Author's note: This is the last chapter from 1920s Kurt's point of view. It wraps up his part of the story, and gives it a hopefully satisfying ending.
Note on historical accuracy: I am well aware that the type of microphone drawn by thisdoesnotsuck in the artwork that inspired this story did not yet exist in the 1920s, but please make abstraction of that or imagine a correct microphone in its stead, okay? Thank you!
By all means tell me what you are thinking, I love hearing from my readers.
Chapter 11: A Married ManDecember 1925
When Kurt woke up the next morning, he felt stiff and cold, and found it hard to breathe through his swollen nose.
The first thing his father said when he arrived downstairs was, "Well, you look a fright! Good thing it's Sunday today, and you'd best stay in the back of the store for however long it takes until your face goes back to normal. Is your nose broken?"
Kurt touched it gingerly. "Ouch. I don't know, Dad. It hurts."
Burt stood in front of him and inspected his nose from up close. "Hmm. Doesn't look crooked, that's good, I guess. So…."
Kurt frowned. What did his father expect him to say?
"So did you propose?" Burt elaborated. "You didn't say much last night."
"Sorry," Kurt mumbled.
"Hey, I get it, I get it. The Hartzes said it was a terrible shock for all of you."
Kurt's head snapped up. "You… You went to see them?"
Burt nodded. "You were so upset. I wanted to get the full story. They're nice people. If your Lottie's anything like them, I'll like her."
Kurt smiled, thinking of what a brick Lottie had been the previous evening, in spite of the fainting. "She is. She's amazing. I should go see her, see if she's okay."
Burt clapped him on the shoulder. "And there's my lovesick boy again! So did you propose to her?"
Kurt shook his head. "I… I've got the ring. And I meant to. But… With everything that happened…"
Burt hummed in understanding. "I get it. Yes, go see her, if you don't think she'll faint at the sight of you. You look like a boxer bested in a match."
"She won't faint," Kurt assured his father. "She's seen worse yesterday. Much worse."
After breakfast, Kurt set off to go see the Hartzes.
As soon as he stepped inside the house, Lottie came and hugged him tightly. He put his arms around her, kissed her lightly on the head and asked, "How are you doing, Lottie?"
"Better," she said. "What about you? I was thinking of visiting Mr. Anderson's mother today, if you feel up for it?"
Kurt felt a bit taken aback, and took a while before he answered. But there was no use in putting things off. "Yes, we can do that. But before we go see Mrs. Anderson, there is something I wanted to ask. I meant to do so yesterday, but I got… sidetracked."
Lottie sighed and nodded.
Kurt took her hand in both of his. "Lottie… We haven't known each other very long, but I think we've both felt an instant connection."
Lottie smiled up at him, and he felt his lips turn up as well as he looked into the eyes of this kindred spirit, this sweet courageous girl. So he spoke from the heart when he continued his speech. "I feel so at home with you. Like… you were always meant to be part of my life. To be family. So…"
He fumbled a bit to get the ring box out of his pocket, but managed it at last, and then sank onto one knee. "Lottie, sweetheart… If I promise to always love you, always respect you, always support you, would you please marry me?"
"Yes. Yes, yes, yes, oh, yes."
With trembling hands, Kurt put the ring onto Lottie's finger. As soon as that was done, she pulled him up and kissed him, straight on the mouth.
Then Kurt heard clapping behind them. It was Lottie's mother, who was beaming just as hard as her daughter was, with tears in her eyes.
"Oh, I'm so happy," she whispered. "So happy that Lotte's getting such a sweet boy for a husband. I couldn't have chosen better myself. Welcome to the family, Kurt."
Kurt gave her a shy smile. "Thank you."
K&B
The visit to Mrs. Anderson was every bit as awkward as Kurt had expected, but the widow did seem to appreciate their eagerness to help her.
"I mean to rent out the boys' rooms. Cooper – that's my eldest son – says I can stay in the house, so that's one worry down. And with two renters, I'll have enough income to get by, I think."
"You must come to our place for Christmas," Lottie insisted. "Nobody should be alone for Christmas."
