Hey, y'all! Thanks so much for the reviews on the last update! It warms my heart that y'all are still out there after me kind of neglecting this story lol. Can't wait to hear what y'all think again! Enjoy!
Evelyn "Evie" Hart- Charlayne Woodard
Mercedes sat in the passenger's side of Sam's truck fiddling with her hands in her lap.
"We don't have to go in if you don't want to, babe." Sam reached across the center console to hold her hands.
At the last minute the night prior, Mercedes decided to take her Dad's advice and talk to her mom before they left for L.A. Now, they were set to leave Lima for their flight in an hour and in her parents' driveway.
"No, I should. My dad was right. It's Christmastime and Christmas is about family."
Sam got out and opened her door. When they reached the front door, she knocked lightly.
Her mom opened it, looking rather surprised. "Mercedes."
"Hi, Mom."
"Wasn't expecting to see you here."
"Can I come in? We need to talk."
Michelle stepped aside to let them in.
Mercedes took a few deep breaths as she sat on the sofa. She intended to keep things cordial, but brief. She did want to make sure her mom knew that she was sorry, but she didn't want to make her believe that she was right. Shouldn't be too hard, right?
"Sam." Michelle nodded at him.
"Hi, Michelle. It's nice to see you–"
"Mom, I just wanted to let you know that I apologize for what I said to you." Mercedes didn't want to have to deal with the false pleasantries today. "I shouldn't have accused you of not caring about me or my happiness. I should've believed you when you said you just wanted what was best for me."
Michelle poked her bottom lip out. "Hmm. Thank you."
"But I also want it to be made known that I wasn't wrong to feel the way that I felt. The way that things have gone down between us, the three of us," she motioned to Sam, "has really hurt both me and Sam and while I shouldn't have kicked you out, my feelings were valid."
She crossed her legs as she sat back. "I see. Well, as you said, I only ever want you to be happy and successful. I accept your apology and I'm glad we'll be able to move forward. So, what's the plan?"
Mercedes tilted her neck once to the right and straightened her posture to help her ignore the fact that her mom failed to offer any apology of her own. "What's the plan?"
"Your dad told me that you were going up to L.A. I assume you're leaving for Detroit Metro from here?"
"We are."
"So, what's the plan?" Michelle repeated. "How are you getting all of your things back to L.A.? Are there any moving expenses or cargo fees I can help you with?"
Mercedes wasn't sure she was hearing her right. "Mom, I'm not moving back to L.A. full-time. Not until August."
This didn't sit well with Michelle, who sat upright with a frown. "August? I thought you were thinking of staying until Sam's OSU program ended. Even that would've put you getting back home in April or May. Why are you delaying your return for another 4-5 whole months?"
Mercedes replied quickly. "I'm waiting until Sam could come with me."
"Sam is going with you?"
"Yes, we're moving in together. Is that a problem?" The tail end of Mercedes' question signaled a change in attitude.
Sam lowered his head. This was going to be anything but a pleasant start to their holiday.
Michelle took a moment. "Mercedes, you need to get back to L.A. as soon as possible."
"I can't do this with you again."
"I thought that maybe you'd finally come to your senses and realized that. 'Is it a problem?' I don't know. But why you'd want to stay here for eight more months is beyond me."
Mercedes shrugged. "Welp, I've already committed and told Will and the glee kids that I'll be here. So that's done and there's really no use in trying to argue with me about it."
"Eight more months of staying in Ohio? Done. Just like that?"
"That's what it is, yeah."
"Eight more months on hiatus?"
"I'll be going back to L.A. at least twice a month and I'm going to be taking multiple exposure and press opportunities."
"But being there twice a month is not being there full-time."
"Mom." How had an apology turned into an interrogation?
"You need to get home—"
"Lima is my home! It's just as much as, if not more than, home than L.A. is."
"What's the harm in going back before Sam? That will give you time to firmly establish a new routine, figure things out without dragging someone behind you everywhere you go and having them ride your coattails—"
"Wait a minute, Michelle." Sam put his hand out. "I'm not just following her blindly to L.A. I'm going to be getting a job and doing my own thing. I'll have my own social circles and I'll be providing and paying bills—"
Michelle pretended to be excited. "You mean to tell me you're going to be making payments on her estates? Which one? The $800,000 condo in West L.A. or the $11.5 million beach house in Santa Monica?"
