Chapter Twenty-One
After Diane rushed out the door, it took Kurt about a minute to get over his initial shock.
"Do you want me to leave?" Miranda reminded him of her presence, while his mind was following the other woman outside. He knew he couldn't let her leave like that.
"I'm sorry, but yes. We will arrange something for next week." He wasn't really sorry, he just wanted to be polite. The only person he was feeling sorry for was the one who'd just left his house, thinking god knows what about this scenario.
"Sure. I didn't want to step in the middle of anything." She probably understood the seriousness of the situation, not that she had to really care.
"I know, don't worry about it." He was tired of this pointless talk, all he wanted to do was get rid of Miranda, so he could focus on Diane.
"Is she…? I'm sorry, it's none of my business."
He didn't have the time to explain, nor thought he owed the girl an explanation. There was only one person he owed an explanation and he needed to make sure she didn't leave before she heard him out.
"I gotta go," he mumbled and rushed out the door.
Diane's car was still in the driveway, she hadn't started it, so he decided to approach it slowly. He didn't want to ambush her, he was only determined to not let her leave.
It was already dark outside, so he couldn't see her properly. He wanted to give her some time, but not too much time. He didn't want her to jump into unnecessary conclusions.
He approached her car from the side of the passenger seat and peeked inside to see what she was up to. The sight made his heart wrench, because he could see that she was actually crying. He backed away, not wanting her to notice him. He knew she wouldn't want him to see her like that. He decided to give her some space and time, while the guilt began to eat him inside.
It was his fault that she was crying right now. Maybe he hadn't caused it intentionally, but he also hadn't done anything to prevent it. It would have been so easy to introduce Miranda, and clear up the tension. If only Diane hadn't shown up so unexpectedly. He hoped to still find out why she was there that night, but first he needed to deliver an explanation.
He approached the window again and noticed that Diane was already calmer. He figured this was the right moment to announce his presence, so he knocked on the window.
"Diane, would you let me in?" He asked with worry in his voice. He hoped it wasn't too late, that he could still change her opinion about this situation, even though it seemed like she'd already made up her mind. She looked really hurt and he hated seeing her like that.
For a short while she was eyeing him, probably torn on what she should do. He only hoped she would make the right decision.
o-o-o
Traffic was especially slow that morning and he already knew he would be late for his appointment. No wonder he'd always hated big cities, and Chicago was on the top of his list. Having lived there for several years and keeping some fond memories couldn't really change this fact. At least his cab bill was taken care of by his client, so he didn't have to drive himself. He wouldn't have had the patience for this madness.
To kill time, he was observing the mostly unfamiliar buildings around them. These skyscrapers served as another reason for his disaffection. He could never get used to them. They hid the streets of the city behind their endless shadows.
"Asshole," the driver yelled, as he stepped on the breaks. They hadn't even been driving that fast, but Kurt still jumped in his seat.
Another car abruptly stopped in front of them, and a really elegant woman stepped out from the passenger seat. She was wearing a fancy coat and hiding behind large sunglasses. The slight wind started playing with her shoulder-length blonde hair, and she was unable to control her locks even though she tried.
Kurt couldn't believe his eyes, since the woman so close to him on the street was none but his ex-wife. It's been a while since he'd last seen her and he hadn't thought too much about her lately either. It was ironic how he happened to bump into her of all people in such a big city.
Needless to say he couldn't take his eyes off her, as she walked to the driver's side of the car and leaned closer to the open window.
"Are they serious?" The cab driver noted annoyed at the sight, while Kurt tried to figure out what was going on. "Are they really making out in the middle of the morning traffic?"
Kurt wasn't really sure if that was what they were doing, but if so this wasn't how he wanted to find out about Diane seeing another man. The whole situation felt rather ridiculous. Especially because his curiosity awakened at once. Was Diane really kissing that man in the middle of the street? That actually didn't sound like her, but after all this time could he still state that he knew her well? He wasn't sure.
Once the couple was done with whatever they had been doing through the window, he observed Diane walking towards one of the skyscrapers. She was most likely heading to work, and the fact that a man had dropped her off made him assume that she'd probably spent the night with him. He wasn't sure how this realization affected him. He and Diane had been over for long, so he definitely didn't feel straight out jealousy, but it was disturbing nevertheless.
Throughout their marriage he hadn't really been the jealous type. He was aware that his – now ex – wife was an attractive woman, and other men must have noticed that too. But he never really had a reason to be jealous of her, just like he'd given her no reason to be jealous of him.
Knowingly most marriages come to an end due to infidelity on either or both sides, but it hadn't been like that in their case. It hadn't been another man separating him from Diane, it had been her career standing in the way of their happiness.
Which made it even harder for him to move on after the divorce papers had been signed. He still loved her and couldn't imagine falling for anyone else anytime soon. He imagined it could have been easier for her, although he wished to believe the opposite. Truth was that, during the long months of their separation, he'd never really given up the hope that she would come to her senses and realize that their family was what really mattered.
