CHAPTER 21

Even without Burt, life continued.  Kurt eventually remembered not to dial his father's number when he had important news, but to call Carole or Finn instead.  He still missed his dad, and wished so often for his advice, but he learned, more than ever, to trust his own judgment.  He did still call his step-mother when exasperated with the children; she was calmer than Burt ever was, and he valued her opinion.  However, he ultimately made decisions with Blaine, regardless of what friends or family members thought of the choices they made.  Overall, anyone looking at the family would have to say the decisions must have been good ones.

The boys graduated from high school near the top of their class, and both earned scholarships at prestigious, well-respected colleges.  Patrick studied painting, art, and art history at Yale, while Ian was a music major at Tisch at NYU.  Kurt missed Patrick, but never got the chance to miss Ian, who, although technically living in the dorm, could more frequently be found sleeping in his old room, raiding the kitchen, or hosting ‘study groups' at which little actual studying seemed to happen at his fathers' apartment.  However, Kurt and Blaine were both proud the boys were doing well.

Ellie, never one to be outdone, graduated as her class's valedictorian, with Caroline, who had been her best friend from the time they were babies, standing next to her as salutatorian.  Kurt and Blaine were proud but not surprised; Puck, on the other hand, having barely graduated himself, was beside himself with pride and joy, and more than a little surprised his daughter had done so well.  The only note of sadness was that Lauren wasn't there to see her daughter graduate, having passed away four years before, after a virus caused irreparable heart damage and a donor heart could not be found in time.  Since then, Caroline had spent countless hours at the Hummel-Anderson household as her distraught father tried to pull himself together enough to live again, this time alone; Kurt and Blaine had come to think of her as a second daughter.  The two girls were going to Blaine's Alma Mater, Columbia.  As still required, they would live on campus for at least the first year, and had already gotten approval to room together.  Ellie would be studying finance and English, while Caroline focused on engineering.

“At least they won't have the sort of roommate trouble I did,” Blaine said.

“Don't be so sure.  Living with a good friend isn't always a cake walk either.  I lived with Rachel, remember.  Can't really say that wasn't a bumpy road.”  Kurt told him.

“Yeah, but first, they're best friends; Mercedes was your best friend, no matter what Rachel liked to think,” Blaine argued.

“Doesn't matter,” Kurt said.  “I think sometimes living with your best friend is worse.”

“But they've virtually lived together for four years now, and they both have someplace to go to if they need space.  You didn't have anyone, or any place, else in the city.”  Blaine pointed out.

“True.  But if they run, they may both end up at our place.”  Kurt again had a point.  “With Ian.”

Blaine laughed.  “Maybe, maybe not.  Caroline spent so much time at our place because Puck just couldn't recover from Lauren's death.  I think he might be making some progress.”

“Oh?”  Kurt followed Blaine's line of sight, where Puck was clearly flirting with an attractive teacher who looked like she was in her mid-forties.  “You may be right.  And she's the right age; now if he could just find one who isn't married,” he said, referring to the fact that the only other time Puck had dated anyone in the past four years it was a twenty-two year old starlet who had a minor role in his latest screen play, as well as to the ring on the teacher's finger.

“Come on, let's go get him before the girls notice and are terminally embarrassed,” Blaine said.  Kurt no longer flinched at the cavalier use of the word terminal, and Blaine considered it great progress.

* * *

Kurt was sorting through their Christmas card list, trying to update all the addresses before they addressed the envelopes.  “Hey, Blaine, are Tina and Mike currently married, divorced, or separated?”

“Um, I'm not sure.  I want to say separated, but I might be wrong.  I've kind of lost track, it's happened so many times.”

“You aren't the only one, and the sad thing is it's mostly the same disagreements they've had since high school, combined with Tina's insecurity.”

“Want me to call Mike, Jr.?”  Ian offered.  He was once again living at home, and it looked like he was actually going to graduate the following spring, taking six years to complete his degree; his fathers tried not to compare him to his brother, who was working on his masters in art and art history.

“Please,” Kurt said, welcoming the assistance, as his own phone rang.  As Ian left to get his phone, Kurt said into his, “Hi, Honey.  How are you doing?  It's been a week since you've bothered to call home.”

“Sorry, Daddy, I've just been crazy busy.  I mean, I started as a sophomore taking mostly upper level classes thanks to my high school AP work and CBE's, but now that I'm really a junior, and still double majoring, the work load's insane,” Ellie told him.

“Well, I'm at least glad to know you aren't having problems,” Kurt told her.

“No, everything's going great.  Could you and Papa meet me for dinner tomorrow night?  I have great news.”

“Sure.  Want to give me a hint?”  Kurt asked her.

“Nope.  Let me talk to Papa for a minute.  Oh, and Daddy, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Kurt told her as he handed the phone to Blaine.  Blaine talked to his daughter for a minute and then told her he loved her and they'd see her the next day.

* * *

The next evening found them seated in a small French restaurant, one of Ellie's favorites.  She was led to the table a few minutes after they had been seated, and they stood to greet her.  She stood on tip-toes so she could hug each of her fathers.  Once the food was ordered, Blaine turned to her and said, “Okay, Sweetheart, what's your news?”

“I'm going to law school.  I've already taken the LSAT, and I scored really well.  The law school at Columbia is interested.  They've already told me that unless my grades slip substantially over the rest of this year and next, I'm sure to be admitted, and if I keep my perfect GPA I'll almost certainly be offered a scholarship.”

“You know, you don't need the scholarship.  You have your college fund you haven't touched, and your trust fund.  And even without that, we could afford to put you through school,” Blaine pointed out.

“I know, Papa, but I like making it on my own.  That being said, I suspect I will be tapping the trust fund to get an apartment at some point.  I refuse to live in squalor, which is probably what I could afford on my own for a while.”  Ellie told him.

Kurt shook his head.  He had been mystified when Ellie had not chosen to have any artistic major or even minor, not even in combination with a more ‘practical' major.  She was a soaring, clear soprano, and an excellent dancer, although even Kurt admitted that, at barely five feet, she was too tiny to be seriously considered as a professional dancer.  “I don't understand,” he said.

“I know you don't, Daddy, which is why I'm doing this,” his daughter replied.

“Are you sure?”  Blaine asked.

“Yes.  I've thought about it a lot.  Look, let's put it this way.  When all of us are together, and we hear a new song that's really good, the two of you and Ian just get lost in the emotion of it.  Patrick goes off on whatever visual image the song conjures for him, and can't wait until he can paint it,” She told them, referring to Patrick's tendency to draw inspiration for his artwork from music.  “I wonder how much it would cost to secure grand literary rights if Papa wanted to use it in one of his shows.”  Blaine wrote most of the music he used, but did occasionally use pieces by other people if they were particularly fitting.  “It's the same thing with older songs.  Everyone else in the family just falls into them, but I wonder if they're in the public domain.  I analyze while you feel.  And yes, I feel it too, but I don't get lost in it, and the practical always outweighs the feeling.”

“So you want to go in to entertainment law?”  Kurt questioned.

“Probably.  Entertainment is kind of the family business, after all.  But I'm not ruling out corporate or employment law.  I'd even litigate in one of those areas, but litigation isn't my first choice.”

Kurt looked at Blaine and asked, “How did the kid who's genetically mine end up with your father's analytical brain?”

Blaine held up his hands.  “Don't ask me, but you have to admit you've been guilty of being a bit overly analytical yourself.”

Ellie sighed, “First of all, still right here.  Second, you two are aware that being analytical and rational is not a mental disease or defect, right?”

The two men looked at each other sheepishly before turning back to their daughter to discuss her future legal career.