Chapter 7
Santana's Pov
The touch of Rachel's hand against my back made me not want to wake up, and her breath hitting my neck made me want to spend the whole morning hugging her. Watching her wake up, watching her stir to find a more comfortable posture, watching her hands clench my shirt holding me close to her. Her hair, although it was tousled, fit perfectly with the temperance and serenity of her face that settled on the pillow, right in front of me, without an iota of wanting to wake up yet.
But then I realized, I had been watching Rachel and her perfect features for a while, but had not noticed that Theo wasn't there, and I remembered perfectly that the three of us slept in the same bed. Before getting up I gave Rachel a kiss on the cheek and she stirred looking for the duvet to cover herself.
I went downstairs to the living room and listened to the sound of cartoons on TV. Theo was sitting on the couch watching the screen with my mother beside him. They were both eating what appeared to be pancakes while an episode of Bugs Bunny was playing on TV.
"Good Morning." They both looked up with syrupy cheeks and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Good morning, mija. I left some pancakes for you and Rachel in the kitchen." My mother said running a napkin over Theo's cheeks to wipe them.
"Morning, Tana. Where is momma?" He asked me to continue watching TV.
"Sleeping."
While they were having breakfast, I went to the kitchen to make some coffee. When I walked into the living room Rachel was coming down the stairs with her hair tousled and rubbing a fist against her eye. I took a sip of coffee and as I lowered the cup I saw Rachel kissing Theo's forehead and my mother's cheek.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty." I said smiling.
She chuckled, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she approached me. Before saying something, she took my cup of coffee and took a sip, placing it again in my hand to kiss me on the cheek.
"Good morning, Tana. Those pancakes your mami and Theo are eating look delicious." I laughed.
During my time with Rachel, I discovered that the girl has a great appetite. "Well you're lucky, 'cause mami told me she left us some."
I smiled at Rachel's obvious enthusiasm for eating pancakes. We hear laughter and we both turn to see Theo and my mom laughing at Bugs Bunny occurrences. It was amazing how well the two got along and only met one day ago. We stared at them while they watched TV.
"Your mami is amazing with him." I looked at Rachel and gave her a kiss on the temple.
"My mami is amazing with everyone. Now let's go get those pancakes." She laughed and I took her hand to guide her into the kitchen.
Rachel ate most of the pancakes and I couldn't help but laugh at her cheeks full of syrup like Theo. She just blushed and kept eating while I looked at her as if she were the most beautiful thing in the world, and she was. Rachel Berry was the most beautiful person in the world for me.
*
We were making cookies, well Rachel was making cookies while Theo and I had a flour fight. I ran around the kitchen island with my hands full of flour chasing Theo who was laughing running away from me. It was ironic, I used to think I didn't want children but I loved Theo like he was my son.
When I least expected it, I felt a hit of flour on my face that stopped me in my tracks. I snorted spitting out some flour that had fallen into my mouth and ran my forearms across my eyes to wipe them. Rachel was behind the counter laughing with one hand over her mouth and the other behind her back trying to hide the traces of flour on it, and Theo was in the same condition.
"You're gonna pay for this." I mumbled, taking a handful of flour in my hand and Rachel ran off when she saw me. "Come here, Rach!"
When I managed to reach her I cornered her against the stove and spread my hand letting the flour fall over her head, and Rachel was shaking herself trying to get out of my grip. She was laughing so hard that I could see the tears streaming from the edges of her eyes and it made my heart flutter with joy.
"What's going on in my kitchen?" My mother was standing in the doorway looking at the mess we had made in the kitchen and I was still with Rachel cornered against the stove and my hands resting on her waist.
"We are making cookies, mami."
My mom raised an eyebrow looking at Theo who was completely covered in flour. "Really? Because this looks more like a flour fight."
