Chapter Eleven: Hello, Is It Me You're Looking For?
"Tess's grandmother used to say, think before you speak; she also used to say, look before you leap. Tess can imagine how her grandmother would be tutting at her now. She hadn't actually thought about what she was going to say or what she was hoping to hear when she had phoned the number […]." (Freya North, Secrets)
Kurt's head felt as though it was about to split in two. Ever since they'd gotten home, Sarah had been going on and on about Blaine. You'd think she'd completely forgotten she actually wanted to score Seb's autograph this morning. She'd unceremoniously dumped Seb's autographed book on the sofa when they got in and hadn't glanced at it since. Instead, she was retelling Blaine's story for the benefit of her parents and grandparents, with all the dramatic flair of a seasoned actress. She really was the spitting image of Rachel in every respect, though she'd definitely grow up to be taller than her mother, having inherited her father's long limbs.
Toby was clamping himself onto his mother's or father's leg like a koala bear, whining loudly that he wanted juice, that he wanted his Eeyore stuffed toy, that he wanted mommy or daddy to carry him around, that his throat hurt, that he wanted to tell a story too and why wouldn't anybody listen to him?
Rachel was berating Finn for coming home much later than his shift ended and with his stomach already full and beer on his breath. "I don't care how long ago it is that you last saw Puck, you might have let me know you'd be eating out!"
Burt had the television on at full volume showing a football match and was alternately shouting encouragements and berating the players at the top of his voice.
All that noise, combined with Kurt's early start this morning and the emotional rollercoaster the day had taken him on were culminating in a killer headache, and he just wanted to shut down all his senses, crawl into bed and sleep.
He was in the kitchen with Carole, doing the dishes, their every attempt at conversation drowning in the general cacophony, and he winced every now and then, rubbing his temples or resting his forehead against the cool metal surface of the fridge.
Carole rinsed the last of the pans, dried her hands and took over Kurt's dishtowel. She laid her hand on his arm and said softly: "You look exhausted. I'll finish up here. Go home and get some sleep."
That sounded like a really good idea, so he quickly said goodnight to everyone and drove to his house. He had just finished his skincare routine and was about to drink a mug of hot milk when he remembered his phone. He hoped it would be found soon, and he hoped the finder wouldn't pry. Maybe it had been found already? Well, he had a landline, so he could find out, he supposed. Would it be weird for him to call his own phone and see whether someone answered the call?
Moments later, he had dialled his cell phone number and was waiting for someone to pick up the phone.
He was just about to give up when he heard a click and a "Hello?"
Who was that? He knew that voice, he was sure of it.
"Hello?"
Why did he feel like he knew this person? Hummel, stop behaving like a freaky stalker and answer or you'll never get your phone back!
There was the voice again: "I'm sorry, I found this phone earlier today and I don't know exactly who it belongs to. I'm sorry if you're trying to reach that person. But, hey, if you speak up and let me know whose phone this is, I'll get it back to them in a flash, I promise."
And then it came to him. Those honey tones were Blaine's, he'd bet his Tom Ford tuxedo on it! So he asked: "Blaine? Blaine Anderson?"
There was silence for a moment, and then he heard: "Yes, this is Blaine Anderson speaking. May I ask who is calling?"
Oh, of course, he can't see you over the phone, you idiot, so be polite and tell him who you are, before you completely freak him out. "I'm the owner of the phone. We met earlier today, at the book fair, through a mutual friend. Kurt. Kurt Hummel."
Okay, that sounded very pompous, but it served its purpose, I guess.
Blaine was silent for a beat, then said "Oh, hey, Kurt" sounding pleased.
Kurt continued: "I was just calling to see whether someone had found my phone. I'm glad you have." Because that means I will get to see you again.
"Do you want me to come and bring it to you? If you text me your address, I will," Blaine offered. He sounded both hesitant and eager.
Seems like I made an impression on him, too. Good to know we're on the same page. Only, I'm really not in the mood for company right now.
