This is dedicated to lallagoglee and sunshunes, who recently celebrated their birthday.
Quite a SurprisePam looked around her, admiring the tasteful decorations. The room was huge, yet it wasn't draughty in the least, unlike the medieval castles Pam had visited all over Europe.
At first sight, the blocky grey building had seemed forbidding – a fortress, only meant to house soldiers – and she'd wondered why on earth anyone would hire this venue for an engagement party. Surely, the Plaza was way more elegant, and probably cheaper than this.
Then, she'd been escorted inside, and she'd started to see just why Blaine's boyfriend – what was his name again? I'll have to ask Cooper – had chosen to have the party here. No, there were no crystal chandeliers nor gold-plated crown mouldings, and the floors weren't gleaming patterned hardwood. But there were soft carpets and beautiful antique furniture, the ceiling boasted intricate detailing, and there were flowers in vibrant colours, their sweet smell following you everywhere. This place had character and heart, and Pam approved.
The invitation had come as quite a surprise. Well, that was an understatement. It had come as a lightning bolt from a clear sky. Pam hadn't even known Blaine was seeing someone, so to find out that they'd been together for five years and that they were so serious that Blaine's boyfriend – Keith? Was it Keith? – was planning on proposing, well… That had been quite a shock.
When Keith – or Carl? Something like that – had turned up on Pam's doorstep, she had even asked if he was quite sure he was talking to the right person. "I'm sorry for asking, sweetie, but Blaine has never said a WORD about you."
But Carl – or Kit maybe? – had assured her that it was really her son he was dating, showing her a picture of Blaine on a bench in Central Park, headphones in his ears, listening to the music with his eyes closed and a smile on his face.
Kit – or was it Ken? – had looked at the picture with so much affection that Pam felt like she was intruding on a private moment.
It really was Blaine, then. The question remained why Blaine hadn't breathed a word about this.
Pam had invited the man in, and had offered him tea and cookies. Ken – or Knox, perhaps? – had complimented Pam on her great sense of style, telling her that he loved her accessories, and talking very knowledgeably about scarves and handbags and pumps that fit every occasion. From there, the conversation went to the interior decoration of her sitting room, which Knox – could it be Cal? – also seemed to love, if his gushing was any indication.
Pam had probed a little to find out how Blaine and Cal – Cash? – had met, and out had poured the whole story of how they'd literally bumped into each other.
Cash – could have been Klaus, too, now that I think of it, it sounded kind of German – had talked about their mutual love of music, and how admirable he found it that Blaine volunteered at the hospital, and how sweet he was to both the elderly people he worked with and the children.
That led to Klaus – Quill? – discussing his work as a model and a Broadway star, his eyes shining as he went into detail about the new play he was workshopping, and how talented and nice his co-stars were.
Pam had found herself smiling unconsciously at Quill's – Calum's? – enthusiasm, half won over already by this future son-in-law.
Her dog Prissy needed no more convincing. Prissy was draped over Calum's – Cole's? – lap, enjoying an expert belly rub that made her tongue loll out of her mouth.
Pam remembered thinking, He likes animals, too. Good. Let's see if he's handy and into gardening too, then he's a keeper.
When Cole – Kyle? – left later that afternoon, he'd expertly fixed a sagging kitchen cabinet and he'd advised her to try growing her basil on the window sill in the kitchen instead of outside with the other herbs. "It will do better inside – it can't stand the cold."
Kyle – or was it Connor? – had been right about that, too. The pot with basil was now growing so many leaves she couldn't use them all up before they wilted.
Yes, Connor or whatever his name was had all the makings of a perfect son-in-law, so Pam really couldn't fathom why Blaine hadn't told her about his boyfriend.
Unless…
When Blaine had come out, Edward had told him he could be as gay as he wanted as long as he never subjected his family to it. "Keep your lifestyle private."
Ugh, Pam could still remember the disgust on Edward's face, and how Blaine had shrunk when he saw it, his eyes glassy and his shoulders slumping in defeat. That was the first day Pam had thought of leaving her husband.
As soon as Edward had disappeared into his study after that conversation, Pam had rushed to Blaine and hugged him tightly as he wept. Only, she'd never outright told Blaine that it didn't matter to her whom he loved, and that she only wanted him to be happy. He had never brought up the subject again, and neither had she. Not then, and not later.
And only now it dawned on Pam that maybe Blaine thought she shared Edward's opinion. That she didn't want to be confronted with the fact that he was gay. Maybe he felt obliged to keep his relationship under wraps because it was a man he was seeing.
Pam's hand flew over her mouth, and she repressed a sob with difficulty. Oh, my sweet darling boy! I'll make sure to talk to you about this tonight… I feel terrible… You should never have been made to feel like you had to censor yourself around me. I really don't care whom you love, as long as they make you happy.
"Would you care for a glass of champagne, ma'am?"
Pam looked up and accepted a glass from the waitress. Next to her, a tall blonde girl took a glass too, and smiled at Pam. "You're Blaine's mom."
Pam raised an eyebrow.
"He looks just like you," the girl went on. "The same eyes and the same smile."
Pam nodded.
The girl pointed to Cooper. "Is that Blaine's brother?"
"Yes, that's Cooper," Pam answered. "And you are?"
Cooper, hearing his name, came to join them. "Did you call me, Mom? Who's this?"
"I'm Brittany," the girl introduced herself. "I'm Kurt's cousin."
Kurt! That was it! Thank you, Brittany!
"Well, hello there!" Cooper beamed. "I guess you recognised me, did you? Give me your phone, we can take a selfie together."
