Brittany was busy with concentrating on unpacking her clothes and planning the house when she heard the phone ringing. She answered the phone absent mindedly and hearing the latina's raspy voice made her feel warm again. She listened distractedly to Santana telling her that their blood tests were at eleven and that she'd called her mother.
Shit, I forgot to call mom. Stupid Dr. Lopez and her weirdly irresistible charm. making me forget everything else. Brittany got lost in her inner ranting.
"Hello? Britt, You there?"
"Yeah, sorry. So what did she say?"
"Congratulations."
"That's it?"
"Yeah. She said she'd try to be here for the wedding."
"Oh. Okay" Meeting Santana's mother was probably going to go a long way toward explaining her taste in furniture and her car. "Oh and also my brothers are coming," Santana went on. "We'd better make some reservations at a hotel. Two for my brothers and one for my mother in case she makes it. Is there anyone else?"
"Quinn. She's driving over on Wednesday. And my mom. I haven't called her yet, but she'll be here."
"Oh, great." Santana sighed. "Well at least it'll all be over by Friday."
Brittany looked at the phone in disbelief. No, it wouldn't. That's when it would start. They'd be married. She hung up the phone with a sigh and called her mother.
"Mom, this is Brittany."
"How are you, baby?" Her mother's voice was vague as usual, and Brittany pictured her staring into space, trying to concentrate.
"I'm getting married, Mom."
Pansy's voice sharpened considerably. "What? To who? when? I don't understand."
Brittany took a deep breath and answered her mother's questions. "She's a wonderful woman, Mom. A college professor. She just swept me off my feet. We're getting married Thursday here in Prescott, Ohio."
"Where?" Pansy's voice rose to a squeak. "What's going on Britty?"
"I'm marrying Santana Lopez in Prescott, Ohio, on Thursday," Brittany repeated. "Can you come?"
"Can I come? What are you talking about baby? Of course I can come. Oh, Brittany, are you sure?"
Not at all. Brittany thought to herself while rolling her eyes.
"I'm positive, Mom. Let me give you the address and phone number." Brittany repeated it twice while Pansy rattled on the other end of the line.
"Oh, dear," Pansy said finally. "Are you sure? Oh, Brittany. Let me call you back." There was a dial tone suddenly, and Brittany blinked at the phone. What could her mother possibly be doing? Half an hour later, as Brittany was going out the door to meet Santana for the blood tests, the phone rang again.
"I found Prescott on the map," Pansy said. "It's near Dayton. I'm flying in this afternoon, so you pick me up, and then we can talk."
"This afternoon." Brittany closed her eyes. "You bet, Mom. This afternoon."
Julie called a minute later, catching her again on her way out the door, to tell her that they had a judge lined up for Thursday, and that they needed to order a cake and a dress.
"Let's do the dresses this afternoon." Julie's voice came over the phone vivid with excitement. "We'll drive to Dayton and pick them out and then we can make sure the cake and the napkins coordinate."
"Dresses? Coordinate?" Brittany sat down on the floor.
"How many bridesmaids are you having?"
"Bridesmaids?" shit
"Oh, honey…"
"One." Quinn is coming for the wedding anyway. She might as well participate.
"Size?"
"Small,"
"I'll pick you up at twelve. We can have lunch first. Is that okay with you, honey?"
"Make it twelve-thirty," Brittany said. "I've got blood tests right now and the bank. And we might have to have lunch at the airport because I'm picking my mother up at one-fifteen."
"Oh, good," Julie said, but she didn't sound enthusiastic.
Brittany headed for the door and the phone rang again. She picked it up prepared to tell Santana she was on her way, but a different woman answered.
"This is Gertrude Lopez." Santana's mother had a voice like unrisen bread.
Brittany heard herself chirping to compensate for the deadness on the other end of the line. "Mrs. Lopez. How nice—"
"I am driving down today but I am not sure of the location of the campus. Could you please arrange for Santana to meet me at the Dayton airport at one o'clock? She is not answering her phone."
She heard the front door open and turned to see Santana coming in.
"Brittany, we're late—" she began but was cut off when the blonde grabbed her by her elbow. "what the hell Brittany?" fuck, why the hell does her touch make me feel this tingly. Get a grip Lopez.
"She just came in the door, Mrs. Lopez," Brittany told the latina's mother. "But I'll be able to meet you at the airport. My mom's coming in at the same time. We can all talk."
There was a long silence as Santana looked confused and Gertrude thought things over. "Thank you," she said finally. "That will be most satisfactory." Then she hung up.
Santana peeled the blonde's fingers off her arm. "What the hell is going on?"
Brittany looked at her with undisguised distaste. She was going to spend the afternoon in Hell while Santana went out to the college and taught people who couldn't talk back if they wanted to graduate. "Your mother and my mother are both coming into Dayton this afternoon. Julie and I will be picking them up, and then we're going to buy a wedding dress and order a cake. All of us. Together." She folded her arms and looked at the latina.
"I'm so sorry B. I'll make it up to you somehow." Santana's eyes were full of sympathy. "I don't know how, but I'll find a way." The latina continued with a soft smile. Staring into the sympathetic brown eyes, Brittany felt like she was about to melt. "Yeah well I guess I'll find a way when I'm queen bee" the blonde replied with a smirk. Santana smiled at the sassy reply and looked into the baby blue eyes that seem to have an odd effect on her before replying, "Well you can have anything you want my Queen." Brittany felt her heart pounding at the words and slowly leaned in. With their lips inches apart, the blonde smiled softly, "anything?" Santana kept smiling at her and was about to reply when the phone rang again. "Ugh. we have given that number to too many people," Brittany groaned, and went to get her purse leaving Santana frozen in her spot. The phone kept ringing, shaking the latina out of her thoughts and she grumbled to herself before answering it.