Mami looked at Rachel and I never thought she would be capable of betraying me, when she said, "Santana started." I looked at her incredulously and she shrugged. "I have to finish the cookies before dinner, Tana. And you and Theo are going to clean up the mess you made when you came to 'help me', as you said."
Theo and I started cleaning up the flour that we had spread around the kitchen, and Rachel was right, the boy and I had made a mess. Meanwhile, mami was helping Rachel with the cookie dough, talking about random topics. I couldn't help but smile when I saw them interact, the girl I was madly in love with and the woman who gave me life, it was a dream come true.
"Momma, when are the cookies going to be ready?" Theo asked running a wet cloth over his face to wipe away the traces of flour.
"They would have been ready by now if you and Tana had really helped me." Rachel turned around taking a tray full of dough and putting it in the oven. "But since it wasn't like that, the cookies will be ready for dinner."
Rachel walked over to Theo who was sitting next to me on a stool and shook the boy's wavy hair. Then she looked at me and did the same with my hair, running her fingers through my dark lots to stir the flour.
"Now you and I are going to take a shower and get ready for our dinner with Tana and Mami López." She scooped up Theo and kissed me on the cheek. "And you should do the same, Tana."
I jumped when my mom's voice filled the silence that reigned in the kitchen after Rachel left with Theo. "You're head over heels in love with her."
I just smiled, because mami was absolutely right. I was madly in love with Rachel. And there was nothing I could do about it.
*
"I think Rachel should do the honors as she is our special guest." Mami said and Rachel looked at me confused.
"You must say why you are grateful." I said smiling.
She nodded and looked at all of us before 'speaking' in her own way. "I'm grateful for life and the second chance I had when I went into remission. Of course I'm grateful for my son, because he is a special one. And definitely I'm grateful for having reunited with you, Santana."
I was pretty sure I was grinning like an idiot. "Well, now I will speak. I'm grateful for my family and for my work. And I'm also grateful that Theo had bumped into me that rainy day. I'm glad we got to be friends again, and I'm grateful for having you in my life right now."
"My turn, my turn!" Theo stood up in the chair holding one hand on Rachel's shoulder. "I am grateful because I have the best momma in the world. And I am also grateful to have met you, Tana, you are like another mom to me. I love you, Tana."
The tears were real. I never wanted children but I loved Theo as if he were my son. And I really behaved like a mother to him because I loved him as one. I looked at Rachel and she was looking at me with a big bright smile and tear-filled eyes.
"I love you too, T-boy." I murmured, confident that if I spoke fully my voice would break in mid-sentence.
After that emotional moment we all dined with laughter and a Theo with his cheeks full of mashed potatoes. For dessert we had Rachel's cookies with ice cream, and I must say those cookies tasted like heaven. And no, I wasn't saying it because I was in love with Rachel.
We all meet in the living room later to watch movies. I was on the couch with Rachel snuggled against my side and Theo sitting on my lap, like we were a family. Mami was in the chair, her back reclined and almost asleep.
I felt Rachel's hand touch my shoulder and I turned my attention away from the boring movie on TV to look at her. "What's wrong, Rach?" I said, seeing that she was with her eyebrows drawn together and her brow furrowed.
She shook her head. "Nothing is wrong, Tana. I just wanted to tell you that I want to go to the Friendsgiving barbecue tomorrow."
I started stroking her hair and her eyes closed. "Are you sure? I don't want you to feel like you have to go. Am I making you feel pressured to go?"
"No, Tana. I want to go because it's time to face my fears. Besides, I haven't seen most of the Glee guys in seven years and I miss them." She said moving a little closer to me.
"Then I recommend that you pack a sandwich, because Finn always burns the meat." I said caressing the lines of expression on her forehead and she giggled, running a spleen over Theo, hugging me.
"Momma, I don't want burnt meat."
Theo murmured in a sleepy voice, his head tucked into the crook of my neck. Rachel and I laughed, and went back to watching the 80's movie that my mother had put on TV. This Friendsgiving barbecue would be interesting.