Dr. Alexis Mia Harrington (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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dreamlikenewyork2020-01-05 01:50 am
alexisharrington) wrote in dreamlikenewyork2020-01-05 01:50 am
"So many stories of where I've been, and how I got to where I am..."
Who: Alexis Harrington, Justin Campbell, Sasha Stanford, Chance Marsden, and Wesley Knight
What: Goodbye 2019
Where: Manhattan, NYC
When: New Year's Eve
Just after Christmas, when Alexis was still trying to figure out how to connect all the dots of integrating into Justin’s life, he called her up on FaceTime and invited her to a big New Year’s party that was apparently a tradition for their family. Family and friends from all over, including people flying in from Australia, joined them to celebrate the holidays and it was always great music, great food, great company, and lots of laughs. He told her that the year had been a tough one, so everyone was more than ready to have some fun and relax. Not only that, he didn’t just invite her. He invited her, her immediate and distant family, and any friends she wanted to bring along too. It took her by complete surprise because, up to then, he hadn’t said much about how he felt making it known that he was the victim of infant kidnapping in a high profile case. He hadn’t been sure he wanted to go public about it, knowing it wouldn’t be long before people connected the dots that he was the missing New Hampshire baby eighteen years ago.
The call was quick and he seemed to be busy, out of breath and dressed in training gear. He ended the call with a breathless, ‘Seriously, invite whoever you want. It’s cool.’ Then he told her he loved her and went hung up. That was the part that had her heart soaring. He said those words. He said he loved her and she said it back. There weren’t enough ways for her to describe how happy that made her. She immediately Skyped her family and told them, leading to her parents and siblings to promise to book flights to New York for New Year, ASAP.
Then she panicked, psyching herself out that maybe Justin only said that out of a sense of obligation, and when push came to shove, he really wouldn’t want to be inundated by a bunch of strangers during his family celebrations. Not that she would invite a bunch of random people. There were some aunts, uncles, cousins, and a couple of closest friends she would love for him to meet, but did he mean that. She sent Sam a text, figuring he would better know how to decipher his nephew’s intentions that she did, even if he was her son by blood. Sam patiently and calmly reassured her that if that’s what Justin said, it’s what he meant from the bottom of his heart. Justin didn’t do things in half, so to read between the lines, it meant he was ready to take this next step into her life.
She, her parents, her brother, and sister spent the next couple of days chatting to family and finally revealing that they found Alexis’ son, who was now a beautiful 18 year old young man that just happened to be one of the biggest multi talented musical stars in the world. It was understandably hard for them to all wrap their heads around, having been by their family’s side when the tragedy of the baby going missing unfolded. There was no way they were missing the New Year’s party.
Alexis also suggested that maybe they could bring their elderly grandmother to New Year, even just for a night or two and a brief visit to the party before it all exploded so she could meet Justin. She was in her late 70s and getting on but they knew as soon as they told her Justin was found, she would want to meet him… especially being a huge musical theatre fan and avid theatre-goer when she was younger and in her prime. Alexis sent Justin a text and asked him if that was okay, if he could meet his great-grandmother for a bit before the party got into full swing. Justin was over the moon at the suggestion and told her to just shoot him a text when they got to the party venue and he’d come to meet her away from all the chaotic partying.
Alexis’ grandmother, Lily, travelled to New York with her carer and they booked a hotel nearby to stay for the night. She was so excited, she was teary. Alexis had sent her photos and videos of Justin in the lead up so she could see him and her emotions at hearing he had been found were overwhelming. It was one wish she had before she passed away, for them to find her great-grandson so she could meet him. She was the priority with all this. Even if they invited some other folk in their family along to the party, they could have their chance to meet Justin a bit later on.
Once they arrived, Alexis sent Justin a text and let him know they found a nice spot to sit in the foyer. Her parents, Matilda, and Chance were with them, all not quite sure how to expect this would play out. Matilda was chatting away to Grmmy about how sweet Justin had been at Thanksgiving and how obvious it was that he had Marsden blood just by looking at him. Only thing was, when Justin pushed through the large double-doors into the event hall hand-in-hand with Sasha, it was a very different person to what they had seen at Thanksgiving. He had been au-naturale that night, in a sweater and trackpants, sand makeup or any other bells and whistles. This time, Justin was head-to-toe glam, so much so that even Chance did a double-take. He was wearing a jacket with a rainbow mirror-mosaic all over it that caught the light as he walked with skin-tight wet-look leather pants that laced up the sides where you could see his skin through the ties. His boots were silver with a crystal Pride flag on the sides and he was wearing heavy glam makeup and dripping in bling. When Alexis’ mouth dropped open, she wasn’t the only one. Matilda even made an interesting little squeak sound, like she was trying to stifle more falling out.
“Hey!” Justin greeted them, coming over to give Alexis a hug, then shared hugs with his grandparents, aunt, and uncle. “Sorry, I just got tag-teamed by my fiancé and Dad to take my meds. Did y’all have an okay trip?”
Alexis gave Justin a kiss on the cheek and reluctantly let him move onto her mom for a big hug. There was no doubt about the fact her mom and dad had taken to grandparenting like a duck to water. They both already had selfies with Justin as lockscreens on their phones and photos of him now proudly adorned their family collection on the walls back in Boston. “Uneventful trip, darling. But ready to welcome in our first year with you in our lives.” She waited until he and Sasha were done with the greetings and then stepped aside, gesturing to her grandmother. “This is your great-grandma, Lily. Grammy, this is my beautiful boy, Justin. Grammy’s a big musical theatre fan,” she told him with a grin.