Mercedes barked, "STOP IT, MOM! That's not what any of this is about!"
"It's not, but it should be! You should take some time for yourself when you get back, Mercedes, to make sure you understand your new schedule now that you're putting out your sophomore album. Maybe even meet with a trainer or dietitian or two so that you can get back in shape and be at your healthiest."
"Oh, god. Okay, no." Mercedes shook her head vigorously and stood up, pulling Sam up with her. "This conversation is over."
"Sweetheart, I'm just saying–" Michelle rose from her seat as well.
"You've said enough. I came here to apologize to you, but you're still doing the exact same things that upset me in the first place. What you said, what you continue to say, is so awful. How could you possibly think what's coming out of your mouth is what's best for me?"
"It's what's best because it's my job as your mother to look out for you!"
"Sam, go to the truck, I'm right behind you."
Sam placed his hand on her back. "Mercedes, hold on. We should—"
Her vicious gaze never leaving her mom, Mercedes hissed, "Sam, truck. Now." With him gone, Mercedes stepped to Michelle. "How dare you say that to him. How dare you." She stared her down and prepared to tell her off the way she deserved, but what would it matter? "Merry Christmas, Mom," she said, brushing past her and out the door.
Sam, who was waiting for her at the truck, eyed her cautiously as she stormed out of the door. He opened her door for her. When he got on his side, he said, "I'm so sorry, Mercedes."
"You didn't do anything wrong, Sam. My mom doesn't want to accept the fact that I'm not living my life the way she wants me to anymore and that's her problem. Let's just go and enjoy our vacation, okay?" Despite fuming under the surface, she gave him a genuine smile.
He smiled back as he put the truck in reverse. "Let's go, then."
Mercedes lay her head back, smiling slightly when Sam rested his hand on her thigh. She hated that this was going to be her relationship with her mom for the foreseeable future, but she couldn't go over it again and again in her head. At some point, she just had to let it be what it was.
Mercedes and Sam arrived in L.A. at 11 a.m. PDT on a bright sunny Sunday, 68º. Mercedes spent most of their travel time working on her music and Sam spent most of it alternating between sleeping and pointing out how all the cities they flew over looked like little ant communities.
Sam had never flown so luxuriously. He had no idea that there were stealthy security guards, lounges, and secret entrances and exits at the airports and on their planes for people with enough money. They got in and out of both airports without people even noticing who Mercedes was. It was incredible. Mercedes had their bags taken to her home in Santa Monica, where they'd be staying for the duration of their vacation, while she went to go meet her manager. She asked Sam to come and he obliged. He wanted to meet her manager and see what else she did in a day as an artist.
In the backseat of the car that was driving them around, Sam asked, "What did you say the name of the place was again?"
"Splash. It's Evie's favorite cold-pressed juice spot. Mine too. They serve all kinds of stuff, though. I'm a fiend for their agua frescas."
He nodded as he looked out at the city they were driving in. "So many people."
"Oh, yeah. And it's not even Christmas for another four days. It gets worse. But don't worry, all the Evanses will be safe and sound at my house."
The car dropped them off and Mercedes thanked her driver. They walked into the shop and the woman Sam had come to know from Mercedes' Instagram account as Evie was already waiting for them.
She stood and greeted them with a smile. "Benz!" She chirped.
"Hi, Evie." She hugged her.
They rocked from side to side as they hugged.
"It's been the longest seven months not seeing you and barely talking to you since you keep ignoring my calls, girl." She gave her an annoyed look.
Mercedes shook her head, laughing. "You cannot blame me for that when you seem to forget what the word 'hiatus' means! I'm reconnecting with myself and my home. It's hard to reconnect when you're constantly contacting me about the next photoshoot you want to set me up for."
"I'm sorry! But you know good and well you're my best client. I try to get you all the good stuff in advance. I can't help when it comes in."
"Mmhmm." She rolled her eyes playfully.
