May 2033: Dalton in Mourning Part IV.
In the evening of the day that Benji and Zoe had sunk their parents' careers, Trent received a visitor, someone that he smiled at broadly as soon as he saw them. "Hello, Mr Montgomery. I trust that married life is all that you hoped that it would be…"
Wes chuckled, then nodded, a grin on his own face. "I feel like a teenage boy all over again; my heart is so full, but light at the same time. I have left my husband with Seth, who is showing him the rudiments of the systems that we angels use to register and process new arrivals to the heavenly realms; he will be taking over from him as my assistant in due course. We will be having our long-delayed honeymoon first, however, and then Thaddie will have to undertake a few collections, as all angels must. He actually asked me if he could carry one out before the end of this week, which came as a shock, because it isn't something that everyone wants to do or is suited for…"
"You should know by now that he likes to challenge himself, plus I am guessing that he wants to be the best husband that he can be for you; to support you in your role not just as an assistant, but as an equal."
"Well, that goes without saying; he will always be my equal in everything that we do. Now, to the reason for my visit this evening; I think that with a little push we can bring Ollie over to being able to not just hear angels but seeing them as well. He is in the right frame of mind for it right now, just needing some affirmation and encouragement from as many believers as we can gather. To that end, I would like you to organise a little extra event on Friday, for his eyes only. I think we need a moment, just like the one that we had at the Spotlight Diner on that long ago Thanksgiving. Brittany will be at the funeral, of course, but I think that it will be the presence of Michelle and all of the Warbler brotherhood that pushes him through that final limit. Now Thad cannot know about this, as he has already told me that he doesn't want his brother pushed into anything, but I think that we need to strike now whilst he is at his most receptive. He will be filled with emotions right after the funeral of his beloved brother, and that is when it is most likely to happen…"
Trent nodded, then said, "Anything to help you out Wes, but it might be helpful if I had a few of the others in the know so that they can assist me."
"I am ahead of you there; I am going to see Sebastian after you, and Blaine has gone to see Sam Evans, as he can get the New Directions motivated for this as well. Kurt is out on a collection right now, but when he returns, he will be paying a visit to Jeff. Finally, once I have seen Sebastian, I will be heading to see David. With all of those people in the know, I don't think you will have any trouble organising what I am thinking of…" Wes then informed Trent of what he envisaged, and Trent had to admit that his plan was a genius one. The biggest problem he anticipated was how they could ensure that only those that could see angels would be present in the room at the time…
By the time that Graduation Day arrived, the housemaster's apartment in the Warbler dorm had been stripped of all the things that had made it Thad's home, no personal items left to show that he had once inhabited that space. Trent had done what was required of him, but as he had gone to sleep in the spare bedroom for the final time that Thursday night, he had felt a sense of loss greater than anything he had felt before. Sebastian had stopped by late in the afternoon to collect the last of the music related items that had belonged personally to Thad, all of which were heading to the Senior Commons; he had paused in the sitting room and as he had looked round the room, he had felt tears forming in his eyes.
"It really brings it all home, being in this room now; he isn't coming back this time and next year there will be a virtual stranger living in this apartment. I have met the new housemaster and don't get me wrong, he is a good man, really caring and a music lover, but there remains one fact, and that is that he was never a Warbler…"
"As long as he takes good care of the fledgling members of the brotherhood, it will all be fine," replied Trent to his friend. "They will still have you to instil all of the values of our brotherhood in them, and to tell them all about the people and events of which they should be most proud…"
"I have already told the new housemaster that should there be any issues, I will be happy to assist him and to meet him for discussions either in the common room here, or his classroom. I don't think I will really be able to come back to this apartment once he is living here, because I would compare everything he had done to the place to make it his own to how Thad had it, and that would not be fair on him."
Trent nodded and replied, "I don't imagine myself coming back into this space either. David said much the same yesterday. As for Nick and Jeff, well they have confided in me that they are dreading meetings about Wes taking place in here, so I have told them that they should request that any meetings that they have with the new housemaster about their son be held in the school building itself on the grounds that it would offer more privacy for their son."
