CHAPTER 22

Ellie waived at her parents from the table as the hostess led them over.  They were in a trendy Italian restaurant that had become popular with the theater crowd.  Her fathers both leaned down to kiss her, a necessity due to her height even though she stood up as they approached, before all three sat down.

“Is one of your brothers meeting us?  Or Caroline?”  Kurt asked, noting the fourth place setting.  He already knew the answer, as she had motioned them to one of the chairs next to her and the once across the table.  If one of her brothers or her best friend was going to join them, she would have had one of her parents sit on each side of her.

She smiled.  “No, Daddy, but there's someone I want you to meet.”

“He's late,” Kurt grumbled, taking an educated guess as to the gender of their mystery dinner companion.

“He got tied up at work.  It's not like that's never happened to you.  When he gets here, be nice.”  She glared at Kurt for emphasis.

Blaine decided the best way to defuse the situation would be to change the subject.  “How's school?”

“Mostly good.  I'm just ready for first year to be over.  I want to take classes I'm interested in, not the set classes everyone has to do first year.  And property, ugh, I hate property.  Torts and crim law are at least entertaining, and civ pro and con law have the potential to be.[1]  Contracts was a good class because it's really at the heart of what I want to do – the protection and licensing of intellectual property.  But I don't want to deal with Property at all, it's boring, and my professor is awful – she actually told us she didn't do well in the class when she was in school and we should just go buy commercial outlines to learn the material.  I can't believe they hired this woman.  I know she worked for a federal judge and all, but really, she's not that bright, she's never practiced, and I can't help but wonder who she slept with, or discovered sleeping with someone they shouldn't, to get this job.  Now that I think about it, it's more likely the latter; she's not that attractive.”

“I thought you just said you wanted to deal with property,” Kurt said, confused.

“Intellectual property, Daddy, not real or personal property,” his daughter corrected.

“What's the difference?”  He persisted.

“That's a long explanation.  Just think, real is land, personal is stuff you can touch other than land, intellectual is an idea.  A book is personal property, but the story in the book is intellectual property.  Beyond that, just know that I understand it and it's part of the reason you need me, or at least someone like me.”

Kurt decided to let the issue of types of property drop.  He only vaguely understood it, but he knew enough to hire lawyers who made sure his ideas were protected and he did all the right things.  After that, he could be creative without worrying about it.  There were other topics he wanted to discuss with his daughter.

“Who's going to be joining us?”  He asked.

“His name is Graeme.  He's a third year at Columbia's law school.  He's from London, but he applied for and got permanent resident status last year.  His specialty is international law, mostly corporate international law, but he's got a big interest in international enforcement of intellectual property rights,” Ellie told them.

“Wait,” Blaine said.  “I thought you said he got tied up at work earlier, but you just said he's a student.”

“He's clerking at the same firm where I got a job for the summer.  By the way, I got a job clerking at one of the biggest, most prestigious firms in Manhattan for the first half of the summer, and for an intellectual property boutique for the second half.  A lot of first years don't get offered a clerkship, so I'd say I was lucky if I hadn't worked my butt off for this.  With any luck, I'll be offered a job that will go during school my second year.  Anyway, back to Graeme.  He clerked with this firm half of the summer after his first year, all summer after second year, and all this year.  They've offered him a position, contingent on graduating and passing the bar of course, for after graduation.”

“I'm guessing this isn't a first date,” Blaine commented.

“God, no,” Ellie replied.  “I would never subject some poor guy to you two on a first date, or to the wonder twins.  I reserve that for when I'm either pretty sure I want them to stick around and have to see if they're up to it, or I want them to run for the hills with their tail between their legs.”

“Don't call your brothers that.  You know they hate it,” Kurt said.

“Which is why I do it,” Ellie quipped.

“You said to be nice, so I'm guessing you want to keep this one around,” Blaine observed.

“That's the idea,” she told him.

