The Dove and New Connections.
As Jeff and the two boys were travelling back to Paris, Nick was nearing the end of his working day. He had enjoyed his train journey in the morning to Geneva immensely; he had been upgraded to First Class by the train manager on seeing that the UN had paid for his official travel, and that meant that he could eat a pleasant second breakfast as his first train of the day sped him through southern Germany and on into Switzerland. He had been concerned about how tight his connection time had been when he had to change, but as was widely stated, the Swiss railway seemed to run like clockwork, his arrival bang on time and his connection waiting just across an island platform…
He arrived at the UN building in Geneva in excellent time, giving him time to have an early lunch and catch up with a few familiar faces both in the restaurant and in the anteroom prior to the official start of the meeting. Those conversations were light-hearted in the main, but the topic of the conference was a much more serious affair. He sat quietly and listened to the major speakers as they outlined the major issues in the situation they were here to discuss, one which had been going on for decades without any hope of resolution.
Nick had done his research before he left New York, spending hours in the library of the UN Building there, going through old files to see what had been said before, and thus he had a speech of his own ready. In the end, having listened to the issues now, he had discarded most of it; he had to ensure that what he was saying on behalf of his department was relevant and took account of the exact circumstances they now found themselves in. His words were placatory to both opposing parties and when the debate began after he finished, he had just sat back until he was called in to intervene, which he did using the knowledge that he had garnered through all of his research.
Somehow, he managed to suggest a solution that would satisfy both sides and let them feel they had won; that came as a shock to him and to the senior negotiators that had been expecting yet another stalemate on some tiny point. An agreement was made and although it was not able to be ratified on paper there and then, both sides agreed to stick with it and finally bring peace to a troubled region. From now on, Nick could proudly state that he had been instrumental in ending a conflict that nobody in the world had ever expected to be resolved…
With the conference now over, Nick took a taxi to the railway station in Geneva to catch his train; the meeting had overrun a little and he was unable to walk as planned. As it was, he made the train with seconds to spare. He found that he had once again been upgraded to First Class immediately and he could relax as the train sped him towards Paris and his family. He used the time on the train to compile and file a brief report about all that had happened at the conference for Miss Worthington; he was aware that it was lunchtime back in New York and that she always liked reports filed as promptly as possible. Having typed up all of his notes and then e-mailed them to her, he accepted a small glass of wine and some snacks from the steward.
By the time that he had finished them, he heard a ping which signified that he had received an e-mail; he opened it and smiled at the response from his boss, which was full of praise for him and confirmed something he did not know. After he had left, a treaty had been hastily drawn up and had been signed by the representatives of the two disputing parties…
'I hear on the grapevine that it was more or less down to you alone that the compromise was reached. I cannot understate how grateful we all are to have one of the globe's longest running disputes finally brought to a resolution through an inspired solution that allows both sides to claim that they did not give in and achieved the victory they had always wished for. I suspect that you will receive official recognition from higher up in the United Nations for your work; furthermore, when the full treaty has been drawn up and the leaders of the warring factions are present her in New York to sign it, you will be expected to be present. Once again, very well done. Enjoy the remainder of your vacation.'
Nick smiled at the message, although he did not require any of the official praise to be aware that he had done a good job. As the train began to run through the suburbs of Paris, his phone pinged with a message again, and he was surprised to see that it came from Trent. He wondered what was going on, thinking it might be an indignant rant about being the last to know about Owain, but when he opened it, the purpose became clear; his work that day had come to the attention of the Oval Office as well…
'On behalf of the President, I am to thank you for helping to achieve something that many people believed was impossible. For myself, I have to say that the bird name given to you by Wes all those years ago has never seemed more apt; you truly are the Dove of peace.'
Nick felt his eyes begin to mist over reading that, and he could almost hear the voice of Wes himself echoing Trent's statement…
He would arrive back at the apartment in Paris in time to have a late dinner with Jeff, who had sat back and watched as his son and Tim had eaten their own dinner earlier; he wanted to enjoy some time alone with his husband in the city of romance. The boys had understood why he was not eating with them perfectly; as soon as they had welcomed Nick back, they had both begun to yawn exaggeratedly, before they had excused themselves off to bed. Nick had been left shaking his head, grateful that neither boy had any ambitions of a career on the stage.
