SiCela EstNoël
AnniKay

Sam/Mercedes/Puck

Disclaimer: I own Nothing…Murphy, Falchuk, and Brennen along with Fox and others own this fandom and all the characters there in…Anything you recognize obviously belongs to them

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Thank all of you for being avid readers & reviewers of my stories

Special thanks to Isis Aurora Tomoe who is my current Beta rock star
If there are any problems in the Azimio section, it's all on me. Isis didn't have a chance to look it over as I just wrote it today. If you see any mistakes, please let me know.
Summary: Winter Break for the College Sophomores of the Learning French Series.
A time to reconnect with family and friends.

The Snow's Gotta Go

Kurt PoV

I was starting to feel far older than my actual age. I really did love my life. Things were perfect between Blaine and I. My schooling was going well. My third semester at NYADA ended with me having earned a three point seven five, a fact I was very proud of. I hadn't been invited to do the Winter Showcase, but I had been assured that it was because they wanted me for the Spring Showcase that year instead. My grades at FIT were even better. And the truth was that I was enjoying my classes at the Fashion Institute far more than I was at the academy for the dramatic arts. In fact, the more I worked with Mercedes and the guys the more I found myself wanting to concentrate more fully on fashion and leave the dreams of Broadway to the wayside. I was just so tired of feeling so tired so much of the time. I was very happy to go home to Lima so I could discuss those leanings with Carole and my father. Of course, the conversation with the parents would have to wait. As we'd done the year before, the first night that I was home, Finn and I had to have a nice little chat. We got together some snacks and large bottles of water, and I made my famous hot chocolate. I heard all about his and Vince's shopping excursion, and how Finn was feeling about his schooling and his relationships with both Lauren and Vince. He was really excited about the gift that he and Lauren had gotten for Vince. To be honest, it was a perfect Christmas gift…I was ecstatic for Vince and his sister.

Of course, as soon as Finn asked me about school, my conundrum spewed forth as if it had a life of its own. As soon as I laid all my feelings out on the table, Finn asked me a deeply insightful and ridiculously simple yet painfully complex question. "Why are you going to NYADA?"

"I…I…Well I mean, I auditioned and I got in. It's a very prestigious school. It was an amazing opportunity." I explained.

Finn just nodded. "Then why are you going to FIT?"

I may have waxed poetic about fashion and design and reiterated for the million and third time how much I'd loved experimenting with interior design and with styling Mercedes and her guys. "GaGa Finn, finding the perfect dress for Cedes or having the bloggers mention how awesome a pair of sneakers I found for Sam looked as they were going to an event…there is just nothing better."

"Then why are you still going to NYADA. It sounds like you know what you want to do and if you quit NYADA and concentrated just on FIT wouldn't that make you happier and, I don't know, get you to where you want to be faster?" he asked me in that inimitable confusion that he often held.

I shrugged. "I fought really hard to get into NYADA. I beat Rachel out for that spot. It was one of the best moments of my life."

Finn rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but didn't you just say that your passion has always been and will always continue to be fashion. So why would you not just concentrate on making your passion come to life rather than dividing your time and energy and attention just to, what? Make Rachel miserable? How is that a good thing? I mean, it's kind of something Rachel would do."

I groaned. "Oh Gaga…it really is something that that Rachel Berry would do."

"So, tomorrow…over brunch with Mom and Burt, talk it through with them. I remember that NYADA had their conservatory program that would let you graduate in two years…can you finish that up with your next semester?"

I had to think about that. The way the performing arts program I was in was designed, we basically were put through the same intensive program as the conservatory students…we just had two full years of further honing in our acting, dance and -slash- or singing as needed. That would allow me to take classes in interior design and even men's wear and…in moments I was truly enraptured in the ideas of all the ways that I could reorganize my time and still finish FIT in twenty seventeen as planned with three bachelor degrees rather than the one and if things worked out like Mercedes and I had planned years before any of this had even begun to come to fruition…I really could have my own fashion line by the time I was thirty.

When I shared that with Finn he smiled and reached over and mussed my hair. "You should totally do it. You look tons happier talking about that than you did when you were thinking about NYADA."

I couldn't even argue the point. For the rest of the evening, I tabled the thoughts of my schooling while Finn and I caught up on our individual goings on. He promised that he would make sure that I was present when he went shopping for Lauren's actual engagement ring. I showed him what I had finally decided upon for one of Blaine's Christmas gift. We talked about the classes he was scheduled to take next semester and how he'd finally found a good balance between his Sims addiction and making time for things like homework and projects. I explained to him how proud I was of how well he was doing in school. The fact that he hadn't given up on schooling after the car wreck was truly inspirational. To me, it showed that he had matured and settled and really understood the difference between making a future and just moving through life.

The next morning, I slept in a little late as I'd stayed up quite a bit later than I was used to doing. However, I was still able to pull together a nice brunch for my parents. It was something of a tradition for us to do this the first morning after I returned to Lima. It was a nice way for us to reconnect and me to bring them up to speed on what was happening in my world even as I learned all the new things in theirs. I made several nice choices for both breakfast and lunch. A small tureen of butternut squash, apple and pear soup sat alongside roasted pear and chocolate scones. I made heart healthy French toast and a low fat frittata with smoked salmon and scallions. I also tried a new recipe for cocoa-espresso waffles and a nice, simple, vanilla maple syrup to go with them. As soon as I was finished arranging the food in a very pleasing display on the table, I called Dad and Carole into brunch. We sat down and made some small talk as we served ourselves. Then Dad started telling me about the new venture that the parent's corporation had underway. "By Valentine's Day, we'll have a second location…open. It's going to lean towards the imported cars and leave our regulars coming to the location they know best. I'll spend three days a week at each and have both closed on Sundays. But the best part is that since the old shop is paid off and I won't have rent or anything at the new shop, plus we get a portion of the rent for all the other stores at the complex, I can afford to hire managers for each shop who'll have to do all the paperwork, and I'll be able to just work on the cars." He said ridiculously happily.

I knew that was a very big deal for my father. He'd had to take time off from the shop when he'd been battling Sue Sylvester for the state representative seat. Thankfully that had only been a two-year term and he hadn't run again. It was not something he'd enjoyed and while he had fought hard for his constituency, the fact that he wasn't one to play politics had made sure the rest of the state house happy to see the back of him too. I told him how happy I was for him. "How many mechanics will you need to hire? Where do you even go to find them?"