Kurt looked none too happy.  “I don't know that you're ready to enter a serious relationship.  You're very young.”

“Says the guy married to the man he fell in love with in high school, who's only dated one other person,” his daughter shot back.

They were saved from further debate by the arrival of a tall, handsome young man with dark, curly hair and hazel eyes.  He had a charming accent, was solicitous of Ellie, was respectful to her fathers, and had a ready wit and infectious laugh.  He was very hard to dislike, although Kurt tried.

* * *

As they got ready for bed that night, Kurt announced, “I don't like him.”

“Yes, you do.  Which is what bothers you, because you don't want to,” Blaine told him.

“What do you think he's after?”  Kurt wondered.

“Just a guess, but it seems like he's in love with our daughter,” Blaine answered.

“She's too young.”

“She's twenty three, the same age you were when we got married, and more than a year older than I was when we got married.  She's old enough, which is a good thing, because I think she's just as in love with him.  He's only two years older than she is, so the age difference isn't too great, he's smart, he treats her with respect and care; quite frankly, I'm having trouble finding a reason to dislike him.”

“They're not getting married.  He's trying to take our daughter away from us.”

“Baby, she's an adult, living on her own.  He's not stealing her through her childhood bedroom window.  Not to mention the fact that the two of them being together doesn't mean we'll never see her.  Based on the way they looked at each other, I'd say you'd better get used to him, and probably to the idea of getting a son-in-law.”

“What do you mean the way they looked at each other?”  Kurt asked.

“They looked a lot like the old pictures of you and I together.  Ellie looked at him just like you looked at me, and I recognize myself in the pictures of the two of us together when I look at him,” Blaine answered.

“That's another thing.  He looks so much like a tall version of you.  What's up with that?”  Kurt demanded.

“Um, she has the same impeccable taste her Daddy does?”  Blaine joked.  “I'm just glad you weren't hung up on height.  It's kind of funny.”

Kurt scowled and threw a pillow at him.  He was not giving up that easily.  He spent the rest of the evening trying to find reasons to hate Graeme, and Blaine countered each one.

* * *

Graeme passed the next test, failing to be intimidated by Patrick and Ian.  They both loved him instantly. 

He was even beginning to grow on Kurt.  He never failed to be supportive of Ellie, patiently delivering dinner to her in the office if she worked late, helping her study, and encouraging her when she had a bad day.  When they both worked late, he ordered pizza or Chinese food, and they would eat it in his office while they either stole a few minutes away from client files or worked on their separate cases sitting side by side.  Eventually, the sight of the two together caused a smile to cross his face, rather than a frown, and he began to treat Graeme as a third son.

Then came the day when he called Kurt in a panic.  “Ellie's working late!  It's not a deadline issue, she just wants to impress her boss by being ahead.  She really wants to be offered a job with the firm after she graduates.”

“And?”  Kurt was unimpressed.  He and Blaine had learned to tell Ellie to be at a restaurant at least an hour before they had reservations because she had a tendency to work late and to lose track of time while at work.  Blaine raised his eyebrows and Kurt shrugged, showing he wasn't particularly concerned with the conversation.

“We have reservations at the Four Seasons,” Graeme said.

“You should have told her to be there at least an hour before, probably more, that's what we do,” Kurt told him.

“You have to help me get her there on time,” he pleaded.

“Because?”  Kurt prompted.  He was pretty sure he knew what was coming.

“Because I'm trying to propose,” Graeme finally admitted.

“I would have expected you to talk to Blaine and I about that first.  I know it's old fashioned, but it's still good manners and a matter of respect,” Kurt lectured.

“And I would have but for the fact that we were joking about it months ago and she said if I asked you she'd kill me, and I'm not sure if she was joking.  She said it was her decision, not yours.”

Kurt sighed.  “That's my girl.  Well, for the record, you have my blessing.  Blaine, does Graeme have your blessing to propose to Ellie?”  Blaine smiled, nodded and bounced a little.  “You have Blaine's blessing too.”