A big smile lit up Justin’s face. This was something he had been nervous but excited about. She was the only great-grandparent he had and it was mindblowing for him. He was still trying to catch up with everything, but it was getting easier by the day. He sat on the sofa beside her, taking her hand, holding it between both of his. “Wow, this is amazing. I’m so happy to meet you, Grammy. I hope it wasn’t too far of a trip for you.”
Alexis watched her grandma, seeing how teary she was meeting Justin. She was teary herself, fingers pressed to her lips. Their grandmother hadn’t been well in recent years, so this was a small miracle for them, to have the chance to meet Justin. Back when they lost him, her grandma had been a massive presence and support for her when she was grieving, the one to always remind her to never give up hope. She wondered what was going through Grammy’s mind right now, wondering what she thought of how he looked, if she noticed how piercing his eyes were (even much more with the theatrical makeup), seeing how beautiful he grew up. She noticed Justin didn’t, at all, shy away from her touch either. He leaned close and reciprocated. This was going to be one of the most special days of Grammy’s life.
Grammy patted Justin’s hand and with her other, reached up to stroke his cheek. “What a beautiful, beautiful young man you grew up to be. Didn’t I tell you, pet, that he was going to be a tall one?” she told Alexis, reminding her of Justin’s birth when they measures him and noticed he had long legs and long fingers. “Not too far at all. You darling boy. You’ve made on old lady very happy indeed. I didn’t think I’d live to see this day. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. Are you well, pet? Lexi has told us of some of your battles and that you haven’t been well lately.”
Justin smiled and nodded, gently stroking the backs of her knuckles with his thumb. “Doing much better.” He glanced up at Alexis, knowing she had been worrying because Uncle Sam filled him in. “I mean, there’s always going to be battles but my doctors have cleared me medically to go back to work and my kidney function is almost back to normal range, so I can be short of the dialysis soon. Better. I’m doing a lot better. All this…” He made a little circling motion with his finger. “I wouldn’t be able to cope if I wasn’t better. And I don’t mean that I wouldn’t want it. It would just be, like… my brain goes into shutdown mode. I’m glad this all happened when I was well… ish. In recovery.”
“We’re here for you, pet. We would’ve given anything for Lexi to never have lost you and been able to take care of you from the moment you were born. You don’t seem real.” Grammy gave Alexis a smile and reached up to rub her back.
“Oh, he’s real, Grammy.” Matilda beamed and nodded at Justin. “This kiddo gives some of the best hugs I’ve ever had.”
“That’s why they call him Smooshie,” Sasha offered affectionately.
Justin caught the corner of his lip between his teeth. “Of all the possible nicknames, that was the one that had to stick.” He touched Sasha’s hip, coaxing him closer. “This is my fiancé, Sasha. I know this is all pretty huge and a little scary, but it’s a new year and a new decade, so I think it’s the right time to put things right. I didn’t know any of y’all existed and now I have this whole new part of my family and it’s like I wanna squish so much making up for lost time all in real quick before I go on tour. Tonight seemed like a perfect time to get a little of it done.”
“We didn’t want this to be too much for you, pet. Lexi’s been fretting but she’s still learning that’s natural motherly instinct kicking in. She’s had to stifle it for so long but it’s something that never goes away.” Grammy coaxed Sasha to come sit with Justin. “You two are getting married. Have you set a date yet? Let me have a look at this beautiful ring.” She gently turned Justin’s hand over to inspect his engagement ring.
Justin shot Sasha a smile and they shared a brief kiss. “Not yet. Not for awhile down the track. Sasha got accepted into three Ivy League pre-meds because he’s super smart but too modest to admit to it. He’s taking a gap year to come on tour with me and then he’s going to Columbia. He’s going to be a doctor,” he told them proudly, patting Sasha’s knee. “We knew when he proposed that it wasn’t going to be for a few years, at least. Maybe after he finishes pre-med. If things are still okay then…”
“Three! Then he’s a smart cookie too,” Grammy noted, smiling. She patted the back of Justin’s hand. “With our beautiful talented boy who was a Broadway breakout at fifteen. I’m so proud.” She teared up again, putting a hand on her chest for a moment before she had to take Alexis’ hand, squeezing it gently.
Alexis knew there was so much behind that gesture. None of them quite believed this boy, here with them in the flesh, was that little baby they never got to care for and protect. Alexis had never been able to put into words how much she ached inside for years not to be able to hold him in her arms, how horrific it was to have to take medication to dry up her milk, and go through all the post-birth pain and discomfort with nothing to ease it or fulfil the yearning. She never got over it. It infiltrated every part of her life, some obvious, some latent and subconscious. To finally find him and hear the horrors he had been through, how sometimes, he was so damaged and broken, he couldn’t handle something as simple as physical touch. All she wanted to do was hold him, and even when she found him, she had to hold back. But tonight was happy. It was a fresh start, a new year, they had found each other. She didn’t want to cry and get Justin upset too. He was a kid who felt emotions deeply but couldn’t always regulate them. It was all about taking a step at a time.