Mrs. Anderson hesitated. "Well, Cooper did invite me, but they've just had a baby, and it's a screamer, apparently. Never stops howling. So… I'd rather not spend the holiday there."
Lottie beamed. "That's settled, then. I'll make you my Christstollen. You'll love it, I'm sure!"
And before Kurt knew it, both women were chatting animatedly about Christmas recipes as if they'd known each other forever, and Kurt and Lottie were both invited to stay for lunch.
By the time they left the Anderson house, Lottie and Mrs. Anderson seemed on the best of terms, and they had the widow's promise to come and celebrate the holiday with them.
As they were walking back to the Hartzes, Lottie said, "Do you want to introduce me to your father? Before I go back home? I'd love to meet him."
So Kurt took her to his father and introduced her proudly, with his arm around Lottie. "Father, this is my fiancée, Lieselotte Hartz. Lottie, this my dad, Burt Hummel."
Lieselotte advanced, holding her hand out for Burt to shake, but he enveloped her in a hug instead. "So good to meet you, Lottie! You're all Kurt has been able to talk about for weeks now, so I was mighty curious!"
Lieselotte giggled, and Kurt felt the tips of his ears heat up. "Dad…"
Burt grinned at him. "Wow, you sure know how to pick 'em, son! Your fiancée is pretty as a picture, almost as pretty as my Lizzie was."
"And she's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside," said Kurt earnestly, "which is way more important."
Someone fake gagged, and Burt cuffed the back of that person's head and told him to shut up. Jeremy! Apparently, Kurt's aunt, uncle and cousin were visiting. Kurt had been so focused on introducing Lottie that he hadn't even noticed them so far.
"Don't mind Jeremy," Burt told Lottie. "Jealous, is what he is. Never had a girl quite as pretty as you. Clint, Mary, Jeremy, say hello to Lottie. She's going to marry Kurt."
After a chorus of hellos, Burt turned to Lottie again. "So Kurt finally got round to asking you, did he? About time, too."
Lottie laughed. "We've only known each other for a couple of months!"
"I'd known my Lizzie for only two weeks when I proposed to her. When you know…"
"You just know," Kurt and Lottie said in unison, and they gently squeezed each other's hand, smiling.
"Aww, it's good to see you like this," Burt said, clapping Kurt on the shoulder. "And you should invite the Hartzes over soon, so we can talk about the wedding. Okay?"
Lottie was a hit with Kurt's family, as he knew she would. She charmed them all thoroughly, and when Jeremy and his parents left, Kurt heard Uncle Clint say loudly in the hall, "Now that's the kind of girl I want you to come home with!"
Kurt brought Lottie back home in the best of spirits and made arrangements for the Hartzes to come visit the following Sunday.
When he stepped out of their house, though, his mood shifted. Darkness had fallen, and Kurt shivered and ran home as fast as he could. He didn't know how long it would take before he stopped being scared by every shadow or sudden noise, seeing danger lurking everywhere. Those hoodlums meant to come back and kill him, too, they'd said so. All Kurt could hope for was that they'd be thrown into prison for a long time for what they had done to Blaine.
K&B
January 1927
By the time the trial for Blaine's murder opened, Kurt was a married man, and about to become a father.
Kurt was dreading taking the stand as a witness, along with all the Hartzes and the doctor and many more people that had been present in the ballroom. He still felt awful about Blaine's death and had recurring nightmares about it. Also, he just knew Blaine's killers would tell everyone Kurt was homosexual, and chances were people would believe them.
Burt was staunchly supportive, as were the Hartzes, especially Lottie and Onkel Franz, who told Kurt he'd settle the matter in a jiffy.
Onkel Franz was one of the last witnesses to testify, and as promised, his testimony was magnificent. He completely tore apart the defendants' reasoning and that of their counsel, and ended with a strong plea to lock the defendants away for a long time, so that they wouldn't harm any other innocent citizens.