"Well, I hope you're feeling reconnected, my love. Because we're hitting the ground running starting tomorrow." Finally, she looked up at Sam. "This must be the tall glass of milk that's been keeping you from me all this time, huh?"
Mercedes cheesed. "Evie, this is Sam. Sam, Evie."
Sam bent over and gave Evie a hand kiss. "Evie. It's so nice to finally meet you."
"Oh," Evie choked as her knees wobbled. She placed her hand on her chest and said slyly to Mercedes, "Now I see what you mean when you said you just couldn't let him go." She chuckled giddily. "Deep voice, Tennessee drawl, and fine as hell. A true southern gentleman."
"Evie, you're embarrassing me!"
"Mercedes has told me a lot about you, Evie. I feel like I practically know you already! Thanks so much for helping her all these years."
Evie's jaw dropped. "Well, at least someone is acknowledging my hard work around here! It sure is nice to hear a 'thank you' every once in a while." She side-eyed Mercedes. "She's told me a lot about you as well. Thank you for taking care of our girl and being there for her these past few months. Glad I could count on you."
"You can continue to." Sam smirked at Mercedes. "Always."
Mercedes felt her face heat up.
Evie said, "Dammit, you two are too cute. I love it! Ok, let's sit and talk business!" She sat down in her previous spot. "I already ordered some shots for us. Sam, you're welcome to anything you please. And have some food, too. I'm footing the bill."
Sam was looking over the menu and marveling at all the food and drink options while Mercedes and her manager talked about the weeks to come.
"I've got you booked for studio time bright and early tomorrow, 6 a.m. Then, you've got a fitting for your New Year's Eve performance at 9, a fitting for the Christmas special at 12, back at the studio at 1 and rehearsal for the Christmas special at 3."
Mercedes asked, "Is there any way we could that off? Sam's family is getting here tomorrow at 3 and I want to be there when they get there."
Evie studied her schedule on her iPad. "Okay, we can try to push the Christmas fitting to Tuesday and switch out your rehearsal slot. But that's going to make it tight for you between studio time and the writing session I have scheduled, so make sure you eat a good breakfast before you leave home that morning."
"If I eat breakfast, won't I be bloated for the fitting?"
"Yikes. You're right; I'll make sure they have something waiting for you after or have something delivered to the session."
Sam listened in awe at all of the things Mercedes had to do.
They were only just discussing Christmas Eve plans as two servers came up to them holding platters of drinks and shots. "Alright, ladies and gentleman! For you," One server started with Evie, "we've got the Holy Water and the Exhale Elixir. And for you," She turned to Mercedes, "the Bahama Mama Agua Fresca extra sweet, the Wheatgrass Whacker, and the Jetlag Jammer." She picked up another drink from the server behind her and set it down in front of Sam. "And for you, we have the L.A. Sunset."
Sam studied the drink.
"It's a fruity superfood smoothie." Evie calmed his fears. "Benz told me you liked pineapples and were kind of a health nut, so it's pineapples and orange on top with strawberry and keto grenadine at the bottom. It's also got goji berries, cashew milk, and some hemp seeds thrown in there. Try it!"
Sam took a sip and his eyes widened. "Whoa, that's good."
Overstimulated, Mercedes had to take a moment to gather her thoughts. She looked at Evie as if she grew two heads. "Holy Water? What in the hell is that?"
"Oh, relax. It's just coconut. But doesn't it look like something only God Himself is fit to drink? Merry Christmas!" She took a sip and grinned at the taste. "Did you two figure out what you wanted to eat?"
Sam was at the ready. "Can I get the buffalo chicken and kale wrap, please?"
The server wrote it down. "Of course. Anything else?"
Evie waited. "Mercedes?"
She shook her head. "I'm not hungry. But thanks."
Sam frowned. "How are you not hungry? You haven't eaten since we left the house over 8 hours ago."
"I'm just not hungry," she mumbled.
"Will you at least share my wrap with me? A bite or two?"
"No, Sam."
Evie rolled her eyes. "Sam, do you like avocado?"
"I love it."
