Again, thanks for all the support (: Hope you enjoyed tonight's episode and enjoy this chapter!
Three. Good To You
"And I do want you to know that I hold you up above everyone.
And I do want you to know I think you'd be good to me,
And I be so good to you, I would."
- Good to You, Marianas Trench ft. Kate Voegele
"Oh my god! They're not vegetarian are they? Cómo pueda soy tan estúpido? Ellos son mis suegros, Dios! Estúpido!" Brittany throws her oven mitts into the drawer then begins pacing back and forth the kitchen.
My parent visiting always causes Brittany to stress out way too much, even though she had had a whole week and a half to prepare herself this time. "Brittany." There's a playful grin on my face that she doesn't see because she continues to rant. No matter how many times I hear her rant in mixed English and Spanish I can't help but smile. The amount of Spanish she's learnt from me over the years is amazing; she may not be able to write a single word but her speaking is impeccable. There's something about it that makes butterflies flutter in my stomach; even after all this time.
She keeps pacing until I can't bear to watch her torture herself anymore. I hop off my usual seat for watching Brittany cook on counter and take her arm. I can see she's trying to avoid looking into my eyes out of nervous habit. With one look into her eyes I can usually disable her defences. "Britt, my parents are not vegetarian. They haven't been vegetarian the other billion times you met them either. You really need to get over this, sweetie. They love you, they wouldn't have let me married you if they didn't, not like that would have mattered, but still. It's not like they're here to barge in and demand we move to be closer to them, you to get a better job or anything else. You know my parents aren't like that and this isn't the 1950s, Britt. They're just here to spend time with Lily and us."
Brittany's eyes finally meet my gaze; I can see the fear, the fear that was always there when she was extremely uncomfortable or nervous. "It's going to be okay, right?" Her voice is almost a whisper.
"Come here you." I pull her close, wrapping my arms around her waist. "Of course, it's going to be okay. Why wouldn't it be?" I give her a smile, knowing that it'll cheer her up at least a little bit. Brittany quickly leans over slightly and buries her face in the crook of my neck, pulling me closer. I can feel a small pool of tears begin to wet my skin. "Hey, it's going to be okay." I run my fingers through her hair and kiss the top of her head hoping it will help compose her.
After a few moments, she lets go; shaking her head and wiping the tears from her eyes as she pulls back. "I'm sorry. I always become a blubbering idiot over the stupidest things. It's so stupid."
"Hey! You're not stupid and nothing that you could ever do or have done is stupid."My voice is sincere; ever since the first time I met Brittany I knew how much she could be affected by her "lack" of traditional intelligence. But to be honest with you, Britt is the smartest person I've ever met. It always discouraged my faith in humanity how so many people couldn't see how intelligent she really was.
"This is going to end up coming out all wrong and not making any sense to you." I can feel the impatience with herself in her tone. She never blamed anyone for not seeing the best in her like she saw the best in everyone else. She always put the blame on herself.
"You never know until you try." I give her a small smile because I can see the internal conflict in her eyes, but she finally gives in.
"It's just that I can't help but remember the first time you met my father as my girlfriend and how terrible he was to you. It makes me feel so bad that your parents never had a problem with me and that you had to go through that with my father. I can't get it out of my head, and I hate that I put you through that. " I can hear the disgust in her voice.
"Listen to me." I kiss her temple before continuing. "You did not put me through that. You know I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat if it meant I could have you and Lily. And you don't need to feel guilty about how my parents have never had a problem with you. It's super that they haven't because my parents always taught me that I should never settle for anything less than what I want. And they always knew who was right for me and who wasn't. And you're the one who is right for me, I know it and they know it. So don't ever feel guilty for that. But look at us now, me and your father get along great. He was just scared I was taking his baby girl away from him. He knows that I'm who's right for you too now. Before he was scared so he acted out, just like I used to when we were kids. You understand that right?"
"Yeah, I get it but thank you for explaining it to me." She takes my lips and places them on her own, her tongue running along my bottom lip; a moan escapes from my mouth involuntarily. She pulls away and I can't help but pull her back for one more quick kiss. "Thank you for always understanding me, even when I don't think anybody will. Thank you for being so good to me."
"I'll always be good to you." I kiss her on the cheek. "Now, get back to your amazing cooking before you burn something." I let out a small giggle at the thought; I don't think she's ever burnt anything. She may not understand recipes but put that girl in front of a TV playing a cooking show and then she can work wonders.