He and Jeff ate their three-course meal by candlelight, sharing the dessert between them, Nick careful to leave a slightly larger share for his husband as he always did, knowing just how much his husband loved sweet things. Over a mug of hot chocolate afterwards, Jeff decided that he should confide in Nick what Fritz had told him that lunchtime about the future career aspirations of their son.
Nick nodded, then said, "I always knew that he would not follow me into the law, nor would I have forced him to; it was obvious to me a long time ago that he did not have the inclination for that career. I have no problem with him pursuing a career in the world of baking, but I think that he should have some other skills behind him as a back up plan. He will need to do a proper college degree in business or something similar beforehand; I have to say that the idea of him leaving Dalton and going straight into a catering college is frankly ridiculous and unthinkable."
Jeff looked at his husband for a moment, then responded, "But if that is what he wants to do with his life…"
"It might be now, Jeffie; it might still be when he graduates from Dalton. In twenty years from now, however, perhaps with a bakery business in trouble, will he regret only having baking on his resume? Will he thank us for not insisting that he have another string to his bow? He certainly will not! No, he needs to have a fallback, and I am sure that Tim, having his head screwed on, will help us persuade our son that taking a sensible college course before a bakery one is the right thing to do."
Jeff looked at his husband, not so sure for a start that Tim would indeed help them to talk Wes round, but he said nothing, not wishing to start an argument here in Paris where it could be overheard; eavesdropping had been the cause of their previous troubles after all. Instead, he changed the subject but made a mental note that their discussion on the topic would continue once they were back in New York, and once the boys were back at Dalton. That was the safest thing, as that should guarantee that the subsequent argument would go unwitnessed…
They would spend their last full day in Paris on an excursion to Versailles, something that they could not fail to show to Tim when they were so close by. The great palace of the French monarchy was every bit as opulent as Nick and Jeff recalled, and being there reminded them of their first time seeing it the summer before their wedding. It all seemed so long ago now, but as they stood once more in the Hall of Mirrors, they could recall their own youthful exuberance, now clear to see on the faces of their son and his boyfriend….
For some reason, they both also recalled the events that had happened just a few days before that in Amsterdam, when Jeff had purchased a special cake… That was one tale that they never wanted their son to hear, and Trent felt exactly the same way, turning bright red at the mere mention of it. Fortunately, Sebastian, the only one that had come out of that night with any dignity, also wanted the tale kept quiet; he swore that any time it was mentioned he felt the horror that he had that night, and worse, he swore that he could hear angelic laughter, the sound of a certain Mr Montgomery being the loudest…
As the boys wandered around in awe beside them, Jeff turned to his husband and said, "I have always found it strange that when revolutions occur and people overthrow a monarch or president, they do not destroy the opulent palaces that they lived in, which are surely the symbol of the oppression they lived under…"
Before Nick could reply, Tim said, "That's because the leaders of the revolution that will replace the monarch or president want to live in those palaces with all of the privileges themselves."
The boy then blushed, which made Nick think he had not intended to say it out loud. "That much is probably true," he said. "The people of a nation will overthrow one powerful ruler to then find that they are living under a different powerful ruler instead and that nothing much changes. As someone once said, all men are equal, but there is always someone out there that believes that they are more equal than everyone else…"
The final night in Paris was also the one on which they would be having dinner with François and his husband. Although the Frenchman was closest to Sebastian, he had endeared himself to all of them over the years and all of the friends knew that if they happened to be in Paris, then they would be invited to come over for dinner at the very least. He had now been married for several years and just a couple of years before, he and his husband had adopted a little girl; she would naturally be joining them all for dinner and was very excited to meet her dad's friends.
It was, of course, the first time that Tim had met François, but he had heard so much about him over the years from his parents that he felt that he knew him. He was grateful that most of the conversation that evening was in English, as although he was good at French at school, that was nothing like talking it with two native speakers in a social setting. The food that François served was exquisite and made all the better by the fact that it was served in an apartment with all of the classic features of a building that age. Wes had told him that François lived in the kind of Paris apartment that was the stereotype in so many old films, and he now saw that he was telling the truth.