Justin looked back to his great-grandmother, beaming. “Mum said you loved seeing Broadway shows when you were younger. Do you have a favourite musical?”
Alexis noticed how surprised her family were hearing Justin call her ‘Mom’, Matilda reflexively grabbing Chance’s hand and hugging it to her chest. She hadn’t gotten around to telling them about this progress with Justin but it was sweet because he sounded so cute saying it and she loved hearing the Aussie lilt to the word. It still didn’t feel like she was a mom yet but she was getting there. Another thing she loved was how alike Mark he was. Mark - and Sam, conversely - were gorgeous and Justin inherited those genes.
“I’m told we might get a chance to hear you sing tonight. Nothing would make me happier.” Grammy laughed and stroked Justin’s cheek. “Well, I must say, it used to be Chicago, until Lexi sent us some video of video of the closing scene in Footloose and hands-down my great-grandbaby is the best to ever walk those boards. And what is it you youngins say these days? You can fight me on it?”
Justin burst out laughing, grinning so much, his nose and the corners of his eyes crinkled. Hearing his great-grandma say that was one of the best feelings in the world. “Better than Chicago? Oh, wow, I’ve got some living up to do tonight, huh? Do you know, my big sister, Reecy, used to play Velma Kelly in the current running of Chicago? Well, she’s not my biological sister but she is in every way but blood. She used to co-star with me then got her big break in a lead. Until she was poached by my boss to play Baby in Dirty Dancing. But she was freaking awesome in Chicago. We should go see a show some night if you can make it to New York another time. Like, my tour starts really soon and we’re also taking Footloose on the road. . Are y’all coming? To my opening night here? We have some massive surprises planned for it. All this, my designer’s test-driving some looks. He’s lucky I’ve gotten extremely skilled in wearing tight pants.” He waved his hand up and down his body.
“Hell, yes!” Matilda jumped in with a bounce on her toes and a squeal. “And did you seriously just say Reecy Chester-Wilson is your big sister? How did you not mention that? She’s my biggest girl crush. My Insta’s been flooded with her pics every chance I got to Woman Crush Wednesday,” she insisted, giving her sister a whack on the arm.
Alexis rolled her eyes fondly. “I can’t keep up with your girl crushes, Tilly. You’re married and you crush harder than our resident Eligible Bachelor here.” She patted Chance’s cheek with a smirk. “We’re definitely going to be there for your opening night, darling. We wouldn’t miss it. Autumn has already been in touch with us to make sure we have VIP seats in the front.”
Justin nodded, shrugging. “Totally did. She’s about to have a baby. They asked me to be Guideparent and I can’t wait! She and Kyan are here tonight somewhere. I can introduce y’all. It’s open mic, so there’s no doubt Reecy’ll sing some. She’s got an amazing voice.”
“Kyan Wilson? Dat’ ass.” It was Chance’s turn to grin and he and Matilda shared an enthusiastic high-5.
Grammy shook her head with an affectionate smile. “Youngins these days. And I thought our generation was fuelled on hormones.”
The double doors swung open and Wesley stuck his head out. “Hey, Justin, buddy… mic’s hooked up, sounds ready to rumble. Oh, shit! This is your new family? Sorry, sorry - I didn’t mean to interrupt! Just… ready to roll when you are,” he said quickly, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.
Justin gave Wes a wave. “It’s all good, mate. I’ll be there in a minute. Did you hear anything on how Brandon is?” he asked, because they had all been waiting after news broke that there were rejection complications with the bone marrow transplant.
“No news yet. Merl said he’d let us know either way but we all have everything crossed. Taking each day, you know?” Justin shot him a sympathetic smile, knowing how worried Wes was about his BFF. “If it helps you feel better, you can throw any song you want at me for the first ten minutes.”
Wesley laughed and held up his hands. “Who am I to tell the Karaoke God what to hit up with the mic? I’m just happy to get my hands on that deck in there.” He smiled at everyone else and waved. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“Duty calls, buddy,” Chance told him. “Best to show us all how it’s done before we get up and murder a few Karaoke versions of Eighties power ballads.”
Justin shot them all an apologetic smile as a he stood. “Sorry. This is actually not solely for fun. I have to exercise the vocal cords to strengthen again, so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone at a New Year’s party. But despite the rumours, I won’t be hogging the mic all night. Just most of it,” he added with a cheeky grin. “Will I see y’all in there? Can you stay a little longer, Grammy? I don’t want you to push yourself if it’s too much. There’s an epic load of people in there and I don’t even know half of them, but it’s still gonna be fun.”
Grammy took Justin’s hand again, rubbing the back of it. “Don’t you fret, pet. I’m a lot tougher than I look. Nothing will keep me seeing my great-grandbaby sing. You’re a miracle, my boy. Don’t you ever forget that.”
Justin hesitated, looking down at her when the enormity of her statement hit him. After he gave them all a hug and was about to head into the hall, he turned back, still smiling. “Do y’all have a favourite song you want me to sing? Most things can go, if they’re not too vocally strenuous.” He took his phone out of his pocket and brought up the Notes up so he could remember their requests. Soon, he was heading into the party with a list: Killing Me Softly for Matilda, Shook Me All Night Long for Chance, Heroes by Bowie for his grandfather, Like a Prayer for his grandmother, Make You Feel My Love for his mum, and finally, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough for his great-grandmother. They were all pretty awesome to kick off a New Year’s party that was saying goodbye to an awful year and welcoming all these new people into his life going forward.
