Chapter 20 – The Duvals
"May we come in?" Michelle asked. Nick and I stood aside as the Duvals and my parents came in. Kourtney came running up to me, obviously scared of the newcomers. I picked her up in arms and hoisted her on my hip. "Lucia!" my mother called. Lucia was the name of one of our maids. She came bustling in and curtsied in respect.
"Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, welcome back. I take it that the business trip went well?" Lucia asked.
"The trip was wonderful. Can you bring in four glasses of champagne, two glasses of sparkling apple cider, and a cup of apple juice for the young girl?" Matthew ordered in a gentle tone. Lucia curtsied again and bustled out to fulfill her order. "So, Mr. and Mrs. Duval, may I ask why you came?"
The blonde-haired woman was the first one to speak. "It concerns your daughter, my son, and the young girl."
"How so, if I may ask?" Michelle asked as Lucia came in. She gave the champagne bottle and the four glasses to Matthew, the sparkling apple cider bottle and two classes to me, and the class of apple juice with some juice boxes for later to Kourtney. We thanked her before she left.
"It seems that my boy has taken a huge step into adulthood to early. He became a father at a young age with your daughter." Mr. Duval answered as Matthew poured the four of them a glass. Nick poured him and me a glass as Kourtney drank her apple juice silently.
"I did it on my own terms, father. I was more than glad to become Kourtney's father and I couldn't ask for more. She came from an abusive mother and if it hadn't been for Katie, Kourtney might be gone." Nick explained. He couldn't say the word dead around our daughter because it caused him too much pain.
"Well I'm worried that it will affect your future." Mr. Duval said as he took a sip from the glass. "I don't want this to cause you to turn you away from the family business."
"Give it to Jeff. I don't want it. I already have my future planned out and the decisions I'm making now might have some consequences later on, but this is what I want." Nick answered back. This caused the Duvals to freeze and look at us. Mrs. Duval was the first one to explode.
"Give it to Jeff? Did this girl," she pointed at me when she continued her protest, "cause you to give up everything you ever wanted? Did Kourtney come along just to make your life more miserable than what it was?" I started to see red. She just crossed a line.
"Hey!" I barked at her. She looked at me with disbelieving eyes. "Don't bring my daughter into this! She has done nothing to you and she is not making our lives miserable. If anyone is making anyone's life miserable, it's you! Nick wanted this as much as I did. You two call him a disappointment all because he isn't like you. Well, guess what? I'm disappointed in you for treating him as such. All he wants is to be happy and you are ruining it. And you, Missy, just crossed a line by bring her into this!" I was seething by the time I was done with her. Nick pulled me back down to my seat and brought Kourtney to his lap since she was about to cry.
"How dare you? All I wanted for Nick is to be happy!" Mrs. Duval was upset that I called her out on what she just did.
"How dare I? How dare you for coming into my home where you think you can just start making me and my daughter feel bad for taking Nick away from you! He is a father now and he is not going to be home as often since he has an obligation to fill. If he doesn't want the family business, then just accept it. Jeff would be better suited for the job because he has an idea what to do with it. As for us, we have some different in mind." I said as Nick grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. I smiled as he took my hand and kissed it.
"Mr. and Mrs. Duval, I can assure that your son and my daughter know what they are doing." Michelle said. "But you have upset my family and your son for the night, so may we ask you to come back at a better time?"
"Yes, of course, but first, my wife has something to say to Katie and her daughter, right, Margaret?" Mr. Duval asked her.
She sighed before saying, "I am terribly sorry for upsetting you tonight and I wish we could've met on better terms, right, Harold?" He nodded in agreement before standing for dismissal. My parents escorted the Duvals to the door and waited until the drove off to shut the door.
"Well that went better than expected." Nick said as we nodded agreement. Kourtney turned her face from Nick's chest and faced us. Tear tracks were visible on her face. I bent down to wipe her face as she was still hiccupping from the sobs.
"Are they gone?" she asked hoarsely, her throat raw from crying.
"Yes, baby, they're gone. They won't be back for a while." I told her softly. She thrust herself into my arms, needing her mother.
"They scare me, Mommy." She whimpered in my neck. I could feel her trying not to cry again. I started to sing the words of the very first lullaby I sang to her the night we met. "Hush little baby, don't say a word. Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird…" As I continued on with the song, she calmed down from earlier and her breathing went back to normal.