After dinner, as the adults sat and talked about current affairs, the little girl now tucked up in bed, Wes took Tim into the study, which he knew from previous visits had one of the best views of the entire apartment. The full height window looked down a street which led eventually to the Seine, and as they were at the top of the slope, the river was visible; beyond it and perfectly framed by its surroundings, was the Eiffel Tower, illuminated against the dusk. They stood there in the twilight, watching the people walking past in the street below, but also staring at the structure that was a symbol of both the city and the country.
"I imagined the two of us together in Paris at some point in the future in my dreams at Dalton," Tim admitted, his arm around his boyfriend. "I always thought that we would be much older though, in college at the very least…"
"I love the fact that you have been dreaming about me for so long," Wes whispered in reply, as he wrapped his own arm around Tim and pulled him closer. "I often dreamt about you as well. According to Uncle Sebastian, that is something that true soulmates do, and I believe with all my heart that you and I are definitely soulmates…"
"I do too; I can't imagine falling in love or being with anyone else but you…" replied Tim, before he turned towards Wes and captured his lips in a kiss. One kiss led to another as they celebrated a love that was eternal, unobserved by the people in the street below as they went about their business…
Back in Manhattan, Owain had spent another day shadowing Ollie Harwood at the hospital; he had enjoyed it all, even if things had been so much busier that day than he had experienced before; a bus had crashed into another one at a busy intersection and there had been an entire convoy of ambulances at the entrance to the Emergency Room, each bringing a few patients from the scene. As yet, Owain could not assist with the treatment of their injuries, but Ollie had instead allocated him what he saw as an even more important task; he had been entrusted with taking the personal details of the less hurt casualties as they came in.
It was a task he set about happily, and he used the techniques he already knew to calm those that were in distress. With the bulk of the casualties arrived, he moved on to sit with one older lady, who had seemed upset earlier, and he held her hand as she proceeded to tell him her life story. In her youth, she had worked in a prestigious Broadway theater and had been fortunate enough to meet some of the biggest names in showbiz at that time. Owain listened attentively and with interest, knowing she had been distressed earlier and was worried about what the doctors might find when it was her turn to be seen. In the end he told her about his own school days and then mentioned that his drama and choir teacher had been Sebastian Smythe…
Her face lit up at once and Owain realised that he had just made a new best friend. It transpired that she had actually been working her way towards retirement at the box office of Book of Mormon at the time that Sebastian had saved the show from disaster that fateful night, the moment that he had put himself firmly into the spotlight…
"All of those young men that he summoned to come and do the show with him were so talented and it made me so happy to see such a strong and wholesome friendship amongst a group of young men. What I recall most of all about them was that every single one of them treated those of us that worked behind the scenes with such respect. That is not always the case with the stars of the shows; some performers look down on all of us, thinking they are so superior as they are the actors. Well, let us just say that we used to take our revenge on them for that in subtle ways that they would never have imagined. Of course, I didn't tell you that, because even now after all these years, some of those people would be upset and angry to discover we had done things to them…"
She paused, then smiled. "We never did anything like that to Sebastian when he worked there, or to Miss Midler either; she used to pop in and visit him from time to time and sent him little gifts too. I still keep my eyes and ears open for mentions of all of those boys, whose names I committed to memory, and they all seem to be doing great things. Of course, one of them was a stalwart of show choir, and I was so sad to read that he had passed away. I recalled him so well as before he went on stage during that performance, he looked at a picture of his boyfriend each and every time, which I thought was so sweet. I only found out afterwards that the boy in question had died in tragic circumstances… He was a good man and hopefully he is with his boyfriend again in heaven…"
Owain nodded, fully aware that she was talking about his uncle and Ollie's brother; he knew too that Ollie might well be the one that treated her, so he said nothing about that family connection…
Then, in a blink of an eye, everything changed. Suddenly the old lady was clutching at her chest and then she was slumping down towards the floor, her eyes dimming and her lips turning blue. He caught her before she fell down completely, and now all of the first aid training he had been given came to the fore. As he yelled for assistance, he felt for her pulse; he did not find one and he instantly suspected a heart attack, brought on by the trauma of the accident. He began CPR at once, something that he and every other student at Dalton was taught in one of the few compulsory classes, and carried on yelling for help…