"Great. Can we get three pieces of the everything avocado toast and two of the cotija? And a quinoa and baby arugula salad for her, please." She pointed at Mercedes.
"Evie." Mercedes gaped at her.
"I don't want to hear it. If you're going to be doing all the work I've got you slated to do, you need to keep your energy up. Speaking of, could we get her a Bender Defender shot, too?" She asked the server before turning back. "We need your vitamin C levels to be high as a kite. Can't have you getting sick on us."
When the server left, Mercedes continued with her questions, "Now what is this Wheatgrass Whacker?" The amount of green she saw in the shot had to break some sort of law. A federal one.
"You had that one the last time we were here. Anti-inflammatory."
"And this, uh, Jetlag Jammer?" She held up the purple juice shot, examining it.
"I got it to keep you from being up all night. It's a slow-releasing melatonin—"
"What? Evie, I'm not drinking that."
"Benz, I'm not kidding when I tell you you need to be on your a-game for this entire trip. Look, drink it or don't but you'll have no one to blame tomorrow but yourself if you're falling asleep at the mic."
Eyeing the drink, Mercedes weighed the consequences. Her relationship with the label had been really shaky lately, so she should probably be on her best behavior. She drank the shot, throwing her head back. "Not bad," She said. Then, she nervously took the wheatgrass shot in her hand. She did remember this one. She hated it. Still, she took it like a champ, closing her eyes, taking the shot, and swallowing down the gag that tried to bring it back up. "Oh, ew," she complained. "At least they still have my Bahama Mama."
A couple of hours later, Mercedes and Sam were dropped off at her house in Santa Monica.
"Tell me when I can open them," Sam said.
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Nobody told you to close your eyes, boy. Come on before people start to stare at us all weird."
Sam peeked open his eyes before they shot all the way open on their own. "Holy crap."
Mercedes' house was massive. They stood in her driveway, facing the garage which was in what Sam assumed to be the basement. Above it were 2 more levels, each with balconies that stretched from end to end of the glass walls. Both top levels extended to the right, which had more balconies and walls of glass. On the level above and beside the garage, there was a patio that led to an infinity pool that drained into a fountain facing the street. The patio and each of the balconies were completely furnished. To the left of the house were steps that led to the second level with water cascading down the adjacent privacy wall. And that was just the front.
Mercedes laughed a little. "Could you please gape and gawk from inside babe? I haven't even given you the tour yet."
And what a tour it was. The first floor was mostly a series of living rooms and a sunroom. And turns out, the glass walls weren't walls. They were extremely long sliding doors that opened to different sides of the patio. The living room that didn't have access to the patio instead opened up to a big green backyard space with a BBQ setup and fire pit with another in-ground pool. 2 of 7 total bedrooms were on the floor as well, and one had access to the backyard. There were also two kitchens, each fully equipped with undermount sinks, multiple smart appliances, the biggest walk-in pantries he'd ever seen, and marble countertops. Or were they granite? He wasn't sure. Next to one of the kitchens was a wet bar.
They then moved up to the second floor, where Mercedes showed him the remaining 5 bedrooms and 4 of the 6 bathrooms. Three of the bedrooms had balconies with a view of the Pacific Ocean only half a mile away and the mountains further out. Two of the bedrooms had ensuites in addition to the balconies. Their bedroom's balcony had its own patio-esque setup with a rectangle dining table, surrounding chairs, and patio chairs toward the edge of the balcony. Their bathroom had his and hers sinks, a ridiculously huge walk-in shower with touchscreen controls (with an adjacent sauna), and what Mercedes called a "soaking tub" that sat beside their balcony with a view of the city, the beach, and the mountains like all the other rooms. It was unreal.
"That's really cool," Sam said, "But wouldn't you be worried about someone spying on you or something?"
"Oh, all of the glass in the house is smart glass, so you can control all of that. Stay right here." She ran over to the bathroom's entrance, where there were a host of light switches. "You can use these switches and dimmers to change it. So, you could make it two-way," she flipped one of the switches, "so you can see out and no one else can see in. Or, you can blur it," she used one of the dimmers, "to different levels so that you control what people see on both sides."
