"I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different." - Unknown
December
"Thanks for getting the paperwork for the Monarch Foundation ready so quickly," Blaine says sincerely, as he signs a huge stack of legal documents at his lawyer's office.
"My pleasure. I didn't mind in the least, particularly since it's for a good cause. Hope you have happy holidays this year."
Blaine leaves his lawyer's office with a huge smile on his face and feels like skipping along the street. For years, he's wanted to support the LGBT community in smaller towns - create a place where people of all ages could connect, hang out and seek advice. Provide temporary housing for those that are homeless or running away from a terrible situation. Sure, there are places like this in the larger towns and cities across the US, but this sort of option doesn't exist in small Mid-Western towns.
Last week, Blaine was told what his annual bonus would be, to be paid in early January. He had expected a large bonus– Vogue's increased circulation and profits over the past year made sure of that – but he wasn't expecting such a substantial discretionary amount. He knew instantly what to do with the money and contacted his lawyer to set up a non-profit foundation. Now his dream could finally become a reality.
The timing is perfect. Tomorrow he's going home to Ohio for ten days over Christmas and the new year. He's always planned for Westerville to be the first place to establish a Monarch House. He'll look for a suitable property during his trip, and by the time the paperwork will be ready for the purchase, his bonus will be paid into his bank account. He can count on his mom and some Dalton teachers to help out until he can hire a director.
Blaine runs through his mental checklist of what he needs to get done today. Thank god he bought everyone's Christmas presents while he was in India. He pulls out his phone to call his mother to arrange for a real estate agent to show them properties. He needs to get a move on things before he gets on the plane for Ohio tomorrow.
Blaine walks briskly back to his car. At breakfast, his mother mentioned that the Lima Lenscrafters was the only store in the area that had the special Carolina Herrera SHE sunglasses that she desperately wants for Christmas. She had talked to the manager the previous day, who agreed to hold the pretty blue pair for 24 hours. Blaine is all too happy to take the not so subtle hint and buy them, even though it's a long drive to get them. After all, she's helping him to find the perfect place for Monarch House, although yesterday's property hunting came to nothing.
Blaine pulls the car out of the parking lot and turns onto West Elm Street, but is soon caught up in a traffic jam. The roads are as busy as expected two days before Christmas. He spots a sign with a coffee cup and 'The Lima Bean' written across the top, and decides to take a break from the heavy traffic. When he walks toward the coffee shop, Blaine wonders if he should order his usual medium drip or something fancy like a latte with peppermint or an eggnog spice. He abruptly stops when he looks into the coffee shop window and his heart begins to race. There, sitting at a table for two, are Kurt and Rachel Berry.
Kurt looks even more stunning than Blaine remembers. Kurt's hair is perfectly coiffed, showing off his rosy cheeks and his piercing blue eyes. His legs are crossed under the table and they look as if they go on forever. Kurt's attention is focused on Rachel, who is talking excitedly, waving her arms through the air.
God, how he misses Kurt. India would have been so much more fun if Kurt was there to experience it with him, but it's the little things about Kurt that he misses the most. The random texts they had sent each other each day as a way of saying 'I'm thinking about you'. Watching The Young and Restless together, with Kurt's snarky comments, judging Cooper's character and acting skills. Not really doing anything special, but hanging out and getting to know each other better. Most of all though, he misses Kurt's hugs – a reminder of how Kurt made him feel special and taken care of.
Kurt had never called him for that coffee he had suggested at the Whitney Art Party last month, but Blaine hadn't thought that he would. Not with Sebastian around Kurt, making snide comments about Blaine and smearing his reputation. Here in Ohio, though, things might be different. Away from New York City and Sebastian, maybe they could find the time to really talk. Could they clear the air and salvage something from the past?
But what is he going to say? He hadn't expected to see Kurt in Lima and he doesn't feel prepared for that discussion. Besides, what could they possibly say to each other with Rachel there as well? He'd have to come up with some sincere compliment about that godawful TV pilot of hers that aired last month.
Blaine isn't sure how long he's been standing outside the Lima Bean gawping at Kurt, but he needs to choose what he's going to do before Kurt notices him and the decision is out of his hands. Panic starts to rise in him. Blaine quickly heads back to his car and takes off for his parent's place in Westerville.