"Oh…that's the best part. Since all the guys at the current shop are ASE certified to handle both domestics and imports, they'll be mentors and help me to train the new guys. I've already, technically, hired five guys and a young lady who just graduated from OTC in Cleveland. They are more than happy to move to Lima in the next month or two. Within a year or two they will be fully trained up and will be able to move on, or stay as they want. Best of all, what they will make here is comparable to what they'd make in Cleveland, but the cost of living is a lot lower. Plus, they will have benefits and that's almost unheard of outside the major franchises." Dad explained with a small grin.

"Wow, Dad…that's great." I said honestly. "I know how much you like getting new mechanics trained right. Remember that guy you hired who had been trained to claim to do oil changes and not really do them so they got paid without really doing anything?" I murmured.

Dad nodded. "Ended up getting his previous employer certification revoked and his shop closed. Still can't believe that he was actually doing that shit." He grumbled. "Anyway…Carole has some good news too."

I looked over at my beaming stepmother. She had really filled a void without trying, in any even imagined way, to replace my mother in my heart. A large part of that was that, while Carole shared a great many of the best traits I remembered in my Mom, they were two very different women. "I've been offered a promotion to charge nurse of the Maternity floor. It would really only be a slight raise, but I would have much better hours and a more normal schedule."

"Oh wow, you and Dad could, conceivably, work things so that you're both off on Sundays." I said happily.

She nodded and smiled. "Best of all, I'll actually be able to take a real vacation rather than two or three days here and there. Well, once I pay everyone back who covered for me while Finn was in his coma." Her voice still hitched at the thought of the fact that we'd come very close to losing my brother and her son. "It may take me some time...but Burt and I are hopeful that we can visit you in New York and maybe even go and see one of KAMA's concerts in someplace cool like Florida or California next summer."

"I know that Blaine, Cedes, Sam and Puck would all love that and I would love it if you could visit the brownstone. You could see how homey we've managed to make it once we got all settled in." I was filled with joy, which tended to make me babble away like Sam and I shared some close familial connection. I told them all about the conundrum I was facing when it came to continuing the duel education path I currently trod.

Carole gave me a wide smile. "Kurt, you love fashion. The first thing you did the day we met was give me a mini-makeover. Yes, you are an amazing singer. You would be perfect in many ways on the 'Great White Way'…but you absolutely, positively, totally and completely love fashion. It is at the very heart of who you are. If you believe that you can finish NYADA on your terms, without dropping out, because that could hurt you in the future, then do so and focus on the course load that makes you happiest."

Dad was even more forthright. "Until you got all wrapped up in that Berry girl, all you wanted to do with your life was to live in the fashion world. Yeah, you loved to since and you've always been great at it, but you dreamed about going to FIT. You wanted to study fashion and business and have your own fashion house by the time you were thirty. It wasn't until after you went to Dalton that suddenly everything was different and you wanted to go to a performing arts school and then onto Broadway. Well, now, you've been doing both for two years but I can't tell you much at all about what you're learning at NYADA. But I know more about textiles and color wheels than a hetero-normative man my age has any right to. Over the summer, you came alive as you were studying the ins and outs of pattern and fabric mixing in designing the office spaces. You sounded happier than you had in years. So if you want to wrap up your whole NYADA thing after this year and just concentrate on FIT, you have my blessing. You're already making a damn good living at it working with Lil MeDe, Puck and Sam, so go for it."

There was such a large weight off my shoulders hearing that. for the rest of our brunch, even after we were joined by Finn, I couldn't contain my happiness. I shared with them my most exciting news it had been very hard to keep it to myself the night before and even more so that morning. I took a deep, cleansing breath and started my story. "So now that I have all three of you in one place, I have some very important news to share." I slipped my left hand into the pocket of my silk robe and felt the thick band of platinum. It took me very little time at all, even working with my left hand as I was, to have it resting where it belonged around the base of the third finger. Pulling it out, I turned my hand towards my family, "Blaine and I got engaged!"

Carole's squeal of delight filled the room. Dad just looked proud and almost as if he'd already known and expected the announcement. Finn's laughter was boisterous and happy. I felt truly at peace knowing that my family was as happy about my announcement as I was. "Tell me everything. Did he take you somewhere nice?"

I kind of expected Dad and Finn to congratulate me and head out, but they were just as interested as Carole. So I settled in and told them everything. "Well, you know how Blaine and I had agreed to keep our standing Saturday night dates even during the exam week…just for stress relief." Finn nodded while Dad and Carole looked like they thought it had been a smart decision. "Well, I'd been expecting one of our usual dates. And despite his parent's wealth, Blaine happens to be the king of reasonable dates. I mean, half the time we only spend subway fare but I never feel like we'd not had a blast and we weren't the kings of New York."

"That's because Blaine was raised right." Dad interjected with a knowing grin.

"True." I replied as I thought back to the previous Saturday night.

Blaine had shocked me by telling me to go all out when I got dressed. Usually he subtly tried to get me to keep things a little understated. Of course that rather large deviation from the norm told me that we were going to have an atypical date. So I followed his instructions and decided to definitely put my best foot forward. A charcoal Givenchy extra trim fit textured wool suit had been my gift to myself for my birthday so I paired that with an amazing Alexander McQueen McQ screen printed dress shirt, black, McQueen oversized sole bluchers and my mounted hippo head brooch. I used my carmine red and white silk cravat to add some color to my outfit and keep me ready for anything. The evening was quite cold so I pulled on my Burberry for Barney's wool blend, hooded, duffle coat…it was navy, which I would have preferred that it had been black or charcoal…but it happened to be the only dark, formal, coat I owned at that moment. So, it would just have to do. I was all ready by seven ten, which was only ten minutes after our scheduled seven o'clock departure time.

Blaine had gotten ready in Artie, Santana and Brittany's guest room. He looked so mature and sexy in his custom Brooks Brothers Madison fit, Golden Fleece suit. Amazingly enough, he'd left off the plaid and suspenders and bow tie, instead he'd paired it with a bright white dress shirt and a silk tie that was small white dots on a field of burgundy silk. He'd done something different with his hair as well; finding a happy medium between allowing his curls their freedom as he often did at home, and I honestly preferred, and the usual helmet he forced them into with gel and products. He had no idea how happy that made me. The night started off with a cab ride down to the south side of the island. From there we took a night cruise that took us around the harbor and showed us the beauty of Governor's Island, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty at night. When we were all the way out, gazing back at the Manhattan skyline, Blaine took my hand and got down on one knee. "Kurt Elizabeth Hummel…my life was changed the very first time you infiltrated the Warbler's meeting room. My heart was yours when you showed that you didn't care a whit for what other people thought and you made us all weep for a tiny little songbird. I can't even begin to think about when I first looked into your eyes and saw my future. But I know that no matter what this world, this life may throw at me…I can face it all with you at my side. Will you make me the happiest man on earth and agree to become my husband?" he was holding out a black velvet box and nestled inside was my ring. It was perfect. A nice strong, wide but rounded platinum band with a channel set center diamond of roughly one carat. It was round cut and had a glow to it such was the clarity.

