MAY, 1988, SEATTLE, WA

                LINDY WAS TIRED. There was no other way to describe how she felt, even when 'tired' felt like such a cop-out word. She was so tired that even when she slept and her eyelids were shut to the world, she still felt the exhaustion seeping into her bones and breaking her down bit by bit, an ever-present downer when she was doing her best to stay productive.

Her first year of college had wrapped, and she'd completed the milestone with grades that awarded her with a place on the Dean's List. Within a year, she'd be applying to the nursing college at UW and would be one step closer to fulfilling every dream of the past nineteen years.

What really burdened Lindy was her job; Kurt had certainly been right in saying that it would be a lot considering the pressure she had already been under. Lindy had accepted a job waitressing at a restaurant close to campus that sold bar food and cheap beer. She'd been working nonstop, sometimes pushing forty hours in a week, which was saying a lot when she had a mass of homework to do as well.

On the brighter side, she'd saved enough money to purchase her very first car, a nineteen-eighty-one Honda that the owner had sold to her for a bargain price of two-hundred-and-fifty dollars. She'd been unable to believe it at first, but found the price to be reasonable upon discovering the car's mileage and rather poor upkeep. Trae had already made several visits to Seattle to work on the thing, shaking his head at his sister when he'd peeked inside to take in the car's interior. 

The other portion of money that she'd made had gone into savings, hidden away so that in the coming months Lindy would be able to rent an apartment near school. She'd done everything that she could to ensure that she'd be ready for the commitment, from prioritizing her credit (she hadn't known what credit actually was at first) and apartment hunting.

Meanwhile, Kurt had been entirely devoted to Nirvana, driving all over in order to make gigs and play for anyone who wanted to hear. It was in those times that Lindy felt most alone, missing him even when he was gone for even only a night. She would chew away at her bottom lip, trying to wonder how she'd handle him being away on a different continent if he ever ended up touring someday.

The week after classes ended, Lindy was working a late shift, rolling silverware for the coming day as the time dragged on. No one was in the restaurant except for her, two other servers and their manager. The only sound was "Hungry Eyes" by Eric Carmen playing over the restaurant speakers.

The bell that hung over the restaurant door clanged, signaling that someone had walked in. Lindy, who was sitting in a nearby booth, stood with a twitch of irritation. It was nearly eleven at night. Did someone really have the indecency to expect to be served fifteen minutes to close?

"How can I help —," Lindy began, rounding the corner with her hands tucked into the pockets of her waitstaff apron. She stopped immediately when she saw who was standing there.

"Kurt!" she cried, closing the distance between them and throwing her arms around him with happiness.

"Hi," he said breathlessly, sounding like he'd ran all the way to the restaurant.

"God, I thought you were a customer. I was about to lose my mind."

"Nope, not a customer tonight."

"Come over here and sit, I'm just finishing rolling silver and I'll be done. Do you want something to eat before the kitchen shuts down?"

Kurt's features pinched as if the question physically pained him. Lindy could guess why. His stomach had been hurting again, preventing him from being able to enjoy the foods he had once ate without a second thought.

"Think some fries would be okay?" Lindy asked softly.

Kurt nodded, stuffing his hands into his jeans and looking at the ground, acting ashamed of the unspoken problem he had been dealing with day and night. 

"Yeah, fries are good. Thanks Linds."

Lindy ran back to the kitchen, notifying the cook on duty before returning to Kurt. He was sitting at her booth, stacking the silverware she had already rolled into some sort of obscure pyramid.

"So what do I owe the pleasure?" Lindy grinned, sliding into the booth with the eagerness of a young child. Kurt had visited her work before, but never so late. Usually he came with Krist and they would both delight in pelting her with rolled up straw wrappers as she dashed table to table. 

Kurt smiled keenly. "I came because I just got some good news. Really good news, actually."

"Krist and Shelli are finally having that baby I've been asking them to conceive?" Lindy guessed, reaching for the ketchup as a helpful server delivered their fries to the table.