"Oh no, it can wait. It's nine PM already and you probably don't live in Lima, do you?"
If you did, I'd have noticed you before, I can tell you.
"No, sorry, I live in Westerville," clarified Blaine, sounding apologetic about it. "But I could come drop it off after the book fair tomorrow, if you like?"
Again, the hesitancy was there. Kurt remembered Blaine blushing when they spoke that afternoon. Apparently, Blaine was a bit shy when he wasn't performing or waxing poetic on a topic he was passionate about.
"You're signing books again tomorrow?" asked Kurt.
"Yes, same hours as today. I'm going to sing and tell a story again, too. Loads of people told me they'd come back tomorrow if I performed again. Guess they liked it."
Kurt heard pride in Blaine's voice, mingled with uncertainty and surprise.
"You were brilliant," he agreed wholeheartedly. And then, lured by the promise of another story, he added: "Maybe I'll come by tomorrow to pick up my phone. Sarah wanted a book signed by you anyway. When's story time planned? Wouldn't want to miss it …"
He chuckled at himself. Could you be any more obvious?
"It's not set in stone yet, but I think it'll be around 2 PM," answered Blaine.
"Okay, it's a date!" said Kurt, then face-palmed. Why did I say that? Okay, some backtracking is in order. "I'm bringing Sarah and her brother. I'm warning you, though; maybe Sarah's mother will want to come along, too, now that Sarah's been talking about you non-stop the whole evening."
There, that makes it a lot more family-friendly.
"The more the merrier," replied Blaine.
"Alright then. Thank you for rescuing my phone, and I'll see you tomorrow!" Can't wait!
"See you tomorrow!"
And just like that, Kurt's smile was back in place. Bad day? Maybe. But it ended on the right note.
K&B
The next day, he called Rachel, explained about his phone and asked if he could take Sarah and Toby to Westerville to see Blaine again. As he expected, Rachel wanted to come along, and in the car, while belting out show tunes, she kept throwing sly glances at him when she noticed him tapping his fingers on the dashboard or showing other signs of nerves. He hoped she'd behave herself. The last thing he needed was another matchmaker.
They arrived just after 2 PM, Toby having needed a potty break twice on the ride to Westerville. Kurt could hear Blaine strumming the melody of Mr Tambourine Man, but nobody had actually started singing yet, so they couldn't have missed much. Blaine looked up when they came in and smiled right at Kurt, positively beaming when he heard Kurt sing along.
After five songs, Blaine praised all the children present for having sung so beautifully, and asked them whether they'd like to hear a story now. Sarah and Toby wriggled with glee and shouted "Yes" at the top of their voices. Blaine's tale was heart-warming and funny, and Kurt sighed with satisfaction when it was over and clapped hard.
"Okay, let's go see Blaine!" he said to the others, and together they approached Blaine. Next to him, Kurt saw the blond colleague who helped Blaine out yesterday and a shorter, brown-haired man who was teasing two girls about Sarah's age who looked a lot like him - his daughters?
"Hey," said Kurt. "That was lovely. The crowd ate it up."
Blaine blushed and ducked his head. "Thank you."
Kurt introduced his family to Blaine. "This is my sister-in-law, Rachel. Sarah you already know, and this young man is called Toby. He wasn't feeling too well yesterday, but today, he's on top of the world, aren't you, Tobes?"
Toby got a shy attack and hid between Rachel's legs.
Rachel shook Blaine's hand and smiled at him. "So you're the famous Blaine … Tina's told me about you. And Sarah's quite smitten with you, too. You've managed to supplant Sebastian Smythe as her favourite author in just one afternoon. I'm impressed."
Wait … What? Tina's told you about Blaine? When? And how much do you know about him?
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rachel," answered Blaine. He waved to the men and the girls standing next to him. "These are my friends Nick and Jeff, also known as Niff for short, because they're inseparable, and Nick's sisters Iris and Nina. Niff and I were in the Dalton Warblers together. You were in Tina's glee club, in high school?"