"You look pale, Blaine. Weren't you successful on your jaunt? The manager promised me…"
"No, it has nothing to do with 'the jaunt' as you call it. It's something else. I want to think about it on my own for a bit, if you don't mind."
"I'm about to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. That was always my favorite Christmas movie growing up. Why don't you join me and we can talk - or not talk - if you want?"
Blaine lies down on the couch in the den as his mother sets up the DVD. She then joins him on the couch and places his head on her lap. When she starts playing with his hair as they watch the movie, it feels comforting and soothing– a reminder of how they used to watch movies together when he was a little boy. When every Who in Whoville is singing and the Grinch's heart grows three sizes, Blaine sighs deeply and says, "I saw Kurt. He was at a coffee shop in Lima."
Pam continues to stroke Blaine's hair and replies, "How did it go? Did you work things out?"
"I didn't talk to Kurt. He didn't even know I was there. He was with a friend, and we would only have made polite small talk if I had interrupted them. It would have been so awkward, so I left."
"Now that you know he's in Ohio for the holidays, why don't you call him after Christmas and see if you can meet up?"
"I don't know. I don't think Kurt is interested in me. I haven't really spoken to him since the diva-off, and lord knows I've tried. When we bumped into each other last month – you know, when Cooper was with me at the Whitney Art Party – Kurt said he would call me to arrange to meet for a coffee, but he never did. I know that it's not really a fixable problem. It hurts knowing that I love him but can't have him. I wish things between us had turned out differently."
"Blaine, I know it hurts right now and it will take time for you to get over him, but honey, you're doing all of the right sort of things. You're so much more relaxed since you went to India in October. Setting up the first Monarch House will keep you busy and keep your mind off Kurt. At some stage, though, you'll need to let your feelings towards Kurt go. Start dating new men. There are plenty of fish in the sea…. After all, the New Yorker Magazine just dubbed you 'the '#1 Gay and Single Hot Dude in New York City' for the second year in a row." Pam does air quotes around that last sentence and pokes Blaine gently in the ribs.
Blaine rolls his eyes at his mother. He'd rather not be the hot dude in the city, and certainly not single. Sure, there's plenty of men who want to be with him, but not the man that he wants. He gets up from the couch and stretches, and is surprised to see his father just inside the den's door. He wonders how much of the conversation with his mother he's heard. Blaine's body tenses as he thinks of the inevitable talk he has to have with his father about the video. His father gives him a curt smile as Blaine leaves for his bedroom. Blaine needs to gift-wrap those sunglasses before his mother hunts his bedroom for them.
"Sup, Sam? Are you and Mercedes in Kentucky with your family?"
"Yeah, we got here last night. Merry Christmas. What did Santa bring you?"
"The usual… A Christmas bow tie, some music scores I wanted, stuff like that. What about you? Were you naughty or nice this year?"
"Definitely both. I had to be naughty to get something nice."
"That's pretty cryptic. What do you mean?
"Mercedes is pregnant!"
"That's fantastic news, Sam! When's the due date?"
"June 14th. Please, please, please don't tell anyone. We wanna keep it under wraps until the birth. Mercedes will finish recording her album before she really starts to show. Then in August, she'll start another tour. I'll go on tour with her to take care of the baby."
"It sounds like you've got it all figured out. Your secret is safe with me. I have another idea of what you can do when you're on the tour bus with Mercedes."
"What's that?"
"Keep creating that webcomic! You're really onto something. Biffy is so adorable as the surfer who loves to bake cupcakes. Then, you have the leader of the pack, Jamie. I think you should make him gay, but in the closet, and struggling with it. It could really create some tension in the story."
"That sounds cool. I've set Jamie up with a father who was the World Surf Champion back in his day. Everyone has high expectations of Jamie, so yeah, maybe he turns out gay. Could you help me figure out this Jamie dude? I mean, I don't know what it's like being in the closet."
Blaine roars with laughter. "Me neither!"
Sam whispers into the phone, "By the way, did you check out KrianFeels' update yesterday?"