Sebastian nodded, although he was pretty sure that the only parents that had ever had a conversation about their son in Thad's apartment had been those whose father had been a member of the Warblers themselves…
On that Friday morning, the usual excitement of Graduation Day was somewhat muted. The usual decorations were much sparser at the request of the graduating class itself; one of the first things that arriving parents would see would be a large photograph of Thad on a stand, draped in black and with a wreath below it. All of the boys still wore their black armbands, a mark of respect that was combined with the virtual redecoration of the history corridor with messages that expressed the sense of loss that every single person connected to the school felt at Thad's passing…
As for that years Warblers, they had all dressed that morning in their uniforms with the usual care and attention to detail, but one crucial event that had occurred every Graduation Day in living memory would not be taking place that year. The graduating Seniors had agreed unanimously that they would not perform in the Senior Commons after the ceremony for their younger brethren. It was a break with tradition, but there was a whole combination of factors that mitigated against it; they had not had time to prepare, they would be at the funeral at the time it usually took place, and frankly, none of them were really in the mood for the usual silliness of it all…
Thad himself had said that every Graduation Day was the end of an era in a way, but that year it truly felt like it was. A crop of freshmen would arrive at Dalton after the summer who had never met Thad, or heard tell of him; in just three years, the last students that he had taught would have their own Graduation Day, and the collective memory of Thad Harwood at Dalton Academy would end, those boys scattered across the country and indeed, the world…
In their shared dorm room, Wes and Tim were awake early, both deep in thought about what lay ahead, and not just that day. The events of Graduation Day would be stressful for them, but it also marked the start of the long summer vacation and that would mean that there would be many miles between them. They would both be heading home the next day, Wes to the cosmopolitan chaos of New York and Tim to the small-town lifestyle that was all he had ever known. There had been some talk of Tim coming to New York for another visit at one point, but that had now faded, as the truth was that such a trip in the height of summer was beyond the budget of his parents; Nick and Jeff also knew that if they offered to pay for it to happen, they would cause offence to the Harts.
The idea of Wes travelling to stay with Tim for a while had also been mooted, but the truth was that he would stand out like a sore thumb in a small-town in South Dakota and might be subjected to the kind of talk that Tim had endured from some, and neither set of parents wanted that. Joe and Sugar knew all too well the kind of gossip that the close friendship between the two boys would create in such a tiny community. All of that added another layer of sadness to the room for Wes and Tim that morning.
"I am looking forward to seeing your dads again," Tim eventually said, breaking the silence. "You are really lucky to have them. Don't get me wrong, my parents are cool too, but they can be so obsessed with what other people will think…"
"I guess that they have to be, being a preacher and a teacher," replied Wes, using the expression to describe the Harts that always made Tim giggle. "I am looking forward to finally meeting them in person this afternoon, even though the reason that they will be here is such a sad one…"
Tim nodded, aware that had Thad not passed away, he would probably just have been sent a plane ticket and been making his own way home. It was a long drive from South Dakota to Ohio, and as such his parents had started their journey the previous day, stopping off at a motel overnight, before continuing on today. They would be staying at Dalton after the funeral but would leave early the next day. As a result, Tim would miss the ceremony on the hill when they placed Thad's ashes next to those of Wes, but it could not be helped, as his father had to be back at the church for Sunday services. "I have a feeling that they are looking forward to seeing you too; they haven't seen you in person since you were a baby after all. They want to properly meet the boy that has made me so happy…"
After their breakfast in the refectory, the two young Warblers headed for the Senior Commons to join their fellows for a final run through all that they would be singing that day. At the Graduation ceremony they would sing of achievement, a theme that was de rigeur of course, but that would be all that they would sing there. It would be that afternoon, once lunch was over, that their vocal talents would be brought to the fore; there would be two hymns, a reprise of To Sir, With Love, which most of the boys agreed would probably make them cry, before a Beatles song that Thad himself had chosen to end his funeral, In My Life, which would spark even more tears. The choice seemed very apt to them all, not just for Thad himself, but also for the graduating Seniors who would be taking their leave the following day…
As they rehearsed, the doors to the room opened; Sebastian smiled as so many of his old friends came in, and none of the current generation of Warblers was all that shocked when the alumni began to join in with the words of the Beatles song…
When the rehearsal was over, Wes hurried over to greet his dads, but he was a little shocked when his papa left to fetch Owain and brought him over to join in with their conversation. "There is something that we need to tell you Wes; we have confirmed the names of the new group of Dalton graduates that will be coming to live next door to us in the West Village this year, and Owain is one of them. Thad put his name forward at the start of the year, but at that time he hadn't decided whether he was going to stay in Ohio and take a place in the medical school in Columbus or accept an offer he had from NYU. He has now decided to take up the latter, so he will be our neighbour for the next few years…" said Jeff, concerned about how his son would take the news.