Brittany heard the latina speaking to someone loudly. She chastised herself for getting to close to Santana, yet again. She took a few minutes to steady her breath and when she went back, Santana said, "The movers aren't bringing your furniture until Thursday."
"I'm getting married Thursday."
"So am I. Maybe we can make them ushers." Santana replied with a cheeky grin only to receive an eye roll as an answer.
Santana's mother wasn't hard to spot at the airport; she looked just like her daughter. Short and petite but yet commanding and powerful. With dark eyes and gray hair that must have once been black like Santana's; she looked like the kind of woman who would raise repressed kids. She looked like a prison warden right before the big break, sensing the tension in the air. She looked like Santana when she was being a pain in the butt.
"Hi. I'm Brittany." Brittany introduced herself perkily as she walked up to the older woman and extended her hand. "And I'm just so pleased—"
"Thank you for meeting me." Gertrude did not extend her hand, and Brittany frowned but transferred the gesture into a wave toward Julie.
"And this is Julie Harper. She's having the wedding and the reception for us in her garden."
"We just love your daughter." Julie grabbed for the hand that Brittany hadn't captured. "Santana is just the sweetest thing."
She reeked gin, and Gertrude looked at her with distaste. "Thank you. I am parked in the short-term parking lot, so if we could go to the hotel now…"
"Oh, no," Julie said gaily. "We're going to pick out Brittany's dress first."
"I have to get over to Gate Thirty-one." Brittany backed away. "I'm late. My mom—"
"We'll be right behind you, honey," Julie said, and Brittany left the two women together and ran for the other gate, where she found Pansy pacing and checking her watch.
"Oh, Brittany!" Pansy fell on her and cried, her fluffy yellow curls bobbing with her sobs. "My baby."
"Easy, Mom. I'm all right."
"You're getting married." Pansy hung on Brittany, looking up from her five feet two inches at her tall princess.
"You're going to love Santana, Mom. She's amazing and she takes such good care of me."
"Did she just sweep you off your feet?" Pansy had pulled back and was clasping Brittany's shoulders, looking up into her eyes. "Do you just love her to death?"
"Absolutely," Brittany said, and stopped when she realized she sounded like Santana. She waved her ring hand at her mother. "Isn't my ring cute?"
"She got you pearls," Pansy said in a flat voice. "Why not diamonds?"
Oh, boy. "Because I wouldn't wear diamonds. She gave me my own checking account to do whatever I want with. And she wants me to paint full-time. She calls me Cinderella. And"—Brittany searched desperately for something else that was true that would make Santana look good—"and she's never been married before. And she bought me this darling little Victorian house and told me I can decorate it any way I want, and—"
"Oh, Brittany, she sounds wonderful." Pansy began to cry again.
Good, Brittany thought, because I was running out of things to say. I was down to the Nazi car and furniture, and that would have been bad.
"Yoo-hoo!"
"And this is Julie and Gertrude!" Brittany made the introductions as cheerily as possible. Gertrude took being called by her first name fairly well for a prison warden. Julie and Pansy sized each other up, two southern belles not happy to share the charm sweepstakes.
"Gotta get my dress!" Brittany swept them all off to the car, cursing Santana, who was safe in Prescott.
"Now, for your flowers I think you should have roses," Julie said as they drove down the interstate. "Pink roses."
"Roses? Do you think so, Julie?" Pansy's voice was sweet from the backseat. "It just seems like everyone has roses. How about lilies, honey?"
"Lilies?" Brittany turned to look at her mother in the back beside Gertrude. "I thought lilies were for funerals."
"No, no." Pansy turned her little nose up. "Lilies are elegant."
"Carnations are inexpensive and hold their bloom for a reasonable amount of time," Gertrude said.
Oh, fuck no, Brittany thought. Don't let this be happening. "Daisies," she said. "I want daisies."
"Oh, honey, no," Pansy began, but Brittany cut her off.
"Santana wants me to have daisies."
"Oh, well, then." Pansy sounded doubtful. "Maybe with some baby's breath…"
"And a few pink rosebuds…" Julie agreed.
"And some baby carnations," Brittany said to appease Gertrude. "Why don't we wait until we get the dress?"
"Well, I'm sure we can agree on the cake." Julie looked over at Brittany. "White, of course."
"But Brittany always liked chocolate," Pansy protested. "Wouldn't Santana like chocolate, Brittany?"
"Santana doesn't like sweets," Brittany said.
"Santana used to like walnut cake," Gertrude said. "She was quite fond of it."
"Pumpkin cake," Brittany said desperately. "Pumpkin cake with walnuts and cream cheese icing."
"Pumpkin cake?" Julie said, puzzled.
"Pumpkin cake?" Pansy said, shocked.
Gertrude didn't say anything, perhaps because of the walnuts.
"It's a… private joke," Brittany said weakly. "Like Cinderella. Santana would like it."
"Oh, well, then." Pansy still sounded doubtful.
"Well, your colors can still be pink and white," Julie said.
"Blue and white," Pansy said.
"Yellow and white," Gertrude said. "Santana likes yellow."
Well, at least Gertie is showing some animation, Brittany thought. If they get to kicking and screaming and pulling hair, my money's on her. She smiled at all three women as impartially as possible, the way she knew Brittany Lopez would smile.
Brittany Pierce would have jumped out of the car and run for it.