"Yeah, I did. I loved how Brian and Kevin sang 'Baby It's Cold Outside'. Very clever to take such a traditional song and twist it for two love-struck gay teenage boys."
"I'm not talking about that part. I was thinking about later… You know, when Kevin throws Brian on the piano and fucks him. A piano is probably higher than his dick. So how could he possibly do it?"
"Sam, sometimes I worry about you."
"Blaine, can you step into my study?" Michael, Blaine's father, asks.
Blaine's heart sinks with these words. He knows that he has to have 'the talk' with his father and no talk with his father in the study is good news. Since he's been home, they have avoided speaking about the Klainegate video, but now the time has come.
Blaine wishes that Cooper had been able to get time off from work to come home for Christmas, to divert the attention away from him. His mother squeezes his arm and smiles – it feels as if she's secretly telling him to be brave. And then the strangest thing happened. His mother walks to his father and gives him the exact same gentle squeeze and smile. She then quickly disappears to the kitchen to do the washing-up after the Christmas meal.
The study is just as Blaine remembers it. There's a big imposing dark oak desk with a wall-length bookcase behind it, filled with hardback books about history, business, and biographies. A deep red oriental carpet fills the space in front of the desk, and there's an antique wooden cabinet filled with whiskey bottles and crystal-cut tumblers. Blaine reminds himself that he is a 28-year-old man and isn't under his father's control any longer.
His father pours whiskey into two glasses and indicates for him to sit down. Blaine decides to start the conversation, to get it over with.
"I'm really sorry about the video, Father. I had absolutely no idea it was being filmed and would be put on the Internet for the whole world to see. I must have been an embarrassment to you."
Michael takes a sip of his whiskey and nods.
"It was a difficult time afterwards. You should have heard the jokes made at the country club, particularly since we held that fundraising party the previous night. However, your mother and I have held our heads up high and continue to go to the club on the weekends. It's been a real lesson on who your true friends are. In future, be more careful. I'm not saying you should go into the closet, but just make sure that there's no-one else around. I… err… think that's enough of that subject, don't you?"
Blaine firmly nods and thinks he's got off lightly about the video. He's relieved that his father considers the subject matter closed. His father is looking more relaxed now, so Blaine decides to ask about what has really been bothering him for months.
"I have a question for you, Father. After the diva-off performance, you sent me a text saying that you loved it. What exactly did you mean by that?"
Blaine's father takes a sip of his whiskey. Blaine can tell that he's thinking carefully about what he's going to say.
"Watching you perform at the diva-off... I realized that you have achieved more than most men in their lifetimes. There you were, on stage, showing the world exactly who you were. A man who runs a multimillion-dollar media empire. A man who's passionate about raising money for charity. A man comfortable in his own skin. And yes, a gay man who is proud of who he is. The feather jacket was a little over the top, but you owned every moment on that stage. You were brimming with confidence and looked so happy. You deserved to win. So yes, I loved the diva-off performance. I was very proud of you."
Blaine is surprised at his father's words. "I thought you didn't like me being myself? Being gay?"
His father takes another sip of his whiskey before answering. The air is thick with tension.
"Blaine, when you were 13 years old, you sat your mother and myself down in the living room one day and told us that you were gay, in your most earnest and serious voice. Frankly, I was shocked. The Walnut Springs Middle School had sent us something about the sex education classes the previous month. I thought they had put the idea in your head."
"Father, it's not like that. You don't get to choose your sexuality. It's something you're born with."
"I can't say I understand that entirely. When I was 13 years old in the late 60s, I never thought about my sexuality. It was assumed that boys would marry girls, have two kids, and live in the 'burbs. I never doubted that for myself."
"Just because you didn't doubt it, doesn't mean that there weren't others who were different… who were gay."
"I'm from a different generation than you. I didn't know anybody who was gay at school. If there were f… gays, they were definitely in the closet. It was illegal back then. You could go to jail for doing things with someone of the same sex."
Blaine takes a sip of his drink, reminding himself of how things have progressed since his father was growing up. "Times have certainly moved on from then – and for the better. You were so angry at me at the time, but you hardly said a word."