He made the chest compressions at the correct rhythm; that song by the Bee Gees playing in his head, the one with the oh so appropriate title. He paused to give the necessary rescue breaths too, carrying on until suddenly one of the nurses was at his side. She offered to take over, but he shook his head, carrying on alone until he saw that the lady was breathing once more, and the nurse informed him quietly that she had a pulse again…
It was only then that Owain looked up and saw that Ollie was standing there, observing him; the defibrillator was there, but it had not been necessary, as Owain had acted swiftly and correctly. There was no smile from the doctor, just a nod which showed approval. As the lady was lifted onto a gurney and wheeled into a cubicle, it suddenly hit the young man that he had just saved a life in the Emergency Room before he had even had his first day at medical school. It was an achievement that he could rightly be very proud of…
He had walked home with everyone's words of congratulations ringing in his head, allowed away earlier than normal as he had an appointment for dinner that evening with Ollie and Michelle. He would also get to meet his cousin Thaddeus properly for the first time that night and he was more than a little nervous about that. He had seen him before at Thad's funeral of course and he had been stunned at the time by just how much the boy looked like a younger version of his deceased uncle. The boy had spent most of his time that day, when he was not with his parents, in the company of his new aunts and uncles. He had never met any of them until that moment and so it had been quite a day for him. Now he had another new member of the family to meet in the shape of Owain. He did wonder exactly how his existence all of a sudden was going to be explained to the boy, but that was a decision that his parents had to make…
He stopped off at the drugstore on his way home to pick up a box of chocolates for his hosts and a box of candy for his new cousin too. He knew what the boy liked from a discrete chat with Dani on his last shift at the diner, so that was an advantage. He found himself standing in line behind Evie, who was on her way home from a friend's house; she smiled on seeing him and said hello, then waited as he was served, intending that they might walk home together, which was no issue for Owain.
They walked in silence only briefly, then Evie opened the conversation with, "I heard that you found out that you were related to Thad Harwood last week." Seeing the surprise on Owain's face, she went on, "I overheard my dad and Ethan talking about it one night. It must have come as quite a shock."
"Yeah, it was at the time, but I am getting used to it now. I am actually going over to my uncle Ollie's place tonight for dinner, hence the box of chocolates; I will also meet my young cousin properly for the first time, hence the box of candy."
"Wow, dinner with new family and also both your bosses at the same time," replied Evie, which made Owain chuckle. "I do know how it feels to suddenly discover you have a family; when I lived in London, it was just me and dad against the world. Of course, the wicked witch was there too, but like Voldemort, we don't mention her. Then Prince Ethan, as I called him then, came and rescued us, helped by Nick and Jeff. Suddenly I was living in the United States, and I had grandparents, not to mention a whole bunch of 'uncles' as well. It was very nice, but a little bit confusing as well… I know that I am a couple of years younger than you, but if you ever need to talk to someone, I've been told that I am a good listener; and, as I said, I've been there…"
Owain smiled, then said, "I might just take you up on that, because from what everyone has told me, you are a very smart and mature young lady. Maybe we could go for a coffee or an ice cream one afternoon when we are both free?"
"That would be good, yeah," replied Evie shyly, her cheeks a little red, as she had actually started to develop quite the crush on the handsome young man next door…
They did not make any further arrangements at that juncture, but as he let himself into his home that afternoon, Owain found himself smiling quite broadly at the idea. Then he heard a voice from inside the house, and momentarily he froze; then he recalled that today was the day that the other two former Dalton students that had lived in the house before him had been due back from the summer camp they had been working at that day. He headed into the kitchen and found them both sitting there; they reintroduced themselves, Dalton Academy being a small enough school that they knew each other a little already. There was coffee made and Owain sat down to share a cup with them, the first topic of conversation for him being his big news; they would be living together, so they needed to know, or they would wonder why he was spending quite so much time in the company of Michelle and Ollie…
They listened, then nodded, all smiles at first. Then the face of one of them darkened a little before he shared a tale of an experience that his own family had been through at the hands of Dr Benjamin Harwood Snr; how the man had treated them so badly when his great-grandmother had passed away…
"That man is a monster with zero caring instincts and even less empathy; he had no sooner told my folks that she had died than he was presenting them with a bill and demanding immediate payment. My mom said that the atmosphere in the whole hospital was horrible, all of the staff walking around on eggshells and trying to avoid contact with him. She has since discovered that there are dozens of other families that received the same treatment, or worse. I take it that you will not be meeting your grandfather…"
"Never, if I can help it," replied Owain vehemently.
