Skylar told, and Niff return.
It would be two weeks before Seth would speak to Skylar and Julia, once they had returned to Ohio and settled into their new home in a quiet suburb of Columbus. Thad had returned to the state by then, content that Seth had the care in place that he would require, albeit with a very light touch at first. He was also scheduled to move into his new place in a few days, which would make life easier. The stairs in the big house were already starting to prove challenging for him, not that he would admit it to anyone. He had taken to getting up earlier and slowly descending them, pausing on each of the landings to catch a breath and ease his aches. He had been sure at first that the others in the house were unaware, until one morning he woke up to find a chair placed on each of the landings, something that had Colin's name written all over it. He was grateful to him for it, but did not express it in words, merely gestures.
He also knew that Thad had spoken to his roommates and warned them to be hands off, as they did not smother him with kindness as he had half expected them to, but allowed him to carry on alone as much as they could. His new meds had left him feeling tired and drained at first, but he soon realised what his new limits were, and he strove to live within them. His employers at the college had also been in touch, and he found himself with a new job title and an unexpected bonus; he now had access to free transport from his door to the building in which he was based. There, his location had also been altered; the professor told him that it was all part of a school mandated restructure, but he knew that when a similar project had been mooted two years ago, he had objected to leaving his second floor room for the one he was now in on the street level, stating that he loved his rooms, and wanted to stay in them until he retired. Seth was grateful for the sacrifices everyone was making, and humbled too…
Skylar and Julia were not in the least surprised when Thad appeared at their front door just a few days after they returned. They welcomed him in, glad of an excuse to take a break from the chores they had been engaged in. Julia went to make coffee, leaving the two former Warblers to catch up. Thad couldn't help but say that Skylar had a twinkle in his eyes and a glow to his skin that only matrimony could bring, which made the younger man go bright red. Julia walked in just then, and laughed at his skin colour, knowing exactly what they had just been talking about from that…
They talked then about the time they had spent in Florida, and how having to return to work in a few days would be hard. Thad nodded, wondering how he could break the news he had to, but then Skylar gave him just the opening that he required. "So how is Seth doing? I have spoken to him on the phone a couple of times, but he seemed quite cagey in my opinion, and all his protestations that he is fine did not quite ring true…"
"Well, to be honest, that is the real reason I have come here today," Thad admitted. He checked his watch, then took his tablet computer from his bag. "He has a few things that he needs to tell you about, but he wanted me to be here when he did, so that you wouldn't end up doing something hasty and overdramatic…"
"I would not… hang on, that doesn't sound good at all! Why would he think that I would… What's happened?"
Thad stayed silent, and watched as the Skype call he was setting up connected, Seth's name visible on the screen. Julia, who had been watching events quietly, took a seat by her husband and took his hand in her own; he promptly clung on to it like it was a lifeline. They watched as the call connected, and Seth's face appeared on the screen…
Skylar was immediately confused by the bright blue wall behind his best friend, as for that matter was Thad. Seth chuckled at their expressions, then said, "The decorators finished up early, and it seemed foolish not to move into my new place right away. It is quite a change, living alone, but it does have its benefits; no arguing about what we watch on the TV for a start…"
"You do look happy," answered Julia.
"But there is something that isn't right, isn't there?" asked Skylar.
"Yeah… Look, I will be blunt; my condition has deteriorated, as we all knew that it would. The pills that I had been taking stopped working in a quite spectacular fashion Sky… As Thad will confirm, I ended up collapsing on the sidewalk on the night I got home from your wedding; fortunately Thad was there to grab me before my skull smashed onto the concrete…"
"Oh my God!" said Skylar.
"And to be honest, that was the fourth time that it has hap…"
"The fourth!" Skylar gasped. "Why on earth would you not tell me about this before?"
"Because there was nothing that you could do about it, Sky. That, and the fact that I know you. If I had told you, then there would have been no wedding, and I needed to see you married and enjoying life."
"When?" asked Skylar quietly, knowing his friend was right about his reaction.
