13

"No, Kendall Francis, you are not going to London! What the fuck are you even doing at the airport, chasing Elie down?" Kevin yelled from the other line.

Even with the phone held a few inches from his ear, Kendall can hear his brother yelling at him.

"Calm down, Kevin" Kendall said. "I could always drive back home and get my passport myself. Now, are you going to help me or not?"

"Absolutely not. And I'm telling Mom!" Kevin replied.

"Okay then, I'm asking someone else," Kendall hung up on his brother and called Logan.

"Yelp," Logan answered.

"Can you help me get my passport from my house? Kevin's being a dick," Kendall said.

"What are you going to do with your passport? Going somewhere?"

"London."

"Lond- Nooooo," Logan said in disbelief. "Fucking seriously?"

"Fucking seriously." Kendall said with a little laugh.

"So you got to talk to Elie? Everything's okay?" Logan asked.

"I did get to talk to her and… well, it's not exactly okay yet…" Kendall trailed off.

"But you guys are okay, right?"

"Yyeeeaaaa - not really."

"Kendall. Does Elie know you're going to London?"

"It's a long story, Logie. I just need to get my passport here with me so I can go. I'm gonna buy a ticket now. Trust me on this," Kendall assured Logan.

"Alright, if you say so. I'll be there in a sec," and with that, Logan hung up.

Kendall went up to an airline ticket counter and asked to buy a ticket for the next London flight.

"That would be $1812, sir. Do you have any luggage?" the lady at the counter said.

Kendall was stunned at the price. "I just want to fly coach."

"Those are economy seats, sir. Are you taking them, and do you have any luggage with you?"

Kendall carefully took his credit card out of his wallet, gave it to the lady at the counter and said, "One-way ticket, no luggage."

About half an hour later, Logan called Kendall to tell him he'll be by the departure area in a couple of minutes and asked which gate he should go to. A few minutes passed and Kendall saw Logan's car pull up in front of him. The window rolled down. It was Kevin riding shotgun.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Kendall asked his brother.

"I actually told Mom and Dad about this little plan of yours, and Mom proceeded to pack a suitcase for you, you dumb shit. She says to let you make your own decisions and such," Kevin said, handing Kendall's bag through the car window. "And Logan here convinced me that you're a grown man, no matter how difficult that is to believe."

"I told him that if ever you hurt yourself from this, at least you'll learn from it and you can finally move on," Logan added from the driver's seat.

"Thanks, bros. I mean really, thank you," Kendall told Kevin and Logan.

"I hope she's worth all of this," Kevin said.

"All this and more, honestly. I wish I had the courage to do this a year ago," Kendall replied.

"Go get your girl!" Logan cheered on. And they drove away.

Elie's flight to London was pretty much uneventful. She and Stan talked a bit about her situation, and how Kendall was at the airport before they took off.

"That boy sure loves you," Stan quipped.

Elie didn't expect for Stan to say something like that. She took a gulp from her vodka tonic.

"Can I ask," Stan went on, "why you felt like running and why you are not too keen on getting back with him? The boy's virtually on his knees begging for your forgiveness. There's also the Kieran situation, which he isn't aware of." He motioned for the flight attendant to give Elie another drink, which the attendant obliged.

"My life's in London now. My job is there and I have no plans of quitting – unless you're planning on firing me."

"No, no, of course not," Stan said with a wave of his hand. "You know, I could always send you to Los Angeles, or let you handle the LA office."

"We have an LA office?" Elie asked.

"No, but we easily could. I've been thinking about setting shop in a couple of cities in America."

"No."

"Yes. And I'd be glad to let you settle back in LA, for your sanity," Stan said.

"I hope my love life or lack thereof will not determine my design career prospects," Elie groaned.

"They don't. It's just that a happy artist is a productive artist," Stan replied. "You're one of the best artists that my studio has, so we need to keep you happy in order to keep you in the company."

"Glad that you think highly of my skills, boss," Elie said.

A couple of hours later, they reached London Heathrow. Stan told Elie to take a day off so she can recover from jetlag, and that if she goes to work on Monday he will not pay her. Elie was glad to have an extra day to recover and to spend on bonding with Kieran.

The first thing she did upon arriving in London was to call Zamir's parents to tell them that she'll be over in a bit. She's glad to be home and to be able to see her son in a few short minutes. And then she called Zamir to tell him to go to his parents' house because she has stories. Also dinner.

Before she got into her car (she left it in the airport parking lot), she looked at all the planes flying in and out of Heathrow.

"I'm really home," she said with a smile.

…

Kendall had a long flight ahead of him. He bought a one-way ticket to London, he had a small bag of his clothes with him, and not much else. He needed a game plan and he had 10 hours to think things through. He didn't even know where Elie lived. He messaged Zamir.

To: Zamir Brennan

From: Kendall Schmidt

Hey Zamir,

This will sound weird and all but I'm on my way to London right now.