#
Alexis sat with her grandmother close to the stage where Justin was rocking the mic opening the party up. The room was packed, with plenty of drinks and food on offer. The relatives and friends she had invited along tonight came over to her intermittently to praise Justin’s performance and tell her how excited they were to meet him. Everyone was either dancing or singing along passionately. The kid seriously knew how to work a crowd. All she could do was sit there in awe, grinning proudly while she held Grammy’s hand. There were definitely some happy tears and Grammy, who every now and then, expressed regret at losing all this time with him.
When Justin finished up, Sasha met him with a handheld vocal steamer and he got swept up with other guests. Alexis couldn’t help but watch him mingling, laughing, cuddling people. It was a huge difference to how subdued he had been most of the time since she met him. It was nice and comforting. Wesley, the boy who had come to fetch Justin, took over DJ’ing once Justin handed back the mic. Alexis tried to seek Sam out in the crowd, but there were so many people there, she had no luck yet. She hadn’t even seen Mark and wondered if he was coming along like he hoped. But he was still fatigued with the issues with his heart and Justin mentioned in his texts that he didn’t know if his dad would make it.
Then Wesley was inviting anyone up to the open mic who wanted to give it a shot and before Alexis lost her nerve and chickened out, she went up and took the mic off Wesley, asking him if he had the song she wanted. He gave her a bright smile and nodded, gesturing up to the mic stand. She put the mic into holder and realised just how long it had been since she had performed in front of an audience. Despite having overcome stage fright in her early days as a professional musician, apparently it was possible for it to come back with a vengeance. Still, this wasn’t about performing at all.
“Hi all, Happy New Year. One of the first things I ever learned was that sometimes, when you didn’t have enough words yourself, music could say what you needed to. This one’s for someone who has been the reason I’ve kept getting up for the last nineteen years. And every single one of those days, I woke up hoping it would be the day I found him. Now it’s finally happened.” She gave Wesley a nod and started to sing a cover of The Story.
It was clear Justin didn’t know what was happening. It was an open mic, so whoever got up, he loved it, no questions asked. Even when it was bad Karaoke and was hilarious as hell because not everyone was up there like him, to make perfect music. When Alexis got up, Sasha saw Justin was puzzled, not expecting it. When she started talking, he put his thumb up to his mouth, nibbling on his nail. Then she started singing and Sasha saw the sharp intake of breath, Justin closing his eyes and turning his face to the ceiling for a few moments. Sash knew him long enough now to know he was hit with a wave of emotions. This was different. This would be a mix of emotions Justin never felt before and Sash knew exactly why… that was the exact moment all this hit home for Justin. It could be the missing key he needed to wrap his head around it; that Alexis wasn’t just a musician, but she could sing, and she was singing in an attempt to tell him things weren’t enough for. If there was ever one thing that could prove to everyone she was the one who gave birth to him, it was this.
Justin felt Sash squeeze his hand and he lifted his head, looking up at Alexis as she sung, speechless. His awareness of anyone else in the room fell away and he moved up to the front of the stage, and when he reached out for her, she crouched down to take his hand, squeezing it back with a teary smile. His own tears spilled over and he grinned at her, wiping them away with his other hand. His eyes shot over to Wes and after a beat or two, he let go of Alexis’ hand and shot over to Wesley. A couple of moments later, he had his guitar, looping the strap over his shoulder, coming to stand at the mic with Alexis while she sang. She wrapped her arm around his waist, singing directly to him now. And when she got to the next chorus, he joined in to sing with her matching her harmonies perfectly.
Shooting her another grin, Justin leaned into her in lieu of being able to hug her back now he was playing his guitar, sharing the mic with her. And it was true, he had these lightbulb moments in his life since coming to New York where everything hit home, like something in his heart burst to light where a darkness had been trapping it. This was exactly the moment he realised that - holy fuck - Alexis really was his birth mum. She had been all along and just because he didn’t know about it, didn’t make it any less real.
When Justin got up and started to sing with Alexis, Sasha wasn’t the only one who cheered and bounced up and down with happiness for them. Hell, he knew Justin’s breakthrough moments and he celebrated every single one. But even beyond that, they looked and sounded incredible together. Justin was musically adaptable but there was something about the way he matched Alexis’ harmonies and how much they looked like mother and son up there. Justin was having a ball and Sasha was grabbed around the waist from both sides and he looked to find Cassidy and Reecy, there, both teary and grinning along with him. There were too many people for him to be able to see everyone’s reaction but he saw Mark and Gen sitting near the stage. Mark was in tears and Gen had her arms wrapped around him, grinning as she sung along. Beside Mark, Sam had his phone out filming Justin and Alexis on the stage.
At the end of the song, they received a standing ovation and everyone was cheering. Wes stood up on his chair with his fingers in his mouth, issuing a loud whistle of appreciation. Sash knew there would have been a lot more tears - happy ones - to come with this but it wasn’t even midnight yet, but there couldn’t be a better way to bring in the New Year than this. He looked between Reecy and Cassidy with a tearful laugh. Maybe the only thing just one step better than that was seeing the way Sam was watching Alexis and Justin. Sasha knew that look. He was pretty sure that was how he used to look at Justin when he started falling in love with him. 2020 was going to be a very interesting year indeed.
