A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
Geoff peered at his watch, barely able to read the time in the dim light. Crossing his arms, he was content to wait, half-listening to Jamie's voice carrying through the open door as he called good night to some friends.
It had been an amazing night watching Jamie in the last ballet of the season then accompanying him to a round of parties. He had met most of the company, eaten wonderful food, and danced more than he had in years. Most of all, it was the time he spent with Jamie that made the evening superlative. Jamie — always talking, forever laughing. The man he had had the good sense and the good fortune to fall in love with.
"Ready, then?" Geoff asked as Jamie ran lightly down the steps.
"Thank you for putting up with all this."
"I enjoyed it. It was good chance to meet them and put faces with names." Geoff gestured up the street. "I know we just spent hours dancing, but do you mind walking for a bit? "
Jamie slipped his hand into Geoff's. "I don't mind; let's walk."
When true lovers meet in Mayfair,
So the legends tell,
Song birds sing,
Winter turns to spring,
Ev'ry winding street in Mayfair falls beneath the spell.
The rain of the previous evening had stopped, leaving the pavement wet and the moon dodging clouds. The night sky had begun to lighten as the hour crept closer to dawn.
They paused at a light, Jamie peering around curiously. Geoff looked both ways, certain they were on the right corner and uncertain which way they should turn. After a moment, he looked at Jamie.
"Right or left?"
Jamie returned the even gaze and said without hesitation, "Left."
Within a half block, Geoff knew Jamie had been right. The square was empty, and the houses around it dark. The only car that passed them was a taxi with its sign off, and its tires spraying a fine mist into the air as it passed by.
"I know where we are," Jamie whispered, almost to himself. "I know."
How strange it was, How sweet and strange
There was never a dream to compare
With that hazy, crazy night we met
When a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.
Geoff wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer. "Have I told you my grandparents met during the Blitz?" He looked around. "Not far from here, in fact. Granddad was assigned to the Ministry of Defense, and Grandmother was a nurse. Both being from the North, they didn't know a soul. Then they chose the same tube station to shelter in one night. When the all-clear sounded, he walked her home."
"Through the square?" Jamie asked.
"Through the square," Geoff confirmed. "He courted her here because she told him she loved the song. When the war ended, he proposed here." He looked at Jamie, surprised to see his eyes bright with tears. "Love, what's this?"
Jamie sniffed. "It's very romantic, isn't it?"
"It is, and they were. When Grandmother was ill, Granddad held her hand and sang it to her. After she died, we'd tend her grave, and he always hum it while we worked." He smiled at Jamie who looked teary again. "When he died, we put the record in the casket with him."
When Jamie began sniffing, Geoff wrapped his arms around him. Resting his cheek against Jamie's hair, he waited until Jamie quieted.
"I always promised myself I'd bring the one I loved here," Geoff murmured. Lifting his head so he could look at Jamie, he sang softly, "'I still remember how you smiled and said — '"
"'Was that a dream or was it true?'" Jamie sang back just as softly.
They stood together in the square, Jamie still in Geoff's arms and the quiet darkness wrapped around the two of them. Jamie tilted his head back and kissed Geoff almost shyly.
"I'm glad you brought me here."
"I've never brought anyone else," Geoff confessed. "It never seemed right before."
As he bent to kiss Jamie, a bird sang from a tree across the square. It was not the call of a creature startled from sleep, but the sure, clear song of a night creature seeing the coming of a golden dawn.
Jamie pulled away from the kiss long enough to ask, "Is it?"
And Geoff, who knew almost nothing about birds, replied without hesitation, "Yes" and their lips almost touching, they half-whispered, half-sang to each other:
"'…And like an echo far away,
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.
I know 'cause I was there,
That night in Berkeley Square.'"
Words by Eric Maschwitz, music by Manning Sherwin
Jamie and Geoff
It had been an amazing night watching Jamie in the last ballet of the season then accompanying him to a round of parties. He had met most of the company, eaten wonderful food, and danced more than he had in years. Most of all, it was the time he spent with Jamie that made the evening superlative. Jamie — always talking, forever laughing. The man he had had the good sense and the good fortune to fall in love with.
"Ready, then?" Geoff asked as Jamie ran lightly down the steps.
"Thank you for putting up with all this."
"I enjoyed it. It was good chance to meet them and put faces with names." Geoff gestured up the street. "I know we just spent hours dancing, but do you mind walking for a bit? "
Jamie slipped his hand into Geoff's. "I don't mind; let's walk."
When true lovers meet in Mayfair,
So the legends tell,
Song birds sing,
Winter turns to spring,
Ev'ry winding street in Mayfair falls beneath the spell.
The rain of the previous evening had stopped, leaving the pavement wet and the moon dodging clouds. The night sky had begun to lighten as the hour crept closer to dawn.
They paused at a light, Jamie peering around curiously. Geoff looked both ways, certain they were on the right corner and uncertain which way they should turn. After a moment, he looked at Jamie.
"Right or left?"
Jamie returned the even gaze and said without hesitation, "Left."
Within a half block, Geoff knew Jamie had been right. The square was empty, and the houses around it dark. The only car that passed them was a taxi with its sign off, and its tires spraying a fine mist into the air as it passed by.
"I know where we are," Jamie whispered, almost to himself. "I know."
How strange it was, How sweet and strange
There was never a dream to compare
With that hazy, crazy night we met
When a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.
Geoff wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer. "Have I told you my grandparents met during the Blitz?" He looked around. "Not far from here, in fact. Granddad was assigned to the Ministry of Defense, and Grandmother was a nurse. Both being from the North, they didn't know a soul. Then they chose the same tube station to shelter in one night. When the all-clear sounded, he walked her home."
"Through the square?" Jamie asked.
"Through the square," Geoff confirmed. "He courted her here because she told him she loved the song. When the war ended, he proposed here." He looked at Jamie, surprised to see his eyes bright with tears. "Love, what's this?"
Jamie sniffed. "It's very romantic, isn't it?"
"It is, and they were. When Grandmother was ill, Granddad held her hand and sang it to her. After she died, we'd tend her grave, and he always hum it while we worked." He smiled at Jamie who looked teary again. "When he died, we put the record in the casket with him."
When Jamie began sniffing, Geoff wrapped his arms around him. Resting his cheek against Jamie's hair, he waited until Jamie quieted.
"I always promised myself I'd bring the one I loved here," Geoff murmured. Lifting his head so he could look at Jamie, he sang softly, "'I still remember how you smiled and said — '"
"'Was that a dream or was it true?'" Jamie sang back just as softly.
They stood together in the square, Jamie still in Geoff's arms and the quiet darkness wrapped around the two of them. Jamie tilted his head back and kissed Geoff almost shyly.
"I'm glad you brought me here."
"I've never brought anyone else," Geoff confessed. "It never seemed right before."
As he bent to kiss Jamie, a bird sang from a tree across the square. It was not the call of a creature startled from sleep, but the sure, clear song of a night creature seeing the coming of a golden dawn.
Jamie pulled away from the kiss long enough to ask, "Is it?"
And Geoff, who knew almost nothing about birds, replied without hesitation, "Yes" and their lips almost touching, they half-whispered, half-sang to each other:
"'…And like an echo far away,
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.
I know 'cause I was there,
That night in Berkeley Square.'"
Words by Eric Maschwitz, music by Manning Sherwin
Jamie and Geoff