“Glad you found the place without any trouble,” said Kurt as he pulled Blaine in for a hug. “Come on I’ll introduce you to my family.”

“Dad, I’d like you to meet my friend.”

“Burt Hummel – nice to meet you,” Blaine tried to hide his surprise as he shook Kurt’s dad’s hand. The man looked nothing like his son. Burt looked like a burly truck driver who was not comfortable wearing formal clothing.

“Blaine Anderson, nice to meet you Mr. Hummel.”

“Have you known my son long, Blaine?”

“I actually just met him yesterday.” Blaine saw Mr. Hummel’s eyes narrow suspiciously as he looked at Kurt then directed another question at Blaine.

“So, are you from New York?”

“I’m actually from Ohio. I went to school here and just decided to stay.”

“Ohio, huh – what a coincidence. We just flew in from Lima.”

“My parents live in Westerville,” remarked Blaine. “Small world isn’t it.”

“Ok dad that’s enough of the inquisition,” said Kurt. “I still need to introduce him to everyone else,” he quickly dragged Blaine away from his dad. “Don’t mind my dad – he is just very protective of me. He thinks I can’t take care of myself.”

“I thought he was about to pull out his shotgun,” said Blaine nervously. He wasn’t used to meeting parents.

“Don’t be silly – he can’t carry that around on an airplane.” Blaine gulped – Kurt was actually serious!

He dragged Blaine around introducing him to all of his friends and family. In his line of work, Blaine had to be pretty good at remembering faces and names and he put that knowledge to good use. Before too long the wedding ceremony began and soon after the reception was in full swing. Toasts were made and tears were shed and then the music began. Blaine stood up and asked Kurt to dance with him. The DJ put a slow song on and Blaine was able to slow dance with Kurt around the dance floor.

“I’m really glad you invited me.”

“I surprised myself. I’m not the type to pick up men at bars. Something about you though made me want to talk to you. I actually noticed you when I was singing on stage. I had enough alcohol in my system to give me enough courage to try and go speak with you. When you bumped into me I was actually headed over to where you were sitting,” confessed Kurt.

“I had had a long day at work and was sitting there relaxing when I heard your voice. I looked up and you actually stole my breath away. You were one of the most beautiful sights I had seen in a long time. I was actually on my way to find you when I practically ran you over. I was afraid of losing you in the crowd.” Blaine self-consciously licked his lips. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be holding such a beautiful creature in his arms.

“I’m ready to leave whenever you are,” whispered Kurt into his ear. “We can go to my apartment or take a room right upstairs.” Blaine’s tie was strangling him. All he could do was nod. As Kurt started leading him towards the exit a little old lady grabbed Kurt’s arm.

“Kurtie, would you please dance with me?” she said.

“Aunt Minnie, umm where is Uncle Tom?” his voice was a bit breathless.

“Oh him – he’s probably outside smoking his cancer stick. I want to get on that dance floor and shake my butt Kurtie. Now be a good boy and lead on,” Kurt looked helplessly at Blaine and shrugged an apology before he led his aunt out on the dance floor. Just my luck thought Blaine – cockblocked by a 70 year old biddy wanting to get her groove on. He laughed and couldn’t seem to stop. He needed a drink. He headed straight to the bar and ordered a shot of whiskey. He leaned on the bar and watched Kurt dance with his aunt. He had to hand it to her; she sure was doing her best to shake her moneymaker on that dance floor. Kurt was swinging and twirling her and she was having the time of her life. Blaine was frustrated, but how many guys would have changed their plans to accommodate a little old lady? That fact alone gave Blaine an idea of what kind of person Kurt was deep down.

After leaving Aunt Minnie at her table Kurt tried to work his way back to Blaine but unfortunately, he had a lot of older relatives that wanted their turn dancing with sweet, little Kurtie. He looked at Blaine apologetically but did his best to keep the ladies happy. Blaine managed to get swept up in the dancing fever and had his turn dancing with the under 12 crowd. Between the two of them they managed to dance with almost all the women in the crowd.
Once the bride and groom left the reception the guests started leaving. It was almost 2:00am when Kurt saw his dad calling him.
“Kurt, your Aunt Minnie and Uncle Tom were supposed to leave hours ago but you got your aunt all hyped up on the dance floor and now it is too late for them to drive back home. Can they stay at your apartment tonight? They will be leaving tomorrow after brunch. All the guests staying overnight have agreed to meet for brunch.”