I almost couldn't speak. I was filled with a joy stronger than any I'd ever before known. For a moment, all I could do was nod. Then it was as if a dam broke and I was shouting out yes as if my life depended on it. Blaine stood and moved the ring from its black velvet nest onto my finger and we shared a kiss that was sweet and gentle and yet held more love than anyone probably had any right to experience. As we kissed, several people…who I had assumed were just fellow passengers on the cruise stood and started to sing the Gene Kelly classic "You Were Meant for Me" from "Singin' in the Rain". Then there was champagne and songs and love and it was just beautiful. I could have dragged him home right then to celebrate, but when we got back on dry land we were whisked away to Le Grenouille for dinner. The restaurant was everything I'd imagined it to be. The maître d' led us straight through the front room of VIPs, I saw fashion maven Andre Leon Talley holding court in a blue and white, Isabel Toledo cape and buckled shoes and we were seated immediately at an intimate little table for two. It smelled wonderful. Even though it was the middle of December there were lilies and cherry blossoms streaming out of huge vases as part of the décor.

Dinner was superb. As soon as we were seated, Blaine ordered a magnum of Pommery Cuvee Louise Brut champagne from 2002. A fact I totally withheld from my parents. He also suggested that we each order for the other…which for some strange reason really tickled my fancy. I immediately bypassed the pike quenelles in Champagne sauce with caviar, oxtails braised in red Burgundy, mustardy veal kidney flambéed in Cognac, soufflés, and floating islands and chose the La Bisque de Homard for Blaine. One of the first things I learned about him was that the only hot soup he really liked was lobster bisque…seeing it on the menu was fortuitous. The smile he gave me let me know that I'd made the right choice. As did he. Blaine ordered me the La Crab Cake Grenouille, which were sumptuous jumbo lump crab cakes with lemon caper sauce. Our 'service captain' was efficient but personable and affable. He quickly realized our reason for celebration and congratulated us with a sincere smile.

As we celebrated our happiness, we chatted and I couldn't take my eyes off my ring. "What do you have planned for tomorrow?" I asked suddenly.

"I'm finishing up the edits to my sociology paper. It has to be emailed to my professor by midnight tomorrow night." He reminded me.

I nodded. That would be perfect. It would give me time to go and see if I could find him a proper engagement ring too. We were completely equal in all things. He deserved a ring to show off as well. But I tabled that thought until later and focused on having dinner with my fiancé to celebrate our engagement. By the time we were selecting the next course…we may have been getting a little bit tipsy. I know that I was anyway. I very happily ordered my fiancé the Noix de St Jacques, puree de Truffles accompanies by fondue du Poreaux…or the seared scallops topped with Truffle puree, and accompanied by veal xeres vinegar reduction. His selection of the homard rotie, tombee et fenouil avec suc d'Agrumes for me was the most decadent thing I'd ever eaten. The seared lobster was sweet. The compote of Fennel was delightfully amazing and the citrus spice reduction tied the two together nicely. We even had dessert, though that was probably less to do with needing any more to eat than it did with wanting the evening to never end…and allowing ourselves some more time to work the champagne out of our systems. The soufflé espresso…no translation needed…was exactly what the doctor ordered. I'm sure that Blaine's tartlette aux fraises avec sorbet aux fruits rouge, or strawberry tart with red fruit sorbet, had the same benefit without all the caffeine, but it was certainly delicious.

We took a cab home, making out very little in the back seat as the driver took us from Midtown to Harlem. When we got home, we tipped a little excessively and quickly made our way inside and up to our suite of rooms. What followed was five and a half hours of building and exploding passion. I awoke in the early afternoon alone in the mess that we'd made of our bed. I heard the shower running and realized that Blaine had tried to let me sleep in since I had completed all my NYADA projects and only had two exams at FIT to prepare for. I slipped out of bed and joined my fiancé in the shower…loving the very thought of calling him my fiancé. After a long hot shower together, Blaine threw on some lounging clothes and got to work on his essay. I got dressed to do a little shopping and threw our bedding in the wash since Bautista and Patrick were already off for the holidays. Once I'd remade the bed with new linens, I kissed Blaine on the head and texted Mercedes. Thank Gaga that my trio of friends had flown back so early they were actually home before I'd even woken up. I, of course, swore her to secrecy. And she was such a good friend that her fiancés-slash-hubbies even thought that we were going to look for something for her to wear to the Golden Globes. Though Ruth and I had that all figured out.

I showed her my new accessory…the only one I would never remove…and she squealed in appreciation and shared happiness. "So what is your budget?"

I had to think a minute. Since she, Sam and Noah had forced me to take the position as their junior stylist in a more official manner, I had far more resources than I would normally have had. I quickly calculated what I'd gained in my holiday bonus and decided to go all in. "Up to eighty-five hundred dollars."

Cedes smiled wickedly. "That's a whole lot of love." She teased. I was fairly certain that it wouldn't even pay for the diamond in my ring…but it was what I could afford. I think she must have read my mind…how deep was our friendship that she could do so. "You know, I've got your back if you find something outside that, right?"

I kind of shrugged. "Yes, I know…but it wouldn't mean as much, you know?"

"I can definitely understand your point of view mon ami. Just saying…the offer is on the table."

"And it is much appreciated." I told her honestly.

As we went on our grand excursion though…it was pretty soon apparent that there just weren't all that many places that carried suitable rings for men who were getting engaged. We checked out Tiffany and while they had several lovely wedding bands for men…nothing they had really worked for an engagement ring. Then we hit Neiman Marcus and they didn't have anything that worked either. Same story at Nordstroms, Barneys, Saks. We went into Graff and I saw more than one really nice ring, but the cheapest of them cost about three times my budget. Mercedes did see a great piece she was considering getting for herself…but it was definitely something Oscar or Grammy worthy so it could wait. Finally, we hailed a cab and in desperation we asked him to take us somewhere I could find a great ring for my fiancé Blaine. The guy looked to be very much of middle eastern decent and for a minute, I was a little worried that I was going to end up stoned to death…but he just smiled and said he knew just the place.