Brittany looked a bit puzzled, but handed over her phone. "Maybe we'd better step outside? There isn't much light here."
Brittany put Pam's arm in the crook of her elbow and tugged her out of the room. Cooper shrugged and followed, and once they were outside, they all smiled for the picture.
"I always love meeting a fan," Cooper said to Brittany.
Brittany frowned a little, and Pam repressed a giggle. Clearly, the girl had no idea who Cooper was, beyond the fact that he was Blaine's brother. Pam hoped Brittany wouldn't say so outright, though, or he would be devastated. Both of her boys wanted to be universally liked, but unlike Blaine, Cooper didn't seem to realise that was an impossible goal, and anything less than adoration always hit him hard.
Just when Brittany opened her mouth to answer Cooper, a loud voice rang out, and Brittany clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh, Blaine's here! Come on, we don't want to miss the proposal!"
They hurried back inside, and yes, Blaine had arrived. He was smiling radiantly and wearing an eye-catching yellow suit Pam had never seen on him before. Her heart hurt again when she realised he only ever wore muted colours when he came to visit her. Was that again because his father had told him not to flaunt his sexuality?
And then his boyfriend – Kurt! I mustn't forget his name again now – dropped to one knee, and Pam let out a happy little squeak and clapped a hand over her mouth.
Kurt spoke too quietly for her to make out the words, but there was no mistaking Blaine's reaction, all smiles and hugs and happy tears, and then a kiss that – Oh my! – wasn't really meant for public consumption.
After that, Kurt said something else to Blaine that made his jaw drop and made him look around the room with a dazed expression, overwhelmed in the best of ways. His face lit up when he saw his mom and his brother.
Pam hurried towards Blaine, Cooper in her wake, and she hugged her youngest son tightly, whispering in his ear, "I'm so happy for you, honey bee!"
Cooper, too, was quick to offer his support, and Blaine shed a few more tears, and then turned back to Kurt to announce, loud enough for everyone to hear, that he'd gladly marry Kurt that very minute.
Pam, taking this as a figure of speech, smiled indulgently at Blaine's enthusiasm, and Kurt's too, when he started kissing Blaine again as if they had no audience.
It seemed as though she were the only one who'd taken Blaine's answer figuratively, though. Kurt's parents came to hug and congratulate the new fiancés as well, and in the same breath, Kurt's dad offered to officiate the wedding, seeing as he was dressed for the part anyway.
And before Pam knew it, her baby boy was exchanging vows with Kurt, and she couldn't help tearing up at how perfect it all was and how incandescently happy they both looked.
The dinner that followed was better than anything she'd ever eaten at the Plaza, and she enjoyed getting to know Carole and Burt and their other son and his family.
Burt and Carole were delightful, down-to-earth people, happy to chat about Kurt and Finn and their grandchildren.
Pam won over Kurt's nephews by drawing them a lion, an elephant and a giraffe, and telling them about a safari she'd been on with her parents. Finn seemed just as engrossed as his sons, listening with his mouth half open and a lopsided smirk.
Rachel came across as self-involved at first, talking about her successes on Broadway and the West End, but when Pam got her talking about Kurt, she proved a veritable gold mine of information. Apparently, she was Kurt's best friend, and she told Pam no end of anecdotes about their high school and college years.
As Kurt's self-appointed maid of honour, Rachel stood up to give a speech, too, moving everyone to tears as she recalled growing up with Kurt, who was the best of friends and the best of sons and brothers, but had always seemed so lonely before he met Blaine, determined as he was to find his Mr Right. She spoke of Kurt and Blaine's love and dedication to each other, and what a perfect fit they were, like two halves of a whole. And then she called on Kurt to sing with her once more, for old times' sake, and Pam's mouth fell open when they started singing. Both of their voices were mesmerising and beautiful in their own way, and as they weaved together in flawless harmony, Pam got goose-bumps.
"Because I knew you…
I have been changed for good."
The applause they got was deafening, and of course Cooper couldn't resist chiming in for his turn in the spotlight, sharing funny stories about Blaine when he was little, and before long, they were all laughing, even Blaine, though he was blushing too, and hiding his eyes behind his hands.
Kurt kissed Blaine sweetly and then whispered something in his ear. They stood up and made their way to the cake to cut it and feed each other a piece, to encouraging hollers and applause.
Kurt, apparently, had a sweet tooth. He ate not one, but two pieces of cake, and only refrained from eating a third because then he wouldn't be able to get up and dance anymore.
The newly-weds' first dance was surprisingly well-coordinated and elaborate for being thought up on the fly. They twirled around the dance floor as though they did so every night – Did they? – and Blaine dipped Kurt at the end, making everyone go 'Aww'.
Then Blaine came to invite Pam for a dance, and she made the most of the opportunity to tell Blaine that she loved Kurt already, and that she was over the moon to see him so happy.
Pam left not too long after that, making sure to exchange phone numbers with Carole and Rachel, and giving Blaine and Kurt the key to her vacation home on St. Barts, and telling them they could use it as long as they wanted for their honeymoon.
"And you can use my frequent flyer miles to get there," Cooper chimed in.
Blaine thanked them and hugged them both fiercely, tears in his eyes once again.
Pam looked back once more before leaving the ballroom, and saw Kurt and Blaine slow-dancing, fused together so closely that it was impossible to see where the one left off and the other began. They weren't talking, just looking at each other with such a reverent, loving expression that Pam felt like she was trespassing just watching the intimate moment they shared. She hurriedly turned around and let herself be escorted out of the castle.
I'm so glad Blaine has finally found his match. I wonder how soon would be too soon to start hinting about how much I'd like to have grandchildren?