"I wasn't happy that you were gay, Blaine. However, I did know that nothing was going to change your mind… or who you are. At the time, I was thinking of AIDS and how difficult your life would be not fitting in. Frankly, I was thinking about not having a grandchild - my own flesh-and-blood grandchildren."
"But gay men can get married, have two kids and live in the 'burbs. It's what I want for myself! We can find a surrogate and have our own children using artificial insemination."
"Blaine, think back to fifteen years ago. Same sex marriage was only recently legalized in Ohio after that Supreme Court ruling. Surrogacy hadn't even crossed my mind as an option. I thought that was something couples did when a woman had plumbing problems. I have learnt a lot since you came out to us. Your mother has helped with that. But at the time, I didn't know anything and felt out of my depth. I felt uncomfortable talking about it."
"Is that why you got rid of me to Dalton when I got beaten up at the Sadie Hawkins dance?"
"I didn't get rid of you. I was trying to protect you! I didn't think you would survive through graduation at a public high school. Look what they did to you during your freshman year! I couldn't let that happen again. Dalton had that great anti-bullying policy and was accepting of students like yourself. And they were willing to take you after the start of the school year. There wasn't really any choice, so I took out a second mortgage to make that happen."
"But why did I board? I could have been a day student. I felt as though you were abandoning me."
"We weren't abandoning you, Blaine. You loved wearing those bow ties and brightly-colored clothes. It was obvious you were gay. I was worried about what would happen to you after school and on the weekends, hanging around the kids in the neighborhood. I knew you would be safe at Dalton, so that's where you stayed. Besides, you were so happy there."
"Okay… but even when I was home during that first summer, you were trying to make me straight by working on that car."
"Honestly, Blaine, that was not my intention. I wanted to spend time with you so I could understand things… who you were. When I was growing up, I worked on a car with my father. I enjoyed it and I thought you would as well. Look, I'm not a perfect person or father. I was doing my best and it was the only thing I could think of."
Blaine mulls over what his father just told him. He could sort of understand his father's intentions back in high school, but he would have to think that through carefully later. However, he couldn't see why his father had been so insistent for him to study business at college.
"Why didn't you want me to study music in college? You and mom always encouraged us to play instruments and sing. Hell, you even got me that job at Six Flags over the summers."
"Blaine, when I was in college, I wanted to be a musician more than anything else in the world. I met your mother during my second year and I fell deeply in love. With her love of the piano, I thought we were going to conquer the world. But then she got pregnant with Cooper during our senior year. I had to find a way to support your mother and a baby. Your grandparents had told us in no uncertain terms that we had made our bed and now we had to lie in it. I knew we were going to be on our own after graduation with a baby coming. Starting a music career wasn't an option, so I took as many business courses as I could in the last semesters. When we graduated, I started work at the insurance company. I was so grateful to be able to put food on the table and support your mother and Cooper. That was very important to me."
"But what does that have to do with me?"
"I thought that as a gay man, you'd be alone all your life, needing to support yourself. You were so bright and got such good grades at Dalton. When you got accepted at Harvard, I was so relieved. I knew that sort of college education would keep you in good stead all your life. Music was always going to be important to you, but I thought it would be a hobby, like it is for your mother and me."
Blaine isn't sure if he likes that his father thinks he'll be alone all his life, but at least he's being honest with Blaine. "So you're okay with me being gay?"
"I might not like it, but it's who you are. I've learnt to accept it. Never think for one moment that I don't love you… Because I do."
Blaine slowly gets out of his chair, walks over to his father, who is also standing, and gives him a hug. "I love you too. Wow, I'm going have to think about this and get my head around it. Good night, I'm heading off to bed."
After a shower, Blaine changes into his pajamas and climbs into bed. His mind is still reeling from the talk earlier that night. His father made Blaine look at his childhood memories in an entirely different light. Did he really get everything wrong? Was his father's version of his childhood what really happened?
Blaine pulls out his scrapbooks and flicks through the pages. He laughs at the photo of himself wearing his first Nightbird outfit that his Aunt Laura created from an old Batman costume. He cringes when he sees himself in colorful plaid shirts and bow ties. He has certainly learnt a lot about fashion since those days. While Blaine doesn't think you can judge someone's sexuality by the clothes that they wear, he would have definitely been given a hard time by the boys in the neighborhood.
