A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Ilona, whose birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday! 3

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The yellow roses work their charm on my mother, while dad basically greets Kurt as an old friend for which he gets an even tighter hug from me. We politely decline his invitation for an aperitif, so we all head towards the dining room right away. Mom whispers a 'he's handsome' comment to me on our way to the tastefully decorated table, which I take as a good sign.

Mom and dad sit on the opposite ends of the long table, with Kurt and I on one side and Gina with Keith on the other. The table is packed with our favorite meals as anticipated and I thank dad for his efforts with a loving smile. Everyone easily finds what they like and once our plates are full we all begin to eat.

"So Kurt," my mother uses his first name as they agreed, "how do you like it here in Redville?"

"It's much better than I thought," he responds with a smirk, then glances in my direction. I don't think it's selfish of me to think I play a big part in how he feels about living here.

"It must have been difficult to get used to the small town atmosphere," my mom digs a little deeper and I suspect that the pleasantries will soon come to an end, and the real conversation is about to begin.

"I grew up in a small town actually," he reveals, which seems to surprise my mother a little. "We only moved to the city after my father died."

"Do you have siblings?" my mother goes on with the questions, but I don't think I have a reason to put a stop to them just yet, I need to give her some space.

"Yes, a younger sister. Her husband is a doctor, they moved to Redville a few years ago with their children," Kurt explains patiently, even though he can barely touch his food because of the conversation.

"It's Dr. Graham, right? He's a good man and an even better doctor, but I only met his wife briefly."

Ever since Kurt mentioned that his sister would like to get to know me better I've been thinking of the few times I met Helen and why she made the impression she did on me. And from the curt reaction I suspect that my mother must have similar thoughts.

"Yes, they have been helping us a lot lately." The way Kurt usually talks about his sister clearly shows that he loves her very much. I know that he basically helped his mother raise her after their father died. They clearly share a special bond, so I know that I'll have to find a way to get along with her.

"One should always count on their siblings. Unfortunately Diane has none, I would really have wanted another child, but it didn't work out. You never wanted another kid?" At this point I think mom's beginning to step over a line. Not only she doesn't seem to run out of questions, but they are getting rather intrusive.

"We thought about it, but just like for you, it didn't work out," he replies, not sounding upset at all.

"Well, you could still have another kid," she points out and I can hardly believe she just said what she did. Why would she tell the man I'm dating that he could still have another child from someone else?

When Kurt remains silent, I don't even check his exact reaction; I'm too focused on my anger and just about to respond on his behalf, when I hear dad's voice.

"Maybe you should let Kurt enjoy his lunch for a while."

I'm grateful for dad's interruption, he obviously noticed that mom's gone too far. I hold back my reaction now and try to breathe again. I finally venture a glance in Kurt's direction and my eyes meet with his worried look. He must have been watching me all this time, maybe that's why he's been silent and hasn't responded to my mother's silly comment.

On a sudden urge I hide my left hand under the table and soon he does the same with his right one and our hands meet under the table. His touch makes up for the words we're unable to share at this moment and thanks to him my anger soon completely disappears.

"And how do you like Redville High?" my mother quickly finds her new 'prey' in Keith, and given how little the boy talks, I'm not sure what to expect from this conversation.

"It's a good school," he replies, surprising me and probably his father as well with his polite answer.

"What's your favorite subject?" I share a look with Gina, who rolls her eyes. I can only hope she prepared Keith for this somehow.

"Math," he replies shortly.

"Mr. Gardner is a great teacher," mom points out and I claim to see the expression on Keith's face soften for a second.

"He is," he agrees reminding me of what Gina revealed this morning about Will.

"And how are you two getting along?" she turns to Gina, and I think it's finally time for someone else to control our conversation.

"Good, we hang out a lot," she replies and before my mom could dig deeper into their 'relationships' I interfere.

"Mom, do you remember Cary Agos?" I don't even know what made me think of Cary all of a sudden, but the second I utter his name Gina begins coughing.

"Sorry," she mumbles, gasping for air. "Carry on, I'm fine," she tries to convince us, but I only turn away from her once her coughing settles.

"I remember him," mom replies my question when I look at her again, she was still teaching a few classes in the school when Cary was a student there.

"I met him the other day, he still has his eyes on medical school," I reveal, realizing how pointless this conversation is, but I'm only doing it to save the others from mom's unwanted questions.

"He was a smart one. His grandfather was a doctor as well, I used to date him," mom blurts out and my eyes widen at her confession.

"What?" Gina interferes, proving she's finally found her voice, but I'm baffled by the intensity of her reaction.

"What's wrong with that?" mom looks at her just as confused.

"Nothing, I just…you never talk about such things," Gina retreats, and it's easy to tell she's a little perplexed now that our attention's on her again.

"Well, you seem to be tired of my questions, so I might as well tell some stories," my mother defends herself, with a fair amount of huffiness audible in her voice.

"I'm sure grandpa doesn't want to hear about who you dated a million years ago," Gina finds a believable reason to put a stop to the new topic.

"Oh he knows every little detail of my life, you can be sure of that," mom smiles at dad over the table and I find myself smiling too.

"Yeah, I do," dad affirms. That's part of the reason why they've been together most of their lives. Their relationship can certainly be enviable to anyone.

"Is there a dessert, grandpa?" Gina interrupts the moment rather rudely.

"Of course there is," dad turns to her. "Want to guess what?"

"Cream pie?" Gina guesses easily.

"That's right," he confirms that he made her favorite dessert. There's nothing he wouldn't do for us, and he proves it on a regular basis.

"Thank you for the amazing lunch," I turn to him to voice my appreciation. "Thank you both," I look at mom as well, knowing she must have contributed too.

"It was my pleasure, darlin'," dad replies and we share a smile. "I don't get to cook as often as I used to, so I really enjoyed it," he explains. "You should come over more often," he extends an open invitation to us, that I know we don't accept as often as we used to.

"You really should and of course we're happy to see you and your son too, anytime," mom addresses Kurt with a wide grin spread on her face.