He drove us out of Manhattan and into Brooklyn to the Williamsburg section of the borough. "My daughter…she works for a jewelry maker. Not some little hole in the wall…looks hand crafted jewelry maker but a real, honest to goodness jeweler. Though the store is a hole in the wall. He will have something for you." He told us determinedly. When we got there he parked and took us to a door with a buzzer and intercom. When a female voice answered his buzz, he smiled and conversed with the woman in Farsi or Bengali or something.

For the first time, I realized that we had done a ridiculously stupid thing. I may have started to get worried about our idiocy to the point of hyperventilation but then Mercedes reached over and grabbed my hand. She gave me a hard look and kind of jiggled the hand holding mine. I felt the bracelet she couldn't remove and instant calm descended. When she nodded back towards the street and I saw a black Jeep Grand Cherokee, I relaxed even further. At some point she must have notified her security that we were going out of the way. Then I realized that she had probably let them know before we'd even left the brownstone and they had been unobtrusively following us and ensuring our privacy as we shopped. Relieved, I headed into that small little shop with a renewed sense of hope.

Inside we met our Ranjit, our cabbie's, daughter Tahmima who introduced us to her boss, Abharan. He was the shortest man I had ever met. He was barely taller than Mercedes and she was in flats. Tahmima had to translate for us because Abharan only spoke Tibetic. She helped us make known to him what we were looking for and I showed him the ring that Blaine had gifted me with. There was a long stream of Tibetic from Abharan. Only for Tahmima to ask us for Blaine's ring size. When I told them that he wore a nine and quarter, Abharan disappeared into the back, far faster than one would have expected for such a wizened old man. Tahmima gushed for a moment over Mercedes and by the time my bestie had given the happy young woman an autograph, Abharan had returned with a tray of rings.

There were several different styles of very masculine rings on the tray. A few were a little too close to the double edge channel look of mine so they were immediately out the running. I didn't want our rings to actually match. That would need to wait on our wedding bands. Ironically enough the next ones I set aside looked too much like wedding rings. Finally I had it narrowed down to three choices. All had rounded bands and squared or rectangular faces. The most daring was a nine jewel, signet look ring. I picked it up and saw that the diamonds were only a little bigger than chips. I was rocking a carat…no way was I getting Blaine chips. So that one was returned to the tray. Probably Abharan could change the stones…but I really wanted to go home with the ring that day. Finally, it came down to a choice between two very similar rings. The first of the rings that had three diamonds set in the rectangular face with more platinum showing at the edges and a thin canal all the way around the ring. The other had no canal and five diamonds in the rectangular front.

Ultimately, I chose the five diamond ring for the weirdest of reasons. Blaine's dream was for us to have or adopt three children. Okay, his original idea had been five, but I talked him down to three. So I picked the ring that most closely resembled our dreams for our future family. Then Abharan and Tahmima did the strangest thing. They closed the ring in between their hands and said something in a murmured language I didn't recognize…not that I would have but still…when they opened their hands I swear the platinum was shinier and the diamonds sparkled even more than they had before. Abharan looked at me and said the first thing he'd said in English since we'd arrived. "Blessing."

"Oh, I don't believe in God." I returned in shock.

Abharan said something and Tahmima and Ranjit both laughed. Tahmima looked at me and said something that Mercedes and Mama Dani had been telling me for years. "Just because you do not believe in Her…doesn't mean that SHE doesn't believe in you."

Mercedes poked me in the side and gave me a look that clearly said 'I told you so'. But I just looked back at the wizened old man and said thank you and asked the price. When they told me that even after taxes it was under five thousand dollars, I was ready to kiss any deity they believed in. They affixed it in a red velvet nest in a beautiful wooden ring box. I paid them the ridiculously inexpensive amount, grateful that Tahmima had an iPhone and a square. She saw us and her father to the door and Ranjit took us back to the brownstone. I didn't just tip him…I literally gave him a hundred bucks above and beyond the usual fare and tip. I was that grateful for his hooking us up.

That evening after Cedes and I cooked dinner, the eight of us sat down and had a great time laughing and talking and listening to the crazy assignments we'd been dealing with. By the time dinner was finished, the table cleared and the kitchen cleaned, I was pretty ready to adjourn to our rooms. I had an exam at ten the next morning and wanted to review one more time before hand. Blaine stayed down in the family room going over some points from their shared economics class with Puck, so I had time to do a few things. First I took a nice shower and dressed in a pair of burgundy silk pajamas before gathering my notes from my fashion history class at the desk in our room. The last thing I did before settling in to study with some of the greatest songs that Broadway had produced in my lifetime, was to sit the pretty wooden box in the center of Blaine's pillow with a hand written copy of Maya Angelou's 'Touched by an Angel' that I'd painstakingly copied onto parchment paper as a calligraphy exercise months earlier and had liked it so much I'd kept it though I hadn't been sure why at the time.

I was fairly deep in the world of sixties haute couture when Blaine came up for the night. I tried to feign a complete lack of interest or attention as he grabbed a quick shower and ready himself for bed without ever having looked at the bed itself. Thankfully, I was able to suppress my giggles until he went into the shower. when he came out and gave me a quick kiss before grabbing his iPad to do a little last minute run through of his notes before his exams the next day. Of course then I almost gave up the game again when he threw himself into the arm chair that faced his side of the bed and his eyes finally happened to light on the shiny, light wood box on his pillow. "Kurt? What did you do?"

I laughed a little. "We've always said that we we're completely equal in this relationship. So I decided that we should both have engagement rings. I'm sorry if you feel like I glommed onto your idea…but I love you and I want the whole world to know that we belong to each other."

He opened the box and gasped. "It's gorgeous." I stood and crossed to take the ring from the velvet nest. I gently put it on his hand and found it to be a perfect fit. He gave me a wicked smile. "So…five diamonds?"

I nodded, "yup, one for each of us and one for each of our THREE future children." I stressed that there would only be three kids. He just laughed and pulled me down for a long deep kiss, which soon became us making slow passionate love. The next morning came early, but I was prepared.

"The exam period flew by and now here I am home for the holidays." I finished the story for my still listening family. Dad laughed at my summation and I decided to play a hunch. "But Dad, you already knew that Blaine had proposed didn't you?"

Burt Hummel was never a man to lie for no reason. He didn't in that instance either. "I knew that he was planning on it. He asked me for permission to do it when you guys were home over Thanksgiving. That kid is a good one. He is respectful and comes from good people…well his brother is a little shiftless, but every family has one of those." He joked. "I'm glad that you and Blaine found each other. I'm not going to lie and say I don't wonder at how young you both are, he more than you but me and Elizabeth weren't much older and neither was Carole and Finn's father. If you want your marriage to work, age ain't nothing but a number…the important thing is your willingness to do the work of being married. Never take each other for granted and if you go to bed angry, make sure that you don't do so two nights in a row."

