Epilogue - You Don’t Have to Hideaway
Epilogue - You Don’t Have to Hideaway
The day of Callum’s birthday was a memorable one, for many reasons, but there was also much secrecy and organisation that he was blissfully unaware of.
After dropping bags off to Markus, who even managed to raise a laugh, they decided to walk Central Park and revisit the grassy knoll where they had lain the day of the half-marathon. This time they had no qualms about kissing in public. The world knew they were happy and in love.
They both showered and dressed. Callum took his lead from Julian, who was smart casual.
Julian suggested he wear a new Christian Lacroix T-shirt he’d bought him, with a sparkly crystal skull on it which glittered in the light.
Callum paired this with his skinny black jeans and black boots. He looked smart.
“Is this okay for whatever we are doing?” He asked, fishing.
“Yes, you’ll do nicely,” was all he got back.
They went to the lounge, but it was empty. Julian took his hand, and they headed off downstairs. Where are we going, thought Callum, maybe a helicopter ride?
But instead of turning left, they turned right to the ballroom. At the double doors, Julian paused. He looked at Callum and said, “Happy Birthday, husband-to-be.”
He kissed him, and then knocked loudly on the door, three times. He waited for five seconds, then pushed both doors wide open, ushering Callum into the room.
It was dark inside, but Callum could sense there were people there… a lot of people. The lights came up slowly, but not normal lights. These were spotlights pinpointing a crowd of people spread wide.
Sophia was there in the front, with Jack, Rosie and her husband. Markus, Liam, Dimitri he recognised, all dressed in party clothes, all beaming at him. Blake was there in a smart black suit, along with Coco and Ben. He spied the guys from The Vault.
Then Callum spotted his family and his nephews, who shouted, “Happy Birthday, Uncle Callum!” sprinting towards him.
At this point, the crowd all joined in shouting Happy Birthday, Callum.
Streamers went off, glitter cannons exploded, and they were all covered in shimmering paper strands.
The opening chords of ‘Who Needs Love Like That’ by Erasure started.
Fantastic, thought Callum. A disco, I love a good dance.
But when the vocals kicked in, it sounded more like a live recording, Andy’s voice strong and clear.
The crowd parted, and the lighting illuminated Erasure on a small stage across the ballroom, Andy out front, Vince playing the keyboard behind him with two backing singers.
“Oh my God, it’s actually Erasure!” He beamed at Julian, who just nodded.
He surged forward, kissing his family and friends along the way, but desperate to get close to his favourite band.
Sophia, can you believe this? It’s Erasure,” he shouted over the music. “Yes, I know,” Sophia shouted back, laughing.
People shook his hand; some he knew, some he didn’t.
Who were all these people?
Julian followed close behind, still holding onto him. Callum turned, “This is unbelievable, Julian, you have truly excelled yourself,” planting a huge kiss on his lips. “But who are all these people?” He indicated faces he didn’t know amongst the crowd.
“These are all the families of the people who work for us, who live in this building, desperate to meet you and celebrate your birthday. I hope that’s ok?”
Wow, Callum thought. He wanted to meet them all. “Yes, of course, it’s amazing.”
He rushed to the edge of the stage. Andy leant down and shook his hand, inserting a ‘Happy Birthday, Callum’ into the line of the song, as Callum gave himself over to dancing, one of his favourite personal and professional pastimes.
Many people came to see him, hugging him, shaking his hand, kissing him, all telling him how much they loved him and the joy he’d brought to Julian’s life. It was a pure outpouring of love. He met Martha’s husband and her son, Markus’s wife and daughter, along with Ben and his very pretty fiancée.
Erasure were on top form and when they struck up the opening notes to Hideaway, Callum’s favourite song, he went crazy on the dancefloor.
This song had such meaning for him when he came out, words resonating with the struggles he’d felt.
His parents sought him out on the dance floor.
They knew the significance of this song, which he’d explained to them at the time.
They hugged in a moment of pure family. “We love you, son,” his mom said as both his parents kissed him.
The music was loud; his favourite band was playing his favourite song; his favourite people were there as he surrendered himself to dancing, enjoying the rapture of the moment. Everyone was enjoying themselves; Sophia was wrapped around Jack, and he and Julian were dancing; it was all just perfect.
He stopped in the centre of the dance floor to take it all in, everything whirling around him like a kaleidoscope of life and energy.
His life was forever changed. At times it was too much to believe. Tears came.
He felt Julian’s strong embrace, pulling him close. “Are you OK, Callum?”
He looked into the face of the man he loved. “I love you, Julian. ‘L’ word, in bold, in italics, underlined. Truly...”
“I love you too, Cal.” They kissed, surrounded by a sea of people who only loved and supported them.
Andy Bell hit the high notes as Hideaway came to an end, and everything was as perfect as a moment could be for the two of them.
THE END