Kurt heard murmurs of agreement throughout the room, which only got louder when Lottie took the stand next. It was beyond obvious that she was expecting a child, and when she proudly announced that she was Kurt's wife, people started to mutter that the killer had to have been wrong.
"Hothead, never thinks before he does something, that Steve," said a man two rows behind Kurt. "He's always been like that. It'll be hard on his mother, but he needs to learn that he can't just do things like this and get away with it. And Jim needs to learn he should stop listening to Steve and do everything Steve tells him to. No spine, that kid, and not much of a brain, either."
Lottie talked about how Steve had tried to court her before she met Kurt, and how she felt this was all about jealousy, breaking down and crying when she admitted it felt a bit like her fault for ever agreeing to dance with Steve.
The murmurs in the room were sympathetic now, especially when Kurt helped his wife off the stand carefully and helped her back to her seat, his arm protectively around her.
In the end, both Steve and Jim got the maximum sentence for first degree murder.
Steve took his own life after only two days in prison.
A week after the verdict, Kurt and his wife were visiting Blaine's mother again, and Lottie was happily discussing everything to do with the baby that was expected any day now, when suddenly, she said, "And if it's a boy, I want to call him Blaine, in memory of your son."
Kurt snapped to attention, and saw that Mrs. Anderson looked as shocked as he felt.
"Lieselotte, my dear," Mrs. Anderson whispered, "I know you mean well, but this really isn't a good idea. People will talk. They'll think it was Kurt's idea, and they'll think he really is homosexual."
"I don't care what they think," Lieselotte declared hotly.
Mrs. Anderson smiled sadly. "Maybe you don't care now, but you will when Kurt stops getting customers. They'll shun him. You don't want that to happen, surely?"
Lieselotte deflated. She turned to look at Kurt. "Would it really get you in trouble?"
Kurt nodded. "I think so, yes."
"Well, what if we used Blaine's second name? What was his second name?"
"Devon," Mrs. Anderson supplied.
"Most people won't know that," Lottie said. "And it's a nice, fashionable name. Yes, if it's a boy, we're calling him Devon."
Mrs. Anderson laughed. "Doesn't Kurt get a say?"
Lottie shrugged. "I'm doing all the hard work growing the child, so I get naming privileges. Right, sweetie?"
Kurt, thinking of what a hard time Lottie had had of it so far, and dreading the birth, hoping Lottie wouldn't end up dying like his mother, nodded and squeezed his wife's hand. "Of course, Lottie. You get to choose the name."
Two days later, the baby was born. It was a boy.
When Burt came in to see his grandchild, his eyebrows rose all the way up when he heard Lottie tell him, "Say hello to Devon!"
He looked at Kurt, who was sitting next to the bed and still holding Lottie's hand, and grumbled, "Devon? Your eldest son and you're calling him Devon instead of Burt?"
"His second name is Burt," Kurt answered. "I let Lottie choose the first name."
Burt chuckled. "Of course you did. Devon. Ah well, I'll get used to it."
K&B
As a surprise for their first wedding anniversary, Kurt painted a portrait of Lottie in the same style as his mother's portrait.
Burt got teary-eyed when he saw Kurt hang the painting next to his mother's over the mantelpiece. "I had Lizzie's portrait made for our first anniversary too. Well, Lottie, you're officially part of the Hummel family now!"
Lottie giggled. "And here I thought I'd already become a Hummel when I married Kurt… This is beautiful, though, Kurt, thank you so much."
That night, as they got into bed, Lottie whispered, "Kurt?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think you could paint a portrait of Blaine for his mother? She mentioned regretting not having any recent pictures of him. The last photographs of him were taken at his brother's wedding, when Blaine was only eighteen."
Taken aback, Kurt didn't know what to say to that.
"Honey?"
There was silence for another beat.
Then Kurt said, "I could try. We've been to the Dalton often enough, so I know what he looked like."
"Good," said Lottie. "Your turn to get up for Devon tonight."
"Mm-hm… Goodnight."
Lottie yawned. "G…. *yawn* …night."
K&B
Kurt decided to portray Blaine as the singer he'd been, holding a microphone and singing his heart out, dressed in the off-white suit he often wore to perform.