"No, and I'd give up on that dream if I were you," Kurt said with a roll of his eyes. He swiped his own fry through the pool of ketchup, cramming it in his mouth before reaching for more. There was no doubt he was hungry, probably having had fasted after a bad bout with his stomach pain.

"It's actually about Nirvana," he continued. "Sub Pop called me tonight. They want us to come in for a recording session."

Lindy's jaw dropped open. "A recording session?! Shut up!"

"Yep," Kurt said proudly.

"Hell yes! That's amazing Kurt!" Lindy shouted jovially,  jumping across the table to kiss Kurt's lips with so much exuberance he fell backwards into the booth.

"It would be even better if they weren't making 'Love Buzz' the lead single, but I won't complain," he told her, nibbling on another fry after she settled back into her seat.

"That's a good one though," Lindy insisted. "You perform it well live."

"Yeah, but I've written some really interesting stuff," Kurt said pointedly. "I thought they'd want to use that instead."

"They will, don't worry. For now, this is good. No, it's amazing!"

"I knew you'd be so happy," Kurt said with a gleaming smile. "That's why I had to come down right away."

"I'm glad you did. I was needing the pick-me-up."

Lindy felt lighter than she had felt in weeks at this sudden news. Despite her own hardships, nothing felt better than knowing Kurt had received a sliver of good news in spite of the bleak outlook that he had been recently facing. She believed with utmost certainty that this was the break he had been waiting for. His desperate wishing would soon come to an end.

"I've been needing this. You know what I mean? I wasn't going to give up or anything but damn, it feels so nice to know something is finally happening," Kurt vented, sighing with a clear sense of alleviation.

"I know," Lindy agreed, nimbly folding the last few rolls of silverware in front of her before gathering them into her arms. "You guys deserve this."

She left the booth, balancing the stack of silverware in her arms and peering at Kurt over it.

"I'll be back in a sec, then we can leave. I've just got to take these back and clock out."

Lindy walked into the kitchen, going into the back and setting the stack down into its designated basket. She undid the ties of her apron enthusiastically, dying to get back to the house and celebrate with Kurt.

As she removed the apron, the server who had set their fries down joined Lindy in the back with an interested look in her eyes.

"That's your boyfriend, Lindy?"

"Yeah that's him," Lindy said, the honor of claiming Kurt radiating in her voice.

"That's funny. I saw him at a show not too long ago. It was a place called the Vogue. He's a great musician."

Lindy beamed. "I'll tell him you said so."

Practically skipping with mirth, Lindy tossed her apron over a rack, clocked out, and left the kitchen to rejoin Kurt in the dining area. He was still in the booth, drawing on a napkin with a randomly produced pen from his pocket. He could never stay bored for too long.

"Ready?" Lindy asked him, adjusting her purse strap over her shoulder.

"Yeah, let's go," Kurt said, standing and taking her hand in his. They walked outside, a late night drizzle of dewy rain engulfing them.

"I'll meet you at home," Kurt told her, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"Congratulations again," Lindy whispered, already beginning to count down the moments until they were in the privacy of his room to share the excitement solely between themselves. Kurt returned her well-wish with a coy smile, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, before proceeding towards his car.

Lindy did the same, scurrying into the misty rain before arriving at her driver's side door. She hurriedly peeled her purse apart, delving through its contents in search of her keys. She stopped her search promptly when something fell into a view.

It was a tampon, half crunched from being shoved deep down at the bottom of her purse.

It was a tampon that she had not used, despite having packed it in her purse two weeks ago for her upcoming period.

Her period which she did not get.

Lindy suddenly felt very woozy, leaning against the slick car door as a fog began to cloud her head. She envisioned a calendar, trying to count her days and ensure that she was right. But it all added up, even after she'd done the math several times.

For the first time in her life, Lindy had missed her period.

She let out a little cry, a soft, whining sound as she guessed with immediate conclusiveness what this meant.