LOG, COMPLETE
What: Goodbye 2019
Where: Manhattan, NYC
When: New Year's Eve
Just after Christmas, when Alexis was still trying to figure out how to connect all the dots of integrating into Justin’s life, he called her up on FaceTime and invited her to a big New Year’s party that was apparently a tradition for their family. Family and friends from all over, including people flying in from Australia, joined them to celebrate the holidays and it was always great music, great food, great company, and lots of laughs. He told her that the year had been a tough one, so everyone was more than ready to have some fun and relax. Not only that, he didn’t just invite her. He invited her, her immediate and distant family, and any friends she wanted to bring along too. It took her by complete surprise because, up to then, he hadn’t said much about how he felt making it known that he was the victim of infant kidnapping in a high profile case. He hadn’t been sure he wanted to go public about it, knowing it wouldn’t be long before people connected the dots that he was the missing New Hampshire baby eighteen years ago.
The call was quick and he seemed to be busy, out of breath and dressed in training gear. He ended the call with a breathless, ‘Seriously, invite whoever you want. It’s cool.’ Then he told her he loved her and went hung up. That was the part that had her heart soaring. He said those words. He said he loved her and she said it back. There weren’t enough ways for her to describe how happy that made her. She immediately Skyped her family and told them, leading to her parents and siblings to promise to book flights to New York for New Year, ASAP.
Then she panicked, psyching herself out that maybe Justin only said that out of a sense of obligation, and when push came to shove, he really wouldn’t want to be inundated by a bunch of strangers during his family celebrations. Not that she would invite a bunch of random people. There were some aunts, uncles, cousins, and a couple of closest friends she would love for him to meet, but did he mean that. She sent Sam a text, figuring he would better know how to decipher his nephew’s intentions that she did, even if he was her son by blood. Sam patiently and calmly reassured her that if that’s what Justin said, it’s what he meant from the bottom of his heart. Justin didn’t do things in half, so to read between the lines, it meant he was ready to take this next step into her life.
She, her parents, her brother, and sister spent the next couple of days chatting to family and finally revealing that they found Alexis’ son, who was now a beautiful 18 year old young man that just happened to be one of the biggest multi talented musical stars in the world. It was understandably hard for them to all wrap their heads around, having been by their family’s side when the tragedy of the baby going missing unfolded. There was no way they were missing the New Year’s party.
Alexis also suggested that maybe they could bring their elderly grandmother to New Year, even just for a night or two and a brief visit to the party before it all exploded so she could meet Justin. She was in her late 70s and getting on but they knew as soon as they told her Justin was found, she would want to meet him… especially being a huge musical theatre fan and avid theatre-goer when she was younger and in her prime. Alexis sent Justin a text and asked him if that was okay, if he could meet his great-grandmother for a bit before the party got into full swing. Justin was over the moon at the suggestion and told her to just shoot him a text when they got to the party venue and he’d come to meet her away from all the chaotic partying.
Alexis’ grandmother, Lily, travelled to New York with her carer and they booked a hotel nearby to stay for the night. She was so excited, she was teary. Alexis had sent her photos and videos of Justin in the lead up so she could see him and her emotions at hearing he had been found were overwhelming. It was one wish she had before she passed away, for them to find her great-grandson so she could meet him. She was the priority with all this. Even if they invited some other folk in their family along to the party, they could have their chance to meet Justin a bit later on.
Once they arrived, Alexis sent Justin a text and let him know they found a nice spot to sit in the foyer. Her parents, Matilda, and Chance were with them, all not quite sure how to expect this would play out. Matilda was chatting away to Grmmy about how sweet Justin had been at Thanksgiving and how obvious it was that he had Marsden blood just by looking at him. Only thing was, when Justin pushed through the large double-doors into the event hall hand-in-hand with Sasha, it was a very different person to what they had seen at Thanksgiving. He had been au-naturale that night, in a sweater and trackpants, sand makeup or any other bells and whistles. This time, Justin was head-to-toe glam, so much so that even Chance did a double-take. He was wearing a jacket with a rainbow mirror-mosaic all over it that caught the light as he walked with skin-tight wet-look leather pants that laced up the sides where you could see his skin through the ties. His boots were silver with a crystal Pride flag on the sides and he was wearing heavy glam makeup and dripping in bling. When Alexis’ mouth dropped open, she wasn’t the only one. Matilda even made an interesting little squeak sound, like she was trying to stifle more falling out.
“Hey!” Justin greeted them, coming over to give Alexis a hug, then shared hugs with his grandparents, aunt, and uncle. “Sorry, I just got tag-teamed by my fiancé and Dad to take my meds. Did y’all have an okay trip?”
Alexis gave Justin a kiss on the cheek and reluctantly let him move onto her mom for a big hug. There was no doubt about the fact her mom and dad had taken to grandparenting like a duck to water. They both already had selfies with Justin as lockscreens on their phones and photos of him now proudly adorned their family collection on the walls back in Boston. “Uneventful trip, darling. But ready to welcome in our first year with you in our lives.” She waited until he and Sasha were done with the greetings and then stepped aside, gesturing to her grandmother. “This is your great-grandma, Lily. Grammy, this is my beautiful boy, Justin. Grammy’s a big musical theatre fan,” she told him with a grin.