Fram: Zamir Brennan

To: Kendall Schmidt

Yeah. Why?

To: Zamir Brennan

From: Kendall Schmidt

I kinda got to talk to her in LA. I thought I should go after her.

From: Zamir Brennan

To: Kendall Schmidt

DOES SHE KNOW?! This is crazy.

To: Zamir Brennan

From: Kendall Schmidt

No. But I was thinking you're going to help me.

From: Zamir Brennan

To: Kendall Schmidt

I don't have a death wish just so you know.

From: Kendall Schmidt

To: Zamir Brennan

You're the only one who can help me.

From Zamir: Brennan

To: Kendall Schmidt

Fuck it. Just text me when you get here. Elie's about to arrive so I don't know. Shit. Fuck it.

From: Kendall Schmidt

To: Zamir Brennan

Thanks, man.

That's not much of a plan, but at least Kendall knew he had someone close to Elie who's willing to help him. Well, not quite willing, but he'll see.

…

Zamir was in a dilemma after speaking with Elie. He had spoken to Kendall earlier that day, and apparently he was on his way to London. And then a few hours later, Elie calls to say that she's back home and that she has stories. He knows they're probably about Kendall since Kendall messaged him about seeing Elie in LA. His dilemma was probably evident in his face, as it compelled Pam to ask.

"Problem?" Pam asked Zamir.

Zamir shifted in his seat and asked back: "What do you think of Elie and Kendall?

"I've always thought they'd end up together, like there's no question about it. When we met them in LA, they seemed so in love. You remember how shocked we were to see Elie here in London, pregnant and all," Pam replied.

"I know, right?" Zamir said, his voice rising. "Elie's back in London now, and then Kendall calls to tell me that HE'S in his way to London right now."

Pam's eyes widened. "Oh my God, does Elie know?"

"No," Zamir replied.

"Fucking hell," Pam whispered in disbelief.

"Fuckin' 'ell is right," Zamir said. "Kendall's asking me to help him with Elie, and Elie wants us to go to mum and dad's for dinner and also because she has stories. Now I know these are about Kendall. And what's worse, Kendall doesn't know about Kieran even though I kept telling Elie to tell Kendall that they have a son. Kill me now. I don't know what to do."

"Poor baby," Pam said as she patted her boyfriend's head. "We'll figure this out. Or wait, this is actually their problem. Let them figure it out."

…

Kendall got out of Heathrow Airport close to 5 in the afternoon. He doesn't have a place to stay yet, and he had neglected to tell Zamir that he was in London until he was standing outside, waiting for cabs. A car pulled up in front of him as we was trying to call Zamir and rolled the passenger side window down.

"May Allah forgive me for what I'm about to do and may Elie not kill me for what I'm about to do. Hop in," Zamir said from the driver's seat.

Kendall got in the car and was just looking wide-eyed at Zamir for the first 30 seconds or so and then leaned back on the car seat. "Thanks, man," he told Zamir.

"Shhhh, just shush. I'm trying to think about what I'm doing and apparently this does not make any sense at all," Zamir retorted.

"So where are we going?" Kendall asked.

"I said shush," Zamir replied.

Zamir drove for about half an hour until they reached a nice neighborhood lined with period buildings. They stopped at one of those period buildings and Kendall followed Zamir up some steps, which led to a ground floor apartment.

"This is a very nice place you have," Kendall said, looking around Zamir's flat.

Zamir looked like he wanted to say something but was not sure whether to say it or not.

"What?" Kendall asked.

"Take that bedroom over there," Zamir said, pointing to a bedroom at the end of the hallway. Zamir then proceeded to rattle off other areas of the house. Kendall noticed a spiral staircase leading to an upstairs area.

"Who lives upstairs?" Kendall asked, peering through the staircase. He looked back at Zamir, who suddenly turned pale. "Why, what's wrong?"

Zamir cleared his throat, then took a deep breath. "Elie. Elie lives there."

Kendall couldn't believe what he heard. "Is she upstairs right now?"

"Uh, no. She's at my parents' house because she's uh… you'll know later. But yes, she lives upstairs. I live down here with Pam."

"All this time?" Kendall croaked.

"All this time. I'm sorry, Kendall. Elie really didn't want me to tell you," Zamir said. He really felt sorry for Kendall.

"When… when can I see her?" Kendall asked.

"I can't take you with me to my parents' house for a lot of reasons. But let's just… you can wait here. It's just gonna be dinner and then Elie's gonna come home here after that. I have to help her with her bags and all that stuff. You will hear us come in, that's for sure. But if you fall asleep, don't worry. Like I said, she lives upstairs. You have plenty of time to go through what you want to say," Zamir replied.

Kendall nodded.

"You two have a lot to talk about. I really do mean that," Zamir said, gathering his keys and his coat. "Help yourself from the fridge. Pam and I will be back with Elie in a couple of hours."

"Thank you," Kendall said.

..