The other housemate nodded, then said, "If this had come out when we were all still at Dalton, I think that most of the student body would have ended up feeling quite jealous of you. The truth is that Mr Harwood was the best teacher out, and the fact that you were his nephew would have made us all green with envy…" Owain had to nod in agreement with that, as he knew that would have been the case.
An hour or so later, after a shower and a change of clothes, he headed across town to the apartment that was home to the New York branch of the Harwood family. He was a little nervous as he headed up in the elevator, but the warmth of the greeting that he received from Michelle calmed him at once. "Ollie is running a little late, but I always plan for that anyway. He had to go and check up on a particular patient before he left; one that he tells me you single handedly resuscitated and brought back from the dead today…"
Owain nodded, blushing fiercely as he did. "All that I really did was some basic CPR. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and knew exactly what I needed to do. Anyone could have done it…"
Michelle nodded and said no more, recognising the modesty that the young man had about what he had done as a trait that Thad would have taught him. She took the box of chocolates he offered, then having taken his coat, she escorted him into the lounge and made the formal introductions to his nine-year-old cousin, although the boy in question was quick to point out that he would be ten soon. They began with solemn shaking of hands, but that Thaddeus invited Owain to play a game with him as they waited for his dad; he had his racing game set up in his room but there was nobody to play it with just now as his mom was busy in the kitchen…
Owain agreed and soon they were playing against each other; if Thaddeus happened to win every time it was because he was the better player, and that fact made him smile. There were questions asked as they played and honest answers given by Owain; then with a smile, the young man was informed that he could call him Thad, as they were cousins after all. That moment was overheard by Ollie, who had just arrived home, and his wife; it made them both smile, as that permission was a rare privilege that their son handed out very infrequently indeed…
Owain would become close to his cousin over the remainder of that summer, spending a lot of time with him as he made regular visits to see his uncle and aunt for lunch or dinner; on a few occasions he also willingly took on babysitting duties, not that young Thad was a baby in any way these days. He had a great talent for music, and this had been encouraged by his mother, who had signed him up for the piano lessons he had wanted early on. He was as a consequence now able to play some fairly complicated pieces of music with a great deal of accuracy. Watching that talent did not inspire Owain to take up his own long neglected violin again; much as he would have liked to have a hobby like that, he knew that once he started at medical school fully, then he would not have the luxury of much free time. He made the most therefore of every moment that summer…
Part of that was meeting up with Evie for a coffee and a chat, and he ended up doing so more than he had initially anticipated. He had spoken to Drew before their first meeting, just to ensure that he was okay with it; she was a minor after all, and some fathers might well have objected to their daughter going out for coffee with a man that was now classed as an adult. Drew told him that he had no issue with it, but what he did not tell Owain was that he had already been approached by Evie, who had spelled out exactly why she thought her talking with the former Head Warbler was a good idea.
However, Drew was also smart enough to notice something else in that conversation with his teenage daughter; he suspected from the way that she talked about him that she might have a crush on the young man. He kept his suspicions to himself however, not even mentioning it in passing to Ethan; if he voiced them then his daughter would simply deny it, and potentially Owain would be left mortified, ending a friendship that was only just beginning immediately…
Drew was actually correct in his assumptions, and Evie admitted to herself that she did have quite the crush on the most recent former Head Warbler. She knew better than to say a word about that to anyone else, as her feelings would just be dismissed by most adults as 'puppy love' at best; at worst, Owain would end up in a lot of trouble. She knew what she felt, and it was more than just a passing fancy. She was careful not to visit Owain at home, even more so once there were five other former Dalton students living in the middle house with him; she liked all of the young men that lived there, but none of them had quite what Owain did to her eyes.
He saved people's lives at the hospital – although she knew that at the moment it had been one life, and he was just assisting other people for now. He sang beautifully at the Spotlight diner, and she was increasingly a regular there along with a number of her closest school friends; they all agreed that he was a handsome and talented man and wished to be introduced to him themselves. For some reason, Evie found herself telling them that he was much too busy to spend time with them. In her own way, she was ensuring that no other girl managed to come close to the man that she loved from afar.