Ian was over that afternoon and grabbed the phone from his father.  “Hey, man, don't f-“   He cut himself off as he saw Kurt's glare.  “Don't mess up,” he said instead.

Taking his phone back from his son, he said, “We'll see what we can do.”

Turning to Blaine and Ian, he said, “Any idea how to get Ellie out of work on time?”

“I could go down there and bug her, but she'd probably just have security throw me out,” Ian said.

Blaine said, “Let me send a car for her, I'll come up with a cover story.”

Blaine called her and said, “Hey, Sweetie, can you meet me for dinner?  My lawyer's out of the country right now, and I can't reach him.  My investors need an answer tonight, and I ran the contracts by the associate he left in charge, but this isn't really his area and he doesn't know me and doesn't seem familiar with the file, and something seems off in these contracts.  I promise after you skim them and tell me whether or not to sign, I'll send you right back to work in the car.  It'll be great, we get to see each other, and you get dinner out of the deal.”  After a slight pause he said, “Great, I'll see you in an hour.”

Kurt called Graeme back to tell him Ellie would be there on time.

Several hours later, Kurt answered his phone only to pull it away from his ear quickly.  His daughter was screaming on the other end of the line.

“Ellie!  Quieter.  I think.  You may have already caused permanent hearing loss.”  He put the phone on speaker.  He, Blaine, Ian and Patrick, who had come over upon hearing the news that his sister was about to receive a proposal, crowded around the phone sitting on the coffee table.

“He proposed!  He asked me to marry him!  He got down on one knee and everything, right in the middle of the Four Seasons, and everyone in the restaurant applauded when I said yes!  And you have to see the ring!  It's just gorgeous, and absolutely huge, and I'm going to look like a little kid wearing her mom's jewelry and I absolutely don't care.”

“Still screaming,” Kurt reminded calmly.

“Congratulations, Honey,” Blaine said.

“Way to go, Sis,” Patrick said.

“Did you make him work for it?  Or did you just say yes right away?”  Ian asked.

“Wait a minute; none of you are surprised.  Did that little bastard ask for permission to propose after I specifically told him not to?”  Ellie was quickly going from giddy to angry.

“Not explicitly,” Kurt told her.

“Clarify that comment,” Ellie demanded.

“He had it all planned out, and hadn't mentioned a thing to any of us, but then you decided to work late.  Apparently he hasn't learned the trick to getting you places on time, and he called us in a panic, trying to figure out how to get you there on time so he could propose as planned,” Kurt explained.

“What trick to getting me places on time?”  Ellie wanted to know.

“Never mind,” Blaine said, hoping she wouldn't press the issue.  If she knew their tactic, she'd adjust to it and they'd have to find a new one.

“Anyway, I'm on the way over.  You have to see the ring!”  Ellie was distracted enough by her news that she didn't push on how her family manipulated her to deal with her tendency to be late.

* * *

It took no time at all for wedding planning to be in full swing.  Kurt was designing Ellie's dress and the bride's maid's dresses.  At his recommendation, Ellie enlisted her Nana and Grandma to help her plan the rest of the wedding.  Blaine wrote checks and tried to stay out of the way, and Ian and Patrick tried to stay out of the line of fire.  Graeme could frequently be found hiding out with his future brothers-in-law.  Ellie was very particular, and every aspect of the wedding was planned down to the last detail.

Blaine and Kurt first realized how demanding Ellie was when Caroline appeared at their apartment pleading, “Hide me.  If Ellie asks, you haven't seen or heard from me in weeks, and you have no idea where I am.  Dad can't keep a secret from her for some reason.”

“Is something wrong?”  Blaine asked.