Before I even get a chance to let go of Brittany a deafening cry escapes from the baby monitor. "Looks like there's someone else you need to go and be good to."
"But," I can't even finish my sentence before Brittany cuts me off by putting a finger to my lips.
"No buts about it. You've been supervising me all week so it's about time you do it yourself. Now go be good mother and kick that diaper's ass."
"I hate you!" She yells as she leaves the kitchen.
"I love you too!" I respond knowing exactly what she really means.
"So mija, you weren't lying when you said Brittany was the best cook. I would definitely agree, she is a lot better than your mother." My father's laugh is echoing through the apartment.
My mom playfully slaps him on the arm. "Miguel, I'm not that bad of a cook."
"See, honey now you know where I get it. I inherited my mother's cooking ability, well in this case inability." I can't help but smile and laugh, I didn't know that simple conversation could cause a miniature riot at the table. "She always wondered why I could never make anything harder than Kraft dinner or scrambled eggs. Well that and Sue's Cheerio's diet."
"Uh, don't remind me. Sue's Master Cleanse nearly hospitalized half of us." Brittany's face screws up just like Lily's does when she needs a diaper change causing me to laugh.
"It's about time you learnt, Santanita. Before you know it Lily will be old enough to eat actual food and Brittany's not going to be home at all hours to make it for you." I know my father's words are supposed to be encouraging but my previous smile falls from my face and I look down at my plate.
"Well I have plenty of time, she's not even two weeks old, Dad." My tone is slightly distant; as I finish talking I feel Brittany place her hand on my knee under the table. I look up out of the corner of my eye and see her giving me a heartfelt smile.
"Of course you have plenty of time. It's not all going to pile up all at once." Brittany's classic optimism causes me to finally look up completely and into the eyes of my father. I can tell that he regrets ever saying anything.
"Of course you're right. So have you guys figured out when you're going to visit Brittany's family? I'm sure they're excited to see all of you." My father thankfully changes the subject. I'm sure that the relief is visible on my face.
"My sister Ashley is more excited about us visiting then when there's a sale at Saks that corresponds to her visiting us. And that, that saying something. We're thinking about going down in three weeks and staying for four days, but we're going to take a week off to catch up due to the jetlag. Of course, traveling with Lily will make us need more time off to make sure she settles well." At the mention of our daughter my face lights up automatically.
"Speaking of which, where is that nieta of mine?" I sense in my mother's tone that she's noticed my face lighten.
"She's asleep in her crib. You haven't noticed the slight snoring from the monitor?" I chuckle. Brittany constantly expresses that fact that there is no doubt in her mind that Lily was my child; she loves to sleep the day away much like a teenage version of me. "I'll go get her and clean her up a bit so that you can see her before you go." I smile as I excuse myself from the table.
As I enter Lily's room I can't help but hear the hushed voices of my parents in the dinning area.
"You have no idea how glad we are you're in Santana's life, Brittany. I've never seen her this happy in my entire life." My father paused for a moment, "But when you guys officially became a couple that all changed. Even just by simply talking to her over the phone when I was at work telling her to order something for herself for supper I could tell. She changed. It was as if you had simply turned a switch back on. You made her back into my happy little girl again, my Santanita." I can hear the admiration in my father's voice.
"You made her our daughter agai. You can't possibly imagine how grateful we are to you. She was a train wreck waiting to happen and there was nothing we could do to stop it. Every time the phone rang we were afraid it was going to be one of her other friends telling us something had happened to her. I don't hold it against you, but when you were with that Artie boy, she changed." My mother's voice is slightly lethargic. "We were so terrified and helpless."
"We're so grateful that you two were able to work it out. You're so good to her. You know that she's acts tough, but she needs someone who's there for her when she needs it. Santana may seem like she's all sarcasm and trash talk but you know that she isn't. We both know that you can see through her and know when she needs you. We just wanted to say thank you for giving us our little girl back and giving us Lily. I didn't think that I get to see my Santanita's true smile again, but because of you I do."
I don't need to hear any more. I know that they were speaking the exact truth. If I hadn't made up with Brittany I would be long gone; likely being that stripper on a pole Rachel Berry claimed I'd only ever be, drowning my sorrows in alcohol and meaningless sex. But we did, and that's what matters. I just know that I'll be as good to her as she is to me for the rest of our lives. She's deserves that because she rises above it all, the pain, the pity, the looks, all of it, even if we've had a fight she still treats me the way she should. She does those things because it's who she is; she's my Britt-Britt.