Carole laughed merrily. "And never forget to have angry sex before you have your make up sex. It's the best part of having a fight."

"Mom!" Finn's shout almost drowned out my own shout of her name. We were both blushing as red as tomatoes.

The rest of the afternoon was family time. But we were given the night with our significant others. Blaine told me all about his parent's and Cooper's reactions to our news which included an invitation for me to join them for lunch the next day and for Burt, Finn and I to join Blaine, Will and Coop at their club on Christmas Eve as we had the year before. So that was what we did. In the time in between, I was in contact with several people hoping to get a new designer in front of Mercedes or those of our friends who were having some fashion emergency. There was the home finishing emergency that Mercedes, Sam and Puck sent out an 'all hands on deck' call for the New Directions and we, of course, answered. After the lunch that was just us men on Christmas Eve, we had dinner with the Zizes and the Andersons at the Zizes home. It was really awesome. We all exchanged some simple, but meaningful gifts. I decided to do something fun so I got everyone a pair of pajamas or a really nice night gown. It was a nice personal gift and everybody loved theirs. I was quite happy. I got quite the haul of personal grooming and skin care tools. They all knew me so well…then there was the surprise of Finn and Lauren's engagement. We had an amazing evening and really bonded as a future family.

On Christmas Day, it was just the four of us and we woke early to exchange our personal gifts. I'd gotten Dad a wicked cool, actual needle having record player. I knew that he still had his old vinyl records from his teens, and when I'd seen the record player in the store, I just knew that it would be exactly right for Dad. Carole got him a like super smart watch that tracked his heart rate and count his steps and everything…it was pretty cool. Finn got him a flashlight with, honestly like a million tools in the handle. Carole didn't get stiffed either. I bit the proverbial bullet and got her a set of those slaps in the face of fashion that she loved called Vera Bradley bags. I also got her a cute kate spade NY crossbody purse just to make myself feel better. Finn got her a connectable crock pot three piece set that she seemed very happy about, though Dad had always told me that getting a woman a kitchen appliance for a gift was asking for a slow, painful death. But maybe Carole really did want the crock pots. Dad gave her a really pretty antique silver or white gold locket that had a picture of the two of them on one side and me and Finn together on the other. She squealed so loud my ears kind of hurt. But I loved how happy she was. Dinner was awesome. Carole had barred me from helping so there were a few new dishes and a few of my favorites that she remade with her own flair.

The next morning, Dad and I drove to Ann Arbor and had breakfast with my uncle and his children. His hag of an ex-wife had had them the day before so it was a little awkward until we undid all her stupidity. I gave each of them the autographed KAMA debut and Christmas CDs that I'd brought for them and they were all ridiculously happy. I told my uncle about the decision I'd reached when it came to NYADA and FIT and he just laughed. "Kurt, I knew this would happen…its why I offered to pay for FIT not the performing arts school. You've been interested in design and fashion since you were three years old. Yes, you love music. Yes, you love theatre…but you live and breathe fashion. I'm very happy that you're going to do what you love. I want to honor my sister's memory and the amazing little boy she gave the world by helping you do it."

I was more than a little grateful and told him so. Dad just clapped him on shoulder. "I've missed the real you, Nicholas."

"Glad to be back to myself, Burt." He returned with a smile. His kids seemed happier with their father too. It was great to see too.

We made it back to Lima just in time to meet Carole and Finn at the house and head to the New Directions pot luck. I had a great time talking with Unique. She wasn't just counting down the days until college, she was also counting down the days until her gender reassignment surgery too. They were each individually one of those life changing events that were both awesome and as frightening as anything any one could ever face. And she was undertaking them at the same damn time. I knew that as her spiritual, quasi-father, I would have to make more time to support her during these times of such monumental upheaval and change. I checked around and I saw that Santana, Brittany and Artie, as well as Tina and Mike have joined Blaine and I and Finn and Lauren in becoming engaged. I was beyond happy for everyone. I had to give it to the threesome for the rings…all three were perfectly matched for their people. I mean, materialistic Santana got one hell of a rock. Pretty, happy Brittany's ring was pretty and happy and perfect for her. Artie's ring was decidedly masculine but had the double milgrain ropes around it to symbolize his women. Okay, so I had a little more love for my and Blaine's rings…but Santana and Brittany's were completely perfect. Tina's and Lauren's were lovely too. We were all very blessed in our love lives.

It was a great holiday but on Saturday we had to return to the real world. Well, technically, we probably could have stayed in Lima for a few more days, since Blaine and I didn't specifically have to be there when KAMA got back to work, but we'd been sleeping apart for two weeks. Being back in our own room, in our own bed was a wonderful feeling. We had a really nice weekend making love to exhaustion every night and spending our days wandering the island while all of our roommates worked. On Monday, Blaine and I did some deep cleaning and then we headed over to Bubbie Ruth's and played with Nikki while Ruth and I went over the two looks for Mercedes and the guys for the People's Choice and the Golden Globes red carpets. We called Harry Winston's LA location and went over the jewels we'd be renting for the events including their delivery and pick up schedules. She would be taking the Graff jewels with her, under Rangeman guard. Those would be picked up the Monday before they left for California. Mr. Westwood was doing her makeup once again and Ms. Briggs had suggested a longtime friend of hers who owned her own salon. After checking through all the available social media and review sites to make sure the woman's salon and techniques were up to par, Hudson had contacted O My Hair Studio and arranged a young lady named Catrina Moore-Williams to handle Mercedes' hair for both events. Ms. Briggs also suggested a woman who owned a 'men's grooming lodge' named Dani Balestrini to handle Sam and Puck's hair too. Well, mainly Sam's, Puck didn't really have much in the way of stylable hair. We'd worked out hair styles for each outfit for each front member of the band. It was actually rather easy since it was only three people, each of whom we knew very, very well.

Tuesday, Blaine and I took the time to make sure that we had everything we needed for the beginnings of classes. It didn't really take us much time. But it was fun to explore the city while we replaced worn out clothing and updated my accessories or whatever we happened to decide need to be done. When we got home, I made butternut squash risotto, broccoli and some roasted turkey breasts for dinner for the visiting NDs and Netta, Blaine, Artie, Tana, Brits and myself. thankfully I made a little extra since Jon and Jami both returned to empty apartments and came searching for company. Earlier that day, I was able to call and make an appointment with my advisor for the Thursday before classes started to make sure that I had taken every class I needed transfer to the conservatory program and graduate at the end of the semester. I told Jami of my decision. She had really been a great mentor to me, almost a big sister in a strange sort of way.