“I have a job and graduate classes and I don't give a shit what food gets served or if some vegan aunt of Ellie's gets offended or what color the flowers are or what they are and I don't care if the florist drops dead the day before, which he's going to do anyway because Ellie keeps hounding him about some exotic something-or-other, and she wants me to hound him too, which I refuse to do.”

“Is it really that bad?”  Kurt inquired.

“Yes.  I signed on to be her maid-of-honor, not her slave.  I'm supposed to plan a bachelorette party and make sure there are limos to get us safely around town while we all get really drunk and paw the male strippers I'm going to hire.  That's what I agreed to do!”

“Wait a minute,” Kurt said.  “Strippers?”

“Yeah, of course, strippers.  Do you want to come?  And if so, do you have any special requests?  A policeman or a cowboy, maybe?”

“No,” Kurt answered.  “I don't want to think of my daughter around male strippers.  Oh, God, one of our friends used to be a male stripper in high school.  Now I can't get the picture of Sam stripping in front of my daughter out of my head.”

“Only one of your friends?”  Caroline said, waggling her eyebrows.

“Drop it or I'll call her and tell her where you are,” he threatened.

“It's dropped!”  She promised.

He decided to call Carole for advice.  “Don't ask me,” she said.  “I've been put on bridesmaid wrangling duty.”

“What does that entail?”

“Keeping them from quitting no matter what Ellie does.  Believe me, the way she's been acting, it's not easy.  She insulted both Samantha and Sara,” Carole told him, naming Finn and Quinn's daughters, “Causing Carole Ann to threaten to bow out, and take her sisters with her.  She's been mean to Hope and Kathryn too, and—“

“Oh, God, do I need to call Mercedes and apologize?”  Kurt asked.  Hope and Kathryn were Sam and Mercedes' daughters. 

“It wouldn't hurt,” Carole told him.  “The only ones I haven't heard that she's either insulted or been mean to are Brianna and Amelia.  I even heard she's been hard on Caroline.”

“She has been.  And the reason she's left Brianna and Amelia alone is because Amelia's willing to kick her ass.  So, basically, she's been horrible to six of her eight bridesmaids.”

“Yep.  Which, by the way, is causing groomsman problems too,” Carole said.

“Oh?”  Kurt sighed.

“Uh-huh.  Stephen and Brandon are threatening to quit because she's been so awful to Samantha and Sara, and Derek wants out because of the way she's treated Hope and Kathryn.”

“So the brothers want to bail because she's been a pain to the sisters,” Kurt said.

“Yes, and your boys are none too happy with their sister either, but I don't think they'd bow out of her wedding.”

“I wish they'd come to me, but you're right, they won't bail on her.  They're scared of her.  She's meaner than they are,” Kurt sighed.  “I'll talk to her.”

In the end, Kurt enlisted his mother-in-law's help.  The two of them sat Ellie down and explained in no uncertain terms that everyone wanted her wedding to be just as perfect as she wanted it to be, but no one was willing to be treated the way she was treating them, and they would leave her alone on her big day if she didn't shape up.  The result was tears.

“I'm sorry, I'm just so stressed, and I want it to be perfect, and everyone else seems like they think this is no big deal, and whatever happens will be fine,” she cried.

Kurt and Margaret smiled at one another.  “I understand, really,” Kurt told her.  “I felt the same way.”

“Although he never treated the people around him the way you have, and was always much more gracious,” Margaret pointed out to her granddaughter.

“But while we planned everything as well as we could, we couldn't control the weather.  There was a huge snowstorm, and we weren't even sure if we were going to be able to get to the church, or if the guests could get there, and the carriage we planned to use couldn't navigate the carriage path with the snow, but it all worked out.  It's okay.  Things didn't go off without a hitch, but we still got married, and it's lasted over thirty years, even with all the glitches.  If you're there, Graeme's there, and someone with the authority to marry you in the state of New York is there, in the end, everything will be fine.”

Ellie sniffled.  “Okay.  I'll try to relax.  But what do I do now?”