As he flips through the scrapbook pages of his Dalton days, he thinks fondly back to the times with the Warblers. For all the important competitions and graduation - moments that really mattered to him - his father was there in the photos. He didn't remember that his father had attended all those events, too busy goofing off with his friends.
Blaine goes to his closet and pulls out the shoebox containing the photos of his father and him working on that stupid car. He's never wanted to scrapbook them and be reminded of the project. For the first time in years, he pores over the photos. Sure, both he and his father are smiling for the camera, but their body language is telling a different story, of tense awkwardness. He's never appreciated that his father was just as nervous as he was.
Amy was right. The camera lens can show a different perspective of what's straight in front of you. It's neither the right one nor the wrong one, just a different view. So maybe the true version of what went on during his teens is not his or his father's. What if it's a blend of the two?
Blaine and his mom are sitting around the kitchen table, looking at houses for sale in the Westerville area on the computer. They have spent the past two days with a real estate agent looking at properties that have the potential to become the Monarch House. Blaine leans back in his chair and groans, "I never thought it would be this difficult to find a place."
"Don't give up, sweetie. We'll find the right place. It's going to take time, though."
His father joins them at the table with three mugs of coffee he has made while listening to their conversation.
"I was talking to Blake Pemberwell at the club last weekend. His father died last month and he plans to sell the place on the corner of East Walnut and Summit. It's a huge three-story house with a large backyard. It'll need fixing up because I doubt old man Pemberwell did anything to the place since his wife passed away fourteen years ago. It's within walking distance of Westerville South High School. There's also a bus stop close by to go downtown. Blake's going to put it on the market in January."
"I know the exact house you're talking about. It would be perfect!" Pam exclaims.
"I was really hoping to have a house decision wrapped up this vacation, but I guess I can come back next month to check it out," Blaine comments with a sigh.
"How about I call Blake and see if we can give the place a once-over while you're here? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
Michael walks to the study to make the phone call. After five minutes, he returns with a smile on his face. "Blake doesn't mind at all. He told me where the key is hidden on the front porch. So, what do you say, Blaine? Want to go check it out?"
Blaine is stunned that his father's offering to go house-hunting for his new charity project. He looks at his mother, who has a gentle smile on her face. "I'm going to start making that lasagna that you both like so much. Count me out."
After a ten-minute drive, Michael parks the car in the driveway of an old rambling house. The paintwork is peeling off, but it looks structurally sound. They explore the rooms on each floor, mindful of the dust and the clutter. When they return to the main living room, Michael starts to speak excitedly.
"That top floor would be perfect for the dormitory. You can easily fit two sets of bunk beds into each room. The second floor could work for the staff offices and there could be individual counseling rooms. The basement is big enough that you could have both a pool table and a ping pong table set up. The kitchen would have to be completely ripped out, but then again, I'm sure that there all sorts of health regulations it'll need to comply with. This living room would be perfect with a big-screen TV, a place for people to relax…"
Blaine is stunned by his father's rambling. "You're really into this, aren't you?"
"Maybe we should have renovated a house when you were a teenager instead of working on a car."
"Ha! Maybe we should have, although I suspect I would have thought you were going to squirrel me away inside it."
"Like Rapunzel waiting for Prince Charming? I think that you'd have liked that idea."
Blaine roars with laughter. He honestly can't remember ever joking around with his father, but it feels good.
"Blaine, can you come join me in the study?"
Instead of feeling the usual dread at being summoned into the study, Blaine jumps up eagerly to go join his father. Blaine notices that his father's chair is pulled around to the front of the desk. Once they are sitting next to each other, Michael start to speak.
"I just got off the phone with Pemberwell. He hasn't signed an agreement with a real estate agent yet. He's always been a procrastinator, and this time, it works in our favor. He's agreed to accept a bid lower than the asking price he was planning. After reminding him that this is for a good cause, that he doesn't have to pay a commission and that he'll get cash in a few weeks' time, he agreed to knock off 20%. It's under your budget, so you'll have money for those renovations needed. Are you interested?"