"I hope that is okay with you, Wes," said Owain. "I know that such a thing could be strange or awkward for you…"
"No, it will be perfectly fine; it will be nice to have someone that I like and know well living next door. I am sure that I will probably know most of the other new arrivals, but they won't be nearly as close to me as you are," replied Wes, secretly very happy that the older boy would be staying in his life a lot longer.
The younger generation would leave the Senior Commons shortly after that, leaving the alumni to talk, although they all had only one thing on their minds that day, and that was their fellow Warblers that were not in the room with them. It was not mentioned, but they were all keenly aware that had he still been alive, Thad would have been amongst them, corralling them and ensuring they were all ready before he headed back to the auditorium to liaise with Principal Lefevre. He would have spoken at the ceremony as was traditional, and they all wondered who would make that speech this year, eyes moving between Sebastian, Skylar and Trent; those that had plumped for the latter would be correct…
He had written the words expecting that one of the other two would be the person that would deliver them; they had both felt unable to do so, and eventually Principal Lefevre had asked Trent personally to make the address. He had taken on the role with a smile, but deep down he was extremely nervous; all he could think of was that he had to make Thad proud with the way he spoke. His words would certainly do that, of that he was sure, but it would be the way that he delivered them that was most important of all. He had declined to take a seat on the stage though, electing to come up from the body of the auditorium when the time came. He now stood in the Commons, surveying his friends, all of them smartly attired in their dress uniform, with the addition of the black armband that all of the students still wore, but he knew that once he was in that auditorium looking up at the stage, he would be emotional over the fact that one key figure would not be there; it was a lot like seeing the balcony at Buckingham Palace the first time that Queen Elizabeth had not been there….
The graduation ceremony went off without a hitch, although there was less of an air of celebration than was customary at the event. The parents of the graduating Seniors all knew what had happened at the school over the last fortnight and understood why things were muted; some had even wondered at one point if the ceremony would take place at all, but Thad had made it quite clear to Principal Lefevre in a conversation a month before that his death, should it come before the event, should not impact upon it. There was the usual applause as each name was read out, but none of the cheers that were normal; each graduate also sported a black armband like every other student…
The valedictorian made a speech in which he talked first of the Dalton school spirit, then went on to explain how that school spirit had been personified by Thad. "Mr Harwood was educated here, and you could tell that instantly. His door was always open, even if you were not one of his dorm students or even taking history as one of your main classes. I have been told that he was offered the position of Deputy Principal a few years ago and he declined it, because the paperwork involved would eat into the time that he was available to all of us. His classes were immensely popular, because he taught his subject, for which he had an obvious passion, in such a thought-provoking way, and made history come to life for us all. If anyone wants a sign of just how loved he was, take a stroll down the history corridor past his classroom door. You will see that every inch of the walls is covered in notes full of beautiful words. We that knew him will never forget him, just as he never forgot any of us…"
Then it was Trent's turn to speak, and he headed up to the stage with his head bowed. He stood at the lectern, then spoke. "This is the moment in the course of a normal Graduation Day when a speech would be given about the success of the Warblers by my good friend Thad Harwood; the task this year has fallen to me. I can only state that Thad was overjoyed to see his boys' triumph at Nationals once more; then he was moved by the tribute that they paid to him in song and by all of the kind words and tributes that came to him from across the world of show choir. He was too modest to admit the truth himself, but we all know that he was the driving force that put Dalton Academy back on the musical map. I like to think that he is now back with those other Warbler alumni that have left us much too soon, all of them lending their vocal talents to the voices of the heavenly choir. I also believe that Thad will be watching over us all from heaven just as he did in life. He will stay in all of our hearts forever…"
The lunch that was held after the ceremony was not as cheerful as usual either; it wasn't silent, but the noise level was kept lower as a mark of respect to those that would be moving on to attend the funeral in the auditorium. The Dalton students and parents were now joined in the building by the members of the New Directions, not one of them absent; the boards of Broadway would be missing several of their stars that evening as a result. Cooper and Grace were amused to watch as some of the parents in the room suddenly spotted Burt Hummel and Carole arrive, the presence of the former Speaker of the House showing them just how well-connected Thad had been. The ladies spotted Isabelle Wright arrive too, alongside her family, joined by her stepson in his Dalton dress uniform.