Sam watched in awe as the glass around the bathtub slowly became more and more opaque before returning to its original crystal clear state. "Woah. And you can do that with the shower, too?"
She nodded as she came back over to him. "Anything with a glass door or wall. And you can do it from your phone, too. I'll set that up for you in a bit."
"This house is amazing, Mercedes. Everything is so smart. Literally. I'm surprised there wasn't a movie theatre or game room."
She smirked. "We haven't finished the tour yet. Come on." She started out of the bathroom.
"Wait, you actually have those?" Sam asked, following her.
She didn't have a game room, but she did have a home theatre in the basement. Also down there was a wine cellar, a home gym, and a completely empty home bar (yeah, another).
"I had all the booze taken out so that I wouldn't get too carried away while we're here," she explained. "When the folks get here, it'll be restocked, then mostly emptied again when they leave."
Then, she led him to her in-home studio, complete with sound-proof walls and just about any instrument she may need readily available. "Obviously, this is where I like to do music stuff. Writing, recording, sampling, whatever I need to do, I can get it all done in here."
To finish off the basement tour, she showed him to the garage.
"Holy… is that a Porsche?" Sam ran over to the SUV. It was indeed a Porsche Cayenne. "You have a Porsche?" Hearing her unlock the door for him, he hopped in, running his hands over the interior. "This is awesome!"
"Really? In terms of luxury cars, I would've taken you more for a Range Rover guy." She pointed to her Velar beside it. "I've got a Silverado rental coming for you. It was supposed to be here before us, but it'll be here soon."
He popped his head out of the Porsche window. "You got me a truck?"
She chuckled. "I mean, you can drive either of these, of course. But I figured you'd be more comfortable in a pickup." She walked over to him and rested on the window.
"You were actually going to let me drive these?"
She frowned. "You didn't think I'd demand that you have a driver everywhere you go or stay locked up in the house, did you? What kind of vacation would that be?" She ran her hand through his hair and gave him a kiss. "Come on. We've got one more stop on the tour."
"Christ. There's more?"
Turns out he was wrong about the house having three levels, there were actually four. The top level was a rooftop terrace that was pretty much another living room. It even had a tv. Once the tour was completely finished, they freshened up and sat on their bedroom balcony, her at the head of the table and him beside her on the corner, eating a mix of fruits out of a bowl. Sam felt like a king as they fed one another strawberries, grapes, blueberries, star fruit, and pieces of pineapple with sweet kisses in between. The fruits all somehow tasted like they were picked at just the right time. It was delicious. They enjoyed the cool weather and slight breeze and talked for a while about nothing and everything.
Then, the conversation redirected to all things Cali. They (mostly Mercedes) talked about restaurants she wanted to take him to, which celebrity houses they could see from where they were, how much fun it would be for them all to put up the Christmas tree she bought when the folks got there, and more.
Then, Mercedes asked him a more serious question, "Are you doing okay?"
He reluctantly peeled his gaze away from the water ahead to look at her across the table. "I'm doing great."
She could tell he was lying. "With what my mom said today. Before we left? About my homes?" It wasn't the first time her mom hinted at him being undeserving of her because of his income. He always stayed pretty quiet on the matter, which she knew meant that he probably took it personally.
"Oh, yeah. I mean, the last thing I want to say is that your mom was right, but I gotta hand it to her. I definitely couldn't make any payments on this place. I probably couldn't even afford one of the ensuites." He tried to laugh.
The failed attempt at self-deprecating jokes was another warning sign. "You know that money means nothing to me, right? They're just pieces of paper and outside of being able to buy stuff with them, they have no value to me."
He looked back out to the water, his face starting to show more of his true feelings. "I guess I just, I knew you had money, but this is a lot. And your house, while breathtaking, is massive and expensive. Between that, the flight, meeting with Evie, who's awesome, by the way, being driven everywhere, the people magically stocking and restocking and unstocking everything, I'm really starting to see what your life is actually like."
He wouldn't say this, but he was also starting to realize how much it paled in comparison to living in a two-bedroom with him.