"Once at home, then at the Spotlight diner the day you proposed to Julia, and finally at Dalton the day before your wedding. That was how Thad found out what was happening. Colin found me sprawled on the floor; he knew you would react badly, and cancel the wedding, so he summoned Thad, and he hid me from you until I was feeling better. Admittedly, if anyone finds out that the two of us ended up huddled in the supply closet together… Look, it made no sense to tell you, Sky. You couldn't change it. I just want you to be happy, and I am happy because you are. You have a wife, and the future you deserve. I am okay, it is all just part of my condition, and that can't be altered, just accepted. I have accepted it, and I need you to do the same, and get on with living your own life…"
Skylar looked at his best friend on the screen, sat in New York, so far away, and he felt pain in his heart. He knew that what Seth was saying was right, but… "It's not as easy as that. I have come to terms with the fact that you were going to get worse as time went on, and that there was no cure or hope of recovery, but what I struggle with even now is not being able to help you as much as I want. You put yourself at risk for my sake so many times when Hunter was around, and all I want to do now is take care of you as you took care of me then… I will admit that you are right though; had I known how unwell you were at the time of my wedding, then I would have insisted that we postpone it until you were better. I am curious as to just how you managed to get through the day as my best man given what happened the night before…"
"I made him call my brother," said Thad, saving Seth answering. "He didn't want to, but I threatened to tell you the truth instead. Ollie sent a drug prescription to one of the pharmacies in Westerville by E-mail, and it was there for him to take on Saturday morning."
"Well, I guess this news does explain why you sat out of most of the dancing at the reception. It also explains that twisted ankle at Thanksgiving… So that is why Dani asked me to cover the register and fetch Elliott! She had just found you…"
"…and I had her lie to you, and roped Elliott in to the deceit too, against his better judgement. To make things worse, when I collapsed on the Sunday, Beats was there to witness the whole thing too; so he and Elliott both know, but don't know that the other knows…"
"What a tangled web we weave…" muttered Skylar. "So basically you have been getting people to hide how ill you were, took huge amounts of drugs and pills, just so that I would not know exactly how far your illness had progressed before I was married to Julia. I don't know whether to be upset at the deception, or be flattered at just how far you went to protect me and my future happiness…. Right, I am not coming to New York, even though I want to, because I realise that to do so would upset you much more than all of this upsets me, and that is the last thing I would want. However, there will be no more lies for my sake. Truthful disclosure at all times. If I ask you how you are, you tell me the unvarnished truth, and yes, I might cry, but that is because you are my best friend and brother, and watching what your condition is doing to you hurts. I will however be coming to visit as often as I can, and Julia is well aware of that…"
"I had the perils of marrying a Warbler speech from both Izzy and Mercedes," quipped Julia. "And I would like to add that we expect you to join us for Christmas every year, no excuses. I insist on that."
"I can live with that," replied Seth. "Plus, you are both more than welcome to come and see my new bachelor pad anytime you want…"
They chatted for a little longer, and then the call came to an end. The moment that it did, Skylar turned to Thad and the smile he had exhibited for Seth faded again. "So, you were there in the immediate aftermath; what is the prognosis from your brother? Did he give you any indication of how long he has left?"
"He didn't. He was initially concerned that the two collapses in short succession might be a sign of something worse than MND, but I can assure you that all the tests were run, and that is all it is. He is ill, and this horrible thing is destroying him, slowly but surely, from the inside. As for how long, well Ollie talked about my age, and his thirties, but not about any later than that…"
"So a decade or so, at the most," said Skylar sadly.
"That was the expectation that Ollie seemed to be implying, yes. I have done quite a bit of my own reading since then, and given how he is now, I would think that might be optimistic. He is going to end up in a chair, and that will be sooner than we might have hoped. I want to be able to say more pleasant things, to give you some ray of hope, but I can't… We will all be there though, for him and indeed you, because although the inevitable conclusion will be hard for all of us, it will be so much more hurtful for you…"
As those scenes played out in New York and Ohio, across the ocean in London it was also a time of mixed emotions. Nick had entered the last fortnight of his work in the city; he wanted to get the tasks he still had to complete finished before he left, but at the same time was longing to be back in his office on the East River, with its views over Manhattan. He missed his colleagues back home, but he would also miss the people he was working with in London when he left. They had organised a farewell party for him and his family on the Saturday after he finished up, and they would attend of course, the process of packing up for the trip home having already started. The items that they had sent over by ship last year were already packed up and on their way back to the West Village, with only the most essential things still in the house. They had gone through the inventory on the rental agreement, and all the items on it had been checked off; they had replaced the two items that were missing. Nick had also made a plan for the cleaning of the place, with all the rooms not in daily use already cleaned and then locked up; he had it all set up like a military operation, and Jeff and indeed Wes were following his instructions to the letter…
Jeff had indeed been doing all that he had to do to prepare for their return to New York. All but his most essential art supplies had been packed away, and he had sat down with Wes and between them they had sorted out which toys should be left out for his use over the last few days, and which needed to be packed away to be shipped home for his arrival. He did find things a little more difficult though when Wes was away at kindergarten and he had time to himself. When Nick had first told him that they would be spending a year in London, he had accepted it, but had not really been looking forward to being away from home for so long. Now that it was time for them to go back, he had moments when he wished that they did not have to leave. He had taken to making sketches of things that were not quintessential landmarks of the city to the world, but were part of London for him.
