home today, I loved what I saw. The person looking back no longer had bruises, cuts and bloodshot eyes; it is me again."

"Yes, it is definitely you again. Maybe I should go to the barber and ask for my old style back too, or would that be a little bit too much?"

"A little bit too far, yes. In my opinion, you suit your hair much more the way it is now, and going back to the way that it was cut at Dalton would be a retrograde step for you."

"Well for you it is the exact opposite; a reboot back to the old you." Whilst they had been talking, Drew had been dishing up their evening meal, and with this done, they called Evie for dinner, and took their seats at the kitchen table. "So other than the trip to the barber, how was your day?" Ethan asked.

"It was good thanks. Wes was here, but I will tell you more about that later," Drew replied. Ethan nodded, noting Evie walking into the room, and knowing that they needed to keep talk of angels away from little ears for now. Drew said no more after that, as Evie began to talk about her day at kindergarten, and Ethan was always happy to listen. Their meal finished, they repaired to the lounge for a while and sat and watched a little television together, almost like an old fashioned family, until it was time for Evie to head to her bed. As Drew supervised that process, he knew that Ethan would be in the kitchen, doing the last of the washing up; they had a dishwasher, but it was rarely used as it would not be full enough to be run in an environmentally friendly manner.

The two friends would meet back up in the lounge afterwards, sat side by side on the sofa as they had done back in the Senior Commons. "So, now we don't have an audience, I can tell you that Wes came bearing gifts; something that Kurt had taken and retained for me in safety for a long time. He couldn't save my actual phone from being trashed when she lost it after I tried to leave, but he could ensure that the SIM card was removed. As I always saved everything to it - and remember how you all told me off for that? - anyway, as a result I now have all of my old photos back, given that they also managed to find the right model of phone from somewhere…"

He pulled it out of his pocket, and powered it on as Ethan watched with a growing smile, which did not fade as the screensaver image appeared; a new one that Drew had selected that afternoon. Ethan knew that on his current phone, the image was of his daughter; on this one, it was a picture of two freshman Warblers, sat side by side on a familiar couch in a familiar room…

"You haven't aged that much since then," Drew continued, "but I certainly have; not a shock when you consider the amount of trauma and stress that I have been through over the last few years. Wes took this one for me as I recall, when he wasn't even thought of as being on the council; he was just another sophomore…"

"Yeah, that is true as I recall," agreed Ethan with a grin, "although a month later he was at that table, as secretary; his predecessor in that role had been made lead soloist, and the rest as they say is history."

They spent the next hour or so flicking through all of the pictures that had been brought back to them. There were so many of the two of them together at Dalton, and a whole collection of group shots from their Warbler days, the older ones of which lead to them trying to recall the names of some of the young men in them, ex-Warblers who had severed their connections to the group as a consequence of the steroid scandal. There were other shots that made them smile; they both shook their heads at a candid shot that showed a heartbroken Jeff as he pined for Nick, who was in the foreground, talking to Blaine at the time. They did not even start on the photos from their college days in England, both knowing that eventually she would start to appear in some of them, always scowling it seemed. She would always be a part of Drew's past, but he did not need reminders of her. In time, those images could be checked, and if possible, she could be photoshopped out…

The following morning saw Drew acting as normal first thing; he had breakfast with Ethan and Evie as usual, before the former left for work. If he took Evie to kindergarten earlier than usual, she said nothing about it. He left her at the gate with her usual hug, and then walked down the street at his usual pace, knowing she would be watching; the moment he turned the corner and was out of sight, he began to move a lot faster. Back home, he took the suit out, and his new shirt, taking the iron over them both; then he took a shower, before shaving with more care and attention than he had for a long time. He then dressed with care, concentrating on getting the knot of his tie just right, picturing Wes in front of him, checking his appearance as he had done before each and every official Warbler performance in his day.

Then it was time to leave, and after double checking the address, he walked to the interview, taking his time to ensure that he arrived fresh and unflustered, and would have time to go through all of the little exercises that were supposed to reduce stress and anxiety. When he arrived, he was slightly taken aback by the company offices. They were located in an old building, surrounded by a sea of shiny glass modernism. He was struck by the intent of it all; to present an image of tradition and continuity in a very modern field of work. He booked in at the reception, and was shown to the waiting room, a room graced with an abundance of period features. Bang on schedule, an aide arrived to escort him to the interview's location. On entering, he immediately recognised two of the panel of three as former colleagues back in Oxford. That was a very pleasant surprise, and as he had got on well with them back then, he felt a surge of confidence. He also knew that they knew exactly what he was capable of doing. For a moment he wondered if he could afford to raise his hopes just a little…

When Ethan came home that night, he noticed at once that there was no smell of cooking, and walking into the kitchen, he found Drew sitting at the table; his friend explained that they were having Chinese takeout that night. Before he could ask why, the door buzzer went, and Drew went to collect the order. To Ethan's shock, it seemed that Drew had ordered a banquet, as box after box of food was unpacked. Ethan sat down and let Drew distribute the food, placing a box in front of Evie, who was grinning, and then another in front of him. He looked down, and saw it was his favourite dish…

"I know what you are thinking," said Drew as he sat down with his own box. "You are wondering if I have gone a little crazy. Well, you see, this is kind of an apology, and a celebration too. You see, I didn't tell you that I had an interview this morning…"

"That's okay," interjected Ethan. "You don't have to tell me if… Wait, a celebration? Are you saying that…"

"I was given the job there and then at the end of the interview. I start in two weeks. I am back in the world of the employed, living in a wonderful home with my two favourite people. My life is back on course…" Drew said with a smile, and across the table Ethan couldn't help but agree and smile as well…