There were also former Warblers from every year that Thad had been a teacher at Dalton, the majority of them showing their allegiance by wearing at least their school tie and Warbler pin. They all sported a black armband, having been greeted by Edith Carmichael like her own children. They had all gone on to achieve many things, but there would be one major revelation that day. It came with the arrival of Conrad, the countertenor that had been Thad's secret weapon in the first Nationals Championship that he had been in charge of the Warblers. He calmly informed Sebastian that he had handed in his resignation at the stockbroker firm that he had been employed at since college two days before.
"To be honest, I have not enjoyed the work for some time, but I felt that I had to stick with it… And then I heard about Mr Harwood. I suddenly realised that life is much too short to be miserable and so I quit. I am going to go back to school in the fall and train to be a teacher; I have made myself a very comfortable life and now I can afford to take things a little easier. My choice of subject to teach will be Geography and History, as that doubles my possible job options at least. I intend to teach in Chicago at first, but if a vacancy came up here at Dalton one of these days, I would apply without a second of hesitation. This school is the first place that I knew true happiness, and it would be like a homecoming to come back and teach in these hallowed halls…"
As Conrad moved away to go and talk to some others from his generation of Warblers, Sebastian looked over at David, who had been standing in earshot and smiled. "First me, then you and Jeff; it seems that Conrad will be the next of the Warblers that find their happiness in teaching others," he said quietly, and David nodded in reply.
"Of course, you have forgotten one person, as I admit I have done too, and that is Seth; he wasn't a teacher, but he did act as a teaching assistant and tutor at his old college for some time before his death," David added. "Maybe this will turn out to be Thad's greatest legacy; to show us all how rewarding it can be to pass on the knowledge and skills that we have to the next generation."
"That would be a good one, if that was indeed the case," replied Sebastian, wondering if Conrad might end up making up the numbers in the History department at Dalton now that Thad was gone. Then he changed tack, and said to David in a low voice, "How are you bearing up? You have been so quiet and reflective all day so far…"
"I'm okay, just wondering when Thad and Wes will make themselves visible to us all as a couple. I know that they will be in a honeymoon phase right now, and I don't blame them for that, and I also know that Thad needs to learn so many things, but I had half hoped that they would appear before the event later…"
Sebastian nodded in agreement, as he had been hoping for something like that for the alumni that qualified too. It was then that he noticed that the four Dr Harwoods and their respective partners had now arrived, and Ollie was in the process of introducing them all to the Carmichaels. He pointed them out to David, who smiled at the sight of Thad's family, once estranged from him but now reunited by his departure.
"What one of them doesn't know is that he is going to have his life turned upside down in just a few hours' time," David whispered to Sebastian.
"Yeah, so long as the plan comes off," his friend replied.