Unfortunately, they had ended up signing those papers, and the only connection he had left with her was through their son. He had no choice but to bury all his hopes deep inside him and start a brand new chapter of his life. But somehow she kept showing up in this new chapter to remind him of what he'd been forced to leave behind.
Fortunately, his cab driver was mad enough at Diane's mystery man, and managed to overtake his fancy car. This way Kurt had an opportunity to take a peak at the 'competition', so to speak. He wasn't even surprised that the guy was a man in a suit, probably a businessman or maybe another lawyer. Maybe these kind of men were really her type and that's why their marriage had never worked out. Maybe she needed someone who were in the same shoes as her, who understood.
Although he couldn't help but admit that – just like the driver had mentioned - the guy definitely seemed like an asshole.
o-o-o
Once he was able to open the car door, he sat next to her in the passenger seat.
"Thank you for letting me in," he addressed her silently. And when she didn't respond, he quickly gathered his thoughts to tell what he came for. "Miranda is a student from my ballistics class. She is one of the best, so I'm giving her private lessons. I should have introduced her right away, but you managed to surprise me with your visit. I'm really happy you came, though, you need to know that."
He noticed that he was almost babbling. It was because he felt quite uncomfortable talking, while she had no reaction to any word he'd uttered. She simply stared at him, so he couldn't decide whether or not she believed him. She had to, though, because he was telling the truth.
When he paused, all she did was tilt her head to hide her face from him. This didn't look promising. It crossed his mind that maybe he was trying too hard, but it was important to him not to have any misunderstandings between them.
"Diane," he called her name and waited until she was looking at him again. Her face was difficult to read, but from her silence he concluded that she was still expecting something, so he carried on with the explanation.
"I'm aware that this situation can be easily misinterpreted, but I want you to know that I have nothing to hide from you."
Her silence was becoming very awkward and he wanted to know so badly what was going on inside her, but she didn't give it away.
"Diane, please," he begged her, desperate for any reaction, but she seemed unattached.
That's when he realized that he had to go deeper, he had to make her understand what he was really going through.
"I came back to your life because I wanted to be with you, I didn't come back to hurt you," he declared, because that was really the last thing he wanted.
At this point he noticed that tears started rolling down her face again, and she looked away, probably ashamed. This wasn't exactly the reaction he'd been hoping for, but he still took it as a sign that he was able to finally get to her. He didn't fully understand the reason for her tears, but it pained him to see her like this. So he did what his heart told him to do, he tried to comfort her by placing his hand on hers slowly. Only when she didn't pull it back, did he feel a bit of relief.
He waited patiently until she would look at him again, wishing he could wipe away all her tears. So he uttered the most important words, those he had to have kept inside all these years.
"I love you, Diane."
Despite the unfortunate situation it was liberating to finally admit his feelings. And even though hearing his words increased the intensity of her tears, he wasn't sure that was a bad thing anymore. He placed his palm on the side of her face to wipe the tears and he finally saw her lips curl up a bit. That's how he was able to tell that these were already happy tears.
"I think it's pretty obvious that I love you too," she confessed trying to hide her chuckle of embarrassment.
Just to hear her talk after such a long silence already made him happy, but to hear those three words meant everything to him. He'd been fantasizing about this moment for so long, and even though this hadn't been how he'd imagined the situation, the happiness he felt was incomparable.
He didn't need to say anything more, he just wrapped his arms around her to hold her tight. She needed to feel loved, especially at this moment. And beside words, he was willing to show her with actions too. He was relieved that she wasn't crying anymore, instead she was holding him just as tight.
Their hug was only disturbed by the sound of a car leaving the driveway, which meant they were finally all alone. And there was nothing else he really wanted.
o-o-o
Running into Diane and her possible lover had been on Kurt's mind a lot in the weeks after the incident. He simply couldn't get them out of his head no matter how hard he tried. He even considered talking to Liam about it, maybe find out more. He knew he had to be careful though, because Liam would probably find it suspicious if he showed too much interest in his ex's private life. It was a topic they barely touched throughout the years.
So next time Liam was on the farm for dinner, Kurt decided to casually bring up Diane in the conversation, hoping he wouldn't end up regretting it.
"I saw your mom the other day, a man dropped her off at work." He decided to spare him the unnecessary details about what the two had done exactly. Even though he still couldn't be sure what had really happened, he accepted what the driver had assumed as the truth by now, that Diane and the guy had actually kissed.
"Did you talk to her?" Liam inquired casually. He didn't seem to mind that Kurt had brought up the topic.
"Nope, I was on my way to an appointment. Have you talked to her recently?" He wasn't exactly sure how the relationship between mother and son was going.
"Not since her birthday," Liam admitted and Kurt couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Liam inquired, noticing the unpleasant reaction.
"You know why," Kurt pointed out and left it at that, for now.
"Do you think he's seeing someone?" Liam quickly changed the subject, and Kurt actually didn't mind, since Liam led them back to the topic that had kept him occupied a lot lately.