"Oh my god, this is happening… Yes! I want the house."
"I'll let Blake know tomorrow. Leave it with me. I'll get my lawyer to start the necessary paperwork. Your mother's interviewing possible directors, so maybe I can find an architect to come up with a plan for the renovation?"
"You would do that for me?"
"I wouldn't offer, if I didn't want to help out. Help you out, that is, Blaine."
Blaine has a warm feeling inside. Maybe they should have renovated a house together when he was a teenager. There's been something else on his mind and this is as good as any time to bring it up.
"Can I ask you about something? When you mentioned Rapunzel waiting for Prince Charming…"
"I know. You want to be Prince Charming… Or maybe Nightbird rescuing Prince Charming?"
Blaine laughs at his father's joke, thinking of himself in his Nightbird outfit saving Kurt, who's wearing a tiara.
"Very funny. No, I was thinking about what your reaction would be if I brought a guy home that I'm serious about and want to marry? I mean… It's one thing to be proud of me - all aspects of me - but it's another matter altogether meeting the love of my life. And yes, I do dream of getting married and having kids."
"I think I'm going to need a whiskey to get through this discussion. Will you join me?"
"If you think you need one, then so do I."
"Is this about Kurt?" Michael asks as he pours an inch of whiskey into two glasses.
"Maybe. I don't know."
"Don't play coy with me, Blaine. I've been honest with you this entire holiday. The least you can do is be honest with me."
"Okay… Yes. At least, I hope it will be Kurt."
"You probably won't agree with me, but I know you very well. Your mother's been showing me the photos of you and Kurt on the Internet this past year. One thing I know for certain is that you're in love with Kurt. It's written all over your face. I also might have heard that conversation with your mother a few days before Christmas – after you saw Kurt at a Lima coffee house. I know that this Kurt is someone special in your life."
"I want him to be."
"To answer your question, I'd be fine with it if you brought home somebody. Knowing that you were settled and happy with someone would mean a lot to me. I would look closely to make sure he's the man you deserve… that he…err…loves you back. It might be a little awkward at first, because I'm not used to seeing two men together, but I'll get used to it over time. I'll really try for you. But Blaine, never ever put on a performance with someone in my house like I saw in that video."
Michael pauses when he sees Blaine blushing, then adds, "Far too many feathers for my liking."
Blaine almost chokes at the last remark. Does his father really have a sense of humor? Before he can say anything, his father continues to speak.
"You and me – we're more alike than you think. We Anderson men never do anything half-hearted. When we meet that someone special, we fall in love deeply and passionately. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. The other day, I heard your mother encouraging you to date other men. My advice to you is… Don't do it."
"What?! You want me to stay single all my life? You just said that you were okay with me bringing home a man!"
"I don't want you to bring home any man, Blaine. I want you to bring home Kurt. If you really love him, go after him, Blaine. Talk with him, beg him, do anything you have to do to win him over."
Michael looks in the distance and starts chuckling, getting louder with each passing second.
"What's so funny, Dad?"
"There was a time when your mother and I had a rough patch at the beginning of our senior year. She wanted nothing more to do with me, but I wanted her so desperately. I actually serenaded her in the outdoor commons area to win her back."
Oh. My. God! Is that where I get it from?!
"You've got to be kidding me. I can't imagine it!"
"Well, imagine this… One lunchtime, I borrowed my friend's boom box and sang 'Maybe I'm Amazed' to your mother in front of her friends and most of the student body. I think I won her over when I jumped onto the ledge of the fountain and then slid on my knees towards her at the end of the song."
"So what happened after that?"
"Cooper."
Baby, I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time,
And maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you.
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you pulled me out of time,
You hung me on the line.
Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you.
Blaine is in his bedroom, listening to the classic Paul McCartney song. The words that his father sang to his mother all those years ago resonate with him as well. He scrolls through his photos of him and Kurt on his phone – not the ones taken by the paparazzi, but those taken when they were at the Brooklyn Flea Market, Central Park, Governor Island, and at home. His father was right. It's painfully obvious that he's been in love with Kurt from the start. Although he's looked at the photos thousands of times before, he sees something different now.