The arrival of the three once estranged Harwood siblings and their respective partners meant that there were a lot of introductions to be made. It transpired that Benji's wife was a big fan of all things Broadway, and for her to be able to meet in person not just Sebastian, but Cooper, Rachel, Sam, Adam, Mason and Marley, had her struggling with keeping her composure at what was supposed to be a sad event. Eventually Sebastian said to her, "Thad would have wanted you to smile and enjoy this moment; he wasn't big on being glum at any time. He saw funerals not as sad events that mark the end of a life, but rather as a happy celebration of all that the deceased had achieved in their life; that, and the fact that they were now an angel."
Jeff found himself talking to Marcia's husband, who admitted that he kept a postcard of The Judging Angel in his office and was thus fascinated not just to meet the creator of that masterpiece but also to discover that the angel depicted in it might be the one that his brother-in-law was now with. Having heard so much about the supposed lack of faith and belief amongst the other Harwoods from Thad over the years, Jeff was a little surprised to discover that Marcia's husband was definitely a believer.
"It was hard, but I managed never to express my faith when I was in the presence of that man and keep the fact that I was a regular church attender from him as well. What he did not know was that two years ago, Marcia had discovered that where I went every Sunday was not the sports club; after that, she came with me every Sunday that she was not working…"
Jeff then went on to confirm a rumour that had begun to circulate amongst the alumni earlier that day, namely that he was about to start work on a companion piece to his best-known work, a drawing that he was going to entitle either The Judge's Assistant or The Administrative Angel. He had decided that Thad deserved to be immortalised in pencil just as his husband had been all those years before and nobody could disagree with the sentiment behind that decision…
Meanwhile, with his wife busy meeting her idols, Benji himself headed over to Hayden and asked if they could have a private conversation. The director of the Kennedy-Willetts Hospice agreed without reservation and was even happier to see that the quiet corner he was taken to also held Ollie. They both would sit in rapt attention as Benji told them about the old building in the heart of the hospital campus that had been intended to be converted into a centre for cosmetic surgery by his parents, designed to be no more than a money-spinning machine, catering for the rich, vain and usually vacuous. Now that it was no longer at the mercy of those two people, he intended to suggest to the hospital board that they turn the building into a companion facility to the Kennedy-Willetts Hospice; an affiliate that specialised in caring for children and teenagers. "As for a name, I thought it could be the Thad Harwood Memorial Hospice, or something similar. As for who should be in charge of it, I think that there would be no-one better suited for that role than Marcia…" Both Hayden and Ollie knew that Benji was being genuine, and agreed with his choice for director, but as for the name, well Ollie thought that the Harwood-Montgomery Hospice might be a better choice…
Hayden was still in slight shock at the turn of events as the time came for them all to head into the auditorium for the funeral service. The room was crowded, with some people having to stand, so many of Thad's friends and of his former students having wanted to be present. Amongst the latter, Conrad had been joined by Boyd Harries and Todd Powton; the trio had been the stars of Thad's first few years, as his countertenor, baritone and beatboxer respectively. Boyd had gone on to join a professional choir based in London, but he had cancelled all of his work as soon as he had heard of Thad's death, determined to be in attendance; as he had told his choir director, without Thad he might never have been able to make music his career… Todd too had travelled a long distance to be here; his career as a biochemist had taken him to Dresden, but he also sang in a local choir there. The three of them sat together, and it warmed the hearts of the older faculty and the Carmichaels to see them there, smartly turned out in Dalton blazer and tie, proudly wearing their Warbler pin…
Most of those that were standing in the room were part of the current student body, some of whom had not been booked to travel home until the next day and others who had deferred the trip for a few hours to be present. All of the current generation of Warblers were there, of course, at the front of the room and ready to sing; Owain surveyed the auditorium and realised from his knowledge of his predecessors in the role of Head Warbler in Thad's time, only one was not present in the room, and that was solely because he was in the middle of an expedition exploring the marine life in the Pacific Ocean, and had not been able to secure transportation home in time; he was watching on a video link, however…