Kurt groaned silently, he couldn’t tell his dad he had planned on having rough, dirty – maybe even kinky, sex with Blaine once they left the reception. “Sure - dad that won’t be a problem. Let me just say goodnight to Blaine and I’ll be right back.”

Disappointed did not even cover the way Blaine felt when Kurt told him the new development. “We can go to my apartment,” he whispered in Kurt’s ear running his tongue lightly around his ear.

“What would I say to my aunt and uncle? Here you go – I gotta go get laid – as I dump them off at my apartment and disappear! I think not.”

“I know those are just my sexual frustrations making themselves heard,” sighed Blaine as he gave him a hug. “When are they leaving?”

“It seems the Hummel clan has decided to get together tomorrow afternoon for brunch. I will probably have to be there and I am going to be going out of town on Monday so I am supposed to go in to work for a few hours tonight. I will be gone for a week but I’ll call you once I am back in town.”

“I had a really good time tonight, Kurt. Thank you for inviting me and I really look forward to finally spending some alone time with you when you get back in town,” said Blaine as he said goodnight to Kurt. He gently leaned in for a lingering kiss before he turned and walked away.

He caught a taxi back to his apartment and suddenly realized that he had no idea what Kurt did for a living. He really looked forward to getting to know him better hopefully when there weren’t any cockblocking relatives around! He needed to get home and take a freezing cold shower.
w34;xxxxxxw34;

Kurt was surprised that he really did enjoy himself at brunch the next day. It wasn’t often that the Hummel-Hudson clan got a chance to be on the same coast at the same time so it had been a while since he had seen some of his relatives. They all agreed that it had been too long in between visits and they all planned on getting together in a few months. He thought about Blaine throughout the day and smiled wistfully when he remembered him dancing with his little cousins.

“What a pretty smile Kurtie,” said his Aunt Minnie. “Are you thinking of that handsome fella you were with last night?”

“Yeah, I was – is it that obvious?”

“Only to someone who has been in love before,” she answered smiling as she looked at her husband.

“Oh – no – no – no Aunt Minnie, I just met Blaine two days ago. I’m not in love with him,” he protested.

“Love happens when it happens - Kurtie – it has no time frame or limit. Just enjoy every moment of life that you have. I’m just glad to see you smiling and happy. I know you had a rough time in high school and I’m just glad life is up for you. You job is wonderful and all you need now is a pretty, young, sexy, little thing hanging off your arm to complete your life.”

Kurt almost choked on his Diet Coke at the thought of Blaine being his “pretty, young, sexy, little thing hanging off his arm.” While there had been a few men in his life none had lasted more than a few weeks. He had yet to fall in love.

“Thanks Aunt Minnie. I will let you know how it goes. It is pretty new at the moment.”

“I saw how he looked at you Kurtie. He looked like he wanted to have his wicked way with you last night. Just remember you are not some floozy he picked up at a bar. You matter Kurt – don’t throw yourself around like you don’t matter.”

Kurt blushed furiously and decided to kiss her farewell before she went into details. He had already heard this speech from his dad and he wasn’t about to listen to another awkward conversation about sex – especially with his Aunt Minnie! He needed to get to work before it got too late. He had to make sure everything was packed and ready for the flight to Germany. He said goodbye to his dad and Carole and promised to be home for Thanksgiving.
w34;xxxxxxw34;

Kurt loved his job. He had graduated college with dreams of being a designer in the fashion industry and since no one was knocking on his door wanting him to design unique, one-of-a-kind clothing he had found an entry level job working for Chanel. He needed to eat and pay rent and the job was in Paris. How could he not take the job? He worked in the Paris office for about a year and that is where he had met Heidi Stein. Kurt had been helping one of the designers do alterations to a few dresses when Heidi and some friends had come in for a fitting. Heidi was married to a German media mogul and she was attending a benefit at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

Kurt was asked to help with her fitting and as he was busy pinning up the sleeves a bit he noticed the tattoo on her inner left arm. He froze. All he could do was stare at the numbers on her arm. Heidi had been talking to her friends when she finally noticed that Kurt was just standing there looking at her arm.

“They marked us like cattle,” she whispered.

This startled him into action and he started working on her sleeves. He wasn’t sure if she had been talking to him and he didn’t know what to say.