Like my uncle, and brother and father and stepmother…Jami was unsurprised. "Kurt, you are a great contra-tenor, your range is without compare. You have a blast whenever you perform…but your heart and soul are all about fashion. Even at NYADA, you are the go to for costuming advice for students and teachers alike. You have a talent on the stage, but it just doesn't hold a candle to what you can do with s dress and a few accessories."

"Oh hush," I replied happily blushing as red as an apple.

Santana, of course, found my reaction hilarious and spent the rest of dinner teasing me about it. The rest of us delighted in talking about our plans for New Years and getting everything ready for the coming semester. It was a really nice end to the day. Well, it was after making love with my fiancé. The next morning was officially the end of 2014 and it was a very, very busy day. We woke to the same rather joyously crowded house the next morning and made a nice, light, healthy breakfast before the ladies and I all made our way to Faina Spa. Mercedes was a goddess. She'd arranged, probably through Hudson, for every one of us to have the 'Spa Pampering' package which lasted a total of three and a half hours with an additional thirty minutes dedicated to mani-pedis. We were all treated to the Body Polish which was a full body exfoliation of dead skin cells with lavender, sea salt, or vanilla sugar scrubs. The polish was then followed by a fifty-minute aromatherapy full body massage. A Relaxing Massage enhanced by benefits of aromatherapy oils. I absolutely loved the luxurious facial. It was touted as being a relaxing and rejuvenating face and neck massage followed by aromatherapy steam, extraction, and two hydrating masks. While we relaxed with the masks, they applied an herbal eye pack and neck ease pillow to soothe any strained muscles that managed to survive the massage. Then we had the hand and foot treatment where our hands and feet were first 'soaked' in lavender and peach essential oil infused paraffin then massaged with oils and wrapped in hot mittens and socks, which left all our hands and feet soft and supple. Once that was done every one could choose between the spa's European and French gel manicures. The ladies were also able to select from the spas' full array of waxing services. To top it off we were all treated with glasses of champagne and chocolate treats.

As soon as Santana finished giving Netta her warning…which I kind of agreed with so I didn't try and stop it…I took Vince's sister under my wing. After all, the sister of my brother's brother from another mother was something like a cousin once removed or whatever. Still, I felt protective of her, especially since Lauren was pretty helpless in the whole spa environment. So I took both of them under my proverbial wings and helped them pick out the services that they needed based on their outfits and accessories. I checked with Mercedes, even offering to pay for the extra services but she just told me to make sure that Netta had all the services she'd need to feel confident and glamorous as the rest of the crew. There was a reason I loved my bestie, she had such an amazing heart and a kind and generous spirit. With that knowledge in hand, I convinced Netta to get the full legs, chin, eyebrow shaping and Brazilian wax treatments. Lauren had had her legs done at some point earlier over the break…but she needed her eyebrows reshaped and in texting her mother, we may have arranged for her to have a Brazilian done too. When it was done, Lauren cursed me up one side and down the other, in a voice that was totally an octave higher than her usual speaking voice. I never even thought that women could have that happen. It was completely hilarious…even if I was a little too busy evading her fists to laugh at the time.

We had a few, tiny, miniscule really, things to get to complete a few 'looks' for the evening. So we headed to Macys and when we got back to the brownstone there was a flurry of activity as everyone either did their hair and makeup or traded their services with someone else to get hair and makeup handled and got dressed up for a night on the town. For a night of dancing, I started my outfit selection with the shoes. I decided on a pair of, broken in to the point of bring ridiculously comfortable, though they still looked reasonably new, Harris, dark grey, burnished leather monk strap shoes with a completely unembellished and plain toe. The club had a 'no jeans' rule and while Lil Wayne or Drake…or even Puck and Sam…may have been able to flout that rule, I knew it would apply to all of the rest of us. It took me a moment to decide up a pair of Alexander McQueen frayed trim trousers that were skinny fit and just dressy enough to walk the line between casual and club appropriate. I dressed it up a bit with a blue, Gucci tie-neck silk shirt and topped that with a Balmain, charcoal gray, sleeveless wrap coat. Once I did my rigorous going to a club facial moisturizing regimen, created a definitive, signature, Kurt Hummel, night on the town coif and donned my extremely on trend outfit, I was ready to go and I looked traffic stoppingly good.

Then again, so did Blaine. As he looked me over, before heading into his closet and bringing me out a dark gray, leather banded Tsovet watch, I gave him a very strategic look…it was not assessing how hot my fiancé was, it was simply checking to make sure that his ensemble, of navy, Tom Ford slacks with knife edge creases, a sexy, ice blue, Tom Ford, military style, button down shirt, a pair of dark brown, ridiculously hotly, efficient looking, brown Tom Ford wing tipped brogues. His belt matched his shoes precisely, while I'd gone for a lighter gray Gucci belt to break up the monotony of the dark gray from waist to feet. He'd done that thing with his hair where the curls were slightly less contained, but not even half way free. He looked really, really hot. I started to congratulate him on resisting the temptation of strange socks, or suspenders or a bow tie, but instead I just told him that he was handsome and headed into my closet and picked him out a silver, stainless steel, Burberry watch. Money clips were organized, cell phones removed from chargers, and they along with preferred lip balms put into the appropriate pockets and we were ready to go.

The drive was filled with talking and laughter and a serious amount of taunting and teasing. I was quite proud of how Netta's look had ultimately turned out. Her hair and makeup were really, done. She had done a great job on Lauren too. I took pictures of both of them and sent them to Finn and Vince since they couldn't be there. Damn football and their New Year's Day bowl games. It was easy to see why she felt beauty school would be a good fit for her. When Blaine and I stepped out of the huge limo, people lined up to entrance to the exclusive and expensive club thought that I was a model. I found myself quite flattered. Once we got in the doors, we were shown up to the VIP where Lil Wayne and Drake were already situated with their combined posses. They both seemed kind, and far less homophobic than I would have expected. Which was a good lesson in prejudice for me. Lil Wayne really liked the ladies of the crew, especially Tina, Tana and Brittany. But he was also very respectful of Mike and Artie.