A big smile lit up Justin’s face. This was something he had been nervous but excited about. She was the only great-grandparent he had and it was mindblowing for him. He was still trying to catch up with everything, but it was getting easier by the day. He sat on the sofa beside her, taking her hand, holding it between both of his. “Wow, this is amazing. I’m so happy to meet you, Grammy. I hope it wasn’t too far of a trip for you.”
Alexis watched her grandma, seeing how teary she was meeting Justin. She was teary herself, fingers pressed to her lips. Their grandmother hadn’t been well in recent years, so this was a small miracle for them, to have the chance to meet Justin. Back when they lost him, her grandma had been a massive presence and support for her when she was grieving, the one to always remind her to never give up hope. She wondered what was going through Grammy’s mind right now, wondering what she thought of how he looked, if she noticed how piercing his eyes were (even much more with the theatrical makeup), seeing how beautiful he grew up. She noticed Justin didn’t, at all, shy away from her touch either. He leaned close and reciprocated. This was going to be one of the most special days of Grammy’s life.
Grammy patted Justin’s hand and with her other, reached up to stroke his cheek. “What a beautiful, beautiful young man you grew up to be. Didn’t I tell you, pet, that he was going to be a tall one?” she told Alexis, reminding her of Justin’s birth when they measures him and noticed he had long legs and long fingers. “Not too far at all. You darling boy. You’ve made on old lady very happy indeed. I didn’t think I’d live to see this day. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. Are you well, pet? Lexi has told us of some of your battles and that you haven’t been well lately.”
Justin smiled and nodded, gently stroking the backs of her knuckles with his thumb. “Doing much better.” He glanced up at Alexis, knowing she had been worrying because Uncle Sam filled him in. “I mean, there’s always going to be battles but my doctors have cleared me medically to go back to work and my kidney function is almost back to normal range, so I can be short of the dialysis soon. Better. I’m doing a lot better. All this…” He made a little circling motion with his finger. “I wouldn’t be able to cope if I wasn’t better. And I don’t mean that I wouldn’t want it. It would just be, like… my brain goes into shutdown mode. I’m glad this all happened when I was well… ish. In recovery.”
“We’re here for you, pet. We would’ve given anything for Lexi to never have lost you and been able to take care of you from the moment you were born. You don’t seem real.” Grammy gave Alexis a smile and reached up to rub her back.
“Oh, he’s real, Grammy.” Matilda beamed and nodded at Justin. “This kiddo gives some of the best hugs I’ve ever had.”
“That’s why they call him Smooshie,” Sasha offered affectionately.
Justin caught the corner of his lip between his teeth. “Of all the possible nicknames, that was the one that had to stick.” He touched Sasha’s hip, coaxing him closer. “This is my fiancé, Sasha. I know this is all pretty huge and a little scary, but it’s a new year and a new decade, so I think it’s the right time to put things right. I didn’t know any of y’all existed and now I have this whole new part of my family and it’s like I wanna squish so much making up for lost time all in real quick before I go on tour. Tonight seemed like a perfect time to get a little of it done.”
“We didn’t want this to be too much for you, pet. Lexi’s been fretting but she’s still learning that’s natural motherly instinct kicking in. She’s had to stifle it for so long but it’s something that never goes away.” Grammy coaxed Sasha to come sit with Justin. “You two are getting married. Have you set a date yet? Let me have a look at this beautiful ring.” She gently turned Justin’s hand over to inspect his engagement ring.
Justin shot Sasha a smile and they shared a brief kiss. “Not yet. Not for awhile down the track. Sasha got accepted into three Ivy League pre-meds because he’s super smart but too modest to admit to it. He’s taking a gap year to come on tour with me and then he’s going to Columbia. He’s going to be a doctor,” he told them proudly, patting Sasha’s knee. “We knew when he proposed that it wasn’t going to be for a few years, at least. Maybe after he finishes pre-med. If things are still okay then…”
“Three! Then he’s a smart cookie too,” Grammy noted, smiling. She patted the back of Justin’s hand. “With our beautiful talented boy who was a Broadway breakout at fifteen. I’m so proud.” She teared up again, putting a hand on her chest for a moment before she had to take Alexis’ hand, squeezing it gently.
Alexis knew there was so much behind that gesture. None of them quite believed this boy, here with them in the flesh, was that little baby they never got to care for and protect. Alexis had never been able to put into words how much she ached inside for years not to be able to hold him in her arms, how horrific it was to have to take medication to dry up her milk, and go through all the post-birth pain and discomfort with nothing to ease it or fulfil the yearning. She never got over it. It infiltrated every part of her life, some obvious, some latent and subconscious. To finally find him and hear the horrors he had been through, how sometimes, he was so damaged and broken, he couldn’t handle something as simple as physical touch. All she wanted to do was hold him, and even when she found him, she had to hold back. But tonight was happy. It was a fresh start, a new year, they had found each other. She didn’t want to cry and get Justin upset too. He was a kid who felt emotions deeply but couldn’t always regulate them. It was all about taking a step at a time.
Justin looked back to his great-grandmother, beaming. “Mum said you loved seeing Broadway shows when you were younger. Do you have a favourite musical?”