"Well, I'm going to order takeout if that's okay with you." Matthew said. We nodded as I sat down with Kourtney on the sofa with Nick next to me. My father walked out into the kitchen and dialed the phone for pizza.
"Kourtney?" My mother called softly. Kourtney lifted her head from my shoulder and looked at Michelle. "Do you know who I am?"
"You're my Momma's mom right?" Kourtney asked her. Michelle nodded. "You're my grandma, then?" Once again, Michelle nodded. My mother opened her arms to Kourtney. Kourtney looked up at me and Nick. We assured that she wouldn't do any harm. She flew into my mother's arms and the first thing she said was, "Thank you for being my grandma." I sat back in Nick's arms as we watched my mom have her moment with Kourtney and shortly after, my father joined in and had his moment with her. I couldn't love my family more.
The pizza delivery guy knocked on the door. Nick offered to pay it since it was the least he could do for letting him stay. As we ate, Kourtney wanted to watch The Little Mermaid. While she was entertained by Disney, Michelle asked me, "Does she have a room of her own yet?"
Nick shook his head while I swallowed a bite of cheese pizza. "No not yet. We haven't had the chance to since we've been busy with school and the Warblers. I know Katie is going shopping tomorrow with Kurt, Mercedes, and, I think, Shane. So, tomorrow, would you and Mr. Anderson want to help me find a spare bedroom in this house that is close to me and Katie's bedroom?"
"Kid, call me Matthew and call my wife Michelle. You earned it and yeah, we will help you. Katie, do you think that Kourtney would like a Little Mermaid room?" My father asked me. I nodded. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kourtney yawn.
"Well, Mom and Dad, I'm glad you're back and I will let Blaine and Shane know you're back tomorrow. However, I need to get this munchkin to bed and I will probably call it night myself since I have to do a huge load of shopping tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning. Nick, you going to come up with us?" I ask as I turn the television off and hoist Kourtney up on my hip. She laid her head on my shoulder and let out another yawn.
"I'll be up in a second, sweetheart. I want to talk with your parents before I do. Have sweet dreams." I leaned down so he could kiss my lips. He met me half way so I didn't have to lean down so far. After he released me, he breathed, "I love you."
"I love you, too." I breathed back. I silently walked up the stairs so I wouldn't disturb my daughter in her soon-to-be slumber. I changed her into some Mickey Mouse pajamas before I changed into a night gown. After I was done, I gently laid my daughter onto the bed before I kissed her forehead and whispered, "I love you, sweetie."
"I love you, too, Momma." She mumbled in her sleep. Sitting in a chair that was put in the corner of my room, I thought about what Nick's mother said to me earlier. Had I pushed him too early into fatherhood? Did I cause him to give up his family business? Was I making a mistake by taking him away from his home? I didn't hear my boyfriend enter the room, but I heard a door close.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Nick asked me worriedly as he approached me. "You should be in bed not worrying about anything. That's my job." I didn't respond because it wasn't fair of me to make him worry. "Please tell me what's on your mind."
"Did I push you into this? Did I cause you to give up your family business? Am I making a mistake that I'm taking you away from your home? Am I…" I wasn't able to finish my sentence because Nick lifted me from the chair so he could sit and have me sit on his lap.
"Shh, you're not pushing me into anything, Katie. I didn't even want the family business because my dad does law for the family business, something I don't like. And no, you're not taking me away from my home. I wanted to leave sooner than later. They were suffocating me. I'm glad where I'm at and wherever you are, I am. That's all I want." He kissed my lips slowly and gently to prove it was true. I wanted it to go farther, but there were two reasons why we couldn't. One being that Kourtney was in the room and two; we weren't ready for that step.
Breaking the kiss slowly, I laid my head on his shoulder as he carried me to the bed and laid me next to our daughter. He changed into a pair of sweats and a white tank top before slipping under the covers on the other side of Kourtney. Nick reached over and grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers before kissing Kourtney's head and my lips once more. I was under sleep's control but one more thing I heard from Nick was, "I love you, both of you, my girls." I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
*Glee!*
A.N. – Thanks for reading! Tell me what you thought of Nick's parents and whether or not they crossed a line. Let me know if I should bring someone new in for the next chapter! Rate and review!