The tube station at South Kensington had been sketched along with the red buses, the pillar boxes, and the old fashioned telephone box that stood near the V & A. He had drawn the view from every window of the house into Thurloe Square, showing it at all angles, and had even stopped one morning to sketch the patisserie that he and Wes often stopped at on the way home, mostly as far as Nick knew to study the cakes and pastries displayed in the window… At the kindergarten, he had started to say his farewells to the other parents that waited outside with him at the end of the day, most of whom he would describe now as friends, not just acquaintances. However, as the final week approached, his feelings of loss began to intensify. He knew that he would soon have to say goodbye to Miss Frobisher, who had become such a great help to them, and of course, to the most unlikely friend that he had made in his time in the city, the Duchess of Cambridge.
She had invited him to meet her for lunch on his final Wednesday in the city at the restaurant that she usually met her friends in, and he arrived with the expectation that all of them would be there. When he was escorted by the maitre'd to the usual table, he was shocked to discover that they were missing, but that Her Majesty was there instead. He bowed at once, realising as he did so that this was probably why the man who had escorted him here had looked far more stressed than normal….
"I do hope that you can forgive me for this intrusion, Mr Sterling-Duval, but I wished to bid you farewell in person. I sincerely doubt that you will be back in England for any length of time in the immediate future, and at my advancing years, the idea of a trip to New York is not a pleasing prospect."
"Of course I can forgive you, your Majesty. I feel greatly honoured that you would take time out of your busy schedule to see me." The preliminaries over, Jeff took a seat, and the conversation moved on to the subject of art, and eventually, to New York as the meal progressed. Jeff had photographs of his home in the city which he shared, and then went on to discuss how he had left it in the care of David and Mercedes. The mention of her name and a group photo of the five of them made the Duchess gasp, and then scold Jeff for not telling her that he was friends with such a talented singer…
Then finally a picture of Caleb appeared, and Jeff found himself telling his little story too. "I suppose that, in a way, he is my child. I love Wes so much, but Nick is his father, and well, I have my reasons for not wanting a child of my own. Caleb is a very good substitute, and all that I can hope is that he remembers who I am when we get home…. If he does not, then he will just have to stay with his uncle Mike…" That of course meant he had to tell them who Mike was, and that lead to another gasp from the Duchess…
"I have to confess that you have a very talented circle of friends, Mr Sterling-Duval. We have Mr Smythe, talked about in theatre circles as a Broadway Prince; Miss Jones, a woman whose voice fills an auditorium; and now Mr Chang, a dancer of immense talent, who hopefully might one day come to London with the City Ballet, and I have to confess, that is a show that I would wish to see," said Her Majesty as the dessert was cleared away, and Jeff realised that she was dropping a very broad hint, one which he would need to pass on to Mike…. "Now, we come to the other reason why I wished to be here today. As you were probably aware, it was my official birthday on Saturday."
"Yes, ma'am. We had intended to take a trip to The Mall to watch the procession, but Wes was feeling a little poorly that morning, and so we ended up watching it on the BBC instead."
"Well, as you may be aware, I am allowed to give out honours twice a year; on that day, and on New Year's day, although in practice, I have very little say in the matter as to who receives them, more is the pity at times. Far too many politicians get an honour they do not deserve… I did however make a request to the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister, and well, your name will not appear on the list until the New Year, but I will present it to you now so as to save you having to return across the Atlantic. I wish to bestow on you an honorary OBE, for services to the world of art, and to the Royal Family. I hope and trust that you will be willing to accept this honour…"
With those words, Her Majesty handed Jeff a small black box with the initials O.B.E embossed on it in gold. With a trembling hand, he accepted it from her and slowly opened it. Lying inside it on a bed of pale blue velvet was a gold fleur de lys cross, secured on a red ribbon with 3 white stripes; at the point where the two joined there was a crown, indicating at once from whence it came… "Your Majesty, this is.. It is a great honour to receive this, an honour which I do not believe that I am deserving of, but I shall trust in your wise judgement and accept it without question."