He gave her a smile then, a genuine one. Not that bright, but genuine. "Plus, I'm starting to see what goes into creating the spectacle that is Mercedes Jones." He looked away again. "To go from being homeless to having what I have now to all of this? It's so wild that you're inviting me to be a part of this life when I didn't even do anything to deserve it and can't help you maintain it."
"Now you know that's not true," she said. "I mean, you're right about some stuff, like, my house is pretty damn big and expensive. And it does take a ton of work to put together the official presentation of yours truly." She presented herself with a laugh. "But I'm not 'inviting' you to anything. Just like the Lima life is ours, so is this one. And they aren't separate lives, either. It's all yours as well as mine."
He shook his head. "But I can't contribute to this portion of our life, Mercedes. You can't deny that."
"You're sitting here with me right now. How is that not contributing?"
"You know what I mean," he said a little more forcefully.
Mercedes sighed and cupped his cheek. "Sam, I'm not going to expect you to be able to afford everything I have. And to that point, I'm not basing whether or not you 'deserve' to be here on your financial capabilities at all. Best believe you will be contributing, though. Somebody's gotta draw me a bath and have some tea ready for me after a long day at work." She smiled when he did. She moved her hand from her cheek to his hand. "Baby, if I didn't feel like you could contribute, I wouldn't have brought you here. This life is ours. Not mine, not someone else's, not mine that I'm inviting you to, it already belongs to both of us 100%. Don't let anything my mom or anyone says get to you, okay?"
Sam heard her, but he wasn't sure how he felt about it, so he just pushed it to the side with a grin. "Got it."
"Good. Now, if you're done eating your fruits like a Greek god, I've got a few more hours before I have to meet the girls," She sing-songed, a now-familiar spark showing up in her deep brown eyes. "And speaking of how big my house is, it's got over 9,000 square feet. Do you know what that means?" She moved from her chair to his lap.
"What?" He asked hoarsely.
"It means we've got a lot of christening to do," she whispered, descending onto his lips,
He growled into the kiss and shot up, picking her up bridal style. He was too excited to pay attention to her cackling.
She stopped laughing when he led her out of the bedroom and into the hallway. "Uh, babe, the bed's back that way."
"Who said anything about a bed? We've got over 9,000 square feet, baby. We're headed to one of thes living rooms to see what this smart glass is all about."
She laughed even louder as he carried her down the stairs.
"So I told him that if he's not going to commit to me for real this time, then we're going to break it off officially." Tina shrugged as she took a sip of her drink.
Mercedes peered around the corner. "You better not be breaking up with Artie again because I will sue you for emotional distress."
Everyone smiled and hugged her upon seeing her. She, Tina, Santana, and Rachel were meeting up for dinner at some rooftop bar Santana suggested.
"You look fucking amazing, so I'm not going to rip into you for being almost 30 minutes late," Santana sassed.
Mercedes smiled embarrassingly and sat down beside Santana. "Sorry. Between flying in, meeting with Evie, getting Sam settled, I've been kind of all over the place today. I also had the utmost vexing conversation with my mom this morning, so my entire day's been offset a little."
"Getting Sam settled or," she cleared her throat, "settling in with him?"
Mercedes narrowly concealed her smile. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I was a virgin once. I know that freshly sexed look. You two were getting freaky before you came here, weren't you?"
Indignant, Mercedes gasped, "We were not!"
Tina smiled. "Oh, they totally were. That's the we-were-getting-freaky look. Artie and I have that look all the time."
Rachel giggled. "Oh, my gosh. Is that the real reason you were late?"
Without giving Mercedes a chance to answer, Santana leaned over. "How good was it? Was it mind-blowing and earth-shattering? Better yet, where was it? The balcony?"
Rachel added, "The rooftop?"
Then Tina, "The backyard pool? The front pool?!"
Mercedes bit her lip and smiled. "Let's just say," she leaned toward the center of the table so no one would hear them, "it's a shame my wine cellar wasn't stocked. It would've been great to see how well the bottles would hold during an earthquake."
She barely finished her sentence before her friends were laughing, cheering, and in Rachel and Tina's case, blushing.
Santana placed her hand on her chest and wiped away fake tears. "Oh! I feel like a proud parent. I knew you had it in you!"