Zamir's mother prepared a huge feast as though Elie was her daughter who had been away for a decade. Even though that dinner was for Elie, everyone, including Zamir's sisters and parents, was cooing and fussing over 4-month-old Kieran. They were all seated in the family room when Elie handed Zamir coffee.

"You seem quiet," Elie said as she sat down beside Zamir and Pam. Pam whispered something to Zamir, and then got up to play with Kieran. Zamir took a deep breath and sighed.

"Probably just tired and too full from Mum's cooking. I had like 20 samosas or something," Zamir said as he sipped his coffee.

"Well, good. But don't sleep on me just yet when we get home later. I have a bunch of stuff to talk about," Elie said.

They sat at the couch, talking about random stuff. Elie mentioned something about not feeling too well, a headache coming on.

"I think it's time to go home, Z. I have a bit of unpacking to do. Luckily, I get the day off tomorrow," Elie said, getting up from the couch.

It was a quick drive back to the building where Elie, Zamir, and Pam lived. Zamir was bracing himself for what will eventually happen. Fortunately, Elie asked for a rain check on story time because her headache was starting to tear through her head. She also had to tuck Kieran in. She promised to come over for breakfast tomorrow.

Zamir and Pam entered their apartment and found Kendall sitting by the counter. Understandably, Pam was confused and looked at Zamir. Zamir just shrugged his shoulders and gave Pam a quick explanation.

"Okay, so what should we tell Elie when she pops in here with Kieran tomorrow?" Pam asked.

"Kendall needs to know somehow," Zamir replied.

"Who's Kieran?" Kendall asked.

Zamir and Pam did not expect that question and did not know how to answer it. Suddenly, they heard the front door lock turn and subsequently open. It was Elie.

"Hey guys, I think I left Kieran's vitamins here and do you have any headache…" Elie stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Kendall. "What are you doing here?"

Kendall was equally stunned.

"What is he doing here?!" Elie asked again, her voice getting louder.

"Elie, Elie, he's… he has stuff to tell that you might want to listen to," Zamir tried to calm Elie down with what he thinks is an explanation.

"I told you at the airport, Kendall," Elie said, turning towards Kendall," and you have said everything you have to say back there. So what the fuck do you think you're doing here, in my home?! What do you want? Stop it already!"

"Elie, he took a 10-hour flight just to see you. The least you can do is hear him out," Zamir told Elie.

"And YOU!" Elie glowered at Zamir. "I thought you're my friend and here you are hiding -"

"THE MAN YOU LOVE!" Zamir shouted back at Elie. "I'm sick and tired of standing between the two of you and having to be careful about what to say and what not to say. You try having those monthly phone calls!"

Everybody fell silent, each other's eyes.

Pam spoke up, "Guys, let's all talk like grown-ups, okay?"

And then they heard a baby crying from upstairs.

"I have to go back up to Kieran. I'm sorry I yelled," Elie said as she walked towards the door.

"Kieran?" Kendall asked, getting up from his seat.

Elie stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder. "Kieran is my son."

"Elie," Zamir said.

"Not now, Z," Elie said. "Not now."

"He needs to know," Zamir said, voice straining.

"Not yours to tell, " Elie retorted back.

"You have a son?" Kendall asked. "And what do I need to know?"

Elie's feet seem to have been stuck in front of Pam and Zamir's door.

"Elie, tell him," Zamir pressed on.

"Now's not the right time for this, Zamir!" Elie yelled, clutching her head. "All I want for tonight is to rest this head. Please, please just give me tonight."

Zamir turned towards Kendall and said, "Kendall…"

"Baby, no," Pam told Zamir.

"…Kieran is your baby."

"God damn it, Zamir. Not yours to tell. Not yours to tell," Elie said as she hurried out the door.

Kendall just stood there with his mouth open, not quite knowing how to process the information Zamir just served him. He felt a hand guiding him to the nearest chair to prevent him from keeling over from shock.

"Is… is that true? We… we have a son?" Kendall croaked as Pam handed him a glass of water. "I have a son."

Zamir looked around his living room, picked up a picture of Kieran and Elie, and handed it to Kendall.

"Kieran Hunter Schmidt, born February 17th at Children's Hospital London, 8 pounds 2 ounces, blond hair, hazel eyes, very happy baby, very beautiful. You n made a great baby."

"Why didn't she tell me?" Kendall wondered. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I'm sorry, dude," Zamir told Kendall.

"He's a Schmidt? I have a son?" Kendall mumbled. "But why didn't she… why didn't anyone…"

…

Elie's headache got worse when she got back from Zamir's apartment. She changed Kieran's diaper and tried not to think about what could possibly happen now that Kendall knows, no thanks to Zamir. She took a painkiller and wished for sleep to come, but her head only pounded like a jackhammer for a good hour. Tomorrow might be worse.

.

.

.

Now he knows. Let's see what happens next!

I'll go back one day and edit the typos in all the chapters. That I really promise; perhaps when this story's done. But right now I just really want to get it out there.