Her Majesty smiled, and said, "Your husband told me on the day that I unveiled The Happy Couple to the world that you were always modest and self deprecating, and I see now exactly what he meant when he said that. You are more than deserving of this honour, not just for your artistic talent, but also for the comfort and joy that your works have given me."
"You have also earned a place in my heart," said the Duchess. "I am so glad that we met that afternoon in the gardens of Kensington Palace. Should our duties take us to New York, then William and I will insist that you and your husband are at the top of the guest list for any function we have to attend."
"And you would both be more than welcome to come and pay us a visit in the West Village. I think though that I am the lucky one here, as I have been invited in to your lives, and that is more than I ever could have dreamed of…" replied Jeff. He would leave the restaurant that day after a formal handshake with the Queen, and a hug from the Duchess, both passing on their regards for Nick and Wes. As he walked away, Jeff could only imagine how his husband was going to react to what he now carried in his jacket pocket…
When he set the box in front of his husband that night, the lid open, Nick had gawped at it wide eyed for a moment, then had congratulated him warmly on receiving the recognition that he was due. He was not in the least bit jealous; he was so proud of his husband, and all that he had achieved. He could only imagine what honours might have come his husband's way had he been a British citizen. They decided that they would not tell anyone about it until they were back home, but that of course did not mean that angels were unaware, and Nick had laughed when Wes appeared all too fleetingly and asked to talk to Jeff Sterling-Duval, OBE(Hon)…
The medal was packed into Nick's carry on bag at Jeff's insistence, just to ensure that it was safe. Then before they knew it, Friday had come, and it was the final day that Wes would attend the kindergarten. Miss Frobisher was not at the gate that morning to greet her charges, which was unusual, but Jeff did not have time to search her out, having a number of last minute errands that he had to attend to before the day was out. However, Wes found her as soon as he went into the classroom, a little before the others did. He noticed that she seemed sad at once, and he headed over to stand by her desk. Once there, he said quietly, "I am going to miss you too. You are more like an aunt than a teacher to me now. I have been very lucky to have known you…" His words were greeted by a nod from the teacher, and a loud sniff. Wes immediately dug into his pocket, and pulled out the little packet of tissues that his papa always gave him; he took one out, and placed it on her desk. Then he headed off to his own seat, leaving Miss Frobisher to ponder once again how mature the young boy before her was at times…
That afternoon, as Jeff prepared to head back to pick up their son, he was surprised to hear the front door open and Nick calling for him. He headed upstairs, and found Nick in the hall smiling. "I got permission to leave early; I had everything that I needed to do done, my project works ready for my successor to take over, and well, I wanted to say a thank you to Miss Frobisher for all that she has done for us. She isn't just Wes' teacher, she is a family friend. She has offered to babysit for us several times when she didn't need to, and she was also there for Drew too in his hour of need." Jeff smiled at his husband's wise words, and then they headed out together, following a familiar route one last time.
As they arrived at the gate of the school, the smiles that had been on their faces faded just a little, knowing that a farewell was coming. As the children began to stream out, their parents lead them away, until eventually only Nick and Jeff remained at the gate. That left them worried, and curious, and so they headed inside. Stepping in to the classroom, they discovered Wes was still sitting at his desk, whilst Miss Frobisher read to him. She motioned at them to sit down, and they did as their boy listened entranced at her words. Then she finished the final lines, closing the book. Wes sighed, then noticed his fathers for the first time, and the clock…
"Daddy, Papa! I am so sorry, but I asked Miss Frobisher if she would read the final pages of the book to me as I will not be here to hear the end of the story otherwise."
"It's okay, it was the right thing to do. However, now it is time for us to take you home, so you should say goodbye," said Nick with a smile.
Wes got up, as did his teacher, and he went over to hug her as she blinked back tears. "Goodbye, Miss. You will have to come and visit us in New York some day."
"Well, I don't think…" she began.
"Well I do think that would be a wonderful idea! You could come and stay with us, so all you would need to pay for would be your flights," said Jeff.
"And Evie and Drew would love to see you too, and would be virtually next door," added Nick.
