On the one hand, maybe one of them spots the dress. On the other hand, maybe they just get too many ideas.

Still, not knowing how this group will react to his lateness, he grabs his clipboard, runs a hand through his hair quickly in a mirror, and puts on his brightest smile as he walks out into the lobby.

“A miss Rachel Berry?” he calls, scanning the room for some sort of reaction.

A rather petite girl with a fairly large entourage bounces over towards him, all smiles and grins. “That would be me!” she chirps. “Though you may recognize me from the playbills of the Off-Broadway version of Rent.” She thrust her hand out then, grabbing Kurt’s and giving it a hearty shake for how small she was.

“I haven’t made it out to see that one,” Kurt says, returning the handshake firmly, “but I suppose I’ll have to now. Why don’t we all take a seat over on these couches over here?”

He leads the group over to a little semicircle of couches in the lobby, arranged carefully behind the pedestal that so many brides look forward to standing on for the first time. This is Kleinfelds, after all. It was hard enough to get an appointment here before, but since the TV show began a few years ago, it had become even harder – the store skyrocketing even further into the bridal spotlight.
“First off, I apologize for being late.” Rachel begins to wave him off, but he holds a hand up to stop her. “No, no – I know you only have an hour and a half here with us, and I’m sure you all have busy schedules, so I’m sorry. Rest assured, though, you will get your entire appointment time.”

Two men on either side of Rachel on the couch relax a bit at that, and it catches Kurt’s eye. Just to be sure he’s correct in his assumption, his next question is, “So who all do you have here with you today, Rachel?”

Rachel immediately brightens up even more, which Kurt hadn’t thought possible, and gestures to each person one at a time as she lists them off. “These are my fathers, Hiram and Leroy Berry – they’ll be the ones paying for the dress.”

Immediately, the tension floods back into the two men’s bodies at the mention of the possible bill, and Kurt bites his lip to hold back his smile. He was right – they are the dads. Dads. He can’t dwell on it too long, though, as Rachel continues immediately in listing people.

“Next to Dad is my brother, Blaine,” she says, and the boy gives him a soft wave. Kurt nods at him, immediately struck by how handsome he is. Reluctantly, he tears his eyes away to follow Rachel’s pointing. “And on his left are Quinn, Mercedes, and Tina – three of our friends from high school.”

Kurt glances a few more times back and forth between Rachel and Blaine. “Are you twins, then? I just noticed that you said your friends, and you do look rather similar.”

Blaine, to Kurt’s surprise, is the one who speaks up. “We are, yeah,” he says, smiling up at Kurt. “Most people don’t guess that right away. What with the differences in skin tone and general body build. But we are.”

“I’m older,” Rachel quips, reaching across one of her father’s to bother Blaine, who just rolls his eyes at her.
He crosses his arms, leaning back into the couch with a playful scowl. “By four whole minutes, which you will not ever let me forget.”

Kurt chuckles, pulling his clipboard up in front of him. “I’m almost sorry for asking,” he says, sliding a pencil out from behind his ear. He decides to change the subject quickly, clearing the air of the sibling rivalry. “So, why don’t you tell me about you and your fianc�? How did you meet, what kind of wedding are you planning, when is the ceremony, etc.?” He pulls a chair up and sits in front of all of them, though his body is angled towards Rachel.

She scoots forward to the edge of her seat, her hands folded in her lap. “My fianc�’s name is Jesse St. James, and we actually met in high school. We dated off and on then, but we were both very – bound and determined to make our dreams of performing on stage come true, so when it came time for college, we separated. We both came to New York, so we did see each other, but we tried not to let what we felt between us get in our way.”

Kurt nods, jotting down a few simple notes (HS sweethearts, off and on, performing) as he listens, trying to absorb as much of the information as he can. It’s one of the more interesting parts of his job, hearing the stories. It’s remarkable how much of the information he retains, too. He’ll see brides come in for their fittings and be able to ask them how their fianc� is doing by name, how their job is going, how their sick mother is doing, if they ever managed to buy that house on the coast.
And as much as it can sometimes sting to hear love story after love story – they’re just so intriguing. And it gives him an odd sense of hope as well. If these people can meet in the weirdest of ways, when they least expect it, then surely he can too. Right? He shakes his head, clearing it of the thoughts so that he can tune back in to Rachel’s story.

“By some strange twist of fate, we both ended up being cast in this Off-Broadway Rent show our third year of school. We showed up to the first dance rehearsal and it was that clich�d ‘spying each other across the dance floor’ thing,” she says, sighing dreamily, and Kurt actually does chuckle a bit. Yep, she’s a bride: totally head over heels and living a fairy tale. Rachel takes it as encouragement though, scooting even further forward on her chair. “I know, it’s so romantic! Right? And even better, he’s the Benny to my Mimi. Oh, Kurt, it was meant to be,” she finished, reaching out to place a hand on his knee.

He brings his hand to set on top of hers, patting it earnestly. “You two have quite the love story, and it’s all going to culminate – when, exactly?”

“In about ten months,” Rachel says. “We’re having the ceremony on our stage, because it just seemed like the right place. It’s what brought us back together, and it’s our greatest love other than the love we have for each other.”

Kurt grabs her hand then, smiling up at her. “I can understand that. I used to be a performer as well, back in high school.”

Blaine is the one who leans forward a bit this time. “You did? Why did you stop?”

For a moment, Kurt is thrown back to that day all those years ago when he stood in his home kitchen, staring down at the words We regret to inform you…. He purses his lips, shaking his head gently. “It just didn’t work out for me. But,” he says, and suddenly the overly bright smile from the very beginning is back, “it did for you, and that’s the important thing here. Your wedding sounds amazing, and we’re going to make sure you look beautiful, okay?”

Rachel practically bounces in her seat, nodding enthusiastically. So Kurt stands, offering a hand down to her, saying, “Alright then. Well, let’s go back to a changing room and get this process started then, shall we?”

She stands, and they give everyone one last wave – Kurt letting them know that the next time they see her, she’ll be in a dress. As they leave, he pretends not to notice the sad look that Blaine gives him.