He had not had time to talk to all of those men, however, as he had been keeping a close watch on one of his own freshmen. Tim had been on tenterhooks for the last hour or so, and as the appointed time for the funeral to commence came ever closer, he kept looking to the door of the auditorium anxiously. As Owain understood it from Wes, his parents were supposed to be in attendance at the funeral, but they had not yet arrived, nor were either of them answering their cellphone. Tim kept telling Wes that their car was old and increasingly unreliable, and that it had probably broken down on the last stretch of their long journey from South Dakota, but that did not explain why they had not been contactable…
Such concerns had to be shelved however when the moment came, and the funeral directors appeared in the doorway, carrying Thad's coffin into the auditorium, just as Seth's had been a few years before. Thad however was brought in to silence at his own request, rather than the sacred music that Seth had wished for. As at another funeral so very long ago, a Dalton blazer was folded carefully on top of the coffin, the Warbler pin evident to them all; beside them were the only flowers in the room, a wreath of red and yellow variegated roses. The significance of that particular flower was known to nearly everyone in the room…
With the coffin in place the first hymn that Thad had chosen was sung. He had selected Lord of all Hopefulness because it was not long and it also had a relatively cheerful Irish tune, which made Rory smile a little. Trent listened to the voices of all of those Warblers in the room blending together and realised that he was in the company of greatness at that moment. He hoped that Thad's other choice of hymn, The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, has Ended would be sung just as well…
As he sang, Trent looked across the room towards Aaron Carmichael, who had volunteered to say a few words; he had taken the text that Trent had written out for the eulogy and declared that he would use it as he thought it was magnificent. The former Principal was equally certain that everyone else gathered in the room would agree with him once they heard it.
The funeral was not a lengthy one, but it was filled with the kind of moments that all of those in attendance would recall for years to come. The performance of To Sir, With Love by the current generation of Warblers became all the more special when, thanks to a lot of work behind the scenes by Owain and the other council members, the vast majority of the current Dalton students in the auditorium joined in for the last few lines in perfect harmony; those lines expressed what they would do to honour the teacher of the song. The last rendition of the title in the lyrics echoed in the auditorium, many of Thad's alumni students also joining in, and that made a lot of people tear up, including Sebastian…
All in all, Thad's siblings were left in no doubt that their little brother had been greatly loved and that his circle of friends was wide. After the final hymn had been sung, the coffin was carried out to the strains of In My Life, to be taken to the crematorium with no accompanying mourners or fuss at his request; he did not see any point in people having to sit there and witness his earthly body being set ablaze. After the coffin was gone, there was the beginning of movement in the room, but then Trent coughed loudly a couple of times, which somehow managed to bring silence once more to the room…
"I am afraid that I must ask you all to remain here for a moment, as there is one final thing before the funeral is complete; I was unaware until this morning that Thad had actually left a video that he wanted to have played at the end of the ceremony. If you can all remain where you are, I will get the screen and projector set up…" Dylan came to his aid to do that and in no time the big screen was in place, the blinds drawn at the windows to make it more visible, and the projector was ready to show the clip that Thad had left behind…
As the clip began, it showed Thad sitting behind his desk in his classroom, looking so healthy that they all knew he must have filmed it sometime before. He looked up at them all and smiled; then the music began, and they all realised that Thad was going to sing for them one last time. They would later find out that his song choice was from an old and relatively obscure musical called Mr Cinders; a product of the year 1928, it had been revived in London's West End in 1983. The title of the song was Spread a Little Happiness, and through its lyrics Thad urged them all not to sigh, and not to cry. In a musical interlude mid-song he performed a little tap dance down the centre of his classroom in the direction of the door; that he had that talent came as a shock to his three estranged siblings and as a delight to everyone else…
Then, as the some came to its climax, Thad broke hearts. He had made his way to the open classroom door by the final line, and he faced into it, then sang the final line – 'Spread a little happiness as you… go… by…' As he sang that final word, he added an 'e' to it and waved farewell to them all, before vanishing into the hallway. It was hard not to cry at that, the screen fading to black, and tears were shed by many, but all were certain that they would be forgiven in the circumstances…
Those that want to hear Thad's last song can find a version sung by Denis Lawson from the 1983 production online...