“For starters, call your cousins and all your friends and apologize,” Margaret said.

“I'd suggest groveling,” Kurt told her.  She laughed.  “I wasn't kidding,” he said.

* * *

Ellie managed to mend fences, and things became calmer until the wedding rehearsal.  Blaine could see Ellie was again letting her stress get the better of her, and tried to calm her down.  “What if the caterer messes up and Aunt Rachel gets served something with meat?  What if the cake isn't right?  What if the bridesmaids' dresses don't fit?  What if –“  Ellie was starting to rant.

Blaine's efforts were clearly not working.  He looked helplessly to Kurt, who was chatting with Mercedes.  “Uh-huh.  Don't look at me,” Mercedes told him.  “I calmed this one down,” she said, nodding to Kurt, “And got him to the altar, but she is not my problem.”

Kurt sighed and went to talk to her.

At the rehearsal dinner Graeme was starting to look pale.

“You were warned a long time ago.  It's too late to back out now,” Patrick teased.

“Nonsense,” Ian replied.  “We've been coming to eat here for years.  I know the back way out, courtesy of a very agreeable waitress with a thing for musicians.  You still have your British passport, right?  We can swing by your place, grab it, and be to the airport in an hour and a half, tops.  You can get out of the country and away from my dear darling sister for good.”

“Ian, shut up,” Patrick hissed.

“Just trying to give the man a fighting chance at life,” Ian told him.

“Don't listen to him,” Patrick said.  “By all accounts, Dad was every bit as much of a basket case as Ellie, and everything worked out fine.”

“Are you sure?”  Graeme sounded as if he would cling to any hope.

“As much as I hate to admit it, he has a point.  Look,” Ian said, nodding toward his fathers, who were now together in a quiet corner, arms around one another, sharing a quiet kiss, followed by gentle Eskimo kisses and soft laughter.  Seeing them together, Graeme relaxed, and went to save the world from his bride.

* * *

The day of the wedding dawned sunny and perfect.  The weather was mild, with a light breeze.  All of the wedding party had arrived without incident, on time or early, at the huge Anglican church where the ceremony was to be held.

The bride and her attendants were crowded into what the church called a ‘sitting room' but which was normally used as a dressing room for the female members of bridal parties.  The groom and groomsmen were sequestered in another part of the church, hiding from the women as well as Kurt, since all were suffering the after-effects of a second, unofficial, bachelor party thrown by the bride's brothers after the rehearsal.

Kurt was in the priest's outer office, awaiting the arrival of guests.  Blaine had gone to check on Ellie.  He returned several shades paler than normal.  “Sweetheart, Ellie has gone full-blown Bridezilla on us.”

“Really?”  Kurt asked.  The fact that Ellie was stressed was not really news, and wasn't particularly surprising.

“Yeah.  I have no idea how to calm her down, I think the bridesmaids are trying to hide from her or may be quitting, I'm really not sure, and she's yelling at everyone,” Blaine said.

“Is Graeme out of earshot?”  Kurt asked.

“Yes.  Why?” 

“So he doesn't head for the hills,” Kurt told him.  “Because if you think she's bad now, imagine how she'll be if she gets left at the altar.”

“He wouldn't . . . .” Blaine said, beginning to sound doubtful.

“I don't really think he would,” Kurt admitted.  “But when we got married I was terrified that you'd figure out you'd made a huge mistake and could do so much better than me, and just not show up.”

“Oh, Baby, I'd never do that to you,” Blaine said, horrified Kurt would ever think such a thing of him.

“I'm still not sure how you've been dense enough to not only go through with the wedding, but stay with me through all these years, through everything, but I'm glad you have been,” Kurt told him.  With a sigh, he said, “I better go calm her down.  You stay here until guests start arriving, then greet them.  Other than that, just write checks if there are any left to write.”