Once they got over that, Rachel said, "I'm so happy for you and Sam. But I'm still confused on how you two put it together and I didn't." She pointed at Tina and Santana.
"Well, it's like we told Mercedes," Tina said, "We all dated or kissed him at some point in time, so there's that. Also, I was his best friend senior year."
Rachel lowered her head while keeping her gaze steady. "I did, too."
Santana winced and tilted her head. "Did you though?" She speculated.
Mercedes almost spit her water out.
"Whatever." Rachel waved her friend off. "What matters is that this is so great for you and Sam, Mercedes. We always knew that you were meant to be. All of us."
"Thanks, Rach. That means a lot." Mercedes decided she would wait to drop the baby bomb.
"How's Sam doing, by the way?"
"Yeah." Santana wanted to know as well. "Has Dolly Parton's grandson pissed his pants yet?"
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "He's doing good I think."
"You think?"
"For the most part, he's adjusting really well. I just worry about him, you know? This life can be a lot for anyone, but he's never had any parts in it. Plus, with my mom always down his throat, I know he's probably taking some of that frustration out on himself."
"Did your mom say something new?" Tina inquired. "I thought you two weren't talking?"
Mercedes explained the situation and said, "I can tell it's starting to really get to him. I want to be there for him, but I don't want to push. Anywho, I'm not going to be upset over anything Mom-related while I'm here. This time is for me, Sam's family, my work, my girls, and Baby Jesus. That's all I'm marinating on right now."
Rachel nodded. "That sucks about Sam, but I guess that's good."
Santana returned to the things Mercedes listed when she sat down. "What about Evie?"
"Also good. She's got me so slammed, I'm surprised I was even able to meet you guys today."
Tina agreed. "We are, too. Now, what about your dad? Has he gotten his scans back yet?"
Mercedes shook her head. "We're still waiting. But the doctor said by Christmas, so they should hopefully be in in a couple of days."
"Well, we've all been sending him good vibes, prayers, good energy, all of that." Rachel nodded.
"Okay," Santana said. "That's true, but we're not here to be sad or depressed tonight. I'm just trying to eat some good ass food and get a little too much alcohol in your systems."
"'Our systems'? You're not drinking tonight?"
Tina gasped, "Oh, my god. Are you pregnant?"
"What is it with you that anytime someone says something, they have to be pregnant?" Rachel shrugged with confusion. "You asked me the same thing because I talked about my boobs being sore."
"I think she's baby crazy," Santana said. "She asks me that every time she sees me as if when we do decide to have kids, Brittany's not going to be shouting it from the rooftops before my eggs even drop."
"That's so not fair, Santana!" Tina yelped. "You had a glow to you that I hadn't seen before. And you weren't drinking that night either which, knowing you, had to have meant something."
"I was the DD, Tina. I told you that. Anyway, I'm doing an alcohol detox. Gotta stay prim and proper for my NYE fashion show."
"Then cheers to that!" Tina raised her glass and drank from it.
Santana looked at the woman beside her. "What are you having, Wheezy? And it better not be a watermelon margarita."
Santana and Brittany were some of the few first-gen New Directions that lived in L.A., so she and Mercedes would hang out a lot. Needless to say, she'd become aware of Mercedes' favorite drink.
Mercedes defended herself. "But they're really good! And they go great with everything."
"Yeah, at Chili's. Pick something different and don't make me order for you." Santana went to stick one of the complimentary garlic bites in her mouth.
Mercedes rolled her eyes, snatched the piece of bread out of her friend's hand, and ate it herself.
"Bitch!"
She stuck her tongue out at her, mocking her. "I already ordered before I came in. But I'm keeping my booze intake to a minimum. Can't get sloppy tonight." As if on cue, a waitress came over and sat a negroni down in front of Mercedes. She thanked her before ordering a Long Island Iced Tea to come when she finished.
Santana's eyes widened. "Jesus. And I thought you weren't getting sloppy tonight."
