Chapter Twenty One

During dinner Adam got an emergency call from the hospital, so he had to leave in a hurry. After they finished dessert Diane left the table with Dylan, leaving Kurt alone with her friend. Normally Kurt would have felt awkward with someone he's just met, but he somehow felt very comfortable that night. And that led to him thinking of using this opportunity to get to know Diane better, through the eyes of her friend. He wasn't a nosy person, but he wished to know more about the woman he loved, and who better to ask than someone who has known her apparently for a long time.

"Diane never told me how you two met," he started in the most polite way.

"She didn't? Well, it's a story worth mentioning actually. I'm sure Diane wouldn't mind if I told you."

"I hope so," Kurt grinned. He wasn't sure how Diane would react if she knew. She has already told him things about her past, so he didn't think of doing anything wrong with asking some innocent questions.

"It happened so long ago, I was…" she paused, "still young, working as a waitress in a restaurant, because that was the first job I found when I came back from Europe. I needed the money and a place to start from. She might have mentioned that I learned culinary art in France."

"She did."

"Anyway, one day I got this table with three obnoxious men in suits and a young woman who was desperately trying to please them."

"Was it Diane?"

"Yep, she was a junior associate back then, and got the task of entertaining some rich clients. And believe me it was almost impossible to do right by them, but she tried, and I thought she needed some help."

"That's nice."

"They were a pain, believe me, and when they left she was a mess."

"Diane?"

"Yes, she was still getting used to dealing with tough people back then. We started to talk when I went back to grab the empty dishes, she was still at the table trying to gather herself. She gave me a generous tip, because she thought I more than earned that, and we started to talk about the jerk clients, and we kind of hit it off."

"I suppose there are not so many people who are so close to her as you," since Katherine seemed comfortable talking to him, he didn't find it hard to bring this up.

"No, she is a private person, and she doesn't have siblings, her parents died, we are kind of the only family she's left, us and the firm of course."

Kurt kind of expected to hear that, he thought if Diane had siblings, she would have told him about them, or at least there were pictures in her house. He loved growing up in a big family, and still had a close connection to both his sisters. He somehow hated the idea of Diane being all alone, but this explained her devotion to her work, and her intimate relationship with Katherine and her family.

"And if it wasn't for her, I might have never met Adam," he heard Katherine's voice again, interrupting his line of thoughts.

"She played the matchmaker?" Kurt asked, chuckling.

"Not exactly, it was rather a coincidence, we met on a fundraiser Diane invited me to, and she still insists on taking credit for that."

"I can imagine. Has she…ever wanted this, what you have?"

"You mean a family? Not really...she's always been more of a career woman."

"Are you talking about me?" they heard Diane's voice from the door, who didn't seem too happy.

Kurt was wondering how much she'd heard from their conversation.

"Of course we are, you are the only person we have in common," said Katherine, chuckling.

Kurt was surprised to see how easy it was for her to make the anger fade from Diane's face.

"Don't worry, I didn't give out any of your big secrets."

"I don't have big secrets," Diane said, already smiling and sat back next to Kurt.

"I…I just asked Katherine how you two met," said Kurt, apologizing to her, but she placed her hand on his, showing him it wasn't necessary.

"That's an embarrassing story," she chuckled.

"I liked it," he replied, pressing her hand.

"And where is Dylan?"

"In her room, I told her she doesn't need to come back."

"I bet she was thrilled," Katherine replied with sarcasm in her voice.

"She's only sixteen, she should chat with her friends, and not sit with us."

"See how she always claims to know better?" asked Katherine turning to Kurt, who didn't dare to reply anything, he didn't want to risk pissing off Diane again.

"You try to turn him against me? Shame on you!" Diane said, chuckling

"She spoils her you know," Katherine said still addressing Kurt.

"I can't blame her, I do that to my daughter too."

"You two just belong together, I hope you know that," Katherine smiled, "but Diane never mentioned you have a daughter."

"Hasn't she? I thought I'm an open book to you."

"With some missing pages, apparently."

"I can tell you about his daughter after I meet her," Diane said to her friend, avoiding looking at Kurt.

"You're going to meet her?"

"I am, very soon," she smiled and Kurt pressed her hand again.

He was happy to hear her reply. He was hoping she'd say yes to meet Lara, because he was sure they would get along perfectly well. Her daughter loved him, and she was mature enough to accept the situation. She even teased him sometimes that he should find someone, she hated seeing him alone.

He was looking forward to the weekend, with the hope that it would help Diane and him even further with their relationship. He was honest when he told her he loved her, and didn't just say it to stop her from breaking up with him. He wanted to prove her he was serious, that he wanted this relationship to work, so that Diane could accept this fact and give in. She might wasn't aware of what was missing from her life, but he knew that she needed him, just as much as he needed her.