Epilogue
As they entered the theater, Frederick found himself grateful that his wife had encouraged him to watch the proshot version of the stage play before going to the theater.
That he knew what a proshot version was marked a big step forward in his theater knowledge.
Marrying biggest fan of the stage production and star of the movie adaptation of Becoming Mrs. Scrooge meant he had a new appreciation for the whole world of Broadway.
This performance of Come From Away marked the first time the show would be performed in one of the Quad Countries of the Sargasso Sea. VIPs from the other three countries had already arrived and entered the building, including several royal family members of his generation.
He and Elise waved to those gathered outside of the theater.
He suspected most of them did not hold tickets for the evening’s performance.
The musical would begin not long after he and Elise reached the royal box.
Almost everyone would already be in their seats and would satisfy their desire to see or wave at royals before or after the performance.
As they walked toward the stairs leading to the royal box, Frederick and Elise caught up with Queen Catherine and Prince Jacob.
The women greeted each other. He had a hard time believing Catherine had seemed intimidated the first time the monarch met Elise.
He had been, but he’d had a crush on her for years.
“You’ll love this show,” Elise promised the other queen. “I’ve seen it a number of times, plus watched the recording they did for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. What they do with minimal set dressing and only a few actors is incredible.”
Frederick couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation as he and Jacob struck up one of their own.
He knew the musical depicted 9/11 from the perspective of the residents of the town of Gander - a small town with a big airport. Their population nearly doubled as 7000 passengers from 38 planes found themselves stranded in Newfoundland, Canada for up to five days.
Four tables, twelve chairs, and twelve actors made up the entire set and cast. At times, it was quite fast-paced with each actor playing multiple characters.
There was no intermission in the program, which had surprised him, but after watching the recording, Frederick could understand why.
There wasn’t a good place to stop and it would interrupt the flow.
The lack of intermission also highlighted the experience of those in Gander - they didn’t have a break for days.
Because he was already familiar with the musical as a whole, he would be able to take it all in and make intelligent conversation with the cast and crew at the reception the next day.
It wasn’t the only proshot they’d watched in the months since their marriage. Elise had convinced him to watch the first couple while he was still recovering from the appendectomy and they kept going from there.
Watching and learning had also kept his mind off of everything going on with his sister.
The rest of those in the royal box remained standing as he and Elise were introduced. Victoria refused to look directly at him. That made him hide a frown.
The others were mentioned as honored guests. Frederick and Elise stood in front of their seats as the audience applauded and bowed or curtsied their direction.
As soon as they took their seats, the lights went down and a drum beat started.
For the next 100 minutes or so, they laughed, cheered, cried, and Frederick even found himself singing along a little bit - under his breath of course.
Elise noticed and sent a smirk his direction.
Certain the general public wouldn’t be able to see it, he reached over and took her hand in his, linking their fingers together.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he whispered, barely moving his lips.
“Seeing you enjoy this? Absolutely.” She squeezed his hand.
As he recovered, she’d patiently explained so much to him - about television, movies, theater - and how much of it worked.
Seeing all of it through her eyes made the difference.
Falling in love with theater happened only because he fell in love with someone who loved it.
As the “come from aways” began to return to Gander ten years later, the thought took him by surprise.
Fell in love with someone who loved it.
Frederick knew he’d been headed toward loving Elise, but when had it crossed from falling in love to fell in love?
It would take more time for introspection than he had at the moment.
Everyone in the royal booth joined the standing ovation as the cast and musicians took their bows.
After a few minutes, Frederick and Elise led the way out of the box and to their vehicles. The others in the box with them would go to hotels or homes owned by their families for the night. They would be at the reception the next day.
The drive to the palace was quiet and Frederick suspected Elise wondered if something was wrong. He wasn’t ready to talk about his realization so he simply took her hand again, hoping it would reassure her.
As soon as the doors to the SUV opened and they made it through the doors, Elise’s assistant met them.
The two of them walked off together, with Elise promising to see him in their suite in a few minutes.
George waited for Frederick, but he gave a slight shake of his head and walked on past. It had been a long day, and though he’d enjoyed the musical, he was more than ready to be done being around people.
Except Elise.
It didn’t take long to reach their suite. By the time he’d arrived, he’d removed his jacket, tie, and vest as well as undone the top couple of buttons on his shirt.
He went onto the balcony and rested his forearms against the balustrade, staring out over the ocean in the distance.
A few minutes later, he heard the door open and Elise entered their suite.
By the time she joined him on the balcony, she’d wrapped his suit jacket around her shoulders.
Elise’s forearms came to rest next to his and her head rested on his shoulder. “Did you enjoy the show?”
“I did,” he confirmed, a knot forming in his stomach, though he couldn’t quite define why. He wasn’t concerned about her response. Not really.
Standing straight, Frederick turned and rested his hands on her waist, the satiny fabric of her emerald green dress cool under his palms.
“I realized something while we were there.”
Elise looked up at him, patiently waiting for him to go on.
He pulled her closer to him. “I love you.”
The smile that crossed her face was one he wouldn’t forget as long as he lived.
Her hands slid up his chest until they cradled his face. “Oh, Ricky. I love you, too.”
Bending down he gave her a soft kiss, then moved back and motioned for her to go inside ahead of him. Once the door - and the curtains were closed behind them, Frederick wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her onto her toes so he could kiss her properly.
“I love you,” he whispered again. “I love you. Thank you for being my queen.”
Before she could answer he kissed her again, and whatever she planned to say didn’t get said for a very long time.