“I was only 3 years old when my parents were arrested for helping a friend hide from the authorities. They would not confess or give up the location of their friend so they had to find some way to force their confession. Instead of torturing them the Nazis decided to torture their child. Me. Most prisoners sent to Auschwitz were tattooed with identification numbers unless they were immediately sent to the gas chambers. My parents were to be executed immediately for their crime so they did not get tattooed. When they wouldn’t admit where they had hidden their friend the soldier in charge of their interrogation had me brought to him. He had someone hold me down while he stamped the numbers onto my arm. My parents had to sit there and hear my screams. They confessed to a number of crimes they never committed just to have him stop the torture. They were executed that same day. I’m not sure if my screams or my parent’s pain made a difference but one of the soldiers ordered to take me to the camp smuggled me out to my relatives. I don’t know if he was ever punished but I thank God for his actions every day.”

Kurt listened in horrified silence. He could not imagine how anyone could survive such atrocities.

“Most of my friends here bear the mark as well. It is a constant reminder that life is precious. What is your name young man?” she asked as she gestured to her circle of friends.

“Kurt Hummel.”

“Hummel? Like my figurines?” this drew a chuckle from her friends. “I collect them with a passion! They are beautiful and fragile,” she stopped speaking for a few minutes and seemed lost in thought. Kurt finished the pinning up the sleeves and moved on to the next person. He thought he would never see her again but a few weeks later she ordered some new pieces and specifically requested that Kurt be the one in charge of her alterations. Kurt slowly gained a following among her acquaintances and he was permanently assigned to this particular group of women who surrounded themselves with beautiful clothing. After a few months, Heidi accidentally saw Kurt’s sketches and demanded he start designing all of her gowns. With the obscene amount of money Heidi spent on clothing, Kurt was immediately promoted to a design position. Of course, her circle of friends insisted on the same thing. Before Kurt knew it, he had become the favorite designer for the lovely group of women he would come to consider family.

He loved to listen to them reminisce about their lives and how lucky they were to have made it through hell. They treated him well and included him whenever they had family gatherings. He was the keeper of many of their secrets and he was very protective of them. He never spoke to the media about the information he was privy to and this earned him their respect as well as more customers vying for his talent.

Greta, one of Heidi’s close friends, fell ill about six months after Kurt met Heidi. Greta came from wealthy family that had somehow been able to retain some of their property after the war. She caught pneumonia when she was visiting Heidi and was too weak to go back home. She convalesced at Heidi’s estate outside of Wiesbaden. Due to Greta’s illness, Heidi had been reluctant to travel to New York for a scheduled fitting for a ball gown she had ordered. Kurt had been sent to do the alterations at her home. He was elated at being able to visit Heidi at her home. He set up shop in the day room and while he worked he sat and listened to their chatter.

“If I could see it one more time I would die a happy woman,” remarked Greta. Kurt caught the last part of their conversation and before he could help it he asked, “See what Greta?”

“My mother’s face.” Kurt looked at her with a confused look. “Excuse me?”

She laughed at his confusion and said, “My mother had her portrait done right before the war by Humberto David, the painter. Alas, during the war it somehow ended up in the hands of one of the Generals in Hitler’s army.”

“I thought your family was able to retain most of their possessions,” he said remembering an earlier conversation he had been privy to.

“They were able to keep some of the properties and the money that my grandfather had invested in the United States but most of the household items were confiscated.”

“Do you know where the painting is?” he asked.

“Yes, it is in the private collection of Jurgen Schmidt.”

“THE Jurgen Schmidt?” he asked incredulously.

“I see you’ve heard of him,” she said.

“I’d have to have lived under a rock to not know who he is. He owns half of the world doesn’t he?” asked Kurt.

Greta laughed and said, “Just about.”

“I’ve actually been in his home. His wife has bought a few dresses that I’ve designed,” said Kurt modestly.

“Yes, well no matter how rich he is the truth is that his family profited from the death of thousands of people during the war. I don’t blame him personally since it was his father and grandfather that reaped the benefits but my family has contacted him requesting the painting back and he refuses to admit it was obtained illegally.”

“Is it worth a lot of money?” asked Kurt.

Heidi answered, “Just the fact that is was painted by Humberto “Beto” David makes it worth millions.”

“I’m not sure about its actual worth but its sentimental value is priceless,” whispered Greta. “We’ve tried our best to obtain it through the proper channels but he does hold a lot of influence – at least more so than my family. Anyways, no more depressing talk – I think I’m going to take a nap. You are a dear boy for listening to an old lady’s rant Kurt,” she gave him a hug and left the room with Heidi following close behind.

That was the day that would change the course of Kurt’s life.