"The lead singer, actually," boasted Rachel.
Kurt huffed. "The bossiest singer, actually, who always got her way and hogged all the solos."
"Hey!" protested Rachel. "That's …"
"The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," said Kurt. He saw that she looked hurt, and relented, hugging her sideways and giving her a quick kiss. "But we love you anyway, honey."
They smiled at each other. It was true. Kurt was glad to call Rachel his sister. Yes, she could be self-absorbed, loud and obnoxious, but she was a fierce, loyal friend with a talent and drive that deserved a better fate than to be buried in Lima, Ohio.
"We've always been very close, the lot of us," reminisced Rachel. "We fought a lot, but we had each other's backs. I married my duet partner from glee club, and Tina and Quinn did, too."
Kurt snorted. "You make it sound like glee club was a dating service. I still think it was madness that you and Finn got married in senior year. Quinn, I can understand, because she wanted to raise Beth with Puck, but you had no reason to get married that early."
And if you hadn't, you might have been on Broadway today. I love my brother, but I hate him for taking that away from you.
Rachel shrugged. "It seemed the right thing to do at the time. I thought I'd manage to go to college anyway, but then I got pregnant straightaway and had Sarah, and Finn was away all the time at the police academy, so I had to drop out of college and focus on my family. I don't regret it, though. I'm so happy with Finn and my babies."
Blaine frowned, and then jumped to another topic.
"Tina's having a Halloween party on Sunday. Niff and I will be there. Are you all coming, too?" he asked.
Well, since you're asking so nicely …
Rachel looked at Kurt. "We haven't discussed it yet, but Finn's off duty, so we could come. Do you think Burt and Carole would mind baby-sitting?"
Kurt grinned, elated at the thought of a New Directions reunion. "Yesterday, dad complained again that he doesn't get to see his grandkids often enough these days, so you'd be doing him a kindness, really."
Sarah jumped up and down in excitement. "We get to stay at grandpa's on Sunday? Yay!"
She turned to Blaine and said: "Grandpa Burt tells good stories too, but I like yours better."
Me too, honey.
"Thank you for the compliment," smiled Blaine.
"Mama, can I have a book signed by Blaine?" purred Sarah, cocking her head to the side and making puppy-dog eyes.
"If you promise to be good for grandpa and grandma on Sunday," Rachel hedged.
"I will, I promise!" shouted Sarah.
Blaine chuckled. "Right this way then. Kurt, come along too, I still have your phone."
Kurt was glad to have his phone back. He felt tempted to ask for Blaine's number.
I really like him. As much as the thought scared him, it thrilled him, too.
Blaine's fidgeting seemed to imply he had the same idea, but didn't dare to ask. Rachel saved the day by insisting Kurt and Blaine exchanged numbers, just in case the Westerville boys got lost tomorrow driving to Tina's house. No-one mentioned that they might just as well call Tina to ask for directions.
They returned home with a triumphant Sarah clutching Blaine's book, Toby napping and Kurt and Rachel discussing costume ideas for the party.
Later that evening, sorting through his wardrobe and combining items into costumes, Kurt had managed to narrow it down to three options when his phone chimed. He unlocked the screen and saw a text from Blaine.
To: Kurt Hummel
Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow - Blaine
To: Blaine Anderson
Looking forward to it, too - Kurt
To: Blaine Anderson
Only … What on earth should I wear? - K
To: Blaine Anderson
One day is short notice :-( - K
To: Kurt Hummel
Make it work! (Sorry, watching Project Runway reruns) - B
To: Blaine Anderson
Of course I will! But … I can't make up my mind - K
To: Blaine Anderson
Three options: creepy, sexy or mysterious - K
To: Blaine Anderson
Which do I pick? - K
To: Kurt Hummel
Can't you combine all three? No pressure :-P - B