Mercedes pursed her lips. "Changed my mind that quick. Believe me, if you had the day I had, you'd be hard-pressed to get as drunk as you can as quick as you can." She tilted the glass to her lips and swallowed, sighing at the warm burning feeling in her throat. "Evie had me drinking some damn wellness shots. I've got to counteract all the healthy. Plus, I had all the booze taken out of my house. Horrible mistake on my part."
When their food arrived, the friends directed almost all of their attention to it until two women came up to their table.
"Excuse us," One of them said. "We were wondering, Santana and Mercedes, if you two would take a picture with us?"
They smiled.
"Sure." Santana grinned.
As they got up, Rachel stuck her hand out to get the fans' attention. "Pardon me, would you like for me to join in as well? Rachel Berry, Tony-Award Winning Broadway actress." She introduced herself.
Santana shook her head slowly. "Rachel, don't do that," She warned.
"What?"
"That thing where you come to L.A. and think that you're hot shit. This isn't New York, no one cares about Broadway. Mercedes and I are hotter shit. Just let us have our moment."
Mercedes kicked Santana's leg. "Don't listen to her, Rachel. People love Broadway everywhere. You're hot shit, too. Just… not quite as hot as us." She grimaced before Santana pulled her over to take the picture.
After the picture, the women finished their food and decided they didn't want the night to end, so they all caught a ride to Mercedes' house— and picked up some alcohol on the way. With Sam upstairs, they broke out the booze and they all started to really let loose, laughing and dancing around her main living room.
"Guys," Mercedes said once they began a cool-down period, "I have something else I need to tell you. So, I went to the gyno for my annual and I did something. I decided to go off of my birth control."
Santana was the first to speak up in the mass confusion that followed, "Why the hell would you do that?"
"Sam and I want to start a family!"
There was a moment of the women looking at one another. Then, Rachel and Tina suddenly burst into cheers for their friend.
"Oh, my gosh! This is so exciting!" Rachel exclaimed.
"I'm so happy for you guys!" Tina picked up her phone. "You HAVE to start your registry early. I've heard the best way to get the best gifts is to give people at least a year to save up for them. Were you thinking Target, Amazon, or BuyBuy Baby? I've even heard some people doing them on Etsy!"
Mercedes grinned. "I don't know. We hadn't really gotten that far yet. The birth control is just a start so that we can officially start trying."
"Have you lost your damn mind?"
All the excitement stopped as the women looked at Santana.
Mercedes sat her drink down. "Lost my mind?"
"As in are you insane? Like, clinically speaking?"
Tina knew where this was headed. "Santana."
"No, Tina! We've sat by and supported her through the hiatus and the glee stuff and the albeit brief engagement, but at some point, we have to say something. Otherwise, we aren't the friends we claim to be. I'm not letting you do this to yourself, Mercedes."
"You don't have to 'let' me do anything. You sound like my mom."
"As horrible as your mom can be, she's not completely in the wrong. Look, I hate to have be the person to tell you this because I know I'm going to hurt your feelings more than anyone else would, but Mercedes, you need to get it together. You have made so many back-to-back colossal mistakes career-wise. We can repair the damage done by you going AWOL and everything else, but a baby is something we can't fix once it happens."
Mercedes gasped.
"You are 26."
"Kurt and Blaine had Melissa at 25 and 24. And they'd thought about it a year before, right Rachel?"
Rachel nodded. "That is true."
Santana shot Rachel daggers for opposing. "Kurt and Blaine had been together and in the same place for almost 7 years. You and Sam have been together for 7 months, which, while admiral considering your track record, makes you far from baby-ready. Not to mention you haven't even moved back to Cali yet. You need to wait, Mercedes."
"Santana, this is Mercedes we're talking about," Rachel spoke up. "She wouldn't do this if she didn't feel it was right."
Mercedes finished the last of her drink and stood up. "It's been nice hanging out with y'all today, but I think it's time to wrap things up. Early day tomorrow. Tina, Rachel, if I don't see you guys again before you head out, have a nice trip back. See yourselves out. Happy Holidays."
"Mercedes, wait," Tina called out to her, but it was no use. She'd already gone back upstairs.
Santana sighed. Obviously, this was something they were going to have to have a follow-up conversation about.