Blaine and I were far more interested in dancing so we headed to the dance floor and stayed there. Mercedes and her guys joined us. The music was on point. I had some trouble understanding the lyrics to much of the hip-hop that was played, but the driving beats were strong enough that even a gay, white, boy from middle America could follow them. I learned about an old school genre of funk and rap called Go-Go that was so awesome, I wanted to live in the pocket of people like DJ Kool and Mambo Sauce and all the others they introduced me to that evening. They played a lot of Lil Wayne and Drake and KAMA and Two Chains and some older school Christina Aguilara…all together, Blaine and I danced until we just couldn't anymore. The drinks were high, but we still kept hydrated and just enjoyed ourselves immensely. At midnight there was Dom Perignon and deep, new year welcoming kisses. When we finally made it home, we took the Advil and water even though we didn't need it and made love until just before the sun crested the skyline.

After saying good bye to our friends on Friday morning, the rest of our break flew by. I had to take an extra class to finish NYADA with the Conservatory certification at the end of the spring semester. I spoke with my FIT advisor and found that if I took five classes every semester for two and a half years, I could graduate at the end of fall term twenty seventeen with all the degrees I was interested in. I was resolute to do so. Two thousand and fourteen had ended entirely different than it had begun…I wondered what two thousand and fifteen would have in store for all of us.

Azimio PoV

Looking back, I hadn't made a lot of great decisions before my senior year of high school. I hadn't used the intellect I'd been given…not really. I did just enough to get by. I wasn't dumb, per se. Mainly I was just lazy and would have rather been playing video games than taking the time to study. By the time I hit senior year I'd spent so much time being a bullying asshole, I had to do some serious work to actually graduate on time. I'd taken all the easy courses freshman and sophomore year, so I had to take a lot of real, requirement classes both semesters my senior year. One of the requirements I had to fill was an arts class. Choosing to swallow my pride and audition for the New Directions was one of the best choices I'd ever made. Thanks to that decision I had made some really, really good friend, other than just Dave who was the only real, true friend I had before that. thanks to studying and being more motivated I graduated with a decent B average. He'd started the year just a point or so above a C…and that was only because of the weighting of classes that I'd fond easy even if other people didn't, like AP French and AP Geography. Thanks to my choice to become a New Direction, I had my beautiful baby girl. Thanks to that decision, my Little Bird had the most boss ass godparents ever and I was really having a way better life experience than I ever would have had without their friendship.

I had to admit, I was proud of how I had turned my life around. I had a nice solid B plus GPS. I was loving my classes and I was happy as hell with my duel majors. I came home to my favorite girl every evening. Thanks to the awesomeness that was my cousin Rae, Robyn knew her colors and her numbers and could even identify some of her letters. I never would have believed that my favorite time of day would be reading my daughter her bed time story. Quite often, I read to her from La Belle et Le Bete, or another French story. Other times I'd read her Spanish children's books. Of course, I couldn't not read her things like Dr. Seuss and Curious George. The Spanish books helped me practice for my Spanish classes. I found that Spanish was fairly easy for me. Almost as easy as C++ and binary code.

I'd been a starting lineman on the team that fall. We had a new coach that year, Coach Pearl. He was as bad as Coach Beiste ever hopped or dreamed to be when it came to conditioning and nutrition. It had done wonders for my physique though. We weren't the best team in the conference, but we weren't the worst. I played almost every game. It was cool. With my grades going so strong, Coach Pearl said that I was eligible for two extra scholarships for my junior year. That was going to really help me out with my goal of not graduating with an ass load of debt. I was trying to figure out how I could make better money during the summers. But I could only work from halfway through May to the last week of August. That wasn't long enough to make a lot of money, and Little Bird's shit was getting more and more expensive.

She was growing really quickly. The arches in Robyn's feet weren't developing correctly, so she had to get special arch supporting Stride Rite shoes. Stride Rite baby shoes were expensive as hell on their own. I don't know what I would have done if Mom hadn't mentioned it to Sister Danica at church one Sunday. Next thing I knew, my baby girl had three pairs of hundred dollar shoes that I didn't buy. I'd gotten her a pair of simple white tennis shoes that had the orthopedic insert she needed. But apparently, little girls can't wear plain white kicks with everything. Sister Jones got her a pair of black Mary Janes. Mercedes got her a pair of the cutest little denim looking T-Straps with pink suede flowers and a pair of baby Uggs. All three pairs had the inserts she needed. I felt blessed every day for the people who were in my life.

Everything was going so well that I was starting to feel a little bad because it seemed like in making me happy, life was kind of messing with some other people. Like Dave. I was getting my best friend back. Dave was transferring to Ohio University for the spring semester and there on. He would then play football for the Bobcats for his next two years. But while I was happy as hell about his coming back to Ohio, I knew that he had mixed feelings and his transfer wasn't exactly happening under the best of circumstances. The reason he was transferring was that he'd pretty much been iced out of Midwestern State when he'd stopped the quarterback of his team from basically raping a girl who had gotten drunk as fuck at a team party. The dude hadn't appreciated Dave's objections to his behavior…which hell yeah Dave objected, his dad had read him the riot act over the summer about how seriously important consent really was. When a quarterback hates you, you can pretty much wrap that shit up. Still things weren't all bad. Dave's new team was NCAA division one, so he was stepping up the division ranking. I was just happy that he would be two hours away rather than seventeen.

He and I were talking when he got home for Christmas. "Man, I'm not sad to be out of there. Texas is hot all the damn time. I mean, you know the shit that we have to do at football practice…now try to imagine doing all of that stuff in like a hundred degrees in the damn shade."

"That's how you finally dropped that mini-keg you used to have." I teased.

He gave me the side eye hard. "I know you aren't talking. You lost a whole person since graduation."

"Only if that person was an eight year old kid." I said defensively. "Naw, man…still you did the right thing. If those jackasses can't see that then fuck 'em. He don't even know but you probably saved his life. If he'd have slept with that chick and she woke up and screamed rape...it was Texas, you know her daddy probably owns a shot gun or twenty."

"Nope. I carried her ass back to her dorm. Her roommate said that her dad's the pastor at one of the biggest churches in the state. No way in hell would he have let that shit lie…and you know that he'd have set the hounds of hell after old boy." Dave said with a grin. "Actually, I think that happened anyway. Tatiana, the roommate, told the girl's dad what had almost happened and how I had helped her and basically got pushed out of the school for it. Well her dad is probably the only reason I didn't get blackballed from football. The head coach at Midwestern told me that I was never going to play ball again."

"Fuck that noise. You live to play ball." I said angrily. I played ball because it was my come up. I never wanted to be a pro. Dave dreamed of playing pro-ball. He had all our lives.

He just shrugged. "Dude, relax. It obviously didn't work. Granted, it helps that Pastor guy's best friend is the son of the coach at OU. But I'm in a better place than I was in Texas, I get Ohio weather. And I can see Little Bird more often."