Alexis noticed how surprised her family were hearing Justin call her ‘Mom’, Matilda reflexively grabbing Chance’s hand and hugging it to her chest. She hadn’t gotten around to telling them about this progress with Justin but it was sweet because he sounded so cute saying it and she loved hearing the Aussie lilt to the word. It still didn’t feel like she was a mom yet but she was getting there. Another thing she loved was how alike Mark he was. Mark - and Sam, conversely - were gorgeous and Justin inherited those genes.
“I’m told we might get a chance to hear you sing tonight. Nothing would make me happier.” Grammy laughed and stroked Justin’s cheek. “Well, I must say, it used to be Chicago, until Lexi sent us some video of video of the closing scene in Footloose and hands-down my great-grandbaby is the best to ever walk those boards. And what is it you youngins say these days? You can fight me on it?”
Justin burst out laughing, grinning so much, his nose and the corners of his eyes crinkled. Hearing his great-grandma say that was one of the best feelings in the world. “Better than Chicago? Oh, wow, I’ve got some living up to do tonight, huh? Do you know, my big sister, Reecy, used to play Velma Kelly in the current running of Chicago? Well, she’s not my biological sister but she is in every way but blood. She used to co-star with me then got her big break in a lead. Until she was poached by my boss to play Baby in Dirty Dancing. But she was freaking awesome in Chicago. We should go see a show some night if you can make it to New York another time. Like, my tour starts really soon and we’re also taking Footloose on the road. . Are y’all coming? To my opening night here? We have some massive surprises planned for it. All this, my designer’s test-driving some looks. He’s lucky I’ve gotten extremely skilled in wearing tight pants.” He waved his hand up and down his body.
“Hell, yes!” Matilda jumped in with a bounce on her toes and a squeal. “And did you seriously just say Reecy Chester-Wilson is your big sister? How did you not mention that? She’s my biggest girl crush. My Insta’s been flooded with her pics every chance I got to Woman Crush Wednesday,” she insisted, giving her sister a whack on the arm.
Alexis rolled her eyes fondly. “I can’t keep up with your girl crushes, Tilly. You’re married and you crush harder than our resident Eligible Bachelor here.” She patted Chance’s cheek with a smirk. “We’re definitely going to be there for your opening night, darling. We wouldn’t miss it. Autumn has already been in touch with us to make sure we have VIP seats in the front.”
Justin nodded, shrugging. “Totally did. She’s about to have a baby. They asked me to be Guideparent and I can’t wait! She and Kyan are here tonight somewhere. I can introduce y’all. It’s open mic, so there’s no doubt Reecy’ll sing some. She’s got an amazing voice.”
“Kyan Wilson? Dat’ ass.” It was Chance’s turn to grin and he and Matilda shared an enthusiastic high-5.
Grammy shook her head with an affectionate smile. “Youngins these days. And I thought our generation was fuelled on hormones.”
The double doors swung open and Wesley stuck his head out. “Hey, Justin, buddy… mic’s hooked up, sounds ready to rumble. Oh, shit! This is your new family? Sorry, sorry - I didn’t mean to interrupt! Just… ready to roll when you are,” he said quickly, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.
Justin gave Wes a wave. “It’s all good, mate. I’ll be there in a minute. Did you hear anything on how Brandon is?” he asked, because they had all been waiting after news broke that there were rejection complications with the bone marrow transplant.
“No news yet. Merl said he’d let us know either way but we all have everything crossed. Taking each day, you know?” Justin shot him a sympathetic smile, knowing how worried Wes was about his BFF. “If it helps you feel better, you can throw any song you want at me for the first ten minutes.”
Wesley laughed and held up his hands. “Who am I to tell the Karaoke God what to hit up with the mic? I’m just happy to get my hands on that deck in there.” He smiled at everyone else and waved. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“Duty calls, buddy,” Chance told him. “Best to show us all how it’s done before we get up and murder a few Karaoke versions of Eighties power ballads.”
Justin shot them all an apologetic smile as a he stood. “Sorry. This is actually not solely for fun. I have to exercise the vocal cords to strengthen again, so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone at a New Year’s party. But despite the rumours, I won’t be hogging the mic all night. Just most of it,” he added with a cheeky grin. “Will I see y’all in there? Can you stay a little longer, Grammy? I don’t want you to push yourself if it’s too much. There’s an epic load of people in there and I don’t even know half of them, but it’s still gonna be fun.”
Grammy took Justin’s hand again, rubbing the back of it. “Don’t you fret, pet. I’m a lot tougher than I look. Nothing will keep me seeing my great-grandbaby sing. You’re a miracle, my boy. Don’t you ever forget that.”
Justin hesitated, looking down at her when the enormity of her statement hit him. After he gave them all a hug and was about to head into the hall, he turned back, still smiling. “Do y’all have a favourite song you want me to sing? Most things can go, if they’re not too vocally strenuous.” He took his phone out of his pocket and brought up the Notes up so he could remember their requests. Soon, he was heading into the party with a list: Killing Me Softly for Matilda, Shook Me All Night Long for Chance, Heroes by Bowie for his grandfather, Like a Prayer for his grandmother, Make You Feel My Love for his mum, and finally, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough for his great-grandmother. They were all pretty awesome to kick off a New Year’s party that was saying goodbye to an awful year and welcoming all these new people into his life going forward.