"It's possible," he responded, trying to seem unattached. His son knew him well, and he didn't want to give away that seeing Diane with another man actually affected him more than he cared to admit.
"I don't know how I would feel about that," Liam confessed something that was very close to how Kurt was feeling.
"You just admitted you haven't talked to her in two months," Kurt reminded him of the controversy. Sometimes Liam was trying to let him believe he didn't care for his mother that much, but he couldn't fool him. They may not have had the best mother-son relationship, but he didn't doubt how Liam really felt about Diane.
"I know, I'll give her a call," the boy promised to Kurt's relief.
Kurt had always insisted that, no matter what had happened between him and Diane, Liam shouldn't have taken sides. And even though Liam could never really hide that he favored his father, Kurt had been careful not to use it to his advantage.
"How would you feel about her dating someone?" Liam managed to ask something that really got to Kurt. He'd spent the last days trying to give an answer to this question, yet he didn't come any closer to an acceptable one. All he was able to figure out was that it unsettled him more than it should have.
"It's none of my business," he provided the only acceptable answer. It shouldn't matter to him anymore whether Diane was alone or with an asshole. Yet it still did.
"And what about you? Are you dating someone?" Liam chose to move to a slightly different territory.
"Not really," Kurt admitted. He had tried, Liam knew that he had tried hard, but his efforts to find the one had always failed.
"Dad, you've been divorced for so long and you only had one semiserious relationship ever since. Do you plan to stay alone forever?" Liam had always been very encouraging of his father's love life, because he wanted to see him happy, and Kurt appreciated the support.
"I don't have a plan," he shrugged. It wasn't like he was desperate to find anyone, or determined to stay alone. He would let life take its course.
"Maybe if mom finds someone, you'll finally accept that it's over." Liam wasn't far from the truth at all, but Kurt figured it was better not to get deeper into this subject.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kurt stated, and even though he couldn't really mislead Liam, he could at least count on the boy's tactfulness.
"All right, but if I find out anything about mom and that guy, do you want me to tell you?" Liam offered something Kurt would have loved to jump on, but he decided not to show more interest than he already had.
"It's not that important," he reassured him, regardless if Liam believed him or not. "But call her," he insisted, "I'm sure she misses you."
"I promise," Liam responded with a smile.
Kurt was so grateful for this relationship with his son, that it had only gotten deeper throughout the years. They could always count on each other and an occasional distance wasn't able to change that either. Yet Liam and Diane had been mostly physically close, but far in spirit. No matter how hard Kurt had always tried to build a bridge between them, they weren't able to connect the way mother and son were supposed to. But Kurt never gave up the hope that one day this could change for the better.
o-o-o
Once he noticed that her breathing got even, he distanced himself from her. He was relieved that she believed him, and that he managed to calm her. He didn't blame her for getting upset over the situation. In fact – like she said – it only showed that she loved him and that made him unbelievably happy. He hadn't heard her say those words in so long, he'd almost forgotten the feeling.
"We should go back inside," he suggested, "unless you insist on leaving."
"I do insist on leaving," she responded with a smile. He was confused about what made her lips curl up, since her reaction contradicted with his feelings about her statement.
"Oh, okay," he pretended to accept her decision.
"With you. I actually came to take you with me," she revealed the reason behind her mysterious visit.
"Take me where?" His face cheered up due to the unexpected good news.
"Well, that is the real surprise," she responded with a bright smile.
"All right?" he chose to let it go and play by her rules. "Do I need to bring anything?" he inquired, just to be safe.
"Yeah, you should pack a few things, because we aren't coming back until Monday," she informed him casually.
"I love the sound of that," he declared with enthusiasm. He couldn't have been more pleased that this evening had taken a turn for the better.
"I'll wait here," she said silently, but he refused to leave her in a car after what had happened. He didn't want to lose sight of her now that they were going to spend the whole weekend together.
"She left. We are alone. Please come back inside. You could help me pack," he tried to persuade or tempt her.
"As far as I remember you are perfectly capable of doing that on your own," she chuckled, and from the unserious tone he assumed that she was willing to change her mind.
"Please." He used the word he thought to be the most convincing.
"All right. Let's go then." She gave in to his wish in the end.
"But not before this."
He leaned forward and, sooner than she could respond, he pressed his lips to hers. He'd been craving that kiss since the morning, and now that she was there and all the misunderstandings had been cleared between them he was allowed to enjoy the moment.
As their kiss deepened, he pulled her back in his arms. If it had been up to him he wouldn't have let her go anytime soon. He wanted to feel the love she had already confessed, and her kiss convinced him that she had been telling the truth. The only reason he was able to pull away from her in the end was the promise of a lot more of these intimate moments between them tonight, and on the rest of the weekend.
He couldn't believe that she was there, that she was there to take him away. Last night she had turned down his offer to go away, yet here she was a day later suggesting the same. He didn't care where, he would follow her anywhere.