We were having our usual Saturday park time where Little Bird got to play with her cousins on her mom's side and M'onique, Dave and I corralled all the little buggers and exhausted them before they went home with their grandmother when me and Dave got a text from Puckerman. "New Years in New York…that would be some serious shit."

"Hell yeah." Dave said with a grin I knew meant he was hoping he could find a hook up. As far as I knew he was still a gay virgin…but he was like the freaking gay make out king.

Before I could shoot back to accept, I got one from Mercedes telling me that even if I didn't come, Robyn was coming with her mom and the twins because she wanted to see her. She also sent me a link to the dress code for the club and a five hundred buck Macy's e-gift card with a note in the e-mail saying that me and Dave were not allowed to embarrass her. I showed it to Dave and he had gotten the same things minus the one about Little Bird. We started to think we were screwed though. But M'onique heard us freaking out and Monday she took us to Macys and got us straight. We were there forever, but I left there with a pair of charcoal Dockers, a blazer the same color, an ocean blue v-neck pullover and a pair of Guess hi-top sneakers that didn't look like they were sneakers. She looked me had me try on about fifteen different looks then she up and down five times in the outfit before she let me get it. Dave, his lucky ass was done after trying on two different suits. He ended up with a blue Sean John classic fit suit, a John Ashford men's long-sleeve herringbone shirt, and a pair of Florsheim jet chukka boots.

M'onique even made sure that we knew what we should take with us as far as socks and pocket squares and everything. She literally tutored us on proper club etiquette…which was good because my parents hadn't been inside a club since the late eighties-early nineties. I explained that there was no way we'd be trying to work a fake ID in New York. Mercedes would kill us both if we got caught and thrown out. Or worse, she'd have Lauren do it. The rest of the holiday was cool. Mom, Dad, Little Bird and I went down to Atlanta to have Christmas with the family. Rae and Robyn were really happy to see each other again after the two weeks we'd been in Lima. The family was even more happy to see us. It was cool seeing the family and all the gift cards they gave me and the cool toys they gave Little Bird were awesome.

We got back to Lima just in time to go to the New Direction family pot luck. Mom bought a couple of pies, because we had no food at all at home. So, we were actually really, really happy to have the dinner to go to. Granted, the second I walked in, my daughter was claimed by her godparents and her god-grandparents and I barely saw her for a while. It was cool though. I got to catch up with the guys and hear all the gossip and news from the crew that I didn't already know. Like I learned that half of the crew had gotten engaged over the holidays, that was cool for them. I looked over at Dave and Kevin and groaned. "These mofos are all engaged and I cannot get a damn date."

Dave chuckled. "Shit son, you try being gay in TEXAS. I've had a few drunken make out sessions with guys who were even more closeted than me, but dates, what are those?" he threw out to question as it was done in a Vine I'd sent him. Whenever we said those three words we did it in that same voice.

Kevin smiled. "Well, I've gotta admit I don't have any problem getting dates. Tall girls ask me out all the time. If I liked tall girls I'd be in love by now."

We laughed at his ire. "You know you're wrong for that shit, Kevin." I threw back.

The rest of the dinner was cool. There was singing and laughing and dancing and watching all the tiny little kids playing and laughing. It was great. The next few days were pretty full of getting everything together for the trip to New York. I decided to fork over the money to check Robyn's car seat to make sure I'd have it when I needed it. The trip itself was cool. All of us NDs who weren't already on the KAMA payroll were on the same flight, so when Robyn got a little cranky there were plenty of people to keep her entertained. Kurt had made us all dinner at their house. We were well fed and clean. I had washed Robyn and put her in her pjs and we were chilling around the place when Puck, Sam and Jones came home from their family thing. Mercedes grabbed my sleepy little girl from my lap and she had her guys dragged me and Dave into their study.

"You guys are good for Wednesday night, right?" Sam asked us as he snuck a kiss to Robyn's curls. She was out like a light nestled against Jones' boobs. Great napping spot if you could get it.

"Yeah, Evans, we're golden. Little Bird's grandmother helped us out." Dave explained.

"Good, that's good." Jones said pressing her own kisses to the sleeping baby.

Puck chuckled. "Look, we've gotta tell you two something that you cannot…I mean not even a hint at it...tell anyone outside the crew." As soon as we swore to keep whatever it was to ourselves, they told us about the tour they were going to be undertaking the following summer. "So, we're gonna need roadies, right? The pay is good but it isn't like super great, a little over thirteen thousand for the summer. But you don't have to spend any of it on lodging, and probably not a whole lot on food either. You two want in?"

"Shit yeah I want in." Dave said immediately. "The best summer job I ever found in Lima, I made less than five grand for the whole summer and the government ate up like a full third of that."

"You do know you should get most of that back when you file your tax return?" I pointed out.

Dave shrugged. "I didn't bother. I read somewhere that if you're not making much you don't really need to file."

"It's still a good idea." Jones pointed out.

There was some serious clowning for a few minutes at Dave letting that hard-earned money slip through his fingers. Then they told us what we needed to do to make that summer job shit happen, which was basically create a resume talking about how much we could lift and our other relevant skills and getting those to Lauren's dad before the end of March. I sighed. "I can't be away from home that long. Mom and Dad have to work."

Jones looked thoughtful. "Have you thought about putting her into the day care at the church? Mother Richardson doesn't charge but three hundred a week per kid. If you pay that from your pay check, you'd still make about seven hundred and fifty bucks…that would sure as hell still be more than you can make stocking shit at Sprawl-Mart."

"Let me talk it over with my parents, if they are good with it…then I'm in for sure." I finally said. It was a lot more than I could make anywhere in Lima and I'd get to do something majorly fun.

New Year's Eve was so freaking awesome it wasn't even funny. I got to meet Drake and Lil Wayne. They were cool people and they both took selfies with a lot of us. It was all kinds of awesome. There were some hot honeys who were seriously stupid enough to think I was a real pro ball player so I danced and had fun all night. Dave and I didn't have anything to drink other than some seriously overpriced Pepsis until the club passed out free Dom at midnight. I got a serious New Year's kiss from a sexy shorty with an ass that was a thing of beauty. Twenty-fourteen was a hell of a great year. Though the previous year was still my current favorite, after all it gave me my Little Bird. I was looking forward to seeing what twenty-fifteen would bring to my life. I hoped it was good.

Take a second and let me know what you think of this chapter.

If you're in America and over 18, take a moment on November the 8th & go VOTE.