Arriving at a Baby Shower, or a BaByQ, as the invitation indicated, should never induce cold sweats and shaky hands, but let's just say Heather Morris has that kind of affect on people, especially people who still love her, very, very much.
Naya and Vanessa were greeted at the door by Heather's sister April, who appeared legitimately thrilled to see them both as she ushered them towards a mountain of presents.
"Just add your things to the magic mountain over there" she whispered pointing to a table in the living room overflowing with frilly ribbons and boxes and pastel colored paper and toile. "To be honest, I thought you might not come when I didn't see your names on the registry. But I thought you just might have had an assistant or something order your gifts, so who am I to think anything!"
It was obvious that even though Heather was one of the most recognizable twenty-somethings in Hollywood, April was still uncomfortable around "celebrities" even if she'd met them countless times. But Naya wasn't sure which offended her more, the thought that April assumed Naya or Vanessa's "people" would have shopped for them off of the registry, or that April thought they would be so impersonal as to shop off of the damn registry at all. Before she could even finish processing the comparison in her head, Naya felt words escaping from her otherwise manicured smile.
"Oh, there was a registry? I'm sorry. I really wanted to surprise Heather, though. What is the fun in deciding all of the presents before you even open them?"
"Oh she'll be plenty surprised that you're even here," April smirked back over her shoulder as she swept through the kitchen toward the yard.
Vanessa knew her face had twisted itself into a pretzel of what the funk was that? So she grabbed Naya's arm from behind and met her eyes for a second, just checking in. Naya nodded affirmatively in reply and gently shook her head from left to right. She then ran her fingers through her hair, took a deep breath, adjusted her clothes, wiped the corners of her mouth, the underline of each eye, and charged ahead. Sometimes Naya simply took Vanessa's breath away. For such a tiny person, her enormous presence was undeniable. Watching her subtle preparations to face the awaiting party was like watching a warrior suit up for battle. Each self-protective shift in her armor made Vanessa keenly more aware of just how fragile her friend was within her steely façade. Objective. Get through this day. Obstacle. Almost everyone at this party? The action? To be determined.
"Oh look!" Vanessa cheered over the fortress around Naya's heart. "There's Zach! I wanna snuggle him to the ground!"
The girls followed April into the wide-open yard. Nieces and nephews chased each other around with water guns and super soakers. Sun-kissed adults hovered around serving tables of barbecued chicken and burgers and probably some tofu dogs and salad for good measure. Naya could identify most of the faces which turned as Vanessa closed the sliding door behind them. Heather's mom smiled warmly. Crystal waved and shouted "Hi!" Then Heather's niece pounced from behind and wrapped her wet arms around Naya screaming "You're finally here!"
"I'm sorry pumkin. The traffic was a total drag. But look atchu! You're almost as tall as me!"
"That's not hard. Especially if you take those big shoes off."
"Touché tall child, touché."
"She's been asking about you all morning," Heather said calmly reaching her arms out for a hug.
Naya palmed the crown of the munchkin between them and moved her ever so slightly aside so that she could reciprocate the embrace. Vanessa successfully dropped to her knees to capture the wiggly niece in a quick tickle while trying to subtly overhear the exchange above her head.
"I'm so glad you came," Heather continued gently but directly into Naya's ear.
"Well if you weren't so afraid of Twitter you would have known I was on my way. But the traffic really did suck. We sat on the 101 for over an hour. But Vanessa was a trouper. She sang to me almost the whole way."
"Well I'm glad you both suffered the ride. It wouldn't have felt right without you guys here. Thank you."
"Don't even Hemo!" Vanessa said dusting the grass off of her dress. "Operation extra-aunties is rip roaring ready to go."
"Why don't you both get something to eat? The BBQ Sauce on that chicken is kickin! The baby loves it. I swear I'm eating for seventeen."
"Well you don't look it," Naya said, trying not to let the blush burn through her tan.
"Preach sistah! You are one hot baby momma!" Vanessa shouted as Zach ran into their circle and embraced them all.
"Ah my little loves. I'm so glad Santana and Sugar from the Future finally made it."