As he approached the sitting room, Kurt could hear screaming and yelling.  He slowed his pace, trying to determine the best way of dealing with this.  There would be no problems with dresses or make-up, as he had hired his favorite dressers, make-up artists, and hair stylists to dress the young women of his daughter's bridal party.  The closer he got to the noisy room, the more he was dreading the confrontation with his daughter.

A few feet away from the door, an angry young woman with dark hair brushed past him before realizing who he was.  “Uncle Kurt?  Will the make-up artists have something that can cover a bruise, or a red mark?”

“Yes, Amelia, why?”

“Because I'm about to slap your daughter,” she growled.

Kurt turned on his heel.  The women were in the hands of professionals, ones who regularly dealt with the tantrums, misbehavior, and insecurities of models, and were well paid to do so.  He decided to leave the matter to them.

As if reading his mind, his favorite dresser stepped out of the room, spotted him and said, “You don't pay me enough for this.”

“I'll make it up to you, I swear,” He promised.

She took a deep breath and stepped back into the room.  Kurt took his phone out and texted a list of personnel to Blaine, telling him to write each another check, and for how much.

* * *

The ceremony was beautiful, and the reception went off without a hitch. 

When Ellie emerged from the sitting room, she was quiet, and seemed a bit calmer.  The bridesmaids all had smiles plastered on their faces, some looking more genuine than others.  Kurt drew Caroline to the side and asked, “Did Amelia . . . ?”

“Hit her?”  Caroline replied.  Kurt nodded.  “No, but only because Brianna stopped her.  She owes everyone an apology after this, and I'm pretty sure you're going to have to hand out some pretty hefty raises.”  Kurt nodded again and gave Brianna a quick hug on his way to his daughter.

Ellie walked down the aisle between her fathers, both of whom looked proud and happy.  At the altar, they delivered her to her waiting groom, who looked much better than Blaine feared he would after hearing Ian and Patrick's confessions about the previous night's celebration.  The ceremony was flawless in every way, from the dresses to the flowers to the vows.

The reception was elegant, and planned to perfection.  The toasts were gracious, and while there was a bit of good-natured ribbing at the bride and groom's expense, those giving toasts and speeches were generally kind.  The wedding party was seated at two tables, due to its size.  Kurt and Blaine found themselves with the parents of the groom.  Kurt took a moment to reflect on how far they'd come:  in high school, they'd dealt with bigotry and bullying due to their sexuality; now, the parents of their daughter's new husband were wholly unconcerned with the fact that their in-laws were two men, and hadn't even seemed surprised when they found out.  Not everyone was that accepting, but they'd come a long way.  Both men shared dances with their daughter, and the groom's father asked for the dance following theirs.  Graeme danced with his mother, and then sat out the next two dances, grumbling during the last that he was being left out; within minutes, both of Ellie's grandmothers and her brothers offered to dance with him, just to make things even, after all.  After that, both bride and groom danced with so many people they lost track, dancing late into the night, just as Ellie had planned.

The next morning a limo arrived to take the very happy, and much more relaxed, bride and groom to the airport, where they would catch a plane for Rome.  They were spending their honeymoon in Italy, before returning to New York, where Ellie would begin her new job in the same firm where her husband already worked.

Kurt and Blaine returned home to their apartment, where Blaine reflected, “Even though it's not really any different, I mean none of the kids really live here anymore, it seems different.  Like now it's official:  she doesn't live here anymore, she never will again.”

Before Kurt could answer, Ian wandered out of his room, looking down at them in the living room.  He had left the reception a little before they did, but apparently not to go to his own apartment.  “Hey, if you guys get up before noon, could you please keep it down?  And leave coffee.  Definitely leave coffee.  Lots of it.  You might want to make a second pot before you leave.”  Without waiting for his parents to respond, he turned and went back into his room.

Kurt raised his eyebrows and said, “Different how, exactly?”  Blaine just laughed.

[1] The abbreviations stand for criminal law, civil procedure (federal for first years), and constitutional law.