Elizabeth peeked out into the front yard from the front bedroom and smiled. It was the first Sunday of summer, and the days were longer and warmer. Kurt was already missing his friends from school, so once they got home from church, she let her son invite his playmates over.
They had a quilt spread in the front yard, eating a picnic lunch. Elizabeth walked out of the spare room and into the kitchen to make them all some lemonade. Her husband was out in the backyard mowing, so she figured she may as well spend some time with her little boy. She hoped his (soon to be) first grade friends would turn into lifelong buddies.
She prepared five little mason jars of lemonade on a tray and headed outside. The little brunette girl, Rachel, had already stood up from the picnic, clapping her hands together to try and organize a game.
"Mommy!" Kurt squealed, getting up to help her disperse the drinks. "I ate all my th'andwich."
Elizabeth grinned and kissed his forehead. Kurt had lost his two front teeth the week before, so the gap in his mouth exacerbated his lisp even more.
"Thank you very much, Kurt's mom," said the tallest boy, slurping away at his lemonade and shooing Rachel away. Elizabeth was fairly certain his name was Finn.
His other friends, a sweet little girl named Mercedes and a shy little boy named Blaine, thanked her as well, and Kurt asked Elizabeth if she wanted to play "movie star" with them.
"I'm going to finish doing the laundry," she said, patting her son on the back and folding up their picnic blanket. Rachel took charge in collecting everyone's trash. "I'll come back out in a little bit and sit on the porch. Maybe I can be the judge if you have a fashion show."
Rachel and Mercedes squealed in glee, but Finn and Blaine rolled their eyes. Kurt was in the middle; he loved to dress up and pretend to be the star, putting on plenty of performances in the living room in front of the TV (usually when she and Burt were trying to watch an important news segment). Kurt was also very boy-ish though, and loved to play with Finn's Hotwheels cars and Blaine's Power Rangers when they brought them over.
Nevertheless, she loved her little boy, and he had the cutest friends. Elizabeth returned inside, leaving the front screen door open so she could supervise them as needed. She became lost in her own mind as she switched over laundry and cleaned up the kitchen from that morning's breakfast. She didn't even notice when the front yard had grown quiet- too quiet.
"Mommy!" Kurt shrieked, clanging open the screen door. "Mommy, Bwaine got hurt! He's bweeding!"
Elizabeth dried her hands on a dish towel, rushing to the front porch. Kurt had tears running down his face, and Blaine's khaki pants were ripped at the knee, revealing a bloody scrape from what was likely a fall. Blaine appeared fine, sitting on the steps of the porch and rolling up his pant leg with no apprehension.
"He's okay, sweetheart," she said to Kurt, bending over to look at the other boy. "What happened, Blaine? Do you want me to call your mom?"
Rachel spoke up from behind Elizabeth. "It's Finn's fault! We were twirling around in our pretend costumes and Finn knocked him over on the driveway!"
Elizabeth turned to Finn, giving him the benefit of the doubt that he didn't push anyone. He shoved his hands in his jean pockets, resigned. "It was an accident," he defended. "I lost my balance. I already told him I was sorry."
Blaine sniffled. "I said it was okay. You don't need to call my mom, Mrs. Kurt's Mom. Kurt helped me back up. My mom can sitch these pants back up."
Elizabeth laughed, picking Blaine up onto her hip. "You mean 'stitch?' Let's get you a band-aid. Then you should be good as new."
Naturally, the other kids followed her inside as she set Blaine down on the counter, washing away the worst of the blood with a damp paper towel. Kurt was just as clumsy, so since his toddler days they had kept the medicine cabinet stocked with rubbing alcohol and Disney themed bandages for every bump and cut.
"You get to pick." Elizabeth dug out a Mickey Mouse and a Buzz Lightyear band-aid, mainly to distract Blaine from the sting of the rubbing alcohol on his cut.
"I'll hold your hand!" Kurt announced, rushing up to Blaine's side. "Don't worry. It'll feel all better. We have to finish the th'elebrity party!"
Elizabeth pressed the Buzz bandage to Blaine's knee and eased him down to the floor. "Here, keep the Mickey one in your pocket, just in case."
Blaine high-fived Kurt, and the group of kids rushed back outside to finished their game. Elizabeth joined them on the porch swing with a book and some lemonade for herself, savoring the days of her not-so-little boy being her best friend. She hoped his compassionate nature would extend throughout the rest of his life, no matter what came his way.
Author's Notes:
Hi here is fluff to make up for the previous chapter's angst and overall sadness.
I love writing Kurt's mom. I wish she would live forever and ever. Also these kids as little first-graders is the cutest thing. When I would go over to a friend's house at that age I would definitely call their parent "Mrs. _'s Mom." Looking back it was super embarrassing but little Blaine is too cute to handle! I also have fond memories of sitting on the kitchen counter while my mom dealt with every kind of injury I managed to get.
I'm also convinced Rachel came out of the womb being a natural boss to everyone around her. Go figure.
ALSO, an update. I think I am going to try and turn my previous chapter into a full-length story! I have a document on my computer with a general outline and a rough first chapter, so be on the lookout for that soon. I will make an announcement when it's uploaded to read! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it can be a summer thing for me- maybe a new chapter every week or so. Other than some test prep and a trip to South Africa, I have a clear schedule! All that to say, I'm excited to do this thing!