Alexis sat with her grandmother close to the stage where Justin was rocking the mic opening the party up. The room was packed, with plenty of drinks and food on offer. The relatives and friends she had invited along tonight came over to her intermittently to praise Justin’s performance and tell her how excited they were to meet him. Everyone was either dancing or singing along passionately. The kid seriously knew how to work a crowd. All she could do was sit there in awe, grinning proudly while she held Grammy’s hand. There were definitely some happy tears and Grammy, who every now and then, expressed regret at losing all this time with him.
When Justin finished up, Sasha met him with a handheld vocal steamer and he got swept up with other guests. Alexis couldn’t help but watch him mingling, laughing, cuddling people. It was a huge difference to how subdued he had been most of the time since she met him. It was nice and comforting. Wesley, the boy who had come to fetch Justin, took over DJ’ing once Justin handed back the mic. Alexis tried to seek Sam out in the crowd, but there were so many people there, she had no luck yet. She hadn’t even seen Mark and wondered if he was coming along like he hoped. But he was still fatigued with the issues with his heart and Justin mentioned in his texts that he didn’t know if his dad would make it.
Then Wesley was inviting anyone up to the open mic who wanted to give it a shot and before Alexis lost her nerve and chickened out, she went up and took the mic off Wesley, asking him if he had the song she wanted. He gave her a bright smile and nodded, gesturing up to the mic stand. She put the mic into holder and realised just how long it had been since she had performed in front of an audience. Despite having overcome stage fright in her early days as a professional musician, apparently it was possible for it to come back with a vengeance. Still, this wasn’t about performing at all.
“Hi all, Happy New Year. One of the first things I ever learned was that sometimes, when you didn’t have enough words yourself, music could say what you needed to. This one’s for someone who has been the reason I’ve kept getting up for the last nineteen years. And every single one of those days, I woke up hoping it would be the day I found him. Now it’s finally happened.” She gave Wesley a nod and started to sing a cover of The Story.
It was clear Justin didn’t know what was happening. It was an open mic, so whoever got up, he loved it, no questions asked. Even when it was bad Karaoke and was hilarious as hell because not everyone was up there like him, to make perfect music. When Alexis got up, Sasha saw Justin was puzzled, not expecting it. When she started talking, he put his thumb up to his mouth, nibbling on his nail. Then she started singing and Sasha saw the sharp intake of breath, Justin closing his eyes and turning his face to the ceiling for a few moments. Sash knew him long enough now to know he was hit with a wave of emotions. This was different. This would be a mix of emotions Justin never felt before and Sash knew exactly why… that was the exact moment all this hit home for Justin. It could be the missing key he needed to wrap his head around it; that Alexis wasn’t just a musician, but she could sing, and she was singing in an attempt to tell him things weren’t enough for. If there was ever one thing that could prove to everyone she was the one who gave birth to him, it was this.
Justin felt Sash squeeze his hand and he lifted his head, looking up at Alexis as she sung, speechless. His awareness of anyone else in the room fell away and he moved up to the front of the stage, and when he reached out for her, she crouched down to take his hand, squeezing it back with a teary smile. His own tears spilled over and he grinned at her, wiping them away with his other hand. His eyes shot over to Wes and after a beat or two, he let go of Alexis’ hand and shot over to Wesley. A couple of moments later, he had his guitar, looping the strap over his shoulder, coming to stand at the mic with Alexis while she sang. She wrapped her arm around his waist, singing directly to him now. And when she got to the next chorus, he joined in to sing with her matching her harmonies perfectly.
Shooting her another grin, Justin leaned into her in lieu of being able to hug her back now he was playing his guitar, sharing the mic with her. And it was true, he had these lightbulb moments in his life since coming to New York where everything hit home, like something in his heart burst to light where a darkness had been trapping it. This was exactly the moment he realised that - holy fuck - Alexis really was his birth mum. She had been all along and just because he didn’t know about it, didn’t make it any less real.
When Justin got up and started to sing with Alexis, Sasha wasn’t the only one who cheered and bounced up and down with happiness for them. Hell, he knew Justin’s breakthrough moments and he celebrated every single one. But even beyond that, they looked and sounded incredible together. Justin was musically adaptable but there was something about the way he matched Alexis’ harmonies and how much they looked like mother and son up there. Justin was having a ball and Sasha was grabbed around the waist from both sides and he looked to find Cassidy and Reecy, there, both teary and grinning along with him. There were too many people for him to be able to see everyone’s reaction but he saw Mark and Gen sitting near the stage. Mark was in tears and Gen had her arms wrapped around him, grinning as she sung along. Beside Mark, Sam had his phone out filming Justin and Alexis on the stage.
At the end of the song, they received a standing ovation and everyone was cheering. Wes stood up on his chair with his fingers in his mouth, issuing a loud whistle of appreciation. Sash knew there would have been a lot more tears - happy ones - to come with this but it wasn’t even midnight yet, but there couldn’t be a better way to bring in the New Year than this. He looked between Reecy and Cassidy with a tearful laugh. Maybe the only thing just one step better than that was seeing the way Sam was watching Alexis and Justin. Sasha knew that look. He was pretty sure that was how he used to look at Justin when he started falling in love with him. 2020 was going to be a very interesting year indeed.
LOG, COMPLETE