He's always thought that Kurt's blushing and sweet smiles are endearing - part of his nature. But maybe they are only on Kurt's face for Blaine. Kurt looks at him as if he's the single best thing in the world. Kurt looks as if he's in love. I've been an idiot! It's been staring me in face all this time. I wasn't brave enough to believe it.
Baby, I'm a man, maybe I'm a lonely man
Who's in the middle of something
That he doesn't really understand.
Tomorrow is January 1st, and a time for new beginnings. For once in his life, Blaine sees things very clearly and knows what he needs to do.
Blaine stomps the snow off his boots when he steps onto the front porch. He's glad to see the pick-up truck in the driveway because it's a sign that somebody's home. After ringing the doorbell, the door slowly opens.
"Blaine! I wasn't expecting you. Come inside. It looks like there's another storm brewing."
Blaine enters the Hummel house and takes off his boots and pea jacket. He looks around the main room and is disappointed when he doesn't see anybody else. "Is Kurt here?"
"Sorry, you just missed him. I dropped him off at the airport a couple of hours ago," Burt replies.
Blaine closes his eyes and sighs deeply. He'd thought that this was going to be the perfect day. He had it all planned. "I guess I'll catch up with him next week when we're both in New York."
"Kurt won't be in New York next week. He's moving to Paris."
Blaine feels as if the wind has been knocked out of him. "Paris!?"
"Come have a seat, Blaine. I'll tell you all about it."
Burt goes to the kitchen to grab two beers and joins Blaine in the living room. Burt explains how Kurt had felt working at Elle and why it had been necessary for him to break the contract. With no specific plans for the future, Kurt had decided to combine his modeling work with travel.
"Kurt could have always come back to Vogue. I would have hired him in a heartbeat," Blaine insists.
"I don't think he could, Blaine."
"Does this have to do with me? Did Kurt feel like he had to leave the country to get away from me? Is he that angry at me?" Blaine asks with a trembling voice. He can barely contain the tears that are welling up in his eyes.
"It's nothing like that. He's not mad at you. It actually has nothing to do with you," Burt replies. "Kurt is 19 years old and is trying to figure out what path to take in life. It seems as if it was only yesterday that Kurt had grand plans to attend NYADA and become a star on Broadway. You've shown him that there are other options available. Kurt needs to work out how his modeling career fits into the newer version of himself."
"But I like any version of Kurt. Why can't I be there for Kurt while he's going through this?" Blaine asks, placing his head in the palms of his hands. "I love him. I'd marry him tomorrow if he'd have me. And now I've lost him forever."
Burt sighs and looks at Blaine for a long moment. Finally, he says, "I know my son very well, and he looks at you as if you're the most precious person in the world. Kurt is still young. If you're meant to be together, you'll find your way back to each other. Everything will work out the way it should be in the end."
"But how do you know?" Blaine retorts.
"Because that's life. You need to relax, Blaine, and not force it. Kurt won't be in Paris forever. He'll make his way to you when the time is right. Can that be enough for now?"
Blaine nods slowly, because it will have to be enough for now.
Burt gets up from his recliner and looks out the window. "Blaine, you're staying here tonight. The storm has started and I'm not comfortable with you driving back to Westerville in this weather. How about you change into something of Kurt's and we watch a Buckeyes game on TV? We're in luck - they're playing in Arizona today."
Blaine goes upstairs to Kurt's room and changes into a pair of sweatpants and a McKinley hoodie. Kurt's clothes feel strangely comforting to Blaine, as if Kurt is wrapped around him. He texts his mother that he's spending the night in Lima before heading downstairs to join Burt once again in the living room. Blaine hopes that Burt is right and everything will work out in the end.
It just has to.
Author's note
Song used in the chapter - 'Maybe I'm Amazed' by Paul McCartney
Happy New Year everyone!
So, there you have it – my version of Blaine's father. For more thoughts about Blaine's father and other things in this chapter, head to the story's master post on Tumblr (HKVoyage) and check out the author thoughts section.
Thank you to Lilyvandersteen, the most fabulous beta ever, although all mistakes are mine.
Next up: Kurt in Paris.