It was bittersweet, remembering every little detail about Blaine and trying to recreate it on the canvas. Bringing his memory of Blaine back to life, in a way, bit by painstaking bit like a jigsaw puzzle. Remembering how long his lashes were, how his hair was always slicked back and parted to the side just so. Tracing the shape of his ears and nose and lips and his bushy eyebrows with shaky fingers, like he'd touched them when Blaine was alive. Chuckling as he drew bare ankles, remembering that Blaine had always detested wearing socks.
Kurt spent longer on this portrait than on Lottie's, pouring all his love and care and longing into it, and didn't stop perfecting it until the painting was so lifelike it seemed like Blaine could step out of the frame at any moment, with a smile on his lips and Kurt's name on his breath.
It sent a pang through him, half pain and half joy. No, he would never see Blaine smile at him again, but he was glad he'd managed to capture his essence in this painting. At least that wouldn't be lost to the world as long as Kurt's artwork existed.
When he showed the portrait to Lottie, she was silent for a long while, taking in all the details.
"You don't like it?" Kurt asked after a bit.
She turned her head away from the painting reluctantly. He saw that her eyes were shining with unshed tears, and hurried to take her into his arms.
"Lottie, what's the matter?"
"You loved him, didn't you?"
She spoke soft as a whisper, and there was nothing accusatory about her voice. She just sounded sad. Still, it hit Kurt like a cannonball.
"Wh-what?" he stammered.
Lottie looked up at him and smiled. "Don't look so scared, honey. It's okay."
"I… I love YOU!" Kurt said.
Lottie nodded. "I know. I love you too. And we are happy together, aren't we?"
"Of course."
"But if you'd been able to choose, you'd have married Blaine instead," Lottie stated matter-of-factly.
Kurt stared at her, not knowing what to say.
"Onkel Franz pointed you out to me, you know. He'd noticed you before. And he saw me getting courted by men who all made me feel uncomfortable. Because they would look at my breasts instead of my face. Because they pressed themselves up against me while we were dancing, way too close, and kept touching me in private places."
Lottie grimaced, probably remembering strangers' hands fondling her.
"Then one Sunday, Onkel Franz was visiting us and listening to me complain about my suitors, and he said, 'I'll show you a boy who will treat you better.' So I asked, 'How can you be sure?' And he lowered his voice and explained to me that there were men who weren't interested in women like that. Who wanted to bed men instead. But since that wasn't allowed, they married women. 'Not me,' he said, 'because I never found a woman I liked well enough.' But several friends of his were happily married."
Kurt gaped at Lottie, his head whirling.
"That's how I looked too," Lottie giggled. "And Onkel Franz said, 'Now don't go blabbing to your mom and dad about this, okay? But this boy is perfect for you. Polite and serious and gallant. The kind who holds the door for you and helps an old woman cross the street.' And then that evening, he led you to our table and winked at me, and I knew you were the boy he had in mind for me."
Lottie beamed at Kurt. "And you were everything Onkel Franz promised and more. I liked you from the start."
"I… I liked you too," Kurt hastened to say, though of course, that first night, it hadn't been him but his great-grandson.
"And I really don't care if you like men," Lottie said. "You're a perfect husband and a wonderful father, and that's all that matters to me."
Kurt smiled at her hesitantly.
Lottie put her head on his shoulder. "I just feel sad because I've gotten everything I've ever wanted, and you saw the one you love die and had to settle for second best."
"No!" Kurt protested. "I don't love you the same way, but I do love you and our family and our life together."
He kissed the top of her head tenderly and then took her face in both hands and looked her in the eye. "Don't ever call yourself second best. You're amazing, and I'm so lucky you chose me!"
Lottie's lip trembled, and a fat tear rolled down her cheek.
Kurt hastened to get out his handkerchief and mop up all the moisture.
Lottie laughed. "Don't look so worried, honey, they're happy tears. I'm glad you feel that way about me. Seems like we both lucked out."
"That we did, Mrs. Hummel," Kurt said, "We sure did."