"So you see, you have to come," finished Wes.
"It is very tempting I admit, and good of you all to ask, but the school takes up so much of my time, and I would need to find someone to cover for me. I am not saying no, but it would be unlikely to be this year…" she replied.
"That's okay, as long as it isn't a no," said Nick. "You could come over in April of next year for example? The climate is quite nice then; to be honest, the heatwave that you had here last summer makes July and August in New York seem like a picnic, and in winter it can be so, so cold, but April is usually just about right."
"I must admit that New York has always been somewhere that I wished to visit, and my deputy could cover for me if it was just a week or so," said Miss Frobisher with a smile. "And I can actually handle heat; I was born in the Caribbean, where my father was stationed in the Embassy on one of the old British colonies. April is a definite possibility, but I might be able to come over this summer; might…"
"Whenever you can make it we will be happy to see you; we can give you the dates of the school vacations, and I am sure Nick can arrange time off. One thing we won't do is tell Drew that you are coming over, just to give him and Evie a big surprise," said Jeff with a grin.
"Very well, that is a plan, not that I had any other option than to agree with those three sets of eyes begging me," came Miss Frobisher's reply. "Now, I think it is time; take good care of yourselves. You have a clever young man there, more than a match for any of my students; he is older than his years, if you know what I mean."
"I do," replied Nick. "I sometimes think that it is Wes Montgomery that inhabits his head at times; he is far wiser than me…"
"I would just say that he has the benefit of his father's genes, and a sound upbringing from his papa. Now you should go before I burst into tears all over again. I shall see you again, but this time, in New York." She held out her hand, and Nick shook it; Jeff however ignored it and hugged her, which left Nick shaking his head. Then, with one of their son's hands in one of theirs, the three of them set off for the walk back to Thurloe Square. On the way, Jeff and Wes paused outside the patisserie, and Nick smiled, then nodded, letting them run in and buy a cake. After all, the baking tins were all packed away, and thanks to those two, there was very little left in the store cupboard…
The last weekend in London was divided between the final packing and last trips to the museums and Kidzania, a place that Wes had stated he would miss the most when he returned home. Nick wondered if there was something similar close to New York, and if not, then why no-one had considered doing it. On that trip he pretended to have forgotten something, and headed back home alone, allowing Jeff and Wes to carry on to the play palace. He collected Wes' bike, and then walked along to the kindergarten; he left it with a note at the back door, Miss Frobisher being out. He had confirmed with Mike that there was an identical one waiting in the house in the West Village as he walked, and in response to this 12th check in four days, Mike had sent him a string of photos, which made Nick chortle.
Once he had joined his husband and son, he checked his phone again, and found a text from Miss Frobisher, stating she had found the bike, and was grateful, and that she might be able to come over in late July or early August if they still wanted her to visit. Nick replied that would be great, but said nothing to the other two. After a fun afternoon, they returned home, and Wes immediately noticed his bike was missing. He was content when Nick told him that it had been sent to New York that morning, although Jeff sensed that their son did not really believe it, and would not do so until he saw the bike in the West Village. Even then, he had a suspicion he would realise it was a facsimile, not the same one. That night they ate takeout, then headed off to bed early; they would have a very early start the following day…
With the keys handed back to the agent, and Wes already in the back of the black cab, Nick and Jeff paused on the pavement for one final look at their London home. "It hasn't been too bad living here," said Nick. "I was so worried that it would all seem strange, and that we would end up homesick, but once we got used to the people and their ways, England was okay."
"It was more than okay," replied Jeff. "We met the Queen, made friends with a Duchess, and saw some moments of world history first hand. All the same, I am glad that it is time for us to head back home. We will just need to remind Wes that the traffic is back on the right hand side of the road…"
Nick nodded, then they joined their son in the back of the cab, where he was half asleep, along with their bags. The traffic en route to the airport was heavy, as Nick had anticipated, and the tube would have been quicker, but the idea of taking Wes and their luggage on that journey had been off putting; up and down so many flights of stairs, and a husband to look out for as well…
They arrived at the terminal, and in no time they were through the check in process and heading into security, where Wes was now deemed old enough to walk through on his own, which he handled without qualm and indeed a swagger, much to everyone's amusement. They had no delays after that, and soon the plane was pushing back from the stand, thundering down the runway, and then they were airborne, heading back to the bosom of their friends and family…
